Home Again!

There's no place like home!
(Click to enlarge!)

Look at what was waiting for us when we arrived home! We were on vacation in beautiful Charlotte, North Carolina when we heard that a huge snowstorm was threatening our area. Since the last place we wanted to be was on an interstate in the middle of a snowstorm, we decided to end our vacation early and drove for twelve hours to get home before the snowflakes began to fall.

It was a hellish drive, but well worth it. Within hours of arriving home, the snow began to fall. And it fell, and fell and fell for almost 48 hours. The storm dumped 22" worth of heavy, snow that covered everything (including my beautiful periwinkle swing) with a thick white blanket.

But snow wasn't the only thing that was waiting for me. My worktable was filled with winnings from the One World One Heart event. My heart sang with gratitude as I opened each of these lovely packages.

Thank you Angie!
http://www.bighillgoddess.com/

Thank you, Ema!
http://emakaye.blogspot.com/

Thank you, Kathy!
http://artful-musings-of-kathyl.blogspot.com/

There was a beautiful, handmade lampwork bead from Ema, a box filled with a handmade journal, folk art doll and the book, "Simple Abundance", from Angie. And last, but not least, a package filled to the brim with all sorts of ephemera and collage "toys" from Kathy. Thank you, thank you beautiful ladies for your generosity and kindness.

Hoping that you're safe and warm!

Vacation & A Freebie!

"Road Trip!"

My husband said, "We need a vacation!", so I'm packing my bags and hoping for warmer weather. We're heading 'south' for a much needed break, and will return in a week or so. While we're away I won't be posting, but I will have limited computer access so I'll have a chance to check into the matrix occasionally.

Although I can't take you with me, I can give you this cute "freebie" to use in your artwork.

For your artful pleasure!

Hope you have a creative day!
See you soon!

Friday's Freebie!

"Lady"

A PNG File
For your artful pleasure!
(And a JPEG too!)

When I found this picture in the Library of Congress, I remembered a scenario from my childhood.

When my Grandmother was angry, she'd put her hands on her hips - exactly like the lady in this picture. After allowing her to rant and rave for a few minutes, my sainted Grandfather would look at her lovingly, shake his head and and calmly utter one word softly (but with authority): "Lady!"

My Grandmother would look at him, roll her eyes, and after throwing her arms in the air as if to say, "You really don't get it.", would return to the task at hand. Hmmm . . . How I wish that I could have her patience and control! LOL!

With many wishes for a day filled with wonderful memories!

"Hope" Revisited

"Hope"

Mother Nature covered us with yet another white blanket of snow overnight. Winter is continuing it's hold on us with a vengeance this year. When I saw this week's nature theme at The Three Muses challenge, my thoughts immediately turned to the beautiful hope of Spring, sunny blue skies and warmer days.

Although this piece was created as a gift for a dear friend last Summer and is making an encore performance, it reminds me that spring is "eternal" and hope is, indeed, "a thing with feathers".

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

Emily Dickenson

Wishing you a day filled with hope!

Credits: Special thanks to ArtsyFartsyQueen (Flickr), Crowabout, and TakeaBreak (Flickr).

OWOH Winners & A Freebie

One World One Heart
Winners!
(This image is for your artful pleasure!)

The winners are:
1st Prize: Cheryl from Healing Woman and
2nd Prize: Sue from Barton Originals
Congratulations!

Thank you to all of my visitors! Although there were only two giveaway prizes for the One World One Heart event that was organized by Lisa Swifka, I do hope you'll take my funky little bird of happiness (the above png file) to use in your artwork as my way of saying a huge "Thanks".

As a first time participant in this year's One World One Heart event, my experience has been wonderful and overwhelming. I am filled with gratitude to everyone who stopped by on their magic carpet and the beautiful comments that were left behind.

It's been quite a trip - Lisa's blog listed 1105 participants, and although I couldn't visit all of the participating blogs, I did manage to stop by quite a few and am looking forward to more blog hopping and making a few more new friends during the coming weeks.

With Heartfelt Gratitude,

Happy Valentine's Day!

Be My Valentine!
These png & jpeg images are
for your artful pleasure!

This weekend we'll be celebrating Valentine's Day - a special time to remember those we love with little acts of kindness and special treats.

May your day be filled with the people you love, sweet hugs and kisses, and maybe - if you're very lucky - some chocolate too!

Wishing you a very Happy Valentine's Day!


Note: This sweet image was extracted, recolored and altered from a postcard in the public domain.

"Blue"

"Blue"
(Click to enlarge each picture!)

Old Man Winter and another snow storm have been leaving some of us feeling very "blue" lately. And those of us who garden can't wait for warm, Spring days.

On a happier blue note, today's post is being brought to you by that gorgeous color; and, I hope that blue has brightened your day. (These pictures were taken at the NJ Botanical Garden at Skylands.)


May you have a colorful day!

"Celebrate!"

"Celebrate!"
4"x6" Mixed Media Collage
(Click on a bird to see the details!)

I always love an opportunity to celebrate, so when I found out that Nancy Baumiller celebrated her Birthday this past weekend, I just had to use this week's collage images to send a ton of happy wishes to this beautiful Birthday girl. Here's to YOU, Nancy! Happy, Happy Birthday!

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A Few Techniques

The images were sized in a photo editing program before being hand trimmed and glued to a piece of cardstock that was base painted with Golden acrylic paint. All of the images were color enhanced with Prismacolors and watercolors; and, white dots were sprinkled on the background with a white Sharpie poster paint pen. Additional color was added around the border with Panpastels.

Credits for the images are below, however, I tried something a little different on this piece. After making a few color copies of my past work, I selectively chose several groups of images, cut them out and added them to this new piece. I must admit - I'm very happy with the results of this experiment and will use this technique again.

Wishing you a day filled with celebrations of joy!

Credits: Most of the images are from Nancy Baumiller's Crowabout challenge (present and past) with special thanks to Briedah for furnishing this week's images. Special thanks to Tumble Fish Studio (Etsy) for the striped borders.

"Sisters" - Freebie

"Sisters"
PNG Files
For Your Artful Pleasure
(From the Library of Congress)

Although the groundhog saw his shadow earlier this week, these sisters don't seem to mind that we're in for six more weeks of winter and a huge snow storm this weekend. Hmmm . . . I can almost smell brownies baking in the oven and hear a fire cracking in the hearth!

Hope you and yours stay safe and warm!

Reminder: My OWOH Giveaway can be found here. To enter, please leave a comment on that post only no later than February 13. The lucky winners will be announced on February 15.

"To Dream"

"To Dream"
6"x6" Mixed Media Collage
(Click on a butterfly to enlarge.)

Whenever I can meet the themes or requirements of two challenges simultaneously, it's a serendipitous thing and a wonderful feeling. This week I've used many of the Crowabout elements to satisfy the "bird" theme from one of my very favorite challenge sites, "The Three Muses".

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"One World One Heart"

Reminder

The magic carpet rides are continuing, and my OWOH Giveaway can be found here. To enter, please leave a comment on that post only no later than February 13. The lucky winners will be announced on February 15.

May you have a serendipitous day!

Credits: Most of the images are from Nancy Baumiller's Crowabout challenge with the following exceptions. Special thanks to Magic Moonlight for the image of the girl, to Paperscraps (Flickr) for the nest and the birdcage, to Whimsical Musings for the blue butterflies, to Tumble Fish Studio (Etsy) for the funky crown, and to Norma Frances (Flickr) for the border.

"Destiny's Child"

"Destiny's Child"
Digital Collage
(Click on the roses to see the details.)

After four long, agonizing days I have an operative computer and am back in business. Whoo-Hoo! Thank goodness for children. Who'd have known that we've raised (unknowingly but gratefully) a generation of computer geeks. My son guided us through the process of purchasing a new computer, helped to load the programs and lent a shoulder to cry on and his expertise when my entire digital music library disappeared. (Who knew that you can't transfer music easily from an IPhone back to the computer?!?)

I believe that every experience is an opportunity to learn, and I (unfortunately) learned a lot about computers as a result of this catastrophic crash. If I might impart some words of wisdom, please back up your files religiously! The derriere you save just might be your own!

Having everything crash and burn was devastating, and loading everything into the new computer was extremely time consuming; but, I didn't loose an entire body of work. And THAT is a true blessing.

(If you'd like to snag a sweet "Destiny" freebie, you can click here and it will take you to a previous post.)

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"One World One Heart"
Reminder

Many of us have been riding the magic carpet, discovering fabulous new blogs, making new friends and entering generous giveaways along the way. Many thanks to Lisa for organizing this wonderful event. At last count, over 800 participating blogs were listed on her site, "A Whimsical Bohemian". Click here to go there and find the list of participants in the sidebar.

My OWOH Giveaway can be found here. To enter, please leave a comment on that post only no later than February 13. The lucky winners will be announced on February 15.

Hope that your computer never crashes & burns!