Off to Virginia!

This pink azalea bush behind our house is a riot of blooms! It is about twelve feet tall.

Mr. B and I are going to Virginia to check on the house at the lake. I'm taking my hammock with me. Hoping to have a little time to swing, read and nap. There is no TV and no internet in the house!

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Little People

I enjoy creating many different types of things, from photo cards to fabric sculptures. These little people are a favorite of mine. I think of them as the Mr. and Mrs.  Sheila of Starshine Through My Windows saw their picture in a post about my new studio location and asked me how their bodies are stiff enough to hold them upright.

The torso is actually a pill bottle. The rest is a bit of fabric, felt and pantyhose. Oh, and her purse is leather. My supply area is well stocked enough to have all this on hand!

Every well dressed lady has her earrings on.

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Who lives in your "hood?"

Mr. B and I went for a Sunday drive and this is who we saw. I'm never fast enough to get a good picture when a bird flies across the road in front of us. I barely caught this egret before he landed in a flooded area where we couldn't see him at all. This donkey I wanted to hug but settled for a rub on a velvety nose. The goose was serenely watching the water flow by. We wondered if it was a male being a lookout for a nesting female.

After the downpour last night, the creeks and rivers were roaring! We saw some amazing waterfalls going over old dams. It helps me understand the power of water and why there were so many mills in New England.

Visit Little Red House and see other photo collages.

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Sun Bath for Plants

My plants are traveling all over the house in search of sunshine! We have to be careful where we step. Here you see my Asian Lilies in plastic bottles I cut off. Mr. B and I bought a box of fourteen bulbs at BJ's. They had white tops which are now turning green.



Only the squash seeds came up. They are thriving in yogurt containers which I will wash and recycle. I think it is not warm enough in the house and there is not enough warm sun for the flower seeds to germinate. We could feed the whole world if everyone would eat squash! I can't get everyone here to eat it unless I make it into zucchini bread. Maybe I should put it in the blender and hide it in spaghetti sauce. Would that work? I'm talking adults, not children.


At last, we had a day warm enough to take things outside! My coleus have done fairly well. I cut off the tops and root them and then pot them in soil. And of course I am always pinching back so they will be bushier.

One day of sunny warmth and now back to three days of rain. No sun anywhere!!!

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New Studio

It wasn't even my idea! But it all fell into place so beautifully. My daughter suggested we move the dining room table into the sunken living room so we could eat by the fire. Certainly the living room is large enough. That got me thinking about what could be done with the dining room.
Why not turn it into a studio for me? It would bring me up from the basement where I only have one very small window and where I feel very cut off. The downstairs studio can store my supplies. Now I am next to the kitchen and laundry so I can work and then dash off to stir the pot or transfer laundry. In the photo you can see past the kitchen doorway and into the laundry room.

Where my worktable now sits is where the dining room table was. And I just had to add the shelves for storage! I am trying very hard to keep it neat but am thinking it is not in my nature to work neatly! I am being much more productive in the new location! And there is light - a whole wall of nearly floor to ceiling windows!


Here are my little people and some of my photo cards.


The collage (made in Photo Shop Elements) shows my wild crochet, one of my photos framed in a shadowbox and a basket of fat yarn.


Thanks to all of you who gave me suggestions for making photo collages. I'm going to work with Elements for a while and see what I can come up with.

I'm joining Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Check out all the mosaics there.

Now a question for those of you who have Etsy shops. Is it hard to do? Does it pay off? How do you get business? My attempts to find a part time job have not succeeded. I'd rather be home with Mr. B and working in my studio. But a little income would be appreciated. After all, a girl has to buy photo paper, frames, fabric and books. I need to support my habit! Thanks in advance for your answers!

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Reception at Akus Gallery

Exciting evening!! This is me posing with my photo "Shenandoah Valley Mule" at a juried art show at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Connecticut. This is the first time I've had a photo in a juried show. I am so proud of myself! Mr. B took family and friends to dinner after the Reception at the gallery.

Click here to learn more about the Akus Gallery. Below is the poster for the show.

There are many opportunities here in Connecticut. Hopefully there will be more shows in my future. I plan to continue with my photography but am also crocheting and working on my fabric sculptures. Let's create!

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Spring Collage

Darn! I seem to forget how to use Picasa from one week to the next! But I can't find a simpler way to make a collage. Certainly I don't want to pay for software. When you goggle "photo mosaic" you get those things that look like a puzzle. Does anyone recommend an easy, free program?

Well, here it is. I took this picture last spring. We aren't this far along in Connecticut yet. Maybe in couple of weeks. After I created this in Picasa I put it into Photo Shop Elements and put a border on it.




I am deep into family history research. Learned that some family stories are just that - stories. I've been able to disprove one with research and census records. So rewarding to find tidbits of information.

Join Little Red House to see other photo mosaics.

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