Christmas Art

First is an ornament I made for Milliande's Witchel Ornament Swap.  It is made of chipboard and the picture in the center of the foiled frame is coated with Diamond Glaze.

These ATCs were for a Paper Traders 12 Days of Christmas Ornament Swap.  I had Day 2, hence the two doves.

Postage Stamp Swap

I made these little birdie ATCs for a Paper Traders swap that required a postage stamp on it somewhere.

Things to be thankful for

As we approach the holiday season, I have seen a number of my friends posting things that they are thankful for. As Pres. Thomas S. Monson said, we should have "an attitude of gratitude". I want to say that I have been truly blessed. The list is long, but here are a few of the things for which I am grateful:

• stalwart parents who loved me and taught me to be a caring person.
• a devoted husband who is always there for me, and spoils me a lot.
• wonderful children who have grown into fine adults of which I am so proud.
• fantastic grandchildren who are too smart and talented and beautiful for words.
• really awesome brothers who have always loved me and watched over me through the years.
• living in the USA where we are free to live according to the dictates of our hearts.
• those men and women who serve us so faithfully.
• And...most of all for a Saviour who gave all that we might return to our Heavenly Father when our time here is over.

Happy Halloween

I have been so lax in keeping up my blog lately....I guess that is what "blogging without obligation" is all about though. right? I have been doing a little art and thought I might share some with you.

Creepy Cottages
Here we have some more little houses, but in a Halloween genre. This was another swap I hosted on Paper Traders. Each of us made little "haunted houses" to swap. I had so much fun making these little creepy houses that I also made some to give away. All of them are layered to make them dimensional although that is hard to see in the pictures.

Bobbin Book Pages
This was another Paper Traders Swap. We made little book pages from cardboard embroidery bobbins. I painted mine with Making Memories paint, then added T!m Holtz printed masking tape, pictures, and rub-on words; then rubbed them with distress ink. They turned out pretty cute!

My art for Keron's Swaps

Little Houses
My friend Keron hosted two swaps recently on our Paper Traders Yahoo group. The first was a little house swap. I love little houses and this was so fun to do. My favorite"arting pal" Quincy and I got together one extended weekend and made ours. The houses turned out so cute and "playing" with Quincy was the best part.

Here are mine:

And here are Quincy's:

Even though we both used pieces from the same set of chipboard houses from Maya Road, our choices of materials made them unique. Aren't they sweet? We think so!

Swapping Silliness
The second swap Keron hosted was Swapping Silliness based loosely around 'the da vinci COD' by Chris Riddell. We were to make ATCs featuring movie titles changing them to make them silly. It was great fun, although challenging to come up with ideas. Here are my creations.

Swap Art - Asian Triptych & White on White

Asian Triptych
I participated in two Paper Traders Swaps lately. The first is my contribution to the Asian Triptych exchange. The first image shows my card closed along with the envelope for it.

The second image is of the inside. The little girls pop up when you open it so it becomes 3-dimensional and will stand by itself.
White on White
Next we have some ATCs I made for the White on White swap I hosted. The single one is an ATC I made some time ago featuring my granddaughters when they were little girls (they are young ladies now!) I posted it as an example of how using various shades and textures can give dimension to a monochromatic art piece.
Below are the ones I made for the swap. They all feature layers of patterned organza over white flower petals (hard to see in the scan), embellished with ribbon, pearl buttons, beads, lacy motifs, baby photos and clear word stickers.

Do You Remember?

9-1-1
Lest we Forget...

Nine years ago our president addressed the citizens of this great nation. His remarks moved me then, and they still move me today. Whatever your political persuasion, how can you not be moved by the compassion and conviction in his words:

Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger we have found our mission and our moment. Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom -- the great achievement of our time, and the great hope of every time -- now depends on us. Our nation, this generation will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage.

We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail...

Peace and freedom will prevail.

....I will not forget this wound to our country or those who inflicted it. I will not yield; I will not rest; I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people. The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.

~George W. Bush September 2001

Togetherness

43 Years!
How can it possibly be forty three years! It seems like only yesterday we were just kids "playing house"! But, it is true, we've been married 43 years today! It has been a fun ride so far and I hope we make as far as Mom and Dad did...they were married 62 years and they still loved each other dearly! I know Dad still misses her sorely.

But now that we are becoming the older generation, it doesn't seem quite right. I don't think of myself as OLD except when I stop to consider my age; although since my health problems last year I know I have really slowed down, just don't have the stamina I used to. Age is one of those things that just creeps up on you when you are busy living your life, I guess. You do realize that you are getting old when your children pass into middle age though! And I now have two over 40.

I remember growing up I thought my parents and aunts and uncles were so old...looking back I realize that they were only in their 30s and 40s when I was a kid! That can't be old, I have kids those ages. All of this brings me to this point...We NEED to enjoy life as it goes along because time waits for no one.

We get so stressed about doing things that don't really count and no one remembers a moment after it is done. Not that we don't have to take care of the necessities, but we also need to stop and "smell the roses". Put the laundry off for a day and go play with the grandkids, take time to have lunch with a friend, take a few minutes to visit a shut-in, call your parents or grandparents on the phone, pause as you meet a friend and give them a hug instead of just a wave across the parking lot. These are the things that put the life in living, and they are the things that will matter when you are old and all you have left are your memories.

When I was young, I never remember people being so negative as they are now. I don't think all this negativity is good for us. For one thing when we only see the negative in things we don't recognize the blessings we have received; and we forget to be grateful. That is important, we must be grateful for what we have. Our attitudes affect our lives more than anything else and being ungrateful is a big part of that, otherwise selfishness creeps in. My mother always said, "Be thankful for what you have, there are children starving in China." Of course we always wondered how come we couldn't just send that hated food to them instead of having to eat it, but there is some truth in there somewhere.

Our parents had just been though a war, they had lived through the depression, they were poor according to today's standards... but they were grateful to be alive. And they were happy, genuinely happy. Even though they worked many more hours than most people do now, they always found time to have fun. They often had friends in to play games or just to "visit", they made time to do things with their kids, siblings, parents and neighbors. And when they worked they did it with a happy heart because they knew the value of a job well done.

I think our priorities have gotten a bit skewed, we think we need more things, but really what we need is better relationships, with our neighbors, with our families and most especially with our God. We need to know that just by the fact that we are sons and daughters of God, that we have value. Who we are matters, what we have doesn't. When our kids were teenagers they thought they "needed" the right things to fit in...that certain brand of shirt, those special sneakers, etc. Are we not guilty of that too when we think we must have a bigger tv or a new car, a better house?

My parents raised six kids in a tiny one bedroom, one bath house with a full basement. Being the only girl, when I got big enough to need my own room, I got the bedroom and Dad made a master bedroom and a "boys" room downstairs for my five brothers. It was more like a barracks...two sets of bunks plus other beds, but it served the purpose and the boys shared it with the hired men too. Whenever company came, the kids slept on the floor so the company could have the beds. No one ever considered that we needed a bigger house, it kept us warm, we had enough to eat, and everyone else was in the same situation it seemed.

In this time of economic trial, I think it might help us all to step back and consider if we really need more things, or do we just want them. Will they bring happiness or just more stress as we try to figure out how to pay for them. We need to recapture the attitude our parents had of being happy just to be alive. To have sons and brothers home from the war. To honor the memory of those lost by being diligent, and patriotic, and cheerful. They had hard times but they didn't dwell on them, they looked forward to a better future and worked to try to build that for their children. Can we do any less? Do we not have a responsibility to pass that same legacy to our own grandchildren?

As I get "older" family becomes more and more precious to me, and things less and less. I wish I had caught that vision when I was younger and stressing over so many needless things. I hope our legacy to our children might be one of setting priorities and putting the people in your lives first, because you never know how long you will have them, and because time waits for no one...and because this is probably the best lesson I have learned in the last 43 years!

A Little Art

It has been so long since I posted any artwork that I thought maybe I should catch up a little...so here goes...

First is the set of charms that I made for a Paper Traders swap. They were to reflect the colors in a box of 16 crayons and were presented in the little box that I made using an image of a vintage box of Crayolas. The charms were made of tiny photos embedded between two layers of natural mica.
Here are some fabric ATCs that I made for a swap on Paper Traders. They are pieced with different fabrics to make the backgrounds, then embellished with pearls, fibers, and glitter.
This is the tip-in journal spread that I did for my friend Marion. Her theme was School Days.
Finally we have a shrine I made for our Paper Traders group's Anniversary Project. The theme was "the number 4" as we have had our little art group for over 4 years now! This little shrine features a mini-matchbox set behind the opening showing off the four little girls. The main background is some spray webbing paper that I made up myself. A lot of German scrap and a couple of word charms complete the assemblage.

Journey down Memory Lane

Do you ever have days when it is all you can do to keep from being maudlin? I have been that way lately. It has been rainy here…showers every afternoon, overcast, just plain gloomy….which is not normal for Wyoming, let me tell you. Anyway, this kind of weather makes me pensive and turns my thoughts inward, which lately turns them to losses. I have been missing my brother. I miss his laughter, and his smile. I miss his “orneriness”, the practical jokes, the one-liners. I miss the love, the total acceptance of people just as they are, the good with the bad. Some days I just want to pick up the phone and give him a call for no other reason than to hear that smile in his voice at the other end. We never talked on the phone a lot, but whenever we did it made my whole day. He just had a way of making you feel good just by his presence. How I miss that.

Recently I found this old picture of Ronnie and I sitting in the yard with some baby bunnies. He was about 12 at the time.
What memories it brings back of all the fun adventures we had as kids playing in the yard, and on that big elm tree in the background. It always had a couple of rope swings on it...and the little ladder so you could get up to the first crotch to begin climbing. I have no idea how many times we fell out of that tree...but I do know there were some bad bumps and bruises, a few broken limbs (ours, not the tree's), and at least one concussion. Nowadays parents would probably not let kids play with such abandon, but oh what fun we had. And what memories it brings back of growing up in the country.

I was visiting with a friend just this week and we were talking about how different it is now then when we were kids, and how much our grandkids have missed out on. Growing up in the country is just a whole other way of life. We used to have so much more time to play, to use our imaginations, and to experience things. Even though we always had chores - gathering eggs, bringing in the milk cows, milking, feeding livestock, etc. - it seems like we still had plenty of time to just be kids. Now people seem to fill their children's lives with so many organized activities that there is none left for just enjoying life. I think this is a mistake. Children grow up so fast...too fast it seems. I wish all kids could have the kind of growing up years we were blessed with. No TV, no video games, no computers - but more homemade fun than you could imagine.

In South Dakota Magazine this month there was a picture of a little kid playing in the sand. It went on to say that studies show that children who play outside are healthier, more creative and do better in school. I believe this. Fresh air and nature just brings out the kid in all of us, and I think it fosters imagination, adventure and an enthusiasm for life that cannot be found cooped up indoors.

Living in the country your best friends were your siblings. You had to get along or you would have no one to play with! Of course we had our disagreements, but we always got over it and moved on. There was too much good in our lives to dwell on petty things so we learned to compromise and share. How much richer our lives are because of that.

We never had a lot of material things growing up, but we had enough to eat and clothes to wear, although usually hand-me-downs. That was probably from necessity but we wouldn't have known the difference because everyone else did the same. It seemed that all the parents followed the old creeds of "waste not, want not" and "use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without". If your pants were too short or your shoes were too tight, there were probably some that fit in the box of your brothers' outgrown things. Being the only girl I often got "new" things passed down from my cousin. It was like Christmas whenever my aunt sent a box!

One thing I remember about growing up was sharing. Do kids learn to share nowadays? We had one bike for SIX kids....you took turns going for a ride and when we got a little bigger we got to ride on Mom's old bike so then we had two! I remember we had a big box of Lincoln logs which we loved to build with. Sometimes you had to use a lot of little ones to build your walls so your brother would have enough long ones to make his house too....again, we shared. One Christmas Dad build us a big toy barn and lots of little farm buildings. There was a open shed, a chicken house, pig barn and even a little outhouse just like our big one. We would set up the farm just like ours and play for hours, and we rarely fought over who got what.

I think I was very fortunate in that my parents encouraged my brothers to play with me too. Of course, I was always up for playing their games but they would also play house with me and even dress up in girl's clothes so we could have a family. (Hal always made such a cute daughter!)
Sometimes we had a doll for the baby, but often as not we dressed the cats in doll clothes and pushed them around in the buggy. It was always a wild race when the cats tired of the game and ran off dressed in their finery....then we had to chase them down to get the clothes off.

Another thing I remember growing up was mean livestock. Before we had Angus cattle we ran Herefords. And, I remember we had some very mean bulls. You could not be in the barnyard when they came through or they would take after you. Mom had always told us to stay away from them but of course we thought we were pretty brave. One time I stood just watching them come by when one of them noticed me and began pawing and snorting and moving in my direction. I was chicken and went flying to the house as fast as I could go. I ran into the yard, and slammed the gate. As I ran along the inside of the fence that old bull just slammed that fence and pickets went flying. Needless to say, I very quickly went into the house where I was safe. I never told anyone that I was the cause of that old bull breaking the fence, but I sure learned that a picket fence is no match for an angry bull!

I also remember mean pigs, especially sows with piglets. You do NOT want to get into a pen with a mean sow as she will eat you! No lie! Once my brother Howie fell into a pen with a sow. He has the scars to this day. He could have been killed if my parents had not been close by to rescue him.

Horses can be ornery too. We had one who liked to dump us off all the time. His name was "Tagger". I think it was actually Tiger but us kids called him Tagger. We always rode bareback and he could twitch his back in such a way that his hide moved and you would fall off every time if you didn't have a hold on his mane. He loved to dump you off, then he would put his head down so you could crawl up his neck to get back on...only to dump you off again if you weren't paying attention. It was like a game to him but it sure made you mad if you were the one getting dumped! He was a pretty big horse and it was a long way down.

Another horse we had was named "Dolly". She was really a kids' horse - gentle as the day is long. She loved little kids and would walk so slowly so they wouldn't fall off. But if you were older she liked to bite you. She never bit hard, but if you were bent over she liked to nip you in the behind. Sometime you might feel her breath and turn around just before she got her nip in. She would close her eyes and look totally innocent until you turned around again, then she might just nip you anyway. She didn't do it all the time, just when she was in a "playful" mood, so it would be quite a surprise when all of a sudden you got a bite on the butt!

When I was little I was afraid of the chickens. It was my job to gather the eggs and the chickens must have known I was scared because they always chased me. Even though he was younger I got Ronnie to go with me. He would wave his arms and yell to scare off the biddy hens and the rooster so I could gather the eggs without getting pecked. If you were alone some of them would sneak up on you while your back was turned and attack you. It was was not fun, and it HURT too!

Ronnie was always good to go with me to take out the trash if it was after dark too. (I seemed to sucker him into helping me a lot!) We had coyotes around and they would howl something fierce. It was quite a ways to the "ditch" where we dumped our trash for burning and at night it was very dark. Often there were coyotes just across the gully from the trash dump and they were so scary to us little kids. We would carry the trash together, one on each side of the can...almost like holding hands for security. Then we would dump it quick and RUN! as fast as our legs could carry us back to the house. Taking out the trash at night was not for the faint of heart. We learned young that there was always safety in numbers.

Mother's Day

I had a good Mother's Day. At church after the services, we had a soup and salad luncheon provided by the men. We sat with Bethany's family and had fun with the grandkids.

Dan and Melissa gave me a lovely book of daily devotional readings for Mothers. Bethany gave me a box frame and a lovely vintage doorplate which I had been wanting for the cover of an art journal. Beckie is gifting me when I get to her home this coming weekend, and Sieg gave me what I wanted ... money for my trip to Colorado next week plus he took me for a lovely drive up to Yellowstone Park after church on Sunday. When we got home I found this beautiful arrangement of flowers on my table from Letha's family. Gee, I am feeling pretty spoiled.

A Mother's Day Story - Adventures with Autumn

Our four year old granddaughter Autumn has always been small for her age and seemed younger than she actually is, probably due to being a preemie. But this year she has just blossomed and just about every time she opens her mouth she makes me smile.

A couple of weeks ago I was tending her and she very seriously said, "Gramma, do you have any tulips?" I said that I didn't. "Gramma, do you have ANY flowers?" Again I answered that I did not and that it was too early for flowers yet as it is too cold outside. Then she said, "But, Gramma, I really NEED to pick some flowers for my mommy for Mother's Day." (They had been discussing it at Preschool I guess.)

I had been hoping the weather would warm up and we might have lilacs or the May tree might be blooming by now, but of course not. The weather has been unseasonably cold with lows in the 20's and highs only in the 40's for most of the last two weeks. Thus no flowers to pick at Gramma's house.

So on Friday, Autumn and I went to Walmart to look at flowers. We had to check out EVERYTHING...all the cut flowers, all the bedding plants, all the flowering plants for Mother's Day. Such a hard decision for a little one to make. Finally after traipsing from the garden department through the whole store and back twice, she settled on a miniature rose bush in bloom. Then as we were going to the register she says, "I think I should go look at the flowers in the garden again."
"Did you change your mind?"
"No, I think I should get TWO!"

Well, I nipped that in the bud. lol (My budget could only handle one.) So we get the rose, pay for it, and head to the car.
"Gramma, did you know I gave Mommy some flowers this day?"
"No. Did Pa help you buy them?"
"No! I grew them at school. They are on the kitchen window 'cuz there is sun there. Flowers need sun."

We get in the car, buckle up and start for home.
"Gramma? When is Mother's Day anyway?"
"It is the day after tomorrow."

A pause, a sigh and then she says, "WELL! Those flowers better get to growin'!"

The rest of the story
Today when I told Bethany about this conversation, she informed me that the "flowers" are marigolds in two tiny Dixie cups. One has two tiny leaves and the other is just a shoot with the seed still stuck on the top! I think Autumn was right. "Those flowers better get to growin'!"

In Memorium

My wonderful youngest brother passed away unexpectedly yesterday morning from a massive coronary event. Ronnie was one of the sweetest, kindest people you could ever know. Mom used to say "He is one of those people who would give you the shirt off his back" and that was so true. Ronnie was always one of the best since he was just the smallest little kid. Always happy, always smiling and always a friend to everyone he knew. As far as I know he never had an enemy. If you were you wouldn't be for long as he would soon make you his friend.
Since Mom's passing six years ago, Ronnie has been so good to Dad. Living right there in town he has checked on Dad every day and done for him the things that those of us who live far away can't - just by being there, lending an ear, or a helping hand, or just taking a few minutes to play a game of rummy. I know this has meant all the world to Dad, and it has to me too. Thank you Ronnie for being a loving brother and a caring son.

Ron was a wonderful husband and father as well. His family were all-important to him. Rarely did you see him without one or more grandchildren along. They loved being with him and he with them. When his children or grandchildren did something praiseworthy you could just see his whole being light up. They were blessed to have him in their lives.
As children all of us six were close but Ronnie was one who would be happy to play "your" game, let you go first, share a treat, whatever he could do so everyone would have fun. We had so much fun as kids running around the ranch playing "cops and robbers", "cowboys and Indians", or other such games as we roamed the hillsides around the home place. Often we played hide and seek (sometimes that would take hours as we never wanted to come in). One time we never could find Ronnie. He was about 5 at the time. After a while we became worried and told Mom he wouldn't come in even though we yelled that he could come in "free". Mom was worried sick. She always feared that one of us would fall in the big dam and drown. So the search was on.

Car horns were honked (that was always the signal that you were to come to the house RIGHT NOW!), all the kids, parents and ranch hands were enlisted to search. The search went on for a couple of hours to no avail. We were all frantic by then. As it got toward evening and the day cooled off we finally heard him yelling and crying. He had crawled into the grain bin of the combine to hide and had fallen asleep on the warm grain. But when it got cooler he woke up and realized that he could not get out. After a good chastening for playing around machinery, there were certainly a lot of hugs and kisses given by all, and most especially by our mother. Our baby brother was safely home.

Our hearts are heavy now. Our sweet little brother is gone from us. We will miss him all our days, but I am sure he is being hugged and kissed by our dear mother as she welcomes him safely home once again. Ronnie we love you, we will miss you, you will be in our hearts always.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Thesa, the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Ronnie will be greatly missed by all whose lives he touched.

The Obituary:

James Ronald Ireland

• age 59 of Kadoka, South Dakota , died April 24, 2010, at the Hans P. Peterson Memorial Hospital in Philip.

James Ronald Ireland was born November 9, 1950, at the old Kadoka Hospital, the son of F.H. “Shorty” and Betty N. (Mansfield) Ireland. He grew up on a ranch southwest of Belvidere, attending grade school at the Buffalo School and grades 7-12 at Kadoka, graduating from Kadoka High School in 1969. 4-H was a big part of his growing up years. After graduation, he attended one year of college at Black Hills State.

Ron married his high school sweetheart, Thesa Wolfe, on June 10, 1970, in Kadoka, and to this union were born four children, Holly, Naomi, Callie, and Terry. The couple worked on ranches in the badlands, Mission, Robbs Flatt, and Valentine, Nebraska, before returning to ranch in the badlands, raising quality Angus cattle and Quarter horses.

Ron was a lifetime member of the American Quarter Horse Association, and American Angus Association, a Mason for 33 years, a member of the Easter Star for 32 years, and also belonged to the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, Jackson County Bootstraps, R-Calf, Lions Club, and the Kadoka Presbyterian Church.

Ronnie was a longtime participant and supporter of high school rodeo, competing as a rough-stock rider at the National Finals High School Rodeo in 1969. Later, he was a clown and bullfighter for local high school rodeos. He boxed Golden Gloves for 4 years in his teens, placing regionally.

He was well-known in eight states as an experienced freeze brander and AI man, and always ready to give the neighbors a helping hand. Ronnie loved trail riding and along with his family, has hosted riders in the badlands for 20 years, entertaining riders from almost every state in the union.

He will be sorely missed by all and is survived by his wife Thesa Ireland of Kadoka; three daughters Holly Clements of Murdo, Naomi Dobson and her husband Matthew of Sioux Falls, and Callie Rhead and her husband Tim of Canton, South Dakota; one son Terry Ireland and his wife Kacey of Kadoka; twelve grandchildren Henry Ireland, Earl, Christena, Audra (Harold) and Geona Clements, Dylan Westman, Tyler, Trace, and Tallon Dobson, Marcus Ireland, and Keandra and Veronica Rhead; two great-great-grandchildren Adilyn Ireland and Jason Moran; his father F.H. “Shorty” Ireland of Kadoka; four brothers Jerry Ireland and his wife Pam of Miami, Oklahoma, Howard Ireland and his wife Cathy of Belvidere, Kenny Ireland and his wife Lyndy of Philip, and Harold “Hal” Ireland and his wife Edith of Piedmont; one sister Connie Holso and her husband Sieg of Cody, Wyoming; and a host of other relatives and friends.

Ron was preceded in death by his mother Betty Nell Ireland on May 31, 2004.

Visitation will be held 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 28, at the Kadoka City Auditorium, and one hour preceding the services on Thursday.

Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m. Thursday, April 29, at the Kadoka City Auditorium, with Pastor Gary McCubbin and Pastor Gus Craven officiating.

Interment, with Masonic Rites, will be at the Kadoka Cemetery.
A memorial is established.

God is NOT dead, neither has He ceased to do miracles.

"Praise God from who all blessings flow.

Praise Him all creatures here below."

(The following is an excerpt from an article in Meridian Magazine today. It is just too good not to share. Please go to the link above to read the whole story including excerpts from Sara's blog entries made while keeping vigil over her child and not knowing what the outcome might be. It is well worth the reading.)

Six weeks ago, 17-month old Bronson Staker was pronounced dead in a Utah hospital. He had drowned, when his mother Sara Staker was distracted briefly and left the room to attend to something, and returned to a nightmare--finding him face up and limp in the bathtub.

“It was horrible. It was the most helpless feeling I’ve ever had in my life,” Sara told TODAY’s Lester Holt Friday in New York. “There was no question in my mind that he was gone. He was white, his lips were blue. His eyes were rolled back.”

He had neither pulse nor breath. She tried CPR on him while she waited for the EMS team, but she couldn’t revive him—and then on the frantic ride to the hospital—neither could they.

At the hospital, Bronson was pronounced DOA—dead on arrival.

Yet last week, a completely normal and healthy Bronson played and chattered on his father Matthew’s lap as the couple was interviewed on national television for the Today show.

The reporters had to call it what it was—a miracle. (See a video clip of the story here)

Here is the video the Stakers made to document Bronson’s Miracle:

Catching Up....a bit

It has been so long since I have put up any new art here...life just gets in the way sometimes it seems. I have been working on some things since last I posted though and will try to eventually get what I can up; but for now I will put up the newest projects.Here we have the magnets that I made for Beckie's Four Season's Puzzle Swap on our Paper Trader's group. They were fun to do. I used artist's paste for the texture then when that was dry I watercolored them to give the swirled colors. Next I coated them with crystal lacquer and added the charms and micro-beads to the wet lacquer so they would be embedded. Add a beaded charm and they turned out pretty cute, I think. lol

Next we have my Gothic Arches for the Renaissance Women Swap I hosted on Paper Traders. It was a six for six swap but Beckie, Letha and I often try to do one for each other as well when we all participate and swap amongst ourselves too so I made extras for them and myself as well.

I used my new Silhouette Digital Cutter Machine to cut the arch overlay (which I designed myself!) . That worked great and so much nicer than trying to cut them with an X-acto knife! The arches were cut from heavy watercolor paper, then layered with a textured paper on which I used charcoal to create the shadowing effect (which does not show up very well in the scans but looks great in real life). The images are all from artwork by Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli which I cut by hand and layered on the arches. Then I layered on the scroll labels and arch overlays. Finally I added crystal jewels to them to give sparkle and shine. (Thanks Laurie for the blue jewels!) I didn't scan the backs but they too are finished with a picture of Botticelli and a brief story about him and his art, done in the same style as the fronts.These are the charms that I made to go with my pages. I actually made two more but forgot to scan them before giving them away. They were fun to do.

One World One Heart

I did not do a giveaway in the One World One Heart event this year. I really had intended to and had an artpiece to give but I wanted to mat and frame it, and I was ill and just couldn't get it done. I was only able to visit less than 100 of the more than a thousand blogs that participated so was so surprised to have won something....but I DID! I won the lovely Vintage Ephemeral Package from Laurie at Indulge Your Shelf.The pictures are from Laurie's blog and don't show all the wonderful goodies that were in the package but give you a good idea. I love "old stuff" so this was a wonderful prize for me....And it came at the perfect time as I was working on my Gothic Arches and was able to use the blue crystal jewels on them, and inspired me to get out some other colored jewels that I had been "saving" and use them too. That was just what I needed to give them sparkle and life. THANK YOU, LAURIE!

Lorri's Awesome Art

My friend Lorri has been creating some awesome art this week. A great way to work through life's difficulties...with such dramatic results. And, she is giving some of these lovely things away so check it out at her Blog