another twinkling twinchie

ABAA got me going this month with their twinkling twinchie (2×2 inch) challenge … you really should stop by and see their beautiful inspiration pieces

you can see my first ornament from chocolate foil here

our son is home for the holiday and chewing  the most wonderful gum (take a peek at the other color foils it comes in = OH MY!)…of course I’m glad to see him … the turquoise gum wrappers are a bonus *ggg* … talk about packaging … get a load of that name…Solstice

Wrigley is working overtime on marketing!

you can even read about the benefits of chewing too … it would be nicer if the ingredients were more pure…but whatta ya gonna do

in preparation for his homecoming I was tidying up a bit and came across the wonderful sparkly stringy stuff … the tiny scrabble tile words are a favorite ingredient of mine … the little girl is from the same company (although you’ll notice no company name is listed)

I sanded the edges of the photo and word tile and inked it lightly

added the little music charm and peach bling butterfly with the wire handle that I attached by punching two holes at the top … how do you spell f-i-d-d-l-e

so I say … let them eat chocolate AND chew gum and please save the wrappers

stuffed to the gills

this lovely matchbox arrived all the way from Kansas!

tucked inside a sweet velveteen drawstring purse

Elizabeth of Altered Book Lover and I were partners for Pat McNally’s stuffed matchbox swap …  each letter of “Patty’s Secret Stash” was hand stamped and I must admit I am impressed … I was wondering what special font Elizabeth used … alphabet stamps intimidate me just a little

just look at the treasures Elizabeth tucked into one small matchbox!!! each and every bit is really special

a lovely sewing machine charm with thoughts of Mr Magpie getting my sewing machine repaired … an elephant charm … did I say SO MANY sweet treasures!!!

the stamps say “temptress” and “lover” … aren’t they just perfect!    it was a bit of a challenge getting everything to fit back into the matchbox … Elizabeth is an expert packer!

she has done a lovely blog post here

oh and Elizabeth also sent me some exotic white tea … Bai MuDan with Pomegrante which I look forward to trying very soon!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

here is what I put together for Elizabeth

the matchbox was not decorated by me … I picked it up at the Blacksburg Farmer’s Market … Birdsong Farm knows an artist that hand paints the bee skep matchboxes for them … each one a little different

I wonder if Kimmie knew what she was starting by sharing her excitement about The International League of Stuffed Matchboxes … many thanks to Pat of Ooglebloops for hosting this matchbox swap and to Elizabeth for such a lovely trade … I am getting a sweet collection of stuffed matchboxes  thanks to thoughtful and generous friends

from a distance

Sandy’s SaWo challenge is to use corrugated cardboard

Martina’s inspiration piece is beautiful!!!

having just changed a lightbulb … I saved the packaging … it’s no wonder I have so much “stuff” AND it just happened to be corrugated

using the lovely Art Creations Friday lady image behind vellum (Happy 1st Birthday to ACF!)

I looked in my cigar box of cut out words from various books … the words “gathered darkness” came up and I added them to this piece … the next morning I looked at it and thought = OH MY !

today something quite different came up for me …. inspired by Bette Midler’s “from a distance” … quite a turn around … you know that saying about things looking different in the morning!

“It’s the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance” ~Bette Midler (who has SO many wonderful quotes!!!)

*footnote Sunday 22 Nov 09: Sandy just announced that she will be closing the doors of her wonderful Saturday’s Workout AND her TGIF challenge blogs, going out on top after two years of great fun and inspiration …. thank you dear Sandy! all the best to you always!!!

Pink Saturday … one thing can lead to another and another …

vases/vessels are something I really enjoy … and arranging flowers … oh so very much!

ves sel

Pronunciation: \ˈve-səl\    Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin vascellum, diminutive of Latin vas vase, vessel

Date: 14th century

A hollow utensil, such as a cup, vase, or pitcher, used as a container, especially for liquids.

I cut a few stragglers in the garden for this little bouquet:  mini petunias, Pink Fairy Rose spray, lavender, black eyed susan seed heads, vervain, maroon mum, fern leaf tansy leaves, garlic chive seed heads, flowers from an ornamental Plectranthus accent plant in a barrel … just off our back porch … a bit protected and still going strong even after a couple of light frosts

the backs of the leathery leaves are dark maroon

I once heard that arranging flowers in a fan shaped vase is one of the easiest shapes to use for the perfect arrangement every time

*sorry the photos are not clickable for a closer view the last few days … not sure what WordPress is up to … I am not doing anything differently*

moonflower seed heads

you know how one thing can lead to another and another and … here is a good example of that … while out cutting flowers for my new pink vase … some of you know I have a “thing” for mushrooms

I spied two different kinds of mushrooms that  popped up near our white pine tree

I have always wanted to try making spore prints … if you would like to find out more about that you can click here

in less than 24 hours the mushroom caps dropped their spores onto the cardstock

next time I try it I will be more precise (like placing a glass over each mushroom cap to keep air flow from altering the spore patterns)

it was fun to finally give it a try after so many years of thinking and wondering about it

mycology is a whole nother world

how did I get here … one thing just led to another … my Mr Magpie knows I Love birds on a wire and snapped this picture for me  … thought you might like to see it too

~*Happy Pink Saturday*~

you can stop by and visit Beverly for a list of all of this weeks’ Pink Saturday participants

Happy Birthday Art Creations Friday

here is proof that time flies when you are having fun!  it has been a year already since Art Creations Friday began their beautiful challenge blog … here was my offering for their first challenge back in 2008

this week the challenge is using the same gorgeous image

I printed her out in a little different color than the original image for my 5 x 6 x .75 inch painted canvas

I used Texture Magic Dimensional Paint pushing it through a plastic doily and washing over it with white stamp ink and PanPastel

two tassels looped together at the top make the perfect hanger attached with fancy tacks that I colored  and hammered into the sides of the canvas

Congratulations ACF and here’s to many more wonderful challenges!

ABAA: Twinkling Twinchies

my twinchie for the ABAA challenge began with these child’s cardboard game pieces which just happen to measure 2 x2 inches

I was then inspired by some new (to me) Ferrero Rocher  chocolates with beautiful and different foil … Yum!!!

I sandwiched two of the game pieces together…using the brown and gold foil papers along with some wired starburst that I have had for some time now…the icon image is from an Altered Bits collage sheet (Alicia is having a buy 2 get one free sale)

I would like to try these using some brighter color foils too … seems more chocolate is in order

* illuminated *

my little 3×5 canvas began with the lovely dancer image from Terri Kahrs of Pringle Hill Studio (there is a gorgeous colorized version too)

Terri often shares images along with her creative process which is always a delight

here are some of the supplies I used … forgot to include my stamp pads in the photo

I think this canvas will become a part of a larger piece or a book spread at some point

are any other WordPress bloggers having issues with making your pictures clickable for closeups?  the last couple of days something has changed and I have not altered any settings … not sure what is going on … hopefully things will go back to the way they were … I enjoy clicking pictures for closeups!

“From its brilliancy everything is illuminated” ~Guru Nanak

just “B”

here is my house for the Dans ma maison il y a “une lettre”  challenge this week

a favorite letter of mine  has always been “B” … I like what it has to say

I got excited when I received the latest Dover Design Sampler notification with free images … this batch had lots of wonderful offerings … the horses fit perfectly in my house

you too can sign up to get notice of the free Dover images here

the lovely lady is from a vintage French postcard from my collection, some dotted scrapbook paper, black German scrap, gesso, paint, ink and stamping along with black PanPastel for shading (thank you Teesha Moore)

WordPress is not letting me post photos so they can be clicked for closeups … not sure what has changed???

“The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook” ~William James

St Petersburg, Россия

I created a postcard for Katrin’s Travel Around the World Swap #15  to St Petersburg … there is still time to sign up and play along … you only have to make one postcard and you will receive a postcard in return … see the details here

my postcard also fits the “map” challenge at Wednesday Stamper this week

in both challenges at least one rubber stamp must be used

here is my Judikins crown stamp along with some finger nail bling to decorate the crown … I tried several times to gold emboss a crown … all of the nice detail on the stamp got lost

I got to visit St Petersburg back in 1999 with my Mutti … we were there for Mother’s Day … a trip I had always wanted to make … my Oma (mom’s mom) was born in Russia and fled as a young girl of eighteen to settle in Germany

the two photographs were taken before we had a digital camera

here are two members of the Red Army playing a Balalaika tune for the Pope in the Vatican

Россия is Russia written in Cyrillic

Star Pilot

here is my “Star Pilot” arch for the Gothic Arches “stars” challenge this week

“You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star” ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Tea and Stitchery

Carole in New Zealand issued an invitation on her Madness and Mess blog to join in on her “blogging buddies quilt” project

she supplied a 5×5 inch piece of tea dyed cotton and sent everyone green embroidery floss … along with a pretty ATC  she made by cutting up a vintage embroidery from her collection as a giftie

each participant will embroider their square and mail it back to her

I used a free pattern from Bird Brain Designs that I shrunk in size … you can sign up to receive their free newsletters

I just had to add a wee bit more than embroidery and had the perfect teeny tiny buttons (each one a little bigger than a grain of rice) … there was no needle small enough to thread through the buttons, so I stitched into the center of each heart leaving both loose ends of floss on top … I proceeded to thread the single strand through each tiny hole by hand … I marveled at my patience and persistence on this step (it’s healthy to pat yourself on the back every now and then )… but you know how it is when you have an idea and you really want it to work

it will be exciting to see Carole’s completed friendship quilt … she does beautiful work … you can see a nice sampling  in her etsy shop here

be sure and visit the other tea Tuesday bloggers … Kimmie lists them here

what is outside your front door?

a view of the sunset here in Virginia this evening

a little after 5pm

so much beauty waiting to be noticed outside our front door

some evenings really take my breath away

I take lots of these sunset shots … each time seems brand new and I get so excited … just thought I would share a few snaps with you this time around

*************

“Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all” ~William Faulkner

WS: Zetti style

Wednesday Stampers challenge this week is Zettiology … here is my Zetti Blackbird

the background is from a Somerset pull out sheet by Misty Mawn and the border at the bottom was made by Jean … she included it in a cigar box full of goodies for me recently … I just used a strip I cut from it

I would have liked for my bird to have really long legs, but this is a greeting card (5 x 6.5 inches) and I sort of ran out of room

I used various markers and some PanPastels for shading that were recommended by Teesha Moore … her latest videos are causing a buzz in blog land and on YouTube … it’s fun and very informative to watch her work/play

we salute you

two challenges in one … Art Creations Friday has provided the precious sailor boy image and “tickets” is the theme at Gothic Arches this week

the ferry ticket is a copy of the ticket from our boat trip from San Francisco to Sausalito last summer

… remembering the fallen and all those who have served … with heartfelt gratitude …

Dragon Pearls T Tuesday

Dragon Pearl Tea was one of the special teas that Kimmie tucked in with our tea cup exchange earlier this month.  The name and look of them fascinated me … so I asked Google (since Google knows everything ) to learn more about this delicate and mysterious green tea

I just happened to have a special  teapot and cups that belonged to my sweet mother in law … perfect for tea today

… here is a little blurb on the Dragon Pearls along with a link

“Information: Dragon Pearls are a green tea and are made from the top two leaves and the bud of new season growth (Late March /early April). These delicate leaves are then hand rolled into the small pearls. When you infuse these pearls in your tea cup, you will see the top two leaves and the bud come to life. In fact you will see some small ‘hairy down’ on the bud of the leaves – this denotes superb quality and very careful and delicate handling.”

delicate, delicious and delightful … thanks again Kimmie

won’t you join us for tea … you can click here for more tea Tuesday links

Dans ma maison il y a …du bleu

**OK….just ready to post the link on Dans ma maison when I realized … I got excited about BLUE and made a 5×7 collage and forgot it needed to be a house … dohhh!!!! … back to the drawing board**

***back again … if you scroll all the way down to the bottom you will find my blue house now… it went together so much faster than my postcard ***

I have been waiting to use this lovely water lady from Suzee Que’s Flickr images … it was on the cover of The New York Tribune Sunday Magazine in the early 1900’s … she seemed to fit the “blue” challenge over at Dans ma maison very well … I gave her a fan to hold …

the swans are from Elizabeth at Last Door Down the Hall

the flowered backdrop is a photo of my Mutti’s 1941 fabric covered autograph book … what treasures that holds

I blended inks and paints with hand sanitizer for the background since I just happened to have some handy … be sure and visit Jean at Bluebirds Living in the Meadow, if you haven’t already, for a nice tutorial on using hand sanitizer on inkjet images

“Oh! darkly, deeply, beautifully blue, as someone somewhere sings about the sky” ~Lord Byron, 1788-1824

*both pics can be clicked for a closeup*

so I got busy and made a HOUSE for the challenge using some scrap paper for the background, inks, paints and another size of the lovely water lady and fan for this 6×4″ card

a wonderful day

Mr Magpie surprised me and got my sewing machine repaired … it needed a replacement part and a good cleaning …. now I can add some stitching and a hanger to this mostly fabric postcard

*photo is clickable for a closeup view*

I used six or seven different bits of fabric/lace/ribbon … the image of the lady is from an Altered Bits collage sheet … the words are from a book that popped off the page at me

“It is astonishing how short a time it takes for very wonderful things to happen” ~ Frances Burnett

terrific treasure trove

Kimmie got us all excited about The International Championship League of Matchbox Stuffers and tucked a sweet matchbox in with the tea cup she recently sent me for a tea cup swap we were in

Pat McNally had a giveaway and I was the lucky winner of her wonderful treasure stuffed matchbox

*all photos can be double clicked for a closeup*

it was waiting for me upon my return from Blacksburg …

her packaging was especially thoughtful and fun … Loved the unveiling (pun intended) … the jewelry box helped keep the matchbox from being crushed in the mail… good thinking Pat!

decorated so sweetly… just look at all the wonderful booty she tucked inside

thanks so very much Pat … I am one very lucky stuffed matchbox collector

I thought of you on my ride home on Interstate 81 … near mile marker 253.6 (heading north near the Rt 721 overpass) I spied two Osage Orange trees … the glowing green fruit really shows up on the ground ready for gathering

Pink Saturday: Autumn…where’s the pink

it’s the time of year when things wither and fade here in northern Virginia … the Clematis seed heads are lovely … just in an entirely different way than when they were raging with color in May

pinkish slate stones still warm in the autumn sun

golds … greens … shades of brown

didn’t anyone tell the tall Phlox that blooming time is done…

or the pink Zinnias canoodling with the Rosemary in the front garden

and the pink Fairy Rose that keeps going and going

don’t they know it is time to rest  … I will leave you with this thoughtful quote by Andrew Wyeth:

“I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape – the loneliness of it – the dead feeling of winter.  Something waits beneath it – the whole story doesn’t show.”

~*Happy Pink Saturday*~

visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for lots of Pink Saturday blogs to visit

that certain something

My red lentil soup was one of the first things I thought to bring along with me for our son who is a junior at Virginia Tech.   It’s about a four hour car ride from home.  He has the flu and was feeling poorly … I am grateful that I could make the drive and spend time with him.

I thought I would share this recipe with you while I am away playing nurse

I have been making this soup since the 80’s and it is always a hit

Magpie’s Nest RED LENTIL SOUP *2009*

1/8 cup oil

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup green (or red or yellow) pepper chopped

1 cup diced carrots

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 Tablespoon flour

one 14.5 oz can diced tomato or fresh chopped tomato  if you prefer

4 cups boiling water

one cup lentils, rinsed (see below)**

crushed garlic to taste, one large vegetable bouillion cube (more salt later if you think you need it)

+++++

Seasonings: chopped parsley (fresh or dried), bay leaf (Lennie that’s your fresh one from your garden in the pot), marjoram (possibly my favorite spice, the fragrance is gorgeous), thyme (is a close second), ground pepper to taste and 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice (it adds that certain something!)

==================

In a 4 quart soup pot saute all of the chopped veggies in the heated oil until they glisten and cook a bit … sprinkle flour into the mix and stir adding the can of diced tomatoes with liquid along with 4 cups boiling (or very hot) water

**rinse your lentils in a mesh colander and stir immediately into the liquid … if left in the colander they turn into a brick … ask me how I know **

stirring on and off and simmering on low heat for close to an hour (or until everything is tender)  … I do use a lid …

back in the early 80’s I made soups for a health food cafe and delicious healthy sandwiches too …. our son, Alex, was a baby and I carried him on my back and delivered sandwiches  in our 1970 Beetle Bug to six different health food stores and cafes …. those were the days

back to the recipe …. I like adding the spices toward the end … play with the amounts … I put some in the palm of my hand and crush it a bit … season … stir … taste … Enjoy * Enjoy!!!

the recipe doubles well (which is what I did for the photo of the 8 quart soup pot above) and the soup reheats beautifully too!

here is a little something I’ve learned along the way … it goes for photographs AND recipes … be sure to add a date …years and years later it’s fun to know the year and origin of a recipe or when a photo was taken  … I don’t know about you, but I think I’ll remember and then before I know it years have passed and I’m left scratching my head wondering when I got the recipe … I am often amazed when I see how long I’ve been using a tried and true recipe

one of our favorite sayings was taken from a tea towel many years ago … we think it’s Amish … it certainly fits many occasions:

“Too soon old …. too late schmart”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

I am happy to say our son is feeling much better already

Dona Nobis Pacem

Latin for “Grant Us Peace”

a year has passed already since last year’s Blog Blast for Peace … I am no further along in knowing how to do artwork in Photoshop … so my blog blast is a handmade collage again using scissors and glue on a background that Mimi Lenox provided here

she is the mastermind behind this important project

the angel is a photo I took of a gravestone at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, DC

here is the definition of Peace from the Merriam-Webster on line dictionary for:

¹peace

Pronunciation: \ˈpēs\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English pees, from Anglo-French pes, pees, from Latin pac-, pax; akin to Latin pacisci to agree — more at pact

Date: 12th century

1 : a state of tranquillity or quiet: as a : freedom from civil disturbance b : a state of security or order within a community provided for by law or custom <a breach of the peace>
2 : freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions
3 : harmony in personal relations
4 a : a state or period of mutual concord between governments b : a pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity
5 —used interjectionally to ask for silence or calm or as a greeting or farewell

— at peace : in a state of concord or tranquillity

in every language it is the same …

Afrikaans	vrede
Algonquin	Waki Qiwebis
Armenian	Khanaghutyun
Basque	Bak�
Belorussian	pakoj
Bengali	shAnti
Bosnian	Spokoj
Breton	peoc’h
Burmese	Nyeinjanyei
Catalan	Pau
Cheyenne	nanomonsetôtse
Chinese
Comanche	Tsumukikiatu
Cree	Wetaskiwin
Creole	Lap�
Croatian	mir
Czech	mir
Danish	fred
Dari	Sulh
Dutch	vrede
Egyptian	Hetep
English	peace
Esperanto	paco
Estonian	rahu
Farsi	Solh
Fijian	Vaka�egu
Finnish	Rauha
French	paix
Fon (West Africa (Benin))	Fifa
Fresian	fred
Gaelic	s�ochaint (Scottish), s�och�in (Irish)
German	der friede
Greek	Irini
Guarani	py’guapy
Hawaiian	malu
Hebrew
Hindi	Shanti
Hmong	kev sib haum xeeb
Hungarian	béke
Icelandic	Fri�ur
Indonesian	damai
Inuit	Tutkium
Italian	pace
Japanese	Heiwa
Javanese	Rukun
Khmer	Soksang
Klingon	R�j
Korean	Peoning Hwa
Kurdish	Hasiti
Lakota	Wolakota
Lao	Santiphap
Latin	pax
Lithuainian	taika
Maltese	paci
Maori	rongo
Mayan	Ets�a�an Olal
Mongolian	Enh Taiwain
Nahuatl	tlamatcanemiliztli
Norwegian	fred
Polish	pokoj
Portugese	paz
Quenya	sérë
Romanian	pace
Romansch	pasch
Sioux	Wo�okeyeh
Spanish	paz
Swahili	Amani
Swedish	fred
Tagalog	kapayapaan
Tamil	Amaithi
Thai	Santiphap
Tibetan	Sidi
Turkish	Baris
Urdu	amn; salaam
Vietnamese	Hoa Binh
Welsh	Heddwch
Yiddish	Sholem
Yoruba	Alaafia
Xosha	uxolo
Zapotec	Layeni
Zulu	Ukuthula