A Beautiful Necklace From Cindy at

 Whimsical Musings

This beautiful necklace arrived this week from Cindy. 

I had entered a drawing on her blog

Whimsical Musings and won! 

You might want to check her blog out for other current drawings.   Thank you  for the gift Cindy!

In other news.... check back tomorrow for the post
"A FRAGRANT FRIDAY"
    I will be posting a tuitorial for making your own incense sticks and cones.  I will also have pictures of the packaging I designed for mine on that post.  The tuitorial for the packaging will be on my Brag Monday post that I will be linking up at The Graphics Fairy next Monday. 

   I am in the process of making some gifts for my holiday gifting this year, so keep watching for more tuitorials on new items.   I like to do my gifts up as far in advance as I can when it's possible and since it has turned so hot here the last couple of weeks I have been indoors doing a lot more art and crafting.....
I am enjoying my self immensely!

Until next time......I wish you Peace.........

We Had A Wonderful Weekend !

Nothing But Blue Skies As Far As The Eye Could See!!

I Am So Thankful For Those Who Have 

Made It Possible For America To Stay The

Land Of The Free

We put our flag out for the holiday and I finally got a couple of hanging plants up too.  The windows you see across the top ridge of the house are the skyline windows at the top of my studio's vaulted ceiling. 

Last week in a previous post I showed you the little wren nest full of speckled eggs in this red basket of Geraniums and guess what.....

The little babies are hatching!!  I'll post more pics when they get a little bigger.

Summer is finally getting here, it's about 90 degrees here today and my tomato plants have more than doubled in size already!  Just makes my mouth water thinking about the coming harvest!

As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said..

Earth Laughs In Flowers!

Hope you are having a great week!!  Until next time.....I wish you Peace....

Monday Morning Coffee Time

Just getting my first cuppa this morning and looking out at the lush green that is starting to grow in my yard....

This is the area of the yard we call the B & B for the Birds......Bath and Breakfast

The vine behind the Birdbath is clematis and the plants in the front are Lambs Ear, very soft fuzzy leaves.   In about a week the Lambs Ear plants will have light pink flowers at the top of the long stems.

I got a hanging plant of pink impatients last week at Lowe's for $5.98 and divided up the plants in the pot to fill in around the hostas and ferns.  It's a great way to get larger bedding plants without the larger price.

I was so sad when I got my terra cotta pots out this year and my biggest one had cracked and broke....so I decided to salvage what I could and took the broken pieces and lined one of my other planters instead of using gravel for drainage.

   I took the broken pot and "planted" it in the ground, then filled it with annual flowers and covered the edges with some of the area gravel to keep the dirt from washing away.  I'll post more pics as it fills out so you can see the results of this experiment.

This is our first attempt at using the upside down tomato planters....looks like we have a good start, this is about 2 weeks after we planted the tomato tower.  I'll post more pics as it grows.

Purple Petunias

One of our resident squarrels, he just finished breakfast from the corn we put out for them.  I'm hoping this will keep them away from the bird feeders!

Hope you are having a great start to your week.  Check back tomorrow for some highlights on my newest Etsy Listings and tag design projects in progress.

Until next time............I wish you......Peace

COLLAGED JEWELRY

Today it's been all about making collaged jewelry......take a look at my finished projects!

These Pendants are made using 2 microscope slides with a small handmade art collage sandwiched between the two slides.  The sides were joined together with adhesive copper foiling and then the project was soldered and embellished.

I used free graphics I got at The Graphics Fairy in making the collage part of my jewelry.  There is a link in the right sidebar if you

want to check out her blogsite.

 

HEART'S MEMORY

A GRAND DESIGN

BOHEMIAN  RHAPSODY

DREAMS CAN COME TRUE.....

I just finished this book and was very moved by the unique life  story of Susan Boyle.   It is a rags to riches story with a very different set of circumstances than the usual ones told. Susan's story is very inspiring to say the least.   Eventhough I didn't care much for the writing style of this author, Susan's story shone through.   Here is just one of the insightful quotes from the book .....

"What, ultimately, has made Susan so universally loved is that she is everywoman.  Everyone in the world has a bit of Susan Boyle in them - the frightened wee girl treated badly at school and dismissed as an adult - but Susan proved that these are handicaps that can be overcome.  Everyone has dreamed a dream of some description, though few of us are able to follow it through.  After all, it takes guts to leave the safety zone and expose yourself to the eyes of an unforgiving world.- something Susan did and has kept on doing.  Ultimately, the Susan Boyle story is about hope."

After reading this book it just confirmed the notion that it is never to late to realize the dreams that you have imagined yourself to achieve.  Click on the link below to see a clip from her now famous Britain's Got Talent audition

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

I just have to say I don't know if this clip will affect you the same way it does me, but it definitely moves me to tears everytime I watch it....enjoy.    Until next time.....I wish you peace...

This picture was taken in front of my friend Terri's home. I didn't know what Selah meant so I asked Terri. She said it meant to pause and reflect. So when I got home I decided to look up the word. It is a Hebrew word and actually has several meanings according to sources on google. The one that sounded like the most common interpretation meant "a dramatic pause or change of tempo - stop and listen".   It is used many times in the Psalms.

The second most used interpretation meant "measured against" or "valued". Here the translation "valued" is used to illustrate the meaning of something for an exchange, i.e., wisdom cannot be measured with the gold of Ophir. It is BEYOND value. In other words, it is beyond comparison or measuring against.

What a wonderful way to describe my visit to Terri's home ~ A Time to Pause and Reflect ~ A Place of Value Beyond Measure. Not only did her home exhude this sentiment but also our time spent together. I am so thankful for friends like Terri with a willingness to take time to nuture friendship. May you be blessed with such friendships, until next time..... I wish you Peace...

ART JOURNALING DAY 8

For day 8 of our art journal we were to pick a word that would exemplify what our focus for the year would be and use it in our journal art page.  This is the page I came up with and a short explanation of the word I picked and why.....

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to live this year with "No Regrets", but..

that is not my word for 2010.   My word for 2010 is

BALANCE

For me the two things are very tied together. Finding balance in my life includes no regrets or apologies for not being able to do everything. Meaning.....if I want to do art, I will have no regrets about the layer of dust on everything and 2 loads of laundry not being done that I am behind on.

Balanced heart (living blissfully) makes for a balanced life.

Until next time......I wish you peace...

Essence of Woman

A recently completed sketch.  Would love to hear your interpretative thoughts on this one. 
Hope you enjoy....

ART JOURNALING ~ DAY 3 & 4

The Journal  prompt for days 3 and 4 was to use checks and large circles in the design.  I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do so I just started playing around with some ideas and the pictures below show what I came up with.   When starting this project I added texture to the 2 page spread using Liquitex Modeling Paste the night before so it had plenty of time to dry before adding the other layers. 

The color combinations turned out great and I thought the design had the look and feel of an old map page.

The left page has a "vintage paper island" that reads

 The Journey Awakens The Soul

The right page had lots of swirls for the circles and various sizes and shapes of numbers.  I put the numbers in the design to represent passage of days through the new year.

For day 5  the Journal prompt is diary or calendar pages.  Check back soon to see what design I came up with!  Until next time.............I wish you Peace..........

ART JOURNALING 2010 - DAY 1 & 2

My mind swirled with ideas as I opened my recently purchased art journal and caught a whiff of the newly bound pages of the book.  A whole sketchbook full of blank pristine white pages full of endless possibilities!  The bouquets of brushes and newly sharpened pencils on my art table which overflowed with artists paraphenalia stood at the ready waiting for that first stoke or swirl. 

Filled with excitement  about starting my first art project for 2010 I quickly jumped online to take a peek at the prompt for the day for the art journal group I belong to.  The suggestion for the day was to make a Journal  Introduction Page.   Wanting to picture myself doing more art this year, I decided the theme for my journal this year would be.......

Visionary Moments.

On the second page I put words that expressed what I wanted my art to portray this year...family, friendships, love, life, protecting the environment, and finding bliss. I added the statement "Not All Who Wander Are Lost" to remind myself to try new things.

 Supplies Used For These Pages Were

Glazing Medium

Matte Medium

Permanent Markers

Acrylics

 Oil Pastels

Vintage Book Pages

Rubber Stamp

Stamping and Distress Inks

Polymer Clay

ART POD STUDIOS TOUR

Today I got to thinking that my readers might like to see where I work.....here at the Art Pod.   I finished getting my studio and supplies settled into their new home just recently and I am thoroughly enjoying my new space.   I still have some organizing to do but it was wonderful this fall when my busy Halloween season hit and I had such a wonder place to work in........

This area of the studio is dedicated to comfort!!  I have my morning tea time here and contemplate goals for the day.

This shot was taken from the staircase and pretty well shows the layout of the whole studio.

One of the things I did not get a picture of is the cathederal ceiling area of the studio.    The ceiling is all wood and adds a lot of visual warmth to the studio, while the 6 skylights at the highest part of the ceiling add the much needed natural light for doing my artwork.

Hope you enjoyed my little tour, until next time I wish you peace...............

~~RECIPES~~

      Ham Balls      

 Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees

Ingredient List #1 ~ Ham Balls

2 lbs. Ground Ham or Ground Pork

2 lbs. Ground Beef
3 Eggs Beaten
2 Cups Graham Crackers Ground (I use my food processor to do this)
1/2 Cup Milk
Ingredient List # 2 ~ Sauce

1/2 Can of Tomato Soup

1/2 Cup Water

1 teaspoon Dry Mustard

1/2 Cup vinegar

1 Cup Brown Sugar

Instructions

Using items from Ingredient list #1, put all items together, mix well.  Make ham balls using a 1/2 measuring cup for your sizing guide (you can make these smaller if you wish, this is how the ones pictured were made).

Put the ham balls in a roasting pan with sides.

To make sauce put all ingredients in a saucepan, mix well and heat through.  Pour the sauce over the ham balls.

Bake in a 350 degree oven on the middle rack for 1 to 1 1/2 hours ( basting about every 15 minutes) till nicely glazed and middle is cooked.

Festive Cranberry Bars

2 1/2 Sticks Butter at Room Temperature

3 Cups Sugar

3 Cups Flour

4 Eggs Well Beaten Eggs at Room Temperature

4 Cups Whole Cranberries

A Little Extra Butter and Flour to Prepare Pan For Baking

9 X 13 Pan

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.  Wash sort and drain cranberries, toss the cranberries in a little bit of flour to coat and set aside.  Grease and flour the pan with butter and flour, set aside.

In mixer cream together the butter and sugar, then add the beaten eggs to this mixture.  Continue mixing and add half cup of flour at a time to bowl until all is added and well incorporated.  The cranberries are then stirred in by hand.  Put mixture in pan and smooth out the batter evenly.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  If you insert a toothpick in the bars it should come out clean if the bars are done.  Cool bars, cut and serve...ENJOY!