Art restoration backwoods style...

Who needs an art degree? I just wing it when it comes to art restoration. I bought this Charles Russell print at a garage sale last summer for the grand sum of $5. The person who put price stickers on things plunked the sticker right on top of the paper in the upper left hand corner resulting in a big white spot when I removed it! Today I got tired of looking at that white spot so I decided to paint over it. I knew I could never match the old, aged looking paint color, so...I painted my own happy little clouds in the sky! lol!

Charles is rolling over in his grave as we speak! I'm still not finished with these clouds. Judging from the rider and mule and the rock in the background, I need some orangey sunshine on those clouds. They're pretty flat at the moment.

Anyway, I thought it was pretty fun being so audacious! Why not? It's just a cheap print! I had some acrylic paint left over on my palette, so I slapped it onto a canvas panel...

...then I mixed up some more and splashed it onto another canvas. I have NO IDEA what I'm going to paint on top of these two backgrounds, but I've been putting off doing anything with these canvases and I think I needed to do SOMETHING to get started!

I've been reading "Living Your Strengths", which is a very intriguing book on finding out what your talents are and turning them into strengths. Finding your niche in the church and in life in general. I'm probably going to take the Clifton StrengthsFinder test this afternoon to find out what my five Signature Themes are (five main talents). I have some idea, but I'd like to see what their opinion is. It costs about $10 to take the test. I hope it's worth it!

Have a wonderful weekend! I'm going to try to stay warm (it's still damp and cold outside here) and have some artsy fun this afternoon. Maybe I'll play some Rend Collective while I play. :)

Shalom!

Plein aire idea...

Did I spell that correctly? Anyway, I think it was the Frugal Crafter who suggested using lemonade mix jars for carrying water when you are out and about doing art. To tell you the truth, I've never done art anywhere but at home, but I though I might pack up a few things and take a stroll out to my woods someday when the weather is warm enough.

Aren't these a good idea?  (I remembered that I had two of these in my cupboard that had been there for quite some time. I dumped the contents, which were getting a little old, and now I have travel jars for my watercoloring!)

The lid can be used so you have a clean water and dirty water container in one.

Learning all kinds of good things from the Frugal Crafter! I'm thinking about making some things for a craft fair. I might have to aim for summer 2015. I'm kind of late getting the idea! :)

This is what our area looks like at the moment. Bleck. But I have hope! God renews it every year. Patience! :)

 

Babysitting soon so I'll wrap this up. Have a great weekend!

Shalom!

Revelation!

This is a photo I put on Facebook and thought I'd share here. I used Picmonkey to add the text and the photo was taken in my back yard a year or two ago.

 

And a TON of collages I made using Picmonkey. "Someday" I'm going to print these all off and put them in my photo albums. I'd really like to get some of my favorites out of my camera and computer and onto paper. I don't trust technology!

Jordan, Micah and Josh with Nathan

Micah and Jordan, Josh, Micah and Adam

Jordan at the Alamo! Nathan and Josh and Micah.



Audrey with Micah and Grandpa Bob

Grandpa Bob with Audrey and in upper right with Starry and Audrey.

Audrey's first birthday and with cousin Nathan.

Hazel arrives on the scene! (These photos aren't in neat chronological order.)

Hazel with Grandpa and Audrey & gramps on the piano.

 

Hazel meets Uncle Jordan!

Audrey being sweet.

Sisters! And more Hazel.

Audrey (left) and two Hazels.

 

The many talents of Audrey.

 

Sporting the new diapers and Hazey in pigtails.

More of my three favorite people! (Four counting Nathan!)

 

Okay, got that out of my system for now. I'd better have some lunch and pack the granny bag for my visit with Audrey and Hazel. :)

 

Shalom all!

A bookish post...

Gretchen Joanna was talking about books on her blog, to which I commented. I'll probably cover the same ground here, but I wanted to rejoice in the abundance of books I'm looking forward to reading!

The Imitation of Christ is my current devotional. (I found it at the thrift store for $2!) I just finished Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle and A Circle of Quiet will be read soon. I look forward to its autobiographical viewpoint. Josephus has been on my shelves for years (decades?), and I want to begin it, at least. My new NIV Bible (well, 1990 edition) arrived and I've been making my marks. The Giant Print is such a blessing!

My fat, pink journal. Love writing my thoughts in it for my children to read later.

Erwin Raphael McManus is becoming a favorite author. Chasing Daylight will be the second of his books I'll read. I was actually using that magnifying glass the other day to read an article that a friend of mine printed out for me. The type was tiny!

My new beloved Giant Print NIV...So nice to read without eye strain!

I borrowed this book from my daughter. It's very interesting, though you're supposed to take the Clifton StrengthsFinder test online before reading it. I'm cheap, so I'll try to figure out what my strengths are as I go along. Like I needed another book to read! ;)

This, of course, is the tip of the iceberg of reading. My Kindle contains titles by G.K. Chesterton, The Rule of St. Benedict, Kathleen Norris, 14 titles by Beth Moore, Tozer, C.S. Lewis, The Common Book of Prayer (which I'm trying to puzzle out) and many others. I'll never get through everything...which is wonderful! There's always something to look forward to!

My Beefsteak tomatoes have germinated!

And here are an acorn and hubbard that just broke through the soil yesterday. I'd better water everyone. They're sitting on the piano bench next to the sliding glass doors. They really aren't yellow. It was the flash. :)

My three newest brushes. I thought  they were a good investment since the Frugal Crafter said they should last for many years if I take care of them.

These are my 4 ATC's for the "3 Marker Challenge". I was supposed to randomly choose 3 markers and then use them to make a card. Meh! I really didn't enjoy being restricted to 3 colors, and most of my markers seem to be very dark, so it's hard to get a satisfactory result. At least for me. Oh well, it was a learning experience!

 

I'm off to do some reading before bed. God bless all and shalom to you!

Rend Collective...

I'm  having a hard time finding some of these videos that I want to share. There are so many! So, I'm posting this here so I can find it later. I'm trying to encourage my kids to listen to these. They're probably getting tired of me. :)

I may just keep adding videos to this page so when I click Rend Collective in my labels they'll all pop up. Smart, eh? Have a great day!

Finished April Bizarre Holiday cards...

Here they are!

 

I didn't get much sleep last night. It seems like it's very difficult to unwind after closing at the deli. I think I get overtired and the adrenaline has been pumping all day, so it's hard to switch it off. I then stay up too late and wake up early and can't go back to sleep! (Whine, whine...)

 

I babysat Audrey and Hazel today. At one point Audrey planted herself in front of me, looked down her nose at me in a grandiose fashion and announced, "I am King Audrey!" I had to ask her to repeat herself, which she did while still in character...then she giggled like the little 2-1/2 year old she is. She is such a card! Hazel is delightful as well and is learning lots of words. Of course, a lack of vocabulary doesn't keep her from TALKING. She's called Adam "Mommy" for ages. Today when she looked out the window and saw him walking toward the house she started yelling, "Nonny! Nonny!"  Poor Adam. ;)  Oh well, at least she was excited to see him! Even when she doesn't know the right word, I can tell exactly what she wants. That's the point, right? The cutest and smartest little girls in the world. And I'm not prejudiced.

 

Sporting their new diapers...

 

 

 Hazel in piggy tails.

 

King Audrey

 

It's going to be another late night. Micah's van got stuck in her driveway (dumb winter) so she drove my car to work. When Adam got home he got the van unstuck and I drove it home. SO, Micah will drop by here after work (probably between 11:30 and midnight) and exchange vehicles. My purse is in my car, so I'll be staying up to be sure I bring that inside. Oh well, I'll try to sleep in tomorrow morning before my afternoon babysitting engagement.

 

Peace and sleep to all!

Lovin' Rend!

Thanks, Fraise, for introducing me to this band. I'm having such a great time listening to them. I'll have to spring for a CD soon! I love this song. What's the name of the instrument that he pounds on the ground? I call it the one-man-band instrument. :) (After reading their bio I found that the instrument in question is homemade and they call it a Jingling Johnny?)





Thanks also to Sandra at Thistle Cove Farm for the link on Facebook to this blog where we can watch the restoration of a beautiful French chateau!

Now I'm going to get some supper and perhaps mess around with my guitar. It won't know who I am! :) (P.S.-I discovered that Rend Collective has generously supplied the chords for their songs, so I'm working on My Lighthouse. I can feel the precursors of calloused fingertips!)

Blessings and peace!