Quote o' the Day

“Motivation is an external, temporary high
     that PUSHES you forward. 
Inspiration is a sustainable internal glow
     which PULLS you forward.” 

--  Guillaume De La Pierre

Happy Cyber Monday!

Well, everything’s been so CrAzY around here what with the holiday weekend and all -- I’m sorely behind on my blog entries!!  Please tell me that the whole month of December won’t be like this.  LOL

So, I hope you had as wonderful a Thanksgiving holiday as we did.  Oh my, what good eats there were to be had!  And while my Pecan Pie was a little on the liquid-y side (who knows why--it never has been before), it was most delicious, as was everything else.  ♥

And while the Dallas Cowboys didn’t win their football game that day, they fought hard, and I was so proud of them.  And I remain absolutely thrilled with Jason Garrett being their interim head coach. 

You non-Cowboy fans probably wouldn’t know, but back in the day, Jason was their 3^rd string quarterback under Troy Aikman, and is famous for a certain Thanksgiving Day victory of his own.  He’s a cutie-pie redhead with a great smile, and a Princeton graduate to boot.  And I hope Jerry Jones is smart enough to keep him.  (!!)

Okay, sorry I digressed there for a minute.  For us Dallas Cowboy fans, Thanksgiving equals football and food, and I have been married long enough to Mr. Man to know that!  Haha!

So I still need to write a blog entry on the Peter Thornton workshop with some VISUALS…!  Goodness, where do the hours go?  I need another hour or two in the day, just for writing blog entries and processing photos (moving them from the camera to the computer and re-sizing them).  Oy.

In the meantime, I posted a little snippet, to hopefully tide you over:  a photo of yesterday’s Scripture verse that I wrote out in the Casual Caps that we learned last weekend.  But.  I used a gel pen instead of a pencil.  (!)  I know, I know, Peter would spin in his grave, were he dead, but I just had to try it out, what with all my gel pen craze lately.  And you know what?  I like the look.  I was afraid it would be too thick and clunky, done with a monoline gel pen, but I think it works!  What do you think??

Okay…  I need to go do some regular stuff, like get dinner going, duh.  I’m thrilled with the day’s productivity, though.  I finally (and that really should be underscored, italicized and bolded) cleaned and polished my hardwood kitchen floor.  I’d been agonizing about that crazy floor for a long time, wondering what to use, and I finally got some Bona products at Lowe’s yesterday.  And the floor is drying as we speak!  (type?)

I’ll try to post more this week, 'cause I also have a new piece of artwork to share with you soon:  my experiment with art journaling techniques.  I can’t wait to for you to see my newest little creation.  ♥  Okay, soon, very soon.  After I post some samples of what we did at the workshop.

In the meantime, Happy Cyber Monday!
I’ve already done my online shopping, have you?

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Sunday Scripture

Psalm 56 verse 9

This I know, that God is for me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving

with a Bradford Pear leaf garland color study!

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Quote o' the Day

“Some are by nature more controlled, others are looser.  Temperament will be expressed in your writing and we must acknowledge who we are.  Nonetheless, if you consider yourself careful, aim for a little more energy in your strokes.  If you consider yourself a free spirit, then slow down and be a bit more careful.  Strive for more of what you think you lack.  Calligraphy comes from both discipline and freedom.”

 -- Denis Brown

Workshop with Peter Thornton

Well, I just finished taking a 2-day workshop with Peter Thornton on Casual and Inventive Caps.  THE Peter Thornton.  Ahhhh…  I’ve wanted to take a class with him for at least 20 years, and it was *so* worth the wait.  (!!!)

And while I was inspired and educated and came away with greater *understanding*, I couldn’t help but think of a particular Peanuts cartoon during the course of the weekend.

Lucy, Linus and Charlie Brown are lying down, looking up at all the clouds, and Lucy asks them what they “see”.

Linus:  Well, those clouds up there look to me look like the map of the British Honduras on the Caribbean. [points up]  That cloud up there looks a little like the profile of Thomas Eakins, the famous painter and sculptor.  And that group of clouds over there… [points] … gives me the impression of the Stoning of Stephen.  I can see the Apostle Paul standing there to one side.

Lucy:  Uh huh. That’s very good. What do you see in the clouds, Charlie Brown?

Charlie Brown:  Well… I was going to say I saw a duckie and a horsie, but I changed my mind.

When I am around such greatness, I feel like I’m just playing with duckies and horsies by comparision.  And yet, at the same time, I am so inspired to achieve greater things. 

Gosh, I love workshops!!!!!

And while there were many things “worth the price of the workshop”, Peter had some advice was most insightful.  And I want to be sure to pass it along to you, my little chickadees, just in case there are a couple of you out there that haven’t heard it before.

He instructed us at the beginning of the workshop  that we were not to say, “I can’t”.  As in, “I can’t make a good S” or whatever.  Instead, he said we were to add the word yet to the end of that.  “I can’t do that yet.” 

It’s obviously less negative and it helps our subconscious mind be open to such possibilities, and, I think, is a very worthwhile habit to cultivate.  (Although, it was very hard to not think it, especially during a workshop!)

So!  I need to unpack my art supplies and come down from my workshop high…  But really, I hope it lingers a bit longer than usual this time.  It was truly a *wonderful* workshop and alphabet.

XOXO,

Lucky Dog
♥

Sunday Scripture

Zephaniah 3 verse 17 

The LORD your God is with you,

   the Mighty Warrior Who saves.

He will take great delight in you;

   in His love He will no longer rebuke you,

   but will rejoice over you with singing.

Collage Card #19

Quote o' the Day

“Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

--  Albert Einstein

Psalm 8 Collage

Today I had fun trying out an idea:  lots of horizontal lines of white writing, accented with a visual.  And my favorite choice for that is generally collage.  ♥

The paper I used is a light blue commercial stock with silver flecks all over it, and the white pen is made by Pilot.  And the collage elements are from my collection of bits and bobs, odds and ends, jams and jellies.  :)

First I handprinted Psalm 8, verses 3-5, over and over for a textural background and then started having fun.   (!)

I don’t know why, but I just naturally love collage!  I love putting together colorful bits and creating texture and usually making something a bit 3-dimensional.  And I always appreciate the fact that you can “audition” elements (try them in place) before commiting yourself with the glue.

Somehow I just love that you take these separate elements that you pick up and hold, and then put them together to create something new.  I have no idea why that appeals to me so much.

I even love that it’s a tidy, dry method.  ♥  Especially with today’s scrapbooking glues like glue dots and tape runner thingies.  I played with some new toys the other day, some spray bottles of iridescent paint, and got it ALL over my hands.  And it didn’t wash off, and my hands were soooo stained..  Yuk, what a mess.  I felt like Monk, trying to get it off!  LOL  (TMI!!!)

Like painting doesn’t feel messy enough to me.  I don’t know why, but I haven’t ever enjoyed painting.  Heaven knows I’ve tried.  (And I will continue to try, for the record.  Go with your strengths, but continue to stretch yourself, right?)

But I love love love gluing and making collages.  Isn’t it funny how we naturally prefer some things and not others??  I mean, we each pop out differently, don’t we.  Vive la différence!  I guess it contributes to making your own art, with your own unique voice.

We really are all little snowflakes.  :)

To more experiments and enjoying the process...

XOXO,

Lucky Dog 
♥

Sunday Scripture

Isaiah 40 verse 31

Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; 
they will mount up with wings like eagles,
they will run and not get tired,
they will walk and not become weary.

Dinner Time

Isn't it too bad this little dog isn't happier???  hahaha

Veterans Day

Honoring those who have served...

Quote o' the Day

“The key question to keep asking is, 

are you spending your time on the right things? 

Because time is all you have."  

-- Randy Pausch (The Last Lecture)

Meet the Artist: Tiffany Duffy

“Sleepover”, by Tiffany Duffy, printed on a 3-ring binder.

Today I would love to share with you a really good internet find.  ♥  Her name is Tiffany Duffy, and she sells her artwork on Zazzle.com.

I fell in love with her pieces immediately.  She has so many darling illustrations and watercolors of happy fun times…

I love so many of them!!

And on her blog, http://tiffjamaica.blogspot.com/, she mentioned that Zazzle was having free shipping right then, so I knew it was time to order.  In fact, I think they're having free shipping on orders over $50 for the rest of the year!

(From her blog, you can find links to her Zazzle store and website.)

 "Sleepover", by Tiffany Duffy, print.

The cool thing about Zazzle is the variety of products they offer.  I especially loved Tiffany’s piece, Sleepover.  The hard part was deciding if I wanted a print, a mouse pad, cards, a notebook binder or a coffee mug!  And there were soooo many more options!

“Night Lights” by Tiffany Duffy.

I finally chose both a print and a notebook of "Sleepover", and then got cards of some of her other artwork to round out my order.

"Cupcake Tree", by Tiffany Duffy.

I’m very pleased with the quality of Zazzle’s merchandise, their shipping, and I couldn’t love Tiffany’s artwork more.

(They shipped the print flat--yay!)

"Big Fun on the Bayou", by Tiffany Duffy.

Check it out, because Christmas is coming, and this makes for some VERY easy shopping.  Click, click, and it comes to your front door.  Ya gotta love that!  :)

XOXO,

Lucky Dog 
♥

Sunday Scripture

I Timothy 1 verse 5  

The purpose of my instruction is that all believers
would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart,
a clear conscience, and genuine faith.

P.S.

Mr. Man came home from work today and said that his co-worker said that you can do the same thing with CTRL plus the wheel on your mouse.

Cool!  :)

XOXO,

Lucky Dog 
♥

In CTRL

Okay, am I the last person to learn this???  :)

So I’m looking at some pretty photo on the Internet, and I’ve already clicked on “Larger Image”, but I’m still wishing that the photo was bigger.  Sigh.

Well, I don’t know how we got to talking about it, but all of a sudden my sweet husband is telling me about Ctrl+ and Ctrl-.  WoW!  They have changed my computer viewing world!

Let’s say you’re on a photo, for example, the “Chilly Today” piece that I put on my blog yesterday.  And let’s say you’ve already clicked on it to make it bigger… 

If you want it even bigger than that, you hold down the Ctrl key and press the + sign as many times as you want to make the image larger.  WAY larger!!!

And to make it smaller, yup, Ctrl and the minus sign.

And to return the image to its original size, press Ctrl plus the numeral zero.  (reset)

I just love seeing details and super large images.  Gosh, I wish I had known about this sooner!  There’s just no telling what all Mr. Man (AKA Mr. Computer Whiz) knows that I don’t even know to ask about!!

So, enjoy those images up close and personal now.

(Unless you already knew about this, too.  In which case I will say, “never mind”.)

TGIF!!!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog 
♥

Whimsical Piece # 52

Did everyone say this, growing up, or just us?  :)

It was just some little wordplay that we'd use to comment on the weather.  It IS fun to say... 

We're expecting our first freeze tonight, so it will definitely be chilly around here.

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

BFFs

Quote o' the Day

“We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us
happy is something to be enthusiastic about.” 

-- Charles Kingsley

(Isn't that especially true in the art studio??)