The Art Buffet

Starting to get my life back

2010-12-31T09:05:00.002-05:00

I know that some of you have wondered where I've been and why I have not been diligent in my swaps. Well here it is in a nut shell. With one daughter getting married, one in college, another one starting college in Aug. and another one starting in 2 years I found myself in the unfortunate position of giving up my days and finding a real job....with a paycheck.
We celebrated my daughters wedding on Oct. 9th and I started the new job on the 11th. I know, no rest for the weary. A couple week later my husband had a severe allergic reaction to some dye given him for a CT scan. Buyer Beware this could be Hazardous to you Health. He looked like someone had dipped him in a vat of acid. After 3 weeks of pain, sleepless night, and eventually his whole body peeling he returned to work. That was the week before Thanksgiving. I prepared our wonderful feast here because he still could not travel. We where thankful to have him on the road to recovery. Then Christmas came upon us. I'm not complaining but boy does this job put a cramp in my style. I had no gifts made or bought. I leave the house at 5:30 am and return at 5:30 pm with hungry children, husband, and dog waiting for the much anticipated evening meal to appear. Needless to say my art room was very lonely without me. Every time I had to go in there for something I could hear the walls saying "Come back to us, we need to inspire you to create something." Now that this year has come to an end, I'm looking forward to finding some time to do the things that make my soul sing. I'm dedicating every Sunday to church and art. So if I have flaked on you in a swap I am in deed very sorry. I hope you will understand and accept my sincere apology. If you have been following me and I've given you nothing new to see, I apologize, stay tuned for some wonderful things in January. I hope everyone has a wonderful Happy New Year. If you're going out please drive safely, if you can't drive safely stay where you are. Remember you are loved.

Beach Babes

2010-09-30T17:07:00.005-04:00

I found this great shadowbox at Goodwill and couldn't wait to do something with it. Not bad for 97cents. You can get the best stuff at Goodwill and their prices can't be beat. I always buy costume jewelry there to break up for componants. I picked up the shells on the outer banks of North Carolina and the paper came from Graphic 45. If you like vintage stuff you should check them out. If you like this see my etsy store, it's kneadtobead.

Clay and Stone Focal Bead

2010-09-26T20:02:00.003-04:00

I was experimenting with some sculptural elements and a piece of jasper (I think) If anyone knows what this stone really is please tell me. I knew when I purchased it but I've forgotten. Even though it was labor intensive I had fun with it. I'd like to try another when I find the time.

Halloween ATC

2010-09-24T09:37:00.003-04:00

With fall in the air and Halloween just around the corner I wanted to make something a little scary for an ATC swap that I just did. I like making ATC from polymer clay cuz they're very sturdy and last forever. They also ship very well. We all know how gently the postal service handles our beloved art projects...not. So I hope you find some inspiration from my scary skull ATC.

Folded polymer beads

2010-09-08T08:08:00.002-04:00

I was playing with some clay and trying some new techniques with ranger ink and mica powders. I thought I would share some of the beads I made. They have a lot of visual texture but the beads are as smooth as glass.

Textured Skinny

2010-09-04T22:14:00.003-04:00

I recently joined a swap called "It's all about texture". This was one of my favorite swaps. My daughter saw me working on it and wanted to help. It gave me a great opportunity to teach her how to make fabric beads from muslin. She had a blast, and I loved watching her. I think we'll always remember the night we made fabric beads together. I stamped the glossy cardstock with resist ink then sectioned it off and blotted each section with different colors. I wrapped a pipe cleaner with fibers and glued that down. I used the beads my daughter and I made. There was paper towel under the fabric when we dyed it and the paper towel looked so cool I used some of that too. I also used some clear microbeads and the face in the upper corner is polymer clay. This is one that I almost don't want to give away. I just hope the receiver likes it.

How to make a hollow structure from an egg shell

2010-06-28T13:49:00.008-04:00

Today I'm sharing a polymer clay technique using an eggshell and good old fashion vinegar. You can make a beautiful lattice structure to embellish on the outside or leave an opening to decorate the inside of you structure. I'll run through the steps with the visual following.
1. Blow out the inside of the egg. This works better if you stick a skewer inside the eggshell and scramble the egg a little before blowing it out the other end.
2. Decorate the egg shell with conditioned polymer clay. Leave enough open space to achieve a nice open look. Make sure you create a base for your structure to stand.
3. Bake at the manufacturers recommended time and temp. You can cushion your structure on polyester fiber fill or stand it on its base.
4. If you want to add more embellishment to the outside of your structure you can do it at this time, then rebake.
5. Gently tap a few holes in the shell of your egg and completely submerge your egg in apple cider vinegar. Old butter containers work great for this. You don't want to seal the lid but you do want to put a little bit of weight on the top to hold the egg shell under.
6. Let the structure stay submerged for about 3 days. When you take it out a lot of the eggshell will be dissolved. It will look rather gross. Rinse you structure and chip any remaining shell off with an x-acto blade.
You now have a wonderful open structure to embellish however you want.

Citra Solve and National Geographic... A match made in heaven

2010-06-20T23:47:00.002-04:00

I recently tried a technique of painting citra solve on national geographic pages causing the ink to bleed. I came up with some really cool backgrounds for ATCs. Check this out.

Fairie Necklace

2010-04-19T14:38:00.003-04:00

I spent the week end in Boston with a group of music students. Although it was an enjoyable trip I missed my beads and my paper so today I played with beads all day. This is a pewter charm with crystals. These purple crystals are some of the prettiest I've seen. I've loved spending the day in my art room but alas the kids are due home any minute and then it's back to the mom thing.

Playing with collage

2010-04-11T08:12:00.004-04:00

I've spent the last couple days getting my hands dirty with collage. I've been doing a lot of straight forward stuff lately so it was really fun to let loose a little bit. Here are two of the ATC's that came out of last nights fun and games.

This one's for you Andrew

2010-04-10T00:21:00.002-04:00

When I woke up this morning I didn't even want to move. Somehow a nasty cold snuck up on me through the night and caught me completely unaware. I had been looking forward to wirefest all week and the mind was so ready but the body was weak, literally. The longer I laid on the couch the will to move took over, and I forced myself into the shower. I knew if I could keep moving I'd find myself at wirefest....and I was right. To make a long story short I met a charming young man named Andrew. We had a lovely conversation, I bought some beautiful pendents, and he gave me an ATC. Just that meeting was enough of a reason to get up today, so thank you Andrew. My gift to you is this wonderful Korean Salmon recipe. I hope you find it as delicious as I do.

2 lb salmon fillet
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp oriental sesame oil
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 quarter-size slice fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
2 green onions, finely minced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds
1 Tbsp. sugar

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Pour over both sides of fish and let marinate in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Cook on grill until done, about 5 min on each side. Enjoy

Paint Sample ATC

2010-03-15T14:22:00.003-04:00

Hey it's been awhile since I posted anything so here is a new ATC using a paint sample card from home depot. It was fun to use it for something totally different than a sample card.

Gwenivere

2010-02-05T20:07:00.002-05:00

This is one of my favorite ATC's so far. It's very simple but the componants came together so well. I just love it.

Some Valentines Cards to Warm Your Heart

2010-01-26T09:29:00.001-05:00

Tag Fun

2009-10-24T23:08:00.003-04:00

I got to play with a friend today and we used some of Tim Holtz's stamping and inking techniques. Here are a few of the tags that I did.

Corn and crab chowder

2009-10-21T08:13:00.002-04:00

There's a nip in the air and it's time for soup. This is one of my favorite recipes. It's a summer soup but with the ability to get the ingredients year round this soup is good any time. I got this out of Crazy for Crabs by Fred Thompson. Everyone always requests this recipe from me.

4 strips apple wood or hickory smoked bacon, diced
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion (I use Vadalia)
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoons gravy flour (Wondra)
6 Cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 Teaspoon Chesapeake Bay seasoning (I use a Tablespoon)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
One 14.5 ounce can creamed corn
3 cups peeled and diced russet potatoes
4 cups fresh corn kernels ( use frozen white nibblets when corn is out of season)
1 pound crabmeat (claw or special, not lump)
1 cup heavy cream or half and half

1) place the bacon in a 5 quart soup pot and cook over menium heat, stirring, until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain.

2) Add the onion and butter to the bacon grease and and cook slowly, stirring a few thimes, until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 5 minutes. Stirring, add the chicken broth, then the Bay seasoning and oregano. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to mekium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour in the creamed corn and cook for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the fresh corn and crabmeat and cook for 5 minutes. Add the cream and heat the soup to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes; do not allow it to come to a boil.
Serve using reserved bacon for garnish.

I hope you'll try this yummy soup.

Everyday Dust

2009-10-19T17:08:00.002-04:00

This is a picture I've been working on for about a week. I know, it doesn't look like it but the composition had me stumped. I wasn't sure if it was done but I felt like it was lacking something. When I mounted it on core board and put the brass corners on it finally felt finished.

Second in the 1900's series

2009-10-16T19:21:00.002-04:00

I just finished this card. It is the second of 4 using the 1900's lady stamp.

Digital Art

2009-10-16T17:53:00.004-04:00

I had a friend over last night to show me some stuff on Photo Shop. It was wo much fun. I am completely overwhelmed by all the things she showed me but I can't wait to do it again. I know I'm never going to remember everything. Anyway, this was my first digital picture. Hehe.

New Card

2009-10-11T23:42:00.002-04:00

This is the first in a series of 4 cards that I'm doing. The object is to create 4 cards using the same stamp but having each one different. I have to get up in five hours so this is all I have to offer tonight.

Play Day

2009-10-09T22:39:00.002-04:00

Well I don't have anything to put up today but I spent the whole evening playing. I had a friend over and we were experimenting with UTEE. We came up with some really cool stuff. I'll be posting some of it next week.

2009-10-08T19:59:00.002-04:00

I have been so busy today, but I just couldn't end my day without at least finishing a project. This is a card that I'm going to send into Take Ten Magazine for a challenge. I hope they like it enough to publish it. That would be so cool.

Bruschetta Chicken

2009-10-07T10:28:00.000-04:00

This recipe was a snap to make and really delish. I got it from the Taste of Home Cookbook.
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons minced fresh basil
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon peeper

1) Place four and eggs in separate shallow bowls. Dip chicken in flour, then in eggs. Placed in a greased baking dish. Combine the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and butter; sprinkle over chicken.

2) Loosely cover baking dish with foil and bake at 375o for 20 minutes. uncover;bake 5-10 minutes longer or until top is browned.

3) Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon over the chicken. Return to the oven for 3-5 minutes or until tomato mixture is heated through.

When I made this dish I used a pre-made bruschetta from Wegman's and it was fantastic.

Welcome

2009-02-18T21:39:00.000-05:00

Hi and welcome to my blog. I called my blog The Art Buffet because it encompassed two of my favorite things... food and art. There's nothing better then looking at eye candy, and feasting upon the beauty of art. Unless, it's the beauty of a scrumptious meal, which in it's self is a work of art. One satisfies the soul and the other the stomach. Both look good to me. Here I want to share my art work as well as some great recipes that I've tried. I hope you are inspired by my blog and come back often to see whats new on the buffet