T Stands For "T"

Today is my bEARTHday.  I hope you did some tiny bit to save the planet today.  I saw on the weather channel this morning that Austin, TX is banning all napkins, paper, and cardboard from the landfill.  It must either be composted or recycled.  I plan to do my part, since I have FOUR compost containers on my property.  Restaurants must recycle their food waste, either through composting or donating it to human and/or animal shelters.  Speaking of animal shelters, today (April 22) on my original blog is DOUBLE KIBBLE DAY at Free Kibble.

I want to invite you to T Tuesday.

To begin, I have a major problem with our links.  Mr. Linky would not let me change blogs because I don't pay for the service.  Inlinkz has changed, too.  They have a new code.  I don't know if the code is going to work or not, so if it does, we will all be happy.  If NOT, we'll have to add our blog addresses within our comments until I can find a better link up.

This is another of those letters I found in a dumpster.  They were filthy and I gave them a good scrubbing.  When I did, I knocked off some of the paint sprayed on the originally black letters.

This is my altered "T."  I probably shouldn't have leaned it against another piece of wood I found in my neighbor's trailer. but it was the only way I had for it to stand up straight until I can add a backing.

This is my teacup I am using as my T Tuesday entry.

I recycled several teabags, too.  This red rubber stamp came from the Dollar Tree (where their motto is Everything is a dollar), which I'm sure is similar to the pound stores in the UK.

This beautiful stamp, one of my favorites, was sent to me one year by Valerie.

These flowers, recycled from originally being placed at my grandparents grave sites, scream Springtime, so I am also joining both Moo-Mania and More, whose theme this fortnight is Spring Fever, and Try it on Tuesday, whose theme this fortnight is Springtime.

A few close-up photos.

The tiny sprig of Eucalyptus tucked in behind the jonquil (or maybe it's a daffodil) is the only part of this floral arrangement that was not previously used at their graves. 

The teacup came from The Graphic Fairy (link found on my original blog).  I printed it on 110 lb card stock using my laser printer.  I then colored it using water soluble crayons.  The gold outline on the cup and saucer was made using a metallic gel pen.

For my final recycling entry, I first chose a letter I found in a dumpster.  After cleaning it, I added scrap paper I colored using either walnut ink (the darker paper) or strong tea.  I used three teabags, two of which I stamped, along with repurposed flowers from an arrangement I put together, then deconstructed, originally left at my grandparents' graves.

I tried to find a better place to display the "T,"

but all my surfaces seem to have wood that causes the letter to blend in with the background.

Now it's time to cross our fingers.


EDIT, thanks to Eileen, here is how to access the link:

https://fresh.inlinkz.com/p/bd08c37c431d4daebdc79e6038f78195 

in a new tab. 

In looking over the Inlinkz blog here is what they say YOU (aka, the entrant) can do to edit or delete your own faulty entry:

Once a link is submitted in an Inlink link party, entrants have the option to edit it or even delete it, in case of a faulty submission.

Entrants can edit or delete their own links after submitting.

To do that:

Simply hover over the link you want to change

An edit and a delete option will be displayed at the right bottom

Click on the pencil icon

On the pop up window, change the URL and the caption of the submitted link. Save.

To delete a link, click on the red trash.   The link will be removed.

! Remember, there is no chance to recover a link, once it is deleted. It is a permanent change.

The edit and the delete options are visible only to the entrant and only from the browser they that entered the link. Cookies should be enabled as well.

(Bleubeard and I sincerely hope this works)

Who, what, where, and why?

I'm not sure this turned out as well as I envisioned it in my mind, but since I spent a  lot of time working on it, I had to show it anyway.

Who,

what,

where,

and why?

I think it loses something without the letter W in the word, even though the "W" is the big plastic letter.   

I tried to keep the words colorful and the black "W" part of the background.

As I previously mentioned, even though I spent a long time on this, it didn't turn out as well as I envisioned it in my head.

The words were computer generated, printed on 110 lb card stock on my laser printer, then colored using water soluble crayons, a Christmas gift from 2 years ago from Cindy.

For Day 22 of 22 leading up to bEARTHday which is today, or Earth Day, I began with a large letter I truly found in a dumpster of a frame shop that had gone out of business.  I was able to dig out enough of these letters to fill a box.  None however were vowels, so I could never create a word.

The wood to which I attached it?

It came from my neighbor's trailer that he parked in my yard.

Thank you for following along with me on this 22 day quest.  I had planned to make a few brooches, but time got away from me.  I'll be back later today with T and a final recycled project.  I'll probably be late because several friends have a few things planned for me.

Laundry, laundry, laundry on Easter Sunday

We all do laundry.  Most of us homeowners have our own washer and dryer, while renters often use laundromats.    In summer, I hang my clothes on the line, but in winter I use my dryer.  And that means dryer sheets.  There is nothing better than used dryer sheets. 


They add texture and are FREE.  Instead of throwing them away after they can no longer be used to soften and remove static from your clothes, recycle them into your mixed media art projects.

Materials used (from back clockwise):
Fluid acrylics, colors of your choice
Tap or distilled water
Bristle brush (I use synthetic)
Dryer sheets
Plastic or silicone craft mat to protect your work surface

Paint the dryer sheets with your favorite paint colors.  I use fluid acrylics because they have so much pigment, even after adding lots of water to the paint.

If you use a plastic sheet like I did, you can move the sheets to a safe spot that will allow them to dry.  For me, that was in front of my heater.

Some of the sheets got too much water and needed a second painting.  Others were saturated with color.

Once you are satisfied with the color, assemble your art quiltlet.

I combined hand dyed silk, hand dyed lace, hand dyed deconstructed tablecloth, and a dryer sheet I doubled.  All fabrics were dyed by me and I painted the dryer sheet.  I sewed everything in place using variegated thread.

It was late at night and the lighting was atrocious.  The dryer sheet is on the left and the lace and tablecloth are on the right.

The silk is on the top, the dryer sheet on the bottom.

I finally got frustrated and worked on the embellishments, while waiting for daylight.

This is a much better example of the colors and it shows the completed quiltlet, too.

I was gifted with this grunge board piece by I believe, my friend Chris. I colored it using some of my handmade shimmering mist, but the shimmer is lost in the grunge board.

I decided to hang the hanging, then tried to color compensate.  It makes my white door look yellow.

I thought this was an appropriate image for Easter.

For Day 21 of 22, I started with a used dryer sheet I doubled, then added fabrics and lace I had previously dyed.  I sewed the fabrics together using variegated thread that was obviously new.  I added an image (The Last Supper) I found in a religious book I picked out of my neighbor's trash, and a pull from a zipper that no longer zipped.  I used a piece of bamboo from my yard (obviously free) and a beautiful fancy fiber I received in a swap I hosted years ago.  I attached the bamboo and the grunge board using E6000, my adhesive of choice for these items.

Once again, I am grateful you have found this blog and I am so very appreciative of each of you for stopping by and those of you who mentioned my new blog on your own blog. 

Please be aware, my original blog is still there for everyone to see and leave comments.  However, just like you, I cannot edit, add new posts, or remove spam comments anymore than you can.  I am totally locked out and am working hard to get this issue resolved.

I hope you have a joyous Easter.   I hope it is everything the day means to you.  Save a deviled egg for me, please.