May the spirit of Christmas bless you with love, abundance, joy, and peace in your heart!
Wishing you all the very happiest of Holidays with your family and friends.
May your New Year be better than 2011 ever was.
Relax. It is all good.
Santa Can Christmas 2011
Marie Segal
Here is the Halloween book I told you about, from when Jodi and I got together a few weeks ago. I took some of the skills I have learned from Jodi and combined them with the Coptic book binding I taught myself and some new ideas to make this Halloween scrap-book.
I love the holiday and I finally got to make something for it in the paper area.
Jodi would not let me put bats all over the houses we made at Christmas for my family. I know there is good reason behind this, she always has those.
I just have a hard time seeing that from my point of view. I mean, don’t you think that everything should have skellies, bats, and wicked cool fences and ghosts and pumpkins, candy corn and witches all over it, all of the time?
See, I knew there would be tons of you that agreed with me. After all, the colors for Halloween are just divine, right?
I can see Jodi in my mind, shaking her head right now and not in that up and down “yes” fashion either. ;-P
I used this monster colored green paper with crows(ravens) all over and spider webs too for the covers.
I used my thin chip board but double-sided taped 3 pieces together.
This is quarter sheet of paper book, 4 1/4″ by 5 1/2″. I then covered with that awesome green paper.
Like so.
Double sided tape to adhere.
Covers done on the outside. Chose very cool raven paper for the inside.
I used Distress ink to age the edges of the outside and the inside of the covers.
Gives it that spooky feel!
This is a full sheet 8 1/2″ by 11″ of card stock scored down the length in the middle.
And then scored down the middle of it the other way! Jodi learned and shared with me about the ball stylus on the score board. It works great, better than my bone folder. Howard carries these in the www.ClayFactory.com of all sizes. We have double-sided, like this one shown, and single sided too.
It is folded and holes are poked in the middle fold. This is the page opened up here. This is one signature in the book. I did this to make pockets to hold things.
I used the Big Bite to punch the holes in the covers for the eyelets.
I make a template to make the holes 1/4″ in from the edge on the cover where I am going to make the holes.
I lay the template on my score board and make the scores evenly spaced so I can see them.
I will have to make one later so you can see how I mark and place the holes.
Another tutorial!
Here the holes are punched in the cover.
Here you can see the eyelets and the binding. The pages are in.
Here is a different look at them.
I glued two pages together either on the side or on the top and made pockets to put things in. I made the page on the right a diagonal pocket.
And the one on the left a side pocket. I glued another piece of paper to the front on the left to make another pocket for the Happy Halloween tag.
The pocket on the left is a top loader and I glued the side together to do that. The pocket on the right is a top loader too and then I used another piece of paper to make another pocket on the front. With the tag in it.
I am going to stop here because Blogger is throwing a tizzy, too much going on for its poor little brain to handle. I write there and copy here.
I will continue this in the next post!
You can see though, I am having big fun! You can also see how a lot of techniques come together for even more fun for unique twist. I love when that happens.
Have a great weekend yall’
Well, you saw my book but I have yet to show you Jodi’s. So here it is.
Jodi has taught me everything I know. We work well together and she puts up with my hundreds of questions, maybe even thousands ;-D Her patience is unbelievable.
Jodi has an eye for beauty and design and turns a sows ear in to a silk purse…or something like that.
I know I am going to get a ration after she sees this.
Jodi is very modest and gets mad when I brag about her skills.
So this is why I am doing this while she can not reach me.
Jodi you are talented and so giving and kind!! I love you!
So now everyone knows ;-P
Jodi is working with Die Cuts with a View paper Mariposa. It is beautiful, it has an Asian air to it. It has glitter, gold, and beautiful focal butterflies. It is just gorgeous and rich. I love the red pages.
This picture shows the brilliance of the papers best. Would you look at the red pages? They are just yummy. DCWV you did good on this papuh!!
And the front black pages are pretty damn good too!
I really love this book too!
So you can see why I am doing so well. I have an excellent teacher. Hard to believe these are paper bags…yes??
My favorite page one last time.
Hope none of you get this cold, it is yucky. All I want to do is sleep. I don’t do that all that much and I love it so it is good I guess.
I would love to taste my food though.
Be well, know you are loved, and be kind to others.
I have a friend that has dreams. She dreams about designs, for me!
I love this.
She “saw” this sacred heart I did.
This one…
This is one of my favorite pieces.
My friend will send me a message and maybe a small description, but what comes across to me though is a feeling and a light in my mind’s eye of the beginning of a design starting to come to life. You can read the story of the sacred heart and see the prototype of this necklace here http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/01/little-reminder-about-giveaway-and.html
Well… my friend is very tuned in and she had another dream quite a while ago, only a month or two after the sacred heart dream I think.
She wrote me a note with a small description and quick doodle to go along with it.
I loved it and I said I would get right on it.
Sometimes, though, my brain doesn’t cooperate with my plans and I have learned over time that somethings can not be rushed, ever. If I do rush it will only be a part or a piece of the full manifestation of what could be something truly wonderful if left to incubate for a while and cook!
I didn’t say anything to my friend and kept up with everything else that was going on and pretty much let go of making the dream a reality right away.
Last week though, that dream was resurrected with a flash of a picture and the idea in my mind flashing in neon and would not give up until I went and made it.
This is the result of this collaboration my friend and I have.
Heart of America- Broken heart
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| Heart of America- Broken Heart
Listed in my Etsy Store now. |
I am in love with this piece also and adore that I had been gifted a gift of insight in the process.
Thank you, Donna, from the bottom of my heart.
Maybe someday I will be able to reciprocate with dreams of pieces for you. One can only hope!
I believe these are special pieces, there is just something about them that speaks. Maybe it is the gift of collaboration, listening to another speak their dreams and being able to bring them to reality.
I love this! How could it get any better? I am so grateful.
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| This is what helped my holiday blues, good friends, cookies and a dieter’s nightmare.
Oh and Christmas music. |
Whatever winter Holiday you celebrate, whatever winter Holiday you have celebrated, or whatever winter Holiday you are going to celebrate, may it be with people you love.
May there be food in your stomach and heat in your hearth.
May you have friends by your side.
May you have love in your heart.
My heart is filled with gratitude for each and every one of you!
I sometimes forget that when a door to change is getting ready to appear that the change feels intense and chaotic right before the opening.
This is almost a daily occurrence lately, do you feel it too?
It does not mean it is bad, just uncomfortable.
Maybe the universe is conspiring to help me.
Ya, I think I will choose to think that one!
Love and huge hugs to you all.
I will be back soon to show you some of what I did over the holidays and getting ready for it.
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| Thank you to two beautiful women who shared their day with me.
They know who they are. You helped so much! |
Today in the US is a holiday called Thanksgiving. The 4th Thursday of the month of November.
It has been traditionally a harvest holiday and it is celebrated in several places.
In Canada it is celebrated on the 2nd Monday in October.
Although we Americans claim the holiday, there are historical references to the holiday being celebrated earlier in Canada.
It is also celebrated in a Gothic church in Leiden in the Netherlands on the morning of the day commemorated in America. It is to acknowledge the hospitality the pilgrims received in Leiden on their way to the New World.
Grenada also has a holiday that is also known as Thanksgiving day that is celebrated on the 25th day of October.
Liberia also celebrates a Thanksgiving on the first Thursday in November.
I suggest we take this day to realize the things we are thankful for. I also think that we should take this day and bring a little of it in to each and everyday of our lives, 365 days a year.
If you have a roof over your head, be thankful.
If you have family you love, be thankful.
If you have any food to eat, be thankful.
If you have friends to love and cherish, be thankful.
If you have love in your heart, be thankful.
If you have family and friends that love you, be thankful.
If you are alive today, be thankful.
There are many stories of this Holiday and how it was celebrated, that are easy to find all over the web and in our schools.
There are also other stories that can be found that may be the true ones, no one really knows, because none of us were there.
I did enjoy reading this side of the story too.
I have a friend that told me one time that History is always written by the victors.
So, I am thankful for all of you! Thank you for reading this page in my world.
May you have food to eat, family and friends to love and that love you, may you have a place to sleep and rest your head, and may you be healthy and strong.
Blessings all over all of you!!
Gobble till you wobble and if there is no turkey, eat chicken!
It was Halloween night.
One little girl was getting ready to go door to door.
Madi got dressed reluctantly.
She doesn’t like anything on her head.
It only lasts a second.
I do not want it.
Well, maybe!
No Hat!! hahahahaha.
I got it off!
Cute Eyes!
I think I’ll eat it!
I’ll do it myself.
I’m happy.
We went trick or treating with Mario and Luigi.
And Princess Peach.
I am playing with my food again and you can see the previous installments,
Here
http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2009/04/playing-with-my-food.html
Here
http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2010/09/playing-with-my-food-again-episode-2.html
Here
http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2010/09/playing-with-my-food-again-episode-3.html
Here
http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2010/09/playing-with-my-food-again-episode-4.html
This one is going to be about using those fabulous clay tools called Texture plates for your food. Not just clay tools anymore.
This got me to thinking, when I first started working with polymer clay in 1978, I use my ceramic tools and kitchen tools.
I think I can say I have come full circle to using my clay tools for food now.
I have learned that I do not put labels on my tools now. If I find it at a hardware store and it works, it is a tool. If I find it in nature and it works, it is a tool. Now, tools are everywhere!!!
I do suggest though that if you are going to use the texture plates for food that you get a new set. These are inexpensive and will be used over and over again if you are having as much fun playing with your food as I am.
They can also be used as large stamps, crayon rubbings, texturing plaster, texturing paint, or even cement and probably a lot more things than I can think of right now!
So we will play with the texture plates and then from there we will move in to the project Jodi and I made from this.
Just in time for the upcoming Halloween Holiday!
Links will take you to the corresponding page in my Hubby’s on-line store, www.clayfactory.net. Thank you for supporting my family and myself.
I rolled out my fondant to about 1/8 ” with the green roller.
Place the texture sheet over the rolled out fondant. I used texture sheet set M38004, this has the scale and the wood grain in it.
We are going to use both of them for this blog.
Press down on the roller and slide across the texture plate. You could roll it also, but I found that just pressing and sliding worked very well.
If you are going to roll the fondant in to the texture sheet then the roller has something to grab on to. It is easier to roll then.
This is how the fondant looks after the texture sheet is removed. I did not use anything on the fondant to resist the texture sheet, but you could use shortening or powdered sugar as a releasing agent.
Click on the picture for a larger view.
Here is the wood grain texture sheet. I used the chocolate fondant from Pila’s Pantry, (this one is my all time favorite fondant, it tastes like Tootsie rolls) and followed the instructions above to make this sheet of wood grained texture.
I then used some matt brown pigment I also bought from Pila’s to highlight the texture of the wood grain. Put some on your finger as if it was pearl-ex and spread on the sheet of fondant wood grain. Or you could use a soft brush to place it on the fondant. The soft brush will though cover the whole surface not just the high spots.
Here I have tried to get the variation in the color by using the powdered pigment. You can click on the picture to see a larger version of this picture.
I also brushed on some of the Pearl pigment for food, this one is called gold dust.
Fun, fun, fun!
We then took a bamboo skewer and placed three large marshmallows on it. Wrapped the wood grain fondant around them and sealed the seam with a little water. I let the bottom crack instead of cutting it off and featured the cracks as roots.
We put this aside and continued on to the next part.
With the scale texture plate, some black fondant and the instructions on how to roll out the fondant and tah-dah, some scale textured black fondant. We then high-lighted that whole sheet with silver powder to get this. Click on the picture for a bigger view.
This is one of my very favorite textures in clay or food.
I add the powder to the fondant like this. I take out a small amount with a knife or spatula and place it on a paper plate then close the lid on the jar.
I then spread the powder out with my finger so I have no clumps and brush on to the fondant. If I do not do this the clumps will fall off my finger and cover everything not just the high spots on the texture.
We then drew up a small simple stencil on paper for a house. Cutting it out with the rolling cutter which is part of the rolling-pin set.
The top strip is going to be the sides of our house.
We saved all the trimmings too, just in case we might need them later. We did.
We laid the front of the house on a plate and then we cut pink marshmallows in half (it was what we had ;-D) to make it the right thickness and “glued” them to the back with the chocolate icing. The marshmallows cut very nicely with a pair of kitchen shears.
We “glued” on the sides and the back of the house with chocolate frosting, Added the roof which was just more of the scale textured fondant, added a chimney, painted the pink marshmallows that showed inside the windows with chocolate frosting and set the house aside.
I am so sorry there are no pictures for this, we both got so involved with what we were doing, we forgot to take them.
Stay tuned for part 2…
Theresa at Faeriemoon Creations is having a Giveaway!
Click the picture and it will take you there.
Hurry closes on August 27 th, 2010
Mother moon”s Eat Pray Love Giveaway
Click the picture and it will take you there.
Ends September 1st, 2010
Nydia at Bringing up Salamanders is having a Goddess giveaway.
Click on the picture and it will take you to the post!
Keys not included <]:)
Ends on the September 1st, 2010
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