Friday, December 6, 2013

Beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Finally in the mood 
to get everything out and start
decorating!

Here are some  cheerful scenes we set up
from Christmas past...


 Just a sampling of the collection from over the years!


Who knows what we will do this year?!

Hope you have a wonderful Friday
and find some inspiration out there!


Thursday, December 5, 2013

I'm BACK!

Hello Everyone!
I took an extended leave of absence
here to focus on my project
to help my friend with
Brain Cancer to meet his idol.
It worked!
Boy was it a busy last two months!
I was on the road for about 
a week and a half.
Some great surprises that
have happened since then and I was interviewed
on Sirius XM Radio about
the project as well!
If you want to see the results
of the project
you can visit here at
In a nutshell
here is what happened
We did get to meet Stone!
Eddie Vedder stopped by
Mike McCready as well!
We had a fun roadtrip and it was like a family
reunion!
Here are just a couple of photos I took...
   
Nothing like a little advertising during the trip.....


I learned a lot about photographing
in an ever changing environment.
The lighting constantly changes from the set up.
I took all of these from up in the stands -
we had GREAT seats -  I was not down beside the stage
like the hired photographers.
I think I did a pretty good job considering.
I used NO flash
and everything was on the fly!
  

See what I mean about lighting?
Purple, red, blue, green, white to a yellow  ...

 I have had to watermark all of the shots
to keep them from being copied / stolen
- so please forgive their placement.
It was an amazing experience.
Not only did it re-enforce why my friends
and I all love this band...
the morals they stand behind - encouragement to
be yourself - to help one another -
to let art help you through or to help others
through self expression- 
but  
it was wonderful to feel all
the support Clinton and I got
to achieve our goal!
The people who stepped up to the plate
who did not have to do a thing!
Some of my readers from here even participated! 
THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!
I'm slowly getting back into
the swing of things
and some other
amazing opportunities have
popped up for me now
because of this experience.
I will share them with you
and December will be back to normal here
fun projects -
some simple photos -
and JUNKING!
Glad to be back everyone!
Let me know how you have been!
Happy Thursday! 

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Update on the Seeking Stone Gossard project.....

We are headed out today 
to do a little pumpkin shopping
and enjoy the amazing Fall weather
that has finally descended upon us...

I thought I would update you on
the project I am sponsoring at the blog
I mentioned in my last post...
We are eight days in at this point
and so far I have had all the photos submitted
by people eager to help...
I am going out today to take a few myself

This one is one of the ones that gets the most hits
and of course it is because it was well taken 
and the kid is 
ADORABLE

Hail Hail is a line
referencing a Pearl Jam song...
of course.
We are getting noticed - I just hope we are
being SHARED...
Twitter, FaceBook, Pinterest, 
and I did notice yesterday we are getting
hits from Tumblr!
Twitter is great because you can actually Tweet directly
to people you really want to see it!

Hope you would like to take a peek over
and see a few of the submitted images...
you can visit here
and the very first post is Clinton's Story...
I hope if he does get to meet Stone that
I get to be there to take the photo!
But if I can't
 I'm glad I got to help him make a dream come true.
It's not about me-
it's about him!
If you'd like to help and submit a photo let me know!
have a great weekend everyone!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Seeking Stone Gossard is LIVE

Hi there everyone!

I just wanted to let you know
that the site I mentioned the other day is up
and running!


It is called Seeking Stone Gossard...
This is who the project is all about

Clinton ...





He has a rare type of brain tumor
and I am trying to help him fulfill a wish...

You can view the site
HERE 
 
My posts her may be very sporadic for 
the next month or so because
that project requires a LOT of attention...
I'm even venturing into the land of Twitter
and I have never  "tweeted" before.

Please take a moment and visit to
read my "condensed" version of Clinton's
story.
Honestly it could be a novel - but you know
you  have to be concise on a page like that.

Starting tomorrow I will be posting a photo every day
of friends, family, anyone who wants to help
or just creative shots.
To help get some attention.
I hope you will stop in every day!

Thanks for your understanding and support!

 
 

Sunday, September 15, 2013

One project down...a million more to go!

Hello everyone!
Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

I sit here drinking my morning coffee
riding high on the fumes of Mod Podge!
I am updating Little Keeper's room..
yesterday we took a bedroom table 
and custom made our own
pre-historic collage on the shelves in it!

I'll give you a peek at that when it finishes drying!
here are a few inspiration pics for the
change from baby to Little Man
 Already have the Globes
and I found a locker/filing cabinet a few months ago
at a tag sale that is waiting to be painted!

 We have one of the Coca Cola crates
in the garage...
Loving these Vintage Cubs graphics
our family are huge Cubs fans...
he had one of his first photos taken in Cubs gear!
Great idea for spelling out his name using
cardboard and comics!
I already have a wall size map I purchased at
and estate sale last summer
and just finally figured out a great way to hang it!
Love the colors here...
Another great vintage graphic to go over the bookshelves?
I have a ton of these vintage Fisher price Weebles...
but you could use matchbox cars or plastic dinosaurs...
action figures...
any of those small things adults can step on 
in the middle of the night
and kill themselves with!
We are having fun and he is enjoying being involved for a change!
You can view the links and more fun for kiddos
on my Pinterest page
here
on the board titled
Kiddos 

Iwould also like to share that
I have become should we say
"curator"
of a VERY LARGE project for a friend...
He has a rare type of cancer.
It causes brain tumors that basically -
can be removed but will continue to return.
In the last 3 years he has undergone surgery twice.
He was about 36/37 years old when the
first symptoms began.
He had requested to meet his favorite musician
through the Make A Wish foundation...
however they were turned away from the bands fan club
simply saying the band does not do that sort of thing.
Unfortunately there are always gate keepers.
So a group of friends started an e-mail chain to convince them
to forward his request anyway...
Then I got the bright idea to start a blog with a photo
a day in support of getting this persons attention...
We know he would do it in a minute if he actually heard about
the request...
SO - I may be a bit sporadic in my posting here.
I have almost exactly a month to get this to work...
It has to happen by October 30th!

I am requesting friends, family,
even the kindness of strangers to help us out!
I will post links to the site as soon as I have it running
which should be in the next day or so.

In the meantime if you are interested in helping us out...
leave me a comment here.
All I simply need is a picture of yourself or friends,etc
with a sign.

Here is one of the first we are going to use...
Of course this was manipulated!
The words are lyrics to one of his favorite songs
and are very fitting for what we are doing.
The artist is Stone Gossard guitarist for Pearl Jam...

Thanks for stopping by....

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Beach Charm swap!

School is back in!
Lookout world!
Now I can finally get around to sharing
with you the 
Beach charm swap I participated in 
a few weeks ago...
This was the first time I did a charm swap.
I t was fun and not too difficult.
13 charms to swap.
Our wonderful organizer
Julie made us all this
Mermaid cabochon.
The picture doesn't do it justice - 
it has a pearlized -iridescent finish - 
lovely!
 This is the entire bracelet.
Lots of handmade goodness!
Some beautiful work done with 
hand stamped metal,
Resin ice,and even hand sewn charms!
I LOVE the beach and this was so much fun.
If I don't feel like wearing the bracelet
the great thing is I can just remove individual charms
and wear one on a necklace!
One last charm...
This was Maureen's first time making charms like this
I think she said.
She made the mermaid crown above.
A pretty piece of lace that she hardened and added 
little green beads and the starfish to.
The neat thing is - it actually looks really cool as a ring..
so a few of us decided to wear it that way instead!
I am so lucky to be a part of this fun 
and talented group of women.
Art and Soul brought us together
and meeting up is something we look forward to every month.

I also have to say thank you to them for understanding-
It turned out one of my concert dates I won
is smack in the middle of our Fall retreat.
I want to go so much - but the concert is a one time deal!
I will miss them greatly!
But I'll return with some great stories to share!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Balance - is it ever possible?

Whew...
Summer is almost over...
Back to school next week!
I have really struggled this summer with
finding balance...
and I am flat out going to admit...
I never did!

I always used to wonder why some of the 
Bloggers that I followed
seemed to disappear during the summer.
Sporadic posts here and there...

Well I am here to let you know...
Mommy now understands why!

Not that I mind spending time with 
Little Keeper...

but
 I can hardly think straight 
by the end of the day!

So I am here to say
"I finally get it!"

Here is to hoping you have a great
end of your summer
and
an even better start to the school year
if you have little ones!


(we got a BIG BOY haircut!)
and
posed for a picture contest

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Techno Fun.....

Isn't it great when you figure something out?

I have not been able to use my Ipod for photos
for a while now because of the storage or something.
I thought backing it up to "The Cloud"
would help - alas NO!

I finally got some help from a new friend
and Viloa!
My pics are all now safely removed and stored
and now I can get back to my Camera Apps!

I also spent last night making
charms for my TAG gals
we're having a beach themed charm swap tomorrow.

I can't wait to share with you all the fun from the swap!

 Hope wherever your feet take you
that you have a great Saturday!

Angi - don't forget to send me your address or you can leave me a message
here and I can get in touch with you!
 

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

And the winner is......

Hey all!
Hope you had a great week...
Summer is winding down here
and I have to say I am ready
for Fall.
Humidity is not my friend
and I can't wait for school to start.
I'm not so great at being the sole entertainer here...

It has been good though.
I just want to be able to breathe when I go outdoors!
I've also stayed away from estate sales, etc.
because of the heat...

So let's get on with it...
My winner for the surprise
is Angi!

Please e-mail me your address girl!

 I also have to admit I have started a 2nd blog...
I really started it because it fits into a totally seperate
genre.
I'm part of a FaceBook group that just 
shares so much and I always had a story or a tid bit
and I thought - this needs it's own space.

I know my readers here are more interested in Art and Creative living
Thrifting...
I'm going to give the link to the blog if you are interested
but the blog is focused on
the evolution of the music and artists that came out 
Seattle in the late 80's early 90's
and is still going on today.
So many new fans being born and they are
just totally blind as to what the whole scene was 
REALLY about.
I hate that the media turned the whole
"grunge" thing into something that it wasn't.
Long story - but I thought I would share it here once.
I'm focusing on my memories,
facts,
stories from the bands,
the artwork that was produced
and really dissecting some of the music.
Also a photography spot every week 
from fans..
and a weekly look at a book written in 1889 
that inspired work by Pearl Jam.
Right? Who knew those "angst ridden white male slackers"
actually had brains and used them.
(total sarcasm here)
I am very excited because my FB community has really stepped up
and in under 2 weeks I have had 500 + views.

Here is the link if you are interested...
 
Here are a few art projects I have been working on...


 This guy is part of a T-Shirt design...
He's a water bottle...long story...




 A very unfinished page...
but having fun with the concept.
I have got to start using something other than ModPodge
because in this kind of journal those little
paper snippets can get stuck and tear.
Even after drying for days.
I was really bummed when this happened.
Pretty much all of Melody Ross books are done this way
and when she opens them you hear them crinkling
but I  don't want to spend all this time only to later have the pages
stick together and ruined.

Hope you guys are having a great week
and Angi get me that address!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Sunday, August 4, 2013

WHOOPS!

YEAH...

I'm a totally lousy blogger
this past week!

Crazy weather, sick kid, and no babysitter...
Sometimes life has other plans!

GIVEAWAY!

To celebrate my 400th post last week
I've decided to share some vintage
and some new goodies...
Because I like surprises
I'm not going to show what they are either!

If you have been a follower of my blog then
you know what I love!

All I want you to do is leave a comment
and you must be a follower!

Easy as pie right?
Could be some fun stuff like this..
 or this
 maybe this

 maybe these
 or this
You get the point?!
Fun in a box!

I'll draw Next Sunday and let you know who won!
Hope you have a great week
and thanks for being a reader!
 

Friday, July 26, 2013

Working on everything!

Hey all!

Wanted to share a few snippets of what I've
been working on....
Lots of writing in my free time - 20-30 minutes here and there...
Designing T-Shirts now for a group
this is a first for me but I'm enjoying the process..

Here are a few pages from my journals....
music page ...
My I love the OBX page from the beach ...
work in progress
wanted to show you how I lay down my layers...
this was using the neocolor crayons / after I applied water...
 magazine image collaged onto my background...
I'm painting over her and have added wings...
a lot more shading, color to be added - definitely a work in progress..
Lastly a bit of a page from my Brave Girl journal...

Hope you are gearing up for a great weekend!
I have been feeling so lucky and grateful for so many reasons lately...
Last week I let my 400th post roll by 
and I totally missed it!
I want to share by having a little give away.

Come back this weekend and I'll share the details.
Thanks for visiting!
 

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Steve Gleason and the fight for ALS research

I know I said I would show you some

artwork today...
but
 I couldn't get this man off my mind today.
 Steve Gleason
former NFL player
who was diagnosed with ALS in 2011

My great aunt whom I was very close to
was diagnosed with ALS
in her 70's.

When I mention ALS to people they usually have
no idea what the disease is.
They have probably heard it called Lou Gherig's
but
 they don't know WHAT 
ALS does to a person.
Once I give a brief description 
they usually get this awful look on their face
and say
 "Oh, wow - that is horrible"

I am thankful to Steve and his foundation for championing
this cause and giving it a face.
He could have quickly left the public eye
but instead he chose the time he has to try and make a difference.
The blog for his site is what I find
most interesting...
stories of others making it as best they can..

I'd like to give you a tidbit
of what my experience with my Aunt was...
We'd go to visit her at least once or twice a year.
She lived about 5 hours away.
We always had a blast out in the country...
picking blueberries, thrift shopping, talking for hours on end.
This is my Aunt and Uncle
circa WWII on my Great Grandmother's porch.

I can't remember how many months before she was diagnosed-
but I was visiting her for a few days with my mother...
she mentioned in one of our conversations that she
was having trouble swallowing
sometimes.
She was clearing her throat a lot and she asked if
I ever just felt like I got choked up for no reason?
Seemed odd to me 
but I said no and thought nothing of it.
I told her maybe she was getting dry mouth due to some of her meds.
Something I see a lot with my patients at work.
Shortly after this visit
 she was diagnosed w/ ALS.
The odd thing in her case was she was experiencing a lot of the symptoms in
reverse from most patients.
She lost the ability to swallow and speak early on.
She HATED not being able to talk when we came to visit.
She'd furiously write on a notepad we gave her when we saw she
couldn't choke out more than a few words.
I do mean choke.
She dealt with it though, she was tough and amazing.
She had to start feeding herself with a tube the next time
I saw her.
Most patients lose the ability to do these things last from what
I understand.
Most lose the functions of hands,arms,legs,etc.
then the speech and eating.
The hardest part was her mind was still so sharp and exactly the same.
It is like you live in this fragile shell you lose control of
only to still be the same person mentally.
She eventually was confined to her home and then bed.
If I remember correctly the process for her was maybe 2 to 2 and a half
years from diagnosis .

If you don't know much about ALS
please take a look at Steve's site.

I felt like this was one of those days
where the 
"My creative Journey in Life, Love, Art, and Junking"
was reflected by my aunt.
People like Steve and my aunt
they inspire me to live life as full as I can mange.
All this rolls into my inspiration for my artwork in a way
as well.

I just wanted to share this and hope
you may learn something or be inspired yourself.

Thanks for visiting -
Artwork will be next - promise!
 

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Lucky 15th!


So I am showing my age right now...
This pic from the shoot for Pearl Jam's first album Ten
is pretty much what I looked like last night!

Remember when you had no money back in high school and college
and you had to scrape together money to go to shows?

I saw a few of my favorites back then and now one of them is
back on tour!
I have to admit - I have been like an 18 year old the last few weeks over this..
I have had the realization in the last year that I'm not getting any younger
and opportunities you think may be there for you at a later date...
well...
they really may NOT!
A band may seem like a silly thing to some
but
 when it is something that has been a sort of soundtrack for your life
or
a group of people who have inspired you artistically 
it doesn't seem that way to me.

Point of the picture above...
Last night after a week of waiting and then almost
nine hours of checking e-mails all day.
I found out I won BIG 
in the fan club lottery
 for seats at  five different shows this fall!

Let me clarify that you get much better seats with the club than through
Ticketmaster.
It is just a deal the band has reserved for the FanClub.
However - you may put in for a dozen shows and get none or one.
That is the luck of a lottery system.
People got shut out for any seats at all that had 20 choices -
so this was amazing to me.
I really only put in for several shows because I so HIGHLY doubted
that I would get one!
The best part is I plan on sharing the wealth
with great friends and Mr.Keeper
who is hopefully going to understand eventually
what a big deal this was for me.
Never did a road trip like this before so
I am looking forward to making some good memories
with everyone along the way.

Disclaimer for Mr.Keeper -
I will never ask for anything again...
O.K. maybe at least for a year?!

I also found my missing journals and Neocolor crayons 
yesterday I was so desperately looking for over the last month! 
I am now going to buy some lottery tickets just in-case some
of this luck is still hovering around me!

One last pic...all smiles...
thanks for visiting and Love you guys!
I have some artwork to share tomorrow
that I have been working on!
Have a great Tuesday!


Thursday, July 11, 2013

Summer ramblings....

Got some big plans in the making....
for a road trip!
Just don't want to jinx it...
so details to come later.
 LOTS 
of writing going on!
Still working on my sketchbook
but I have been crazy busy the last week so I have
had everything on hold for the last few days.
Are you working on any special projects?

Sad to say
my Neocolor crayons 
 have gone missing...
along with one of my journals.
They have got to be somewhere.
Those crayons are just my favorite because they
were hand picked when I went to Dick Blick in Chicago.
NO ONE here carries them and they
have no idea what I am talking about when I ask for them.
Keep your fingers crossed for me that they show up!

 and in the words of
Glenn Frye...
The Heat is ON!
Summer is in full swing here ...
King Humidity has come to frizz out your hair
 you spent a half hour flat ironing before work....
to make you start to perspire just trying to
make it from your front door to your car...
and to make that icee melt before you even get your spoon into it!

Happy Thursday everyone!
 

Friday, July 5, 2013

Outer Banks.....

Back at one of my
favorite places on earth...
and the sun finally decided to appear after all...
 Just how I like it....
barely anyone around.
 If I could move down to my little island
I absolutely would!
Lately I either forget to bring my camera card with
me and remember the camera...
or I'm too distracted and forget the camera.
Here are just a few tidbits of the fun
the Little Keeper and a few of  his pals have been having.
 Starting to realize I'm raising a HAM...
 We are thankful the sun finally decided to come out!
Of course we got a little over zealous and are now baked to a crisp...
OUCH!
Hope everyone had a safe and Happy Fourth!