Close up of bleeding hearts, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.
I’ve been posting about Valentine’s Day and the different related projects I’ve made lately. You just can’t help to love it when nature gives us hearts right back. I have other plants with heart shaped leaves and may have a few more to share here.
I got some neat snail mail today from my pal Zoey out of Michigan. In the pretty card she included some Burpee ‘Night and Day’ Nasturtium seeds. I went on Burpee’s site to get a photo and they didn’t have one, so I found it elsewhere:
T. majus Pale ivory-yellow contrasted with bold mahogany adds an appealing zest to any container or border. The compact, 12 inch plants are covered with a vivid flush of either color. Sure to be a favorite. Germination code: (4)
By providing adequate water and clipping seed heads, your Nasturtiums will reward you with a profusion of 2 inch blooms from July to fall’s first frost. The flowers make a lightly spicy edible garnish, too!
Well, Ms. Zoey-I ‘accept’ your challenge if you can call it that! : ) Thanks so much for the seeds and thinking of me!
Zoey said she’ll do container sowing and I’m thinking of both container and in ground sowing. Last year Zoey had gorgeous Nasturtiums and mine were ‘so so’. I had sent Zoey some Nasturtiums I found at the Longwood Gardens gift shop (from Renee’s Seeds). I want to see photos from both of us in the late summer!
Well it’s been another slow week for me. I finally went out yesterday (after a week) to do some produce and a little grocery shopping (at a Dollar General) as I just needed to just get out! I am still getting congested and I had a bit of a cough along with it. I need to get my teeth worked on in a few days. I think sinus issues that drag on are the worse! Sean had sinus issues but he is doing well. He also used the humidifier for two nights. I think I need the machine for my chest congestion.
We had a dusting of snow a few days ago and we are expecting maybe an inch tonight. It’s a boring winter and I hope it stays that way as the next month or so will be busy for us. We are going to NYC in a few weeks and then Bri and I are taking that weekend at the B&B that was postponed in November for my birthday for his birthday in March.
Turns out my cold was more than a cold. I decided to call the doctor yesterday and though I didn’t have to go in for an exam, the doctor called me in a Z-pack antibiotic as she thought it sounded like I had a sinus infection. I was a little feverish last night. One good thing, I have a good appetite, but I’m hungry all the time. I still have stuffiness, and a loose cough now. I have 4 more days for the medicine-only 1 a day.
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Here’s a design I made out of a cardboard frame a friend sent:
It’s a photo copy from an old book of mine. Thought I’d give it to my mom.
I have so many winter projects I’d like to start, but my head hurts and it’s hard to concentrate.
I don’t wish this on anyone! Stay well!
There’s a fun group on Flickr called ‘Crowabout’. You have to ask to join and I wish I participated more in the weekly challenges, but I have about 6 ‘collages’ I’ve made over the last year or so. I actually use the elements a bunch in other personal projects, but the challenge is to use at least 3-4 of them in your collage. The collage can be digital, cut out, printed, (which I prefer) and then made into an ATC or whatever.
This is the one for last week. I like how Cupid is peeking over the top of the ATC.
I’ve been busy over the weekend with little projects as I am sick with what feels like a cold now-non-stop nose blowing today. Love those Kleenex cool touch tissues. Brian tossed some spaghetti and meatballs together for dinner.
I used the girl, the border and words from a collage sheet.
Watching the Superbowl (but not ‘watching’ it like I’m really interested). Madonna is something for 53. She’s 15 months ‘older’ than me. I heard she has a young 24/25 yr old boyfriend and that disgusts me. If you are old enough to be someone’s mom, you are too old to date them. It probably won’t last. Look at Demi and Ashton.
I decided to share some books from my own personal library with you! I have 100s of books in all genres, so it may take a while to pick and chose and to review them again, so I will probably surprise you in the process.
So….yesterday was a good mail day as I got Good Mail Day by Jennie Hinchcliff and Carolee Gilligan Wheeler in the mail.
I tend to really enjoy the big books of craft or the ones like this that are more specific to certain art. I have also participated in and have received some awesome mail art. I will have to locate them to share.
My dear friend Greta from CA. has made most of these including the clever squirrel on a broomstick. : )
One from Finland
And a few more from Kelley out of CA
The authors first remarks are basically about how getting mail is a dying art. They state that no one gets mail as no one sends it anymore. It’s true isn’t it? This is one reason why I did the challenges with pals and strangers a like over the last five years as I have always loved to get mail! I can think of another friend who is the same way, correct Ms. Carole?
As a collage artist, I think this is a super fun book to browse and get ideas from. The authors share tons of ideas. They make cool rubbings from items like mail slots and find discarded business cards in a park to use. One suggestion is to make an envelope out of candy wrappers. I have a big box of ‘scraps’ and I will surely start making more art envelopes. I remember one year I did a neat fold for a Christmas newsletter, like an Origami piece. I couldn’t decorate 30+ envelopes for the Christmas cards, but I can decorate them with a few stickers. I guess you could make a master envelope cover and copy it too! (Did I tell you again how much I like having a copy machine)? : )
The authors give you templates for envelopes and some really cute postage related stickers.
And don’t forget postcards and doing some cool calligraphy or block printing (even with rubber stamp letters).
I don’t want letters to go by the boards. Letters are cool. My maternal cousin Ann is the best letter writer (thinking about her now, I need to give her a call if I can find her phone number-two years have gone by now). She wrote long handed and also would include things she cut out like intricate snowflakes, photocopied art work and handmade ornaments. A now deceased pal Sandy would write personal letters to me with her Christmas cards and most times I would send her a letter back.
Let’s all sit down and write a note to someone, maybe even use a postcard or better yet, make your own postal art!
I see that someone else took over the Photo Hunt, so I decided to play again.
The last few times that I have been to Longwood Gardens, this garden is naturally closed as it’s the wintertime. I love looking at these flat ones so much. Too bad there aren’t any big bullfrogs on these.
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I put aside Friday for arts and crafts and did this. It may or may not be finished.
I copied a dictionary page on green paper and then ran it through the printer again to get the lady in the upper right (did I say how much I love having a copy machine?) It’s the page that has the meaning of ‘fashion’ on it. I am using a plastic lid off a candy box for the frame. I was going to make a shadowbox, but it got etched when I tried to scrape off the stickers. Now I have two rectangular frames I can use!
Yesterday here, it reached almost 70! Wow!! The day before it was in the 60s. I went out on those two days and raked leaves and debris in the side yard until my left elbow ached. We usually dump the cart down the hill and my pile was so big, I stopped. I have a lot more to do. I had gone to town raking in the front yard in the middle of November. With Brian having pneumonia and Sean working and going to school now, I wanted to jump start spring cleaning. Unfortunately, my sinuses haven’t been great. I have postnasal drip and an itchy throat. I’m blaming it on the dental issues (I usually get something from that and going 5 different times, I was doomed to catch a bug). But the cold weather will calm down the weird stuff floating in the air and there I was digging into composting leaves and stuff, so that didn’t help me. I am using Claritin, the neti pot and some nasal decongestant if I can’t stand the drip. It took about 3 hours to feel better this morning. I’ve been waking up at 5 or 6 am with a tickle, worst yesterday.
Anyway…
Now the little groundhog Phil a further north in Pennsylvania had to see his shadow-6 more weeks of winter! If it stays nice, it won’t be too bad!
I don’t really watch the show ‘Glee’, but I sure have been enjoying the iPad2 app. So much so I did a ‘broadcast’ of me singing one of my favorite songs from the 80s ‘Out There On My Own’ . It was about my 7th take and I can never do it the justice the original singer Irene Cara did.
I also did ‘Imagine’, but it had some ‘pitch’ control on and I sound like a robot. You can click through my name on the link to hear that.
All I did today was put Liquid Gold on a few spots of the hardwood floors. I’m a bit out of sorts, so I did a lot of sitting and vegging. Hope with the nice weather I can go outside tomorrow!
I drive in this area several times a month and just today I told Brian that I’d love to get out and take some photos. We were on our way home with lunch, so a bit later we headed a few miles down the road. The area is a nature preserve called The White Clay Creek, a tributary of the Christiana River. We parked in front of the closed off bridge where the road was buckling. The bridge was just named to the national registry of historic places a couple of years ago.
Brian always wants to take a photo of yours truly….
(did a little free photoshopping because Flickr’s editing program called Picnik is closing in April so I had access to the premium features. Gave myself some lipstick and botox-lol)
Last summer, Sean and I stopped the car in this same area to see if we could get a photo of a white heron we spotted there. Of course the stork-like bird was skitterish and we didn’t get a shot of him. I see the Audubon Society thinks this is an important area.
A mile or less up this road is a cemetery we didn’t know about until a few years or less ago. I remember driving by here at night, (before the cemetery was fenced off) and swearing I saw the white of a grave marker and it really was one! There use to be a Black church located here 300 years ago!
I believe the Boy Scouts fenced it off and made the sign for their Eagle Scout project. You could go in and look around, but by that time we were both chilled to the bone and glad to get some hot tea and coffee when we got home.
I hope you enjoyed seeing a little part of my world.
There is a nice thrift shop that is part of the hospital where my mom goes to the doctor. Sometimes if I have more time, I’ll run in there myself. On Monday we dropped in, and I found a gorgeous tapestry jacket-it’s in greens and golds. When I wear it I’ll make a point of taking a photo. Then mom found a plaid green and blue mohair jacket. It was a 2P and she tried it on and it fit perfectly. I was happy mine was a’ L’ ! So we were pleased we found a few things we liked right away and went downstairs in the shop where I found the sweet doll in the red and white for $5. I do have some dolls around the house and haven’t bought one for years. The little girl in the plaid is by Richard Simmons and she is usually holding a gift. Both will be put away in a few weeks anyway. ‘Olivia’, my doll with the pink bow is out year ’round. She was pricey when I bought her. I always thought I’d have a daughter with green eyes and the curly hair as it runs on Brian’s side of the family. Sean has more of the Knowles family wavy hair. The doll in red is by Knowles china!
I found these cute Carnival glass butterfly dishes- salts maybe? There probably is suppose to be 4.
I haven’t taken photos in a while and here is the ‘Sweets’ tree that was on the camera but not uploaded yet:
And my Valentine art from last week:
I hope to do something more crafty over the weekend. Today I went to the dentist at 11:20 as my temp crown broke off in the back again and he decided to make a new one. When he went to smooth it, the drill made it pop off and break. So now the third one is in my mouth and it looks and feels much better. I have 11 days to wait for the permanent crowns. It’s been a crazy dental month! NYC in a month!
Collages & Creative Goodness 