Wednesday, February 29, 2012

International Postcard Swap 2012, cards rec'vd

I was going to wait to share until I had rec'vd all 10 but patience is NOT a virtue of mine...lol Below are the cards I have rec'vd, they are all so unique and interesting. I hope you enjoy them too!


Here are the seven I have rec'vd so far....

www.milanstudio.com -- Kay Milan, San Antonio, TX
And Kay was my very first card!!!!

Pennwoodframnc.blogspot.com -- Anna Micciolla, 

Tracy L Vandermay, Bellingham WA

dorcaspennyfather.wordpress.com
This has come the farthest....England!!!

Tricia Lawson....I have no idea where she is from,
unfortunately no return addy??? But what a 
BEAUTIFUL card!!!

raeisravenus.blogspot.com Rachel
again, no return addy but very cool card!!!

Kara, I wish ppl would have given me their
general location...lol But again, I love the
card...it is a great reminder of why I began
to dabble in art in the first place!!!

I hope you enjoy these lovely postcards as much as I do. Check out these blogs....they are fabulous and fun!

Just a side note...I live in Kettering, Ohio and it is LEAP DAY!!! 2/29/2012!!! And the weather is a frigid 68 degrees!!! I love when we have such cold winters...lol My only fear is the great (in my opinion) winter we have had this year can only bode poorly for the summer....I don't tolerate heat well!!!!! 

Have a lovely extra February day!!!!












Sunday, February 26, 2012

Mexican-ish Stew


Today I made a "Mexican-ish" Stew. I slow cooked a pork roast in 2 cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies, 1 package each of onion soup mix and spicy taco seasoning. After 4 hours on high I added on can of V8 juice, 2 cans of (rinsed) black beans and 1 can of shoe peg corn. It turned out a little spicier than I had intended...but YUM!!!!! 



Monday, February 20, 2012

Update on the family

The end of the year started rather nicely with the announcement that my family would be growing. Yes, my son and his bride are already adding to their family.
B2 - Gummy
They refer to him/her as gummy because they believe he looks like a gummy bear...lol I refer to him as
B2...for baby number 2. They don't really care what the gender is so long as the baby is healthy, but if 
they could choose, they'd like a son so they have a set...lol

But the beginning of the year was very sad. My Aunt Virginia suffered a stroke and went into a coma. The very next day her daughter died unexpectedly. Within 2 weeks Aunt Virginia passed as well. They were lovely ladies and they shall be very much missed.

As you may know my son lives in Cincinnati (I live in Dayton). His car broke down while I was in Tennessee for my cousins funeral. So they no longer get to come visit with my grand daughter. But I can go there so as my finances and these every rising prices on the gas will allow. After my Aunt V passed (and she was laid to rest in TN too, next to her husband and daughter) we had a memorial celebration with the family here. I went to Cincy and picked the kids up and brought them home for it. I so enjoyed seeing them even under such sobering circumstances. As it happened the memorial was on my son's birthday, my baby turned 21 and he hasn't been my "baby" in a long time...

           
 Isn't my sweet girl so pretty, what a happy smile.     

 My dil and her baby...nothing like a mommy's kiss.

This past weekend I volunteered at the fundraising gala for Artemis Center (it is a resource center for domestic violence and a worthy cause). It was a lovely affair held at a local country club. I got to get all gussied up for it...any excuse to dress up is a fun night...lol

 
 Looking regal in my finery...lol    

 Having fun with the photo booth props.

I just registered for my final quarter before graduation. I will graduate Wright State University this June with a bachelors in Public Administration/Nonprofit Management. Then I will have to figure out what I wanna be when I grow up. I am considering going for my masters but perhaps I will just find a job instead. So many options. 

In July my favorite cousins, my son and his family and I will be going for a little vacation to a cabin in Kentucky. I can't wait. I haven't been on a real live vacation in over 16 years...and to be with my favorite family members who make me laugh so hard I cry will just be the bit of relaxing I need. It will also be about a month and a half before the newest member of the family will be born. 

So while the first of the year has had its tragedies and joys the middle of the year promises to have many more joys and that is a blessing!

Hope you are all having a safe, happy and healthy new year!


Sunday, February 19, 2012

International Post Card Swap from Musings on Reality

Hello everyone;

My offerings for the Post Card Swap
At the end of last year I joined a "post card swap" hosted by Musings On Reality blog. It is a very witty and interesting blog, you should stop by and take a peak if you have time. http://www.musingsonrealities.blogspot.com/

Anyway...I thought I would share the post cards that I have made and am sending out just in the nick of time as the deadline is tomorrow...lol I hope you enjoy them. I tried some new techniques such as water colors and scrapping with mixed results. I think they are all nice enough to share but, as I am sure many of you understand, you have a certain expectation as an artist and sometimes you don't feel you live up to that. Hopefully everyone who rec'vs one of mine will like them well enough!!!

Stop by again soon....

A zentangle inspired piece (ink, colored pencil and glitter)

This is done in a "journaling" technique.
I love it when I have seen others do it.
I am unsure how I feel about mine. At
times I like it and others, not so much.
The quotes are all about trees, of course...lol
(ink and colored pencil)

I am rather pleased with this as it is my first ever
watercolor!!! I thinks it's pretty good....even if I
say so myself...and I do...lol
(water color and ink)

This is done with ink and water colors. Then I  used
the butterflies and added glitter to them. I think it
has a nice effect all together.

This is just one of my doodles....I really enjoy this type
of free drawing the best. I think it is very expressive.
I know you shouldn't be boastful of yourself, but I am
very fond of this type of art. This is done in ink and
colored pencils.

Another zentangle inspired piece done in ink and 
pastels my first experimentation in pastels. I rather
enjoyed them and hope to become better with them.


This was my first attempt at "multi-media" for this swap.
I have used multi-media techniques in my other art but
I think I was being too literal here because someone was
challenging me, so to speak. I used scraping, watercolor
pencils, ink, and stickers. Overkill perhaps, as multi-media
goes, but I am not too unhappy with it.  ;-)

This is one I am very proud of. I did the flowers in
a combo of watercolors and ink. I then cut them out
and placed them with scrapping stickers for a 3D
sorta effect. I made the leaves from scrap paper
and then added a lovely quote by Gerard De Nerval;
Every flower is a soul blossoming in Nature.

This was my last one. It too is zentangle inspired 
(inspired because I do not solely use patterns from
zentangling). It has a faded pastel back ground in 
shades of pink, purple, blue, green and yellow and is
drawn in ink.

This is zentangle inspired made with ink, colored 
pencil and rhinestones.

UPDATE!!!!

Took my postcards to the post office...My "3D" one is being sent to the Netherlands and even though I marked it "fragile handle with care" (which used to mean it would be pulled and hand stamped everywhere it went along its way to the destination) it will be sent through the machines all the way there. I pray that it manages to get there still looking at least 1/2 way decent...not happy!!!! :-(