I survived all three days...

...just in case you were wondering, since I haven't posted: I did survive the entire 3-Day walk, and will be posting photos and a commentary about the experience (it was AMAZING!!) once I get through sorting and cropping all 160 of the pics I took. I needed a day off yesterday to recuperate (and rest up so I could walk again!), and am now trying to re-assimilate into "real" life...

I have survived Day 1 of the Arizona 3-Day!!

I'm using the internet in the Energizer bunny tent at Camp... just wanted to post that I survived day 1!! It's been an amazing experience so far; I walked about 18 out of the 20 miles, wanted to give up but I didn't!! and I know I will sleep good tonight to take on tomorrow's 22.5 mile route.

inspiration links- 1950s fabric!!

I love, love, love 1950's design!! I also love when I find something on the internet that I stumbled across ages ago, and forgot about... this post covers both of those things!!

this blog post is specifically about a new collection of Michael Miller fabric being released that is a tribute to a 1950s fabric designer, Tammis Keefe. (never heard of either of these names before, but I am sure I will be researching up on them when I have the time).

while reading the above-mentioned blog post, I realized the blog, True Up, is an all-fabric-all-the-time blog written by a bloggetr I've read before, Dioramarama... one of those blogs you come across in surfing, then forget where you found it?? (I've done that so many times before: find something, click away from the page, then forgot where I was in the first place.... I know, I could bookmark them, but my bookmark list would get so long that it wouldn't help any, in the end!!)

anyway, I'm not going to pull any pictures off these blogs to put into this post, but trust me, if you like 1950s design, fabric, or just color/pattern in general, then click on those links and start oohing and aahing.

it's almost here!!

wow, I can't hardly believe the 3-Day is just two days (really only 1 1/2) away!! Right now, I'm at the stage where I need to pack and make sure I have everything I need- I have my second pair of shoes, I have plenty of pairs of socks, I have athletic tape for my feet, I need to make sure I have new batteries in the camera... I know I'll forget something, but that's really not important at this point. What is important is that I just reached my $2300 minimum yesterday, so I can participate!

Since this is a big cause, Komen makes sure that you commit big when you sign up for this; that's why there's a (high) minimum amount you have to raise... When I signed up in January, I really had no idea whether I'd be able to actually raise it, but throughout the course of the year, I have been continually amazed at people's generosity. Even after getting the minimum, I've been getting last minute donations-- the first time, I said "thanks, but I've got the money; I don't need any more." My donor's reply (very wise) was, "it's not for you, it's for breast cancer."

One of the most recent 3-Days raised over 7 million dollars (!!!) for the fight to end breast cancer-- I can't wait to see the sea of pink at the opening ceremonies, the cheering people along the way, and to experience the emotion of the closing ceremonies when I've actually finished! (I'm sure I can't wait to see the comfy couch, our bed, and my feather pillows at the end of it, either-- lol!)

so, if you've been thinking about donating, if you know someone who had breast cancer, if you've lost a loved one to this disease, or if you know at least 8 women- because one in eight women will be diagnosed (that number is horrible!! we can put men in space, and spend countless millions of dollars on who-knows-what, but we still have to fight this disease) then please think about donating to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Over 75 cents of every dollar raised goes directly to programs, research, and education. You can donate to me here: http://www.the3day.org/goto/jennifer.ahlstrom

donate to one of my teammates who still hasn't raised the minimum by clicking here :

3-Day TaTa sisterhood page

and be sure to check out this page: Research and Grants to see how they use the money.

And wish me (and my feet) luck!!

a BUSY (and fun!!) weekend!!

whew!! I was exhausted this afternoon; I needed to take a nap! Friday evening I participated in a shopping event to benefit a local charitable organization, Don't be a Chump! Check for a Lump! an organization that promotes monthly self breast exams. There were a number of local vendors, food, wine, music, and raffles. This is the first time I've done an in-person craft show in years, though, so I was worried whether I had everything I needed, whether people would buy any of my items, you know... the usual. I found out I didn't have anything to worry about-- it was a really fun time!! The event was hosted at Holly's (the founder) house, the Don't be a Chump! headquarters, in a north Phoenix neighborhood. They put so much work into hosting this event, it was amazing-- I didn't forget anything, I sold quite a number of things, and they raised money for their organization, so it was a success on all counts! this photo is my table set-up... I had a few more things that I couldn't fit onto the table, but this was most of it. Marble magnets and thumbtacks, collaged domino pendants and keychains, handmade cards and tags, and a couple pieces of mixed-media artwork. I did a fair number of sales, and also got inquiries about custom work, which was an unexpected bonus. I got to bed about 11:15 pm, and got up early on Saturday for the next thing...

a class where I made this journal!! I took an all-day class at Frenzy Stamper in Scottsdale on Saturday, making a journal using found papers and fabric-- the entire cover of the journal is sewn-- yes, I learned that I can be friends with my sewing machine! Jane Eileen is a great teacher; I've wanted to incorporate sewing on paper into my projects for ages, but have always been hesitant-- Jane said she's sewn through aluminum soda cans, and all sorts of things... I guess I just needed to hear that it's "okay" to do things that a traditional sewer might construe as abusing a sewing machine... lol!

This journal is called the "Double Double Journal;" it's actually two journals in one- one on the left side of the center spine, and one on the right side of the center spine. It was lots of fun to choose random fabrics and ribbon, sew them on, and see what happened. click here for the Frenzy Stamper blog, to see a couple photos of us in action during class. I will definitely be doing more of this type of sewing in the future-- it was so much fun! ...then, today, we had to get up early again, but for another fun reason-- we headed up to Glendale to Roseglen Shelties, to bring home our new Sheltie puppy, Prescott.

This photo is Prescott making friendly overtures to the cats... they definitely need some time to warm up to him, which is evident from this photo-- Butters looks absolutely evil in this picture!

Prescott had a big day-- first car ride, touring the pet store (to buy a collar and leash), meeting Bisbee and the cats, and exploring the house (the tiled kitchen, at least). Right now, he's pooped out, and napping in his crate. We're both pooped out, too!!

it's almost done!! this journal, and this week...

I have a problem: since I started art journaling, I haven't ever "completed" all the pages in any of my journals. I started working in a cheap composition book (the black and white marbled kind that are 99 cents at back-to-school time), and abandoned it partway thru in favor of a ring-bound sketch book that had heavier pages and could stand up to the layers of paint and paper without buckling. Then I took a class with Kelly Kilmer, we actually made a journal, and I abandoned the sketchbook for the newly made journal. ...and so on... and so on... you get the idea. This is one of those journals-- I don't remember when exactly I made it (Kelly would probably recognize the size and binding stitch!), but it's been at least a couple years. I hadn't journaled since we were on vacation in August, but finally, a few weeks ago, I picked this one up again. When I realized I was actually getting close to finishing it, I got sort of obsessed-- you know, like when you get to the last couple chapters of a really good book, and you just have to finish it as soon as possible?? Like that. I want to actually finish one, finally! I've worked on it really late at night, early in the morning (when I should have been getting ready for work), while we relax on the patio after work, and even taken it to work with me to work on it during my breaks or at lunch.

Some of thepages I completed earlier are painted, but the more recent ones are mostly collaged paper. Since I've been working on it in bed, on the living room floor, etc., I didn't want to "wait" to do the pages until I had time to paint them. The upper right corner of the page above is hand-marbled paper, made a few months ago at one of our mixed-media group meetings. Marbling using shaving cream as the "float" for the ink-- it was pretty fun, and the papers smell good, too! I added one of Tom's cigar bands on there, too-- they have such beautiful artwork on them, I save pretty much all of them for future crafting projects.

Then, I actually broke out my stash of scrapbooking stickers-- I mean, what am I waiting for, really?? Even if I was to actually scrapbook a photo or two, most of these stickers were purchased years ago, and I don't remember why I bought them in the first place. (cause I liked them, is probably it... nothing more specific than that-- I have a tendency to do that with scrapbook supplies.) The green check border, bee skep, and gardening gloves on the page above are all Susan Branch stickers out of my scrapbooking stash. And I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner, actually!

This two-page spread had a very elaborate background technique done on it that is supposed to imitate a bandana. The design was stamped in black, and I added all the white accents to give it that "bandana" pop. It turned out nice, except it was so busy of a design that I hated it!! Not sure if the deco tape I added has helped or not, but it's getting there, I think.

This page (the image is from a vintage National Geographic, and the text is from an Oprah mag, I think) is the Eternal Question for me and my art studio. Usually my answer is a resounding "No," until I absolutely can't find anything! Like now-- I've been working the last week or so on items for a craft show I'm doing tomorrow night-- my first "in-person" show; I'm pretty excited about it, and I'll definitely post pics afterward!! (unless no one buys anything. Then, you won't hear a thing about it... lol!) Last night I stayed up till 1 am making greeting cards (made 4 sets of 4, plus 4 individual ones), then blew through again this evening to make 4 or five more at the last minute, leaving stamps uncleaned of the ink, scraps of paper on the floor, snippets of tape stuck on the desk, you know-- the usual! So, right now, it looks like the aftermath of an F5 tornado in there... is that the worst rating?? Does an F5 level everything in its path?? If so,it's not quite quite that bad (although the kitten has been known to disappear from view under the rubble, and I have no idea where she is till she decides to unearth herself). I have another craft show scheduled in a month, though, so I better clean sometime soon. Maybe when December comes. (just kidding!! kinda.)