Roses in the Desert

I always buy cut flowers when I come to Phoenix - pink roses this trip.

I am trying out a link to my Instagram.

http://instagr.am/p/K8YboiBxZU/

Hmmm a link but probably not a pic - i need to figure out this new fangled technology ;)

Sarah and her Christmas card

Last Christmas I gave my friend Linda one of my handmade Christmas cards and her cat Sarah adopted it. Linda would come home and find her with the card and she would pick the card up and put it away somewhere "safe". But Sarah always found it and made it her own - it was finally destroyed at the end of January. When Linda told me the card story and how much Sarah liked her card - I gave her another one that I had extra. Here it is the end of May and Sarah has almost destroyed her 2nd card. Too darn cute!!

The card was made with alcohol inks and glossy cards with poster paint pen drawings and lettering. I guess they were a big hit.....with a cat named Sarah!

The ship wocked and wocked

When we were in Cayman in January we went on a charter fishing trip which included a stop at Stingray City. My husband Clayton was excited to share this experience with our family since he had been on the same trip last spring during a business trip and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I am not a fan of boats or the water but knew I would enjoy the stingrays- we've been several times and it's always a thrilling experience!

Oh boy was I ill. I asked Elle to take my pic so I could journal about it ;). Here I am 5 months later and I've actually completed the page - the background has been painted for almost 5 months - I got the idea while on the boat to have this crazy background withh all the colours of the ocean I was seeing that day. Heh. So I procrastinate- what else is new?!

Trying again with the Blogger app and pics from my phone- one of these times I will figure out how to orient my phone the way Blogger wants me to.

*rolls eyes*

Have a great Monday!!

It is hot in the desert!

Carol and I are in Phoenix enjoying the heat! We've had a lovely lazy day - floating in the pool - Mimosas - some shopping - a delicious pasta dinner at home and some art too!!

An entry in my Embrace Imperfection journal. Fun stuff doing some doodling over a inky Gessoed background.

Hopefully there will be plenty more arting happening this week - its always great to have an art mess on the table ;)

**edited**

Oh darn it! I thought I had it all figured out which way Blogger wanted me to orient my phone when I take and post a pic - sorry the pics are sideways.

Large Bloom Doodle

such fun working in my large Moleskine - 11.5"x8" - while either watching TV or during a quiet moment in my day - I've pretty much dedicated this one to doodles - florals so far

I thought it would be challenging to work a fantasy flower as far out on the page as comfortably possible while still retaining the shape somewhat.  I loved working on this one and I haven't put colour on it yet because I am letting it marinate for a bit - to see if it's done or if it needs some tweaking.....

this one will be challenging to colour with the big blocks in the pattern - which is why I am still thinking about maybe adding some more design into it to make it more manageable to colour evenly...

drawing these shapes, designs and patterns is so soothing to me....real therapy!!

Possessed Fingers?

oh my gosh.

seriously pissed off.

I have spent a couple of hours on a blog post documenting all my journals with links to previous posts etc.  I had been saving it frequently while typing it. 

this happens ALL the time.  I must have lazy fingers that rest on my touchpad while typing OR my fingers are possessed.  but I touched something WRONG and poof.  all my work including about 20 photos uploaded and resized.....all disappeared. 

gone.

so frustrating.....

I am going to take a bath....I will try again tomorrow.

here's something pretty to look at - I think I need it too ;)

have a good evening!!

 One of the 2 hibiscus I bought myself last week....this bush had 5 blossoms open yesterday....truly spectacular!!

 This one looks like you threw bleach on it at the edges of the blossoms....

and this is a yellow cut orchid I got from Karly and Michael for Mothers Day :)

Santa Croce Angel Journal

This is my newest journal - a real heavyweight!!  There is so much gel holding the pages together that I think I might have doubled the weight of the book with just gluing pages!  It was a Math textbook which I find totally hilarious because I do NOT do math!! Some books while I am prepping them for altering I read the pages as entertainment while ripping them out and gluing the remaining pages together.  heh.  Not with this one....I don't think I read even one math problem ;) But the twisted side of me loves that this is my journal - a sick kind of irony. 

I bought a piece of birch plywood....really thin stuff and it's so smooth and gorgeous! I tried a gel transfer on it and it worked beautifully.  This photo I transfered is a pic of an angel statue that is in the outdoor courtyard of Santa Croce Basilica in Florence, Italy.  Michaelangelos tomb is here and it's one of my fave spots in Florence. My daughter Ellen discovered this stunning angel and took pics of it.  I somehow missed her my first 3 trips there but was determined to find her this past September.  I was not disappointed she is more beautiful in real life and I just love her, her hair, her crossed wings and the clouds in the background. She was the perfect size to fit on the cover of my newest journal and I've titled it

Santa Croce Angel Journal

I started out with painting the journal with my hand carved "cinnamon bun" stamp all over in purple and then a light wash of grey over top with a final layer of silver!  This book has a subtle shine and I love it!  I am going to attach a book mark ribbon to the eyelet on the spine.  All in good time ;)

Here's a page from this journal that just plain makes me happy!!  Love the colours and the feel of it.  I love how my dress shows through on the gel transfer.  I need to journal more....it makes me happy while doing it and after as well.