thoughtful silence…

in the past on this day many of you dear ones have helped create a circle of L♥ve and support both spoken and silent by sending healing wishes and kind thoughts and for that I am ♥ever grateful♥…

the grip of grief still holds us but over time it seems a bit of numbness has set in…

 still trying to hold it all together with bits of this and that…

little ♥ messages tucked away…

(one of my collaged postcards printed on used tea bag paper…blue background paper from my Mutti’s childhood school autograph book…tags and a bit of rubber stamping with shrink plastic of a favorite stamp “ART HELPS ME BREATHE“)…

we are always happy to hear his name…

Alex…

Alexander…

Alexander David…

“If you feel lost, disappointed, hesitant, or weak, return to yourself, to who you are, here and now and when you get there, you will discover yourself, like a lotus flower in full bloom, even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong.”  ~Masura Emoto

♥sending caring thoughts to all those living with grief and loss♥

freedom square…

the August challenge over at Art Journal Journey (AJJ) is QUADRAT / SQUARE…

 “inchies” (1×1 inch squares) immediately came to mind along with this collage I had made on a piece of scrapbook paper way back when...

I printed the sheet and cut rows to create a border…

 reducing the size a bit to better fit my 5.50 x 6.25 inch (13.97 x 15.87 cm)  spiral journal pages…

next I checked a tin I altered awhile ago which holds twinchies (2×2 inch collage squares) I had made...

I found two that spoke to me so I glued them onto cut squares of map paper…

I really enjoy starting with blank pages letting them evolve without much planning (Paper Whimsy girls are always irresistible)…

inking the edges and smearing some of my new Viva Inka Gold Metallic Rub for highlights

♥ thank you very much for your visit ♥

Wishing you a Bright and Happy New Year

at New Year and always…

may Peace and Love fill your heart…

may beauty fill your world

and contentment and Joy fill your days…

I wish you happiness and the Brightest of Blessings and good health in 2012…

enjoy your beautiful creative life and thank you for being here OXO

Days decrease…

 Dawn’s October Journal Journey challenge theme is “Nature & Autumn”…

she also suggested using a “stencil” somewhere on our pages…

I chose these already paint scraped pages in my “How it Works” Encyclopedia Volume 13 to play with…

happy to finally find a use for the man stencil I’ve had since forever and never ever used…

I also had one of my Citra Solv tissue paper transfers on hand which I really liked for my right hand page…

some stamping with my new juicy VersaFine ink pad…

with a little journaling on the left page…

a piece of open patterned paper used as a stencil helped unify the pages…

“Days decrease, And autumn grows, autumn in everything.” ~Robert Browning

gesso play and sweet surprises

Gesso is one of my favorite art ingredients…

it is really more like a tool …

such a tool…

looking at a stack of book pages that I paint scraped some time ago I realized they could use a little something more…

the perfect chance to play with plastic doilies …

paintbrush …

and gesso…

with endless possibilities…

as I got lost in play I was a bit shocked to see how much gesso and paint my left hand caught…

my jar of gesso above is ancient…

I have added water to it several times to extend its life…

a nice bit of color and decoration for envelopes and finally a use for my very thick dauber paints…

I also wanted to share a sweet surprise that arrived in my mailbox earlier this week….

the lovely and talented Dymphie in The Netherlands generously gifted me with some wonderful postcards that she made…

Love those great heart world postage stamps too…

I had commented on a blog post of hers saying how I am crazy about all things medieval…

so generous of her to think of me…

just because…

she also included a couple of her folded corner bookmarks…

one is already in use …

blog friends sure can make opening the mailbox fun!

this beautiful bridge…

blogging continues to surprise and delight me…connecting hearts and minds…

all around the globe with opportunities to enjoy so much creativity and fun conversation…

it feeds my wanderlust nicely…

here we are all dancing under the same moon…

more alike than different…

wait until you read what my sweet soul sister Marit in The Netherlands wrote…oh my…SO precious…

here is just a peek at the journal page she created about “Connection”…you can see her entire page here

*thank you’s overdue to Pat and Lynn and Dot and Jean for the gorgeous swans*

thoughtful gifts of all kinds from so many generous friends…

*many thanks to Marilyn for the beautiful encaustic canvas and card*

Estivalia in Chile has done it once again…this time she set up my Word of the Year link on my sidebar for me…

she understands computer code like nobody’s business…her English is impeccable and she is quite the artist too…thank you so much once again E!!!

here is a peek at a wonderful postcard Terri just surprised me with…it certainly did brighten my day…

I have spent a good bit of time on this post and still have more thank you’s outstanding…

my thanks to each of you for one of the greatest gifts…whether you have a blog or not…

the gift of your time    oxoxo

thankful smiles…

with waves of gratitude and Brightest of Blessings to all…

just had to post this fun video that our youngest son shared with us…

thought I’d also share our Thanksgiving Grace with you again this year:

“As we gather together today, may we appreciate this food and remember those who are hungry,

May we appreciate our family and friends and remember those who are alone,

May we appreciate our health and remember those who are not well,

May we appreciate the freedoms we have and may there be Peace on Earth,

Bless the hands that prepared this feast

Bless those present and absent ones as we give thanks for all the unknown blessings already on their way.”      oxo

Six Players: India pages from Gina …

another rotation in the Six Players swap … my theme is India … remember Marlynn’s amazing pages here … Gina Wise has sent these gorgeous pages that she made for me …

with the loveliest details…fabric…paper and more…

little tinkling bells…two kinds…

sari ribbon fabric done with a special hot tool finish that added great texture and interest… the beautiful silver piece behind the perfect Indian playing card for the back page was done with cardboard…duct tape and a cuttlebug…pretty amazing result…

the tiny Krishna shrine has little metal roses adorning it on the top…

Gina also made a precious little matchbox shrine that is wonderful with so many special layers…my photos really do not do the richness and depth justice…I have it right here by the computer to enjoy daily…

the Mehndi hands on the front and inside pages are amazing …done on alcohol ink colored pages…

I’ve always thought how exotic and fun that would be to have done…the lovely ribbons Gina included make a great addition to my growing India stash too…thank you so much Gina

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my bloggie friend Ana of i made it so has a new fun feature called “friday archive dive”…you can see the button on my sidebar…it’s a brilliant idea and a nice chance to go back and visit blog posts from the past…all are welcome to play along…you can see this week’s prompt here and find out all about it…

there is still time to enter my giveaway if you haven’t had a chance to pop by…winners will be announced on Sunday

mystery music…can you name this tune?

on our recent jaunt to the Blacksburg area we visited a couple of our favorite antique and junk shoppes…

these are just a few of the sweet little things we discovered…the Usher pin with the hands shaking is a favorite of mine and Mr Magpie spotted a few tiny swans that we couldn’t pass up…

among them was this little jewelry box for just one dollar …. wondering what the snaps on the top held at one time … the music part works and the ballerina twirls…but what IS that song?

Mr Magpie made a little video so you can hear it … you can also hear the tinkling of our angel fountain in the background … I hoped some one out there might recognize the tune … we have not a clue what it is…

I now have two pretty ballerina music boxes … too bad this one doesn’t play music … had to have it anyway…

*footnote: the talented Nigel of Freebird’s Flights of Fancy has solved the music mystery … here is what he said:

“The music is Brahms: Waltz No’ 15”

MANY thanks to Nigel … what a Prince!*

be sure and pop by my 3rd anniversary giveaway if you haven’t had a chance to visit that post

Felted Soap

ever  since I saw bars of soap in little wool “jackets” a couple of years ago … I have wanted to give soap felting a try

the ingredients are simple … wool roving … hot water

and soap … new travel soaps are perfect

fun to see the transformation from a loosely wrapped bar

dribbled again and again with hot water … not too much at one time

it takes a bit of patience to keep working the wool … since I do not have a wash board … I used this ribbed bottle to help rough up the fibers helping them cling and conform to the shape of the bars of soap … it is impossible to make just one by the way

sitting out on the back porch worked nicely as it does get a little splashy with lots of foamy bubbles by the end… it takes a good 20 minutes or so of working the bar of soap … last is a cool water rinse and patting and pressing a bit in a towel

the wool dries fairly quickly … you end up with neat and tight wool wrapped bars … perfect as individual soap for a special someone to use in the bath or shower

here is  a nice tutorial that got me started … along with some questions and answers and links for supplies and such

footnote: these soaps would be meant as personal bars of soap not community soaps to be shared … great for exfoliating and for gardener’s hands

 

March eggs us on

signs of spring popping everywhere

here in Northern Virginia

most welcome sights and sounds for certain

deviled eggs are something I do not make very often anymore … they are always a hit …

wishing you all a happy T Tuesday … you are most welcome to join in the Tea Tuesday fun, whether you drink tea or coffee … Kimmie of Art in Red Wagons has an open invitation

I want to thank Judy of Apron Strings for introducing me to Molly & McGee … two very handsome and healthy barn owls that are raising their young for all to enjoy without any human interference … save a discreetly placed camera … giving the world a view of nature one certainly does not see everyday

Linda has a great picture of Molly on her blog too

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there are still a few days left if you would like to leave a comment on my blog giveaway here

Thousand Handed Goddess of Mercy

Thanks to Lennie for sharing this graceful and beautiful YouTube

This amazing Thousand-Hand Guanyin dance  is performed by 21 deaf-mutes from the China Disabled People’s Performaning Art Troupe (CDPPAT) and is nothing short of amazing.   Their first major international debut was in Athens at the closing ceremonies for the 2004 Paralympics (so this may not be new to some of you). The lead dancer,Tai Lihua, and the other 20 dancers, together with their choreographers and ‘sign instructors’ signaling from the four corners of the stage deliver a visual spectacle that is mesmerizing.  They have been traveling and performing around the world and have earned a lot of money to support charities for the disabled in China.

“The ultimate message of this performance can be summed up in the following words from Zhang Jigang, the choreographer who put it all together:

As long as you are kind and there is love in your heart
A thousand hands will naturally come to your aid
As long as you are kind and there is love in your heart
You will reach out with a thousand hands to help others”

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

Marlynn at Honeysuckle Breeze is having a great giveaway, be sure and stop by for all the details! She made me tell you 😉 for a chance to win of course

Open Your Eyes

The Think Monday Think ATC theme is “Open your Eyes”.

I stamped the image of the hand, scanned it, reduced its size and printed it onto colored paper. I use the computer a lot when I create.

The eye is from a magazine as are the background papers.

Since ancient times charms in the form of hands, whether made of metal, stone, or inscribed–were often carried to ward off the “Evil Eye”. From a metaphysical point of view, eyes radiate energy. Like all forces, the power flowing from the eyes may bless or curse others.

There are many examples of amulets with a single eye on the palm of the hand. It is believed that this attracts the Evil Eye in accord with the Law of Attraction and absorbs evil influences.

So here is my card of Protection for you!