This Month's Audio Story: "Johnny Lingo and His 8 Cow Wife" Length 11:17

After receiving a number of requests from blogging friends and visitors to record this story, here it is!

Hope you enjoy this telling of one of my favourite stories. Oh, I know, I say that about every story (BIG FAT GRIN).

Sharon

Inch By Inch

Last weekend I did something I have never done before. I took a stab at making "inchies". When I cut out the one inch square, I gasped. I had never realized just how SMALL a one inch square is. I am not into THAT small. "Hmmm," I said to "self", "there are "twinchies" too... why not try that?" My next background base was two inches square. Yep, that was more my size!

Being a "sewing" fan, I decided to make "vintage sewing" my "theme". I made an extra one... the sunflower with a quote on it ... so I would end up with nine twinchies and balance the photo I would eventually take. (Oh dear, can't have an unbalanced photo you know. LOL) The results of my lazy Sunday afternoon efforts are below... and I apologize in advance for the poor quality of photographs... my camera and I are in "cahoots" right now and not getting along all that well.

I am (no, make that was) tearing my hair out yesterday cursing at my camera because I keep getting underexposed photos no matter what I seem to do to change the settings. Not to worry, I have thick hair so no need to worry about going bald and no I am not into "real" trichotillomania (obsessive hair pulling).

It's pretty obvious I am doing something wrong but I'll be darned if I can figure it out. To make matters worse, I need a magnifying glass to read the camera's instruction book., The print is so small. you'd think Canon was selling these expensive cameras to 20 years old who can still read fine print!

After practically a full day of trying to take photos of my twinchies and some other stuff and having them not turn out properly, I was UBERfrustrated. In retrospect, it was obvious what I needed to do but of course I didn't. No, no, I braved on until I was ready to smash something! To top it all off, I inadvertently closed a file on my computer that I hadn't saved. That did it!! The message finally got through to my thick brain loud and clear: STOP! DO SOMETHING ELSE DUMMY!

I turned off the computer, put my camera away and went upstairs to make myself a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich (always good for what ails ya! and besides I had made 8 bottles of grape jelly yesterday morning for the "winter larder" and wanted to have a "sample"). Lordy, Lordy, when will I ever learn to just quit when I am ahead? LOL And yes, the sandwich was yummy and "comforting"!

That said, here finally are my "twinchies"...

Wondering what the "quote" on the sunflower is? It's a favourite reminder for me from Helen Keller: "Keep your face to the sun and you cannot see the shadows. That's what sunflowers do!"

Making these twinchies was fun! They don't take long to do and they gave me my "art fix" for the day! I'll have to remember that for those days when I want to do some art but I am either "brain dead" (oh yes, I have those days LOL). don't have a lot of time or don't want to get into tackling a larger project just yet. Twinchies are art pieces for "instant gratification"!

If you haven't tried making them yet, DO! They don't take long and could make some rather nice embellishments for a larger piece of art or a scrapbook layout.

Thanks for stopping by today. Thanks for "listening" to my rant! Have a great weekend, inch by inch,

Sharon

Cash for Clunkers

Do you ever feel like you're a clunker? I sure do! My ongoing battle with sciatica that seems to come and go with the weather annoys me to no end. It hurts like the dickens, curtails my activities and tires me right out! I can't sit for more than 15 minutes, I can't stand longer than a half an hour and I can't lie down for more than an hour. Trying to get a good night's sleep or anything done is virtually impossible some days!

Art and storytelling are my saviours... I actually let paint dry now instead of using a hair dryer. I learn stories as I walk up and down the stairs or along the walking path behind our house. Humour also helps to take my mind off the pain. Right in the middle of another nasty "episode" this past week, my dear sister, who is a nurse with a zany sense of humour that is very appealing, sent me the following email:

"Dear Sis... how's the pain in your **** doing? I was thinking about you today and let me tell you what I am considering. It might be something you want to do to.

If my body were a car, this is the time I would be thinking about trading it in for a newer model in the Cash for Clunkers program.

I've got bumps and dents and scratches in my finish, and my paint job is getting a little dull.

But that's not the worst of it.

My headlights are out of focus, and it's especially hard to see things up close.

My traction is not as graceful as it once was. I slip and slide and skid and bump into things even in the best of weather.

My whitewalls are stained with varicose veins.

It takes me hours to reach my maximum speed. My fuel rate burns inefficiently.

But here's the worst of it Almost every time I sneeze, cough or laugh, either my radiator leaks or my exhaust backfires.

CASH FOR CLUNKERS..........I QUALIFY - How about you?

*****************

P.S. The "Cash for Clunkers" program is an actual program currently offered by the Canadian Feds as a stimulus program for newer vehicles and to get old cars off the road. It is similar to the program for trading in old cars for newer ones in the U.S. but not nearly as generous!

Have you stopped laughing yet? It was just the medicine I needed! Thank you Sis...

See you later on this week...

Sharon

Celebration Gifts from Me to You!

It's time to celebrate... myStoryART's FIRST birthday (somewhat belatedly...) ... nearing the milestone of 25,000 blog visitors (won't be long now).... and the publication of my jewelry in "Jewelry Beyond Time" as a contributing artist (available at Createspace... with a $5.00 (limited time) discount for blog visitors and friends).

Thanks to everyone for their continued support! I enjoy every comment left, every email that you send and it's a ton of fun sharing my art, my stories and "stuff" with you! The past year has gone quickly... but it's been a blast!

I never thought I would enjoy blogging as much as I do. It's been a very enjoyable year. I just love the interactivity of blogs. It's the one thing I always wished had been there when I was running about four websites some years ago. It took awhile but I finally got my wish with the introduction of blogs!

So all that said... what a better way to celebrate these milestones than to share some of my stuff with you! Here's some goodies I hope you enjoy... a little bit of something for everyone!

1. A new month... a new story! Many of my blogging friends and visitors who enjoy this feature on my blog have written asking me to record the story of Johnny Lingo and the 8 Cow Wife... I love this story and never tire of hearing or telling it. If you've never heard the story told, it is a much different experience hearing it as opposed to reading the story.

Storytellers need story listeners so I hope you take a few minutes to check it out either today or sometime during September. You have a whole month to have a listen. The recorded stories change at the beginning of each month and they are NOT archived. Just click on the MP3 player under the "header" at the top of the blog posts to begin your listening adventure. Enjoy!

2. Sometimes when I want a change of ART pace, I fire up my graphics program and have some fun creating digital paper backgrounds to use in my digital work. I like pretty paper! As I found out (once again) last week when I was putting together a vintage piece, a lot of my background paper can be printed and used for non-digital projects too.

Just a hint... when you are printing out paper or graphics, increase the saturation somewhat in your graphics software program before you print. It will then come out pretty much as it looks on a computer screen. Most monitor screens are not calibrated and that's why you often have a printed image that looks much paler and less vibrant printed than what you see on the monitor.

I played around this past weekend and here's a background package that I came up with to share with you. Please be patient when downloading it... it's a big file!

Download here

3. I love old images... as I know many of you do too... so I went through my "public domain image file" on my computer to pick out three I'd like to share with you. As far as I know, these images are all in the public domain so you can use them in any way you like. The usual disclaimer... (sigh) Use at your own risk! I usually make a note of where I find pd images originally but I guess I forgot to do so with these. If you know, let me know!

Right click to save the images to your computer.

I'd love to see what you do with them. Send me a link to your creation(s) so I can have a peek!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit. Have a great week making ART!

Sharon

Attention StoryLovers!

The new audio MP3 story for August, "The Stepmother Has Her Say" has been loaded up to the player on the blog. Take some "kick back" time to listen to the point of view espoused by Cinderalla's stepmother as she tells "her side of the story"! Get ready for a few laughs and chuckles!

Cheers,
Sharon

An Exciting Secret Revealed...

I have been keeping a secret for over a year! WHEW ... how tough is that... especially when it is exciting news that you just want to share with the whole wide world. Well I am about to let the cat out of the bag and tell you...

This week, the book "Jewelry Beyond Time" by Cynthia Powell, Stephanie Chavez and Sherre Hulbert, filled with "eye candy" jewelry and how to instructions was published. Two of the jewelry pieces I designed and submitted (with fingers crossed that they would be accepted) to be included are in it! WOW! Now isn't that exciting news? I am just thrilled to bits.

If you love making jewelry (or even just enjoy looking at it)... this is a book you absolutely must have on your bookshelf. It is crammed full of exciting projects by the authors and nine (including me) contributing designers. Just take a look at the book cover to get a glimpse of some of the trendiest jewelry around that you could make for yourself and as Christmas gifts for your nearest and dearest female relatives and friends...

And it gets even better...

Available at Amazon (and eligible for free shipping) and Createspace.com, the authors want to celebrate the publication of the book by giving you a $5.00 discount if you order it through Createspace.com. Just enter the code 95PJX7CX at checkout to receive the discount. This is a limited time offer, so act quickly.

And here's a bonus! I checked with the authors about posting some photos I took when I submitted both pieces to see if it was okay to go ahead and show you my projects that are in the book They said, "Sure. Go ahead". So here they are:

This first piece is a very contemporary necklace that I designed in my favourite colours. It looks absolutely fabulous on. Those little "side" charms lay wonderfully when it's around your neck and really gives this piece of jewelry a very different and trendy look. The large "focal" piece is an antiqued silver piece I have had for well over 30 years that was just waiting for a project... some day! Don't have something like this kicking around in your stash? Don't worry... it could be easily copied using metal clay or something similar! You could also recycle something that currently doesn't float your boat or come up with something entirely new and unique!

This next piece was a lot of fun! If you like oriental type jewelry, this is for you!

I love geishas and always wanted an "oriental type" necklace that incorporated a geisha in the design. This design and how to do it came to me one morning when I was doing water aerobics.

Now people chuckle when they hear me say that I get my best ideas in the pool! But the fact is, when you've been doing water aerobics for as long as I have, you know the drill and quite honestly, it's downright boring! So instead of focusing on the fact that I am bored to tears for an hour, I think about art and dream up projects while I am going through the motions. It's amazing how quickly the hour goes by and very often I can hardly wait to get home to start on something I have just dreamed up!

As many of you know, I love to sew and this summer I finally found the perfect material (with kanji lettering on it) for an outfit I have designed and want to make once summer is over (I only sew in the fall, winter and spring... I like being outside as much as I can be in the summer.) This necklace will look absolutely smashing with it! Oh gosh, so many projects dancing around in my head, so little time to get them all done! I'm sure some of you can relate (GRIN).

This necklace incorporates a faux scrimshaw technique that I came up with for dominoes (yep, in the pool and the how to instructions are in the book) and includes beads that I made and dipped in UTEE. The beads actually come out looking like old, antiqued glass beads when you're done. You can use reinforced washi paper with kanji characters to make them or do what I did... make your own paper (you can find out how in the book)!



So, I hope you enjoyed this little "show and tell" and that it has inspired you to order the book today and see all of the other wonderful projects you can get started on before the end of the month. The hardest part will probably be deciding which one to do first!

See you next week. Thanks for stopping by and sharing in my exciting news!

Sharon

A Challenge to Blog Visitors!

I don't believe it... I actually missed "MyStoryART's" first birthday! For some reason I thought I had started blogging in August 2008. Wrong. It was in July. The 11th to be exact. I was busy with the Storytellers Conference this year on that day and it slipped right by me. Me BAD! I'm sorry. Here's wishing a happy belated birthday to MyStoryART! I promise I'll make it up to you...

I don't know where the time has gone. It seems like yesterday that I wrote my first post. It certainly has been a lot of fun doing it over the past year. Some days I wondered what I would even say. I needn't have worried... something always came to me just before the post was due. Looking back over the previous posts this morning, I realized that I still have a ton of stuff I can post that didn't get written or photographed in the past year!

Thanks a Million

I want to thank all of you for your support and the many kind words that you have either left in the comment box on posts or sent to me privately in emails over the past year.

Since I started keeping track in August of last year, nearly 24,000 hits have been logged for the MyStoryArt blog. WOW! That amazes and thrills me to bits. It means that people are actually reading my posts! I just love reading the comments that people take the time to leave. It encourages me to keep on blogging. It tells me that I am not just posting into "never never land" or talking to myself (WHEW! That's even better news!)

I know that becoming a blogger myself made me realize just how important it is to leave a comment, however brief it may be, on blogs that I visit. It's my way of saying thank you for taking the time to write your post and share a part of you, whether it is your art, your ideas, your knowledge or your thoughts with me. That's pretty special in my books.

I feel that people deserve to be acknowledged and not taken for granted for giving something of themselves. I don't know about you but I know I sure hate it when what I do is taken for granted by anyone. Personally I believe that our world would be a kinder, gentler, more loving place if there was less "taking for granted" and more acknowledgement of others PERIOD.

Why Giving Acknowledgement and Feedback Is So Important

I recently visited a blog I really liked that announced that it was closing down. I was curious. Why would they be closing such an interesting (at least for me) blog? So I wrote the blog owner an email expressing my regret at the news but also to let this person know just how much I had enjoyed visiting. I was surprised by her candid reply.

She thanked me for visiting her blog and leaving comments in the past. She said she was closing it down because she put a lot of effort into the blog but didn't get very much feedback and without that she had concluded that it wasn't of value to very many visitors and wouldn't really be missed. Oh, how sad! My heart went out to her.

Getting It!

But AH! I could relate. I knew exactly how she felt. I immediately understood how much a "lack of feedback" in a previous "web" experience had played a part in why I had resisted and hesitated starting my own blog for such a long period of time. I had wondered about it. I finally got it when I read her email.

A number of years ago, I used to spend a lot of time researching and writing a mini "feel good" journaling prompt newsletter for a yahoo group I had started. I kept it up for nearly three years and had hundreds of subscribers. I enjoyed doing it but after some length of time I wondered if anyone even read it let alone did anything with it.

Although I asked people to share their thoughts or send me feedback I rarely ever received an email from a subscriber. I began to feel it was a waste of my time to write the newsletter. I decided to close the group.

When the announcement went out, I was deluged with emails from subscribers asking me not to! Go figure. Even though that SHOULD have made me feel better about it, it had just the opposite effect. I was really upset! It had taken an announcement of a "take away" to find out that indeed it was of value to many folks on that list after all. A giver by nature, I'd been doing a lot of giving and they'd been doing a lot of taking! It was rather ironic that a newsletter that encouraged folks to create "balance" in their lives was thrown "out of balance" itself by the lack of feedback from the very folks it was intended to help.

I thought it over carefully. I decided I would let it run for one more month before I closed it down for good. It had been taken for granted. The acknowledgement of its worth and value had come too infrequently... too little... too late. It was time to move on to a more rewarding use of my time and energy.

It Only Takes a Moment

Many bloggers put a lot of energy, time and caring into their blogs. Many moderators of the thousands of free groups we can all join do the same. They deserve to be acknowledged and thanked for it... loudly and often!

The challenge, as a blog visitor or group member is to remember to say thanks, in some way, to those folks who give us the gift of their time, knowledge or expertise on a consistent basis. A few minutes of your time is all that it takes to leave a comment or send an email to the blog or group owner.

My Challenge to You

The challenge I would like to throw out to you is to leave a comment on every blog you visit this week. Send a thank you email to the moderators of all the groups you belong to... whether or not you are an active participant or a just a part time "lurker" in the group. Let those folks know how much they are valued and appreciated... they deserve it!

Have a great week,

Cheers,
Sharon

Playing Catch UP

I can hardly believe that is has been nearly a month since I last posted! My how time flies when one is involved in STUFF!

So what have I been up to you ask. Well, here's a brief rundown...

* The Storytellers of Canada Conference
* Lounging on my favourite beach, catching up on some books I have been meaning to read for absolute ages.
* Raiding the library of Polymer Clay books and getting excited about the possibilities for some nifty jewelry and art projects.
* Making an unholy mess in my art room
* Getting sand between my toes at the beach with hubby and friends
* Doing some metal effects art
* Finishing off some project submissions for the Sidney Fine Arts Show
* Making a ton of art cards
* Hanging out with the acupunturist in the hopes of relieving some of the sciatic pain I've been experiencing
* Taking an afternoon snooze at the beach... lulled to sleep by the sound of waves...
* Doing some preliminary set up for recording next month's blog story...

And that's just for starters! I won't bore you with all the nitty gritty details but here's an overview (and photos) of some of them...

Storytellers of Canada Conference

I'm tickled to report that the Storytellers of Canada Conference here in Victoria at the beginning of July was a roaring success! We were thrilled with the press coverage we got... I had a number of interviews with the press and the articles the reporters wrote were spot on... heck I even got my photo in the Times Colonist... our main daily rag!

The turnout for the conference was the biggest ever in their 17 year history. The two storytelling performances were magical... we sold out the Island Tellers performance and the attendance at the National Tellers performance was fantastic. It was great re-connecting with storytelling friends from across Canada and the U.S. In the halls of the university, the back chatter from many of the conference attendees was that this was the best conference they had ever been to! But... sigh... it went by in a blur and *boo hoo* even though I purchased a ton of tickets... I didn't win this year's Story Save art quilt! Sorry I don't have a photo to show you... but I can tell you that it was gorgeous and I absolutely lusted after it!

Playing with Clay

I have decided to play with clay for the next couple of months and oh my is there a lot to learn! I dabbled in it a few years ago... making some minatures for a project I was working on... but never really got into it. Of course, I would pick one of the hottest weeks of the summer to start this adventure. Clay does not like it when it's warm I quickly found out! Good thing I have a little fridge in my art room to cool it down. After my first few tentative forays into this type of art, I have come to appreciate just how much is really involved in creating with polymer clay.

My art room looks like a bomb hit it right now... I raided the local library for "clay" books and they are scattered all over the place. Gosh, I have come across some wonderful projects that would keep me busy for the next five years! It's hard to know where to start first... I'd like to do them all and right now, thank you very much!

As a first experiment, I tried making a cane. Well I was doing okay until I screwed it up. Reducing a cane means rolling it in your hands Sharon to make it smaller not rolling it out like a pancake to make it larger! I don't know what I was thinking but I recognized my mistake right away but too late! I could have kicked myself in the butt right then and there. Here I was with this pile of (screwed up) clay and I didn't know what the heck to do with it. The project I had planned to do was thrown out the window.... I was not amused.

Frustrated, I finally decided to roll some of it through the pasta machine. Hey I had nothing to lose at this point. I was rather surprised when I got this very modern, abstract pattern that I could perhaps do something with. I sighed. Perhaps all was not lost after all. I messed around with it, looked at it from all angles and decided what I'd do with it. Here's a photo of what I came up with...

The pin in the middle on the top looks like a bunch of hurricanes having a tequilla party out in the gulf of Mexico but the more I look at it, the more I rather like it.

On the left and right of the pin are two pieces that started out being earrings but ended up being pendants because they are too heavy! I cut on hole in the middle of the bottom piece and put a bead in each of them that actually spins. That was a fun bit of whimsy!!!

Those squiggly things at the bottom are earrings. I just twisted the clay at the bottom... they look quite nifty when you see them in person... the photo doesn't do them justice.

Last night it came to me that this clay pattern would make some cool looking buttons... so of course I had to make some! I tried taking some photos of my creations but not having my photo light box set up right now, the photos ended up looking pretty crappy. I'll post a photo once I set up my box again but I can tell you that they look really interesting and these one of a kind buttons would look splendid sewn on a black and white quilt, a black dress or jacket!

Messing with Metal

Earlier this year, I got very turned on working with metal. I finally got all the tools from Ten Seconds Studio and some metal to play with. Both of the pieces below are quite large but I sure had fun doing them. The roosters piece is large enough to put in the bottom of a tray under glass and I will probably end up doing that. The "flower" piece would fit nicely on top of a box. They certainly soak up lots of time doing them... easy to get hooked on doing this type of art... it's fun watching the pattern evolve. I am pretty pleased with the way they turned out... it's just difficult taking photos of them because they are so shiny!

The Beach

Ah my favourite spot to hang out... and the weather has been just glorious.

Right now we are in the middle of a "heat wave" ... something we don't get too often in Victoria... and with no air conditioning in our house (we don't need it most of the year... it cools off beautifully at night here), the sensible thing to do is just pack your sunscreen, a hat, a quilt, some good books, nibbles and lots of water and head to the beach! The air conditioning down there is cheap... that nice breeze that blows in from the ocean feels soooo GOOD.

Today it is supposed to go up to the high 80's (that's hot in Victoria) and we will actually have some humidity (but not the stifling kind one experiences down east or in the south) that will likely raise the temperature about 5 degrees on top of that. I've already got my bag packed... just have to get my water and nibbles together and I'm outa here....

Have a great week... and stay cool!

Sharon

An Altered Book Page plus a Daguerrotype Case

August 6, 2009 marks the 10th birthday of the Altered Books yahoo group. To celebrate, Corrine Stubson, one of altered books "mamas" for the past six years and a passionate bookbinder (among her many, many talents as an altered book artist) came up with a tremedous idea: alter a page, send the original to Corrine, she will bind a 4" x 6" book with your original page plus colour copies of all the other pages of participants in the "swap" and send it to you as a gift!

With over 7,000 members in the group, this could get interesting! Within a few days, nearly 100 people had signed up (me included). WOW... that's going to be quite the book when she's done and she will be binding, binding, binding... night and day... day and night!

She is one brave woman to take on a project of this magnitude! You'll never catch me doing something like this(GRIN)! I have enough projects that I would like to do to keep me going full tilt boogy for at least twenty years...

Personally I think this is one project that could be submitted to one of the magazines. It's going to be pretty awesome and worthy of a magazine article when she's finished!

With a couple of very busy weeks coming up for me, I decided I had better get my rear in gear and get my page done early... they are due July 20! So here's a sneak peak of the page I will be submitting... don't ya just love the quote?

Daguerrotype Case

Here's another project I did a couple of weeks ago that was fun (and frustrating at moments) to do! The frustrating part came in when I could have used smaller fingers in the construction of the boxes. You'll understand why when you discover how big it is!

I really like the old daguerrotype cases that our ancestors used to carry with them that had a picture of a loved one in it. Well one day when I was doing some metal embossing, I got to thinking about them and wondered if I couldn't figure out a way to make one. I had done some research on them and discovered that most of them (certainly those that were to be carried in pockets) were quite small.

I thought at first of using a small matchbox to make it but it just wasn't the right size. So I made two little cardboard boxes myself and covered them with some faux leather paper that I had made for another project kicking around my art table. I wanted to be able to open and close the case when it was done. A piece of paper glued to the middle of the boxes to hold them together did the trick. Some copper foil around the edges and the main boxes were done. I roughed the finished boxes up some to give it a grungy look!

Next, I embossed some metal for a frame, grunged it up some, re-sized an image to fit the frame opening and cut out a piece of clear plastic to protect it. I sandwiched all of these together and glued them into one side of the box.

For the box on the other side, I cut out a piece of light cardboard, padded it with some fibre fill, covered it with a piece of green velvet, glued it into the other box, then glued on an antique metal button from my stash.

Voila, my prototype of a very grungy, battered and old looking daguerrotype case.

Now that I have figured out how to do this, I'll be making some "refinement" changes next time round. That said, I was rather pleased with myself that it worked out just about the way I had envisioned it. You may be wondering how big it is. Well how's 2 x 2-1/2 inches!!

Have an arty week...

Sharon

The Card Winner & Little Dresses

Thanks to all of you who "played" and entered the card contest last week! It was very helpful for me and I thank you. Here are the results:

1st Place #1 Asian Blossom

Both #10 (Tea Party) and #4 (Poppies) were also quite popular as #1 pick!

2nd Place - Swan on the Lagoon

3rd Place - The Tea Party

And the winner of their favourite card is GALE! She choose #10, The Tea Party as her favourite. Please get in touch with me Gale with your mailing address so I can get your card off to you!


Little Dresses for a Sweet Granddaughter



I had a busy weekend. When I was in Toronto last month visiting with our daughter and granddaughter, my granddaughter asked me if I would make her a yellow dress. Well what gramma who loves to sew could say no to that kind of request?

When she was a baby and a toddler I made a gazillion dresses for her. She was the best dressed kid on the block. Well now that she is "four and five fourths" (her words... she will be 5 in September) I thought she wasn't too interested in having gramma make her dresses. Well, I was wrong... she sure set me straight (chuckle) in no short order.

So gramma went shopping for material last week and had a sewing marathon over the weekend. From the chaos of material, thread, buttons and zippers in my sewing room, four dresses for our sweet pumpkin emerged. They are simple, but cute and will keep her cool over the warm summer days yet to come!

Yellow pinstripe and yellow floral bottom

Pale green, blue and yellow dots cotton

She'll love this one ... it has turtles, hearts, butterflies, the sun, flowers and a hummingbird in the pattern!

Ice cream cones, ice cream cones and more ice cream cones. This might be her favourite! I wish I was four and could make one of these for me! (GRIN)

She loves getting parcels in the mail. Grandpa mailed all her new little dresses off to her today along with a couple goodies for mommy! I can hardly wait to get the phone call... she gets so excited when she gets a parcel... she'll be tripping over her tongue!

Have a great week everyone...

Sharon

Pick Your Favourite! Win that Card!

I've been on an art card making frenzy this past couple of weeks! There are a couple of summer art shows coming up and I want to be ready this year... none of that 'last minute' rush like most years to make a bunch of cards for the 'art card gift shop' many of them have these days.

But I am in a real tizzy! It seems that every card I make becomes my new favourite! Some cards were my super favourites right from the 'get-go' and I made more of those. But I can't seem to make up my mind about some other ones I really like! I need to make a bunch more and just can't seem to decide which ones to pick!

I had a brain'fart' about 2 a.m. this morning. Bang! I woke up with a start. I was in the middle of a dream... talking to someone (who knows who it was) and I said: "Well, I'll just ask all the lovely ladies (because most visitors to my blog are female) who visit myStoryART if they will help me!" DUH!! Of course!! That would be fun!

So, are you willing to take a few minutes to help me choose which cards to make more of? If yes, then read on...

Below you will see 10 cards all with numbers underneath, Take a look at the cards and pick your favourite top 3. Leave a comment on this post telling me your top three (just put the numbers in, i.e. "my favourites are #3, #8 and #10). Make sure your name is on your entry.

If you like, tell me what it is that you like about your choices the most. It's not necessary but I always find it interesting to hear what it is that attracts people to a particular card and not to others!

As a thank you for participating, on Monday (June 22), I will put all the names of those who leave a comment in a hat and draw a lucky winner. I'll announce the winner's name on the blog next week Tuesday, June 23!

You must claim your prize by sending me an email with your name and mailing address (sharonhouse@mystoryart.com) before Thursday, June 25, so make sure you check in next week to see if you have won. If I don't hear from the first winner by Thursday, I will pick another name.

Your prize: I'll mail you your favourite #1 card on your entry that you can then send to a friend, relative or someone special. Good luck and thanks for helping me out!

P.S. It has come to my attention that there are some folks who have copied images from my blog to use in their art. I do not want to have to start putting watermarks all over my images just to protect them. A gentle reminder: please remember that these images are copyright. Do not copy nor use without written permission from me.

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Hope looking through all these cards was fun for you... maybe even gave you some inspiration. I'm really looking forward to the results (which I will post once I have it all "tabulated")!

Thanks for "playing". I appreciate your comments, insights and 'eye' for art a lot!

Cheers,

Sharon

Father's Day Card & Beach photos

Back from vacation and raring to go!

First on my agenda was to finish off my submissions for the upcoming Sooke Art Festival! This time I took pictures (GRIN). I'll be posting them once the art show begins... unfortunately they are not to be shown beforehand. But a little hint... I am in an oriental mood...something quite different than I have done in the past.

Getting Ready for Dad's Day....

Next on the agenda was to make a Father's Day card for hubby. Last year, I found the cutest little tool belt box/card and decided that I wanted to make it for hubby this year. He loves tools and I'll enclose a gift card for him to go wild with at his favourite tool joint! Here's how the card box turned out... complete with some little tools I found in the dollar store some time back, an ad page from the tool "joint" and if you look closely at the photo, you'll see some brads that look like screws...

My sister is a tool junkie too... her idea of a glorious way to spend an afternoon is browsing through the hardware store looking at tools and gadgets! I just might make one of these to put in her Christmas package this year along with the roll of duct tape her and hubby have been exchanging back and forth for years!

Want to make one for your favourite guy? You can find a tutorial and template on Mel's blog

Topsail Beach, North Carolina

Our vacation in the Carolinas was wonderful... in spite of me catching a cold on the plane (the first one I have had in absolute years!). It rather cramped my style for about five days... I was miserable! Having my head covered with a towel and suspended over a hot, steaming pan of Vicks was not quite my idea of vacation fun!

However, being at the beach helped a lot! I love Topsail Beach (just north of Wilmington, N.C.) and hubby and I have spent many a vacation here. When we lived in N.C., we would go to Topsail at least twice a year for a couple of weeks.

Coastal Carolina beaches are much different than the beaches in British Columbia. It's hard to say which I like better... in comparison, the Carolina beaches are "manicured" whereas the beach that is five minutes from my house in Victoria is strewn with old. bleached by the sun logs and is very rustic! They both have their appeal... of course you can swim in the Carolinas... the water is bathtub temperature... you wouldn't dare step into the cold, north Pacific ocean waters that surround Victoria... brrhhh... instant icicles on your toes!

Here are just a few of the photos we took... so far these are my favourites...

We called him Mr. Crabby... he hung around the beach house the whole time we were there and provided much entertainment watching him scurry back and forth to his little crabby home! Isn't he just the cutest little crab you ever did see?

Here's a photo of the sun coming up over Topsail Beach... only a morning person like me would get up at 5:30 a.m. to take a photo like this! Hubby (a night person) thought I was going bonkers from the cold medication to get up at that time of the morning.

But I love getting up early at the beach. There is something magical and lovely about sitting on the deck with a fresh cup of morning coffee, listening to the birds and the pounding waves hit the shore and just enjoying the dawning of a glorious new day. Those night people haven't got a clue about what they are missing out on (BIG GRIN) at the crack of dawn.

Here's a sandpiper pecking away for his lunch in Carolina blue waters! It was a gorgeous day... not too hot... not too cool... and what fun it was gathering shells and watching the pelicans swoop down and dive into the water. The beach was quiet at this time of the year... the shrimp large and fresh... the strawberries plump and juicy... ah just the way I like it.

Here's wishing you a wonderful "arty" week. Tune in next Tuesday to see some of the other art projects I have been working on. I'll also have a little surprise for you...

Cheers,

Sharon

A Romantic Tale!

The Storm

They were together in the old house. Just the two of them. It was a cold, dark, stormy night. The storm had come quickly

and ...

each time the thunder boomed he watched her jump. She looked across the room and admired his strong appearance...and wished that he would take her in his arms, comfort her and protect her from the storm.

Suddenly, with a pop, the power went out... She screamed... He raced to the sofa where she was cowering. He didn't hesitate to pull her into his arms. He knew this was a forbidden union and expected her to pull back. He was surprised when she didn't resist but instead clung to him.

The storm raged on...

They knew it was wrong...Their families would never understand... So consumed were they in their FEAR that they heard no opening of doors... just the faint click of a camera......

Ah... romance... (SMILE) Now that you are smiling too... keep smiling... it will make people wonder what you are up to today!

Thanks to my cousin Joni for sending this "smile" along so I could share it with you..

Have a great week....

Sharon