Encouragement....

 To   Inspire   with   Courage,   Spirit,   or   Hope

One of the reasons I started  Vision Of Bliss  Blog was not only to express myself and my art to those who visit, but  also as a means of  Encouraging others.  I hope this post

INSPIRES  and  ENCOURAGES

you today...

Times being what they are these days I hope the following (paraphrased) quote helps you to look at the glass as

 half-full...

 and  NOT  half-empty....

Finally Brothers,

Whatever Is True,

Whatever Is Noble,

Whatever Is Right,

Whatever Is Pure,

Whatever Is Lovely,

Whatever Is Admirable,

~  If Anything Is Excellent or Praiseworthy  ~

....THINK ABOUT SUCH THINGS.....

                                 Phillipians 4:8

Today I am linking up at I Owe It All To Him ....To see More  Words Of Encouragement Click Here

May you find encouragement in these inspiring words

today......Until next time.....I Wish You Peace.....

Today's Lunch Was

Fresh Homemade Bruschette

But Let Me Back Up A Little Bit.....

Let me tell you what led to having this delicious Bruschette For Lunch...

It All Started When I Read A Blog Post and Recipe By Yvonne At Her Stone Gable Blog. You Can Find Her Recipe HERE For Making This Pesto Sauce...

After A Quick Look Through My Supplies ....

And A Quick Tour Of My Garden..

I Knew I Had Everything I Needed To Make Up

This Awesome Pesto Recipe I Found At Stone Gable's Blog

So I started Clipping The Tops Off The Basil Plants......

And Before I Knew It.....My Basket Was Full!

To Prepare The Basil I Cut Off The Leaves.....

Washed It.....

Then Spun It As Dry As Possible With My Salad Spinner

Then It Was Time To Gather Up The Pesto Ingredients

Pine Nuts...............

Toasted A Golden Hue

Freshly Shredded Parmesean Cheese, Olive Oil and Chopped Garlic...MMMMM

The Kitchen Was Beginning To Smell Pretty

Delicious!

The Food Processor Worked It's Magic!

At Last.......Presto....

It Was Pesto!!

So of course I Had To Make

A Custom Pesto Tag For My Jar

Well One Thing Led To Another......

and As The Aromatic Smells Were Sensually Drifting Through The House....

I Thought.....hmmmmm.... It's Lunch Time...

How About Some Bruschette???

And So....I Made Some!

It Was Delicious. 

All I Did To Make The Bruschette Was Chop Up Three

Roma Tomatoes, Add A Dash Of Fresh Ground Sea Salt and Pepper And A Bit Of The Pesto and The Bruschette Was Ready

 

The Recipe For The Pesto Can Be Found Here On Stone Gable's Blog.  Yvonne Has

The Most Wonderful Blog, Check It Out
You Won't Be Disappointed!

Thanks For Stopping By Today!  Until Next Time.......I Wish You Peace...

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

T' WOULD BE A FANCY WOULD IT NOT??

I wrote this poem one day as I sat looking at and drinking from one of my favorite tea cups......

Beauty Remembered

The  delicate teacup

sits in a place of

 honor in the room.

A tiny chip here,

A hairline crack there.

Character bestowed by years of use.
Ahhhh......t'would be a fancy would it not,

to be like that teacup?

Chips and cracks of time worn age ignored....

Only the beauty of yesterday

remembered.

WINTERTIME  BLISS

The First Wintry Breath of Crisp Mountain Air

Crunchy Glistening Snow Underfoot

The Snap Of A Snow Laden Tree Branch
As It Echos Through The Forest
Canadian Geese In Flight
Woodsmoke Curling Up - Up - Up
From The Chimney, ThenVanishing Like Magic

The Snap and Crackle Sounds Of Cedarwood Burning In The Woodstove

What is your wintertime bliss?

FAMILY HEIRLOOMS

A Family Abounding in

 Love and Encouragement

Bestows a Greater Heirloom

Upon Their Children

Than Any Treasured Object

Ever Could.

                       ~ Carolee ~