Little Scraps of Magic

Silliness

He causes gales of laughter, this Aussie of ours! Whether it's a doggy bagel crammed in his mouth, or his barreling through the house with a squeaky football, he loves to play. He can't catch a frisbee to save his life, but glories in the pursuit. I've got a lot to learn from this fellow.

This page, as so many, started out completely differently. It evolved ...layers of paper, paint, a slightly altered photo, some sanding, and so it went. Add some pens and some rubber stamping, and I bet it made you smile.

Today began with the two of us sitting in traffic and creeping toward our destination, arriving much later than normal. I scurried in only to find the black screen of death awaiting me. Luckily, my best new friend, Phil, came to fix it. Seems as if one piece of tech was not playing nicely with another. God bless Phil...he gets rid of the gremlins that lurk in my machine. From there, I scrounged to get some copy paper; it seems as if it's to be delivered tomorrow, which didn't help matters today.

Some scented shower gel, an iced chai, and looking at this silly face has cured what ails me.

Happy Tuesday!

Macro Shot Monday

Taken for Macro Shot Monday...Who Dey on our couch.

 

In living color, before messing around in Photoshop Elements!

Morning Light

Early Saturday morning...

Everyone else is asleep, and one tiny fellow sings his heart out in my back yard.

I love these mornings; they're such a contrast to the hustle and bustle of the workweek. I have time to pause and drink in the light.

Everything's new, freshly washed and rinsed by last night's showers. I can smell the green.

And, Who-Dey waits patiently to come back inside, watching and wondering why his crazy human stands outside in her nightgown photographing the back yard.

Zeus Texturized

This little guy happens to be the love of my life, and I may just need to steal him away from my sister.

Zeus and I, well, we've bonded, you see. He knows when "Aunt Paula" has arrived and comes running, his bell announcing his arrival. A hop up onto our spot on the couch and the love fest commences.

He's a willing model, watching me as I invade his space with a weary sort of sigh...as in, "Really?" A chin scratch would be soooooooooooooo much more the thing.

Only inches separated us here, and if you look carefully, you can see me reflected in his eyes.

I'm hooking up with Kim Klassen's "Texture Tuesday" for the first time. I'm so very much a newbie here, and I'm just playing, but having a great deal of fun doing so. I didn't even think to note the textures I used or the opacity levels. Next time!

Convicted!

Scene of the crime: Springfield, VA

Date: January 9, 2012

Time: 5:30 - 6:00 A.M.

Accomplice: Unknown, but he/she opened the gate.

Crime: Running Amuck...no leash!

In other words, my dog now has a criminal record.  Sigh...

And his "father" broke his own cardinal rule: he did bail.

Thank heaven, it all ended well. We live right next to a highway, and the criminal is epileptic. I am beyond grateful!

Making Applesauce, Making Memories

 
Jars of applesauce reside in my downstairs closet. So many jars,lined up in rows and stacked atop each other...it's really quite satisfying!

107 pounds of apples - yikes! Let me tell you that 1here you could find apples in the kitchen, in the dining room, piled in the foyer...pretty much anywhere.

107 pounds of apples equals many hours in the kitchen.

Those jars don't equal thrift. I could purchase applesauce a lot cheaper in any grocery store, even the gourmet ones. They'd not only cost less money wise, they cost much less time wise.

But, there's not one jar, other than ours, whose label could list memories.

 - the drive out and back through the mountains and rolling hills of Virginia

 - the entire house smelling like applesauce

 - our Aussie waiting patiently for pieces of apples to drop and be gobbled up

 - poking through antique stores on the way to and fro

 - lunch out, whether it's in a cute little place tucked away in a small town, or a

    cheeseburger bought at the orchard

 - long conversations and time to just chill

 - stopping to take pictures of railroad tracks, pumpkins piled in an old pickup, and

   apples clinging to branches against a bright blue sky

 - and the list goes on

I'll be enjoying that applesauce all winter long. And when I unscrew the cap, memories will come flying out.

Memories just as delicous as that applesauce.   

 

Bits and Pieces

 
 

I can - and often do - wander happily through blogland for hours. Bloggers are an incrediably generous group, sharing ideas and inspiration. This journal page combines sparks generated by two talented women, E.B. and Hanna.

E.B. sparked the idea of transformation. Life changes each second and you never quite know what's coming at you next. (Thank God!) So along with the obvious change of going back to work, other "stuff" made their presences known. For awhile, it pretty much knocked the oomph out of me, but life marches on, so I had better as well! I can truthfully say that I'm in a better spot than when I cerated this page. So, transfomation...making changes, adapting, and moving on. I think I'm nearly ready now to let go of summer and move into fall. This page underwent numerous transformations as I worked through "stuff." It ended up far better than it started, as did I. The changes all resulted in something beautiful, don't you think?

Hanna sparked the blue .  As with E.B., I so look forward to Hanna's posts and am quite disappoined when there's a bit of a lull. I understand the why's 'cause heaven knows I've had quite a few blog lulls lately, but....well, I just keep checking back until a new post is up. Hanna loves to play with color, and she always inspires.

We had a great day today - the farmers' market, Anthropologie and the Paper Source, Barnes & Noble, lunch in a little cafe, and a trip to the stamp store. Then came the great chase. Our Aussie, WhoDey, managed to escape the back yard fence. After 15 or so heart stopping moments, we located him. WhoDey, however, had tasted freedom, and quite enjoyed a game of "chase me if you want me." All's well that ends well, and the gate has been tightened and equipped with one heck of a lock.

Heading to PA tomorrow to see my dad, and then, work officially begins on Monday.

UPS Goodies

The UPS man pulled up to our home yesterday and left off a tiny package, which contained this...

...and I must admit to doing the "happy dance," 'cause I'm beyond lucky to have my artwork in it!

How cool is that? The pic is of my lovely daughter, taken in Chincoteague a few summers back, when we were trying on hats in one of the stores. Some cropping and some photo shop work gave me some good fodder with which to start.

I've been lost in journaling and have done some rather silly pages and some that are more serious.

The silliness comes from Carla Sonheim, whose class at Art & Soul, I just loved. Carla's got a new online course "THe Art of SIlliness", beginning in September at a VERY reasonable cost...only $25! You can bet that I'm signing up!

The page actually began with a background inspired by Connie of "Dirty Footprints Studio," and as it dried, I must have been channeling Carla, because I saw a dog in the all those paint swirls. Now, this dog is just silliness; he's not to scale, and he's certainly not proportioned correctly. But, none the less, I love him to pieces.

It's been a hard few days for several reasons, one of which is that we had to say goodbye to our princess, Miss Buffy. I miss her beyond belief, and so, some of this silliness has been sorely needed.

We miss you and love you, sweetheart!