and the winner is

I know ....I know..... I'm late....
Michaels was having a sale and the check out line was sooooo long.

I know you all enjoyed how I chose I winner for my last giveaway. But I figured out how to use the random number generator.

So the winner is:

 BUNNY !  

Bunny.....contact me and this bright and shiny RED camera will be on its way !

Thanks everyone for playing !

Marianne

the art of decorating for dogs

I have had a few blog friends ask me how I live with so many dogs.
And quite a few have come right out to ask....

"Doesn't your house smell like dogs?"


Well ....it has always been my goal to keep a clean house for me, the lifeguard, and the dogs.....as well as any guests who choose to visit.

One of the things that helps is I clean every day and     I    constantly    rearrange     the furniture....I  know...I have issues.
 I have these little cut outs and I play around on graph paper before I start moving
.....do you do that?   or am I odd?

The only way to get ALL the dog hair is to move furniture around , get under it, and sometimes even flip it over to get the stubborn hair that goes underneath and migrates up to the dust cover...and sticks like Velcro.
Some times even the vacuum has trouble getting it all so I resort to sticky tape and a damp sponge. It helps to have fabrics that can take a beating....like twill or denim. No velvet here...and let me tell ya....micro fiber is not dog friendly.... it holds odor and attracts dog hair like a magnet...trust me....I know.  Stick to sturdy cottons and slip-covers.  A whole lotta throws and blankets too. You can always wash the blankets and that helps the hose smell fresh.

Anyway...my house doesn't smell like dog. And I always have a fresh look. Plus the furniture is never in one place long enough to put dents in the carpet.
oh oh ...another thing....
Let me show you the best carpet for a house full of dogs....or cats...or even kids.

This carpet hides dirt and even if there is an accident....it doesn't show.  Perfect color for any pet stains that linger even after a good cleaning.
As far as the rest of the room ....since you're here....  I like a neutral palette and keep to greens, greys, browns, golds....sort of like a meadow.  I have had the green floral sofa for twenty years or so and even after all those dogs it still looks good. I would love to redo the whole room but as long as the furniture is good I can't see spending the money.

 I made the needlepoint pillow back in 1983...even before I had a sofa to put it on.

I love how it works in this room

 I love texture

 and the hard wood floor

Thanks for stopping by

                                              

Art Funk

Some days I have so many ideas I can't seem to get around to all of them and other days it seems i haven't got a creative bone in my body.

Maybe it's the heat.

I don't know but whatever it is it had better leave soon.

I don't feel like myself and I have thoughts of dumping all of my art supplies into a huge dumpster and having it hauled away. have you ever felt that way?  

Maybe it's because I have so many different interests , I can't focus on one thing.

perhaps I should narrow my choices.

What if I packed up everything and put it in storage for a year.

Then go get only the things I need to work on one project at a time?

hmmmmm....

No

i don't think that would ever work.

So while I don't have any real plans or projects to share today.

I have been staring at these backgrounds

I still  have no idea where I am going with them.

But having paint on my fingers is at least going in the right direction.

what do you do when you are in a non-creative funk?

One thing I like to do is visit my artsy friends to see what they're up to.

Come on....Let's go to Paint Party Friday to have a margarita and see what everyone else is up to.

Thanks for listening.

                                                            

not a Wordless Wednesday

Didn't have anything I had to do today so I just

stayed in the craft room trying to finish the big clean up

but

I kept finding things to play with

so

 I worked on a few old stamped and painted backgrounds

that I started a few years ago

You may click on these and print them if you would like to use them in your collage or art projects.

If you do I would love to see what you make.

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I also played with old magazines and made a few paper beads

I have a ton of old magazines

I have made quite a few of these  

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And....

enjoyed a beautiful summer day

What did you do today?

                                                              

butterfly box step by step / WOYWW #112

I've been away for a while but now I am back. And what better way to come back than to join in with Julia's WOYWW

(what's on your workdesk wednesday )

I have a project that I have been working on sporadically since January

and

It's finally  ( almost)   finish !

I started working on this  while on vacation

and while cleaning my craft room yesterday I found, it and decided it was time to finish it.

So instead of clearing out old magazines and folding new fabric...

I picked up my little box and started to play.

Who needs clearing and folding anyway?

So to recap

In January I found a cute box

added a layer of glue and paint

more paint around the edges

I used paper and paint tio line the inside

Found a beautiful piece of paper to cover the front

I chose to use the butterfly portion

covered with a few layers of paint and ink

I used ink and colored pencil to "age" the edges

more pencil to add definition and shadow

now on to embellishment.

well.....I said I was ALMOST finished

I need to finish this by mid August because I have special plans for it.

shhhhh....it's a secret

Thanks for stopping by.

If you didn't come from Julia's WOYWW Link party.

Go there now to see all of the other contributors work spaces.

butterfly box step by step / WOYWW #112

I've been away for a while but now I am back. And what better way to come back than to join in with Julia's WOYWW

(what's on your workdesk wednesday )

I have a project that I have been working on sporadically since January

and

It's finally  ( almost)   finish !

I started working on this  while on vacation

and while cleaning my craft room yesterday I found, it and decided it was time to finish it.

So instead of clearing out old magazines and folding new fabric...

I picked up my little box and started to play.

Who needs clearing and folding anyway?

So to recap

In January I found a cute box

added a layer of glue and paint

more paint around the edges

I used paper and paint tio line the inside

Found a beautiful piece of paper to cover the front

I chose to use the butterfly portion

covered with a few layers of paint and ink

I used ink and colored pencil to "age" the edges

more pencil to add definition and shadow

now on to embellishment.

well.....I said I was ALMOST finished

I need to finish this by mid August because I have special plans for it.

shhhhh....it's a secret

Thanks for stopping by.

If you didn't come from Julia's WOYWW Link party.

Go there now to see all of the other contributors work spaces.