Little girl

Here is my second page for the journal mentioned in the previous post. My love of house images, along with inspiration from a magazine article, led to the creation of this piece. Bits of coodinating paper glued to foamcore form the house, which is accented with paint, words & ribbon. The photo is actually one of me when I was two years old. The background paper is also enhanced with paint and letters.

Garden Chair

Another round-robin journal has come my way. The owner gave free rein to participants to create whatever they wanted ... the only restriction being page size. I enjoy writing poems to go with a stamp or image, and to this end I present "Garden Chair." The poem is hand lettered on heavy-weight watercolor paper which was inked with blue. The image was stamped with dark brown chalk ink; additional stamping was done in the corner. Glass beads and a butterfly cut-out were added as embellishments.

When I was out among the trees

A garden chair I chanced to see;

A chair sprung forth 'mid moss and soil

For maidens' rest from work and toil.

A bird perched gently on its arm

To sing her song as nature's balm;

I hastened forth to take my rest

To sit awhile 'til yet refreshed.

give me wings...

This is an ATC I've been working on for the past few days...I created it for an upcoming swap at Colorful Creations in Hyannis. The theme for the swap is "an inchie on an ATC," so not only did it require the design of the ATC, but also an inchie which would be the focal point. The background is strips of several different papers, stamped with various images - then the phrase "give me wings to fly" was applied. The inchie was created, of course, on an inch square piece of paper, stamped and glossed. The butterfly was cut from textured cardstock, edged with pink chalk ink, and applied along with the bit of blue bling.
I'm pleased with the final result. Each of the 13 cards I made for the swap varies slightly, as the colors in the papers varied.

Altered dominoes...my first attempt

With a number of projects to do before the end of the month, I decided to spend the weekend working on an altered domino piece for COF (an online art-swap group). I also wanted to try out my new toy, the Silhouette digital craft cutter.

My intent was to alter the dominoes and make what would look like an old travel journal. I colored the domino pieces, which measure 2"x1", with alcohol inks and stamped each "cover" with part of a map image. The letters and plane image were cut from black cardstock with the Silhouette. I cannot believe how accurately it cut such small pieces...the lower case letters are only 3/16 of an inch tall! The letters and images were glued onto the pieces; then the top surfaces were covered with Diamond Glaze. The "inside" of the journal is stamped water-color paper with miniature postcards and a watch applied. Perhaps I will add more to the inside, a bookmark maybe, or a pen.

Brewster Grist Mill & Herring Run

Marley & Me

G & I just returned home from seeing the movie Marley & Me. If you haven't seen it, I recommend that you do. Though I did not read the book, I think it is well scripted and well acted; it even held G's attention for the entire two hours. Dog lovers/owners, bring tissues! I'm not usually one to shed tears at a movie, but even I couldn't help myself...just thinking about it brings another tear to my eye; it makes me want to give Stone a great big hug.

The winter beach...

Earlier this morning I stopped by the beach...frozen, icy-cold Nauset. It was beautiful...the dunes are drifted with snow and the tidal flow is frozen to the beach, embracing the sea-polished stones which are encased in ice. Even one's footprints were hardly discernible on the sand, leaving a clean slate for any who walk there. Were it not for the frigid temperature and gusty wind, I could have walked for hours, enjoying this serenity and beauty which will be gone all too soon.

All recovered...

After yesterday's cleanup and the exhaustion that followed, we are back to normal today. G is at his day-hab program and I have a few hours to play. So off I go, but first I would like to show you the driveway I shoveled yesterday. Not only is it long, but it is probably at about a 35-40 degree angle - for the weak of heart, a bit scary to drive on at any time! Hopefully the sun, if it appears, will melt off any residual ice and I will be able to park closer to my house - thankfully my neighbors have offered the use of their driveway to me, which I have accepted!

Some things just never change...

Happy New Year!!!

... and as this new year begins, many old habits continue. Some of you are aware of G's compulsion to cut-up/rip paper... this is what I found this morning, mixed in with other assorted pieces of who-knows-what! Do you think the bank will exchange it for entire dollar bills?

The most irreplaceable thing he ever cut-up was my high school diploma; the funniest episode was his unrolling an entire roll of toilet tissue to get the the center cardboard - the tissue was piled up on both sides of the john, about two feet high.

Sad, but funny...

Any suggestions on how to eliminate this behavior; or make it more functional? I labeled this post under "paper arts" because, well, I suppose this is his art form.