Feelin HOT, HOT, HOT!

 Oh my- it's been so hot - too hot for even me! And unfortunately though there were many rain/storm threats and warnings they did not relieve our area- they all went above and below us 😞. Seems like this heat wave has been all over the US and even across the pond in Europe as well. Hope you're all finding ways to stay cool.

 Again we've been quite busy continuing to help our son and DIL with their new home. And now I'm beginning to make favors for the baby shower which is in just a few weeks. Exciting times for sure😁! But it also means that blogging and participating in my favorite challenges and link ups will be sporadic.

 Outside of doing my index card challenge I've had little time for art journaling. I did manage to squeeze in the first lesson of 8 from the free Collage Fodder online classes. They only ran for a limited time. I wanted to try this one so badly so here it is:

 

 I really loved the idea of making a peace catcher and putting the wishes out in the breeze. I purposely chose soft, muted colors (which kinda remind me of the mountains and southwest colors though I've never been). I'd love to make a few more in the future. I made a nice little video of it hanging and blowing in the breeze on one of our trees in the back yard but it just wouldn't upload here. I did share it on IG.

 Before I bombard you with my index card art I'll stop to say hello to the wonderful T Stands For Tuesday peeps. I've missed everyone and will be happy to catch up again! Here's my ticket:

 Cold water with lemon and a frittata are my go to's when it's hot and humid. Often I just sauté some of whatever fresh vegetables I may have on hand for the base. For this one I sauteed mushrooms with a bit of olive oil, garlic, herbs de Provence, salt and pepper. I whisked two eggs and put that over the mushrooms cooking until the eggs were set. I added torn pieces from a slice of vegan smoked gouda cheese-yum!

 And now for the ICAD catch up...only one more week after these!

Here are the last ones from my series with a vintage theme using mostly Tim Holtz and ARTchix Studio imagery:

ICAD 42

ICAD 43

ICAD 44

ICAD 45

  ICAD 46

 And here was my next little series (Series #6) using a common theme and supplies. For these I began them all with Dina Wakley paints then stamped with black ink using a variety of my background stamps before adding collage and sentiments:

ICAD 47

ICAD 48

ICAD 49

ICAD 50

ICAD 51

 ICAD 52

ICAD 53

ICAD 54

 I'm happy to join Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner date later this week. Wishing you a good and cool week ahead.🤗

 

"Live your truth. Express your love. Share your enthusiasm. Take action towards your dreams. Walk your talk. Dance and sing to your music. Embrace your blessings. Make today worth remembering."                                      Steve Maraboli

Summertime...

 and the days are flying by! I meant to post last week but it just didn't happen. Hubby was off all week so we did some fun things in between helping son and DIL pack and clean and begin moving in to their first home. 

 As you see here, my intentions were good- I made this journal page for Try It On Tuesday and Tag Tuesday for last week:

 This is the first page I've done in the new Dina Wakley 8' x 10" kraft journal. Outside of my index card art I haven't had the time to create which is a shame because there have been some really wonderful free art lessons (for a limited time, hence my problem) online! I've tried to at least watch some and hopefully remember the steps to try some in the future.

 Sunday after a long, busy few days prior we had my Mom's 80th birthday dinner. She celebrated with various friends and family throughout the week so the dinner I had was fairly simple and only our son and DIL were with us. Here are the only pics I have:

 I made a vegetable lasagna, salad, garlic bread, and for dessert her favorite French cake. It's made with bittersweet chocolate and only 1/4 cup of flour. Since I had cleared the table and have no drink reference I will instead share this next photo for T Stands For Tuesday:

Yes, it is Tour De France time again!! First time using this TDF mug- one of three in a set I bought last year. Bill and I are following all along the way and enjoying every bit of the race as well as the scenery (thankfully we can record it each day in case we miss a morning 😁). Anyone else watching? I'm pretty sure Chris is 😉. Cheers!

 Now to catch up with my index card art so far for the ICAD 61 day Challenge:

ICAD 28/61

ICAD 29/61

ICAD 30/61

 The above were the last three in my mini series of themed art.

 My next series is vintage style using mostly Tim Holtz and ARTchix Studio products. Lots of layers using collage sheet images, transparencies, collage tissue, washi tape, Paper Dolls and Small Talk stickers (sentiments). Here are ICADS 31-41:

 I'm so happy to be using lots of bits from my years of collecting vintage ephemera😜.

And that's all I have for now. My posts may be a bit sporadic with our son and DIL's move and her upcoming baby shower, in addition to watching the Tour De France everyday but I will try.

 Also joining Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date, and  Nicole's Friday Face Off. I will be around to visit! Until then...

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”   John Lubbock

This Week's Musings

 

 Hi all, thought I'd start with this special card for my Mom's upcoming birthday the beginning of July. The dies are all Simon Says Stamp. I cut them from white cardstock and used alcohol markers to color them in. The tricky part here was getting them arranged along with the tag and twine and gluing down bits here and there to keep it all in place.  We won't be having any big party or anything, just the usual dinner at our place with son and DIL.  And speaking of, I didn't show you this gift they got me for Mother's day:

 A personalized mug from Etsy. I know I mentioned it before - but in case someone visits this post and doesn't know, Kyra and Todd are expecting their first child in October and we are going to be first time grandparents💓😁. MéMé is a French term of endearment for "grandmother". My Mom is called that, as was her mother so it was a given for me. And I WILL be teaching baby K some French along the way😉.  Bill was given a special mug for Father's day but I will share that in another post. Cheers to the T Stands For Tuesday gang!

 On to one last journal page for Art Journal Journey with the theme of "fish" this month:

 This page was done on a watercolor page in the Dina Wakley White 6" x 6" Media Journal. I really love working in this square size. I mixed a few green and blue toned Daniel Smith and Van Gogh watercolors for the painted squares and once dry made some pencil scribbles in them. The fish and sentiments were fussy cut from some old collage sheets from my stash. I finished this simple page by loosely lining the squares using  a black Micron pen.

 And for my next installment of daily ICADs for the 61 day Index Card a Day Challenge! I'm working off prompt but challenging myself to do mini series' of cards . 

Someone asked last week about doing series like this. I am enjoying it very much! It keeps me from getting bored, I'm using up what I have collected over the years- old and new, and if I'm getting certain supplies out for a card why not make more than one before moving on 😁. And anther asked what I do with all my cards. Some are sent out as RAKS or happy mail, some go on a folded notecard to send out, some go on an art journal page. I keep the others in  clear plastic baggies labeled by each year. 

ICAD 21/61

 ICAD 22/61

    ICAD 23/61

 These three were the last in series 3. There is a description in my last post here.

 Now on to my next series (4th so far). This series will all consist of Dina Wakley paints, stencils, Church Doodles Collage papers (tissues), and Typed Ledgers papers (the sentiments/quotes). Also, some wonky stitching, washi tape and a bit of mark making.

 ICAD 24/61

        ICAD 25/61

           ICAD 26/61

       ICAD 27/61

 There will be a few more of this series in my next post. Also happy to join Rain's Thursday Art Date and Friday Face Off with Nicole! Have a fantastic week ahead🤗

         “It’s a smile, it’s a kiss, it’s a sip of wine … It’s summertime!”       Kenny Chesney

This and That

 

 Hi Peeps! Thought I'd get right into the art today. This card is for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Blog Challenge (Add a Sentiment). I've got lots of birthdays and anniversaries coming up so I got into some card making mode over the weekend.

 Products: Ivory, yellow cardstock (Recollections); patterned cardstock (DCWV); sentiment (Papertrey Ink); Versafine Onyx Black ink; Simon Says Stamp Layered Etched Daisy and Stitched Banners dies; Spectrum Noir alcohol markers.

  I also managed to get a mixed media tag made for two blog challenges - Try It On Tuesday (Recycle It), and Tag Tuesday (Use a Diecut):

 I used Tim Holtz Wildflowers dies, and of course the corrugated cardboard is the recycled part 😁.

 For T Stands For Tuesday I'm warning you that this will make you wish you could reach in and grab something! My three best friends since childhood and I got together at an Italian Restaurant  called A Ca Mia. I'd heard really good things about it but just never made it a point to take the nice  1/2 hour drive. It was not busy so again we were able to spend hours at our table chatting away while eating. 

 At the top going clockwise: Roasted Veggie Melt with homemade chips and pickle, Grilled Portabella sandwich with homemade chips and pickle, I ordered that huge Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad, and the last was ( I can't remember the name of this dish- it was a lunch special) fresh tortellinis filled with mushrooms, asparagus, and a light sauce with more mushrooms and topped with cheese. As you can see, we all had lemon water to drink and they started us with warm fresh rolls and garlic olive oil for dipping. We ALL had to take half our plates home with us, however...

 Our sweet waitress wanted to show us the dessert tray and positioned it so I could get a nice photo of it. Oh My!! The desserts change on occasion and no, I cannot remember all that is shown here but there is chocolate layer cake, cheese cakes, Creme Brulée, chocolate flan, carrot cake. My friends decided to get that chocolate layer cake and four forks😁. I only had one bite but it was divine! I also got a take out order for dinner for the next day because my hubby has been wanting to come here too. I ordered the Gnocchi Fantasy- potato gnocchi with roasted red and yellow peppers, artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes in a pink white wine cream sauce. It came with a bag of rolls, garlic olive oil, and a nice tossed salad. For $18 this was enough for both hubby (who's a big eater) and I for dinner, plus enough for lunch for 1 the following day. All he could say was OMG this is SOOOO good. I think we'll be making our own trip there for dinner in the near future😉. Cheers!

 Now on to my next set of index cards for the ICAD -Index Card a Day Challenge. It runs from June 1 - July 31 and this is my 4th year participating:

ICAD 14

ICAD 15

ICAD 16

 These were the last three in my second mini series with a common theme. I'm working off prompt and find that by creating (weekly or so) series' it not only helps me use bits and things I have collected over the years but changing themes keeps me from getting bored.

 Now I've begun with a third little series:

ICAD 17

ICAD 18

ICAD19

ICAD 20

 For this series I'm going vintage. Using up papers I have in my fodder stash for the backgrounds. All of them will have a Paper Whimsy collage sheet image, vintage gold German scrap, a Tim Holtz Small Talk sentiment sticker, and stitching at the tops and bottoms.

  And lastly:

 Happy Summer Solstice  on Tuesday- the longest day of the year for us in the Northern Hemisphere! I purposely took my photo of this journal page where the sun from the window was hitting part of it 🌞.

 Will also be joining Rain's Thursday Art Date later this week. Wishing you a wonderful week!

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”       

            F. Scott Fitzgerald