Artful Journey

 A snowy Saturday with record 24 hour snowfall of 22 inches was the perfect day to catch up on some card making. It all started with a snowflake! A variety of cards and a variety of techniques  I was trying to catch up on some mail exchanges and made great progress. I love these stamps from Spellbinders. I experimented with alcohol inks a while back. I couldn’t figure out how to use the results but I kept the sheets in my stash. It made the perfect wintry background. I also played around with color layering of paper which is great color wheel practice. Some navy and white paper for die cuts, watercolor practice and some brush and pointed pen calligraphy and I was almost finished. While I was enjoying myself with art, Eugene and Eoghan tackled the snow removal. The snowblower helped  The kids bought Eugene a snowblower almost 5 years ago. At the time he didn’t think he needed it, but he has grown to love it! Our neighbors refer to it as the gift that keeps on giving. I tho...

Mild weather means putting some bulbs in the ground. It is  65 ° outside, so perfect for a little gardening.  Into the soil they went,  8 virichic tulips (late spring), 5 double late Dream touch (late spring), 20 large cupped Narcissus (mid spring) and leading the charge, wildflower mix tulips (early spring). They are nestled in. If you plant them, they will come.... And if you write me, I promise to write back. Though I must admit, my letter writing list is getting longer! And did I mention I love it!! Big props to my penpal Janet for introducing me to  Art Cover Exchange , which "promotes art, philately, friendship and correspondence among its members" I have already gotten some great mail and been introduced to some really interesting people. Through the mail slot! I really can't wait to see what the mailman brings every day! And of course, I have to reciprocate, so I have added that to Pushing the Envelope Exchange with Jean Wilson. That was my first ...

A very windy Monday, maybe that will help some of my Halloween mail get carried along... sugar skull I thought I wouldn't have much use for the eclipse stamps after August, but they are great for Halloween. Witches brew, with eyeball of Newt Of course the pumpkin stamps are great...and I am a lover of whimsy, so.. Time to unwrap a Reese's The wind is howling outside my window, and the temperatures are dropping, and trees down. My lilac tree took a hit There is one small section of my lilac tree still standing. Hopefully it will survive. Waiting to see what happens with a few small blooms. Autumn rose And we will see if this skeleton manages to hold on tight.. and hopefully the dragon won't take flight... until after Halloween night! Happy hallow's eve..Happy Monday!

Well, it's autumn in New England, and that means trees... Beautiful, glorious color... Where does that road lead? But first did I mention the weather? This is late October, right? Going back old school, with one of my favorite groups and songs...you make my dreams come true...an outside temperature of 82 degrees! Wow, perfect  dream weather for the extended season of... Apple picking! Another favorite tradition, and we thought we might have been too late, but luckily no, still plenty on the trees for picking, apple cider donuts at the farm stand, and a pumpkin for future carving... That's what I'm talking about! In the meantime, lots of baking...Sunday, Apple Turnovers,  Apple Cinnamon Scones, and on Monday a Apple cobbler... Recipe from King Arthur flour...yum In no time, we may be tired of apples and apple treats, but enjoying them now... Breakfast... and a reminder of some of the Best days ever, apple picking! Once the baking was finishe...

Hello, watercolor.  It's been a while since I pulled out my watercolors. I forgot how much fun it is. Watercolor hi Bittersweet  vines remind me of fall, and so does this tiny little leaf I found on my walk this morning. Some of the mail I have received include 2 great ones from Jean. black and white fun lettering This was black and white when I received it, which I loved. I had it sitting on my desk for a while, and decided I would color it in. I think it looks great both ways, and plan on using her design on an envelope in the future. What is the formula here? Not sure, but an awesome idea. I loved how unique this envelope is. Jean always has some fabulous ideas; this one will take some time and effort to copy...so, it will be a while before I am up for the challenge. Hands down, these are the best stamps I ever received on an envelope! If it is possible to absolutely love postage stamps, then I absolutely love these.    Letters mingle souls is the...

Routine, not always easy when you get thrown a curve ball, and once you are out of that routine, it can be tough to restart. So in an attempt to maintain, I am staying small. Blogging and posting to instagram at least once a week hopefully will help me stay a little creative. At some point, when things level off, I will try to expand my creative pursuits.  What I have found is blogging works really well, because I've established a personal connection with people, and that is something I really enjoy. I love all of the ideas I get from blogging, instagram and pinterest. instagram I love Bluebeard and Elizabeth's blog, for the content and the people I have been introduced to through it. I look forward to posting to T stands for.. and reading other people's entries and gaining a glimpse into their world. My T stands for is my tardy entry of my breakfast this morning. homemade... I just read an article about how instagram is determining the menu and design choices ...

There's a whole lotta tweeting going on...and it goes on and on...it reminds me of that Crystal Gayle song, Talkin' in your sleep...though the song, goes "Three o'clock in the morning and it looks like it's going to be another sleepless night..In actuality, it's more like 4:30 am for the birds outside my window. Now, you've heard the early bird catches the worm, and the saying was first recorded in John Ray's Collection of English Proverbs, 1670, 1678. I guess the birds have been singing in the morning for ages. Although, the worm may not have much to do with it. Song birds are primarily males attempting to attract a mate or protect their territory, and blue birds are among the loudest.  Match.com, for the birds, I'd say! The Crescendo outside my window Perched, cacophony persistent, clamorous cheeps ceaseless tweets - then beeps I think they finally start to quiet down, when the alarm goes off. Bluebird card...ready to go out. ...

Fun mail came in this past week. The pushing the envelope challenge always gives me something to look forward to. from the two Jeans! Jean R. had lettered a quote from Mary Oliver, one of my favorite poets. Her copperplate was exquisite..and the love stamp worked perfectly. White lettering on the love stamp and white lettering on the blue envelope, very clever.  Jean W., who organizes, runs and masterminds the Pushing the Envelope exchange sent me a lovely envelope, lettered in white, and accented with colored pencils. I loved the owl stamps she used. Basketball Susan used my name to expand the basketball stamp to the edge of the envelope (right in time for the NBA draft). As a basketball/Celtics/Kevin Garnett, AB, IT Brad Stevens fan, this was perfect for me. Janet's envelope is underneath, love the gold accents on the blue lettering. Even more special was the card she enclosed of her painting, Boat on a Beach in Ireland. Janet's watercolor This could rank with...

Here's a post I meant to put up before I went on my vacation. Technically it's not a 2nd post, more like a second attempt at a post. I am hoping that's close enough for Bluebeard and Elizabeth's Second on the 2nd. It must be Spring...so I used flowers as a theme for the envelope exchange. Here's three for the Pushing the Envelope Exchange. It's my usual style, although I did try to coordinate the postage with the design, as well as the card inserted. I wanted to do a few different varieties too, just to mix it up. The envelope to Jean started in black and white, though it seemed a little blah, so I added some colored pencil but kept it muted. Faux lace, but next time I will use a ruler. For Faye, I used one of my rubber stamps. A pet stamp would have coordinated nicely, maybe next time. Plenty of outside inspiration too! Around my garden... Wishing you a sun filled, fun filled, mail box filled kind of day!