Wednesday, May 29, 2013

More great finds....

Here are some more
of the great finds from
vendor night at
 This great vintage card is 3 dimensional
to reveal the treasure in the chest...
the lock is a real charm... 
I loved the graphics on this tin
and it was in wonderful shape $3
The swordfish and the watch
are probably a cracker jack prize and a dimestore toy...
.25 cents each!
I love kitschy bits for children!
I purchased several of these book facings to make some 
journals or projects with...
I love all the designs...

This leather cover was too lovely to pass up
and I have so many ideas for the windows page...
I paid anywhere from $1-$3 depending on the size.
The leather cover is quite large...
I have been looking for some of these
religious cards for a while at a decent price...
The Guardian Angel is a favorite of mine...
My great grandmother had a large one like it over one of her beds...
I think I paid $1 each..
Then I visited my favorite paper dealer...
all of these postcards were only .25 cents each!
I purchased some for certain colors and some just because 
I found them interesting.
I like how a few of the above with the purple are Christmas
instead of the traditional red and green...
 
Lots of roses and poppies and nasturtiums...
They are such wonderful little works of art...
I really like the ones that incorporate landscapes into the designs..
Easter...
Bluebirds and swallows...
and 
lots more...
I love violets and pansies...
Isn't the aged glitter fabulous?!
This one could be framed as your own little classical landscape...
the colors don't convey well here
but they blend together so lovely .

Again
a great time for a Saturday night!
I have really been resisting the urge to shop...
but this was a a special occasion!

Thanks for stopping by!
 


Sunday, May 26, 2013

Artistic Artifacts.....

Thought I would share
some of the fun things I found
back at 
last month...
 This great set of vintage playing cards
a full deck for only $2
 I couldn't resist these little paper clown baskets$3
and
 the German Christmas scrap
$4
This bright little board game was also $2
 I paid a bit more for these two
but I have never seen any like them before..
I paid $8 but they are so much fun and we love 
St.Patrick's Day here!
 These are Kiddie Keno
boards...
never heard of it,
but again the graphics and colors are so great
I know I can make something fun with them.
$2 seemed to be the price for the evening.
I have a few more pieces that I will share tomorrow...
Hope you enjoyed the peek.
I really enjoy the vendor night at Art and SOul because you just
never know what you are going to find!

Saturday, May 18, 2013

In the Morning....

Well...
In the last month it
has come to this...
Little Keeper isn't so little anymore!
I love this song by Jack Johnson
especially the line about
the 
"little missing teeth"
so I thought it was appropriate for this milestone...

It is such a sweet song...
Have a listen...I'm sure you'll love it!
Hope You have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

What's up?!

I'm still alive!
Last week I eluded to a lot going on...
my brain is in overdrive right now...

How about a peek?

New job for Mr.Keeper started last week...
Little Keeper has spring fever and I've had to make an
"I've got my eye on you"

visit to school...
Broken teeth in 2 out of three people in this household!
and
then my creative mind won't calm...
 Édouard Boubat. Rémi écoutant la mer, 1955.
 
inspired by this page....
O.K.
so if you've visited my Pinterest page
you may have noticed my ridiculous love of a 
man named Eddie Vedder...
I'm always inspired by him 
and the love goes way back to the earliest days of 
Seattle Music bursting onto the scene...
I can write a whole different post on how that changed some of my views of the
world and how women are viewed...
I found this concert video 
(not the one above)
of
Pearl Jam performing before their first album Ten was released
it was recorded by some random person in the crowd...
the beautiful thing is seeing the guys
and mainly Ed so young and so driven and free of what
happens when you become celebrities..
The above video touches me - being that we can see evolution of
a songs meaning and a person in general...
How your youth represents one thing and then 20 years later
that meaning can change for you...
 PHEW is that where I'm at or what right now!? 
I said to myself!
So I've experienced this flood of creative writing and some journaling
which is making me stop the car kind of stuff...
Thanks Ed...
Don't know Pearl Jam?
It's o.k.
some of the things I find inspiring about Ed...
He uses HIS voice to stand up for what he believes in
Huge supporter of The Bridge School
with time and money...
Loves to surf...
Carries vintage suitcases with him wherever he goes
to carry his notebooks,journals,pens and toothbrush in...
This collection of suitcases steals a thrifting gals heart...
Just a huge pile of them...
Has a ridiculous sense of humor...
Loves to make polaroids and Super 8 movies of the crowds
at the bands concerts...
Still finds it hard to believe all those people are there to see them...
LOVES the Chicago Cubs and shows up
a lot at games!
Regularly commissions original poster artwork for performances...
Like this one...
and on and on...
Loving this truth....
Fancy Pants man as I like to call him...
so inspiring...
found him HERE
Via
She's begging to be painted in my mind....
Via  this lovely lady...
Laurie over at
IndulgeYourShelf
pinned this and several more like it have me
thinking and gathering....
This Richmonder whom I discovered through his blog
HERE 
just recently finished a true creative journey...
I love his spirit and his passion for his work
and his dedication to his vision...
Read about his adventures and if you don't come away
a bit inspired by his words...
I'll be shocked...
Congratulations Charlie!
I hope to finally catch up with him sometime this year
to purchase one of his works...
Maybe the Half Price Frappucino deals also had
something to do with my crazy surge in
creative abandon?
Two for one basically...
there was a whole lot of caffeine going on...
I had been staying away to save money..but this was a deal right?!

Well lovelies...
I have just had an almost total mind dump on
all of you and it 
barely scratched the surface...
Hope you are emerging into Spring with
a real sense of direction or you are finding your way there!
Chat with me about where you are at will you?!
Love you guys!

 

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

All over the Place!

As a creative person-
Ever feel like you just can't do
ONE thing
without managing to somehow get sidetracked by another?

I'm having one of those weeks ...
er-
maybe months...

I get inspired by one thing
and my mind goes reeling into a whole realm of things...

Not necessarily to put paint to paper
lately
or even pull out my camera for some reason...
a lot of THOUGHT....
some writing going on of a more
personal / reflective nature...

A little different than what I usually share here...
but then again I never wanted this to be a place
where I felt restricted to be one "type" of blog...
Just a Creative Journey...
Musicians are often also visual artists also...
Actors are often also Musicians....
You get the picture right?
Same here...but I can't play a lick of music...
Tiny bit of acting but waay back in the day..
I can give a mean speech if I have to
I have a few awards in Public Speaking 
and wasn't
afraid to take on The Establishment ...
at a local Congressional Level.
When I was in College they tried to close my
program before I graduated...
and let me say I did a LOT of public speaking then.

SO - Just wanted you to know I may be a bit sketchy
with my posts until this passes
or I evolve into what is going on in my brain lately...
Phew-
Here is a little something visual I have been meddling with...

fun with the ICamera...
Little Collage from last Spring...
The Mary on the bottom left I have been playing around with...
and 
came out with this version today...
 An interesting App
called 
endless possibilities for your images...
you really could spend an hour on one image and get lots
of unique versions...
Take a peek if you are interested in
trying something a bit more abstract...
Hope you are having a great week so far...
Thanks for being here my lovely friend...

Thursday, May 2, 2013

I'm a Winner!

Isn't it great to say that?
"I'm a Winner!

Last month I won a give-away
sponsored by
the talented and super cool 
Jenny
at

 I really love her mix of 
personal tidbits
art
recipes
 and the promotion of
goodness in this world.
Jenny and her husband were deeply affected
by SuperStorm Sandy
and they turned a nightmare into
a way of spreading good.
You need to go to visit her blog and read all about it!
She also features other bloggers that she believes in.
This is where Val
of
was introduced.

I have really enjoyed reading about Val.
She has not only some crafty talents
but is good at telling stories.
She also went through a weight loss journey that she shared
and it is so inspiring!

So guess who won the give-away Val 
offered through Jenny?
Moi!
I just wanted to share with you
the fun packages that arrived on my doorstep
last Saturday...
Bright and Cheery...
Some new and vintage items
to celebrate life
for one whole year!
ALL kinds of goodies!
From magnets, to stickers, to books, to art!
Valentine's Day
Earth Day
Easter
New Year's
you name it...it was in here!
I love the quote on that magnet...
"Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful!"
I started thinking of ways to use all these things
not necessarily in a big flashy way
but in small ways
to make days special...
Using some of those cellophane bags to brighten up
my Little Keeper's school lunches one week...
Tucking a few of those Shamrock's into someone's coat pocket...
I love the vintage cards...
I have a handful like them but the ones she sent me were a PILE!
and they had Coffee Break notes!
Some of you know how much I LOVE my coffee...
The little paper baskets with the flowers on them are
SO adorable! 
Just my style!
Box #2!
One of Jenny's new Cupcake bookmarks!
A copy of Susan Branch's Celebrations...
A cool copy of Little Women...
the cover is neat and the pages are rough edged.
"One Good Deed a Day"
cover art appears to be by Miss Katie Daisy herself
which I love!
lots more goodies for the year
Father's Day
Mother's Day
Halloween!
Box #3!
She kept it coming!
A candy mold and all kinds of supplies for baking!
Sprinkles, cupcake toppers and labels!
Baking is something I don't do every week
but when we do I really enjoy!
I let Little Keeper be my assistant and go crazy
with the sprinkles if he wants to!
He was excited to see this box!
I was very touched by
the generosity of this lovely gal-
Val.
(I just had to do that ;)
Just a year or two different in age
children of the 70's and 80's...
I was so inspired by her gift
that I am going to do a little give-away of my own later
this month.
I'm also going to randomly send val something fun
for herself this summer!
Thanks to both Jenny and Val
for sharing the love
we crafty gals find in our hearts
for fun everyday items, to vintage goodness, and in each other.

Hope you enjoyed a peek into my surprise!
Then I actually won a second give-away
sponsored by 
HandmadeU 
I'll share that next...
SERIOUSLY
I NEVER win anything!
April was  my lucky month!
Guess being an Aries helped!
Have  a Happy Thursday everyone!