Very Daring

spc....pattern

Inspired by Misty's Self Portrait this week.

My big dragon (I showed last week) is at home but I had the image here. So I did a little digital collage. I use Picture It Publishing program here at my desk.

You don't get to see my double chin, and it is very daring of me to show my baggy eyes.

You can see more here.

More later,

Sharon

Royal Mail

That's right. I received "Royal Mail" Friday. Makes me feel like a queen. Well I am the queen of tissue and my little box of Royal Mail from Chantal.

was loaded with tissue and beautiful napkins and butterflies and feathers and just wonderful beautiful inspirational paper art supplies. Just so you know, I've already glued some of it down. I always used something immediately...you know to break the spell of hoarding. Thank you Chantal so much.
 Miz Smoochie Lips sent mail art....just because. Isn't that cool. If you haven't blogged over to her place, you must. Fun. This wonderful collage card which inspires me to do some .....
and I will in just a moment... I think I could really get into this mail art....I think it will be a perfect art-at-the-desk project.

Then right on cue, Saturday during my huge celebration, I received this from my mail art swap pard...none other than, Elizabeth Bunson. Along with a few treasures, we swap table scraps. You know those bits and pieces of left over little scraps that you just can't seem to toss. Look just above the blue "wish" square. Look real close and you will see a tiny blue feather (for the wingkeeper of course) and notice that it landed on the word "wishing". Guess I was.

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More later,

Sharon

Celebration!!!

Yes, a huge Celebration today.

If only in my mind.

I remember my beautiful proud Mother.

I remember my beautiful attentive maids. I remember that I made their dresses of beautiful floral chiffon over matching taffeta.

I remember my brave father who taught me that I could do anything that I believed I could.

I remember that it was not 10:15....wonder why we didn't have that clock fixed. We had no wedding planner person.

I remember ........ going to pick up my dress that morning and as I turned on the corner of 4th and Austin Avenue wondering ...was I doing the right thing. After all, I was only 18 and 26 days.

Here we go starting the first day of the rest of our life......he is still just as handsome....

Forty-five years is a long time. Don't you think?

Dragon Gift

My friend Susan gifted me with this beautiful Dragon. She found him perfectly preserved and thought of me.



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Do you know Zorana? Well, she invited me to an art swap and
Chrysti invited her and Deb Silva at Creatively Amused started is all.

Then I invited Ro Bruhn.



It is the "Out of the Blue" Art Party.
Anyway, I'm afraid I didn't follow the rules. I have a hard time with rules when it comes to art. Well actually, I don't. It's Norah's fault. She's the one who has a hard time with rules. For one thing, we went over the date and secondly, I think it was suppose to be an ATC or 4 X 4 or postcard size.

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My swap art is 6 X 6. I did a transparency transfer of my gifted dragon on this one and on the one from the previous post, I used a transparency transfer from my garden.

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I will be sending one to Zorana and one to Ro. I will let it be a surprise who gets which. Then, when they receive it, they might wish to show you again.

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Gotta work now and besides that I just received mail art and art package. Haven't opened it yet and now I just have to go and do that.

More later,

Sharon

SOMETHING

My Garden Grows From My Heart

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Yes, here is something.

It is for someone Special!

Can I tell you about that later....like maybe on the coming weekend?

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Reporting a great time last Saturday.

Filled my She Bag to the brim with new stamps and other finds.

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Art Party tonight at my office. Our workshop gang will gather to play.

Will have something to show.....probably tomorrow.

More later,

Sharon

NOTHING

It's nothing. Really, it is the front and back of nothing.
But it is pretty cool nothing. Don't you think?

The fact is, I have nothing to show for the week. Now, you know I can't tell without showing.
I have nothing to tell either.
Just a nothing week.
Friday.
That's something.

I'm going tomorrow to the Grapevine Rubber Stamp & Paper Arts Festival.
Hey, that's something.
Look for me I will be the one carrying this big She Bag.
More later,
Sharon

JOY

I feel like I disappeared. But I didn't. We have been with out internet service at home since last Friday night. Lightening.

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Joy. Another friend from my youthful past. She now resides on this journal page instead of the little blue box.

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The little Pooh journal was received with joy. I did manage to scan the rest of it before gifting but haven't managed to load to Flicker. Soon.

I should be working now.

More later,

Sharon

A Friend

Everybody can't always be beautiful; however, A Friend is beautiful always.

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I received another birthday present yesterday from A Friend. Guess what part of it was? A hand full of hand cut stencils. They were mostly flowers (so me) but one was a bird and very unique. I went straight home and spray painted on some of my new loose journal papers. You know I'll show when it is all done. I'm not sure, but I don't think she knew I'm into stencils at the moment and...

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pulled in this (painting) direction too. If only there were more hours in a day. I found a couple extra yesterday between 10:14 pm and 12:31 am. I'll pay today but had so much fun with...a friend.

More later,

Sharon

Soup of the Day

There is so much to tell that I don't know where to begin.
Sometimes everything just all comes together.
And amazes me.

So first, I made some paper. Why? Well, I wanted to make a loose journal and did not want to use that expensive watercolor paper that I'm hoarding a little stash of.

Second, my birthday present from Susan was wrapped with this really cool paper and was big. I carefully unwrapped it. She knew and I knew I would do something with it.

Then, do you remember last fall when I ask for some of your bits and pieces of leftover wrapping paper? That inspiration didn't pan out but has been simmering ever since.



Now I have been "lurking" in the net out there on the inter here and here.
Pattie Van Dorin nor Mary Ann even knows of my presence. You just have to go and see for your self. I have been influenced, to say the least.

That brings me back to my paper project. All I did was Mod Podge two of the gift wrap papers together, gessoed, stamped with bubble wrap, stenciled, etc. and wa-la!

Wonderful Journal Paper. Then I tore it into 8 X 10 inch pages. It has a wonderful torn edge and I stamped and stencilled some more on it.

The first thing I did was use my "Ashley" stamp on a page.


Being Vintage myself, I have a little box of vintage school pictures from my very own education. I have wanted to do something forever with them. The little vintage, blue cardboard box (that greeting cards came in) was sitting right there at arms length full of my youthful past. So I did it. I grabbed one of my long lost friends out of the box and using Pattie's inspiration I grabbed a bit of wallpaper that Sandy sent me and made this journal page about my friend Margie. I now have a direction to go in with my box of youthful past.



While lurking in the net at those places that I already told you about, I was referred to this stencil tutorial.

Preparing the image to cut out is much like I did for the "Ashley" stamp.

So here is a journal page with my first cut stencil of my Melissa.
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Do you see or did I show and tell how all the back burner projects converged like soup in one big pot?
It's crazy and excites me and I am now after only cutting one stencil addicted to it ....

More later,
Sharon

Later:
Thank you Susan for the present with the pretty paper. It is on the 2nd and 3rd page above.

And thank you Judy for the beautiful gift wrap. It is on the 1st and 4th page. I have more paper that I will be using just as soon as I can stir this soup.

Our Honey Pot

That's the name of the book.
And I promise I won't show anymore of the Pooh book.
This is it.
All done....
But I keep finding little things to add...
I can't stop myself.
So, I have decided to make a little packet of all the left over bits and pieces to include with this little gift. That way, Mom and Dad can have fun adding more while they write the story of their little honey pot.




It is sure enough chunky. I filled it up but there is still lots of places for the authors of Our Honey Pot to write the story.

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Do notice the the blue board book handle sticking out. I did a tip-in with part of the little slide-out board book and it turned out so cute.

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Next week I plan to scan and photo the rest of the book and put it in a set on my Flicker. I'll let you know when that's done. But for now, I'm switching gears and about to choose my next project.

More later,
Sharon

Two Fridays

Sure feels like the second Friday for this week. It's OK, I live for Friday.
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I'm sorry but I needed to show you more Trees, Honey pots and Poohs.
**
I wanted to share how I used some of the pages of one of the books to make pockets.



And notice that the tags on the right have little snippets of left over scraps glued down.

This half page on the right has a little slotted photo frame and the page flips over to another of the same but different color.

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Some of the tags were the center punch of the frames. I just kept adding the leftovers back to the book.

Notice the little circle punched under the button on the top tag.

And here is my Trees, Honey Pot and Pooh.

Tim fishes with GP but he really doesn't want to touch.

Yesterday.

This pocket was made from a slice of the cover of one book.

And then the frame was punched out from the other part of the cover.

And then the middle that was punched out of the frame became a tag for this pocket.

Pretty cool uh?

I don't have a Friday calendar doodle this week. But I'll be back with...

More later,

Sharon

A Saga

A sage to be told...indeed.

You may remember I told you about Faerieluna and the beautiful Mothies that she makes. They are wonderful little fairies you can hold in your hand or hang on a nearby knob to look over you and bring you what fairies bring.
Now, you may not know that Faerieluna also goes by Rella....as in Cinda Rella...the legendary "glass slippered" Rella. You know, in the land of make believe and fairy god mothers and all of that.
Well, me being the Wingkeeper and she being Rella, it seems that our paths crossed out there somewhere in the land of... or rather in the net of inner.
Now, let me tell you that Rella told me that she felt we were "kindred spirits" and that she should like me to have one of her Mothies made with some of The Wingkeeper's special feathers.


Who am I to say no? Being The Wingkeeper doesn't mean that I keep them all to my self. Some of you may know that. Anyway, of course, I made up a spiffy little package and sent them out to Rella who would use them to give life and flight to one of her beautiful creations.

Rella told me that my Mothie was an Old Soul Mothie, in that she was intuitive, nesting, a gather of precious things etc.

Now, I can tell you that Old Soul is truly a sagacious fairy with magic fairy like powers and certainly a mind of her own.

Rella received the special feathers and almost immediately had Old Soul packaged and ready for her trip back to Texas.


When the expected date of arrival came and went and Old Soul was no where to be found, Rella was near panic. Then, she thought to check the tracking and sure enough got confirmation that my Old Soul had been "delivered" right last Thursday at 9 AM. But we didn't know this until Saturday. So, wait and wonder we did. Where or where is she. Me being the Wingkeeper surely felt here presence but hadn't laid eyes on her. I kept telling Rella that nothing ever happens before it is time and we were convinced that when it was time Old Soul would show.
It even occurred to Rella that she might be waiting for my special day.



Oh yes, did I tell you that my po Box is 40 and Rella actually put 400 on the package. This caused a little confusion at the PO. There is a box 400, but it is vacant and Old Soul wasn't there. I guess since the fellas at the PO had slept 4 nights since Old Soul had been "delivered", they were unable to help with the dilemma. This was all going on during the day of my birth on the 63rd year.

At precisely 4:29 pm, one minute before the PO closes for the day, I had and epiphany moment. I remembered that there was another Sharon Tomlinson right here in Marlin and called the PO to see if she still had a Box because it has been quite a long while since our business had been mixed up. The fella said, "yes, but he had checked her box that morning". Looks like he could have told me that. Well anyway, I said, "I'm going to call her and ask", and he said, "that would be a good idea". Ummmm
So, I tried a couple of time but she was out. Then last night, I tried again and yes indeed, she had the package. I ask if I could come pick it up and I did and she hadn't even opened it and said she was going to take it back to the PO because she knew that she hadn't ordered anything and knew the box # was not hers. She is a very nice person.

So, when the time was right, Old Soul arrived. She was accompanied with a few fairy treasures and she is beautiful as I knew she would be. She will hang on a knob right above my work area for now. Right there just looking over me.

The End

There is only one Old Soul and she is mine, but if you would like a bit of this magic, Rella has and Etsy and you can see more there.

More Pooh

I want to Thank You for the birthday wishes. If I ever needed them, it was for this one. It means so much to me that you take the time to come see me but more than that, you left your wishes.

So thank you, thank you. Now, would you like to come over to my place tomorrow? I've got a day off and we could have an art party. I really really mean it. But let me know cause I need to clean off the table.

just click for a closer look-see on any of the pictures

Thought you might like to see some more Pooh pages. I'm loving painting these little honey pots and trees. You may recognize the path on this bottom picture. It is cut from a piece of scrap book paper. I used it on several pages. All the little frames on the pages have the top open so a photo can be slipped in. This little altered book journal has 37 page spreads and so I'm sure I will need to show you more. All I have left is to make a few tags for the pocket and the cover. I want to paint something on the cover but I'm waiting for a light bulb moment. Of course you may or may not know that means Norah's presence.

I'll be around tomorrow.

More later,

Sharon

Nother year

Yes, indeed I have made it to another year.

This one is a tough one like none of the others.

Can I just say that this one makes me eligible to draw social security.

I received wonderful gifts today from my art friends. This little tag was on one of them. Love it.

More later,

Sharon

Up For Air

Honey Pots and Forest........"Oh bother".....I'm coming up for air and thought you might be wondering where I've been. Please tell me you have. "Think...think...think"

A very dear friend is going to be a grandmother and I was invited to a baby shower which is in a couple of weeks. Sooooooooooooo, on Tuesday, WHAM!! just like that it hit me that I should make a little journal for the brand new Mommy AND her nursery theme is Winnie the Pooh. Did you notice the name of the book that I'm altering. So perfect! Failproof Children. It was on the art desk at my office just waiting. You know what I say, "nothing ever happens before it is time".

I went immediately to the Salvation Army and found two Pooh books and then went on down to Wally's World and got a third. I'm cutting and pasting the Pooh characters from the books. I'm painting honey pots and trees on most of the pages and there are lots of places for photos and pockets and tags for journaling.

The book, Failproof Children, is of course about raising children. Each chapter as a Summary Check List with things like, "Overcome the smothering instinct" or "Never punish when angry". All very good advise and I did make sure to leave those pages readable. However, I am also including a bit of Pooh advise on most of the pages. For example, "If you want to make a song more hummy, add a few tiddely poms." Or, "Always watch where you are going, otherwise, you may step on a piece of the forest that was left out by mistake."

So, that is what I've been doing. Thanks for taking this little break with me.

More later,

Sharon