Mar14

A Win for Chatgpt!

Posted on March 14, 2026 by karlakrafts

If we remodel our house for accessibility, we’d like to add a roomier living room. I’ve kept this photo of my “dream room” for 30 years.

I know it’s been 30 years. Here’s the cover of the magazine:

See the date, Winter 1996. It’s a photo from the same room.

Now, the curved beams are delicious to me, but so impractical. For one, they are expensive, and for two, they’d be a nightmare to dust.

The room is also narrow for wheelchair mobility. The plan says 15ft. I changed it to 18. I kept the window seat, and lowered the vaulted ceiling. I covered that ceiling with wood.

I kept the arched window and echoed it with an arched doorway, which there is just a hint of in the version Chatgpt rendered:

I am exceedingly pleased!

Mar13

Using Mark-Up; Where to Find It

Posted on March 13, 2026 by karlakrafts

Using Mark-Up; Where to Find It

In an earlier post, I showed how I use Mark-Up to add color to my photos.

The photos don’t have to be black and white, but I do enjoy “colorizing” them!

Mark-Up is part of photo editing on an iPhone. (I’d bet there’s something similar in Android phones. Most have Google Photos.) I have an iPhone 14 using iOS 26.3.1

During a recent upgrade, all the photo editing icons were combined into one slider. It looks like this:

It appears at the bottom of any iPhone photo you open.

Click on (touch) that slider and a whole new set of icons appear.

Look for a little pen tip at the top right. It can do magic!

It can do magic! What happens next will be in a future post.

Go ahead and click on it if you want to explore on your own!

Mar12

Ah, Spit!

Posted on March 12, 2026 by karlakrafts

Ah, Spit!

It started with a a paper like this:

It’s a gel print by Patricia Carmichael Cline of PMartist Studios. I won it in a drawing, along with a whole pack of papers and stencil pieces. I remember when Patricia printed it. She used acrylic paint and a comb-like tool to make the swirls. She pulled it with wet strength tissue. I liked the transparency of the tissue and got an idea.

I bought a glass cylinder vase and an electric candle from Dollar Tree. The Unicorn Spit was a previous clearance purchase from Michael’s. I used a foam brush and spread the Unicorn Spit on the back of the tissue. Unicorn Spit is a water-based gel stain. The color is Party Punk Pink and it is intense! The tissue dried like this:

The front:

I wrapped the tissue, pink side against the glass and folded edges in and under. I turned on and dropped in the candle:

I turned down the lights:

And let her dance!

Next, I’ll finish up by attaching the tissue to the glass with clear gel medium. I am pretty pumped about this!

Mar11

Colorful Notes

Posted on March 11, 2026 by karlakrafts

Colorful Notes

One of my bucket list items is to return to the piano. I had three years of lessons in elementary school and hated it. I was a terrible student. My piano teacher even cried one time.

The old upright I inherited from my grandmother was so heavy it had to be placed in the basement, and I hated to go down there to practice. When I sold my parent’s house a few years ago, the piano stayed.

I asked my husband for a keyboard for Christmas last year, and he complied. I also found this book.

Not only are the notes in color,

but it comes with stickers for your keyboard

I color over the notes on my sheet music with colored pencils, to match.

It really helps me to learn to read sheet music!

Mar10

Black Glue?

Posted on March 10, 2026 by karlakrafts

Black Glue?

I have an idea for a project that would involve black glue. I thought you could buy an Elmer’s black glue at a craft store. They do have black Elmer’s, but it has glitter. I think it’s for making slime.

I found an article that said make your own black glue with regular white glue and black acrylic paint.

Now, one of the most useful things I’ve learned from Patricia and Mariah at pmartiststudio.com, is that acrylic paint is just a glue with pigment added.

So why not try an application of heavy bodied (thick) acrylic paint? I’m about to inventory my black acrylic paints. If none work as is, then I’ll add a little glue.

Mar9

SlappingPaintonPaper

Posted on March 9, 2026 by karlakrafts

SlappingPaintonPaper

Today, I accompanied my husband to Moh’s surgery. An old motorcycle burn on his lower leg left a scar that turned into a squamous cell sarcoma. It presented as a white scaly patch the size and shape of a silver dollar. The surgeon got it all first cut. Still, that and a trip to the pharmacy took most of the day.

I did get home in time to catch Karen McKoy’s live stream. Karen is an artist who is also a grief counselor. Her art channel is called, Slapping Paint on Paper

I found her through friends in the chat of PMartist Studio. Her words of wisdom have been invaluable to me, and I am grateful.

https://youtu.be/rAnYwbCJ7BM?si=_V_nkf7yO5TLmk9j

Mar8

PMartist Studio

Posted on March 8, 2026 by karlakrafts

PMartist Studio

‘Just a little crafting, and a whole lot of sleeping, today. It’s Sunday, for one, and I’m always exhausted after relocating to Charlotte. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1996, and that drive, along with packing and unpacking, uses all my spoons. Thats a story for another day.

Today, I did get to watch PMartist Studio’s Sunday morning live stream, at least until I fell back asleep.

https://youtube.com/@pmartiststudio

The masterminds of this channel, Patricia Carmichael Cline and Mariah Scott Rushing, are a mother and daughter duo. Patricia is a retired art teacher and Mariah is a graphic artist. They are multi-talented with specialties in mixed media and gel printing.

If you subscribe to their channel, you can participate in a live chat during their live streams. It is described as, “the best chat in town,” and I enjoy being a part of it. They stream live 4 times per week, and are certainly something to look forward to!

There’s much more to tell about their business, https://pmartiststudio.com/, and their Facebook group, Makers of Mixed Media Art/Artists.

That’s something to look forward to, too!

Mar7

Glueless!

Posted on March 7, 2026 by karlakrafts

Glueless!

Not really, but I did spend the day cleaning and packing and driving back to Charlotte.

I was anxious to get back to seal and finish this big collage:

There’s a whole story behind this collage. It’s my entry for the January Collage Challenge at Makers of Mixed Media Art/Artists, a group sponsored by PMartists Studio. I’ll share more in the future.

My favorite sealant is Liquitex Satin Gel Medium. I have 2 containers and both are left at home. I’m off to the web to see if Michael’s has any in stock, or order more for here. 🙄

Mar6

Spring Things

Posted on March 6, 2026 by karlakrafts

Spring Things

We’ve been freshening our house for spring. Before:

After today:

It was gorgeous warm weather, today. When Laura and I had our Face Time creat time, this morning, I moved my diamond dot tree out on the porch! Laura knitted away on a baby blanket and we told funny stories and laughed. Maybe I should record some of those, here.

The husband and I have been trimming dead limbs out of our rhododendrons. I won’t let him cut these, though, even if they are intruding on the porch:

See those two fat buds? They’re the Sappho variety. When they bloom, they’ll look like this:

I definitely include decorating and gardening as crafts!

Mar5

Mark-Up

Posted on March 5, 2026 by karlakrafts

Mark-Up

Or at least that’s what I think you call it. You find it in an iPhone photo editing app. You don’t have to buy it or download it to your phone. It’s there in Photos, already loaded.

More on how to find and use it in future posts. I played with it, today.

My original photos are licensed from Shutterstock.com.

Karla Krafts

Creating, Learning, Sharing

A Win for Chatgpt!

Using Mark-Up; Where to Find It

Ah, Spit!

Colorful Notes

Black Glue?

SlappingPaintonPaper

Glueless!

Spring Things

Mark-Up