New End Studio

Mail With a Stamp = Something Good

2012-03-10T10:08:00.003-05:00

So, with email and postage meters there aren't many actual lick and stick or peel and press postage stamps in my mailbox very often. Years back I sponsored a boy through Christian Children's Fund and one of the things he asked for was postage stamps from my mail. I was able to send him stamps frequently, and he told me how much he liked having them and seeing the art, the postmarks, the different currency values, sizes of stamps, etc. It was such a little thing to do, collecting the stamps and sending them to him, but I was happy to do it. I sponsored him for nine years and often think of him and his situation. His country is still under a dictatorship and if you aren't a member of the majority religion, you are persecuted for wanting and insisting on your freedoms.

When the latest batch of mail included an envelope with a little stamp on it, I thought, "here comes something nice" and I was right.

Stacy, a talented Canadian artist sent me this charming bookmark from her latest blog giveaway. Isn't she sweet? The crow and Stacy. The bookmark is brighter in person, and the ribbons are all polka dotted!

Thank you, Stacy! Take a little visit over to her Blog and Etsy shop.

When I get a postage stamp I save them to use in some little project. Do you have a postage stamp story?

Set It and Forget It Slow Cooked Foil Wrapped Ribs

2012-03-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

This is too easy, you might forget it's cooking until you get the fragrance of the spices and sauce drifting your way from the kitchen. A few ingredients, a few hours, and then it's ready to eat. An easy cleanup too, because of the foil.

After slow cooking this in the oven and considering cooking it in the slow cooker, I thought why not cook it slowly on the stovetop? If it doesn't cook just right, I'd finish cooking it in the oven. Didn't have to.

For this version I used horseradish, brown sugar, ketchup and a few spices. I forgot to add the onions, but there was plenty of flavor without them. Double, even triple wrap if you need to seal the meat in its sauce. I used boneless thick ribs this time, and I've also used other cuts of pork and beef before.

My stove is electric and goes from Low, 1, 2, etc. 9, then High. I set the pan on 2. After about an hour I heard the sizzling and turned it down to Low. Altogether this size parcel, about 2 lbs of ribs took just about 2 hours 45 minutes to cook all the way through, no rareness. A little less time cooking depending on your stove.

The juices settled to the bottom of the bowl; give a stir or better to put the meat in a smaller container than I did. This makes a great sandwich with melted provolone cheese. Shredded meat goes well with rice; mixed with shredded potatoes and fried together; with noodles, or what have you.

Sometimes I don't mind stirring and watching, and sometimes I do. Do you have a go-to easy set it and forget it meal?

Ten for Tuesday Fun Generators

2012-03-06T00:15:00.000-05:00

Do you like to play with online generators to make images with messages for your blog or site? Well, if you do, you're in luck with this Top Ten Tuesday List of fun gadgets.

Or maybe you want to give out awards, such as this engraved medal:

Three more gadgets you can make at this site include a tombstone, wedding sign, and road sign. That leaves two more gadgets to give you on Ten for Tuesday.

I made this word search puzzle and went to Picnik to add the images and background. Here's the original post. with the links.

Last, but not least, try Wordle to make a word cloud of your blog, choose colors, words to include or exclude, different patterns and more.

That's ten gadgets to play with, what do you think of these? For more Top Ten lists, check out Many Little Blessings.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin I'm adding a new way to follow the blog and added Bloglovin' on Wednesday. It automatically updates your account and gives your followers the newest blog post.
I'm linking HERE with clairejustinexoxo and Judy on 7 Ways to Follow Wednesday. Check it out!

Random and Unpredictable the 29Faces and the Wind

2012-03-03T00:29:00.002-05:00

Just played once with the names of the 29Faces February Challenge participants and put them all together in this little pencil sketch. In random order, the names fit although it's crooked as I did this on the arm of the couch while listening to the tv and worrying about the tornadoes out there and our high wind warning.

Hope everyone came through the storms with their lives and their loved ones. The weather has been great and crazy bad this week. Summery and wintery in the space of three days. Stay as safe as you are able.

Greetings from Wales on Saint David's Day

2012-03-01T00:30:00.000-05:00

This Welsh mountain pony was just perfect for a Saint David's Day Greeting to you.

Wild and semi-wild ponies have a long history in Wales. The church in ruins in the background and the pony's shadow add to the beauty of this scene. Thanks for stopping by today and hope you enjoy this photo greeting on my own second national holiday. (The pony is in Wales, I'm not; wishes...).

Photo: © Copyright Jeff Buck and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Finale 29Faces Challenge

2012-02-28T21:26:00.000-05:00

The end to the 29Faces Challenge, to create a face for each day of February, is here; the month is over. I want to Thank everyone who commented and visited the blog while the challenge was ongoing and I want to thank the organizer, i love 2 paint.

I had an unplanned break, but dug in to finish the task. Earlier today, when the page was dry I did a little happy dance and rhyme for Lucy which made my husband come out of his den to see what all the fuss was about. He laughed, Lucy circled around me, and then I said to myself, "babysteps."

Whatever you want to do, no matter how difficult, complicated, out of reach- whatever- just try. One day I may tell you why this challenge and the IA and aceo challenges have meant massive obstacles
are moved through babysteps.

A Little More Catch Up 29Faces Challenge

2012-02-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

Only one more day in the challenge after today, and the delay (read yesterday's post) will not stop me from finishing. The aceo and the two sketches are part of catching up to meet the goal of 29 faces posted in February.

Could this be the face of the devil salad? So glad I'm almost ready to laugh about it.

These two guys remind me of faces from the 1890's, maybe from photos of men in their workclothes. When they would pose in front of their shops or near their places of business.

Next month I have a blogaversary, should I do a giveaway? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
It'll be two years, I'm still in the terrible twos and learning...

Freak Out and Throw Stuff (Not) Top Ten Tuesday Keep Calm List

2012-02-28T03:02:00.001-05:00

Sleepless in Ohio, still recovering from the devil salad and here I am trying a new topic: Top Ten Tuesday List. Just for a change of pace and to read some silly sayings as well as some beautiful sentiments I ~~wasted~~ enjoyed some time reading some of the nine thousand plus Keep Calm products on Etsy and elsewhere on the web. From ~~salad~~ soup to nuts and champagne to chocolate for every occupation, dog breed, fantasy character and more there is a Keep Calm product. Here are nine I liked and one I made up, along with its own image:

Keep Calm and Free Mr. Bates (Downton Abbey fans, this one's for us.)
Keep Calm and Carry Chocolate (yummy)
Keep Calm and Call the Doctor (Doctor Who, that is.)
Keep Calm and Take a Nap
Keep Calm and Then Delete, Delete, Delete!
Keep Calm and Love Unconditionally (See this example)
Keep Calm and Click Your Heels (In needlework.)
Keep Calm and Drink Tea (a personal favorite)
Keep Calm and Get Your Craft On

and the one I made. I enjoy irony.

Did you enjoy this selection, do you have your own personal take on Keep Calm sayings? Share, please, and to see more Top Ten Lists, go visit Many Little Blessings.

Little Monkey Wrenches 29Faces Challenge

2012-02-27T10:09:00.000-05:00

There I was zipping along working on a big art challenge, even made the mistake of saying, "I hope I can finish," and a few little gizmos in my mostly regular working mechanism, my life, called for recalibration. You know how it is, I hope you do- when things happen and you need to shut down all external and artificial "things" that cause you to stray off course. I ignored something and it had to be worked on and now that part is also, mostly back on track. So that's good.

Then another little monkey wrench. For all of my good intentions of trying to eat a salad a day, there was a price to pay for not following that quiet voice that tells you that you're on the wrong path. When I hesitated two days in a row not buying the salad items, I should have accepted that there was a reason. I went to the grocery two days, the second day because I had to get something which wasn't on the list the previous day.

So, the second day, I said, here's my chance to do something healthy, and I bought it. I bought the DEVIL SALAD. I've had mild food poisoning before, but this was the worst. No explanations, you can imagine or google / search to find out what you've been missing. A few days of intense misery and a few days of recovery.

And those are the little monkey wrenches I've been recently juggling. Here are a four more faces for the 29Faces Challenge (links in the sidebar to all the participants.) Technically I didn't make the challenge because of the gap, but I'm going to make all 29 faces one way or the other before the end of the month. I missed posting the IA entry last week and I only half finished my aceo for the aceo challenge, but things happen and lesson learned. When you hear that quiet impression telling you to do or not do something, "Listen!" and make the right choice.

Sweet Smile Profile Action 29Faces

2012-02-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

Getting to the home stretch of the 29Faces Challenge. This is another pencil sketch. I tried doing a profile with some action, in this case, smiling with the eyes closed.

Maybe he's just seen something and he's agreeing with it; or he's flirting or being flirted with; just received a compliment; just won a bet; liking some music...looking down onto something or someone special such as a daughter or son or some other sweet moment.

Nosey Perspective 29Faces

2012-02-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

Whatch'u looking at? Should you be scared or is he just funning with ya?

Tried drawing this guy with the face down a bit, showing the mostly bald head and the nose over the thin line of a smile.

Alien or inmate? Dishwasher or clothing designer?
I'm not sure I want to know...

Blowing Bubbles 29Faces

2012-02-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

Tea parties, blowing bubbles, skipping rope, hopscotch, and playing with dolls- all great ways to feel young again and this lady is having a fun bubble blowing moment. An ad in a magazine was the inspiration for this drawing.

It's another face for the 29Faces Challenge, the 15th face and only 14 more to go. I hope I can keep going...

Bittersweet Valentine Parting, So Long Picnik, We Shall Ne'er Meet Again

2012-02-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

When something is good, it's bound to be torn from you at some point. That's how it is as another great website goes dark. It's going to be a sad parting, so for Valentine's Day this is one of my Picnik edited photos, maybe the last one. April 19th Picnik is closing down; I'll spend no more hours manipulating, coloring, framing, and adding text to my photos. So long Sweet Picnik, the Valentine of photo editing sites...

For the rest of us, I am wishing all of you:

Playing With Dolls 29Faces

2012-02-14T08:00:00.001-05:00

She has the look of one of those larger and poseable vinyl dolls. She's painted in watercolor and acrylic.

My scanner refuses to accept the color Pink as the runner/base for the rocking horse, so that looks white in this image. I thought about using a pen to color in a darker color just to satisfy the scanner, but I left it as is.

Granny Get Your Gums and The Champ 29Faces

2012-02-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

She's a bit off putting with the toothless smile, but there's a kind heart under the glitz and heavy makeup. No.2 pencil sketch of glamorous granny going gummy. She enjoys Bingo, Diners, and Yard Sales; and is a very sociable lady enjoying her golden years.

I don't know why, but from the nose up she looks a bit like Hillary Clinton when she had a short hairstyle. Would a gummy grin affect diplomatic relations?

The second face is The Champ, another pencil sketch, he's wearing his medal and he's out of the ring- which looks just like a fence. (I made him into a boxer and in no way did I associate him with the awful dog fighting that some people force dogs to do. I just saw his face and his breed and made that connection to boxing.)

He's wearing a turtleneck and vest, since he's a retro kind of macho male, who likes the 60's and 70's mod style of clothing. His closet has a few leisure suits for when he's trotting around the neighborhood, just to keep in shape and show off his medal for the ladies. The Champ likes comfort and style...

Linky Followers Blog Hop

2012-02-12T01:57:00.002-05:00

If you have noticed the new Linky Followers Tool in the sidebar, this new gadget is a way to follow and manage your blog list. Google Friend Connect is going away on February 29, 2012 for non-blogger blogs. There is talk that GFC is going away for all blogs later this year.

With Linky Followers you can have a free account even if you don't have a blog. Why not take a moment to sign up for your free account and start following your old and new blogs before the google gadget goes away?

When you follow this blog, please leave a comment so I can be sure to visit your blog and return the favor.

This list will close in 3 days, 20 hrs, 17 min (2/16/2012 1:01 AM CST

Living in a World of Fossils and Giant Cats 29Faces and IA

2012-02-10T00:02:00.000-05:00

For the 29 Faces Challenge I've been practicing with watercolors and drawing the cartoon cat. There are two of him on this page from an old book. He reminds me of those old 1920's and 30's comics and animations. I think this fella needs a name.

I like him looking up at the big cat, maybe this is a dream; or he's living in a world of GIANT cats...

Now, my scanner is acting crazy, I worked on scanning this aceo to get it right, but to no avail. This is an acrylic for the Inspiration Avenue theme of, "Here Comes the Sun."

It's somewhat abstract with the sun, sky, sea, and land. The sun is rising over a fossil. I think I'm personally feeling fossilized with the winter weather and the bright spot of sun feels like a new earth is being born.

Smile Tenderheart 29Faces Day9

2012-02-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

Is she winking at you? She's a sketch in No.2 pencil. Another lady with uneven eyes. This might be a glass eye, or her way of giving approval over what she's looking at. I enjoy the imperfections in the faces, it's a showcase of character and sometimes of trials and tribulations. She's happy, her smile seems honest and engaging.

I'm experimenting with character in expressions, how to place the eyes and mouth. This lady has a long heart shaped face with a lower hairline.

Simple Install of a GFC Follow Gadget for Your Blog

2012-02-08T15:15:00.003-05:00

If your Google Friend Connect gadget stops working, you can install this code below to add a Follow Button to your blog. The button will not have a count or images of your followers, but it serves to let them follow the blog, a little convenience. When the GFC stops working on non-Blogger blogs sometime this Spring, March was mentioned, you might try this as a substitute, I have no idea if it will work at that time, but here it is if you need it.

Before you copy and paste the code, write your Blog Id Number down, you will type that number in the space where I've typed in RED, below. Don't type in "YOURBLOGIDNUMBER." You can find your Blog Id number by looking at the address bar after you are signed in and have your draft.blogger page loaded.

Sign in to your account and go to your draft.blogger where you choose Layout and Add a Gadget, choose add HTML. Paste this code in with your id number and give it a title if you want, Save, and move the gadget where you want to place it. Preview if you like, and Save Arrangement.

<center><a href="http://www.blogger.com/follow-blog.g?blogID=YOURBLOGIDNUMBER" target='_blank'><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lyvoqBODutQ/TagvjM9vDCI/AAAAAAAADsw/2m38l41mVYY/s1600/Blogger_Follow_Button.PNG" /></a></center>

That's it, simple and quick! You might want to bookmark this post to come back to after the GFC changes are made or try it out now.

Stick around to read the next post about the new Linky Followers tool, which I'll leave at the top of the page for a while.

Boy Bear in Pink 29Faces Day 8

2012-02-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

He's still smiling even with a booboo bandaged on his forehead. It's Day 8 of 29Faces and this is my watercolor. I'm still experimenting with the placement of white in eyes. I painted over the eyes a few times, still not satisfied with the white where it is.

Although the bear is pink, I'm calling it a "he." The little girl dressed up the bear with bowtie, colorful turtleneck and scarf. It's definitely a boy bear, look at that grin and low forehead. He's just happy for the hugs.

Masquerade 29Faces Day 7

2012-02-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

Strange party hat, heavy on the makeup, looks a bit voodoo, zombie-ish; could be a scary clown or scifi character, I haven't decided. For some reason, Leon Russell music comes to mind. No offense to Leon.

Sketch with No.2 pencil.

I wanted to see how much decoration combined would change the intention of the character in the sketch. The sideways glance and the open mouth signal that something interesting was just witnessed, or is about to happen.

Maybe the costume is getting unwanted attention, but the wearer has to play along. Maybe I should stop interpreting the images, and leave the stories (if any) to the observer.

Do you create with a story behind the image?

Eyes, Hair, and Mouth Two Chicks 29Faces Day 6

2012-02-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's Day 6 of the 29Faces link party and here are two more works:

She's drawn with a No.2 pencil. I'm trying to figure out her life story. Is she vain, regal, impatient, overworked? Or, is she a diva, abused, or left on the sideline? Maybe her bun is too tight and she simply has a headache.

I was practicing different hair textures and a fuller mouth. Her eyes are purposely uneven, due to a natural fact of her birth.

This is a watercolor on a torn out page from a 100 plus year old book. The book was crumbling, so I salvaged a few pages, blank and with text to use to practice drawing.

With the duck I'm trying to work the white spots in the eyes to see where they should go; and deciding if the placement will give different expressiveness.

Making eyelids, as on the pencil sketch above, is another experiment. Having uneven eyes is not common, but not unusual and the above woman uses her uneven eyes to show even more disdain and contemplation.

Are you experimenting with the 29Faces?

Rocking Horse Girl 29Faces and IA

2012-02-02T20:03:00.001-05:00

I'm posting this a little early as this is Friday's 29Faces work. It is also linked to Inspiration Avenue's, "Rocking Horse" theme. You could visit IA to see all the entries on Sunday afternoon, and you could enter your own creation before noon EST on Sunday at that same link. 29Faces link is in the right sidebar and is ongoing for the month of February, one face each day of the month.

She is watercolor and acrylic. For some unknown reason, my scanner won't accept the color Pink unless it is in large areas. This skirt had a pink pattern to make it plaid and the saddle has a pink flower, but the scanner won't accept that amount of pink, so I've left it as is. The skirt is better in plaid, though.

The pen doodles on junk mail paper that looks like a passport is for Saturday's faces.

I'll be back on Monday with the Sunday and Monday faces.

Pencil Sketch for 29Faces

2012-02-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Before I show you the second face in the 29Faces, I want to let you know that glitch is still around. It's the one making comments on your posts disappear. It's supposed to be caused by the new, "embedded" comment option. Blogs with the comment set as, "pop up or full page" seem to accept comments from everyone. I have some lovely people who are following this blog or who have stopped by, but there is no way to leave a comment on their blogs. I thought the glitch would have been fixed by now, but it hasn't been fixed. Maybe, soon?

"The Saint" a No.2 pencil sketch.

Thank Goodness for Short Months 29Faces to Show

2012-02-01T07:02:00.001-05:00

This is a scary proposition for me. Create 29 faces, one per day for the month. See that cute button on the right sidebar? You can linkup at Ayala's blog to join in the process and while you're here at my blog, you can see the posts by clicking on my label, "29Faces" in the left sidebar label list.

Confession, I stink at drawing, that's why I made paper collages, but to torture my readers I will be posting my drawing attempts. I shouldn't think to be good at drawing if it's not an innate talent, so then I'll have to practice.

Well, I hope it's okay that I'll not post on the weekends, so there will be extra humiliation during the week to add the weekend drawings. Brace yourself and thanks for sticking with me. Here goes...

I don't know who he is, a cross between a rocker and a rugby player, maybe a construction worker, sunglasses and all. A sketch with a plain number 2 pencil.