another year

2010

where did the time go?

remember Y2K?

what a difference a little time makes

i'm not one for new years resolutions

i like to set goals for the up coming year

do more art!

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wishing everyone a

happy new year

and all the best for a

healthy

and

creative

2010

christmas presents

most women wouldn't get excited

opening a blow torch or a heat gun!

the only 2 things on my list this year

it will be great to try them out next week

when my encaustic class resumes

i also received some linen and wood canvases

plus some coloured wax and scrappers

and a extra gift from one of my clients

old dental tools

which will be great for carving the wax

merry christmas

may the spirit of christmas bring you peace,
the gladness of christmas give you hope,
the warmth of christmas grant you love
unknown

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wishing everyone a very merry christmas

and all the best for 2010

nancy

i'm dreaming of a white christmas

christmas waves a magic wand over the world,
and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful

n. peale

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looking back at last year

we had snow starting in early november

and i didn't stop until april!

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above a photo from my street

on christmas eve '08

as much as i don't miss shoveling the snow

i'm dreaming tonight.......

baby it's cold!!

still no snow

but baby!... it's cold outside!!

winter garden

the only thing left standing in the garden

my hydrengea

with a light dusting of snow

meanwhile.........

my friends on the east coast are

digging out from over a foot of snow!

shadow shot sunday

i still haven't put up my christmas tree
worried about beanie climbing to the top
so i just put some lights in the front bay window
to add a little christmas spirit
snowballs and pinecone lights
they make a nice shadow in the day
perfect for shadow shot sunday

all grown up

i can't believe how much my little baby has grown

she looks so much "bigger"

but she still my little bean

since i work from home i get to spend everyday with her

she is very entertaining and makes me laugh all the time

she loves to hang out with me and watch me work

and all my customers love her too

my new shampoo girl

(if only i could get her in a red pair of shoes leslie)

after a hard days work

with 2 beds, 2 couches , several chairs and

plenty of "soft" places to sleep

she love to curl up on the book shelf in the laundry room!?

winter is here

let us love winter,

for it is the spring of genius.

~Pietro Aretino

crazy christmas lights!!!

after leaving martha's house last wednesday

we stopped to see this house!!
i could only imagine how many lights !!

the igloo with the 8 mini penguins

is my favorite
-----------------

catch the

"crazy chrismas lights"

on TLC

tonight at 7 pm

or

"decked out christmas house"

on HGTV

shadow shot sunday

while visiting my friend martha

for our tree ornament exchange

i noticed her chandler was

home to some of her wonderful ornaments

they have a "who" like quality

and cast a wonderful shadow

so i thought they would be great for this weeks

shadow shot sunday

above, one of martha's ornaments close up

time to play

20 scarves, check

60 necklaces, check

10 tree ornaments, check

christmas cards, check

packages mailed, check

with only 14 more days left 'til christmas

it's good to have most things done

in the past month i've been so busy

i haven't had time to just sit and play

every morning after checking my e-mail
i usually work in ps for at least a half an hour
i bring up one photo and just play
i try on every function, effect and filter
you just never know what will happen
above a simple photo i took this summer
while visiting carmi
the "zoomed" in view is
from one of my favorite shots




i added an old "soundings" map
some text from susan
a scrapbook page with rough edges, inverted
and the photo cropped


after i saved the project i played some more
adding filters
this one was inverted!
i like the "blue print" look

encaustic class

when i arrive for my last class of the year

i was totally un-prepared

i've just been burning the

creative candles at both ends

and had no ideas

i thought worse case

i would repeat something i've already done

then i found some photos tucked in my tool case

i had several shots of texture and grunge

one of my favorite things to photograph

is the hot plate i'm working on

i found two from previous classes

and one inspired me to create the above painting

a detail of the

"smooth to rough"

i added copper leaf
and oil paint to "stain" it

christmas shopping

this weekend i attend the

an extraordinary jolly christmas sale

featuring

susan williamson

mixed media art, digital prints, collage sheets,

new CDs of images and her book: creating from the inside out.

karen arts

works of arts, gemstone bead and silver,

one of a kind jewelry

carmi cimicata

resin, paper and fibre embellishments,

buttons, magnets and baubles

mary ambrose

eclectic / vintage style jewelry

and home accessories

marissa decepida-wong

unique jewelry, hand-made cards and art pieces

Aracely Cruz

quilled art and collection of exquisite ribbon jewelry

sharon ginsberg

Fabric boxes, vintage, framed tree ornaments, doggie knits

martha brown

soft and sparkly ornaments

hand-crafted from fabric and aluminum

we have a climber

what to do, what to do???

usually i have my christmas tree up

but i'm afraid that little miss bean

will be the new tree topper!!

encaustic class

i started this a month ago

i really enjoyed creating the background

very translucent

i added the tree photos

and the text

but felt it was a bit bare

i'm trying to decide weather to add the leaves

or i can always start over?