The Best from Around the Web

I love the website Pinterest. It's an amazing source of inspiration and ideas...people post items found from all




over the web that they love. This is a place where really, only beautiful things reside. In this cumulative world




you can find ideas for the home & garden, fashion, DIY art & craft projects, delicious food and recipes, ideas




for every occasion on the calendar and of course, my personal fave...art & photography.








Each week I hope to post my best finds from Pinterest. Think of it as a "best from the web"...a combo of




interesting and pretty things to inspire and make my readers smile. The original source for the image is found




underneath each post. When possible, I've included a link to items that can be purchased on the web.






DIY Craft Idea:






I'm so doing this...wildflowers in clear light bulbs, hanging from a tree. Genius!

Source: blog.freepeople.com via Claire on Pinterest

The Must Have of the Week:
Perfect for when I have to bring an appetizer or dessert to Bunco!

Purchase Strawberry Huller

Source: williams-sonoma.com via Laura on Pinterest

Wanderlust:

There are no words for how beautiful this is. Next trip to France I'm heading here!

Source: sunsurfer.tumblr.com via Laura on Pinterest

Heart Warmer:

How cute is this???

Source: clusterflock.org via Laura on Pinterest

Amazing Art:

So beautiful.

Source: gaksdesigns.tumblr.com via Laura on Pinterest

Words to Live By

A perfect way to end the post.

Source: aspiretolivelovelaugh.blogspot.com via Laura on Pinterest

Wordless Wednesday: Farm Life

Pink Nosed Calf

Weathered Textures & Colors

 Triplets

Fourteen

All images taken on Day 1 of the Cumbria Way from Ulverston to Coniston, UK.

Kitty Cats & Watercolors

Tiny Sookie

Whew! It has been a busy week with our new kitten, Sookie! She came with an upper respiratory infection and an intestinal parasite. It's probably been good for our older cat Sami, as having to keep separate boxes, water and food for at least 10 days is giving her time to adjust to the idea and scent of a new household member.

Sami lounging on the patio.

It's NOT been good for momma however. I'm exhausted keeping this door closed and that one open, moving this cat here, that kitten there. Constantly cleaning up in order not to have anything spread to the older cat. Small moments can be spent together in the same room but with supervision in case Sookie sneezes or takes off chasing Sami, something she does not like one bit!  They have been nose to nose without hissing and shared the same space outside for a bit.  Sookie is pretty chilled out and is so well behaved for a kitten that I'm pretty sure she must have been fostered by a loving human. But,  if all that wasn't enough, on Friday I found a staple sticking out of Sookie's tummy which had to be pulled out by the vet. Ewww.

 Sharing Space. Sami doesn't seem to mind that Sookie has the higher position.

 Her favorite toy is this buzzing, flapping bee on a stick.

 She found a feather and she *almost* caught her first lizard but momma captured it first!

The first few days of trying to get her outside on the patio were a struggle. She was totally afraid of the noises the birds and winds made. I don't think she had ever been outside until she came to us.

Needless to say, this has left little or no time for art or photography..well, except for the cute snap or video of the kitten:

Tuckered out...me too Sookie, me too. :)

Back in 2007 when my mom and I went to the UK for two months, I took a small watercolor kit with me and vowed to watercolor while traveling. I did one postcard and then put it away and grabbed the camera instead. It is a longing of mine to watercolor on all my trips. I restarted by watercoloring a bit while in Kansas. I realize just how hard it is to keep committed to that when there is so much to see and do. But, I did try! :)

But, since I've been back there has been little time for anything other than kitten care so I was grateful when Lita came over yesterday for an art day! Lita chose to work on a pencil sketch of a cat and I continued to work on my watercolor lessons. This meant Charlie was on kitty duty and momma got a break! Yay!
I've been practicing trees...

Next up on the watercolor lessons are grasses & weeds...sounds fun!

as for Sookie...turns out she's a poppa's girl:

Meet Sookie, our newest family member!

Sookie, 5 months. First day at her new home.

New in the Etsy shop!

I added a few new things this week to my Etsy shop including three packs of vintage image reprints from my personal collection. These are printed on acid-free paper with archival ink which will not run when paired with traditional art techniques. Perfect for use in your mixed media and art journaling projects!

 Vintage Pack 1

Vintage Pack 2 

Vintage Pack 3

I've also added some new jewelry to the shop. One is inspired by my love for Paris. The other for my love of creativity. Both come in lovely gift boxes.

Love from Paris

Create-Inspire-Joy-Love 

I've also added a few new photography prints as well! Thanks for taking a look at my Etsy Shop!

Home on the Range

This week I took a very short trip back to Kansas. The purpose was to see family and there was not much time for photography. I had one morning to stop and shoot a few images while taking my grandmother out to check on her Milo crop. I had to take the D80 instead of my D90 as I had broken the cover for the LCD screen and didn't want to risk getting it scratched up during travel. And, I took my lens that, while on the Cumbria Way stopped focusing automatically which meant everything had to be focused manually. And if that wasn't bad enough, I left my prescription glasses somewhere in the Atlanta airport AND lost the bottom half of my cellphone cover. Ah well, despite all that here are my favorites shots from the morning, starting with a few of me and my family and followed by images of the landscape:

The Golden Years

 (My lovely mother and grandmother enjoying the view in Fort Dodge)

 In the Bosom of the Prairie

 (haha...they look like boobs to me!)

Poor Boy Racer

(My cousin Adam with his race car)

Once I land in Kansas, I realize how much I miss the land of my birth, the wide open spaces, the golden fields of wheat and the 360° view of blue sky. Of course, after a couple of days of having poor food choices and hot, dry, dusty weather, I'm always happy I live in South Florida. Still, it's a beautiful land that will always have a piece of my heart. ♥

 Midwestern Lines

 Music on the Waters

 Poor Man Tarps

 Windthorst Windmill and Parish Church

Casterline Seeds

Whisper of the Wind

Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam, where the deer and the antelope play.

Where seldom is heard a discouraging word and the skies are not cloudy all day.

Art Journals & more...

Hello friends! I finally started the long awaited vintage-inspired travel journal for my 1994 trip to Europe. I'm using a Moleskine watercolor journal.

I attached paper with a Fleur de Lis print to the cover and stamped a Parisian image over

patterned paper. Burgundy acrylic was scrubbed on with a dry brush. Matching ribbon and charm finish the cover. The first page inside will be a "chapter" page and will be completed last.

Page one is a print of a vintage postcard from my collection. Never use your originals! You never know when you may need it again. I chose a postcard of the Notre Dame gargoyles sitting over Paris. I write a few memories on the card directly and attach it to a page painted with earthy watercolors. Gold photo corners give it the "photo album" feel.

For page two, I sketched the original boarding pass. I printed a lovely vintage image and deckled the edges. Rubber stamps were used with sepia ink and stamped above the boarding pass and on the image.
And, that's as far as I got! Lita noticed how all my journals have at least the first page done. Some have several pages and some just have one page, but none are finished. And yet I keep buying more! I wonder what that says about my personality? Any guesses?

I sketched an old door last week and filled it with watercolor. The full resolution sketch is available for download in my Etsy shop. Just print and paint! Or get out that box of 64 crayons with the built in sharpener and revisit your childhood!

I worked on my Doll Dreams art journal. A piece of how I was feeling over the loss of my 15 year old cat, Pi.

The background was journaled about one week before she passed away. I was writing about her illness and what I was trying to do to help her. After she passed I couldn't read it anymore so I did the dolly over the writing. We miss her so. :(

Two versions of a mixed media piece called Caribbean Dream:

This is the finished piece. This Caribbean Dream has a place of honor in my cabana bathroom. :)

And to end today's post how about when art and photography come together? You get Surreal Dreams:

The result of dropping some ink into my paint jar full of dirty water. I watched it swirl and move, taking on a life of it's own. I think "Groovy, man" would be an appropriate comment on this piece. :)

So, I'm off traveling again...just a hop, skip and a jump and I'll be home before I'm even missed. You all have a fabulous weekend and don't forget to sneak in some creative time! xo