The Queen's Court

Potato and, ummmmm, Cheese Soup

2011-03-19T18:41:00.000-07:00

So I clipped a recipe out of the April Issue of Better Homes and Gardens for Potato-Cheddar Soup. For a while now I've been trying very hard to make meals out of real ingredients so I know what's actually in them. A move toward "real food" if you will. Soups have been of particular interest because I usually detest canned soups. I intended to follow the recipe as faithfully as I could, but lacking some of what I needed I improvised. What I got was still a very delicious, and vegetarian if you're into that, homemade soup.

Potato-Cheese Soup

1 28 ounce package frozen diced hash brown potatoes
1 cup chopped miniature sweet peppers (I only had a green and yellow bell pepper, both of which worked fine)
3 cups fat-free half-and-half (I used whole milk here and just eliminated the 1/2 cup water added in the first step)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon curry powder (didn't have it)
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (which I did have and added a little more of)
6 oz. shredded cheddar cheese (we'll get to that in a minute....)

In a 4 quart Dutch oven (or soup pot) combine potatoes, sweet (or bell) peppers, half-and-half (or whole milk), salt, curry powder, cayenne, and 1/2 cup water (which I left out because of the milk). BGring to just boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, over medium heat 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly.

Carefully transfer about half of soup mixture to a blender, add 1/2 cup water and blend until nearly smooth. Return to Dutch oven, stil to combine. Cook and stir over low heat until heated through. Stir in cheese until melted.

Top servings with sliced sweet peppers and parsley (which I never do).

A note about cheese: when I made this I had no cheddar cheese in my house. What I did have were some slightly old but still good slices of deli white American cheese. I think I threw in about 6 or 8 slices, which worked great. I considered a smoked cheese, but didn't have any left to try out. I also put chopped spinach in my soup, but I put chopped spinach in almost everything.

Excuse me Ma'am, but could you try not to be so creepy?

2011-02-08T20:03:00.000-08:00

So, I'm playing this wild west video game called Red Dead Redemption- which I recommend to anyone who likes gaming. Tonight, the kids were all in bed and the house was quiet except for the wind outside and my snoring dogs. I've got my video game guy in a field looking through a scoped sniper rifle for beaver (snicker here) so that I can take the pelts back to a dude to make some glue for an airplane out of them. Not kidding- it's part of a challenge. Anyway, this Mexican Nun starts talking behind my guy asking for a donation. I swear I jumped, and I almost had my guy shoot the Nun. Seriously, this game has cougars (snicker again) that jump out and attack you and kill your horse as well as bears, wolves, and other crazy creatures that try to kill you constantly. What is wrong with this Nun, what is she crazy? What is wrong with me that I felt I had to write an entire blog post about it? I'm not sure, but I think I might need to put the controller down for the evening. Although, I never did get all the beaver pelts I needed....

Candy is Sweet but Kisses are Sweeter...

2010-12-08T20:42:00.000-08:00

A week ago I was talking my 8-year-old- she was having trouble falling asleep and wanted to know what she should do. I was half-asleep myself, but I told her to think of things that aren't important, make up stories about wonderful adventures or invent things that don't exist yet. Then I said "Wouldn't it be nice if there was a Hershey's Kiss made out of dark chocolate and mint? Doesn't that sound really tasty?" She agreed, and then I left her to fall asleep.

Santa must have been listening, because today I went to Target and there on the shelf in the candy aisle were the very Hershey's Kisses I'd described. See, kids, dreams do come true.

At least the ones you have about candy.

Atypical Holiday Movies

2010-10-18T07:29:00.000-07:00

While it's a bit early for holiday stuff, I've been considering what sort of films I might like to watch to get me in the spirit when the time comes. I considered all the usual ones (It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, etc.) and, while they'll be available all over my television when the time comes, I started thinking maybe there were alternatives to the films my kids will make me watch repeatedly this season (like The Santa Claus). While some of these are becoming regular holiday fare, many of them are just what I like to watch. If you have favorites that I haven't included, feel free to let me know in the comments.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation- Okay, this was an easy one, but I think it's important to acknowledge that so many holiday films overlook how stressful, annoying, and frustrating the season can really be sometimes. This movie mananges to convey that with humor, but also leave you with the understanding that it does not, in fact, have to be perfect to be memorable and full of love. Bonus points for the sheer joy of watching the obnoxious yuppie couple next door and, of course, Randy Quaid's clueless Cousin Eddie.
Band of Brothers- This was hubby's entry. He's watched this miniseries many a holiday break from work. While most of the series is set in other seasons, my favorite episodes take place in snowy Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. I recommend this series to everyone to watch at any time, but there's no time like the holidays to stop and appreciate that theses guys lived in a freezing cold foxhole for weeks in support of what is right and good in the world.
Trading Places- This movie does have sort of a loose holiday theme going on and Dan Akroyd as a drunken Santa. If you gloss over the absurd train scenes, this is a great movie that makes you want to cheer just a little bit at the end when...well, I won't give it away.
The Nightmare Before Christmas- This is a great one for my kids because they can watch it from Halloween through Christmas and the songs are catchy and fun. I love this as an alternative to some of the more lame holiday stuff (I mentioned The Santa Claus already, right?) and my oldest loves anything by Tim Burton.
Die Hard- This one is my favorite. Los Angeles! Guns, festive explosions, and terrorists! What more could a holiday movie need? (One of my favorite parts- the Asian terrorist perusing candy bars while waiting to ambush John McClane). The second movie is holiday themed, too, but I wouldn't recommend it. Watch 3 and 4 in your air conditioned house in the summertime.
Scrooged- Again, this one might be obvious, but it's still a funny, subversive take on the classic Christmas Carol story. (My favorite Christmas Carol version? The one with George C. Scott as Scrooge. It's the creepiest one that scared the pants off of me as a kid.)

Well, that's all I've got so far. I'll post and update if I think of any more.

You know, Victoria, it's not really a secret.

2010-09-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

I get both the Victoria's Secret and Frederick's of Hollywood catalogs in the mail. I think most adults know what is contained within the pages of these catalogs- Victoria's secret is not a well kept one. So why, I wonder, do they feel they need to airbrush all the nipples off their models? It's absurd. It's down right creepy when they do it to women wearing see-through outfits- leaving the nipple free breasts exposed. We have enough uptight nudity issues in this country, but now we're pretending that women don't have nipples? Perhaps this is why public breastfeeding is such a touchy subject- we'd have to acknowledge where that milk actually comes from.

Here's a clue: if you have issues with nudity, partial or otherwise, don't get the catalogs. If you are worried about your young children seeing them, don't get the catalogs. If you're concerned your mail carrier will turn into a perv delivering the catalogs, DON'T GET THE CATALOGS!

Beggars can be whatever they want.

2010-09-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

There's a older man that hangs out in the parking lot of our local all-in-one shopping establishment with his dog, a full grown boxer (maybe a mix). I've seen him a few times and deduced that he's either a) homeless, b) jobless, c) bored or d) any or all of the above. Either way, today I thought maybe he and his pooch could use a little lunch so while I was in the store I got one of those Lunchable sandwich packs and a cheap can of dog food (with the flip-top just in case he didn't have a can opener). As I was leaving, I drove by where he sits and offered the food to both of them. He graciously took the sandwich, but refused the dog food saying his dog couldn't eat that brand because she was on a special diet. I asked what kind she eats and he told me. I told him I would try to remember that next time.

As I drove away, I have to admit, I was a bit confused by this exchange. Really Old-Man-who-hangs-out-in-a-parking-lot-all-day, you're going to turn down free dog food? But the more I considered it the more I could see why. Maybe she's got health problems and needs a better class of food. Maybe she's the only thing he's got in this world and he'll do whatever it takes to keep her happy and healthy and living as long as he can- including spending any money he has on the good food. Maybe he just simply refuses to let his circumstances prevent him from properly caring for his pet.

To this I say: No problem, Dude. You just keep on doing your thing and next time I'll get your dog some better food.

Kid-Friendly Applesauce

2010-08-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

Although it's not officially fall yet, my apple trees are already dropping more fruit than I can find uses for. I made an apple pie, crock-pot apple butter and after I borrowed a friends dehydrator (she had used it to make me some dried apple chunks) made my own fruit leather.

It was during these many experiments with all things apple that I came up with a recipe for applesauce that my kids love.

Cherry Applesauce

Four cups peeled sliced apples
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 package of Cherry Kool-Aid (or flavor of choice)

Place peeled and sliced apples and water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cover and cook until apples are soft, about 15 minutes. Remove apples from heat and pour into a blender or food processor. Add sugar and 1 tsp of Cherry Kool-Aid powder. Puree mixture until smooth and refrigerate.

I like to pour mine into small, single-serving tupperware cups before I refrigerate them so that my kids can just take out a cup to eat, but anything you can put in the fridge would work. Also, because I don't like to waste anything (and it's too hot to stand over a stove), I've made large batches of this in the crock pot and then canned it. If you have the space, it could easily be frozen- Ball makes a good freezer container that mimics the size of a jar and stacks for better storage.

So, let's hear it for no more buying applesauce in containers that may or may not be recycleable/reusable! Let's hear it for using up what nature has so freely provided! Let's hear it for Kool-Aid!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some more apples to peel...

Oh, Cholesterol!

2010-05-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor recently to have my cholesterol checked. I hadn't been to the doctor in years for anything non-baby related so I thought I should have it checked out. Turns out that, while the levels are within acceptable limits, they are still a bit high (and low for the "good kind", HDL). I'd had slightly high numbers years ago, in my 20's, but the doctor attributed them to my failing to observe the fasting rules (I had a glass of milk within the 12 hour window) and let it go.

This time though, no excuse for nearly-failing the test. I've been trying to eat right for a while: substituting turkey for beef, adding more varied vegetables and having more salad and using olive oil instead of other oils or butter. What I didn't know, though, was that the unfiltered coffee I'd been drinking twice a day could have caused my numbers to be higher. Apparently, coffee has an oil in it that, if ingested in enough quantities, can raise a person's cholesterol. Okay, fine, less unfiltered coffee. (Notice, though, I didn't say none :))

I'm also learning a lot about what cholesterol even is and what sort of foods have a lot of it. Dairy products, including the cheese I love so much, has a ton of it. So does beef, lamb (which I adore despite feeling guilty about it), eggs and pretty much anything oily and fried. Some of these things I can cut back on or do without; some of them are more difficult to let go of.

My doctor also suggested I try adding red wine (I like white) and some juices to my diet. His biggest push was for exercise. I asked him if chasing three kids around the house counted, and he sort of chuckled. I also told him that there are no gyms here that have child care. He asked me if I had a stroller big enough for all of them to walk around the neighborhood. Obviously, he didn't have any kids, or clearly hadn't spent any time raising them if he did. I have a hard enough time getting the three of them in the car to go someplace. Forget about taking them while I exercise.

So now I have to work in exercise (which I try to do, but not very sucessfully) and eat right (which I've been doing, but apparently not well enough). On second thought, maybe it would just be easiest to start driking copious amounts of red wine...

The loss of the my friend, the DVR.

2010-05-05T06:12:00.000-07:00

So, I lost the record function (and all of the recorded shows) on my DVR recently. After my initial round of cursing I called the company to get a new one and set about trying to catch up on the shows I've missed and find out where to watch this weeks episodes until my new DVR comes in. I would watch most of them live, except that I'm in the mountain time zone and everything comes on a 6 pm when my kids are still awake.

Anyway, this little debacle has led me to find the best places online to watch the shows I missed and I thought I would share which websites were the most helpful in my endeavor.

The CW- There are only two shows on the CW that I watch, and both had full episodes available for viewing. Supernatural (the best show on television) had the two latest episodes available and the Vampire Diaries had an impressive four. I had to download their special viewer to watch, but the video was clear (even in full-screen mode), ran without many interruptions and only had some minor sound match-up issues. It makes sense that this site is user-friendly, flashy, and up-to-date: the network's target audience is pretty young and expects that sort of thing. Overall, this was a good experience for viewing online content. Which brings me to....

CBS- I was not impressed with website of this major network. While it was easy enough to find what I was looking for, the video playback of the episode of How I Met Your Mother was poor and had some streaming issues (it kept stopping on me). The episode of Medium I watched was better, but the insertion of commercials was choppy and weird. My biggest complaint, however, is that full episodes of The Big Bang Theory are inexplicably absent from the site. There are highlight clips, but if you want to watch the whole thing, you're out of luck. I did take full advantage of the site's feedback function (at the very bottom of the home page) and complained about this. No clue whether anyone will read it though.

ABC- This network site is tons better than CBS. It boast episodes of most of it's shows about 5 deep and for it's best show, Lost, there are an unprecedented 138 episodes (all of them!)available to watch, including the one that aired only last night. The quality was good, the commercials were not annoying, and overall I'm pretty happy with the offererings on this website and the player worked well with minimal issue.

NBC- This site is noteworthy, not because it boasts full episodes of it's shows (it does) but because it also has full episodes of it's past favorites as well. I stared in wonder at the idea that I could watch old episodes of The A-Team, Miami Vice, Quantum Leap, and quite randomly, Charles in Charge. I could easily waste many hours at my desk watching my old favorites, or getting into new ones, like Parenthood, that I was interested in but didn't start watching due to scheduluing conflicts.

Fox- I've used Fox before to try to keep up with episodes of Fringe when they moved it to the too-crowded Thursday time slot. It didn't work, not because of the site or the video player, but because I just couldn't sit and watch that many episodes on my computer and got behind. Good for catching up on your favorites, but not for staying with the shows you're not really watching on the TV (even if you would if they were in a different time slot...) For those, I'll wait until they come out on DVD and get them from Netflix like I do for the great HBO shows I like to watch but am too cheap to pay for.

TNT- A great network known for it's unique, edgy programming and for saving shows that didn't do so well on other networks (most notably Southland). Functional, not too flashy website
with full episodes of their shows and the shows they run in syndication in the daytime (ER, Supernatural, Angel and others). It takes a bit for a recently aired episode to show up on the site, but that's okay: I'll wait.

The History Channel and F/X both have full episodes of shows as well, and their sites are pretty basic and user-friendly. My biggest dissappointment was BBC America, where my kids and I get our Doctor Who fix. No full episodes here, only clips and previews. To get the full episode I was missing I had to go to ITunes and download it for $3.00. ITunes is great in a pinch, but the download times are long and the episodes a bit pricey. They play well, though, and you get an HD version of the show with the download if you're into that. You can also go to Hulu and watch a lot of episodes, but they are usually limited to whatever is already available on each networks websites.

Well, hopefully losing my DVR won't happen again for a while, but it's nice now I know where I can go to get the episodes I've missed and what to expect when I get there.

I've been away awhile...

2008-09-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

...but now I'm back! Although, I have to admit I have no new art to post just yet as I'm still unpacking the boxes. We just completed a cross country move and we now live in sunny Clovis New Mexico. It's been a bit of an adjustment for all of us, not to mention a completely chaotic couple of months. I am hoping though that the change is just what I need to jump-start my creativity and get things going again. Hopefully I'll be back here in a day or two to show off something new- or at least report that I found all my supplies!

Anyway, not to leave you totally without eye candy, here is a photo of the newest member of our family, or Germen Shepherd puppy Sasha. Enjoy, and I'll see you back here soon.

Amy

Trying to get back in the groove.

2008-03-10T16:41:00.001-07:00

So, I've been trying very hard to get out of my "winter rut" when it comes to my art. I haven't been very inspired lately- despite studying and reading through art magazines and books, poking through my supplies, and pretty much just trying to "work though" on some projects.

Maybe it's spring, but I think I'm coming around. I made this 4x4 chunky book page for a personal swap on the ATCsforAll website. I really like the way it turned out. The gold is embossing powder that I sprinkled in glue before heating.

Maybe it's The Wizard of Oz.

ATC Website Changes

2008-02-21T08:17:00.000-08:00

One of the websites I used to trade ATCs on, ATCards.com, recently closed down. I will miss it, but the members of that site have banded together to create ATCsforall.com. It's very similar with a few changes, mostly for the better. I am excited that the people I have traded with in the past are migrating there and I can't wait to start trading again!

Here is a card I made for the ATCSociety Yahoo group to which I belong.

The background is alcohol ink overstamped in gold with a hand carved stamp. The rest is collage and tons of glitter.

Amy

Fairy Sleep

2008-01-19T12:20:00.001-08:00

FairySleep
Originally uploaded by queenoffools1974.

Lately I've been into this Gothic Arch shape (find the template and many inspiring ideas here at artist Belinda Schneider's blog). I posted one of these a while back and decided to use the shape again for my entry into a paper crafts challenge on Craftster using sheet music. It took me a while to put the finishing touches on it- almost to the point of missing the entry deadline.

Better late than never.

Amy

New Year, New Look!

2008-01-14T05:49:00.001-08:00

I'm playing around with the look of the blog and trying to add more artistic flair to it. Bear with me as it might look different with every visit. I'm still trying to figure it out.

In the meantime, enjoy some hearts I've been working on in preparation for Valentine's Day. The template for these hearts was designed by OriginalYouth and can be found here along with information about swaps she is hosting.

Have fun,
Amy

Free Images!

2007-12-15T12:09:00.000-08:00

Just to let you know, artist Lisa Vollrath is offering a countdown of new holiday images every day until Christmas at her Go Make Something website. You must post a link to the countdown in your own blog or art group somewhere, but otherwise these images are free!

Amy

Long Time, No Post.

2007-12-13T16:32:00.000-08:00

Hey there! It's been quite a while since I've posted on here, but with the holiday season and my daughter in school it seems I have less time than usual (you would think with her gone all day I would have more time, but it doesn't seem to work out that way!).

Anyway, I've been pretty busy making ornaments and trying to put together some gift baskets. These ornaments are paper mache and I got them at Michael's. the first one I painted and added the images. The glittery writing was a sort of rub-on kit that included glitter that you pat onto the letters (sorry about the glare on the photo):

This one was also painted, and then I cut a niche out of it to slide a matchbox into. Then I glued the image on and hot glued the shells around it. There is also ribbon around the outside edge. (I got this idea from the latest issue of Somerset Studio).

*Edited to add the following photos:

This one I embroidered from a pattern I got here. He took a while, but I think he's pretty cute.

Well, there they are- I hope you like them. I plan on posting more ornaments I've made soon- these are made of embroidered felt. In the meantime, I hope your holidays aren't too stressful!

Amy

Gothic Arch

2007-10-17T07:57:00.001-07:00

Gothic Arch
Originally uploaded by queenoffools1974.

I made this for a swap in a group I belong to on Yahoo. It was really fun to make too, so much that I want to make a lot more for a book like THIS.

To start, I painted the whole card a charcoal color then stamped the tombstone. I then masked the tombstone and painted gesso over the rest of the card to lighten the gray. I over stamped (with the mask in place) some background writing using a gold paint pen.

I then went over that with the same gray toned down with some glaze medium. I laid a paper towel over the top while it was wet then peeled it off to take some of the glaze off and give it some texture.

I added the boy, wings, and the clock rub-on (7Gypsies) and then highlited some areas with a pencil, rubbing it around to give it some shading. I then went over the whole card with some gel medium- again using the paper towel trick to give it texture.

That's it! I hope you enjoy.

Amy

NightOwlPhoto

2007-10-16T06:35:00.001-07:00

NightOwlPhoto
Originally uploaded by queenoffools1974.

Well, I finally finished the altered canvas collage I've been working on for a couple of weeks now. I feel like it's missing something, but I always feel like that so I probably won't add anything to it (except a sealant).

To make this, I tore some very cool 7Gypsies paper lengthwise and glued it all over the board until I was happy with it, then covered the white torn bits with black ink and some acrylic paint where I felt it needed it. I then painted the moon and used a paper towel to sponge off some of the paint. Then I put a glittery glaze over the moon for a bit of sparkle.

The owl and branch I painted last in black with shading the same color as the moon. I also edged the canvas with black paint. This is the first canvas that came out roughly the way I saw it in my head. I can't wait to make more of these.

Amy

Vintage Halloween Challenge Entry

2007-10-03T07:21:00.001-07:00

This card was my entry for this months ATC Challenge on Craftster.org. It was done with alcohol inks for the background, rubber stamping that I then wet to age it, and a rub-ons for the fence and border on the top. I'm kept feeling like it needed something else, but I couldn't figure out what. I just left it as is.

This was my "alternate" choice. The kids are pretty creepy, but I didn't really like how busy they looked over the background.

Amy

Three Birds

2007-10-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

These cards were really fun to make. I first stamped the bird image (Martha Stewart Crafts at Michael's) and then painted them with different colors of Twinkling H2O paints. I then stamped the bird again on a scrap piece of cardstock and used it as a mask so I could stamp the words over the top. Fun, easy, and addictive- plan to make similar cards like this with some other stamps I have. I'll let you know how it goes.

Amy

More fun with Alcohol inks!

2007-09-10T05:53:00.000-07:00

Here are two more ATC's I made using alcohol inks and rubber stamps. I love the colors you can get from even a limited palette of inks.

Well, I'm off now to start work on some creepy themed art for Halloween, my favorite holiday!

Happy crafting,
Amy

Finally, some new ATC's!

2007-09-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

So, last week I went to The Artist's Oasis where I attend ATC club meetings and get cool supplies. I picked up some alcohol inks and blending solution (both Adirondack brand) and started experimenting. I didn't have any glossy cardstock so I used some 4x6 glossy photo paper. I used the Pesto and the Espresso that came in the kit to get the backgrounds for these. After that it was just a matter of printing the images on the photo paper, cutting them to size and distressing the edges (Ranger Distress Ink). I plan to do a bunch more of these because I love they way they came out. There's also a Raisin color that came in the kit. I'll let you know how it goes.

Photo Fun

2007-08-23T07:25:00.001-07:00

This is a photo of my children, Maddy (nearly 5) and Vincent (newly 1) at the shore in Ocean City, Maryland two weeks ago. They had a great time, despite the sometimes-overcast weather.

This is a photo of my husband Brian as a kid at the Jersey shore. This picture was pretty damaged, so I had to do some altering to get it to look okay. I used the free Gimp program.

This is a postcard that my Mother-in-Law and I discovered while searching through boxes of pictures. This is my husband's Great-Grandfather, Peter.

These are two unknown relatives.

Both of these images can be found in the Flikr Collage Images Group, a great resource for vintage images to use in artwork.

Lazy, Part 2....

2007-08-01T07:25:00.000-07:00

Still not up to a whole lot lately aside from spending quality time with my kids. Reading, in my spare time, or watching seasons of television shows that I've missed. It's far too hot to spend much time outside, but we managed to got to the playground and get out a bit. I've been working on a couple of projects, journaling, and mostly puttering around art-wise, but I haven't done much I feel like posting yet. Soon, I hope.

I did make it to the ATC Club meeting at a place called the Artist's Oasis in Apex, NC. I had a lot of fun and met some very nice ladies. It's nice to meet with real live people to talk about the techniques and art in general. I also picked up some great stuff in the store- at a discount, even, because of the club. I can't wait to go again next month and swap some cards this time!

This is what I've been working on while watching old seasons of the (now cancelled) Veronica Mars. I have to be doing something with my hands while I sit and it seemed like sprucing up an old pair of jeans in the process was a good idea. The patterns come from Jenny Hart's Stitch-It Kit. Great patterns (can't wait to get more!) and even instructions if you don't know how to embroider already (or forgot how, like I did).

Well, that's all I have now. Let the laziness resume....

Amy

Lazy Summer

2007-07-22T16:56:00.000-07:00

Hey there! It occured to me that I haven't written anything on here for a while so I thought I would check in. The main reason is that it's summer and, though my husband is overseas, there seems to be no end to the summer activities and distractions that keep me busy. I'm taking a bit of a break from swaps and creating in general just to recharge and indulge in more leisurely pursuits.

For example, this last week was "Harry Potter" week. I splurged on a babysitter and went to the movie and then, although it arrived at my doorstep only yesterday, finished the last book in the series in a 24-hour frenzy of laughter, tears, and little sleep. It was, by the way, totally worth it.

So, while I prepare to spend a week at the beach and send my daughter off to her first day of kindergarten next month, I'm turning over ideas in my head and contentedly browsing through art magazines from the comfort of my living room couch. I know I'll be back at it soon, and in the meantime, stay tuned later this week for a report on my first ever "live" trading session/meeting regarding ATC's at a Artist's store a few towns over. I'm very excited about it and, who knows, maybe it will be the jolt I need to get up off the couch and get cracking!

Amy

Heart in a Jar

2007-07-05T12:20:00.001-07:00

HeartJar
Originally uploaded by queenoffools1974.

This was a card I made a week or two ago (I'm posting now because it's been recieved). I glued fabric to a piece of watercolor paper, folded the sides and ends to the back and glueing as well. Then I stitched the red fabric heart to the card. I then stitched a cut out transparency of a jar over the top of that so you could see the heart sort of floating in the jar. I then embroidered a blanket stitch around the whole card.

I've been making a lot more fabric cards lately and playing with the transparencies is fun, too. I just recently picked up the book 1000 Artist Trading Cards by Patricia Bolton (Editor of Cloth,Paper, Scissors and Quilting Arts magazines) and there are a lot of examples of fabric ATCS that have inspired me to do more.

Lastly, to all of you who read and are fans of my tiny little blog (especially you Pattyjo)- Thank you! It means a lot to be able to share my work with you.

Amy

Card Making Walk-Through

2007-06-19T14:37:00.000-07:00

I put this walk-through of how I made this card on ATCards.com so I thought I would post it here as well.

I started with a card base of pretty cheap watercolor paper and put a layer of acrylics and glaze medium. At first was too dark (it looked like suede, though, which I liked) so I added some lighter shades and a layer of gel medium until I got this:

Then, I did the image transfer. This was actually my second attempt to transfer this image (the first image didn't transfer very well, which is fine because I decided I wanted it bigger anyway). Here is the image:

And here is the card after the transfer:

It's really not a very clear transfer, but for my purposes that was perfect. I like to make cards that look like I "uncovered" the photo so the fact that it looked a bit scratched and faded was fine.I put another layer of gel medium over the transfer to protect it for the next step. After that was dry, I put a layer of vaseline over the part of the image I still wanted to see, then I very lightly put a layer of school glue over the whole card and a layer of antique gold metallic paint over that for a crackle effect. This all has to be done rather carefully because you don't want the paint and the glue to mix. In the end, however, this particular card did not crackle very well, but it did sort of bubble and took on a roughed up look that I liked.

I decided that it was too gold so I used my finger to add some brown ink to sort of age the gold. I decided it need more, though, so I covered the image again with vaseline and stamped a background stamp over the whole thing with the brown and the wiped the vaselined area clean again (this trick is great if you want to go back and add something to the card but don't necessarily want it everywhere).

After all of that, I stamped a couple of swirls with gold ink and added the nameplate and distressed word (Restoration) to the card. I also decided that the brown edging of the card was too dark so I inked the edges with the gold. This is the final card (big photo so you can see it):

PinkLadies

2007-05-09T18:29:00.001-07:00

These were made for no special reason except that I was feeling sort of pink today. The words are from the Aerosmith song.

I put a pink watercolor wash onto cardstock, collaged the ladies using pink scrapbook papers (Daisy D's) and vintage images for the faces. Then I outlined them with Staedtler watercolor crayons in light magenta. I originally made the lines and words with a pink and red gel pen, but then I went over the words again with the crayon to blend everything.

These cards were heavily influenced by the style of Teesha Moore, a fabulous artist whose work I admire very much. Her art can be found at http://www.teeshamoore.com/.

Hey, I joined the Carnival!

2007-05-03T05:02:00.000-07:00

Craft Critique, a blog about all things crafty is having an Altered Items Carnival. Go here to check it out. Make sure you look at some of the other articles they have on there, too, as there are a ton of great suggestions for craft supplies as well as what to do with them.

Scrabble Charm

2007-04-30T19:45:00.000-07:00

This week, in addition to working on my house and other ATCS for swaps, I've also been making altered Scrabble tile charms. After a few practice tries, it turned out to be a pretty simple undertaking.

I sanded the front, back, and sides of the tile and then painted the whole thing a pretty metallic green color. For the front, I collaged the boy and his hat on a piece of scrapbook paper cut slightly smaller than the tile itself and glued the whole thing to the side with the letter on it.

I outlined the boy and the paper with a gold metallic gel pen and added small punched out stars on the back so it wasn't plain. After drilling a small hole, I coated all sides with a good couple coats of varnish, letting it dry between coats (the longest part of the whole process).

After it was totally dry, I made a bead dangle and attached it with a jump ring. I also included a lobster claw clasp so it can easily be attached or removed without opening the jump ring. I wrote my name with a ultra fine pen on the bottom edge of the tile where it wouldn't really be seen.

That's it! My initial mistakes included covering both sides of the paper (which was then ruined every time I drilled a hole) and attempting to work with the tile when the varnish wasn't totally dry. Other than that, they were fun to make and I can't wait to see what goodies I get when these get swapped out.

Finished House

2007-04-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

Well, as promised, here are photos of one of my finished house cards- inside and out. I just added some German Scrap border, the woman's picture, words and a tiny gem. I wasn't quite happy with it, though, until I added a bit more in the window area.

I know, I know-the scans are crooked. My scanner is pretty cheap and so cannot scan straight no matter what I do.

Simple House ATC

2007-04-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

So, I joined a swap on ATCards.com with the theme of houses. I've seen some gorgeous cards on there (some of which are listed in my Wists) and while I want to be able to make cards like that, I decided to do something different. I wanted a card that looked like a house, but opened to reveal what was inside. I started with a 3 and a half by 5 inch piece of card stock weight scrapbook paper (like this crossword puzzle print).

I folded it in half lengthwise and marked a triangle at the top to cut out for the roof. I also cut the front triangle off so the front is a square and the back is the house shape.

I then unfolded the card and glued a coordinating paper to the other side, being careful to use a bone folder to re-fold the card so it closes.

That's it for the basic card. I went further with these and covered half of a paper slide mount with another coordinating paper for the window and edged the whole card with red stamp ink for contrast.

Now all that's left is to add the images I want in the window and any other embellishements and they will be ready to go.

Charm

2007-04-21T17:48:00.001-07:00

Charm
Originally uploaded by queenoffools1974.

I had orginally decided not to post this because I considered it a failure. Then I realized that maybe my failures could be as helpful as any other sort of tutorial I could post.

I had a bunch of flat-backed glass marbles laying around and wanted to try to make something new out of them. I've made magnets and even hair pins with them, but I saw this technique to make jewelry charms out of them in Josie Cirincione's book Collage Lost and Found.

It involved gluing an image to the back of the marble (which I had already been doing for the magnets) and then soldering the back with a small hook. As you can see from the photo, I put the foil tape and the hook on just like the pictures in the book.

My trouble involved the soldering. I had to use two different soldering irons because the first one kept blowing fuses in my house. The second one I used was made for automotive work, so the results were less than pretty. I tried my best to smooth it out, but the whole thing has a generally lumpy appearance.

It's passable as a charm and I guess it would be considered "rustic". I haven't given up yet, though. My next attempt at soldering involves only straight lines. Maybe that will help.

TwoOwls

2007-04-19T10:43:00.001-07:00

TwoOwls
Originally uploaded by queenoffools1974.

I made these two cards as I was just going through my stuff and finding things that matched. I posted them on ATCards.com and they were spoken for within a couple of hours. There are so many beautiful hand drawn and painted cards on that site it makes me feel honored that my little collages are wanted.

I've also figured out that I can trade my ATCS or my extra stuff for things that I want. I put a list of haves (like endless paper) and wants (like microscope slides) on there and, Voila! People are offering me things I want in exchange for things they want. Barter at it's best. I wonder if there are more forums where I can trade my stuff....

Rainy Day

2007-04-11T05:30:00.000-07:00

It's raining today, and it's very dark outside. Weather like this always makes me want to nap, paint/draw, read, or go to the bookstore. I'm sure everyone feels they want to do certain things depending on the weather- if it's nice, for instance, they want to go to the beach or a park. Rain sort of makes you slow down (much like winter does) and simply find something quiet and comtemplative to do. These are days that my whole family can spend hours in different rooms with their own pursuits (even the nine-month-old) and be content. We're all here together, but there's no push to be connected and engaged at all times.

I like the rain, and the thinking and dreaming that comes with it.

2007-04-05T08:06:00.000-07:00

Here is what it would look like if my work was in a museum. It's sort of inspirational.

These are my kids-their pictures belong in a museum.

Mail Day

2007-04-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

I got so much stuff in the mail today, it was great. I received my Zetti cards from a swap on Craftster as well as a card from a personal swap. I also got a package of things I ordered from Teesha Moore's website, including some stamps and an issue of Play, her journal Zine. I'm so inspired now, but I'm having a hard time organizing my "crafty stuff" to my liking (and Brian's- he hates when it's all over the place).

What I need is a dedicated space to work, but with two adults, two kids, and two cats there is no room for it. I hate dragging it out of the cupboard every time I want to work on something and trying to cram it all back in there so we can eat dinner. Besides, putting it away keeps me from expressing sudden bursts of creativity.

I'm still working on it.

New Layers

2007-03-29T05:58:00.000-07:00

These three cards are the result of trying to learn a technique that would make the collaged cards rather flat. It's a little labor intensive (gel transfer, gel medium, vaseline, gesso, rubber stamp, distress, and apply more gel medium over the top) but the results are good. The ink I used for the over-stamp was too dark for what I was going for, but they still turned out nice. I would like to continue with this technique and learn to incorporate more papers and other elements for interest.

Also, I've dug out my jewelry findings to start incorporating some metal and other flashy bits into my cards. What I would really like to start doing is making little collage pendants and charms, but I'm not quite there yet with the supplies. Here is a recent example with the additions.

The Magic Man

Spring

2007-03-24T19:47:00.001-07:00

Spring
Originally uploaded by queenoffools1974.

I finished this card yesterday and it's already been mailed off to trade. I love the moon image- the face is so serene.

I am now worried, however, that the glued bits might come off. I sent another card for a swap and the small parts just seemed to slide right off. Now I must find a better glue and keep using my sticker maker for the smaller bits.

Recent ATC Collage Work

2007-03-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

This is an example of my recent collage work. I'm trying to get better at composing collages that are compositionally good and that have something to say (since I am better with words than with art). Perhaps as I get better I won't need the words and the images can communicate as they are, but for now this is my "style".

Hello and Welcome!

2007-03-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

Here I am starting a more formal blog (instead of the one on MySpace) for easier access. Hopefully I will keep up with this better than previous blogs, but I often suffer from doubt that anyone is interested in what I have to say.

If you are reading this and don't know me, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Amy and I currently live in Sanford, North Carolina. I was, however, born and raised in Indiana and will always be, in part, a Hoosier. I am married to a wonderful man, Brian, who hails from the great state of New Jersey. He is a Flight Engineer with the United States Air Force and we met and our daughter was born when we were both stationed in Germany. I got out of the military three years ago to stay home with our daughter and finish my degree. This semester I will earn my BS in Social Science from the University of Maryland. Our daughter, Madeleine, is four now and our son, Vincent, is 9 months.

Well, that's the nutshell. It in no way encompasses all or even much of what I am or what I do, but it will do for now. Stay tuned for more as time goes on.

Oh, yeah....

Some of you might be interested in where I got all of this "Queen of Fools" business. It's based on a poem I wrote many years ago. If I get froggy one day maybe I'll post it on here, but for now that answer will have to be sufficient.

Amy
Queen of Fools