It's been raining...I've been "arting"

I am attending a live ATC trad next Saturday at my local Dick Blick's Art Supply store. I have never attended a real live trade and I am excited to be a part of one!! These are the ATC's that I've made so far. I've been working on a few new projects, so we'll have to see just how many I actually get done! I have a few other projects that are in the works. I'm feeling really good about what I am creating. My friend Harriet has been busy making ATC's for the swap too during this rainy weekend. Check them out at her Blog...Expressions of the Spirit.

One more ATC...

Creating one at a time...one day at a time.

As promised...finally some new art

Created a few new ATC's. I'm attending the International Quilt Show in Chicago tomorrow and they are hosting a live ATC Swap as part of the Mixed Media events. Thinking about trading---or not. It has been so long since I created any art, I think that I may decide to keep these just for me. I will be attending another live swap in May. Maybe I will feel more in the spirit of trading then.

Updating a bit...

No new art to add quite yet, but I have been having fun updating the look of my blog. My new background (don't you just love it???) comes from a fabulous Blog I found "The Cutest Blog On The Block" . It is jam packed with all kinds of goodies to make your Blog look pretty---for FREE!!! Please check it out and have fun picking out some jazzy stuff for your blog!!

Also, check out my new "E-MAIL" button on the sidebar. Is it not the cutest??? That addition is thanks to the talented Susie Jefferson at:

I just found her Blog yesterday and fell in love immediately!! She is having a giveaway this week, so go check out her blog, enjoy her creativity and sign up for the giveaway!!

Feel free to click on my new E-MAIL button and send me a note!!!

I'm Still here...

I promise.

Please be patient...

NEW ART...LOTS OF CHATTER...COMING SOON!!!

WHERE I STAND....

"NO WAY, NO HOW, NO McCAIN, NO PALIN"

I rarely get personal or reveal much about myself, my family, my politics, etc. on my blog, but tonight I've decided to be a little open about me. I'd like to let you know where I stand regarding my future, my family's future and my Country's future. I am 100% behind Senator Obama. After watching the Republican Convention this evening on television, I decided that I needed to become a little vocal and a little active in this Presidential Campaign---even if my activism is only a small contribution. I found this website that will send you a FREE Obama button. There are other choices for more elaborate buttons/multiple buttons, etc. if you make a donation (small or large). I am not affiliated with this website. I just think it is a cool thing that they are sending out FREE buttons. I like the idea that your contribution can be a monetary one or just a show of support by wearing a button. I just wanted to let you know.

So, if you want a FREE Obama button, MoveOn's giving them away totally free. Click this link to get a FREE Obama button:

http://pol.moveon.org/obamabuttons/?id=-10484556-pXj.2ox&rc=fb.ads.nonyouth

"NEWSFLASH"....UPDATE IN PROGRESS!! CHECK BACK SOON!

***UPDATE UNDER CONSTRUCTION***

BEST FRIENDS...SANDY, ME & HARRIET

Celebrating the 4th of July!!
Hope everyone had a safe and really fun holiday weekend.

Just a little ATC... Polka Dot George

The Paper Imagery Design Yahoo group's challenge this week is
"Polka Dots". My entry is "Polka Dot George" ATC.

Two New Pieces...

More Make a Moo or Two (or three)

This is my entry for this weeks Make A Moo or Two challenge. The theme for the challenge is "CATS".

I've been making a Moo or Two...

I've picked another Challenge to "jump into" this week!! What fun I am having!!! These are my entry into the Make A Moo or Two Challenge for this week. The theme is "Dots & Stripes".

4x4 FRIDAY CHALLENGE (AKA I'm up and running and up for a challenge!!)

I've decided to jump in to the "Challenge Craze" out there in blogland! I've chosen 4X4 Friday's challenge for my first time out!!! The theme for this week is Favorite Color. I have several favorite colors, but have decided to go with Green for this project.

A BETTER LOOK AT THE QUEEN (AKA Make a crown and you too can be "The Queen"!)

THE QUEEN (includes detailed instructions)
Originally uploaded by luvs2create2

I found this photo of the original crown that I submitted to Stampington's Stamper's Sampler magazine which was published in the February/March 2008 issue (see earlier post). I had several requests for detailed instructions, so here they are...

The template for the crown was from the Stamper's Sampler "Tempting Templates" section. I cut out the template from a piece of heavy poster board. I gessoed both sides of the poster board and allowed it to dry (with a little help from my handy-dandy heat gun!). I then used Golden's Soft Gel Medium to adhere torn pieces of dictionary pages over all to give it strength and flexibility. Again, I allowed it to dry completely. When dry, I added a thin layer of Golden Modeling Paste. While the Modeling Paste was still wet I stamped into it with stamps from Invoke Arts Mosaic Elements Sheet and a Stampotique Original – Josie Cirincione stamp that looks like Punchinella. After Modeling Paste was dry I painted it with Sophisticated Finishes Copper Metallic Surfacer. When the paint was dry I used Patina Green to make it look like verdigris. I stamped onto the Chipboard letters (K&Company) with a small flourish stamp (company unknown) and painted the same as the crown. I embellished with metal found objects that I also painted to match the other elements.

Had fun today....

This morning I attended the monthly meeting of the Collage Sisthars Collaborative (the first meeting that I have attended in a really long time). The project demonstrated for this month was Shrine making (inspired by Michael DeMeng style). I need to look at it for a while and do some tweaking, but for all intents and purposes, it is complete, finished, a wrap---a "miracle"!!! It is a miracle, for those of you who don't know me too well, because I never, ever, ever start a project and finish it the same day!!

Walking in Wrigleyville last Sunday....

I spent Sunday afternoon visiting with my son Dan who lives in the "Wrigleyville" area of Chicago (also known as the Lakeview Area and the home of the Chicago Cubbies!). His place is about two blocks from Wrigley Field. It is a lovely refurbished Graystone building on a charming street. Most of the buildings in the area are lovely old Brownstones with the most fabulous doors and windows. I just LOVE doors and windows!!! They inspire my art and I use them often in many of my pieces. We went for a walk and I took lots of pix. This is just one of them---if you'd like to see more, check out my flickr site. The link is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26088419@N00/ . I've got more to say about my weekend, but that will have to wait until later.

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE...

WARNINGS, WATCHES AND ADVISORIES
For Carol Stream, Illinois (60188)

SNOW AND WIND CHILL

Warning Issue Date: 1200 AM CST MON FEB 11 2008

A SNOW ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM MONDAY TO 12 PM CST TUESDAY THE WIND CHILL ADVISORY WILL EXPIRE AT MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT.

THE WIND HAS DECREASED IN SPEED ENOUGH SO THAT WIND CHILL WILL INCREASE TO 19 DEGREES BELOW ZERO. SOME ISOLATED AREAS WILL STILL HAVE WIND CHILL AROUND 20 BELOW FOR THE NEXT TWO HOURS OR SO. A SNOW ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

Drum Roll Please.....

Now Available.....

The February/March Issue of Stamper's Sampler is now available at your local Book Seller!!! I picked up my copy at Barnes & Nobles earlier this afternoon. I submitted this piece in October 2007 after teaching a class at the Peoples Resource Center of Dupage County based on the magazine's "Tempting Template" Challenge. As a class we each created a Mixed Media Crown---after all each of us is a Princess (or QUEEN)!!! I submitted all of the finished Crowns created by the following participants in the class---Rosie Dixon, Rita Moon Kain, Yolanda Robsertson, Carol Thomas, Mary Warner and myself. I included class notes/instructions and a little bit about how each individual Crown was created. I was notified by the magazine in late November that my Crown had been selected for publication. I immediately contacted the magazine to find out if all of the Crowns were to be included---because they all were so lovely. They told me that my Crown was the only one being published in this issue, but they were going to keep the other Crowns to be considered for another of their publications, The Stamper's Sampler "Catch Up" Issue. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they all will get chosen to be published in the upcoming Catch Up Issue! I would post pix of all of the submitted Crowns, but one of the magazine's submission guidelines is that they can't have been previously published in either a magazine or on the internet. I will keep you updated as to what happens to the "Queen's Court"!!!

SOME NEW ART...

This is my final contribution to the Calendar Girlz 2007 Calendar Journal Round Robin. These are the pages I created in Joanne Thieme Huffman's Journal. The Calendar theme was "Library of Congress - Women Who Dare". My apologies to Joanne for the delay in finishing her pages and for being slow throughout the year. I learned two very important things during this Round Robin---I am not cut out to participate in long term projects, and having to create art within a specific time frame is a problem for me. My life gets very complicated at times and to quote John Lennon, "Life is what happens while we are busy making other plans". Completing this project ends ALL of my past collaborative/swap commitments. I have mentioned this before, but I will say it again---in the future I will not be participating in any collaborative projects or swaps. I will only be doing personal art exchanges on a one by one basis with a few of my "art friends". I plan on focusing more on creating art for myself and teaching. I'd also like to dabble in exhibiting and possibly selling some of my work. So with that said, here is my work...

One more thing for now....

A New Year...a few new things and a lot of catch-up!!

It has been forever (almost forever---before Christmas 2007) since I last blogged. I will be back later today to catch-up with what I've been doing/done since Christmas. I will leave you with a little tease for now....

Happy holidays from us to you!!!

THE SCHNEIDER FAMILY
JOEY, SHARI & STEVE

An early Christmas Present from Saray-Viola in Germany!!!!

THANK YOU VIOLA!!!!!

Please take a moment to check out this fabulous artist's blog...her work is incredible and I am now the lucky owner of THREE (yes three!!) beautiful pieces of her art!!!

I have been an avid reader of this talented artist's blog for some time now. A while back I commented on how much I liked one of the ATC's that she posted to here site and she replied back that she was going to send it to me!!! I was very excited to know that I was going to own a piece of her original art. This weekend a huge package arrived here in Carol Stream, IL all the way from Germany. I expected a small envelope with her ATC enclosed, but to my surprise she generously gifted me with THREE pieces of art and lots of fabulous goodies for me to use in my own art. I was overwhelmed with her lovely gift and I'd like you to see all that I received....

This is the original ATC that I commented on and expected to receive!!(above original art created by Saray-Viola)

This ATC is the first surprise piece...

(above original art created by Saray-Viola)

And this piece was the biggest surprise of all...

(above original art created by Saray-Viola)

HOW LUCKY AM I???????

And if this wasn't enough of a gift, look at all the goodies I also received...

I have not had much time to create art in the past month or so, and unfortunately I probably will not have time to do so until after the first of the year. Viola's artwork and goodies have inspired me to create right now---but my muse will have to be patient and wait till I have more free time!! Again I have to say thank you, thank you, thank you Viola!! As I have told her before, we are so lucky to have the Internet available to us!! It has made this a much smaller world allowing us to become friends across the miles.