Spring is in the Air

This is one of my favorite collages I created several years ago. Anything with a bird theme I hold close to my heart. 

I'm Back!!!

You may have wondered what happened to me...or maybe not. Well, I took a little unexpected break from blogging to enjoy the summer. I've spent a lot of the summer up at my cottage in the woods, returning home every few weeks to take care of must-dos, pay bills, water plants, etc. All in all it's been a wonderful and relaxing summer. I've kind of been a free-spirit, which is what inspired me to create the canvas Birds Fly Free which was recently published in Somerset Apprentice Magazine.

This is the first time I've had a piece of my artwork in this particular publication, so you can imagine how thrilled I was when editor Jana Holstein contacted me to ask if she could use it in the magazine.

The photography which accompanies my article really blew me away. It's astounding! It really captures every little detail of the canvas. In fact the entire issue is incredible with articles by Becky Shander, Jeanne Oliver, Kristen Robinson, Donna Downey, Rebekah Meier, and Wendy Brightbill just to name a few.  I am honored to be in the company of such a talented group of artists! 

Instagram Wednesday

Have a great Day!

Friday Fill-Ins

And here we go. . . .

1. Welcome Spring!
2. Shooter and Hank makes me jump for joy.
3. There's a lot of work to do around the house!
4. Laughing is the thing I love most about being with friends.
5. Eyes are the windows to your soul.
6. Going up to the cottage again is what I'm eagerly awaiting.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to celebrating my friend's birthday, tomorrow my plans include finishing up some artwork and Sunday, I want to relax and do nothing!

You can join in on the fun here!

Happy September!

September (my birthday month) started out in a happy way. I received my comp issue of this year's Holidays & Celebrations from the lovely Jennifer Jackson Taylor over at Stampington Publications. My article, Walk on the Wild Side, is featured on pages 102-104 and I'm over the moon about it! Thanks so much Jennifer.

They Serve and Protect. . .

Journal Update

Not too long ago, I signed up to take a wonderful journaling e-course from Hope Wallace Karney called Nostalgic Musings. Since the class, I've been adding to my journal bit by bit and thought I would share a few pages with you that I recently completed.

The page above features a favorite quotation and a paper lace doily I tinted pink with Glimmer Mist. Then I added a pleated candy paper from one of my favorite chocolates - Frango Mints. The long tag on the right side of the page is a clothing tag from a Merona t-shirt I purchased from Target that I covered with pretty paper.
I found a rubber stamp with another favorite quote which I just stumbled upon, I think at Hobby Lobby - but I'm not 100% sure about that. The chipboard scalloped oval I cut from a cereal box using my Sizzix machine. It's that original red machine they made which I dug out to sell at a garage sale. I was playing around with it in between sales and I had so much fun I decided not to sell it afterall.
This page I just finished this morning. Hope likes to use a lot of cupcake liners in her journals and I like that look also. There are so many fun designs out there now. These two I picked up from Michael's, thanks to my sweet friend Elyse who told me about them.
I drew this little birdie free hand. He reminds me of the little wren that I told you about in this post. The "souvenir" card is from Olga's Designs, who sells the most beautiful digital art on Etsy. I attached a fabric tab to the bottom and hinged it with washi tape on the top so I can add "secret" journaling underneath.

Another cereal box scalloped oval with a graceful swan inside. The template for the swan came from the tag on a pair of Gloria Vanderbilt jeans - the swan is the company logo.

{Did you know that Anderson Cooper is her son?}

Hope you're having a lovely day!

This & That

I did some baking yesterday. Not sure why I decided to heat up the kitchen on a 90+ degree day. But the end result was worth it. I made these carrot cake cookies for my DH on the suggestion of my daughter. She knows he likes carrot cake and forwarded this recipe to me.

Since I was s-o-o-o hot from having the oven on, I decided that the refrigerator was way over due for a cleaning. What better way to stay cool than to have your head inside the fridge? Here is the "after" shot of the all important drink shelf. I could use one of those icy cold drinks right now!

Do you see anything interesting in the photo above?

Ah, yes . . . this cute little guy is very interesting, don't you think? He lives in the little bird house attached to the top of my twig garden chair outside our front door.

He comes out of his house to chat with me every time I water the planter full of these beautiful petunias my daughter and son-in-law gave me on Mother's Day. He's a very friendly birdie. He comes back every year to "rent" out the little house on the chair.

Spring Giveaway!

I'm hosting a little giveaway over on Joli Paquet today. You can click here to enter.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments regarding my Art Saves story on Crescendoh. My Guest Curator piece runs all week and the photo links for each artist shown here change each day, so be sure to check back throughout the week for more inspiration.

39 Squares - Days 24 - 27

I've been stitching to help me to relax. I'm not sure it's working, but I'm enjoying the results. Here's my latest four squares.

If you missed the Joli Paquet Kit Sale last week, I still have a few kits left. They are available in my Etsy Shop.

She Shoots...She Scores!

I can't believe I was able to get these pics!  So excited to actually see the tiny blue robin eggs in mama's nest!  We've never had a bird nest located in a place low enough to actually get a photo of the inside of it. This one is still situated just out of eye-view (even if you stand on tippy-toes) but not out of the eye of the camera held at arms length above my head. I took a chance that I was aiming in the right direction and after a few failed attempts, I finally got it right!
I always wait until mama leaves the nest to take a break (or look for food) before I take any pictures because I hate to disturb her motherly duties of egg hatching. 

Journaling Bliss

Everyone seems to be journaling these days, (like here and here and here) so thought I would share a few of my own journal pages. I could do this all day long if I had the chance. It's like doodling for me....it's contagious and sometimes I find it hard to stop. I doodle when I talk on the phone. I always have. I can't help myself. I wish I had saved some of my "doodles" from all those years. It would be interesting to see how they have progressed. But I still seem to gravitate towards the same doodle themes of flowers, leaves, birds, borders and girly faces. Some things never change.

P.S. Guess who is back? My mama bird (or her twin - it's hard to tell one robin from another) is back sitting on her nest again!  I read that it's common for robins to have 2-3 broods a year, but I also read that they don't return to the same nest. I wonder if it is really MY robin or if a new renter has taken over her old nest. Any-hoo, I'll keep you posted if we have more baby birdies. Maybe this time I can get a photo of her blue eggs. (Oh how I would love that!) Keep your fingers crossed.

Successful Photo Shoot!

If you read the previous post, you know that I've been trying to get a pic of mother robin sitting on her nest. Well, today was my lucky day! Next I'm hoping to snap a photo of the blue eggs

without upsetting Mama too much.

Odds & Ends Saturday

I just listed this little collaged Springtime Birdy in my Etsy Shop.

This is a sneek peek of a little something I made for Susie for a swap hosted by Artsymama - I'll reveal the entire project next week.

My new issue of Kraft Food & Family magazine arrived this week and I tried out the recipe for "Creamy Pasta" on page 8. Did you know you can get a quarterly subscription to Food & Family for Free?

52Q - Week 9

~ 52 Questions ~

"What was the last brave thing you did?"

I had trouble journaling this one - I don't consider myself to be very brave.

Perhaps that little birdie should have been a chicken!!!

I used Glimmer Mist to create the background along with a mask.

This St. Pat's Day shadowbox is available in my Etsy Shop. Sorry for the "less than perfect" photography - does anyone have tips for photographing things that are under glass? No matter how I angle the piece I can't avoid seeing a reflection on the glass.