Life Is Good

 So how is life treating everyone? Well, I hope. The photo is part of the bouquet of flowers I brought to my Mom upon her return home from France, which sadly -was a nightmare! Won't go into all the details but going to and coming from she was not provided the wheelchair service requested. Hence anxiety kicked in. She JUST made her flight leaving from Paris-but minus her carry on suitcase (which she has no recollection of what happened during her frantic search to find her gate get and get help). Only 15 min. from Newark, NJ airport and my brother, sister and Mom sat over 4 hours in a traffic standstill due to a bad accident and  a fatality. She is OK but exhausted. I immediately filed with CDG and they found her suitcase (which contained her prescription meds, some souvenirs, makeup, jewelry etc.). And now, we're working with the travel agent to see what the next step is. She has no plans on ever flying to France again-unless I take her. But she made it. She saw her family. And she's OK. Life is good.

 I still managed to have some fun time in between! Hubby and I went with son and gf, and friends to Komé Restaurant for the hibachi grill experience and we had a blast! The chef was so entertaining and funny- and everything was excellent. I had enough for three meals all together-so much food!

            Joining T Stands For Tuesday with my water and sake:)

 For Tag Tuesday I have a mermaid tag (theme is nautical/seaside):

Stampers Anonymous seashell and fish stamps, Magenta bubbles stamp. Sentiment and collage image are from ARTchix Studio. I also used Stickles glitter glues.

 I got my Simon Says Stamp August card kit and found a spot of time to at least do a bit of stamping:

 Once I have another nice chunk of time I want to color and fussy cut the images and make cards with them and the stamped backgrounds:) Just found out the card kit has SOLD OUT! (sorry)

 The theme at the Simon Wednesday Challenge is to "use a die and/or punch" so I made this masculine card:

 Products: Lg white notecard and envelope; patterned paper (DCWV); rubber stamp greeting (Hero Arts), houndstooth stamp- on the envelope- (Papertrey  Ink); Altenew Moon Rock dye ink; stitched circles dies ( Our Daily Bread Designs); Stickles glitter glue; bronze thread; mini hole punch.

 Finally, I have a journal page I literally just finished before writing up this post. And it is meant for Art Journal Journey (Art For art's Sake), and Paint Party Friday:

 If you have any questions about anything regarding this page just send me a note. I didn't keep track of all that I used and am just too tired to go look it all up and type it in tonight.

 We are experiencing a week of very muggy hot weather with lots of intermittent downpours and thunderstorms so that means I get more time in the art room - at least I hope:)

 I will be around to visit but after next week I am taking a blogging break to enjoy some summer fun.
See you soon!

      " Oh, the summer night, has a smile of light, and she sits on a sapphire throne."  
                                                                               Bryan Procter

Celebrate It All!

 So much excitement! The Tour de France is continuing in full force, Bastille Day (French Independence Day) was celebrated on the 14th, and France won the World Cup- after 20 years!! Best of all my Mom has been in France to enjoy it all along with celebrating she and her sister's birthdays in the mix!! I was there, in a way - more on that later:):)

 And here's to another special celebration- over at Altered Book Lover hosted by Bleubeard and Elizabeth. Happy 5 years to T Stands For Tuesday!!! Elizabeth, you are an amazing blogger  and hostess-thank you, and congratulations!

The candles are all lit and it's time to party!

 Here is another card related to the "T" theme which I am also sharing with the Simon Monday Challenge (add a little sparkle):

 I used an actual tea bag for this card:) Sorry for the bad pic-couldn't get rid of the bluish tint. It is a white card and the background paper is white too. Speaking of Simon Says Stamp- have you seen the new August 2018 Card Kit they put together? It is awesome- and it will be arriving at my door soon!!!

 For Moo Mania and More(theme is butterflies) I have this ATC:

 The tag card in my last post inspired me to make a group of ATCs using the same products and design- Ranger/ Tim Holtz.

 A journal page:

 A partial detail photo is at the top of this post. If I remember correctly, Eileen, a multi talented regular participant of T stands For Tuesday sent me some of her homemade washi tape - a bit of which I used here (beautiful...yes). So pretty! I used the credit card swiping method for the background along with a baby pink and neon pink acrylic paint. Washi tapes, dictionary page, tissue paper, rubber stamp sentiment, postage stamp,charcoal pencil, and Caran d'Ache water soluble crayons were used. Linking to Art Journal Journey ( Art For Art's Sake), Paint Party Friday, and Try It On Tuesday (Add a Quote).

 That's it for this week. My Mom is returning home later in the week after a month in France so I have much to do to prepare for her return. Have a super and creative week-I'll be around to visit and see what you've been up to:)

 " Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you."       Lao Tse

This And That

  How are you all? Here we have finally gotten away from a long heat wave and it is delightful to be outdoors again. Being inside allowed me to play more in my art room though:)
This tag card is meant for Tag Tuesday (theme is floral) and  Try It On Tuesday (things with wings).  Scalloped tag card is from the Paper Cut; tissue wrap, paper dolls, botanical, Small Talk sticker- all Tim Holtz; Ranger Stickles glitter glue.

 Heatwave or not I must have my hot coffee first thing in the morning!

 and this is usually where I can be found Tuesday mornings:)  Hats off to Bleubeard and Elizabeth and friends at T Stands For Tuesday which will be celebrating 5 years next week. And all are welcome to join anytime!

 Here are my completed calendar spreads for June:

 For the Simon Monday Challenge this week (Summer Fun) I have this journal page:

 The background is a gel print on deli paper. Vintage image and collage sheet sentiment (ARTchix Studio), printed vellum (unknown), washi tapes (Recollections).

 And for the fun of it I did this page using some paint, magazine clippings and a white gel pen:

  Oh how I love sitting outside under the stars in the summer while sipping a glass of wine...

Joining Art Journal Journey (Art For Art's Sake), and Paint Party Friday.  Have a wonderful week ahead! I'll be around to see what you all are up to, and in between I'll be visiting France via chairside watching the Tour de France:) A bientôt!

  " When you do things from your soul, you feel a river of joy within you."   Rumi

Gel Plate Play Part Two

 How is everyone? We are having a heat wave with temps up to 100 F and heat index feel like temps of so far up to 107 F (41 - 42C)! Now THAT is hot!!! Nice to have central air conditioning during these times:)

 Last update on the finches. There was a lot of noise coming from them Saturday when I was sitting by the window. And then they began to fly about and hubby and I saw them leave. What a joy to have seen it all and know they all survived! I cleaned out the geranium baskets and will see if we get any more nesting birds.

 This gel plate play was inspired by a video Birgit Koopsen shared on You Tube and the Gelli Arts blog. She did a peeled paint effect using the gel plate, paints and Scotch tape. I didn't do exactly as she did because something else popped in my head.

I brayered a coat of acrylic paints on my plate then added torn strips of masking tape. I then brayered more paints over that before printing. I did a handful of papers without changing the tape. I just kept adding paint after each pull. Here are a few:

 I wasn't sure what to expect-and they certainly did not produce the peeled paint technique but they're still fun backgrounds. And look what else I took away with this technique:

 The torn strips of masking tape are now painted strips on both sides to use in collage:) And I wasn't about to waste the lines of red paint left on the plate:

 I had printed the envelope using the foil technique I shared in my last post. I placed that on the plate to pick up the red stripes. I do love using my gel plate to decorate envelopes:)

 Even more inspiration from Birgit is this journal page:

 I used one of Birgit's stamp sets (Carabelle Studio Mixed Media strips). Some of my favorite bright colors were used (these are Distress inks I put onto a craft mat then picked up and put on the stamped images using a wet brush. I also blew through a small straw to get the "legs"). The quote is a rubber stamp from Just For Fun. Joining Art Journal Journey hosted this month by Chris with the theme of "Art For Art's Sake"; Moo Mania and More (Your favorite Colors);  Try It On Tuesday (Things with Wings) and Paint Party Friday.

 For T Stands For Tuesday I have another breakfast to share from our last trip to Cape May:

We love going to the Ocean View Restaurant especially for breakfast. The portions are very generous (I always have hubby eat some of mine, and the remaining toast goes to feeding the seagulls), and your coffee gets filled at no extra cost as many times as you wish:) The wait staff and hostess are so much fun as we've come to know them quite well! And you just can't beat the prices.

 Here in the US we will be celebrating Independence Day on the 4th of July. There will be at least that day off of work for most and some places are adding another day or two which is really generous. So with this celebration in mind along with the new theme (Red White and/or Blue) at the Simon Monday Challenge Blog I made this tag:

  Of course I just HAD to use this Tim Holtz Paper doll:):) Other products: manila tag, Small Talk Stickers (Tim Holtz Ideaology); white gesso; patterned papers (DCWV); patterned tag (K & Company); washi tape(Recollections); gold star charm. 

 Wishing everyone in the US a fabulous and safe holiday! 

" I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out til sundown, for going out, I found I was really going in."   John Muir