I thought this came out so well for a ‘skinny’ card swap, that I am keeping it and making another one to trade. I started with the camera and some neat black, white, silver and gray paper. He looks like my nephew Pat a little when he as a baby.
Sunday, I was busy getting things ready to mail for the Flickr swaps I am in. I also wrote out a card for a little boy named Devin from ‘Make A Child Smile‘. Alex, the web mistress, is only adding a new child as they get approved, and they’ll be up for 30 days. Justine was just added Sunday.
I only had 3 stitchers interested in the thread board, so I asked Brian to pick from the letters I gave him, and he picked ‘L’-congrats Lisa! Please send me your address and I’ll mail off your prize shortly.
My recommend for the day-definitely get yourself some kind of ‘paint’ program for your computer other then what came with it. I use Paint Shop Pro 7 and Adobe Photoshop and have so much fun with them. There are free online places that don’t do as much as these, but I recommend Picnik which is an affiliate program of Flickr. A link appears above your photo on Flickr, so you edit your photos there. It has helped me with so many of my photos-mostly the exposure and color saturation.
Here is an example of my collages:
Paint shop programs really bring out your creativity-and as I say in my sidebar-use the right side of your brain.
Want to play along? Kelli over at ‘There is no place like home’ is hosting a meme. You take your first blog sentence for each month of 2008 and add a favorite photo from that month too. Be aware that most of my ‘first’ sentences have nothing to do with the photos. :O)
January-
That’s my life for the last few days.(I had been sick and so had Brian)
February-
Let’s start off February with a fun event thanks to Lisa/Oceandreamer’s 2nd time around hosting it.(One World, One Heart blog giveaways)
March-
This is my mom’s birthday last year and my youngest brother is giving her the cupcakes that I made to blow out the candles.(for a Photo Hunt)
April-
It’s 70 degrees outside!!! I’m inside and wearing a sweater though.
May-
Thanks to Scrappy Jessi for hosting this fun event.(showing our childhood toys)
June-
Like I did last night!
July-
I really did see a camel! (a place on our road had several exotic pets or boarders)
Strasberg, PA 7-30-08, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.
August-
Today I’m sharing my baby book.
September-
I can’t believe it’s September already!
October-
….the cataracts are gone! Well, that may be so for my mom in a few hours.(My mom had both her eyes done, and one got an infection, so she had to have a third operation!)
Celebrating after 28 yrs!, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.
November-
This is from the Philadelphia Flower Show 2006.(We try to go every year since I am so snap happy)
Grant Park and a new beginning!, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.
December-
I just realized that I was pretty much on the go for over a week, since my birthday on the 19th.
I’m pretty sure I posted this when I first made it, but I thought you’d like to see what children of the 1960s played with:
I should have had more Barbies, but I actually did a Barbie collage too one time.
I also finished a cross stitched ornament I started in 2005! It had ‘one over one’ that’s one little square. I had a terrible time, even with a magnifying glass on a few parts, but alas, it’s finished and I can move on. I added it to my feather tree!
The glue is still wet-you can see it. I may take it done and put it under some heavy books to get that pucker out of it.
I expect a busy day ahead as this is the first Christmas Eve that I cooked for years. I am doing a knock off of The Olive Gar*den’s Shrimp and Chicken Carbonara. Think I better start around 2 to make it! Sean will go get mom. I hope we can get her to go to midnight mass with us, it is such a wonderful service at the church we go to every Christmas Eve.
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I could mention a favorite food, etc. but I decided I’d show one of my favorite family photos that I also used for my Christmas card this year. The bigger girl is my maternal grandmom Ruth, who was cuter than this; her twin brothers William and Frank and little sister Edna. I know it was probably the 4th of July and my grandmom had just turned 8 or 9 the day before. Two of their siblings are missing-an older girl Ethel had passed away about 3 years earlier from pneumonia and little brother Albert wasn’t born yet. Ruth helped to raise me and my three brothers as my mom was a single parent. A friend who received this said it was her favorite Christmas card ever, which made my day!
I used music at the top as they were all musical, the boys later played in a band and Frank may have been in the Leo Reisman band in the soundtrack of ‘Paper Moon’. ‘Mom mom’ had a lovely voice and could play piano; I think Edna could play too.
Just a short post to let you know that my mom still has a bad infection in her right eye, which was the worst one when she had cataract surgery a few months ago. Yesterday she had to go to the eye doctor and now later this afternoon, I have to take her to a retinal specialist. I’m hoping he just puts her on antibiotics. The infection is playing havoc with her glaucoma too. We only have to go to the end of her town to the newer doctor. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she’s had a rough 3 weeks and is scared.
I worked on my Christmas cards yesterday-got them printed at the copy shop and did a little cutting and gluing on them. I’ll be sending them off in the next few days. I’ll show you how they turned out soon.
~Update~
This was a really long day of sitting and waiting. My mom saw the new eye doctor and does have to have surgery to remove the infected jelly like substance called vitreous humor fill the space between lens and retina behind her lens implant. She also needs a stitch in a tear in the corner of her cornea. He wouldn’t give us a clear answer how she got an infection there. He’ll also inject the area with antibiotics. This will probably happen next Wednesday. I’m praying she’ll be able to see out of that eye again as it’s just a blur right now.
My Aurora Borealis pin collection, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.
These are my vintage pins featuring Aurora Borealis rhinestones-which are my favorites. I found most of them on eBay over the last few years. I thought I’d show these as there may have been a Northern light phenomenon in the local area. A scientist from the Franklin Institute said that may be what has happened, but he’s going to look into it more. Here’s the story about it.
I received some lovely things in the mail too! Karin, my friend from Illinois sent the cute pampered card with the robe and slippers. She enclosed a gift card for Bath and Bodyworks inside.
Angela from NY sent a handmade card with lovely flowers. She made a miniature card to fit inside a pretty card box she made for me. She used one of the adorable flower fairies as the main design. She also sent the cute dolly that says ‘You are sew special’. Barbara from the Netherlands sent a sweet handmade scissor fob that she bought from Deborah Thorpe of Midsummer Night Designs (I think etsy.com)which she turned from a necklace to a fob. It has a sweet sampler on it. Donna, a flickr pal sent me an altered tin featuring a baby in a nest. Donna used vintage jewelry in her art, so that ties in with showing you my pins. : ) Thanks ladies, I love them all!
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I went to the dentist and got the filling replaced that was just replaced at the end of August-no charge-he even said he could have done a better job on it. It looks a ton better too. Also went and did most of my Thanksgiving dinner shopping and plum wore myself out! I had to only pay $6 for a $23-20 pound bird! I never cooked one that big before, but we like leftovers here!
Sean will be heading home Saturday night after the last football game of the season. We aren’t crazy about him driving at night, but he’ll have a pal with him.
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November snow captured by Brian out the window this morning. We only got an inch, but my mom got 4 inches and she’s only 23 miles away.
Brian happened to look on the shelf on the bookcase above where I was looking and found Tug:
How I wish my grandmom had taken a photo of us together back in May, 1982! Now I have restored faith about tonight! Tug’s son Mark hung his dad’s World Series ring above his dad’s favorite bar (I think in Philly somewhere) today.
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I received a Blog giveaway from Sherry over at If I Could Set My Soul Free. What a great bag! It’s pretty and roomy. I’ll get a lot of use out of it. Lucky me!
Sherry has an etsy shop (see her blog) and hand makes so many pretty pieces like this!
I just added books and a quilt square kit to my etsy shop-link on right under Artilicious Divas. Also added a few things in eBay at the top under Moonlitstitcher’s Page. I need some pocket moola!
You may be hearing from me in a few hours!
I’ve been wanting to scan and group these for ages! I could find most of Sean’s Halloween costume photos except for when he was a Sorcerer (made from my graduation gown) and Inspector Gadget(I know I just saw that somewhere). Almost forgot him in his Pizza costume!
Sean was in Kindergarten in the first shot. I used a gold t-shirt of mine for his tunic and made the collar from green felt. I think the hat, etc were in a package to buy, but I added a nicer pheasant feather to the cap. The next shot is also Kindergarten (he was in a two year program). The third photo is preschool. I added the fancy feathers to the helmet. He roasted in the sweat jacket while running around and playing in the classroom. The last shot he was two and a Magician. He also had a hat with a bunny in it and a cape with a red lining.
Since Titanic was big around this time, he was a sailor. That was my grandmom’s beret that I added a band to. He is holding a little life preserver- for a cat, don’t you think? I think that’s 6th grade. The skeleton bones were the white vinyl Contact paper stuff. He’s wearing a bowler with a skeleton ribbon. It poured rain that year and the bones started to unpeel. I believe this is 2nd grade. In the next photo he is the Phantom of the Opera-5th grade. And then he was Mickey Mouse when he was 3. The shoes were mail order, but I did the pants up and added his mouse ears from Disney World to a black knit hat. He was even in a parade in my hometown that year.
One year old Sean and pal:
Sean at 9 as a Pizza! I made this from scratch. I was hoping my niece would wear it, but she has her heart on being a hippie. The box is from Piz*za Hut and I added lights to it. It looked neat in the dark.
Welcome to an Autumnal gathering hosted by Artsymama!
(Enjoy the links I added too)
No need to ring or knock, I’m expecting you!!
Isn’t this a silly tin bucket?
The coleus is just starting to fade and wither, but looks pretty on the step next to the faux pumpkin. I love to carve pumpkins, but haven’t done one in years. Maybe I will this year!
If you look through my front bay window, you’ll see a tower of pumpkins and Casper the Friendly ghost!
I have an antique hutch with some cute figurines on it to the right of the front door. The one holding the pumpkin cookie cutter is an Annalee.
I wrapped some leaves around my Nancy Noel painting to give it a special look for the season.
I saw this sign at Michael’s and had to get it since I live on the west end of my road-the ‘Wicked Witch of the West’
I have this sign on the other side of the bay window
Under the Treats sign sits a Scarecrow I made 14 yrs ago and little Valentino the Webkinz frog dressed in a Boo Sweater
This is actually a demitasse cup holder, but I added faux pumpkins and coppery ribbon I found at the Dollar Store
This is the fireplace mantel. I have three mosaic urns on display for autumn, two on the mantel.
I cross stitched the middle of this wreath back in 2001
I saw this idea in Michael’s so I added some glitter to a faux white pumpkin
I’ve had this little Anne Geddes pumpkin baby for years. My son was born a week before Halloween, so I keep this on display all year long. That’s Sean in the background. My mom gave me the glass pumpkin.
I purchased this awesome Halloween Book from Tootie over at Honey Girl Studios (the link is to her site All Hallow’s Eve). and love it with my orange and black glass mushrooms. I have a small collection of mushrooms since I live near ‘The Mushroom Capital of the World’
This a Halloween tree on table next to my special book. I have many Art Trading Cards that I made stuck in its branches. The tags are by Tootie.
Here’s what it looks like lit up showcasing a tag I bought from Tootie (from a set)
I have a small collection of owls. I know I have an owl cookie jar somewhere too! I cross stitched the box lid.
Casper looks spooky and cute all lit up!
Here’s my bay window. I have glass pumpkins that I added orange lights to. I have a few crystal pieces that made the window glow.
A little trick or treater in my Halloween tree
More orange glow
Thanks for visiting. Happy Autumn and Happy Halloween!
The End
Collages & Creative Goodness 