GPP Street Team Series: Evidence

click twice for larger photos

I have been following Michelle Ward's challenges and sometimes participating . . . not as much as I wanted to, but I have made some challenges! I saw her announce this challenge and then almost forgot about it this month. With the deadline looming I pulled through today! She wanted us to make a deliberate effort to get ourselves into photos and eventually, those photos in to our journals.

I take a lot of photos. Blipfoto, a photo journal site I joined one year ago (thank you Frieda!!) is the main culprit behind the amount of photos I take. Using that site as a photo journal and viewing other photos, talking to other members there, really got me into carrying my camera most everywhere and recording life and interesting things by taking lots of photos. The mosaic above concentrating on photos of me for the challenge was photos gleaned from the month of December only! And I will hesitantly admit to you that I counted roughly over 1200 photos in my files that I took in December alone! I delete many photos I take if they just aren't right ... but my husband takes photos too. Most of the ones above Steven took, even if he himself is in the photo - he loves to hold the camera out and do just that!   

Michelle: I definitely will start a new journal with one or more of these photos and then update you!

Thank you for your tremendous efforts and really great challenges. Yours, lenna 

Tour of Lucas Boatworks

While my sister and her family are visiting from Connecticut, we wanted them to visit Lucas Boatworks so they could see it first hand. We originally thought we'd put kayaks in the water, but the weather was not that great . .. it was okay, but not really "let's get out in the water" type of weather. But, I took Kathy and her husband Dan and their two boys - ages 17 and 20, out to meet up with Steven there yesterday and they still enjoyed, even without the actual boating!

Kathy, Dan & Ian with Steven down on  the dock- Asia too!

(love the Spanish moss -love that dock!)

Steven with Howard's melonseed sailboat, almost done.

There is always to much to see in the pole barn!

my nephew Ian, Dan and Steven walking by Wally's melonseed

Kathy checking out the weight of one of Steven's handmade kayak paddles -it's very light!

The new paddle he is working on for a Stand-up paddle board

Steven showing us some of the cedar he cut to create the paddle

My friend Cheryl stopped by, yay!! She brought her stand-up paddle and 2 other ones

for Steven to check out. This is his first stand-up paddle design, so sweet of her!

(Dave Lucas watches Steven's antics and says, "crazy steve")

3 different paddles for stand-up boarding - all different

I will share with you the prototype Steven is making for Cheryl when he's finished!

My nephew Dale talking  to dave Lucas about the boat he is building

Then dale, kathy and I went in for a tour of Helen's quilt room!!

Look at the view she has of the Braden River.... mmmmm!

Helen explaining about a collaborative quilt she made, The Fisherman.

She even took it out and showed it to us -beautiful and award winning!!

I could not resist taking this photo - batiks are my favorite fabrics.

This is the most beautiful quilt that Helen made with batiks

Helen says this quilt is Dave's favorite -so cool!

Steve and Dave take Starfish out of the water since we decided not to go out . . . .

Dave helps, driving my dad's old tractor.

Everyone, Kathy, Dan & both nephews were so pleased 

to see dad's tractor still in use. 

Later we came home and I opened the present Cheryl gave us:

a Christmas Cracker!

complete with crown!!

: ) a happy boxing day for us in Florida, 

I hope all is well with you and yours, lenna

If you are new to  this blog or just want to explore - try this!

Click on any picture to read and see more.

Day 2 Theme & Giveaway: Printery

Day 2 Theme & Giveaway: Printery -This giveaway looks simply wonderful! Just visit Alpha stamps before midnight tonight and comment on day 2's post for your chance to win! have fun, lenna

daily giveaway - Alpha Stamps

visit the Alpha Stamps blog for a wonderful daily giveaway that you can enter by leaving a comment with your email address - it does not have to be public - on each day's post through 1/1/12. Simply comment each day by 11:59 PST. Alpha Stamps has a great variety of mixed media supplies and the first giveaway with a "beach" theme is incredible! Check out what's offered and enter today's giveaway by commenting here before midnight, 12/26/11. If you are visiting me on a different day, use the top link to reach the main blog and see what's offered that day - good luck!

greetings!

happy holidays and a peaceful new year 

our little tree 

my dad made the star with the sailboat

I hung it up high where I could see it (click for detail)

the red star is by Helga Strauss, owner of ARTchix Studio

the star directly above is by Claudia Rose and further up by Marla Rosenlieb

by my cousin, and with the beads by Chris Peden ; )

All of these stars were made for Steven and I, for our wedding in 2005. I love getting them out every year, reading them again and hanging them up. Blessings to you & yours! xo lenna

4x4 (inch!) collage for Connie

As part of a year long exchange I'm in, I created a 4x4 collage for Connie Senyitko. We do these on a monthly basis and work on the theme chosen by who we are creating for. Connie requested soft shades of white or neutral with a spot of color. She likes: vintage children images, clocks, birds, nests, eggs, french, vintage, laces, numbers, vintage ladies hats or crowns and flowers, fabrics, stitching, vintage sheet music paper, poetry, and black & white vintage images. Well! It was great to have so many 'likes' to choose from and in that small space I managed quite a few....

For the front I used fabric - an old cloth napkin of my Nonie's stitched all around. I added a fabric stamped image of a Robin that my friend Sharon Borsavage made and gave to me - perfect! Next I layered a vintage text page on top of a 4x4 watercolor card before gluing the fabric down. I also added a bit of vintage music paper, some pretty ribbon, a small bit of a map, a small velvet leaf and gold micro beads. click for detail.

For the back of the card I wanted to include Connie's love of poetry. I had recently picked up a small book of poems by Oscar Wilde and chose this one at random, ripping the edges to fit the card. Then I added a tag to identify the piece and I was done! I believe I have only 4 more 4x4's to create -wow! To see more, go to the flickr photo set I created just for these collages. 

I hope you are doing well and not to crazy with the holiday season. My sister and her family are coming to visit for a whole week, but other than that we are not really doing much . . . not even exchanging presents! Sounds Grinch-like, but it really is what works for us this year. Stay well and happy, I will be here adding things as I can! 

every single moment you are . . . .

. . . . writing the story of your life.

I just realized, watching this animoto video I made, that it was actually about healing. The art you see, the Nia/dance, the beach, the sun, water and shells, taking these photographs, my dogs and my family, especially my husband, have been my way to heal after the loss of my father. I am so grateful for all I have and I hope you enjoy the sand and sea.

*I suggest watching this in full screen by clicking in the bottom right corner!
If you cannot see the video here, use this link.

p.s. this is the first time I have ever tried using video clips and I think it worked well!
To view more of my videos, visit my YouTube channel.

: ) lenna

purple section: sketchbook project 2012

I've been working away on my 2012 sketchbook project, finishing up the 3rd section of folded pages (out of 4). This section was painted with purple Lumiere. I cut circles earlier in it while working on the second section and I know some of you wondered what I would do with them? Here is my diary of sorts to show you: in process photos and some notes.

I cut out a vintage postcard image in the same circle size 

I glued it in place and also stitched around it and on the page

I added more rubber stamping to peek out through the circles I cut

Now you see the postcard image with the page unfolded

The page is tucked back in again and more stamping is added

This is the back of where I sewed my images.
I've added a painting of Lenna Glackens, by my great uncle, William Glackens.

This shows the next section coming up, brown . . . I have added the cut out
purple circle to this section of pages!

The purple section folded up, next to the brown section 

journaling in my sketchbook 

more journaling

the cover, with my theme spelled out

Just a couple of more views of the way the pages fold & spread out . . .

That's it for now! I have one section, the brown & gold section left to complete before sending this sketchbook in to become part of the Sketchbook Project 2012 hosted by the Art House Co-op. The 2012 project is closed for sign-ups, but the Special Edition project is OPEN! I would highly recommend signing up. This is my 2nd Sketchbook project and I am already registered for the Special Edition. If you are just joining me or want to look back at what I have done in the 2012 project, use this link to view all of the posts tagged with: Sketchbook Project 2012. This post will be first and then the rest will follow. If you are interested in what I did last year for the 2011 project, just visit my portfolio on the Art House Co-op!

Go make something - anything!!  : ^ ) lenna

*flashmob*dance*fun*holidays*

I am not doing much for the holidays this year except hanging with my family, but I must say this video Terrie Lightfoot shared on Facebook was oh, so much fun and had me singing along. I hope you enjoy. if you don't see the video below, click here to view.

happy holidays - dance, sing & have fun with the ones you love.
xo lenna

Butterfly Project update

I was delighted this morning to find an update on Trudi Sissons' blog that showcased a beautiful photo of my contribution to the Butterfly Project (below) as well as a photo of what my friend Joanna Urbani in the UK contributed; click here to read her post. Trudi has received over 400 butterflies from 18 countries! She will send them in to the Holocaust Museum in Houston, Texas at the end of this year for the upcoming exhibit at the museum, Spring of 2014. Trudi is winding down her part in the project, but you still have a full year to participate through the Holocaust Museum. They are accepting submissions through December 31, 2012. The museum has already collected over 900,000 hand made butterflies. Read more about this project/exhibit here on their site. I hope it is something you can do too.

Butterfly by Lenna Andrews make of feathers & shell
Photo by Trudi Sissons
2011 - The butterfly project

butterfly garden

A scan of a 4" x 4" collage, made as part of an exchange I am in.

I took a copy of an old french postcard and glued it to a square watercolor card. Then I took a transparency sheet of butterflies I had made, ran them through my xyron adhesive machine and placed them all around the woman in the garden. Something like the time I visited the Butterfly Garden at The Selby Gardens and estate this past June . . . . Ignore the noise of the traffic as I am not that good at editing videos yet, and be amazed at the butterflies! 

I added color with watercolor crayons as well as a silver metallic marker and drips of perfect pearls mist to make it more dreamy. I used a printing kit with rubber stamp alphabet letters to spell out Brenda's theme on the front; a photo of the piece is below.

Happy Saturday to you! 

I am going to meet my Nia teacher at an indie craft fair in downtown Sarasota, florida where I am venturing to by myself more and more these days. It should be fun, one of the women we dance with has a booth there. Then tonight, Steven and I are taking my mom out to dinner for her birthday, Happy Birthday Mom.