Blue Midnight

I painted this in my watercolor group tonight.

Postcard from Darlene!

I received this fabulous postcard from Darlene.

This is the last card from the Kindred Spirits Postcard Exchange.

I was the lucky recipient of cards for the month of July!

Postcard for Les

I sent this postcard to Lesley Dupont of Harmony Lane.  The fan is made from a CD cut in half, embossed and painted.

Kindred Spirits Postcard Swap - September

I made this postcard for Alexa Noble who is the
September recipient of postcards for the
Kindred Spirits Postcard Exchange.

Cover Necklace

This is my version of the necklace on the cover of Beadwork's October/November issue.

I made my version using 7 briolettes instead of the nine used in the original pattern.

I received a postcard - and more - from Les!

First she sent me this catly postcard.  She knows what I love!  Don't you love all of the little touches she added to this?

She also sent me this ATC card.  It doesn't photograph nearly as beautiful as it looks in person.  The colors and rich and beautiful and she used a stained glass technique to create it.  Stained glass is something I love!

Thanks so much, Les!  Love both of the cards!

The need to bead

I can't believe this year is the 25th anniversary of the film, Top Gun!  The line from that film that sticks with me is, "I feel the need...the need for speed."

After spending day after day packing and trying to make decisions what to keep and what to pitch, my brain went into overdrive and I needed to take a break.  Then the October/November issue of Beadwork magazine arrived, and I FELT THE NEED TO BEAD!

I fell in love with the necklace on the cover.  But unfortunately, I didn't have all of the necessary beads to make it; so I did some practice working on the necklace strands and came up with this:

You'll have to click on the image to enlarge it and see the detail to see what's going on here.  The strands were made with the new tila beads that are so popular at the moment.  This necklace lies nice and flat on the neck.

Now I'm eager to make the original necklace; so I guess it's back to packing until I need another break.

Lillian

Lillian

I painted this tonight in my paint group.

I received a postcard from Jen!

I received this gorgeous postcard from Jen of Altered Spirits.  Her blog is brand new!  Do yourself a favor and check it out.  She has a lovely style! Thank you so much, Jen! I absolutely love this postcard.

Monthly Themed ATC - July - Mermaids

Underwater Playdate

This card was made on heavyweight watercolor paper.  The background is watercolor, as are some of the little fishies.  The card is covered with a layer of Distress Crackle Paint (Picket Fence), which gives it a really pretty underwater look! (Double-click on the picture to get a larger look at the Crackle effect.)

Kindred Spirits Postcard Exchange - August

For Christine

Received gorgeous earrings from Amy!

I received these gorgeous earrings from Amy Severino of Amybeads.

Thank you so much, Amy!  I will treasure these blue beauties!

Received a postcard from Anne!

Received this really cute postcard from Anne.  It has been so much fun to be the recipient of so many gorgeous postcards!  From here on, I will post pics of cards I have made for others in this exchange.

Tee's Mystery Exchange

Here's what I received from Julie

For Tee's mystery exchange, we were paired up. Each partner sent the other various items challenging them to make something with them using most of the items.  Here's what I made.

Working with masking fluid



Dragonflies

This painting was 3/4 masking and 1/4 painting!  I worked with a fountain pen tip, dipping it into pebeo drawing gum.  This is the best masking fluid I've found!

Summer of Color - Wrap Up

I decided to line up all of my creations for Summer of Color in one blog post.  I know we all have a lot of blogs to review for this last week, so I wanted to make it as quick as possible to scan through my creations one more time.  Please come back again, should you have more time!  This was a wonderful challenge!

B L U E

G R E E N

P I N K

B R O W N

Y E L L O W

R E D

P U R P L E

O R A N G E

Received a postcard from Chriss!

I received this gorgeous card today.  Isn't it completely lovely? Chriss: I adore this card! Thank you so much!

Received a postcard from Alexa!

I received this wonderful postcard from Alexa of the Kindred Spirits Postcard Exchange.  It is really a wonderful card!  She used many techniques to come up with this beautiful piece of artwork.  Alexa, I love it! I will really treasure this fabulous card!

Summer of Color - Orange

Here are my experiments in orange:

Orange Leaves

Orange Leaves 2

Oranges

Kindred Spirits Postcard Exchange

I have received these fantastic things from Patricia!  Oh, Patricia, I really do love everything you sent!  Such wonderful treasures! Thank you so much!

Soartful Challenge - Gloria Swanson

Here I go, poking fun again.  But I really did like Gloria.  She was the very definition of a movie star.  In the early 70's, I saw her when she visited a department store for a personal appearance.  I walked 10 blocks in the rain on my lunch hour to get a glimpse of this living legend.  I knew she was quite old at the time and was really curious how she would look.  But clever Gloria!  She wore a large black hat with a brim that scooped over her forehead.  I never really did get a good look at her face, and I don't think anyone else did either.  She was very adept at keeping our attention away from her face, and toward what she was saying!  I, too, love her in Sunset Boulevard. 

Away for a while - My Dad Has Passed Away

I am headed back to Kentucky Monday morning.  My Dad  passed away last night.  I don't know how long I will be gone.  Best guess is a week; but I really don't know.  I may have access to Internet from time to time, but since I'm away from home, I won't be able to create anything, and my blog will probably be pretty quiet.

When I return, I will begin packing in order to ship all of my furnishings back to Kentucky before moving back there.  The realtor says the house will show better empty and this way, I can come back sooner and start my job hunt in earnest.  So again, my creative ventures may suffer.

Please stick with me and know that when I am moved and back in action, I will return to creating and posting things as always.  I will fulfill all swap commitment.

Thanks, everyone, for understanding. This is a difficult time for me.

Summer of Color - Purple

Purple Tulip

Callaway Iris


I used this photo I took at Callaway Gardens
as my inspiration for the Iris painting.

And another iris

Dad's Tree - through the seasons

Dad's Tree

Violets