Digital Collage - Dandelion Wish

The dandelion was a very early photo by Irving Penn I found. The girl is from my photo library. They seemed to fit my mood of wishing for long summer days.

Lucky Me!!! I Won in the OWOH Giveaway

Last week I received two goodies from the One World One Heart Giveaway that I had won. Honestly I was startled when I actually held them how beautiful they were. The craftsmanship and the obvious time that went into them was amazing.

First I won this beautiful heart lavender sachet from Sharon at Wildflower House. The detail and stitches on this are amazing. Her work is so lovely. Please run over to her blog and see some of the other amazing things she has done and is working on.. The other nice thing is Sharon is as beautiful as her work. She is just one of those people that emits kindness and grace. The lovely heart sachet has a special place in my sewing room on my sewing table. Thank you so much Sharon I am treasuring it.


The second thing I won was this Karma Bracelet from Cat at Gypsy Nurse - Writing Out Loud. I was really drawn to it when I saw the photo of it during the giveaway. I could not believe I won it till it was actually here and I put it on. It is one of those things that slips right on and sort of becomes a part of you. It warms up with your body heat and the the messages and hearts make you feel so good. Please stop by Cat's blog and see what she is up to. I love how she writes like she talks and there is a no holds on it. We could all learn a little bit about life, love and great jewelry from Cat. Thank you Cat for this wonderful piece.

Alice Liddell - Freebies

Alice Liddell

This week I am doing something different for my freebies. I am giving you four collage sheets. I hope they will inspire you to make some art. It is funny how just one little thing can inspire an artist. A line of a buildings, the accidental melding of two colors, a song, a laugh, despair. Here, it was this little girl charming her way into Lewis Carroll's thoughts. John Tenniel's wonderful illustrations bringing the books alive, and generations blessed with a fantastic story.

More Alice Collage Sheets

These are photographs of the grown up Alice Liddell, Alice with her sisters, Edith and Lorina, and Alice as a child. She is said to have been the inspiration for the books.

The book, the title page, the author, the illustrator, my favorite quote from the book, and my favorite Alice illustrated by Arthur Rackham.

The Alice books were a great inspiration to me as a child. I love to read and I think I have read them at least twenty times each. When I got older it was even more meaningful when I found out there had been a real living and breathing Alice. Today I thought I would share a couple of those images with you. Hoping to inspire you.

Alice Collage Sheets

This week I am going to do Alice Collage Sheets for all of you. Usually I would be posting St.Patrick's day freebies, but this year I decided with the article in Somerset and the new Tim Burton movie about to open that this would help flame the fires of inspiration. These are images from the original book by John Tenniel.

Photograph - Look

These windows look like they have seen a lot of comings and goings. I saw them all stacked up just waiting to be repurposed and knew I had to get a shot of them. They reminded me to really look outside of what I think things are and to always enjoy the view.

Little Tiny Houses - 2 by 2's

These little 2 by 2 inch houses I have been making from scraps from my art table. In my clean up process I did not have the heart to toss some of the smaller scraps so I ended up making these. [They are in a slide folder so if you enlarge it and look the lines are the plastic sleeve they are in.] They take no time at all and seem to satisfy the creative urge I have had but know I can't start anything big right now. After making them I realized I definitely have house stuff on the brain...

Rulers Rule!

Front of rulers

Back of rulers

I have been knee deep in art supplies since Saturday. I have been sorting and going through everything in my studio. Aghhh not an easy job. Although it was a good time to do it, the weather here has been rainy.

Every morning before the rain comes I have been working along side my yard guys in the back. Cleaning yard furniture, pots, statuary, etc... while they trim, cut and put down the new pine straw. Spring will be here soon.

The rest of the time till late into the night I have been in my studio. I haven't done much art just a lot of cleaning. I am starting to pack up my studio in anticipation of selling my house. Dreaming of the new studio I will have. Do you have any idea how many pens I have? Do you have any idea how many dried up pens I have thrown away? Boggling... and paper, don't even get me started.

I did find these small rulers and thought they would be fun to play with as borders. I have scanned them and thought I would share them with you. Hope you can find a use for them in your art. I know I will be using them soon.

Art Creations Friday - Waiting

It has been a busy week full of little time consuming things. I was finally able to do a little art work this morning. Art Creations Friday gave us a beautiful background to work with this week for their challenge. Feeling in a gypsy mood this week I used Leighton's image of this beautiful woman. I have been waiting for someone for two days so I am titling this one "Waiting". Hope you enjoy!

This is the original background image we were to work with.

Some Freebies for You....

This week I decided to post some of the photographs I have been scanning from my collection. I have included lots of little boys. Although I use a lot of vintage photos in my art work, I seem to not use a lot of male images. So, this month I am trying to include more males in my artwork. I hope you will enjoy these as much as I have.

Three little boys with there sister. I love how the baby's hair is slicked down. The little girl with her big bow and very cute glasses. She looks like she just know that these boys are going to be a handful.


This little one is so sweet in his lace. Yes this is a little boy. In fact the picture below is him a few years older. It was quite common to keep baby boys in dresses till they were potty trained and could maneuver the buttons on pants.


I love this picture of this young lad. His hands and feet are so big, yet he still has that boyish appeal. I bet his voice is just a hint away from squeaking when he talks. Till then he looks all handsome in his suit.


I purchased this picture in Montana. I love the fur and way his little leather shoes are all worn. I have several photos of this child up until manhood. He has a presence.



Here is the little one in fur a few years older. Still wearing a little dress. It won't be long before he graduates to pants. I love this picture. The lovely wicker chair, the lace dress, the little worn boots, and his cute little page boy hair cut. Just a very loved child.

All a Flutter about Snow....

Yes! We got snow this weekend. After watching the weather channel the past few weeks and seeing everyone else get snow we were feeling a little left out. Like the wall flower at the dance. We were not asking for a lot just enough to have a little fun with. Friday night the snow began. At two o' clock in the morning we had snow on the ground and it was coming down like crazy. Big fat wet flakes.

Last chick an I got out the cameras and took tons of night time pictures, then off to bed to get up early. The beach is the first place we headed, then across the inter coastal, the marina and yacht club. The roads were slushy but fine, the landscape beautiful. Here are just a few of the pictures I took. Hope you stand a few more snow pictures.

A little snow man family watching the tide come in from the pier.

Snow at the beach is always so much fun. Everyone comes out to build a snowman.

The Inter Coastal Waterway is quiet. All the boats are locked up, the docks tied down, only an occasional bird is seen. The contrast of the snow on the grass is quite beautiful. The snow melts quickly as there is a lot of heat from the ever changing landscape.

Over at the Yacht Club the boats are covered with snow. It is so strange and quiet. This is normally an area full of activity of coming and goings. The boats seem rather sad. Waiting to be used.

Home from the beach the cherry trees are just beautiful. They are covered in snow. They look like spring brides covered in lace.

Happy Valentine's Day !

Just a quickie to say I hope everyone has a day full of love, a day spent with someone they love, or a day doing something they love. Thanks to everyone, you make my life so much richer. Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Art Creations Friday - Angels All Around Us

This week the Art Creations Friday challenge was this image of an angel. I really enjoy working with angel images. They can lead you just about anywhere. I have been trying to make Bukeh images with hearts and stars etc. for backgrounds. I am slowly getting the hang of it.

My digital collage is about the fact that there are angels everywhere. All around us if we are willing to be open to the idea. Maybe they are just the person who happens to show up when you are walking through the door with an arm full and get the door for you, or the person who waves you out of the parking lot in rush hour, or the person who compliments you on something you are wearing after you have had a bad morning. My collage says open your heart and mind and they will find you.

The past week....

This past week has been very busy for me. Last chick flew out west last weekend for a long visit. We were not sure if he would make it with the storms blowing in. He did, with a long layover in Atlanta. Let me just say not having any boys around was very strange. So, last weekend I started a few projects around here that I had been putting off. Let's just say I have been up to my ears in "stuff."

First let me say, I enjoyed having the whole house to myself for such a dedicated time. I think it was the first time since college that I have really been on my own so to speak. It was better than I anticipated. I enjoyed tackling some things on my own. Unfortunately, I did not have much time for the computer or my art. At most I cut and pasted at night when I was finished with the day. On top of my projects I had a killer headache from all of these weather events. Ugh!

Today I am going to try and play catch up on my emails and such. I scanned boxes and boxes of photographs so I hope to get some of those up as freebies tonight or tomorrow. I have missed everybody this week. I hope everyone is warm, has electricity, and those who have been going through the snowstorm[s] on the east coast are having fun. My folks in the Washington D.C. area say it is amazing. We are expecting "something awful" weather later today and this evening...

Collage Obsession Challenge - Longing

This week the Collage Obsession Challenge is this beautiful starlet. The word inspiration was Longing. I think we are all longing for something. She looked like she was remembering past loves, golden moments. I used Julia's freebie background over at Cemerony for the Roman image on the left. A few lovers from the pre - Raphelites and I think the rest says it all. I enjoyed coloring the image. I have been playing with tinting lately so this was a good time to practice.

Color Label Freebies

Speaking of labels I thought it would be fun to use some of these matchbook labels with there vivid colors. I took a few and added them to this sheet. I also think they would make cool gift tags. Enjoy

Label Freebies

Label sheet one with lots of fun labels.

Label sheet two with some more elaborate labels.

Label sheet three to round things out.

I have been thinking labels labels and more labels as I work on my Remains of the Day Journal. One of the things Mary Ann Moss has us using is labels. I have been on the hunt. I found these in a very old copyright free 1982 Dover book. I thought I would share them with you.

I printed these out on a sticker sheet I bought at one of the big box office supply stores. Then cut out your label and peel off the back and you have a wonderful label. These can be used in journaling or....if you are having the organize my studio ....the labels are great for that, too.

Three Muses Challenge - Birds

The Three Muses Challenge this week is birds. Create something with birds. This is one of my favorite themes and honestly quite challenging. Almost paralyzing in that there are so many directions to go.

Last chick has been furiously working on school projects so he can have a long weekend out west with his girl. He is dashing back and forth between computers and printers. I decided that I should just hunker down in the studio and create a a piece there.

I chose one of my favorite birds - the crow. I decided to do a journal page with a quote. The border I got from New York Magpie's Eyes blog. Judy was generous to allow me to use a photo of her fabric strips for a journal she is making. I took the photo and made the border strips. I love the Hawaiian fabric look. It is true - birds of a feather do flock together.

February Photograph - Birds of a Feather....

When I got to the trail this morning to walk I heard this absolute vibrating symphony of sound. It was this whole flock of birds roosting in six or seven trees. They were wonderful. I was able to shoot several photographs before they flew off to greener pastures.

Four Letter Words - Bird

Spring Teaser

Yes it is a cherry blossom! I found these this morning. My three luscious cherry trees have begun to blossom already. Maybe last weeks cold and rain was what they needed.