Happy Earth Day.

Happy Earth Day To Everyone! Earth Day is the day when we should just stop for one moment and reflect about the natural beauty that surrounds us every day. You know, the things that are there everyday but often go unnoticed because of our busy schedules and daily obligations. For many people it could be appreciation for the mountains or a favorite garden flower.

For me it is birds. Yes, I am an official card carrying BIRD NERD and have been for many years! I have the professional binoculars, all the field guides and bird journals. I read the birders magazines and even have Cd's that identify the calls of the different species. I have the long range camera and even a birding clock that sounds off a different bird call every hour. Yes, I am a bird nerd and loving it.

The very sight of them sends a warm feeling of peace and contentment around my heart. So in celebration of Earth day I thought I would share a few photos of the birds that visit my backyard bird oasis on a daily basis.

AMERICAN GOLDFINCH

BLACK PHOEBE

AMERICAN RAVEN
CEDAR WAXWINGS

ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD

HOUSEFINCH

EUROPEAN STARLING

How will you celebrate today?

Vintage Stationary And A Little Mel Torme' For Ya.

Aaah, the lost art of letter writing you say? Yes. You know that archaic way of communication that existed long before email, text messaging, instant messaging, web cams and virtual phones. Letter writing was regarded as an art form way back when. One could expect the average letter to contain hand printed correspondence written on beautiful paper and embellished with whatever the sender fancied such as sweet perfume, dried flowers or a tucked away treat of some kind. Give this lost art a personal revival by simply right clicking the image and printing out your own vintage stationary.



On another note I just came across this cool photo of a very, very, very young Mel Torme'! This was a first for me as I have never seen a photo of him under the age of 40! He couldn't have been more than 2o here! Mel Torme' has always been one of my favorites. He was one of those great singers with a cool style that was all his own and could not be duplicated by another. As a matter of fact he was known as "The Velvet Fog" for his smooth as silk croonings and snazzy stylings. Yet another one of the greats that will live on in our memories forever.

Free Images For Use In Your Art.

The above is a gorgeous vintage collage sheet courtesy of Flikr. They may not be used for any commercial purposes whatsoever such as for use on image Cd's or collage sheets for sale. I love the soft pinks throughout and the way the photos stand out so vividly even if the elderly woman at the bottom looks a little scary....

I thought this vintage woman was so beautiful. Look at her porcelain skin and soft features. I guess sepia tones can really bring out the beauty of a person. Please enjoy.

Vintage Satin Lollipop Flowers.

My oh my, were these fun to make! After stumbling across Arlene's video tutorial at Mybutterflykisses12 on Youtube I knew I just had to give these a try! They are made from scraps of satin fabric that you can find in the remnant bins at any fabric store. The technique requires you to burn the edges of the circles that have been cut from the satin to form the lollipop shape. There are so many ways to use these in your artwork. I made several to adorn albums and even a few to wear as brooches and hair clips...I just love them! Check out Arlene's video below to see the exact technique that will have you on your way to creating some of these babies yourself.