Sharing ... Life Changes ... Transitions ... Priorities!

Hi there!  I know it has been a while since I posted, and I make no apologies for that.  But I do want to explain.  My husband and I are in a huge state of transition these days.  We will celebrate our 29th anniversary in a couple of weeks, but long before he had 'me', my sweet hubby had a job ... and he has been with the same company, in the same job, for almost 42 years!  The job has changed, technologically speaking, and the company has changed hands a few times, but it's basically the same job at the same company for 42 years ... and that's a lot!

But in just a few weeks he will be rolling up his last set of blue prints, shutting down his computer, and retiring.  It's going to be a HUGE adjustment for him, but he is ready, and it is time!  So, we've been busily getting our ducks in a row so we would be prepared and knowledgeable about all the decisions we need to make.

We have also taken a step that is so exciting for us!  We love camping, and have camped for many years, sometimes in tents, and sometimes in campers.  For the last 10 or so years we have camped in our pop-up camper, but with my neck and shoulder issues, it's gotten harder and harder to do the work necessary for putting it up and taking it down.  We sold it a while back, and then took a big step ... we went to our favorite RV dealership and picked out 'the one'!  Well, we already knew which one we wanted, but we went to the dealership and talked to them about getting the one we wanted.

There was a small glitch (salesman made us a promise the company couldn't keep) but the company came through and helped us make our dream of owning a new camper a reality.  And because of the little snafu, they let us order the camper we wanted, with upgrades, at no extra charge.  So, instead of getting the standard hickory cabinets, we got the solid cherry cabinets, and we got to pick from the new line of upholstery.  They put the order in around the first week of June, and we just found out it should be in their lot in a couple of weeks! 

(Explanation:  The company that makes these campers doesn't just make up a ton and hope they sell, they take orders and then when they have enough to fill up a week or two of making that model, they will make that model and ship them out.)

We have an appointment to go visit them and go through the 2 hour orientation and then take the camper home with us very soon, and I am ecstatic!  This camper is almost 25' long, has two drop down beds, one at each end (this is called an expandable trailer) and two slide outs, with a very cool island in the kitchen.  It truly is my dream camper, which is a good thing, because we'll be paying for it for a long time!

And I am transitioning creatively, too.  I haven't made a card or a scrapbook in MONTHS, and now spend most of my time playing with Gelatos, Inktense pencils, my Gelli plate, etc.  I am learning new things and enjoying that very much.  For the first time I truly feel as if I am becoming an artist, a lifelong dream for me!

We are so looking forward to this new phase in our lives, even though we know there will be bumps in the road.  I mean, that's just life, isn't it!   Blessings,

Becky

Sharing ... Things I Love

Hello there!  How are you today?  It seems that in this time of transition, preparing for my hubby to retire, life is busier than ever around here.  Luckily, I have my artwork and artsy/crafty friends and that keeps me happy and gives me moments to relax and clear my head and create something pretty.

Anyway, this morning as I was reading a blog ... one that I have been following for years ... I saw a list in the side column where she had listed things she liked ... you know, those little things that make your heart patter.  So I decided to share with you today, some of those things that just make me feel happy.  In no particular order ....

The smell of fresh mown hay after about a day's worth of sunshine drying it out.

Fresh, in season, Florida (Plant City) strawberries.

The sound of the cows in nearby pastures saying goodnight to one another.

The happily wagging tails on my Doxies when their 'Daddy' gets home from work.

Faber Castell 'Gelatos'

Vintage Fire King Dishes

Walking along the edge of the water at the beach.

The smell of the dry earth when kissed by a rain shower.

Vintage cream and sugar sets.

Pretty ribbon.

Freshly sharpened pencils and the smell of the wood shavings.

Bagels and cream cheese.

Vintage buttons.

The sound of birds waking up in the morning.

The feeling of freedom as I paddle across the water in my canoe.

My Mama's biscuits and 'butter' gravy.

How my hubby loves me.

Watercolor paper.

Going to sleep in our camper, listening to the sound of waves beating the shore.

Me and my art bag at a picnic table by a lake or stream and time to create!

The perfect meal ... crusty bread, good butter, a couple of good cheeses, fresh, in season fruit, and a glass of wine.

Southern Gospel Music.

Laughter with good friends.

Time spent with my hubby, riding the back roads and talking and laughing and enjoying just being together.

Clyde, my Chevy truck.

An art store.

Friends who love me, even when I mess up!

My nephew, his sweet wife, and their precious Punkin Bug!

My beautiful northern Georgia.

Tarragon, Basil and Sage ... the best herbs ever!

That said ... fresh, home grown tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, EVOO, salt and pepper.

My deviled eggs.

Hugs from my Mama.

My hubby's laughter.

A bubbly stream, mossy banks, ferns and a place to lay a blanket to enjoy the stream.

The ceiling fan over my bed.

The love of God, forgiveness through Christ, and the assurance of salvation.


So, that's just a few of the long list of things I love, that make me happy, and sigh with joy.  Would you share a few of your favorite things with me???  I would love to know what makes you happy!  Blessings,

 

Sharing ... The Way of the Times ... Spam!

Hi there!  If you have looked for my blog in the last week or so, you might be wondering what happened to it!  Well, I recently began receiving spam comments on a couple of my older posts.  Lots of them!  So I thought it would be best to just shut it down for a few days and remove it from the search engines so that the 'bots' or whatever they are couldn't find me.

But now, I have re-added word verification and re-published the blog, adding it back to the search engines.  I know, I know ... I don't like word verification on comments much myself, but I know that with all the idiots who send out spam emails and bots and virus' and such, it's just pretty much a necessity.

So, I hope to be posting again soon ... I have lots of crafty goodness to share with you, so come back soon!  Blessings!

Sharing ... Mixed Media On Old Dictionary Pages

I am now addicted to painting on old papers, especially old dictionary pages.  I shared my first couple of these on my last post, but now I want to share my latest ... they are so pretty!!!

A friend of mine (some of you may know him, he is Ken Oliver who used to work for Spellbinders and now is doing some work for Prima) was given the family's old Purple Martin (bird) house by his father, and now uses it in his new home as a decoration.  Anyway, I so loved the bird house that I decided to paint it, and here is my finished product ...

I took creative license and painted MY version a light blue, and turned that top floor, which was facing left on the true birdhouse, toward the front.  I also added the pole and flower!  My friend's mother, Linda, loved it so that she wanted to buy it for a wall in their new home, but I am sending it to  her as a housewarming gift from me!  Here are some close-ups ...

The products I used were water colors, Gelatos and assorted pens and markers.

After I finished this one, I was on a real artsy high, so I kept going!  Here are some of my other pieces ...

The gold key and lacy circle are done with a stamp and heat embossing.  I also used water colors, acrylics, Gelatos, and assorted pens and markers.

A bright sunflower, mostly water colors and gelatos.

I don't know why I decided to do the lettering, but it came out pretty cute!  Still watercolors, gelatos, and assorted pens and markers.

I really like this one, even though it was probably the hardest of the birdhouses that I painted.  Same products as all those before.

So, tell me ... what do  you think!  Do you like them, hate them, would you buy them, because I'm thinking of selling them.  I really want to know!  Blessings,

Sharing ... ICAD 2014 ... My New Obsession!

About a week ago I noticed a post on facebook by a crafty friend, and it was a project she had made and labeled it 'ICAD 2014'.  Well, I searched it out and found their facebook page to discover what it was all about, and I loved what I found!  ICAD stands for Index Card A Day, and is using the simple index card to encourage artists (and aspiring artists) to create every day, and do it on an index card.

A project of Daisy Yellow, ICAD 2014 will last for 61 days ... all of June and July ... meaning you should make 61 projects.  You can choose several ways to participate ... following the daily prompts, the weekly themes, or just taking your own path ... just as long as you create and learn and grow in your artistic abilities and endeavors. 

I have chosen to follow the daily prompts, which are given out each Friday evening for the following week.  (An ICAD week runs Sunday to Saturday, just like on the calendar.)  Week one prompts were:

• June 1  -  Day 1  -  Prism
• June 2  -  Day 2  -  Circus Tent
• June 3  -  Day 3  -  Hello, my name is ...
• June 4  -  Day 4  -  Puzzle
• June 5  -  Day 5  -  Galaxy
• June 6  -  Day 6  -  Nail Polish
• June 7  -  Day 7  -  Yellow

And here are my cards ....

Day One - Prism

Gelatos, Black Pitt Pen, Spica Pens
 

Day Two - Circus Tent

Graphite Pencil, Spica Pens.  The quote is my very own, describing how I feel these days!

Day Three - Hello, My Name Is ...

Day Four - Puzzle

For the base I used a gelli print on 110# card stock, using cheap acrylic paints.  I also used MME stamps, Archival Ink in Cobalt, Pitt Pens and Collage Podge.  I love doing some puzzles, but the Sudoku is just a mystery to me!  That's why I said "This Puzzie is a Puzzle to me".

Day Five - Galaxy

For this one, I used black acrylic paint, Stickles in Black, Silver and Stardust, tiny silver star sequins, and a Uniball Signo white pen.

Day Six - Nail Polish

Background and pink fingernails are Gelatos, fingers drawn with a graphite pencil (6B), and Pitt Pens.  I don't wear nail polish, don't like what it does to my nails, and prefer the natural color rather than some un-natural color.  That is why I did what I did on this card.

Day Seven - Yellow

Gelatos, water colors, Stickles, Glossy Accents and Pitt Pens.  No explanation necessary!


So that is my first week of ICAD!  I am running behind on week two, but it won't take long to get caught up. 

What I love about this challenge is that:

• it is a small surface to work on, 
• the prompts give you just enough to get you started, 
• it isn't forever, but rather just two months, 
• you can follow the prompts or themes, or go your own way, and 
• the group page on Facebook is LOTS of fun, with lots of encouraging and talented folks!

So, let me know if you decide to give it a whirl!  I think you would really enjoy it!  Blessings,

Sharing ... Art ... Catching Up!

Hi there!  Back again for one of my infrequent blog posts!  Life has been really busy lately, and while I have had time to MAKE art, there hasn't been much time left over to post about it, so her I am to try to catch up! 

First up is an art journal page that I did in my favorite new journal.  It is a Strathmore Pro-Art Watercolor Journal, which basically means the paper inside is a heavy weight watercolor paper.  Water color paper will take a lot of different mediums, even wet watercolors, so it is great for art journaling.  Here is the page ...

The background is Faber Castell Design Memory Craft Gelatos.  They are my newest artsy product obsession!  The are kind of waxy, but much softer than crayons.  They blend on their own, or you can paint with them like water colors, or mix them with water to make paints or mists.  They are amazing!  The poem is one I wrote on Friday, when I was worrying about a sweet friend.  The house is on a card, and was sent to me in a 'happy mail' by a lady named An who lives in Belgium.  It went perfectly with this journal page.  Other products I used in this were Faber Castell 'Pitt Pens', (that's not the set that I bought, but I thought you could see what they look like in this pack) and Spica Pens

Next up are some little bits of art I've been making using old dictionary pages ... what do you think about these?

Of course, I got the idea from the little house I used in the art journal page above, but I really do love them!  The dictionary pages I used are from an old 1950-something dictionary that I bought at a yard sale for about $1 or so ... don't remember for sure!  The backgrounds are tinted with Gelatos, the markings are done using Tim Holtz Distress Ink Markers in Black Soot and Vintage Photo, and no, I don't own the whole set ... in fact, I only own those two colors!  The red hearts and flowers are done using the Spica pens (link above) in Red and Garnet.  These are done on 3 x 5" index cards ... that's another new obsession, but more on that in the next post!  I have done more than these, including a couple of birds, but haven't got pictures yet.

And these cuties led me to try something TOTALLY out of my comfort zone!  Drawing/sketching on old dictionary pages, and coloring them with Gelatos and watercolors.  I am in love with the Eiffel Tower!

I did this one by looking at a stamp I had of the Eiffel Tower.  Mine came out totally different, but I love it ... a lot!  The blue tint on the paper is from Gelatos.  I sketched the tower using a Kimberly Graphite Pencil in 6B ... very soft, and draws like a dream.  Then I went over it with the Tim Holtz markers linked above.  Oh, and I did it on a dictionary page that has the history of France!

The chair came out great!  The sketching was done just like above ... graphite pencil then markers.  The coloring was done with Gelatos, except for the chair legs, which are watercolors.  The white on the arms of the chair is from a Uniball Signo White Gel Pen ... the BEST white pen ever!  (And no, I don't have a dozen ... I have one!)

So tell me, what do you think of my artsy endeavors???  I am loving what I am doing right now ... and THAT is a true sign that I am doing something right!  I'll be back soon to share my newest artsy challenge obsession!  Blessings,

Sharing ... deepest apologies ... yes, I am a horrible blogger!

But what are you going to do about it?  Huh?  Life is changing so much these days, and I'm just rolling with it, and blogging is just falling by the wayside.  Hubby is 60 work days away from retirement.  We just got home yesterday from a 12 day camping trip in South Carolina.  Hubby has his first cataract surgery a week from Tuesday, we have another camping trip planned toward the end of June, his second cataract surgery in early July, another week of camping toward the end of July, and the list goes on!

I'm not getting much crafting done either, but I did get some art journaling done while we were camping, and I wanted to share some of it with you!  I did three art journal pages, and I'm kind of proud of all of them!  First one up ... it's a kind of a list of the 'B's' that I loved on this trip ...

My favorite 'B's' from this trip ... books, blooms, butterflies and birds!  The bird and butterfly on the right hand page are 'happy mail' goodies from my crafting friend, Gloria.  The 'blooms' it is hard to tell, but it is a lupine, fussy cut from a piece of note paper.

The second page is my 'prayer warrior' angel.  She is an angel on her knees in prayer.  I used to make a lot of these angels as little stand up cards, but hadn't done one in a while, but it came out fairly pretty ...

I gessoed the pages of the journal, then painted them with a mixture of white metallic and sorbet green acrylic paint (the cheap kind) and just love the shiny effect.  I used a pink, green and blue gelato and did vertical lines, then blended them with my fingers, and added a glaze over the top.  It looks like plastic, which is a really cool look!

The hair is black, but it doesn't really show up in the picture.  The halo is a wood veneer piece from Michaels.  I painted it with gold and then added gold stickles in the hole in center.  The wings are only adhered at the center, giving them a 3 dimensional look.

The quote says "SHE (cut from patterned paper) was a warrior in a flowered dress, who did battle on bended knee with folded hands and her loving heart turned toward her amazing God in prayer.  She knew her courage and strength comes from Him, and that time spent in prayer was never time wasted."

And the third, and my very favorite, is a 'quilted' angel in the style of Christy Tomlinson.  For the skirt, I used gelli prints on deli paper and cut small squares and decoupaged them onto the paper.  They have a stained glass look.

The background came out far too bright of a yellow, so I washed it with a much paler yellow glaze.  I love metallics, so the wings are a rose metallic acrylic paint, and the heart is a gold metallic.  Her boots are turquoise and brown, with some Stickles for a bit of bling.

And the quote was simple ...

"SHE was a stained glass angel.   A woman of many colors and facets, but her heart was made of pure gold."  I named her 'Santee' after the name of the state park we were camping in, and the prayer warrior I gave the name of Elloree, the name of  a nearby town.

I hope you have enjoyed my projects for today ...  And I will try to come back sooner next time!   Blessings,

Sharing ... My 'Send' Swap Goodies for Francie

Hi there!  My swap partner, Francie, got her goodies today, so I can now share with you what I sent to her.  I had so much fun doing this swap, and as much as I enjoy getting happy mail, I much more enjoy getting the goodies together and packing them up to send out!  As I said in the last post, the theme for this month was weddings, and the destash colors were white and ivory.  Here is what I sent to Francie ...

Everything Together, all packaged in cellophane envies ...

Don't you love it?  Here are the individual goodies ...

The doilies on the right are small ... about 4" square, and are old.  A lady who used to follow my 'old' blog asked for my address and sent me a whole box full of old linens that she wanted to go to someone who would appreciate them.  There were probably 8 to 12 of these doilies that were made by her mother or her aunt, and Helga was in her 80's when she sent them to me a number of years ago.  I thought Francie would love them!

Some paper lace rolled onto a round 'peg' style clothes pin, some Floradoodle 'blingy' flowers, and some Anna Griffin buckles.

The Trims ... most of them came from a big grocery bag full of trims that I got for fifty cents at a yard sale a while back.  The only things NOT in that bag are the ivory eyelet lace and the white lace on the bottom tag.  The huge 'blingy' brads are from Anna Griffin.  I wrapped them all onto #5 manila tags, added some trim and the big brads to make them pretty.

The tag ... kraft paper, some eyelet, ribbon, and a sweet vintage image of a little girl dressed up like a bride. 

A little pack of wedding stickers.

Some printed out vintage wedding themed images.  I love them all, but that one on top left is just gorgeous!

The card, using one of the vintage images, some vintage 'hem' tape (lace), a white flower, purple flowers, and some Prima pearls.

And my special little gift just for Francie ... a pincushion I made using a piece of a vintage lace doily over some tan fabric, brown velvet ribbon, some heart lace, and a couple of sequins.  I love making these little (2 to 2 1/2" tall) pin cushions, and they are the perfect thing for your dresser to catch pins from the cleaners or new shirts.

So, that is it!  As I said, I had so much fun getting this package together, and hope Francie enjoys using therm!

Sharing ... Catching Up ... And Another Swap!

Hi there!  I know I've been gone for a while, but I have a good excuse!  Hubby and I spent last week camping in north central Tennessee, just northwest of Nashville.  While there we explored a lot of that part of Tennessee, a LOT of Kentucky, and had a cookout at our campsite for a friend of his who now lives and works in Nashville, and visited a friend of mine who lives north of Nashville.  It was a great week ... for the most part!

 

Our camper and Clyde at our campsite at Bledsoe Creek State Park, TN

But now I am back, and today I got a box of goodies in the mail that were so sweet!  Once again, I participated in a swap at A Swap For All Seasons, and I wasn't sure at first if I wanted to take part in this one, but I am so glad I did, because I had great partners, and had so much fun getting together the goodies for Francie, and today I got my goodies from Debby, and I have to say, she did a great job!

This swap is kind of different in that from the list of participants, the person above you in the list sends to you, and you send to the person beneath you on the list.  So Francie was my 'send to' partner and Debby was my 'receive from' partner.  This month's theme was 'weddings', and we were to share one handmade card, one tag, and some goodies from our stash that were in the white to ivory color palette.  Here is a pic of everything in the box ...

Oops ... I left one thing out, I'll show it to you down a ways!

Debby had everything wrapped up so pretty, especially the cute bride and groom!  She hand painted them for me, and they are adorable! 

 

Aren't they adorable?  Here is the card she made ... it is so cute, and I love the colors!

And this cute bride tag is so cute! 

This small (about 2" across) heart shaped bar of soap is so sweet, and smells even sweeter!  I love it, and will definitely use it soon!  And yes, this is what I left out of the group picture ... so sorry about that!

And as much as I love this adorable hand crocheted heart, I love the tag it is on almost as much!  Don't you love the mason jar?

I love Jillibean Soup, and will definitely be using these 'Smile' stickers on some future projects!

 

And here are the buttons and trims she sent ... the trims are beautiful, but those buttons all appear to be vintage, and buttons are one of my addictions!  Don't think Debby knew that, but it is true!  I have LOTS of buttons, and will always be collecting them!

 

 

Debby, thank you so much!  You did a wonderful job, and I love every little thing!  You have been a wonderful partner, and I hope I have the chance to be YOUR sending partner! 

And thanks to you folks who come and visit!  Blessings,