Doodles/Drawing

Using a 4H pencil for this drawing.  Actually, I usually use between a 2H-4H  because I don't like smudges. (I darkened this pic so you can see it.)  For a sketchbook, darker pencils would be better, but old habits are hard to break. I hope it have it finished and ready to paint soon.

Matcha latte.  A late afternoon pick me up. Not your traditional Japanese "Way of the Tea" but it's close. I add a dash of honey and cinnamon. 

And finally from the watched pot....a little success. The Glory lily has grown over a foot since it broke ground on Friday.

Have a lovely week...

Wee Treasures

The book on the left a lovely gift.

As you can see when they bloom this year, I'll be ready to identify a few more wildflowers. Every area has it's winners and the one that I like to cross paths with here in Ontario is named Pussy toes. It reminds me of Arctic cotton. I have an Arctic cotton specimen tucked away in one of my books. I tend to tuck treasures in my books and since I have many, I don't really know where they are. So on occasion, I'll open a book that I haven't read for ages and find a flower, or other treasure that I've tucked inside; it might be a ticket stub for a concert, art gallery, or a play, dried flowers, a small thank you card, an old dollar bill, leaves, etc.; and sometimes even a picture pops out that I haven't seen for a very long time. To me, they are all priceless memory lane treasures that never fail to make me smile.

An unknown wildflower picked above the Arctic circle. I do remember where I picked it. Of course, these days, since many wildflowers are endangered, it's better not to go about randomly picking wildflowers, so I am generally armed with a camera.                                 Happy Easter!

Anticipation

Glory Lilies

I have a book called The Indoor Potted Blub that I dig out in late winter to ease the transition into spring. After all too much beauty all at once might, I reckon, cause some sort of malady that I'd prefer to forgo, although I had it happen once when I flew from Inuvik, NWT ( well above the Arctic circle) to Hawaiian islands. I'm here to tell you Kawaii took my breath away: flowers everywhere, aqua sea, sand, a beautiful canyon, and, of course, heat, but mostly the humidity. We left a dry minus 45 and arrived to 85 degrees F temps. Stunningly wonderful. Yes! But overwhelming to  pasty-faced people who had not seen the sun for over 30 days.  But O, how wonderful the tropical sun feels and those trade winds that breeze over you... Ah... Glorious, in that case, in the extreme!

But I digress...inside the book, among other things, a Glory Lily. A fabulous plant from Africa and India that can grow to a height of six feet or more. Since that time, I've searched for glory lily bulbs and I almost had one once but the mail order company was sold out. 

 And so as sometimes happens, I recently I found myself tripping through the plant section at Walmart. Nothing interesting--a soggy grievous disaster--until, that is, I spied the bulbs and there right before my eyes a splendorous Glory Lily bulb. Needless to say, it took my breath away! I bought one and planted it a week or so ago. Fortunately, I've heard that "good things come to those who wait." But so far zilch, nada ... not even a lone sprig to welcome the eye.  But, I think, I can wait...

The watched pot.

Thank you for the lovely comments about my decoupage boxes. They were fun to make.

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 A few weeks ago, I watched a 6 episode BBC production on Netflix called Africa. It's narrated by David Attenborough. If you haven't seen it, it's beyond fabulous. Because of it, I have on the drawing board a tall order: a giraffe. 

May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
The rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.. Irish Blessing..

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Thanks for reading.

Sunny Days + An Arrival

I call these African Violets my Canadian African Violets. Apparently they crave the light and ignore the cold. (Sounds familiar.)

The sun, the glorious sun has uncloaked in my corner of the world. The snow melts as I type and all seems right in my world.
These days I've been enjoying my morning tea with my feet up on a foot stool while sun beams warm my toes.  Ah, liberation ~ bliss.  For several days, I will add to that small ritual by unrolling a  wish thanks to Sandi from Victorian Gypsy whose  bottle of wishes arrived in yesterday's mail.  (Fortunately, for me, I won this sweet bottle of Wishes on the blog hop.) 
Thank you, Sandi!

Have a great weekend. May the sun shine on all of you!

Knitting Box ~ Decoupage

I've had a request from a friend, so I'd thought I'd share how I finished these boxes.  My son has one, too. It's brown and has a travel theme. I used stickers on that box ~ so easy. He uses it for his spare change.

Supplies:

Wooden boxes ~ mine are from the dollar store.
Acrylic paint. I used dollar store white and antique white.
Napkins ~ there are many beautiful ones.
1 inch or, depending on the size of the box, a 1/2 inch paint brush.
Foam brushes.
Fine sandpaper.
Embroidery scissors.
Mod Podge
Optional ~  a sponge,  preferably a torn textured synthetic sponge.
Optional  ~ distress ink. Colour pumice stone.
Optional ~  masking tape. I didn't have any, so I washed the paint off.

Sand the box and dust; place masking tape over the hardware. Apply two coats of acrylic paint, inside and out, ensuring that the first coat is completely dry before applying the second coat; sand lightly between each coat of paint and dust.

Cut around the napkin image you have chosen, or for a less refined look  (box to the right) dip a small paint brush in water and lightly dab the wet brush around the image.
Carefully peel the 3 layered napkin back to the 2nd layer, removing just enough of the 2nd layer of the napkin so that you can tack (with mp) the image to the box. Slowly pull off the 2nd layer, adding mp underneath it while smoothing out the wrinkles as you go. (Turn the box for ease of application.) (You can also use saran wrap for a smoother look, but I like a few wrinkles! Google for info.)
Apply more mp over the top of the napkin with a foam brush, or use mp brush, going on to cover the whole box with an even ( not too thick) coat of mp. Dry the box and lightly sand before adding another coat of mp.  If you tear the napkin, you can layer another cut out image over the top to hide it, or build up layers for a 3D look. (See knitting box top left. On the that box, I also smoothed on a touch of ink to give it a fine distressed look before I added the mp.)

To finish the boxes below, I dabbed on acrylic artist paint (a cheap set costs approx. $5.00) with a sponge and applied a coat or two of mp to seal. On the other box, I used distress ink.

Enjoy the week...

This and That

Lady Slipper ~ I've painted a few of these.

Although I was reluctant to do so, I decided to use one of my shell plates for painting.  It has worked out well because I can easily see the true colour of the paint, and the added bonus, the grooves on the side act as a brush holder. 

When my son saw my new palette, he raised an eyebrow.  Did he think that I might covertly wash the plate and put it back in the cupboard? Chuckle.

A gift. Unfortunately it arrived a bit water logged. Also, on the way here it lost several of its buds because of the arctic temperatures. But its still beautiful!

The large flower is approximately 5 inches across. 

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On the needles...

I found out that, for me, a paint brush is not a substitute for knitting needles. It seems my fingers also need to knit. Originally, I frogged [for those folks that do not knit that's knit speak for unraveling, or in frog terms rip it, rip it.] this shawl to use the yarn for another project. Ran out of yarn for that project and had to order more. And because I spent my knitting budget on paints, there's no new yarn in my stash, so although the pattern is different, it seems like a re-run, but I really like this bright colour.

The tulip shawl Lastly, I recently joined Instagram. For an easy transition, I bought an app, but the fit still isn't right for my new camera ~ older pics work fine. Does anyone have any suggestions, or have success with a certain app? If you are an Instagram member, please let me know. My link for Instagram is at the top of the page. Enjoy...

Sea Change

Before I added the sea wash and the finishing touches.

I thought I'd paint something based a wishful childhood memory.  And since I grew up by the sea, it's no surprise that it's sea related.  As a child, I spent many idyllic summer days skimming across the harbour in boats while listening to the seagulls scream; I watched otters, birds, schools of fish, and sometimes we stopped on one of the islands for a picnic. There I  searched the shore for treasures: bits of sea glass, drift wood, shells and occasionally in the tide pools I'd find a live treasure to chase and watch for awhile.

Secretly, I always hoped I'd find a seahorse, but, unfortunately, I was on the North Atlantic--a little too far from the tropics.  However,  I've heard that Ripley's new aquarium in Toronto houses such wonders. Obviously it's time for a sea change!

Thanks for reading.

Enjoy...

Announcing a Winner

I'd like to thank everyone who entered the giveaway, visited, and especially to those who signed up to follow my blog by various means, including email, Blogloving, other feeds and, of course, Google Friend Connect. As I said earlier, I have visited so so many wonderful blogs over the past weeks, and I am delighted to follow along to see what creative heights each of you scales next.

 A special thank you goes out to Vicki for organizing the GYB hop. And also a very special and heart felt thank you to my regular readers for your kind support!

I used the random number generator to select the winner.  So without further adieu, I am pleased to announce that the wee Blue Birdie with his garland of flowers will soon file a flight plan and fly off to Lorraine of  Paper Vernissage.

Enjoy the day...

Ready to Wear

I finally finished the shawl that I began knitting in December. I don't own blocking wires, but after knitting and blocking several shawls I am getting faster at the block out, and I enjoy it now that I've gotten used to the smell of wet wool, which I vividly remember from snowy childhood walks. Well almost...I wear a mask.

What's not to like about this pattern? I love the knit-on edging and the pattern is beautifully written. That makes me wildly happy because a well written pattern makes knitting fun and so much easier, and emphatically states that the designer, in this case, Carolyn, of Carolyn Knits really cares about her product and loves her work!

 You can find my Raverly project page and a few more pics here.

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Think Spring!

Heads up! As you can see, I am thinking about spring.  And since the groundhog didn't see his shadow on February 2nd, I reckon it will happen soon. Ha! Well, officially in 6 weeks... ~ I will leave you with a tip that I read somewhere. To keep the heads on your cut tulips from drooping push a straight pin through the stem a wee bit down from the flower head; remove pin and continue until all tulips have been pierced.  Because tulips like the cold, I drop a few ice cubes into the water now and then as well. P. S.  The envelope I bought for the draw on the  Feb. 15th just needs an address that will be chosen on that day with the help of a random number generator.  Good luck!  Click the GYB post on the sidebar for details. Have A Happy Valentine's Day! ♥ ♥ ♥

Colour Therapy

A recent arrival. What gorgeous colours.

I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome new followers to my blog!  Also, thank you for your lovely comments. I do appreciate your kindness and support. 

And what a great group of talented women I've encountered! I say women because I haven't run across any men yet, but I've  several places left to visit.  It's such a great hop; I've had so much fun and it's not over yet.

Although I've picked up my shawl a few times, I haven't been knitting much lately because I've been busy drawing and painting, but I hope to finish my shawl and post a few pictures within the next two weeks.

In case you do not know about it, the draw for my GYB giveaway is on Feb 15th. It's open to everyone. If you haven't already entered you can do so here.

With the snow piling up outside yet again, I am enjoying the colourful blooms I have inside.

'Til next time...

Spotlight on Byatt

Besides fiction, Byatt  writes poetry and literary criticism.  Rhythm and wit coupled with conflicts that often astound, Byatt, a weaver of  unique novels, peppers her books with facts: historical, scientific, and specifically in the case of The Children's Book performance theatre: i.e puppetry.

While her erudition might lead one to assume that her subject matter only reaches the loft, she often brings to light the shadows that run amok in peoples' lives, including the well-educated, and the gentry who, like the poor, also suffer from poverty, (theirs--moral, spiritual) wrongheadedness and the human condition.

Of course, there are love stories such as Possession in which one character compacted and self- restricted eventually opens to the power of love. And in Babel Tower, a place where language was, in the biblical context, confused by the induction of different tongues, the story is framed by fairy tale   refrains of "it might begin" meaning, possibly, there is no right way into a story, or that the path is as intricate as our lives. But, more than that, it's a brilliant way to introduce character. Babel Tower begins with the story of the thrush; a bird admired in spite of its appetite and its limited tune. Attributes that, at one time or another, we may have noticed and dismissed in others to our peril. It's an intriguing, mysterious and thought provoking "it might begin." And it makes me think of the dark, foreboding woods, but I may have read too many fairy tales. Further, there's also a sense of foreshadowing, things hidden, upheaval and change.  



A.S. Byatt's novels promotes critical thought, educate and are, in the end, among the best books that have been written.  She has won many prizes, including the Booker for Possession and is, rightfully, a contender for the Nobel.

Jacket via Goodreads

Worth the Wait

After searching and not finding a recipe I liked, I almost forgot about making these delectable treats. Recently, I searched again and found a recipe that I thought would work.  So I dug out the new pan that I've been hanging onto since August and flung some flour about (I'm not kidding I painted the floor with it) and voila!  Luckily, and somewhat expansively, (let out the pants) these sweet cakes turned out even better than I hoped.

The added bonus: you can whip up the batter and refrigerate it for up to three days. Because Madelines are always best fresh, I baked the the batter I made over a two days.

Madelines ~ O, so tasty!

Hey, they are small. ☺                                                                        A bloom to brighten the day! Enjoy....

Book Picks of 2014

A New Year. Thank heavens! Although last year was not without good times and deep wells of gratitude, I am happy to begin the new year.

 I didn't keep a full record of the books I read in 2014, but I do have the Kindle list.

While well written, I found a couple of books I read extremely violent. (I'll confess to the unknown, until recently, phenomenon of skipping a few pages.)  However, those works of fiction did deal with historical fact. Another thing I noticed: mistakes in books. The short shrift. What a shame. Imagine having a book published only to find it riddled with errors!

Last year I used my Kindle a lot. Why? Well, it's not because I prefer that medium. It's because around here books have reached critical mass. (Did I say that?)

What's so great about a tangible book? Well, they never run out of steam.  Also, I enjoy the ease of flipping back when prompted by curiosity.  Thoughts like what was that great line? Or, I'd like to read that part again.

Kindle, other gizmos, or the real deal...which do you prefer?

I've picked 4 books for 2014. Two beautifully written re-reads that I own (to have and to hold) and two books that I borrowed from the library.  Generally, I make a few comments, without, I hope, giving away the crux of the story, but in the interest of brevity I've decided it's show time. 

Have a great week!

Contemplating adding this book my critical mass.