As the Month Winds Down

Hi everyone.  This is a pre-post as today is the last day of my husband's and my visit to New Mexico. It's been a good week, and I hate the idea of  the week winding down, but it will be good to go home and see my daughter and the dog's. But I enjoyed Elizabeth's heart challenge so much that I wanted to post one last page. As we are flying first thing tomorrow morning, I am making  my last post today, even though it is leap year and we get another day this month.

I will be linking up to  Art Journal Journey.

I had a paint mop up page and also a piece of deli paper that was Gelli printed with an alphabet stencil. So I combined the two, added a light bulb I found in a magazine, did a bit of coloring and painting, and here's my messy but make me happy page.

I just hope the light bulb can brighten the the grey around the alphabet.

Thanks to all of you who posted this month and welcomed me to the team, and big thanks to Elizabeth for being such a lovely hostess.

And thanks for visiting me blog too!

T stands for an experiment

Happy T day everyone.  I am away in New Mexico with the hubby. We are in Santa Fe this morning and will be on our way up to our friends who live in Taos later today. So I am experimenting to see if I can writ this post from my phone. (I have my laptop but I am too lazy to go dig it out)

Yesterday we visited Bandelier National Monument and went for a long walk around the ruins.  We came to this climb to a sacred kiva ruin up these ladders, 140 feet up.  I HATE heights but I managed it.  Even though my legs were shaking.  

You can see we needed winter jackets as it was chilly and windy.  

Bandelier is near Los Alamos where they created the atomic bomb back in the 1940s. Not a good thing but it was done.  So after our hike we went and had a beer with lunch which is my T picture and went to visit the science museum which was great.  As it was not just about the bomb.  I will show more photos another day

So I am linking up to Elizabeth’s T day post. Not quite sure if this part will work

And pardon any typos as I can’t read the whole post while working on my phone. 

Happy t day

Not Paris, But I Wish

Happy Friday everyone. Time for another journal page for Elizabeth's challenge at Art Journal Journey 

My page today all began with the back of this old style playing card I found in my stash. Let me give you a close up.

See the heart above her window. That's what caught my eye.

 This lovely vintage lady looks rather sad looking out the window and just watching life. I decided I needed to change that perspective so I used this cheery (cherry) page with the Eiffel Tower on it. A view of that would be worth gazing out the window. Even if at first people did find it ugly, she loves it and could look at it all day.

So I finished off the page with a few more details like the stapled string, a cut out and stamped heart, a quote and some little square sequins.

I like how this page also makes me think of spring with cherries and a bit of light green.

That's it for me today as I am off to work. 

Have a super start to your weekend.
And of course a good Friday too.

A New Tag

Hi everyone. It is Thursday already.  This week is flying by; which is a little surprising since vacation is next week. Usually that means the week slows down and it takes forever to get to Friday. No complaints from me though. (smile)

I have another tag to share for Valerie's challenge at Tag Tuesday. Her theme is SPRING!

We had more snow this week , and I can't tell you how needed spring is here in New Hampshire.

What is more exciting about spring than all the birds singing, bees buzzing and flowers blooming.

The background color is actually light blue but for some reason the photo makes it look grey.

The grey is not as happy as the blue.

I decorated the stamped tree with some little mini colorful beads. 

I sure miss the colors of spring.

Hope you have some spring in your world.

Thanks for visiting.

The Last of the Idioms

Hi everyone. Today I am here to share the rest of my heart quote booklet with you. I figured I better since we are into the second half of February already.

 I have 2 covers on this accordian book. I bought the book and it has black cloth covers that needed a bit of fixing up.

 And here are some double pages with my new doodling and quotes. You have seen a few of these before.

I know you can use some of these phrases in various way, but I went for my first thought when I went to make these pages.
And if the size looks small it is because I cropped down the page to cut away a lot of the white edge so you can see the image better.

 I am linking up to Elizabeth's heart challenge at Art Journal Journey.

Hope you liked my journal and as always,

thanks so much for visiting.

Go Green at Try It On Tuesday

Hi everyone. It is an exciting day as it is time for another challenge to begin with at Try It On Tuesday. For the next two weeks we're Going Green. So use my favorite color, or as  this common phrase in the US goes, Go Green, meaning recycle something into your art. 

I have done both in my art journal page. 

I began by painting my page green, and then with a bit of white watered down gesso as it was a bit too green, even for me. Then I added some scraps of tape just below the middle of the page, as well as some cardboard with the top flat piece ripped off at the bottom. The paint brush was a scrap that came in a box of watercolor crayons that had been laying around for a very long time, and this just seemed the perfect time to use it. I even dipped the brush part into some green paint.

So I created this out of the box paint try in various shades of green, and I created the leaves on the branch from a page out of an old book. I didn't color them with the hopes  the idea that they would be painted from the box was created.  I also added this vellum stamp and postage marks too for a few more details. Can you have enough details? 

And to balance the green, I used pik scrap paper to make the berries as well as a pink butterfly sticker.

The quote is hard to believe but it says "Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen."

 I recycled an old fashioned pin as the middle of the butterfly, and filled it with some colorful little bead like material. 

Be sure to check out all the beautiful art created by the other designers on the Try It On Tuesday homepage, and I hope to see your creations linked up there also.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.

T Stands for the Theatre

Hello there. Happy T day once again. This month the weeks are going by so fast, aren't they?

Back at Christmas time I won a year long pass for 2 to a local theatre company, and last Saturday we went to their first show for the season.

(This is the photo I posted on Saturday but it works here also.)

The play was Ragtime, which I wasn't familiar with before seeing it, but wow! (Now I need to read the book this play was based on.)

We didn't get into the box office until a couple of weeks ago to turn in the pass so our seats were up in the second level, but there really was no bad seats. The play was sold out. I can see why. I laughed and cried. The music was amazing as were the actors. The next play we have tickets to is later in March when we'll go see a Chorus Line. This one I am more familiar with.

We chose a matinee this time, and after the play ended, we went out to eat dinner at one of my favorite places.

It is called Street 360, and has a wide variety of international choices.

\

Not a very clear photo.

 But this one is better.

 Water was our drink choice. I like it here as they bring you a pitcher of water for your table. I ordered the Bibimbap. Yum!

 I love the design  on the table.

And here's my bibimbap.

And enough for a doggie bag too!
I am writing this at dinner time and I sure wish my left overs were still around. Smile.
I am linking this up to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog for this week's T.

And that is all for me today. Have a super T day and thanks for visiting my blog!

Weekend Post-A Little Art and Lots of Chattering

Happy weekend everyone. It is a very cold morning here today, but they say it will be warmer tomorrow. And the skies are quite blue today also,  so it isn't too hard to deal with this one day return of deep winter. And the cold does lend to a slow morning of book reading and now doing some blogging so that is alright with me.

So I thought I would share another page for Elizabeth's HEART challenge at Art Journal Journey. I really like hearts, so I have been having fun making pages this month.  Thanks Elizabeth! I do think today's page is my favorite that I have made so far.

Yup, even the messy background makes me happy with this page.

So my past week was very busy and now the slide to my winter vacation week begins. If you are in the US and have Monday off for President's Day, I hope you have a great long weekend. Our winter break starts after school on Friday the 21 and so we don't get this holiday Monday off, but I would rather have a week's vacation than a long weekend so it is all good. The hubby and I are flying out to New Mexico to visit friends and spend a couple days sightseeing. He has never been there and this is my 5th trip out to see them so I am looking forward to taking him to some of my favorite spots and also to us both discovering some new things together.

And today we are going to the theatre.

You probably don't remember me mentioning that I won seats for 2 to all of 2020's plays at a local theatre company.  Our school runs a holiday raffle to help out school families in need, and the kids from school collect all kinds things as prizes from the community. This was one prize. And the one I won for my donation. My daughter is also coming along to join us so it will be nice to have a family day out. I am not familiar with this play either, so it will be good to check it out. We're doing a matinee as tonight we have our college hockey game on TV, and since we are in the race for the playoffs, my husband (and I) don't want to miss that.

That's all for me. I think I have babbled enough.

Have a super weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day

 Hi everyone. Happy Valentine's Day.

It's not a holiday I really celebrate (especially at 6 AM-smile), but it is a day when so many folks think of romance, so I will celebrate that with my latest journal page.

The background is a technique I first used last month. I glued some plastic wrap onto some watercolor paper. Then I used some alcohol ink into to color it. When I used this technique in my arctic scene the blue made it look like cold water. Not sure the red makes it look warm or hot, but I do like the texture it creates in the background.
I drew and cut out the heart on some red painted paper, which I also stamped with words and a white Freda face. I used some scraps of a Gelli printed paper to make the flames, and I added the paint dots to them after adding the paint dots to the background. And finally the quote is from a magazine.
I am linking up to Elizabeth's HEARTS challenge at Art Journal Journey.
And since it is Friday I will wish everyone a good start to their weekend too.
Thanks for visiting.

Fixer Upper

Hi everyone. It is a wintery morning here in New Hampshire. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a snow day, or at least a delay. But at this posting time, I haven't heard anything yet, but it might be  bit early for that. 

OK,if you stop by my blog frequently this page might look familiar---- since I showed you this last week.

I made the tag for Tag Tuesday, and I liked the tag but not the  page I used it on. It just looked like pieces put together but not like the page was finished.

Well I am persistent if nothing else so when I was home this past Tuesday I worked on the page some more.

And here is the finished piece.  I added some white stenciling.  I used some very watered down paint on the background and tag-before I stenciled. I colored the cat darker with some red Sharpie and finally I added this TH photo card with the background cut away.

I am happy now.

What do you think?

Thanks for visiting. 

Wednesday Chatter

Hi everyone. 

We're already in the middle of another week. This month is flying. 

Yesterday was the first presidential primary which happens here in New Hampshire. We're a small state with a small population.And with such a huge list of candidates (if you pay the $1000 fee you can get on the ballot), it was interesting to see how the votes played out. 

Now we need to see how the vote plays out in the other states. 

But at least no more political phone calls and texts which had been overwhelming.

I am happy with the results but I will say I am one of those folks who didn't know who I was going to vote for until I walked into the polls. There were just too many choices.

Yesterday we also had a teacher work day. The school had a drill planned with the police, which was a little stressful since they weren't telling us what was going to happen, s0 since my working days are limited, I decided to take the day and stay home. I needed to drop my car off at the garage, which I did, and since I was home for the day, I had lots of fun in my happy place.

Here's one thing I made, a tag for Tag Tuesday. Their latest theme is spring is in the air. And early spring is a great time for kite flying. I dug out a couple of sheets of older stamps that I hadn't used in years, and it was like getting some new stamps. Fun! Yesterday was a grey, wet and raw day so it was exciting to use some playful colors.

I got some studio cleaning done (hurrah-hurrah) as well as art time. 

That's all for me. Time to head out to school as the kids are back today. 

Thanks for visiting.

Romance

Happy Tuesday.
I'm here today with a little inspiration for the Share the Love challenge at Try It On Tuesday
If you haven't joined us you still have a week to share your love-artwise that it-with us.
I made my page by stenciling some leaves on a Gelli-printed (but rather underwhelming) page. I really wanted to use this playing card with one of Raphael's famous cupids  on it.
And cupid needs hearts, and hearts need some people to share them. And then this fun phrase came to my mind (as I have been thinking about phrases that use hearts-and there are a lot of them). So that made me think about adding the old key.

And I am also linking this post up to Elizabeth's HEART challenge at Art Journal Journey also. This challenge is going on for the rest of the month.

Hope to see you  at both challenges.
And thanks so much for visiting my blog.

T Stands for 2 Birthdays and Other Things

Hi everyone. 

It is a new week with so much going on for me. First we have another T day post, and then it is time to vote in the first primary for the presidential election, and then later this week we have Valentine's day. My last parent open house is thrown in there too. And some wintery weather forecasted.And that's just the highlights of the week.

So first things first. It is time for T. For T this week, I am going to share a double birthday celebration.

That's my mother-in-law on the left. She turned 86 last month, but at the time of her birthday my husband was down with a killer head cold and it was better not to spread it to her. 

And on the right is my sister-in-law, and she had a birthday on this past Saturday. And since my MIL lives with my SIL in the winter, we took them both out to lunch to celebrate this past Sunday.

We took a trip over to Cornish, Maine near my SIL's home, and I got to visit this new restaurant. I loved how it was decorated inside.

And the outside view next to my seat was pretty also.

Even if it does look cold.

The lunch menu had some delicious choices.

The beer on tap choices were also quite good. I had a red ale from Moat Mountain Brewery.

And I had a really good turkey sandwich. Besides tons of turkey, it had apples, cranberry chutney and melted cheddar cheese.

And the piece of cake we ordered to share and celebrate was also really yummy.

I would give this place an A+ review. 

Don't forget to stop by Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog for T this week.
Thanks for visiting.
And happy T day.

A Winter Day

 Winter is back.Some fresh snow, a bit of icet glisten to the trees, wind and lots of cold.

But the sky is blue and there is lots of sun coming through the windows as you can see in my bedroom skylight here.

It was a good day to keep the woodstove filled. I don't know if you can see my book over by my rocking chair, but you can see the bright spot where the light is on. It was also a good day to sit and read by the fire.

I disappeared into my happy place for a few hours too and thought I would share something I worked on.

More fun takes on heart quotes. 

 And today I finished my short little heart idiom journal.

I am linking up these views of my Language of Hearts Journal  to Elizabeth's Hearts theme at Art Journal Journey.

They are fun simple pages  and I have one more post with the rest of these.

Thanks for visiting, enjoy the rest of your weekend and I'll be back at the beginning of the week for T.

A Few More Idioms

 Hello. I am back today with a few more pages in my Language of Hearts journal. The pages are simple so it doesn't take me very long to make them. I have just a few panels left to finish and then once I do my cover page,  my book will be done.

I am linking these up to Elizabeth's Hearts challenge at Art Journal Journey Here's a little view of how the journal actually looks.

It is another wintery morning here in New Hampshire. Yesterday we got a few inches of snow before it turned to ice and then rain. Today it is suppose to all turn back to snow at the end of the day. Winter weather is back, Mother Nature's way to remind us that winter is still here.

But it is Friday and only 2 more weeks until our winter week off. And my classes are looking good still! And nothing is better than burning a candle each evening that smells like my favorite  bloom-lilacs. Even if the outside weather is winter, my house smells like spring.

Happy start of your weekend.