Happy Mail

After running around like a crazy woman all week, it was lovely to come home and see a couple of packages on the table, addressed to moi!  :)  

I am truly blessed with great bloggy and etsy friends.  You are all quite spectacular!

Look at the goodies I got.  :)  It feels like an extension of my birthday.  Yay!!

I commented on a post on Cameron's blog, not realizing that I would be entered into a drawing.  So, I was super surprised, as well as thrilled, that my name was very randomly drawn or should I say thrown.  Cameron not only sends the promised item, but also an abundance of goodies to go with it.  

I love her Dream painting.  It is sooo beautiful and perfect for a dreamer like me.  I can't wait to hang it up.  Yay!!!  

Thank you, Cameron!!  :)

This came in my second package of loveliness, from my friend Diane that I met through Etsy.  She was sending me a book and decided to also throw in some of her lovely art work.  Diane does watercolor paintings (she painted the gorgeous set of books and the cute little birdies), which I admire and love.  She sells them in her Etsy shop here.  

She also has a separate shop here, where she sells prints of Art Nouveau and Art Deco.  Which I also love.  

It makes me happy to have extra wall space in this house.  Now I can be surrounded by beautiful art in every room.  

Thank you so much.  

Again, I feel very blessed.  

The Days Go By!

It is always amazing to me, how quickly the days go by.  I blink and I lose a week.  In case I haven't mentioned, I recently got a job and so my time has been a bit busier.  In between I have been trying to work on art, as well as time with family and making each day full of joy filled moments.  A few glimpses of our days.  

Hope you are all well and enjoying the moments!  

Another drawing.

My dream journal, made from matte paper, duct tape and marbled paper.

Some of my goals and dreams. :)

I like this picture.  A path of trees.

My last of the seasons:  Winter

Some lovely artwork from an Etsy artist, that I purchased a while back.

Check out his site, he creates fantasy art.  Fairies, Celtic Art and many other lovely things. 

https://www.etsy.com/people/jeshannon 

pics in the cemetery.

What a cool tree.

My hub and I found the most awesome restaurant on a rooftop, 5 stories high.  yay!

Cheers!  We love finding new places together.

The view from the rooftop.

And UFO's

A cool door.

Flying pigs.

A day date with my hub, I love day dates. 

The Wednesday Market...bagpipes.

Our weekly BBQ.  

The dogs love BBQ days. This is Ballou.

And Porky.  He is getting old and sadly, we just found out 

he has a cancerous tumor in his shoulder.  :(

This has been our week.  Hope your week is going well and has been filled with many moments of joy.  

Happy Mums Day!

I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me.  They have clung to me all my life.  ~Abraham Lincoln

painting by: Eastman Johnson

10 things my mother taught me:


1.  to love and be generous always, no matter how poor you may be, you always have something to give...even if it's just a kind word.


2.  that laughter is truly the best medicine and you should do it often.  We laugh a lot when we're together.


3.  to sing at the top of your lungs and surround yourself with good music.  Especially on road trips.  


4.  there is a saying, quote or song for absolutely every situation in life.


5.  when someone comes to your house, never let them leave empty handed.  (send them home with goodies)


6.  there is always a good reason to throw a dress up party.


7.  always make time for people, they're the most important part of life.


8.  pray.

9.  hugs are the bomb diggity.


10.  make a list of what you need to do and you will do it.  




My mom:  

My mom with her dad.  

A beauty, she has such a wonderful smile and bright blue eyes.

she always loves to dress up for every occasion, one year

she was Raggedy Ann for my Raggedy Ann themed birthday party.  It was awesome.

My mom and I, after a long day of cookie making.  Every year we decorate Christmas cookies for hours.  Usually about 8 - 10 dozen of them.  We would end up loopy by the end of it all.  

She is a supreme cookie maker!!  

Always thoughtful and kind!

Loved by everyone who knows her.

Extremely compassionate.

Always knows just what to do.

Has endless crazy stories of things that have actually happened to her.

She is one of the most determined and non-procrastinating 

people I've ever known.

She remembers everyone's birthdays and always makes

 sure to send them a card.

She is truly the epitome of been there, done that.  

Hope your day is filled with love and blessings!

Happy Mum's Day to you!!

You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back.  ~William D. Tammeus

An Illustrated Life: Inspirations

In my last post, I showed pictures and talked about my own little art journal.  I wanted to also show you the book, that my mother had made for me as a gift, it is a collection of my art journal, put into a book.  She had one made for each of my children.  

I also wanted to share with you, where my original inspiration for my journal came from.  Edith Holden, she was an artist in the late 1800's, early 1900's.  She taught art and had books of her art and  illustrations from her nature observations.  When I worked at the library, I ran across her books and was so inspired by them.  I was thrilled to find them and checked them out many times.  I loved the simplicity of them.  

As much as I love the idea of art journals made with mixed media, I really wanted something that I could easily take with me and work on, anywhere.   If you are interested in finding out more about Edith, there is a great site here.  

Happy day to you!!  

this is one I've not seen before, but would like to check it out.  

this is the book my mother had made for me.

these are some of my journal pages put together in the book.

I was so surprised and happy that my mom did this for me and for my children.