BIG H-E-A-R-T

When I was shopping at Arhaus I couldn't resist this big glass heart.  I pictured it hanging in my studio window.

Kevin made a hook in Blacksmithing to hang my heart on.

Such a pretty thing.



My neighbor Amy, gave these beautiful ferns to me. 



The whole porch with the furniture, and the ferns.



Stampin fun

This is a studio G stamp that I colored in with copic markers.  I put 3D crystal on it.  A Paula Best stamp on the side. 

I love the colors on this one.  All those stamps are from Endless Creations. 

The big stamps are old stampin up's and the sentiment is a Printworks creation. 

The tag is a Tim Holtz technique using ink and paint.  The paint resists the ink.  The flowers and vine are die cuts. 

Same Tim Holtz technique using ink and paint. 

He was demonstrating at the Cincinnati Stamp Show. 

Hope you enjoyed.

returned

I looked at the calendar and realized (to my surprise) that it has been 3 weeks since I posted anything new.  It was not intended at all.  My classes started, we have had friends and family to visit and before you know it, 3 weeks have passed.  I want to share, things I have been doing around the house since our last visit. 

This wooden sign I picked up in Cooperstown, New York this summer.  I put two sealing coats of varnish on it and had Tom hang it on the front porch beside the front door.

I just think this is a pretty color of nasturtium. These seeds are big and easy to grow.  They come in bright colors and are edible and look pretty in salads.  Here is a nice informational site about these little flowers.

These are wall clings that I have had for 4 years.  I finally decided to put them in the my little bathroom area.  I really enjoy them, they brighten it up with happiness. 

Such a pretty blue color of morning glory.  Another very easy flower to grown from seed.
Here is a site that gives information on these flowers.

I am drawn to colored glass, really I think it is just the colors that draw me.  I picked this up in April at an Arhaus store.  If you haven't been to one they are very neat. 

I took pictures of porches for my final project in black and white photography class.  Recently I purchased natural wood frames and spray painted them black.  They are going into the guest room on the wall behind the bed. 

Purchased some white wicker furniture for the porch.  The red pads are new and the same print as the green pads.  I wanted something that brightened the porch.  I am very happy with them and they are really comfortable. 

So thank you for stopping back by...until next time!

last saturday

Last Saturday was a hazy, lazy morning.  The plants at this time of the year are not looking their best.  These are the neighbors volunteer sunflowers. It also doesn't help that we haven't had significant rain for over a month.

They always do so well with their garden.  They keep it very neat.

Some larger sunflowers.

I also heard laughing and giggling and had to see what was going on.
They had many tennis balls and were having the best time.

Looks like follow the leader.

Frozen in the air action.

A little static electricity in the hair.
I enjoyed hearing their laughter.

At the lake

We were visiting some friends who have a lake cottage in northern Indiana.  It was a perfect day to go to the lake.  The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze.  In a little channel behind their cottage a Heron was looking for some lunch. 

Tom in the swing overlooking the lake. 

A good close up of the Heron.  I love to watch these birds.

Nan

Kevin and Bob doing some fishing.

Tom-backwards hat so it won't blow off on a pontoon ride.

Bob

Seagulls taking off as we buzz down the lake.

Swans-the brown ones are the babies.

Another Heron that caught dinner. 

The fishes tail was flapping.

I love the sparkling water and the sailboat.



Here is their cottage.  They have an unobstructed view of the lake.  Thanks Bob and Nan for such a good time!

cards

I have a DeNami heart set and used 3 of the 4 stamps to make this card.  The ink that I used was called Brilliance Ink.  It has sheen to it and dries fast.  The "thanks" is a Cuttlebug die cut. 

I made the background with a crackled rubber stamp.  There are some green swirls and dark green ferns.  I had a smaller fern stamp for the green block in the middle.  An oval punch with a nice happy birthday sentiment.  The ink I used for the sentiment is chalk ink. 

A pretty whippersnapper stamp colored with prismacolor pencils.  The flowers have DeNami yellow glitter which is very vibrant.

I used all chalk inks on this card.  The technique was one that DeNami was demonstrating at the Stampaway convention.  The flower on the right and the bottom flower was made with two different size hearts.  The flower on the left was made with a leaf stamp.  I added glitter and perfect pearls.

Here I used prismacolor pencils and raised the flowers and the curtain with foam tape.  I also added glitter and raised up the flowers in the pots.

I picked up a couple of these pads at Hollos Papers in Ohio.  I stamp on it and try different stamps and colors out on it.  It is watercolor paper just heavy enough that the ink doesn't bleed through.  When that page is full, just tear it off and throw it away. 

This was started with very inexpensive colored pencils. 

This is done with the prismacolor pencils before it is blended in.  What a difference!

This is color in with copic alcohol markers. 

A friends stamp colored in with prismacolor pencils.  It is an Inky Antics stamp.

Book Review-The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett

I received this book from my friend Colleen, who now resides in Georgia.  I don't get to see her much anymore and it was so nice to receive this package from her.  We like to send books we think each would like after we have read them.  She was right, I did enjoy this book.  I started reading it right away and finished it in no more than a week.    The beginning setting was in California with a young woman and her mother.  The young woman met a man from church who had been studying her from afar for 9 months.  He finally asked her out and they eventually ended up being married and for 3 years they were together.  The woman worked only at part time jobs and then would drop her husband off at school, because he taught, and she would take the car and just drive.  It was like she was searching for something, but she had no idea what.  She would be back in time to pick her husband up. He was a kind and loving man, not exciting in the least.  One day she found out she was pregnant and just decided it best to leave with just a short note to her husband.  She spoke with her priest to go to a place to have the baby and choose adoption for it.  He pointed her in the direction of Habit Kentucky where there was a place for unwed mothers run by nuns.  She drove and drove across country and had a few mishaps and adventures.  A good portion of the book is her life at Saint Elizabeth's.  The history of Saint Elizabeth's is very interesting how it came about.  The characters in this part of the book have pasts that you immerse yourself in.  I am a "glass half full" person and I had a hard time understanding Rose, the main character.  She would leave people with no discussion, these were people who were very close to her.  She would turn her back and drive off.  I have yet to understand why she totally left in the first place, I suppose to give her unborn child to a family because she didn't feel she could be a good mother and she realized she didn't love her husband.  There was absolutely no discussion. 
This book gives the reader lots of things to think about.  It flowed very well and was an easy read.  I enjoyed the nuns, especially the one that could talk to the babies while they were in the womb. 
If you read this book, please come back and leave a comment on your take of the book. I would really appreciate it.   

I've a little catching up to do

I took on the challenge of 30 posts in 30 days and have failed miserably but I have had a lot of fun in the meantime.  Let me tell you some of the things I've done.  My sister Linda treated me to the musical Les Miserables and it was FANTASTIC!  I just love musicals.  I used to watch them with my Mom on TV.  Oklahoma, and The Unsinkable Molly Brown, The Sound of Music.  Then in high school I was in the band and we had so much fun.  Marching in parades and at Disney World and band camp and also contests, and we were very good.  I was also in the Jazz Band and we played for the school musicals and I just loved that too.

Here I am, my senior year 1978, with my little black scarf and Farrah Fawcett hair and my shiny baritone.  I played the valve trombone in the jazz band.  We performed for company parties and they made donations to the band.  It was a good time.  The last time I played was for graduation, I put it away and never played again,though it left a lasting love of music.   

The next weekend my three friends, Michelle, Theresa and Toni and myself made our annual trek to Sharonville, Ohio (it's a suburb of Cincinnati) to the rubberstamp convention.  It was a good show and we had rented a suite at Hawthorn Suites.   So we set up the room that night for stamping and watching movies and ordered pizza in and lots of snacks.  We stamped till we couldn't keep our eyes open anymore. We did lots of talking and laughing and had so much fun! 

One morning last week I woke up and it was clear and pretty.  Then all the sudden the fog started rolling through.  It was very eery.  It then went away as fast as it came. 
I have been walking with my neighbor Cathy, 3 to 4 times a week at 3+ miles each time.  I do so much better when I walk with someone. 

This is my last week before classes begin and I have been savoring it. The classes I am taking are creative writing, federal income taxes and intro to forensic science.  It all can be interesting.  I picked up my textbooks today and the creative writing has no book to use, he must be going to hand out printouts.  I am amazed at how much textbooks cost.  They do offer used, and rental and eversion.  I have a hard time parting with my books, sometimes I do refer back to them, so I just out and out buy them with the option of selling them back. My two books cost over $400.00, that is just unbelievable. 

I am sorry it took me so long to post...I was out having fun.  Thanks for checking in on me.  I have many ideas to post about now.  Sometimes I get kinda stagnant especially when I am busy.