June Mail Art - Deep in the Forest

Yeah - Beth and Leslie both received my Mail Art for this month so now I can share.... I had lots of ideas for this theme ... 

Since we are trying to challenge ourselves to do something "different" I wanted to create a fabric postcard to see how it would survive the mail...

I made fabric paper (only my second time). Messy but fun.

I printed the graphic which I found on the web (I really need to be better at acknowledging sources) on my InkJet printer. I left the paper back on to stabilize it for sewing.

Not bad, eh? They were actually darker but camera settings turned out this way.  Speaking of "eh" - Happy Canada Day (July 1st)! Next month's theme is "silly rhymes"...Enjoy, Jewels

Monthly ATC Invite - June Garden Calendar

Its that time of year when the roses are in bloom! Continuing to use my old Gardening book for monthly titles. This is part of Penny's challenge you can find here...

I'm getting good use from all my old Better Homes and Gardens books and magazines. My picture came from a book on roses - apparently these particular ones are "winners". By the way, I never look like that when I'm mucking about in my plot of earth, LOL. Enjoy. Jewels

Tag Tuesday - Riverbank

The theme this week is Tales of the Riverbank which conjures up all kinds of images...but being in a bit of a hurry I made do with bits and pieces from other projects to pull this one together.

Some "fabric paper" (see this post on how to make - sorry the Give Away is long over)...

...and a favorite cottage photo. Check out the rest of this week's creations at the Tag Tuesday blog. Enjoy. Jewels

Before the Computer...

...we used typewriters. All through university I used an electronic typewriter to type papers for other students to make some money. Sometimes I would get essentially the "skeleton" of a paper with the expectation I would actually write it (NOT!). I could not resist however correcting really hideous grammar - it was the English Major in me. I can't say I am awfully careful these days with my grammar when blogging though (but I try LOL).

This ATC was created using a typewriter advert from an old Montgomery Ward catalog, a young lady from a dress pattern and another advert for wallpaper just to add a little colour.....Enjoy! Jewels

June Mail Art

Our theme this month was "deep in the forest".... I am behind this month and my mail is actually "drying" on the studio counter even as we speak. But I DID receive my art from Beth and Leslie...

Beth really has a whimsical sense in everything she does - I just love it. On the back of her card she wrote:
"Now you know the real story of G Locks and the 3 Bears. She was just being a good hostess according to Emily Post 1937" (LOL). Lots of wonderful layers....

Leslie also did some wonderful layering - tape, paper, gesso, paint, modeling paste, transfer....and a freestyle stitched tree. Her theme was "promises to keep"...the scan really does not do it justice. 
Well done ladies - mine WILL get in the mail eventually - next month is Silly Rhymes and I already know what I'm going to do. 

Leaving you with this shot from my garden early this morning - everything survived while I was away for the week! Enjoy, Jewels

For Leslie P... :)

One of my Quilting Guild buddies was asking why I had not posted garden pictures lately...

...to be honest not much has been really happening except for  bug munching 

...though there is colour

...I always love when the lilies bloom - I have yellow ones too

...and then there is my tree trunk I dragged out of the woodlot - it is actually quite large but I just loved what was happening with the wood grain - a drawing project if I ever get the time to sit still!
Off to Philadelphia for business Sunday so won't be seeing much of me for a few days. Enjoy (Leslie, LOL). Jewels

Beauty Sleep and Body Measurements

I have not done a Tag Tuesday in a few weeks. This weeks theme is Camping. I actually don't mind camping and did a lot when I was younger.

I just find the older I get the better it feels to sleep in my own bed with my own pillows. Get up and have a decent shower in the morning. Not eat burnt food off the fire. And did I mention avoiding the bugs....

Mind you I'm not into lingerie and makeup for my regular sleeps (LOL)... Check out the details on this and the rest of the tags for June 12th - hope my tag friends don't mind me not being exactly "on theme". 

I also did a quick ATC (been awhile) - an old Butterick pattern and some vintage wrapping paper. It was good to do something artsy - though my new printer/scanner is driving me crazy... Enjoy. Jewels

Thank You

Everyone - a heartfelt thanks to all of you who left messages for me about Gwendoline. They mean a lot. It has been a hard few days since Wednesday. I know it will get easier but I don't think any one of us gets over losing a loved one completely. I do appreciate all your kind words. Julie

Another Passage

Gwendoline

July 1, 1998 - June 6, 2012

Today we said goodbye to our beautiful girl, Gwendoline. The cancer that struck a few weeks back came back despite the surgery and chemo she bravely went through. We had to make the hard decision so that she could leave us in a dignified manner and our last memories of her were happy ones.
I like to think Gwen found us, not we found her. She was dropped off at the side of a busy road at a family center Alan used to work at. We do not know her history before she came to us - but her physical condition at the time was very poor. Circumstances were such that Alan had to bring her home and the rest, as they say, is history. We had 13 wonderful years with her and loved her every day.
Like any other being, she had her own personality. She had no problems telling us (literally) when it was time to be fed or given attention and would regularly do the "stare down" at meal times. She had her favorite toys - recently Monkey Man and Harry the Hedgehog. She hated going to the "salon" and was guaranteed to get dirty some how within a few hours of being home. We had many names for her that were used either in exasperation or pure joy - Missy, Gwenie, Stinky-doo, Puddin, Baby Girl....She freely gave kisses and was known to frequently do the "shakin the bacon"  - all four paws in the air looking for the required belly rub. For such a little thing she ferociously stepped out and (in her mind) let the neighborhood dogs know she was the "boss". We have lots of Gwen stories - like when I took her for lessons on running an obstacle course. After the second "run" she had figured out if she got to the platform at the end of the last obstacle she got a treat. So on the third try she ran straight to that platform avoiding all the preceding obstacles - and demanded her reward - she was a smart girl. 
After the passing of her big brother Gryphon in 2010, she really came into her own as our little princess. She could be terribly standoffish, but overwhelmingly affectionate depending on her mood. The last couple of years as her hearing started to go she truly mellowed; but although she no longer made the big jumps on to the bed and slept a lot in her favorite spot, she was still a feisty old girl right to the end. 
Help us celebrate her life. Give a kiss and hug to your loved ones (animal or human) and tell them how lucky you are to have them in your life. We will miss her terribly. Julie

More May Mail Art

Beth and Leslie obviously had fun with May's theme of Architecture - but how different their interpretations!

Beth's arrived first and she chose Paris! The "April" refers to her planned trip next year to France - I asked if I could tag along. The blues are wonderful and the flowers really "pop".

In true fashion, Leslie chose a different spin altogether - the architecture of my mind. I think the fact she is sniffing a flower reflects all the work she has been doing (or contracting someone else to do LOL) on her new garden. Take a good look - it really is fun.
Thanks Ladies! Deep in the Forest for June.... Enjoy. Jewels