Healing Prayers . . . .

Please send up healing prayers today for my dear friend, and I'm sure many of yours dear friend also, Kelly. Today is the day that she has a mastectomy. My heart goes out to her. She is a strong girl, and I know that she will fair well and overcome this nasty turn in the journey of her life.

In honor of Kelly, we should all go smash a few eggs!

see her blog : http://soulhumming.typepad.com/soul_humming/2007/02/bluebird_horse_.html

Love ya Kelly!

Alphabet Altered Book Round Robin

I started out with a novel that I tore pages out of for this round robin. Then I found another book, started preparing that in place of the first book. Then I decided that I need to use my coil binding machine I had to have but hadn't used yet. This is the end result. A spiral bound journal made with watercolor paper!

The cover is the first photo. I used ink to make the blue background, sponging on the ink and then wiping with a baby wipe to spread the ink out. Then I stamped the alphabet using some stamps from Ma Vinci's http://reliquary.cyberstampers.com/ Then I used a 4 inch stencil for the AB then finished off with small stencils and white ink.

This second picture is of my sign-in page. I have had this image on my work table for a long time I thought that perhaps
it was a great time to use it! G is for Group! Perfect, a group of artist working in a book together. Can't beat that!

The third image is my X page. I had made this tag some time ago, using bits and pieces off my work table. The metal X stencil had ended up on this tag because I was too lazy to put it away at the time. I was particularly fond of this tag, and so glad to find a use for it. Don't really know, what should the X stand for . . . hhhhmmmm, perhaps "X Was His Mark"? Yes, that will work. That is probably better than eXposure that has been fluttering around in my brain!

There is a blog specifically for this ABC round robin http://abcrr.blogspot.com/

come check it out!

Jewelry . . .

Ages ago on a day that was going very badly for me, I got a call from Michelle FloresManaging Editor,Belle Armoire Jewelry. She informed me that they would love to publish some pieces I had sent to them for the First Edition of this magazine. Well talk about turning a day around! It was very exciting and unexpected. I knew the call for art for the first edition but didn't know about a possible second addition!!! Anyway, this is going to be out on the stands March 1st!! I can't wait to see what they published of mine!!! All of them, one of them, some of them???? Time will tell!

al*pha*bet*i*ca

Alphabetica: An A-Z Creative Guide for Collage and Book Artist by Lynne Perrella is one of my favorite books in my small but building reference library.

I am also psyched up because I am going to be in an Altered Book RR with the alphabet . . . an the hostess Carole was inspired to have the RR because of this book! Woohoo! I was thrilled to see the post calling for players and jumped right on the chance.

Now I need to get moving and get my book started for it's ABC journey!

Keep ya all posted!

Book Cover Collage

This is one of my weekend projects. I took the cover from a book I had torn the pages all out of and created this collage. Kind of a work in progress I think. I was distressing the vintage ledger papers with Tim Holtz distressing inks and had this idea to spritz with water . . . good for the distressing inks, bad for the ledger entries! Ah well, makes a pretty blue! The checks are from my Grandfathers business. My friend saved them from the basement when she bought the original building the business was in.

I have a very great little French laundry doll hanger I had thought to hang this with, but then I also need to ready a book for a RR . . . . hmmm, what to do what to do!!!!

day 54

I am now on day 54 without a smoke. Well around that, actually a few more days, but I couldn't remember my exact quit date, just that it was around Thanksgiving, so I picked the following Monday, November 27, 2006 as being the date.

I think when I hit my year anniversary I shall go and have the dentist whiten my teeth as a present to myself. They actually look better, but why not pamper myself more!

Esscences of Life

This is an Altered Journal page I did for my artist friend Michelle Dressler. We are doing an altered book rr with other wonderful artist through the "Altered Pages" yahoo group. Her theme is "Embrace Life". This is one of my favorite pieces of art I have created. Not real happy with the letter I put in because of the lines running through it. Don't know what the heck I was thinking when I did that . . . other than I knew it needed something in that corner!

Funky Fiber Fun

Well I finally did some art. I worked on a page for a round robin andit happens to be in Kimberly Moore's book. Kim wanted bright colors.I of course had a hard time finding some in my stash, as I leantowards the other side of the scale. But as luck would have it, myfriend Kathleen had just sent home a deco from deco world, which I hadpretty much forgotten about even. Anyway, with the deco she sent mesome wickedly kewl Funky Fibers. The colors were exactly what Kimwanted in her book. I was able to find in my stash some Basic Grey'sthat would go with it, and in my stash of Artchix Images, the littlegirl.

I am so proud of myself for actually using the beautiful fibers andnot hoarding them. Normally I would just sit with them down in my undergound cavern by the pool of water stroking them andsaying . . . "precious, my precious" . . .