Birdsong Tag Book

I moved last weekend and when I arrived I had a lovely package waiting for me. It was my Birdsong Tag book that Karla Nathan created. It's gorgeous and I want to show you what these very talented ladies created.

First, Karla created a lovely cover for the tag book.

Next in the book is this pretty tag which has layers of paper and lace. It was made by Mary K of Thyme To Spare.

This next adorable creation is from Jane Palmer at Aralia Jane.

This read and yellow gem is from Melissa at Piney Rose.

This sweet tag with the cute image of children singing is from Stephanie at Crowns & Pearls.

This next tag has a gorgeous crochet piece on it. It was made by Michele at Nook and Cranny.

This colorful beauty is made with layers of ribbon and paper. Love the addition of the tape measure!

This was made by Wendy at Inner Graffiti.

Lastly is this beauty with the finches. It is made by Elaine Paullus.

Thanks to all of you for your beautiful tags!! This was my first swap and I had a great time participating. I'll have to do this more often! Thanks to Karla too for hosting this event!!

"Home is the nicest word there is."

That quote is from Laura Ingalls Wilder. And home is where I am going!!!

I moved away from home about twenty-six years ago. Home is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I followed my sister across the state to Philadelphia and stayed there until 2002 and then moved to Florida with my now ex-husband. I've been here about nine years. I go home three times a year and always have a hard time re-adjusting to my life when I leave. It took me a long time to realize that I always feel away from home and not HOME. Yes, I like my little apartment here, the near constant sunshine and my awesome friends. I like the winter here because I don't have to scrape the ice off my car windows in the morning before I go to work. I like the little lizards that dart across the sidewalk in front of you when you walk. It's a miracle I never stepped on one. I love the beautiful jacaranda trees in the spring.
(this image from Google)

I love the birds!

But I want to go home!

Home is where my mom and dad still are. Home is where my brother and sisters are. Home is where the Pittsburgh Steelers are. I want to eat chipped ham and drink pop. Not really, I just wanted to say "pop." I want see fall again. I want to buy sweaters and sit in front of a fire when it is cold. But most of all I want to be with my family again. Not just three times a year but any time I want.

My mother made this beautiful quilt hanging of our home in 1982. She still lives here and this is where I am going.

She even included our old boxer and the gifts he left in the yard.

I've been packing and packing! O-M-Gosh, I have so much stuff! I am driving with my dad and all my belongings next weekend from Florida to Pennsylvania. Not looking forward to the the drive but I can't wait to get home.

I won't be able to blog for the next couple weeks but as soon as I have internet I'll be back.

So, I'll see you when I get HOME!  

Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria

I decided to work in my altered book again. I started this project when I took my Artful Pages class.  I wasn't crazy about some of the first things I did in this book so I've been avoiding it but I decided to try again. I gessoed and water colored the background. I dabbed the paint on and closed the pages, smooshed them together and then opened it to dry. Why is that so entertaining? Then I added some boats that a brilliant seven year old made. Ok, I made them...forty-two years ago (that was painful).  I found this page that I created in 1969. My mother saved EVERYTHING! That's her handwriting in the corner and it says "SUE 1969".  I'm guessing the assignment was to draw Christopher Columbus's ships. That's the idea I get anyway. The page was falling apart so I cut out the boats and added them to my book. I found the little girl and the bird and fish on The Graphics Fairy. I'll have to hunt through the rest of my antique art and see what else I can find!

July Collage Challenge

Yay! Time for another collage challenge from Mary Green at Greenpaper! I started out thinking pink but ended up with blue and purple. I colored the black and white image of Miss Helen Pitkin with chalk and colored pencils. I found the music background on The Graphics Fairy website. The gorgeous purple background is from Mary's collage class. I made her ticket to the opera a little smaller and added a tiny flower from the third piece. Her date can wear it on his lapel.

I also added a piece of lace for her seat cushion and a little Stickles to make her pin shiney. If you would like to see the images for the challenge and the other entries, just look here.

For Grins

I just made this for grins. I used to have a friend that said he was doing something "For grins" instead of saying that he was doing it just "For fun". I found this black and white astronaut picture in an old dictionary and I really wanted to put it in a collage and for some reason, the astronaut had to be pink. Then I remembered this song from when I was a kid. So I made it for grins. I hope you are doing lots of things for grins this weekend!