but is it a tool??

ever since i posted those pics of a few of my tools, i've been using another favorite friend :) a funky paper towel!! i'm telling you: whatever is handy… and there's almost always a paper towel that really belongs in the garbage can! so why do i keep these and use them? because they are there :)

these are so used and crusty with acrylic that they can't be uncrumbled.... otherwise they'd be laying flat on table with the pile of 6 or 7  that might not get used as rags. every now and then i scan some of them, or put them in a collage. these are destined for trash!

i'm part of The Tree!!

Leanin' Tree that is! and i couldn't be happier! I LoVe working with so many FaBULoUS companies and the people that make it all happen. i am truly blessed...

so.. anyway, we signed a contract with Leanin' Tree late last year. once all was finalized i was welcomed "to The Tree". So here I AM, debuting on the first page of their 2008 catalog

if you know Leanin' Tree, you KNoW they do a beautiful job on their cards. colorful inside and out, all the way to the envelope :)  i recently received my samples and they are ABsOLUtELy Gorgeous!! look for them at an LT display near you. hey, if we have them here in podunk, they MuST be everywhere!! i know our local gallery who carries Leanin' Tree will have them...

Wowee... 2 blogging days in a row. smirk! hey, if i'm not careful, i may be blogging everyday :)  <-- did i say THaT??

tools of the trade

I am delighted to have been invited to teach for two of Southern California's calligraphy societies.. One in San Diego and another in Orange County.

In preparing for this class and putting together my supply list, I decided to give the participants some visuals of a few of my tools. 

I have to chuckle when I look at some of my brushes. For some reason, I am attached to my oldest and nastiest brushes. I do keep my brushes clean, but I am far from fanatical about it. The brush on the right is just an ordinary inexpensive household brush from Home Depot or the like. Its original purpose is to prepare paper with gesso or acrylic medium. It surely has seen better days and if there's nothing else in my view when a whim strikes, I even use it to paint with!

I like to recycle containers and such. These are plastic egg cartons that I absolutely love to use... and use.. and use. Especially the lids.. LOL! I keep the egg sections because, well... I just like looking at the colors! But it also gives me a future reference for color ideas. Playing color is such a fascinating thing, I don't think I will ever tire of it!

just because..

i want to be a better blogger

i want to be a better blogger…

i enjoy having peaks at pieces of others' lives.... and i am always happy to share mine. i just want to make certain that i begin to take time for sharing at least a nugget. SOO..

here's a little something that's been making me smile… a picture of our new "nephew", kona puppy's cousin :) 

our buddies down the street brought their little baby puppy home a little over a week ago. a soft, squirmy ball of sweet, warm fur. who could resist??

and the winners of the "test" are.....

Diana in Montana

gl. in Portland

and
Donna Livingston

CoNgratulations!! and thanks to all of you lovely folks for indulging me!

Please send me your full names and addresses to teriATterimartin.com or through the contact page on my website


Choose from a 2008 Calendar, a Journal (see November 19, 2007) or one 12x12" art print from Penny Lane

and yer right, KT.. I'm NoT a good blogger.. i PRoMIsE to be back soon!!!!

Happy New Year!

i hope you all had the very best of the Season! here is one of my favorite pictures from Christmas.. my mother, who i call the Beauty Queen. if you are from Virginia, you know about Mrs. Fearnow's Brunswick Stew and how delicious it is (not to mention hard to find) The Beauty Queen loves it (as you can see!) Santa brought her 20 cans!! and NO, she won't share :)

now, is it just me, or does time have a way of increasing warp speed?? please, oh please slow down for just a little while! i keep telling myself "next month" but not this time... next month i will be in CA for CHA. i am delighted to have been invited to teach a one day class in San Diego and a two night class in Orange County. I am SOO excited to see, visit, laugh, play, splash paint with my old friends.. write me if you want details. look out California:: here i come !

next up: the winners of the "test" :) i'll also be adding a comment to that post. thank you friends, for reassuring an apparent needy blogger