Misconceptions!

Sometimes, a simple thing can be turned into something far more than it really is. The stigma that is attached to common items (or animals in this case) can cause them to be viewed in an entirely different way. Take for example the owl, a few weeks ago, I posted pictures of a fine specimen of a Great Horned Owl. It was a beauty and was merely seen as another of Mother Nature's fine creatures! But.....tonight's post of a drawing of a Barn Owl, evokes more sinister thoughts. Had I created the prints a few months ago, nothing would have been further from the mind..this owl would have been a fine nature print! Now, because I teamed this Barn Owl with a drawing of a bat and a raven, there seems to be a more dire connotation at hand. Why is my owl now "scary"? The whole point of this is to point out that Halloween decorations need not be something that is for the one holiday. Black and white prints are very "in vogue" in the decorating world so these if done on high quality photo paper and framed in nice frames, could be left up year round. Thus..my Halloween decorations are based more on insinuation of something ominous rather that the "ick factor" of department store nasties!

These prints are some more of the "freebie" or "near-freebie" decorations! The 12x14 prints only cost a few cents a piece..you can't get much cheaper! Time-wise..it took several hours due to the search for free compute clipart of owls, ravens and bats. The owl and raven were relatively easy to find but most of the bats were silly, cartoonish looking ones and I preferred a more realistic print. Since I do love the outcome of the project, I am thinking of drawing my own when a bit of free time shows itself around the Bayou House. One bit of advice before starting this project..LEARN HOW TO USE YOUR PRINTER! As much as I use my laptop, I still had no clue when it came to sizing, centering and printing pictures. I soon realized that now was the best time to learn this! The owl and raven were printed before I found that if you adjust the margins on a picture, the size could be changed. Now I know! Live and learn, I suppose!

I wanted my prints to be more "antique" looking than the bright white of new printer paper would allow. I still did the prints on ordinary printer paper..not photo nor and fancy-smancy colored paper. I colored my own! Thinking that I would need only a few sheets, I "dyed" only six pages. I wish now that I had dyed more. Tomorrow after coffee time, I will whip out a few more. After breakfast, I decided dying paper would take up a few minutes before I delved into a more tedious chore. To dye the paper..use ordinary printer paper and some really strong, hot coffee! I waited until everyone had their morning mugful and the swiped the remaining dregs. About a cup of coffee will dye enough paper to make a wall full of prints! Simply place an old towel on the table or counter to sop up any spills. Use paper toweling as a blotting area for the dyed paper. Place a 14x17 (or larger) flat pan on top of the towel. Pour the strong, hot coffee into the pan and start gently laying a single sheet of paper into the coffee. Gently..very gently "swish" the sheet of paper around in the coffee until it starts to get translucent. This will take about ten seconds..DO NOT leave the paper in any longer as it will start to tear. Carefully, lift the paper out of the coffee and lay it on the paper toweling. Place another paper towel sheet on top of the dyed sheet and gently..ever so gently..blot off the excess coffee. Pick the dyed paper up and place on a clean, dry paper towel sheet. Move both sheets to an area where the dyed piece can lay undisturbed until dry. Repeat with another sheet..then another until you have dyed them all. Allow to dry without folding, spindling or mutilating! hehe! Once the sheets are dry, you are ready to print!

Place them into the printer and print away! This is where I came into a bit of trouble! Those dratted pictures were so big that when I printed them, half of my birds were left off the paper! I had to downsize! Son always tells me that there is nothing I can do to my computer that he cannot "undo", so I tried really hard to prove him wrong today! I poked this button, prodded that button and just played while trying to shrink my birds! The bat was the worst of all! I printed a wing! That was it..one wing! This guy definitely needed to be put on a diet! Finally after much experimenting, I figured out what to do but by that time I was out of dyed paper and no one wanted another cup of coffee. A simple thing like moving the margin settings sure had me confused! Still, I think the prints turned out extremely well! Tomorrow..I will dye more paper and find more clipart owls, bats and ravens! Perhaps a cat or two could be added to the collection! These prints, whether framed or matted, will probably be hung in the newly renovated hallway! Speaking of the mats..these were rejects because they were slightly dented, scuffed and a bit dingy-looking. At just a few cents a piece, I had no qualms about painting them black and using those as frames! Cheap but effective decorations!