Halloween Sparkles ...

Since my mother is quite the Queen of Halloween, as she loves to dress up ghoulish and decorate with all things spooky & frightful -- my children seem to be under the impression that we are lacking in our spirit of spook-tacular fun, as I seem to embrace autumn rather than witches and the undead. I tend to keep my mind in Pleasantville, per se, as I am quite the scaredy cat! My Halloween movie list consists of Hocus Pocus (my all time favorite! "Look Winnie! It's a chocolate covered finger of a man named Clark!" - - priceless.) and It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Pathetic perhaps, but I do not go to bed checking beneath it first! :)

Now, I have - on occasion - endured the scary slasher films, but do so with my hands covering my eyes and my thumbs in my ears ... so really, what's the point??? This weekend should be interesting, as my sister has talked me into a local amusement park's version of Fright Night. I know. What the heck am I thinking, right? Well, I'm thinking that I love to go on amusement rides; we did not make it there this summer; I have a soft-spot for corndogs; and I'm hoping to have a cocktail or two beforehand! LOL!!

So, back to the lack of Halloween in our home ... my daughter (Scaredy Cat #2) decided that bats, witches and ghosts were tolerable, so she set out to decorate her bedroom ...

Construction Paper, Glue & Glitter ... Glitter ... & more Glitter. Seriously, this stuff is like the Easter basket filling - you know the kind that sticks to everything and you find strands lurking in corners six months later! :)

I think I can handle these decorations ... :)

When witches go riding,and black cats are seen,the moon laughs and whispers,‘tis near Halloween.

~Author Unknown

A New Project ...

Ah... What joy in the prospect of a new challenge!

The project/request: Birthday present to wife of calligraphy of poem (self-written by husband I might add - definitely some nice brownie points heading his way!!) and photo mount & design.

Info given: A tribute to her grandmother; Home decor is navy with stars.

Hmmmm - my brain began a-churnin'...

I new that I wanted to incorporate some primitive stars - perhaps to represent the heavens as her grandmother had just passed away, and something to signify "family"... And for me, that is a tree - - love, love my trees! I thought that this would be a nice effect since she is an autumn birthday gal. And, so the design began to form ...

Since I ran into some trouble acquiring the right mat, I decided to try something new ... layering/mounting. I created my own layered mat, adding details, torn edges and stain around the photograph to compliment the poem design. Thereafter, I settled on painting the tree onto coldpress to cut out and mount on the piece, as well as the individual leaves and berries. I really liked the depth it gave to the design - - I think that this may just be the start of something new for me ... I've always just added depth by my paint strokes - this is fun!

After pulling an all-nighter (so much easier to create when all are asleep!), I closed the frame ...

Happy Birthday, Jodi! :)

Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.

~Leonardo da Vinci

Geez-Louise! Time sure does fly, does it not? October is here - - what happened to September??

Well, my apologies for lack of posting. I've been absorbed in getting the kiddos settled in a school routine, cheer season (rah.......rah. I know. The enthusiasm is just entirely tangible, isn't it? Sarcasm is certainly not one of my finer traits. :), and preparing for our book club's debut gallery - - which profited nice donations for our library and renaissance association! Whoo-Hoo! We even received notice by our local paper!

I realized that I have yet to share with you the enchanting portraits painted by the girls. Therefore ... I present to you, the Friends in the Park Book Club's ... The Wonders of our Community...
The festival was one of the most loveliest experiences - - the weather was breathtaking, the scenery was capturing, the welcome was heartwarming and the postcards and baskets were a hit! Yea. Truly, there were moments during the day that I felt as if I were nestled within a Norman Rockwell painting ... children playing along the banks of the river's shore, sunshine reflecting diamonds off the water, beautiful hymns swelling the air among the soft rustling of leaves and conversation, and the gentle, happy spirit of the community bustling about embracing it all. Yes. A lovely weekend by far.

Our booth.

Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

-- Antonio Smith