Tessandore Creative

Blowin' in the Wind

What a nice surprise!  I received a email this evening from fellow Etsy seller, Judy at Key West Designing, letting me know that she included my girl in her treasury.  Thanks, Judy!

♥

Wedding Buttons

I spent the holiday weekend celebrating with my friends at their wedding!  The weather was perfect -a relief since the ceremony and reception were both outside.  The ceremony was beautiful, relaxed, funny in parts.  It all came together so wonderfully.  The photo above is the button bouquet she carried.  It was made by Letters4Lilly out of Perth, Western Australia.  There are quite a few folks out there making button bouquets, but this woman's work really stands out.  She has a great, creative eye and the construction is solid so there were no worries about it falling apart as the bride came down the aisle.

Since I was in the wedding party, I didn't get a photo of this - but you should have seen the ring bearer.  Their Corgi dog came trotting right down with the rings tied to a flower on her collar!  She was quite the star.

Hope you had a long, wonderful weekend too.  ♥

Chicken University

Tonight I drove out to Palmer, Alaska {about an hour outside of Anchorage} to attend a chicken class!  Palmer is farm country and it's just beautiful out there.  If I had to pick my favorite town in Alaska, Seward & Palmer would probably tie.  Kodiak & Homer would be in the mix too...they just take longer to get to from where I live. 

Driving out to Palmer, you pass this house on the left.  I always like to do the "what if I lived there" game in my head.  Looking out the front windows of this cute place, you'd have a view of the mountains seen in the photo above.  And I would definitely have horses.

Even from the highway on the road back in, the scenery is beautiful...

Looking to the right from that spot on the road, this is what you see off the bridge...
That's the Knik River.  I drove down beside the water to enjoy the view for a minute or two & would have stayed longer, but it was pretty windy and I wasn't really dressed for it...
I had a great evening learning about chickens and enjoying a wonderful drive.  Got home at about 10:30 and we still had time to barbeque burgers!  ♥

Cocoa

I was trying to draw a yummy mocha in a nice pottery mug.  Since marshmallows found their way into the cup though, I decided it was probably hot chocolate sans the espresso.  Either way - I wish I had a mug like that!  ♥

Bock Bock!

My life has taken on a chicken theme lately, so naturally I had to paint a chicken coop.  Why chickens?  Fresh eggs, baby!
Ok, I'm not really that much of an egg devote but I do have an inner farm girl that's been under wraps for too long.  Since my life doesn't seem to be going in the direction of moving to farm country, I decided to bring a bit of the farm life here.  First, I have to build a coop (I'll let you know how that goes) then ~ 3 hens will be coming home to roost!  I'm really looking forward to it. 

One last thing, since I love a good work table photo...
It was kinda stormy here today so the painting started out with a rain cloud.  I played around with using the watercolor crayons & the acrylics together.  That combo may have potential.  ♥

Perks of summer in Alaska

Took a drive down the inlet last night and was able to pull over just in time to catch a photo of the train.  The really cool thing is that this was taken at about 11:15 p.m.  A bit overcast along the mountains, but still light!  I love the summers here.   ♥

And with a few stars in the sky, she's done!

    ♥

Summer Yummies

Take these 3 ingredients, add a good friend & a backyard campfire...
It all adds up to a great evening & S'mores of course!
Half the fun is trying to get the perfectly toasted marshmallow.  :)   Here's to summer!  ♥

Hello there...

The girl in my painting finally has a face!  That's where I seem to let myself get stuck.  I'll get the rest of the painting to a place I'm happy with and then freeze up when it comes to the face & hair.   I really like how she turned out though.  I'm in the home stretch now ~ more details to come. 

♥

Shower Treats

Fancy Flours saves the day again.  :)  I made these sugar cookies with their Vintage Seed Packet wafer papers and used lemon butter frosting to adhere them.  So yummy & pretty too.  They were perfect for the garden themed bridal shower we had for my friend Meg yesterday.

The Angel Food Cakes with lemon curd & berries were also a hit.
We're off now to enjoy a barbeque with some folks I worked with 16 years ago!  Should be a fun afternoon with lots of "remember that time when..." stories. 

Hope you're enjoying the weekend too.  ♥

Eklutna

Another beautiful day in Alaska!  Sunday around here is usually the day for laundry, cleaning house, grocery shopping...getting ready for the coming week.  Not today!  :)  Our summers are so short, and the day was so pretty ~ we blew off the chores and drove out to Eklutna Lake.  The temperature was in the low 70's & there was a nice breeze that kept the mosquitoes away.  What a great afternoon.  ♥

awww...a Bunny!

This cutie has taken up residence in our neighborhood ~ specifically in the flowers, as you can see.  :)  His coloring makes him look like a wild bunny, but when he showed up so did a little grey & white Lop.  We think somebody must have turned their pets loose. 

My neighbor (a veterinarian) managed to lure the other bunny in & her husband built a hutch so they can keep it.  This rabbit is more skittish (or "street smart" as my daughter says), but hasn't gone far from his captured companion in the last week.  A couple days ago we came home to find him lounging in our neighbors' front yard about 10 feet away from where she was sitting.  "Ooo...this bunny makes me so mad!"  She was smiling when she said it, but clearly getting a bit peeved.  He had run into the bunny trap she set, grabbed a slice of apple, and run back out to eat it in front of her! 

Bunny = 1, Animal Expert = 0.  

♥

Part IV

Thanks for following along on this multi-media painting journey!  It's fun to share this one as I complete each part.Last night I worked on the waves/dress.  I poured some blue & some ivory paint right on the canvas and went for it.  Then, using a damp paper towel, I blotted out some areas so the collage paper patterns would show through.  To define the texture, I went over the edges of the cut out wave-shapes with an ink pad.

On to the night sky...
Love how the wave skirt is looking...Now that the big areas are filled it, I can start on the details.  I was going to say, "start on the fun part" but really it's all fun!  ♥

Good to Remember

Even though others may not support you,
Even though the world doubts you,
Even though you feel like you haven’t made much progress,
Even though that person over there seems to be running down her path with total ease,
Even though it seems no one sees you,
Even though you are unsure,

You just keep on...
Follow that map imprinted on your soul....

These wise words resonated for me this week.  I found them on Jen Gray's blog.  She has so many insightful & encouraging thoughts + beautiful photography ~ both well edited, which makes them all the more powerful.  I feel like I must be the last person to catch on to her blog, but if by chance you haven't seen it I hope you'll enjoy the discovery as much as I did.

Keep on your path!  ♥ 
xo ~ karen

Part III

Still a long way to go, but you can kind of see how it's shaping up.  I might have to make the sail boat a bit smaller so it doesn't overwhelm the girl.
I can tell already that this will get to that point where I like it as a collage & have a hard time touching paint to the canvas.  Wish me courage!  ♥

Big canvas, part II

This will be part of the painting I started a couple days ago.  The boat will be cut out & all the little words {from a Dave Matthews song} will find their place along the girl's skirt.  Ok, back to the work table ~ just wanted to show you this bit!   ♥

Unexpected Kindness

When I checked the mail today, I was so excited to receive a package from my gorgeous & talented blog-friend, Silke.  She sent me this amazing handmade scarf!  I just love it & it came exactly when I was needing a lift.
Isn't the pattern neat?  I wear a scarf nearly every day & these colors will go with almost everything I have.
It's the perfect summer scarf...really light weight & soft.
Thanks so much, Silke! 

Messy Fun

I still have dried gel medium on my hands from squishing out air bubbles caught between the paper & canvas!  This is one of the 12"x36" canvases I purchased while still on my creative high from Art Nest back in February.  I was so inspired to continue creating that I ordered them online while I was waiting at the airport for my flight home.  I dove right in to several of my smaller canvases, but these large ones have been kind of intimidating.  {So much space to mess up!} 

I actually do have one project part way done on a big canvas, but I'm experimenting with some different techniques so I'm saving it to show you until it's complete. 

With this girl, I thought I'd show you as I move along the way.  So far, she's just another round headed girl with a flowing, wind-swept dress.  :o)  But with the color scheme I have in mind & some dreamy details, I think she'll be really special.  I hope so anyway!  Stay tuned.  ♥

Finished & Revisited

Blue dress girl is done!  The text up in the corner says "A fountain of leaves".  Not sure what that means in the context of the painting, but I found the words in a poetry book and was inspired to use them.

While I was out photographing that painting in the backyard, I spied my deer girl peeking out of the forest.
I forgot she was back there!  With no room in my tiny house for a painting that size, I decided last summer that she could be outdoor art.  {It was fun during the winter too to see her standing with her boots in the snow.}  The plants in the foreground are wild Roses, which will be blooming prettily pink soon.  ♥

Homemade Bread

Tomato Juice Bread!  Mmmmm.  My Mom used to make this when I was a kid and I think it's the only kind of bread I've ever ventured to make.  So tasty!  I might have to make another batch soon, but instead of loaves, try a batch of hamburger buns.

I forget how really easy it is to make bread from scratch.  This kind smells so good too...the little dark flecks you see in the dough are from the Italian seasoning.

And the Tomato Juice (of course) turns it a pretty orange.
The actual time spent mixing and kneading is only about 15 minutes total.  You just have to make sure you'll be around the house for awhile to give it time to rise, punch it down, let it rise again & bake for 45 minutes.
If you'd like to try it, the recipe can be found in The New Book of Favorite Breads from Rose Lane Farm.  Looks like Amazon has used copies starting at only 50 cents!  It's been out since 1960, so I'll hope Ada Lou has made plenty on royalties by now.  Love a good book deal, but it always makes me a bit sad for the author when they go quite that cheaply.  

Happy baking!  {And really...try it as buns for burgers right off the grill ~ super good!}  ♥

Rivers & Tides

Do you know the artist, Andy Goldsworthy?  My daughter and I really love his beautiful work and recently re-watched the documentary on him called Rivers & Tides.  He creates such amazing arrangements with natural objects...rocks, sticks, flowers.  Hard to explain really how exactly right his work feels.  The arrangements are so precise, the scale, the choice of material ~ it all works together to sometimes astonishing effect.

Anyway, we had his work fresh on our minds when we went out for a bike ride.  Stopping off at a little creek, we found this scattering of white rocks.
They just seemed to need arranging!  :)
After 20 minutes or so of half-falling in the creek to reach the stones & being eaten by mosquitoes, we called it quits.  It gave us a great appreciation for the patience involved in Andy Goldsworthy's work.  I don't think we'll be creating anything on his scale, but it was fun to dabble.  Plus, it will be an interesting surprise for the next folks that wander up by the creek.  ♥

Wedding Season

Shower ideas, anyone?  I'm so excited that my friend Meg is getting married this summer & that she's letting me throw her a shower.  Now I just have to figure out what's suppose to happen at a shower!  I seem to recall a game where wedding dresses are made out of toilet paper, but after that I'm out. 

I think making invitations is one of the most fun parts of planning a party.  But I only had email addresses for the women she wanted to invite.   So I decided to make the invite on an 8x10" canvas board, then give Meg the original & email a pdf to the guests.  I love how it turned out!  Notice I'm still in "button mode"?  :)

I had a clear vision for how I wanted it to look...off-white with the layers underneath.  First, I arranged the text in PhotoShop, then printed it out with a creamy background color so it wouldn't be too stark.  After gluing that page down to the canvas with gel medium, I started arranging a patchwork frame using bits of textured paper. In fact, I almost left it at this quilt-looking stage...
But I'm glad I trusted my first idea and was brave enough to roll on the paint.

Now, on to menu planning!  ♥

Buttons

My table's been taken over!  For awhile now I've been wanting to make button flowers.  This seemed to be a good weekend for it since JoAnn Fabrics was having a 50% off button sale.  :)

I started out by attaching silk flower pedals to some felt and sewing the buttons to the front.
But they didn't quite have the look I wanted.  So I played around with little stacks until I found some that looked right...
...and threaded florist's wire through for stems.  Now my bouquet is starting to come together!
I especially like the bee that landed on this bloom:
   ♥

A little adventure!

This morning my oh-so-wonderful boyfriend took me flying!  His plane has been stored for the winter, so I was super excited when spring came around.  He's been putting up with my "when can we go? now? how about now?"  for weeks.  :o)

These photos were taken just a few minutes outside of Anchorage and I wish they did any justice to how spectacular the view really was!  We ended up flying right through that valley {above}.  Along the way we spotted a bunch of Dall Sheep picking their way along the mountain sides and even a Black Bear.  Cool!  Such a great way to start the day.
This is heading up Turnagain Arm.  Just at the lower left of the photo you can see the Seward Highway which runs all the way along the Arm.  It's one of my favorite drives ~ the road is carved right in at the base of the mountains where they rise out of the water.  I can get clear out to Beluga Point on my lunch hour where, as the name suggests, you can do some Beluga Whale watching.  No whales to be seen this morning though ~ tide was out.

Anyway, the flight was such a treat.  Thanks, Joe!  ♥♥♥

Anonymous

She won't be anonymous forever, but my girls always look so weird in this stage.  I feel like I should have assorted stickers of eyes & noses to decorate her with.  Like a Mrs. Potato Head! 

I do like the texture happening in her dress though.  I scrunched up some thin tissue paper from a pattern & stuck it down with gel medium.  After painting over it with the blue, I ran an ink pad across the top to bring out the lines. 

I'll have her finished pretty soon, but it's been hard to stay inside lately with the weather being so lovely! 

♥