Sweet October

 There really is nothing finer than Autumn in New York...

that is of course if you are indeed a New Yorker.  The bounty

of this beautiful season in all of its glory, is very, very sweet, 
as you can see by these glorious apples.

Now, don't they just look HAPPY?

   And they all seemed to be just calling out...

"PICK ME, PICK ME"...

And that's just what we did...pick, pick, eat, eat, pick!!!

 

  It was a fantastic day!

Altered Book Cover

Dreamer...you know you are a Dreamer...

This was a cover from a book that was destined for the recycle bin.  I loved it's texture, and I made it into an inspirational wall hanging for my daughter to give as a birthday gift.  And it was my first time using the tape transfer for the quote.  Here is a link for instructions to make your own transfer...Cloth Paper Scissors

Always remember to check your local library book sales or yard sales for used books that would love to be altered and given new life.  Especially if they are falling apart, and indeed headed for the dreaded trash!!! I hear them calling my name..."pick me...save me...give me an adventurous new life, full of passion"!  Yes, I too, am a DREAMER...

Linking up with Nancy for Tuesday Muse @ A Rural Journal

Sweet Ride

1959 Corvette (not mine, damn)

What a beauty!!!

 

ALOHA!!!

 Wordless Wednesday

Long May It Wave

UNITED WE STAND!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Olana in the Catskills

A view from the porch of Olana

Glad to share a beautiful day in the 

Hudson Valley/Catskill Region of New York State for
Random 5 Friday.

1.  I have a great core group of gal pals that I can hang with and take day trips to explore art and gather inspiration.

2.  Olana is a New York State Historic Site and was the home of Frederic E. Church, one of the major figures in the Hudson River School of landscape painting of the mid 19th century.

 3.  You can see the Rip Van Winkle bridge from this porch.  

  4.  The panoramic views of the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains are perfect backdrops for any painter.  Can you imagine these views with the full colors of autumn???  Won't be long now!

5.  Funny thing was, the children's quarters on the third floor, where they were taken care of by servants, had a back stairway that led to a door where Mom could get to them, but they could not come to her via this door because there was no doorknob on the children's side.  Sweet!   

Amazing architecture, with gold medallions that sparkle in the sunlight, fantastic, original furnishings collected by Church from all over the world, and of course the beautiful paintings by Frederic Church, as well as Thomas Cole his teacher and others.  A worthwhile day of adventure with good friends, and great weather!

Topped off by lunch on the water...ok, not on the yacht, but on the water's edge.  A great day as the cormorant looks on...

Art Journal Hop/Sneak Peek

Lucy's book~her pages!

Here is a sneak peek at one of the books in the Art Journal Swap/Hop...oh and HAPPY SEPTEMBER!!! This is a collaboration between 10 of the talented chics of the Arty Tea Party.  Each member chose a book from the used book sale of the local library, and using whatever our little hearts desired began to alter it creating a 2 page spread along with the decorated cover.  Then, once a month when we gather, (though the swap times have been off thanks to someone who shall remain nameless that can crank them out at will and passing them on before the next meeting time...so some of us have ended up with 3 at a time...) where was I???  Oh yes, we exchange them at our gatherings,  add our little bit of creativity to the book, and then pass it on again.  At the end, each Art Journal will have the talents of all participating members as it makes its way back to the original owner.  What fun!  

A peek at Nina's purple page of plumes...

The very cool thing about Nina's page is that it is scented. Incorporating her ground herbs that she uses to create her incense
crows (you can buy them online from her etsy shop) into some paint and then applying it to the page...well, just as soon as you turn the page, your senses become awakened!

One more peek...the beginning of my addition as I looked for pages with words that I could use to tell a story of love...lo and behold ~

Passion ~  It's all about passion!!!

Anybody who knows me, knows that passion is my middle name! Ok, right up there before "Creative Chaos", and to me the color of passion is RED...AND BURNING HOT!  

"Thanks, love."

Now since we are members of the Arty Tea Party it only seemed right to use the label and packaging from my PASSION tea that I have on hand.  The tiny teabag tag will become a mini journal with a tiny love note scribbled inside.  The image I have chosen comes from an old magazine of a couple headed off to the drive-in in one of those big old vintage automobiles, like one of these babies at the car show...did I mention passion???

For tips on how to start your own Art Journal Hop, visit Lisa at 
Priti Studio.  And stay tuned for more Sneak Peeks of our Art Journal Hop.  Thanks for stopping by.  Pop in to say hello to Nina of  Happy Herbs Soap at Two Crow Cottage and to see what the Talented Chics of the Arty Tea Party are up to.

Random 5 Friday...on Saturday...again

Support your local Farmers...

  Of course it is Saturday by the time I get around to Random 5 Friday...sorry Nancy...but in honor of our FARMER HOST, NANCY I am sharing my take for today!

1.  Our Saturday Farmers Market is a wonderful gathering place in our small town community.  This is my take for today...notice the purple beans in the corner...I eat them as is!  What you don't see is the purple lettuce, the sunflowers shoots with a nutty flavor, and the pea sprouts both of which I eat on top of a slice of jarlsberg and avocado for a snack, and of course in a salad with the rest of the veggies you see here.  And Nancy, I can hardly believe that you are just now getting around to eating raw carrots!!!  Try dipping them in some RED HOT sauce...

2.  Last shopping trip to prepare for the 3rd child's trek off to college.  Hope it all fits in her dorm.
Bittersweet it is.  Roots and wings and all that.

3.  The past couple weeks' weather was more autumn like than it should have been for mid August.  It was the perfect sleeping weather with all the windows opened to take in the fresh air, and the night sounds of the owls, the quiet noise of the katydids, and of course those crickets and peepers.  If you have never heard the peepers in the northeast, well it surely is an incredible sound from such a tiny creature.

4.  We are back to the hot, humid days of summer, that is August.  Though, I could have taken the fall like temps right up until December.

5.  The universe continues its conversation with me, through the booming thunder and the rays of sunlight that pierce my very being.  My soul is alive!!!

Thank you NANCY!

Wordless Wednesday

Nothing like a good old fashioned country fair in the Catskills...Grahamsville Little World's Fair!

Cruising in a vintage automobile in the fresh clean mountain air...nothing could be finer!

(AND NO CELL PHONE SERVICE...YAY!!!)

sorry for the words...shhhh

Repurposed Old Book Covers

Old Reader's Digest Covers

Now there is something to be said about cruising the library's used book sale, for lo and behold was a box of vintage Reader's Digest Condensed novels from the 1940's - 50's with those beautiful hardback covers.  Nobody seems to read them anymore, because there are literally tons of them that get discarded and nobody is buying them.  Lucky for me, I snagged them before they hit the recycling bin.  They are just perfect for making personal journals to haul off to the Little World's Fair in Grahamsville.

I like to mix the covers for more interest.

 

Measure papers 1/4" shorter on 3 sides, (I also include some of the end papers that are aged..some have that linen quality), punch a few holes, add some binder rings...and voila.  A very cool personal journal, or art journal that you can remove and add more papers to as you go along.  ENJOY!

 

 I have a supply of library DATE DUE cards to use for tags.  It was a great day at the Catskill fair!


 

Random 5 Friday...on Saturday

A rose is a rose...a wonderful "scent-ual" gift from a friend.

Once again it is Saturday when I get around to Random 5 Friday hosted by Nancy at A Rural Journal.  I'm just always too busy on Fridays at work...and today I loafed...all day!

So here goes...

1.  I love avocados...with a bit of cider vinegar, in a salad, on a sandwich (especially on top of chicken salad), on tacos...just love them.

2.  I am in denial about my 3rd child leaving home to go to college in 13 days.  The baby.  I am strong...deep breaths.

3. I always have such high hopes in the spring in the garden. I try, but I guess I have to just leave the real gardening to my friends Nina and Andrea whose gardens are AB FAB!!!  The weeds, well, they have become my friends...C'est la vie!

4.  I belong to a great group of "talented chics", known as the Arty Tea Party Guild.  We share our collective talents and meet once a month at a different location to learn new techniques/skills, etc.   We eat, drink and are very merry. 

Check it out...Arty Tea Party.

5.  My yellow lab is stepping up to the plate to be Alpha Dog now that his older black lab "hero" has passed.  He sure does have some big paws to fill and I continue to shake my head wondering what he is thinking half the time.  He sure is cute though, even while he is out there howling at the moon.

Meet Harley...with his tangled Christmas bow.

And my best dog ever, Higgins with a local box turtle.

Thanks Nancy for hosting...

Wordless Wednesday

The lovely gardens of Happy Herbs Soap

@ Two Crow Cottage

Finally Hit 10,000 page views/Giveaway!

And the winner of my Shabby Fabric Pin sitting on freshly picked
patchouli leaves and lavender buds from the gardens of Happy Herbs Soap...
to celebrate my 10,000 views...is...

Kathy McB... drawn at 8:08 pm on 8/8...
visiting from "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out"...stop by to congratulate her!!!
THANK YOU TO ONE AND ALL FOR STOPPING BY!  ALOHA..

YAY...here's my happy, happy hula~la dance for hitting my 10,000 mark on blog page views!!!  Actually, 10,167 and no they are not my own page views!!!  So, thank you all very much for stopping by and helping me to achieve my blog goal!

  

And to celebrate this great event in my blog world, I am giving away one of my "Shabby Fabric Pins"...

It won't be this one, but one made from white denim!

 Please enter for a chance...and I will pick a name on Thursday...8/8 at 8 (am or pm, depending on when I get my butt in gear, since it is my day off).

To enter, just leave a comment with a link back to reach you if you are the winner.  (You need not become a follower, however, I will do another hula happy dance if you do;)

And since I have just found out about Miscellany Monday via Kath at "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out", I'm going to make this my first link for that party too!  PARTY ON...

ALOHA AND MAHALO