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Last week is a whirlwind in my mind. I’m not even sure why I missed T stands for Tuesday but I did. So this week will be a bit of a catching up….again.

I think we shall start with Mother’s Day.Mothers day sushi

Take out sushi from our favorite local sushi resturant. We actually had this on Saturday since we spent Sunday at my in-laws house. Since their health isn’t the best right now, I brought the meal. The boys tackled the spring/summer to-do list for their folks. It was a good day. Staying busy  was good so I didn’t dwell on my first Mother’s day without my mom.last concert

Last week also brought the last choir concert for J. Its an emotional concert for me…even before having a graduating senior. The last two songs are always the same and they are sung by all members of all choirs. Real tear-jerkers. As they sing the seniors come off stage and bring their parents a rose. Pass the tissues please…..

senior rose

They also have a fun slide show of highlights and the guess the baby photo of the senior. So awesome! When we got home it was late and I couldn’t bring myself to dig in the storage room for a bud vase especially when the recycling was so close. A wine bottle works well. And bonus it hits the T stands for Tuesday beverage as well. :)paint to paper

Workspace current view…

I haven’t really had any creative mojo for the past week or so. I’ve put paint to paper but completed nothing.

Most of this past weekend was spent outdoors. We scrubbed the deck which was long overdue. We decided that once it was scrubbed the weathered barnwood look was quite appealing so we’ve decided to just re-stain the railings.

Marvin approves. We used some plywood to provide a temporary gate so he could enjoy the a little sun on the deck with us. Of course he has his own personal greenhouse. Cats and boxes…

Anyway…we were enjoying the sunshine on the deck after long weekend of toil which also included planting in the garden.

The shed garden doesn’t look like much yet. Once the seeds sprout the space will quickly fill.

These onions are a funny story. Last fall I dumped this planter box into the shed garden figuring we’d just use the rototiller to mix in potting soil from containers into the garden. As I was pulling weeds, I noticed that this brick of soil was sprouting onion up from underneath. I tipped it back over and had all these green onions that were curling around the edges seeking sun. I tossed it back in the planter box and watered to see what would happen. Now a week or so later they are wonderful.

After we took the patio set and chiminea out of the shed and set it up we noticed that the chiminea is on its last summer.

The crack in the terracotta has grown exponentially. We need to be very careful with how we treat it over summer.

This week is slightly quieter than last…I think.

What are you doing today?

After a bit of thought I decided to give Postcrossing another try. In 2011, after completing the second of two postcard books with traded postcards from both Postcrossing and Swapbot, I took a break. A long break as it turns out.

This is the postcard I’m sending today. It is heading to Russia. After looking up the postage cost I am beginning to remember why I quit. Oh well. We’ll see how long I continue with this 

I have a stash of vintage postcards from our trips and travels as a kid with my parents. This is the Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge in Colorado. I can remember the feel of the bridge under my feet. I think perhaps this was one of the experiences that gave me my extreme fear of bridges.

 

Last week I left off with the conservatory portion of our day trip to recreate the missed field trip. Next to the conservatory is a zoo. Como Zoo.

As children, both Mr. G and I visited this zoo with our parents….rode the giant tortoise, looked at the gorillas behind the bars and saw Sparky the Seal perform. Things have changed for the better over the years. The habitats are continually being improved. Mini-me has even witnessed change in her years. When we got there we saw that both the seal and polar bear habitats were changed or changing. Good news for those critters.

The big cats are a favorite of mine…

Watching this big guy walk was like seeing a giant version of Marvin. He saunters when he walks.

The lions were thoroughly enjoying the sunshine.

And who could blame them when just off to the side was the remains of our snow.

It is Minnesota after all.

I have one more part of our adventure to share with you next week.

Since this is T stands for Tuesday I had to share my birthday present to myself. I picked it up at Caribou (the best coffee place in my opinion…no affiliation, just a very smitten customer) while getting my free birthday drink.

This weekend also brought prom for J. He went with a bunch of friends and had a wonderful time. I once again wish I could show you my favorite candid shot from pre-prom pictures. It captured his personality perfectly….but I respect their right to privacy even now that he is an adult.

School is winding down…yet so many things that need to be done.

What are you doing today?

Today, for my birthday, I took some time out to create. With the school year winding down and everything that entails this year, I’ve been finding it harder and harder to carve out creative time.

I glued some random papers to parts of my book then used thick white craft paint to give a bit of texture with a palette knife. I was planning molding paste but my jar was dried up…hard as a rock.

Next I used my fingers to spread two shades of teal then a light touch of plum purple on the very edge. I blended everything with a slightly damp babywipe. I continued to wipe away at the areas with the white paint to bring the lightness back for interest on the pages.

I used Staz-on to stamp gears and clock numbers on the background.

Washi tape was used to adhere a glassine envelope holding a tag to the page.  I added some stacked paper and button embellishments I created from my stash. The colors meshed well with the overall look.

More washi was added for balance on this side along with a snippet of music. I added a bottle cap I picked up on a walk since it reminded me of the treasures I bring home.   

As I looked through one of my favorite books to cut words and phrases from I saw this in a line.  Perfect.

Secret notes and treasures.

 

Today for T stands for Tuesday I’m sharing the first installment of the adventure Mini-me and I headed went on to recreate the Digital Photography field trip she missed while on her French field trip. Poor communication between teachers I guess.

We followed in the foot steps of her class and went to the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory in our state capital city of St. Paul. 

The Conservatory is a beautiful structure with the iconic glass dome and several glass wings jutting out from the center.

I knew the structure was old but didn’t realize that it was over 100 years old until I noticed this sign.

While Mini-me was working her photography skills on the flora and fauna displayed, I was marveling at the architecture and unique features of the building.

Its amazing to me how glass and steel can be a work of art in itself.

In a separate wing of the conservatory was a Bonsai pavilion. These were my favorites.

Since this wing was dedicated to Japanese culture and tradition it was only fitting I share a bit of the traditional tea ceremony pieces on display here for T stands for Tuesday.

The pottery was simple yet beautiful.

More next time for T Tuesday…

What are you doing today?

Life. Family. Memories. Adventure.

The journey.

I was inspired to sit down to create this morning. I didn’t have a specific theme in mind but as I began to pull interesting pieces together I realized that I did have something in mind. Life is an adventure

Over the last two days I’ve exchange emails with cousins from both sides of my dad’s family. A genealogy message board connected them even though they aren’t related, but I am to both of them. My “new” cousin was looking for photos and info on her Grandpa…who was my Grandpa’s brother. I was able to provide her with a photo she’d never seen of 4 of the brothers.  As it turns out we live within 10 minutes of each other and plan to meet sometime after school is done. So cool!

Anyway…all this digging into the past. Thinking of stories told to me by my parents. Old photos. Genealogy. Family. Memories. All came together to inspire the page you see. Life is an adventure

vintage stamps and lace

Life is an adventure

Blue chip stamps and vintage trim

Life is an adventure

B&W photo and flower embellishmentLife is an adventure

All of these pieces coming together as a vintage inspired tribute to my ancestors. Their life was a great adventure. Life is an adventure

Ours is too. This is something I think we often forget through the drudgery of everyday life. Live your life…make it an adventure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m linking up with Art Journal Journey for Recycle and Collage.

Art Journal Journey

It’s been a weird week…or two weeks. I missed T stands for Tuesday last week. It just wasn’t in the cards to get something posted or even attempt to make the rounds to my fellow Tuesday bloggers…or anywhere else for that matter. So moving on…

The next weirdness was the crazy weekend blizzard the weather folks were hyping up.  Well there weren’t wrong!! We got 16.2 inches of snow here.

And guess what…school went on here as scheduled Monday. 

As I walked in the building this is what I saw to my right. 

Here’s the drift that reached the roof that was to my left as I walked into the building! Crazy! We have more snow in the forecast for Wednesday. UGH! But then 60°F by the weekend. So weird. Mother Nature has lost her mind!!

Ok…I know you are tired of hearing me complain so on with the creativity.

Last week I sat down with an idea in mind. Creating a scrappy, handmade, hand bound journal. After creating my signatures I needed to come up with a sturdy yet pretty way to bind this journal.

This was my idea. It’s very fine plastic canvas…like needle point size grid. I used a Japanese screw punch to make the holes to stitch my signatures through then glued it to the lace panel with E6000.

I don’t think I exactly follow the hand binding rules but…don’t care..it’s the way that works for me. I’ve been doing it this same way for over 11 years!

I decided to use this book cover, covering the inside with scrapbook paper before gluing the lace bound signatures down.

I’m pleased with this little book. I’m planning to use it for random thoughts and quotes along the way.

Last weekend…or I guess that would be the previous weekend when we could actually leave the house…Mini-me and I treated ourselves to coffee.

These Minnesota-isms just don”t seem to get old especially when we have feet of snow on the ground.

This week holds a solo/ensemble contest for Mini-me and getting ready for the end of the school year wrapping up. I was told that there are 38 school days left. YIKES! That kind of freaks me out. There is so much to do!!!!
What are you don’t today??
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