Enough Birthday Celebrating?!

Every year I joke that I celebrate my birthday for the whole month.  Well this year I really HAVE been!  And when I realized that I didn't have photos from all of the lunches and dinner celebrations this month, I thought YIKES! - it's time to bring this madness to a close *hee hee* . . .

homemade red velvet and lemon cupcakes

non-fattening

That sweet little art doll in the front of the photo above came all the way from the Altered Inker - Minxy in the U.K.  . . .

On the back of one of the wings Minxy wrote:  "She is strength - She is Brightness.  She is a reminder to always stay strong, even when things seem bleak and to see the bright side to life even in the darkest of times".  

This special art doll is now hanging over my workspace as a constant reminder that every day may not be good but there's good in every day!  

I hope everyone reading this will find good in their day today. X O

WOYWW - #82

Participating in WOYWW sure makes you realize how fast the time can just fly by! It's hard to believe that Christmas is over and there are only a few days left before the new year will be here.


So here's what's on my workdesk THIS week . . .

WIP's - "controlled doodling" girls.
i always work on more than one at a time.

a girl's gotta have her archival ink and tissue tapes

some completed birthday cards and some stamps waiting to be used

LOVE this Danelle Johnson Art Warehouse -
Limited Edition Rubber Stamp Set
and of course tim's adage tickets

figured I could use some of this on the v-day cards???

started getting out the love stamps

brayer, ink tools, embossing heat tool, the "clean up rag"
and the mini stapler

some completed atc's and some atc backgrounds
waiting in the wings

So that's it for me today.  One of these weeks this spot is going to be neat and tidy for you . . . NOT - LOL!  Now go by Julia Dunnit's blog and see what other bloggers have on THEIR workdesks this week. 


PS  There's a contest going on here on my blog.  Wanna take a try at my Earth Wind & Fire crossword puzzle?  Go HERE  Linda Hoffman is REALLY close!

Daddy, Granddaddy and E. Lynn Harris

My father passed away 36 years ago.  This is one of my favorite photos of him  taken in Marseilles, France 1945  . . .

My daddy worked hard but loved to party as well.  This photo was taken in Chicago, Illinois "back in the day".  That's my mom to his right and my Godmother to my mom's right . . .

My grandfather passed away 32 days after my daddy.  I soooo miss all of the stories he would tell me.  This is a photo of him in his backyard in Indianapolis, IN . . .

Happy Father's Day to my two favorite men!

In Memoriam:  Today, Author and friend, E. Lynn Harris would have been celebrating his 55th birthday.  Those of you that have been following my blog for awhile may have remembered THIS POST.

paperbag book with miniature book cover tags I made for E. Lynn several years ago now

Déjà vu? and When I'm Sixty-Four

No, that's not the same photo from Friday's blog post.  I went Tuesday Morning yesterday.  Lezlei asked if I had seen these when I was in there on Friday . . .

Well, I saw them, but didn't purchase one.  So I went back yesterday and got one for myself and one for Linda.  NOTE to Linda: the bottle isn't for paint, it's for cleaning brushes - as it indicates on the bottle.


The brushes actually screw onto any 2 oz squeeze bottle of acrylic paint, wood sealer, varnish or stain.  And that other piece on the "stem"?  It's a small neck adapter.  Maybe I should have left all of the pieces in the package it came in instead of trying to pack it in that Tim Holtz tin the way I did.  

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Here are a few photos from Linda's b-day celebration Saturday, along with a few lyrics from The Beatles song "When I'm Sixty-Four" . . .

When I get older losing my hair

Many years from now

Will you still be sending me a Valentine 

Birthday greetings, a bottle of wine?

If I'd been out til quarter to three

Would you lock the door?

Will you still need me

Will you still feed me

When I'm sixty-four?

You'll be older too

And if you say the word

I could stay with you

Who could ask for more?

Will you still need me

Will you still feed me 

When I'm sixty-four

Happy Birthday my friend!

Friday & Saturday Happenings

So today started out with a drive to Arcadia to teach a class for "The Day Job" . . .

Once I was back in my neighborhood earlier this evening, I got a text from Lezlei (sil/bff/transplant from CA to TX) reminding me of the April 9th Tuesday Morning nationwide store sale.  


I had first learned about this sale on the Tim Holtz Yahoo Group I belong to, but I didn't put the date in my calendar, so I am soooo glad that Lezlei reminded me! . . .  . . .

Oooooooh, DOUBLE packs of Tim Holtz Idealogy Grungeboard for $7.99!  Oh yeah . . . I picked up Basics Dots, Basics Swirls, (2) Stripes Elements, Shapes Swirls, and Stripes Digits & Punctuation . . .

I picked up a couple of the Tim Holtz embossing powder tins for 7.99 each and there was even a little random mini tin on a shelf for 1.99 that I picked up . . .

Thanks for the reminder Lezlei!


When I got home from Tuesday Morning, this was at my front door . . .

Remember the Amy Hanna book I won over on Jenny Doh's blog?  Yep, well it arrived today :).  Here are a couple of pages inside the book . . .

Ooooooh I can hardly wait to sink my teeth into THIS book!  

Tomorrow I'm getting up early to go to a garage sale in Nancy Jamar's (owner of Gilding the Lily) neighborhood in Fullerton.  Hoping to find some good vintage ephemera there!


Saturday evening I will be celebrating my friend, Linda Bucci's birthday at her home along with her husband - Bob and friend - Martha.  

Whatever YOU do this weekend, make it art-filled and fun!

Monday Mail Call . . .4.37 Miles. . .Latest Zentangle

In my mail box when I got home last night . . .

And this is what was in the box . . .

There were only 11 of the new Distress Inks included because Pumice Stone is still on backorder.  But look at all of the extra goodies that Eclectic Paperie included as gifts "just because"!

They even included some tags to use.  This is REALLY good, since I just moved and haven't gone through all of my boxes marked "Arts & Crafts" yet - *sigh*


If you read some of my earlier birthday posts, then you already know that this was a gift from my sil/bff Lezlei.    Thanks again Lezlei!


Now, check THIS out.  I mapped Eclectic Paperie, and they are 4.37 miles from my home.  Does this mean that I can just drive over and go shopping any time I want?  Be still my Tim Holtz lovin' heart!

Sad to say, but it looks like they are an online retail store only - no physical location/store front - darn it.  But I bet this is where all their stuff is!


Do you think I could call and tell them to just leave anything Tim Holtz-related at the back door and I'll just swing by and pick it up?  

Please?  I promise I won't tell anyone else about our arrangement.

PS  Here's a Zentangle-inspired piece I did before going to bed last night . . .

Have an art-filled day today!

(Fe)Mail Call

I was one of three winners on Nancy Donaldson's blog - All Pulped Out for the One World One Heart event this year.  This is the gorgeous necklace Nancy created that I won.  And isn't the enclosed card gorgeous as well? . . .

Thank you Nancy!!

I was also the winner of Julie Mitchell's OWOH giveaway.  I won this handmade Spirit Doll whose name is Sprite.  She now lives in Southern California with me *smiles*.  You can see more of Julie's doll creations on her blog When The Spirit Moves Me . . .

Thank you so much Julie!

Earlier in the week I received this tin full of alpha stamps for my birthday from my friend Mary Ann over at A Very Mary Design . . .

You always send the perfect gifts Mary Ann - Thank you my friend!

And then today when I checked the mail, this Artist Trading Card was in my box from my blog friend Susan over at Brokn Heart Art !  I remember leaving her a comment that I really liked this atc.  Awwww, how sweet of you Susan to send me a rak (that's random act of kindness for those of you not familiar with the acronym) . . .

Thank you again Susan!  We DO love our atc's don't we? *smiles*

Nice (fe)mail call I had last week.  And then this weekend I sold 8 items in my etsy shop!  That was nice as well *smiles*

Have an art-filled week ahead everyone!!