I am taking a day off from creating today.....

and instead, I'm going to read. I have all of these magazines and books, and rarely take the time to read them. So, that's what I'm doing with my "creative time" today. Then, at eight o'clock...it's time to watch Heroes on NBC. Simone's been shot. I wonder how Isaac and Peter are going to resolve that little "problem?" And...the police officer (the dude that can read minds) and the nuclear dude have confronted Claire's dad about their "powers." I hope Tim Kring continues to move at a fast pace with this show, because it started to slow down, and I was starting to get bored........

In our quiet little neighborhood of Narnia...Oops! I meant Papillion,

I thought we were all done with the snow, but it is only February, after all. We probably received about 6 inches of snow throughout the night. It's beautiful. It's wet snow. Perfect for making a snow fort or snowman. I love how the snow sticks to the tree branches. It just looks clean. Sean and I got the driveway shoveled; and after eight faithful years, our first snow shovel finally broke. ("I can't take it anymore!") The plows had already cleared the street before I got up at seven this morning. The temperature outstide is in the mid-20's, and since it's going to get above freezing today, some of this snow will surely melt. The snow beneath the top layer, on our driveway, had already begun to melt before we went outside to shovel. Click on the thumbnails below to get a bigger glimpse of our winter wonderland. Even the cats were fascinated. I added pics of our neighbor across the street (with his snowblower....for folks who've never seen someone use a snowblower); and a quick glimpse of the orange snowplow that came down to clear our street.

Gung Hei Fat Choy!

Happy Chinese New Year! This is the year of the Golden Pig. I don't have any stamps of Golden Pigs (the only pig stamps I have are of two pigs kissing.....for Valentine's Day...) But, I was inspired by the new Basic Grey (Scarlet's Letter) line to create a Bargello card. As I was piecing this together, I was starting to see the "Asian" flavor coming through; and that's how the theme for this card developed. Crane stamps are by Curtis Uyeda. Asian coin is by Karen Foster (given to me by my lovely friend, Mary Rogers. Hi Mary!) .....and....I received a wonderful surprise the other day. I found out that four of my cards will be appearing in the Spring 2007 Stamper's Sampler Take Ten Issue. It's due to hit the newstands on March 1st, but I've noticed that it's already available at Barnes & Noble (in Omaha, anyway). I had sent in artwork last Fall. This motivates me to send in more of my work! I'll upload the cards once March 1st rolls around.

What's the Buzz all about?

I am so excited to have received my set of "Those Girls in their Hats" by Buzz n Bloom (for folks who don't rubber stamp, the "set" I'm referring to is a sheet or plate of unmounted rubber stamps). My friend, Phillipa (who owns a stamp store in Australia) had ordered them for me, and then sent them up. Don't they look so "ooh-la-lah?" I love my Cuttlebug swirl embossing folder; and thought it would be useful for creating an elegant background for the ladies. When I get images like these, I tend to go with "less is more." So, after stamping the ladies on white cardstock, I didn't feel I needed to add any more embellishing (bows, bling, brads...you get the picture). They're elegant, just the way they are.





AND.....on another note........Today, my friends Cathy and Tina received the altered matchboxes that I made for them. These are made out of large matchboxes (like the ones that have something like 1,000 matches inside). I made them to be ATC (Artist Trading Card) holders.

It's Collage Day!

I created this collage using an image shared by Nancy Dooren, The Vintagestamper. It's a 6 x 6 collage on cardboard. I covered the entire piece with Modpodge, to seal it. Flourish stamp is by Purple Onion Designs. Heart stamp is by Stampin Up.

Sometimes you just have to create something....anything....

.....to get your creative juices going. I've been trying to create a collage today, but of what...I just don't know. I've been mulling over size, image, color, theme..... Nothing is inspiring me. So, I decided to switch gears and rubber stamp a card, instead. Maybe it's because I have piles and piles of laundry that have to be done. Maybe it's my right foot that's keeping me distracted (it's been bothering me since yesterday. It hasn't fully recovered since I twisted it two weeks ago) . I don't know. Sometimes, I'm more creative late in the evening, than I am during the day. I think once I've got a few more loads of laundry done, and have dinner in the oven, I'll be more inspired to try my hand at a collage.....

What is it about art dolls?

Art dolls are fascinating. Period. If you've ever played with paper dolls, you know what I'm talking about. I picked up this book to learn more about the history of paper dolls and how to create my own artful paper dolls. This may be what I'll play with this week.

I LOVE 3-day weekends!

I "slept in" today and the three of us decided we would play "tourist" and head to Lincoln, for the day. After stopping at Noodles & Co at the Haymarket District, we headed to three antique shops. Scored again. I found 17 vintage photographs on various subjects. The crazy thing was one bag had 13 photographs for just $7! That is unheard of! So, I picked out three of my favorites to share with you. If you click on the thumbnail, it should open in a new window, and you'll be able to print it out from there. At some point, Lucas and Sean left me to hunt down vintage goodies while they stopped in at a "game store" nearby. After we were done browsing, we went to Granite City Brewery for dinner, and then spent a few hours at Barnes & Noble. The March/April Issue of Rubberstampmadness looks very interesting. I especially like the section on Art Dolls. So, tomorrow, Sean gets to stay home for an extra day (because he works for the Government), and Lucas is off from school, also. Another day to spend some time together! The BIG news of the day is I learned how to write an HTML code for "how to convert a thumnail to a larger image." This is my first try, so I hope it works. Enjoy the new images! Don't forget to leave me a message if you create something with them!

Found a few treasures at an antique store, today.......

After weeks of enduring below-freezing temps, we finally got above 30-degrees, today! Woo-hoo! I'm now sitting in an Internet Cafe in the Old Market area. Sean is drinking an Eskimocha (coffee, brown sugar and chocolate syrup) and I'm having a Turtle Mocha. Sean and I stopped at a couple of antique stores before coming in here. I scored with finding four old photographs. I don't have photographs of my own ancestors so I borrow from others (well, the photos that have been discarded, anyway).
Here are the photographs I picked up today (just click on the thumbnail, and it will open up in a new window for you to print out). Two were a dollar a piece, and the other two were three dollars a piece. These antique shop owners are getting smarter. They know people are "on the hunt" for old photographs. I found some really fun "Betsy McCall" (remember those?) paper dolls in another antique shop. But since the paper was stuck to those yucky magnetic albums, the paper started to yellow. It's too bad. Those paper dolls would have been so much fun to work with. Anyway, here are the photographs. Feel free to use them in your artwork. But, if you do.....I would LOVE to see what you've created. So, don't forget to stop back here and let me know or drop me an email, OK?

Finally.....I took the plunge......

Sean had always said I should start my own a blog. He said it would be a great way for my friends and family to keep tabs on what's going on with me, especially with my artwork. So, here I am. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the most savvy person when it comes to blogging, so forgive me if this isn't the most exciting blog you've ever visited. I'll try to update it when I can, and link my latest work and thought processes behind what I create. I hope you'll participate and leave me comments. It's Presidents Day weekend, and I hope to create "something." We shall see. Again, if I do.....you'll be the first to see it!