naturesbrushstrokes

2011-11-12T17:35:00.000-08:00

This is my October calendar. I printed off 2 x 3 pictures and fitted them in. Some of them are of other people's art and sewing that I liked and some are of fabric that I liked. I have started another one for November as it is quite fun looking for things to take photos of. Some pictures of of my own sewing and crafts:
This is an art journal page that I did today. I have been re-reading Care Of The Soul by Thomas Moore and these are some quotes from his book:

SEE THE SACRED DIMENSIONS OF EVERY DAY.

IN ORDINARY LIFE CREATIVITY MEANS MAKING SOMETHING FOR THE SOUL OUT OF EVERY EXPERIENCE.

WE CAN ALL CREATE SACRED BOOKS AND BOXES - A VOLUME OF DREAMS, A HEARTFELT DIARY, A NOTEBOOK OF THOUGHTS, A PARTICULARLY MEANINGFUL ALBUM OF PHOTOGRAPHS - AND THUS IN A SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT WAY CAN MAKE THE EVERYDAY SACRED. THIS KIND OF SPIRITUALITY, SO ORDINARY AND CLOSE TO HOME, IS ESPECIALLY NOURISHING TO THE SOUL.

This is how I wish to live my life.

A soulful, healthy meal:

Tomatoes, cucumber, orange pepper, walnuts, German butter cheese, brocconini cheese balls (it's the first time I've had these and they are pretty tasteless), basil leaves and sour cream for a dressing/dip. Very delicious (except for the brocconini!!!)

2011-11-02T22:36:00.000-07:00

Rain on autumn leaves is so beautiful. That is the ocean in the background. It was evening and the lights had come on, you can see the reflection on the water, especially in the second one:

I have been working on my purses and my calendar which I will photograph tomorrow.

I am at a plateau with my weight loss and I am eating a little too much to lose right now but that

is okay. I only have six more pounds to lose to reach my goal. I will get back to it soon and shed those last few pounds.

My great granddaughter will be three on Friday. Time sure does fly!!

2011-10-28T18:35:00.000-07:00

Amazon came to my door this evening. Yay!! New books! Hand Lettering by Marci Donley and DeAnn Singh and Raw Art Journaling by Quinn McDonald. So, you know what I will be doing this weekend. I want to do more art journaling but feel like my life is so boring, what is there to art journal about? I hope these books will help me to see my life differently and find interesting things to record.

I went to Michael's today and got a few more jewels for my handbags, it's always fun to go there.

Last night I got back to my calendar which I haven't touched all month so I decided to put a photograph for each day. I have a small Photosmart printer that prints two or four pictures to a 4 x 6 page so I printed a bunch off and stuck them on the page. I will take a photo when it is finished. I didn't complete August or September but will work on them and post when they are done. I chose zentangles and animals and it is just too much to do so I will make something easy

for November.

Have a great weekend.

2011-10-25T22:51:00.000-07:00

Autumn is such a beautiful time of year. It was a sunny day today, we have had quite a few lately and it has kind of made up for the non-existent summer. I love the seeds in autumn, I snapped this thistle plant today:

I have been beavering away on my handbags and should have a couple finished soon to show.

On Thursday, I go for my third Life Coach appointment and am looking forward to it. I had to fill out a Wheel of Life, choosing the areas of my life that are the most important. I am certainly lacking in the relationship and fun/entertainment categories. I have lived in survival mode most of my life and don't really know how to have fun. I have never been on a real holiday or stayed in a really nice hotel. I wouldn't know how to balance out this area of my life. The only entertainment I have is going out with my DDs occasionally and my art.

It will be interesting to see what my Life Coach has to say.

2011-10-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

I spent all day yesterday constructing the first step of these handbags. This is a hit of what is to come:

Now come the deciding what embellishments to use. I picked up a couple more things at Michael's today.

I had a great weekend working on these handbags, going for coffee with a friend, going shopping and for a coffee with my YDD. I bought a plant pot to re pot a plant that has been outside and now need to be brought in for the winter and a couple of things from Michael's, as I said. It was a very relaxing and fun weekend.

Visit: http://silverthreadsanartistspilgrimage.blogspot.com to see my LITTLE MOMENTS.

I had a great visit with the Life Coach on Thursday and will see her again in two weeks. She is going to help me get over the blocks I still have to creativity. She takes a mental, emotional, spiritual approach to her coaching and believes that I will find the focus I am looking for and will look forward to my days. I believe I am in the right place for this now and will benefit greatly from her support and guidance. I am already more productive just from seeing her twice.

I will keep you posted.

2011-10-12T21:47:00.000-07:00

I spent several hours this afternoon and evening working on my handbags. I should have some to show soon. I started another four bags today so have lots on the go.

I went for my workout walk this morning and took a different route. I passed by this fountain, a little oasis in the middle of the city.

I am going to see a Life Coach tomorrow for a second visit and then I will decide whether to carry on with her. We met once for coffee and I really liked her. I am hoping it will help me to stay motivated and get more focused with my creativity. Just the fact that I am going to see her has made a difference. Also, the talks my daughters and I had on Thanksgiving has helped so much. The are so supportive and lovely!

2011-10-11T19:04:00.000-07:00

These are two bags that I have finished lately. I am hoping to accumulate a few so I can take them to a craft sale sometime.

I was shopping all afternoon at Dress-Sew:

And Michael's:

Gathering supplies to make some more bags. I have about five on the go right now. This is certainly the weather for staying in and crafting.

2011-10-10T13:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have been absent for a long time again as those of you who still drop by have noticed. I am going to see a Life Coach on Thursday, hoping it will help me to get more focused and as disciplined with my art as I am with my exercise routine.

I had a lovely day yesterday with my girls. We had turkey dinner and all participated in making it and cleaning up after. It was a very fun day!! We talked to my granddaughter and great granddaughter on the phone. Who could ask for more. For my little family I am truly thankful, especially on this day.

I have so much to be thankful for. I have my health, my creativity, a lovely, warm, comfortable place to live and everything I need for a good life. I truly am blessed!!

2011-08-31T19:30:00.001-07:00

Where does the time go????

I didn't post the finish of my July calendar and now it is the end of August, so here it is. I really enjoyed this challenge and may do something similar again:
I decided to do Zentangles for August and, as you can see, Ihaven't done too well. I am way behind. I will catch up slowly:

I don't know what I will do for September, I guess I had better make up my mind seeing as that is tomorrow.

I was on a bracelet making kick for a couple of weeks and ended up making 18 bracelets to go with my new clothes:

I have had to buy new clothes because I have lost 30 pounds. I have 9 to go and then I will re-evaluate to see if I want to lose more. I feel much better, it makes such a difference to my mobility.

Today I cut fabric to make some small purses but couldn't do anything more as I need to buy some interfacing to give them some body. I will do that tomorrow.

I will try to keep up with my blog now and maybe join a couple of small challenges to get some more people dropping by.

2011-07-30T20:33:00.000-07:00

I am still here!!! I have been working away on my faces in my calendar and have done quite well but I am behind a little. I need to do some catch up painting and have three more faces to draw. I hope to get that done in the next couple of days:

Now I have to decide what to do for my August calendar. Maybe dogs or cats or zentangles.

On of my intentions for this year is to do some art journal sketching out in the world. I hope to feel more connected to the world and myself and be more observant. I want to develop my own style and become more confident in my drawing skill.

Today I sat outside of Cafe Citadell and drew this picture. I am pleased with it because I used some of the patterns in the wrought iron table for the design around the cup of tea. I wanted to draw a sparrow and made up my own bird. This is exactly what I want to achieve. My own style. I drew in ink instead of drawing in pencil and redrawing in ink. Letting go of perfection.I don't know if the picture will enlarge sometimes it does, sometimes not.

I have ordered Artist's Journal Workshop from Chapters and another Journal book, can't remember the name of it now but they should be here this week. I love getting new books!!
Blessings.

2011-07-11T14:37:00.000-07:00

A DIFFERENT KIND OF FACE

I thought I would challenge myself today and try an aged face. It was interesting to draw. I find I am paying more attention to things since I started doing this. I want to do character faces rather than just your usual pretty faces. More of a challenge with I Micron Pigma pen than with pencil. I did draw it with pencel first and then went over it in pen and added more lines and shading:

This is the picture I copied for the Modigliani picture, below, right:

I didn't quite capture the sagging but I think it is quite good.

2011-07-10T15:11:00.000-07:00

MORE FACES AND PRAYER FLAG #3

I have tried something different for two of these faces. The brown and green one is done with an eyedropper with acrylic ink, the next one is in the style of Picasso. The last one was supposed to be a caucasian woman but I messed up and so had to paint over what I had done and she ended up being a dark skinned woman (not a very good one at that, LOL):
The next three faces are in my sketchbook #12, 13 and 14 of the 100 to be done by the end of the year:

My prayer flag #3 is for forgiveness:

Yesterday, I went for an artist date and bought the new Somerset Art Journaling magazine and Somerset Studio. I treated myself to sushi and a latte' then went to Michael's and bought a set of different coloured calligraphy pens and a white gel pens. It is so hard to decide what to buy there because I won't buy anything without the 40% off coupon because there prices are so inflated compared to the American prices - almost double. I think I have mentioned this before but it is really annoying when our dollar is actually a little higher than the American dollar.

I am off to do some more creating, not sure what yet.

2011-07-07T22:12:00.000-07:00

DAY 6 AND 7

These were quite interesting to do. I am amazed every day at how the faces just appear. The one for the 6th is done in the style of artist Modigiliani. So few lines. I was so impressed to look at his paintings on google and see with such simplicity how he captured the character of his models. I think I will do more of these. This drawing was from a face I cut out of a magazine:
The one for the 7th is scribble drawing an actual character emerged out of the scribbles. Completely made up:

Some of the ideas come from a book called Drawing Lab For Mixed-Media Artist by Carla Sonheim. This is a fun book.

I am really aware of how tense I am when I start, afraid I will mess up so this is an excellent way to gain some confidence in my drawing.

Thanks for all your kind comments and coming to visit me.

2011-07-05T22:46:00.000-07:00

JULY CALENDAR

These are my faces for July 4th and 5th:
I was trying to capture art nouveau and I think I did quite well with the 4th and the 5th doesn't look anything like the picture I was copying which is good because I don't really like copying but I don't know how else to draw faces, I can't just pull them out of my head. It's interesting that even though you are drawing from photos or other pictures your faces have your own style in them even if you don't know what that style is. From these drawings I learned that very few lines are needed to create a face. I am really enjoying this and am learning a lot.

2011-07-03T22:57:00.000-07:00

JULY CALENDAR

I finished my July calendar tonight. I decided to copy an idea I saw at Balzer Designs - to draw a face each day. These are my first three days:

I used watercolours to paint the faces, this is different for me. I think this is going to be a fun project and it will definitely loosen me up.

2011-06-26T20:29:00.000-07:00

PRAYER FLAGS

I have been feeling unwell since Thursday night with a cold but have made two prayer flags to stave off the boredom and not feel sorry for myself. I hung them on my patio:
This one is for JOY:

This one is for SELF-DETERMINATION or FOLLOW YOUR HEART:
These are quite easy to make and measure 5" X 8" when finished with a 3" hem at the top to put the cord through. I found this idea at http://vdenegrequilts.com/ and may do some more. She is doing one a day during the month of June but I will just make one when the spirit moves me.

I hope I feel better soon, it is such a drag feeling unwell.

2011-06-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS.......

it just came out of my head!!
I used my Prismacolour Crayons for this. I have always loved these crayons and some of the ones I still have are from my first set that my parents bought me 60 years ago. I love the selection of colours and how clean they are. The little white flowers were done with acrylic paint because the while crayon wouldn't show up on top of the other colours. I tried several other things but the acrylic was the only thing that would cover and the crayon bled through a little.

I have decided that there is no use me setting up challenges for myself. My mood alters from day to day and some days I just feel too tired to create so I will just do what my spirit moves me to do and hope that do something each day.

I really enjoyed doing this one because I wasn't stressed about it being anything in particular and it didn't matter if it wasn't perfect, there was nothing to compare it with.

2011-06-15T22:24:00.000-07:00

DAY 4

I did this watercolour watching Jane LaFazio's workshop DVD:

I didn't get my face done tonight because I was watching the disgraceful behaviour of the young yahoos that are trashing our city after the Canucks lost the hockey game. Pretty frightening and so embarrassing!!

2011-06-14T20:31:00.001-07:00

DAY 3

Not a very successful day with my challenges today. I struggled with the background on the watercolour:
And didn't capture the youth in the face but, I did complete my two pieces:

2011-06-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

DAY 2

For the watercolour, I tried to do colour drop flowers with an oriental brush as demonstrated by Martha Lever on YouTube. I am going to take a course with her shortly. I have never used an oriental brush before so this was a new expereince. I left it until late in the evening and my daughter phoned while I was painting so I was mult-tasking. I got sloppy with the stems as a result. This is the result:
And this is the face:

I remember my Mom saying to me a few years ago that it seemed to take her a long time to do everything. I can sure relate to that now. They days fly by and I wonder why I couldn't get more done. Am I just lazier I wonder?

2011-06-12T23:31:00.000-07:00

I have set a goal for myself to paint one quick watercolour and draw one face a day for three months. The saying is that "practice makes perfect" so this should help me to improve my skills in these two areas. These are my first two attempts:

I'm sure this woman wouldn't appreciate this portrait of her.LOL

I have stuck 75 pictures in this small 5.5" by 8 inch sketchbook ready to be copied, so no excuses and I have um! "several" different types of watercolour paper, pad, Moleskine watercolour journals and Strathmore journals so no excuses there either!!LOL

2011-06-05T22:20:00.000-07:00

JUST DOODLING!!!

A RELAXING COUPLE OF EVENINGS.

2011-06-02T13:37:00.000-07:00

This is my calendar finished for June. I am pretending that we will actually get some summer, LOL.

It's been pouring rain again all day today. It's hard to believe the Summer Solstice is in three weeks. We have had no spring at all. I bought some new clothes a month ago and have not been able to wear them because it is still too cold. Grumble, grumble, grumble!!! I know we are lucky compared to many others who are suffering in floods, tornadoes, etc.

I am off to have some lunch and then work on my paintings.

2011-06-01T22:25:00.000-07:00

I went for my morning workout walk and ended up walking for four hours. It was a nice day compared to what we have been having so it was very enjoyable. I took some photos to try out my newly repaired camera and it seems to be working well.
A poppy:
Irises:

Peonies:

I did some beachcombing at Kits Beach. One of my favourite past times and found a few mermaid tears (glass). It was quite misty here as you can see by the photo:

It is such a treat to be able to walk without pain in my feet and legs so I can enjoy another of my favourite things to do - long, long walks.

2011-05-30T20:53:00.001-07:00

I spent a very relaxing day painting today. I finished a painting I started several months ago and started another one that will be a children's picture. This is a mixed media. The picture isn't very clear for some reason, I don't know if the adjustments they made when it was sent away have helped, I will have to take lots more pictures to if it working properly.

It is unusual for me to spend a whole day doing my art without getting anxious, so I hope this a breaththrough for me. I really had fun doing this.

2011-05-29T21:12:00.000-07:00

I've been absent again. I have been working on a couple of handbags and I finished this one today, it's about 8 by 12:

I got started on my calendar for June today - I feel like I just finished the May one, this month has gone by so quickly.

I am continuing with exercise and eating program and have lost 25 pounds and 32 1/2 inches. It feels good to be able to walk as much I as want without pain and I have way more energy.

I have many ideas of things I would like to do and wish that I was bit quicker at doing things so I could do more. I sold a couple of my tags and a little paper purse - one of the many I made a couple of years ago. I have a hard time letting go of things I have made, I don't know why that is. I don't mind giving them to my kids but I have a hard time selling them. Kind of daft!!!

We are still waiting for spring to start here. We had a sunny day today and yesterday but they only come about two at a time and then we are back to rain again. It is also quite chilly. Not as bad as some places in the world but everyone here is ready for some warm, sunny weather.

2011-05-07T17:40:00.000-07:00

"APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS!" WHAT DO TORRENTIAL RAINS AND HAIL IN MAY BRING????? Another lovely spring day in Vancouver!!

A good day for painting and so I did this watercolour and haiku. I still need lots of practice but I
I really enjoyed doing this. It's not a very good scan but I tried it several times and this was the best I could get.

2011-05-05T17:01:00.000-07:00

I finally finished my Full Moon Dreamboard a few days ago and it's nearly time for the next full moon!!! It's not a very good picture but the best I could do. The part that is white is actually a victorian nightdress. The word for this month is BEAUTY, so there are lots of flowers and a beautiful bed and sink. I got all of the pictures from Victoria magazines.
This is my calendar for May. Again, not a very good picture.

I haven't been a lot creatively so there hasn't been anything to post for the past week or so. I am just not very consistent!! I visit everyone's blog every day though and enjoy that hour in the morning when I go blog hopping.

2011-04-25T20:38:00.000-07:00

Well, we had one day of spring. It was warm enough to take off one layer of sweaters. Now we are back to chilly, rainy, gray days. So here is a little spring flower show for you. Just drag your cursor over the black page and you will see the garden grow with beautiful flowers.
http://www.procreo.jp/labo/flower_garden.swf
I have not been very creative so have nothing new to show today.

2011-04-17T17:25:00.000-07:00

FINISHED PURSE I finally finished the white bag I started months ago.

It didn't turn our quite how I envisioned but I am happy with it. I started out thinking I would do all whites, but as you can see, it has ended up with lots of pinks and lavender. The picture isn't great, I don't know why this camera doesn't take great pictures sometimes.

2011-04-12T18:50:00.001-07:00

APRIL CALENDAR

I finished my April calendar. I have really enjoyed doing this and recording what I do each day like a mini diary. The background is actually purple. I don't know why it won't photograph in a truer colour.

My list writing has helped me to do more and I have nearly finished a purse I started months ago. I will photograph it when it is done.

2011-04-10T13:59:00.001-07:00

DREAMING OF SPRING A neighbour gave me this picture to put in our newsletter. I think it is so adorable. The girls names are Kate and Lila. They look so happy and the flowers in their hair and colourful, flowery outfits make them look like little spring faeries We are having rain here again today and I slept off and on until 12:30. I have been sleeping so badly for the past two weeks, I guess I needed to catch up. I have started two handbags, have two others well under way, have bought scrapbook paper to create a children's picture, bought some blank cards and envelopes (on sale - 50 for $5 - can't pass up a bargain and of course I had to buy two packages. LOL) to make cards have a new book called Drawing Nature, A Journal by Jill Bliss that I would like to do some drawing in. Do you think I am a little scattered?? I have decided to make a list of art projects in the hopes of helping me to get focused. I find when I have a list and can cross things off when I am done, it helps. When I read other people's blogs, I see that other creatives have the same issue so I don't feel too alone in this. Has anyone else found a good solution for this scatteredness?? I spent the afternoon drawing in my Jill Bliss's Drawing Nature Journal and it really was relaxing. I turned my Ipod on and listened to the old Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Rod Stewart's American Songbook, etc. Very nice way to spend a rainy, gray afternoon and imagine that spring really come soon!! I have tried several times to get this post in paragraphs and it keeps bouncing back to one long paragraph!! Very frustrating!!

2011-04-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

These are three new Soul Collages that I have done. I have gone through another dry spell but have done these and almost finished my calendar for April. The title of this one is Self-Constructed Cages: This one is Free Spirit and Taking Flight:

This one is Playfulness:

We have had so much rain and gray skies here in the Pacific Northwest that I am feeling kind of depressed - that along with the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the resulting radiation leaking into the Pacific Ocean. The ocean is just about fifteen feet from my patio so it is a bit of a worry.

I am still reading Finding Water and The Secret in an attempt to raise my spirits and not get stuck in the sadness. I am grateful every day that we don't have snow and that we are not suffering as the Japanese people are. Really, life is good, the spirits are just a little bit low and GRAY like the skies!!!

2011-03-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

SOUL COLLAGE

I made my first Soul Collage tonight. It is called "Vulnerability and Strength". I was going to put a flower over the US on her forehead but decided that it looked better without - it was too much.

I have been carrying my camera again. I got out of the habit of it after my other one got stolen out of my bag. I carry it in a small bag around my neck now so it is handy and safe. The blossoms are popping out all over now, we had a lovely warm day today:

We have a lot of Blue Heron's around here and I was lucky enough to get a couple of good shots. I don't know if it was the same one in two different places or if it was actually two Heron's:

They are such beautiful birds. There is one that fishes off the pier just in front of my apartment. It is so amazing when they take off and fly.

I have been working in Finding Water every morning and doing my morning pages. I also had an artist's date today. I have this urge to do a mixed media picture in pink with cupcakes and suckers in it so I went to the cupcake store and took a couple of pictures and took pictures of suckers and cupcake stands to inspire me. I had a lot of fun and walked a lot. I also bought some scrapbook paper - pink of course and found some flowers at Michael's on sale. They are in jars and I have been looking at them since the store opened but wouldn't buy them because they were $16.95 - ridiculous price. Today they were only $6.99 so I had to have one of each colour of course. It's not safe to let me out of the house these days. I just had a run on buying beautiful journals!!! I have no idea what I will do with them but I HAD to have them!! LOL! I love my art supplies and stationary!!

2011-03-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

FULL MOON DREAMBOARD

I decided to to do a Full Moon Dreamboard for the first time. It took me three days but I finally finished it today. It was a lot of fun. My heading is My Happyness Quest and my topic for this month is PLAYFULNESS:

Getting in touch with my child self and playing is my goal for this month. I got the idea of The Happyness Quest from a book I saw called The Happiness Project. The word project sounded a bit left brain so I changed mine to Quest and put a y in Happyness - sounds more fun!!

When I was out wandering about on Saturday I bought two books. The Secret and Finding Water by Julia Cameron. I have her other two books in the trilogy - The Artist's Way and Walking In This World. The first chapter in the book is Optimism which is exactly what I need. Getting back to Morning Pages and Artist's Dates will be a good thing for me too. It has been a very gray, wet winter in Vancouver and I really feel like I need something to lift me up.

Someone gave me the connection to Soul Collage www.soulcollage.com which looks like fun too. They are small collages on cards 5" X 8". There is a video on the site if you are interested.

2011-03-09T11:33:00.000-08:00

IMAGINARY TRIP TO IRELAND AND MORNING SKETCHES

Last night I did this sketch of The Matchmaker Bar from Lisdoonvarna, Co.Clare. Once a year there is a Matchmaker Festival, so if you want to find a partner visit Lisdoonvarna during festival time. I have never drawn and painted a building before and I actually had fun doing this. The reason - it was a sketch and I didn't have to worry about lines being perfectly straight. I decided not to use a ruler and that was really freeing. I am learning a lot in this class:
This morning I decided to take the plunge and sketch some faces I had found in a magazine about a week ago:

Then I did a couple from a prompt in Carla Sonheim's book, Drawing Lab.

This one is a one-liner, it had to be done without lifting your pencil from the paper:

This one is done in the style of Picasso and was drawn by turning the page 90 degrees every time I had finished each part:

These two exercises were also very freeing. I have been more of a realist and haven't switch in to this fun, abstract style of art.

Finding new pathways is really interesting, freeing and fun!!

WHAT NEXT????

2011-03-08T12:10:00.000-08:00

PLAY

My favourite time of the day is the morning when I can stay in bed until I feel like getting up. This morning I woke up at 4am. I couldn't get back to sleep so I took my medication which I have to take an hour before breakfast, took four books from my bulging bookshelf and sat in bed with a hot water bottle perusing my books. One of them was The New Creative Artist by Nita Leland. She inspired me. I have been wanting to keep a sketch book but there is something about drawing that paralyzes me. It's not that I can't draw it's just something that makes me anxious and I get stuck. Anyway, I decided that sketching in bed in the morning was a good time. So I gathered my supplies: watercolour pencils, Faber-Castell waterproof pen, gel pens and started. I hopped (well, not quite hopped??) out of bed a couple of times to make my breakfast, (I eat my breakfast in bed) gather paper, scissors and a glue stick and ended up doing a collage. This was fun and I had been creative before 8am - a great way to start the day!!! Okay, so it's not sketching but it is something creative!! Notice the page on the left is dated Nov. 21/o7. I have many sketchbooks I've started and then left after a few pages. Does anyone do this?

I love having so many books as a resource to get me inspired.

Happy creating everyone!!!

2011-03-06T22:24:00.000-08:00

IRELAND

Two more watercolours from Ireland. I definitely need lots more practice!!

2011-03-04T15:09:00.000-08:00

I'm back, yet again. This is my calendar for March:
These are my watercolours for my Imaginary Trip To Ireland:

2011-02-13T20:28:00.000-08:00

This is my latest art journal page:
It's always fun to do a journal page, so freeing!

2011-02-09T21:15:00.001-08:00

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!

I took my camera with me on my walk this morning, the sun was shining and Spring was definitely in the air. The CanadaGeese were gathered together:
The snowdrops are blooming:

The gardening tools are ready to go:

The daffodils are in bud:

The crocuses are ready bloom:

Yes, spring is definitely here!! We tolerate the grey skies and rain all winter and are rewarded with an early spring!! Not a bad trade-off!!!

2011-02-07T20:21:00.000-08:00

This is a birthday card I made for one of my daughters:
I forgot to photograph them so I am waiting for my other daughter to send a photo of hers.

I wasn't creative today, I had to do five loads of laundry so that took up most of my day and then I had a nap!!

2011-02-06T11:48:00.000-08:00

This is my first watercolour from my Imaginary Trip To Ireland: I have a lot to learn!!

I bought a couple of books to encourage me to start carrying a sketchbook with me. An Illustrated Life by Danny Gregory and Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists by Carla Sonheim. I find I have a real block to sketching - most of my art actually but sketching is a big one. I have no confidence in my ability and I find when I am out I don't know what to sketch. I really want to move past this and I think Imaginary Trip to Ireland might help me with this. We are learning to edit what we see and just sketch the most important parts. Self-confidence really is the key to success and any parent or teacher who can instill this in their children will give them the greatest gift possible. Also, I find the city is not very inspiring to me and feel I have shut myself down a lot because of the noise and crowds. I do so long for the country where you can hear birds sing and see flowers and the sky. However, I am here and I will search for things to sketch and move myself through this frustrating block.

2011-02-05T15:19:00.001-08:00

I finished my February calendar:

It was lots of fun to do and I love using lots of colour. I have prepared the page for March and will work on it through the month so it is ready on time.

I started Imaginary Trip To Ireland and did my first painting. It is not too bad. I find I am very anxious about it because it is so new and it will be posted to a blog for comments and positive feedback from Laure. This is an old thing being very anxious about doing anything creative. I had the same problem when I was going to University and had to write essays. I could only write for about twenty minutes or so then I had to have a break. Wish I could get past this paralyzing feeling. Teri on Painted Daisies blog said today that "there are no art police waiting to arrest you". I am going to print that out and hang it up to remind me that nothing bad is going to happen if I mess up or if it isn't perfect. All this old stuff we carry around with us and even though we know it is old sometimes it is hard to shake it off.

Just checked out Painted Thoughts blog and her saying today is: "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new", Albert Einstein. And "A man's errors are his portals of discovery", James Joyce.

Lots of messages that I needed to hear today.

I am going to paint some more today.

2011-02-03T12:59:00.000-08:00

"THE BEST LAID PLANS OF MICE AND MEN HAVE GANG AFT AGLEY"

Robbie Burns says it so well. Our well laid plans so often get derailed for one reason or another. I started out the New Year posting everyday - that lasted for five days!! I realized then that when I set goals for the new year I often have to clear up leftovers from the past year. There are Christmas decorations to put away, that puts in motion come clearing out, some extra cleaning and then there are three birthdays in January, etc. etc. So in reality it is February 1st before I can really start focusing on the new year.

On January 31st, the class I signed up for "Imaginary Trip To Ireland" started. We got the supply list and I only had two of the paint colours that were recommended and because I want to learn the basics I wanted to get the paints and brushes recommended. One of the brands can't be bought in Vancouver so that meant going on-line and finding suppliers, hopefully in Canada to avoid borders and duty, etc. I found the other half of the supplies at Opus except for three colours which I couldn't buy in Canada so had to order from the U.S. So here we are at the 3rd of February and I am awaiting the orders so I can get started. For any of you looking for a Canadian on-line supplier of art supplies go to www.currys.com if your order is over $75 the shipping is free.

I almost finished my February calendar last night, just a few embellishments and it will be done. It was fun to fill in the January one and I will keep this up through the year. It is a fun, edited version of my day to day activities.

I made birthday cards for my daughters and forgot to photograph them so I have to ask them to e-mail me photos so I can post them.

I have continued with my walking and weight training and have lost 16 pounds and over 16 1/2 inches. Another four pounds and I will go shopping for some new clothes. They say 10 pounds is a size so my clothes are getting very roomy on me!!!

I am off to tear my large sheet of Arches watercolour paper into 5.5 X 7.5 pieces for my trip to Ireland.

2011-01-04T21:43:00.000-08:00

Also visit my other blog: http://silverthreadsanartistspilgrimage.blogspot.com

2011-01-04T09:51:00.000-08:00

It's my Granddaughter's twenty-fifth birthday today. She is a miracle as she had leukemia when she was 22 months old and survived. She was also given Hepititis C in a blood transfusion and had treatment for it three years ago and is now healthy for the first time in her life. Chloe is also a miracle baby because Chelsea may not have been able to concieve because of all the chemo. We are so blessed to have them both in our lives.
This is the card I made for Chelsea:

Yesterday I made this calendar and I just love it. The idea came from http://jilltaylor-thirdagemusings.blogspot.com/2009/12/calendar-challenge.html and I think it is such a quick and simple way to record each day, it will be fun to look at at the end of the year and see what I have done. I showed it to my DD this morning when she came to do my training and she loved it too. Sorry for the poor quality of the photo, I tried several different ways and this was the best one. I miss my old camera:

2010-12-31T22:00:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Please go to my new blog at http://silverthreadsanartistspilgrimage.blogspot.com

2010-12-30T22:08:00.000-08:00

MY BIRTHDAY

Today I turned 71. I started a new blog to celebrate the beginning of a new year and to record LITTLE MOMENTS that I experience each day. I an keeping this blog to record my artistic accomplishments and will also keep my crazy quilt blog to record my sewing accomplishments. I'll see how it goes having three blogs and may end up combining them but for now I will have all three. I hope you will visit http://silverthreadsanartistspilgrimage.blogspot.com/ My other blog is http://secretgardencrazyquilting.blogspot.com/ but there isn't much there right now, I hope to change that in 2011.

2010-12-28T17:29:00.000-08:00

NEW YEARS INTENTIONS

I have begun to set my intentions for 2011 and have started a Book Of Possibilities (from the movie Last Holidays). This is my new journal for 2011, I love the Paperblanks Journals. They have such beautiful covers and the paper inside is good quality:

This is my Book Of Possibilities. I love the cover with the turtles and the shiny gold:

This is the first page:

The picture is from DJ Pettitt http://djpettitt.typepad.com/ it says "begin again". The verse on the other page is from the new calendar I bought with art and writing from Jeannine Roberts Royce http://www.jeaninerobertsroyce.blogspot.com/ The words are: "I burn with a fiery passion. My fearless stance is held with a calm and poise belying the fire and focus at my core. My passion burns freely....igniting my dreams, illuminating my path. I rise beyond all limits. I have an abiding resilience and resolve to never hold back, never stand back, never look back. I reach great heights. I shine as I soar."

The next pages are a photo from DJ Pettitt that says "love flowing freely" and buttons and headers from the challenges that I am joining. "Twenty Minute Challenge", "100 Paintings Challenge" and "The Sketchbook Challenge". They are all related so I don't think it will be too much:

I also plan to take some classes from Laure Ferlita at http://paintedthoughtsblog.blogspot.com All of these challenges and classes are to improve my watercolour painting.

I hope you have some really fun, creative intentions for 2011. If you have, I would love to hear what they are.

2010-12-26T16:08:00.000-08:00

BOXING DAY

Relaxing after a busy Christmas:

I had really nice Christmas day with my YDD. We had a very laid back day - opened our gifts to each other, ate snacks, went for a walk, had a meal of chicken, broccoli and cauliflower, watched Shrek and played a couple of games of scrabble. We chatted lots and generally relaxed and enjoyed each others company. My other DD and my GD phoned so my day was complete.

I woke up with my cold worse than ever yesterday which put a bit of a damper on things for me, I was dripping and sneezing and all those fun things - I am concerned about my DD catching it, so hope she will be okay. I feel much better today and went out to buy a new journal for my Book of Possibilities for 2011 and also found a really nice calendar for 2011. With my Birthday being on the 30th and New Years Eve on the 31st, it is an especially good time to set some intentions for the year and think about what I would like to focus on. I asked DJ Pettitt if I could use a couple of her photos in my 2011 journal and she very kindly sent me a couple of copies. Her handmade journals and photographs are amazing, you can visit her at http://djpettitt.typepad.com/

I thought I would take you on a tour around my living space decorated for Christmas. First is my living, sleeping space:

Next is my studio not far to walk from my bed to my studio:

As you can see, it's very tiny and I have given up a lot of living space to have a decent sized studio.

Next is my Christmas forest scene with my watercolour, that I just had framed, in the background:

Butterflies, birds and boas were my theme for this year and I found it all very magical and have so enjoyed being in this little forest space over Christmas:

Jack Frost was a gift from my EDD several years ago and it is one of my favourite decorations:

Hope you enjoyed my little tour. It is a tiny space but is very cozy and has a great view!

2010-12-24T10:25:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

My very best wishes to everyone for a Merry Christmas. Blogging has become an important part of my life and I have so enjoyed meeting everyone from all over the world and seeing all the wonderful creativity.

HAVE A JOYFUL HOLIDAY!!!

2010-12-23T16:47:00.000-08:00

I've been gone for a long time again! I get busy and just don't take the time to write anything. I visit all my favourite blogs everyday though.

We did the Santa Shuffle and had great fun. I walked it in just under one hour and was pleased that I wasn't last. LOL We raised $610 for the Salvation Army Christmas Fund between the three of us.

I am continuing with my walking and weight training and have lost ten pound so far. I feel so much better and have so much more energy.

My two daughters and I had our Christmas on December 11th because my eldest daughter went out of town the following weekend. My youngest daughter and I will get together on Christmas day and have another Christmas so it has been a very strange year. I feel like I have two last minute preparations in the past three weeks. It is all good though and I am looking forward to spending the day with my daughter on Christmas day.

I have done a couple of mixed media pictures 18X24, one is for my eldest daughter for her birthday. My two girls have their birthdays on the same day- Jan 27th - having been born six years and forty minutes apart. My birthday is on the 30th Dec my granddaughter on the 4th Jan, my great granddaughter on 4th Nov. All out birthdays within two and a half months with Christmas and New Years thrown in for good measure. We really could have timed things better!! LOL

When things get back to normal and some sanity returns (hopefully) in January I will blog more often and maybe get more connected by joining One World One Heart again.

Last Sunday, I went to my friend's book launch. It is so exciting so see someone creative work come to fruition. So much blood, sweat and tears go into the production of a book. My daughter did the layout for her so that was very exciting. He book is called Romance Your Writer Within,

And Reawaken Your Passion To Write. If you are interested in this book you can contact Melba Burns at melbawrites@gmail.com or go to her website http://www.melbaburns.com/

Another neighbour is getting his book into production at this time. He has worked on it for ten years!! Maybe this will get me inspired to do something with the book I started many years ago.

2010-12-02T23:04:00.000-08:00

SANTA SHUFFLE
I am going to walk the 5k Santa Shuffle on Saturday to raise money for the Salvation Army. My two daughters are going to run it so it should be lots of fun. They can cheer me on to the finish line. I cheered them on two years ago when they ran it in Victoria.

After we do the run we are going to the Burnaby Village Heritage Museum that is all decked out for Christmas. They also have the carousel from the Pacific National Exhibition that I used to ride when I was a kid.

Hope you are getting into the Christmas spirit and that it is a happy time for you. I know it isn't for some people. Hugs to you if it isn't.

2010-11-30T22:02:00.000-08:00

ART JOURNAL PAGE

I was sitting looking at this yellow page in my art journal a couple of days ago and thought it needed a green apple on it. Then I thought of a pear and then the cockney rhyming slang "up the apple and pears", popped into my head. Up the apples and pears means stairs. Just a bit of silly fun!!! I lived in England for fourteen years, five of which was spent in Haverhill, Suffolk which isn't too far from London.

I got my Christmas decorations out of storage today ready to decorate tomorrow. I look forward to having my tree and lights up this year, some years I don't feel quite so in to it.

Hope you are all having a great week.

2010-11-26T21:08:00.000-08:00

CHRISTMAS IS NOT FAR AWAY!

There is a great folk art give-away at http://dianesalter.blogspot.com/ Pop over and enter your name.

Yes, I have been gone for a few days - over a week again - I don't know what is up with me lately I just get distracted.

I have continued to do my walk workout and my daughter started me on weights earlier this week. I have lost 7 pounds and about 10 inches. I feel so much better and have so much more energy. I able to go from morning until night now, it is great!

We had some snow on Thursday but it has all been washed away by our rain forest rain. It was very pretty at the time though. The weather was also very cold at the beginning of the week and we are such sissies here in Vancouver -4 freaks us out. LOL

I have bought some white birds, red birds and white butterflies to decorate for Christmas, which I will be doing over the weekend. I made my Christmas wreath for my door the other day with a white boa, red birds, red ribbon, poinsettias and one white bird. It looks very Christmassy!!
So I have been creative after all!

2010-11-12T18:16:00.000-08:00

MUSHROOMS

This is my latest mushroom picture:

Still enjoying the watercolours. I came up with my own colours for this one and wonder if it is a bit boring and needed more colour. But it is all practice.

Went to visit my friend today and go for a walk with him. We had word today that he is being moved to a care home close by here, which was his first choice so I hope it turns out to be better than the one he is in. It will certainly be better for me because I will be able to walk there rather than have to take two or three buses.

I working my way up to a twenty minute challenge, I think it will be a very good exercise for me. I will have to get a timer.

2010-11-11T20:16:00.000-08:00

REMEMBRANCE DAY OXYMORON

The eleventh month
day, hour, leaden grey skies weep
killing to bring peace

THE FLY BY

The old planes that used to fly overhead when I was a child and we would run out shouting and pointing, it was so unusual to see a plane in those days. How things have changed!!

2010-11-09T21:46:00.000-08:00

URBAN WILDLIFE

During the early Fall, a friend and I went to Stanley Park and wandered around all afternoon. It was a beautiful day and we were fortunate enough to see some swans:

and about nine raccoons. Someone was feeding them and one by one they crept

out of the bushes. There was a mixture of babies and adults, obviously several

families:

I have been painting off and on for the past four days but I haven't finished anything yet. I have also been doing a little embroidery on my purse. I am slow but I get there eventually.

I worked out hard this morning and it was raining and cold and windy - such dedication!!!

The cold finally inspired me to go to my storage locker and get my winter clothes out. It has been so warm here up until today that I haven't needed my sweaters. I guess Fall is well and truly here now.

I am off to have a hot bath and get ready for bed.

2010-11-05T21:55:00.000-07:00

NO REFLECTIONS TODAY

It was dreary and rainy most of the day.
A late bloomer:

Granville Island: Crystal Ark

And the Kid's Market:

I painted two more mushrooms today and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It is so nice to just get lost for hours in colour.

I had a delicious morning sleeping in and just dozing and reading and I feel much better for it. The exhaustion has passed and now I have two days off from exercising to look forward to. I went for my walk - I was ordered to have an easy day today because I worked hard all week - and enjoyed being out in the misty rain, it wasn't cold so it was a pleasant autumn day.

2010-11-04T17:59:00.000-07:00

AUTUMN REFLECTIONS

Another beautiful autumn day, I took this on my early morning walk.

I was going to paint today and got a picture drawn but I had to do four loads of laundry and that took me all afternoon. Now I am really tired. I find with the radical change in my schedule and the exercise I get tired early in the evening. I have been going to bed around 10:30pm, unheard of for me, and am asleep just after 11:00pm and then wake up a about 6:30am. I haven't kept these hours for many years. I guess I will get used to it sooner or later.

These are a couple of Zendalas that I drew over the past couple of months when I wasn't blogging.

2010-11-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

URBAN SUNRISE

Can you believe I'm sitting here at 7:30 am waiting for it to get light so I can go for my walk? This is the person who hasn't got out of bed before 10:00 am for months. Amazing how a little encouragement and support can help us change our lives! My whole eating, sleeping, creating schedule has changed in the past three weeks.

What a treat watching the sunrise while I walk. I was sorry I hadn't take my camera yesterday as the mist rolled in and out while my daughter and I walked, it was very mysterious and mystical.

2010-11-02T17:50:00.001-07:00

FORESTY THINGS

I love mushrooms and bought a book about a year ago so it will come in handy to paint lots of different mushrooms:

I painted these two pictures today, one to make up for missing yesterday. I was really busy yesterday and just didn't feel like painting when I got home. I went to bed early.

My DD came this morning for my training, I pulled something in my upper thigh yesterday and it is kind of sore tonight so I hope it feels better tomorrow so I can do my walking.

I'm still liking the watercolours, no clean-up to speak of and no mess while I'm doing it - that works really well for me.

I have been staying home a lot lately, I am really fed up with the traffic and noise and grumpy people. I live in a quiet oasis in the middle of the city so it is very nice to be at home. I'm feeling quite content these days, unlike my usual anxious, needing to go out and do something sort of energy. I don't know what brought about the change but it is good.

2010-10-31T22:21:00.000-07:00

WATERCOLOUR
I finished watercolour number 3 today. I am really enjoying working with watercolours. No mess, not much clean-up.

I spent some time in the lobby tonight watching the trick or treaters. Quite a few goblins came around, brings back lots of memories from my trick or treating days and also my kids.

Hope you all had a fun Halloween.

2010-10-30T20:09:00.000-07:00

CHELSEA AND CHLOE

I spent some time this afternoon making a birthday card for my great granddaughter. She will be two on November 4th.

I wanted to paint but, because it was a sunny day, I decided to prune the hydrangeas in front of my apartment. They have been blocking my view all summer so it's nice to get some light in and see the city again.

I am feeling rested today - had a nice sleep in this morning - so I will be raring to go on Monday morning when I have to work out again.

I have discovered a "twenty minute challenge" in my travels through blogland and I will be doing that. You are to do a painting in twenty minutes. I think this will be a good way to get some practice. There is no need to report in or no time limit, just a personal challenge. You can upload your pictures to a blog if you wish. There is so much to discover once you start going from one blog to another, what a wonderful resource for people like me who don't go out a lot and don't have a huge social network.

I'm off to watch Heartbeat and Midsommer Murders!

2010-10-29T21:28:00.000-07:00

A DREARY AUTUMN DAY IN VANCOUVER WITH A BEAUTY ALL ITS' OWN

When I was out for my workout walk this morning I took a couple of pictures but it was a dreary Vancouver day so they are dark pictures. The autumn ones are quite pretty though.

Had a day at home apart from my workout this morning. I slept in and I feel much better today. I was beginning to feel a little exhausted from the workouts that aren't really that hard but much more than I have been doing for a long time. I get the weekend off so I am happy about that.

I finished a watercolour I started a few days ago, started a new one and did a little stitching on my next crazy quilt purse. What a great way to spend my day! Oh yes, I also did the crosswords in the two free papers - I do those every day!

The watercolours I am doing are exercises from a book called How to Draw and Paint Fairyland. It has step by step instructions which is a good way to learn. After I have done a few, I will branch out and do my own.

There is a BIG workshop going on right now and it sounds like fun. I love painting BIG, when I was going to art therapy I always wanted to do everything BIG. I will pass on this workshop though because it means using acrylics. There is such a sense of freedom in painting BIG.

FREEDOM - WHAT A WONDERFUL WORD!

2010-10-28T21:07:00.000-07:00

AUTUMN SPLENDOR

I bought some new watercolour paper today. One Strathmore Visual Journal and some Italia Aquarelle. I also bought a new book called Watercolour - The Spirit of Spontaneity. It has some lovely pictures in it an some instruction, I'm looking forward to starting on it. I don't have to go out tomorrow so I will spend the day creating.

I had a good workout this morning, I'm not too sore today so that's a good thing. When my daughter came to train me this morning she brought me a little pumpkin from a pumpkin patch she and friend went to yesterday. I would love to go to a corn maze/pumpkin patch. They have several in the Lower Mainland. Too bad I don't still have my car - sometimes I really miss it.

I have missed my blog and am sorry that I have lost my following. I was so pleased to have HybridJ and Rose visit on the first day that I was back. Thanks for your comments.

2010-10-27T20:58:00.000-07:00

THE LAST ROSE OF SUMMER

Such a beautiful rose for so late in the season.

Met with a friend for coffee today and had a nice long chat. She has had a few bad days so she was happy to get out and enjoy the sunny afternoon.

When I got home my daughter phoned to say she was coming over as she is helping my neighbour to format a book she has written and she came go visit with me for a while. I love it when my girls drop by.

Another neighbour asked me if I would carve a pumpkin that was given to the building so I had fun doing that. All in all a very pleasant day.

I had to take a day off my exercise program, I was so tired and sore I just couldn't face doing my workout today. I had permission from my trainer (my daughter) so it was guilt free. I worked out on Sunday when I was supposed to take the day off so I won't do that again. My daughter told me to take it off but I didn't - doing too much again. I have been told to focus on doing everything softly. I tend to do everything hard rather than gentle and soft and I am supposed to focus on sights, sounds, and smells between the one minute intervals when I get my heart rate up. I haven't started on the food yet - one thing at a time is enough. I am also supposed to focus on opening up my chest and I can notice a difference already. Don't like the pain much though!!!! She will be here at 7:30 in the morning for my next session - ouch!!

2010-10-26T21:44:00.000-07:00

a simple watercolour

I am back, if anyone still visits me. I have been re-evaluating my art and trying to decide what direction to go in. I am so scattered, trying to do too many things. I am having difficulty with the smell of the acrylic paints and I am tired of all of the STUFF in my small apartment so I have decided that I am going to focus on watercolours, crazy quilt purses and purses in general. I hope this will help me to be more productive. I saw a psychic many years ago and she told me I should paint watercolours. I like them because there is no smell and the clean up is so easy. I also like the delicate nature of them. a work in progress

I have also hired my daughter (she is a personal trainer) to train me. I have been a physical and emotional funk for a long time and really need to get moving and improve my health, stop lying in bed until 11:00am - 12:pm. It is just a waste of my life. By the time I get going the day is half over.

I am also thinking of starting a new blog and leaving this one. I don't like the new format and I think it is time for a change. Starting fresh.

There are a couple of classes and a challenge I am contemplating for the New Year - yes Christmas is only two months away!!! Where did the year go?

I did a little on the art journal course I signed up for but, again, the smells from ironing the pictures on the fabric caused some problems. I seem to have become so sensitive to so many things but especially chemicals. So there sits another unfinished project, money spent and piles of stuff in a bag!!

I have also been helping my neighbour who went blind after cataract surgery and is now in a seniors facility - I refuse to call it a care home - and that has been an education and a very unpleasant experience. The way we treat seniors in this country is appalling!! We are hoping
he is going to be moved to a different home and, if so, I hope it is better than this one.

So that is what has been going on in my life over the past two months. I hope to be back on my blog now and think some more about starting a new one. I have been visiting you all every day so I am up to speed on what you have been doing all you wonderful creative people, you have been doing some wonderful work.

2010-09-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

There is a beautiful giveaway at http://www.ceoriginals.blogspot.com/2010/09/giveaway-time.html Pop over and enter to win.

2010-08-15T20:43:00.001-07:00

I finally finished the purse I have been working for such a long time. I don't know why I had such a struggle with it. The colours haven't shown up very well so I will take another photo tomorrow in the daylight.

These are the signatures ready for my journal workshop. Now for the embellishments.

I spent quite a bit of time today scanning photos, birth certificates, passports, marriage licences, etc. I am looking forward to the embellishing.

It was very hot here today and yesterday, it's supposed to cool down by Tuesday. Too hot for me so I have stayed at home in the cool.

2010-08-10T22:27:00.000-07:00

I have had two busy days. Today was fun, I went to Lonsdale Quay with a friend for fish and chips, went to Dunderave (a little village near the beach in West Vancouver) and then went for a long walk along the seawall back to Park Royal (a mall) and caught the bus back home. It was a lovely sunny day, not too hot. perfect.

This is my second zendala. I haven't done any more since, I bounce around from one thing to another so I never get bored. I don't know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing but it would sure help if I had more room.

These two watercolours are ones I did several years ago - I don't actually remember doing them- I just found them amongst my stashed away paintings and paper. I didn't like these when I did them but I quite like them now. That is why it is not a good idea to throw things away when you don't like them. This has happened to me quite often. I rarely like things when I do them but looking at them with fresh eyes presents a different perspective.
I really like watercolours and they are really a better option for me because of the toxicity and smells of acrylics. I think I am going to sign up for an on-line watercolour course when I am finished with the journal workshop. I have also signed up for a one day workshop on how to put zippers in purses. This is on September 4th at Spool of Thread on Kingsway Ave. Lots to look forward to!!

2010-08-08T22:53:00.000-07:00

FLOWERS IN THE RAIN

I have been busy today dyeing more paper with tea and tearing it into pages. I also almost finished a crazy quilt purse but I didn't have enough fringe for the bottom so will go buy that tomorrow and finish it. I tried to make a mini collage the day before yesteray and it ended up in the garbage, I was too tired and it just didn't come together.

I worked on the September newsletter for the building where I live and took some photos of my neighbours garden to go with a poem she wrote for the newsletter. It was about summer rain so I took photos of her flowers with rain on them. I also put some hydrageas in the lobby to brighten things up. All in all a very productive day.

2010-08-05T15:05:00.001-07:00

Today I had fun preparing my journal pages and some trims with coffee, tea, berry tea and walnut ink. I did one page with Lumiere paint and some acrylic ink and I don't like that one so I will have to doctor it up. I will do the other side of the pages tonight or tomorrow. I don't have much room in my little studio apartment so everything is scrunched up on my patio. Fortunately, it is a hot, sunny day. You can see the sunny shadow across the pages. I just realized I forgot to dye some cheesecloth so I will do that now, it will only take a few minutes. the great thing about using these things for colouring and dyeing is that they are non-toxic. I have become pretty sensitive to chemicals so this is a real bonus and added to the enjoyment. Also, environmentally friendly! I have been getting things ready for my mini-collage so will hopefully get that done this evening. Will post it later.

2010-08-04T15:29:00.001-07:00

I touch one strand
the whole web dances
Back on track, I am so happy I created something today! This is my second mini collage. It's a good start and I will do some work on my journal later. Feels so good!!!

2010-08-03T21:23:00.001-07:00

Here I am back again after almost a month of absence. I just joined and On-line Journal Workshop http://kiwicarole.blogspot.com and I hope this will get me back on track with my creativity. It looks like so much fun. Ever since I found DJ Pettit's journals I have wanted to learn how to do this type of journal. I already have pretty much all of the supplies so I am ready to go! I didn't do any more mini collages as I got caught up in some medical tests (everything's fine) and helping my neighbour by packing up his apartment and helping him get settled in the care home he was moved to. Things didn't get off to a very good start for him but he is sort of settling in now, doesn't have much choice really.

So now back to focusing on my creativity. I am really looking forward to it and meeting all the new people taking the Workshop.

2010-07-09T16:28:00.000-07:00

Here is my first mini-collage. I am not terribly thrilled with it but I can see it is going to be good practice for making bigger ones. It actually looks better here than in real life. It was a good experience because I had many interruptions while I was doing it but it didn't matter because it is just for fun.

The sun has gone behind the clouds again they are never far away in Vancouver but the temperature is very warm. I am lucky down here by the water as there is almost always a cool breeze.

I have been helping several people lately and am really questioning what that is all about. I like to help people but the universe is blocking some of the things I have done and I wonder if it is telling me to mind my own business. Do you wait to be asked or do you offer? Not sure where the line is because I seem to be innately programmed to help - as many women are - and just automatically offer my services. I monitor myself to make sure I am not overdoing or doing things I don't want to do but the universe blocking things really has me questioning myself.

An example is that a neighbour who has no family or friends went to Mexico for medical treatment. I had been dropping in on him from time to time just to see if he was okay and if he needed anything. He called me just as he was going in for his treatment and then I didn't hear from him again. He was to be home in five or six day so after a week I called the hospital and there had been some issues and getting him home seemed to be one of them. I offered to meet him at the airport not thinking it may be a late night arrival. It turned out to be 10:50PM. I took a cab to the airport (I don't have a car and don't use public transit at night) waited until 12:15, asked the people at the information desk if they could check if he was actually on the plane or held up in customs but they were less than helpful. They said whether he was on the plane or not was confidential. Anyway, I finally left and waited until this morning to call the airline - making sure he hadn't arrived home later because of some delay - and contrary to what the airport personnel said they were more than happy to tell me he was arriving today at 11:30AM. So, I am pleased that he is home safely, but I am out $61 in cab fares and don't feel I can ask him to reimburse me because he didn't ask me to meet him. I went into it knowing he may not pay me back so that is not the biggest issue. The biggest issue is should I have minded my own business and not offered to go to the airport?

2010-07-07T21:22:00.000-07:00

I have done a Zendala and a Zentangle over the last little while. The Zendala I did in a couple of sittings, the Zentangle took several weeks to complete. I find this a very relaxing art form and did a lot of it in coffee shops. I have another Zentangle half completed.

I picked up the new Somerset Studio a couple of days ago and found an article by a mixed-media artist I haven't seen before, his name is Randel Plowman. He has a blog called http://acollageaday.blogspot.com and he has done just that for a couple of years and has only missed a couple of days of posting during that time. His collages are only 4" x 4" but they are excellent. So, I think I will give it a try and do one small collage a day for six months maybe longer if I am still enjoying it. He also has a web site at www.rplowman.com

The new Somerset Studio is very good and so it the new Art Journaling. They have a new format for SS and I prefer it to the old one. I love the mixed-media magazines, they are so inspiring.

We finally got some summer weather here. Very hot today.

2010-06-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

There is a beautiful give-away at Pat Winter's blog www.gatherings100.blogspot.com . Pop over and enter your name if you love hand-dyed silk ribbons and loving things to create crazy quilts.

2010-06-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE

Hope it is sunny wherever you are.

I'm back again. I can't beleive I have been absent from blogging for so long. I have visited everyone every day but haven't felt like saying anything. I have a had a few stressful things going on and have been doing some self-examination and soul searching - looking at some of the things I do that I would like to change. I bought the book Women, Love and God by Geneen Roth and it has given me some insights into my eating issues that I hope will help me to not eat emotionally. The book is quite amazing in that it connects the way you use food with the way you live your life - unconsciously.

I have done a few art journal pages and some ATC's for a trade with a blog friend, so I have been a little creative in my absence. This page is titled LIFE IS

ATC's for trade

LIFE IS NOT BLACK AND WHITE

YOU GET TO CHOOSE-YOU DEFINE YOURSELF

ALCHEMY-TRANSMUTING BASE METALS INTO GOLD
TRANFORMING YOUR LIFE

SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE WHAT IS LEFT OF MY HEART

IS BREAKING INTO AMILLION PIECES.

This page is scatterer with Diamond Dust which is like little chips of glass.

I did another one on the weight I am carrying but it didn't photograph very well. I am still getting used to my new camera. It is the same as my old camera but a newer version so there are settings that I haven't explored yet.

2010-05-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

I haven't been posting because I have been feeling kind of down and haven't done much creating. Not sure what is going on, too much sad stuff around me I think. To top everything off someone stole my camera out of my bag last week. I am usually so careful and I got a bit careless the past couple of weeks and put my bag down when I was trying on glasses and getting coffee. The worst part is that about a years photos are gone because I hadn't downloaded them. I have the Vista program and when I go to download my photos it downloads all of them every time instead of just the new ones. I figured out I could e-mail them to myself and then copy to gallery so I only did the ones I wanted at the time for a project or to give to someone, hence, the fact that many of them weren't downloaded and are lost. I don't even remember which ones are gone. So, a good lesson - don't ever put your bag down anywhere, keep it in your hands at all times!!

On the weekend, I went to see Letters To Juliet - a good chick flick very fluffy, light-hearted and beautiful scenery of Italy- and Mao's Last Dance - a very good movie, a true story about a ballet dance who went to America from Mao's China. My daughter also got me a copy of The Secret of Kells. It is a cute cartoon movie about the making of the Book of Kells. Visually very artistic.

I found two new stores today, one a fabric store where they rent machines and will be having classes and meeting of the Modern Quilt Guild, at the other store they have painting classes. Mixed media and glazing and encaustic so I may take some classes, I really like the instructors style.

That's about it for today. Be back soon! I do visit you all every day even though I am not posting.

2010-05-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

I saw this little dog last night when I was out for a walk. He is the epitomy of JOY. He ran around a fast as his little legs would carry him and then lay down on his back and squirmed about then jumped up and off he went again. He ran up to other dogs and sniffed and off he went again. He was just adorable, had dreadlocks and made me laugh. What joy our little furry friends bring.

If you can enlarge this you can see the grin of pleasure on his little face. He is a Maltese terrier. I didn't think to ask what his name was.

I got started on a couple of ATC's last night for a 'flower' exchange I'm doing with a blog friend.

I will be starting the newsletter for the building I live in for June at the end of the week. I always enjoy putting that together. I take photos for it as well so it is a project that incorporates a few skills.

I went to visit a neighbour in the hospital today. He had cataract surgery a month ago and has gone completely blind. He had cataract surgery on the other eye five years ago and lost his sight in that eye after the surgery. I feel so bad for him, having to adjust to blindness at the age of eighty. He is a very independent active man but also determined so he will, hopefully, do okay adjusting.

Getting close to finishing my latest purse so will post it when I am done.

2010-05-10T18:01:00.000-07:00

A week ago yesterday we had to put our sweet little Jasmine to sleep. She had suffered with kidney disease for the past sixteen months and it progressed rapidly in the past two weeks. It's so hard to make that decision. Very, very sad. She was my daughter's cat but I have been caring for her the past fifteen months so I had become very attached to her. I hope she is in kitty heaven smelling flowers and chasing butterflies with her sister Kai who was put to sleep four years ago because of cancer:

I had a very nice mother's day. We (my two daughters and I) went to Lonsdale Quay for fish and chips and the to Dunderave where we sat and listen to the waves and enjoyed the beautiful, warm, sunny day. This is what I said I wanted to do.

I finished three more tags. So that is all I will make for now. On to something new!!

This one is natural light and has that peachy tone:

This one is with the flash and closer to the real colour:

That's all for today!

2010-05-06T21:47:00.000-07:00

Here I am again. I have no excuse for not posting. Just haven't done it!!

It seems like everyone is making tags so I thought I would make some. The colours are a bit distorted because I photograped them in the late afternoon and the light changes to this peachy colour, maybe I will retake the photos tomorrow.

I had fun doing these and find that I just naturally gravitate to collaging.

I am also working on another purse.

Yesterday I was sitting at my desk all afternoon engrossed in making the tags and if I had bothered to look up and out my sliding glass door, I would have noticed all the activity going on in the Creek. The coast guard was out following a gray whale keeping it safe. The whale swam to the end of the Creek near Science World and then swam back out to English Bay. I am so upset that I missed it. It is very rare for a whale to come up this far. About five years a go there was a dolphin in this area. On the news preview they just said there are some dolphins around here, I'll have to watch at eleven to find out where they are.

Must go now to watch The Mentalist.

2010-04-19T16:50:00.000-07:00

I am finally finished the two purses I have been working on. It always feels so good to finish a project. The black and pink one was an attempt to be a bit looser with my work and be shabby chic.

The coral and green one is more structured and took a lot longer to do. I have learned a lot from these two purses and am looking forward to starting the next one - maybe two at once again. That works well for me because sometimes I don't know what to do next and while I'm contemplating it I can work on the other one.

A friend wanted to buy my mermaid one but I'm not sure I want to sell it yet. I wonder why I am so possesive of my creations!!!

2010-04-14T12:24:00.000-07:00

There is a great 200th post giveaway for anyone to who is a crazyquilter or sewer. http://www.cathyscrazybydesign.blogspot.com

2010-04-13T20:54:00.000-07:00

I have been missing in action again. Just plain laziness!!

I had a really nice Easter with my youngest daughter. She set up my iPod for me and did a little work on my computer. I can operate my iPod now and it is pretty easy once you know how. I then made her one of my girls' favourite dinners - chicken and sticky rice. It was so nice to around someone young and vibrant for a change.

Last Sunday my eldest daughter came for a visit and we walked down to Granville Island and had lunch. It was a beautiful sunny day but the wind was a bit chilly. Again, nice to be around someone young and vibrant.

My friend and neighbour that moved to the interior last August passed away on April 9th. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer about a month ago and it had gone into her liver so she went very quickly which is a blessing. Five of our neighbours have passed away in the past six months so it is pretty depressing. Three of those were from cancer. It is such a terrible disease.

I am almost finished my purses but it is slow going. I have made a few ATCs and have almost finished our newsletter for May. For the past two morning, I have going through all my Quilting Arts and Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazines looking for inspiration for ATCs. I have written down all the relevant pages so will have lots of inspiration to look to. They are such great magazines. I though I might try some fabric ones.

I have also started reading Vein Of Gold by Julia Cameron. I have had it since it first came out and have picked it up a few times but never got far because you have to start off with a time-line which always seems like such a drag. Anyway, I skipped over the time-line because I know it pretty much by heart now and have got into the part where she talks about the Vein Of Gold. She got the phrase from director Martin Ritt. He says that "all actors have a certain territory, a certain range, they were born to play. I call that range their 'vein of gold.' If you cast an actor within that vein, he will always give you a brilliant performance. Of course, you can always cast an actor outside his vein of gold. If you do, the actor can use craft and technique to give you a very fine, a very creditable performance, but never a performance as brilliant as when he is working in his vein of gold." Julia then goes on to give you ways to find your own 'vein of gold.' And so I will work on this until I get bored with it and then move onto something new. I do seem to get bored quickly!!!

Tomorrow I have to do some of the dreaded cleaning, got my laundry done yesterday so I will then I will feel free to create some more.

Sleep well.

2010-03-31T21:02:00.000-07:00

Another favourite movie of mine is Dangerous Beauty starring Rufus Sewell and Catherine McCormack. It is based on the true story of Veronica Franco a 16th century Venetian courtesan. Sewell and McCormack fall in love but can't marry because she is from a lower class than he is and he has to marry for money. Her choices were few. McCormack's mother was a courtesan and she trains her to become a courtesan to the rich a famous. The ending is amazing.

One of my DD's is coming over on Sunday to show me how to set up and use my Ipod so I didn't take it back. She is also going to organize my laptop and clean it up. I so appreciate it when my DD's can help with new technology and such.

One of my favourite poets is William Butler Yeats. This is one of his beautiful poems:

Those Images

Seek those images

that constitute the wild,

the lion and the virgin,

The harlot and the child.

Find in middle air

an eagle on the wing,

recognize the fire

That make the Muses sing.

These are some the things that bring me joy!

2010-03-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

Haven't had much luck with my Ipod so I think I will take it back. Too complicated and I like to keep my life simple.

One of my favourite feel-good movies is Shirley Valentine. It starts off with this song:

It was always "sit down Shirley Valentine"
"Go away Shirley Valentine"
Until Shirley Valentine just wasn't thre any more
A bird is born to fly
Born for the moment it takes to the sky
And all its' dreams
Are riding on its' wings
But if it falls its' dreams aren't broken
As long as the wind is fair
The sky is always there
Oh, the girl who used to me
She cannot play
She was free
And she wrote all the words
To her songs
Yes, the girl who used to be me
Used to go dancing
And I feel she's been gone too long
I'd like the chance to be
The girl who used to be me

The movie is about her finding herself. It's an English movie and is light-hearted and fun and yet has a really good message about learning to be yourself.

I am working a way on my purses and hope to have one finished soon. I miss blogging every day but it just seems to slip away from me. I have noticed that a lot of the blogs that I visit aren't posting much either and others that post almost every day.

A friend and neighbour just stopped by with a bouquet of daffodils for me for Easter. So thoughful!! I love daffodils and tulips and glads. They remind me of my Mom and Dad. My Dad was Dutch and sold and grew Dutch bulbs.

And one more favourtie poem:

The kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the birds for mirth
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth

Dorothy Gurney (1858 - 1932)

2010-03-28T22:22:00.000-07:00

WILD GEESE
by Mary Oliver

Tell me about despair, yours and I will tell you mine
Meanwhile the world goes on
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers,
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air
are heading home again
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely
the world offers itself to your imagination
Calls to you like the wild geese harsh and exciting---
Over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

This is one of my favourite poems. I have visited a blog that I have in my favourites and the person has chosen JOY for her word for 2010. I have decided to adopt that as my word as well. I couldn't find the blog to give the address but will look again tomorrow. I carry such a deep sense of sadness with me and really want to change that. I am tired of the heavy weight. I am searching for the things that make me feel joyous and will share them with you. This poem is one of them.

My daughter bought me an Ipod Nano for my birthday and if I can figure out how to use it I will download all my favourite music to listen to. I spent some time on Youtube this morning listening to some of my faves. Harry Belafonte's "Skin to Skin", "We Make Love" and "Streets of London". Charles Aznavour's "She" are a few of them. So I have something new to learn again. I would be just has happy to have a CD player that held several discs and played random tracks but those are outdated now so I have to keep up with the times.

I am working on several purses at the moment so will photograph them when I'm done.

2010-03-20T23:10:00.000-07:00

I finally finished my mermaid pouch. I had it all sewn together and then decided I didn't like the colours of the lining and the back so I tore it all apart again. It has to have "that feeling".

I have started another one and hope to finish it a little more quickly than this one.

I spent some time the other day looking at some fabrics in Chintz & Co. There was a lady in there from out of town buying some fabric to make purses. I had just been thinking a couple of days before that it would be fun to make some real purses like the book purses I made a couple of years ago. It might be fun to re-create those designs.

On Friday, I took a few pictures: a camelia on my neighbours patio:

The beautiful fresh green of the weeping willows and daffodils by the pond:

2010-03-05T21:29:00.000-08:00

Today I went to Rokko's in Little India at 46th and Fraser. They have such an amazing selection of saris and fabric.

I bought some dioponi silk to complete my mermaid purse.

This is the DMC 5 Perle embroidery thread I bought yesterday. I love to look at the wall in the store - Dick and Jane's - lined with all the beautiful colours. I would love to have that wall of thread in my studio.

It was another beautiful day so I went to my favourite sushi restaurant for dinner before heading home.

2010-03-04T21:53:00.000-08:00

After the Olympics hockey game this was the scene on the seawall with Stamp's Landing pub in the background.

There were six or seven Americans who had a bet on and when they lost the hockey game they had to jump into the creek.

Fortunately, the day was quite warm but I bet the water was very cold.

Yesterday, I went to Dunderave in West Vancouver. This is the village with lots of cute little shops and the magnolias in bloom down the middle of the street.

I bought some DMC 5 Perle embroidery thread for my crazy quilt purses and then had some tomato and basil soup at the bakery. Then walked down to the pier over the railway tracks.

There was a beautiful bunch of daffodils and a stone sculpture.

To the left is the seawall to Ambleside, the Lions Gate Bridge and Stanley Park.

The short pier where I sat for a while and listened to the waves crashing in. The tide was coming in so the waves were quite large. It was a beautiful warm day.

To the right is the beach, I walked down and did a little beachcombing - one of my favourite things to do. I found some nice little pieces of driftwood for my purses.

Then I noticed a train was coming so ran the short distance up the hill to get a picture....

A little boy had put a penny on the track but unfortunately it had fallen off and so it didn't get flattened. I think everyone loves to watch a train go by.

On the way home I stopped at Michael's and bought some button for my cq's and was going to stop at Lonsdale Quay on the way home for the best fish and chips I have ever tasted but unfortunately it was too late so I had a Starbucks latte and then had to make something when I got home. Had a lovely day and was happy to be out in nature, not much of that in the middle of the city.

2010-02-25T21:47:00.000-08:00

I took the picture of the forsythia on Monday and the cherry blossoms today. Aaaaah, spring is really here!

Canadian women owned the podium today. A gold and silver for the bobsled, gold for hockey and bronze for figure skating. WOMAN POWER!! Canadian Women have also won eleven and a half of the fifteen medals Canada has won - that was before todays wins. (The half is for the skating dance). Women really do rock!

2010-02-23T23:44:00.001-08:00

Stop by http://inkspillersattic.blogspot.com/ for a great giveaway.

2010-02-23T13:47:00.000-08:00

I have been neglecting my blog lately, I really like to post something every day but I feel like my life is so uninteresting and boring that I often don't know what to say. Well, boring is not the word, actually, it is far from boring but the things that happen are frustrating and just plain negative so I don't want to write about those things. I have said before that I live in a building that is mismanaged and problems are not resolved so they get bigger and bigger until something happens. There is so much unrest and frustration and some downright angry people it is hard to stay positive, so I am struggling to stay positive amidst all the drama. The caretaker is really incompetent and ineffective and so people come to me to ask me questions and ask what is going on and how to deal with things. I don't mind that so much but I resent doing the caretakers job half the time. As I have said before I have written to the landlord and the property manager but am met with indifference and stonewalling and so it goes on. I don't want this to be the focus of my life or my blog so my goal for this year is to not get caught up in the drama but it is very difficult when every second person I talk to is upset about something and is asking for advice on what to do, I guess because I have written a couple of letters they see me as an authority figure and someone who knows what to do.

So my dilemma is how to be more focused on the positive side of my life which is my creativity and my blog. I will attempt to post something positive every day just to keep myself focused on my creativity.

I am working on one of my crazy quilt blocks - the mermaid one - and I find it very relaxing. Go my other blog http://secretgardencrazyquilting.blogspot.com/ to see the mermaid block I am working on. It's the turquoise and coral one.

On the bright side, we have had the most amazing weather for the past week and the cherry blossoms are out already. This is my friend and neighbor Shirley.

The pictures were actually taken a couple of years ago and the close-ups were taken in my neighbours garden. There is a cherry blossom festival every years in March/April so we are really early this year.

Last night I made some sculpy seahorses. I had some tiny plastic seahorses and shells from the dollar store some time ago and made a mold from one of them so I can make seahorses when I need them. They are one of my favourite things, they are so cute.

This picture is from the internet.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to visit me over the past few months, your comments and visits mean a lot and even though I haven't blogged everyday, I have visited you all almost every day.

Today's message from Sarah Ban Breathnach in Simple Abundance is entitled "Making Your Own Imprint." "Making your own imprint on life implies that you know exactly how to express your own inimitable style." She says that "the soap in the bathroom, the flowers in the garen, the book on the bedside table are all strong symbols of a life in progress, you look at these details and a world unfolds".

I have had this book for many years and have read it over and over. There is a post for each day of the year. It doesn't always apply to me - I wish there was one for retired women - but a lot of it reminds me to continue to renew my life and to discover new or unacknowledged parts of myself and express them in my everyday life. This is another one of my goals for this year - to make my own imprint on my day to day life.

2010-02-20T17:45:00.000-08:00

Herb loved the view from his window which is the same as mine.

I have just learned that my neighbour and weekend relief manager, Herb Gee, passed away at 4:40 this afternoon. He was a man that I admired very much and who was always ready and willing to help his neighbours. Last September he won six gold medals for sprinting even though he was suffering from a cough that the doctor told him was nothing to worry about. By the end of October he was diagnosed with a very aggressive lung cancer. It has been very difficult to watch this strong vibrant man's health deteriorate so quickly and very difficult to process that it is happening. I am glad that he is at peace now and did not suffer for too long. I have missed his presence in the building since he went into respite care a month ago. He just turned 69 on January 5th.

2010-02-16T17:18:00.000-08:00

I got organized today, picking out threads and embellishments and dying some cheesecloth with acrylic ink for my first crazy quilt bag. I also finished a watercolour I started a while back. I'm not too happy with the blackberries but the rest I feel good about.

I put some daffodils and crocuses on my patio on the weekend so it looks very springlike, the colours are so bright and cheery. The snowdrops are out as well.

Canada has won two gold medals, I guess you've already heard they are the first two gold medals won in Canada. Very exciting.

2010-02-15T19:15:00.000-08:00

The winner of my faerie pouch is Icela at http://icelas-world.blogspot.com I wish I could send one to each and every one of you who entered but, obviously, that is not possible. Thank you to everyone who took the time to stop by and visit me, I enjoyed visiting your blogs and meeting all of you.

2010-02-13T23:12:00.000-08:00

This is the Olympic torch going up False Creek in a canoe. Not very good pictures unfortunately, not sure why.

There were fireworks again tonight just across the Creek, it was a really great display, but Jazmine kitty was not happy as usual.

I spent the afternoon finishing up my crazy quilt blocks ready for embroidery and embellishment. You can see them at http://secretgardencrazyquilting.blogspot.com/ Now that my sewing machine is put away I will paint toomorrow. It would be so nice to have a studio with a station for each thing I do: sewing, painting etc., however, I must remember gratitude for what I do have and I have a great view, and everything I need. Who could ask for more!!