Really?

THE PROMPT: Really?!

from A year in the life Art Journal 

THE SONG:

Tell Me Something I Don't Know

by Selena Gomez

PRODUCT/TECHNIQUE: Speech bubbles

I had a page already started in my journal:

wallpaper scraps created a border,

splash of color with pastel crayons.

So I worked quickly, looking for

random images from magazines.

Everything was falling into place,

tissue, gel pen, charcoal, marker and more color.

Everything is feeling good,

then the MUSE screeches

to a halt....!

So the "story ending"

to what this page

is all about is left to the beholder,

until the MUSE returns;

at 3:00 in morning,

or travelling on a road trip,

or journaling in a coffee shop.....

...til then,

this IS my entry!

Really??

More postcards from Ihanna DIY poscard swap 2011

from Spencertown, New York

a beautiful collage with my home State of NH

I am touched by the effort to make it personal.

from Albany, Oregon

Watercolors with salt technique & stamps

created a gorgeous texture on watercolor paper.

Stunning!!!

Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA

Incredible!

Tiger included a lovely note explaining the layers and elements.

Different decorative papers, gesso, layers of paints,

wax, rice paper, prismacolor pencils and more wax.

Truly a work of art suitable for framing!

The back of the postcard included various stamps as well.

The details are more beautiful in person.

I am very honored to receive these gifts.

Mail Goodness and Swaps

I love getting mail,

and participating in a swap

is a great way to get mail.

Today I worked on little 3 x 5 cards

for a swap I decided to join

hosted by a yahoo group

called In This House and Garden

The theme is "Meet The Artist"

An actual head photo is required,

and the rest is the artistic/creative part.

You make a card for every participant (20 total).

I used the body from a prim bunny doll

I had made a couple years ago.

My story involves my creative journey

from making prim dolls to mixed media.

I am really looking forward to seeing

the creativity in this swap!

I received this really neat card in the mail this week.

I ordered it from

LittleJoys on Etsy.

I intended for it to be a gift,

but decided to keep it

after displaying it on a shelf in my studio.

I may have to order another one!

The craftsmanship is perfect in every way.

I really liked the way this card was

constructed to resemble a house,

and especially enjoy seeing it on my shelf!

My curiosity led to buying this book,

In This House purchased from Altered Bits on Etsy.

It arrived all wrapped up like a present.

I enjoyed the suspense.

I didn't realize at the time I made this purchase,

 that these authors are the same moderators

for the yahoo group I will be swapping in.

The book became more special with that realization.

In fact, I feel honored and more excited for the swap.

Such a small world.

I will wrap up this post by showing 4 postcards

I received this week from the DIY 2011 postcard Swap.

Three little birds from Cave Junction, OR

Coffee Bean collage from Carol Stream, IL

Collage with stacked rocks and daffodils from Chicago, IL

Illustrated penquins and Flamingo from Teloma Village, Australia

The last post card included a very lovely note from Anne,

which absolutely made my day!

Tapestry & Chenille and Night critters

I recently had my old faithful sewing machine repaired,

after breaking down before the holidays.

It needed a new motor, and I can't believe

how it hummmms!  *grinning*

I have a lot of fabric to choose from,

but seriously wanted to downsize a huge

inventory of chenille and tapestry.

I decided to play with a Sue Spargo pattern,

omitting the hand stitched embellishments.

I just want to whip up something quick.

The finished size is 21" x 14" and

I think it's just what I had in mind.

* * * *

Back in January I wrote about a cat

shelter we put outside for ONE  ferral cat,

we named "Spooky".

After seeing a racoon in the yard,

Tim setup his night vision camera

so that we could see who's eating in the cat house.

Here is new Cat #1 - looks young

New Cat #2 "Scruffy"

It looks like it's been around the block some!

Here's original cat "Spooky"

So glad this cat is still around.

We thought it was living under our shed,

and discovered it INSIDE.

New Cat #3 with a collar

Neighbor's cat I presume.

Baby Rocky Racoon  (darn it)

I really didn't want to attract raccoons.....

What have we here with a rat-tail????

Looks like a Pesky Possum......

In addition, there is also a hole about the diameter of

an orange, created by chipmunk(s) or red squirrel(s).

So now I'm faced with the decision of

continuing to feed or not.

I omitted the night feeding hoping the

cats would seek food in daylight.

My indoor cats don't know how good

they have it!