Nature Is a Painting

  How's the weather in your neck of the woods? Here in PA it certainly still feels like summer with continued high temps feeling like the 90's F along with high humidity. So of course my thoughts are still on summer and our recent vacation in Fenwick Island , DE.

                                             Nature's Treasures ( 8" x 6" canvas board)

 The base was first painted in several bright colors then mostly gone over with several blue colors. I adhered feathers and Jingle shells I crushed (to resemble mica flakes).

 This is what they look like:

 

  A few days ago I received a new stash of pens in the mail!

 

 Some I needed to replace and some are new to me and I wanted to try them out. These come from JetPens online. I think the prices are really good, they ship free $25 and up, and their service is fast and excellent!

 Here's a detail of the gold pen-very hard to capture but it is GORGEOUS and flows perfectly smooth:

 I haven't had much time to play with the new to me ones yet. But the uniball signo pens are my very favorite and I have them in several colors although it is the white one that I use the most-it is THE best by far although I think I am going to like the Posca pen too.

Do you have any of these pens/markers? What are your favorites? How do you use them?

 Please do share!



 Besides the beach my thoughts have also been about France - especially since I just sent Mom off to spend a whole month visiting her family. And so I will share with you a journal spread I had done some years ago in a book I dedicated to times spent there with my French family.

The words mean "by the window". I used a photo of shutters I took in France then printed them out on cardstock and cut them to go over photos inside.

 

 And to reveal how old this is-that is my dear aunt top left- who is now 81 yrs. old-my Mom's oldest sister. I was always closest to her so it was especially difficult knowing I wasn't able to go and see her again with my Mom this time. Top right is hubby. There was always a clean table cloth put on the table at my grandmother's and afterwards we'd shake the crumbs off  by waving it out the kitchen window. She lived in a  3rd floor apt. - and as you can guess- I did lose a cloth that went on a line below one time:):) Bottom left is my MéMé , my mother's mother who is no longer with us. Everytime we went out she'd stand by her front window to wave us off and watch us leave, and then she'd be there again when we returned. She was a ton of fun and we all miss her so. Bottom right is my son-who was 7 then and he is now 27!!

 

 Thanks for indulging me a bit with my nostalgia. I am truly grateful to have so many remembrances of the happy times spent there.

 

 Hope you all have a wonderful weekend coming up. Here in the US it will be an extended weekend as Monday is our Labor Day holiday and most will have the day off. Enjoy!

 

 Linking to Art Journal Every Day, Art Journal Journey (theme for this month is "Through My Window"), and Paint Party Friday.

 

 " Nature is a painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty if only we have the eyes to see them."                                                           John Ruskin