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

Wordless Wednesday: Somewhere in Time

Somewhere in Time

Flowers, Butterflies and Hummingbirds

A storm is brewing as I type this post. The constant singing of a female mockingbird has been temporarily replaced with the roll of thunder. Tiny specks of rain land on the window, each drop a bit larger than the one before it. The wind starts to wail. An intense tropical downpour. The first of the season and much needed. Seems I got home just in time from a morning out shooting flowers, butterflies and hummingbirds at Butterfly World. Here are a few of my favorites from today. Enjoy!

Summer Days

 Cains Birdwing

Pink Coral 

 Water drops are the latest fashion!

 Russelia Sarmentosa

Winged Rose

Sparkling Violet Ear Hummingbird on Takeoff

Fashion Photography with a Twist

Oh how I loved to play with paper dolls when I was a little girl! My favorites were Mattel's Rock Flower Paper Dolls (I even had the actual Rock Flower vinyl dolls too) and the Nanny & Professor Paper Dolls (remember that show?). I still have some of those, although they are in much-loved condition.

Playing with my Paper Dolls, 1970

Recently I have rediscovered that love, thanks to a new collage technique book called Collage Couture by Julie Nutting. I had pre-ordered it from Amazon and once it arrived, I read it cover to cover, oohing and aahing over the beautiful images created from paper and paint. Although I have yet to attempt any of the tutorials or techniques shown in the book, it inspired me to get out my pens, paper, scissors and glue and get to work creating my own paper dolls. What fun I had! And what a mess I made!

Fun in the Art Room

After I had made a few paper dolls, I decided to drag them into Photoshop and combine them with some of my travel photography. Just like when I was a little girl, my imagination had them going off on fabulous adventures wearing the most delightful fashions. A girl must always look her best when traveling! 

Streets of Siena

Out and About in D.C.

Kew Gardens

I've made each of these available in my Etsy shop as an 8x10 print. They will also be available on Zazzle as individual note cards and postcards. Eventually, I hope to make a set of paper dolls in matching fashions and make them available as note card sets with the paper dolls on plain white backgrounds. And, of course I hope to try some of the techniques shown in the book. So much to do, so little time! :)

I also did the first two pages of my Sketchbook Project. The theme is "Travel With Me". I started with a city that I have spent a few holidays in: Paris, France. My friend Phoebe is there now..am I jealous? Maybe a bit!

She's posting pictures and blogging from Paris right now! Lucky girl!

Travel with Me: Paris

Should I point out that the architecture for Notre Dame is all screwy? Ah well, that's the nature of the beast. Sometimes you have good sketches and sometimes you don't. But it's all about the journey, right?

And finally, I picked up Pi's ashes yesterday. She is finally home where she belongs. I'm still emotional about it. Going from feeling guilty to acceptance and then back again. We have decided to adopt, either next month or in August. One never fully heals from the loss of a pet but we must honor the memory of one by saving the life of another. And that's what we shall do this summer. :)