Digital Photograph - Make a Wish

Here is a digital collage I made with one of the textures from this week's Saturday Textures. The dandelions are one of my photographs. The rest of the images come from my personal image library. I hope every one will wish for something fabulous this weekend. I have a feeling all of our wishes will come true...

Saturday Textures #8

Here are this week's textures. I absolutely love them. When I tell you where they come from you will be amazed. I took them with one of my iphone cameras in the underground parking garage at the grocery store in Northern Virgina. I originally was taking a picture of a bird building it's nest in the pipes of the garage ceiling. Accidentally I snapped a picture of my foot and the ground.

In the car I checked my photographs and realized I had a pretty good effect going on. I got out and shot some more pictures of the garage floor. I did nothing to these photographs except take them. No photoshop, no altering. these are just them. Next question - what iphone camera? It is called the TtCamera. I paid 99 cents for it. I love it. Hope you will all enjoy these textures, also.

Some More FabulousTalent...

This luscious piece is from Roberta over at RCSCreations - just a girl and her art. Last week she emailed me to share this wonderful piece she had created. I am honored that she was able to use one of my free textures. Isn't is wonderful?

Roberta is very talented. She does so many different things. Lately she has been sketching and painting. Her digital work is amazing. Please hop over to RCSCreations and feast your eyes!

I wanted to share this gorgeous digital piece from Kelly over at Artsyvisions. Kelly emailed me earlier this month to let me know she had used one of my freebies in this digital collage. Kelly has so many beautiful digital pieces on her blog. I was quite honored. Hop on over for a little blog candy. Just click on Artsyvisions.

I just want to thank these lovely ladies for sharing their creations with me. I really appreciate it when you give me feedback on the textures and freebies by showing me that you really use them. It makes me so happy!

Earth Day!

This is the banner for this year's Earth Day Organization. I think it is so touching. Hard to believe it has been 40 years since the first Earth Day in 1970. For those of you who may be from other countries - here in the USA and in Canada we celebrate for a week or so with everything culminating today. It is thought that with Spring being a time of renewal, that the world should pledge how they will make the earth a better place. It is also a time to do an yearly assessment of how the earth is. With Global Warming, the Gulf Oil Spill, the nuclear disaster in Japan, the earth quake in Japan, wildfires in Texas, tornados all over the South... It sounds like we have a lot of work to do.

This is the ecology symbol that was developed in conjunction with Earth Day. I like it's greenness - as Kermit would say. I am going to walk around DC today, weather permitting. I am going to admire all the beautiful trees and think about what I can and can't do to make this earth a healthier place. What are you doing today?

On the Earth Day organization web site I found this really cool idea. Over a billion Acts of Green have been pledged to make the Earth a healthier place for all. Most are simple doable acts. Run over and make your pledge. The web address is http://www.earthday.org/.

1st Earth Day Poster...

I found this poster to be somewhat discouraging. After 41 years we have not cleaned up more than this. Really?

Digital Collage - The Bride...

The Bride

The past few days I have been downloading all sorts of digital backgrounds, fonts, stamps from my stamp collection, and images onto my laptop. Most of that I have kept on my desk top - which is packed and in storage. I decided that my laptop needs to help me create.

It does not look like I am going to be painting all that much in the near future. Digital paintings are the way I am going to have to go for awhile. I have started to journal digitally. It is a lot more satisfying than I thought it would be. Who knew?

Here is a piece I did this morning. I am calling her The Bride. All this talk of weddings, the royal wedding, is slowly sinking in to my subconscious. Hope you enjoy! {started with deviant art background which I added a few things to, the bride is from Lepage, the birds are I brake for Stamps}

See What You Can Make with a Freebie....

Do you remember a few weeks back "The Girl on a Bike" freebies? Yesterday I got an email from Robin over at the Robins Nest. She had made this fabulous fabric collage piece using one of those images. I just loved it. Jump over to her blog at http://a-rbnsnest.blogspot.com/. Robin just had a retreat...wait just hop over there and let her tell you all about it in her post. You won't be sorry, she has a lovely blog. Enjoy!

Easter Freebies

Are these not just the sweetest cards? I love the bunny and chicks. Eggs are some of my favorite things so it just tickles me to see bunnies popping out of eggs and little soft downey chicks. To me little chicks represent Spring and Hope. They are so sweet... Anyway here are some freebie for you, hope everyone is having a good week.

A Little Pink for You...

The state flower of Virginia - The Dogwood. Here is the pink version. Remember in the movie "American President" with Michael Douglas and Annette Benning , the president tries to give her the state flower of Virginia and there is a great debate about whether it is a flower or a tree. Well, it is both.

Driving through the suburbs of Northern Virginia it is a riot of pink. Pink trees in the neighborhood. Here is a sample of pictures from a couple of Cherry tree. Pink Dogwoods. It is glorious to see. Enjoy!

Life is a balancing act.....

As I explored Great Falls Park I found that there was a lot of flooding. Along the shore of the Potomac River the flooding was up ten feet or more. Many areas of the park were roped off because of the flooding. I was taking pictures of some of the floodlands when I happened upon these three creatures. The pair of ducks seemed quite happy, the poor beaver not as much. He seemed to be hanging on for dear life. I did not see any trace of his dam here. Further down stream was a swirling mass of logs...

Niagra of the South...

Today was a beautiful day. I ran to the Post Office and mailed my taxes. I had an intense need to burn off some energy. One of the nice things about the Washington D.C. area is all of the parks and trails. As it is National Park Week - no entrance fees - I decided to head to Great Falls Park.

It is a beautiful park on the Potomac River. It is called the Niagra of the South. The falls are nothing like Niagra. However, the sound is incredibly loud. You can hear the falls long before you see it. The river is very wide and full of large rocks. One side is Virginia the other is Maryland.

Spring is always a great time to visit. Right now the river is eleven feet higher than normal. It is considered in flood stage. Further down the Potomac River today parts of Georgetown had flooded buildings. The rocks are hardly visible mostly along the edge of the river.

Water is one of the most powerful forces on Earth. Here along the river you can see and hear that awesome power. It felt really good being outside today. Enjoying the wonder of nature.

The Office Door...Digital Photograph

This is my favorite door right now. I open you will double click on it and enjy all the lovely crackled paint on the door and the building surrounding it. This is the door with the rose colored door knob. Enjoy!

Can't Even Imagine...Send Prayers...

Can you imagine if this was your home? This is the scene all up and down North Carolina. Raleigh - my old hometown - was viciously struck yesterday by a tornado. 62 tornado's hit North Carolina yesterday leaving as many as 23 dead. My heart is crying.[photo by j bounds]

Trees and debris are everywhere. I found myself texting and calling friends and family most of the evening. Luckily they are all okay. However, so many people have just had their lives turned upside down in the matter of minutes. Can you imagine getting this tree off your truck or car and you yard?

Please pray for the family and friends who have lost loved ones. They not only have to deal with no power, no homes, but the loss of those that meant everything to them. Things can always be cleaned up, fixed or replaced. Nothing can ever fill the void when we lose someone we love.

This was a Lowe's Home store. You can imagine on a Spring afternoon how busy they were. The manager saved everyone - the customers and the employees. He gathered everyone to the back of the store. Angels all around us. The roof was blown off and much of the store collapsed. Many of the cars in the parking lot were overturned and thrown around. Everyone made it out alive!

Thousands are without power. It will take days to clear the trees, debris, and restring the power lines. We went through this when Hurricane Fran hit the city. It was several weeks till we had power. School's will be closed, people will be hurt cleaning up the mess. Yet neighbors will bond, random acts of kindness will come. Life will go on.

All through the South the same scenario is being played out. The devastation is everywhere. Here in Virginia yesterday was a day of bad weather, tornado's and three dead. These huge weather events are extremely scary. Please send out prayers for all of those dealing with the aftermath. They are much needed. Thank you!

Digital Photograph - The Rose Colored Handle

I found this beautiful door handle down in the historic section of Petersburg Virginia. At a desserted building. I loved the rose color of the glass knob. I used the crackle texture in today's texture selection. Enjoy the possibilities of today!

Saturday Textures #7

Some lovely crackle texture from an old door.

Metal grate along a historical building

A rusty mailbox

A painted wall

A plaster column

This week I chose some textures from my little adventure in Petersburg. What a lovely city. I really like all the rehabs of the old buildings and warehouses. They had some nice shops and I found some really nice resturants. If you are ever near, stop off for a visual treat. You will not be disappointed.

Digital Photograph - Justice

I spent last weekend in Petersburg Virginia. I took this photograph on Saturday of the courthouse. On Wednesday as I watched the Ken Burns Civil War epic I spotted this same courthouse. The path up to it was all dirt. The buildings on either side had seen some damage, an of course there were no trees. Yet,it was the same proud building. Justice the figure on top was added after the war.

Mom's Easy Chicken Pot Pie

My Mom and I have been cooking again. My Dad is in heaven. We enjoy trying old and new recipes out. We look for things that taste good, easy to fix, and make a good meal. Comfort food keeps rearing it's head. We made this the other night. I thought I would share it with ya'll.

This recipe is very easy. After you make it you will be inspired to substitute all sort of different things you have on hand. Once we had put our pie in the oven both Mom and I came up with several variations. I think you will really enjoy this. Kids could help with this. I think fresh tomatoes would be yummy with this pie.

Mom's Easy Chicken Pot Pie

1 2/3 cups frozen and thawed mixed vegetables

1 cup of cooked cup up chicken - bite size bites

1 can [10 3/4 ounce] condensed Cream of Chicen soup

1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper

1 cup Bisquick

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl mix the vegetables, chicken, soup, salt and pepper.

Pour into a deep sided glass pie plate or a square casserole dish the vegetable mixture. [Anything around 9" round pie plate or a 8" square casserole.]

In a smaller bowl mix the egg, milk and bisquick. Mix well. Pour mixture on top of vegetable mixture. Spread over entire top.

Place in oven, bake till golden brown.

About 30 minutes. Serves 6.

The Civil War Week

On April 12th of this week the United States had the 150 year anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. All over the South there have been remembrances. Here in Washington DC there are no less than 12 different exhibits in the Smithsonian. A lot to see and take in.

I have been watching Ken Burns epic on the Civil War with my parents every night. It is one of the best series I have ever seen. It is so real you can almost smell the gunpowder and hear the men's cries. Such a moving experience. These simple men, farmers, grocers, carpenters wrote home so eloquently. It brought tears to my eyes.

So. that is where I have been all week. Immersing myself in a lot of history. I have visited most of the Civil War battlefields. My parents would take my brother and I when we were kids. When my boys were old enough I began to take them. Some are breathe taking. Others just small little memorials of another time. The writer, Shelby Foote brings them alve in his books.

In my travels lately I have been visiting some of the battlefields and many of the cities that these battles took place in. They look so much different when you see them from an adult point of view. In many you can not see hardly a trace. In others they bare their scars well. I have enjoyed myself so much...yet have this deep sadness when I see the photographs of some of these soldiers. A war we should never forget. A war to learn somthing from.

Freebies ...Civil War Soldiers

Two young Confederate soldiers. They barely look like they can shave to me. Oh I am so glad my boys missed this war.

Father's and sons, brothers and brothers, cousins, all fighting in the same war. Sometimes on opposite sides. Many families lost all their menfolk. Some towns all their young men. A world of sadness.

Union brothers

After almost two years of war, African Americans were allowed to officially fight. Many of these were free blacks from the North. All were proud. At the end of the war they were given equal pay and fought along with the Union soldiers as one.

Here are a small sampling of soldiers from both sides. There is a fantastic exhibit at the National Archives of the faces of the Civil War. Here are some of those faces. They all look so proud. I am always amazed at how many died. The appalling stories of their battles, their endurance and sense of right.