1940's Glamour Girl.

Isn't this the coolest painting! She is a 1940's Glamour Girl. I found her in my Flikr Collage Pool of images. It was designated as free to use in your art so go ahead and make something fabulous with it. :)

I Dare You!

I just found this adorable video tutorial from Rosebonbon Creations on how to make a very nicely done "Wedding Jar" to give as a decoration or keepsake. There are so many things you could do with one of these cuties. How about giving one as a wedding gift with a photo of the real bride and groom inside? What about for a 50th wedding anniversary? This nicely done tutorial sent my mind reeling with ideas for creating a very special gift. Now, what about the dare part? I dare you to watch this entire video from start to finish without tapping your foot to the music once! Can you do it?...I sure couldn't!

Aren't these the most adorable soaps you have ever seen? I found these at The Feathered Nest Blog Shop. I have been following this neat blog written by a gal named Dawn for awhile but only just realized she also has a blogshop with some really great items for sale.

These adorable soaps would look so beautiful nestled into a nest from the craft store and placed near the sink of a guest bath wouldn't they! They come in several colors too. She also sells a speckled cream egg that looks very much like the eggs laid by my little nuthatch birdies each year in my backyard bird boxes. Do be sure to check out her Blog as well as her blogshop on your next blog hop.

A Blue Beauty.

Bird Photos from: Flikr.com.

For as long as I can remember I have always loved birds. You can imagine how excited I was then when my hubby and I purchased our home on a bird sanctuary in southern California. Our home is surrounded by several large park areas and three serene lakes that are stocked with fish, turtles, ducks and American Coots. We also get loads of visiting birds such as Canadian geese, grebes, cormorants, and egrets. Although most of the birds that frequent the lakes are migratory, many of them are year round residents. Mixed in with the flocks of wild ducks you will find a handful of tame ducks and geese that call our community home all throughout the year.

Several times a week I grab my binoculars in the early morning hours and head out to my favorite part of the lake where I love to watch the egrets and blue herons fish. They sit there patiently for long periods of time until they are swiftly able to spear a fish. They toss it straight into the air and catch it with their beaks and swallow it down whole. It is really something to see!

The Great Blue Heron has been the most shy of all the birds by far. As soon as they spot you approaching at a distance they usually take flight and fly away to one of the other lakes on the property. It has been hard to examine them closely even through binoculars for this reason. So you can imagine my delight this morning when on my morning stroll when I came across this giant flight feather from a Great Blue Heron! The picture does not do it justice. The color is so icy blue and the detail is just amazing. The next time you visit your neighborhood park or wetland you will want to be sure to scan the shores for one of these most amazing of creatures.

.My Photo.

I WON! I WON! I WON! And I Never WIN Ever!!!

I was so excited to get a message this morning from Amy over at Mod Podge Rocks, letting me know that I won one of the cool starter pack prizes she offered as part of her very first giveaway! I have been wanting to try all the different types of mod podge available for some time now.

This cool kit comes with 5 different bottles of Mod Podge that can be used to decoupage a variety of surfaces such as fabric, paper and wood. I am so thrilled and can't wait to start trying new projects with it. Did I mention that I never win AAAAAAANNNNNYTHING! So this was a nice and refreshing surprise. Thank you so much Amy! :)

Vintage Playing Cards.

I found this neat set of vintage playing cards in my flikr ephemera pool and was so excited

to share them with you. I think they would make lovely covers to a set of mini

books to give as gifts or to keep on a coffee table

holding mini pictures of whatever. I love how

the sepia tone of them

has just a hint

of pink.

Making Sense Of It All.

For months now I have been hearing about this whole John & Kate thing. I must admit that I had no clue as to who these two people were until they hit the front pages of the news stands and appeared in little snippets on the evening news. Because the t.v. shows that I watch tend to be documentaries, news magazines and classic films I only recently found out about the scandal involving the extramarital affairs of the husband John. Learning that the couple had 8 small children shed some light on the situation for me. The stresses that must bring were obvious.

So the other night as I am flipping through the channels I see the promo for the John & Kate show that was just starting and decided to watch it for the first time. As I sat there and watched I could not believe what I was seeing! The adorable kids were amazing and smart but what disturbed me greatly about this program was the way the wife, Kate, treated her husband! As I sat there in amazement I watched several more episodes. This woman was downright horrible with a capital H to him! You could hear the disdain and disgust for him in her voice every time she spoke to him or of him. What was even more disturbing was the way he would cower down when publicly (and on national television no less) humiliated by his wife. I couldn't believe that Kate would act this way for the whole world to see and I wondered how much worse she treated him when the cameras were not rolling!

Now don't get me wrong. I later learned that he had an affair and that is unacceptable and a deal breaker in my opinion but I suspect that the problems started much earlier in the marriage and long before the affair.

This got me to thinking about men in general and how different they are from women from the start. Stroking the ego of a man is not something enjoyed by most women in general but oddly enough, it seems to be just as necessary as our need to have our man tell us we look beautiful or that we are great wives and mothers. The bottom line in my opinion is that a man needs to know that he is making his woman happy in order to "Feel" like a man. Believe it or not, they crave our approval and nothing makes them prouder than to feel like they did something for us that made us beam. Granted, some men are just rotten to the core but for the most part the average, well rounded man proudly seeks out opportunities to gain his wife's approval and respect.

I am quite sure that throughout this marriage, John realized how much his wife despised mostly everything about him and therefore he looked elsewhere for approval. He was totally wrong for going outside the marriage instead of seeking ways to improve his own but the inevitable path that this marriage would take seemed unavoidable. However, the fact that these kinds of relationships and marriages do exist got me to thinking about some wise words that I once heard. They were from an older, grey haired, gentleman who was speaking to a group of women and giving advice on how to have a long and successful marriage. He and his wife had been happily married for many, many years and so he was well qualified to give such advice.

With wisdom and authority he addressed the young women and said that "the key to a happy marriage is to treat each other with respect. Husbands should not disregard their wives opinions and should highly regard them with dignity and respect. On the other hand, wives should never try to dominate their husbands and force them into submission on any matter. (And here is the part that really stuck with me). Because if a woman tries to dominate her husband and treats him with disdain and disgust....he won't like her...and more importantly....he won't like himself!

As I finished watching John & Kate those words of wisdom came back to me and I realized that I was seeing that situation playing out right in front of me. It really made me sad for the children who were no doubt paying close attention to the interactions of their parents and quite possibly learning all the wrong examples and behaviours for an unhappy and unsuccessful marriage. How sad.

How Do You Spell Relief?

FALL!

That's how I spell relief. Today is the first day of fall and I can't say good riddance to summer fast enough! The hot temperatures here in southern California are just about gone with the exception of this final week where we will see temps above 105 degrees in places.

It's time to throw an extra blankie on the bed and unpack your sweaters and boots. So sit back, relax and enjoy the change of the season.

I know I will!

The Old Grey Mare...And All That Sort Of Rot.

Boy oh boy have I been feeling my age this past week! "The 'ol' grey mare just ain't what she used to be. At 36 I wonder how in the world it is possible to be feeling so darn old these days. My back hurts, my energy is low and my stomach feels like a bubbling cauldron of acid every single night!

This should come as no surprise to me as I distinctly remember my mother always heading off to bed with a roll of tums in one hand and an aspirin in the other. Just the other day I mentioned to her how I have begun to have stomach acid problems and she said that her problems started in her 30's as well. Oh No, I said. You see I love my peppers and onions and the very thought of giving them up in my cooking sends shivers up my spine.

I love ethnic foods. Jamaican, Indian, Thai you name it and I will try it. So giving up my peppers, onions and spicy foods just "ain't" gonna happen anytime soon. Along with my misbehaving stomach is my disobedient back. Just the other day it decided to spasm and lock up so bad that I couldn't even get up off the couch! What's that all about? I feel like I need a walker or something.

My sister has always laughed at me and said that I am an old lady at heart. Mainly because I love all things old and vintage...heck, I even love elderly people. I am usually the person sitting in the corner with the elderly grandma or grandpa at gatherings asking question after question about their life and experiences.

This is why it came as no surprise to me the other day while complaining to my sister about all my aches and pains that she said something so hilariously funny and true. After listing all my recent ailments I explained that I wanted to purchase a Craftmatic adjustable bed because they are supposed to be good for back and indigestion problems. She looked at me and without batting and eye she said "If you get that bed....then the transformation will be complete." I guess I truly am old at heart!

Shaker Cards.

What is it about moving parts on a greeting card that just seems to capture our attention much more than a regular old card? Is it the sound, the motion, the fun? It could be all of the above but for me it is the interactive nature of the card that makes it much more special. Shaker Cards are the perfect example of an interactive style greeting card.

There are many other styles that might catch the eye such as pop up cards, or cards that play music but shaker cards play on the child-like qualities that have been within us from birth. What person never played with a rattle as a baby, or rattled the box of a gift just before opening it as a child? I think that must be why the "shaker" noise appeals to us so much as adults. It gives us an opportunity to look back and remember the simple toys of our first years.

I have always wanted to try my hand at making one of these fun cards but just never got around to it. They always seemed to be a little more involved than my schedule would allow at the time. Then I found the most wonderful shaker card tutorial from Kristin over at Leading A Craftastic Life!

Her blog is so fun and informative and always has some kind of fabulous giveaway going on or special offer at her adorable Craftastic Boutique. One thing I really like about her blog is that it is updated frequently so there is always something new and exciting to see. When she posted this tutorial on shaker cards I was surprised by how incredibly simple they were to make.



Want to try your hand at making a shaker card? Watch the above tutorial and see how easy it can be to make one of these fun cards. Then be sure to stop over for a visit to Kristin's blog the next time you go blog hopping and try some of the many other interesting projects and techniques posted for your enjoyment and have fun shaking!