Pumpkins Come with Me

From the Poppy Tree....isn't it lovely?

Surfing MarthaStewart.com

I have been obsessed with MarthaStewart.com lately. Crafts, recipes, organizational tips, cleaning tips and so on. Anyway one thing I found was link to a sister site: Whole Living and it has great recipes and tips too. But thought I would at least share this link to some tips to do one thing each day to make it Earth Day everyday and help save the planet.

Don't Divorce

A friend had this video on her blog. She just got married this summer in California to her partner so might be one of the couples forced to get a divorce. It is upsetting. So this video is made in support of the Courage Campaign to fight it.



"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Captured....Yesterday

This link has amazing photos of yesterday....breathtaking...

Captured - Inauguration Day

Adding this link to the prayer at this mornings service.

Prayer for Christmas

A friend shared this in her Christmas card to us this year and I thought it was beauitful prayer for Christmas...


I salute you! There is nothing I can give you
which you have not; but here is much, that,
while I cannot give, you can take.

No heaven can come to us unless our hearts
find rest in it today. Take Heaven.

No peace lies in the future which is not
hidden in this present instant. Take Peace.

The gloom of the world is but a shadow;
behind it, yet, within our reach, is joy.
Take Joy.

And so, at this holy time, I greet you,
with the prayer that for you, now and forever,
the day breaks and the shadows flee away.
--Fra Giovanni,1513

Let Freedom Ring

Michael and I are West Wing Junkies...which probably isn't surprising since we are political junkies too. All week I have had a song in my head that I heard on West Wing...well that version of it...My Country Tis of Thee by Crosby Nash.

It is a really pretty version....linking to it on Last FM.

Obama Button Artwork

I have been getting lots of hits for Obama Button Artwork. They all end up on the moveon.org free Obama buttons post but I just wanted to point out cafepress.com has some great Obama buttons and t-shirts.














Links to products for images...
Faith Hope Obama - Andy Warhol type Obama/Biden - peace hand sign - Obama Biden 2008

Artful Weekend

We had a really good weekend. Artspace was having the Open Art Studio Tour. It is where you can tour local artists studios. See them work, see their work hanging in their studio and of course buy their beautiful art work. We usually go to two places because one place has several artists. It is a Bed and Breakfast with a gallery and it has out buildings with studios on the property for artists. The people there are lovely. We have worked with many of them too so know them fairly well. The other artist we go to is a good friend. But this time around she decided to go over and share some space at the Bed and Breakfast. So we were able to see 8 artists there. The feel of the place is just so serene but with this funky fun side too. This year they did a postcard project - decorating postcards. They then hung them up on a clothesline and then people could bid on them. The postcards were AMAZING. I told the organizer that if she does this next year I would be interested in participating.

We ended up buying a 2-tone pottery bowl from Damian Rice. And then a small acrylic piece by our friend. We don't have anything by her because well although her pieces are breath-taking we just can't afford her bigger pieces. She told us she was going to do some smaller pieces for those that can't afford the big pieces. Well she did and they were just as great as her large pieces. It is kind of a different style then she usually does but still amazing and of course we found one we really liked (okay several but picked one). Then the artist she was sharing her space with -- I just love to pieces. She has this energy that is contagious. Have you been around those people that are just up beat,excited and full of goodness/kindness -- and you start to feel everything they give off just by being around them....she is exactly like that. We got a piece of hers last year but I was looking for a piece of hers to give as a gift. And I found a little print but I really want to keep it! When we asked how much it was, she was very sweet and told us to take it. The other day she had been scolding me about not wanting to charge for something and then she was wanting to give us the print free. Michael has a bill for her for some website work for around the same price so he is going to rip it up.

We would have loved to buy from another artist there that we really enjoy. Her work really feels so earthy and warm to me. There was one piece I really fell in love with but we just couldn't afford it at this time. Her postcards she did were so beautiful too. One postcard by Dianna Fritzler was called Hanging Barbie Out to Dry. It was all about the the dislike of barbie because of the image she gives off to young girls about being perfect. But the title and the just look of the piece -- Michael LOVED. After he asked her about it and she explained why she did the piece -- he loved it even more.

There was also another little pottery wall hanging that was done in this technique that I can't remember the name for but you pull it from the kiln while it is on fire. And stuff it in a metal garbage can with lots of newspaper, put the lid on and the fire from the kiln sets the paper on fire burning around the piece. It creates this really interesting affect with the glaze. Michael really like one of those so when we went back on Sunday (to discuss something with Dianna about a project we are doing for her), I urged Michael to stop and see if it was still there. And it was so he picked that up too!

I hope to take pictures of everything soon. I really love filling our house with art.

Oh Look at the Pretties!

A friend is having a sale on her beautiful jewlery until the end of April.

Buy 1 get 1 half price!

Packrat

I did another 100 Things about me over on my other blog about being a packrat. The reason I decided to do that as 100 Things about me post is because I had been cleaning up my studio - hoping that in doing so I would be inspired and break the block I am having....

Here is a little section from that post...

I am also a pack rat when it comes to art supplies. I have so much ephemera in my studio that I know I can't use it all in my life time. But I keep it for a just in case I might need it. Granted I do go through stuff and mail out some stuff to artist friends at times but still not enough obviously by the looks of my studio. I just was cleaning it and trying to reorganize it and label all my containers so I could find things easier. And it really opened my eyes of how much "stuff" I have sitting in here.

Magazines are another thing that I hang on to forever. I finally went through quite a lot of them during spring cleaning this year. But I still have quite a bit in my studio but the magazine I had the bedroom and the living room were filtered down quite a lot. I ended up throwing out 2 heavy duty trash bags of magazines (they probably could have fit in one but I couldn't have lifted it to get it to the trash.) I went through and cut out recipes and things I thought I might use in art. So I still have a pile of stuff but instead of have stacks and stacks of magazines I have a fairly small pile of things tore out of the magazines.

Two Frog Home banner

Very small version of a banner I made for Two Frog Home blog!

Free Collage/Ephemera/Scrapbook Resources & Supplies

Just thought since I had a few freebie links that I would share those plus a few others I had bookmarked.

Lisa Vollrath is doing a Valentine's countdown freebies again so please go check them out!

Another Artist Vintage Valentine Countdown

Vintage Photo Archive

Scrapability's Vintage Images

Aisling's Clipart

Incredible Clipart & Images

Above the Mark - Vintage Images

Old Book Illustrations

NYPL Digital Gallery

Silent Ladies & Gents

Miss Mary's Free Clipart

Art E-Zine Vintage Images

Check out www.google.com/patents for schematics and various line drawings of all kinds of inventions with some dating back to the early 19th century.

Free Image Downloads

Comics and Pulp fiction - you are downloading the whole issue so they are bigger files. I have downloaded them saved the cover or images I liked and just deleted the rest.

Dover Publications offers free samples they send a link every week by email.

Talbot County Free Library Ephemera Collection

Not really ephemera but they have some good templates for ATC's, art dolls and so much more.

Everyday

Amanda Soule is doing 30 days of shooting photos of just everyday things in her life over on her blog. And I really like the idea and I think I want to do that....maybe start February 1.

Soul Meets Body in the New Year

It is asked what song could sum up your past year...and I am not sure what song would sum up my year but I do know Soul meets Body by Death Cab for Cutie really was one I played quite a bit.


"Soul Meets Body"

I want to live where soul meets body
And let the sun wrap its arms around me
And bathe my skin in water cool and cleansing
And feel, feel what its like to be new

Cause in my head there’s a greyhound station
Where I send my thoughts to far off destinations
So they may have a chance of finding a place
where they’re far more suited than here

And I cannot guess what we'll discover
When we turn the dirt with our palms cupped like shovels
But I know our filthy hands can wash one another’s
And not one speck will remain

And I do believe it’s true
That there are roads left in both of our shoes
But if the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too
So brown eyes I hold you near
Cause you’re the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere

Where soul meets body
Where soul meets body
Where soul meets body

And I do believe it’s true
That there are roads left in both of our shoes
But if the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too
So brown eyes I hold you near
Cause you’re the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere



It is 2008 and I know that what it feels like to be new....

Happy New Year!

Absolute No's

I think this is a really good list of things not to do when doing freelance work. So I am putting it here so I remember it!

Christmas Decorations - Blogstyle

I am keeping this blog as is but I did put up a cute Christmas banner on our Michael & Darby blog. Check it out! I made 2 more banners too and so will probably rotate between the three.

Siren Song Yarns

A friend of mine is a knitter and started dyeing yarn over a year ago. She is now selling her yarn on Etsy. Beautiful colors. She made me some slippers out of some of the hand dyed yarn. They are so warm and comfy!



SirenSongYarns.etsy.com

(I created the banner for her Etsy shop)