Free Online Strathmore art class

I have been taking a couple of on-line art classes. The one from Strathmore is called "Doodles Unleashed." Here is what I've done so far:

 We started with spraying water color paint over stencils and then making  shapes with acrylic paint.

 Then we added lights and dark.

 This one is a water color background, but so far I don't know what we're supposed to put on top of it.

 Here are some stencils I used for the next ones.

 These are backgrounds that are supposed to get faces on them in the next class. We'll see how that goes!

This was something I made during a different on-line art thing (I was trying out some water color crayons to see how they work), the teacher who -was really doing collage instead of what I did-kept saying "be the boss of your tape" so I added some green tape and named it "Tape Boss".

Cameron's Birthday week-end

Heather and Jake came down last week-end. Heather and I found a new bakery. Five loaves later we decided we better have sandwiches for lunch, soup for dinner and french toast in the morning!

We played a lot of games and made valentine decorations.

Cameron and Jake went shooting and played basketball (no pictures). Heather and Gary and I made a  cake for Cameron's birthday. Yes we still make four wheel driving cakes for Cameron (we would still do it for you too Kyle if you were here). You're never too old!

Heather and Jake left Sunday morning. Sunday night Grandma and Grandpa Cramer, Lacey and Tyler, Raquel, Brady, and Riley and came over for dinner and cake.

On Monday the 23rd, the actual Birthday, I dragged Cameron to lunch at the Brick Oven with me and my friend Kris (who did not want to be in the picture.) We had dinner at Red Robin-birthday coupons- and then we went to Home Depot and Cameron and Gary had a drilling contest. (while picking out his present-specialty pliers) Cameron then went bowling with his friends. We had to count it as Gary's birthday too because Gary got all his presents early (TV and jacket) and spent his Birthday the next day (24th) announcing a Basketball game.

 The cake was delicious! I think this recipe is just as good as Magleby's so here it is!

Chocolate Cake

½ Cup oil

1/3 Cup cocoa - Beat. Then add

2 eggs - Beat, and then alternately add

½ Cup milk

2 Cups flour, and then add

1-2 t. vanilla

1 Cup boiling water

2 t. baking soda

Dash salt

Bake at 350 degrees ½ hour

Another bird

While we're on the bird subject and cool gifts, my friend Stacee made this Christmas ornament for me.

Spend Out -Use your cool stuff-there's always more!

Thanks to my friend Deb for the new paper-handmade floral and oriental. Here is what I have done so far with the bird paper she gave me a while ago...

Gary discovers peachy-O's

Last Friday Gary and I took tickets at preference. For refreshments they had class containers full of candy. I guess Gary had never had Peach rings or peachy-O's before because he ate several cupfuls and brought some home too! He was off the chocolate for like 4 hours!

Does anyone else find it ironic that the Dress code on the back of the ticket says "no backless, strapless or sleeveless dresses and the graphic on the front of the ticket shows a girl  pretty much in a backless, strapless and sleeveless dress?

Antique garlic press

Last week I went to Heber with my friend Deb. We went to a thrift shop and found this little bird. Everyone in the store was guessing what is was so Deb goggled "antique bird kitchen gadget" and up came this exact bird, which I bought for 50 cents!

 We stopped by Deb's sons house where this quilt she made at our retreat was hanging.

That night we (along with our husbands and the Call's) went to dinner at Eva's in SLC. I should have taken pictures of the food because some of it was presented beautifully and some all of it was  expensive, everything al la carte. We had to laugh when Gary's $13 steak was smaller than a cube of butter and served with nothing, not even a piece of parsley!

More New Years thoughts

This is why I can't make resolutions-because I would have to make 1000 of them! Question #1 from yesterday's post is really helping me out though and I really want to go to bed earlier-a little progress there-not too much. I found these in a sketchbook-I wrote them a week  or two ago:

Make more real food
Blog more frequently.
Be more churchy.

I know what you're thinking (same thing I'm thinking) "this woman should set more specific goals"!

Also a lot of people pick a word for the year -well I've already picked one for my whole life and that is "learn."
Others words that people have picked that appeal to me are (so far...there will be 1000 of these too I'm afraid!) :

Healthy
Organized
Mindful
Spiritual
Brave

Six questions to ask myself and Three things I shoud do in 2012

1. Is this useful? (Not just stuff but attitudes and feelings, etc.)
2. What is the most important thing I can do right now?
3. Am I keeping things extremely simple?
4. Am I fully present? (Mindful, listening, paying attention)
5. Am I aware of or creating an opportunity for the spiritual?
6. Is there anyone on the planet having it worse than me right now?

1. Get off the computer and go to bed.
2. Make art. Don't worry about it all being hangable.
3. Spend out-this means don't save your cool stuff, use it. Like a new shirt or a handmade book that your daughter made for you several years ago and seems too wonderful to mess up by writing in it (ooh that one might be too hard).

      

       

The Gary and Carol Cramer family Christmas letter 2011- linolium block print by Heather

Merry Christmas 2011 from the Gary and Carol Cramer family

Cameron, Jake, Kyle, Heather, Ashleigh

Here we are at Lake Powell (July), one of our favorite places!

Gary: I am still re-modeling the house while I teach school and announce basketball games.   In April we went to California with Cameron and toured his mission on our way to the Long Beach Grand Prix. I have the best church job ever-playing the piano in Primary.

Carol: I have been doing a little of everything: quilting, art, reading, and swimming, wedding flowers, and holding the hammer for Gary. My quilt group is also my “field trip” group;  in addition to our monthly meetings we stayed at a couple of cabins, went to the Utah state fair, “witches night out”, several shopping trips and were even on TV together (Studio 5) in a special about shoes! In June I went to Disneyland with Alice and Laura- kids are way more fun when you wait till they are 19 to take them! In October Heather and I had a great time on a girl trip to Washington DC.

Kyle: I've been busy with school and working for a tax and bankruptcy attorney in Mesa. What little spare time I have gets spent keeping my new jeep running - it's almost 25 years old and constantly needs something. Biking has been on the back burner but I got talked into doing a 24 hour race in February so that better change quickly.

Ash moved to a new school this year. Most of her students don't know swear words yet and don't know how to fight, so it's been heaven compared to last year, especially since she's only working part time! She has been busy working on her thesis, which she successfully proposed and plans to defend in late January. She is also six months pregnant with our future little girl! We are very excited for that. 
Heather: Jake and I have been living it up in Logan, UT.  Some of our favorite things this year have included our indoor soccer team, BYU football, Texas Roadhouse, playing games with family and friends, going to Canada, and making delicious food- we both love to cook.  I am in my third year of teaching middle school art and Jake is about to finish his undergraduate in Biology, with hopes of becoming a dentist.

Cameron: I got home from my mission in March, just in time for the Jeep safari in Moab! I work at Taylor’s bike shop, assemble bikes for Toys R Us and am still looking for a job with more hours. I am studying automotive technology at UVU. I am working on a Bronco, lifting it, and patching and welding up holes in the body. I am also getting to be a pretty excellent bowler! It’s my new hobby.

Have a great Christmas and best wishes for 2012!

The rest of the Holidays 2011!

Monday night we all rode the Metro downtown so Heather and Jake could use their basketball tickets. We all went out to dinner and then they went to the game. Ashleigh and I watched a girl movie. Well I did-Ash watched half of it -zzzzzz!

 It turned out to be the opening game of the Phoenix Suns season so there was a lot excitement
and some give aways; Heather and Jake came home with this bag you wear on your back and it
looks like you are wearing a jersey. Also the Suns won so it was a good time!

More Christmas 2011

Christmas Eve we had eclectic food including jalapeno poppers. We played 20 questions with this package, it took more that 20 to find out it was an umbrella! Then Kyle and Heather shook and studied all the presents and put them in piles for each person. It was fun to watch! Sibling gifts were opened and then more hot tubbing!

Kyle and Ashleigh gave Heather and Jake tickets to a Phoenix Suns game and Cameron a trigger for his 22. Heather gave Kyle and Ash dinner at Cafe Rio and Cameron a bowling gift certificate. Cameron gave Kyle a pry bar, Ashleigh a Chopper, Jake a subscription to ESPN magazine and Heather a 2 quart glass measuring bowl

This time we had challenges, Kyle ran around the pool 3 times and Jake jumped in it. Brr-even in Arizona!

Christmas 2010 in Arizona!

Gary and I along with Jake, Heather and Cameron loaded up all our stuff and all the presents and headed to Kyle and Ashleigh's house for Christmas!
We started out working on Kyle's Jeep, then added some shooting and some shopping.

bum shot!

I could not get this picture to turn in blogger-it's right in my picture file!

Jake

Cameron, Kyle

Cameron

Cameron, Jake, Kyle

Another sideways picture!? Here we are at the Last Chance store, Ashleigh is taking the picture. We each bought a pair of pants.

We played a lot of games and ate a lot of delicious food!

Jake must be winning!

Carol, Ashleigh

An (exciting?) game of Risk.

Maybe it's the phone pictures that won't turn?

Lemon cheesecake and ginger bread at the Bakery at Orange.

Gary, Kyle- a little round of Wacky Six.