Well I have been creating and posting it all on my Facebook page under takeoutmuse. The doodling has been added to with an obsession for canvases-stretched and panels, ranging from 4x4 to 18x24. I have transferred "Domes" onto a few painted smaller canvases in bits and pieces. Transfer onto the stretched canvas is definitely more challenging but just offers more design experiments/options.

Changing my middle name from Procrastination to Distraction

Its another new year and I'm making some creative changes. Number one-GET CREATIVE! I've signed up for swaps, challenges and even opened my Esty shop! Have one canvas on there, with a really bad pic, but have signed up for he ETSY Revolution for 2016 to get me going in right direction. Going to a scrapbook retreat the end of April and planning on Vegas for Polymer Clay in October. Why the flurry of activity? I have 3 reasons. 1) My mom was diagnosed with cancer 2 days before Christmas. She has already done 1 round of chemo and set up for the radiation next month. Cancer is nothing I can help with or control, so going to be creative, because that would make her happy. (this is why I'm "changing" my middle name to Distraction) 2) To help me lose weight. I get in the zone when I'm creating and can barely manage to drink a full cup of HOT coffee. (I've also given up processed sugar which will help alot!) I will get a work out just organizing all the supplies as its going to involve rearranging 2 rooms. 3) If I don't do something will all the supplies I've got, my bestie is going to sign me up for that show "Hoarders". Not really kidding-its kinda of overwhelming the amount of stuff I have, but I really do have plans for every bit of it. Really! How am I going to do all of this? I've got a planner, just for creative stuff with 5 sections to organize all of my creative plans. ART-for swaps & challenges CREATE-for ideas and inventory BELIEVE-for blog post ideas and dates-going for weekly INSPIRE-for class ideas, supply lists, contact info. I LOVE TEACHING. This may be my Youtube section as well FOCUS-for Etsy,so I can send off my finished projects to new homes. One of the challenges I am looking at is weekly, and I think I'm going to do it. Its for polymer clay, which I haven't played with enough, still. The idea is to pick a theme to work on and post pics to keep you accountable. Mom likes butterflies, so this maybe the theme I use. I figure if I can watch 3-4hrs of TV a night doing nothing, then I can easily get all of this done. My PVR will be working overtime. Now its time to do some non creative work, so I can be creative guilt free!

Setting a personal record by posting twice in a year. I finished another doodle, Skulls! the original is 5.5x8.5 inches, and I plan on using the all over pattern as well as bits and pieces.

What to doodle next?

I've been Zen Doodling!

I've watched alot of zentangle and zentangled inspired sketches and decided to give it a try.I started this in March and carried my sketchbook & pens with me everywhere. Alot of the doodling was done waiting for the bus, bits and pieces created 10 and 20 minutes at a time. There are bits I hated, but now I can't find them. This the most abstract artwork I've ever done and actually like. Zentangle is very definitely "zen", letting you kind of zone out and just doodle. What made this work for me was tracing the half circles all over the page and then filling them with pattern.

I shared this in Las Vegas at Clay Carnival, by printing off a laser copy and transferring the image onto raw clay. I'd had this planned for months, to create inchies to swap, with a technique I had never tried. Good thing it worked, I had no plan B! Here's some pics of the transfer in progress-which I did in my hotel room in Vegas =). (call me a Planned Procrastinator if you will)

All you need to do an image transfer to clay, is a copy of your chosen artwork printed off a laser printer (mine is a HP LaserJet P1102w and I love it) on regular printer paper, a spray bottle of water and a sheet of conditioned raw polymer clay. White or lighter colours would be the best choice for this technique. Lay the image face down on the raw clay and burnish it so that the entire surface of the image is sticking to the clay surface. Spritz it with water, enough so that you can see your image thru the paper. Then rub off the paper. Be more gentle the clearer the image gets, as you are getting right to the ink. This is the messy part, all those little bits of paper, but I was able to sweep them up pretty easily. If doing a larger piece (mine was about 10.5x7 inches) do a bit at a time. If some parts don't transfer, its simply because the image didn't burnish properly to the clay, but no worries, gives it authentic "distressed" look. There are ways to add colour, but I haven't tried that yet. I love this technique and have more doodles in the process to do it with. And pretty sure it will work with other surfaces. Cant wait to doodle and transfer some more!

Woohoo, figured out how to add the 26 Altered Card Challenge Button from Claudine! Thanks to her directions of course-now to get some preppy started, and to continue blogging!

Oooh boy its been a long long time! And it's silly, because I've talking about my since May, and am only now getting my butt in gear! I've bought a tripod for my camera, have a new laptop and a tablet, pretty much every electronic thingy I would need to do TUTORIALS! soon, very soon!

Warm Winter Wishes

Having very warm thoughts as I read my last post. Well on my way the land of forever warm when my best intentions get the best of me it seems. Ah well, to cool things off in my world.....
I did 5 craft shows this last season, and got a special order that rocked my little felt loving world. I was asked to do a sea turtle. I have always loved sea turtles, so at first I had very involved mixed media ideas. I got started with an olive green felt, played with a green blue polymer clay shell that was to have embossed tin pieces. Still sounds cool, however I kept staring at this olive green body and it wasn't working. I was to mail this off very soon in order for it to get to the gift giver in time for Christmas, so I had to get this to work.
Off to the internet I go. Hundreds of sea turtles later and inspiration hit when I got to the hatchlings!
I created a new pattern, change the colours completely. Stitched, stitched and stitched. I haven't been this happy in months-sewing by hand makes my heart happy.

Please met the first of many to come hatchlings of

Canadian Winter Sea Turtles

This little guy almost didn't make it to his new home cause I loved him so much! But I was a good girl, sent him off and now just realized the little card I attached spelled Canadian wrong- OOPs! He is numbered, stitched 1 on his tail (which was added after the photoshoot).I've got more in the works, as well as a few new "Canadian Winter Sea life" soon to be created. Now off to stitch some more-

Happy Holidays Everyone! 

I was lost, but now I am found!

Spent the better part of an hour finding my way back to my blog! Note to self, blog more often!
So here we go-

I have had the best last 2 Saturdays attending crops and reminding myself how much I love being in a creative enviroment. And that I really need to do something about my Takeout Muse business. Lucky for me, I was asked to participate in Glenmore Elementary's second craft show, April 7th. At which I will be selling kits with instructions on making various projects. I am aiming at having 10 different styles of projects, time and supplies willing. There will be beginner to more advanced-if you've ever taken a class with me, you know even the beginner kit will have lots of details!
Very much looking forward to this show and will give you more details as the date draws near.

Just before I left for last weeks crop, was checking out Tim Holtz's site, and he has a Tattered flower challenge going on. You create flowers with his Tattered Flower die and submit pics for a chance to win a $100 goodie bag-HELLO! so all over that!  Submissions have to be in by March 22nd, so get a move on! (yes, that was more self directed =).

Creative Chemistry

It has been tooo long. I did my demo for Drunk & Embossed, and it was great! A lot of fun, but right after that day, I got swamped with the bookkeeping work. Not that I should complain (something needs to support my ink habit) but I haven't been creative enough. And I've discovered it makes me CRANKY when I don't get to create.
Enough is enough-I need to play!
And now I have more reasons to-I've been asked to teach at a Creative event at the end of June, another one Mother's Day weekend and keeping fingers crossed, going to CHA in July!

To give myself a inspirational jumpstart-I signed up for Tim Holtz online course "Creative Chemistry" and have learned lots! Even though I've done the techniques before, he has explained the "whys" some things work, and some things don't. I do love this man! We are on the same creative wavelength, except he is NOT SHY about sharing all of his ideas. I can be-I second guess myself alot, about what people would like. And then kick myself alot, when Tim, or another creative artist comes out with almost the same idea I had, but just couldn't figure out how to flesh it out. I've managed to come out of my social shyness-time to come out of my creative shyness!

Almost Ready!

3 days until my first demo as TakeOut Muse! Doing "Drunk & Embossed" techniques, showing off a variety of crafted samples, and a giveaway. My takeout boxes arrived today-soo cute! Time to get those technique handouts printed and tucked into said boxes! Will post with pics once all assembled.
Welcome to TakeOut Muse!