Thursday, September 26, 2013

A Surprise Weekend!

  I want to thank those of you who left comments on this past week's post and for the anniversary wishes. I never had the chance to respond or visit anyone BECAUSE MY HUBBY TOTALLY SURPRISED ME WITH  A 4 DAY ANNIVERSARY GET AWAY HERE :


  It truly was the surprise of a lifetime because Bill doesn't do these things-at least up until now! He hand made a framed card which he presented to me last Fri AM once I got up. I was laughing at him because he was giving me a card a day early and I was preparing for the morning grocery shopping. He had me turn over the card and that's where it said what he had planned and that I needed to get packing. Guess who was laughing now:) I was so beside myself I don't know how I managed to get myself and bags together. He arranged for our son Todd to stay at the house and dog sit knowing I'd be worried about Annie.

   Cape May- a quaint Victorian seaside town full of "Painted Ladies" filled with vintage furnishings. As you come into the main street of town you suddenly feel like you're really in another era. We were sitting at an outdoor restaurant for a late lunch and I sat there still not believing what was transpiring and where I was and what he had done. I'll share a few pics once I have them all together and edited. It was a gorgeous, warm and sunny four days in a place we used to call our second home because we went  so often. The last time we were there though was 12 yrs ago (when we got our Annie). Thank you Bill for a very special 30th anniversay. XO

  Here's the card I made for him:

  Products: 5 x 7" white card, printed papers from Valentines Scrap Pack (Canvas Corp), Vintage Photo and Black Soot Distress inks (Ranger), alphabet/number sets (PSX).

  I returned home to find this lovely pkg. from Aimee who hosts  "Glue It Tuesdays" on her blog Artsyville :

 and inside was a wonderful, vibrant assortment of washi tapes!! I had won a set as part of Aimee's generous giveaways of her new tapes presented in lots of creative ways thru a blog hop:


 I had a bit of time to play around with the tapes the other day:

          Here I put strips of the tapes on cardstock then used a variety of punches for some fun bits.

 For this tag I simply decorated a formica chip sample ( the kind you get free at a home improvement store).

 
                                                          A quick and easy greeting card.

 And here are two patterned note cards I simply added a bit of washi for some added pizazz:





 Thanks so much Aimee; I love these tapes! If you wish to purchase them you can find them at Aimee's shop.


 Lastly is a canvas I made last week again using techniques from the Wabi-Sabi Art Workshop book by Serena Barton (chapters one and three) and another Keith Harkin song- "Take It Away Boys".

 The canvas board was prepped by using both a palette knife and a sea sponge to apply a thick coat of Golden Light Molding Paste, creating a rough base for the scene:


  WIP:


  A coat of My Studio Vanilla was painted on the dried surface. Americana Pineapple acrylic was added on the upper third. Some of it was wiped back with a paper towel. Several drops of Adirondack Butterscotch reinker was added and brushed over the lower area. I wrote some of the lyrics in pencil.



The Open Road   (5" x 7")

  Adirondack alcohol inks in Stream, Citrus, and Watermelon were dropped and blotted to form the trees. I mixed my own concoction of reinker glaze using a drop of Adirondack Watermelon, Burnt Orange and Ranger Distress Tea Dye along with Golden Acrylic Glazing Liquid and lightly brushed it in areas and wiped away. The edges of the canvas were sponged with Distress Tea Dye ink.

 This will be another busy weekend as the Celtic Classic festival will be in town for three days. Woohoo!!! This is one big party I never miss! I will be filling up on all things Celtic-food, Guinness, jewelry, clothing, gift items, Highland games, Border Collie events, Parade of Tartans, bagpipe competition, fiddle competition, a haggis eating contest(yuck!),  Irish dancing and of course lots of Celtic bands and music! Believe it or not this is a free event-you only pay for the food and drink :) We're expecting perfect weather too. And, it's walking distance from our home :)

  Of course, in between I will be visiting blogs linked up to these challenges : Paint Party Friday, Simon Says Wednesday Challenge (who's theme this week is "anything goes"), Show and Tell Saturday, Creative Every Day, Mandarin Orange Monday, Glue It Tuesday. Happy weekend!

“The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us.”
                                                                                         Ashley Montagu



41 comments:

  1. Happy 30th, Linda! How absolutely wonderful and romantic to be whisked away to Cape May. Your hubby surely knows how to make a statement!
    AND the Celtic Festival coming up! Oh, you are one happy girl (doing a jig here)!

    Love
    Jan

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  2. Wow! Happy Anniversary ~ you are blessed ~ And such creative art work ~ lovely ~ thanks for coming by and wishing you a delightful weekend ~ carol ^_^

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  3. What a wonderful surprise you had for your anniversary! Lovely work too, especially the canvas. Valerie

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  4. What a wonderful surprise from your hubby, Linda! I think he's a keeper! LOL Happy 30th anniversary!

    Your artwork is, again, just stunning!

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  5. What a gorgeous, wonderful surprise and such a loving gesture. And it seems to have inspired a lovely artistic spurt of beautiful art too!

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  6. Happy 30th anniversary and what a wonderful surprise! Your artwork is lovely, my favourite being the canvas.

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  7. Congrats on your anniversary...and what a wonderful surprise, your hubby is definitely a keeper!! lol xo

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  8. what a lovely surprise. Love the painting too

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  9. Happy Anniversary! What a wonderful surprise! 30 years is really special. Your wabi-sabi piece is gorgeous!!

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  10. Congratulations! All your artworks are so lovely! Happy PPF!

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  11. What a wonderfully thoughtful thing to do! You have a winner there! Congrats on your special anniversary. Love your artwork this week too. Bright and beautiful.

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  12. How wonderful to have such a great anniversary surprise!!
    Thanks for sharing your WIP art work :o)

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  13. Lovely happy art to go with this happy post Linda, congrats on your 30th anniversary, what a wonderful way to celebrate!

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  14. So happy you had a wonderful time.. so much juicy art here and I love Aimee's happy tape and blog!! Congratulations on 30 years....good for you!

    Hugs Giggles

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  15. True love never diminishes...as your wonderful husband has shown. Congratulations on so many years of happiness together. I look forward to seeing more of Cape May.

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  16. Excellent compositions! I love those beautiful colors!

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  17. What a special anniversary! and wonderful art too. Thanks for sharing:)

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  18. Congrats on your anniversary, I was absent last week.....what a nice surprise. You are having so much fun with the new washi tape....great stuff. xox

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  19. The Open Road is just gorgeous! So textured and the colours are delicious! What a beautiful piece of art. :)

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  20. Fantastic anniversary. Wow 30 years together, truly amazing, Linda and it is so good to see you so creative. Lovely and packed with joy post. Thank you for sharing and big, big hug for you

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  21. Love the texture! I've never played with molding paste before, I may have to give this a try! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  22. I love how peaceful your canvas art is. It's beautiful!

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  23. You are so creative! Enjoyed all your art and ideas. Congrats on your anniversary too! Thanks for visiting my blog for PPF.

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  24. Loved all you work in this post. Very creative! Congrats on your anniversary too. Thanks for visiting my blog for PPF.

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  25. Beautiful art work, love The Open Road! <3

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  26. A fabulous creation, I love the wonderful texture and such gorgeous design and colours!!

    Thanks so much for joining us at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge
    hugs
    Heather xx

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  27. Hi Linda, Happy Anniversary. It sounds like a wonderful surprise. I was not that far from you. I was with my sister in Brick NJ which is close to Bayhead and Point Pleasant. It was a beautiful week to be at the beach.

    I love your painting. If I walked by I would have to put my hands behind my back since I would be so tempted to stop and touch all of the texture.

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  28. Congratulations on your Anniversary, a lovely collection of work. I especially like your textured canvas.

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  29. Wow! That was one big surprise! especially when it comes from husbands, which is so very rare -:) Your card looks awesome. So many creative ways to use the tapes. Lucky you to have received them.I love their bright and happy colors.Love, love the Open Road for its texture and colors.
    Happy PPF
    Susan

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  30. What a totally wonderful surprise! I hadn't heard of Painted Ladies before.... but I guessed they might be houses.

    You are having fun with that book (I must check I put it on my Wish List!).... your canvas is stunning.

    Congratulations on your win too.... you have been having fun :)

    Karen x

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  31. Happy Anniversary! I like your washi tape creations, but my absolute favorite piece this week is the open road. Blessings!

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  32. I enjoyed your 30th as you told it. . . congrats. I just found those tapes for the first time. I am anxious to purchase and use asap, you did a beautifully creative job using them. However, I love the canvas, it is unique and I appreciate the details. A lot of the art is new to me and I want to try all of it. Blessings, Janet PPF

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  33. Happy ♥ Happy Anniversary with that romantic husband of yours whisking you away so sweetly!
    Love the lighthouse and have always wanted to visit Cape May!
    I have so much to catch up with after two weeks of traveling...
    you always make me want to get busy creating something...
    thank you for sharing and inspiring me on so many levels dear Linda
    oxo
    p.s. can't wait to see and hear about the Celtic Festival ... hard to believe it's that time of year again!

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  34. Kudos on the surprise and the monumental anniversary! I love Cape May ... I visit a friend in Freehold twice a year, and she has taken me there several times ... I've even made the Celtic Festival as well -- wonderful time and memories!

    Visiting from MOM

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  35. Oh my goodness, so exciting! I am thrilled for you! Happy Anniversary!

    Guess what?
    You won a month of tea!
    Hugs,
    Terri

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  36. Here from Glue it Tuesday! My reaction as I scrolled from the first picture of your canvas, with the blue base texture, to the next one with all the yummy golden light added was simply : "Whaaaaaaaaat!!!" LOVE it. And happy anniversary to you, too, what a great surprise from your husband!

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  37. Happy Anniversary! Sounds like you two had a fun trip.
    Love your open road art work and how you added the handwriting. The colors and imagery work so well together!

    visiting from glue it tuesday:)

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  38. your work is beautiful. And what a lucky lady to have two great surprises in one small week! Congrats. on receiving your tapes. {:-Deb

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  39. Great composition, interesting texture and beautiful artwork! Thanks for sharing on Mandarin Orange Monday #61.

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  40. Wow, awesome art work! ...and congrats on your washi tape :)
    Happy belated GIT!
    Jana

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Thank you so much for your comments; it's a pleasure to connect with you!