Relief at Last

ALL week I have been fighting the mother of all sinus infections. Today there is relief! It is like in the cartoons, the sun is shining, the birds are singing and I feel better. It did take two different antibiotics and practically owning stock in Mucinex. I read in the paper that the doctors offices were full of people with sinus infections. My family is happy I know, because I was becoming mean.....more than normal.
THIS picture is the second of the series. It is done mostly in watercolor. The rubbing I am sure you can tell was The World Trade Center. I used the salt technique to make the layers show through the different watercolors. I had a great scroll acrylic stamp I used for the sides.

I wanted to share this fish drawing that my Son Kevin drew in his first art class. I was very impressed with his attention to detail and shading. It took a beating in his bookbag. We will iron it and frame it and hang it in a prominent place. I think he has got the talent!

THE books I am showing are a couple from my first simple pleasure. Aren't they just so pretty, and hardback. Such a great buy.

THE kitchen utensil I have here is my Simple Pleasure #3. My good friend Pam gave this to me for Christmas and it was HER new favorite and now it is mine. Let me tell you it is great! When I have ground beef that I want to break up and cook with this handy dandy gadget I end up with nice little pieces all the same size. It doesn't scratch the pan up either. It is from Pampered Chef and it is called Mix N Chop for $10.00. Trust me I have nothing to do with Pampered Chef just a consumer that found a new gadget.

Pansies

Pansy's, I just love them. It is even too cold outside for them right now They are just so sweet and come in so many pretty colors, how could you not believe in God after looking at the different designs and colors. They even smell sweet and reseed themselves!

When I designed this picture I had to put a pansy in it because they come in the cool spring with the time of new birth and that goes along with the picture. It is a series of 3 with this being the first. The rubbing is the brick arch building at the entrance to the public cemetery in Gettysburg Pennsylvania, very hallowed ground to walk on. I have also used watercolors and acrylics and clear dimensional coating over the clock. I made this in a watercolor art class a couple of years ago.

Simple pleasure #2: Patterned Paper. It is great, so much to choose from and always coming out with new designs. If you need a pick-me-up, go to the craft store and buy a piece at only .50 cents to $1.00. Have a plan for what you can use it for or just save it away to get back out and look at. My good friend Theresa and I say...well if we use then we won't have it. But then if we use it then we can buy more! It's a vicious cycle! I used a double sided piece for this card. I love yellow and blue together, very cheerful. I can tuck this away in my box and when I need a birthday/anniversary/thinking of you card I can add some other pictures and sentiments to it and it will be good to go.

The Maiden Voyage

Welcome to my blog! A year ago I picked up an Artful Blogging Magazine http://www.stampington.com/html/artful_blogging.html to take on vacation and couldn't put it down. I was thrilled with each new issue and kept thinking I could do this. It is a virtual show and tell and I love that. It just really opened up my world and it was so enjoyable to go to the blogs that were featured. The thing I noticed the most was that these people were so kind and saw such good in the world. Artists have kind souls!

I am new to the painting, drawing and mixed media art world but am and old hand at quilting, rubberstamping and scrapbooking. I hope to get feedback from others about my work and plan to post about things that I feel are interesting, hopefully amusing and throwing in some pictures and some random thing that I noticed today along with simple pleasures that make me smile.

Living in the Midwest it has been a long, cold winter. I am adding this picture as hope that summer will come again. I walked the my neighborhood one day with my camera and captured this wonderful group of sunflowers that the people down the street grew. Aren't they just great?

I liked them so much I had to do a little picture of my own.

Sorry that I haven't gotten the picture placement totally right, I will have to work on this. I hope they brought a little bit o'sunshine to your day.

Here is my 1st simple pleasure. I love to go to Michaels Craft Store and look at their $1.00 bins. You can get journals with lined paper for just a $1.00!!! I love new paper to write on and the outsides are so pretty. Right now I have 7 in my closet shelf just waiting for the right time to jot down some proverbial thought, list, or something to remember. It just makes me happy.