The Happiness Project and Reorganization of My Blogs

I have just finished a fabulous book called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and have decided to reorganize my blog into separate subjects. At first I was just putting a lot of the things I did during the day into one blog but now I am ready to get more organized because of this book, The Happiness Project.

My first new blog will still be called The Sweet Life with Candy. It will be about my first year of living on Herbalife products and joining the sales team. I want to start on November 1 since all the bad things that happen throughout the year were cleared out of my life by my pumpkin that was sitting on the porch.You know, that's what pumpkins are supposed to do on Halloween, of course!

Today I am going to call Denise and tell her I want to get serious about Herbalife. I had joined a year or two ago under her. She is now working nonstop on her business. I admire and want to emulate what she is doing.

What I like about Herbalife programs are they are not only a great way to make money but a way to have a social life with people who are focused on a positive, healthy life.

So, for now, I just want all my friends to know the The Sweet Life with Candy is about my first year with Herbalife.

If you are interested in my travels the blog is called The Wanderer. I will be setting up an art blog soon but haven't decided what to call it.

Oh! I intend to loose weight so keep an eye out on the blog. I also love the shampoo, conditioner, and vitamins.

See you soon!

Upper Peninsula, Michigan Art Stamp

I love making stamps! You can use them for so many things.

I made this stamp so I can send post cards to my family. I will use it next for cards to friends to let them know I am in Michigan, camping, writing, doing art and basically having a wonderful time.

When I start to make my scrapbook pages I will use the stamp on at least one page if not more.

Once I leave the UP I will cut the lettering on the bottom off so I can use the scene for borders. I might just tape over the lettering in case I return to the UP.

I came to Michigan with the intention of making stamps and not using them until I return home but, of course, that was not possible!

There is an art show up here in the fall that has five thousand people attend so I will have to have Denise send me some of my supplies for block printing so I can try to sell some of my finished products at the show.

I hope you like the new stamp. You can make these yourself. Just email me if you have any questions on how to do it. The internet is a lot of help these days just type in "how to block print" and a lot of great sites show up.

I am still tweaking the design. I will make the window edges wider, run the line across the top of the words to the edge, and I am thinking about putting a bird in the sky or maybe a sunset.

This stamp is made from a Mars/Staedler bar, Denise sells them. I use them for smaller projects.

I stamped on watercolor paper for texture but it would probably look even better on a smoother paper which I will do and then put some color on it with markers.

There are infinite possibilities with just one stamp, if you make your own! Just do it!

ATC Theme Literary Characters

For the theme this month I chose Lokai and Bele from the old Star Trek Series, Episode 70 Let This Be Your Last Battlefield(screenplay). I decided to use the new art fad zentangle on my cards. I thought it would work since Lokai and Bele wore black and white and I am using black paper and a white Galaxy Marker. The show is a wonderful commetary on bigotry. The character development is great. Frank Gorshin plays Lokai.  In the twelve cards I made there is one that, I feel, depicts the episode perfectly. I am guessing that a Trekie at the club meeting will be able to pick out that card. Let me know who figured it out. If you haven't seen this show you really should check it out. Here are a few of my favorite cards.

Drive to Yuma

I had to drive 50 miles an hour all the way down! It was raining and windy. Towing the Honda is stressful. You have to have your attention zeroed in on the wheel every second and hold onto the wheel tightly. I can only do this for about 4-5 hours and them I am exhausted for the day. I hope this just means I will get used to it and it will become easier.
It was pouring down rain when I pulled into the Fairgrounds and it took an hour for the people to get their act together. The didn't anticipate so many last minute attendees.
The camper is now parked in a nice cozy little space with electric hookup.
I registered last night so I don't have to be at the opening until 3pm. I am going on a day trip around Yuma.Tell you about it tomorrow.

Little Black Buckets

I think this little art project came out cute. It was a bit of a challenge because of the curved surface but it just took patience.
I found this nice little bucket at Hobby Lobby. I used a Marvy Uchida white DecoColor(extra fine) Opaque Paint Marker.

1) I turned the bucket upside down and put my website on it.
2) I ran an edge along the bottom and the top and let dry.
3) I turned the bucket upside down again and made squiggles all around the top.
4) I put dots around the squiggles.
5) I turned the bucket right side up and started to paint a straight line around the raised area right under the squiggles. I made another line around the bucket under the other first line.
6) Next, I made up and down lines all around the bucket between the two lines.
7) I took masking tape and made a straight line around the base(see center photo). The tape will be rumpled, you just have to work with it. Use the tape as a guide to draw a straight line around the bucket.
8) I decided to make flowers all around the center of the bucket because I am in Phoenix where the cacti are blooming. I was pleased with the outcome.
9) I put rocks on the bottom of the pail. Just little shapes that vaguely resemble rocks--keeping it fun and easy.
10) Lastly, I put some bugs above the rocks.
This was a cute little thank you gift for my friend, Sandy, whose has been showing me around Phoenix.

Tonto National Monument

On my wanderings I went to the Tonto National Monument outside of Globe, AZ. The vistas and sights in Arizona are unbelievable. I can't wait to get up every morning to see a new beautiful sunrise, the superstition mountains, or drive to a new place to visit and see the heavenly views.
 Here is a picture of me at the ruins. This was a 1/2 mile walk straight up! The trail was switchbacks but I still had to stop about every thirty feet to get up it. Thank heavens they have a lot of signs to read and benches to sit on! It was worth the trip.
Of course, I took a lot of pictures, and I thought this particular one (the ruins wall) would make a great post card or scrapbook page background. Well, that's what I am going to use it for! The lady next door to me makes coasters out of her pictures. I might see if she can show me how she makes her coasters and use this photo.
This photo of the view from the ruins is why it was worth the climb! Can you imagine waking up in the morning. looking out your window and seeing this view? Awesome!
Keep working on your art. The world is full of ideas. All you have to do is wake up in the morning and practice "seeing" the possibilities.

Post Card Art, Acrylic Painting

It's 65 and sunny here!

I work on art in the afternoon. Here are some things I am working on.
I didn't bring very many supplies with me on this trip so I am limited to one black ink pad, scissors, double sided tape, a few stamps, watercolor paper and my trimmer. I decided I wanted to send some handmade postcards to my family so I stopped by the hardware store and picked up some paint chip cards. I know this is not a new idea but I love to do this so I am doing it again. This time I wanted to do something modern.
1) First I cut my watercolor paper into 4"X6" post cards.
2) I cut off as much of the print as I could on the paint chip cards and saved the leftover cuttings.
3) Next I stamped two post cards with a stamp I brought with me. It has a lot of faces and other things on it in 1" sizes.
4) I cut the stamped out images to fit behind the precut squares in the paint chip cards.
5) I attached the pieces with double sided tape.
6) I cut out a word that related to my trip from a travel newspaper and taped it on.
7) I edged the post card with black Stays On ink. In hindsight, I would have  edged all the items with black and added a charm or a twig from outside.

I moved the images and papers around to balance the card and used the Paris part of the stamp to break up the squareness and it needed even more so I put the frame around the Paris stamping.

I'm struggling with transitioning from using oil paint to using acrylics. Ugh! I grew up taking oil painting lessons and painting with my Mom from the age of eight but these acrylics drive me crazy! They dry so fast and I get so involved in the painting I forget to spray the paint a lot or it turns into plastic. I'll get through it but it is a struggle! I hope you like my Indian. He's not done yet but I thought I would put him up so you all knew I was "working"!

I'm working on some zentangles I will post soon. I call them my Eternity People.

Rainy Day Art

It's raining here so I am painting an acrylic portrait. I am reviewing acrylic painting techniques so I can get serious about selling my artwork. I am focusing on shading and skin tones on this painting.

 I went to the swapmeet today. I found a beautiful handmade bracelet made out of silver forks. The lady who made the jewelry was so nice that she invited me up to her house to see how nice the area and weather is. She lives in the White Mountains. I will check it out when I get back to Phoenix.

Most people stay in when it rains so the streets were pretty clear today. It is still strange driving here. The old people drive extra slow and the young people drive the speed limit and everyone is polite so it is hard to tell when to pull out and when not to. It is taking awhile to adjust.

Here's a Phoenix photo to share.  This was taken at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum outside of Phoenix.
Well, it's time to get back to my painting!

Arizona Side Trip to the South

I'm getting my camper repaired in Phoenix. I had to leave the camper overnight so I decided to take a trip to southern Arizona. When I got into Tucson I visited the DeGrazia Art Studio. Here are some of my ideas I got from there.
Above is the entrance to the visiting artist studio. Karen is a mixed media artist. Check out her website at karengodfrey.net.
The flowers on the entry are made of metal and painted. I will print out this picture and use it as a post card and then I will use the card and family photos on a page where I make a post like in the photo around the top of the page. I will add my own hand made, painted flowers to match. I will enlarge and cut out cacti like in the lower right side of the picture. I will overlay the cacti in the lower right side.
With the photo above right I will also use it as a post card. I will use it like it is, sepia tone it, and enhance it on my computer so I have a lot of different post cards of the same photo. This photo is in the chapel of the DeGrazia Studios.

DeGrazia had a great feel for showing action in his paintings but he could also show other feelings such as this priest riding a horse in what I felt was a religious parade. I really felt like I was in the experience with the priest. I will try to convey that feeling on a scrapbook page. Maybe my theme will be my pilgrimage to the DeGrazia Studios. I will use the signature of the DeGrazia studio for the title, I will do a chapel page with the chapel as the main photo. The priest on the horse and the photo below will go on the layout too. Of course, I will add a little journaling, the place, and date.

My goal for the scrapbook page or layout is to convey a sense of calm like you are walking into the real chapel. I will choose the cool calm blue of the sky for the background and I will shrink the back photo of the shrine so it is smaller and in the back of the layout. That way the movement of the other pictures will give a feeling of depth.

Try out these ideas and I will see you all soon!

Side Trip to the Grand Canyon!

This is a photo of me on my way to Phoenix in search of sun and warmth! I decided to take a side trip to the Grand Canyon. It was cold and snowy but sunny and beautiful for all of 24 hours! The Rangers were telling everyone the weather report of 5-9" of snow coming in so I opted to go on down to Phoenix. It was a 3 hour drive through huge beautiful snowflakes and winding roads. It was beautiful but exhausting.
The weather is a little cooler than usual in Phoenix but beautiful. The forecast is for upper sixties and seventies this week. It's going to be hard to concentrate on my book I am writing for All About Scrapbooking. Wish you were here! Love, Candy

Denise at CHA 2010

This is a photo of Denise taking photos at CHA. She was having a ball photographing every idea she could see at the Graphic 45 booth. 

Zentangle at CHA 2010

Zentangle is a hot new art form spreading across the country. Find out how to do it from these Suzanne McNeill books by Design Originals! They will be on our All About Scrapbooking online store. Suzanne is always on the cutting edge of new ideas in the craft world. The books will be available after February 1.This is a photo of my second zentangle. It was very relaxing to make and I will soon be making shapes to zentangle and incorporate in my scrapbook pages and canvases.

Social Day with Sandy and a Little Scrapbooking

Sandy is my new friend in Arizona. She came and picked me up and showed me around Apache Junction. I now know where the shopping, the hospital, and, of course, a scrapbook store is!
The store was twice as big as ours and had an awesome class area. I hope they will still be in business when I come back. The manager said they were having a very hard time of it.

Sandy and I ate lunch at Olive Garden. She is a nurse for the VA and loves it. We had a wonderful time driving around. We ended up at her house where I met her husband who is very nice. We used the Cricut to cut things out. I didn't know how to use a Cricut so she showed me how. Denise is the expert on the Cricut at the store and I am the expert on the Xyron Wishblade so I had never used a Cricut.

This first photo is of the managers camp site where I am staying. They have a small scooter that their young granddaughter rides on for a couple hours a day. She loves the scooter and knows everybody in the park. It's very cute to watch outside my window.

The other picture is of my camper. It is a 1983 Winnebago Warrior. I bought if off EBay a few years ago and I still love it. I plan to come down every year from now on in January and February maybe longer if things go well.

This is the owl I cut out with the Cricut . I made him 10" tall. I don't have my scrapbooking supplies so I don't have a specific theme but I could use him for an outdoor hike, a zoo visit, or a Harry Potter page. If I were using it for a Harry Potter page I would add more of the orange gold colors their illustrations show especially around the eyes. Sandy had some small envelopes pre-made so I used them but it would really look better with larger envelopes or something that looked like a post card. I would also put names on them. If it was a zoo page I would put names of different kinds of owls. For a nature walk I would put owl names and then add at the bottom of the page info about that kind of owl. A Harry Potter page has all kinds of possibilities. If you were at a movie opening or in line to see the movie you could put the names of the friends you went to the movie with on the envelopes. For the Harry Potter page I would add a little brown and maybe use some glitter on him.
Well, that's all for now. I think I will go for a walk.

Amore Valentine ATCs

These are the cards I took to our January ATC gathering. The backing and heart are left over felt from another project. I like to embroider so I took some left over yarn and stitched it around the edges. I used DMC embroidery floss. I hope you like them. Remember you can also put these on cards and scrapbook pages. Last minute thought! You could also applique them onto a quilt with different words or family member names.

Last Leg of Phoenix Trip was Awesome!

I started out from Gallup about 9am. It was pretty cold with a light frost on the windows. By the time I had gotten gas it was already warming up! I 40 West was one beautiful view after another. Today I passed a lot of Indian signs advertising their stores and cute teepees and animal sculptures. There were two scenic views I stopped at and they were worth it. One was called Sunset Point. If anyone comes down to visit me we will have to stop for lunch there and the way to the Grand Canyon or Sedona. Flagstaff had snow on the ground and was a joy to drive through. If any of you travel out west I 44 West, I 40 West, and I 17 South are extremely scenic.
I got into the RV park about 5 and have been calling and emailing like crazy. I found someone to store my camper for me for a month or two for $40 a month. I am exciting about that. Most of the professional places wanted to charge $70 and I can't afford that.
The camp ground is clean and nice. I was one of the last campers in the park so I am by the trash bins but I don't mind a bit. I will get to know people faster! It's 60 degrees here right now! Aw, the sweet life!

Gallup New Mexico

The drive to Gallup was awe inspiring. As I drove along giant mesas appeared, purple mountains came into view, glowing red landscapes  jumped out at me. I would drive two hours then stop to get gas and go to the restroom. That way my "driving" muscles would relax. If I don't stop every couple of hours I get hand and back cramps. Well, I am here safe and thought I would just let everybody know. Love Candy

Phoenix Trip Joplin to Amarillo

I drove all day and am now exhausted so this will be short.
 Beautiful classic views all day. Oklahoma teepee picnic area/landscape in Oklahoma with mist all over the dark trees surrounded by  golden grasses giving off an orange radiance, an orange Texas sunset with fuschia and pink surrounding the brilliant orb/classic rundown Indian owned motel with a rundown "They Shoot Horses Don't They"  atmosphere restaurant down the street that had fabulous sirloin steaks--I could use all this for art inspiration--watercolor landscapes and the motel and restaurant for a short story!
I love traveling and am looking forward to the trip through New Mexico tomorrow. 
Adios!

Going Down to Phoenix

I decided at 5 o'clock today to start my trip to Phoenix. I drove in the dark the whole time and it was great because there is hardly anyone on the roads. On the way down there was a huge, lit up mushroom that had a sign that said Morels.com. I decided to stay in Joplin and get a room the first night out, that way I could charge everything I brought with me. I'm not ready to use all the camper yet. So anyway I went to the mushroom website. You ought to check it out. I learned a lot.
The motel looked a little scary but it was cheap! In the end except for everything being old it was an excellent motel.
That's beautiful sheep across the street. It's morning and I am taking off now.