Michelle Ward/GreenPepperPress Blog

because of a blog………..

July 20, 2007

Being a blogger has been a rewarding experience particularly because of the connections made with new and interesting people. In addition, I get to see into the worlds of those close to me and total stangers too. This morning presented an added bonus! I met in real life with a new friend, and fellow blogger, Susanna Gordon. The hours flew by as we discovered we had much in common. She has amazing talent and had brought show and tell of some stunning encaustic work. She is also a gifted photographer which you’ll see when you hop over to her blog, or crack open Artful Blogging to page 100. STUNNING. Next time I hope I get to see her sketchbooks! Bookmark her blog…she’s always sharing something interesting.

As I drove away from Starbucks this afternoon I was rethinking what just happened. I met another new friend because of the blog. This time it was a neighbor! So very cool to have spent the day with Susanna. Meeting and talking with her for the first time was a rare treat. Here’s how it evolved:

Artful Blogging, a new publication by Stampington & Co. arrives. I am flipping through the attractive pages and I discover the article of Susanna’s Sketchbook, a blog I had never visited. Love what I see….hop over to the site….say to myself, "she’s in NJ, must say hello"….jot a note….Susanna writes back….we discover we live IN THE VERY SAME TOWN….as the crow flies it’s barely a mile….so here we are….at Starbucks TODAY. It was a gas to meet ANOTHER ARTIST who gets how cool it is to blog and knows the rewards to be had by putting yourself out there. She is exactly the kind of person you would want to meet – very interested in seeing all there is in our neck of the woods, plus she makes cool stuff. A connection and opportunity we might have missed.

You’re here, therefore you’re a blog reader. You’ll love this magazine. Thinking about starting your own? Get it. Already have your own? Get it. It is a very juicy publication – filled with terrific visuals and stories about the blogging experience (including my darling friend Lisa Hoffman and my Street Team!). Do you have a blog but you get that blank face when you talk to someone who doesn’t get it? This is perfect evidence to prove you’re not alone. Hits newstands August 1st but I’ve heard it’s already showing up in stores. You can also order direct from Stampington.

I have enjoyed keeping this blog. It has been the most amazing experience to connect with readers from around the globe. I truly appreciate getting your comments and emails. Meeting Susanna today? Priceless. We met because we blog! Now how cool is that? Who is blogging in your neighborhood that you haven’t met yet? You’ll never know if you don’t connect. (And buy the magazine!)
because of a blog………..

July 20, 2007

Being a blogger has been a rewarding experience particularly because of the connections made with new and interesting people. In addition, I get to see into the worlds of those close to me and total stangers too. This morning presented an added bonus! I met in real life with a new friend, and fellow blogger, Susanna Gordon. The hours flew by as we discovered we had much in common. She has amazing talent and had brought show and tell of some stunning encaustic work. She is also a gifted photographer which you’ll see when you hop over to her blog, or crack open Artful Blogging to page 100. STUNNING. Next time I hope I get to see her sketchbooks! Bookmark her blog…she’s always sharing something interesting.

As I drove away from Starbucks this afternoon I was rethinking what just happened. I met another new friend because of the blog. This time it was a neighbor! So very cool to have spent the day with Susanna. Meeting and talking with her for the first time was a rare treat. Here’s how it evolved:

Artful Blogging, a new publication by Stampington & Co. arrives. I am flipping through the attractive pages and I discover the article of Susanna’s Sketchbook, a blog I had never visited. Love what I see….hop over to the site….say to myself, "she’s in NJ, must say hello"….jot a note….Susanna writes back….we discover we live IN THE VERY SAME TOWN….as the crow flies it’s barely a mile….so here we are….at Starbucks TODAY. It was a gas to meet ANOTHER ARTIST who gets how cool it is to blog and knows the rewards to be had by putting yourself out there. She is exactly the kind of person you would want to meet – very interested in seeing all there is in our neck of the woods, plus she makes cool stuff. A connection and opportunity we might have missed.

You’re here, therefore you’re a blog reader. You’ll love this magazine. Thinking about starting your own? Get it. Already have your own? Get it. It is a very juicy publication – filled with terrific visuals and stories about the blogging experience (including my darling friend Lisa Hoffman and my Street Team!). Do you have a blog but you get that blank face when you talk to someone who doesn’t get it? This is perfect evidence to prove you’re not alone. Hits newstands August 1st but I’ve heard it’s already showing up in stores. You can also order direct from Stampington.

I have enjoyed keeping this blog. It has been the most amazing experience to connect with readers from around the globe. I truly appreciate getting your comments and emails. Meeting Susanna today? Priceless. We met because we blog! Now how cool is that? Who is blogging in your neighborhood that you haven’t met yet? You’ll never know if you don’t connect. (And buy the magazine!)
When it rains…..

July 18, 2007

I can’t be out spraying or swimming, so I’m getting caught up here. I’ve started a new album on the sidebar (left) for my spray infatuation. If you’re like me, your stencils are getting really built up with paint. Keep some scrap paper (or my favorite: file folders) on hand to lift off the excess when it’s wet…..it will not only give you a cool print, it will also remove layers of paint. The RANDOMness of it delights me.

And when you are spray painting don’t forget you can begin by covering your surface with paint first, THEN add the patterns.

Or start with colored paper as your background……metallics always look better over a dark ground.

Or use wrapping paper as a base ……

More with sprayed color background…..

And if you’re busy preparing cool sprayed envelopes for Crusade No. 10, you’ll love this trick….It’s really a pain to write over a sprayed surface, and address labels don’t always stick. Try making a cool mask to lay down before you spray, then left off for a perfect place to write the lucky name.

I mentioned this on the ST blog….you can spray on clear envelopes (and even acetate!)….it doesn’t come off, but you do need to let it dry longer than you would for paper or it will smear.

And don’t forget to save all your paper used to protect your table….this stuff is priceless! Get the Sunday paper and lay in your spray station (you are using a spray station right? a box to keep the spray paint from infiltrating your entire studio or yard?) then as each page gets soaked, peel away to the next page but keep for collage material.
When it rains…..

July 18, 2007

I can’t be out spraying or swimming, so I’m getting caught up here. I’ve started a new album on the sidebar (left) for my spray infatuation. If you’re like me, your stencils are getting really built up with paint. Keep some scrap paper (or my favorite: file folders) on hand to lift off the excess when it’s wet…..it will not only give you a cool print, it will also remove layers of paint. The RANDOMness of it delights me.

And when you are spray painting don’t forget you can begin by covering your surface with paint first, THEN add the patterns.

Or start with colored paper as your background……metallics always look better over a dark ground.

Or use wrapping paper as a base ……

More with sprayed color background…..

And if you’re busy preparing cool sprayed envelopes for Crusade No. 10, you’ll love this trick….It’s really a pain to write over a sprayed surface, and address labels don’t always stick. Try making a cool mask to lay down before you spray, then left off for a perfect place to write the lucky name.

I mentioned this on the ST blog….you can spray on clear envelopes (and even acetate!)….it doesn’t come off, but you do need to let it dry longer than you would for paper or it will smear.

And don’t forget to save all your paper used to protect your table….this stuff is priceless! Get the Sunday paper and lay in your spray station (you are using a spray station right? a box to keep the spray paint from infiltrating your entire studio or yard?) then as each page gets soaked, peel away to the next page but keep for collage material.
Younger Men

July 16, 2007

We met July 26, 1984….just ten days AFTER he turned 19. I was 20. I wonder ~ if he had still been 18 if I would have let him drive me home from Maximillian’s Night Club that night. Probably, couldn’t resist his charm. Still irresistible @ 42.

In ten days it will be 23 years since we met. We’re now past that point on the timeline where have know each other longer than we haven’t known each other. Maximillian’s is long gone, but tattooed in our memories, and the middle name of Samuel. (how cool is that?)

Happy Birthday Graham! You still rock!

{First photo taken @ Birmingham University, England. Second photo taken @ Rock & Roll wax museum, Niagara Falls, Canada…sitting next to Ozzy}

ARTFUL BLOGGING ARRIVED!! Will write more later…..but I did post on the Street Team page about it.
Younger Men

July 16, 2007

We met July 26, 1984….just ten days AFTER he turned 19. I was 20. I wonder ~ if he had still been 18 if I would have let him drive me home from Maximillian’s Night Club that night. Probably, couldn’t resist his charm. Still irresistible @ 42.

In ten days it will be 23 years since we met. We’re now past that point on the timeline where have know each other longer than we haven’t known each other. Maximillian’s is long gone, but tattooed in our memories, and the middle name of Samuel. (how cool is that?)

Happy Birthday Graham! You still rock!

{First photo taken @ Birmingham University, England. Second photo taken @ Rock & Roll wax museum, Niagara Falls, Canada…sitting next to Ozzy}

ARTFUL BLOGGING ARRIVED!! Will write more later…..but I did post on the Street Team page about it.
107

July 14, 2007

One hundred and seven. No, it's not the temperature here. It's how old Zelda Fitzgerald would be on July 24th if she were still alive. I made a book and paper doll of her for Lynne Perrella's book Beyond Paper Dolls (2006), then followed it up with an article "An Ode to Zelda" in the March/April 2007 issue of Somerset Studio magazine. Love that brilliant soul.
107

July 14, 2007

One hundred and seven. No, it's not the temperature here. It's how old Zelda Fitzgerald would be on July 24th if she were still alive. I made a book and paper doll of her for Lynne Perrella's book Beyond Paper Dolls (2006), then followed it up with an article "An Ode to Zelda" in the March/April 2007 issue of Somerset Studio magazine. Love that brilliant soul.
Synchronicity: Part Two

July 11, 2007

I’m going to work backwards on this one….First I’ll tell you the SYNCHRONICITY part. A few days ago I posted a new crusade on the Street Team blog:

It’s about sending Mail Art – you can read about it over HERE. So like not even 24 hours pass and this box lands on my doorstep. She had no idea…..but in sending me her Crusade entries 1 through 9, she also entered No. 10. Say it with me: How Cool Is That? SHE is Maj Hoenborg, currently living in Germany, native of Denmark. Maj is pronounced "My", (not Madge) the word for May, (the month we were both born in) as I learned when I called her the other night…..very late in her time zone but I wanted her to hear my enthusiasm. More about Maj further down.

You KNOW my heart skipped a beat when I saw this package. I didn’t even have the brains to stop and photograph her thoughtfully wrapped contents….I just attacked. Wouldn’t you?

Here’s my lame attempt to show you all remnants of the cool wrappings….everything in red and black with ribbons, strings,.tags, roses…..You get the picture, I just didn’t TAKE one. What could all this be? The outside says CRUSADE. The note says she’s enclosing interpretations for every previous crusade. GAH! (And even though she’s a webdesigner she doesn’t have her own site…..let’s bug her about that!)

If you don’t know the details behind each crusade you will have to look it up….. Not only is this a stunning pen, and just my thing…..but it writes with ROSE SCENTED INK! AND…..drum roll……she sent a package of refills too! You KNOW I screeched over that cleverness.

The embossed paper was wrapped around one of the packages – I included it so you could see the pattern. Maj’s Cheap Trick is this fancy schmancy FOUR LEAF CLOVER old fashioned paper trimming. You KNOW I swooooooned!

As a child, Maj called flip-flops "klip klapper", so that is her Say What entry…..plus, she reminded me that another team player said the pattern on the bottom could be used as a texture stamp – Cheap Trick! Loving the "M" which is also a "W". And Maj, they fit! (See my heartagram belt buckle cemented into the step?)

Maj shared the eggs on the right with the Street Team for Pick Your Poison. She also collects amber….and now I have some!

When I saw these white gloves I cracked up – thought they were Evidence gathering gloves like a forensic scientist would wear….afterall, the Kiss and Tell crusade was about "evidence" of your everyday stuff. But in reading her tag she says we use and abuse ours hands everyday, so she included a recipe for how to maintain nice soft hands. Cover in olive oil, put on plastic gloves, followed by white gloves. Wear for one hour. Thanks, I need that!

THIS ONE IS SO CLEVER!!!!!!!!!! Crusade No. 4 was about journaling your Rock Star Moment. Maj put her twist on it by saying you can be your own Rock Star. Imagine how I squealed at her cleverness when I opened the box and saw the mirror and her sentiment. Say it with me…….

She’s a chicken. Press-on tattoos instead of real ink! Or maybe she has one and isn’t telling us? How cute is she? Got this photo from her in May….so fun to have a face to go with the friendship.

For her Playlist, Maj made this cool accordion book. The pull-out tag is her listing of Crusades 1 through 9. Under No. 2 she writes, "Playlist: you’re looking at it". The girl knows how to play doesn’t she? Those letters above are each cut out and painted then applied in. It’s a stunner.

Here’s a fun part of the story…..After opening everything and basking in the oh-my-gosh-ness of it all, I read the Playlist and it says under #1 Spooky Art: Halloween confetti. What? I didn’t see any confetti. So like a day later I’m still curious and carefully peek through every saved wrapping…..and tucked into one was this mini envelope made of vellum and coated in metallicy coolness. I almost missed it because it felt like the thickness of folded tissue paper. Imagine how I cracked up when I read "BOO" on the front.

This handprint is on the back of the card enclosed with the package. The excerpt reads: "It must be about a year since I responded to your ‘grave dirt request’." Now there’s something you don’t see everyday. But yes, I made a call on my blog back in June 2006 for grave dirt of any famous poets or writers. My introduction to Maj cam when she responded to me via email…..and inquired if I was serious. She didn’t want to risk getting in trouble if it was a hoax. So a friendship was born, thanks to Hans Christian Andersen. He was buried in Denmark and when Maj went home for a visit last summer she collected some dirt from his grave for me and sent it here in a very cool paper cut envelope with the inititals HCA. She has become a very special friend and I am pleased to share her with you today.

****************************************************************************************************************************

Winner for Crusade No. 9 ~ "What’s that Smell" is Becky New. Congrats Becky! Everyone is invited to come Spread the Love with Crusade No. 10. I’m going to hop over there right now to tell them about Maj’s package!
Synchronicity: Part Two

July 11, 2007

I’m going to work backwards on this one….First I’ll tell you the SYNCHRONICITY part. A few days ago I posted a new crusade on the Street Team blog:

It’s about sending Mail Art – you can read about it over HERE. So like not even 24 hours pass and this box lands on my doorstep. She had no idea…..but in sending me her Crusade entries 1 through 9, she also entered No. 10. Say it with me: How Cool Is That? SHE is Maj Hoenborg, currently living in Germany, native of Denmark. Maj is pronounced "My", (not Madge) the word for May, (the month we were both born in) as I learned when I called her the other night…..very late in her time zone but I wanted her to hear my enthusiasm. More about Maj further down.

You KNOW my heart skipped a beat when I saw this package. I didn’t even have the brains to stop and photograph her thoughtfully wrapped contents….I just attacked. Wouldn’t you?

Here’s my lame attempt to show you all remnants of the cool wrappings….everything in red and black with ribbons, strings,.tags, roses…..You get the picture, I just didn’t TAKE one. What could all this be? The outside says CRUSADE. The note says she’s enclosing interpretations for every previous crusade. GAH! (And even though she’s a webdesigner she doesn’t have her own site…..let’s bug her about that!)

If you don’t know the details behind each crusade you will have to look it up….. Not only is this a stunning pen, and just my thing…..but it writes with ROSE SCENTED INK! AND…..drum roll……she sent a package of refills too! You KNOW I screeched over that cleverness.

The embossed paper was wrapped around one of the packages – I included it so you could see the pattern. Maj’s Cheap Trick is this fancy schmancy FOUR LEAF CLOVER old fashioned paper trimming. You KNOW I swooooooned!

As a child, Maj called flip-flops "klip klapper", so that is her Say What entry…..plus, she reminded me that another team player said the pattern on the bottom could be used as a texture stamp – Cheap Trick! Loving the "M" which is also a "W". And Maj, they fit! (See my heartagram belt buckle cemented into the step?)

Maj shared the eggs on the right with the Street Team for Pick Your Poison. She also collects amber….and now I have some!

When I saw these white gloves I cracked up – thought they were Evidence gathering gloves like a forensic scientist would wear….afterall, the Kiss and Tell crusade was about "evidence" of your everyday stuff. But in reading her tag she says we use and abuse ours hands everyday, so she included a recipe for how to maintain nice soft hands. Cover in olive oil, put on plastic gloves, followed by white gloves. Wear for one hour. Thanks, I need that!

THIS ONE IS SO CLEVER!!!!!!!!!! Crusade No. 4 was about journaling your Rock Star Moment. Maj put her twist on it by saying you can be your own Rock Star. Imagine how I squealed at her cleverness when I opened the box and saw the mirror and her sentiment. Say it with me…….

She’s a chicken. Press-on tattoos instead of real ink! Or maybe she has one and isn’t telling us? How cute is she? Got this photo from her in May….so fun to have a face to go with the friendship.

For her Playlist, Maj made this cool accordion book. The pull-out tag is her listing of Crusades 1 through 9. Under No. 2 she writes, "Playlist: you’re looking at it". The girl knows how to play doesn’t she? Those letters above are each cut out and painted then applied in. It’s a stunner.

Here’s a fun part of the story…..After opening everything and basking in the oh-my-gosh-ness of it all, I read the Playlist and it says under #1 Spooky Art: Halloween confetti. What? I didn’t see any confetti. So like a day later I’m still curious and carefully peek through every saved wrapping…..and tucked into one was this mini envelope made of vellum and coated in metallicy coolness. I almost missed it because it felt like the thickness of folded tissue paper. Imagine how I cracked up when I read "BOO" on the front.

This handprint is on the back of the card enclosed with the package. The excerpt reads: "It must be about a year since I responded to your ‘grave dirt request’." Now there’s something you don’t see everyday. But yes, I made a call on my blog back in June 2006 for grave dirt of any famous poets or writers. My introduction to Maj cam when she responded to me via email…..and inquired if I was serious. She didn’t want to risk getting in trouble if it was a hoax. So a friendship was born, thanks to Hans Christian Andersen. He was buried in Denmark and when Maj went home for a visit last summer she collected some dirt from his grave for me and sent it here in a very cool paper cut envelope with the inititals HCA. She has become a very special friend and I am pleased to share her with you today.

****************************************************************************************************************************

Winner for Crusade No. 9 ~ "What’s that Smell" is Becky New. Congrats Becky! Everyone is invited to come Spread the Love with Crusade No. 10. I’m going to hop over there right now to tell them about Maj’s package!