Dans ma maison il y a…. du vintage

I did a spread in my house shaped altered book for the Vintage theme this week at Dans ma maison il y a…..

It all began with the image of the little girl and her doll along with the “Once Upon a Time” scrapbook paper for the background.  The little girls ‘wings’ are pressed Dusty Miller leaves.  The black accents are from a Martha Stewart sticker pack.

WS: Patterns

Working in my house shaped altered book, I did a page using three repeated images as my interpretation of “pattern” which is the theme at Wednesday Stamper this week.

I used a Hero Arts word stamp (timeless) at the bottom.  The background paper is “Once Upon a Time” scrapbook paper.  The black accents are Martha Stewart stickers.

TMTA: Kaffee – Coffee

Here in the US, a Cuppa Joe is slang for a strong cup of “coffee” which is the fun theme at Think Monday Think ATC this week.   I drink both coffee and tea and decided to have fun with this theme.

Rein I hope you don’t mind I went a little crazy with your latest shared image.  I mean no disrespect at all.   I thought I would let a bit of my dark side emerge, considering the season and all. I also really Love skeletons = Bwa ha ha ha hah!

The haunted house backing paper is a tear out sheet from the Sept/Oct Somerset Studio magazine, created by the talented Michelle Ward.

Rein from Plezier Met Papier shares some really fantastic images weekly.   Thank you Rein 🙂

“Men should be like coffee, hot, sweet and strong.” ~ Dutch Proverb

days are getting shorter

In the Northern Hemisphere, change is in the air as nature begins to shift gears

*Any of these photos may be clicked on for a larger view*

Autumn is arriving slowly here in Northern Virginia…..no leaf peeping to be done quite yet…..

this clematis is celebrating its last hurrah with one last bloom

skiddish, these big black crows visit the back garden announcing themselves with their loud CAW CAW CAW…..they never let me get very close, before they fly

here is a wool hanging I designed several years ago when I was still playing with boiling, dying and felting old wool skirts…looking at this on screen I can see where it could use a little something added….is anything EVER finished?

Over the weekend I created this three by three inch canvas with silk leaves, wonderful rickrack (bought it in so many colors, can’t wait to get more)  and an acorn cap, celebrating fall with one of my favorite images

I turned the canvas over and worked on the back of it using a Pentel Metallic Brush pen to edge the leaves and color the acorn cap

“I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.” ~Henry David Thoreau

playing tourist in our own back yard

Today was a lovely day full of fun and surprises.  It began at an eclectic gathering jam packed with creativity in Adams Morgan, there was live music and so much more.

No photographs were allowed at our next stop inside this amazing exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

The above two events were planned for our outing today, but the next happening took us quite by surprise!  Just as we were walking down the steps of the National Portrait Gallery (the two museums are connected) we came upon a parade.

Everyone Loves a parade!   We got such a kick out of this dog, he never took his eyes off the action

there were dancing dragons

it was quite a thrill for us as it had been a long time since we had been to a parade…..    afterwards it was time for a bite to eat…

then home again for the end to a perfect day…this rainbow was SO brilliant, it just could not be captured here, try as I might to photograph it in all its glory…..

This has always been a favorite quote of mine:
“The real voyage of discovery consists of not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” ~Marcel Proust

Love Bug Art Car

Just off Robson Street near our hotel in Vancouver we came upon this eye popping altered car…

*you can click on any of the photos for a better look*

we felt like the little girl in the picture = totally in awe…

Rich in geegaws, deities, trinkets and more…

with an actual working water fountain…

we had to buy a new memory card for our digital camera after this and our original one held a lot of pictures!!!

*…400th Blog Post Giveaway….and the Winner is…*

The Custom Random Number Generator did its magic at the stroke of 12:13am this morning. It picked a winning number from the 80 lovely people that took the time to leave a message on my metal ATC giveaway.

Thanks to each of you for stopping by. It really does add excitement to my days! It has been my pleasure to make many fun connections with caring, sharing and talented people all around the globe.

OK, back to the winner of my brass ATC……….(I will have to explain just how special this random pick is)………*** #8 Bev ***….The Universe AND the random number generator have spoken!

Bev and I met in the Paper Whimsy Forum not all that long ago. She was kind enough to tell us all about her nearby city of Vancouver BC which really helped us plan and get excited for our recent trip there.  Thanks to Bev we were armed with information, brochures and hot places not to be missed.    Her kindness and generosity are boundless.   So it really is extra nice that she is the winner.

I truly wish everyone could have won something. As a little bonus, I am offering a few recent photos of faux relatives picked up in an antique shop in Christiansburg, Virginia.  These are FREE DOWNLOADS just for you, for your own personal use.  You may want to start a Magpie’s Nest photo album because I do plan on sharing pictures more frequently now that I have the sizing figured out.

Next month I will be celebrating my 1st year blogaversary with a few little surprises, be sure and check back then.

Here are the FREE DOWNLOAD (personal use only please) pictures for you to enjoy!  *** Clicking on each one will bring up the full size!

Let Your Smile Be Your Umbrella

A new challenge for me at TGIF. 

I was so inspired by seeing Faye’s beautiful lace card.

Here is my greeting card for the ‘lace’ challenge.

It’s a rainy day here in Northern Virginia, we can really use the rain.

I do not mind rainy days at all.

This lovely lady is from Cora.

She shares THE most wonderful images, lots of them and has an amazing vintage stamp line as well.

“Life is like a rainbow, you need both the sun and the rain to make its colors appear.” ~Unknown

Bee Thoughtful

This 3 x 5 inch canvas began with a piece of recycled Tyvek that I had on my work table to protect the wooden surface. It was used under lots of different stamping, painting and gluing projects.  When it looked like it was time to change it, I almost threw it away.  Now if you know me, you know that I give most things a second look before tossing them………you just never know when you might use something for another purpose!

I used gel medium to adhere the ‘stained’ Tyvek to the little canvas.

This thoughtful Paper Whimsy girl seemed to fit just right. I added some book text, inked and stamped it at the bottom, a little netting at the top and a bee charm from my collection. The velvet ribbon at the bottom seemed to match the ribbon in the little girls hair and finally a bit of lace and some black German scrap wings.

I am dirtying up another piece of paper under current projects hoping for another unique background paper to emerge.

“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.” ~Buddha

even at our best……

…..it can be easy to forget……..here’s a sweet reminder for every day life, be sure and stay with it until the end.  Thank you Karen Mowrey, you continue to bee awesome and I DO beelieve you’ve done it again with your bee spotting!

Amsterdam and Numbers

Combining two challenges today; firstly “numbers” is the theme over at Theme Thursday.  I really like the border stamp from Stampers Anonymous (U4-1147) that I used at the top of my collaged postcard.

Also, Katrin’s travel swap #4 is to Amsterdam.  I have a little collection of Dutch postcards and just Love this cute pair in their wooden shoes!  Thanks to Dymphie, I had some wonderful Dutch dictionary pages to use.  I was also tickled to come across the Nederland 2 cent stamp!  I think it might be fairly old.

 

The ribbon at the top is shimmery red edged with gold and does not want to show up on the scan that well.  It matches the Dutch boys britches nicely in real life.   The next travel stop will be Transylvania!

Calavera Shrine

Another “sardine” can shrine; this one perches nicely on a ledge or shelf.

I used a popular calavera image by artist Jose Guadalupe Posada (1852 – 1913), Mexico’s most illustrious graphic artist.

The velvet heart with wings is something I put together so many years ago I can not remember now.  I added the paper rose in the center.

The beads are from a child’s necklace that I took apart and randomly strung onto wire to wrap around the black gessoed tin.

Back in May an art friend, Carmen Dyson, inspired me to use pieces of a badmitton birdie as wings for an assemblage bird I made. I decided to use a piece of a shuttlecock for the frill at the top here as well.   It is colored with Chile Pepper *ggg* Pinata Alcohol Ink.

Thanks to Linda and Rosie’s Big Art Adventure challenge for getting me going on shrines!

Wordless Wednesday * Union Square, SF *

http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/