Check this out!

I was reading blogs this morning and discovered this link on my friend Chia's blog. It is called The Graphics Fairy. Free vintage images and graphics! Take a look!! Loads of cool stuff!!

And, on the left side of the blog is an easy reference to find just the image you want! They are all categorized by kind of image.

You must check this out!

P.S. I have changed the link above for the Graphics Fairy. The one I had there was incorrect. You should now get to the right page. Sorry about that!!

The Virginia Trip was loads of fun!!

Here is my little princess, Kara! She wanted a Princess Mega Castle for her 4th birthday and here she is at the entrance to her castle!

Here is her little brother, Ryan. He is so cute! And a DEFINITE 2 year old! But I get such a kick out of him!Here we are inside the Princess Mega Castle! We look "pink" because of the fabric. But we were having a great time playing inside the castle. To give you an idea of how large this is, the entire family was able to sit inside comfortably and play with Legos and blocks. I had a ball this entire trip! We did a lot of watercolor painting together, playing with the Thomas the Tank Engine cars and trains, watching lots of movies about Dora the Explorer, Thomas and Little Einstein. Next trip I think Grandma is going to send a box of dress up clothes and we will have a dress up show for mom and dad! My daughter-in-law, Laura, does some volunteer work in her community. She is keeping records and checking on the bluebird population around their home. Laura took me with her to see the bluebird houses and check on nests. She records all this information in a binder and it is reported to the Bluebird Society in Virginia. There is some concern that the bluebirds nesting habits are being disrupted by other more agressive birds. These birdhouses keep those birds out and allow the bluebirds to nest without being bothered by larger birds.

Here is a peek inside one of the nesting boxes. You can see mama bluebird sitting on her nest. I was surprised that the bluebird didn't fly away when Laura tapped on the box before she opened it.The bluebirds also nest in the paper boxes below mailboxes in this community. The volunteers and the coordinator put wire screens on the front of the paper box with a hole that will allow only the bluebird to enter. Laura cleaned out the nest in this box because it had been abandoned. But we did find another nest that had a recent hatchling in it and the mama bluebird was nearby waiting for us to leave so she could feed her baby -- which she did after we backed the car up and watched her enter the paper box.

On Saturday the family birthday party was held with all grandparents in attendance including a great-grandmother! Kara's grandpa, Poppa, got her this pretty princess outfit. She loved it! Here are Kara's slippers! She actually got pretty good at walking in these before I left. But they are hard to walk in -- even little Ryan was trying to walk in them! Too cute!! And, hard to believe she requested a Spiderman cake!

Laura baked the cake, Dan frosted it and Grandma put on the words and web, Laura put on the red spots and the Spiderman decorations. A real family project! Kara loved it!It sure was yummy!!

WooHoo!!!

Just got an email letting me know that "something" I submitted is going to be published in the September/October issue of Somerset Studio!!! Since I submitted 2 projects for the Halloween call and I have no idea if one or both have been chosen. Will let you know as soon as I find out!

As some of you know, one of my goals for this year was to get published in Somerset Studio. Especially since they rejected a project a couple of years ago! Made me mad! AND more determined!!

Mission accomplished!

Happy Birthday, Dan!!

Happy Birthday, Dan!!! You're the Big 30 today!! Wow!! Where does the time go?

Here you are on your first birthday! Boy! Mom looks tired! And check out the big, curly hair! Did you scare her or what??
Here you are on your second birthday with big brother Rob and Dad. Mom made this special Winnie-The-Pooh birthday cake for you because you loved Winnie-The-Pooh!One of your finer moments! Love this picture! You called this your "ugly face"! Actually, I thought it was cute!

Why couldn't I find any more birthday pictures of you? I went through my photo boxes. I just couldn't find the ones of later birthdays. I am sure they are there. Just not available to me today.

Today you turn 30 and you have two little ones of your own. I am so very proud of you!! I want to wish you the happiest of birthdays!! I will get pictures of you today! I am with you to celebrate this day! I am so very glad!

Love, Mom

Away for a while

I am headed to Virginia in the morning to visit with my grandbabies -- and, of course, my son and daughter-in-law. My son, Dan, turns 30 on the 25th and my granddaughter, Kara, turns 4 today. The big party will be on Saturday!

So, I will be blogging sporadically for the next few days. I have one blog done for my son's birthday and it will be posted on the 25th. I am taking my camera cable so I can download pictures of the party. Hope to blog a bit about the festivities while I am there.

My oldest son, Rob, has arrived here in Chandler and has "bunked" in with me for the time being. We are having fun talking, watching movies, and driving around to get him familiar with the area. He is looking for a job now and hopes to find one soon.

If you know of any place that needs a good sous chef or wait staff person, let me know! We are looking at every place and he already has a lot of applications to fill out and return now. Perhaps you know of some place that needs a good sous chef -- country club, restaurant, hotel, etc. You never know!

July's ATC swap is done!

And here are the cards I got through the swap!

The theme was "red, white and blue" and I think we got a lot of great cards! Actually, 14 people participated in the swap and there were some great cards for trading. Was glad to see a couple of new swappers -- Yasu and Tanya (Road Trip with Ruby). Every month the cards are wonderful that people turn in to trade. If you haven't joined us yet, consider doing it next month!

I'm supposed to be cleaning!

Here I sit at the computer, scanning and cropping photos, and not doing what I set out to do! Anyone else have that problem?? My son, Rob, is coming to live with me for a while. He is due to arrive on Saturday sometime. I got distracted from my main objective -- cleaning up the spare bedroom!

First of all, I have done more reorganization in the garage this morning. I moved boxes, emptied boxes, threw out broken stuff, and I think that we can now get two cars in the three car garage! Rob's car is small, so there shouldn't be a problem.

Next I moved on to cleaning up the spare room which is part craft room, part sewing room and sometime guest quarters. In picking up stuff, I found an antique photo album tucked away that I had forgotten about. So, dropping my main goal on the floor (cleaning that room!), I took out some old photos, have priced a few to take to Merchant Square and thought I would show you some of the nicer old photos in that album.

You can sure tell these two are brother and sister! Lovely curly, blond hair! Look at his "boater" hat! Love it!
I thought this couple was hansome! And they look so young!
Another brother and sister picture. I think these preschoolers are just too cute! Now that they are scanned into my computer, I can try to incorporate them into a future project.

I am going to post these three pictures on my flickr page which is here. That way you can use the old photos, too. Glad to share!!

July's ATC

The July theme for the monthly drop-off swap at Mystic Paper is "red, white and blue." I decided to do the All American Cowgirl! Fabric and paper collage. Love the ticking with the red stitching! This one's for you, Kim!!!

Musing on my backyard

As you know, I love my backyard space and the wildlife that lives there. Today I am going to share some pictures with you that I have taken over the past few days.

Monsoon rains come to the Sonoran Desert. Beginning last Thursday night, we have had a LOT of rain here. Since Sky Harbor Airport is the "official" site for Phoenix rainfall, their measurement for rain is at 3". Now that may not seem like a lot, but it is! Normally, the airport gets 3" for the entire monsoon season. This year's season has just begun! Here in Chandler, we have had at least 3 inches so far. Sunday afternoon there was a flash of lightning, followed almost immediately by the loudest crack of thunder I have heard in years! It must have stuck nearby. About 3 minutes later the sky opened up and poured rain for about 45 minutes! The sky was black!!This morning I saw this mama quail and three of her babies. They were out getting a morning snack among the lantana bushes. One of the little ones was hopping through the lantana and cannot be seen here. But the other two are visible and so cute! They are such fun to watch. If something frightens the little ones, they run for cover under mama's wings and she crouches down and spreads her wings slightly to cover them up. Precious!

This is a new batch of baby quail. The batch I photographed several weeks ago has dwindled down from 7 to just a few but they are much larger than these cuties.

Meet my nephew, Preston Sky King

Yep! You read right, Preston Sky King. My sister and brother-in-law decided on that name -- Preston was a family friend, and, of course, Sky King was one of our favorite shows when we were kids.

Preston does Civil War reenactments. He started doing that in high school and is now a good authority on the Civil War. He hopes to be able to join the park service and become a guide at a Civil War battlefield site back east. He has already obtained an application for a summer internship for next summer. I think he will get it. I am amazed at his knowledge of the Civil War. He is also very personable, easy to talk to, and very friendly. He would be a perfect guide.

Preston decided to participate in the Gettysburg reenactment that took place over the Fourth of July weekend. He flew back east from California and had a ball doing the reenactment.Preston is the only bearded one in this shot!Getting ready for a skirmish!Here is Preston in full gear. I have several pictures on my wall of group pictures of Preston's regiment in Fresno. The pics were taken with a restored camera that would have been used during the Civil War. They look very old even though they aren't.

Tomorrow's class - Mixed Media Summertime Collage

Saturday, July 12 beginning at 1:00 p.m., I am teaching this class at Mystic Paper. Today I will be spending time putting together the tools and goodies for teaching this class. There are still several spots available in this class, so if you are interested give Mystic Paper a call and sign up! It is cool and comfortable in the classroom at Mystic Paper and we will have a great time!This promises to be a lot of fun and you will learn how to use Glimmermist, see how to apply glazes to give your projects more depth and a little color, and use a few of your own summer collectibles! I encourage students to bring their own bits for the collage. It makes it so much more personal. However, I will supply a lot of things for students to use. I have a great variety!

La Mode Illustree slide mailer collage

I picked up this small slide mailer at Mystic Paper earlier this week. Decided to do a quick project with it this morning. I made this little book. Below is a peek inside the slide mailer book.
I used old images from my scrap box, pink paint, papers, fabric (the book spine cover), trim, a stamp, and Stickles. Quick to do and fun!!

Recent book discoveries

Don't ask me where I saw this on the internet. I suspect it was from Joggles.com -- I get their weekly email with all the new things they have in stock. Joggles features a lot of books as well as items for the quilter, art doll maker, sewer, special yarns, ribbons, you name it! They probably have it!! I have bought a lot from them. However. . . . I got this on Amazon.com. It is full of lovely photos of mixed media art work using vintage ephemera and finds. Instructions are offered to recreate some of the projects. In the back are several pages of clip art for the reader's use. Nice book!Another recent book find was this one. I discovered it while reviewing blogs -- in particular, Rebecca Sower's blog. That is where found the link for this book. It is full of pictures and clip art you can use in your own work. The theme of the book is about the time all of these artists spent together in Southern California -- at a trade show, then a whirlwind shopping spree, then back home. The pictures are of their finds and the art work created with those finds. A good read and lovely pictures.

Perhaps I should ask for a sales commission! LOL! I am just happy to put you all onto some good books for your library.

Found bird nest

Had the new Nikon camera out this morning to take a picture of this bird nest in the palo verde tree in the front yard. There were several of these nests in this same tree, but the tree trimmers cut out most of them before I could get them down. This one remains. And it is close enough for me to cut it down and save it. I wish I knew what bird built this nest. It has to be a desert bird. Sorry to say that this nest took a beating from the windy conditions last night. I want to take a closer look at this nest.

The desert dwelling birds are very savvy when it comes to building their nests. I have seen them nestled in the crook of the arm of a saguaro cactus or in a hollowed out hole made by the bird (a cactus wren). Others I have seen are built in the midst of a cactus with long spines (1-2 inches long) -- bet that is to protect the nest and eggs from predators. Every one well adapted to the harsh life in the Sonoran Desert.

Productive weekend

I have been working all this holiday weekend on what I call a "Fashion Folio." One definition of a folio is "a case or folder for loose papers." My folio is actually an altered book that won't be bound together, but tied with a pretty ribbon to keep its contents together when it is finished.The kitchen island is where I have been most of Friday and all day on Sunday.
Plus I have been at my sewing machine and sorting through my boxes of fabrics and trims.
This little doll I had made several months ago, but she has found a place in this folio.
Here you can see I have also been collaging papers and pictures to the pages of this book. Spent most of Friday hunting up paper, wall paper, and fabrics to include in the book. I have sewn or glued them to torn pieces of manila cardstock.

These pieces here were actually taken from an old altered book I made (didn't feel bad about tearing it up!) and a transfer made in a class taken a long time ago. Just using some recycled items makes this folio more interesting. The covers are from an old Reader's Digest. More on those later!

This is a "work in progress." If you look closely you can see that most of the images are held in place with a paper clip. I am still adding things, moving things from page to page, redoing, and reworking. Got lots more to add: sequins, beads, jewelry bits, more Stickles, more coloring. Hmm! Perhaps this is a submission piece in the making??!!

The Fourth of July!

I want to wish all of you who read my blog today, a happy and safe Fourth of July! Please take a moment to think of the men and women in our armed services who are serving this great country and keeping us safe. They endure hardship and separations that most of us will not ever experience. Thank a soldier or veteran for their service! I do, whenever I can!




I am so glad I was fortunate enough to be born in these great United States of America!

Two more finds in Payson

This vintage summer dress was found in a thrift store. It is in great condition and clean. I knew it was older because it has a metal zipper. However, there isn't a tag in it to identify the maker or its size. These baby shoes were a yard sale find. I stuffed them with batting, put some of the pink velvet fabric I bought on the top, tied them up with pink ribbon, and added corsage pins with bows and old flowers. Cute!! These will be for sale, individually, at Merchant Square this weekend. So will the dress!

Payson weekend, Part III

Gail feeds these mules carrots and apples while she is in Payson. The mules live behind the RV park. They know her by sight and will come to the fence to get treats from her. All she has to do is call their names and here they come! This is Pete, the only male of the three mules there.
Gail giving a nose rub to Pete. That's Dolly next to him with the white spot.
Here I am feeding apple pieces to the three. The other two are Dolly and Molly. This is a "must do" thing while I am in Payson with Gail. We did this last year when I went up for a weekend getaway.

Payson weekend, Part II

Now to show you some of the finds and treasures from Payson, Pine and Strawberry, Arizona. Here are a few items that will be incorporated into future mixed media projects. Love the cards from the "Game of Snap". I also found the ceramic pin cushion top -- that's the lady you see in the center near the top.
Another yard sale was all craft items being cleared out of a lady's home. She had passed and relatives were selling her huge stash! I got there on Friday and most of it was gone. But there were the lovely velvet fabrics, trims and lace. Also lots of tiny cloth flowers that are vintage.
Here are the girlie items I found for my booth at Merchant Square. Love the beaded purses, white gloves, the "right shoes" and the pink frame by Rachel Ashwell. More pearls! I sell a lot of those at Merchant Square.
I stopped in at Paper, Metal, Scrap in Payson. It is a scrapbooking store there. Kim, you have to see the wooden hangers that are from Melissa Francis! I am going to work on a couple of them! They would look great decorated with vintage baby photos, pretty paper and trim.
Here we are, Gail and I. I think we look tired but happy! Gail's husband took the picture just before I left to come home yesterday. I didn't have any makeup on because my left eye was looking awful! All bloodshot! Went to the doctor Monday morning and he thought it was just allergies and has prescribed eye drops to lessen the redness. The eye was really red! Nothing like patriot eyes -- red, white and blue! LOL!!