carmen's RR: art saves

now THIS is a mocha!! it's beautiful ART. it's heavenly AROMA. AND. it is science!!! the waitress managed to use the molecular characteristics of liquid to fill OVER the brim and still pile on the whipped cream!! and the skillful lady brought it to the table without spilling a drop! this is the page i created for doreen's RR book in carmen's RR, "art saves". and the little paper person comes out of the pocket and reminds us all to DREAM. i had so much fun making this for doreen! my wish is that it inspires her keep creating ART because art brings beauty and creative energy to our world! hope you're busy CREATING BEAUTY today!! chocolatety wishes with whipped cream piled on top to you....

where in the world has she been?!

well... for one thing, she ran off to the beach again... a little get-away to the islands with a dear friend who she doesn't get to see often enough. it was just what the doctor ordered... beach art soothes her soul. she fell in love with this orange/yellow rock but left it behind on the beach for others who come after her to love... the last thing she saw as she caught the ferry boat home was this lovely whimsical dragon guarding the library. the days have been rainy and dark. she slapped grey paint on these journal pages to match her dark mood. but then her gaze fell upon her rosy-colored glasses... so she laid a layer of gloss on the left-hand page to make it shiny, wrote in a favorite quote, and smiled. for the right-hand page, she put down images that made her smile: henna hands with a cross symbolizing hope; bright yellow raincoats waiting for the perfect day to be worn; a child who knows how to enjoy rain and mud puddles; and another quote that makes her smile: "Once you're wet, it doesn't matter how much more you get rained on..." a truth to live by. another place she found herself: an east indian restaurant. she indulged herself with lovely roti, and a taste of many spices foreign to her tongue but oh so intriguing. she reminisced with her friend about her trip to trinidad and tobago, where the east influence on the food was strong, and roti was one of the bohemian's favorite tastes there.... such a pleasure of sight/sound/and tastes... she spent many satisfied hours in her art room, creating... she created a "green page", symbolizing a few of the pleasures that make up the "banquet" of her life. she created her "children's" cards for her stamping exchange group. kites are one of her favorite things, they make her heart soar right along with the lovely kite colors and dancing kite strings. so those are a few of the things the bohemian has bee up to lately. she sincerely wishes fresh spring flower-scented goodness to you all... keep those rosy-colored glasses nearby and count those blessings, one by one...

no rain, no rainbows... or: choosing the rosy-colored glasses

finally... a slow day. a day to NOT go anywhere!!! a day of rest. a day halfway in between winter and spring... not raining, not exactly sunny but not totally cloudy, either... when i DO have to travel into town, i am usually blessed by gorgeous views; of my mountains, of cloud shows, of sunsets, of the ocean... the snow has been lingering just up on the foothills, contrary to MY wishes for spring to be fully here!!! but, living in the northwest means spring brings a lot of rain. so i'm stuck halfway between wishing and complaining... hmmm. i choose... WISHING!!! BOY, AM I BLESSED!!! two more pages for my friends RR angel book. she has both fairies and angels in her book so i did both, also, as both do make me smile... LOOK! i'm smiling right now!!! finally, my exchange group cards are done. i added some bling... hard to tell from the photo but there are rhinestones (faux). and i added homemade envelopes...(that is a magazine page, believe it or not... gorgeous, no?!)one of my trips to town involved playing (naturally!!!) and my daughter and i went into her favorite shop to browse... ( i'd like one of each, please!!! including this fab chandelier!!!) (in case i haven't mentioned it a dozen times or so... i LOVE paper dolls! how cool to hang them from the chandelier!!!) all this changing weather has brought many lovely evening skies... i remind myself: no clouds, no sunset colors!! no rain, no rainbow! may you have lovely silver linings to every dark cloud in your future.... sparkly, multicolored raindrop wishes to you all... go now and PLAY!!! p.s. yesterday was a wonderful treat for me!! i LOVE all things gypsy... everything about their culture fascinates me. i kinda hoped my parents WOULD sell me to the gypsies sometimes (did your parents ever threaten that?)... i reveled in the pleasure yesterday of meeting a lovely couple who did actually run off and join the gypsies!! yes, i was a bit jealous... what a delight to meet them...

is it winter or spring?!

the bohemian is so happy...things are blooming out!! it's spring!! it's spring!! this bush is just buzzing with bumblebees doing their happy jobs... she is working on her " in-honor-of -spring" card for her stamping group exchange... outside her window a spring shower is falling softly... WAIT!!!! WHAT is that solid stuff in among the rain drops?! no. it can't be... but listen to the weatherman. he is calling for... NOOOOO!! did he say...SNOW?! BUT... it's march now! and things are blooming out and the world is soooo ready for spring! and the sun's been shining and the temps have gotten up into 60 degrees! and this forsythia is definately saying...shouting... that it's spring!!!! okay. yes, the trees are still a bit winter-bare... BUT! but... but.... yes, it DID snow on the foothills yesterday. yes, it DID snow on the bohemian as she was out driving this morning. BUT!!! (stamps foot here and the pouty lip sticks out...) HUGE SIGH... and so our bohemian will find spring joy in creating. and take her own advice: to seek sunlight, the spiritual kind. and read whatever makes her heart sing... and watch the birds fly. and LIVE!!! and not save her favorite things for a special occasion because BEING ALIVE IS the SPECIAL OCCASION!!! hope today brings much JOY, SUNSHINE (the spiritual AND the physical kind), and LAUGHTER to your beautiful day...

moments of art in a daily life...

this little cherub is a page i did for a friend's round robin book with an angel theme... i just want to hug him!!! the background is one of those faux encaustic wax backgrounds i made at the craft retreat. the yellow is much more brilliant but my camera didn't play along... look at these lovely gloves i found!!! they make me smile just wearing them! our winter has been so mild that there hasn't been much need for gloves, but i just have to wear these little bits of art... just 'cuz.... and this is how my left-hand page of my round robin journal FINALLY turned out. i kept hardly anything from the one i was trying to plan out. but playing with paper dolls is always fun, fun, fun... that's the artsy fun in one slice of my daily life. here's wishing you all many, many days filled with joyful, artsy FUN in your every day living. i'd love to hear how YOU make your day fun-filled. (does is always start with coffee, like mine? )