Wednesday, June 29, 2011

round robin art journal

journal page for my friend


a friend of mine sent me her art journal and asked me to fill a page in it
she suggested I might like to send her an art journal for her to fill a page
and that is how my first round robin art journal has begun


my art journal ready to be filled


 her journal doesn't have a theme
but I thought I would like to have one for my journal
my theme is "sunlight"
now I just need friends to raise their hand, saying, "I'll do a page!!!"
if you do,
I'll do a page in yours
and round and round we go
:)

Monday, June 27, 2011

bookends


do you have any summer reading that you would recommend?
I keep a running list in my notes so I can put books on hold at the library
I'm still reading (savoring) 
The Street of a Thousand Blossoms 
by Gail Tsukiyama
I love a book that sends me off to learn about something I had no idea about beforehand
like: the firebombing of Tokyo in March 1945
that anyone survived those days at all is a miracle

maybe my next book to put on hold will be something to make me laugh
Mark Twain or Garrison Keillor

how about you?



I can't seem to get Mister Linky to work today
so, for today, we'll just go back to our old way of making the rounds
(using the comments as a guide)

Sunday, June 26, 2011

mend a tear


perfectly good jeans
which had a tiny tear
and now they sport
a perfectly good patch

not simple
or easy
but it really brought a grin to a certain 8 year old


Friday, June 24, 2011

now I can show it

the birthday present for my sister, that is


it's about 7 X 11 inches
the base is an old book cover
and I added lots of layers of collage,
gesso, pen, paint, oil pastel, jewels, etc.


I centered it around a vintage advertisement for a washing machine
and as I was working, a story was taking shape in my head


my sister loves retro, vintage, fun, quirky stuff
so I was thinking of her the whole time I was making this
it has her personality all over it
especially the crowns


here is the story:

of course, I used my new typewriter :)
the story is glued to the back of the piece
... all of it just for fun ...


Wednesday, June 22, 2011

in the stands


there is a lot of in-action at a baseball game


so eat peanuts


or knit


or put peanut shells on your fingertips

:)

Monday, June 20, 2011

working tea


today my workdesk is bathed in warm sunlight
a good day to make a birthday present for my sister
and drink some iced tea


a combination of:
irish breakfast tea (NOT decaf)
red zinger tea (rosehip and hibiscus)
p.o.g. juice (pineapple orange guava)


now if I could just bottle up this color and use it for paint!

what are you up to today?
hot tea?
cold tea?
coke?
lemonade?

whatever your beverage is,
 I hope you're also having a good day to go along with it!

* * *

Sunday, June 19, 2011

easy recipe



fruit pizza


1 box yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 c oil
mix together and press into a jelly roll pan
bake at 350 for 15 minutes


1 pkge cream cheese
1/2 c powdered sugar
mix with a mixer and spread over cooled crust


add sliced fruit


if you have an aversion to cake mix, use a shortbread recipe .... But then it's not easy is it?

Friday, June 17, 2011

finding my way

I'm still struggling with technique
but am discovering that simpler is better for me
the less fuss
the happier I am


simple

simpler

simplest



Wednesday, June 15, 2011

brothers in arms

you may remember an earlier post "photo transfer - 3 ways"
(I had featured this same photograph of my dad and his younger brothers)
for this quilted piece, I used fabric transfer paper 
(made by Avery and found in the printer paper department)


I used tea bag paper alternating with old music sheets as a border
the colored fabrics are my own hand dyed muslin



and, using my new typewriter, I made a miniature banner 
it says:
brothers in arms
(I thought it was funny the way the brothers aren't holding hands, they're holding arms)

Monday, June 13, 2011

blossom tea

tea on tuesday
(in reality, posted on monday night)


this is the amount of light we have at 8:30 at night
needless to say, it's hard to nod off to sleep until about 11:00


so I've brewed a cup of "Relaxing Tea"
(San Francisco Herb and Natural Food Co.)
and am digging into a new book:


I'm hoping it will be a good one.
Gail Tsukiyama also wrote
a book I dearly dearly love
a love story that takes place in post WWII Japan.

So I'm off to bed now with my tea and my book.
I will see you all in the a.m.

(p.s. please drop Nancy an e-mail, she is at her wits end with blogger and has been unable to post, but would love to hear from you. Visit her blog and click on her profile to get to her e-mail address. She misses everyone.)
***




Friday, June 10, 2011

box with a lid


you may have seen my earlier post about the repurposed book cover
"an easy box to make" (the original how-to)
and
"tea and minor details" (added helpful hints)

well, 
here is the same box with a lid


I used a 1958 textbook from the local high school
"Adventures in Reading"
I wanted something to keep my haiku postcards in


as the box fills up,
the lid will rise as well
*
the lid is just a smidge smaller than the box
the handle is braided twine threaded through holes I made with an awl
the edges of the box have been very cleanly cut using my x-acto
*
once the lid rises above the box, 
it will be time to make a new box


adventures in reading
:)


Wednesday, June 8, 2011

beach combing

we had a beautiful day on saturday
it was a perfect day for a trip to the seashore


the water is extremely cold
and the air was cool
but the sun was 
oh so warm


and there were 
rocks rocks rocks
everywhere


 we brought a few of them home


they're nested in my printer's tray


a lasting memento of a perfect day

Monday, June 6, 2011

sun tea in the garden


... we have had three days of sunshine now ...
how quickly all is forgiven
:)


the herb garden was calling to me
I wish I had taken a "before" picture!
this was a mass of forget-me-nots
and was actually much prettier!
but at least now it is back to a state of
restraint
order
and
manageability


how nice it was to have thyme to work in the garden today!
and carefully tend to things in need of attention
this is the marker I made several years ago for our beloved
kitty witty


these poor stones need a re-painting I think!

***

are you enjoying thyme for tea?
I hope you are!
link your tea post here - we all love to pop around and say hi!


Friday, June 3, 2011

rock collection


my rocks so far
(we had torrential rain yesterday - all day - so it was a good day for rocks)


the penguins
and this one whom we just woke from a nap
are my personal favorites


they are all in my shop (shoppe as Patty says)
in the shop section called "rocking"

tomorrow WILL be sunny and beautiful and the girls and I are going beachcombing
I told them to bring their combs and their tangled hair
they just laughed
... but really ...
first real sunny day since May 19th
but who is counting?
surely not me!

have a beautiful weekend!

xoxo

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

painted rock


I painted this rock today
(it was the heart shaped one that I picked up at the beach on Whidbey Island a few weeks ago)
in the end I decided it wasn't a heart, but a bird
I have seen hand painted rocks (like Geninne's),
and after many attempts, 
I think I have come up with my very own stylized bird
I feel good about it because I am honesly inspired by other artists
but I also did not want to copy
I had one of those kind of breakthroughs that is so energizing
now I just want to paint lots of rocks
... and I know you get what I mean
;)