Making Friendly Plastic Music

or.....Friendly Plastic is Music to my ears.....

Friendly Plastic...the music in my day.....

No matter how you look at it....Linda Petereson is here and TWO whole weeks of Friendly Plastic play is here!!!

So I wanted to make a piano keyboard......that is over 12" long.....on a curve.....

first up, we cut strips of black Friendly Plastic, laid them out on THREE silpat sheets and let them melt together - turn the griddle to about 180 degrees. If the pieces start to pull apart, just tap them back together. I took Amaco's acrylic roller and rolled it all nice and flat......

Next, I trimmed it to the shape that I wanted, then cut pieces of white Friendly Plastic to look like keys and laid them out on top. Yes, I had to cut them at angles......but it's the exact look that I wanted!


Then I added the half notes. OK.....you will need tweezers to do this!!! And I had this all on the griddle (turned off) as I wanted everything in place before it started to melt and fuse together. It did take a little bit of time to construct this!

I turned the griddle back up to 180 degrees and sat there and babysat this as it started to melt and fuse. Used Amaco's needle tool to move stuff that melted too far and too fast (keep it covered in vasoline) and I really love the end results! It's on a 12x12 piece of scrapbook paper.

Having Linda here is music to my soul for sure! I'm so excited as we start the process of creating and designing. I can hardly wait for each hour to pass....just to see what we can come up with. After "building" a keyboard....I think we need to go 3D and see just what we can do!

Where has that little girl gone?

As a little girl, I took piano lessons. I would sing along with the music and my teacher, Mrs. Bishop, asked mom if I could sing in her choir. In exchange, she said she would give me free voice lessons. I received a clarinet for Christmas in the 4th grade and played in the band shortly after that (small school...they needed everyone!) The 4 of us girls sang in church from almost as early as I can remember. Mom played the piano and we sang at home all the time. So music was a huge part of my childhood.

I believe it was the spring of 1964 when there was a vocal competition at Ball State Teachers College in Muncie IN. I don't remember the specifics...I just knew that we were going to the college and I was going to sing a very long song. Oh! I practiced for months with Mrs. Bishop. I still have the sheet music. "I walked today where Jesus walked" She would make notes on the music where I was supposed to hold my breath, or be loud or soft.

I memorized every line (OK, I still have the song memorized!) and I'm sure I wore my Sunday best.



I just remember being scared to death. Probably gave my voice loads of vibrato!

I won first place. I still have the blue medal!

So what happened? Why am I not some famous singer today? Why do I so rarely sing for anyone except me?

When I went to Bob Jones University, I took vocal the first semester. It was a semi-private class with just 4 students. I remember being horrified when the professor told me to sing to the students outside the window as they were walking by. He made me lay on my back with an orange on my stomach and breathe so it wouldn't roll off. I went to a lab and practiced 2 hours every single day that first semester. He made it so much work. He took away all the fun and joy of singing. At the end of the term, the professor told me I couldn't sing and that it would take years of coaching for me to ever sing.

I could have stopped there and blamed it on him, but I moved to Colorado and my sisters and I took up guitar and continued to sing. But you know, somewhere in the back of my head was this little voice that kept telling me "you can't sing...you need years of coaching".

Kerry bought me a keyboard a few weeks ago and I found the music to the song I sang in 8th grade. I can still play it. And I sang it today. How fun was that! But it made me wonder...where did that little girl go? The one who got up in front of an audience and sang her heart out and came home with a blue medal?



I'm hoping I can find her again and spend some time playing....and singing. I think it will be fun!

ART IS LIKE DANCING....

Art is like dancing
there is a beat
there are steps and moves
and you create
a new form of music
for the world to hear.
It has the passion
of a great orchestra
and it has the quiet sound
of a single piano key
it takes you places
you never knew existedp
It can make you feel
right at home.

Well, when I have my moments, the poetry and writing just seems to flow from me.  I truly believe that my art is inspired a lot by my childhood memories of music.  We didn't have a whole lot.  But when I was 10, I received a clarinet for my Christmas present.  Mom & Dad were just so smart!   I could "buy" the clarinet by earning 50 cents for each half hour that I practiced.  Even in the early 60s, it took me hours and hours to "own" it!  But I did learn how to play it, so well, that I played First Chair for a few years in band.  There were also piano lessons and private voice lessons.  I even managed to take first place with a solo "Jesus Wept" at an all state contest held at Ball State University.  I still have the blue medal somewhere.

So, music was a huge part of my childhood.  The 4 Moore girls sang as a quartet at church probably from the time the youngest sister could stand up.  I have no idea how many songs are embedded in my brain and on some days, I just start to sing them for no reason at all.  Other than they make me happy.

This week, my hubby surprised me with the gift of a new digital (musical) keyboard.  So expect to hear more about that as I learn how to digitally make music.

I turned the poem above into a rubber stamp available thru After Midnight Stamps.

And today, I'm playing with Spellbinder's "flying Beauties" die and the Paisley Nestabilities die.



I'm working on a tutorial for this as well, but wanted to showcase these dies.  I used Stamping Up paper.  
I believe it's the "Outlaw" package.

I used the Stencil Collection's pastel chalks.  I happen to have the 48 set and use them all the time...wait til you see the tutorial!!!



And I'm using real Swarovski crystals to add some bling to the cards! They came from Scrapbook Your LIfe! in San Diego....one of my fav places to shop!

The swirly stamps are by Autumn Leaves.

And here's the paisley die....embossed with a Sizzix texture plate.  Nothing like mixing it up with competing companies!  LOL!  But what a gorgeous effect I get!



Music and art.  I am so blessed!  And when I allow.....they can take me places I never knew existed....they can make me feel right at home.