Remember This...It Became This...

Remember this journal page?

Well, over the weekend it became this mixed media painting. I had so much fun playing with this. I have to admit the color pencils in my journal was easier than the painting was. I used so many things, acrylic paint, paper, markers, crayons, highlighters, my fingers and just played and played.
Then I did something else...
I put it up for sale in my etsy shop. Oh My Gosh, I think I'm hyperventilating! Ok, ok, enough of that.

The snow is almost gone here after our sudden snow storm Friday afternoon and night. It was still snowing some on Saturday morning too. So what is the saying, "In like a lion and out like a lamb", well we got it backwards. Our winter and spring sure have been mixed up here so far this year.

I hope all others that were facing bad weather over the weekend have fared well.

Well I'm off to watch 24. I just love Keifer Sutherland. This season has been pretty predictable, almost disappointing, but I love the show.

Have a good night,
Tess

Who Says Grass and Trees Have To Be Green?

Leftover paint ~ Not enough to save and too much to just throw away.

Remember that fish drawing I did? I'm painting something similar on canvas board with acrylic paints. I mixed a small amount of orange acrylic paint for one of the fish I'm painting and I guess it wasn't small enough. So I used it to paint a picture in my journal. What do you do with leftover paint?

Fish and Babies

My latest journal page. This is on the back of the "Home is Where Your Story Begins" page. I like how the glue and the fabric gave this piece texture. I have a really pretty scrap of cloth with a blue background and colorful fish all over it. I decided rather than gluing it to my page why not draw it out. I used color pencils. It really was fun and relaxing.

Have you ever created art in the dark or semi-dark? I have and did with this piece. Sometimes it's a fun surprise to see how it turns out under bright light. I think my purple fish must be full of little fishy eggs. :-) I like the black and yellow striped fish best.

On another subject:

If you have a baby shower to plan for you may find my newest published content on AC interesting. Just click on the titles and enjoy reading my newest articles:

Free Printable Baby Shower Invitations

Baby Shower Invitation Sayings: Words to Include on the Baby Shower Invitation

No, no new babies in my near future. I chose to claim these assignments because the looked interesting and fun.

And if you'd like to write for AC click below and join me on Associated Content:

Become a Source on Associated Content

Have a blessed day everyone. It's Friday, woo hoo!!

Tess

A Bag of Scraps, An Art Journal, A Button and Some Glue

Rainfall

It's been windy here the past few days and now it's raining. So I thought I'd leave you with a poem about:

Rainfall

With each and every rainfall,
everything is made anew.
From the tops of trees so tall,
to the grass touched by the dew.
All things are made fresh and new.
And yes, sometimes,
Even You!

Poem By Teresa Mahieu, cir. 1986

~~~

Many in my region are under thunderstorm and tornado watches.

I pray all will be safe.

Have a good evening,

Tess

Surgery Rescheduled

Greetings all,

I've just a bit of news to share about Bobbie. Her surgery to remove the heart catheter has been rescheduled. It will take place on April 6th. A scheduling problem with the doctor I, I am told she is fine with it in place but that it is not needed so is best it be removed. As she had some signs of paralysis just after the initial surgery the catheter was inserted as a precaution to prevent a blood clot from getting into her lungs or brain which would have been fatal. as it is she has regained the use of both her left leg and arm. The arm and hand are a lot weaker than the leg but she is quite mobile and thus the fear of a blood clot forming due to being sedentary is gone. It was so good to speak to the nurse myself and better fully understand this. Bobbie admitted she was worried but is relieved to know that nothing is wrong.
~~~~
It is Spring break time here as it is in many places. My granddaughter has been making new friends in her neighborhood and having sleep overs with "adopted cousins", nieces of Bobbie's best friend. I took the afternoon off from work this past Wednesday and picked her up for a play date. It was a dreary overcast day, (I love how this photo of the sun turned out)so we went to see a movie. I took her to see Race to Witch Mountain. It is the remake of Disney's Escape from Witch Mountain. If you have a chance to see it you will enjoy it. A good family movie with Dwayne Johnson and two of the cutest kids in Hollywood. I didn't recognize either of them but have a feeling we'll be seeing more of them to come. It was a fun movie and my granddaughter was amazed that she was able to sit all the way through it. (Yes, it was that good.) She usually gets up to go to the bathroom half way through a movie.

Afterwards we drove through McDonald's Drive-thru for an ice cream sundae and then to the park to sit under the shelter and eat.

We ended up leaving this park to go to Wal-mart and then stopped at another park on the way home where she decided to play a while. She was swinging and climbing and crawling aound, while grandma clicked away with her camera.

A fun afternoon and something to tell about when she returns to school on Monday. I'm sure she'll be telling everyone she saw "the Rock" fighting aliens. :)

Till next time, be well,

Tess

A pictorial view of Bobbie...

She has gone from this...
To this...

And from here...

To here...

Wearing a crown of metal...

But who is this?....
Could it be...

It's Bobbie and she's wearing a smile...

One month later the crown is gone and the sight is almost healed,

And she's growing hair.......

A long overdue update:

Bobbie is healing well and smiling more each day. Her hair is coming in nicely and she seldom wears the scarves or caps any more. (Her daughter picked this scarf out for her.) We ask for prayers once again as she is to have surgery this Friday, March 20th, to remove the heart catheter they put in just after her first surgery. We have no idea why they want it removed now just that the outpatient surgery has been scheduled and it needs to come out. We are taking this as a good thing. Bobbie is much more mobile than I think any of the doctor's expected. That's my girl, stubborn as all gets out, and never one to stay down for long....

Many Blessings to you all,

Tess

Is Life Not Like A Puzzle?

Many times the pieces of Life's Puzzle come together easily.

Sometimes fitting Life's Puzzle pieces together can be difficult.

And other times Life's Puzzle pieces are scattered far and wide....

I'm not finished yet, with my Life's Puzzle,or these ATC's.

~~~

I hope you all are having a good weekend. I am. I spent part of the afternoon with Bobbie and her family. She is doing good. I'll have photos to show soon.

Tess

Recycled Envelopes and Surprises in the Mail

I wanted to share a special surprise I created for my mom. I actually mailed it off today. We like to send each other things by snail mail now and then. Just little thinking of you reminders. Anyways, I was browsing around on the internet the other day and found this Donna Downey youtube clip with instructions to make a mini album using recycled envelopes. Since I just happened to have some bill envelopes saved and the clip looked pretty easy to follow I decided to give it a try. This is what I came up with.

I had more fun coming up with ideas to make the tags I think. At first I had stuff on just one side of the tags and then i added to the other. The black is ink. The instructions Donna gave sure looked easier than it was to use the ink. Either that or I'm just not any good at inking things. I think I will definitely do this again but without the ink next time. Maybe I'll try adding paint to the edges of the paper and envelopes. Any way I had fun with this, and recycled, and used up some themed scrapbook papers and stickers I had just laying there, calling to me. Ever have that feeling; your stash of crafting stuff is calling to you? :-)

I received a very special package in the mail recently myself. I bought a pack of postcards from Jessica of vol.25. She is a stay at home mom and an artist. I love her drawings and designs. She has a great little etsy shop too. She is running a special on post card packs this month and is including extra cards in the packs too.

The backs are blank so they could be used for other things besides postcards. I just mailed one to Finland and one to Texas through postcrossings. Isn't this just the cutest image? If you haven't seen her designs before do stop by Jessica's blog and etsy shop. She has two adorable little girls and is a wonderful artist.

I must sign off now. Frankie is needing attention again. That little cat gets into everything.

See what I mean!!

Tess

My little annies: ANNIE QUILT GIVAWAY!!

Check out this wonderful blog and her March giveaway. The quilt is just darling.

My little annies: ANNIE QUILT GIVAWAY!!

Have a great Monday,
Tess

Surprises in The Spiral Composition Book

I found this wonderful old Spiral Composition Notebook behind a bookshelf after we moved in to my husbands family home many years ago and just recently found it again. I understand now why I kept it. It contains a treasure trove of recipes and old home remedies.



The above Cake Mix insert is dated 1947. Printed on fine paper it's amazing it's lasted as well as it has. The box in the lower right hand corner of the second image is a "Double the cost of your ingredients back guarantee" and get this, offer expired July 1, 1949.

Do you remember Calumet Baking Powder with the Indian on the Can? I sure do. I knew that meant grandma was baking again. Mmm Mmm Good! This Ad is torn from a Country Gentleman Magazine and is dated March, 1952. I sure wish I had the rest of the story for the other side of the page (below).

Don't you just love the kitchen pictured here? And the colors on this page are still so vibrant. The story speaks of a couple building a new home at a cost of $14,000.00. The heading under the top photo states the kitchen has 17 outlets. I love the drop down laundry bin in the 2nd middle photo. We have a similar bin in our homes kitchen but I use it to hold paper sacks and plastic bags.

I hope you enjoyed the little trip down memory lane or peek into the past for you young'uns. Do any of you remember that term? There is actually an article on the back of a recipe that was torn from some magazine that uses the term young'uns, in print, slipped inside this wonderful little Composition book. And here I thought my grandpa made up that word!! :-)

Have a great weekend folks,

Tess

P.S. Click on the title of this post for a link to my grandmother's banana bread recipe.

A Fellow Blogger is Having a Give-away

I follow several bloggers around and find that clicking on links of other bloggers that have left comments on favorite blogs is a great way to meet new people. I did just this again today and had to share with you all the wonderful news. Tristan has 50 followers in just a few short months. Isn't that great? "Who is Tristan?" you ask. Well click on over to his wonderful blog and find out for yourself. Have fun and join in on his give-away while you are at it. Oh, and he has an etsy shop too.

Happy Tuesday,

Tess