My Weblog

Pressing on...

The first time I saw the pressed version of these little guys I immediately thought to myself...Van Gogh! These are the inspiration for his suns! Oh, if only I could hunt down my teacher in high school who used to say I was too busy talking to learn anything during the art appreciation section of class.............ha ha ha!

Obsession can overtake me when it comes to preserving many of my little flower friends. I don't know why...but I just love paging through the albums I keep them in, especially during the winter months.  

My little noodle is always scheming and dreaming of ways to use these pressed flowers....

These adorable little creatures bloom the entire season....they've filled out so much since they were first planted about five years ago...

They make adorable little wreaths...or maybe multiples of them could be woven together to form a sweet birdie's nest...or just for fun put them around a napkin for a picnic lunch? The current occupants in my household might not fully appreciate such a special touch as I am the lone female in a pack of males.

But I'll have to put my scheming on hold as I am in the throngs of moving the contents of my daughter's apartment into our garage. But before the movers could deliver it today, I had to MAKE ROOM for it all. Do you know what the temperature is inside a garage in the thick of a heat wave in Atlanta, GA?  

Tomorrow I get to drive the hour plus to her old apartment and tidy up. But before I could do that I had to buy her a new vacuum cleaner as she casually mentioned that hers didn't work anymore. Since we have a central vac system at our house, I don't have a mobile vac of our own to take with me.  I'm a little nervous wondering how long that vacuum cleaner of hers has been inoperable....!!!! What will I be walking into???

For a multitude of reasons, she legitimately can't help and hubby is away on business...and sometime in the next month all the stuff gets moved out of our garage and into a new apartment several hours away from this apartment....

So I'm running behind on answering emails...I'll catch up in the next few days...and since I've had to work so hard, I thought it only fair that while I was out hunting down the best bargain on a new vacuum cleaner that I should be allowed to make a quick dash into one of my antique stores.................and tomorrow I'll be driving by another one...oh my!

More on that later....and eventually I hope to post some fun little uses I'm thinking about for all these pressed flowers.

Xo, Sue
 

Lisa's Art Challenge - "Outside the Box"

Ah-ha...now I know why she included the word "challenge"....

And a challenge it was on many different levels...

The first challenge was getting out of Target without straying from my short, concise shopping list. Suffice it to say, I didn't pass the first challenge. Nothing extravagant, but one of these and one of those begin to add up quickly, don't they?

Yet as I rambled through every aisle it was like taking a walk down memory lane of when my children were little ones.  Children crying--more pronounced {and did I mention louder} the closer I came to the toy section! Mothers giving "that look" to those screaming children and me pretending like I hardly noticed that child on the floor thrashing from side to side {professional courtesy from one mother to another} desperately clutching some much-needed toy...

Memories...they are known for showing up in the most expected, and even unexpected places.

{The flowers on the box were once the color of the freshly cut flowers!}

Our challenge was to take these little boxes that originally contained soap and give the box a makeover. After painting the box with a Martha Stewart paint sample called Sultana I began to adhere individual little blossoms of pressed verbena. It took way more than I had on hand and there was no time for pressing more so I even slapped ripe ones to the underside of the top cover and blasted them with my heat gun. Results...not bad.  

After hemming and hawing, staring into space, and staring some more, I finally decided to make mine a memory box.

 
  A few years back I purchased from this gal's Etsy shop two pieces of mirrors she had washed in acid and just like it was meant to be, the pieces were exactly the size of this box. The words were cut from an old novel printed in a large font I nabbed at Goodwill specifically for the larger font size. {Not to read it...but for artsy pursuits!}

 

The second mirror was used over the photo... a few more scratches were added using a file as to open up more peek-through area for the image. 

The photo is of my cousin Johnny and myself when we were wee little ones...fifty-one years ago with the sun shining in our eyes...{not a lot of camera tips floating around for the novice photographer back in those days!}

Our families were inseparable...we gathered together every Sunday if not more often during the week, every holiday including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, many sleepovers, and so on.

Johnny and I accumulated hundreds and hundreds of hours through the years traipsing through woods, sometimes I was a passenger on his bicycle with the tiger banana seat, or on a mini-bike, snowmobiles, and even harrowing rides on his motorcycle hanging on for all I was worth. He grew up on a large dairy farm and any chance I got I loved to spend days at the farm. They had an old car we drove through the fields long before we ever had a real license.  Finally, a chance for me to give him a scary ride!

Sadly so, it will be five years in July since his life ended tragically. It's still hard to believe at times...I cherish the times I get to visit with my Aunt and we are able to share memories we each hold so dear. He had a brilliant mind, was an accomplished photographer who developed his own film, flew airplanes, motorcycled across the country just to visit places he'd never been before & surprising relatives in many states when he suddenly appeared on their doorstep {!}, backpacked across Europe another year...always looking for an adventure.

 
 It took me way longer to create this little piece than it should have...so many interuptions of getting lost in my thoughts and memories...

Yes, some memories are best never to be forgotten even if they make you cry.

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.  ~Kahlil Gibran
**********

To view the creations of more participants in today's art challenge, head over to Lisa's blog, Tarnished and Tattered. If you've not been there before, take a peek around as Lisa is a talented Texas gal who creates some gorgeous stuff! She is also being featured in a soon-to-be-released Stampington publication due to hit the streets any day now! Thank you, Lisa for hosting this challenging event. Who knew one little box could be such a fun challenge {or make such a mess of my once clean workspace}!    

A Free Image...Oh, Sweet Baby!

Not long ago while meandering through an antique store, the owner, a darling lady with not only grandchildren but great-grandchildren, made a casual statement about old photographs. She mentioned she recently gave away a large box of old family photos....to someone she just met.

Seriously. I was stunned. Here was a lady who had exquisite antiques mostly gathered in England and France...someone who loved old things. Many times I have wondered how these beautiful old photos happened to end up in the marketplace instead of being cherished by family members. Never would I have suspected that someone like this, a person who loved antiques, would {{{gasp}}} give away her relatives.

On the flip side, how wonderful that so many of us have adopted these old photos and welcomed them into our homes and hearts. 

[credit: chippy pink paint background free textures flickr: stevetoearth] 

We enjoy gazing upon them, imagining what their life was like, using them in our creations....

 
 I printed a few of these yesterday and transferred them to old linen hankies...still not sure exactly what I'll do with them...just playing for now...

Another thing we all love to do with old photos is share them...so if these appeal to you, please feel free to grab the prints and use them for your own personal use. I'm perfectly fine with someone selling something they've made using any of my free images, but I would ask that you not sell the image in a CD, clip art sheet, etc.

My extracting skills leave a little to be desired, but WHEN I learn, and I WILL LEARN photoshop, watch out stash of photos....

Sweet little blessings on your day,

xo, Sue 

Where Bloggers Create, Part II

 

I warned ya'll that there might be a few follow-ups to the original tour...was having voo-coo computer issues on my first attempt. Most of my computer issues tend to fall within the realm of  "not the brightest bulb when it comes to technical stuff"...{{{sigh}}}

Not sure about you, but I am in blog heaven bouncing around the list on Karen's blog visiting as many places as I can squeeze in here and there. Going down the list from A-Z was getting boring so in order to mix it up, I copied and pasted the list to a Word document and printed a hard copy. As I visit each blog I place a little check beside the name. It's also a great way to make notes to myself so that I can easily go back and find some of the inspiration I would like to follow up on at a later time!

But over and over again, I am struck by how many creative souls there are scattered throughout this huge world. So many unique expressions of who we are...

   a variety of styles

a wide assortment of creative pursuits

more hoarders {{{ha ha}}} than I dare to count

There's a growing list of blogs I'm adding to my google reader. Not sure how long, if ever it would have taken me to stumble upon them on my own. I even enjoy following blogs of people who create or pursue interests I might not necessarily ever pursue. But I appreciate the beauty of what they create, or the warmth, or humor, or wisdom that oozes from their posts.

 But the one common thread I see over and over again, are the kind hearts living out there in blogland. Hearts that love, nurture, and cherish their family and friends. Hearts that have an instinctive need to express and exercise their creativity in a multitude of ways. I like to think of them as the treasured souls who add color, music, depth, and more sunshine to this world!  

Before I head out as my MUST DO LIST {think: once on to do list but got ignored} is demanding attention, I wanted to mention the paint color on my studio walls as I've had quite a few requests asking for the color. It is a Behr paint {carried by Home Depot} and the color name is Valley Mist 460E-2...mine is in the eggshell finish. Had never worked with this brand of paint before but was very happy with it's quality. 

Looking forward to meeting more of you through your blogs as well as continue to see what other bloggie friends I've been following for some time are up to these days.

Xo, Sue

Where Bloggers Create Party

Don't ya just git giddy when something you've wished for, waited on, dreamed of, but mostly

WORKED HARD FOR, !!!finally!!! happens?

For most of my "creative life" which now spans decades, my creative space and supplies were scattered throughout our home in closets, bins, tucked under beds, and so forth. The dining room often became command central. And upon walking by such headquarters one would immediately receive the distinct impression that command central had been heavily bombed! Chaos reigned supreme.....
 

 But when I read that Karen, at My Desert Cottage was hosting her second annual WHERE BLOGGERS CREATE PARTY I knew this was the motivational spark I needed to get busy.

I inherited the bonus room above our garage several years ago, but as life goes, for a number of out-of-my-control-bumpy-mountains-in-the-road-of-life reasons, the room never got put together.

Until now....still have a little ways to go, but the hardest parts are behind me. NOTHIN' like company coming to set a body in motion, is there?!

I worked like a mad woman. Or perhaps madder than normal would be more appropriate...what is normal anyway, does anybody know? Stay on task Sue...

Jewels got sorted...

...dolls got hats...

...and with each little accomplishment I could feel the cobwebs that had taken my creative spirit hostage begin to release their sticky grip...speak nothing of the physical cobwebs in the actual room...

My rusty imagination began to awaken...it was all I could do not to stop what I was doing to follow the latest inspirational muse...but untrue to my given nature, I kept plowing through box after box, bin after bin, sorting, tossing, organizing...

Why, even fresh flowers were lovingly gathered from my garden and scattered throughout the room...they are such happy little creatures, aren't they? Not to mention that nothing, save a warm hug, says welcome friends more than fresh flowers.

Despite the fact that I am beyond blessed to have such a wonderful place to now work on a variety of creative pursuits, one major flaw in this room is the lighting. Although there are five windows, each is housed in an alcove which can be a real issue...especially at night. One thing I have invested in to counteract this challenge are Ott lamps. JoAnn's, Michael's, Wal-Mart, among others carry this brand and routinely put them on sale at 40% off.

The majority of my furnishings are hand-me-downs that were used previously in our homes through the years. Several pieces came from thrift stores and one piece was stolen. Yep. You heard it right. Theft. That would be the bin housing my stash of vintage wallpaper. It's original purpose was to house goober pairs of golf and other sporting shoes in our garage. The idea being that my family members would dutifully and joyfully place their shoes in the tidy little cubbies......NOT.

 

A year or so ago this vintage dress form came up for auction on Ebay. It is about three times the size of my other dress form I'll show in the next photo. She has been the perfect 3-D inspirational board, if you will, and I continue to pin new items to her daily.  And BTW, I was the only bidder and shipping cost me more than the dress form. Felt badly for the seller, but happy for me!

I've taken way too many pictures of my newly organized space...excitement about my new room and working with crummy lighting conditions most likely influenced my excessive photo snapping...

 

Here's an oversized spice rack I picked up at Goodwill for maybe $5 or so. I love making, giving, and receiving mail {handwritten letters....ahhhhhh....love 'em}. I used to be so much better at sending these personal greetings. Hence, I am hoping that having this little rack hanging on my studio wall will be a visual reminder to improve upon sending more snail mail to brighten someone's day.

 

Not withstanding the fact that I've rambled long enough, Typepad or my computer has chosen this point in time to go into total rebellion. Consequently, on both accounts, I'll bid my farewell and continue this tour in another post {or two+!} in the coming days.

Thank you for your visit and I'm anxious to head out to see all the other creative work spaces. But before I go, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Karen for what has had to be a monumental undertaking to keep an event of this size so well organized.

Warm wishes to all,

xo, Sue

 My time in the mountains of western North Carolina was over before

I could blink. But it is always time well spent. Lots of laughter, good food, beautiful scenery, drives through the countryside...

...an hour or so walking through the shops...you could spend days in this area going through hundreds of unique shops if you so chose...

...each visit I usually try to check out a place I've never been before... 

...most times I even remember to grab my camera...

...Mr. and I drove to one of my favorite antique shops tucked way back in the woods on a twisty, narrow mountain road that gives me the creeps because there are precious few guard rails...and someone in the car who shall remain nameless drives way too fast on those roads... 

...I was so happy to have survived the ride that even finding the place closed barely even caused my emotions to fluctuate one iota...of course, finding these beautiful pink roses growing along their fence was more than compensation for having driven so far...

  ...and wouldn't you know it? On our way back to the cabin we just happened to drive right by my favorite shoe store in Highlands. Look at my {SQUEAL} new shoes! They are incredibly comfortable and just plain FUN! Just what I needed for all the traveling I'll be doing in the coming days....

Where am I going, you ask? Why I'm off to visit creative spaces across the globe during theWHERE BLOGGERS CREATE PARTY! 
 

credit: free background image from rubyblossom [Flickr]

New Finds Second Time Around...

Part of the fun of trying to organize my creative workspace is finding stuff that's been packed away and rediscovering them all over again. Aren't these old cigarette giveaways awesome? They are filled with creative potential as well as being something you could create using your own stash of old photos.

 I believe I read somewhere that these date back to the late 1800's. These particular ones are about the size of a nickel.

There is no such concept as having too many buttons...just thought I would try to affirm all you button collectors of your deepest beliefs when it comes to buttons...

Same holds true for this nearly 30 inch long vintage French fish poacher. Wish I did have a collection of these...I'm always on the lookout for more but the prices are often ridiculously high. I only paid $5 for mine {which I know was a steal}...

Do you see the "RANCE" that should be FRANCE stamped on the bottom? Wonder if I should send this to Mr. Magpie and have him fix it?

 Or maybe I would do better wondering about WHY I'm on the computer when I need to be packing to head to the mountains to catch up with the crew that's already up there. Youngest child had a tournament and I stayed behind to escort him and a friend up later this afternoon.

But before I go, this technologically-challenged blogger [after I won't tell you how many attempts!] finally added the buttons on my sidebar to two upcoming events. Check them out as it's not too late to join in the fun!

I don't know what it is like where you live, but stepping outside in my neck of the woods is like getting hit with a blast of furnace air saturated with intense humidity. Nasty. Some cooler mountain air will be a welcome relief...

Blessings to all...

xo, Sue

Company is Coming and I'm Running Away...

Sort of sounds like a nasty in-law story or something, huh? Happily so, that's not the case.

The company coming is about the HUGE tour of work spaces coming up next weekend and Mr. Fun {my DH} is talking about heading to the mountains for a getaway. Oh dear! 

In my figuring little head I had a plan...a plan on how I would be ready on time...a plan on what I'd do each day......

What I didn't figure in was a trip to the mountains. Or that today I would get distracted and drive ninety miles off course because....

A. I am highly distractable

B. I saw these gorgeous pink roses Terri digitally altered

C. I had some pink roses

D. I had a camera

E. I am highly distractable {repeat intentional}

 

It wouldn't be so bad if I would just shoot a few shots and get back to business...

....but oh no....that would be too sensible....

 

 

Instead, I just clicked away and digitally edited for way, way, way too long....

That old Wizard of Oz song now comes to mind...If I Only Had A Brain....

Hope you're being more productive than I am today!

xo, sue

 

Free Vintage Image

The more time I spend sorting through my stash, the more I keep thinking, I MUST start scanning some of these to share...
Is he adorable or what? Love the little pocketwatch attached to his jacket.

The photo is dated 1911. The actual photo is pretty scuffed up with lots of little ickies that I digitally erased to the best of my photo-editing software's ability --it's not Photoshop. One day, she says with a hopeful attitude, I WILL LEARN the ins and outs of Photoshop.

Please feel free to save and use any of these images for your own personal use!

Now it's back to more sorting...trying to be ready for Karen's big event: Where Bloggers Create on June 19th. 
 
 

Collecting Time...

 

Spent some good hours over the weekend in my room above the garage, otherwise known as my art studio. Sifting, getting distracted, sorting, getting distracted, pitching, but determined to bring some organization to this disorganized space. As I was doing so, I couldn't help but think how drawn I am to pieces relating to time...

It also occurred to me that time has a way of moving quickly...more so with each passing year. How can it be possible? Where has the time gone? 

You see, thirty years ago today my highschool sweetheart and I said "I do"....

 
At the ripe old age of 22, fresh out of college and knowing everything there is to know about anything {ha!} we embarked on a life together. Through the years and passing of time, we've learned a lot. Mostly, that we didn't know as much as we had originally thought we knew!

Although we've learned firsthand that time is a patient teacher...thank goodness!

So here we are thirty years later...and my little bluebird of happiness and carved rocks pretty much sum up the years...

However, there should be a rock with the word humor as it has always been one of the blessings we've shared. A favorite quote I think you girls will enjoy:

When I married Mrs. Right, I didn't know her middle name was ALWAYS.

And even better, whenever I offer up those gentle words of "I was right" my Mister replies, "one in a row"........... yes indeed, let's not forget humor.

xo, sue