Bless

This weeks Art Journal Caravan challenge #47 was the word was Bless. Thinking about the word I thought of friends that I am blessed with and found a quote by Charles Kingsley that said it all.

I am off on a holiday  to St. Augustine in a few days with some friends to help celebrate a very special birthday for one of them. We have rented a house in the historic district and plan on a "slow" trip enjoying the little things. I'm bringing my camera and a journal to record the trip. I am looking forward to warmer weather, the ocean and a little adventure.



It's a first!

As you all know I've been participating in the Art Journal Caravan for the past several months. This week one of my layouts was featured as a highlight of the week by Tangie Baxter on her home page.
I'm thrilled and smiling ear to ear.

She Dreams

Another digital page. The layout  was inspired by the photo of a women in such a beautiful dress. I thought she looked a bit distress and I imagined her distress was from  dreaming of castles in the sky and waiting for a prince to come and rescue her. Poor girl needs to get a life.

Art Journal Caravan #46 - Protect

The  challenge word this week from Art Journal Caravan was Protect.
What came to mind as soon as I started thinking about it was a women's need to protect their home and loved ones. I found the spell for protection on the Internet.

The background came from Mystic Morning, Unicorn from Naughty Girl Graphics
and the figure of the women from a P.G. Woodhouse painting.

New York City

I thought I share another day in New York which started with a street fair outside of our hotel.  We spent the morning wandering along Lexington Ave. which was closed off for the day looking at booths and buying some Christmas gifts for our family. We bought lunch from a booth grilling Italian sausages that had the most delicious smells.

We continued walking south and then west to 6th Ave. to have a look at M & J Trimming.

 This photo was a wall of ribbons in every size and colour you could ever want.

 And this one was just one of the many walls stacked with trims

My husband appreciated this.

Our next stop after a short subway ride was Central Park.

It was a lovely day and the park was filled with families out for a stroll. After  all of the walking, we gave ourselves a treat and our feet a rest with  a carriage ride.

And then fed a carrot to Pedro at the end  of our ride.
More photo to come.......

Crafty Day

Yesterday I purchased the latest issue of Stitch Magazine put out by the Embroiders Guild in the UK. I had some free time this afternoon and decided to make a Brooch which is one of the projects in the magazine.

It was made using the Embellisher Machine, cotton fabric over cotton velvet. I then added bits and pieces of silk mohair cut it out, zig zaged the edges and added beads.
Done! A nice bit of play on a gray afternoon.

New York, New York Day one

I was in New York a few weeks ago to take care of some family matters. And thought I would share with you some of the high lights of my visit.
One of my favorite streets in New York is 57th St. I love the varied architecture and shops. One of my favorite shops to visit is MacKenzie-Child.

They offer a mixture of decorative items and furniture, using wonderful colours and patterns.

Don't you want to just sit yourself down in this chair with a cup of tea and a good book.

I bought this colander there  that I had noticed on my visit in June and was sorry I had not purchased it.

I loved walking along the street looking up and seeing these soaring buildings.

Interesing architecture.

Great window displays.

Bubbling fountains, this one in front of the famous Plaza Hotel.

And trying to figure out if this was a 9 or a E. Ah, New York is wonderful.

Nest #45

This week's challenge from the Art Journal Caravan was the word nest. I found it a easy to relate to,  and I immediately  though of  our home and family.

Once our  children grew up and few away, I like to think of our home as nest that they can always come back to for comfort and a support.

Life's highway

I've been dealing with a lot of small but challenging irritants lately. I created this  layout to  expresses some of my frustrations.

And another one

I have been having so much fun making up this fantasy layouts.

This one is called "All Dressed up and Nowhere to go"