A tag for mom

One of my readers sent this bookmark for mom and I wanted to share it.

She loved it when I gave it to her and it's in her Bible now.  Maggie, thank you!!!  I need to get busy and make some as well!!!

Thanks again, mom!

Today was my birthday and I always like to thank mom on this day.....so here goes!

Thank you for being my mom. I am so blessed because of you.

Thank you for inspiring me. And not just me, but everyone else. The stroke you had this past year really taught me a good lesson - that you can recover, you can start over, you can retrain those brain cells at any age to force your body to a 100% physical recover. An amazing lesson. And I am witness to proof that it can be done!

Thank you for encouraging me to study, to grow, to learn, to play, to share my memories.....



Thank you for teaching me to always ask "why".....even when I think I already know the answer.

But most of all, thank you for providing the foundation for my unshakable belief in Jehovah Yeshua Messiah.

I decided that since it's my birthday, I'd do a little research and I found out that I came into this world on the eve of Rosh haShanah 5711. The eve of the final day of the Jewish Year. The dawn of the last day of the Hebrew calendar.





If you know my mom, then I know you want to clone her and make her your mom....but sorry....I don't think she can be cloned!

So today, I share my gratitude for mom, for all she has done for me, and for all she continues to do!

Thanks mom!

Mom and her girls

Sometimes life just works out that you are all together and can take a picture. I think it turned out great!



Colleen and her husband are helping April remodel a bathroom. Elaine brought mom a new computer (oh my...it's so nice!) and I'm here for a few days....so we took the opportunity to have our photo taken together. Mom is 78 - looks pretty good, huh? And the youngest daughter is 53 - so hard to believe!

Mom just continues to improve and it is great that we are all here this weekend. And yes, our brother stopped by for a few...but didn't stay long enough to be part of the photo. Hmmm....wonder if I could photoshop him in.....

Mom

has had a minor stroke. Her right hand doesn't want to work. Well, I seem to think perhaps she just needs to let it rest for a bit.  After all - she's used it well for 78 years.


She grew up on a farm - a working farm - and I'm sure she used it tons there......


She was a registered nurse and then a Family Nurse Practitioner.....and you know she used it there.  Not just helping those who were ill, but studying to keep up with what was new, what she needed to know.

HA!  Yes, she used it to spank me....but I know I deserved every one I got and love her for it. My....did she ever have her hands full back then?  And there was one more added after this photo!

Well, I think riding a horse at this age might have given me a stroke!  But just look at her waving!

My gosh - didn't we all grow up?

Yeah, I think she just needs to rest a little bit.  It will heal.  Physical therapy will help.  Maybe Mom, it's time to slow down!  With card making classes, watercolor classes......playing with all your friends at your retirement center.....


But I can certainly understand the frustration of not being able to write, to paint, to hold a cup of coffee....

And she has used it to create amazing art....

That adorns every wall in my house

Some of it is simply astounding to me.....

I wake up inspired every single day.....

Inspired to do more, be a better person, but mostly, I wake up and look at the art that surrounds me 24/7 and wonder why my hands don't do more!

So to mom.....let that hand rest and heal.  To myself - do a little more today, appreciate time a little more, pray a little more, be a little more thankful...and just remember, it's "God's will be done".

Photo collages

I'm doing a few more photo collages for the front of my library cabinet this week. So, what is a photo collage? It's a collage based or centered around a photo or photos. It doesn't have any specific size or shape. So it's not 2x3 or 8x8 or 8x11 or 12x12....it's whatever the size ends up being once I'm done! Talk about liberating freedom! And of course, since these are going to go on the outside of a cabinet and not into an album or envelope...who cares what size they end up??? LOL!



I truly love how this one turned out. On my birthday, mom sent me a card and inside, she had included this photo of me. For years now, mom has been a watercolor artist....and I've been pulling everything she puts into the trash and stockpiling it! So today, I started cutting up paintings with flowers in them. The 2 tulips here....yep...she threw them into the trash!!!



She had put this photo of her next to the photo of me in the card she sent. I honestly never realized how much we looked alike. All my life, everyone said I looked just like my dad and the "Moores". I think it's because I was dark complected and mom was fair-skinned. But when I saw the endless curly hair, the knobby knees, the curved in toes...the nose....well, you be the judge! And yes, more flowers from mom's trash on this side!



I honestly do not know where the poetry comes from. I laid these 2 photos next to each other and it was just "there"!

Just two little girls
Playing on the farm
Dressed in white
And full of charm.

Take another look
It's amazing to see
It's mother and daughter
They both look like me!



And then the final question. Did Grandma save the dress and shoes mom was wearing....and they hemmed it up and it's what I'm wearing? Sure looks possible to me!!!

Treasure your photos. You never know what you might "see" in them one day years from now. Oh! and don't hesitate to go through mom's trash! Who knows what wonderful scraps, bits and pieces you might find there!!!

Stamping library

Several years ago, dad bought 5 of these libraries. He said there was one for each of his children. I have treasured mine and it has probably been used in every room in the house. So now, it's in my studio and I'm storing all my unmounted rubber stamps in it - yep, about 2500 of them.




I decided to use scrap pieces of leftover paper and do a patchwork "quilt" inside the glass on each shelf. Then I'm going to be adding photos....or rather photo collages to the "frames" that were made by the paper. I've got a couple of them started. This one is 2 photos, one of mom, the other of dad, that I have always loved. I scanned them in, merged them, then changed them to black and white. I just love it!  

On the lower left, I covered a little mini book with leather and stamped the letters "BIBLE on the front, then inked up the leather.  Inside are lots of verses from scripture.  On the lower right, I tore up a card that mom had painted on and made a tiny little collage of flowers, broken bits of jewelry and velvet leaves.  

They taught me how to study so many things.  Religion, art, life.  They taught me 2 Tim 2:15  "you-be-diligent yourself to-stand-along-side approved to-the God, (a) workman unashamed, cutting-straight the word of-the truth." (A Consistent New Testament - Mount Publications where hyphenated words are read as one word)... in the KJV:  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Mom always said....

"if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all!" Pretty good advice! I don't mind people linking to my blog to show others what I'm doing. But I think it's hilarious when they start making comments on their "private" websites and forums about my work. In reference to my recent blog on decorating my bins:

"she must have lots of free time"

Well, yes I do! I worked for 33 years and I retired in 2002 and all I have now is "free" time! It's absolutely wonderful!!!

"less time making it pretty and more time scrappin!"

I really want to ask that writer - have you scrapped enough to have been published 121 times? LOLOL!!! I personally think maybe I scrap too much!

"waste of time and pretty paper"

Well, it took me 2 hours to cut the paper and drop it in the drawers. Yes, I waste a lot of time - watching 2 hour movies, watching old reruns of the Golden Girls and Designing Women on TV. I'm retired! I'm allowed to "waste" time!

Waste of pretty paper? Well, in my opinion, I guess I could have painted the walls or painted the drawers and "wasted" paint on decorating, but I opted to use a gorgeous line of paper that inspires me when I look at it! And I bought it at wholesale prices, so it didn't cost me what a gallon of paint would cost! OK, the last gallon of paint I bought cost $32.00!! Maybe that's why I opted for paper this time!!!

People make such fun assumptions about someone else's life!

Blog software allows me to determine where hits come from. When I get a notice that is it an "uncommon use" I often go check out where the hits are coming from. That's how I see what you are writing about me!

We all spend an incredible amount of our day reading blogs, reading posts in yahoo groups and writing comments in forums.

I spent 2 hours decorating my studio! Hmmm....I think I'd better not say another word - mom might give me more advice! LOL!

Sherry "the stalker" Stone!!!!

LOLOL! Oh Sherry! I told you I was going to blog this! So here's "my" story and I'm sticking to it! I went to Canon City to play with mom. Didn't tell a soul I was going down there. But Sherry - she reads my blog - and saw that I was in town and showed up at mom's retirement center this morning for a surprise visit! I accused her of "stalking" me and threatened to blog that I have an official "stalker" now! LOLOL!



Sherry is another fabulous artist who just completed here senior level certification classes in Art Clay Silver with my sis, Colleen. She's opening her own studio and will be offering classes in metal clay in Canon City. She doesn't have her website up yet, but her business is Paper Silver Stone, LLC, on south 8th Street in Canon City. You can reach her at 719-269-2713 if you want to take classes from her!

Well, who wouldn't want to go play with Sherry? Just look at the fun she and mom were having here!!!



And then we need to talk about analysis paralysis!!! Sherry said that she and my sis both have it - they analyze everything until it paralyzes them and they don't get anything done! Well, I'd have to completely disagree with that. Just this summer, Sherry has gone out on her own, opened up her studio and is just going gung ho with all this fun! She so brightened my day by stopping by!



So, Sherry "the stalker" Stone - just keep reading my blog and any time you see me in town, come play with us!!!

oh, if you look in the lower middle you might be able to see some of the bookmarks we made this morning. Just so much fun!!!

Go Play!

I'm going to mom's tomorrow to play again with the gals in her retirement center. And as promised...a new layout for her door. She wanted one titled "go play" with pictures of our last play date. I think I see a trend here! So I sat going through all my papers and when I found this piece....it really made me want to "go play"!



There was a lei on the paper, but I made one out of paper flowers. And aren't those little palm trees just so cute?



And I added a few "blossoms" to it. Put Glossy Accents on the water to make it look wet. Added some tiny little seashells on the beach.



"Go Play!" a little every day
It keeps that doctor far away!!
A little glue, a little ink
Let's make some cards to give away!

Printed ribbon and a little drink umbrella. Doesn't take much to spruce up a sheet of paper that's probably 4 years old!



Stamped and cut out some little beach clothes and added them to the clothesline.



Used stickles to cover the chipboard letters. Tucked mom's friends in among the flowers.



GO PLAY! What a great "rule"



I've made up cards for them to make, bookmarks, and more! I don't know what wears me out the most...planning and packing, or playing! One thing for sure, it's all fun!!!

Collage tips

Well mom, how do you like this "welcome"sign that I've made for your door? On second thought....maybe it will keep everyone out! LOLOL!



So many people that I meet tell me that they just cannot collage. And I find it to be just the easiest thing ever, so I thought I'd show one of my collage techniques today. I started with several packages of stickers like this



Cut them all apart, leaving the acrylic backing intact....to preserve the stickiness



Then I start to "make" things out of them. I didn't like the empty doctor's bag, so added a brad to the front of it, filled it with stuff, and thought it would be cute to "tie" scissors hanging from the bag. So this is how the ideas start to formulate....little bits and pieces at a time.



And who says you can't alter stickers? This was a plain white Nurse's dress on a sticker. I diecut an art doll and put her up inside then layered the stethescope on top. Hmmm....don't really like that blank face!



Stamped Lucy's head on flesh tone paper, inked her, cut her out. Added the plain white cap and layered the glossy sticker on top. Used Glossy accents for her glasses. This also helps blend glossy stickers with flat stickers.



Now remember, I'm just layering stickers at this point so her neck looks a little scrunched down. But is this totally cute or what?



I continue around my paper and while I'm starting to get a feel for where I want to go....I just am not happy with this paper. Too busy or something...but I want to stick with my theme from yesterday of green and blue to match mom's bruises!



This is a bandaid photo phrame on blue cardstock, cut up under the flowers. Yes, I wire wrapped "No CPR" with beads around a real syringe! When I asked Kerry if I could have one of his diabetic syringes....well...we won't even go there!!! LOLOL! The "D-N-R" in sign language is cut from a piece of patterned paper that I found at SBYL! last week...it was perfect!



The paper that I finally decided on is from Rouge de Garance. I first met them when I attended Ranger University and I just fell in love with their entire line. And now I've convinced SBYL! to carry them! Can hardly wait til they are in stock!!!

But look how easy you can do pen work with no stamps! Their papers are perfect for this technique!



I think the little Lucy nurse came out just fine! I love her bag! MUCH better than the original stickers!



Well, I think a crystal slid off...it's supposed to be on the stethescope!



I used a broken bit of silver necklace chain to "tie" the scissors to the bag.



And "adhered" the license plate with heat-set chrystals. Note....she has "blue suede shoes"!!!



And then I stamped the old lady and her cat. Is that mom? To make the name, I diecut and embossed the green letters, then diecut the same letters in black (did not emboss). Ran the green through my xyron sticker maker and adhered them to the black a little offset so the black is a shadow. Then ran them through the xyron again, adhered them to the page and popped them with glossy accents over the embossed areas.

I used my Cuttlebug for doing the fonts as I could lay ALL of the letters on plate C and cut them all in one pass. There's just more room on that plate than there is on a Spellbinders mat. Worked great!



Cut out the flowers from the paper and slid the ambulance partially behind them. More black and white pen work in the lower corner. Added suede flowers from a previous blog.



I happen to think that it all came together pretty good. One sheet of paper...5 packages of stickers!



Now I have to find a protective sleeve to put it in and it's ready to hang on mom's door. What do you think mom? Good enough? I figure it will either keep everyone out....or they are all going to come over and want you to make one for their doors! LOL!