I've been tagged - again

I've been tagged by Denise at Little Bird Studio http://deniseslittlebirdiestudio.blogspot.com
Here are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


Here are my 7 random or weird things:

1. I detest beets. I mean, really can't stand them. They're beautiful and good for me, I know, but I will run from the room if someone tries to make me eat them.
2. Place in the world I would most like to visit is Ireland.
3. I was born in New Jersey, moved to California when I was 8, and it took me years to lose the accent.
4. I love roller coasters, especially the old-fashioned Coney-Island or Santa Cruz-boardwalk kind. Wuhoo!
5. I graduated from the University of California with degrees in political science and women's studies. I meant to go to law school. Got sidetracked by writing and art, truth and beauty. :)
6. I still listen to punk rock sometimes7. When I was younger, I was active in peace marches and the like. I was arrested in Tonopah, Nevada for protesting at the Nuclear Test Site.

And now 7 wonderful bloggers I am tagging:

http://anniesatticroom.blogspot.com
http://kacysmusings.blogspot.com
http://carolcsstuff.blogspot.com
http://vickiward.blogspot.com
http://goldbettyboop.blogspot.com
http://alteredartandstuff.wordpress.com
http://janenesartsngardens.blogspot.com

Stamping with found objects

This is for a swap on CC Swaps, where the theme was to stamp with found objects.

After this group's obsession with "noodle brushes" (silicon basting brushes) some months ago, I turned to the kitchen for inspiration. This little matchbooklet was stamped with a potato masher and the bottom of a salt shaker.

The text inside reads, "After discovering that one can stamp with ordinary kitchen objects, vast vistas opened up for the McCormick sisters." The main image is from The Stampsmith, with other stamps from Ma Vinci's Reliquary and Hero Arts

This was a fun piece to make!

First page in someone else's deco

We're all mad for little books, it's true. Got this book two days ago and it's going in the mail to the next person today. I got some new stamps from Innovative Stamp Creations (www.InnovativeStampCreations.com) and used them here. Did a bunch of masking and highlighted some of the images with teal and white gel ink pens.

Went with a different deco

I realized my original deco was too bulky for this swap (too heavy to mail) so I'm using this one instead. It is off overseas to its first player. It has hardware to bind it, but I'll add that and finish the covers later.

Deco Round Robin

I'm participating in my first deco (read: small decorated books) round robin. I did a spread and have mailed the book to another person, who will do a page or two, and mail it on, and so forth. There's no particular theme for these, just a fun chance to play.

Paper Weaving

There's a swap on paper weaving at the moment. Tried my hand it. These are magazine strips that were used as wipes for the paint scrape background--so they are basically smeared with acrylics in random fashion.

The first one is not quite done. The second one is my husband's valentine collage.

Recent additions to Background Noise journal

As mentioned in previous posts, I'm trying to keep up with speedy Trish Bee on the "Background Noise" challenges and journaling.

I got round to journaling the Glue Resist and Paint Scraping Backgrounds. I also added a personal one, the "Nebula Grunge" background.

More Paint Scraping

Here's another six backgrounds with the paint scraping technique I describe in the post below. The fourth one was a "smoosh" after the scrape with the one above it.

More Background Noise: Paint Scraping

Big thanks to Trish (see previous post), as this technique is very messy and one of my perennial favorites.

Squirt paints (I used a variety of acrylics) directly on paper (here, a mix of cold-press watercolor paper, canvas paper and cardstock), and scrape on and around with an old credit card. In some cases, I did a second scraping or even smooshing of the same colors with a fresh piece of paper.

Gluey Gooey Fun

I think February is just the month of backgrounds, period. I've been inking and dying a lot of paper and canvas, and my hands are all stained--always a sign of fun had! I've got quite a stash going for projects.

Tonight I'll post some of the paper backgrounds. These are glue resist backgrounds done on cardstock, and they are for another Trish Bee "Background Noise" challenge. See Trish's challenge here http://trishbee.co.uk/?p=34
And here are a few of the backgrounds. The basic idea is to smoosh (technical term) regular white PVA glue on cardstock--either randomly or in patterns, and let it dry. The glue acts like a resist when sponged with colors.

These will get added to my background noise journal.