• Blog

    T Tuesday: daytrip edition

    Last week we were dealing with air quality issues with the smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Thursday looked like this. It was really unhealthy air. We kept inside as much as possible.

    Since the forecast was supposed to clear up as far as the smoke went, Mini-me and I went with my neighbor on a daytrip to Alexandria MN. aka Lake country…cabin country. I love it up there. We had a cabin there when I was a teen and my cousins still have one in lake country. It’s my happy place. Well, maybe tied with Duluth.

    We went out to eat and had probably the best food I’ve have ever had at a bar/restaurant. It was so good I didn’t even remember to take a photo until it was nearly gone. We sat on the patio that overlooked the lake. It was awesome.

    Next we went to a winery that had also just added a brewery. We had a flight of Minnesota wines…not a fan. But the beer was really good. I ended up buying two Growlers to bring home to share.

    The flight of wine came with a complementary glass to take home. My neighbor gave me hers as well so now I have a pair.

    We also stopped at a quilt shop and picked up some goodies. I bought some science themed fabric as I was planning to make some more masks for J and myself. Mini-me picked out the cat fabric. Luckily I did pick up more fabric because we just learned that the University system in MN is requiring masks for everyone.

    I also grabbed the two small scrap packs I found in the clearance area. I honestly was hoping for more scraps.

    Boy, I had so many drink references in this post that I could have split it into three. 🙂

    The prep list for each kid heading to college is on my agenda for today. Figuring out what we have, what we need, and where to store everything in the meantime…besides the middle of the living room.

    What are you doing today?

  • Blog

    A second look: All I really need to know

    Today for Second on the 2nd I’m sharing a post from a couple years ago. At that time I was very into creating on loose pages then attaching them into a Creative Memories scrapbook album since I never actually scrapbook our photos.

     

    Take a look….

    All I really need to know

    4-28-2019

     

    Easter Sunday I was up bright and early like usual. The strange part was I had absolutely nothing to prepare or even get ready to bring along for our family meal. My mother-in-law told me to take a break and that she had it all handled. (which she did)

    For once I had both the drive to be creative and the time to do it.  Thank goodness I had gotten my hair done and makeup on early because I got totally lost in art journaling right up until having to change my clothes to leave home. 

    This was the first piece I created. Warm colors celebrating the warmth outside.

    I really love all the texture in this journal page.

    Next I completely changed my color palette for more seasonal pastel Easter egg colors.

    Layering bits of this and that has definitely been my style of choice lately.  Also creating loose leaf style pages that will be adhered to my Creative Memories scrapbook pages…cause you know I’m not going to actually use those for the intended purpose.

    I had to add stitching to this piece. I love how simply I can create texture and movement through textiles and trim.

    I even zig-zag stitched over baker’s twine as a quasi frame for the quote I chose. I tied a tiny key to the corner for a final touch.

    I wonder how many more pages I might have created had it not been Easter Sunday. Although other Sundays I’d have been worried about cooking for our family.

    Linking up today with Art Journal Journey for Having Fun.

    Art Journal Journey
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    Thanks for stopping by for Second on the 2nd!
  • Blog

    T Tuesday: journal dump edition

    I wasn’t sure I’d make it here for T stands for Tuesday with Elizabeth and the gang…I was feeling down right rotten for the past 36 hrs or so. But my stomach no longer feels like its trying to eat itself from the inside out so I think we’re good now. Likely TMI…but I’ve been known to overshare before.

    As par for the course, I didn’t have a solid plan of what I was going to share anyway. I did realize that I had created a few journal pages and never got around to posting them.  So here they are in no particular order.

    My typical indoor photo spot wasn’t working for me today…So I had to improvise on the patio table. A little bit of dappled sunlight just for fun.

    This page started with gelatos over gesso. I’m not a fan of this gesso as its so grainy. I ended up with these loose, whimsical flowers somehow. Cultivate Kindness just seemed to fit.

    I love this color combo. And circles. This has to be my favorite page as of late.

    This was a page from my wonky junky journal. I remember it coming together so quickly that I was almost a bit sad it was over. I believe that was when I put gesso down for the first page in this post. Gosh I hate wait for paint and glue to dry. I need a much bigger area so I can have several things going at once. LOL

    A week or so ago a neighbor shared a new Surly beer with a few of us. Typically I’m not a fan of Surly brews…usually too bitter. But this, my friends, was awesome. It was very difficult to find but I am oh so glad I did.

    This is where I’d typically ask you what you were doing today but since the day is nearly over…hope it was a good one!