word-tangles

this month's issue of cloth*paper*scissors magazine features an excellent article by sandy bartholomew on how to create your own zentangles. she takes you through the basics of how to get started, and especially encourages lots and lots of play! and while i absolutely love the instant texture that's created by doodling in a 3.5" square, it didn't take long for my mind to wander towards letterforms and words. so i started "word-tangling" with my name.....

and then my initials.....

and then just a simple "hi" that might look fun on the front of a card!

for more information about zentagles, click here

and to watch some fabulous zendoodle videos by milliande, click here

aviation inspiration

so yesterday i was a little bummed over the fact that i had gone to the air show and forgotten my camera, therefore missing all kinds of great photo opps of air-acrobatics. and then comes along my precious friend paulette, maker of lemonade out of lemons, and sweetly suggests that i create a little doodle out of that red bi-plane doing the loop-de-loop-thing-in-the-shape-of-a-heart i was telling you about.....and i thought what a great idea!!! so, here's the way it's been recorded in the memory card of my mind.....and when you've got a red colored pencil, a white gel pen, a chalk pencil, and your favorite pair of magnifiers, who needs a camera? :)

thanks bunches, paulette!!

inspiration monday

the stage was set: it was a beautiful sunday afternoon.....and we were watching none other than that world famous blue angels at the jacksonville air show! mother nature certainly did her part by providing blue skies with not a cloud in sight, a perfect 75 degrees with a slight breeze blowing off the gorgeous atlantic ocean, and lots and lots of glorious sunshine.

we had all the essentials: sunglasses, cute, floppy hats.....sunscreen.....VIP passes.....food and drink tickets.....a bottle of water.....the camera......what?......we did bring the camera....right?......

wrong.

so, therefore, i'm left to just tell you about the perfect shot that i missed of the red eagle bi-plane against the azure blue sky doing the loop-de-loop in the shape of a heart (yes, the shape of a heart and it was fan-tas-tic). or the photo op of five blue angels flying straight towards us in delta formation, at a speed and g-force that would curl your hair, over the atlantic ocean, and then splitting off in their own direction.....and of course, from where i was sitting, it would have been framed out with a palm tree on either side of the formation. oh, yes....this was naval-aviator-magazine-front-cover-type-stuff, and instead of showing you photos of this magnificent event, all i can do is tell you about it!

moral of the story: always be prepared, so when inspiration strikes, you won't miss it......and find yourself at the end of the day with nothing but a program and a used wrist band....!

batiky sneaky peeky....

here's a little sneaky peeky at the top secret project that i've been working on.....and actually, i'm still adding some finishing touches (maybe a little blingy beadwork!), but the sun is going down as we speak and i wanted to get a photo before i ran out of light (drat that daylight savings time!!). this is my third project that will be included in the book that chrissie grace has been writing.....and should be published by this time next year!! this has been one of the most exciting projects that i've ever worked on, and i'm SO very thankful to chrissie for giving me this opportunity to participate!! you can read more about chrissie's book here......and in the meantime i'd better get back to work!

i hope you have a wonderfully creative weekend!!

batiky peeky.....

every once in a while i like to get out my stash of batik fabrics, pet them, and remind them just how happy they make me. and today, i'm going one step further and actually using them for a special project.....and if life will cooperate and not interfere too much, i'm hoping to give you a little peek tomorrow.....or that's the plan, anyway!

p.s. thank you SO much for your sweetness and love about my blessings journal.....you absolutely made my day!!! :)

count your blessings

bless-ing: (noun): a special favor, mercy, or benefit.

a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness.

if i were to write down every single blessing that was showered down upon me today, i could easily fill an entire book.....i just hope i can count that high.....

more information and photos of this journal can be seen here

bloggy hugs

i received this wonderful award from the lovely lisa holtzman at art, lettering & life! lisa is a very sweet and talented lettering artist, and her blog is filled with beautiful examples of her gorgeous, expressive calligraphy! lisa's warm, friendly blog makes me feel right at home every time i visit her. thank you so much, lisa, for your kindness in thinking of me for this award!

and in receiving this award, i would like to pass it on to each one of you! i could never express to you how much i enjoy visiting your blogs, and just how much inspiration you provide to those in blogland! and to go along with this award, i'm also giving you a huge cyber-hug for all of your visits to my blog, and all of the wonderful, heartfelt comments that you leave for me!

thank you, thank you, thank you from this very grateful blogger!!

:))

inspiration monday

"some days there won't be a song in your heart. sing anyway."

emory austin

sometimes the inspiration just isn't there......and for those days when you really want to get humming, here are some ideas to tuck into your creativity songbook:

*grab a coloring book and box of crayons. it seems simple, but everyone finds comfort in coloring....and it's great fun to be a kid again!

*create some color washes onto blank paper using two or three colors of paint. just moving some color around with a paintbrush is inspiring, and you'll be happy to have these wash papers in your stash for a later project!

*spend some time curled up in your favorite chair with a good book, or even your stack of catalogs! my pottery barn and anthropologie catalogs never disappoint when it comes to inspiration!

*call one of your art buddies! having our own work space is fabulous, but it can also be lonely sometimes. good friends always have extra inspiration that they're willing to share!

*what's old is new again! look back at some of the artwork you created a year ago.....can you embellish upon the same idea? how would it look in a different color.....what happens if you use watercolor instead of acrylic?

*and my personal favorite that really gets me singing..... eat a piece of chocolate!! and yes, it's okay if it's on top of ice cream! (this one's a little tricky, and may need to be repeated once or twice before inspiration truly kicks in.... )

trick or treat!

no tricks here, just lots of treats.....and i hope those little goblins get here quick before i eat all of these little packages of happiness filled with chewy caramel, fluffy nougat, cookies, peanuts, and lots of chocolate!!

happy halloween!!

:))

goin' batty

you can tell that halloween is almost here! i went out to get the mail today and spied this little bat hiding in the bushes.....

and then i noticed them hanging out with the jack-o-lantern.....

and they've even found their way into my studio and seem to love my fabric stash!! but, these aren't just any bats, they're martha stewart bats, and super easy to make! you can find the video instructions and template here!

p.s. i didn't have any spray paint for the clothespins, so i just used acrylic paint and it worked like a charm! have fun! :)

meet paulette

if you haven't already met my sweet friend paulette at beedeebabee, please allow me to introduce you to her! you may have seen her flying through blogland, sharing her smile and spreading lots of sunshine around! and paulette is not only an angel in disguise, she's also a very talented artist!! using a goody bag filled with wool felt, sparkly beads, crystals, sequins and embroidery thread, paulette skillfully designs and creates beautifully stitched pins....straight from the heart.

tiny exquisite stitches were lovingly used to finish this cute little mitten....

this sweet little stocking.....

and this precious winter mitten!

paulette's warm, giving personality is evident in every piece of wearable art she makes! you can visit her here at her blog, and learn more about her artwork here in her etsy shop!!

a little sewing

i'm going to spend this afternoon doing a little sewing. i've got some book boards covered with arches textwove paper, and some watercolor papers folded and all ready for their make-overs into blank journals. i really enjoy the cutting and folding of the papers, and the gluing of the covers, but i must admit that the sewing is my favorite part. that's the part when everything comes together and suddenly you have a journal.....and it truly fascinates me every time!

inspiration monday

i love to watch baseball.....and now that the postseason is upon us, i'm in absolute take-me-out-to-the-ballgame heaven. of course, the multi-tasker in me begs to be happy too, so i sit with my graph pad and pencil and doodle while i'm watching the game. and where there's tv, there's lots of "promotional interruptions", and so begins the inspiration.....

have you seen that commercial with those goofy cavemen in the bowling alley? it's a great ad, and quite effective because you only have to see/hear it once and the song will be in your head for the next three days, along with grand visions of three hairy cavemen fist-pumping and high-fiving all over the place! it also offers enough inspiration to create a happy little doodle.....so easy that even a caveman can do it.....(sorry, but you probably knew that was coming....)

if you haven't seen the goofiness and want a good laugh, you can watch it here

first-draft doodle artwork created using pencil on graph paper

just to say hello

i created these little doodle letters and decided to make a greeting card....just to say hello!

the decorative scrapbook paper is by K&Company, the greenhouse collection, designed by carolyn gavin. other materials used to finish the card are: micron pens, watercolor pencils, niji waterbrush, fiskars border punch, ribbon, and a glue stick. the finished card measures 5.5" x 4.25"

thanks SO much for your blog visits!! have a great weekend!!

for a larger format, you can view this video here at you tube.

green mosaic

today's blog post is brought to you by the color green....(and a little orange!)

layers of green flowers, a card hug from a kindred spirit,

watercolor & stitchery, happy polka dots,

pencils waiting to be used, the cover of a favorite journal