collage obsession

This was a fun challenge from Collage Obsession. The theme is OVERALLS.

Here is the original cute vintage picture.

And this is my digital collage.

"Jane, Mona, Marie, Frida and Vee"

spooky mondays

It's time for another Spooky Mondays at
Wendy's Adventures in Wonderland.

Yay!!! It's finally Halloween at Home Goods. I found several aisles filled with glorious orange and black this weekend. I was so excited I made my Boo (my son) hold this BOO!

Everything was so shiny and sparkly and new!

These are not so spooky but I love them. I've had these Debbie Mum mugs for at least 8 years and they're still my favorite. I actually use them year round!

Oh did I already tell you (maybe not) that last  Friday we were gifted with the most beautiful Autumn like day? There were actually clouds to filter that bright sun and a big breeze that made all my windchimes dance.

It was so amazing since just a few days ago this is how hot it was...

Now THAT is truly scary!!!

Well I have to share my collection of Martha Stewart Living October issues. It's the only month I save and collect. These are from 1995 to 2009 (plus her 2 Halloween specials) and I'm still missing 1996 and 1998. About a third of these came from my local library. They sell old magazines for a quarter so I've been able to fill in the years that I didn't buy. I also collect all the October Country Living. Since it will be September in just a few days this year's October issues should be out soon.  Once they're out it will feel like the season really begins. I can ALMOST feel that crisp autumn wind. I can't wait!

Midnight Margaritas anyone? I collect all sorts of witchy things and this card from a dear friend is my favorite. It's one of those sound cards and it has the best witchy cackle. I'll have to figure out how to get an audio clip on here so you guys can here it.

This is a fun book I just found at the library the other day. Lots of great ideas and some lovely vintage  images I can use for my projects.

And I know I just posted this a few days ago but I had to include my raven tags for Spooky Mondays too!

Stop by Wendy's for more spooky fun.

Today I'm grateful for....

Luna. My little orange tabby who puts a big smile on my face every day.

LaLou. My sweet next door buddy who comes to visit me daily.

And for the all too brief time I had with my Kushka who

I miss every minute with all my heart.

new orleans mon amour

Five years ago today Hurricane Katrina hit the city of New Orleans. I remember exactly were I was. My family and I were on a little vacation. It was the day we were heading back home and I remember waking up and turning on the news and seeing the aftermath of the hurricane and the levee breaks. It was so unreal. My heart just ached for everyone there.

I have never been to New Orleans but if you've read my blog before you might know It's one of my favorite cities. The city has recovered much but also not so much in many ways. There are areas that will never recover. I find this sad in a city that's so full of culture, history and soul.

Last summer I  read a good amount of books about New Orleans. Fiction and non fiction. Poems. Beautiful coffee table books with stunning pictures of the gardens of the Vieux Carre. Cookbooks. Architecture. I watched documentaries about Katrina. Visited websites like the PRCNO an organization dedicated to preserving the historic architecture of the city. I couldn't figure out why I was so drawn to this city. Only that there's something about it that constantly draws me there.

This book New Orleans Mon Amour is one of my favorites. Andrei Codrescu is a noted commentator for NPR and a New Orleans resident. His book chronicles his love for the city as seen through the eyes of someone who like so many others, went to visit and decided to stay. It made me laugh, cry and hungry all at the same time.

One of the lovely people I've met here in blogland is artist and newspaper columnist Cindy Adkins. She owns the blog Whimsical Musings. She and her husband moved to New Orleans after Katrina. Cindy was recently featured in Art Saves in a story about how she used her art to help with the recovery of one of the devastated neighborhoods. She's quite a remarkable lady. You can visit her website and see more of her art or stop by her blog and check out all her fun creations.

Just a few of my thoughts this early Sunday morning. Which means it's time for me to go to bed. Maybe I'll dream of beignets and a cafe au lait. I haven't tried to make them from scratch yet but I have a box mix straight from the Cafe du Monde and maybe I'll make a few in a few hours and look at pictures of those beautiful French Quarter gardens again.

a special pink saturday

"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.
And sings the tune without words,
And never stops at all."

-- Emily Dickenson

This Pink Saturday our hostess Beverly of How Sweet the Sound is joining Kelee at the Katillac Shack for a Miracle Blog Party. The party is to celebrate Collette Gaultier's recovery. Collette is a cancer patient whose story was featured in Guideposts Magazine. In two and half days Collette's very bleak rental house bedroom was transformed into a comforting haven that became a sanctuary during her journey through chemotherapy.

The Katillac Shack is showing the video of the room makeover reveal. In addition you can leave a comment on that post which counts as a $1 donation from Design Gives Back to help the next person in need. You have a chance to donate up to $5 just by leaving a comment at a few different places. There are also some great prizes being given away. Information is all at the Kattilac Shack. Please go over there, watch the video and read Collette's inspiring story.

Happy Pink Saturday

Today I'm grateful for...

The gift of gratitude. It's so easy to take the little things for granted.

Stop every now and then and appreciate what you have in your life today.

paperie blog party

Come and join me for the Paperie Blog Party today at The French Cupboard. Although I love doing digital collage I also enjoy making things with paper. I love paper of all kinds. Especially vintage books and sheet music and I also love to reycle. Brown paper bags and boxes already come with that wonderful aged patina so I try to see how I can use them in my paper crafts.

Here are a few of my earlier paper projects. 'LOVE' gift tag banner, 'TIME FOR TEA' pennants and a posie holder made from vintage sheet music.

I just made this shabby 'old' file folder a few days ago. It's made from a few layers of brown paper bag. I found a whole stack of old ones in my mom's garage. They already had that wonderful aged look I love. I decorated it with paint, pages from a vintage book, images from a recycled calendar and a wonderful picture of the French author Collette from a fabulous book about French writers I picked up for .80 cents.

I think this was the first set of banner tags I ever made and it's still my favorite.

My little teacup fairy lives in my favorite mini teacup.

She's also made from vintage books I found at my favortie thrift shop.

Her little friend is close by waiting for a new dress and wings.

 

Another recent project I posted for Cindy's Creative Spirit challenge. Made from vinatge sheet music, dress pattern paper and a vintage image freebie from Somerset magazine.

And since my thoughts have already turned to Fall and Halloween here are spooky tags made from a corrugated board box I salvaged from my friends at Tuesday Morning. Thanks for letting me share.

Visit The French Cupboard for lots more pretty paper things.

Today I'm grateful for.....

Paper, glue and glitter!

collage obsession

I was so late with the Collage Obsession challenge last week that it threw me completely off and I forgot about the new one. This week's theme is ANIMALS. The orginal image is Jean Baptiste Huet’s stunning painting “A Pride of Lions”.

The image and colors are so rich and intense that I didn't want to take too much away from it. This is what I came up with.

"The Royal Family"

Scrapbooking elements from Digital Scrapbook Place

practically magical and bloggy gadgets

Exactly one month to go before our Practical Magic blog party and it's absolutely incredible how many people have signed up to play. There are nearly 160 participants and more keep coming! It's really beyond mine and Justina's wildest dreams. And the incredible art and talent from these women is just amazing. Who knew how many people still love this film. Well I'm so excited....and a little anxious. I'm still working on my post and a giveaway which I'm determined to have done by next week. But at least my camera works again. Yay!

I love finding fun bloggy gadgets when I visit other blogs. I've come across 2 that I thought are so cool. You guys might already be using them but I thought I'd share in case you haven't. I haven't put them up yet but I will the next time I do a redo. The first one is this cool gadget for your Etsy store from Craft Cult. Now my little shop is really bare right now but I'm showing you the gadget so you can see how fun it is.



They have a few different backgrounds to choose from. Unfortunately my sidebars are too narrow so it doesn't work very well on mine. I might have to do some adjustments later when I redo.

The other gadget is from Shelfari. You can create a virtual bookshelf and show books you're reading, have read or are planning to read. And you can add your own reviews and all that fun stuff.

Shelfari: Book reviews on your book blog

Here's a quickie sample I made. This one has a customizable size which will actually work for my sidebars. I think you have a few shelf choices too.

Anyhoo....hope you guys aren't melting in the heat today. I'm off to Lowes to see if I can buy some of their old wallpaper sample books. They sell them for $2.50 at the end of the month and there's a line of other crazy collage artists trying to snag them too!

Today I'm grateful for.....

Pizza coupons. Too hot to cook tonight!

the three muses challenge

The Three Muses theme this week is THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF ZETTIS. I've been intrigued by this whimsical art form for a while and I've done some Zetti-like doodles in my journal. But I haven't created anything I'd consider a real Zetti yet so I really liked this challenge. I learned a lot more about Zettis and it's originator, Teesha Moore this week. Now that I've discovered this new world I'm ready to make more!

Here is 'Fly With Me'.

I created this on a 4x5 1/2 Bingo card with images collected from an old children's book, magazines and maybe an old calendar. Then I finished it digitally after I scanned it.

This is an earlier Zetti type page I made for my journal. I don't think I really knew what I was doing but I had lots of fun making it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Today I'm grateful for....

Air conditioning!! It was 105!

♥

spooky mondays

I'm so excited to do this post today because I'm joining my friend Wendy from Wendy's Adventures in Wonderland who is launching a brand new weekly blog party called 'Spooky Mondays'!

I've been talking a lot about Fall and Halloween lately (as you know) because I just love Halloween. Well Wendy is truly a kindred spirit so when she said she was starting a blog party about all things Halloween I just had to be there. Every week you're welcome to post about anything from decorations to costumes, art and crafts, recipes and stories. For me it's a fun and perfect way to start enjoying my favorite holiday. Craft shops and home stores already have their merchandise out so this is a perfect time to get into the spirit. So if you're absolutely bewitched by All Hallows like we are won't you join Wendy every Monday and share your latest finds or creations.

Today I'm sharing a new arrangement on my mantle.

Michaels has these wonderful glittery crows this year. I posted a picture of the first one I bought a few weeks ago if you remember. This is another one which is just a little smaller.

He is sitting on the same wire candelabra I found at my favorite thrift shop. I really love these crows and I have a feeling I'll be adding a few more.

I found this wonderful witchy drawing at the same thrift shop this Spring. It's framed and signed by the artist and dated 1978. It looks like it could have been an illustration made for a book. I've been waiting to bring her out and now she's just perfect next to my crows.

I had other pictures to share of a project I'm working on but they're still trapped in my camera until I can get a new battery. Luckily I had already moved these pictures over last week. But I have one more to share with you. Something from last Halloween.

I mentioned earlier that my son is a huge fan of the show Ghost Hunters. So when he carved his pumpkin last year what else would it be but this!

Happy Spooky Monday!

Today I'm grateful for....

A relaxing Summer weekend with my family, enjoying our weekly trip to Trader Joes and discovering we really love Trader Joes hummus!

♥

collage obsession 'angels'

Collage Obsession is back after being gone a few weeks. I thought I'd add my last minute piece tonight. As you know I've had Autumn on my mind so my angel is called 'Autumn Angel'.

giveaway winner and some other stuff

My poor little brain has been feeling a little addled lately and I completely forgot to sign up for Pink Saturday. I've also been under attack by nasty little gizmo gremlins and a few of my things decided to go out at the same time. One is the battery for my little camera. I was taking pictures for my magazine giveaway and halfway through transferring them it decided to expire. I tried to charge up the battery but it wouldn't so I probably have to get a new one (battery hopefully and not the camera). So here are the pics I was able to take/transfer and I'll tell you who the winner is at the end.

These are the lovely people that left a comment for the giveaway. See I could have done a Pink Saturday post after all!

After the official folding of the papers, into my treasure box they all went.

I let them sit there for a minute or two so they can have a nice little chat.

'Pick me, pick me!'

Silly little pieces of pink paper. They're much noisier than the blue ones I used for the Mad Tea Party drawing. So I'll just go in and sneak up on them and pluck one out....

And that's when my camera went out!!!

(Or I should say it went out while I was transferring the pics.)

But I did pick a name and it was all done fair and square as witnessed by my trusty assistant Miss Luna. And so I'm happy to announce that the winner of the September Romantic Homes magazine is....

Kim from A Gypsy Angel

Congratulations Kim. Thank you for visiting and enjoy your magazine!!

Now I'm off to find a new battery and perhaps I'll stop by Michaels as I feel an urge to be surrounded by new Halloween goodies.

*   *   *   *

Oh....do you guys remember a store called Illuminations? They had wonderful candles and their store always had the loveliest displays. I especially loved their Halloween displays. It was a yearly tradition for me to visit their store when their Halloween stuff came out which put me in the best mood for my favorite holiday. Well I found out this year that they're GONE!!! Adios. Goodbye. No more exquisite ghostly displays. Gone are the witches surrounded by autumn leaves and enchanted candlelight. And the lovely subtle scent of crisp apples, pumpkin spice and midnight magic that would waft though the mall as you walked by.....all gone. This all makes me just a wee bit sad. So off I go and maybe there's something new and lovely and magical out there to discover.

Today I'm grateful for...

Lemon and ginger tea which really works when your tummy feels like

a Slinky toy and your brain is addled with all the things that

brains are bound to be addled by.

♥