November Hike in the Woods

There's nothing like a brisk November hike in the woods....especially if it's with one of your Little Darlings! 
We came upon some Bois d'Arc fruit that had fallen from the tree! They are so beautiful added to any arrangement.  In Ohio and those parts they call them osage oranges...in Texas we call them plain 'ole horse apples! Of course one always stumbles across some cactus in the pastures and woods of Texas.  And then we finished up by sitting a spell on the bridge at Whispering Woods...our secret place!

Have a great week y'all!

Blue Goodies on a Blue Monday

Whew! I've been away too long...what with Fritz and Frieda coming to visit and then Francine and Hunky Jones inviting us to their Halloween Party...we have been very busy!  Next on the agenda is to get creations ready for a fun weekend in Galveston.  There will be a trunk show at Tina's on the Strand featuring none other than gypsy czech (pix by dix)!  In the meantime you can view a few Blue Things here and on Sally's blog HERE!  Stay tuned for some "Rusty Stuff" in the making next week!  Have a great time this week!

Pumpkins and Goblins

It's almost time for Halloween, one of my most favorite times of the year!

Gotta love those Fairy Pumpkins! Might try to plant some in the garden next year!  Yeah!!

This is a creepy mixed media collage inside of a cigar box.  I created it a couple of years ago for the Taylor Artist Guild Halloween exhibit.  Love how the pliers turned out!

Nothing like a bowl full of rocks painted like jack-o-lanterns! Such a fun thing to do with the Little Darlings.  To see more Fall foliage etc. click HERE and go to Pink Saturday!  Have a great weekend y'all!

Bras for a Cause/WOYWW #174

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!  And on my work desk today is the bra I created for a local silent auction to raise funds for The Heart of Texas Purple Cancer Warriors.  My friend, Mary Linda owner of the fabulous boutique, Frills in Taylor, Texas is hosting the event.  The silent auction begins Thursday, October 4 and closes on Saturday, October 6 with a big party and style show.  A great time is in store for all who attend. If you are in the area, please stop by and bid on my creation, titled "Support Group."
To find out more about The Heart of Texas Purple Cancer Warriors just click HERE!  And to see what might be on work desks around the world just click HERE!  Have a great week!

Really Biggg Show! WOYWW #173

Getting ready for our Really Bigggg Show (as Ed Sullivan once said) tomorrow evening !  Here is what has been on my work desk for several weeks now!  I'm sharing a sneak peek once again of one of the pieces that will be on exhibit at Atelier 95 in downtown Taylor, Texas.  If you happen to be in Central Texas tomorrow evening you might want to stop by and see our Taylor Artist Guild exhibit titled "Chinati".

Ten artists who were inspired on our recent trip to the Texas desert will be showing some of their creations.  Mine is a mixed media/altered photo piece.  I was inspired by a photo I took of this fabulous rusted truck we came across in the desert. 
To see what people are doing all across the globe and what might be on their work desks , click HERE and go to Julia's blog!

Chinati Creations - WOYWW

Searching through all the photos I took on the early summer trip to far West Texas has me pumped up to create for the upcoming Chinati art exhibit on September 27.  Here is a sneak peek of what is on my work desk today!  Papers and other bits of ephemera have been glued to this old drawer.  My plan is to have the drawer hold relics that I unearthed at the Chinati Hot Springs Resort from the decades of trash buried in a ravine!

To see other work desks around the world click HERE!  Have a great week!

Pink Umbrellas on a Pink Saturday

A couple of years ago I took this photo of two little darlings and then altered it to include in a mixed media collage.  Seemed fitting to share pink umbrellas and "Gentle Breeze" on this breezy

 Pink Saturday!  These two little darlings paraded around the grounds of our Texas  Renaissance Festival with their lovely umbrellas.

Happy Pink Saturday y'all.  To see more fun pink things click HERE!

Sketching on a Blue Monday

Sketching early this Blue Monday morning!  Just a peek at a sketch I started last summer. Blue Girl in Pencil and acrylics will become a mixed media collage later this Fall.  Stay tuned.  In the meantime, Fritz and Frieda as well as Francine and Hunky Jones are waiting for  me to get started on my creations for the Taylor Artist Guild Chinati Show in late September.  Paper, glue, paint and found objects will be flying around the studio in the next couple of weeks.  Wish me luck!   Click on over to see what the peeps are doing all around the world on Sally's blog...HERE!  She is showing off some great pics of what is going on around Tampa this week!!!

Have a great week!

Pedal Paddle Wheels Turn - Pink Saturday

Happy Pink Saturday Y'all!  When I was a child learning to ride a tricycle my Dad made up a little song just for me. "Pedal paddle wheels turn, squeak, squeak Dixie Fern."  The tricycle was old and rusty and made an awful squeaking noise when I peddled it around the yard going at least a hundred miles an hour. It was probably a hand-me-down item from my older sister like many things I owned, but I didn't care.  It was perfect for me!  When I saw this little pink tricycle in the flower bed of a shop in Fredericksburg this summer it brought back lots of pleasant memories from my childhood. 
Have a great weekend and to see more lovely pink things on Beverly's blog just click HERE !
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Dump Jewels on a Wednesday - WOYWW - 168

 More great stuff for my art!  I've been dump digging lately! Once you try it you'll be hooked...well, that is,,,,if you like junkin' and thriftin'!  It's like a treasure hunt for me. Yesterday I found some "jewels" just laying on top of the ground.  We had a rain shower here in Central Texas over the weekend and the rain washes the dirt and dust from the broken pieces of china and glass and makes them easier to find.

Of course, my favorite piece is the broken vase with the swirlies! It will probably end up in one of my mixed media assemblage pieces of art work.  The marble is pretty cool, too!  Always makes me smile when I find a marble,,,indicates children lived nearby.

And then I just wanted to show you the pals who roam across the road !  This little piggy runs with the horses and provides us with entertainment every evening.

So, there you have it...that's what's on my workdesk this happy Wednesday.  To see what others all around the world are doing.....click HERE and see Julia's blog!

Tatting on this Blue Monday

Happy Blue Monday to all!  I am sharing another photo of some fabulous tatting done by my late mother-in-law!  She was so multi talented and tatting is only one of the "crafts" she did very well.  She tried to teach me,,,but I just couldn't get the hang of it.  I blamed it on the fact that she was left handed and I am right handed! lol  However, I did manage to learn enough to use my little bits of tatting to embellish note cards that I made by the hundreds a hundred years ago!!! (More on the cards at a later time)!  The tatting thread, shuttles, and snippets of lace were inherited from her fine collection.

She made the most beautiful doilies you've ever seen!  So, dear friends, if you happen across a tatted doily at an estate sale or thrift shop you should snag it! And remember how many hours it must have taken to create it.  Tatting is probably almost a lost art!!!   To see more Blue Monday things click HERE and see what's going on at Smiling Sally's blog! 

Tooled Leather Art Box - WOYWW

WOYWW=What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday! This cool tooled leather brief case came to me via my dear and long-time friend Ann from Waco, Texas!  It even bears two of my initials! Woo Hoo! We unearthed it while clearing out her sweet father's storage shed.  He was a famous shoe repairman and we figure someone brought it to him for repair since the latches were sort of damaged.

 I was so excited when my friend told me I could take it home with me .At one time it might have carried important documents for a Texas attorney. I can see him now, in his stetson hat and handmade boots walking the halls of the McLennan County Courthouse! The year is 1965 and he smells of English Leather!
  But now my fabulous art box travels with ME to exotic places like the Chihauhuan Desert of Texas and holds my pencils, pastels and sketch books quite well!
So what's on my workdesk you ask? 

Sketches from my trip back in June to Marfa, Texas and the remote areas south of there are in my handy art box/workdesk.  Hopefully in the next couple of weeks these sketches will develop into finished creations to be exhibited at my local Artist Guild show in September!  The title of the show will be "Chinati" and will feature the works of my fellow artists....all of us inspired on our wonderful retreat to the mountains, desert and Chinati Hot Springs Resort!
To see what others have going on at their workdesks click HERE!

Blue Plate Special - Blue Monday

Hello all and good morning!  Happy Blue Monday! Started off with a bang and some pancakes made into shapes. Can you see the funny face in the one above? A couple of little darlings are at our house spending some time with us!  After breakfast we "harvested" rocks to be used in our project!

As you can see, the little darlings were very creative with the acrylic paint! Great way to spend a warm summer morning!  Come on over, pick up a paint brush and paint a rock with us!!!  I think I'll add them to some of the others that line my flower bed!  To see more great Blue Monday things click HERE! Go see what Sally and the gang are doing !   And I know you will want to check out Masterpiece Monday over HERE.   Have a great week!

Thrifting Treasure - Pink Saturday

Look at my latest thrifting treasure!  This pink beauty was just sitting there at my favorite "junk" place in a clear dry cleaner's bag waiting for me to add it to my cart!  It is in near mint condition and will be so perfect for the little darlings to wear to their next make-believe soiree! 

Thought I'd also share a peek at one more of my handmade cards. The idea was fetched from Pinterest! You just make a little template shaped like a little dress and cut it from a paper doily!  The little flower at the top of the dress is a little piece of tatting I did several years ago.

Check back next week for more about tatting. 

In the meantime,,,check out Beverly's blog HERE and see all the wonderful blogs pertaining to pink!  Have a great weekend!  I sure plan to!

Working on my etsy site! Blue Monday

Well Folks, I've been working on my etsy site and finally added one new item to my shop.   My "Harbinger II" is for sale ! You can see the listing and my shop by clicking here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/106207551/mixed-media-broken-bottle-rusted-items     As you can see my aqua blue creation was assembled using some wonderful found objects from the Blackland prairie of the Lone Star State!  I love to dig in old dump sites!  I always get this feeling of being in touch with the past!  YES! 

To see more wonderful Blue things go to Smiling  Sally's blog by clicking HERE!  Happy Blue Monday y'all!   dix---     

Summer Road Trip

Summer road trips are so much fun especially when you can take them with wonderful friends who enjoy junkin' and shopping as much as you do! I took one recently and what an adventure we had. We stopped along the way at some very interesting places.Don't you just love this pink tea cart with all the great stuff piled inside? Oops,,,just spotted the naughty sign in the background!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Should've bought it for Fritz!

Cha Ching!  Don't you know this pink baby held some real cash back in the day? "That'll be ten cents, please."

I have a feeling Frieda would enjoy wearing this fashionable hat to the next Yak Race in North Zulch!  And I think Fritz would approve!

Stop by and see all the lovely pink things posted on Beverly's blog HERE on Pink Saturday!  Have a great week!    dix---

Push Pins with a Twist! WOYWW 165

Many projects have been stacking up on my work desk as usual.  Way too many diversions I guess! But the summer has been filled with lots of fun with family and friends!    However, after taking a look at Julia's desk over at stamping ground I was inspired to shift gears and work on some fancy push pins.  Julia mentioned some "ball headed" pins she purchased at her local gift shop and they look very interesting. Check out her blog HERE and see what she is talking about....very cute!
Today I'm sharing some handmade push pins created by using old bits and pieces of jewelry and found objects.  Just glue these little "jewels" to a plastic push pin...put them in a cute organza drawstring bag and give them as a gift!

(I just love my neat pin cushion made by my cool Aunt Claudette!)  Have a great week y'all!

Gifts from the Sea...WOYWW #164

The sea seems to have such a wonderful calming effect on the soul.  I just returned from a very relaxing trip to the Texas coast with several old high school friends. In relaxing and strolling along the beach we found some real gifts from the sea.  Great things like beach glass, shells and bits of petrified coral. My friend Sharon suggested we implement an idea she saw on Becky Shander's blog using our found objects to make a keepsake necklace.

Sharon stitched a tiny tulle bag for each person to use as a "pendant" to showcase her found objects.  We used bits of ribbon and beads to further embellish our creations. Each keepsake necklace turned out fabulous and each was very unique. Now we all have our tiny memories from our trip to the sea all stitched up and worn around our neck to remind us of our very relaxing girlfriend trip.  To see more great projects and what others might have on their work desks, please hop over to Julia's blog by clicking HERE!

Handmade Greeting Cards

Thought I'd show you a couple of my recent handmade greeting cards.

Vintage sheet music usually pops up in most of my cards as well as Starbucks coffee sleeves.  Snippets of the sleeve add texture to anything...even a mixed media piece.

Be sure to stop by and see all the lovely pink things HERE , On Beverly's blog.  Thanks for stopping by my blog and Happy Pink Saturday to you.

Blue Monday - Big Blue West Texas Skies

Happy Blue Monday folks!  Today I decided to share a few more pictures from my fabulous trip to the mountains and desert of West Texas south of Marfa. The skies in Texas are big and bright but even bigger and brighter in West Texas. Traveling down the gravel road by 4-wheel drive vehicle, we came upon this abandoned "milk truck"!  Perhaps vacated by "Creepy Clem" and his gang many years ago. Once again the artists jump out to take pictures all the while mindful of the danger that might lurk in and around the forboding truck! Check out the verbiage on the side of the truck!!!  Yikes!  What could that mean?

The name of our room!

We stayed in these cool adobe type buildings.  Ours had a greenish-blue door!

Cool early morning shadows of three artists posing!

One always wants to wear boots when out hiking in the desert.  You might come upon a rattlesnake warming up for the day like we did early one morning while exploring around the creek bed.  He was served up on the grill that evening, his skin and rattles destined for some wonderful artistic creations.  Hope you enjoyed a peek at what my art retreat was all about!
(sketches to follow in another post.)
Have a great week and stop by and visit Sally HERE to see more Blue Monday things.

Pink Tissue Paper Roses

Happy Pink Saturday to y'all!

Roses made from pink tissue paper and nestled in a tulle ribbon on top of a white gift wrapped box to present as a baby gift!  Pretty simple to make by just starting to twist and roll the folded piece of tissue!  Enjoy!

Hop on over and see more beautiful pink things HERE!

Have a great weekend and Happy Father's Day to all the special guys in your life!