My Weblog

Do you like me?

 

 

 

 

If you answered yes, chances are, like me, you adore vintage metal containers. This one I'm guessing is a rare find. I'm goo-goo ga-ga over it.

In my imagination gone wild, at one time in history, this safe-like container held the orginal reels to Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz.

Okay...maybe there's a one in a million chance that actually happened. But as Jim Carey so eloquently stated in Dumb and Dumber..."so you're saying there's a chance!"

I'm playing along in Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday party today. Today's challenge was to feature a photo containing words...ones we've added or those present in the original capture.   

 Kim Klassen textures used on today's photos include: may magic, #3 from the Ben collection, framed, not too shabby, life's good, love, and KK2 may magic. Most of the photos also have a Florabella or Pioneer Woman action applied as well.

Speaking of rare treasures, today is our 31st wedding anniversary. Happy 31st Anniversary to Lynn & her hubby {another Texture Tuesday participant as well!}. We met in bloggyland and discovered we share the same anniversary date!

So many blessings!

 
Spring has returned.  The Earth is like a child that knows poems. 

 ~Rainer Maria Rilke

Everyday there is a new plant peeking out of the ground, others stretching to new heights, an explosion of colors all around me....oh, how I adore Spring. And March Madness....as in NCAA basketball tournaments. Seriously. Die hard fan of college basketball. Especially the ACC, and specifically the Duke Blue Devils.

Despite the warmer weather calling me outdoors, I do come in for the games I need to watch. Which is most of them! And blessings heaped upon blessings, my Dukie boys are still in the dance!

As if all of that isn't enough, I was also blessed to win Cherie's {Humble Pie Designs} recent giveaway! {check out her She Art she has posted on her blog...next class begins April 11th!}

 

Amy Barickman's scrumptious book she was most generous to donate to the cause...

 
Lots of special little touches in the box as well....

 
It's filled with articles from days gone by...Department of Good Looks makes me smile. When stress has the better of you, it's time to melt into the mattress of the couch. Such timeless wisdom...

Speaking of stress, and the NCAA games, and not being someone who sits still very well....

...I've been reading through this book while watching the games. This little illustration from the book sort of jumped off the pages to me. Sparked an idea to keep my hands busy...inspired me to stitch some little embroidered flower medallions...

 

 

 
....lots of stitching going on during the games...the little flower pieces are stitched to a 100% cotton batting...the quilt squares, if you will, are pieces of vintage wallpaper first glued to a sheet of paper {also did a linen backing version} and then stitched...

 
Okay...and maybe I pop a few of those healthy ALMONDS {covered in sugar and chocolate} into my mouth as well, to relieve stress, of course.

I'm a big fan of cheetos and nacho doritos too but those leave orange fingerprints on handwork...m&m's don't!

Also tucked into the box was this pattern of Amy's...I'm pretty sure I could see myself melting into the couch in a pair of those jammie bottoms...

Good thing all my little ones are old enough to drive themselves to where they need to go these days.  Cuz back in the day when I was the driver to all the practices...

....and my gardening time was interupted to make the next run...

...i can't tell you how many times they'd ask if I was going to change into normal shoes before we left. They'd be asking the same question if I ventured out in these fun jammie bottoms as well....

 
What's wrong with these garden boots?! Why didn't they want their mother to wear them out in public? 

Oh well. You can't please all of the people all of the time.

Unless of course, you put a sweet package in their hands like the one I received from Cherie! Cherie who is always such a bundle of warm encouragement and talented little creator of all things artsy! Thank you so much {and Amy too!} for such wonderful gifts.

Xo and many warm blessings, Sue

GO DUKE!

Happy Day of Love

 
...thirty-seven years sharing this special day with my sweetie...

...six of them while dating {{{high school sweethearts}}}

However, Valentine's Day isn't just for sweethearts. It's a day to remember all those special people in our lives.

 Blessed are the we who have friends and family in our lives.  

And for those who've had their hearts crushed because they've loved {and that would be most of us} love is always worth the risk. High risk, high reward. But I would rather look like my old Teddy Bear...with a few love-rubbed spots on my heart, than to have a heart that was never taken out of the box. 

You too, I hope...

May your day be beautiful, however you plan to spend it...

 
 Speaking of love stories, I noticed Karen at My Desert Cottage is hosting a Share Your Love Story event today! I always think the stories of how couples met are so fun to hear. As for my beloved and me, we met at the ripe old age of 16 at a bowling alley.

He loves to quote the line from the 1981 Dudley Moore movie "Arthur"...

"Usually one must go to a bowling alley to meet a woman of your stature."

YYYYYYYYYYY

credits: textures used on photos from Kim Klassen and Designerdigitals

One Thousand Gifts

 
When I saw the package from Amazon, I tore into the thing thinking for sure it was one of the photography books I just ordered.

Instead, it was this book.

A book I didn't even remember ordering.

For a moment, I got a sick feeling thinking I just ripped open the neighbor's mail. And then just as quickly hoping it wasn't the same neighbor...you know, the one whose package I accidentally opened at Christmastime.  

Looking at the order sheet it definitely had my name on it. Whew. In fact, I preordered this book back on November 13th. No wonder.

Oh my.

Go get this book.

"A book destined to become a classic; the sort of book you dog-ear and re-read for the sheer joy of cherishing the words and experiencing the depth of the heart that wrote it." ----Mary DeMuth, author of Thin Places: A Memoir

I'm only a few chapters in and I wholeheartedly agree with Mary. And I don't even know Mary...never heard of her. But she's right. I have underlined so many passages...

...here's one I put to some photos I snapped yesterday.

It begins: "...I wonder too...if the rent in the canvas of our life backdrop, the losses that puncture our world, our own emptiness, might actually become places to see. To see through to God."

 
 

 
 

A New Year ALREADY?

 
2011? Already? How can that be? I haven't even posted about Christmas yet.

 
Or about our Christmas Day snowfall! The first measurable snow for Christmas in Atlanta in 128 years {according to the newspaper}. Even for someone like me who far prefers

* balmy 90 degrees temps

*and sunshine

*and flowers everywhere

I have to admit it was quite ***heavenly***!

 
But December was a blur. Our youngest had to have hand surgery on the 20th {yes...just before Christmas} to repair torn tendons in his hand. {basketball injury}  And another child moved into a new apartment mid Dec., and on and on.

In other words...."life".......................but despite it all, and perhaps because I chose to be okay with all the things I wanted to do, but couldn't, we really had a special Christmas together. {true confession: i don't receive consistently good marks in being okay with life's circumstances. add it to the "will strive to do better list" i know i would do better if there weren't so many circumstances...ha ha}

{Note to self: Attitude vs. Circumstances. Attitude will prevail every time. So will it be a good attitude, or a stinky attitude?!}

 
Okay, and I'll also confess, an obsession with my new camera and lenses can also be blamed for a little of my MIA as of late...not to mention computer woes that still remain unsolved and continue to worsen....worsen because "moi" tries to use her own set of computer skills {which hover close to the "none" mark} to fix things.... 

But there's a whole new year ahead of us...time to say good-bye to the old, and hello to the new.

Personally, I'm glad to say so long {good riddance?} to 2010. It's been a rough one. The kind of stuff that can send you to a dark pit if you allow it to have the last word. No doubt a lot of you can relate. Yet, I am convinced that without the harder pieces of life, we would never become our best. {assuming of course that we allow these experiences to make us better}

Yet, in fairness, I could fill pages with the blessings that have been mine as well. 

So with that said, here's wishing us all, a New Year filled with endless possibilities............ {like consistently good attitudes!}

 
...and a new voice..............

I'm still contemplating "my word" for the new year...but I think the word "wisdom" is speaking the loudest to me. How about you?

Xo, Sue

Purposeful

 

...a foto i shot the other day of a little section of this beautiful antique piece that currently sits among my "winter" garden...{some kim klassen textures added during editing}

while most of the flowers have begun going to sleep for the winter, there is a large patch of my pink verbena [and a few other flowering specimens] that have refused to succumb to winter's mandate that it's time to rest...{they must be part human!}

...as i processed this shot, i was thinking about what specific prayers, if they were to be answered, would have the greatest impact?

peace in our hearts?

peace in our world?

if i stopped to think long and hard enough, and if you believed in the power of prayer, like me, on any given day i could come up with a long list of prayers for me, for my family, for my friends, for the world, for....

 
 ...i wish i spent more time in prayer...but like anything, it is a discipline...a purposeful choice...

...one prayer i would like to mention is for Suz and her family. i don't know her well at all, but have followed her blog {katsuijewelry} for some time. when i read that her husband was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, it has been on my heart ever since...

...her posts on this subject are so beautifully written...i know that sounds odd given the seriousness of the subject...but it's how i felt each time i would read her latest post...as tears fell from my eyes...

like any of us would in a similar situation, i'm sure she covets as many prayers as we can offer up...

 
...once again i find myself trying to catch up in blogland...to respond to emails...edit the million pics i've taken with some new camera equipment...haven't even started anything that remotely resembles "Christmas"...hopefully by this weekend i'll knock some of those want-to-do's off my list...

...been in a very reflective mood lately...it wasn't but a week or two ago that i snapped this picture of the pond behind our home...and seemingly overnight, the scene has changed dramatically--the colored leaves are no more...

...i'm so glad i took the time to enjoy that lovely view despite all the other cares of the world that seem to press in and want a piece of my time...

...come to think of it, that's eerily similar to what happens to my good intentions of wanting to spend more time in prayer...

 
...here's to more purposeful living....and to answered prayer...and may we have peace in our hearts even when the answer is "no"..."maybe"...or "wait some more"...

xo, sue

I dare you...

 
{{Laura at 52Flea interviewed a European artist here and when I read the words quoted above, they called to me...I loved those words...it's so easy in life to stay in our safe little comfort zones, but we all know that real growth comes when we step outside those carefully guarded perimeters of "safe"...}}

The little single pink rose was a summer gift that appeared on one of my rose bushes this summer. But learning how to glam up this photo was a direct result of learning a few of the basic manuevers in Photoshop Elements. Of course, I have to mention that there are also several layers of Kim's new magic pack textures applied to this photo as well...

 
...her newest textures that I am totally in love with....

 
"Technical" things like computers, sophisticated remote controls (!), blackberry's, elaborate software programs, etc. all give me major fits. I am not gifted at all in the world of technical. Photoshop Elements fell into this same category..........it was like reading Greek. And I don't read Greek. So if my latest posts are making me sound like a Kim Klassen groupie.....I only have this to say.....I admit it. I have become an avid fan........she taught me the gift of using photoshop.

If I can learn PSE, anyone can...so when I read that Kim is offering a FREE Beginner's class to Photoshop, I had to share this information. And if you didn't already know it, Adobe also offers a FREE 30 day trial download to PSE. Check it out here.

One thing that I am pretty decent at though, is math. And free + free = FREE! So what do you have to lose?

I dare you......

xo, Sue

Searching...

...found that quote in some free publication that was in our mailbox...thought it spoke volumes...

...meanwhile, instead of knocking off important stuff on my to do list, {which will soon turn into a list renamed as "it's now on fire!" if I don't get busy soon} I keep playing with my camera and textures and pse...

...but I will keep searching for that girl who is organized, on time, and strikes a healthy balance between "should do" and "want to do"....

Xo, Sue

credits: textures by Kim Klassen

Birthday Boy...

Our baby boy turned seventeen today. He's always been the "detail guy" and the more layers you add to a celebration, the better the celebration. And the more days you celebrate something as important as his birthday, the better the birthday!

Way back when, little things like a fresh peach and a crispy bagel loaded with cream cheese for breakfast were how you added the layers. Balloons hanging from every light fixture, having the family wake you by being sprayed with silly string, a special note tucked into your snack for school, mom showing up at school with cupcakes with three inches of frosting....sigh....those were the days.

What constitutes a good layer has changed quite a bit over the years. This year it was having a better sound system installed in his wheels. 

But that didn't stop me from adding my own little layers today...a birthday balloon on his front seat and a little hurdy gurdy that plays happy birthday when you crank the handle...

Some traditions are hard to let go of, 

no matter

how

big or old they get...

 
 
 

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