Mother knows best? Humm... no that would be ...

...Martha!

I'm so in love and so smitten.

Love at first twinkle, first sprinkle.

How did fate not bring us together sooner?

Oh my pretty black glitter.

Now I will be daydreaming about you.

I will run away with you every chance I get,

and vow to never run out.

I will share my spare time. It's you and me together.

You have my Wheels in the Sky just a turning!

Who knows where I *we* will be tomorrow!

Big Shout Outs & Thank you's go to Paige Weasel , SnacknSnooze & AZ City Girl for featuring my art in their lovely Etsy Treasuries! It's such an honor to be chosen and very much appreciated! Thank you!

Eggs-cellent!

Even the smallest member of our family is going to love the new Cooking Channel that launches on Monday. We are all "eggcited" ! Ok sorry I couldn't help myself, a little egg humor, a little yolk, I mean joke. (go ahead and groan, I know I did! haha)

WonTon Quiche Recipe From The Incredible Edible Egg

24 Wonton wrappers
4 EGGS
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. finely chopped ham (1 oz.)
2 Tbsp. finely chopped green onion
2 Tbsp. finely chopped red bell pepper

1.HEAT oven to 350°F. COAT 24 mini muffin cups (1-3/4 x 3/4-inch) with cooking spray. Gently PRESS 1 wonton wrapper into each cup, allowing ends to extend above edges of cup.
2.BEAT eggs and flour in medium bowl until blended. ADD ham, green onion and bell pepper; mix. SPOON about 1/2 Tbsp. egg mixture into each wonton-lined muffin cup.
3.BAKE in center of 350°F oven until filling is set, 12 to 15 minutes.
Enjoy

Snapped !

Today I snapped lots of pictures with the macro setting on my digital camera & small paper light box while babysitting. I have a 12 yr old girl "Mo" staying with us until Sunday or Monday morning and I had my little Doodle bug. He is smitten with her. It's so cute. Not even 2 and trying to impress the ladies! I have to say it's nice not being the only girl in the house! So fun! She is an amazing little artist and likes to draw Anime. Here's the mermaid she drew & painted today! Pretty awesome for 12 ! Here's the paper light box I made, which works better than I thought such a simple thing would! 3 pieces of white card stock is what I used. The paper folded in the rear I used to close or open the back of the tent with, what a super simple way to adjust the light!

Happy Anniversary To Me and.........

Second Anniversary Drawing

I'd like to take this time to sincerely & gratefully thank all of my Followers, and those who stop by to visit. You all truly do make this my "Happy Place".

Ahhhhh my new Black & White blog. I hope you visit. I am having so much fun putting these collections together. I have already met some new super sweet people. Putting this blog together has been an eye opening experience. I will share the main thing I learned along the way while creating "Sometimes Things ARE Just Black & White" ...PICTURES PEOPLE PICTURES! Seriously. I have really been working on my picture taking skills, for posts on this blog, & have a lot to learn. I will admit that I have a log in my eye when I say this, however, from this point forward I will thrive to make my pictures as creative & beautiful as possible. Like Ophra's "No texting while driving campaign, I should start my own campaign, "No bad photos while selling". A FAB FOTO Zone! haha (The video up top doesn't count! I am not selling anything on that.) Reality hit me in the face, online selling requires a great photo. People deserve a great picture. They are buying something that they can't get up close to, touch, feel, see it with their own eyes, so excellent photos are so important. While searching items from fellow artisans I have come across things that I would love to post on the blog but can't/won't because the photo is so.. so.. so bad. I'm just keeping it real. For those of you that have purchased my smaller art pieces & prints you know that it comes packaged with a black & white polka dot bow. I had put a black & white polka dot background on this new blog. I chose it because of that, plus I happen to love polka dots (of any color). When I loaded it up it changed the mood of the blog, it took the serenity out of it, my first instinct was to remove it, but I didn't. The next day I had someone that had visited the blog send me an email saying they thought I should lose the polka dots! I did and it's back to the way I truly wanted it to be, serene and easy on the eyes showing off great items. I am grateful for her sharing her opinion and pushing me to do what I knew I should, it was as she said distracting. I wish I could be as bold. To email someone and tell them when their photos need fixing. Not to be critical but to help them out, possibly feature their item, but I just can't bring myself to do it. So if you are Seller of something that can't be scanned, like art, please heed my advise and take as much care with your photos/presentation as you do with creating your item. Here is a helpful photography video and there many more great photography videos on youtube. Cropping really does works wonders. There are lots of free online photo editing sites as well. I like to use this one at Photoshop. Click here.

Speaking of Etsy, I'd like to send a Big Shout Out to Rosa Mystica for featuring my art in her fabulous Etsy Treasury. Be sure to check out her shop full of wonderful medals!

Another Happy Place!

Introducing my brand new blog! My life is so full of color, but I also have a black & white side of life. I love black & white. Surprised? Open up my closet & drawers and that's what you'll find. It's calming to me & I need a little calm refuge! That's what this new "happy place" will be. I will be showcasing photos & links to my favorite Black & White items & fellow Artisans!

"Sometimes Things ARE just Black & White"

So I invite you to Follow me there too! If you have a Black & White item that you would like me to feature, please feel free to contact me! I'd love to see it. I will probably only be able to post once a week so I will be taking my time to really make each post creative, highlighting creative items & creative people. See you there!

The Blog Anniversary Party /drawing will be held on Tuesday May 25th. It's not too late to become a Follower for a chance to win an Original ACEO painting of your choice. I am going to be working on the festivities later. Party On!

In Mini Mode...

... I was cleaning up and just listed lots of ACEOs (mini paintings) in my Etsy shop that I had painted but never listed for various reasons, which may or may not include laziness. haha I figured why not just put it out there. Some things that I don't particularly like all that much, others like, so who knows.

The Sky's The Limit

ACEOs (Art Cards Editions & Originals) /ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) are great to use for trying new techniques on, to experiment on, or to see how a painting is going to look before putting it to a large canvas. I am hooked on painting these collectible cards. I prefer to paint on a small canvas rather than a large canvas. In this market that means I have to paint twice or three times as much to make as much money as a large canvas would bring. Truthfully when I first saw ACEOs/ATCs I didn't get it, but I have grown to love them. I joined a ACEO/ATC group on Facebook months ago but haven't participated in a traded yet, my bad, but I plan to. Some people keep them in journals, use them in scrapbooks, create handmade cards with them, collect them in ACEO/ATC books, but I think they are the cutest framed. I would like to do a grouping of them. Believe or not my walls have very little on them.

BIG Shout Outs & Thank You's go to AdeleBeeAnn, SmilingBlueDog, Claire's Clayware, HippopotameJewelry, Sweetybird09 for featuring my Art in their wonderful collections in Etsy Treasuries! They have some wonderful things in their shops. Just click on their names to check them out.

Next week, in honor of my 2nd blog anniversary, I'm having an Anniversary Party and you are invited! I will be giving away an Original ACEO, of your choice, as a thank you for all my Faithful Followers. So if you are not a Follower/Angel of mine yet you still have a chance to get in on the drawing!

A Little Word on Wednesday

“The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26

Weekend on the Rocks...

This weekend I made myself this huge gardening bag. I guess if I'm going to give gardening a whirl I'll be needing a bag to put stuff in. I recalled Martha making a bag with duct tape & staples, curious to see if it would really work, I got busy assembling. It's not finished. Ran out of duct tape. Duct tape is on the shopping list!

Even though the bag needs some trimming up, I tested it's strength by raiding our overflowing river beds filling it with rocks. To my amazement it's strong and sturdy. So sturdy in fact that I am thinking these might make cute flower planters, with some creative pattern making & funky fabric. Yes duct tape is on the shopping list! Here's what I did with the rocks...

...I painted some new friends, my flower buds, my "Garden Buddies"! I had a lot of fun painting them! Each one is unique and I have to say look better in person. I made some for gifts and I also put a few in my Etsy Shop to share. They brighten up my patio & make it funky & fun!

A big Shout Out goes to Emmarts & Friendly Fairies for featuring my art in their wonderful Etsy Treasuries! To see their collections click here & here! Splashing! Thank you! Be sure to check out the goodies in their shops.

Intriguing Garden Art...

She Shops She Scores!...

... at the $5 sale at the local Thrift Store! I LOVE this clay bottle & clay leaf candle holders. I was so excited I didn't even clean them (has candle wax stuck on them), I just put them in the window to take a picture so you can see. She was $5 and the candle holders were $1.50. I picked up this file cabinet & painted it with a periwinkle blue paint that I bought & never used. I'm going to fill it with ivy & dianthus. Hubby cut the drawer fronts down after this picture was taken and I'll probably give it another coat of paint.

I got these 2 chairs for $5 ea. I painted the circle with the same blue but I don't like it. I think I'll be painting the chairs purple or orange. They cheer up this empty spot where I had painted a grapevine on the fence years ago. I was going to have hubby cut a hole in the seat to sink a planter in but I decided against it. Might need to sit on them one day. I planted lupine seeds all around them which should look pretty if they grow. I don't have a picture but hubby nailed holes in an old wheelbarrow and I planted lettuce around the edges and swiss chard in the middle. My yard is way too big for my garden abilities but I'm going to give it another try. Try doing it in containers. I'm inspired. I like the idea of filling it up with reuse/recycled usual planters, the trick is doing that without it looking junky... I also scored 2 Revereware pots for $1 and an Aunt Martha's Sassy Squirel transfer for $.50. I love those pesky little critters. In my spare time *wink*, or at night when I'm watching a program, I plan to embroidery some kitchen towels. I've got bears, bees, clay women, wine, leaves...why not some squirrels too?! It's all woodsy & things that make me happy.

I did get in a bit of trouble spending too much money on plants :) Hopefully I'll have a few sales to make up for it. Although May so far has been very slow. But hey it doesn't happen often! In fact I pulled out my big envelope full of seed packets the other day. They were all dated 2003! hahaha We've all had a good laugh over that. I will post some pictures after I get everything planted & pretty. I am going to paint some more rocks too. I have a few & they look so cute nestled in plants here & there. Now that I have more plants...
Make it a great day!

A Little Word on Wednesday

"Nothing But Blue Skies From Now On"

So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

Gardening In The Rain

It's raining like crazy. My kind of day! However, today I'd like to be planting something. I know! What? The last urge I had to garden like this was 2003 because that's the date on my large collection of unopened seed packets! hahahaha My sister and I spent most of this rainy day, long distance, telephone on speaker, going through Google images looking for unique recycled planter ideas. These are a few of my favorites we found.

A big shout out & thank you goes to Pink Mouse for including my "Daily Special" sushi painting in her Etsy Treasury and Whats Her Name (that's really the name I didn't forget it) for including my Charming Garden print in her Etsy Treasury! Please check them out & their wonderful shops!

To check out the new items in my Zazzle Shop today click HERE!

The Coolest Mom Ever...

... Not only is she my mother, she is is my best friend. I love you Mom. I wish we could hang out together today.

Happy Mother's Day to my Sweet, Beautiful, & Fun Loving Mother!

You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. ~ 1Peter 3:4

Have a wonderfully fun day!

Heat It Up!...

... with some peppers that is! Happy Cinco De Mayo! aka Hot Pepper Day for me! Whew! My mouth is burning! I'm feeling all warm & fuzzy *probably from the peppers* so I'm sharing my favorite guacamole recipe with you! This is from a page of the hot pepper cookbook I made for family & friends one year for Christmas. Here's a little tip. Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, then squeeze it right out of the skin. Wa La! Nicely mashed and you get every bit of avocado. Aye, yii, ya, yiiii !!!!!!

Pollen Pollen...

...go away, leave me alone, I hate you! LOL If only I could take my eyeballs out and give them a good scratching! Oh I'm not really complaining, it's a small price to pay for all this loveliness! I'm gonna plant something! Hubby made square foot gardening boxes! They went in right in the front yard up against the house, the only place we have sun. You know my thumb is purple so say a little prayer for me! LOL I'm gonna go to the $ store & get some silverware to make some garden stakes. I am actually excited about planting & making those stakes. *those of you who really know me, just sit down, someone will get a paper bag, you're gonna be ok*

Wouldn't This Be Fun !?

I just entered a give-away at Gloria's Blog for a chance to win one of her pretty bangles. You might want to try and win one for yourself! Which reminds me I have to start planning something for all my wonderful Angels/Followers in honor of my 2nd anniversary. Hum....