On To The Last Month of 2012

  It is just amazing how fast the days, weeks and months go -well, even the years for that matter. I already know that Dec. is going to come and go with the blink of an eye! There are lots of cards to make, gifts to make and buy, cookies to bake, decorating to be done throughout the house and gifts to wrap for Christmas. It can be fun, but a bit hectic and tiring too which is why my favorite time is on Christmas eve when I attend a candlelight church service with my Mom. THAT is what reminds me of the true meaning of Christmas.

  Note: if you do not wish to read what I found out about that mysterious spider as seen in a pic in this post  you can just scroll down further for the art part :)

  Rest easy, I  promise there are no photos of any type of creepy critters. However, thanks to a commenter from Paint Party Friday - Karen Smithey, the spider was identified as an Argiope. According to Wikpedia it is also known in North America as the black and yellow garden spider, corn spider, and writing spider. They are harmless to humans but might bite only in defense. Their venom is not regarded as a serious medical problem for humans.

  Upon reading about the meaning of a spider's appearance in your life (in the book Animal Speak by Ted Andrews) I learned that it's about creativity and the weaving of fate. A spider teaches you to maintain balance and that everything you now do is weaving what you will encounter in the future. The spider awakens creative sensibilities. It can teach you how to use written language with power and creativity so your words weave a web around those who would read them.

  The chapter goes into much more depth and also presents questions you can ask yourself. Fascinating! Well, to me anyway :). So, spiders are a good thing!

  Time for art-yay! I missed last week's Art Journal Everyday and Paint Party Friday - too busy with the Thanksgiving holiday and making cards and necklaces for sale at a Christmas Extravaganza hosted by my friend at her neighborhood community center this Saturday. I may sell a good amount, or I may sell nothing, I just really wanted to do this this year.

  Here are some of the necklaces I've made:

 

 

 

 

 

  I had made similar ones over the summer to give to my beach friends. What I like about them (I have two for myself) is that they are a perfect length to just slip over the head and wear as is, or I've also opened the clasp and wrapped mine around twice for a very short necklace. I posted pics of some of the cards I made to take along in my last post but quite frankly I am not happy with the way they show in the pics.

 

  I managed to get my December calendar spread done for the final entry in Kate Crane's 2012 366 Calendar Challenge on her blog The Kathryn Wheel.

 It's a project I plan on continuing next year in a larger journal.

 

  This is the base of my calendar spread:

 

 

  I dry brushed four different acrylic paints randomly over the pages. I used Americana Primary Red and Yellow Green, Anita's Hot Pink, and Apple Barrel Pumpkin Orange.

 

  Here it is all ready to be filled in:

 



 

  I used the Magenta foam stamp set for the month and weekdays as I have done each month this year. The pages were decorated with stickers, sparkly rub-ons, and a glittery felt tree. Pretty festive don't you think?

  Here's a detail pic showing the sparkle:

  Aren't those tiny snowmen adorable? 

  And here is my Nov. calendar spread completed:

  I decorated what little spaces I had with autumn themed stickers-leaves, acorns and flowers. You can see how the background was created here.

  On one final note- it was a happy mail day for me as I just received a complimentary issue of the soon to be released Somerset Studio Gallery Winter 2013 issue!! I was quite surprised by the fact that I had sent the two published projects in over 2 yrs ago. One is a French inspired tag and the other is a Christmas ornament using a coaster and Christmas napkin. I honestly didn't think they had anything more of what I'd sent so long ago! I haven't had time to really look thru it yet so if anyone stopping by here has anything published in this issue I'd love to know. (Sorry about the lg. pic of this issue on the sidebar. First time I tried doing it myself. I'll get my son to help me adjust the size. Good thing he lives nearby :))

  Linking this post up to Art Journal Everyday, The Kathryn Wheel, and Paint Party Friday. Have a great weekend and I'll try to catch up with you over the next few days.

  "Over the winter glaciers I see the summer glow; and thru the wild- piled snowdrift the warm rosebuds below."  Ralph Waldo Emerson