White is the new black

It seems like everywhere you turn these days, everybody's talking about the color white...though I am a lover of neutrals, I never thought about having a white house...until the February issue of Country Living Magazine...white looking so rustic and yet refined...I'm getting in the mood...

source:  Country Living Magazine






















And then white was the theme for today's Texture Tuesday over at Kim Klassen's blog...for the past two years, I have been reading Kim's blog, downloading the free textures, admiring everyone else's submissions...and doing nothing more.

Due to my participation in Kim's year-long creativity class, Beyond Layers...and getting over my own phobia of Photoshop...I now feel proficient enough with my photography skills to join the group...though still a newbie...and in awe of other's skills...but I'll let my series of "white" photos speak for themselves...


sewing still life
edited using Kim's happy heart texture, soft light & multiply at 50%




































sewing buttons
edited using Kim's revolution texture, soft light and multiply at 70%





what is worth while
edited using my own texture created from a late 19th century book cover



white ironstone
edited using Kim's revolution texture, soft light at 60%






































I invite you to visit Kim's blog, Kim Klassen Cafe, and enjoy all the other white images as part of Texture Tuesday...you're sure to be inspired...

Saturday breakfast...

Yesterday was one of those great Saturdays...
starting with breakfast at a friend's home, eating homemade pancakes...

made from a old family recipe and sprinkled with blueberries from last summer's garden...

These were the best pancakes I've ever had...will definitely be using this recipe the next time I make pancakes...
or maybe they tasted so good since someone else did the cooking...

Ahead of the curve

I have collected vintage sewing supplies for years...I have been sewing since I was a little girl...my mom was a seamstress...and her father was a tailor...so I must have gotten the sewing "gene".










Imagine my delight when I saw this photo in the current issue of Country Living Magazine...

I'm a trendsetter...and I didn't even know it...so I was inspired to do my own take on the photo above...

I have always admired the sculptural quality of these wooden sock darners...and in addition to these wooden ones, I have a few black painted darners...and a small collection of tissue marking wheels...

and dressmaker's shears...

and more than a few thimbles...

I've always enjoyed working with my hands...though I don't sew my own clothes anymore,
I still find comfort in the methodical rhythm of stitching...I find it calming...

What do you collect?  How does it bring you joy?  I'd love to hear...

Wishing for spring

While the cold wind blows outside, I am counting down the days to warmer weather...and practicing my photography skills as well...

what did you do this weekend?...

linking up to Your Sunday Best over at A Rural Journal...

Creating love

Though the artist may have the inspiration, it is the artist's arsenal of tools that shape the creative idea.  I thought I would share two of my favorite tools with you...both of these tools were instrumental in making my valentine collages...and though both are vintage, they do show up at flea markets/garage sales/thrift stores from time to time...so I'm giving you a heads-up...if you see either of these, grab 'em!

As I have mentioned, corrugated cardboard has become my foundation of choice - its free, its sturdy, its thick enough to withstand painting and sanding and it gives great background color and texture. 

But I can't cut it with my Fiskars paper cutter...instead I need to use this beauty...

A guillotine paper cutter...with a solid wood base and a sharp steel blade...I've used this to cut corrugated cardboard, artist mat board, even lightweight galvanized metal sheets...its a real workhorse!

After I had all of the cardboard cut to size, I painted most pieces...creamy white on one side, light teal blue on the other.  I love the combination of bright red with pale teal...offset with a little white, a little gray...a simple color palette.  I find that when I'm working on several pieces at once, it helps to keep a simple color palette...as well as using the same design motifs (but re-combined in different ways) so that I don't need to re-think my approach with each one...the composition/construction is more fluid (and more time-efficient!) 
Right after I had completed my valentines, there was a terrific blog post on Cloth Paper Scissors about this identical process...you can read that article here...

Adding text was the last component to these love collages...
I used this letter set to give the perfect vintage vibe...

I know that there are current rubber stamp alphabet sets...but there is something about this older version...maybe its the font...that just seems to add that older look to my work.  Old stamp sets can still be found at flea markets and antique stores...always a fabulous find when you find one intact with all the letters. 

This set I have had for over 40 years...I don't remember my exact age but probably around 10 years old...during the summers when I was a child, there was the occasional treat to spend a couple of days at my grandfather's house...along with one or two of my siblings, we would pack up a duffel and off we would go to Grampa Pete's for a visit.  The visit always had a special air to it...my father's father was from France...he still spoke with an accent...he drove a Peugeot (a car no one else had!)...he always had a glass of Sauterne before dinner...he was married to a tall, aristocratic looking woman who we called Granny Jo...breakfast was fresh eggs fried in butter with raspberry jam on toast...and they had a Chemex coffee maker which always fascinated me.  During one of these summer visits, we made a trip to the store...and this was the one thing I picked out...this alphabet stamp set...which I still use to this day...

and which gave the final touch to this valentine given to the Southern Man

Hoping all of you had a great valentine's day...and that, whatever you create, you create with love...


linking up to Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Nite Special focusing on antique tools as the theme...I'm pretty sure that my vintage paper cutter qualifies...

Love thru the mail

Valentine's Day always brings back memories of school days...when you bought those funny colored paper valentines and handed them out at school...sometimes sticking your notes inside  pink decorated boxes...little individual "mail boxes" that were made in art class the week prior...










I've continued to send valentines through the years...the unexpected delivery of a piece of actual mail that is neither bill nor advertisement is a pleasant surprise.  To distract myself from two weeks of computer woes, I broke out glue, paint and paper and went to work...I made 8 valentines and sent them in the mail to friends near and far...

All of these were made with corrugated cardboard as the base...my new favorite substrate...later in the week, I'll share some of my construction techniques...but for now, enjoy this visual valentine for you...

And you count there are only 7 valentines posted here...number 8 is for the Southern Man...I didn't want to spoil his surprise...

A clean slate

My repaired computer arrived on Wednesday...
I plugged it in, turned it on...and boy was it naked! 
pretty much just the Windows 7 operating system...













I'm treating this as
a fresh start
a great opportunity
a new leaf
a clean slate
(insert whatever bromide you wish here...)

to organize my files in such a manner that I can find what I need without looking at every file

to label files in a way that makes sense so I can find what I am looking for

to delete excess photos after I am done with editing the ones I want to keep

to back up all my files on a regular schedule.

All of this, once again, relates back to my word for the year...

What word would you write on a clean slate?

Spring tease

The past week in the Pacific NW has been sunny...and believe me, in the middle of winter, this doesn't happen much here.  It's been teasing everyone into thinking that spring is just around the corner...there are tiny buds on the lilac bush and green shoots in the garden. 

With so much sun, experimenting with photography is much easier since there is an abundance of natural light.  As I have mentioned, I am participating in Kim Klassen's class, Beyond Layers...its all year long and is essentially a creativity class...melding photography with writing...with inspiration...with artistic vision.  Even though I don't have a DSLR camera but rather a point-n-shoot, I think I do ok...but I can be better...especially if I learn to take my camera off AUTO and shoot in MANUAL.

With help from a cart of spring bulbs that overturned at Lowes (and thus were only 50 cents a pot!)  I had my own spring fun, shooting a variety of still life images...

When I was done experimenting, I had fresh flowers for the house...the daffodils are in full bloom...
the tulips will be a little later...but I can wait...I know that spring is still six weeks away...

Forgotten treasures

In the dead of winter, there is a dearth of garage/yard/estate sales...so the opportunities to find treasures is diminished.  Last weekend I went to the last day of a three day estate sale...there wasn't much left...but this precious perfume bottle made the trip worthwhile...paired with my mother's pearls...practicing using my camera on manual and following the lessons I'm learning from Kim Klassen's class, Beyond Layers...

original photo taken on auto focus




enhanced photo taken on manual focus with low exposure
edited with picnik










































Been working on a couple of new collage pieces as well...
sneak peeks over at my facebook page, Four Corners Design...