Steampunk art

Steampunk has always fascinated me. When a art class turned up incorporated these elements into art I had to jump on it. I learned a lot in this class. Not only in how to add the elements of gears in art to create the look of Steampunk but so many details as well.
The first piece we created was this squirrel

It was a great piece to get our feet wet with adding gears into a piece but also in shading. The goggles on the squirrel is a rubber gasket used in plumbing that I painted on giving the look the depth. The second piece we worked on was this Butterfly

Making the body out of nuts, bolts and jewelry pieces was my favorite part. E600 is now my most favorite glue. Our next piece was this Owl

This piece is why I took the class. The teacher rendition of the owl was so beautiful. When it came time to actually make it I didn't think I would be able to create the eyes. I still can't believe it sometimes when I look at it. Our next piece was the beetle

I took a different approach to this piece. The instruction were more for a beetle with painted gears. I went for a mechanical beetle under construction. Out last piece was this girl

This was the hardest piece for me. I really don't draw faces well to begin with and with paint even worst. I can't tell you how many times I had to repaint her nose. I learned so much with the piece, where to put shadows and highlights and actually painting a face.

 My favorite piece that would be hard to pick between the girl, Owl and butterfly. Each of these pieces taught me something. The play of shadow and highlighting to give depth and dimension to what is being painted. I can leave out the beetle where I went in a different direction from the class.

The teacher is creating a second Steampunk class. Can't wait to see what she has in store for that one.

Thanks for stopping by
XOXO
Esther

My First Original

If you been following my blog you know I take tons of art classes on line. Yep I'm signed up for more than I can really keep up with. But they all looks soooo good {insert the little girl in me whining and a really big grin} Most of the art work I create is following the teachers instructions. One of the classes I signed up for last year, is not really art instruction but more along the lines of self development and then taking the lesson learned and creating a piece of art to represent the concept.

To say I was bit intimidated would be a major understatement. I was stuck, stuck, stuck. Create a piece from my head ....my own head.... ick And then seeing all the beautiful pieces the other ladies were posting... double ick.

Last week I decided I better get a move on, stretch my wings and just go for it. Here is what I created for Paradigm shift and the changes it has on your life when you have one.

 

The concept for the piece was easy enough. When I have had shifts in my thinking I always feels that my heart gets bigger and my capacity to love gets bigger as well. I know I wanted to use a heart to express my idea. The first two segments were easy enough to conceptulize but the last one was a bit harder. Until I thought of wings then it all came together. Now to post on the class site or not to post.... to post.

 

Thanks for stopping by

XOXO

Esther

A Summer Wreath

I saw this wreath in a LL Bean catalog.

 

I fell in love with it but I really didn't want to pay the price. I decided to make something that looked similar. After all I had tons of shells. Armed with coupons from my favorite craft store AC Moore I thought I would be able to do it for about half the price.

 I started with the twig wreath and sprayed it a linen color.

I hot glued the dried grass to the wreath. At first I was trying to glue down a bunch at a time and forcing the curve. But I found it easier to glue smaller bunches slightly fanned out.

 

 Adding the wheat and lavender in smaller bunches. Finishing it off with the shells. Here is my rendition of the wreath.

I ended up changing the starfish, the ones I had planned on using were to big for the wreath.

Here is what I learned. Don't over buy. Yep, that is what I did, I bought enough dried grass to make 2 of these wreaths. Be careful with the hot glue gun and small items. I burned myself a number of times. Lay out your design before you start gluing and glue in place. I had to move the shells around a bit after I started to glue. Luckily the glue hadn't totally dried yet and I was able to get the shells off. Yep more burns LOL. You ask did I save money? Yes but the saving was minimal, mainly because I over bought on supplies. But it was worth it. The wreath brings a smile to my face every time I come home. I'm sad that it has to come down now that fall is just around the corner.

Thanks for stopping by
XOXO
Esther

End of Summer BBQ

I've been doing an End of Summer BBQ's for a number of years now. It started with a farewell BBQ for my Cousin. She was here in NY doing her Veterinary residency. When she got a permanent position back in California I threw her a congrats...so sad to see you go BBQ.   About three years ago I started adding a theme to the BBQ's. For that year I created a Farmhouse theme.

I had tons of Sunflowers baskets it was simple and relaxed. Last year I did a beach theme. (Sorry no pics) with seashells, grasses and a body-board to add to the atmosphere. This year was Tuscany.

 I made toparies and grape vines.

 I had so much fun. Here are a few pictures of the day

I learned that deciding on the theme far ahead gave me th speace to really enjoy everything I did. Not to mention waiting for sales and taking advantage of coupons. I was able to work on all the design with so much ease. I enjoyed thinking about ideas, daydreaming on how to set everything up and creating. I learned so much as well, like sticky backed moss doesn't mean it sticks to everything. oh and the hot glue gun. That is a story for another day...

 hmm now to start thinking about a theme for next year....

Thanks for stopping by
XOXO
Esther

Where did the summer go..

Where did the summer go.... I've been super busy this summer working on the landscaping around the house.  Funny thing was I only wanted to do this small area of the yard.

 Every time I set out to work on that particular area. I would start somewhere else with all intentions of working on my little area in... just... a... minute. Well just a minute was 3 months later. But it is finally done. Super happy with the results. One of the things that lead me to want to work on this sections was the Irises. When I first bought the house there were about 10 of them scattered about in that section of yard. Over the years they were taking over the area. Last year I had pulled out about 50 plants. This year I pulled out about another 100.

I gave them all away via craig's list. I made quite a few people happy. I moved a bunch of the Irises along the fence. And some were left in the original home

 

 

In the back I added much needed weed control.



Next year I will really get to see if my vision was realize. If every thing comes back. LOL Here are some after photo. Enjoy!!

Thanks for stopping by

XOXO
Esther

Valentine's Day Card

This year's Valentine Day cards were a blast to make. The ideas came rather quickly which I can't say always happens. My usual process is to gather all the stamps that I have for the type of card I want to make. And of course the gather process most times includes going to the craft store. Buying a new set or two to add to the growing variety of stamps I already have. This sometimes sparks the creative juice and an idea will pop into my head right there on the spot. That is what happened for the card I'm going to share with you.

The stamp set I bought this year looked like postage stamps and I thought it would be cute to create a card of a envelope you might receive for Valentine Day.

 

I also picked up little coin envelopes from staples to complete the look. Are they so cute and tiny. I punched out a bunch of hearts for my orginal idea of hearts bursting out of the envelope. As you will see that was not how the card ended up.

 



 

In order to add some dimension and texture, I decided to antique the coin envelope. Once I had added the color to the envelopes I changed direction from the original idea of having hearts poping out of the card to the look below. I also layered it on book paper and coordinating scrapbook paper in order to give it the look of being on top of a pile of mail just brought in from the mailbox.

 

 

The coin envelopes were sealed with a kiss from the set of stamps that set the inspiration in motion.  I really enjoyed making this card for my friends and family. It really brings me so much joy to create something for them on each of the holidays.

 

I hope your Valentine's Day was filled with love and gratitude from your friends and family.

 

Thanks for stopping by.....

XOXO

Esther





Hoppin John Soup

I’ve been wanting for several years to cook a good luck meal for the New Year. I decide to final do it this year. I had read somewhere that a New Year meal to bring luck should consist of Black eye peas for Money, greens also for money and pork for progress amongst other things.

I found this recipe in Southern Living that consisted of those very ingredients.

 

I was super excited to try the soup. I never used smoked turkey before. I found out later the brand you use makes a big difference in taste. The one I used was soooo salty. The beans tasted wonderful  when I tried them before I added the rest of the ingredients. I was also surprised how quickly they cooked. I'm so use to soaking beans overnight and was a little skeptical that I didn't have to do that for this recipe. They did take a full hour rather than the 45 minutes stated in the recipe. But that could have been how high I had the flame. But when I added the turkey and the ham to the soup. The soup came out very salty. I think had I not added the turkey at the end the soup would have been fine. I learned I could have added a potato to the soup and that would have soaked up some of the salt. I never got to try it out, I already had two meals with it as it was and just couldn't face another if the potato didn't work.

 

I later found out that poultry shouldn't be used for a New Year meal. Because they scratch backwards it is believed it would bring upon regret or dwelling on the past. Hmmmm.... maybe that is why the soup was so salty LOL.

Here is the link for the recipe.
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/hoppin-john-soup-50400000125886/

Here is the recipe just in case.

• 1/2 (16-oz.) package dried black-eyed peas, rinsed and sorted
• 2 pounds smoked turkey wings
• 1/3 cup finely chopped country ham
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
• 2 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 celery rib, diced
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 (16-oz.) package fresh collard greens, trimmed and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• Hot cooked brown rice
  Cornbread Croutons
• Flat-leaf parsley leaves

Preparation

1. 1. Bring peas, turkey wings, and 6 cups water to a boil in a large Dutch oven. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer 45 minutes or until peas are tender, skimming any foam from surface. Drain peas, reserving 1 1/4 cups liquid. Remove turkey meat from bones. Chop meat.
2. 2. Sauté ham and next 7 ingredients in hot oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add peas, reserved 1 1/4 cups liquid, turkey meat, collards, hot sauce, and 6 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Stir in vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf. Serve over rice with Cornbread Croutons and parsley.

Thanks for stopping by..
XOXO
Esther