My Weblog

Buying time... {Mentionable Giveaways & Free Image}

...does anybody know where I can buy more time?

Oh, if only it were that easy. No doubt the line would be long and the scuffles in the store would make for some great comedy show episodes.

Well, sometimes TIME is for sale...and these are two of my most recent "time" purchases. I found them both at the Scott Antique Market this month. 

And speaking of good finds...

Look what I dragged home from an antique store. It's not antique...and it's not in any color {lemon yellow} that matches my decor...but look at all those yummy curves, details, and frenchy-style to this piece. And the best parts? It is in mint, like-new condition...a high end piece of furniture with a low end price tag on it. Pennies on the dollar for what it originally cost...my kind of deal.

Love the hardware...a creamy white distressed finish...Which is exactly the type of paint job that will eventually be given to this piece...............

I think I mentioned that we are going to "re-fluff" the nest a bit. Partly because it needs some updating and also to FINALLY repair/replace furniture that our 22 month old Lab chewed to pieces during her puppy months. GRRRRRR....

Not sure if I'll tackle this one myself or pay someone to do it. Time will tell...

And while we are on the topic of TIME, there's still time to enter these two wonderful giveaways by two darling bloggers. 

Patty at THE MAGPIE'S NEST is a Virginia cutie-pie who is celebrating having posted in excess of one thousand two hundred posts..........whew. That girl has her fingers in every sort of artful adventure known to man and has such a creative spirit! {and a sweetheart of a person to boot!} She's offering up three of her beautiful wool felted heart pendants. Click here to enter the drawing! I've thoroughly enjoyed having met Patty through blogging many months ago.

Linda at Linda Jo's Obsessions is a Texas cutie-pie who is celebrating 500 posts! As we all know, everything is bigger in Texas so she's stretching her party over five days. Each day this week she'll be showcasing yet another giveaway! So far there's a copy of Tracie Lynn Huskamp's beautiful book NATURE INSPIRED, a darling little embellished notepad and a gorgeous lace heart. I've recently become familiar with Linda Jo's blog and she has the most deeee-lightful sense of humor and has lots of artsy adventures going on as well.

Go visit both for the prizes but stay for the inspiration....

Here's a photo of my large clock face I'll share with those of you who collect old images for your artwork. Please feel free to save it to your computer for your own personal use. This girl was way too big for the scanner bed...

The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen all at once.  ~Albert Einstein {What? My life feels like living proof that it can all happen at once...I see you nodding your head in agreement!}

Xo, Sue 

 Credits: Textured onlays from Kim Klassen's collection
 

!!!Winners of my Giveaway!!!

Wanted to do this post last evening but completely forgot about today being the first day of school. Seriously...way too early especially when all of nature screams: IT IS STILL SUMMER! Unfortunately, no one let's me choose when school starts each year.

I also wish I could choose EVERY entry as a winner! But instead, I let random.org pick the winners. Linda Jo wins the journal-gift card-surprise goodies prize! And ZuZu wins the gift card-surprise goodies prize! Congratulations! I'll be snooping around in your blogs to come up with ideas of what I'll tuck in your packages for your surprise goodies piece of the giveaway. Meanwhile, if you two would send me an email with your mailing address I'll get these goodies sent your way hopefully by the end of the week.

Thank you to everyone who participated! Your kindness and encouraging words are always such a bright spot in my day...

Here's a couple of different versions of the old postcard I used above if you would like to have a copy for your own personal use!

Xo, Sue

Lonely Girl: Art Journal Pages

{{{please feel free to use this image for your own personal use}}}

This little photo tucked away in my stash has always intrigued me. Maybe it's those mothering instincts, but every time I see this photo I want to gather this little girl in my arms and love away the sadness I sense in her. Maybe remind her that better days lie ahead...get her a puppy...something!

She was destined to end up in at least one of my creative endeavors...

...and that day has arrived...

For my journal pages she was named the lonely girl...

Loneliness and feeling alone in this big world are probably things we all experience to some degree during our journey here on earth. Those can be difficult seasons. I know I've gone through plenty of these times due to relocation, loss, change, and a host of other circumstances. But the antidote is always the same...

....choosing love and friendship....

{oops! i felt my journaling spots were a bit too personal and purposely smudged them up...sorry for the quick scare if you thought your eyes were getting bad!}

Also wanted to call your attention quick to the new sidebar item I posted. Karla is having a Wizard of Oz celebration and is hosting a tag swap if anyone is interested. And don't forget to throw your name in the hat for my giveaway {previous post}!

As always, thank you for taking time out of your busy day to visit! And above all else...choose love and friendship!

Xo, Sue

Credits: Karen at Graphics Fairy for the moon; library card from rubyfloy.etsy.com

Art Journal, Gaffer Tape, Free Image, AND THE GIVEAWAY!!!

Seriously. I love peeking in on all the creativity happening in blogland! More often than not my inspiration for heading off to create something is a direct result of seeing someone else's work.

Such was the case yesterday...The bug that bit this time was art journaling. A little sweetie by the name of Autumn posted some fun pages here and here and also in other posts. I recently became blog-acquainted with her after we exchanged visits during the Where Bloggers Create party hosted by Karen Valentine. 

Not to mention all the online classes happening, or happened, or going to happen...and all the other bloggers who share their art journals... here's a few to peek at:

~~Teresa McFayden's online class: Between the Lines. She also has a Flickr group site where class participants can post their work.

~~Here's a fun blog devoted to showcasing journal pages happening around the blogosphere.

~~I first read about Dispatched from LA's online course from Cherie. This one is a start-anytime-you-like class... and it looks way fun.

~~Patty recently did a splurb on her blog for La Dolce Vita's Transfer Love Class that also looks yummy! It began yesterday...I also learned via Patty of this e-course taught by Carole. It's also one that I would love to take...still can until August 8th, I believe.

~~Autumn had a link on her blog to a journaling e-course called Nourish Your Soul. It is currently underway but another will be offered in the near future. Here's a peek of a few journal pages from Hope's blog {the instructor}, Besottment.

No shortage of inspiration available, for sure! So for all these reasons and more, I hopped back into one of my art journals...

In the beginning, Sue slathered gel medium to the pages using a foam brush to spread it evenly. Next, a crumpled piece of aqua tissue got added, then a few torn pieces of a napkin this doll shared with me {same blog where I often learn of lots of the fun online classes happening}, and even some diluted pink paint...

a random tidbit (also known as rambling): Once upon a time I wallpapered my daughter's bathroom with crumpled tissue paper and incorporated pressed flowers and glitter. It was unconventional to say the least and she loved it...of course, she was only 11 at the time...

For the longest time I've been wanting to get a roll of gaffer tape and play...finally ordered some from a tape company online...let the possibilities begin! {{7 Gypsies is responsible for my inspiration where Gaffer tape is concerned. They have tons of great ones.}} This particular piece I ran through the printer...first I printed my image on a plain piece of paper. I had "presized" the image in my photo software so it would fit on my 2" strip of tape.

All that's left was to place a piece of tape directly over the print on the paper and run the paper through again. Once the ink has a chance to set up, carefully remove the tape from the paper. I found that the ones I left on overnight were grabbing some of the printer paper...

And just for fun...do you see the humor of what happened during this photo shoot?

Maybe he saw the word "fly" and decided to check it out! Moving right along...here's a few more tape creations...

 
...a rubber stamped piece...would be a fun little return address label on an envelope for something mailed to a dog lover...

This is a Tim Holtz stamp I scanned into my picture file and then resized and printed...gaffer tape tears nicely and before I use this piece I'll most likely tear a chunk off each side for a little more interest and texture...

...progress on the pages....just waiting for me to capture some thoughts in writing...

...here's a few more close ups...

...and before I forget, would you like a copy of this lady? Her name is Dorothy Sutton. I grabbed her from the Library of Congress site, and you can now grab her from me. She was a little scruffy in the original photo, but I've cleaned her up a bit. She looked like she needed a fresh infusion of hope...

I'm sort of feeling like a news reporter...you know why? Because I threw out the words "giveaway" way back in the title of the post, and then rambled on and on ad nauseum making you wait until the end of the program to hear about the giveaway. Yep. That's just what they do on the news. DRIVES ME CRAZY when they do that...esp. when the opening bait line turns out to be more exciting than the final catch...

Hence, without further delay, here's my giveaway celebrating 100 posts...there will be two of them...the first winner will receive:

A 12" x 7.5", 290 pages journal...and added to this prize I will include...

...but that's not all...once the winner is chosen...

...I'll peek through your blog and choose some extra little goodies from my stash that I think might tickle your fancy...

For the second winner, there will be a $25 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble and some extra goodies from my stash as well.

You know the drill...leave a comment on this post and your name goes into the pot. If you want to double your chances, blog about my giveaway and leave a second comment letting me know you've done so! Entries must be blog-marked by Sunday, August 8th, 9PM EST.

Bless all your sweet little souls for all the fun, inspiration, nuggets of wisdom, doses of encouragement, delicious giggles of humor, and what not that I've come to enjoy by visiting all of your blogs! 

Xo, Sue 

Recent finds...a fun giveaway...free images, and what not!

Whew! That's a lot for one title...buy hey, I'm trying to cover a lot of bases in one post. So many fun things going on in the blogosphere (and atmosphere).

Here's another little treasure I dragged home from our recent trip to Florida. And despite the unrelenting heat for months here in Georgia, my flowers survived my absence.

But the cloud formations lately have been so thrilling... (me thinks mr. sky is trying to apologize or compensate for his friend mr. air who has been scorching this part of the world)

And if you love sky scenes, check out these moon beam pictures my friend, Patty has captured in the skies of Virginia. She has a way of zeroing in on anything that shines...I loved these photos!

Despite the fact that mother nature is more than capable of doing her own decorating, I added a little tree beauty to her world in order to showcase another little treasure from my Florida trip...

I merely took advantage of those little branches that pop up randomly where they're not supposed to be on mature trees and "tied" my new tray to the tree.

While my usage of the outside layer to this photo does not due this artists' creations justice I did want to share with any photoshop veiwers a gorgeous blog offering fabulous textures. I am still learning photoshop where these textures will rock when applied properly...my rendition is a cheap version (strong emphasis on cheap) of just layering and using a transparency brush to reveal my photo. The "real thing" is beyond dreamy...

Check out Kim's blog and her beautiful photos! Her prices for these textures are so reasonable and she even offers up free ones if you sign up to receive her newsletter.

And speaking of free stuff...

Terri has recently posted a couple of wonderful digital image freebies here and here. Go grab 'em! I had the pleasure of meeting Terri and her FUN ART when she won one of my giveaways.

So guess where that leads me to next. Yep! A giveaway... Connie is offering up a couple of yummy things...

Here's one of them! Isn't she a beautiful seamstress? Yes, indeed! She also has two adorable grandbabies...one is brand new. Check out those precious photos when you visit as well!

Now that we're talking about giveaways, I just realized that this is my 100th post since moving my blog to Typepad. Time to pull together a giveaway of my own...hmmmm... so many possibilities. Stay tuned....

Warm hugs to all the fabulous souls in the blogosphere...you all fill my world with so much inspiration!

xo, sue

Giveaway Winner and Where Women {collect} Want to Create

I'm still plugging away in "my room" which is the bonus room over our garage. Dragging boxes from the basement and sorting through my stuff. As someone who has collected and crafted for over two decades the stash I've accumulated is.......I can't think of the right word.

Ridiculous?

Awesome?

Hideous?

A Royal Mess?

Oozing with Creative Potential?

Perhaps a mixture of all of the above! All I know is that right now, my work area looks more like where a woman collects and wants to create as opposed to my goal of where a woman actually does create...but I am making steady progress.

 
However, as I rediscover stuff that has been packed away, hidden from sight, my mind begins to fill with ideas. Organizing Angel and the We-Love-Chaos-Demon begin to do battle. It takes every ounce of willpower not to stop the sifting, sorting, pitching and organizing in exchange for running off to chase the latest creative muse.

But I have a huge incentive....On June 19th, Karen, at My Desert Cottage is hosting her second WHERE BLOGGERS CREATE party! As of this writing there are 390 signed up to showcase their creative work areas! How fun! Everyone is invited. You can read all about it by clicking on the link to her name.

I can only imagine all the eye candy and inspiration that will be showcased during that awesome tour of work spaces!

Are you loving that little pink metal doll case? Maybe a year ago [or more!] I bought it from Janna who is now involved in a HUGE antique shop up in North Carolina that I am itching to go and check out. It wouldn't be a bad drive from where I live...it's on my wish list. Janna is a great junker, with a fun blog if you love old, rusty, and antique items. The name of her blog, Artsy Fartsy Finds gives a little glimpse into her witty, and fun humor as well!

Before I ramble any further, let me announce the winner of the book WHERE WOMAN CREATE....

Counting down the comment list, that would be Anne! Congratulations and I hope you'll enjoy this book as much as I have enjoyed it!

xo, Sue
 

Party, Celebrate, and a Giveaway!

There's a two year birthday celebration going on in the land of Pink Saturday!

In fact, our dear hostess of this event, Beverly, was recently interviewed and a feature article on Pink Saturday appeared in the latest issue of ARTFUL BLOGGING. Squeals and clapping could be heard throughout the land of Pink Saturday participants. It is always fun to see wonderful things happen to nice people!

In honor of this big day, I made the digital card above combining a photo of flowers from my garden, several layers of digital onlays, a favorite old photograph, and a little bit of digital manipulation.

In addition, I've come to this birthday celebration with a present in hand and will be sending it to someone!

 
All you need to do is leave a comment on this post and you'll be entered in the drawing for this giveaway gift. Pink Saturday gals {and the occasional gent} are a very inclusive group, therefore, you need not be a participant of Pink Saturday to throw your name in for the drawing. All comments rec'd before 11 PM, EST, on Wed., June 2nd will be entered in the drawing.

I love this book! Jo Packham and Jenny Doh did an amazing job...beautiful photography...a more personal glimpse into the lives {and studios!} of many artists I have long admired...and so much more!

A complete listing of all today's participants can be found on Beverly's blog. I'm looking forward to visiting as many as possible over the next few days to see how the rest of you will be celebrating this joyous occasion!

p.s. Wanted to mention an online class I spotted in learning the basics of Photoshop Elements for anyone who might want to check it out. Gail has a short video clip you can watch which gives a highlight of how she will be teaching. There's also a description listed here and she's offering a huge discount but the offer ends May 31st. It looks very interesting. I'm tempted....!  

Winners!

First, a big, warm thank you to everyone for participating in this giveaway! There are so many kindhearted angels in this world and how I wish I could have chosen dozens of names.

After quickly realizing that the random generator wouldn't work as I had a few emails as well as some comments being worth 2 chances in the drawing, I chose the winners the old fashioned way...

I'm sure if I were more clever there would have been an easier way...but the thought occurred to me as I was writing each name on a slip of paper, that each of these names { most of whom I've never had the pleasure of meeting} represented a life.

 A precious life.

Each possessing extreme value and a divine purpose and  special dreams...

...just like those precious women in Haiti for whom this giveaway will benefit.

 

...with eyes closed, I swished and swished the entries around more times than I needed to....oh how I wanted everyone to win! 

But the winners are................

Congratulations, Terri, Sharon, and Nancy!

[Nancy, if you have a blog let me know and I'll update this post with a link to yours as well!] Edited: link to Nancy's blog is now in place!

Happy shopping to you in the Haiti by Hand Etsy Shop!

I'll follow up with each of you in an email later today to share the specifics of how to redeem your chosen treasures from the Etsy store!
 

It's a GIVEAWAY!

more recent posts to include pink saturday are located after this post 

I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.

~Edward Everett Hale

Yes, indeed, it's a GIVEAWAY!  And you get to choose your own prize(s)! Even better, you'll be going shopping without ever leaving your house! As if those aren't enough reasons for celebration, I've saved the best news for last. By going shopping, you'll be sharing more hope and more love to a beautiful group of women in Haiti.

 That's right! Three of you sweet ladies will each have a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to the HAITI BY HAND ETSY SHOP!  

Leaving a comment on this post up until Wednesday, April 28th, 9PM EST, is all you need to do in order to be eligible to win one of the certificates. Want to double or triple your chances of winning? If you would be so kind as to blog about this giveaway OR make a donation to the Haiti by Hand Etsy shop your name will be added once for each of these thoughtful gestures. Be sure to let me know if you do either of these {email or in a comment}.

If you don't have an Etsy account, don't let that stop you from entering. It's easy and free to sign up for your own account.

Like many of you, I've been so inspired by Rebecca Sower's heart, tireless efforts, and hopeful vision for the people of Haiti. As she's mentioned in her Haiti by Hand blog, she's just one person and while she can't reach every person in Haiti, she can reach some of them. And when others do a little here and a little there, all of our littles can grow into something bigger. {same concept as how laundry piles become enormous!}

In fact, when the idea first came to me to offer gift certificates to the HBH Etsy shop as a giveaway, I hesitated. After all, I don't have a big blog. Not by any stretch of the wildest imagination. Pushing that can't do thought aside, I realized that even my little {or your little} will be greatly appreciated by these dear women in Haiti. So with wobbly little legs {can't do attitude now hitching up with a little insecurity!} I shot an email off to Rebecca. Of course, being the sweetheart she is, her kindness encouraged me to move forward. And likewise, through our combined gestures of kindness, we can encourage these Haitian women to move forward as well...

If you haven't already done so, I would encourage you to read the Haiti by Hand blog and meet some of these dear people for whom our collective efforts will serve to wrap them in a warm, sweet hug and plant priceless seeds of hope in their hearts!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo