it's arrived~!!~ this is the artist trading card that Ati made for me in return for my Nonsense and Buttons ATC. i Love it Ati ~ THANK YOU~!!!!!!!!!!!~

Ati lives in Norway and is an artist extraordinaire. treat yourself to a cup of tea while taking a few moments to browse through some of her amazing work on www.malinaplass.blogspot.com.

i've been away from home for a couple of days so am quite behind on just about everything. but while i was away from home i bought some extension rings for my camera and had to go out in the garden and give them a try . . . this is the first and only mantis i've seen this year.


one of the few remaining moss rose flowers.

ATC #2

a fabulous fabric giveaway announcement

go see Linda at: www.straystitches1.blogspot.com

~each piece is a half yard~

~!!~a total of 4 yards~!!~

"Above all, we cannot afford not to live in the present."

Henry David Thoreau



i've been allowing myself to take life a little slower or perhaps i should say i've been allowing myself to ENJOY taking life a little slower. the end of summer can be a sad time for me . . . i hate to see it all end so soon and i know that a loooong winter is almost upon us . . . the whole thing kind of throws me into a temporary funk.



since moving to a tropical climate is not currently one of my choices i've been doing a lot of reading (rather than a lot of blogging). some of the books i've read are pure pleasure. just a good story to immerse myself in as i feel the sunshine on my skin and breathe the warm garden scented air as the summer season fades into fall.



some of my reading choices have been more about spiritual growth and a desperate attempt to drive back the ugliness of a recently mounting depression. in addition to this reading i've been practicing becoming more mindful of the moment through reflection and meditation.

i'm happy to say that it has been quite effective.

i am getting back into the rhythms of living in the "right here ~ right now". as has happened before, once i get back into the simplicity of that lifestyle i feel great peace and happiness. it's amazing to me that it's both so easy and so hard to keep oneself in the present moment; that i've been here before and with similar results and yet somehow the busyness of life can and will insert itself into the equation if i'm not constantly diligent about the practice . . .



so this is where i've been and what i've been up to. my internet time has been cut down drastically and i do miss it but MUST moderate it in order to find a better sense of balance within my life. so if you notice that i'm visiting a little less often this is why. hopefully you'll bear with me as i work to find this balance. there is a part of me that wants to apologize for this but in truth i am not sorry nor do i really have anything to be sorry for. i began my blog as a way to record thoughts and creativity primarily and a way to interact with others of like mind secondarily. i'm happy with that and hope you are too.



this all relates nicely to the joy i feel while i have my photographer's hat on as well. when i am behind the lens of my camera i am absorbed by what is happening in the here and now. my attention is completely within the moment and discovering what it has to reveal to me. i love being able to capture that moment and share it with the viewer. there may be future posts that have only photos and no words . . . or fewer words . . . don't be alarmed or worried if this happens; it's just me enjoying my moments and sharing them with you in hopes that you too might get some pleasure from them.

i went for a tour around the garden this a.m. and found much abundance and beauty that i want to share with you.

drama queen: given to excessive performance

the artichoke plants have become my garden's drama queens during this late summer /early fall season. they now have a cold frame/green house around them so that i can watch them carry out their powerful performances. i'm quite happy that i allowed them to go into blossom and so are the bees . . .

these flowers have a very intense fragrance and have drawn a constant stream of Bumbles into the enclosure. i noticed that they flew in on a much straighter course than they flew out . . . as if they had become completely intoxicated. some of them even bumping into the walls and needing a temporary rest on the ground.

the trumpet vine grows in a part of the garden that has it's own warmer micro climate and has not yet been damaged by the frost. i've discovered quite a few little nooks like this tucked away here and there within the garden . . . delightful surprises of summer remembered.

i have also found some time to be creative with my needle and this is a fabric postcard made using a needle worked corner of an antique handkerchief. the (HAND) stitching is uber tiny and one practically needs a magnifying glass to appreciate it fully. i don't know who did the work as i came by it via a bulk buy of vintage linens. i didn't even get the piece in it's entirety but was able to salvage what was left nicely.
the background (green) fabric is one of my own hand dyed bits.

this card is a birthday card for a special someone.

i have also experimented with a new format; the ATC (artist trading card).

these typically measure two and a half inches by three and a half inches and are made using a wide variety of mediums. they are made as original artworks and traded one for one with other artists. traditionally they were only traded in person at large "meets" but currently many are traded in other ways using the internet as a tool to reach out further than one might be able to travel physically.

i'm still learning about them but found this one fun to do and the size/format challenging in new ways. i've already traded it and my card is in the mail all the way from the Norwegian West Coast.

Ati from www.malinaplass.blogspot.com was brave enough to trade with this first timer and is sending me one of her amazing ATC's in return. it's gorgeous and i'll be sure to post all about it when it arrives.

fall is in the air~!~ and blogland is brimming with give-aways. don't you just love this sweet woolen pin cushion~!?!~ if you would like a chance to win it you should visit Cheryl at So many quilts so little time! (http://fatesdesigns.blogspot.com/) she's there on my sidebar but don't wait too long ; she'll be drawing names for it tomorrow morning~!

we have already had a couple of pretty hard frosts and much of the garden is looking a bit golden.

this a.m. i caught sight of these seedpods on the hollyhocks and liked their illuminated look . . .

then i went to capture some more seedy garden goodness and i discovered the columbine in bloom AGAIN. it looks a bit confused with a dried seed pod AND a blossom coming from the same plant . . . and what is even weirder is that this is the third time this year that this particular plant has sent up blossoms. not sure what's happening but am taking the time to appreciate the tiny bit of yellow goodness that has shown itself once again.

there are at least a half dozen stems and sizable flowers on each one.

i've been busy working on a candle mat for the past few days. it was a kit that i purchased last year from www.pumpkinpatchprimitivequiltshoppe.blogspot.com . i don't usually do kits but this one was irresistible. however, i could not help myself and did make a few changes. i used small buttons rather than french knots on the front of the snowman and i tacked down a small tatted snowflake in the center. i felt that this made the piece a bit more multi functional as now it could even be hung up as a wall hanging i think.
obviously the buttons and the tatted piece were not included in the kit but it did have plenty of everything called for by the easily understood pattern.

the tatted snowflake was made by a sister guild member. she makes them and sells them at our annual Christmas Bazaar. it's one of my favorite booths and every year i'm able to add a few to my own collection. sometimes i use them as tree ornaments and sometimes i use them within my own work . . . i'm always smitten by the wonderful work that she does on them. maybe someday i'll have her show me how to tat but for now i love buying her lovely work.

one of the things that was included in the kit was a flannel backing fabric. it was stated as optional within the instructions but i was pleased to have it as part of the package as i really like the finished look that it gives this little piece.

it seems early to think about snowflakes falling and the construction of snowmen but you know it will be here before we all know it~!

i'm reading "Still Alice" by Lisa Genova. this book is a novel about a woman who has been diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease. it's well written and has been interesting, heartbreaking and frightening. although i was within 30 pages of finishing i had to put it down for a while.

meanwhile i decided to play/practice in PSE7 while i stepped away from it . . .
it influenced what i was working on quite a bit . . .

even though i haven't quite finished it i would recommend this book.

have finally gotten back to my Digital Expressions (by Susan Tuttle) lessons.
lesson three pertains to incorporating text into a piece.

i've used two photos and several layers of text hoping to create a painterly botanical type of piece . . . i'm pleased with this and hope to do some more soon.
i'm starting to feel much more comfortable working in my PSE7 program however my pace

is still pretty slow and it takes me forever to create something that i'm satisfied with.