This Week's Meanderings

 

 Hello Peeps! Hope you all have had a good weekend. We had a gorgeous day on Saturday and rain all day into the eve on Sunday. Things are finally blooming and budding! Our forsythia bushes have finally blossomed and oh how nice to see all those glorious yellow flowers!

 And speaking of flowers I have one last journal page for Art Journal Journey for the theme of "A Single Flower" with guest host Sheila.  It's no secret that my favorite flower is the red poppy, and I've painted poppies numerous times (in various colors). I chose to keep this one simple and with a grungy feel. The journal  page was inspired by one of Nicole Watson's 30 Minute Art Exercise You Tube Videos:

 This began as a mop up page (the turquoise). I added the stenciling (an old Dina Wakley script stencil) then drew in my poppy with a Stabilo All pencil. A dark red, bright red, and touch of orange paint was used to paint the poppy. The red spatters were then added along with the quote from a Dina Wakley stamp set. This photo is much truer to the vibrant color of the flower than the cropped photo above it. I never said I was a photographer;)

 And another flower themed project:

 This 5" x 7" card was made for another Darkroom Door IG challenge. The theme for March was to use a resist technique. I started by swiping Versamark ink through the DDcircles stencil in several places on the card. I then heat embossed it with clear powder. Then I used the new dome shaped foam tips (Ranger Ink) to apply several colors of Distress Oxide inks over the card. The Darkroom Door Fine flowers stamps were heat embossed on black card stock and white embossing powder then fussy cut and glued to the card. lastly I did some mark making with Posca pens. Fingers crossed I win the challenge for some new Darkroom Door supplies 🤞.The winner is randomly chosen.

For T Stands For Tuesday I'll share a special muffin I indulged in recently to enjoy with my morning coffee:

 I absolutely LOVE pistachio muffins - and pistachio ice cream for that matter (THE best in France!!) I haven't had one of these in ages and it was worth every single calorie😉 Cheers to the T gang!

 Another journal page:

 The background had been done awhile ago using a gesso resist technique and Dina Wakley Gloss Sprays. The large fern leaf is a stencil. The colored leaf is one I drew with a Posca pen onto Dina Wakley Collage Collective Paper then fussy cut. I stamped  the image from a new stamp set of hers also onto a piece of Collage Collective paper. Some doodling and mark making and I called it done!

 And to end this post I have a tag to share with Tag Tuesday (theme is Mostly Monochrome) hosted by Michele, and the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge for the theme of Easter/Spring:

 Products: Tim Holtz Collage Paper- Floral, Tim Holtz Distress Ink- Vintage Photo; #8 Manila tag (Ranger). Other: vintage clip art, ribbon, scrap of corrugated cardboard, twine, paper flower, and brad from my stash.

Off to Paint Party Friday the end of the week:)

 Wishing those who celebrate, a blessed Passover or Easter. 💟

"Whether you've found your calling, or if you're still searching, passion should be the fire that drives your life's work."    Michael Dell

A Celebration and (Art) Challenges

 

 Happy Spring! Finally we are having true spring weather and things are just beginning to bud. We are definitely  about two weeks behind because of the very snowy  and cold January and February, but happily we're catching up.

 The gorgeous bouquet of flowers came from my hubby for my (62nd-yikes!) birthday which was on March 15. This was a complete surprise since my birthday was to be a nice dinner out and a bit of shopping, and I ended up having a three day birthday. I was quite spoiled this year💓

 We had dinner at Prime Steak House on the Saturday before my day which was where we had our son's wedding rehearsal dinner back in October-and this was our first time dining out since then. It was very busy -nice to see- and we were very comfortable with lots of space between tables in various rooms.

 Our waiter was wonderful, and Bill and I both started with a Caesar salad with warm fresh bread along with water and cabernet sauvignon. We chose a seafood special which consisted of a lobster tail, broiled scallops, broiled stuffed flounder, and a choice of a side. I had the rice pilaf. Our waiter surprised me with a complimentary birthday dessert which I tasted then Bill finished😁 Everything from start to finish was perfectly made and delicious!! Cheers to the the T Stands For Tuesday peeps!

 On Sunday, first my Mom stopped by with this:

 

Yes, I got another gorgeous bouquet of flowers, and a card with money in it! Then later my daughter - in - love made dinner for us! We had a spinach lasagne, salad, fresh Tuscan garlic bread, and homemade chocolate mousse. It was amazing (so mad I forgot to take photos-grr)! That girl can cook!!! She and our son also got me new art supplies of my choice from Joggles:

the things on the right-yes, new Dina Wakley stamps and stencils besides a few other things. On the left are goodies Bill allowed me to pick out as a gift while we were in Hobby Lobby-and each item was 40%off 😁

 One more thing before moving on to the art:

 another really lovely surprise I received! This beautiful birthday card on the right (and it had a French theme 💓) along with all this ephemera from Erika. That was so sweet and generous of you Erika. I was truly touched. Thank you SO much!

OK, let's get to the art finally! First up I'll start with a tag:

 This is meant for two new challenges: the Simon Says Monday Challenge (Whatever The Weather), and Tag Tuesday ( Mostly Monochromatic). I used Tim Holtz tissue paper, Paper Dolls, and Chit Chat stickers. The tag is from my stash along with the paper flowers and brads. The fabric washi tape is Recollections. Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide ink was sponged along edges.

Two more pages in my hand made Curvy journal:

 I will join Paint Party Friday, and Try It On Tuesday (theme is use a stencil or two). The stencils on both these pages are Dina Wakley as are the two main images which are from her Collage Collective book. 

 A special thank you to all who left such poignant and loving comments in my last post regarding Eileen's passing. XO 

"Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds, the harvest can either be flowers or weeds".

T Stands For Tribute

 

 This week's post is my tribute to a dear blogging friend Eileen, a regular at  the T Stands For Tuesday link ups. My heart is heavy over reading last week on our Tuesday host Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog of the sudden passing of Eileen after having gone through open heart surgery. I am no less saddened just because we never met in person and I'm sure most of you feel the same way when we lose a blog friend. I do cherish any and all of the snail mail exchanges  with all of you. Eileen was always so thoughtful with her cards, poems, and ephemera she would send. Not to mention her always supportive and uplifting comments on my blog. 

This is a journal page I did last week to try and process my emotions:

  Eileen was an enthusiastic student enjoying new art classes and techniques up to the very end. She was an equally enthusiastic teacher, happily willing to share her knowledge with all.

 She was really excited to try out  some journal pages using the grid technique and pages I had shared in earlier posts and here is the last she posted. She shared the base of her grid along with the finished page as I had been doing:

    Didn't she do a great job with it? It's beautiful!!

   Eileen enjoyed a glass of chardonnay, a favorite wine of hers and often shared it at T Stands For Tuesday.

 

 And so one last toast to you Eileen, and cheers to the T Stands For Tuesday peeps. 

 With heartfelt sympathy and prayers to Eileen's husband Chris, to all of Eileen's family and friends near and far, those who have been touched by her presence in person or in cyberspace. 🙏

And here is another grid style journal page I recently made and  will share with Art Journal Journey (A Single Flower), and Paint Party Friday who celebrates 10 years!! Happy Birthday to you!!:

 For the base colors I used Dina Wakley paints in Sand, Cheddar, Marine, and Olive.

The completed page:

 

 In my next post I'll catch up with some challenges and celebrations. Be well. And a Happy St. Patrick's Day ( March 17) , and happy Spring ( March 20)  to those in the Northern Hemisphere!

 "The life of one we love is never lost. Its influence goes on through all the lives it ever touched."     Christopher Holloway

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Journal Play!

 

 Getting excited around here! Spring will soon officially arrive, our clocks move forward one hour this coming Sunday giving us longer daylight hours, and it is finally going to warm up this week😁 I can't wait to go out for walks again!! I can't walk in the cold because I have Reynaud's Syndrome which causes my fingers and toes to immediately get cold, numb and burn. 

 Been mostly playing in my journals though I'd better get moving on Easter cards if I plan on getting them out in time😉 And get this - my Mom called to tell me that today she got her Valentine's Day card from me!!! She lives only 2 miles from me and I mailed it early February!!!

For T Stands For Tuesday:

 My DIL and I went to the Easton Public Market place because we wanted to check out this plant based smoothie/sandwich/salad/smoothie bowls venue which had recently opened. Lots of options and all but the bottled cold pressed juices (in the case) are made on the spot and can be customized in any way. There is no indoor seating and it was a COLD and WINDY day so we went back to the apartment to enjoy our selections. 

 I almost forgot to take photos and only got  a pic of my almost finished Green Vida smoothie:) It was delicious- made with organic kale, Granny Smith apple, pineapple, avocado, lemon, mint, and filtered water. Kyra had the Replenish cold press juice along with the Aluna Bowl with a green base of spinach, spirulina. That was topped with fruit and granola. Really good! However, I found it all a bit pricey (as were the other vendors in the building). I'm sure I will be able to duplicate my drink using my Nutri-Bullet 👍

Edited In: As I went to get the link for T Stands For Tuesday I read Elizabeth's truly sad post about the passing of a fellow regular linking T Day friend Eileen. You can read of it on the T Stands For Tuesday link. My heart is heavy, it's hard holding back the tears and I need to gather my thoughts  so I will go on with my post as it was done before hearing this news. Next week I will post in her memory for T Stands For Tuesday 🙏

 I finished another spread in my Curvy Journal:

 I will join Art Journal Journey (A single flower) and Try It On Tuesday (Say it with flowers). I love these birds from the Dina Wakley Collage Collective book and just wish she offered full collage sheets of these sweet birdies. 

And here is yet another grid style page. It started like this:

  

I used Dina Wakley paints in Marine, Aloe, Mineral and Apricot. And here is the completed page:

  Dina Wakley curly fronds stencil/mask set, Be Willing stamp set, Gloss Sprays. Tim Holtz Paper Doll. Mark making doodles done with Posca pens. Grid paper is torn bits recycled from the inside of a business envelope. 

 Happy to join Paint Party Friday!

 That's it for me this post. Happy new week to all!

" If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly our whole life would change."  Buddha

March Is Here and Soon Spring!

 

 How's everything peeps? Any signs of spring in your parts? We had another week of up and down weather- from some wet snow, to two warm and sunny days which really helped melt away our huge piles of snow everywhere, to a full night and day of rain Sunday, and now March has begun- and so have the wind gusts today! The birds are singing like it's spring but the flowers and budding trees are a bit behind here this year.

 But no matter the weather I do love to grill and so I recently made tuna steaks for dinner:

 I also had a small dish of homemade horseradish sauce to top the tuna steaks but didn't have it on the table yet when I took the photo:) Cheers to the T Stands For Tuesday peeps! And again- my apologies to Karen M-I am not able to leave a comment on your Wordpress blog :(  but I do visit.

 Art Journal Journey has a new theme this month - A Single Flower - chosen by guest host Sheila,  the new challenge at the Simon Says Monday Challenge blog is "Art Journal",  and the new theme for Try It On Tuesday is "Say it with Flowers" so I literally just did these pages  in my Curvy Journal before typing this post:

 Below I will show the start of this handmade journal along with other completed pages. Denise Lush shared her curvy book on Instagram and if you click on her name you can find the template for it on her blog if you want to give it a go!

 I used a heavy grey cardstock for the pages and chose to stencil them all. I used mostly Dina Wakley stencils and a Dylusions stencil on two pages. I then doodled the edges of each page with a black Posca pen. For this spread I painted the wide curvy lines with black acrylic paint then wrote the words in with a white Posca pen. The strips were then lined with a pink and a black Posca pen to bring them out more. The girl and the flower is from Dina Wakley stamp sets. I used markers to color the girl and Dina Wakley Scribble sticks to paint the flower and leaves. I then used a fine tip black pen to add more scribbly lines to the stamped images and finished with the quote. Everybody has a soul story. Don't you agree?

 

 And here is the start of the book along with more completed pages. I chose not to bind the book until all the pages are complete. I'm not finishing them necessarily in order either😉:

                                                 The cover

                                         Inside cover and page

  The botanicals on the left were drawn on Dina Wakley Collage Collective paper using a black Posca pen. The face images on the right are Dina Wakley stamps as is the leaf.

  And another journal page in the Dina Wakley Black Media Journal:

  I'm also happy to join with Paint Party Friday- as long as the blog is continued. Our wonderful hosts of ten years EVA and Kristin last week posted that they may make the decision to end the party. I would really miss it but they have to do what they feel is right for them. I've met SO many fellow bloggers and creative artists through PPF 💓 

 Wishing you all a great week and weekend. I'll be around to visit but unfortunately some of your blogs won't allow me to leave comments (mostly the Wordpress blogs where there is no option for me to sign in with Google).

" Winds of March we welcome you, there is work for you to do. Work and play and blow all day, blow the winter away."      Unknown