B is for Books

This week we are studying the letter B over at Miss Jenny's

Alphabe-Thursday

I love books and I'm a big fiction reader.  

However I do have a collection of reference books that help me find and enjoy vintage items.

I have a lot of books on Pottery and Glassware

Most have been ordered from Amazon from their used books.  Reference books are usually pretty expensive but finding them used is a great way to acquire several.  Since I don't care about 'values' that might be outdated, these used books really work for me.

My latest purchases averaged about $5 each including postage...great deal!

I have collected several Shawnee miniture pottery pieces and this book has a great section on them.  I love to take my time and just look at the photos.  Helps me find pottery 'in the wild' so to speak!

Recently I've seen my McCoy pottery collection expand and so purchased these two books to help me find and train my eye for more pieces.

Don't be afraid to purchase used books!

B is also for Birthday

I have a large milestone birthday coming in about two weeks.  Can you guess my upcoming age?

I am a June baby! 

B is also for Baby and Brother

The Joy on their faces is priceless! 

Thanks Jenny for hosting another round of Alphabe Fun! 

Linda

Art Project Week 18 & 19

May brings a new theme

Touchy Feely (Texture)

Week 18

Art Challenge: Fabric

Journal Prompt: The Fabric of your Life

This is a good challenge for me.  When I think of fabric, I think of quilts.  My Mom is a quilter and had a bag of vintage flour sack fabric squares.

I mod podged these onto the page

I used my letter stamps to add

'Fabric of my Life'

it blurred some but I still like how it looks

I finished the page with a lace edge and a stencil.
I really like this page and the meaning it has for me!

Week 19
Art Prompt: Stitching
Journal Prompt: All that I'm after is a life full of laughter

I started with a pattern piece glued on the page.  I used one of my new Dylusion stencils and blue acrylic paint to get a pattern on the page

I don't sew but I found these 'stitched' butterflies and added the pink and blue to represent my Grands.  I used Mod Podge to add them to the page.  I added my version of the journal prompt.

A Life Full of Laughter, Love and Joy!
I added some hearts and added 'stitching' to them with a black fine point pen.

Thanks for joining me in this art adventure!

Linda

A is also for Ashleigh!

Today is my daughter Ashleigh's birthday!!  I am sharing a post I did about her a couple of years ago.  She is back home in Calif after her visit here for Mother's Day and she is healing well from her bike accident (see yesterday's post).  I miss her and wish her a great birthday!

 My wish to become a Mom came true in May 22, 1979 when my sweet girl Ashleigh was born!

She has always walked to the beat of her own drummer and is all the more interesting for it!

Her hair of many colors!

A very bright and curious girl she has grown into a lovely young woman!  

Ashleigh works for Google and lives in Cali now.

She is a wonderful Aunt and Sister

and a really amazing daughter and friend! 

I look forward to many more times together as we travel and enjoy our unique Mother/Daughter relationship!

Ashleigh I love you and wish you a good birthday! 

A is for AWWWWWWWWWW!

What a week I've had! 

A Great Mother's Day with my family including my daughter Ashleigh from Calif.  Who came despite a biking accident shortly before this trip.  We are so lucky she was not seriously injured when a car ran a red light and hit her on her bike as she travelled home from work.  She was checked out in the ER and by her Doctor and was able to travel. 

My Mom's blood pressure dropped very low and she ended up in the hospital for a few days.  She was admitted Mon and sent home yesterday but she is still weak and we are seeing more Dr's to determine the cause of this situation. 

So where is the AWWWWWWWWW you ask?

Miss Rosemary Scout turned one month old!!

Love that sweet mouth!

Awwwwwwwwwww (see I told you)

Adorable baby feet and toes

Happy one month baby girl!

I'm joining Alphabe-Thursday with Miss Jenny.  This is a party I participated in several years ago and decided to do another A-Z series!

Wishing you JOY,

Linda

The Greenhouse at Biltmore Estate

I shared a post about my trip to the Biltmore Estate in April and briefly mentioned the greenhouse.

The plants and flowers were beautiful and so I thought I would share a few more photos with you.

I really liked this area and the hanging pots above the bench...photo op anyone?

Beautiful orchids

Stunning colors

And simple beauty

The many shades of white

Dazzling

Spring in all it's glory

So many varieties 

 Beauty in leaves of many colors

Unusual 

Brilliant

Vibrant!

Wishing you JOY,

Linda

Art Project Week 16 & 17

This has been a hard month for the Art Project

For some reason I haven't been as 'inspired' with the prompts.  I've continued to work at it but the results are not as pleasing to me.  I do believe you have to fail to learn and continue.  So I'm continuing the documentation on my blog.

April Theme

Color Safari (Exploring ink and paints)

Week 16 

Art Prompt:  Gelli plate

Journal Prompt: A Lot On My Plate

So a 'Gelli plate' you say?  Its one of the new art items I've learned about and added to my tools.

I bought a small one from Amazon...they are a bit pricey but I can see how fun it will be to use this.

You add paint to it and either use a brayer to spread it or a brush.  Then you apply it to paper.

I used these colors on a separate piece of paper.

I used the Gelli plate to put blues on the pages in the art journal.  Then the pink and green on the paper was torn into pieces and mod podged to the page on the 'plate'

I added some orange as a pop of color and some scribbles.  On the plate is written in pale pink all the 'things' on my plate.

Hard to read, but that is OK.  It lists family and friends I pray for and have on my heart.

Week 17

Art Prompt: Inks

Journal Prompt: Before the ink is dry

I don't have a lot of ink but used the pink and blue with stamps on the blank white page

I then used water to make the inks run and added additional stamps.  Used some ink pens for added detail.

I picked up a free dictionary at a thrift shop and added the description of ink to this page

I used ink pens to write the prompt several times.  I have decided to add a couple of spray inks to my art supplies and hope to use them in the future.

Learning and trying new things is what this Art Project is all about to me. 

Linda

Birds Everywhere!

I love my bird collection and in Spring enjoy seeing them in the cubbies.  Even as crazy as life is right now I took the time to let them fly around!

I've been collecting birds for several years now. They just make me smile.

The vintage pink and blue bird planter is a recent find on Etsy.  It is so cute and a perfect addition to my collection.

A few little 'tweets' just for you (did you see the tiny cat in the cubby?)

This adorable little egg cup was a sweet gift from my friend and fellow egg cup collector Claudia!  

I love that face!  

Claudia is also a collector of McCoy pottery and this green and brown bird planter flew in my home after seeing one on her blog.  She is a bad?good? influence on me :)

On a personal note, my daughter Ashleigh will be here this weekend for a visit.  It will be wonderful to have a Mother's Day with both of my daughters, my Mom, my son in law and my two grands all together!  Life is good.

Wishing you JOY,

Linda

Junkin Finds Friday

Life has been super busy since Miss Rosemary entered the world.  Everyone is doing well but a newborn and a 4 year old both need attention and Grandma has been helping.

These are a few of my junkin finds from April that I wanted to share with you.

I found this tablecloth for $1

It has some stains that I will try to work on when I have some time, but I LOVE the colors!

This little pillow cover? or bag? is so cute and for .50 it had to come home with me. 

My helper Charlie had to check out these cute little finds

I love small things and these books were fun finds and I paid $1.25 for both.  The little box is just cute and was .50

I have been searching for another wall shelf and found this one for $10.  I think with some white paint it will be a great display piece.  The little doors will most likely come off.

That's it for me right now!

Back to Grandma duty! 

Wishing you JOY,

Linda