Memory Quilt

In the mornings, right after I get up and of course after feeding the cats, I work on this quilt.  If I just work an hour a day I get so much done.  The latest work has been on embroidering the bottom border.  If you wonder what the story is behind this quilt please go to the top of the blog under the banner and click into the page "CJD and the quilt".

The next part I need to address is filling in the area with the last hearts. Unfortunately I never have a problem coming up with names to add to my quilt. 

I will be tracing, writing and embroidering for the next few weeks. 

It's so comforting to see progress on this.

Thanks for stopping. 

Poppy Buds

A multi medium picture I was painting today.  It has 3 dimensional elements made with Styrofoam-redi wrap and plaster of paris.  They were fun to make and weigh next to nothing.  It is on artist wrapped 10 X 10 canvas and the sides will be painted also and it will be ready to hang.

I hope you liked.

Thanks for finding your way to my place. 

Chairs

I have been doing some drawing throughout the day.  Chairs with shadows...Each of these chairs are special to us.  A special neighbor gave us this chair that he did the seat weaving.

My Mother picked this Windsor chair up while on vacation somewhere.  It is very comfortable to sit in.  I love the wide seat.

Another one of my Mother's chairs she picked up somewhere.  It's a smaller chair and  has pretty details.  I thought it was called a thumbnail chair because the back curves like your thumb. 
Tomorrow they will be painted with watercolors.

Check back later....thanks so much for stopping. 

Happy Valentines Day-2015



Sharing the valentines I made for my guys.  I think it's ironic that my stamped you're purrfect is not straight.  The image is from Art Impressions.  It's a front-back.  I love Valentines Day because there is a lot of red, a lot of hearts and a bunch of chocolate!

Used some Washi Tape and punches on this card.  .

The paper I used for this was Noir et Chic. Here I found a little video that just shows all the papers in this pack.  There is something out there for everything!
The back of the cat amuses me

Here is Tom's card. I saw a card on Pinterest that I liked and copied some elements from it.  The scroll stamp is from Autumn Leaves.  I tried to find a link for you and I believe they have closed.  Many places sell the stamps though if you just search for it on the internet. The little hearts are a punch I have.

More Washi tape to guide your eyes across the card.  The owl is from Art Impressions and the sentiment and heart are Taylored Expressions.  There are so many wonderful stamps out there that I just pick and choose from many, many companies. 

On Sam's card I used Taylored Expression paint strokes along with star and heart punches and it's all on craft paper.

We always loved the story of Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare growing up.  I would always end the night with "I love you to the Moon and back", and he would one up me and say....Pluto!  I punched out a yellow circle for the moon and the punched a piece out of it to make the half moon.  The sentiment is an A Muse stamp.  The paper is from Glitz and it is just called Black and White.  It's nice and heavy with a double sided design. 

I hope you have a sweet and wonderful Valentines Day!

Thanks so much for stopping....from the bottom of my heart. 

God Doesn't Blink-Lesson 27

 

 

Always Choose Life

 

 

The Author Regina Brett starts this lesson out talking about the Walden by Henry David Thoreau.  She read this book while in tenth grade and a passage she remembers to this day is this:

 

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear."

 

 

Regina had two big things happen in her life that confirmed that choosing life is the best choice.  When she was 21 she found out she was pregnant and when she was 41 she found out she had cancer.  Of course her daughter was one of the best things that ever happened to her.  In her private world insider herself she felt joy at becoming a Mom and feeling that a new life is growing inside her. 

 

When she had cancer and was about ready to have treatments she wondered to herself  "maybe I won't take the treatments."  She liked feeling that way, having that choice, but the voice inside her kept saying "Choose Life".

 

When she has a decision to make like this she asks herself "what is the most life enhancing choice to make?

 

These things were one of the best things that could have happened to her.  Life took her down a path she didn't want to be on, but on those paths she realized the secret to life is to Choose Life. 

 

 

Living is so dear. 

 

I never read Walden....I am going to have to get it. 

 

Thanks for stopping by. 

 

 



Flying Lessions (not the usual :)

I invested in my Creative Business recently.  I decided to learn from the highly successful Kelly Rae Roberts and bought her tips and tricks book.  So far it has been very interesting and helpful, I am on page 54.  Along with this book I was invited into a private facebook site for only buyers of the book.  I am not totally in yet but I am looking forward to the experience. 


I bought her book "Taking Flight" a few years ago.  It was my first introduction to mixed media.  I refer back to it constantly.
Please Keep checking back to give me a bump of support on this new journey.

 

suncatchers

When I was in Noblesville in October this lovely suncatcher had to come home with me.  My studio gets a huge amount of sun from noon till around 3 p.m. on sunny days. I loved the curvy lines and the two colors for the sun.

Angie my niece gave this as a birthday gift.  We both have a love of cardinals and I also enjoy the cow bell.  This will be fun when the windows get opened in a few months.  The red glass is so pretty!  Thank you so much Angie dear!

Thanks for stopping!

Projects

 

I found this very simple video on mitering quilt corners.  Mitered corners are such a nice touch.

I build my art projects.  First it is an idea, then I sketch it out and then gather the materials.  Most of the time I don't use a pattern.  What I pictured for this piece is an outdoor scene appliqued onto the base.  I wanted lots of texture with the more primitive, woven fabric in the first border.  I like borders on my quilts, they define area and add interest.  The bottom of the base are layers of earth, the middle area has many neutral fabrics sewn together where I plan to applique a tree and leaves and whatever strikes my fancy along with embroidering words.  The top is the sky and a sun will be added in that area.  I am planning  to have a lot of hand quilting. 

I found a little quilt in these colors on Pinterest.  It was very simple 3 inch blocks.  So I again just went into my fabrics and found some that would work.  I like the pattern of the outside border.  It would add so much interest on someone's wall. I always pick patterned fabric on my quilts.  Plain fabric is ho hum, even if it is colored. 

This is going to be a couple of multimedia pictures. There will be poppies painted on them with some dimensional elements added.  They are on 10 X 10, artist wrapped canvas with the sides painted ready to be hung on the wall.  More patterns with the paper. 

My Mom's sewing machine.  She bought it maybe a year before she passed away.  I have had to learn to use it because my inexpensive little J.C. Penney machine became problematic.  My Mom passed away in 1997 but I couldn't make myself open it up.  She sewed all the time and was very tickled with this machine.  It made me sad thinking about using it.  I have since gotten over this and am enjoying her machine slowly figuring out what is what.  

I dropped my Nikon camera a few weeks ago and the lens jammed.  I made do with my phone but I love my DSLR camera.  The new lens came yesterday and I am glad to have the camera working again. 

Fingers crossed that everything keeps working now.

Till next time....

Happy February!

Here is the February Picture on my Charley Harper calendar.  Sweet Owl Faces in a heart.
February brings lots of good things.

Kevin's 21st birthday is in February.  I had taken him to a hunting class in October and this bug decided to land on his shoulder.  I snapped a shot before we shoo'd it away. 

February brings Valentines Day.  Sharing my Valentine Tree with its red lights. 

I love hearts.

I love red.

A leather heart and a glass heart.

My newest heart from my sister.  I also love freedom....
and chocolate. 
I love making valentines and receiving valentines. 
I would love a valentine from you....

February brings snow!  We are waiting for a large snowstorm today.  The predictors are telling us 10 to 15 inches.  We will know when it is done.  One of my two new snowmen that I received this season.  He has a shiny hat, and looks like a birch tree with two little red birds sitting on his arms.  Sweet, sweet face!



The second wonderful snowman I received from my sister-in-law.
He also has a shiny hat and his carrot nose is crooked.  I love him.   

She had to find out for herself that is was snowy out.  I didn't take her long to realize it really wasn't where she wanted to be. 

Looking a little perturbed down there on the cold cement. 

It quickly became an emergency to get inside. 
  I love the anticipation of a good snow...bring it on! 

Brought out my bright and shiny heart for the front door. 

19 more days until Spring Training begins.  Making it to February gives you hope that better times are to come.  Baseball, pool opening, green grass and the sound of the birds. 

I also have plans to go see a play my niece is in and a stamping date with my friends.  We have such good times together. 

May you receive a heart shaped box of chocolates for Valentines Day. 

watching tv



Lily has developed a major infatuation with the fish bowl.  I used to have it on the fireplace but moved it for Christmas and have it by the kitchen sink.  I put that metal lid on top of it because it scares her when she knocks it off.  It makes a terrible racket and also it alerts me to her shenanigans. 

I feed the fish after I feed the cats and it got to the point where she would hear me take the lid off and open the fish food.  She would stop eating and run over and jump on the counter to watch. 

We don't let her stay on the counter. 

I pull up a tall stool so she can sit and watch.  That's where we say she is watching tv. 

Tom found her sitting in the sink because it was the perfect level for her to watch the fish.  She gets real excited when they swim to the top to eat the food. 

No room up here for the fish bowl now. 

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She is such a lovely girl. 



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Found a couple of cute cartoons. 

Thanks for stopping!

Goodbye Smoke

Two weeks ago we had to have our old and sick cat euthanized.  That is such a hard decision to make.  One day more than twenty years ago I had a cat that had diabetes his fur would rip off, then it would heal again.  I asked my mother in law (who loved animals also) how do I make this decision.? She said "you will know when it is time".  No truer words had been spoken and I can always hear her saying that to me especially this time.  Smoke was Kevin's cat.  He would hop up with him and sleep.  When it got to the point where he couldn't jump up then he would meow and Kevin would bring him up on the bed.  I could not make a fast decision on this one, I had to let Kevin get used to the idea, and we had known he was sick for about a year.  I feel he had renal failure as a lot of older cats get. 

When Smoke was young and Kevin was 4, I would see them in the back yard and Smoke would be chasing him and smacking his legs for reasons only Smoke knows. 

Smoke showed up at the front door one day, and he had a really pretty face and he stuck around.  Of course eventually I fed him, then eventually he made his way into the house, then eventually he jump up on the furniture and that was it, he made his home. 

He was a very unassuming, quiet cat with a very soft meow.  Inside he had  steel determination  though and he would get what he wanted.

He used to love Halloween and he would lay down in the middle of the sidewalk so that every kid that came trick or treating had to stop and pet him.  "Oh look! a cat !"

He was a cheap shot artist also.  A neighborhood cat ventured into our yard one day.  Stonewall and Sebastian were mixing it up with him.  It looked like the cartoons, fur flying, all three were entangled in a ball spinning around.  Finally everything quiets down and then here comes Smoke running in to throw a cheap shot to the alien cat.  Then he walks away saying "there, that should do it"!

When finally Smoke, couldn't eat, drink or walk I said "Kevin it's time".  He has no quality of life anymore, this is not fair to Smoke. 

It's been a long time since I have had to euthanize an animal.  All my animals have had long lives.  There are so many choices that can be done with the family pets now. 

We chose the package, told the vets office and Smoke came home in this nice carrying bag.

 

They made a clay paw print  and it came in this paw print bag.

This was very touching and we love it.

Such the cute tissue paper.

Smokes remains are in this little wooden box with his name engraved and paw prints.
Kevin could not stand the thought of his ashes mixed in with any other cats.

Here he is in a cellophane bag tied with a raffia ribbon. 

We got a little book where we can put down memories and some of his fur was included. 

Here is my painting "Three on a Wall".  That's Smoke in the middle.  He is also on my banner in the "Party Time" painting. 

Here he is in October of 2013 right after the baby Sophie came to live with us.  I think she is about ready to pounce.

Rest in Peace, our dear 19 year old Smoke.  May you be running around with Gretchen our German Shepherd.  They were such Buddies.

Charley Harper

In the mail the other day my Dear friend Leah sent this Charley Harper Calendar to me.  I am over the top loving it.  She recently moved to Cincinnati to be near her daughter and grandchildren. Charley Harper, who is now deceased, was from Cincinnati.  My friend Leah is also known for liking ladybugs and I sent her a tile that had been made from a Charley Harper painting that was a ladybug along with information about him, he now has become one of her favorite artists also!  She found this at a Wild Birds Unlimited store and picked it up and sent it to me.  There is not one thing that he designed that I don't love. As you can probably tell he is very geometrical which adds such interest and originality to his work. 

Along with it came these great stickers.  See the ladybug?  That is what the tile looked like.  It was probably 4X4. 

This page is made from his Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Poster.

Here is a tile mosaic wall in the courthouse in Cincinnati.

This one is his painting called "Friends of our Families".



Thank you so much Leah, it was a day brightener!