Book of poetry

I was trying to figure out what to buy for my mother a few years ago. I wanted to give her something original that she would enjoy and wouldn't throw away in a few years.

Eventually I decided to make books of illustrated poetry.

This book contains poetry of my mom's professor and friend, Dr. Aaron Belz.

(my mom is in the process of finishing college before I begin)

First day of senior year

My family does not have a lot of traditions. We don't pass a piece of corn around the dinner table at Thanksgiving and share what we are thankful for. At Christmas time we don't hang an advent calendar (or put up a tree). My family has never hosted a Easter egg hunt or made Easter baskets. Most of the time we don't follow regular holiday traditions.

Some unorthodox traditions we do have involve school and birthdays. At my birthday party we always take a picture of all my friends sitting on our couch (in the same position). After dinner we always have a dessert other than cake. In the morning we have amazing, delicious blueberry and chocolate chip scones.

On the first day of school every year (from kindergarten to this year) my mom takes a picture of me on the porch before I head off to school. This is the first time I have driven myself to school on the first day and possibly the last time we will ever do this.

there it is...my first day as a Senior

An Old Church

Today I took some pictures of an old church across from my house.

Most of them were not good, but this picture

of the windows is nice because of the bright colors.

My biology project

I am posting a biology project I made last winter.
The assignment was to research an animal and then share
the information in an essay or artist way.
...hmm...essay or artistic presentation....

How to make a card

The easy step-by-step process
to make a simply yet attractive card

Tools you will need

...and paper of course

(I separate my paper into a patterned and plain boxes)

1. Make the center piece for your card. Simple is usually better.

This center piece was inspired by birds

on a power line.

2. Find 2 or 3 complementary piece of paper.

3. Find the paper you want to be the card itself, cut, and fold.

4. This card seemed empty so I added a few touches.

5. Glue all elements to the surface of the card.

6. Be sure to add your own logo on the back.

The finished product

A couple tips

1. Adding a lot of layers complements a simple card.

2. Tearing rather than cutting can add a nice effect.

3. Photographs can make nice centerpieces for those non-artists.

Bar B Q

Yesterdays Barbecued chicken

My mom tricked my dad into eating dark meat by telling him it was chicken breast. My aunty, grandma, and friend TC were also around the table at dinner. TC made a shrimp salad that was really tasty (I only sampled it b/c I hate shrimp). Later we had a competitive game of password.

Dad barbecues using a chimney to start the fire

Dad's dorky garden shoes. He cut his Wellingtons when they fell apart and covered a hole in the toe with a bike tire patch.

Just another example of my familly's unconventional recycling methods

postage stamp quilt

About 4 or 5 years ago I made a postage stamp quilt top. Unfortunately I did not have the drive to carry the quilt to fruition. Only recently my mom attached the quilt top to the batting and backing (an old white sheet).

my mother sewing the binding onto
the quilt

(note her manicure - she is quite proud

of it and was posing her hands for the camera)

My mother used the above thread to sew the quilt.

She inherited this thread from her great grandmother

(who was very frugal). As you can see the thread is

wrapped around a toilet paper roll.

my mother's sewing box

Wine Charms

Every year at my birthday I have

a big bash with about 8 of my friends.

When my mom sets the table for our

dinner she uses some of our nicer stemmed

glasses. It was hard to differentiate

between the glasses, so I made wine

charms for our glasses one year






The charms on these rings are part of a charm

bracelet someone gave to me. The bracelet

broke and I no longer wanted to wear it so I

removed them and strung them onto thick

pieces of wire with colorful beads.

Glass Etching

To avoid unsanitary drink sharing during a party we use wine charms, plastic cups labeled with Sharpe, or funky umbrellas. Plastic cups are not Eco friendly and no one remembers what their wine charm looks like. We (my family) has discovered a clever alternative to these party options.

Today our family created etched glasses for party and daily use so that no one will be confused (unless you doomed to glass sharing and forget your letter).

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Step by Step (how we did it)

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1. print out the letters/numbers
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2. Trace the letter onto a piece of contact paper

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3. peal off paper and attach sticky surfaced clear paper

onto your glass

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4. use a razor blade to cut out the letter

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5. paint etching solution onto the glass in short downward strokes

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6. let the glass sit for 7 minutes (lay the glass down so it doesn't run)

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7. after 7 minutes wash off the solution and peal

off the paper

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17$ later our family has

12 glasses which are artsy

and great for party

situations.

silver shoes

As you wander through the discount shoe store a pair of pink pumps snags you. You stop in front of it, stare at the price tag, and attempt to stick the size 4 shoe onto your suddenly huge feet. No. You chide yourself for considering those barbie shoes. After all they wouldn't go with more than 2 of the things in your wardrobe. You tell yourself to buy something black because it goes with everything.


Don't buy that pair of black shoes. Black is not the only color that goes with everything. Black goes with everything because it is devoid of color, red and silver (despite what you may think) go with a myriad of outfits while adding a splash of color to your outfit.


My mother bought a pair of red Mary janes over years several ago and was astounded to discover that she could wear them with just about anything. Pink sweater and jeans. Ding! Black tank and gold skirt. Ding! Grey dress. Ding!









The above pair of silver shoes is not only cute, but also versatile. I bought this pair of shoes because I wore my last pair of silver shoes until they broke. Often I would would wear my favorite shoes to school 5 days a week and then to church on Sunday.

Concrete

As much as I love flowers, I enjoy having non-living

objects in my backyard to balance them out. Think of them

as the concrete accents of the garden. Several decorative

bricks lining the path. A pot brimming with crawling

ivy.