T Stands For Matcha Tea and Other Things

 Hello Lovelies! Are you having crazy up and down weather like we are here in PA?? My body can't take this one day very warm, next day freezing cold and damp every week-ugh. But...

next week I will be MIA here while I enjoy a full week in Palm Beach Florida with dear friends!! I have never been to Florida and am SO looking forward to warmth, the beach, the water, and manatees! Everyone who knows me is saying I may not come back:):)

 For T stands For Tuesday I will share the special tea that Susi mentioned on her blog. It sounded interesting and after reading up on it I bought some:

 and I like it very much! Of course, I like green smoothies so I knew the color wasn't going to be a problem;) It has a mild herbal, grassy taste to me. I'm drinking it in my old world glass mug made by Nestle.  One never knows what kind of inspiration you will find at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's  T Stands For Tuesday, so come on by- you could be inspired by a recipe, a book, art, a beverage, a movie - you name it!

 For the Simon Wednesday Challenge (theme is "Black, White and One Other Color") I have this card:

The sparkle on the patterned card stock does not show so here's a detail pic:

 The card looks so much better in person. I made a few like this because I needed some masculine cards. Products: large white notecard, black, white, aqua card stock (Recollections); sparkle patterned card stock (DCWV); Spellbinders Wonky Rectangles dies; Our Daily Bread Designs birthday dies; Dot Sparklers sticker-Stampendous.

 I have two simple abstract paintings/journal pages to share:

 The yellow is Golden High Flow Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold which I love!

 The mood and colors of this page were inspired by the crazy weather we've been having.  I am enjoying doing these simple abstracts so much that I decided to do a series of them using only a few colors, and one found word as my inspiration.

 Joining Art Journal Journey (theme is "the colour yellow") with my first abstract, and sharing both with Paint Party Friday. Have a super week! I'll be around to visit...

" There is no right path. Only the one that allows you to sleep soundly and wake up excited."
                                                                   Jennifer Louden

This Week's This n That

 Thursday is Valentine's Day! Do you celebrate? Like it? Not so much?
I have always loved Valentine's Day since I can remember- even when I didn't have a "valentine" to call my own. I have always chosen to celebrate by remembering my friends and love sending out handmade cards and sometimes little bits like bookmarks, ATCs and such. And with my love of this holiday it's no wonder our son was born on this day- 31 years ago now! He was due on the 7th but I guess was too comfy inside to come out when he was supposed to:):) I love my Valentine baby-
                                       happy birthday Todd!
 I'll share my canvas ATC and vignette with Moo Mania and More (theme is "Love is in the Air").

 Thanks to this blog post by Susi I have made a book to hold all of hubby's recent birthday cards:

 this is the simple cover. I used heavy cardboard recycled from a watercolor sheet tablet and covered the three sections with this beautiful blue and gold marbled book paper I have had for some years now. The photo here  just doesn't do it justice.  I stamped the name and numbers from an old foam set and fussy cut them.

the inside front and back cover. These are the quotes I had found online, printed, and cut apart to put in his lunches  (and sometimes in a book too) that he took for work each day starting the week before his birthday. I hope you can read them-funny!

 And this is the book filled with cards:

 Thank you for the wonderful idea and inspiration dear Susi!

For T Stands For Tuesday I'll share a recent meal I had when I was out for "Girl's Night" . We went to the Artisan Wine Bar (which I have mentioned before and have gone to many times):

 I had a Mediterranean salad with olives, feta cheese, tomatoes and mixed greens in a light herb lemon vinaigrette. Warm pita bread and grilled lemon came with it-SO good! My wine of choice  (my usual here) is Peirano - a California cabernet.

 For Art Journal Journey the theme this month is "the colour yellow" so I'll share this page from my Dylusions Dyary calendar journal:

 The grey background (which I in turn extended to the left side of the spread) and flowers were already printed on the page. I colored them in with markers and then used a Tim Holtz layering stencil and yellow acrylic paint to add the sun rays.

 Lastly I will share the full "Grungy Flowers" journal page I painted with acrylics and used in the digital pic I began with in my last post:

 Inspiration from Shawn Petite's You Tube videos. She is a master of grunge!
Sharing with Paint Party Friday.

 I'll be hunkering down for a round of ice and snow coming our way :(. Hoping it isn't too bad. I worry about everyone that has to go out and drive in such nasty conditions.

 Have a wonderful week everyone!

  " Love planted a rose, and the world turned sweet."    Katharine Lee Bates 

A Big Dash of Red

 And what a month so far, from snow and frigid cold to a high of 64 F with abundant sunshine today going up to almost 60F tomorrow! Of course it makes me very happy to see the snow melt away.
 This is a digital app (PhotoFunia) I used to put a pic of my flower painting on the wall. Fun to play with! I'll share my complete painting in another post. Joining Moo Mania and More with this for the theme of "squares".

 Yes, it was "Super Bowl" Sunday here in the US. We did have the game on, but honestly, I don't have much interest in it, and apparently this wasn't even an interesting game to many who typically watch. I chose to doodle on my calendar pages much of the time:) But, congrats to the Pats!

 Been doing lots of cardmaking- completing my Valentine cards and making a handful of anniversary cards I need to have on hand. The following two anniversary cards are meant for the Simon Wednesday Challenge (Anything Goes):

 Quick and easy cards to make:)
Products: large Ivory notecards (Canvas Corp); patterned cardstock- hearts (Websters Pages), patterned floral note card (DCWV); Versafine Onyx Black ink; Stitched circles dies, Assorted Moonshine sequins, clear stamp sentiment (Forever After set)-Simon Says Stamp; pink, heart sequins, paper flower ACMoore.

 My next project is meant for the Simon Monday Challenge (Add Some Red. Featured company is Inky Antics), and Tag Tuesday (Hearts):

 Products: manila tag (Ranger); white card stock; patterned paper (DCWV); Long Hair Flair clear stamp set (Inky Antics); Versafine Onyx Black ink; Tim Holtz Small Talk Occasions stickers; washi tape (Recollections); white gesso; dictionary page, paper bits, button, flower and rhinestone from my stash.

 All these projects have me hungry so I'll pause to share with the T Stands For Tuesday peeps the recent lunch I had at McCarthy's Red Stag Pub with my BFF:

We shared a pot of Casablanca tea ( loose mixture of raspberries, apples, strawberries, hibiscus and flower petals) which was delicious- not too floral or sweet tasting). 

 I got the small portion (homemade chips not such a small portion is it? I couldn't finish them even though they were sinfully good!) turkey melt which was just enough and so good.

 And now I have a journal page which I will share with Art Journal Journey (this month's theme is "the colour yellow"), hosted by Rike :

 This was also another collage I shared on Instagram for the "useitupfillitup" challenge last month. It really got me digging into my ephemera bins and using what I had been saving- like this beautiful postcard, butterfly, lace border patterned paper, and textured blue paper. The washi tape and sentiment are Dina Wakley.

 Linking to Paint Party Friday too!

 That's it for me for now. Thanks for all your visits- much appreciated! And don't forget , if you're on Instagram I'd love to connect with you there too:)

" May the world be kind to you, and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself." 
                                                 Jonathan Lockwood Huie