Something a Bit Different

This is the time of year when many artists think about displaying their work at Christmas Art and Craft Fairs. As I don't like the bustle of large events I usually just set-up for the local Wynndel fair which is happening this Saturday, Dec. 3.

I will be displaying a few of my smaller paintings, a wide selection of my cards, crocheted Christmas ornaments and many of my quilled ornaments. This year I am adding some new items which I hope will appeal to people looking for gifts for boys.

 

I made some stencils for the first time with not much idea of what I was doing. Then I painted some leftover pieces of mat board and added the stencils. The final step was to cover the back and make a border on the front. These signs have hang-tabs on the back but are also light enough they can be stuck on the wall with Fun Tak. I think they turned out well and hope that others like them too.

Because I had the stencils I figured I might as well use them again but this time I put them on T-Shirts.

It has been quite sometime since I had a young boy in my life so all I can do is hope that these will be a success.

I came up with another item that I hope will sell. I often get pains in my hands and the rice/wheat bags I had were much too big so I took them apart and made small ones.

Some of these were made with recycled material and others were made with  my painted fabrics. Thirty seconds in the microwave makes them nice and warm and the heat lasts a surprising length of time.

I think I am going to do a few signs with a different stencil design for the fair - just for fun!

I have had a sign with this "Artist at Work" design for years and when my friend Linda saw my stencilled signs she asked if I could make a stencil of this design. So, while Linda played with some acrylic abstracts, I made another stencil. Once the stencil was done Linda made her own sign and I figured I would make a few too. Who knows, maybe they will sell  - I'll even take commissions - lol.


It is always interesting to see what items do well at the Wynndel Christmas Art & Craft Fair and will I never make a killing I usually do okay - time will tell.

A Shift in Focus

My mind really hasn't been on art for the last few months!

Since my husband's heart attack, I have been focused more on health and our diets. The second day Bob was in the hospital a friend loaned us "To Your Health" by Dr. Hans Diehl and I started reading. A few days later, another friend gave me "Eat to Live" by Joel Fuhrman, MD. We also got a book when Bob got out of the hospital - "Living Well with Heart Disease" from the Heart & Stroke Foundation.

I won't go into details about what I read but it was enough to get me started on a new diet lifestyle. The goal was to reduce sodium, fats and sugars which would improve blood pressure and promote weight loss. Using the recipes in the books and from the internet, I have been including many more vegetables as well as beans and lentils into our meals. There have been a few "I can't eat that" meals but most have worked out well and I now have about 20 recipes that will become staples. I have also modified a number of our favourite 'pre-heart attack' recipes to meet with the changes in our needs.

I know how easy it is to slide back into old habits so I am keeping a record of almost everything we eat and the nutrition information - sodium, fibre, calories, fat, sugar. So far things seem to be working; Bob has lost 10 lbs and I have lost 6. And, we are both feeling good about the changes - so, here's to a better future!

And, to show that I haven't completely ignored my art, here are a few of my latest quilling projects.

They are all made with my own painted paper cut to 1/4" and they are all about 3" x 3". These make super little ornaments for the Christmas tree or for year round. They can be hung, mounted and framed or fixed with some sticky tak to go on the wall or a mirror

I have a few other things on the go as well and maybe I will find the time to write about them soon . Now, I am off to figure out the nutrition for tonight's dinner - lol.