Tapestry Mosaic Coffee Table

The inspiration - a tapestry that my mom picked up on
the streets of Thamel in Kathmandu, Nepal.


I started with the tapestry that hangs on the wall behind our sofa. I knew that I wanted the mosaic to mirror the quilt, but I wasn't sure of the exact design. So, first I started by cutting many, many little pieces of glass in the colors that I wanted to use. Then, I was able to rearrange them, like a puzzle, until the design was just right.

The Process:

Using No Days Glaze mosaic adhesive and a heat gun, I was able to work one section of the mosaic at a time. The No Days Glaze is incredibly convenient. It comes in packages of several rubbery-plastic-like sheets. You lay a sheet down on the surface you are mosaic-ing, place the glass pieces down (and move them around), and fire up the heat gun (on low) until the pieces are hot and the adhesive melts into place. This step is tricky. You want the adhesive to melt, but if you don't heat the glass up enough, the glass will pop off when grouting. Also, if you heat the glass too long, it will start swimming around on the glaze. Then, you end up chasing each piece back into place (with a pair of tweezers, or a pencil tip, and NOT your fingers - the glass is HOT!).
After several days and plenty of movies (a Harry Potter-a-thon and a terrible Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull), I had all of the pieces adhered to the surface of the table, and was waiting for a free day to allow me to start and finish the grouting process.

A dirty job, but I was excited to get it over with....

and to let it dry so I could polish it to the beautiful and intricate table that it is:

Oh! And I finished it just in time to enter the "It Pays" to use No Days Glaze Mosaic Contest!!
They have started another challenge for 2009, as well! So, if you'd like to try your hand at the mosaic adhesive, enter your project for a chance to win $250!!

Incompatible...Glass, that is....

I've been meaning to take and post these pictures for quite awhile, now. So, don't fret yourself by thinking that my gorgeous blue and orange ribbon stitched quilted plate has suddenly shattered!

No, this plate is the first generation plate; the one made entirely of scrap glass, and because of that, alas, I found some incompatible glass laying in the wrong bins at the studio. However, this "unfortunate" incident lends itself nicely to a fabulous learning experience.


Many beginners to glass fusing ask if they can use old stained glass scrap that they've got lying around. The broad answer to that question is "No" due to reasons of incompatibility. You see, glass that has been specifically formulated for fusing "plays nicely" only with other glasses that have also been specifically formulated in the same way. The label "COE," or "Coefficient of Expansion," is the general term that describes the rate in which glass expands and contracts upon heating and cooling. If you are using two glasses that have different COEs for fusing purposes, then your final result will end up looking similar to my lovely sample plate. (Again, the COE will generally get you through the long explanation, but if you want all the juicy details of compatibility, check out TechNotes 3: Compatibility of Glasses from Bullseye.)


However, you may not have a disaster like this the first time out of the kiln! For reasons best left to the Glass Gods, this particular plate did not crack until after it's second time out of the kiln. Only when I was engraving the bottom of the plate did it "pop" in two cracks diagonally down the middle. Initially, I thought it was my engraving that broke the plate.
So, I put the plate back in the kiln to fuse it back together at a full fuse, once again. Fortunately, the third time out of the kiln was a total crack up, around each and every one of the orange pieces, allaying my guilt at having cracked my plate upon engraving.

So, what happened?!? By looking at the slivers that have formed in circles surrounding almost each and every piece of orange glass, we can be suspicious that this glass is not compatible, which all of the other glass that I was using happens to be. In other words, the rate at which the orange glass contracted upon cooling was slower than the rate at which the rest of the glass contracted. As the glass became less fluid, the only way for it to get rid of all the stress building up inside was to crack!

I Do!

Well, it's official! We tied the knot. In a low key, almost spontaneous wedding ceremony at the "Silverado Tiki Bar" in Napa, CA, my wonderful, thoughtful, caring fiance, Todd, became my beloved husband! He is so eloquent with words that I am left almost speechless. I'm sure he knows how much I appreciate and depend upon him and the support that he gives in all of my endeavors. He puts up with all of my piles and loose organization and lately lacking housekeeping skills. He is just too wonderful for words and I love him dearly.

I Blew It!

My First Attempts..., originally uploaded by CalyxAnn.

My very first solo attempts at making a blown glass pumpkin. A super mini-sized pumpkin, whose introduction to the world was doomed from the beginning...
It cracked as I added the too-hot stem, which was also too much glass for the tiny little pumpkin. So, after my feeble attempt at pumpkin-making (a good exercise in heat management and the dynamics of the whole process), we moved on to flower pulling. Again, a feeble attempt. My "flowers" were another great exercise in heat management. I need to be a bit quicker in pulling and turning the petals to give the flower some depth. Basically, I've got the idea and I just need to perfect the technique.


On a very positive note, we found the crucial point in the process where my pumpkin stems were falling apart. Saint Helena glass artist, Ed Breed is blowing the pumpkins while I prep the stem (gather glass, add color, heat and go into the mold) to finish them off. Unfortunately, the last few days have been Ed working overtime, both blowing the pumpkin and then finishing the stem, because I couldn't get my heat just right. So, yesterday we walked through the process and pinpointed the glitch. Hopefully, from this point forward, the stems will now be finished by me, perfectly!

Fingerpainting...

In researching finger painting and techniques in a prelude to my K-2 afterschool art class, I came upon some rather interesting sites that shed a whole new light upon the finger painting process.

At "Another Look at Finger Painting," finger painter Mary Ann Brandt gives a fresh perspective on the ancient art of finger painting (prehistoric cave paintings and Chinese calligraphic finger paintings on rice paper) and let's you know how you can do it On Your Own.



Artist Allen Montague painting a Monet-style waterlily scene, with fingers.

In the background, a compelling series of videos at chrismartenson.com, makes me want to learn to make my own natural paints. This site is a start, by using what I've got in the kitchen, there are recipes for making a couple of different mediums: finger paints, play dough, silly putty and ice cream. But what I'd really like to use are natural, local pigments...perhaps grape skins? clay?

Further reading about finger painting with Ruth Faison Shaw, who developed institutional therapeutic finger painting, after teaching the art of painting to children using finger paints.

Below, BackPorchArt William Boyer has created a series of finger paintings viewable at WebShots.


From my reading, it seems that most finger painted art starts with a blank canvas (obviously), and paint is poured directly onto the canvas. The paint is then moved around with fingers. There is another method, demonstrated by wonderboy, below:



I had not even conceived of the pointillist technique in regards to finger painting, but it seems rather obvious in retrospect.

More links...
Cave Painting - making your own paint from dirt and shortening
Tons of Homemade Paint Recipes - shaving cream, soap flakes, food coloring, oh my!
More and More and More Paint Recipes - yowsah! Paint, dye, and Ink Recipes.
Elementary Lesson Plan Combining Finger Painted Paper and Collage
Screen Printing with Finger Paints
Glues, Brews and Goos - Google Book Search is amazing! This book looks fabulous!
Liquid Starch Recipe - from Field Trips in Fiber, a quilter's blog:)
From Painting: It's the Process, Not the Product! by By MaryAnn F. Kohl, Katheryn Davis : 1/4 cup (60mL) liquid starch and 1 T (15mL) tempera paint and stir.
A bit unrelated, Keith Haring Art Curriculum projects
Of course, I can't forget a favorite of mine, Ivan Chan:)

Mini Mosaic Presentation...

It's the end of my four week session with the Ms. Brown's first grade class. We've finished our mosaic tiles and our "Making Learning Visible" books that accompany the project. Here's my presentation using Google docs (which I do like a lot!) that helps to fill in even more visual content standards for the project.

What happened?!? Stressed Out!

Voila!! I had recently set my Tree of Life fused glass plate aside, adding it to the pile that I had yet to photograph. I really love the aventurine green with the iridescent amber and swirly opal green/white glass. The colors are beautiful, reminiscent of summer, and make me want to do an entire series of winter, spring, summer and fall tree plates.

However....

when my wonderful fiance was tidying the house (and organizing my piles, he really is incredibly sweet), he noticed this crack in the plate. Now, I don't know if it's the weather, or if it's just that time in my life when I get to learn about stress and glass, but instead of throwing the blame on him (He must've dropped something on it, right?), I somehow knew that I had another stress case!
But, how exactly would I know? It surely doesn't look like a case of incompatible glass. Look at that S-curve that doesn't follow any seams. It runs right through the middle of at least three pieces of glass (which are all different colors). Reference this link for a wonderfully, hideous picture of incompatible glass.
Aha! My first chance to use the polarizing lenses that have been sitting in the studio, just waiting to confirm my suspicions... Whoa, Nelly!! Just look at that stress!!! I've been told that after a stress break, you can no longer see the stress halo when the piece is placed between the polarized lenses. Well, if that's true, then just imagine the halo that was apparent before this fracture.
So, what to do now? I'm going to put my poor little tree back in the kiln. Yup, throwing her back in. I'm gonna slowly go up to 1250 F and bring down the edges, then go up to 1480 F again to fuse the crack back together. But, this time, I'm slowing down the annealing schedule and holding for a bit longer, because that, I think was the culprit. I used the smaller kiln (Paragon Fusion7), and did not hold my poor plate at 1050 F for long enough.
Hopefully, that will solve my problem, 'cuz I'm getting tired of seeing breaks:(

Welcome Nipper!

On Wednesday, I met with Cher Church of TalentedLady.etsy.com at Maya in Sonoma for the monumental transfer of Nipper Kilnwash, the CGGE (Creative Glass Guild of Etsy) Traveling Mascot. Nipper is part of the Travel Kitty Project, and as a team mascot, he is building relationships within the group. Honestly, I think this is the most exciting thing I've done with the CGGE!
It was really a pleasure meeting Cher, and we shared our life stories in just under two hours:)
And now, Nipper is just in time to catch the excitement of the Annual Summer Sale at Mitcavish Studios. I'll get to show him around to all my local glass pals and maybe we'll get out to do some winetasting, as well!

Kate Wolf Festival - Laytonville, CA

I had a fabulous mini-vacation this past week and a half, and it feels like I was gone for a month!
My dad's visiting my fiance and I in his RV, so we took a trip up north to Mendocino County to the Kate Wolf Folk Music Festival. My uncle was even able to make the trip out, and we picked him up in Santa Rosa on the way!
A few of my faves:






It was very smoky for the first few days, but thanks to some hard working volunteer firemen and cooperative coastal fog, Sunday was sunny and clear. I had tons of fun hanging out with family and friends, dancin' and hula-in' the days away!

My 20 minutes of Morning Yoga

Recently, I've motivated myself to routinely practicing yoga in the morning, rationalizing that if I have three hours to play Solitaire (yes, I got a bit hooked one day), then I certainly have 20 minutes to squeeze in some yoga. Imagine if I had filled the entire three hours with yoga! (I guess that will be my next goal!)
So, with that in mind, I present to you my morning workout with Jason Crandell...

"Maya Star" Fused Glass Quilt Plate

"Maya Star" Fused Glass Quilt Plate, originally uploaded by CalyxAnn.

My newest "quilted" fused glass plate was specially made for the upcoming 2008 Lincoln Quilters' Guild, "A Quilter's Compass -- Turning freely on a Pivot" show auction.
I was especially pleased at the secondary pattern that showed up as a star in the middle!

Fused Glass Bracelets...

Yea!!! I had been waiting for this class to come to me for nearly a year, and finally, in March, Jayne Persico came to Michele's studio to teach her fused glass cuff bracelet class!
Above is the red, orange and yellow bracelet I whipped out in the class.
Below are the bracelets I have made since. It's such an exciting and invigorating experience to actually open the kiln at 1300 degrees Fahrenheit to work with the glass.

Jayne's developed a perfect way to measure your wrist so that the bracelets are perfectly fit to your arm. The most technical part of the process is getting the measurements right, so that the bracelet fits snugly enough so it doesn't go flying off your wrist.
I've got a few more in the works, I just need to set aside a few hours to babysit the kiln:)

"Rocky Road" Dip Dishes

I am officially unveiling my newest series of dishes, the "Rocky Road" dishes.
Made up of several cut pieces of glass in browns, reds, and vanilla. This series is very time consuming to produce, but I absolutely LOVE the results!

"Meet the Baby" Shower

Yea! I finally got to meet my baby niece, Adi! We had a fabulous open house, "Meet the Baby" shower for her, where the most popular game was, "Pass the Baby!"

She's so cute, I can't stand it!!

And, of course, we had a great spread to munch on for the virgin voyage of dad's plates:)

CGGE & EtsyBead Creative Minds for Charity!

DSCI1877, originally uploaded by thumbelinacreations.

"The Creative Glass Guild of Etsy (CGGE) and the etsyBEAD Street Team have joined forces for a creative collaboration challenge. CGGE members will create gorgeous glass cabs, beads, and pendants for etsyBEAD members to turn into beautiful pieces of finished jewelry. These pieces will then be donated to the Helping Others Street Team (HOST) in order to raise money for those fellow Etsyians in need."

And here is the entry that Jonquil of Thumbelina Creations and I will be submitting. She did such a gorgeous job of tying the piece together! I am in love with the new Key to My Heart Necklace!

Details: The short chain is 16 in. while longer chain is 18 in. The pink marbleized tumbled glass pendant with lead-free pewter key charm is the focal point of the longer chain. The center of the shorter chain carries an antique silver button and light pink glass teardrop. Various other glass beads decorate the chains, as well.
This necklace is very light and comfortable to wear. It doesn't shift around on the neck. And all the glass beads sparkle when they catch the light.

All proceeds will go to HOST...

"What is HOST?" you ask.

From their blog:
"HOST stands for Helping Others Street Team. We are a group of Etsy sellers and buyers who want to help other Etsy buyers and sellers through difficulties weather [sic] those difficulties be financial, emotional or otherwise. We will try to keep an updated list so that you can see who currently needs help. If you see someone you would like to help, please feel free to do so. The help can take many forms; praying, snagging a treasury with some of the people here featured, helping promote threads to help the listed people, buying from their stores, sending needed items to them, helping with cash donations. Sometimes someone simply needs someone to talk to during difficult times. If you are able to help someone on this list, please let one of the members know. If you would like to remain anonymous, rest assured, we will keep you anonymous, but by letting one of us know, we can keep the list accurate as to who still needs help."

Michael Stutz - "Peplos Kore"

"Peplos Kore" by Michael Stutz, on display at San Francisco Airport

Made from strips of shredded cardboard woven over a plywood armature and sealed with light resistant UV polymers, the detail in this sculpture is incredible. I saw this while waiting to board my flight to Nebraska. Definitely click on the picture and explore Stutz's site to find the full image. It's truly amazing!

Matt Costa - "Mr. Pitiful"

I found this new(-to-me) artist while flying home from Vegas aboard Virgin Air. Posh! I explored all of the videos on my personal entertainment system, and played a few anagram games as well:)

Viva Las Vegas!!

So, I just got back from Las Vegas, where I went for the annual Glass Expo at the South Point Casino. Not only did I see a lot of innovative materials, but I gathered a bunch of new ideas to play around with.

Chihuly's Glass Flowers in the lobby of the Bellagio

Among the coolest things I saw: No Days Glaze adhesives for stained glass, mosaics and fusing; Artistic Lighting Solutions, an artistic lighting option that I'm anxious to explore; and Fusing Farm glazes for turning float glass into artistic fused glass plates.

Michele, Sharon and me on Fremont Street.

And then , there was the night life!
Honestly, we didn't party so much as we walked around to see the sights.
We checked out a couple of souvenir shops and played some slots.

I won $6.00!! High Roller!!

Michele and I went out on the town a couple of nights in a row. Here I am outside of Treasure Island. The show was canceled due to high winds, so we entertained ourselves:)


Oh yeah, baby! Michele was the true high roller in Vegas.
But, now it's back to normal life...almost.
I'm visiting my new niece in Nebraska, and then I'll get back to glass:)
Such the jet setter!

Sharing Your Photos...and my new niece!

My new niece, Adi, sketched out with Adobe Photoshop Express.
There's a super cool and cheap, er...thrifty, way to upload, edit and share your photos!! Adobe, the creator of Photoshop, has put into beta a new photo editing tool that uses Flash. Simply sign up for an account, upload photos, and edit away! The tools aren't as exact, or as complicated as Photoshop, but the results are amazingly pleasing, for such a simple idea. Plus, you can play around with your photos, creating some more bizarre images, as well...
It also lets you link and upload directly to selected outside sites, such as Facebook, Picasa, and Photobucket. You get 2 GB of free space to show off your photos in galleries you create. (I've embedded these two photos into my blog post without putting them in my public gallery, for those concerned about privacy issues.)

Oh, Go Felt A Snake!!

I've been trying to find some really cool felted hair thingies, but can't quite find what I'm looking for...What to do? Well, make them myself, I'm sure! So, I've been researching the topic of felting to learn more about it and have found the coolest site with lots of great tutorials.
I thought I'd share it: Woolcrafting... and the portion that I'm most intrigued with, Learning to Make Felted Snakes. It's this technique that I will have to master in order to make my envisioned hair-thingies:)
If I ever get around to actually making them, I will show them off!

Crochet Some Hearts...

Grandma taught me to crochet when I was young, and I caught on but didn't have the attention span to finish anything (just like when mom tried to teach me to quilt - I still have the almost finished piece mounted in a wooden frame). I have been thinking that I'd like to learn to knit and re-learn to crochet with wool, so I can experiment with felting.
I ran across these directions. Maybe I'll find that old needle lying around somewhere:)

Kaki King - Langerado, 2005

So, driving home from work tonight, listening to KFOG on the radio, I hear this beautiful song being played. The guitarist is Kaki King, whom I've never heard of before. I make a mental note tha tI must check this guitarist out!
Of course, I head to YouTube, because I want to share...and I don't find the song the I was listening to ("Sad Americans"), but I see some amazing footage of this girl playing guitar in a very unusual style! WOW!

John Mayer - Message in a Bottle

Enjoy!

Craftzine.com blog: Shrink Your Trash

Craftzine.com blog: Shrink Your Trash
DIY Shrinky Dinks
DIY Shrinky Dink Jewelry - About.com Teen Fashion

Here's are some great articles I found while trying to find some Shrinky Dinks for my next "fused glass" project with kindergartners and first graders. Cool idea that I'll have to check out when I have a little more time:)

And one more awesome and inspiring blog:
Dabbled - Experiments in Art, Craft & Food. Make rings, suncatchers, wine glass markers, and learn all about sealing your creations!

Mosaic for a Cause...

will be taking place Saturday, April 12th (1:30pm-5pm workshop)

and Sunday, April 13th (10am-12pm option to grout in studio) at M.Mitcavish Glass Studio, 68 Coombs St. Studio O1, Napa, CA 94559 (www.mitcavish.net)
The workshop will be taught by Marisa Casa.

The cost for the workshop/fundraiser is $50, and is tax-deductible.
In this mosaic workshop, you will learn:

• Types of Tesserae
• Tools and Protective Equipment
• Cutting Techniques
• Design Techniques
• Adhesion Techniques
• Grouting
• Workspace Setup & Organization

Come meet new people, start a new hobby, and donate to a worthy cause!

They're Always After Me Lucky Charms!!!

The California Crafters Club of Etsy (CCCOE) is proud to present the entries in their February challenge under the topic of “LUCKY CHARMS”.

Now it’s your turn to judge which one is the best. Polls open until midnight Thu., March 7. See below for this month's prize, 10% off in the list of shops AND a spot in one of our treasuries beginning March 8.

Click through the list or see them all in one place here

Rules:
1. Post your vote here.
2. Chat as you wish but vote only once!

Here is the list of entrants, or you can click on this link to see them all in one place
http://quirkynberkeley.blogspot.com/2008/03/cccoe-february-challenge-entries-lucky.html

1. Spirit Charm - OOAK by PalleikoDesigns

2. Lucky Charm Magic Wand by NeedleWorks

3. Good Karma charm bracelet by ElenaMary

4. Lucky Fish Necklace by luchi

5. Land of the Leprechauns by RedBessBonney

6. Super lucky button horseshoe earrings by AlliesAdornments

7. Chinese Animal Lucky Charms by Wumpus

8. Shamrock is the new Black by Tresijas

9. Lucky Little Snot Mens Handkerchiefs Set by Knittergirl

10. Larry the Lucky Llama by visionquest

11. Elephants for luck by QuirkynBerkeley

12. Lucky in love!! by mycatlulu

Lucky number 13!!!
Lucky Charms by CalyxAnn

14. Jinx the Lucky Cat by buttercupbloom

15. Gilbert and George's Lucky Origami Peace Cranes
by Nancy McNally aka localcolorist

16. Broadway Cricket Struts Her Stuff Down 42nd Street by peggradyart

17. February Birthstone Pendant by Marie Julie

18. Silk Drawstring Tarot Card Bag by Oceanavesilks

19. Feeling Centered and Lucky Necklace by AmandaKLockrowJewels

20. Lucky Minx Scarf by phydeaux

21. She has an Irish Brogue by Onyx of Treslocas

22. Luck of the Irish by anniek

23. abstract lucky charm 4 leaf clover pendant

Each voter is eligible for a 10% discount off entire purchase from the following shops during the week of March 8 through 14. We will also feature voters in a treasury. We cannot notify you individually due to site rules, but start looking for the CCCOE treasuries starting on March 8.

Keep your eyes on this list as more shops may be added during the week of voting.

http://CalyxAnn.etsy.com	http://Shellmitchell.etsy.com
http://Ohmay.etsy.com	http://Knittergirl.etsy.com
http://annieKdesigns.etsy.com	http://prairieprimitives.etsy.com
http://sandysimone.etsy.com	http://thevintagejewelrybox.etsy.com
http://cigarboxbeads.etsy.com	http://prettycheap.etsy.com
http://needleworks.etsy.com	http://laurenbacchus.etsy.com
http://Elenamary.etsy.com	http://KimzVisionz.etsy.com
http://suchandsort.etsy.com	http://senoritasoto.etsy.com
http://JMCdesigns.etsy.com	http://Phydeaux.etsy.com
http://quirkynberkeley.etsy.com	http://localcolorist.etsy.com
http://peggradyart.etsy.com	http://buttercupbloom.etsy.com
http://redbessbonney.etsy.com	http://visionquest.etsy.com
http://tresijas.etsy.com	http://treslocas.etsy.com
http://Blackbird72.etsy.com	http://Yolandasclay.etsy.com
http://Mycatlulu.etsy.com	http://Luchi.etsy.com
http://AmandaKLockrowJewels.etsy.com	http://alliesadornments.etsy.com
http://palleikodesigns.etsy.com	http://combustionglassworks.etsy.com
http://designsbymariejulie.etsy.com	http://oceanavesilks.etsy.com

Jack Johnson and Ben Harper - Gone

Yowsers! Hot, hot, hot! Two of my all-time favorite guitarists/singer/songwriters on the same stage playing such a meaningful and soulful song. Just listen to that slide guitar, too! What a find!

Miss Carrie's Stained Glass....

I've almost finished my leaded stained glass piece to match the stained glass project that I did with the kindergarten and first graders at Salvador and McPherson Schools. I was able to grind, lead, solder, and putty all in one three hour period! Then, I polished it up for the final clean, the next day. Now, I just need to solder some hangers on it, so it can hang from my window, instead of sitting on the overpopulated windowsill!

Ivan Chan - "Out on a Limb"

Out on a Limb, oil on canvas, 36" x 12" NFS, originally uploaded by Ivan Chan Studio.

oil on canvas, 36" x 12" (NFS)

It is our intentions that take us where we will go, and even if it seems accidental to find oneself on the edge, it is no less purposeful.

What do we learn, and what do we offer, when we climb out on a limb?

I learned--and offered--my willingness to leap.

Thought that I'd share with you today one of my favorite Californian artists, Ivan Chan.
I love his "Here Kitty Series," a series of halo-ed cats caught in contemplation.
His technique consists of fingerpainting with non-toxic, professional grade paints.
Read his bio, here.
Check out his blog, here.
See more of his work, here.

Gary Jules - "Mad World"

Ingrid Michaelson - "The Way I Am"

Postmodern Venus by Madelyn Smoak

PostmodernVenus, originally uploaded by MadArtjewelry.

I just found an awesome new-to-me metal artist! Wow! You've got to check out some of her work!
Check out her shop, here!

Steel Cut Oatmeal

I've found the yummiest steel cut oatmeal recipe at VeganYumYum:

I've been substituting coconut oil for the margarine, and I think it adds to the flavor. Also, instead of sugar, I use 1/4 tsp of blackstrap molasses and 2 tsp of maple syrup. Enjoy!

Apple Cinnamon Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Serves One Hearty Breakfast Portion, Two Petite Portions

2 tsp Non-Hydrogenated Vegan Margarine
1/2 Cup Steel Cut Oats
1 1/2 Cups Hot water
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1 Pinch Salt
1/2 Cooking Apple, diced
1/4 Cup Soy, Oat, or Nut Milk
1-2 tsp Brown Sugar (or regular sugar with a small drizzle of molasses)
1 Tiny Pinch Nutmeg, optional

Heat margarine in a small sauce pot that has a tight fitting lid. Add oats and toast them for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Add cinnamon and salt, stir well. Stir in hot water and bring to a brisk boil. Cover and turn down heat. After 15 minutes, add apple, milk, and sugar and stir. Cook for another 5 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally.

If after 5 minutes you’d prefer your oatmeal to be thicker, cover and turn off heat and let sit for an additional 5-10 minutes. This gives the oats a chance to absorb more liquid without running the risk of burning the oatmeal. Also, the oatmeal at this point is approximately the temperature of magma, so you might as well let it cool down a bit before you dig in.

If you feel like dressing up your oatmeal, drizzle it with a small amount of molasses and a pinch of nutmeg, or sprinkle it with additional brown sugar, or add a fresh apple slice or two to the top.

The Importance of Eating Organic...

I felt the need to share this with everyone that I could!

CHILDREN FED NON-ORGANIC FOOD HAVE PESTICIDES IN THE URINE
A new peer-reviewed study found levels of nerve-gas like pesticides in the bodies of children who eat conventional foods. Researchers found that if a child switched to an organic diet, the pesticide disappeared from the child's urine within 36 hours. Organophosphates were designed during WWII specifically to kill humans and later evolved into commonly used pesticides for food crops. The study has not yet linked the pesticide levels to specific foods, but other studies have shown peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, nectarines, strawberries and cherries are among those that most frequently have detectable levels of pesticides.

Read more about it here.

Art Integration Program at Salvador Elementary....

We've finished our first project! Yea!! The kids worked very diligently and are ecstatic to have finished pieces! I got the design for this project from Hands On Crafts for Kids.

Stained "Glass" Windows with theKindergarten/First Grade Class

I took the kids through the actual stained glass procedure. First, we made templates of each of the shapes. "What shapes do you see?"
Then, we traced around the templates on tissue paper (our surrogate glass). "How many of each shape do you need?"

Stained "Glass" Windows with First Grade Class

After all of our pieces were traced and cut, we glued the tissue paper onto waxed paper, using our pattern as a guide.
Finally, we put borders on both sides of the piece so it can be viewed from the front or the back!

So, it's time for me to get ready for the next big project!
Nipping glass while watching Aragon.

Hmm...mental note to make sure the kindergartners know they should wear shoes...
I did shoot glass on the carpet, but I think I cleaned it up well.
Most of the glass that I had access to for this project is transparent or translucent, so for the first class, we used crayons to color our base pieces. We're almost ready to grout already! I really love how these pieces are coming along so far.

Glass Mosaic with the First Graders

Some of the kids worked on mosaics with me in the afterschool program last semester, so they zipped right through this project. They really loved the addition of the colored picture beneath the glass.

Yael Naim - New Soul

I'm a new soul, I came to this strange world,
hoping I could learn a bit about how to give and take.
But, since I came here,
felt the joy and the fear,
finding myself making every possible mistake.

la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la...

I'm a young soul in this very strange world,
hoping I could learn a bit about what is true and fake.
But, why all this hate?
Try to communicate.
Finding trust and love is not always easy to make.

la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la...

This is a happy end, 'cause you don't understand,
everything you have done. Why's everything so wrong?

This is a happy end. Come and give me your hand, I'll take your far away.

[Refrain]:
I'm a new soul, I came to this strange world
hoping I could learn a bit about how to give and take.
But, since I came here, felt the joy and the fear,
finding myself making every possible mistake.

la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la...

la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la....

You! Promote here....

So, wow! What a long list! And thank you for that:)

and Here, too!

My new slogan...

I love this one! From Sloganizer.net:

The goddess made CalyxAnn.

Swimmy's New Friend....

Etsy seller thebirdsandbees sent a felted fish, inspired by Swimmy, to the Etsy folks in Brooklyn. Based on the video below, the folks at Etsy are now going to make a diorama of fish, arranged as a big fish...

So our vision is to be the eye — to be a kind of organizing principle. We do not want Etsy itself to be a big tuna fish. Those tuna are the big companies that all us small businesses are teaming up against.

Those big companies are holdovers from the days before the Web existed. And any company that is being run the same way now as it was before the Web came about is due for some massive restructuring or deflation.

Etsy is a company born on the Web, literally. I see the company itself as a handmade project, and we'll continue to build it this way. There's much more to do, and we're up for the challenge.

I decided to take the call for Swimmy's friends as a challenge! I also wanted to incorporate the style of the Northwest Coast Native American/Canadian Tribes that I was exposed to this past year during my trip to Vancouver.

Fire Mountain Gems 2008 Beading Contest

Get your design in by April 15, 2008!

Grand Prize: $1000 Gift Certificate to Fire Mountain Gems!!!

OMG! I've got two projects I'm working on right now.

There are several categories, just too many to list. So, to see where your design fits in, check it out!

Can't get it out of my head....

but I love this video with Sara Silverman and Matt Damon!

For a little history, and why the above video is even funnier...

Friendship Series

Friendship, originally uploaded by CalyxAnn.

Just thought I'd post some new photos, the new tumbled glass and sterling silver charm pendants that I've been working on lately.
Enjoy!