Bleaching wildlife photos

I am really cleaning out my husband's photo albums! The man had a million pictures. I thought the wildlife might be a nice change. As you can see, I did before & after on the one photo. My problem is I get so anxious to start dipping the photo that I forget to photograph it before I start. I think it's very interesting to see what the photo looks like before bleaching.
I probably won't post again before new years so I want to wish you all the best in 2010. I am looking forward to another creative year with all of you!

One World One Heart Is Coming

Stay tuned....One World One Heart is coming again in January. This is a HUGE event that attracts bloggers from all over the world. I encourage any of you that haven't had a chance to participate to do so this time. It is a wonderful event that Lisa Swifka of The Whimsical Bohemian has worked very hard on since she originated in all in 2007. Check out her blog for details.
Have a great week everyone!

Altering more pictures

Good morning! Once I find a form of art that I love doing, it's hard to stop me. I could stand for HOURS playing with this photo bleaching process. I thought I would do a before & after this time to make it a bit more fun.
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Wishing all my blogging friends a very merry christmas

I am wishing you all a wonderful holiday season. I send a HUGE "thank you" for visiting my blog on a regular basis & leaving such nice comments. Your friendship means so much to me. Once again, I want express my sincere appreciation for your support during a very painful time for me this past year with losing my husband. It would have been a much tougher road without all of you!! I am extending my arms to all of you with BIG BIG HUGS!

More Bleaching Photographs

Good morning everyone! I am posting a few more pics that I ran through the bleaching process. First, I will tell you I originally saw this process in a book titled
The complete guide to altered imagery by Karen Michel. I have included a picture of this book. The process is really quite easy with the only draw back being you need to use 35mm photographs. You can't bleach an inkjet print (to my knowledge.)
You dip your photograph in clear water & then on to dipping it in a 50% water/bleach solution. You can experiment with the time you leave it in. I do it for approximately 10 seconds or so. You can put gel medium over any part of the photograph that you want to resist the bleach. Once it's dipped, you wash it off in cold water again & let it dry. I add water colors & use the Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Artists' Crayons to add additional color. Give it a try...it's so much fun!
A note on the 2nd picture of the barn....I did not use any gel medium on this one. The entire photo was dipped in the bleach solution. It just gave it a bit of a different affect. The photographs I have used I pulled from some of my hubby's old photo albums. These are all from his original pictures.

Bleaching Photographs

I am feeling so excited this weekend! My friend, Minnie came up Friday evening to do a new project with Gail & I. We pulled out a bunch of old photos & we BLEACHED them & then added watercolors & crayons for a splash of additional color. Gail did one that I was absolutely astounded by. See the picture of the bird on the scenery background. How beautiful is that?? The tipi was done by Minnie & the trolley car by me. This is the first thing I've done for a long time that has excited me like this project. I love altering photographs! I thank Minnie so much for sharing her very valuable time to teach us this wonderful process.
Happy Sunday!

Finally Doing Some Crafts Again

I finally got my hands on some crafts this weekend. Each year around Christmas, my friend, Minnie picks an art project that she shares with her friends. We gather at her home & she teaches us a new project. This year, we felted soap. Felting has never really been something I was too interested in but I really did find these to be a lot of fun.
Basically, we took the white wool & did 3 layers of that...1st layer, lay the wool (a very thin piece) horizontally, 2ND layer, a vertical pattern & 3RD layer another horizontal pattern. Lay your soap on the wool & fold it over & pat it down. I added the colored wool to the top & back side. Then you place the wrapped soap in a nylon stocking. Dip that in hot water & rub a bit until the soap starts to suds. Remove from the stocking. You will need to rub the soap for a while for the wool to adhere to it. Once it starts to stick good, rinse in cold water & place it in the sun (yes, we still have sun in our beautiful state) & let it dry. That was it!
Pictured are Gail's 4 bars on the right & mine are the 3 on the left.
A big THANK YOU to Minnie once again for sharing this new technique with us.

Look who's visiting me!

Check it out! This handsome Pug man (& his mom) are staying with me for a bit. Lucky me! I not only wake up to a house full of wonderful cats but now this wonderful little Pug (KONG) is there to greet me in the morning too. We are all having a great time together. Isn't he a beautiful boy with his very shiny black coat!!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Getting desperate to do some art

I guess you can see from this morning's post that I am feeling a little anxious to start doing some art work again. The problem is....I have to have a couple of things done to my computer & I need a couple of printers hooked up that we had to unhook a couple of months ago. Hopefully, I will get that taken care of very soon.
The picture I am posting today is a gathering of materials that we took to the hazardous waste dump last month. This was just one of approximately 5 loads that we took. When I looked at the cans sitting there...I started thinking of a picture & altering it somehow. This is what I came up with. I know, I am a bit of a weirdo but I was just aching to do something artsy! The photo was altered at Dumpr.net
Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Happy Thanksgiving & Happy Birthday To My Baby

I want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow. We will be celebrating with my sister & her family. It is also my son's birthday & he is turning 44years old. He is such a great, loving person & I am very proud of him. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIM!
Your mom loves you so very much!

Dexter & I Thank Abby Creek Art

Check this out! I received this painting yesterday from Linda at http://abbycreek-art.blogspot.com/
This is Dexter! Dexter is my 3 yr old Bengal Cat. When I saw Linda's paintings, I knew I must have one of my Bengal boy. Look at the likeness here! Dexter & I are so pleased, Linda & we thank you so much! Check out Linda's blog..she does fabulous dog art with her own gorgeous model, Miss Maise.
Happy Sunday Everyone!

Countertops Are In

Finally, my countertops are in & it is looking like a normal kitchen again. Trying to re-do my kitchen has been a real struggle. Too many decisions to make when you have no decorating sense whatsoever! Now, I have to decide what kind of backsplash to use. I was going to go with the glass mosaic tiles but now I am not sure. I also need to finish my painting. Hopefully, this will all be complete within the next couple of weeks. Next....a bedroom makeover. I expect that to be a little more fun than the kitchen & hopefully a little less money!
Happy Thursday!

Kitchen Coming Together, At Last!

Good morning to all! I've had some problems downloading pics lately & that's why it has taken so long to post some new kitchen photos. My counter tops will FINALLY be delivered tomorrow. What a long haul! You can see the before & after pics. The kitchen has not been updated in several years as you can see & it was in terrible shape. I wanted to lighten the room up a bit giving it a fresh, new look. My son & one of his friends did all the work. I am so pleased with everything except the counter top waiting. How gross was that old kitchen?? Pretty gross!
I hope you're all doing well. Have a great week!

The kittens that light up my life

Cooper, Chloe & Cosmo






Good morning! You've all heard me talk about the mama cat & kittens that we rescued a few months back. The kittens are now 8 months old & I honestly think I would be lost without these little angels. They bring so much joy to our lives & their little personalities are just amazing. I am posting a pic of the three of them looking out the front door & watching the leaves blow across the front porch. I thought this shot was adorable.
My kitchen is ripped out & the acoustic ceiling will be removed today. The cupboards should be in by the end of the week. My stove just left for ALaska yesterday as the gentleman that purchased it had some problems with the shipping company. That thing was a BEAST to move! I felt sorry for the poor guys that had the job but it's gone now. I am hoping the gentleman will send me a picture once he has it set up in his home. He has a bed & breakfast in Kodiak.
Hope you all have a great week!

Oh My, An Award for Me

Good Friday morning to all! Anyone that reads my blog has surely heard me talk about my favorite Pug blog http://tweedles-georgie.blogspot.com/. I have been fortunate enough to receive an award from my dear friends, Tweedles & her Moms. It is the Scribble award...Can you believe that??
I am so honored that Tweedles would think of me. I would like to pass this on to all my other blogging friends that give so much of themselves to make our blogging world such a WONDERFUL place! Thank you, Tweedles!

My stove is moving to Alaska!

Good morning everyone. I got up this morning feeling a twinge of sadness. I sold my Wolf stove on Ebay for local pick-up only & it was purchased by a gentleman in Alaska. He is very excited to get the stove & has hired a shipping company to pick it up today. Apparently he has a bed & breakfast there. It's so weird to get rid of things that have been a part of your life for so long. Probably sounds silly for a stove but that stove has been in my kitchen for the past 20-25 years. On the flip side, I am so happy to be getting a nice little 4 burner with one little oven that will be easy to keep clean. Tomorrow...the new cabinets arrive. I am very excited about that.
Have a wonderful week everyone!

Hello again!

WOW! I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted. I am still quite busy with everything but art work. I am still trying to be creative even though I am concentrating on other things. I have been working extremely hard around the house.
My friend has been here from Texas for the past 6 weeks helping me out. She has been a tremendous help to me. I purchased some new den furniture along with some new curtains etc. I am posting a picture of that this morning. As you will see, my baby Dexter is loving my new chair. He thinks it was purchased just for him!
Next week...we rip out the old kitchen...what a job that will be. My new cupboards arrive Wednesday & I am off to buy all new appliances this week. It's been a long time coming but I am making progress. It helps a lot to keep busy but I am still trying to adjust to all the changes in my life.
Thanks to all of you that have hung in there with me.

Happy Monday!

I am posting a couple of things this morning. One is a spider web that I thought was beautiful. I don't know what kind of spider this belongs to but I loved the lacey look.
The 2nd pic is yet another journal page. I think I am just about out of journal pages now so I guess it's time to get to work.
Here's hoping you all have a wonderful, productive week!

Happy Tuesday!

Good morning to you all! I have to take a moment to thank so many of you for checking in on me. My blogging friends are truly an amazing group of people.
So much love & kindness sent my way....I am beside myself with gratitude to all of you.
I am trying to keep some posting going on here but it gets a bit difficult with so many other things to do. I am posting art that was done almost two months ago. I am hoping by the time I get through my journal posts, I will be doing some more actual artwork again.
I hope you all have a wonderful week. I am ready for fall!

Journal page

Good Monday morning to all of you! I am posting a journal page I did a while back. I have a few that I had not posted yet so that helps me out until I have a little time to spend doing some art. This was done using some collage sheets from Teesha Moore.
I hope you all have a great week!

Good Morning, Kitten Update & Thank You

Good morning to all my blogging friends!
I want to thank all of you for your notes, prayers & kind thoughts. These are the things that have gotten me through this horrible time in my life. I am so grateful for all of you!
I am posting a pic of the kittens this morning. It was taken just last week. They are 6 months old now. Look at those precious little faces.....how could that not bring a smile to one's face?? On the other hand...they are wild little kittens but we are loving them so much.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend coming up & thank you all again!!

A current update

Hello to all my friends!
I am going to slowly ease my way back to my blog & art work.I will briefly explain my absence (with a great deal of difficulty) but I do want to explain a bit.
I lost my husband 2 weeks ago in a fall. We were married for 38 years & together for 42 years. Needless to say....I am devastated but I am getting by. I have a WONDERFUL family & amazing friends that are certainly helping me through. I will be extremely busy as my husband was a lover of life & many hobbies. I'll have many things to go through but my sister insists I take time out for some art & fun. I know my husband would want that too. I thank you all for your kind thoughts & I will try & post some art next week.

Some time away.

I've had a family emergency come up so I will be signing off for
a little while. I hope to be back soon.

New Journal Pages for Gail & Diane

Yesterday Gail & I spent a little time working on our journals. I am posting a pic from each one. I would love for Gail to start a blog but I think she enjoys looking at everyone's work but doesn't necessarily want to maintain her own blog. She's become good friends with all my blogging friends & I am so happy about that. You can see from the pic I posted that my sister is a very talented woman. I love having her back in California so we can have all this fun together.
Today we are heading to the County Fair.
Happy Thursday!


Gail's journal page




This is my journal page

New Journal Class with Minnie

Good morning everyone! Yesterday Gail told me I was "slacking" on my blog...can you imagine? She's right! I need to get with it!
This past weekend Gail & I drove to our friend Minnie's house & she taught us a journal class. She had taken her class with Teesha Moore a few months ago. Anyone that knows Tracy & Teesha knows they are the king & queen of journaling. Minnie's journal was simply over the top! How stupid I didn't photograph it.
Minnie is a wonderful instructor & had all sorts of Teesha collage sheets among other great things for us to use.The class was a blast! I can hardly put my journal down. I want to work on it constantly. One of the best things about it is.............I actually WROTE in the journal! I bought gel pens & went for it. I was terrified to touch the pen to my picture..but I did it! This is my first completed page! It is 8x11 inches. There is more to come!

Meet my little Cosmo

This is the third kitten in the group. His name is Cosmo & he is my largest kitten. It's amazing how affectionate these kittens are considering they were half wild to start with. I couldn't be happier that they are all progressing so nicely. I am so relieved they are NOT living outdoors & having to contend with all the elements of outdoor life. I was also very pleased with the spay & neuter clinic I took the kittens to. My vet (of 35 years) wanted between $350-$600 to spay a female. I paid $35.00 at the clinic. Matter of fact...it cost me a total of $145 for all three kittens to be sterilized along with their booster shots. I was THRILLED with that price! PLEASE......SPAY & NEUTER YOUR PETS!!!!!
Happy Wednesday everyone!

Kitten update

I am posting a picture of Chloe this morning. She is the only female kitten that I will be keeping. Cooper, Cosmo & Chloe were all spayed & neutered yesterday and also received their booster shots. They all seem to be doing well this morning. The boys gobbled up their breakfast like they hadn't eaten in a week! Chloe weighed 5 pounds & Cooper & Cosmo both weigh a little over 7 pounds. They are almost as big as their mom! I can't believe how they've grown.The last one that I will be posting a pic of is Cosmo. It's nearly impossible to photograph the three together. They just can't sit still long enough.
I hope you all have a wonderful productive week!

Recipient of a very special blog award

I have been so fortunate since I started my blog in February of 2008. I now have 45 followers that I can't thank enough for visiting my blog on a regular basis. I have also been the recipient of numerous blog awards that I am so honored by. Most importantly I have made some lasting friendships with some wonderful people. My love & gratitude goes to each & every one of you!
Today, I am posting an award from my dear friend, Tweedles @ http://tweedles-georgie.blogspot.com/ . This blog has brought me so much joy...I can't even tell you all the times I've laughed & cried seeing life through the eyes of Tweedles.Tweedles is one amazing little Pug girl with two exceptional mommies!
I am passing this award on to all of my wonderful blogging friends that have brought me so much joy!
Thanks you again, Tweedles & Tweedle's moms

Hello again

Gosh, I feel like my posts are becoming few & far between lately. I've been a little under the weather AGAIN! I am feeling better now but really haven't done much of anything but book pages. It's fairly easy to sit & do these so basically this is ALL I have done in the past 2-3 weeks. I am hoping to start something else next week & get caught up on my blogging.
I am also helping hubby prepare for his annual high school reunion party. We have this in the summertime & normally we have between 100-150 people that attend. It will be held next weekend & we will have a live band there in the afternoon. It is a lot of fun. I can't believe my husband even knew this many people in high school.
Hopefully everything will turn out wonderful...it always does!
HAPPY SUNDAY!

Feline Things

I am doing a little feline post today. One of my favorite bloggers asked me about the kittens we rescued a couple of months ago. I have good reports for you. Mama cat is still with us. She has been spayed & also received all of her shots now. My sweet Dexter(my Bengal boy) is doing pretty well with Mama in the house but every now & then wants to show her who the boss is....so he thinks!
I still have 3 kittens, Cosmo, Cooper & Chloe. They are right around 4 1/2 to 5 months old now. The two kittens we found homes for are doing great! The 3 that I will be keeping go for spay & neutering two weeks from yesterday. I am posting a pic of Mama cat & little Cooper this morning.
I am also throwing in another book page which is also feline related. The pic is from a postcard done by Stella Marrs. I find her work to be so comical that I couldn't resist incorporating a couple of them into my pages. You can check out some of her work at http://www.stellamarrs.com/
HAPPY TUESDAY!

Getting back to it

Well, I am back and feeling better finally. I had a bug hit me last week that knocked me down for a few days. Unfortunately, I missed the Carson Stamp Show & meeting some blogging friends. What a disappointment! Maybe the next show!
Anyway...I am hoping to do a little artwork today or tomorrow.
I also want to mention those bloggers kind enough to share their lovely blog backgrounds for free. My lovely new look comes from Cristi's Creations at http://cristiscreations.blogspot.com/. Thank you so much for your generosity, Cristi!
I am posting another page from the ledger book I've been working on. I am really liking working with these smaller pages.
We are looking at triple digit heat today..LOVELY!I hope you all have a great week!

More book pages

I am having a lot of fun working on these book pages. You'll notice that I still have not included text! I think it's a mental block & I am going to stop worrying about including it. If it comes, it comes...if not...oh well! These are created with image transfers, stamps, ink & rub-ons. I acquired free images from a few people. Some were, http://thelastdoordownthehall.blogspot.com/, http://www.thegraphicaddict.com/ & http://artcreationsfriday.blogspot.com/ . I thank each & everyone of you for your generosity!!Each page is approximately 5x7.
I am excited to attend the Carson Stamp Show this weekend. Gail & I are going with our friend, Minnie. After the art stamp show, Minnie is going to do a little journal class with us. She took a journal class recently with Teesha Moore. I haven't seen the journal Minnie created but Gail tells me it's gorgeous. It will be a lot of fun, I know. Happy hump day!

Award received, Tweedles & Kong & thanks to Diana Evans

I was honored to receive the Premio Meme Award from the very talented Silke Powers of http://silkepowers.blogspot.com/ . Thank you so much, Silke!!! The rules of this award state that I am to share 7 facts about myself and then pass the award on to 7 others. So, here I go...

1)I am a huge lover of music
2)Married at 16 (1st time) & was not pregnant! Yikes..what a fool!!
3)Photography is a new love of mine
4)Mexican food is my favorite
5)I love swap meets
6)I keep a pedometer in my pocket at all times
7)I sing & dance with my cat, Dexter..but not very well!

I also want to thank my very dear friend Diana Evans for the wonderful little watercolor picture she sent with my current order. I love it, Diana!

Last but not least...my sister Gail had this brilliant idea that I do a picture of her little Kong (the big pug) & sweet little Tweedles from http://tweedles-georgie.blogspot.com/ together. It took a little cutting & pasting but I did finally get a cute little photo. This is Kong & Tweedles vacationing in Paris called "Pugs in Paris". It was altered in befunky.com.
Happy Monday to all !

Getting Funky With Kong

I played for many hours yesterday on the Befunky.com website. I've been there before but forgot how much fun it was. I'm posting some pictures of Kong that I did. I thought they turned out very cute. It's really difficult to make this sweet boy look anything but gorgeous! If you haven't already...check out this website. Happy Thursday!

More Pages Completed

I am posting a couple more book pages I completed. These were done with some rubber stamping, rub-ons & image transfers (using sheer heaven). I start out with the transfers & then go back & add to it until I see the results I am happy with. Today I am going to concentrate on adding more text to each page. For some reason I seem to have a mental block when it comes to that. I hope you all have a great Wednesday.
July 1ST already! That means 5 months til Christmas. Who wants to strangle me for bringing that up:>)

New Book Pages & Kong At The Dog Park

I finally found time to do some art this weekend. My friend, Minnie gave me this little book a while back & I've been playing with that for the past couple of days. I am posting a page this morning along with a little video of Kong (the big Pug boy) at the dog park last Friday. Gail was trying to get him to do some tricks & he did actually make a couple of jumps. He had a little friend at the park that day that also wanted to participate. I believe she knew I had a camera!
Have a great week everyone!

More Vacations Pictures

I am posting a few more vacation pictures today. These are from the Solstice Parade last Saturday in Fremont Washington. It was a new experience for me. There were approximately 200 bicycle riders (without clothing) in the parade. Each of them had their bodies painted with some wild colors & designs.It was somewhat odd to see naked people walking the street. We did manage to have a lot of fun though! I stuck to the regular parade pics & left out the nudes. Notice the bottom 3 pics...their dresses were all made of paper. Very cool.
Happy Saturday!

Thank you for this award

I am so honored to receive this Kreativ Blogger Award from not one but two individuals. The first one comes from Jennifer (she's a So. Ca. girl) at http://artisticallydesigneddiversions.blogspot.com/. The second one comes from Sharon (we met in the inkjet transfer group) at http://sharon-artfromtheheart.blogspot.com/.
I am to list 7 things about myself so here it goes.

1)I am hopelessly addicted to art paper.
2)I love the smell of fresh grass & new rain.
3)Love to look at the ocean but have NO desire to step into it.
4)I love animals & HATE to see them not treated well
5)SPAY & NEUTER your pets!!!
6)Cheese is a favorite of mine (all cheese!)
7)I am a wimp & don't like to do anything that I might get hurt at.

I extend an invitation to my other blogging friends to list 7 random things about yourself. Thank you again, Sharon & Jennifer!

Home Again

I am posting some pics this morning from my trip last week to Seattle. We visited the Arboretum as well as the Japanese gardens in Seattle. The first pic is one from the gardens. It was a perfect day! The 2ND is my sister, Gail & brother Wayne posing for a family photo. Wayne is goofing around & making us both laugh as he always does. We just seem to laugh constantly while in his presence. He is such a joy to spend time with. The 3rd item is a video I took of two of Wayne's Bengal cats. They ride this wheel like crazy (unless you're trying to film them.) You'll see the 2nd cat (Sprinkle) get going pretty fast when her body flies off the wheel. I hope you'll take a moment to watch them. I've never seen cats do this before. These Bengals are a bit different than most cats. I will post more vacation pics tomorrow. Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Seattle, Here We Come!

Today I am preparing to fly out to Seattle. My sister & I leave in the morning for a visit with our brother. We will be gone until the 22ND. I haven't seen my brother for a year now & that's record time for not seeing each other. Of course, I might add that he has NOT been to California in over 4 years now! Anyway...we are looking forward to our trip. I will post some pics of the trip after the 22ND.
I am posting my last wax giveaway today that went to Diana Evans in Canada. I was very pleased with this one & so was Diana. I also sent this decoupaged dinosaur for her precious little munchkin, Cole. Diana was kind enough to make a little movie of Cole thanking me for his present. How sweet was that??
Happy Saturday to all!

Home Again

Even though camping didn't work out we still had a great weekend up in the San Francisco area. We went to the Museum of Modern Art on Thursday, a little shopping on Friday and a wonderful lunch at Yank Sing. We drove the coast to Big Sur on Saturday to meet friends that did elect to make the camping trip in spite of the poor weather report. Sunday was the Alameda Faire. It was a full few days.
I am posting a couple pics of the Monterey coast which was positively GORGEOUS! If you don't visit often, sometimes you forget how very beautiful other parts of the state are. I also discovered some wild growing flowers that I have no idea what they are. The white flowered trees were everywhere in the San Mateo area & the yellow bush seemed to be mainly in the beach areas. Please let me know if anyone knows what these are.
Have a great week everyone!

Camping trips aren't working out

Well, so much for camping in Big Sur. Rain, rain & more rain in a state that doesn't get a lot of rain. We are going to make the most of it & head up to San Francisco tomorrow. I really don't mind that at all since I LOVE SF!! I am going to make a point to go back to the Di Rosa Preserve & I hit the lucky weekend again for the Alameda Swap Meet again. They are NOT predicting rain in Alameda on Sunday so hopefully it will work out for us this time.
I am posting another wax piece that I completed for my giveaway. This one went to Marianne at http://mkonvalinka.blogspot.com/. Hopefully the remaining recipients will receive their gifts this week.
Happy Tuesday!

One of my wax giveaways

I am posting a picture this morning that was one of my "Get excited & make something" giveaways. It is a small picture that was done with bees wax. This one went to Sharon at http://sharon-artfromtheheart.blogspot.com/.

Sharon sent me a note yesterday thanking me & telling me how much she loved it.
We are also getting ready to take off on a camping trip Monday. We will be gone for a week & we are camping in Big Sur, Ca. I am just hoping the weather will be okay. We might get a bit of rain but hopefully it won't be too much! I will share pictures when I return. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Oh, one more thing....Mama cat has been spayed & she's doing great. The kittens are growing & I still have 4 of them. I have a feeling I am going to own more kitties than I anticipated...I am such a sucker for a kitten face! It's almost pathetic:>)

Check out this blog giveaway

When I was blogging this morning I ran across a post on Sherry Goodloe's blog at:
http://gotart4u.blogspot.com/ regarding this giveaway at: http://shardonexclusives.blogspot.com/. Sharon is celebrating her first year & her 100th post. Congratulations to Sharon! Check out her blog, leave a comment & follow her instructions for your chance to win a beautiful creation made by her.

Dissappointed In My Native State Of California

It's official. The California Supreme Court has upheld Proposition 8. Am I disappointed? ABSOLUTELY! I am not only disappointed, I am thoroughly DISGUSTED! My heart goes out to all the same sex couples that continue to be ripped of their rights
to marry the ones they love. I am really not feeling very proud of my native state today. Sad, sad day in California!

Visiting Universal Studios & Citywalk

I am really falling behind on my posts & I need to get with it. It's not that I haven't been creative & productive because I have. I've been working on my "GET EXCITED & MAKE SOMETHING" giveaway & I am finally done. I am going to wrap everything up & get it into tomorrows mail. I have goodies going to Renate in Germany, Gaby from Brazil, Diana in Canada & Marianne & Sharon here in the US.
Your gifts will be there soon & I hope you all love what I've made for each of you.

I am posting a couple of pics from Universal Studios last week. My son has been on vacation so we spent a day acting like tourists in our native state of California.
I always think of my dear sister-in-law when I see cows. She is a hopeless lover of cows & I thought this was so cute. The other one just makes me laugh. That sign was placed in the perfect place...Very L.A!

One more little thing....we parted with one of the kittens last Friday. She was placed in a WONDERFUL home & we were very sad to see her leave but so very grateful that she is going to such a loving home. She will be an indoor cat which means she will have a longer life span. I still have 3 more to go as I am going to keep one little boy. His name is Cooper & he is PRECIOUS! You'll see pics of him a little later.
Happy Memorial Day everyone!

The Noblesse Award From Tweedles

What an honor to receive this Noblesse Award from my very dear friend, Tweedles @ http://tweedles-georgie.blogspot.com/. It's really special when you receive an award from someone you admire so very much! Tweedles & her Moms have a fabulous blog that you must check out. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank ALL the wonderful bloggers I have met over the past two years for their constant support. I pass this award on to each & every one of you! The guidelines for this award are:

(1) Blog manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervade different cultures and beliefs.
(2) The blog contents inspire...striving to encourage and offer solutions.
(3) There is a clear purpose of the blog. One that features a better understanding on social, political, economic issues, and the arts, culture, sciences and beliefs.
(4) Blog is refreshing and creative
(5) Blog promotes friendship and positive thinking.
Bloggers who receive this award should....
(1) Create a post with mention and link to the blogger who presented the award to you.
(2) Display award conditions in the post.
( 3) Write some comments or a short story about what your blog has achieved..possibly citing an older post.
(4) The Noblesse Oblige award should be presented to bloggers in concurrence with the conditions.
(5) The award logo should be displayed somewhere on the blog.

Meet Kong Man

I have been slacking a little lately & haven't made any artwork. I do, however, have this wonderful picture of my favorite little (I mean LARGE) Pug man, Kong. Kong is my sister, Gail's dog & he will be celebrating his 3rd birthday this year. He is a big boy with some long legs. He also weighs a bit more than most Pugs...but who cares?? I weigh more than I'd like to also! Kong is very happy to be living in California now & close to his Aunt Diane. His Mom is always entertaining him with trips to the dog park or Pug meet-ups. Life is good for Kongy! He is probably soaking up the morning sun around the jacuzzi as we speak!
Happy Thursday!

The Kitten Lineup

We finally got some decent kitten pictures. They are all doing well & as you can see I am having no problems getting them to eat kitten food now. Looks like the two gray ones are males along with one of the white ones. The single picture is actually the runt of the group. She was a little skittish in the beginning but seems to be coming around now. Needless to say....we are enjoying these little guys!

My Get Excited & Make Something WInning

I saw a post 2 or 3 weeks ago on Renate's blog at http://putalittlemagicinyourlife.blogspot.com/ for this Get Excited & Make Something giveaway. The first 5 to comment receive a gift made by that individual. I slipped in with my comment & I received this lovely bracelet from Renate. I love it! Thanks so much, Renate. Check out her blog, she has some lovely things posted (particularly her very sweet kitties.) I will continue working on the 5 gifts that I am mailing out & hopefully they will go out by next week. Have a wonderful week!