Sweet Angie has given me this wonderful award. I'm always so surprised when I get something like his. Thank you, darlin'! You made my day!

The Karma Award: These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers.

Deliver this award to 5 -8 and include this cleverly-written text in the body of their award.

I wish to pass this award on to some of my Wonderful Blogger Friends....

Barb

Elizabeth

Megan

Tristan

Their blogs are just lovely.

Someone's having a 50th birthday...

So in celebration of this major event, I made this 4x4 birthday card. I can't show you the back, just in case she logs onto my blog. Happy birthday, special friend!

Paper Whimsy Challenge #5

I just love the challenge collage sheets that Gale puts out every 2 weeks. It gives me my "me" time, which I need very badly right now. It just seems that every teaching position I apply for is on the cutting block. Especially a Kindergarten one that I wanted very badly. It's a shame. I really feel that teaching is my life's calling and I can't do a damn thing about it. I have never been unemployed for this long in my entire life.


So when all else fails...make art! (If you click on the image you'll see it better...)

I should have known...

I'm in a Mussie Tussie swap in Paper Whimsy. I was so excited about doing this. Went to the store to get just the right paper, little gifties to put INSIDE of it, etc. I spent all day working on this. When it was finished, I started thinking, "man, this opening is kind of small..." Sure enough, it is small. I was so upset! I just hope the person it's going to isn't disappointed. I wrapped up her goodies in a matching gift bag real pretty so perhaps all will be forgiven.

Live and learn...

Britain's Got Talent

You have to watch this...it's incredible!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

It's Susan Boyle...an amazing sensation!!!

I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!

I just got my test scores for the first 3 tests I needed to pass to get my permanent CT state teaching licenses. I not only passed, I passed with flying colors!!!!!!!! I'm so excited I want to scream~ WAHOO!!! These first three tests were so hard. They were like taking my high school SATs all over again. I thought for sure I had failed at least one of them. But, I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you, G_d!!!

I take the next 2 tests on April 25th. I should probably start studying for them...

Now, don't laugh at my header...

I'm just trying to get a handle on this digital thing. I have accumulated enough digital pieces (compliments of Barb and Tamara) that I just thought I'd start playing. I'll probably have a header for every day of the year at this rate!!!

A Book of Why...

So here are my first 2 Book of Why journal pages. I'm going to try to do them in the "Zetti" style because I really need the practice. I don't own any of Teesha Moore's collage sheets, so I'm strictly on my own here. I don't get fashion magazines either, but the place that cuts my hair gets tons of them and they're always throwing them out. Now they save some of the better ones for me.

There are LOTS of glittery things on this page, but glitter never scans well.

Isn't this a cute banner?

My sweet friend Tamara made this for me. I was just waiting for the weather to get nice enough to use it!

Thanks sweetpea!

I finally did it!

I finally put together this journal. I made the cover from fabric paper about 4 months ago. I made the pages with Color Mists around the same time. I bought a Rubicoil machine a looooong time ago and was afraid to use it. Don't you think it was about time I put all three together?!? I cut the fabric paper to 6x6.5 inches and cut the water color paper to the same size. I broke down, got out my rubicoil and practiced and voila! I have no idea what took me so long!!!

Fabric Pages for Mixed Media Madams

These pages are for Debbie J. in my Mixed Media Madams group. The theme for her "book" is Grandma's Sewing Basket. These were really fun pages to do. The background fabric is from a vintage quilting squares that I bought at a flea market ages ago. I think there were actually around 50 of them that I bought for $5. The orange lace is also vintage, if you can believe that! Nana Norah is the front and the sewing group is the back. This was a little challenging because the finished product was only 4x4 inches!!! Not a large surface to work with.

Debbie, I sure hope ou like them!

Paper Whimsy Challenge #4...and bitch fest...

It was ME time yesterday. I took a couple of hours after dinner to work on the PW Quote Challenge. I needed to do this because the news is just dismal when it comes to employment. I just applied for 2 Special Ed. teaching positions in NY (remember, I live in CT). They keep getting further and further away. One is 30 miles, the other is 35. I know it's not a huge distance, but I always worked 5 miles from home. Teachers are losing there jobs left and right. I read in the paper today that 29,000 teachers in CA got their pink slips. Oh, to be in a profession that's so valued...I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Thanks goodness Gary still has his job.

Anyway, on a much more positive note, here are my uploads. I LOVED the colors in this collage challenge (Gale provides us with the collage sheet). We were to include: a moon, a rose, something silver, a 3-D embellishment, something with wings and a PW image. I realized AFTER I made the collages that I left out a fish, which was also suppose to be in there.
So...I revised the right hand page...
I'm happy with it!

Paper Whimsy Quote Challenge #3

It seems like I have so little time to be in my studio. I have no idea why; I work VERY part time! I wanted to finish my PW Quote Challenge before the next one got posted. I decided to change the format to side by side instead of front to back. That means doing the first 2 over again. When I participate in the challenges it's guaranteed art time for me. I think that's why I love doing them.

Zetti's Egg-cellent Swap

My wonderful friend, Tamara, is hosting a Zetti Egg Swap in the Zetti Zoo yahoo group. These are my sweet things!!!

ATCs for ARTchix

I haven't been active or made anything for ARTchix for over a year. I can't for the life of me figure out why! It was one of the first Yahoo groups I ever joined and I learned so much from that group. Helga is having an "I Love ARTchix" sticker contest, so I decided to enter it. I had so much fun making these this morning.

Purple, Yellow & Green!

Helga Strauss from Artchix has a challenge once a week on her blog. I've been so busy, I haven't had a chance to breathe until today. So, since I love challenges and Helga both, I decided to participate in this week's challenge.

Book wisdom for Heather

What a challenge!!! Heather, in my Mixed Media Madams group, has a theme of Book Wisdom. Why is it that anything that has to do with literature gives me such a hard time? I'm a school teacher; this should come easily to me!!!

I chose to provide wisdom from Anne Frank. I read The Diary of Anne Frank many times as a tween and teen. No other book has made such a lasting impression on me as that book. To think that from the ugliest, darkest corner of world history, a sweet sprite had the clarity of mind to write about her dreams and ambitions. Anne Frank is my hero.

Enjoy your pages, Heather!

Paper Whimsy Challenge #2

Gale at Paper Whimsy is providing us with challenges throughout the year. The name of this challenge is Moss, and we had to use a bird, a flower, a shoe, an ornamental element, and a Whimsy image of our choice. Gale provides us with a collage sheet to use, or we can use other elements that we own, as long as all the components are covered. I like to use what she provides because I think the real challenge for me lies with that. Anyway, here's my piece.

You just gotta love snow days!

It was wonderful having a blizzard here today. I had no responsibilities because I couldn't go to work. In fact, no one could go to work!!! So I just moseyed on down to my studio, put the heat on full blast and made my LAST TWO pages for my Alphabetica Yahoo group. It was kind of sad, because I really enjoyed doing the Tip-in with these artists. I guess all good things must come to an end.

Anyway, these pages are for Heather. I had to make pages for the letters Y and Z. Her theme was Life Defined. You pick a word and make art around it. Y was pretty easy, but Z??? I sure hope she likes them.

All the images except for the big yellow bird are from Lisa's Altered Art.

Finally time for art!

The boys are home from school this week, so my days are being spent schlepping them to friends' houses and appointments. It's so much easier when they're in school!!! Anywho, the Paper Whimsy group is having a challenge using poems from Hilda Conkling and certain picture elements provided by the owner, Gale. In this challenge we needed to use a key, a flower, a fish, a door, words from a poem and a PW image. It was indeed a challenge! Here is my interpretation...