Please Read This If You Post Images Online!

Just straight-up linking you to Claudine Hellmuth's blog posting to save my fingers and before I pitcha fit ...

~ gem ~

Happy New Year!

Pop-in posting (a day late, 'natch) to wish you all a happy and healthy New Year ... Our holidays were wonderful, things slowly returning to some sort of normal, though I've not worked on any new art since well before Christmas ... looking sooooo forward to when I can back at some creating.

But while I'm on the subject, here's a little something art related - a fellow Flick'r friend is embarking on a neat project for the coming year:
A Million Letters - sounded cool to me and I'd love to see her meet that goal, so please send your postcard or letter and feel free to pass along the link to friends and family! Join the Flick'r group too, if you're so inclined ...

That's all from me for now, back later when I got ... somethin'!, Anything!
Here's to a great 2008!

~ gem ~

Found Friday - Oct 5th

Found Friday - Oct 5th
Originally uploaded by gemgirlart

Been thinking of doing something weekly for the blog, and for some reason all the things I randomly found this week kept getting added to a pile on my kitchen counter, so -bing!- I got the idea to post my weekly treasure trove. (Don't you pick up all the random weirdliness you see lying on floors or on store shelves or on the street or in a book or wherever?) Eh, it's somethin' ta do ...

This weeks findings were kinda small:
A tiny black plastic toy gun my son found while I was cashing a check at the grocery store customer service counter ... A downy feather found on the trunk lid of my car after I got home from the grocery store (different day, different store) ... *I also found a really cool but weird teeny tiny NEON green spider crawling along the rubber gaskety piece of the trunk when I opened it, but even on macro none of the pics came out clear, so he don't count.
Cool leaf I found on the front walkway - it was this perfect little fall leaf shape and I liked the speckledish coloring, but it got way dry after I brought it in and it sorta flaked out on me ...
And my favorite one: a postcard I found in one of the books I checked out at the library today - they're the best for finding cool things in! This is was from Bridget (?) to Aveen hoping she's having fun on vacation (I guess?) and the front is a Disney scene from Sleeping Beauty ... if you can read the message it tells the significance of that. I don't know why that stamp on an envelope edge is stapled onto the postcard, but it's a cool stamp, so - good! *But using a Liberty stamp (currently 41 cents) to mail a postcard? yeeeesh. I buy the Lib's, sure - but I'm not using them as regular stamps yet. I'm waitin', like a smart girl. :D

And so now, I am off to read one or more of those library books.
G'night!

~ gem ~

Pay It Forward

I've participated in PIF projects at other swap and mailart groups (PIF = Pay-It-Forward, which, in the arts & crafts world is basically: one person offers something up, maybe a small artwork like an ATC or deco or some type of supplies or scraps ... the next person to post claims it then offers their own 'whatever thing' to the next person, and so and and blahblah ) but this was the first one I joined via a blog, and I really like the idea and also liked Sparrow's art and lucked out that I was the last comment to snag hers :)

If you want the breakdown (and I knowww you do) I'm PIF'ing it from Sparrow's Tree, who got it from Blissful Mama, who got it from Not Cherry Pie, who got it from Danielle, who got it from Lori, who got it from Katie (whew!) and I'll pretty much stop there because Katie posts alot and I just couldn't track down the exact PIF thread in her blog ... I don't "know" any of those gals, but have a look at their blogs (AFTER you finish reading this, please, thank you. hehe, 'cause I get sucked away easily too, that's all ...) They all seem to make pretty cool stuff and have interesting things to say ... Anyway! onwards ...

First three people to comment to this post and also pledge to PIF themselves, will get some kind of handmade something from moi within one year (they all say that and I think it's kinda funny, but really - knowing how projects can go, it IS nice to have the leeway, haha!) I promise I'll try to be timely even though it's not my strong suit. And that's it kiddos, see ya later!

~ gem ~

SuziBlu, I Heart You

Heya, quickquickQUICK flyby posting ~
(Zetti postcard steps coming later in the week, just no can do today)

So I was wandering around over at Flick'r, and through some collage group that had a companion website of it's own, I found a link to this gal: SuziBlu - and I had to run right over and share her 'cause She.Is.The.Most.Cutiest.Thing.EVER! Watch ALLLL the videos. Right now!
Save her blog in your faves!

Okay, seriously - I am not typically one of those people who finds it hard to get motivated or inspired or am too afraid to make art ... I do some kinda art practically every day, any time I can. I don't run out of ideas or desires to try something new, or something old in a new way. But even I was comPLETEly inspired and motivated and just generally excited about making art by this snappy lil chick. Something about her entire attitude & presentation is just irresistable.

So for anyone who STILL thinks they can't make art - you'll really enjoy the journal making videos, go watch'em again and then go do art!

~ gem ~