Have a Safe & Happy July 4th!!

A few random things for the fourth..Watermelon, music, anything red,white and blue,picnics and fireworks! This year just spending a quite day at home..enjoy..

Noggin - Moose A. Moose "Everywhere I Go" Song

yeah. today is my birthday and thought is this fun little song to share..enjoy the collage style animation too. ..and thankful to enjoy this day ..

Ruby Marie

Tuesday June 2nd our mother Ruby Marie passed away at my sister's home with the care of family and Hospice her last few days were made comfortable.. She had 5 children, 3 boys, 2 girls, me I'm the oldest..7 grandchildren and 2 great-grandkids.. Sorry for being so gloomy..A simple funeral and back to our lives without our mom to keep us grounded..

Heartfelt Thank you ..

Was surprised to find all the kind thoughts on my blog messages as have been a limbo here..My mom is now at my sister's home and Hospice was ready and fast in helping to make things comfortable for her.. Saturday all the siblings will be together for the last time with our mom..I am the oldest of 5 ..our mom was fiercely independent, full of energy always... and stubborn as heck !! But gave us our love movies and food..worked hard all her life, drove us crazy and we all thought she would live to be a 100!! So really was a shock to learn of the stomach cancer and everything just going wrong so fast.....thank you again for taking the time to read my blog and just connecting...this was a picture at Thanksgiving at my sister's home , my daughter, me, my sister and her daughter our mom and holding her first great-granddaughter..

Bad Blogger because..

Hello, I haven't been blogging since I got home, as we just learned my mom has 'stomach cancer' so have been rounding up all the siblings to come home for her... surgery is soon... will have to remove her stomach... anyways, everything has been put on hold right now... I started a Facebook awhile back and alot of friends have wanted to hook up but has been decided to keep as a family only connection as we are scattered everywhere... but will start up a new Facebook account sometime next month under the name 'HopHopJingleBoo' ...and all you creatives souls can visit me there...thanks! Will be back soon...

Back Home!

Boo Hoo! no more Starbucks coffee ..we are hours away from the nearest Starbucks..

I'm finally back home and the daffodils and primulas are in bloom..the weather has been lovely...

Really missed my man, my cats and my bed.......hmm, what a old lady I have become ..

Had a special day with 'just' my daughter and me.. so we went to 'Zingerman's' http://www.zingermans.com/ in Ann Arbor for a wonderful lunch of a Reuben, mac n' cheese and asparagus vinaigrette, cake and some great coffee.. truly excellent.. but the store was so crowded I could not move, much less look around [don't go on a Sat. if you want to shop there and we did wait in line just to get in the store to order at the deli..] I did get their catalog..and a bag of serious chocolate Brownies! I resisted the bread but now will have to order some! After that rich lunch,we did some shopping at the Kerry town shops http://www.kerrytown.com/.. got Art papers from Hollander's http://www.hollanders.com/ and Spices from http://www.spicemerchants.biz/ my daughter bought 2 adorable outfits for her daughter at a cute shop called Elephant Ears plus other shopping on the way back to Lansing! A very good day..

Butterflies in the greenhouse at Frederick Meijer's Gardens http://www.frederickmeijergardens.org/ in Grand Rapids..We went on a rainy day but had fun with the kids and a nice lunch there at the cafe...unfortunately we didn't get to walk around much because of the rain..and everyone had sniffles ...

Inspired by the Frederick Meijer's Gardens I put one of my rabbits under glass.. and bought a pretty paper lantern at World Market http://www.worldmarket.com/ a favorite store I like to shop at when down at my daughters house..

Bought a big amber swirled glass ball at the very nice gift shop at the Frederick Meijer's Gardens to add to my collection of glass balls that hang over my kitchen sink...

Cactus flowers in the bloom and some barrel cactus that were pretty..

Use to have alot of catus and succulents always loved the blooms on them...now I have faux cacti.. really nice too...

Detail of the Chihuly art glass in the main greenhouse lobby..

It was very pretty but a tad big to hang over my sink!!

Also went to the Detroit Zoo ..that was nice took lots of pictures of the grandkids..and a quick trip to the Somerset Mall in Troy.Wandered around in Anthropolgie[ the one store I had to go to!] but was so pooped out and brain fried from the Zoo trek didn't buy a thing! Yikes!

Well, had a table full of mail when I got home, catalogs, magazines and a few packages of goodies..like this stamp from http://www.characterconstructions.com/ wrapped so nice, will use to do a Marie Antoinette paper doll for a swap.. that I'm late with..

A peek at the work in progress for my collage..sewing paper to the canvas then add all the fun stuff after...a complete change in plan ,was originally going to do a paperdoll on the canvas ..too many ideas and out of time!

Well ,this is it so far... tomorrow with add all the decorations and sparkles...but then had to do a second one as had so much papers plus will do a paper doll for my partner Wendy.

A nice surprise on Saturday ,got my Marie Antoinette Swap in the mail from Wendy in Georgia,a lacy confection with treats besides!! Thank you Wendy ,it's so pretty..

Finally a short 'Thank you to Calamity Kim' http://www.calamitykim.typepad.com/ ..I received a fabulous package from her, was my Bunny Apron!! [see pictures on her blog,will model when I have someone to take my picture here] well had extra treats.. yummy tea, a lovely hand made card and these awesome paper dolls, posing in my new huge bamboo bowl..[from World Market]..Thank Kim, a big belated hug!! Now to start hanging up these new goodies...

April Fool & Easter ..

April Fools..hope you don't get any Worms..[computer bugs ]

I am packed and ready to leaving in the morning for a month long visit with my daughter so leaving you with a variety of Easter images.. Happy Easter!!!

Hooray for the EGG!

Time for a Bunny Back Rub..

Try these on your Colored Eggs..

Bunnies and Beef..Bunnies and Ham.. hmmm... how odd..

Will try to post while down at my daughters' house..Will be back in May!!

Mermaids of the Lake Giveaway!

If you Crave a variety of 'Chocolate' and would like to enter a sweet and tasty contest.. for details go visit 'Mermaids of the Lake' http://www.mermaidsofthelake.typepad.com

and make sure to visit their online magazine ' Mermaids of the Lake' for some fun reading..

Digi Mermaids ATC Cards

I made up some digital collage ATC cards for a swap in April for Yahoo Group' Fantastic Flat Paper Dolls', also did matching paper dolls to go with ..but forgot to include..anyways.. The Sexy,the Cute, and the Serene Mermaids[4 versions]..

Which image do you like best?? Is a toss to me for the Kewpie Mermaid or the Mermaid caught in the beads..

Calamity Kim Giveaway!

'Calamity Kim' http://www.calamitykim.typepad.com/ is having a Giveaway April 1st..No foolin'!! She has one of the best blogs around..truly! the lady must never sleep! A sewing wiz and paperdoll maker to boot! Plus many other talents to long to list.. so just go check out her blog yourself!

I'm in a Mushroom Mood..

Went looking on ETSY http://www.etsy.com/ and found alot of very nice mushroom items for sale..

Wonderful and whimsical etsy artist to buy from...

Well ,then I went looking on FLICKR http://www.flickr.com/and found amazing mushroom pictures.. that were quite yummy..

Sweet mushroom candy and funny little mushroom dolls by Annie Oak Leaves..

Just about every holiday has used mushrooms on their holiday postcards and greeting..but could not find any in Thanksgiving..weird ,huh?! but I'm sure there are Thanksgiving postcards somewhere with them ... oh ,none for the 4th of July..but maybe...

Retro salt n pepper shakers..

Even found this neat mushroom can on ebay..but too pricey for me!

Unusual postcard ,I have 3 but cannot find the others..will post another time..

Mushrooms are a favorite to eat at our house... and a artist visual treat too.. in so many forms and just about all all the seasons..went on 'ebay, flickr and etsy' plus looked thru my own old paper and postcards ..have alot more postcards to share but this was enough for now...so show me your mushrooms!...hmm.. might have to do a stir fry today pork n mushrooms with broccoli

Spring in the Window..

Faux flowers in the kitchen window...vintage white pottery...love those fake succulents!

Rubber Stamping Paper dolls...

Raining here today, so will rid us of the last snow..

a good day to daydream of spring..Matha's magazine is always got a few good ideas.. Playing with my favorite 'Rubber Stamps' and some new art papers from K&C Company...had joined a Yahoo Group "Fantastic Flat Paper Dolls" that swaps paper dolls and art doll ATC cards every month .. a nice & easy thing to pass the time... the pointy hat S girl is made on a empty spice can wrapped in paper and has a magnet on back..she's still a work in progress..

Here are a few links to my Favorite vintage Rubber Stamps Sources: http://www.characterconstructions.com/ http://www.stampfrancisco.com/ http://www.theenchantedgallery.com/ http://www.100proofpress.com/ http://www.invokearts.com/ finally http://www.ljackson.com/ and a new one to me 'Leavenworth Jackson' with I just ordered from and received a few stamps plus a nice grab bag and freebie...that's their catalog the paperdolls are laying on..great vintage images..bought the pointy dotted hat, glass jar, big bow, cresant moonface and the neat hair image..well,that's what it looks like to me and used it as such, and happy with results..

A silly tooth fairy..

Used a photo of a old bisque shoulder head for paperdoll..

Eyeglass fairy..

Recycled some of my paint cards samples to stamp on ,as hated to just throw away the pretty colors and the card samples are big.. [got them at Home Depot]..

The flower punch is from Martha Stewart's craft line..

Even made a birthday fairy for my sister.. Happy March Birthday Diane!!

Happy St. Patty and lucky Horseshoes..

Happy, Happy St. Patty Day..have a few bits and pieces for you on the pleasant day..make sure you are wearing some green today..Well, I think my computer is working better these days..so ready to start posting again!!

It's Been Awhile!

A couple of 'before' pics of old Kewpies .. ready to be transformed!..

Oh dear!! been awhile ... having problems with our server!?... so hope to post before it goes down again!! It's our kooky 'little black DSL box' ...had to replace and now this box is blinky too...will try to update soon! Thanks for your patience! In the mean time been working on 'new stuff' hope to post when I can!