Favourite Toy Friday

I loved baseball when I was a kid. Listened to all the Dodger games on the radio with Vin Scully announcing. Played at school and in an after school girls' softball league.  And spent most evenings during spring and summer in the back yard - throwing up the ball and batting it.  One night my dad came home from work with the above!  A pitch back!  I could throw and the ball would come back- revolutionary! It was fantastic and one of the best things was it felt like an endorsement from my dad - "OK, you're not the daughter who sews, you play baseball and that's just fine!"

Choose Wisely My Son!

Decisions, decisions!

Retirement can be so tough! LOL!

Shopping Spree

On Saturday, we went to San Jose Airport to

 pick up a friend who will be visiting for a couple of weeks

 But before hitting the airport, we went to Scrapbook Island -

 a wonderful store full of vintage goodness, great products and 

aisles and aisles of paper!

I indulged in some paper with great graphics, resin roses,

 2 vintage water spigots. a delightful little clipboard and some ink pad accessories.

And the find of the day - this wide

 printed linen ribbon - delicious!

January in California

One of the many things I love about 

living in California in January,

The first of our calla lilies start to bloom!

That beautiful creamy white, the wonderful shape, 

It's like living in a Diego Rivera painting.

On the Table

A few shots of my studio table,

with little piles here and there of possible upcoming projects.

The "marinating" stage as things
come together and get acquainted.

Studio Upgrade

I have used these 10 drawer carts in my
 studio for 9 years now. 

 I love the colourful drawers
 and the storage capacity.

But after all this time, sitting in a southwest exposure, 

the plastic has started to crack and break.

 So with a combination of a Michael's Gift card

 (a retirement present), a 50% off sale and

 my Michael's store manager daughter...

I was able to get 2 of these 5 drawer rolling carts

 and 2 12x12" paper cubes.

Everything from the old carts fits,

in fact, I even have a bit more room than before!

I like the sleek clean look and ease of access.

The old ones have migrated to the garage where they 

will provided some much needed storage.

Life on the Coast

Santa Cruz sea lions.

Favourite Toy Friday

Here's what my Civil War set looked like on

 Christmas Day when I set it up on the dining table. 

 The colour of the table actually made a pretty good backdrop,

 but my friend Destiny had a better idea!

Using the pix I took on Christmas and this page from  an old Sears Christmas 

catalog, she used acrylic craft paints, brushes and sponges to make a drop

 cloth using a canvas floor cloth from Dharma Trading Company.

And here's the result, showing the supplies she used.

I'm eagerly awaiting time this weekend

 to set the whole thing up.  Thank you Destiny!

More Pages

Some more pages from my current daily journal.

A scrap from a 1920 magazine and an exuberant skeleton

.

Labels, a vintage post card and

 old watch key embellish this spread.

Journal Pages

Some pages from my latest art journal.

Love this technique of using the library pockets, 

stamping on them and filling with little surprises.

This spread includes an old map,

small book cover and polymer clay leaf. 

More pages on Wednesday!

Gotta Love Anthropologie!

Sometimes their prices are absurd, every now and then they can be just "too-too" - but their display pieces are always fantastic!  This one a huge (approx. 5x2') carved wooden panel.  I don't always buy when I'm at Anthropologie, but I always take pictures and drool over their displays!

Sweet Gift!

Mixed media artist Michelle Ward likes to talk about "people who get me".  And the lovely friend who gifted me with this plethora of chocolate for the holidays certainly does "get me".  They came from a delightful little shop in Portland, Oregon that features an entire wall of fancy and imported chocolate.

The packaging is so  beautiful, It will be a struggle 

to rip it open and devour the chocolate!

Word of the Year

Every year for quite awhile now instead of resolutions, I've picked a word of the year.  Past years' words have included breathe, reframe, trust, harmony and listen among many others.  This year's word is hope.  Hope for a wonderful year, hope for healing, hope for the future.

I cut circles out of cardstock and 300 lb watercolour paper taped them together and then attached eyelets.  Using my big alphabet stamps I put the letters for hope on the four circles.  They now hang from the curly willow branches by our fireplace where I can see them everyday.

Life on the Coast

Early morning view through the trees 

along Moonstone Boardwalk in Cambria.

Favourite Toy Friday

 When I was in grade school my big sister Becky Anne, who was 6 1/2 years older than me, made me these wonderful Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls.  The bodies, the clothes, everything! I had read the books and was thrilled to have the rag dolls.

They come out every Christmas to play.  Ann has lost her apron and mob cap over the years, and Andy's bow tie and sailor hat have fallen along the wayside.

Not surprising considering how much I played with them.  If you know me, you know I wasn't a doll person, but these were special and so well loved.  Thank you Becky, definitely a gift from the heart that has continued to give for over 50 years.