Fear of Flying

October 6 is my our 15 year wedding anniversary!

(wow, that's a long time)

Kevin surprised me with a trip to Boston.

He arranged everything, even farmed the kids out.

There's only one problem.......

fear of flying!

Thank goodness for Valium.

I've tried to keep my mind off things by staying busy.

Remember these?

The cover & pages Beth made for our round robin,

'Her Life in Stitches'.

Aren't they beautiful?

I spent almost a month staring at them & deciding how I would continue 'her' story.

My jump off point was this card I've been saving for just the right project.

My page is about a girl named May, she is a dressmaker.

The little crocheted bag has been in my collection awhile too.

I think Beth will like this old velvet button.

I adore the silhouette Beth made for the cover.

I imagine this is May as young girl, perhaps the picture used for the silhouette.

Because May is a dressmaker, I used a piece from an old doll skirt as the base of the page.

All done in Beth's 'low color' style.

This project is so fun, I can't wait to see my book when it's done!

 Last week I got some great news.

I won Diane Knotts give-away!

Diane's hand work is perfection!

I had to examine my wonderful pincushion heart up close, under a magnifying glass.

 Such lovely detail.

I didn't expect so many goodies along with my prize.

My favorite are the Diane Knotts originals for my collection!

(she really is a star)

Love these cool pod thingies.

A bundle of sweet laces.

And some vintage papers.

Thank you for spoiling me sweet friend!

All of it will be put to good use, I promise.

I finished up a project for a new class.

Playing with beeswax.

I experimented with some stenciling, & used some cool fabric designed by Tracie Lynn Huskamp.

You can find them in her on-line shop here.

Well, please pray for good weather & a smooth flight for me!

And the winner is............

I'm sorry I'm 3 days late posting my give-away winner.  I've been very much under the weather, my stomach has been giving me fits.

I have a big fear of doctors so I'm self medicating & spending a lot of time google-ing symptoms. 

Thanks to Prilosec OTC I'm better & managed to finish my little nature journal.

The winner is Marie from Lost Bird Studio!

I hope you like it Marie.

Thank you to everyone for entering & for leaving such sweet comments.

Spending time camping last month & being in nature was heaven. 

 I dyed linen & laces the coolest shade of blue/green, similar to the moss covered rocks I saw.

Like Tina, I'm using more color in my work. 

 It must be spirng fever!

6 pages in all.

Lots of fabric & fiber, layered & burned.

A little resin charm made with a pressed wildflower.

I like to tuck things into pockets. 

I got a little carried away, I just kept adding elements.

Bookpages & barkcloth.

The bluebird carries the sky on his back ~ Henry David Thoreau

Side view.

Here's the spine all wrapped up.

Thank you DJ, Lk, & Traci for endless inspiration!

Nature inspired give-away

I can't believe it's been 12 days since I posted last.

Now that winters chill has left us (I think) we are spending every free minute outside.

We went camping in Texas Hill country over spring break, & had so much fun we went again the next week,

 & the week after that!

  There is nothing better to me than heading to a National Park for some R&R.  

Days spent hiking, looking for nature,

 swimming in the still frigid water,

star gazing & of course MANY s'mores.

Right now I'm pretty much obsessed with everything nature.

 Perhaps it's all the camping, or the evidence of spring in my garden, or the anticipation of Karla's Bird Songs event next month.  

On my bedside table, 3 of my very favorite art books.

Nature Inspired by Traci Lyn Huskamp.

Mixed Media Nature Journals by LK Ludwig.

& the newest addition to my library, Eco Colour by India Flint.

 You can find them all on my sidebar under Amazon Favorites.

Another HUGE dose of heaven to me is reading DJ Pettitt's blog, she is absolute perfection!

 Someday I hope to will take a class from her, until then I will drool all over my laptop.

On my art table right now.

 Playing with techniques I've learned from these amazing books.

Last week I realized that I've reached a milestone with my blog, over 1000 followers!

 Wow, that's insane to me.

 I think that calls for a giveaway, don't you?

The rules for my giveaways are always simple, just leave a comment on this post.

 I will draw a winner on Sunday night, April 10th.

The prize????

A nature journal I'm working on, I'll try to post more pictures this week.

And so no one goes away empty handed, I'd like to share this sweet picture with you.

 Maybe you can use her in your work.