Welcome autumn 2013

The cooler evenings...the shorter days... the scurrying squirrels running to and fro collecting food... are all heralding the beginning of one of my favorite seasons... AUTUMN.  After so much rain and gloom in early summer,  I have basked in these glorious early fall moments.  With the changing season came the desire to get some home improvement tasks done before winter.  So we've been pressure-washing the house, sealing the deck, hanging more energy-efficient doors... all in anticipation of the colder days to come.

The home tasks have kept me pretty busy, but not too busy to work in my visual journal. Since our days are still sunny and warm, we have some gorgeous blossoms for cutting and displaying inside.

I love this old verse...

"Do not wait until some deed

 of greatness you may do...

Do not wait to shed your light afar...

To the many duties ever near you

now be true...

Brighten the corner where you are."

Wonderful Junelle inspired my recent pages... I totally related to the idea of "layers of life"... using delightful translucent layers (I used stitched-down deli paper)... fiber blossoms... silk streamers... and thumbnail photos peeping under the layers...  I loved the symbolism of these pages... as the layers of life represent the metamorphosis of the spirit.  

My journal is made from an old discarded book... I sometimes use the existing pictures if they fit... this drawing was perfect for my feelings on self-judgment... It is so refreshing to garner the courage to be free to be me~

Some of my colors reflect the 

richer tones of the season. 

"For the beauty of the earth..."

This spread features a clear bag filled with paper treasures... tied with a hand-dyed ribbon...

All those who know me well know that I ADORE home... all the time... home is my refuge.... Autumn does give me even stronger feelings of nesting... in this case my nest is quite a wooly, messy, but funky nest...  

Here's hoping you're fluffing your nest and drinking in all the delights of these early autumn days~

Gathering the last flowers of summer...

Now that September has arrived, the crisp nights and cooler autumn days are just around the corner.   This watercolor sketch in my journal commemorates the final gathering of summer's glorious blooms.  Even Buttons was included in the action!  Wherever his Mommie is... he wants to be right there... "helping" all the way!

I do usually use my wonderful front-loader clothes dryer... but couldn't pass up the idea of the heart-felt line-up~  home... family... friendship...love... faith... and hope...

As we change the seasons, 

I try to be more mindful of all the gifts of the season...

So grateful for daily joy...

More wild art bliss... 

sharing faith, hope, and love...

How about a cup of coffee or tea???  

Come... Sit... Stay...

The last few weeks of summer... ahhhh...

I can hardly believe August is almost over.  I have been basking in the last few golden weeks of summer.  Our weather this past week has been "perfect" for me... warm days and cool evenings...just delightful.  Finishing my "Wildflower Summer" journal has been bittersweet... I have adored all the fun it has been... but I'm a bit sad that the lazy days of summer, with the extra daylight, are coming to a close quickly.  To commemorate glorious summer times, I watercolored my vision of a sweet cottage with wildflowers blooming and a huge oak tree adorned with a tire swing...  

I found a clipping that spoke to  my love of houses and "home"... so some collaged row houses were fun to create.

The cover of my church bulletin from a few Sundays ago inspired the watercolor piece that is the close to my summer journal...  Nothing could have said it better...

My vintage book is in the softest blue color, and I could barely stand to cover it... but I found a few adornments to give the look I wanted...  old linen, lace trim, a butterfly button... a velvet leaf, and some polka dot posies...

For every journal I create, I always HOPE that I will make it flat enough to close easily.  That NEVER happens, because I can't stop with the layers and textures... it would be NO FUN at all if everything was totally flat.  So once again, my book needs to go on a diet, but it's just the way I love it... "Baby Jane style"!

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer... the shorter, crisp days and nights are just around the corner.  Perhaps an autumn book is on the horizon... who knows???

Ever blooming...

I can hardly believe that August is almost half gone... where has summer gone???  We have generally had a much cooler, and for sure, wetter summer than I can ever remember.  The sun hasn't seemed as bright in early morning, with so many afternoon showers and clouds... But it has been a bright, sunny wild art summer in my little studio.  I try to savor every moment ... appreciating the gifts of the day...

On the sunny days... donning a hat and puttering outside is such a sweet thing...

A jar with a flower from the garden brings joy to my home... and my soul...

Taking time to watch all the little birdies taking a bath... a break on a steamy day...

A vision of these little "buds" sharing a moment at the bird bath...

Wouldn't I love to squeeze this little cutie???

There hasn't been much serious art here... but for sure... SERIOUS PLAY!!!

I've been metaphorically "packed and ready" for the journey... wherever it takes me...

Wherever your journeys take you in these remaining days of summer... may you be "ever blooming"!!!

A great idea for unmounted rubber stamps...

I ADORE rubber stamps and have collected them for more years than I can count... They are such fun to use in so many mixed media applications.  I am NOT, however, a huge fan of the cling mount stamps that attach to the acrylic bars.  I know there is the advantage of being able to see where you are placing the stamp... So if that works for you... that is great.  I am just a die-hard lover of wood-mounted stamps.  They are much more expensive to purchase and do take up lot of storage space... Many of my favorite stamp creators have sheets of unmounted images that are not available in wood mounted... so I have found a great compromise solution that works very well for me.  

The credit to this idea goes to the fabulous Michelle Ward.  You can go to her blog, scroll down a bit, and get all the details for how she mounts her stamps on foam kneeling pads found in the garden center.  Now is the perfect time to pick these up... maybe even on sale as summer is soon coming to a close.  I have found the kneeling pads vary quite a bit in thickness, but they all work well for me.  I have some little storage drawers that hold all my foam-mounted stamps.  I can just pop open the drawers and see exactly what I have to choose from.  Here is a pad I picked up at my local hardware store yesterday.  

I love the way this one works with some new stamps I have recently ordered. Christy Tomlinson has some darling stamps... loved this one for texture.

I glued the image to the cut foam with Fabric Tac... a favorite adhesive of mine.  I used Liquid Nails on some of the ones I have previously mounted and both adhesives work great!  I cut out the printed image and glue it to the other side of the stamp so I can keep everything organized well.

Michelle uses a gel contact cement.  I have used that and it works very well... but a bit smelly.  Trial and error helped me find my best solution.  

Roben-Marie Smith has so many darling stamps... I have drawers filled with her images, and I use them so often.  I love to buy her rubber sheet sets, and this method has worked so well for those pieces.

My latest new "art toy" is the divine Gelli Arts gel printing plate.  This delightful new tool is the best way to do fabulous mono prints to serve as backdrops for stamped images.  

It's yet another rainy day here... so it really feels like the perfect day to play with the gelli plate and some stamps... ahhh... art bliss...

dreaming of building sandcastles in the air...

"If you have built castle in the air,

your work need not be lost;

that is where they should be,

Now put the foundations under them."   Thoreau

...what a special thought...

Junelle gave us the "beachy" theme this week.

This summer has not included a trip to the shore for me...

but I have been re-visiting special trips in memory...

I can almost hear the waves and taste that salty breeze...

Visions of blooms are still appearing in my artwork...

from an outdoor cafe with blossoms spilling from pots along the walls...

to a pick-up truck serving as a mobile flower market...

what fun~

One of these lovelies could be plucked and planted

inside this blue jar... happy place~

"Come forth into the light of things,

let nature be your teacher..."

Wordsworth

Enjoy these last few days of July...

Let your senses be immersed in the delights of summer...

Follow the light~ 

Sketching summer beauty

Now that it finally feels like July here in our little southern town...  many are drawn to local outdoor markets... with booths overflowing with every color of bloom, fresh produce, yummy breads and preserves... Oh, how I love summer...  The summer market found a place in my art journal this week...

A real "perk" from social media is the plethora of sweet images that pop up every day... One appeared this week that prompted me to sketch this girlie... holding a gorgeous bouquet.

Dearest Junelle provided the inspiration for this little row of posies on an old ledge.  I fell in love with the Wordsworth quote... It found a "home" on this journal page...

My yard is ablaze with my ever-favorite crepe myrtles.  That delicious pink hue has my name all over it! 

I truly have been enthralled by the beauties surrounding me... soft, mysterious... lively...

Enjoy every moment of this precious season...  it will pass all too quickly...