Category Archives: art

May14

May Blooms and Victorian Flower Swap

Posted on Monday, May 14, 2012 by Dianne

This is the front little walking path under my very tall, messy, shedding and kind of half ugly evergreen tree. I am wishing it wasn’t there anymore to tell you the truth as it was allowed to get too big. I guess I’ll have to live with it for a while.

I still get some lovely irises coming up, but I think many aren’t blooming as they need to be separated. I’ve done it before and it’s not an easy task. I know there’s about 15 varieties hiding in that garden.

Brian dug up another round garden, which I may have mentioned and recycled some old plastic fencing. He’s not sure how sturdy it will be, but hopefully it will do it’s job of keeping critters at bay.

I really like the Victorian cards I sent off. The hostess was inspired by old seed packs, and I found some cute images on a Flickr group. I hope the people I sent these to aren’t expecting seed packets, because that wouldn’t be original.

Back to gardening… I have lots of seeds to put in soon. Of course we are expecting rain and I may be delayed. That will give me time to figure out what goes where. I want to try pumpkins and watermelon this year. I have plenty of room for them.

May5

A new collection

Posted on Saturday, May 5, 2012 by Dianne

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Right before our anniversary last month, I was in a gift shop browsing around. They happen to have a 25% off sale on Vera Bradley quilted items. I know they’ve been around a number of years, but lately I’ve been eyeing up their smaller bags as I just can’t handle a big purse anymore. Sometimes I’ll take two purses on trips, the big one with all the cosmetics, etc and the little one to use for shopping. So I saw the chartreuse, black, gray and white one and decided to get it. I love it and it’s little compartments for my phone and wallet…well I didn’t have the wallet until I found it on eBay! I also got the other ones-they all have names-I know the red one has Scarlett in there. I’m waiting on an eyeglass case for eBay.

They were a fraction of the price of the ones in the store and they were new with tags! The little one in the front has my MP3 player in it and I’ve had it a few years.

That’s my back massage chair. And they are all machine washable. I have enough right now, but I like the backpacks, but they are up there in price.

Made this ATC for a ‘feather’ challenge. I happen to have an old rip off calendar and Elizabeth Denison was intriguing to me. She had to ‘make do’ with accessories, and she used feathers! Another swap bot lady sent me the sweet little feathers as she saw on Swap-bot I was in that challenge and she was sending me a ATC also.

I got two ‘gadgets’ in the mail yesterday. First an ‘extender’ so our WiFi could get to the bedroom part of the house. It took a bit to set up as the software wouldn’t work right. I had to get my laptop to find the device and it did. I can use my iPad in the bedroom-look at movies in bed, i.e.. The second was the Magellan eXplorer device. I had to become a premium member of Geocaching.com and I think my phone app is easier to read. Plus I had to go download local caches from the website. The phone app finds them for you! I think I’ll have to try it to get use to it, but I’ll need my glasses on as the screen is a bit tiny. If my pal Carole can find around 150 with hers, I hope to find at least 10 to begin with.

And some of my gardens are shaping up nicely. So many weeds to contend with! I did a lot of work on Friday and did a bit more today, but I was very achy. I moved some ferns from the fairy garden and dug up Lily of the Valley slips. They are taking over! They bloomed so early, I didn’t get to enjoy their scent that long.

Check out this gorgeous petunia hanging basket. It has Pink Lemonade and Picasso petunias in it and is close to 3 feet wide. It was $22-around here-easily $35.

Below there is a Mt St. Helen’s Azalea which is new. Brian cut down the one hedge and I think we’ll gradually cut out the rest as they are old and are more brown than green.

I really am not going to garden on Sunday, but we will have something on the grill. I cooked last night, but couldn’t tonight.

Apr30

Some more flowery ATCs and things

Posted on Monday, April 30, 2012 by Dianne

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If you catch my blog and voted for me for my contest piece, thank you! I haven’t checked, but I think I’m in 4-5th place out of 18. I showed this piece in about 4 different places and I got about 21 votes. I said to Sean 20 would be nice and since one was my own-I got 20!

Anyway, Brian and I took a walk in the park. We tried to find the cache there that we couldn’t find about 2-3 weeks ago and now there are 2 feet weeds and poison ivy coming up. We couldn’t find it. I then saw there was a good size one near our township building and in under 10 minutes, we found it!

Right under the azalea bush there-lol

We drove near here and just couldn’t find where three were-we didn’t get out of the car for two. I am getting a little nervous about ticks now, so I’ll have to really start pinning my hair up and wearing lighter colors of clothing. I did take all that outfit off when I got home and brushed my hair well.

Here are some art pieces I made recently

My Groovy ATC

That’s me and I’m pretty sure I was hula hooping.

This was to have a Vintage theme. I made a copy of an inside cover of an old book of mine that’s about 100 years old for the background there. The oval is from an old book. The ‘creating charm’ is from a store bag that had old advertising stuff on it.

I originally made this for the trade. Can you see the Viewfinder slide and the 8 ball? Then I added a sticky flower stencil I added glitter too. Too cool.

Apr26

A few more swaps

Posted on Thursday, April 26, 2012 by Dianne

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Not the most exciting week with rain off and on. I have been doing swap pieces between things breaking. Yes, it seems that our bathroom is calling out for repairs now. We put in a new vanity many moons ago-like 25 years ago when Sean was sitting in a little baby seat. The drawers are shot from opening and closing and being overfilled. We have to get a new one. I was looking at the home center sites and found a few I liked. I then went to Pinterest and followed a link and found one, with the lovely glass bowl for a good price. It would have cost $60 to ship, so might as well take a hop, skip and jump to the Home Depot and see if they carry it in white, though I would go for the dark too.

I also need a new toilet, so we might as well get that put in at the same time. And maybe further down the road, we can get Bathfitters or the tub reglazed.

Sean is in his last few weeks of his classes this semester. His professor kind of threw them for a loop as they have a few powerpoint presentations to do. I think he is worried and may be over thinking it. Wish him luck.

Here are a few other things I just mailed off:

We were to hand drawn something and also include a ladybug

This is a ‘skinny’ and what would you do in the summer. The lady who got this likes dolls, so I added Barbie-the ‘original’ Barbie.

Hope to get some annuals soon and get working in the yard.

Apr9

Some more paper goodness

Posted on Monday, April 9, 2012 by Dianne

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I really do try and tidy up my collage stuff, and then creativity gets in the way. I start seeing paper connections and before you know it, I have the scissors and glue out again! It really is good therapy for me lately anyway.

The background for this card was made from snippets of scraps as I was sorting. I love that little girl and in my mind’s eye, I can see her skipping around in her butterfly wings.

Another little flower girl for the series.

Sadly, this is the last challenge I made for a Flickr group called ‘Art n’ Soul’. We were to take a torso and decorate it. I made like a fairy dress influenced by the unusual photos of ferns I have. I used a real fern frond too! By the way, that’s light switch is my souvenir from the Van Gogh exhibit, now in the dining room.

We had a bit of a scare this morning. We live in a ranch house and don’t have phones in the bedrooms (we do again now-we put it in the kitchen 6 yrs ago and never had a problem). Didn’t Brian’s dad get a bad nosebleed at 2 am this morning and tried to call us for several hours from 3:30 am on! We didn’t hear it ringing. After the second call, his dad should have called 911. I had several very bad nosebleeds when I was little and was told to sit quietly. He kept leaning forward as he didn’t like the blood doing down his throat. Anyway, the woman police officer finally woke us up out of our slumber at 6:30! Brian got his act together and headed to the hospital as his dad finally wised up and called 911 around 4:30 or so. The doctor may have chemically treated it (like they did me-not sure, but one of the worst pains I’ve ever had) and Brian took him home. Bri had to clean a few areas that got a little messy. I suggested he stay over a few nights a week, but he isn’t going for that, but should consider it until he gets a job. Since Sean is living here and is an adult, it may not be a bad idea. Old people living alone is not good.

Apr5

Flower Girl ATCs

Posted on Thursday, April 5, 2012 by Dianne

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I’ve been enjoying making ATCs for swap-bot.com as many of my Flickr art groups are no longer trading. I am doing a flower series, though I missed a few at the beginning of the swap. I just sent off ‘Iris’-2 different ones to 2 different people. The next one is Daffodils.
So I was thinking how girls have flower names and thought an ATC series was in order. I can think of a few more and will make them too. I have to make Iris again, since she was traded. I think they look cute. I realize I used ‘was’ instead of ‘is’ as these are ephemera and I’m looking as them as in the past.
I’m taking an antibiotic for the root canal I had on Friday. I had a bit of a sore throat yesterday morning, but am sneezing and blowing my nose a lot, so thinking the allergies are acting up. I wish we would get some good rain to clean up the air! I see where a sore throat may be from the antibiotic too.
I took my mom to the eye doctor on Tuesday as she was getting the shot in her good left eye and she said it took until the next day to clear up. We went to a diner and I had the best turkey BLT salad. I’m doing the MyFitnessPal again as I’m not happy with my weight and how I look and feel. Too much sugar! I hope to get walking more. I signed up at Walgreen’s to monitor my walking. It’s something I enjoy doing on a regular basis. Also took mom to Trader Joe’s. Love getting their goodies.

Mar22

Spring has sprung, but it’s like summer too!

Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012 by Dianne

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I’ve heard that my pals up in Canada and Michigan and getting nice 70 degree temps like we are down here in Pennsylvania! Tomorrow it will hover around 80! We haven’t had much rain lately and the ground is cracking. I had a circle of daffodils out where we planted the tomatoes and zucchinis and I guess us working the earth made them bloom ever so nicely this year. They look like this:

The forsythia are blooming and my PT looks pretty near them. Brian gave her a wash for me this week.

My friend Rachel had a little girl on the 15th of this month and I sent her a few gifts. I couldn’t believe I found an outfit that had a cross stitched bear on it! We met through cross stitching! I said I’d give her one of my passes if she wants to bring her two year old son and newborn for a walk in Longwood sometime. She lives closer to Philly, but to the north more.

Brian and I are off for our trip tomorrow afternoon. It’s about 25 miles or so, but a B&B. I have plans to see a few little towns and there is a casino not that far away. We’ll keep busy! I have to wrap up his gifts after I get off from here. I have only a few, but one was a little pricier than the others. He should like the main gift (from Sean and me). Speaking of Sean, he did Turbo Tax and got his refund in less than a week! How lucky is that? We probably won’t get a refund, but we hope to use the program also.

And to live up to my blog name, the person I sent the poppy ATC scanned it when it got to The Netherlands as I forgot:

Mar12

Crafty weekend

Posted on Monday, March 12, 2012 by Dianne

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I signed up for some more Swap-bot swaps and pulled out my papers and things to work on 3 Artist trading cards for that. Then I decided to play around with some ideas and use a few items I purchased at Tinsel Trading Company up in New York. This is a sampling of what I did and I’ll show you many of them up close:

The daylight savings had us a bit off yesterday…a 11:15 am breakfast (let’s call it brunch) and then the other meals were more on time. We had delicious Trader Joe’s organic tomato soup and Kaukauna cheese on crackers for lunch. Best ever. Also had Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken, rice and sauteed spinach, and a Blue Moon beer. ; )

More later….

Feb28

Getting around NYC

Posted on Tuesday, February 28, 2012 by Dianne

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I’ve not been vegetating here, well maybe a little. We’ve been trying to get ourselves on our regular schedule again as a few days away can mess up your system. Brian’s dad was suffering with his right leg so much, Brian took him to the ER on Monday. They said it looks like arthritis to them. He’s going to get to the point where he won’t be able to get around or drive-your right leg is important for that. I think the next few months will be very telling in what the future will be for Brian’s dad. We all have to face this I guess.
Yesterday Sean took me out for pizza and I headed across the street to Kmart to get plastic boxes. There must have been a dozen or more racks with the sign ‘$5.99′ displayed for nice things like corduroys, Jaclyn Smith items (I got a $79.99 jacket for $5.99), Sofia Vergara (Modern Family) items. I bought several pieces and tried some on that just fit too snuggly, so they are going back shortly.
We got home from New York late on Sunday, after 8:30 pm. We arrived about 2 pm on Friday, grabbed lunch at an Olive Garden and then got on the bus to the city around 4:30 pm. Repeat this, never take a bus to NYC between 4-7 pm on a Friday. A 15-20 minute ride took 1 hour and 15 minutes. There were 4 of us on this huge NJ transit bus. The one problem with that is I saw dozens of near empty buses-so that made more traffic. We were punchy when we got off the bus and found our way through the bus station. We got outside and it was raining and very crowded. Silly me thought Sean knew his way to the hotel where his GIS conference was-he didn’t. It had been almost 5 years since we were there to boot. Sean was like a deer in headlights and didn’t know where to go! A cop directed us to the Hilton in Times Square-nope, we needed the one near Rockefeller Center. So we walked a block or so out of the congestion and hailed a cab-got us to the Hilton, he signed in and then we headed across the street to the Museum of Modern art (MoMA) as it was free on Friday nights between 4-7! And it too was crowded. I love art and got to see so many masters’ work like Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso,Matisse, Gauguin, etc. Here is Monet’s Agapanthus

There are two of these large murals by Monet which took him 4-5 years to finish:

I was thrilled to see ‘Starry Nights’ by Van Gogh:

We didn’t get to see Andy Warhol’s famous Campbell soup cans or Jasper James Flag-some other time.
We then headed to the Rockefeller Center area. It was raining off and on, so we were glad to have umbrellas. Unfortunately the bottoms of our pants and shoes got very wet.
I thought this was cute of Sean near Radio City Music Hall.

We then saw this pretty area.

Prometheus lit by colorful lights

We asked the young lady guard in the concourse, under this area where we could eat and she suggested Billy’s Burgers. So we headed there where Sean enjoyed a large turkey club (yes, he blew Lent) and Brian and I had shrimp burgers, though we messed up for Lent in Olive Garden earlier.
We walked along and saw the following:

Set from Today Show

Chase Bank

Window of Christie’s Auction showing the Elizabeth Taylor auction (I think one took place already and they sold one of her Van Gogh’s)
We ended up back in Time’s Square-we walked many blocks too.

Sean would go here Saturday night

And we stopped and bought cupcakes to eat later-Sean had a toasted coconut and I had a white chocolate and Brian a Chocolate Snowball. I thank them for showing the calorie count (about 1/3 of your daily intake if you are a lady on a diet-oy).

And yes, they were yummy.
I’ll talk about the next few days in different posts.

Feb19

Doing a little swapping

Posted on Sunday, February 19, 2012 by Dianne

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Swap-bot Sunflower ATC, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

Since my regular swap groups on Flickr have slowed down, I went over to Swap-bot.com (link in side bar) and just did 3 swaps. You saw the Victorian ice skaters below. This new challenge was for 2 sunflower themed cards. I took my old flower guide book and copied the pages to ATC size and this is one of the ones I came up with. The border is a sticker.
I just signed up for a poppies ATC. I already got one of the sunflower ATCs all the way from the Netherlands for my swap (we don’t have the same people we send to). I’ll have to take a photo of it.
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Brian’s dad had to be taken to a walk-in clinic yesterday as he was having leg issues and fell down twice outside. We almost beg him to carry a phone on him but he forgets most of the time. He was able to get himself up (this was Friday) and was in discomfort the entire night. The clinic did x-rays (one of their specialties is sports related injured). The doctor saw a shadow in his hip area, so Dad C. needs to get a MRI tomorrow. They didn’t give him any pain medication and sent him home.
Last night I got a call from my step cousin that her mom (my late Uncle Don’s wife) had passed away at age 96-I think exactly two months since her birthday. She wasn’t that crazy about my family, it was all about her three daughters and their families. And she didn’t like my grandmom as mom-mom and Uncle Don were very close (only 20 yrs apart). We saw each other more when we all grew up though. Being in a nursing home extended her life I think-she was in there about 5 yrs. So of course we are wondering about Dad C and if he is going to start to have trouble getting around-he’ll be 89 in June. He lives in a 4 bedroom split and we live in a 3 bedroom ranch, so no space here. Only time will tell, but it’s going to be hard for Brian as he needs to get serious about another job.