Once were lost

 

They once were lost, but now they're found.  I'm talking about my lost files and folders.  I finally found them.  Because I'm often shaky, I transferred ALL my files and folders to a single folder.  

  However, as you can see, 

   they are now all back where they belong. 

 

The top image is a spread of Africa, the middle image is a spread of Cuba, both from my 7 Continents altered book, and the bottom image is a quiltlet made from fabric I dyed using various kitchen ingredients and sewed with variegated thread.

Thanks for visiting today.  Your visit is especially welcome and I am grateful you stopped by.  Bleubeard is, too! 

T stands for Teabag Beauties

 

I am still unable to leave comments, even on my own blog.  I plan to have the courage to reinstall Firefox in a few days.  I'm reluctant to do so because I will lose everything, including all my saved cookies.

Blogger has finally been kind to me and I can now once again leave comments.  Let's hope it stays that way and I haven't jinxed it.

The following post is from April, 2014.  

Before I jump to my recycle post for T today, I wanted to show six tea bags from tea I drank last week. 

They are now completely dry.   I can't wait to remove the tea from these so I can make art using the bags.

As for the watercolor paper I dried them on, I am still pondering whether to keep the six colors intact, or cut them into smaller pieces.

As for this week's T Stands For Tuesday post, I recycled some very different tea bags.  After all, it's still all about recycling.  It began a few weeks back when I started this in my collage altered book,

then added tea bags that did NOT like to come apart.  It was about that time I came up with the concept for this spread I call "Teabag Beauties."  Remember, these tea bags are what some people would consider trash.

I had hoped this would put the entire spread in context, but the lighting was not especially good.

As I've explained in the past, this book is larger than my scanner, so you don't get the full effect this way.

I should explain that I first laid down two shades of green paint, then thought the pages were too dark, so I added a bit of white paint to tone the colors down.  Next I added the cheap tea bags that don't open well.  In a way, I actually preferred the distressed look. 

I added two flowers and two buttons I hoped would compliment the floral colors the girls wore, but the buttons turned out a bit unbelievably garish against the green background and vintage look of these little beauties.  I noticed it more so in the scans than when I took the photos, so I'll more than likely try to either remove the buttons or live with the spread as is, since it doesn't look garish in real life.

Today is Day 7 of 22 leading up to bEARTHday and I recycled five tea bags, sent the spent tea to the compost pile, used some gifted images, added two gifted flower petals, and included two buttons I removed from an old dress.

Now it's your turn to show how you celebrated T this Tuesday.  Remember, you don't have to take the photos on Tuesday, you don't have to drink tea, you don't have to drink anything, as long as you can relate the post back to something drink related, as I did with this spread.  Be sure to use a direct link below so Bleubeard, all our Tuesday T friends, and I can visit you, too.  And remember please, not everyone visits on Tuesday, so please make sure you add the link associated with Tuesday T, and not to your blog in general.

 

 

Bicycles

 

Today I'm once again at Art Journal Journey (AJJ) with a journal page for my dear friend Chris, this month's host. Chris can be found at PearShapedCrafting. Her theme this month is Spring Forward. This is my next offering.

Today I have a double spread in my latest altered book.  Details are below.

 

 I hate my handwriting.  I know some of you do yours, too.  I used to have stunning handwriting, and was often complimented on it. Now it's barely readable.  The sentiment reads: "Spring is in the air.  Spring flowers are popping out of the warm soil."

 

I found these definitions in my stash and thought they went well with the page.

 

I have lots of napkins.  Many I received in swaps or as a hostess gift.  However, I have NEVER EVER seen a napkin that had different images on each corner.  Imagine my surprise when I found this.

 

Note how the flowers at the base of this corner are blue.

 

 I couldn't believe my good fortune when I took this napkin apart.  I didn't expect this! 

 

Pink flowers grace the base of this napkin.

 

The sentiment reads: "Butterflies flit about and I bring my bicycle out of the garage to take a trip around the neighborhood."

 

One final look at this spread I created in my newest altered book.  BTW, if you sent this napkin to me, or know who did, please let me know in the comments.

 

Thank you so much for stopping by today. Bleubeard and I would love to see you at Art Journal Journey with your own interpretation of Spring Forward.  

  

 

Second on the 2nd: TIME

 

As most of you know, I like my second look each month to reflect our host at Art Journal Journey's (AJJ) theme. That means I needed to find something related to Wendy's theme, A moment in time.

Some of you have seen my TIME altered book.

   This is the cover and the first altered book cover I sewed.  If you want to see the book in its entirety, you will find it under Three of my competed altered books.  Alternately, for a direct link, click here.

Now it's time to share your own Second on the 2nd.  The rules are quite simple and everyone is welcome to join the fun look back.  All you have to do is bring back a post that you are especially proud of, or perhaps one you shared before anyone knew your blog existed.  It could even be one that holds special meaning.  Any post, any genre, any artistic endeavor is acceptable, as long as it's been published sometime in the past.  Then link below (direct links only, please) and Bleubeard and I, along with other Second on the 2nd friends, will be by to visit.  This link will be good until Monday 3 November at 4:00 p.m. my time.   

 

 

Steampunk Halloween

 

I'm sharing this Halloween inspired spread with Elle (eotc), who has been a wonderful host this month at Art Journal Journey.  Her themes are Steampunk, Halloween, or Steampunk Halloween.  Since it's the last day of the month, this is my final entry.

I call this Steampunk Halloween.  Detail images are below.

 

 

I apologize that this scan is not what I had expected.  I will get to that shortly.  I first colored a sheet of deli paper with metallic turquoise acrylic paint. I then adhered it to my Halloween altered book.  I colored the pipes with brown dye ink and green dye ink so they would look old.  I then adhered them to the page and added the die cut pumpkin.

The top of the page didn't lie flat when I scanned it.  Therefore, the top pipe looks distorted, although it is not. 

I hope you will join Bleubeard and me at Art Journal Journey.  You still have time to share one more entry.  Once again, I want to thank Elle for being a great host this month at AJJ.

T Stands For Time Out T

 

I have been nowhere this week and barely out of my sick bed for any length of time.  Therefore I decided to share this spread I took from my Hands altered book.

  T Stands For

   Time Out T.

The images are from my Hands AB.  The folded page was covered in hand painted paper.  The F is actually gold leaf, but looks black in my photo.  The pages with hands were first painted using fluid acrylic paints in pink and purple.  The hands were outlined in hot glue, then colored in gold using a Krylon gold leafing pen.

Now it's your turn to share your T entry this week.  The rules are extremely simple.  Your drink related post may be anything from a photo of a glass, cup, or mug, to an actual drink.  You may choose to share a sketch or a digital, hybrid, or traditional page in your scrapbook, art journal, or altered book, as I have done.  Maybe you'd prefer to share a tag, or wow us with your photography.  You might choose a postcard or decorated card.  You might even draw an image on a used tea bag.  Or perhaps you prefer to review a place you visited, a movie, or book.  It makes no difference as long as it's drink related.  And don't forget that the more unique and outside the box it is, the better we like it.  Please tie it back here, and please link only to your T post, not your entire blog.  When you link, Bleubeard, the T gang, and I will be by to visit.   Bleubeard would also like to remind you that your photos may be taken any time.

 

 

 

bEARTHday cardinals

 

Today is Earth Day.  It is also the day of my birth.  If you have been around my blog awhile, you probably know about it. Perhaps your country is one of 193 that celebrates Earth Day.  However, if you are not familiar with Earth Day, I found this excellent explanation in The Old Farmer's Almanac: 

Ever wonder how Earth Day began? The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970, when San Francisco activist John McConnell and Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson separately asked Americans to join in a grassroots demonstration. Dealing with dangerously serious issues concerning toxic drinking water, air pollution, and the effects of pesticides, an impressive 20 million Americans—10% of the population—ventured outdoors and protested together.

President Richard Nixon led the nation in creating the Environmental Protection Agency, which was followed with successful laws, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act.

McConnell originally had chosen the spring equinox (March 20, 1970), but Nelson chose April 22, which ended up becoming the official celebration date. (Given that the date of the spring equinox changes over time, it may have made things more complicated to go with the astronomical event rather than just a calendar date.)

 Further:

Each year, Earth Day is assigned a theme to focus the celebrations. In 2025, the theme is Our Power, Our Planet. The campaign urges a tripling of renewable electricity by 2030, emphasizing solar and wind. This focus on renewable energy is crucial as we grapple with increasing extreme weather events.

It is more important than ever now the current administration in my country (USA) has turned a blind eye to renewable energy, especially wind, our forests, electric vehicles, and climate change.  Additionally, the president wants to increase coal production, directly opposing this year's Earth Day message.

For my final project, 

I have called upon my beloved cardinals and created this mixed media book page.  Detail shots are below.

Every thing here is recycled, starting with the book page which I removed from a dictionary bound for the landfill on Neighborhood Clean-up Day.  The cardinals were cut from some 2023 Christmas stickers and the coverings were cut from security envelopes sent to my home.

This is Day 22 of 22 where I (or my guest designers) recycled something every day beginning April 1 and commencing today with the above mentioned recyclables.  Thank you for sticking with me and for allowing me to show what I thought was important to recycle, repurpose, or reinvent.  Your visit has kept me going and I appreciate that more than you know.

I'll be back tomorrow with something I hope you will appreciate and act upon.

Dancing to the music

 

I want to begin by thanking my dear friend and co-administrator Mia of Craftartista for her excellent hosting at Art Journal Journey during the month of January.  She did a fabulous job and gave lots of great examples of her theme.  What a fantastic start to 2025.  We are not just delighted she is a full fledged moderator, she is also a great asset to Art Journal Journey.

This month we have a second time host, Vicki Parsons who can be found at Stamped Smiles.  The theme Vicki has chosen is MUSIC.  She provides several examples on the blog, in case you need help deciding what Music means to you.  Vicki is a gifted artist and is known for "smashing her stash."  Music

I call this Dancing to the music.  Detail shots are below.

I started by painting a couple of vintage sheet music pages using Phthalo Blue in a green shade and Phthalo Green in a blue shade, Titan Buff, and Silver, all Golden brand fluid acrylics.  I then cut them into four pieces and assembled them onto a page in my Collage Too altered book.

I used the paper doll Elle gifted me in her Christmas card where I was given permission to deconstruct her card.

When I saw this man, I thought he might be dancing the soft shuffle and using the cane as part of the act.

Vicki, Erika, Mia, Bleubeard, and I are delighted you joined us and hope to see you this month at Art Journal Journey as you share your own interpretation of Music.

Please remember we welcome art journal pages that meet the theme requirements, altered book pages, canvases, loose, or stand alone pages including fabric and digital art.  I (and the administrators) cannot leave comments on Facebook or Instagram entries.  We do not allow cards!!!  We also don't allow tags, index cards, ATCs, or ATCoins, unless they are part of a journal page, and as much as we don't want to, will be forced to delete your entry.  Please remember if your blog is not in English, we ask that you translate it for us since the translation tool doesn't work on some blogs, including mine.  Hope to see you and your Music entries soon at Art Journal Journey.