Proof that the sun still exists....

...or at least it did when we were in California for Christmas. :) Too tired tonight to do much that is artsy (shocked? I know. But I am dedicating tomorrow afternoon to a few new projects....), so instead, pictures of a warmer place, and brighter colors.

Random, gorgeous red flowers at the top of a HUGE hill we climbed up from the beach. The exact color pallet of my kitchen. :)
The Pacific.
Me, after splashing in the waves like a four year old (which is pretty much all I did that day....)

If that dumb groundhog saw his shadow a few weeks back, how much longer still spring?

Under the Tuscan Sun

I love this movie. As we watched it this weekend, and I reveled in all the outdoor shots of sunshine (will the sun ever come back to Indiana?), I was reminded of the beautiful message of this movie: life moves on, and goodness can be re-found.

A warm, February movie: when Francis' husband leaves her, she buys a villa in Tuscany on a whim, and dedicates herself to making a home of the dilapidated house, making friends, and finding contentment along the way.

I want to live here, by the see...isn't it wonderful??

Her villa, with a basement full of bottles!

It's fixed!

Since my husband is awesome, he changed the comment settings for me! Before, you had to have a certain profile to leave a comment, but now anyone can! When you type your comment, it will have a drop down box asking you how you want to leave it. You can pick Name/URL option, and then just type you name (skip the URL part) and it will let you post! :) Sorry for the confusion!

Man in the Mirror

Okay, I'm taking a break from my bottles, because this song just hits home this week. Paul and I have been watching the artistry of Michael Jackson this week...."This is It" and his 30th anniversary concert. The man was a genius in so many fields. His concerts were an art form onto themselves! And this week seems to have been full of people refusing to take responsibility for their choices (granted, some of those people are only about three feet tall), and I've had about all I can take. I wish there was some way to instill this idea in our world...

I'm Gonna Make A Change
For Once In My Life
It's Gonna Feel Real Good,
Gonna Make A Difference
Gonna Make It Right . . .

As I Turn Up The Collar On

My Favorite Winter Coat
This Wind Is Blowin' My Mind

I See The Kids In The Street,
With Not Enough To Eat
Who Am I To Be Blind?
Pretending Not To See Their Needs

A Summer's Disregard,
A Broken Bottle Top
And A One Man's Soul
They Follow Each Other On

The Wind Ya' Know
'Cause They Got Nowhere To Go
That's Why I Want You To Know

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself, And Then Make A Change
(Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na, Na Nah)

I've Been A Victim Of

A Selfish Kind Of Love
It's Time That I Realize
That There Are Some With No Home,

Not A Nickel To Loan
Could It Be Really Me,
Pretending That They're Not Alone?

A Willow Deeply Scarred,
Somebody's Broken Heart
And A Washed-Out Dream

They Follow The Pattern Of The Wind, Ya' See
Cause They Got No Place To Be
That's Why I'm Starting With Me

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself, And Then Make A Change

You Gotta Get It Right While You Got The Time

'Cause When You Close Your Heart
Then You Close Your Mind!

Glimpses of Bottles, part one

Okay, so these were my very first attempts at turning bottles into vases. I intend to work on some more this weekend, and I'll be sure to add those pictures too!

This was a sparkling cider bottle. With a little help, I lobbed the top off with a small hammer. I used food coloring to dye the glue and "painted" the bottle blue. Then, it was just a matter of attaching the blue mesh fabric, hemp and buttons.

I think I like this one a little better. Same type of bottle, but the edges are a little sharper. I tried to sand them down, which seemed to work. It's hard to see the detail, but I textured the entire bottle with a little rosebud stamp, and modge-podged the pictures on. To give it a more finished look, I used solder-colored fabric paint to outline the paper details.

The front side. :)

So, what do you think?

Bottles, bottles, bottles

I love bottles. All colors, all sizes, and shapes. And wine bottles seem to just be classy. I had an idea to sort of revamp a wine bottle (of the cheap grocery store variety) a few weeks ago, and it didn't work out quite like I thought. I wanted more to practice on, and it just so happens that my sister's fiance works at a classy sushi place, and can get me all sorts of bottles! I came home one night to a kitchen full of them! These bottles in my fireplace (which I do think look so pretty!) are only about half of the ones he brought me. So now, I'm reworking my idea, and trying to maintain the unique integrity of these bottles, which have much prettier surfaces and labels than my cheap one.

So I think this week will be bottle week. I have a few picked out that I want to work on, and pictures of ones I have already done, and I'm eager for feedback! Here we go....

Love Poems

'Cause every Valentine's Day needs them...(Paul wrote me one while we were at the Valentine's Symphony!)

The World is Not a Pleasant Place to Be

by Nikki Giovanni

The world is not a pleasant place

to be without

someone to hold and be held by

A river would stop

its flow if only

a stream were there

to receive it

An ocean would never laugh

if clouds weren't there

to kiss her tears

The world is not

a pleasant place to be without

someone

It's de-lightful, it's de-licious, it's de-lovely....

Today, I survived three Valentine's Day parties at work...candy hearts, bouncing balls, and screaming children and all! So to celebrate, a few of my own Happy Heart's Day festivities (though a little more low key!)

One of the vases I'm working on. This one actually says, "P.S. I love you" but you can't see the other side.

Red fingernails and glitzy jewelry is a must!

The paper button valentine's I made for my special ed kids.

Cupid cookies. My momma's sugar cookie recipe with almond icing.

Bursts of color....

“And then my heart with rapture fills, and dances with the daffodils.” – William Wordsworth.

I’ve long found beauty in the ordinary; magazine pieces cut out and glued there, just so, or coffee mugs arranged in a row on my counter, or autumn leaves falling haphazardly on my windshield as I drive home from work, spattering their last bit of sunshine into my day. And I must say, childish as it sounds, those little moments, those little glimpses of beauty have always caused me to dance inside (and sometimes the dancing doesn’t stay so inside….) And I always thought I was strange, until I met Wordsworth. Who also seemed to find pure delight in the obviously ordinary.

And it was pointed out to me recently, that I’m not so alone – there are lots of people just like me. Jack-of-all-trade artists whose pursuits are not as clearly defined as some, but who nonetheless create wonderful things and bring color to the world. Dabblers in joy. And there is a whole network of these people – they blog!

These blogs have been such a burst of color for me this gray, drab winter, so I’ve decided to join them. I am going to be a blogger – and what an excellent idea! To have a place to express all that delights me, to share ideas with others, and hopefully offer at least a little inspiration, so that even if only my husband and mom read this, I’ll have enjoyed my experience here. :)

And what better time to start than the week of Valentine’s? When the rest of the world appears to be smitten by the same fairy dust of love and beauty that fuels me?

So to all who might join me on this journey of documenting the beauty of words, creation, art, or who are here to share crazy ideas , patterns, recipes – here we go!