Weekend update

The sky is darkening. It must be Halloween. So, have a safe one, kiddies!

[Detail of a quilt available on eBay]

Late October

I don't have to go anywhere to see the leaves. I just have to go out onto my balcony.

Autumn

This photo is from summer, just a few months ago, after a little powwow. I took the shot as they were taking down the tipi.

All the leaves have turned and when I look outside, I see a blaze of yellow and red. The park that my windows overlook is surrounded by countless trees and it makes for a gorgeous sight.

It's on the horizon

Christmas, that is. With that in mind, I've listed this seasonal fabric transfer piece here.

My christmassy work is in the Nov/Dec. Somerset Studio, in the Mélange section. The spread is a riot of color and happy-making, if I say so myself!

A gifted photographer

Kelly Wilsey and I go back many years. She actually once asked me to do a watercolor of her cat (I did; and she still has it). She lives in Colorado and I've never met her in person, but, well, isn't the Internet grand!! She is a gifted photographer and I'm very happy that she has finally opened an Etsy shop for her gorgeous photography, and will be adding more in the near future. Her work never fails to stun me, and I have many favorites, one of them being her photos of calla lillies, which I'm sure will be in her shop one day.
Do check her out; you won't be sorry. Kelly's blog is full of eye candy, and her Etsy shop is now open.

All photographs (c) Kelly Wilsey

True words

"When you get into a tight place and it seems you can't go on, hold on, for that's just the place and the time that the tide will turn." --Harriet Beecher Stowe

Surprise!

I'd forgotten about it until the magazine landed in my hallway through my mail slot this morning. I guess it's because I never expected to be in Belle Armoire. I leave that magazine to the talented creators of gorgeous clothing. I mean, look at that outfit on the cover! It makes me drool.

But there it was, my humble little cuff (bottom left photo) that I had sent it for the cuff challenge.

Sweet!

Aging well

Some things age well, get softer and gentler, bring a certain peaceful joy to the eye when looked upon. Some people age well too, while others don't. I think it's how you start. If your essence, what you feel inside, is wholesome and positive, you age well, your appearance gets softer, gentler. If you let life's unhappinesses control you, then you age badly, that is, you show the disappointment and bitterness in your appearance.

Being aware is the first and most important step, being aware of your thoughts and how you affect the world around you.

Introducing....

.....Miss Ida Buckwheat.

No, really.

Sometimes the back of postcards are more interesting than the front. This one was addressed to Miss Ida Buckwheat in Connecticut before the time of zip codes. It's an Easter postcard and, oddly, the message part was left blank and on the edge of it is written: From your Friend Liz.

Lucky charm

I don't believe in lucky charms. I believe the individual imbues a charm with his or her belief. And that's how something becomes a "lucky" charm.

My charm became lucky because it felt good and made me happy. The bezel was a gift from my good friend Martha and the vintage mother-of-pearl button charms me, so I adhered it in the bezel with Diamond Glaze. Simple but effective.

Postcards from the ledge

[Available on eBay]

Today's postcard sports a velvet heart.The front of the postcard is a floral birthday greeting. We really should revive that little social grace: sending postcards for various greetings. Don't you think?

[Available on eBay]

I've been a lifelong old-postcard collector. Just because I liked them. I didn't know that one day I would be making artwork with them. So I'm thinking that if you follow your passion, one day you'll be glad you did!

Or something like that....

Back to work

The Thanksgiving weekend was very enjoyable. For once I took time off and socialized.

I did change one thing though: I had a huge piece of canvas on my wall that I'd painted, to which I had stitched a piece of fabric and a black-and-white photograph. Last night I realized that I was tired of looking at it, so I removed the fabric and photo and painted something new, right there on the wall. The wall was my easel. One day I'm going to have a wall where I can pin my paper and canvas and work directly on them!

Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving weekend in Canada.

The harvest has been good this year; for all the obstacles I faced, I got through them, with a little help from my friends and family. As I closed the door on some things, other wonderful things unfolded.

Tomorrow I'll be having Thanksgiving dinner at my good friend Carol's, while today, I will be working at the bookstore in the afternoon/evening because my colleague is having Thanksgiving dinner tonight with his family.

We have a lot to give thanks for. Although I like to give thanks every day at the endof the day. It's a good habit to cultivate. So, Happy Thanksgiving Canada!

Sneak Peek

Back in my studio that used to be my apartment -- I think the term is "studio apartment", but enough with the play on words -- I am blessed with a number of projects to do, so that I've made a list and put it up on one of my cabinet doors. One assignment is an article, so that's straightforward. The other two are artwork and I'm going back and forth between them because the ideas are coming fast and furious. Not that all the ideas will work out, but I like to try them out anyway. You have to be fearless. If it doesn't work out, you have to say, "Next," and keep on going.

Birthday

'Twas on a Friday, one October 5th, that I saw the light of day. Born into a chaotic world that nevertheless has its delicious moments. My biggest lesson has been that life is what you make it. It's as simple as that, and as difficult as that.

I wish you all a happy day.

I can see past the fog

Yesterday I literally took the day off. I stayed home and nursed a barometric headache. Headaches don't normally stop me from doing things around the house. But yesterday I made myself rest. Taught myself How to do Nothing.  It was the best thing I've done in a long time. Today I have a lot more energy, enough that I will be going out for a walk, then tackle a couple of projects that have deadlines attached to them.

Meanwhile I have some new listings on eBay and Etsy.

I wish you a peaceful Sunday.

October

And it's unseasonably cold. But there's rain coming so it will warm up.I've been working long shifts at the bookstore, and look forward to a few days of rest and catching up with my own work.

I was helping a customer who happened to be a mystery lover like myself when I heard a commotion at the door. Schoolboys. One of them stuck his head in the door and yelled: "Books are for sissies." Then another boy followed, stuck his head in the door, and yelled: Books are for....books are for... (by now I'm really amused as he struggles to find an insult), books are.....for WORDS!"

"You betcha," I yelled back as they scampered away.

Schoolboys. You gotta love 'em. Some things never change.