a mixed media tea party

some people like a cup of tea....i prefer a mug!

i did make a cup set of tea for our local tea party however. i liked the book paper i used for the general background and then, i used a vintage recipe (salvaged from an auction, but, just like gramma's) and dictionary words for each piece.

i like the little peaks of gold from between the paper and the definition of a teacup.

more of the recipe card on the inside, with a hint of tea.

more like sisters

while we were in the black hills, i also managed to sneak some time with my best friend. we met while i was still a student in rapid city, which at this point was a long time ago....we don't need to go into details here. :) we both have a passion for vintage items and decorating (she more than me here....), but, truly, we had decided long ago, we were separately at birth.

we aren't able to spend as much time together any more due to the distance, so when we do get together, coffee is a must while we catch up on kids, flowers, decorating, dreams, life....she had visited las vegas and come home with these so totally cute mugs. i loved them!

as we sat visiting, i noticed her little bush just off the open front porch. it had the cutest little red berries.

they have a unique spot in rapid city- having an acreage in town. she has many little spots welcoming visitors to their home.

i loved the garden gates for the backdrop of these cute black-eyed susans.

she had also planted a garden towards the back of their lot. corn, carrots, beets. i loved the colors of the fresh garden beets.

and to top it off, she has a little sluice that runs through a portion of their lot as well down by the garden. the tall grass and cattails just add to the look of their little slice of country heaven in the city.

"are you my mother?"

we were in the black hills of south dakota this past weekend to visit friends and family. while there we were sitting on the porch the dog noticed a very small little bird had hopped from the rocks onto the porch. we quickly put the dog inside and i ran for the camera. did you ever read the dr suess book, "are you my mother?"

this little bird asked the dog, "are you my mother?" the dog said, "i am not your mother. i am a dog." so the little bird went on. the little bird asked the chair, "are you my mother?" the chair just sat there. we did managed to direct this little bird back off the porch and to the row of trees to hopefully find his momma.

new collage pages in my art journal

i have to tell you a little story....see that shiny green/ gold piece with the wonderful pattern with the little pull tab? well, i was shopping and always looking for interesting napkins or kleenex, and spotted those at a checkout. i was so excited to see the pattern, and thinking that the pattern was ON the kleenex. well, let me tell you what, i opened it to use my wonderful new kleenex to discover, the pattern was ONLY on the packaging! what the heck?! so now i have loose kleenex in my studio because i have used the plastic wrap for art.

i bought the cute colored folder tabs at our little variety store that will be closing and matched it up with my tea wrapper and part of a recipe for a coffee cake. not to worry...i  didn't use my gramma's recipe card. i managed to score a vintage box of recipes at an auction, so that i when i want to use something like that for something arty, i don't have to feel bad about tearing or destroying the recipe.

this is a top view. the page on the left was a skinny page so you can see some of the other pages done previously. you can easily see my kleenex wrapper with the tab now.

i decided to break out the embossing powder- a lovely shade of green....some stamping, a paint chip, a little watercolor background, and poof!

some scraps on my counter....

this was a beginning of a landscape, that will now be something mixed media; and i thought needed the sticker through it....what are you gonna do?!

oh, here is a sneak peek at my newest "doll" for a lack of a better word. the spring is a little too long and the head was wobbly- so i had to hold it. :) and i need to find some arms.

feeling uninspired....

i had started this piece at my art class, and unfortunately have not gone back to it yet....i am feeling out of sort with my creative side. i was in my shop on sunday and couldn't hardly get anything to work. i don't know if it is the oppressive heat here in the midwest and my lack of wanting to do anything, or if my creative mojo took a summer vacation without me. i collaged first, and taped off the edges, and then, used matte medium to create the diamond shapes, and watercolor is what is providing the color so far.

junkin' at the flea market

got up early yesterday to drive to this little bitty town in SD- population 81, but, seriously trying to get their flea market going. when i go to flea markets though, i want flea market deals, and the stuff in the background here although interesting- more like antique dealer pricing...i was bumming just a bit...

however, there was an old farmer gentleman who had come late and had by far the most interesting stuff (in my eyes) with great rusty patina. check out this studebaker tail light.

loved this light...i did buy 2 items from this farmer- a vintage hood ornament (for $2 :) and some rusty large gear thing (which was totally cool- especially at $3.)

oh- i did also score these 2 way cool green glass jars. when i saw the vintage label, i think i almost hurt my arm grabbing it out of the $3 box....

and check out the texture on the jar and the perfectly rusty lid- these also were such a score. totally worth the trip to this little bitty town!! are there good flea market by you? would love to hear where the good one are!

friday's charm

i had bought stuff to make charms, and finally had a chance to play. these were a few of my first ones. i, of course, used shinky dinks, stamping, staz-on ink, and UTEE. can't wait to put them onto a bracelet!