Episcia Update

Here's all the Scientific Details, including a bunch of words I need to look up.
Here is a link to a good article on grooming.
On using diapers, more sciencey, including why not to use for food gardening.

Diapers Help Your Plants Grow!

iPhone update

I still feel like I don't know much about how my iPhone works, but today I was able to find out what happens when you're recording slow-motion and the phone rings. (when I chose to answer, the camera shut off)
I'm taking lots of photos, and I want to make a goal of instagramming one photo a day at least. Watch for some of the experiments coming soon...to my site on Weebly: SeeShell'sSchemes
This screenshot is taken with Weebly on the front page and the only way I could get to Blogger not on the front page. I'm taking the plunge! I've only just started, but come on over and watch the mess and fun.

Chalkboard Tutorial

Dust off a frame

Ready to start

Super easy chalkboard and my attempt at a tutorial. Please let me know if any instructions are unclear.

Need:

• Picture frame or document frame WITH glass
• Chalkboard Tape 
• Chalk (duh)
• Scissors or other cutting tool

So you might have an old frame laying around, like I found. Awe, President of Junior Optimists, he won't mind his frame going to a good cause. And I hung the certificate on a bulletin board with some other empty nest kid paraphernalia. 

The Chalkboard tape that I found is Scotch brand, and was at my local grocery store in the school supply section. I happened to go to Joann's today and looked at their variety of Duct tapes, but none of those are chalkboard.

This tape has it's own backing, and it is easily removable as it says.

Measuring tape

Five pieces of tape

Start in the center

Cut Chunk Picture

Back ready

Front ready

Done!

Since the tape has a backing, it's super easy to cut the pieces you need and lay them out to see how much you need before you stick the tape. I needed five pieces for the 8 x 10 1/2 frame I was using. Cut the tape a bit longer than the glass, about 1/4 inch on each side.

When you've measured and cut your tape, you're ready to start applying it to the glass. Start by putting the middle piece on, I eyeballed it, but you could draw whatever lines you need right on the glass because you'll be covering it up.

After the center piece is in place, add the next piece, with a slight overlap-1/8-1/4". Again, eyeballing is fine, and resticking is easy. Work out the air bubbles as you go along, and leave the edges 'till last.

When you have all the strips down, and readjusted as much as needed, press it all down more. A magazine or book is a good flat hard surface to smooth with.

Time for the edges! Do the sides with multiple edges first, from center out, like the front. For each edge, I stood the glass up on end, and kinda folded the tape around the side.

The side edges done, cut a chunk off the corner, the part where the tape would overlap. See Cut Chunk Picture. Then fold the other edges. I'm sure there's lots of other good ways to do the corners.

That's basically it. Now we have a piece of glass, covered with chalkboard tape. And just put the glass back in the frame.

I've drawn on it with the regular Crayola chalk and sidewalk chalk. It does seem that the regular chalk scratched the tape somewhat, but it's not so bad to make me want to redo it. The colors don't seem as bright as they show on the package, but I don't know if that is the tape or the chalk.

The tape says to clean with a tissue or dry wipe and sometimes use a wet wipe. I tried both. Dry leaves a ghost of the previous drawing, but baby wipes clean it wonderfully well.

OK. That's my tut.
Please let me know if you have any questions!

Thank you for the comments, I'll update/correct things as they come up.

Keychain

Here's a little collage of making a keychain for a Bus Buddy who graduated this week. 

 

Video

I've been watching a lot of old Donnie and Marie episodes lately (don't judge!), and couldn't help but share this gem, mid-stream even!
Not only is Jerry Lewis in this episode, but he's doing a skit of Send in the Clowns (I was in A Little Night Music in college, but luckily didn't have to sing that!), and not only is he surrounded by weird statues of clowns, but then he's doing an Emmet Kelly impersonation.
Just watch.

Entire Donny & Marie Osmond Show With Jerry Lewis, Jim Nabors & Ruth Buzzi

More Photos

Wooden Beads

Countdown Calendar

Pantleg Purse

Rehearsing

Our Wonderful Choir Director provides us with recordings of each individual part, as well the whole song.
Here are a few helpful hints that I have come up with:

• Listen. Remind yourself of the tempo and feel of the song. Gotta nail the beginning!
• Rehearse your part with the recording for your part, then when you think you've got your part down, sing your part along with a recording of a different part
• Focus on the individual things you can work on, remember we'll form one voice when we are singing together
• Do the hard parts first, and start again if you mess it up
• If a song especially moves you to tears, get the tears out in rehearsal
• For UUs: write in a lower case g when needed, or find alternate meanings if your heart needs them. "Spirit" to me is the music itself.

My New iPhone...so far so good

Since I'm having fun being a NEW iPhone owner, I thought it might be fun to talk about some of the apps I am enjoying, and which ones I am finding useless. LOL
The apps that came with it I'm organizing as I go along, and finding new ones, on the cheap, of course. (hashtag thriftyhippie)
I'm organizing according to use, first page is most often used. Bottom dock I like to only keep three so that I have an empty spot there to easily move apps around. Just stick them there temporarily to move to whatever page you decide to put them on.
Also three is a magic number. (hashtag schoolhouserock)
The first apps I downloaded were TCB takin' care of business apps-my bank and my carrier. Then I downloaded Instagram. I had already decided since I want to use my new camera, I mean iPhone, to share cool photos, I would start with Instagram.
And to go with Instagram, I downloaded a bunch of 'sample' apps, to do things to the photographs. I've been having fun putting words on some, coloring some, filtering way too much probably, making faces, and experimenting with lots of stuff.
My favorite so far, and the first app I actually spent money on for my new iPhone, is Snap Collage. I love the interface, you can just click on a bunch of pictures, and the app shows you all the cool collage versions you could use. Just scroll through until you see one you like. Let the app put the pix in for you, or decide where you want them. And you can change each individual photo, if you want.
This app seems very easy for the 'creatively challenged' (hashtag nosuchthing), simple and easy to use, but also not overwhelming. The free version has enough options to choose from to decide if it's for you or not.
Other things on my first page of apps:
two more I've actually paid for the upgrade; Daily Monster and Pottery. More on those another time, maybe. The rest of the Photography apps (actually, I just pulled out the Snap Collage for the photo). If a sample app is good enough to be a commonly used app, it will get bumped up, this folder is my current favorite apps to use on photographs before I Instagram them. A couple are already almost on their way out, I shouldn't have to get out a stylus to make a button clicck!
I still haven't connected my cloud (kinda still not sure how to use my cloud), so put the free versions of two of my favorites from my iPod Touch, still in use; Grocery IQ (altho, I may try out other grocery apps if they are also pantry apps, I just am used to this one), and Ambiance, my favorite sleep noise app. (I took my new iPhone to bed with me for the first time last night-LOL)
The BlogGo app because there is no app for Blogger, and a Roku Remote, because the tiny Roku remote is lost somewhere right now. LOL

Plant Collage

Polka dot plant, and Mama Squirrel Friend.

A photo posted by Shelly Fowler (@seeshells64) on May 3, 2016 at 4:43pm PDT

Playing with iPhone

I was disappointed to learn that there is no longer a Blogger app in the Apple Store. Searching online led me to this app called BlogGo  for ninety nine cents. 

So far so good. 

This photo is old mod podge and glitter drying on the glass end table I work on. I experimented with the time lapse to see if I could capture the drying process, but no. 

 

 

Little Cowboy's First Ride

I added the  music, title, and coloring all in the camera program on my new iPhone.

What am I working on?

So one week ago tonight, I got my iPhone. Finally. Yes, that means that I am joining the modern age with unlimited talk and text, the ol' TracFone will be expiring quietly next month. But more importantly, to me, is my iPhone is a computer in my hand. A creative tool. Or as GrandKiddo says (and surprised his dad with): technology.
This is a great update for me, and I'm having so much fun learning about it and playing with it. I haven't even unpacked the headphones yet.
And no Blogger app? what's up with that I wonder. I'll figure it out, but for now, as I said, follow me on instagram. I'm posting photos a lot. And you tube. See what I'm working on.

New iPhone-Follow me on Instagram!

A photo posted by Shelly Fowler (@seeshells64) on Apr 17, 2016 at 8:40pm PDT

The Law of Serendipity

Whatever's handiest goes into this project.

Wooden Beads

Wooden bead collection

Felt Flowers Animation

Also experimenting with how to get the video out easiest. This is uploaded to You Tube, then imported to Blogger. Is this one easier to see?

Animation Experimenting

This is the same video, uploaded straight to Blogger. This seemed to be more difficult on my end. 

Is this one easy to see?

Kickstartin'

Here's the latest cool thing I've Kickstarted. Watch the video, it's soooo cool. I have tons of ideas of things to make for fun and profit with this. It's already funded, so it's just buying in and getting the tool at this point.

Speaking of Roller Coasters...

This is a model of my favorite roller coaster, the Zambezi Zinger! How cool is this model? So cool, and very reminiscent of the real thing! I wonder if there are tiny model snakes in the tunnel? ;p

See Shell's Big Plan

Countdown Painting on Wall

THE BIG PLAN

I have always wanted to make my living using only my own creativity, in other words, to not have a real job. Because I work for the State, I have the option to retire at age 55, and that is what I plan to do. Let me put some quotes in there to clarify.

I am going to "retire" from my "real" job in about four years. 

That means I have about four years to figure out how to do it. I have many ideas of how to do this. Some are huge and scary, like maybe I could invest in some combo of store/studio/house/rental space to live and work, and possibly rent out. Other ideas are easily obtainable, an Etsy store is in my near future, we'll see how far that can go. I also have plenty of creative ideas that I want to do, that won't necessarily be monetizable, like stop frame animation, tutorials, and recipes.
This is scary. Scary exciting. I feel like I'm at the top of a roller coaster right now. And I do love a good roller coaster!
In the process of deciding to pursue this Big Plan, I looked into the future to see when my 55th birthday was, exactly. Discovering it conveniently falls on a Friday, the beginning of the Big Plan was born. As long as I was playing with calendars, I counted the working days from the beginning of this year until December 20, 2019, and found it to be 991. Less than one thousand days, that's do-able.
However 991 is kinda big for a countdown, and I really want to have a feeling of where I'm at in the process. Four years with four seasons each is a much more reasonable countdown of sixteen. That is what you see in this photo, my countdown until "retirement." I will mark off each season as it happens, so I will be able to see at a glance where I am in my timeline. Maybe a little crazy, but it works for my brain.
I will share how my process is going here on this little blog. Please join me on my little adventure. Let me know what you think, I'm still in my giant ideas stage, nothing's too crazy to think about.
And join the Scheme Team! 

Clay Playin'

Clay Dude

See Shell's Show & Tell

A photo posted by Shelly Fowler (@seeshells64) on Mar 7, 2016 at 7:22pm PST

If you didn't see it on Instagram, here's my Show & Tell for today.

It's a first attempt at air brushing, and experimenting with stencils.