Karine Ardault

Finally something

I wanted to create something yesterday, play with acrylic paint for the background and make a challenge. In my mailbox yesterday i got the weekly topic for Illustration Friday. It is Stitch. Stitches have been used a lot in pieces I have seen lately. or is it just me noticing? Well i did this one. In is a 20x20 cm piece on which I put masking tape. They I painted the background using wcrylic paint. Then I added a few ephemeras. At the bottom I adhered with matte medium some lace paper (I bought it in a small cosy shop in Paris - This thing is amazing - Must buy more when back in Europe). Then I glued a piece of felt on which i glued some paper ephemera and I sew some stitches. The music notes are a transfer with heavy gel medium....

inchies... ready steady GO!

Inchies images are cut, backgrounds for the inchies are ready... Time for some inchies for the inchies swap! more pix when they are finished...later!

Theme for february is purple... need to do some more red inchies as I only have one left...

Let's get the red paint too!!

Home alone

I did not see this week. Already the week-end and I feel like I have done nothing besides work. hmmm. Time to have a creative week-end! I made a few pieces that I have to scan. I will do so later today and then I will post the pictures on the blog. I will also post about the books I received this week. Still have to create more... I am in a creative mood this week-end.

I must admit that I was not so good this week for pictures... I will catch up this week-end. Also have to make some new prints so they can be framed. Saw a few interesting stuffs on sale on the net, so I may do some shopping.... hmmmm

I am working also working on a little surprise...

And, I guess the title of my post is explicit enough... I am home alone for the week-end. He left some one hour ago and he is back on monday (maybe)... Hope he is going to have a nice photographic week-end as he is going to Mahale.

I wish myself a nice creative week-end! Stay tuned for more!!

Operation 01 completed... pole pole

Finally completed the 1st challenge from Elise and her Paper Adventure 08 Project. I know, I am a week late and the 2nd challenged have been posted yesterday. Well, I needed time to think about my project and then I needed time to do it without rushing. Tonight was a good time to do so.

Another big news: got my order from Amazon today... I made the order back in september... hmmm more on that tomorrow.

I can see it

Finally, it is there. I can see it too! what? well, I have been working on the layout of my blog over the week-end but each time I was loading the page to see the results... nothing. well, not nothing as I could see my page and the posts, but it was the old layout. Though other people using other internet providers could see the new layout. Finally tonight I loaded the page and Tadam! It is there.

I am still working on the layout as it is not exactly how I want it. One step at a time. I think that changing the layout of a blog requires a lot of patience...hmmm... see my post on resolutions... and I guess even more patience here as internet connection is far from being as good as it is in Europe.

Tonight we had a visitor. Another animal to our collection. Well, this one will be staying in the garden. It is a tortoise that the askari (the guard) found in the garden. We brought it back inside the house hoping to see her face but she kept hidding. For the night I put her back in the garden. The dog is doing ok with it. Ok, he is not delighted but at least, it is not barking at it, just going to sniff it from time to time. I just went to check how the two of them are doing... Tortoise has left... I hope she is still in the garden as it is the safest place to be for her now as the neighbors are buiding a house at the moment... Hope to see her tomorrow.

remember the picture of the flowers from last week-end? they have opened and they smell amazingly... yummm. A delicate but strong perfume.I like it!

So here is THE lion story...

Back in October Ben and I went to Lake Manyara National Park for a day safari. I already mentioned briefly in an old post our encounter with a lion. But here is more about it with some pictures.

Lake Manyara National Park is supposed to be famous for its lions in trees. We had been joking about this all day. First, before getting into the park, there is a huge ugly painting showing a lion in a tree but not a picture... does that mean that it is only a legend? that there are no lions in trees? well not exactly. Second, lions goes in trees everywhere. It is not common but in other parks, lions have been seen in trees. Ben took some pictures of lions in trees in Katavi National Park.

So all day we had been looking in trees expecting to see a lion... NOTHING. Then almost at the end of the park, in a curve, we saw the body of a dead giraffe. We decide to stop and take some pictures. Ben so park under a tree. We got out of the car and took some pictures. Then, when are done, I turn back to the car which is some 5 meters away and what do I see in the tree above the car... You guess it.. a LION!

And not happy the lion. Look at it and imagine  the noise. We stay quiet and go back to the car. I cannot go back in it by the passenger side as it is too close to the beast. After a first attempt to inside the car by the rear doors, Ben, who has already entered the car through the driver's door call me.

i close the rear door and gets inside the vehicle by the driver's door while Ben slides on the passenger's seat. In the meantime the lion starts to get down the tree...

We are in the car, I just closed the driver's door... Euh... the Land Rover has its roof opened... We know the car may not just start at first try so we just hope the lion is fleeing...

 

 

Yes, it goes away....

And while Ben was making sure I was getting inside the car it took all the photos you have just seen!

That was our story of lions climbing in trees...

Ok, so now we have seen and we believe that lions climb trees in Manyara National Park!

Lesson learned: When you park under a tree, watch what it is the tree!!

New Year Resolutions

In no particular order, I have been thinking about this since 1st January:

• Be me
• Take time for myself
• Keep a clean space for working and creating
• Take more care of myself
• Take pictures everyday
• Learn Kiswahili (at least better than I do now)
• Create at least one piece of art each week
• Write VERY regularly in that blog
• Finish my website
• Take my camera with me more often
• Sell more photos
• Participate in photography contests (frightening)
• Set up an etsy store
• Get a promotion
• Get to know more the persons who are visiting my blog
• Stop loosing time doing things that are not useful
• Back-up more often my pictures
• Learn to draw
• Do not let e-mails piling up in my in-box
• First read the books on my shelves before buying new ones
• ...

That is a good start for now... I will update this list I am sure.

Quickie

A quick post: I have been busy cleaning, creating, taking pictures and remodeling my blog - see you soon for more!

So it is 1st January 2008

Another new year. Another fresh start. A day I can use to reflect on myself. No work today. I cannot even check my work e-mails as the office server is down (was already down yesterday...). So I have time. But for what? did some cleaning, put clothes in the washing machine, put them out to dry then, been surfing the web while half of the world is asleep, been preparing my envelope for my inchies swap... and i have been working on my blog. If you look on the left side, there are new photo albums for new projects.

Thank you Ali Edwards (again...) for making me discovering Photojojo. Despite this strange name, it is a very interesting website about photography.

I have also been taking care of myself. Decided I should take more care of myself. I have all those products shipped there, I should use them before we move to another place!

Oh, I almost forgot: I made an order from Jenni Bowlin. She has greats products. I have been willing to make one for a long time so I guess it was the day! Talking about shopping, I am now waiting for custom made stamps at zazzle and some Moo cards.

Thinking about putting together an etsy shop. still thinking about it because of my busy schedule and the place I live: problem of reliability and speed of the postal system.

so many things I want to do, try, so little time. Though I guess I am getting better at making time for myself and my projects.

Ok, better go and take pictures!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!

I wish you a very good and creative year