My Favorite "Summer Song". (Joe Satriani)

I just came across a blog where the author mentioned her favorite summer songs. This is mine and yes, it is called "Summer Song". It's quite a few years old now, but I still love it. I remember listening to it when my husband, then boyfriend, took me to the train in Chicago (December, 1992) and then again at our wedding reception (June, 1994). I still like Joe Satriani, but I must've really been going through a faze those two years. Enjoy it.

Paperback Swap

(I just signed up for this online book exchange and thought I would share the below info with you from their website. It's kind of wordy, but it really does tell it all. So far, I've sent out two books and have ordered one. So far, I really like the idea.)

Do you have any used paperback books lying around? I did, and I finally found a great way to share them with other people.

It seems that a few guys were sitting around one night talking about all the paperback books that they purchased over the years when they traveled on business. Each of them had a stack of books that they had read. So they decided to set up a web site http://www.PaperBackSwap.com/ that allows all of us to swap paperback books with each other. Now it's grown to include ALL books--hardcovers and audio too!

Let me tell you how it works because it is so easy. I listed a bunch of books on the site (you have to list at least 10 books to get in the club) and I got 2 free book credits to get me started. So you can order 2 books right away - free of charge and have them mailed directly to you. No strings attached. No gimmicks. No spam mail. Nothing! You just have to love reading.

Then when another member selects one of my books that I have listed, I mail it to them. Yes, I pay for the postage. But then I get a book credit and I can select a book that I want. So another Club Member returns the favor and mails me one of their books free of charge. For every book I mail out, I get another book in return - a true shared system!

And when someone requests one of your books, all you have to do is print a two page document on regular paper from your printer, and use them to wrap the book. The wrapper includes the mailing address and the amount of postage. Then drop the package in the outbound mail. Hey, most of the time you don't even need to go to the post office!

Right now the annual club membership is FREE! Eventually the founders will ask everyone to help contribute to pay for the upkeep of the web site, but for now the annual club membership is free. The annual dues will probably be between $10 and $20 based on the number of people in the club. But again, right now you don't even have to pay any dues for one year if you become a Charter Member.

You really need to check this out! And if you do sign up, please list my email (libbyriemersma@gmail.com) in the referral section because then I get another free book. This is a great club http://www.PaperBackSwap.com/

Wooden Bracelet

I bought this wood bracelet at Michael's the other day. They had them in their ad. I wood burned the design on it and filled it in with watercolor then coated it with some kind of triple thick, clear coating. I thought it turned out pretty well.

Drawing Day 08

Here are my drawings from Drawing Day. I got off to a good start; but didn't do as many later on in the day as I would've liked to. Oh well. This was a great exercise and I did draw more than I have in a long time. I also DID use the Moleskine book and it was wonderful. My son actually did a little drawing in it that day too.

"New post" day and other news.

I haven't posted anything is quite awhile, so instead of spreading all these posts out over several days, I decided to share everything at once.

Please check out my "other" blog for a couple of new paintings too. There is an ATC sized one from a beach on PEI and one of "Lulu" that was done for a gift. I've started painting again since I've got a lot of photo reference material from our trip last summer to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. I have a piece of 300# watercolor paper stretched on a board and will start the preliminary drawing soon. The photo I'm working from is the one from an earlier post of these lobster shacks on PEI (Prince Edward Island).

And...This Saturday, June 7 is DRAWING DAY! See the link to the right for more details. I'll be drawing in a Moleskine that I bought months ago and haven't touched because it's all nice and new and clean. But now I have this new idea (new to me at least) that I'm not going to save my sketchbooks, I'm going to USE them! What good are they if they are kept on the shelf?

Mom... Can I take apart my laptop?

Jarod came to me the other day and said, "Can I take apart my laptop?" This laptop was an old one that his grandparents gave him and really didn't work any longer. So, I said, "Sure." and take it completely apart he did. Above is a picture of the keyboard that now serves as a nameplate on his bedroom door; complete with his name spelled out. (Just his first name though, since there is obviously only one of each letter on a keyboard and we ran out of letters quick.)

Artistic License

I painted this license plate when I got this car back in 2002 (I think.) I wanted to say to the public that, "I'm an artist." I used to not be able to say that. I always thought that you had to be doing something full time and earning a living at it to say that that was what you were. I didn't want to show my art. I didn't want people to think that it wasn't good or that they could do better. I cared what people thought too much. To be honest, I still care what people think of me and my art, but it no longer stops me from saying that, "I'm an artist." See the video in the post below.

Mixed Media With Suzi Blu: yOu aRe an aRtist!

If you don't think you are an artist... watch this video.

Hooping update

This hula hooping thing is far more complicated than I originally thought. I've got my first hoop done and have been trying to practice and watch the videos on You Tube; but I still don't have it down. I guess I need to practice more.

We think we are going to get a video camera soon because we gave Bob a glider ride for his 45th birthday and he would love to take video to document this flight. So, if we do, I may be able to post my own hooping video or at least my progress. We'll see.

I still want to make a slightly heavier hoop when I can find the right tubing sold by the foot. I just don't want to buy a whole roll.

Coffee cozies and current projects

I came across this pattern for felted coffee cozies a little while back and with the help in the form of donated scrap wool yarn from a co-worker friend, I now have three done. They are so cute and the colors are great! Can't wait to use them myself. No burnt fingers from too hot cups and sometimes my coffee shop doesn't give them out. I really like the feel good idea of reusing these instead of throwing out the paper ones all the time too.

On a side note, I finally got my scrapbooking done! Last night! Current through May 16 too! Projects are finishing up. I've still got two scarfs in the works and would love to have mittens done before winter hits again; but I really have to start painting again. I seem to have lots of excuses to keep from starting again. It's just been a long time and maybe I'm a little afraid to see how rusty I've gotten with the paint brush. I really would love to show some new work too. If you want inspiration check out Suzi Blu's videos on youtube or her blog.

Additions to my blog...

I've added a couple of things to my blog that I thought I'd call attention to.

The first one is the "Drawing Day 08" on June 7, 2008. Now, I came across this after following a few links on some artist's blogs and thought it sounded like fun, so check it out. I usually find out about these events the week after they've happened; so it was nice to be ahead of this one for once.

The second thing I added is the "playlist". Now, the things I listen to vary greatly on a day to day basis. Sometimes it's the heavy metal I listened to in high school and college and other times it's Christian rock and other times it's current Top 40 stuff. It's way fun to it added here.

Oh, and I removed the "Countdown to my 50th birthday." I just thought that was stupid after I'd done it; so it's gone. Not that that will stop me from turning 50 some 2000 or so days from now.

Our preemie story, ten years ago...

On this day, ten years ago, began our journey with our son coming into this world.

I went into Holland Hospital with pre-term labor, thought I was nuts for going in, thought they would send me home, but they admitted me!

I was released two days later only to return to the hospital early on Saturday morning, May 9, 1998.

Following a 15 minute ambulance ride to Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids (usually a 35 minute drive), our son was born. Jarod Evan weighed 1313 grams (approx. 2 pounds, 14 ounces). He was 11 weeks early, born at 29 weeks gestation.

He spent four weeks in NICU and two weeks in NIM at the Helen DeVos Childrens Hospital in Grand Rapids, MI. He was born the day before Mother's Day and came home on Father's Day, a month before his original due date of July 23, 2008. He then weighed 4 pounds, 10 ounces.

Jarod will be ten years old this Friday, May 9 and he is a wonderful, healthy, "normal" boy. There is SO much more to the story, but I just wanted to document this briefly on this day.

(Hula) Hooping

I love YouTube and spend more time on it than I probably should. I subscribe to videos posted by Suzi Blu and love her creativity and positive attitude. Anyway, one of her latest videos have her hula hooping and I thought that it looked like so much fun.

As with everything, one thing leads to another and I came across some great instructional videos (on YouTube of course) on "hooping" and then I "googled" "hooping" and came across several recommendations for a man with a tutorial on his website about how to make your own hoops. Turns out that the hula hoops they sell in store are too small for adults, they are really kid's size, and that is the reason most adults can't do it. I always just thought it was because I am really uncoordinated.

All you need is some of that black pipe they use for underground sprinkling (They recommend 160 psi, 3/4".) and a connector. When you stand the hoop on the floor in front of you it should come mid way between your waist and shoulders. That's BIG! I found and used 100 psi, and the hoop cost me $4.50. I want to make another with the recommended 160 psi. That will cost a little more and will be a little heavier, which I would like to try. I have to shop around to see if I can find it by the foot. I used 11' to make mine. Once you get the hoop done you wind colored tapes around it for decoration, weight, and added friction.

I assembled my hoop this morning and tried it out and it worked! I was shocked! I will post a picture of the hoop and maybe even me hooping (shock, horror) when I get the decorating part done.

Quotes...

“Map out your future; just do it in pencil” -Jon BonJovi

I would say "colored pencils". -Libby

"If mothers could learn to do for themselves what they do for their children, we should have happier households. Let the mother go out to play! If she would only have courage to let everything go when life becomes too tense, and just take a day, or half a day, out in the fields, or with a favorite book, or in a picture gallery looking long and well at just two or three pictures, or in bed, without the children, life would go on far more happily for both children and parents." -Charlotte Mason

Now substitute "working parents" for "mothers". -Libby

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia

I haven't posted in awhile and was feeling like I wanted to get something new out there. These are a couple of pictures from Peggy's Cove, NS. Last summer (August, 2007), we drove to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. It was an incredible trip! I was there when I was seven years old with my family and it was great to take my husband and nine year old son and see it all again. We hit a lot of the same places and took lots of pictures. This is a trip I would do again in a heart beat!

Currently, I'm trying to get two and a half years worth of photos into an album. When I'm done with that chore; I use some of these Nova Scotia/Prince Edward Island photos for a new series of watercolor paintings. I haven't painted in quite awhile and miss it. I've been doing lots of other mixed media, cards, scrapbooking, etc. recently. When I was painting a lot; it really showed. I'd love to do outdoor art fairs again, so I really need to work on my inventory.

"Jeans-that-were-made-into-a-hillbilly-purse" kind of thing.

My husband had thrown out this pair of jeans. So, in the interest of recycling, I rescued them and made this purse/tote bag. I'm not completely happy with it. It's big and still looks like "old-jeans-that-were-made-into-a-hillbilly-purse", kind of thing. I'm thinking about altering it further with paints and other fabrics, but wanted to show it in it's current state. It's pretty sturdy and is lined with a green calico fabric that I got in a box of scraps from my mom. I didn't even have to buy a heavy duty needle or thread, so this didn't cost me a dime. Well, maybe if you count the electricity and my time... Stay tuned.

Stuffed doll.

I've had this doll since I was a baby. I don't know where it came from. Maybe I can ask my mom and fill in the details later. I always thought it was an "Eskimo" doll. Isn't it wierd how we save certain things and not others?

Stuffed Elephant.

My dad won this elephant for me at an amusement park somewhere in Quebec. I forget a lot of the details, but I remember when he won it for me. I loved this elephant and still (obviously) have him. He's a little the worse for wear, but I thought it would be fun to post his picture here...forever and ever.

Ginny or Apple Blossom Doll?

OK. I thought I would add a couple of posts based on a few old toys that I still have.

On the off chance that someone might read this post, I thought I would ask if anyone knows what kind of doll this is?

I called her "Susie" and I believe I had one before her that was similar. For some reason, I had in my head "Apple Blossom dolls"; but I haven't been able to find anything on them online, so I'm probably wrong there. She would be from the early to mid 1970s and she was my favorite doll in the whole wide world! She has vinyl legs, arms, and rooted hair and a hard plastic body. She is about 5" tall.

The Friday Night Knitting Club

I've now finished reading, "The Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs and I can really recommend it. The characters and story are great! It's the only book that made me teary at the end.

Now I've started reading "Back on Blosson Street". I got into reading the Debbie Macomber "Blossom Street" series when "The Shop on Blossom Street" came out in paperback about four years ago. The others in the series are, "A Good Yarn" and now "Back on Blossom Street". Her newest book "Twenty Wishes" will be out in hardcover in April, but I'm cheap, so I wait for the paperback edition. This series isn't as good as "The Friday Night Knitting Club", but it isn't bad.

A Beautiful Lie - 30 Seconds To Mars [official video]

I blogged about this video alittle while back and that particular clip was removed, so here it is again.

Praying In Color for Lent

I just wanted to share this finished Praying in Color calendar that I did for Lent through Easter Sunday.

Color Combinations

I mentioned a couple of entries ago that I ran out of the colors I normally gravitate towards when making cards. I also have this set of Earth Elements brads that I only ever used one color (old olive) of. So, I decided to try some different color combinations using the colors based on those other brads (more mustard, really rust and creamy caramel). I added not quite navy paper to the mix and was really happy with the results. Look, no ruby red paper! and I especially love the "embrace life" card.

One more thing... Yesterday was the first (and apparently the last) day of Spring here in West Michigan. It's 29 degrees (F), snowing and we are supposed to get six inches of snow today and perhaps another six overnight. However, as my son said one day when he was only two, "This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it!"

First Robin of the Year

Today is the last day of winter and this noon as I pulled into my driveway for lunch; I saw my first Robin of the year. Now, that is a sure sign that Spring is on it's way! I ran into the house, grabbed the camera and sneaked outside to catch this picture.

Easter Baskets

These are the Easter baskets that I made this year. I've had the pattern for the "basket" for years and had never really used it. I enlarged the pattern so I could make it as big as possible using a 12" sheet of paper. The paper I had was given to me (thanks Marianne!) and I glued two sheets together to make it heavier and two sided. I then added the personalized "tags" and ribbon.

Hello Swap Cards

This is one of the cards I made for a swap. The theme was to use one of the templates from Split Coast Stampers. I loved the "cherry" paper and thought this would be a great use for it. I may have to try some of the other templates from them.

I've been trying to use different color combinations lately since I've run out of some of my favorite color papers. It's been a challenge, but it's been fun to experiment and I've been pleasantly surprised along the way. I will post some of these cards later.

A Beautiful Lie

OK, OK, I know what you're going to say... I saw this video this morning and thought, "I've got to post this to my blog!" Here are the reasons:
#1 It's a cool video shot in the arctic.
#2 It focuses on Global Warming.
#3 Jared Leto is hot! WOW!(Am I too old to say that?)

Praying in Color

I came across the book "Praying in Color" last summer, I think. I love art books and when I saw this one that had to do with praying, I bought it. Now, like a lot of people, I don't feel like I pray enough. I sit down to do it, run off my laundry list of requests, get distracted, and never feel like I really prayed. I would never pray in public. I can't string together all those fancy words like the pastor does. This is a great book for people like me. I am an artist, but you don't have to be to do this exercise. I taught a Sunday School class for a week and I think people really liked it. As a class we sent our "prayers" to a member who is recovering from a stroke in a nursing home. He hung them up on a wall and proudly shows them to everyone who comes to visit. A friend is using it to learn scripture and the people who were at the class have been talking about it so much so that I will be doing another class next Wednesday. I love the visual aspect of this and wish the church did more in this area; but that may be a entry for a later date. In the mean time, check out the website for Praying in Color at: http://www.prayingincolor.com/

Iris Folding

Awhile back I came across an ATC on a now defunct website, that had been done in this really cool technique. I contacted the artist and she forwarded me on to this website http://www.irisfolding.circleofcrafters.com/. Well, it is just about one of the most awesome things I've ever seen! The two cards above were done with patterns from that site and I recommend that you check them out. I sent my mom a card for Mother's Day done with this technique and she loved it so much that she's taught a class at the park in Florida where they spend their winters. It looks so complicated, but is so easy to do.

Altered Skirt

This is a skirt that began it's life as a dress. The dress was awesome, though not a maternity dress, I wore it while I was pregnant. It was a cool empire waist, linen, super long, jumper kind of dress. so after I decided I no longer wanted to look like a pregnant woman when I was not, I cut off the skirt part of the dress, added an elastic waist, a ruffle to the bottom and voila, a new skirt! Now, the bottom hem is starting to fray, so stay tuned for the second reincarnation of the "maternity" dress!

Felted bag

I saw the knitted version of this bag on http://www.knitty.com/. It was called "Square Cake" and I thought it was adorable. Well, I'm not much of a knitter, and I currently have two knitting projects started, so I decided I would try a sewn version. I went to my local mission store and found this bright purple, wool sweater in a women's 2XL; brought it to work, where we have a top load washer and there I attempted to "felt" it. It worked pretty well, but also filled up the washer and the dryer with TONS of purple fibers. I mean TONS! I brought the now felted sweater home and tryed it again in the sink and then in my nice front load washer. Well, my husband got home first and found that machine also full of purple fibers. To say the least, he was confused and not thrilled. Fast forward to a few days later and I cut apart the sweater and made this little bag to the specifications in the pattern. It is cute, but a lot smaller than I thought it would be, even though I made the "larger" size. Honestly, I'd have to recommend taking a look a the "knitty.com" website for the original knitted purse.

SU Swatch Book

I wanted to share this cool swatch book that I made for all the Stampin Up papers. Each piece is 4 1/4 x 1 1/2 and labeled with the color name, hole punched and put on a large jump ring. It was a fun project and will hopefully save me some time when I see a cool "recipe" I would like to try. Thanks for your help Becky in identifying some of the colors.

Quoth the raven...

I must admit that I'd never thought much about crows until I saw so many other creative people doing so many cool things with them.

I still can't say that I have much of an opinion about them other than:

1. I've seen the movie "The Birds".

2. They make tons of noise in the cornfield behind my folks house.

and...

3. They are God's creatures.

But I have really enjoyed using them as subjects in some recent ATCs along with these cut-out guys.

Card making.

I love to make cards! Several years ago my son needed a card and a gift for a birthday party. We went to the store, purchased the gift and the card and as I was walking toward the car I thought that the cost was a little more than I had expected, so I looked at the reciept thinking we may have been mischarged. The card was $4.00 and that was for a plain, no frills card! At that point, I decided that I would make my own cards and have been doing so ever since.

Now I've decided that since I come up with some cards that I really like on occassion, I should take photos of them if I would ever want to reproduce them. A lot of the time, I'm just so-so happy with what I've done, but if I get something good, here it will be.

My "Other" Blog - art, color, & water.

Gosh, not hardly a week into this whole blogging adventure and I've already started a second blog. This one is to showcase my original watercolors and drawings. This is the more "highbrow" KayakChickee! LOL. Anyway, check it out at http://www.artcolorwater.blogspot.com/ or see the "My Original Art" link on the right.

New header!

I am so excited and feel such a sense of accomplishment to have made my own header for this blog! I must've had a "smart" moment! Yeah!

atcsforall.com

This is the new site of those members from atcards.com. I'm the same at the new site as I was at the old site, however, I may only be posting cards that are available for trade, not those already traded. We'll see. The site gladly welcomes new members, so check it out! It's a wonderful group of people.

The other site closed down within weeks of the announcement; not at the end of the month as they originally stated.

It's great to have a new site to trade on and amazing to have it so quickly.

My knitted past...

These are a couple of things that I've knitted in the past.


The first is a swing coat via Vogue Knitting from the 1940s. It was reprinted by them in the late 1980s. It was quite the undertaking for me and I haven't done anything this complicated since.


The second is a tank sweater done within the last few years. I had to reknit the front since my son sucked it up with the vacuum when I was a inch away from finishing it! He felt so bad that I couldn't even get mad at him. A horrible sweater to knit since it was entirely K1, P1. It doesn't even fit! (sigh)


Currently, I am working on a "Harry Potter" scarf, started in July 2007 while my son and I were waiting in line at Barnes & Noble to register for the seventh book release party. When I finish it I will tell the whole story.


I finished reknitting a pair of wristlets last night. I have to sew them up and then I can try them out. They were too loose before; so I thought to reknit them, now I'm afraid they may be too small.


Well, such is my knitting life. At least the scarf will fit, right?

Sweetheart Dinner

This past Saturday night we went for dinner at the Felt Mansion. It was a fundraiser for the church youth group and the Zeeland High School Jazz band. It was a beautiful snowy night and the mansion was incredible! My mom mentioned that her father had some part in creating the woodwork there and as we walked around; I wondered if I was looking at some of his craftsmanship. I wish I had known him.

ATC Gallery

I just wanted to post these ATCs that were some of my favorites from my atcards.com gallery, just to have them "out there".

Some of these have found loving homes around the world and I think that is great! I mentioned to someone who lives on the Isle of Man in Great Britain that if only we could share art like this and just get to know each other a little bit better on a personal level perhaps we wouldn't have the world problems that we have. She agreed. I could go on and on about that. Maybe another time...

I don't think I will be keeping up with my one ATC a day for the year; but I do intend to keep experimenting creatively with them.

I'm not sure that I will get involved with another trading website either; though never say never, right? I'll just have to see what happens on that front.

Right now, I'm off to make some cards for a card swap. I hope to post some of my favorite card designs from time to time too.