Sunday, February 8, 2015

Around here...

Good Sunday morning to you!
It has been awhile since I have written a post on life around here,the "farmette", so in between snow piles and received gifts...there will also be an update on ~The Girls!

  Get ready, grab a cuppa because this post is photo heavy with lots of snow!
These photos are from a week ago~pre snow~but from this sky we knew something was coming and I was lucky enough to capture these glorious colors!
 

 A frosty beginning as Chum and I head to check on The Girls!


Chum brings his ball everywhere- just in case Momma wants to throw it!


Kind of eery but beautiful look of the trees this morn...
Oh how I wish you could hear them!
Squawking away-
"what did you bring us - snacks?", "Can we go out in the snow?" "When will winter be over?"
yup,I am sure that is what they were saying!I speak chicken!heehee


honestly they could care less about this slice of bread, the bagel pieces were worth fighting over though!

Still laying 5-6 a day even with the cold! 
The blue eggs come from Emily- my pretty brown girl ")



Look at the size of this one~  



         It's the biggest yet!
Okay Chickens are good~ can we play throw the ball now?!
 
Meantime a few days with no snow and we cut and cleared this area on the bank, so when spring arrives, we'll have a beautiful view of the stone surrounding the pond. 
From local residents, we have learned that the pond was dug over 65+years ago to gain the limestone from it-locals used to swim in it as kids. Me? yea, probably not!
 This week was a week full of mail gifts!
First was a belated birthday gift from my son Len and beautiful daughter-in law Neda!
I had to show the packaging because they used"wallet tape" to wrap it! heehee  This is actually duct tape, but I call it wallet tape as when Len was 12 years old, he made his first wallet using duct tape! Clever son-makes himself a new one new every year since!


The package had a really sweet card with instructions on brewing my bag of tea,Neda made for me, and relaxing,while slipping on the cozy new slippers that were included~I love my kids~they are just wonderful! All three of them! and,yes, this tea is delicious!

Also, on Monday came our snow storm- high winds, white outs, and over a foot of snow- as well as a snow day for me!
 White out from my studio window
 Yes, that faint black line above the center pane is the road!
as seen from my kitchen window...
 
 Chum keeping cozy inside!-heehee-
 yes, I opened the door and all that snow tumbled in-argh!
the hottub is still there, will just have to shovel my way over to it! heeehee

 My next mail day was Wednesday with this most wonderful package- all the way from Belgium,Europe!! 



I received a most wonderful and beautiful surprise from my very talented,dear friend, Ruth Levy of  lerusho.com

 Thank you Ruth for this gorgeous tag and atc which I will always cherish !
  Also in the package were some gorgeous Gelli pulls and ephemera!
The package arrived safely~thank you again,my friend!

The snow had finally stopped...



Chum showing just how deep the snow is- and how much fun it is to play in it!
  Luckily we had enough wood cut and split already- so we did not have to dig this pile out


 
 Cardinal and Hairy Woodpecker in for their morning meals.Happy that they can resume the feast!

 Red Belly Woodpecker
You can see the Limestone wall now from where we cleared it- well,when the snow melts! ")
Friday I received this lovely postcard from my sweet,creative friend Shel in Arizona!
Thank you Shel for the beautiful mail art! hugs!

The snow has stopped for now, and daddy and Chum are out playing catch the snowball!       



Thank you so much for hanging in there,through my photo onslaught!  and I do hope you enjoyed your visit! ")

Later this week , I'll have some new art to share as when I am not playing library clerk, I m holed up in my studio enjoying some classes I signed up for! 

Sending creative wishes and good juju to all of you! 
Jackie ")






















Thursday, February 5, 2015

Altered Pages Post with Valentine collages!

Hello and welcome to February- a month filled with LOVE & SNOW~ at least in my neck of the world! teehee
Today I am sharing with you some of Valentines I have made- some to be hung in the windows and others for sharing- hope you find some inspiration in my post! 

    I started out with some paper heart doilies and cardboard hearts I had. After stringing the red hearts and then gluing them to the lace doily- the fun began!
  I printed out Altered Pages Valentine collages and fancy cut the pieces I would use.
 
 






 The Distress Markers were used to outline the Love quote to give depth to it.
Stickles galore!
     Lots of Stickles glitter glue here- yes, I am a fan of Stickles!


And now close ups of each Valentine- using the collage pieces 

 

Distress Stickles & DecoArt Liquid Glass

Liquid Pearls

Stickles,DecoArt Liquid Glass&Embossing Powder

Embossing Glitter,Stickles &DecoArt Liquid Glass
                 
This one was created with AlteredPages Gold Leaf- I love this stuff- it gives every piece elegance!


Altered Pages Products used:
To Thine own Self be True  Collage
Always in Love Collage
Heart-ily Agree Collage
Stickles
GoldLeaf - Try It
Nori Paste
  Other products used:
Doily Hearts
Red Ribbon
DecoArt Liquid Glass
Cardboard Heats
Stickles
Distress Markers
Liquid Pearls
Embossing Glitter






 For my organization tip, I am sharing my marker and pen storage that I upcycled. 
My hub had bought at auction about 12 of those metal and plastic drawer organizers-used for nuts,bolts,etc.
Seeing that he had so many...I snagged a few for my own use! teeheehee
  This one I painted up in some of my fav colors and added some favorite papers on the side and back. I filled the drawers that pens and markers would fit into and removed others for my longer ones. 
I had an issue with my pens/markers going dry- so after a bit of research, I found that many artists suggest laying them vertically-


So, you are getting a two for one today as I never hit publish last week and this post had been sitting as a draft! oops!- Enjoy ")
 

 Hello everyone and welcome to the next to the last day of January- already! 
We here at Altered Pages are still partnering with DecoArt for these last two days- so a little bit more painting fun for you!

So I created a journal page on one of my favorite indulgences! 
                                     Coffee of course! 
 
  I used the whole  "Take your coffee black" collage sheet from Altered Pages as well as a few of my favorite DecoArt Colors-both Americana and from the Media Acrylic line. 
I also used the StencilGirl stencil~ Layered Salad by Terri Stegmiller
 
 This journal spread is my interpretation of the theme~
Words with Friends~  over at The Documented Life Project



Products used:
Altered Pages Collage Sheet~ Take Your Coffee Black

DecoArt Americana-  Snow (Titanium) White
DecoArt Americana~Poppy
DecoArt Americana~Desert Turquoise
DecoArt Americana~ Spa Blue
DecoArt Americana~Indian Turquoise
DecoArt Media Acrylic ~ Cobalt Teal Hue
DecoArt Media Acrylic Cobalt Turquoise Hue


Thanks so much for stopping in- Jackie ")