gorgeous day!

The sun is shining,
the garden is growing,
school is out,
and I'm with my sweetie!

What can be better than this???


(No, seriously, what? WHAT?!)

tell me a story.

I'm kind of bleah today.

Not cranky, not sad, just

bleah.

Tell me a story? One with a happy ending, please.

-----------------------------

Bleah Day Update:

Here is a happy-ending-story for YOU:

I found cheesecake in the deep freeze.

Fin.

(Actually, that's more of a happy ending
for ME! :)

we have a winner!

Della Luna, you are the
happy (I hope!) recipient of the Big Envelope Full of Art Stuff.

Will contact you via e-mail for your addy . . .

I'm still cleaning out the art room, people, so
will probably host a share party again SOON.
Thank you to all who played along; I'll be
stopping by for a visit, so watch for me!

:)

still time! and some mini atcs

There is still time to sign up for the
blog giveaway and free collage sheet--
scroll down a couple posts and check it
out . . .

Here are three mini atcs I made for a
swap-bot group swap, using handmade
backgrounds and Altered Pages images
and some rub-ons:




THEN I re-read the swap info, and whaddya know?
It had a shoe theme. (Glad that happened BEFORE
sending out.) So, here are the Shoe mini atcs:




Handmade backgrounds, random collage images,
rub-ons. Susan has some netting and glitter
glaze, as well.

dancing with the stars? (ATCs)

First, if you're looking for the freebies, it's
the post below this one. Have at it.

This was a fun batch of atcs to make--I really
like the quotes. The first one is probably my
favorite:






Here's a little update:
You can pick up a kit for these at Altered Pages.
It includes the quotes, images, patterned paper,
netting, star sequins, and punchenella, PLUS
it's 30% off at the moment!
:)

sorting through the art room (giveaway!)

Oh, yes, there may be enough ephemera here to
collage the entire world! So, it's definitely time
to share, right? Right!

BUT I'm not the only one feeling shareful--
check out this beautiful collage sheet:

Like it?

Want it?

You can have this collage sheet for freebie,
just by signing up for the Altered Pages newsletter, or by
e-mailing the lovely Jackie at
Altered Pages.
The first 100 people to respond will receive the Serendipity
sheet to print via e-mail. PLUS, if you feel like shopping
a little while you're there, here's a $5.00 coupon code
good for ANYTHING, digi or otherwise (except shipping):
ALTERED

That's a coupon code that makes sense! Heck, $5.00
off, no minimum, that's pretty sweet. ALTERED.
Feel free to pass that around, it's good for this
week only.

My personal bloggy type giveaway is for a packet
of ephemera and ribbons and lace and fibers--
pretty much anything I can fit into a manila
envelope, one of those that hold 8 1/2 by 11ish.
So, if you're into any paper arts (collage,
ATCs, inchies, handmade cards, scrapbooking),
and would love a fun pack of goodies to spring
inspire you, just leave me a (kind) comment.
For an extra entry, you can follow this blog,
and leave an extra comment saying you already do,
or that you are a new follower. If you contacted
Altered Pages for the Serendipity page, you can
leave another comment for a third entry!

Bloggers all over the whole wide world are welcome
to participate, but please leave a valid e-mail
address, so I can easily contact you if you win.

No picture (yet) of the goodies, but so far the packet
contains:
a couple packages of new rub-ons
vintage textbook pages
vintage book pages
vintage postage stamps
shimmery light blue cardstock
ribbons, lace, trim, fibers
random collage images
some gorgeous textured cardstock
an unmounted rubber stamp

AND I'll keep adding until the envie is as full
as it can possibly be! Sign-ups end midnight,
Sunday the 9th, and I'll contact the winner
Monday. I'll eventually visit everybody,
because I'm just such a blog snoop! So, be
expecting me to stop by and leave a comment
or two . . .

Sharing is good.

Happy Spring!

Spring themed altered book tipin layouts,

almost the same, but a little different,



for a Lisa Vollrath swap at Art42.
The quote is from a Shakespeare song, probably
most noted for its partial performance by Gene
Wilder in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

The gold looks kind of brown in the scan, but
you know how that goes . . .

Victorian themed altered book layout

For an altered book round robin at Altered Pages;
Luella's has a Victorian theme.

altered art fans and a free magazine

I recently had a pair of mixed media altered art fans
published in the Spring 2010 Altered Arts Magazine.
These were inspired by a swap at Art42, hosted by
Lisa Vollrath. My fans use some beautiful images from
Altered Pages, and are all golden and shimmery in real
life.



Here's the cover--and guess what? You can get this
new issue for FREE! There are some great altered
books and projects, as well as a video needle
felting tutorial. The fans are way in the back,
pages 54-57, in case you were wondering . . . ;)

Here's the linky again:
Altered Arts Digital - Spring 2010 issue
On the owner's blog, she states the first digi
issue is free to anyone who wants to try it;
now, however, the website says "for a limited time,"
but don't ask me what that time frame may be! There
was still a "free" link as of April 18, but you did
have to register to view it.

:)

spring flowers

It's such a welcome change when everything starts
blooming again! The "usuals" are in various stages--
some are just coming on, like the crabapple and lilac,
and some are on their way out, like the Bradford pears.
The girl child took photos for us:

grape hyacinth


redbud tree


violets (you can eat the flowers)

(my imaginary friend Tipper has a recipe for violet
jelly--look for the linky in the sidebar of her blog)

lilacs (these smell so good!)


crabapple (the fruit will end up jelly)


These we'd never noticed before. Maybe it was their
first time coming up in this spot, I don't know, but
they're a wildflower, about 3 inches tall:



Aren't they curious looking? They're called Indian
Tobacco, which isn't a very pretty name, or pussytoes,
because they're kind of furry looking, like kitty feet.
They supposedly have some medicinal uses, are an
indication of acidic soil, and, if you are so inclined,
you can dry it and smoke it in a pipe.

(I am NOT so inclined, thank you!)

Is anything beautiful blooming where you live?