Not an angst-ridden sculptor!

Art of Craft | Peter Kiss from Resolve Design on Vimeo.

I was intrigued by the work of Peter Kiss.    My favorite of his pieces - red red fish - entitled "We've got the paddles - where's the creek?" 

July 2011 Quilter's Calendar

July 2011 Calendar (as if you didn't recognize it!)

My 7th in a series of 12 calendar pages ready to be downloaded.  Just go to my Flickr page - actions - choose size to download - right click - set as background - enjoy! 

I'm a couple of days early, but I finished some of the house cleaning and just had to play.  The background is a quilt made by my good friend Ethel Moore.  I love her Americana quilt and am happy to find a good use for it here on my computer (since she won't let me have the real thing) she at least is helping me keep the spirit! 

When one or two (books) just isn't enough ~

A friend gave me some of her green and red cotton velvet this week and I couldn't wait to get it home and put  in one of my book covers!  Stitched with lime green thread.....lime is a neutral, isn't it? 

And as if that wasn't enough books.  It's just as easy to be painting on one as it is two and sometimes easier to be painting on three at the same time.  Duh!!! Paint has to dry in between coats.....

My inspiration picture - taken in my back garden.   This little garden angel sits in a displaced chair behind the potting shed  and ponders what each day might bring - and without fail - gives me great pleasure as I round the corner each morning with my coffee cup in hand.   I continue to allow  the simplest of things fill my life with joy!

Asterisk Quilt update

The asterisk quilt is finished.  It's bound, measured, described, photographed, priced and ready to ship.
Are you looking for a fresh modern quilt?  Here's one looking for a home.   Yes, it's for sale!

Coneflower - printed on fabric

......x 4 - ready to put into fabric covered book/journals!

I've been wandering ~

Finished a few quilt projects this week but, thankfully, we had rain so picture-taking was delayed!



Linked ~ Mod Table Topper





Linked ~ Highway # 1

 



Down Mockingbird Hill!

Click on pic to enlarge and grin with me!

~ When the sun in the morning peeps over the hill

           And kisses the roses 'round my windowsill

Then my heart fills with gladness when I hear the trill
Of the birds in the treetops on Mockingbird Hill

                                      tra-la-la twiddly-dee-dee-dee it gives me a thrill
                                     To wake up in the morning to the mockingbird's trill


                   Tra-la-la twiddly-dee-dee there's peace and goodwill
                   You're welcome as the flowers on Mockingbird Hill ~


Guess what???  Kitty isn't feeling the 'peace and goodwill' !

Summer Salad - A Recipe



cucumber and mango


A favorite summer salad at the Mason dinner table - very simply - chopped cucumber and mango....no dressing required.  I chop early in the afternoon and let the cucumber and mango bond.  They fall in love within a few hours.  Serve up on a chilled salad plate or in a martini glass sans the liquor!  It's delicious. 

We'll serve it up with baked tilapia and I'm thinking egg noodles.  No, then perhaps green beans or broccoli.

One-of-a-kind journal cover

Her name is Collette



And she's gorgeous!




A pretty lady in a smart hat!





My inspiration picture....



You see, I know this is an original one-of-a-kind.  I have a friend who has a daughter whose name is Jody Collette.  When I first started my fabric art card series "Pretty Ladies In Smart Hats" and finished my thread sketching, I immediately named this one Collette.  I thought the resemblance was striking.  I've since sold this card, but retained the rights to the pictures.  So, now I've thoroughly enjoyed painting Collette yesterday and today for my newest journal cover.   Slide back up and take another look!  You may even click to enlarge -

artist's collage in sepia - part II

I added additional layers in photoshop - that's why it's called sepia - part II

 The elements of this collage ~


mannequin in the street market in Orvieto





Billboard in Rome



Santa Giovanni poster at San Lodovico Convent

 

Coliseum in Rome

  


Paint brushes in glass jar at home




DJ Pettitt "Paint" Texture







































artist's collage in sepia

Painting with Brushes

linked to lisa gordon photograpy "the creative exchange"

Here's looking at you Saturday morning!

One of my favorite places to visit ~ It's A Field Trip ~

Field Tripping the Web....that is.

And Vicki has included my newest handmade journal.  Oh, the inspiration she provides from so many wonderful sources....and it's right at my click-the-mouse-fingertips.  And yours too.  Go take a field trip compliments of Vicki.  Merci beaucoup, Vicki! 

Double Yellow Line....

I didn't want to pass, I just wanted to get over to the other side!!

In and Around Port Townsend

In and around Port Townsend....a feast for the eyes....everywhere I went!

Bernina Foot!

"paint outside the lines" journal pages

An image of a weathered rail fence sewn into the scroll-like fabric

I grabbed this painted fabric from a friend's trash can!  Yes.....I'm not the only one who paints outside the lines.....difference is she didn't know what to do with her finished painting!

image of concrete statute that houses a cluster of mums (not visible) in my garden

drippy paint on watercolor paper .... enhanced with cardboard toilet tissue roll dipped in paint

Yes...it was a cheap thrill!

A few pages from my newest book - not yet finished but already named

"pAINT oUTSiDE tHE LiNEs"

Dingy to Divine!

You see, when I need fresh containers, I make my Santa Fe Stew recipe - 'cause I can get at least six new ones as I dump each can into the biggest pot in the house. 

Then, once I get the pot simmering (an all day affair), some tough decisions have to be made!
Do I punch holes in the bottom of the cans?  When I do that, then the containers have to be used to repot.....
a leaf from my Christmas cactus. 

Or Autumn Joy Sedum....or coleus or....impatients...or sage, or.... the list goes on and on.  I love repotting snippets to easily delight my own windowsill or pass along to others. 

But back to that tough decision.  If I leave the bottom of the can intact, then it becomes the perfect foil for my next flower arrangement!  Now is this not divine!

Or, another tough decision:  Before I do all that, do I play around with the can label in photoshop!

Do I need to tell you that it's been a full fun-filled morning? 

Now, I'm off to find that Santa Fe Stew recipe again!  Oh, here it is.  This is one of those plan-ahead dishes.  It's enough for dinner tonight, then there's plenty to freeze to have ready for unexpected (or expected) company! 

Window Dressing: These are a few of my favorite things!