Fallen Leaves

Well, today was a winter bust. Some would say blast. But you would have to like snow. It snowed all day. So we reasonably had to cancel the Art Group meeting that was scheduled for today. As much as I didn't want anyone to have to drive in this mess. I felt as though some one had let the air out of my tires. I really look forward to the swaps and creating our art projects together.

The poem I selected to put on my leaf fits me to a tee. It says "A fallen leaf is nothing more than a summers wave good bye." I believe the author is unknown. I could add.. "Or a wave hello to winter." Either way it doesn't make me happy. So I selected a pout-y faced girl then I digitally airbrushed color in her hair, eyes, lips, cheeks, and dress.

The maple leaf was oh so fun to cut out of mat board. And since I didn't have enough fun cutting out the shapes the first time. I added glossy paper so I could use my alcohol inks and create the background paper. So I had to cut the maple leaf shapes out a second time.

Nearly finished I couldn't "leave" well enough alone I wanted to see what the poem would look like with antique glossy accents on top with a sprinkling of glitter. Well, it wrinkled up. I should have known. I decided it added to the eventual decaying of the leaves. So this time I left it alone.

The picture you see is the partial swap. When I get the other two I'll up date this blog.

Isn't This Nice

It is always nice to get a package in the mail. But especially when you receive items like these. These are all my mom's handy work. We have a Psalms 23 bracelet and 2 Galatians bracelets. The toggle clasps are too cool. So I kinda knew she was working on these. But then Bam! She surprises me with the ones pictured in the top photo and a bonus crystal heart pendant necklace. The one with the dark beads has little kitty gold tone beads. I love kitty's. And of course she knows that. I love hearts too. She knows that too. The bracelet in the upper left is stunning chocolate and smoky crystals were used along with this very unique x shaped silver tube bead...just stunning. And for the more whimsical side.... a fruity bracelet. She also included extra fruity beads so I could make earrings to match. She thinks of everything. Thanks mom for all you hard work and thinking of me. I can feel the love.

Serene Green

Chip and I sent this bouquet of flowers to my mom who had a really bad month. This is the picture she sent to me. And is now some what altered. Hey, it's what I do. Oct 13th she fell and this is what she wrote me about that..

Well another few people found out today that when I fall I melt. Kay and I were at Olive Garden for lunch after going to Joann's to look at beads etc. As I was going out to the car I slipped on something and down I went. Twisted my knee and bruised my shoulder. So far just some soreness and a few twinges. Kay could not believe it. She was still at the table and didn't hear a thing. She wondered if anything ever upsets me. I told her yes but not in public.The staff hurried to help me and were very nice. The manager told me to let them know if I needed any medical help and they would take care of it. I am having a hard time sitting in one place too long and it is not comfortable to lay down So much for a good sleep tonight. I will let you know if there is anything wrong.
I have a doc apt tomorrow so I will have him check me out.
Love,
Mom

Then she informs me she has been set up for a cath test and they have to put a stint in...because they found some blockage. I really don't think this is related to the fall but perhaps the fall was in a weird way a help to make a visit to the doctor sooner than normal. I haven't asked her about that I just thought of it now....This is the update I got about the cath test...

I just had a call from the doctor's office letting me know that they have me scheduled for the cath on 11/13 at 8 AM. This makes it easier than waiting til the 21st. I am not sure if I will be staying overnight yet. When I get home I will let you all know.

She has had the procedure done and the surgeons were able to remove the blockage with out having to put in the stint. She was home later that same day. Yeah... she is taking it easy and is doing fine. I don't know about you but that is more than I would want to have to cope with in the span of a month. Your a trooper Mom!

Journals

Thanks to all the ladies that were able to make it this weekend to the Journal Class inspired by the very talented Jacqueline Sullivan. A woman I respect immensely. So let's not hesitate to give credit where credit is due. And if any one has the opportunity to take a class from her I would encourage you to do so. Thanks to Ilsa for bringing those mini muffins to go along with the breakfast. Yum. I thought it would be nice to make everyone something to eat before we started. That seemed to go over well. I made one of those large party pot's of coffee with my not so famous cinnamon coffee and we were set for the day. Every so often I'd say okay I'm going up for coffee. (we were in my basement) then I'd hear something like "me too.. me too..."

No two journals colors were a like. I love that they were similar yet different. What an amazing group of ladies. Thanks to Deb for taking this picture. Thanks to Therese who shared her paints. I encouraged everyone if they did not have any stencils to visit their local scrapbook stores and pick up what they would like. So they now have a handy dandy palate knife as well as plenty of molding paste to create more journals or what ever thier creative hearts desire.

Twig In A Box

This is no ordinary box. Thanks to Deb Abel the thrifty shopper that she is. Finder of great treasures. Found 5 of these sewing cabinet drawers. Which she generously shared at our last Group meeting that was held on Oct 25th. We could decorate them any way we wanted. I used Catherine Moore's papers and making Memories paper. I still have some more things I want to do to it but I'm mostly done.

Overview of Polyvore

I've been asked to explain what Polyvore is ... so I have directed interested ones to the Polyvore site because they can explain it better than I. But I thought for convenience I would copy and paste what they are "about" onto my blog. I hope you find this helpful.

For a quick link to Polyvore just click on the image to the left under "My Polyvore"

Polyvore is a free, easy-to-use web-based application for mixing and matching images from anywhere on the web. It is also a vibrant community of creative and stylish people.
Polyvore lets you create sets composed of individual images using an easy to use, drag and drop editor. After you have created a set, you can publish and share it with your friends and the Polyvore community

Polyvore is often described as "highly addictive" by those who fall in love with its collaging functionality and spend hours creating sets to share with others.
Polyvore offers an unprecedented level of direct engagement with real products and brands, while its social features make it a powerful platform for the creation and distribution of user-generated advertising.
Polyvore launched in February 2007.

Stats
1.6 million unique visitors per month
65 million monthly page views
440,000 registered users
10 minutes average session time on site
22 page views average per visit
3.8 million sets created
3.7 million products

My most recent Polyvore

Third Polyvore creation

My Second Polyvore Creation

Playing with Polyvore

It's All About The Love...

It Was Another Banner Friday!

Banner - adj. Unusually good; outstanding

Another Paper Doll Party!

Terri's

Ilsa's

Richie's

Therese's

Wednesday night was another paper doll party. This is how Therese, Richie, Ilsa and myself dressed up our paper dolls using the same images.

Sunday's Sentiment - The Heart

Of the many morsels I was fed spiritually this day. I will be meditating on these thoughts....

The selfish inclination of our heart is prone to misguide us. "the heart is more treacherous than anything else and is desperate." (Jer. 17:9) To remain loyal to our heavenly father, we must strip off the old personality with it's tendency toward presumptuousness and self-reliance. And we must put on the new personality, "which was created according to God's will in true righteousness and loyalty.

Ephesians 4:17-24 reads....
17 This, therefore, I say and bear witness to in [the] Lord, that YOU no longer go on walking just as the nations also walk in the unprofitableness of their minds, 18 while they are in darkness mentally, and alienated from the life that belongs to God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the insensibility of their hearts. 19 Having come to be past all moral sense, they gave themselves over to loose conduct to work uncleanness of every sort with greediness.
20 But YOU did not learn the Christ to be so, 21 provided, indeed, that YOU heard him and were taught by means of him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that YOU should put away the old personality which conforms to YOUR former course of conduct and which is being corrupted according to his deceptive desires; 23 but that YOU should be made new in the force actuating YOUR mind, 24 and should put on the new personality which was created according to God’s will in true righteousness and loyalty.

My goal: To make an honest examination of my heart. Keep on doing what I'm doing right. If I'm able to see... (sometimes we do not see ourselves clearly...but if I can)... an area that needs improvement, not to hesitate to make an adjustment. Not to be half hearted in my service but to unify my heart and thus be determined to serve God loyally.

Friday's Canvas Projects with Deb

The first project we used an image from Moss Hill Studios by JoAnne Pierotti. The little girl is just adorable. To make her wings we stamped butterfly wings on top of the rose images that are also included on the collage sheet. If you haven't seen the Moss Hill Studio site.... I recomend you check it out. At Deb's suggestion we did a brayer technique with acrylic paint. It was fun and the effect is wonderful. I'll be doing it again some time. I appreciate Deb's ability to examine art work and figure out the tecniques that were used.
Something about it though is just not right for me. Perhaps the redness of the flowers. I will probably rip them off and replace them with something else...they were what we had at the time.

This is the second Art project Deb and I did this Friday. I'm totally in love with this one. Love the image. ( Image is from the "Mind Wide Open" challenge). Love the brayer technique we played with. It's on a 5" x 5" canvas. It's just so stinkin' cute. I just love it!

Crystal, Beads & Ribbon... Oh My....

What to do with left over crystals from a chandelier...make an over sized book marker of course. I wanted it to look as if the beads were growing out and around the crystal and pearl. I love doing things that just come out of your head. No pattern needed. I also believe there is really nothing new under the sun. So perhaps I have seen something that was lodged deep in the recesses of my mind to inspired me. So to who ever you are.... thank you for the inspiration.
Actually, I'm thinking it would make a beautiful drapery accent.

This was a fun project and very time consuming. So I have not made another one. Just one of those whimsical moments Deb and I had at one of our Friday get togethers. You should see hers. Perhaps she'll post it when she sees this post and you can jump over to her blog and take a look. She is in my likable links under "it's all good".
More whimsical art to come I'm sure especially when these two minds get together.

Paper Dolls Party of Six

Inspiration from Jackie Peters! Character construction stamps by Catherine Moore! And a whole lot of Fun!!! The Party of 6 Paper Dolls includes work by me, Debra Abel and Nance VanHoose. As you can see Debra and Nance are very talented and it was so enjoyable spending an evening creating these together. Going left to right ... first two are Nance's, then next two are Deb's, then mine.

Additional Items I made for the Ties That Bind Project

T-T-B

What's T-T-B you ask? Ties That Bind. Well, I have to say I had no idea until yesterday. Some of you may know that I live under a rock. So my artistic friend Deb mentioned to me that she was sending in charms for an auction to raise money for ovarian cancer research.

I immediately thought ..I want to do that too. So I signed up and made two charms yesterday. I've picture one.

How wonderful would it be to find a cure for these different types of cancers. The list of our loved ones that have been affected by cancer is increasingly staggering. Some are casualties of cancer but thankfully more and more these days many are getting to be survivors. Thanks in part to more awareness and efforts like this one.

To find out more and if you would like to participate click on the link that is on the left and it will take you to the blog site where you will find a list of artists who have donated their work as well a photos of altered ties and charms. Deadline is in the mail by the end of this month.

Check out Deb's rockin' charms at her blog by clicking "It's All Good" in my Likable Links on the left.

So until the new system when no resident will say I'm sick. Let's do what we can where we can.

That Nancy!!!

Deb, her daughter Kim and I all went to a yard sale yesterday and bought some great finds for ourselves and for future altered art projects. So while we were out we decided to go to the same dollar store that Nancy had purchased those cool wood hangers she is showing on her blog. We were all (at least me and Deb) so excited to get a few to play with. But alas they had none...so we left with our heads hung low. They were all sold out and none were to be had at any of their sister stores. Boo hoo hoo....It was a sad day indeed in the world of wooden hangers. We are convinced Nancy bought them all up! That Nancy!!!

To be read with humor and a smile

A Day That Went Well?

Is my cup half empty or is it half full? I had a job to do in Lake Fenton yesterday. Do you think I could find my keys? I even went to a friends house where I was last night .... after I took the spare keys to the car from my husband and the spare house keys from the stash of spare keys. So now I'm an hour late getting to the job. As I'm working you know in the back of my mind I'm thinking what did I do with those stupid keys. I know keys have no intelligence but I feel better calling them stupid...which really is just another way to say that's what I'm feeling like.
The job went well... even though I had next to nothing to work with to make amazing things. But like Bullwinkle says "watch as I pull a rabbit out of my hat"
As I'm leaving sunny Lake Fenton and approaching the Davison area I see the ominous sky. I wonder if it is raining at my place. As I get closer it goes from a spit to a sprinkle to rain. Well that answers that question.
I pull up into the drive...the garage door won't open. Great! I see there is a soaked package on the steps. When I get in to the house my husband greets me with the news that the power is out. Oh the package was a bunch of Hampton Art stamps.
So Chip aka hubby goes out to the local dinner to get dinner. So after dinner we listen to the radio...yep I had gotten the batteries for that. As we are sitting there in the candle light I said we don't have to sit her in the dark we can put the generator on. So we do that. The whole process went fairly smoothly. Only to find the whole basement was flooded with about and 1" or 2" of water. But we kept our calm and area by area piece by piece we threw things out squeegeed the floor hung things to dry.
So Is my cup half empty or is my cup half full. My cup is full. I had a job to go to and I have a wonderful husband. Things lost are things that can be replaced. I found my keys. I was fed and I slept soundly in my own bed.

Fantastic Weekend

June 9 TH already.... where did half the year go. I love summer !!!

I had a great weekend with an art group I am a part of. There is just 5 of us. We made a journal that one of the ladies designed for our monthly get together project.

We swapped our own version of altered hanging hearts as seen in the Altered Arts Projects paperback book. Our theme was flowers.

I have created a slide show of the ones we recently swapped and some others the we have made on our own. So credit goes to Deb Abel, Kim Baslock, Vikki Light, Nancy Van House and my self.
And when I figure out how to get better at this I will let you know who did what. I was just so thrilled I have a slide show. The idea of posting each picture was starting to over whelm me.

We also started doing Art Journals to share every month and to swap out and have some one else do a page for in our book as we do one in theirs. If we want. Some of us couldn't wait to swap others wanted to get into theirs a little more before doing a round robin.

I also completed Catherine Moore's Toy Theater Challenge featuring Marie Antoinette . Our Dead line was May 31ST. She is making a slide show so I hope to figure out how to add that slide show to my blog as well.

To Blog or not to Blog

I was encouraged to start a blog by my artistic friend, Deb Abel. (she already has a blog) I have no idea at present what I will end up doing with it. Or even what I will put in it, I guess that will be the adventure for me and hopefully somewhat interesting for those of you who view it. So let the journey begin....