Doors - Yellow with Age, Pink with Memories

Four Letter Words - Jump

Altered Blocks

In one of the yahoo groups - in this house and garden - Susie La Fond is having a round robin with blocks. [each person will alter one side of the block] I decided to start early and got out some of the blocks that the boys played with when they were younger. I have several sets, one from Ikea that is nice, another nicer set that an old friend made for my oldest, out of maple, then another that has a lot of pine pieces in it.

The idea is that you are to alter the face of the block, then the sides, each block, depending on shape has 5 to 6 sides. I grabbed my scrap box and went to town. Don't think to much just sort of let things flow. Before I knew it I had 25 to 30 blocks with at least the first side finished. I think it is best to do one side on a bunch of the blocks and then start on the second side. Then, the third etc. After that you can go back and add details, embellishments etc. These are my first round.

I think these will look very cool as adult blocks to play with on a coffee table. You could just sneak a block here or there, a window sill or shelf. It will be fun to have as an ongoing project. Susie says she has done well over a hundred. I can see that. Beware. It is very addicting.

Magician Collage Sheet

A Treasure Found in the Mountains

Seeing the skull in the magician poster reminded me of a skull my son gave me when I was up in the mountains. I wanted to share this really cool deer skull with you today. I am always asking him to be on the look out for cool things - nests, bones, feathers, rocks, etc... when he is out hiking or on his daily runs. He lives in a "no kill" mountain community that is full of deer, turkeys, bobcats, bear, etc. so he is always seeing cool things. [On one hike we found these incredible vulture eggs. They were speckled in several shades of purple. We left them undisturbed.]

The deer in his neighborhood have become quite prolific and have actually split into two groups - the healthy and the sickly more interbred. For the first time they are letting hunters in this year to weed out some of the sick deer. My son found this deer skull on one of his runs. It is so cool.

I was so thrilled to get this skull. We think it is from one of the sick deer. A doe. He said he watched the skull for several months before it was ready to come home. It is really quite fascinating and will sit on my "nature"table with turtle shells, wasp nests, fossils, etc. we have found. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Full facial view. The nose area is a bit degraded.

This is the back of the skull. You can see where it attached to the spine.

The skull turned upside down. The teeth are incredible. You can see where they use them to grind and chew their food. Those are some molars!

Side view. The eye socket is so large. I do not have the lower jaw. Apparently small mammals find that one of the easier parts to abscond with. It is a great source of calcium for them.

Freebies - Seers, Crystal Balls and Magic

Late this month and next month the county and state fairs will begin. Rides, games of skill, cotton candy, fried pickles, ice cream, and other assorted goodies are to be had. Hand crafts, quilts, home made pies, and of course the animal judging. At night the different shows. My mouth is watering already. State Fair is one of my favorite old movies.

One of the first fairs I can remember had a magic show for kids. I sat through it three times that week. I loved it. So in honor of those memories I thought I would share these posters with you. I have also made a magic collage sheet which I will post tomorrow for you.

Some of these images would be great to use in your Halloween art work, also. I really like the Thurston posters. He was Kellar's successor in the magic world.

Who Steals Turtles?

I came home to find out that one of the turtle nests on the beach had been robbed. 83 empty and cracked egg shells were found. Deep indentations in the sand appeared to have been made by someone's knees. There were no signs that any of the turtles made it to the sea. You have no idea how terrible this is.

These nests are watched everyday once the mother has come ashore in the night to lay her eggs. There are organized groups of volunteers who take this job to heart. Up an island or two is one of the largest turtle rehabilitation facilities on the east coast. We take our turtles seriously here.

Apparently the Feds do too. They are now helping in the investigation. I ask you "Who steals turtles?" How could you possibly take care of 83 baby turtles?

The nest are fenced off and these signs are posted on the fence. Nest watchers walk every morning and afternoon to check on the nest. Then when the time gets close the watcher calls everyone and the hatchlings are counted and helped to the sea.

Loggerhead sea turtle. This is the most prominent visitor we have here. However, for the first time in years we had a Leatherback turtle come and lay her eggs. The tracks were enormous. They are the fourth largest living reptiles.

Laying eggs in the sand. Many of the nests have over a hundred eggs. When I was a kid we would go out at night and walk the beach to watch the turtles come in to lay their eggs. They were so big and determined. Not till I was an adult did I get to see them hatch and flee for the sea.

BabyLoggerhead hatchlings getting help to the sea. Aren't they cute?

Alphabet Pages

In one of the Yahoo Groups - Alphabet Discovery Workshop - we are working our way through the alphabet. We were to get a journal and use it exclusively for these alphabets. Several years ago my boys had bought me a sketchbook from one of the large bookstores. It is a 9 inch by 12 inch sketchbook. I rarely do studies that big, usually a small sketch in a moleskin or a photograph to refresh my memory is all I need. So when this opportunity presented itself I decided to use their gift.

We are randomly going through the alphabet. I think it is easier on the spine of the book to sort of jump around. I have used the letter dictionary pages down the middle on some pages to give the book more support. So far so good. I am still trying to catch up with the group. Some of these girls are really fast.

Some of these Frida images are from Gaby Braun. Thank you Gaby!

The Zetti girls are from Teesha Moore.

Country Roads - Mountain Streams

Country road to my oldest son's house.

Do you ever get that feeling of peace, that moment of total muscle relaxation, of deja vu when you go on a trip and you know that this place is in your genes. Some primeval place that generations have passed on to you? Well, for me the mountains are that place.

North Carolina is blessed with the Atlantic Ocean, the coastal plains, the river basins, the foothills and the oldest Mountains of North America - the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains. When I go to visit my friends and family in the mountains there is this one point where you have left the coastal plain behind and you enter the foothills - here my stomach and my psyche just sort of have this overwhelming feeling of relaxation.

I thought I might share a few of my photos from my most recent trip with you. They are just a few, so bare with me.

progress has taken it's toil

One of those beautiful scenes. The farmers and ranchers in North Carolina are using at least two donkeys in each field with their herds now. It is to combat the coyotes that are making their presence known here. They are filling a predator spot that the wolves left open. Apparently the donkeys are quite aggressive and will stomp anything that tries to come into their pasture. This group of cattle have their two donkeys watching over them.

Hay cut and rolled, waiting to be stored. The field smelled so good and was steamy from being cut.

The swimming hole in my son's neighborhood. I take his pups here to swim. It is so much fun.

On weekends the locals like to hangout on his rock. It is quite deep here and very quiet. My youngest son and I found a bunch of snake eggs here after a good rain.

Much of the creek is lined with these gorgeous rock formations. I am always amazed to see trees growing out of the rock.

Theme Thursday - Orange

Orange Zetti inchie

Beautiful Orange ATC

4 by 4 Orange Artistic Whim

The challenge for Theme Thursday was to do something - anything - in orange. Lately I have been doing a lot of digitals for these challenges and this one was to get messy with paint and ink. It was rainy and stormy so I jumped right in on this one. It has been awhile since I have played in my studio. I ended up making several pieces. I love orange.

Backgrounds for You - Orange

These remind me of bubble gum and popcorn.

Here are a couple of backgrounds for you to use. Simple paint on watercolor paper. I am working with orange and its relatives today. I will post later to show you what I ended up doing with these. Hope you can find a use for them in your art work.

Stormy

I woke up to more thunderstorms. We are having a wave of them. I have all sorts of things to share, but think I had better wait till the weather calms down. It is sort of dark - that kind of weather you just want to grab a book, crawl back into bed, and have a nice cup of tea.

Collage Sheet Freebie - Maude Fealy - The Theatre

After much travel, friends and family it is always good to be home. I love to put on a good movie, put everything away, do the wash, catch up on my mail. I love to travel, but I love to come home.

I made this collage sheet using some postcard and magazine images. I am sure you have seen Maude Fealy's face in some art work. She was an American - Southern/from Memphis Tennessee - actress. She was quite the stage actress. Good friend of Cecile de Mille. Made several "silent" films, but never made it in the "talkies." One of those actresses that could not make the jump. However, she was a beauty! Hope you enjoy this collage sheet.

Quote - Families

Our Girl is Two!

Yes she is! I can't believe it has already been two years since this wonderful creature came into my life. My heart explodes with love for her. She is a joy to behold. This is how you tell people you are two. The thumb is one and the index finger is two. So guess who has been entertaining me lately....

Summer Reading

I wanted to share a couple of good books I have read in the past week or so. You might have already read them because they have been out for some time now. I usually take my time getting books, sharing with family and friends, yard sales, etc. Both of these two books deal with women and how life treats them and the obstacles they have to deal with to become the women they truly are.


The first book The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a memoir of her early life. Hopefully she will have a lot more to say. It is a very good read. Hard in some places. When my mother gave it to me she said I am not sure if you will want to read this it is hard. I am glad I did. Jeanette tells us the story of growing up with nomadic, artistic parents and her siblings. Life is full of dreams, despair, and disappointment and delusions. It is a wonderful read. Gritty, tough, kind, an ironic. I have heard Paramount is going/ maybe they have made a movie of this.



The second book Prodigal Summer is wonderful. It has been awhile since I read a book that I could feel and smell the imagery so well. Barbara Kingsolver is a southern writer who brings the woods to life. This is the story of three women who lives intertwine. Each one overcoming obstacles to find out who they are and what is important to them. The science of animal attraction is particularly powerful. I really enjoyed this book and was sad when it was over I wanted it to go on and on. What are ya'll reading? Any suggestions?

Quote - The Family

Graffiti Art

I am really into graffiti lately. I really love the stencils some of these artist make. I make it a point when I travel to try and find graffiti. The local police have been very helpful if not a little quizzical about it. This is four different pieces I put together. The boy stencil is from my favorite - Jef Aerosal. The text is from an artist out of New York City.

SOARTFUL CHALLENGE - Angels Everywhere

This past week has been hectic. Today I have spent a lot of time on the computer going through emails, catching up on things. One of the things to catch up on were challenges, down loading some photos from my camera, and my blog.

I enjoy these challenges so much. They give you a starting point. Sort of like a "prompt" for a journal. I guess it is a visual prompt. This week for Soartful Challenge it was this lovely digital grid that June created. I decided to use some of my own Freebies and make this digital collage.

One of the things I have experienced this week is that there are Angels everywhere. Sometimes they are in human form, but they are there. Lifting our spirits, helping to point us in the right direction, giving us strength, showing us love and laughter.

Four Letter Words - More

Sun, Fun, Sand Collage Sheet

I have been missing in action all week. It is the beginning of birthday season in my family. We have two birthday's on Saturday and one on Sunday. I have been busy recovering from being out of town for my birthday and getting ready to leave again.

I did find some time to scan and put together this collage sheet. One of my ex's was Japanese. He had this wonderful aunt - Auntie Sue - who gave me several cool things. When she passed on her daughter gave me even more. I hope you enjoy these postcards I made into a collage sheet. They make me think of Auntie Sue as a young woman.