All the world's a stage -William Shakespeare (As You Like It 2/7)

Continuing my education in digital Art. This is my latest ATC for Paperwhimsy.  The theme was All the world's a stage.

Digital Art

I'm continuing my lessons in digital art. Monday is my lesson day. Today I learned to add a floor and make a silhouette out of an object.

Have a great day!

More Digital Art!

The weather here is pleasant and balmy.  The water in the swimming pool however is freezing.  I took a dip yesterday and much to my surprise the heater had not been put on.


I've been spending some time downsizing my junk and I am getting bogged down. So today I'm taking an art day and am continuing my education in digital art from Rande Hanson at Paperwhimsy. I'm loving what I am learning. Today I erased the background of an old plate and added it to a garden.

I also learned to duplicate layers and add drop shadows.

Hope all is going well in your corner of the world!!

Happy Halloween!

   We don't get into Halloween like the folks up north and I kind of miss that.   So keeping with the orange color theme I give you an orange sunrise from our beach.

                                   Hope everybody has a great trick or treat day!

Creative Connections, Minnesota.

I was very fortunate to attend The Creative Connection Event in Minneapolis.  Besides learning valuable information on how the craft world operates, seeing some very original artwork, meeting some of the most amazing women, and being treated to many goodies and eye candy, I was able to participate in a couple of classes.  I thought I would shake things up a bit and take something I knew nothing about.  That would be The Folk-Art Portrait Painting by the delightful and talented Laurie Meseroll.  That is her dipping her brush in the paint with her attentive students around her.

And here was my work in progress.  I found I really enjoyed having a paint brush in my hand again!

I also enjoyed a little sight-seeing.  It took two days to do the Mall of America.  Junk Bonanza was fantastic!  And I was able to fit in some bird watching.

The most relaxing part of the trip was a side-trip to Duluth.  I wanted to see Lake Superior.  It was the prettiest blue that day.  I discovered a mansion on the lake and took a tour.  There was a mansion, a gardener's cottage, a boat house and carriage house.  Such a beautiful peaceful place on a mid-September afternoon.

Glennsheen  Mansion

Flowers in the Gardens

Saying good-bye to Oliver.

     God gives us love. Something to love

         He lends us; but when love is grown

      To ripeness, that on which it throve

          Falls off, and love is left alone.

                                                              Alfred Tennyson

It was with great sadness we had to say good-bye to Oliver.  He developed a saddle thrombosis causing paralysis of his legs with congestive heart failure.  We always knew he was living on borrowed time.  He was born with congenital heart failure and severe allergies. He wasn't quite 2 years old.  He loved being the center of attention and we called him Oliver the Frolicker. He is sorely missed.

Portland, Oregon

I was very fortunate to have a week of perfect weather.  After the heat of south Florida the 70 degree weather in Oregon was very refreshing. The skies were clear and blue!  I was able to slip away to take a couple of classes at a terrific store called Collage.  Check it out!  It has everything you need for a variety of collage projects!

My favorite class was making a small collage for a glass tile pendant. Here are the two I made:

I tend to like the unusual.  I could show you pictures of Mt. Hood, which was very pretty.  But you can get those from any travel sight.  Here are some of the things I enjoyed:

Caught this bicycle outside Powell's City of Books.  Even if you don't like books, you have to see it to believe it!

        An arty fence in the arty neighborhood of Alberta where one of the Collage stores is located.                    

                                                                                                                       Interesting birdhouse.

And for something I just thought was pretty:

                          The backyard of a florist shop in the village of Multnomah! Love that birdhouse!

Will post about some of my finds at the antique stores next post!

Have a great week!

ATC

I just returned from Portland Oregon yesterday.  What a great place! Will be posting all about it!  First things first.  I did this ATC for the ATC group at Paperwhimsy. What a great group of Artists!

Tatting

I love vintage textiles.  I especially like old tatting, lace and embroidery.  I usually look for inexpensive damaged goods that can be incorporated into mixed media.  I just picked up this hankie on e-bay.  I tried to learn tatting but I really didn't quite pick it up.  I admire those that can.  On this piece not only do I admire the tatting, I find the hem to be a bit unusual.

 I'm going to be traveling to Portland in Oregon this week.  I'll be there 10 days and I hope I will be able to do a little antique mall shopping.  I hear the temperature might go down to 59 degrees.  I sure hope so!  I haven't had a breath of cool air in months. I hope to post from there, but if not I'll be back in two weeks.  Hope you are having good weather in your corner of the world!

Hollywood Beach

My lovely girls came back for a visit with their Mom and Dad.  We had a very pleasant week.  The water was calm and even though it's been very hot here there was a slight breeze.  We rented a surrey on the broadwalk and had a lot of fun with a brief stop at the playground.  Besides swimming, visiting local eateries and catching up on events, Isabel (just turned 5) kept me company making jewelry, painting and playing dominoes Cuban style.  I was never blessed with my own children but between my husband and myself we have ten godchildren and many nieces and nephews.  One of my favorite quotes from Brian Andreas  is

"There are lives I can imagine without children but none have the same laughter & noise."

Have a great day!

Digital Art

I have decided to try making some digital art.  This is my first effort.  I purchased the elementary images from Paperwhimsy  and followed the tutorial written by Rande Hanson for Paperwhimsy. You can learn more about Rande at her blog r2artstudio.  It is a lot easier than I thought it would be and can hardly wait to try some more.

Children!

Life is getting back to normal. I am back to work three days a week in a physician's office and I am finally allowing myself time for my art.  I just finished reading the The Artistic Mother: A Practical Guide to Fitting Creativity into Your Life by Shona Cole.  You do not need to be a mother to appreciate this book.  Her advice on making time, setting goals, and breaking up projects into smaller steps so the project can be completed in a limited amount of time is invaluable. My friends at PaperWhimsy know what I'm talking about.  I'm always the last or near the last to finish a project.  Since I love photography, I found her concise tutorial on taking great pictures rewarding.  Children can be difficult to photograph and she has plenty of advice on catching that great shot!  Here is a portrait of my newest godchild Sophia who came to stay with her mom, nanna, and sister Isabel.

Catch Up!

Well so much for good intentions!  I had a bit of bad luck this last month. My cat Oliver went into congestive heart failure just as we were getting ready to go on our 25th wedding anniversary trip.  Oliver is recovering nicely but we had to cancel our trip for the second time this year.  Maybe next year!  I 'm thrilled Oliver made it through.  He is such a joy!

Winged things!

 

PaperWhimsy Flower ATC

Latest ATC for my favorite people at Paperwhimsy.

PaperWhimsy Word Journal Swap

  I love Journals and Handcrafted books!
  This swap was just what I needed to get myself back to making them!

For those who believe!

Happy Easter!

I managed to get up early for the Easter sunrise.  It is windy today but there are a few people on the beach waiting to celebrate the sunrise.  

There is an osprey flying over me and pelicans in the distance.  Every year  there is a group of people being baptized.  This year there is only a few.  It is a quiet morning.   

                                                                 Have a Blessed Day!

Bicycling

Before I could drive I used a bicycle.  I enjoyed riding my bike all over town.  Now I need to exercise and a stationary bike is just not doing it for me.  Last week I decided to try the bicycle again on the broadwalk at Hollywood Beach.   There is a place where one can rent all kinds of bikes from a half hour up to a week.  I started with the half hour on this lovely Sedona Giant.  After a shakey beginning I began to relax and enjoy the view.   It was very enjoyable.

Today I went for an hour.  It wasn't difficult at all.  The sound of the waves, the fresh sea air and the tourists strolling along made it a most rewarding experience. The weather has been terrific.  My intention is to continue.  If I continue long enough I will consider buying my own bike. Not only have I lowered my blood pressure,  I have lost weight.  If you haven't been on a bicycle in a while I heartily recommend it!

Another lovely Sunday!

Yesterday we went for breakfast at a hotel on the beach.  It was surprisingly not that expensive.  We sat outside watching walkers, runners, bicyclists and the ocean.  There were sparrows chirping and a very bold female starling.  We watched her swoop down, grab a brown sugar packet from the container on the empty table next to us and settle on the back of the chair.  She carefully pecked the packet open and helped herself to the sweet morsels inside.  No one seemed to be bothered by it.  I applauded her resourcefulness.

 After breakfast we headed for the flea market at the Hollywood dog track.  Steve likes to buy produce there and I love to frequent the many vendors that are selling their antiques and other oddities.  This weekend there is a table surrounded by women picking through used clothing.  I take a look.  But there is nothing for me.  The next table is more promising.  There is a large mug that I think would be great for cleaning my watercolor brushes in.  Much prettier than the glass mayonnaise jar that I have been using. She also has interesting jewelry and some old linens. I settle on the mug and move on.  

Sunday Morning

 The best part of this beach can be the sunrise!

And the winner is Mischa!

Please visit her blog at  www.pluk-de-dag.fr/ .   Her photography is beautiful and you get to see a
little piece of France!  Congratulations Mischa!

One World One Heart Finale

It is with a little bit of sadness that the OWOH giveaway has come to an end.  Thank you to all that left me a comment and became a follower.  I am so very thankful.  I have notified the winner and am waiting for her reply.

And a huge THANK YOU to Lisa Swifka, creator and host to ONE WORLD ONE HEART at  awhimsicalbohemian.typepad.com .  Her time and work to pull this project off this year is much appreciated.

Again, THANK YOU everyone!

Talk to you later!

One World One Heart

Hi! I've just joined One World One Heart! It is a fantastic way to meet other bloggers. It was started by Lisa Swifka in 2007. If you would like to join or find out more go to awhimsicalbohemian.typepad.com

Welcome to my blog! This is a new blog and I am learning as I go. Please say Hello if you get a chance and please drop by again when I'll have more to share.

If you are interested in entering the giveaway see below.

Thanks for stopping by!

This is a necklace made with an exquisitely hand crocheted flower rescued from a tattered vintage collar. I love rescuing old textiles and finding new uses for them.

If you are interested in entering the giveaway you must leave a comment to be eligible to win. Please leave a link back to you or leave an email address so you can be contacted if you should win. One comment per person. Contest ends Noon EST on Feb 15. I will use a random generator to pick the winner and I will leave a post and contact the winner on the eve of the 15Th.

Good Luck! And thanks for stopping by!

For the love of Cats!

I'm a cat lover. As are many artists. This is Luigi and Oliver (above), two of my three cats hastily acquired after the death of my other three cats. My other cats died of old age and the ailments that accompany it. But they all decided to go over the course of a year. Heartsick and missing my furry friends, I adopted a stray and then two feral kittens rather hastily. I heartily recommend adopting two kittens instead of one. These are brothers. They are so much fun and entertain each other and us constantly.

Take some time!

It's been a busy week. The weather has warmed up and I try to grab an hour here and there to sit under a palm tree, read, and listen to the ocean. So relaxing. I didn't always live near the ocean. I lived in a house with a simple backyard. There was a birdbath and a hammock. I used to lie in that hammock in the back yard, read, look up into the trees and listen to the birds. And there were times when there was no backyard. A blanket in the park did just fine. I don't make much time now for such luxuries but I am trying to change that. I hope that you do too.

It's cold outside!

A little chicory coffee and a few beignets from Cafe du Monde in New Orleans to warm you up. A favorite place of mine and a must for anyone visiting New Orleans.

Welcome to my blog!

I'm not much of a writer or a talker. Like many photographers I'm an observer and a collector. I collect moments, memories, stories, beauty, ugliness, the bizarre, and all kinds of other things that I find interesting. Today, I collected a moment. The sun was setting behind me, but the clouds in front of me caught the color of the sunset. And so I start 2010 with a pretty moment to share.