Pumpkin Patch

Today I got to go with Ellie's class to the pumpkin patch. The kids had lots of fun. First they listened to a story about the rabbit that planted all the pumpkins. Then they went on a trail that led to the rabbit's burrow. They got to go into his burrow and climb up into his house. Next they got to go on a hay ride. The kids loved it, especially since their teacher got squirted by water during the ride! After the hay ride they ate their snacks. Then it was time for the kids to go and choose a pumpkin to take home with them. Ellie searched for the perfect pumpkin, she finally found one that she loved!

That night I asked Ellie if she wanted to carve her pumpkin. She looked at me and said, "So it can glow?" I said "yes". Without hesitation she looked at me and said "No." I then asked her if she wanted to draw a face on it. She decided that would be fun. She gave her pumpkin a happy face on one side and a scary face on the other. I tried to get her to put it outside, but she didn't want to. She decided to keep it in her bedroom and on her dresser so Tanner couldn't get to it.

Trunk or Treat

Getting ready to go Trunk or Treating at our church.

Sheriff Tanner...The Good Witch Kaleigh joined Sleeping Ellie in her quest for Treats!MMmmmm.... Cupcakes!

What lucky kids, its not even Halloween and they've already gone trick or treating twice!

Ellie's Birthday at Disneyland!!!

A few weeks before Ellie's Birthday she came to me and asked, "How do we get to Disneyland? Do we fly on Elephants?" Apparently she had seen a commercial where people were flying to Disneyland on Dumbo. Ellie had been bugging to go to Disneyland for awhile and had been told countless times that 4 year olds don't get to go, but 5 year olds could. So I decided it would be a lot of fun to take her when she turned 5, so on October 17 we took Ellie to Disneyland.

The first ride we went on was Buzz Lightyear. Ellie really had fun shooting at all the targets, but it wasn't what she wanted to do. She wanted to see the Princesses. First we went and saw Tinker Bell and her friend Silver Mist. Ellie was so excited to see Tinker Bell, she gave her a hug and talked to her about her Birthday. The next stop we made was to see some of the Princesses! It happened to be the longest line we waited in that day, but it was worth it! Ellie was in heaven! We also got to see Tiger, Pooh, Minnie and Mickey! Seeing all the characters was by far Ellie's favorite thing about Disneyland.

This picture was taken in front of It's a Small World. Ellie really enjoyed seeing all the singing dolls and trying to find the Disney Characters hidden throughout the ride. Some other rides Ellie enjoyed were Dumbo (we rode it twice), the Tea Cups, the Space Ship ride that is very similar to Dumbo, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Ellie really wanted to play this western shooting game. She was able to hit a tombstone and was so proud of herself!We took Ellie on Space Mountain. She did really good while on the ride, but as soon as we got off it she started crying! She didn't like it, I wasn't surprised.... I didn't use to like it either! We also took Ellie on Thunder Mountain, Brian said that he could feel her heart beating really fast during the ride. When we got off it Ellie did not cry, she liked it! And for a brief period of time she considered it her favorite ride. The submarine ride where you get see Nemo became her favorite later on that night.
We also got to see the Fireworks, but that was for Brian and I.... Ellie does not like fireworks! She put her face on my shoulder and didn't watch any of it. We let Ellie pick out a Birthday present before we left the park. She picked out a Tinker Bell art kit, which she has been using almost non stop since we have gotten back! The next day Ellie woke up and asked me if we could go to Disneyland again! I told her we could go again someday. Disneyland was a lot of fun, it really is magical for kids.

Birthday Party for Ellie!

Today we celebrated Ellie's Birthday. On the 17th my little girl will be turning 5 years old! We had her party at the park. It was a beautiful day, not too hot... one of the perks of an October Birthday. About a month ago Ellie saw a Barbie cake in a book at JoAnne's and informed me that she wanted that cake for her Birthday. So I made one and Ellie was so excited when she saw it!

The Party Kids...

Whenever anyone told Ellie Happy Birthday she would say, "It's not my birthday, it's just my party!"

The Barbie Cake was a big hit... mmmm.....

After eating cake and ice cream Ellie opened her presents. Then we let the kids play at the park... we stayed there for a really long time, those kiddos were beat!

Lithography 101

I have tried to explain what Lithography is and how the process is done, but it is very confusing... so I took some pictures during class to help explain it better.

First I would like to start off by explaining to you that we reuse stones. After you are done with a stone you clean it up and start all over with step one.

Step one: Preparing your stone

I didn't take my own picture of this part, but here is the tool that we use to grind the stone. First you get your stone wet. Then you sprinkle some #80 Carborundum grit (looks likes little flakes of metal) onto your wet stone. After that you pick up this metal thingy and move it in a circular motion all over the stone. Next you dry the stone and make sure that it is flat. If it is nice and flat you can continue on using higher number of grits or you can move on to the next step. The higher the grit you use the smoother your stone will be.

Step 2: Create a Border

Next you get out the border etch, which is gum arabic mixed with some nitric acid. Using a moist sponge you paint the border etch onto the area you want to be your border. Having the border etch on the stone is nice because you can not touch your stone once you are done grinding it, unless you want finger prints to show up on your finished print. This is what the stone looks like after the border etch is applied.

Step 3: Draw on the Stone

You can use different things to draw on your stone, such as a litho pencil, permanent marker, anything that is oily. I have only used a Litho pencil and lotion, but for this project I only used a litho pencil.

Step 4: Etching the Stone

This is the confusing part.... The purpose of etching the stone is to create a hydrophobic, or "water hating" area and a hydrophilic or "water loving" area. The part that becomes hydrophobic is the area you have drawn on and the hydrophilic is the area where you have not drawn.
The first Etch, yes it has to be etched twice.
First you need to secure your image to the stone by sprinkling some rosin and smearing it around your image and then sprinkling and spreading talc onto it. To etch the stone you need gum arabic and nitric acid. For this print I put gum arabic on my stone and rubbed it with my hand for about three minutes, then I added 4 drops of nitric acid to my remainig gum arabic and rubbed for another 3 minutes, and once again I added 4 drops of acid to the remaining gum arabic and rubbed for 3 more minutes. Last you tight wipe it with cheese cloth and let it set for at least 30 minutes.

The second Etch....
First you need to clean your stone with lithotine. Sometimes the image will completely disappear from your stone!

Then you rub ink back onto your stone with a rag and a tiny bit of lithotine.

After its all rubbed up with ink you need to wipe it off with water and a rag and...... Voila! The image will reappear!

Now you go back up and repeat the steps for the first etch!

Step 5: Preparing the Press

In order to print you have to set the pressure of the press to the size of your stone. Which includes putting the stone in the right place pulling the press lever down and tightening it, then lifting up the lever and tightening it a little more. Sorry no picture, but her is a pretty picture of my stone sitting on the press.

Step 6: Printing

Now it is time to print! First you need to clean your image with lithotine and rub it with ink and clean it off with water and a rag.... again. Then you get out the ink, and knock up the roller (which means to get the roller all covered in ink). Then you roll the ink onto your stone.

Its is important to keep the stone wet while applying the ink.Then you place your paper onto the stone.
Then you place this green board on top of your stone and paper and run it through the press.Notice how the finished project is a mirror image... if you make letters you have to draw them backwards otherwise they will be backwards on the finished print!The finished print is then placed on the drying rack to.... dry.
New stones.... to us anyways...
My teacher just got new stones that can be used in class. They are old printing stones that still have logos and things on them. He got them from a guy in Chicago who says they have been sitting in his print shop since the 1920s! Hmm... I don't think it will be much fun getting them ready to use again.
Close up of one of the "new" stones.