knots in my head

Days went so fast and I realized, I haven't
done many things lately. I know, I'm a
procrastinator - a BIG one! I have to make
new things for my shop, but something is
preventing me from doing so. I have a long
queue of mails, which need to be replied, but
I'm simply not able to do it at the moment
because of the knots in my head. And my blog..
I have also neglected it - arghh..!! Instead
I've done things, that was not first priority
(or maybe they were?? I don't understand
the psychology of mind anyway..).

I've always enjoyed curating treasuries.
Not enough, that I can make two (the real one
and on the test Treasury West), I thought,
I'll make one to promote the European Street
Team. Glad, that QueenBLingerie let me
use the favorite list of EST-shop to prepare
the treasuries. I've started "Shopping Trip in
Europe" as theme to be able to present each
member. First I've made a map of EST on
GoogleMap, since I'm bad in geography. That
way, I have an overview of the countries.
I was happy, Ixela was agree to help me with
the map.

That was still not enough though. I thought,
it would be nice to have a tool to be able
to browse EST sellers by category e.g., since
I try to mix the items in my treasuries lately
(so it might be a help for the next themes or
if we promote our team somewhere else).
So, I've started another project: shop catalog
(still under heavy construction).

I like the idea of the EtsyMiniBlog, which is
administrated by dottyral, littleputbooks,
liskidder and schOOLOcker. So, I have asked
for littleput's permission to use their idea of
using the comment area as kind of a request
form and the idea of using the EtsyMinis
for the catalog - not to feel guilty using them :)
I've also asked an Etsy admin, if I can modify
the look of the EtsyMini, since it needs a lot of
space otherwise. Finally I've asked Kreativling
if I could modify the EST banner. Now, having
all the permissions and positive feedbacks from
EST members, I can go on. In March I'll start
turning the criterias into pages. Once the frame
is finish, it's ready to accept requests to fill
the pages.

Doing all that (regardless of 1st priority or not)
has helped to loose some knots in my head.
I've started to make some collage ACEOs on a
pizza board two days ago. Yes! A pizza board!!
It's adhesive and clean, that's why I thought
I have to use it instead of throwing it into
the recycle bin :D I've used some papers
I've got few weeks ago to decorate it.
Although I didn't have special intends while
making them, I think, they reflect my mood
on the past days :)







And my fish.. I've sent him a few days
later than planned to Etsy, but I hope he has
swum across the ocean safely and is now
happy among his friends. This is his back.

my fish

There was an action started by Etsy
to make a Swimmy inspired fish.
Many fishes have already started
their journey towards Brooklyn.

My first fish was made of a cardboard
with my paper-mâché experiment on it.
I really don't like the result. Because of
the junkmail and the gouache color I used,
it looked like dried tomato sauce *lol*


Today I've got a flash to make a collage.
The gills was a coincidence - a lucky one!!
This time I love the result SO much,
that I'm not sure, if I really want
to send it to Etsy. My heart is set on it
and I won't be able to make it once more,
cause of the images I've taken out of
the magazines.
Oh well,... let me sleep on it first.

The background is made in Photoshop.

beautiful day

As I've told you in my last post,
I needed to go to the PO again yesterday.
This time I took my camera with me
and made some photos along the way.
It was a beautiful, sunshiny day.

Forgotten - the blue toy locomotive


Surviving - amazing, how nature works
Maybe I should retake this scene from another angle
- this one doesn't really express, how I felt,
as I saw them.


Wish - I love the shadow.
And I wish, I was as tall as my shadow :-)


Carnival Is Coming


Yes, Fasnet begins on Thursday and
I still have to finish my son's costume.
But between all the cutting and sewing
I've just to make this ACEO on Sunday.
I'm not sure, if I want to trade this one though.
But as my concentration wasn't fully on it,
I've made a mistake and have to "repair" it.
I know, I wanted to train myself not to be
such a perfectionist by making the collages,
but still... :-)

Before


After

nature junk

Today I've wanted to send my ACEO
to my Collage A Day trade partner.
As I was walking to the post office,
I've found some nature junks,
which are treasure troves for me.



But of course, I've also seen real junks.
Some are really interesting.
A blue toy locomotive e.g., which
layed almost fully buried on the road.
Too bad I didn't have the camera with me.
I should take a photo of this on Monday,
since I have to go there once more.
The post office closed earlier today *grr*
Anyway I've made this collage
out of some troves - nature junk.

so sweet!!

I was surprised by a very sweet person,
as I looked in my mailbox on Saturday.
Look at this stack of stuff! Isn't it sweet of her?!



Actually I was thinking to take a break
of making the collages, due to the carnival.
But how could I after receiving them ;-)
And today I've found an old bookmark,
which I've brought from my Japan travel
as I was 15 y.o. I think ;-) It's long, long time ago.
So I took the girl of the bookmark
and put her onto my collage #5.
I simply love Japan!!

past future

Oh well, time has flown! I've been sitting
on this post for too long and forgot it!!
To make it short..
I've made two collages on Wednesday.
An ACEO to trade with other
collage makers in the group and
one in my Moleskine pages.

Both collages contain similar elements,
but they were made with different minds.
I've made the ACEO in the middle
of the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.
I've played with the words
FUTURE, PAST and LAST.


The second one was made with
a thought about how the past
often overhaul the future.
And how the future turn quickly
into the past.


The funky green/yellow things are parts of
Fly Chair by Platt & Young.
The words "FUTURE" are the backrest of
Communicator by John Hutton.
The time line (is this the right word?) is
an advertisement of AEG - 100 year inspiration.
The hair is part of an advertisement of
the fair lifestyle tendence in 2006.
The flying puppets are part of
the background of vipp's advertisement.
Last not least the winged ring is Smock,
an armchair by Patricia Urquiola (moroso).

wish list

My today's collage is a short book wish list.
Yes, I have a lot more ^_^
It came from a catalog of Switzerland's
great craft books publisher Haupt.

As I started to cut out the pictures,
I've seen the prices next to them.
I thought, it would be fun to see, how much
my self-education would cost me.
Somehow I had counted it wrong at first
although I had used my calculator
(it reminds me of my answer to
Kreativlink's comment in
my latest Math treasury on Etsy)!
That's how it became an addition with
weird numbers *lol*

Materials: Haupt's Kunsthandwerk
Gesamtverzeichnis Herbst 2007, ink and
stamps (my self made ones and my son's
letter stamps).

blue sunshine

Another collage with typography and
this time it has turned to be more a collage.
I've been thinking often about language.
That words are only words.
They don't really have meanings by themself
(maybe that's why there are so many
misunderstandings in this world).

So I thought I'd play with it.
Materials this time: Bloom's pages,
stamps made of foam rubber and eraser,
glue, gouache and 24k gold foil.
The alphabets are freehand cut. That's why
I have to added the exclamation mark
to fill out the gap ^_^

right words

I haven't done any collage for about 20 years.
I wasn't good in making them.
But as I read Magicjelly's thread on Etsy forum,
I thought, it's time to give collages a new chance.
So, I've joined the Collage A Day group on Flickr
and bought a Moleskine sketch book
to hold my collages and to document the process.
It's kind of a journey. A journey to myself ^_^
I hope, I'm disciplined enough to do it this time.
20 double pages to be filled with collages and
another 20 in between to be filled with thoughts
and such.

I've started the first one without a certain idea.
The only thing I had in mind is, that I want to use
the ginkgo leaf, which I have carried with me
in my wallet since the last storm in November 2007.

I've prepaired the materials and tools on the table.
Ink, pencils, gouache, glue, scissors, 24k gold foil,
old magazines and stamps I've made of eraser.
The worst thing is to start the first streak.
I must admit, even though I do a lot of scribbles,
I'm afraid to start with an empty white space.
Glad, that Moleskine has yellowish pages *lol*


Do you see a face somewhere? ;-)