Patina Moon

Hello friends!  This week I was fortunate enough to get to join my hubby at a conference he is attending. We are at the  Alderbrook Resort & Spa on the  Hood Canal  in Washington. We were here back in May for another conference and enjoyed it so much!  This time, the weather is warmer,  so there are more boats around.  Also, many activities on the  water as well as outdoor places to grab a bite to eat.  When I was out walking on the dock around dusk last night, I saw what I first thought was  bats flying around.  As it turns out, it was many little birds!  Swallows,  I believe they are.  Aren't they cute?   Just look at their sweet, little faces !  Not the greatest shots, but I just had to show you how cute they were all  huddled up together under the eve of the boat shack. (look at the 2nd one from t...

This week, I finally put down the crochet long enough to do some painting! I really had a lot of fun creating this piece.   Although, I haven't decided if it's completed or not,  because  I still haven't named this piece yet.   Usually something will "hit" me while I'm working on it.  This is acrylic paint and graphite pencil on a 9X12 canvas. First,  I sketched out my face and practiced shading. (I really kind of rushed though this part because I wanted to get to the paint!)  Working with graphite is so much easier for me than paint.  I feel like I have so much more control. Sketches are fine, but I really wanted color!   Hopefully over time and with practice I can become more comfortable with paint. So, originally I created a background on an 8X10 canvas, but as you can see my  girl is so much bigger so that's how she ended up on a larger canvas.  My next ...

Hi Everyone!  Originally, I was planning to show you some crochet pieces I've been working on. But instead,  I sort of got caught up in a photo shoot,  once I saw how the colors of the blossoms matched my favorite  yarn bowl! I'm still learning about "when" to cut these  "moody blooms" for drying.  I noticed the colors were starting to  look so different,  so I had to take a chance. This is a hydrangea that I have in a container by our front door. When I bought them they were blue and purple. Now, the pedals are changing to a beautiful, patina green with even some pinks mixed in! This weekend was the  Bellevue Arts Fair   here in Washington. It was a fun and beautiful day to walk around and see all the different booths filled with creativity!  I even got to meet artist/illustrator   Cori Dantini . If you are not familiar with Cori's...

Every Wednesday now,  it's become part of my regular routine to  walk down to the  Farmers Market. This time of year you can find a market everyday of the week. Fresh fruit and veggies. We've even been trying vegetables we've never even heard of before and  enjoying them in our salads.  Always beautiful flowers... ...and music! The market vendors, like this one at a floral stand, working hard at bunching beautiful bouquets, making them hard to pass up!    I love the natural textures... burlap, wooden boxes and crates. ...Homemade jams and pies... ...and of course this time of year...lavender. Bunches and bunches of lavender! Some vegetables in a variety of colors I never even knew existed. There's just "something special" about walking home with you...

Yesterday, a day of warmth, sunshine and a little crocheting outside.  Today,  cool, pouring rain, and tea!  I've been making things with tea bags again.   The texture,  color and strength of these little papers make them so fun to work with. For this project, I cut pieces of the tea bag paper to the size of a tea bag before use. Then using little muslin scraps I had, I secured a piece to the back of one side with my sewing machine, so that it would be easier to add hand embroidery. Using free hand or a stamp, add what ever design you'd like to the front, add the back tea bag paper and sew around again with your machine.   I left the top part open to add some dried lavender, then sewed up the opening. Easy peasy!  This is my new little tea pot I bought at a tea and spice store near my home. They have so many interesting mixes of loose leaf tea, it's hard to decide what to get!  ...