Nothing Like A LIttle Warm Weather

It has been so warm the last few days. Everything is blooming. Unfortunately, a freeze is coming. I'm enjoying this bush while it last.

Just Playing

So I've been going full speed ahead on lots of different projects, and this morning I just wanted to do something just for fun. So I got out my watercolors and some scraps of watercolor paper and started trying different methods to create texture. I used alcohol, salt, granulation medium, saran wrap and lots of moving the paint around the paper. After they were dry, I fussy cut them into 3" squares and made a little paper quilt. Here's the quilt and my favorite one using drops of alcohol.

Time Passes

Time passes so fast. Last time I posted I was looking forward to a weekend in the garden. But then the winds came and the last thing I wanted was to be outside. I hate when it gets that windy. It brings me back to my childhood waiting for a hurricane and wondering just how much worse the wind would get. Luckily I had lots to keep me busy inside. I'm working on getting 25 items in my Etsy shop, which is no small task considering the length of time it takes to create my art. When I joined etsy I had no idea of the work involved in maintaining a shop. Do I regret it? No. But there is so much to learn, so much time spent on the computer when I really want to be doing something creative.

While this flurry of activity has occured, Spring continues and provides me with lots of visual stimulation on my morning walks. Enjoy the pics.

GARDEN NOTES

I've been gone for a few days visiting my daughter in California. In that short amount of time, the first blooms in my garden have appeared. I love this time in the garden when the first beginnings of life unfold. Everyday there is excitement of something new. This first picture is of a dwarf iris. My husband and I planted these 15 years ago and they have never done well. We planted two dozen of these in purple and yellow, but we only see maybe 1 or 2 of them bloom each year. At the end of the summer last year I ripped out an ugly sage plant that was just totally unruly. It was in the spot where this yellow iris is. Maybe it has been blooming all this time but was covered up by the ugly plant. Seeing it makes me so happy that I got rid of the sage. Well worth my effort. So the moral of this story is don't be afraid to prune. Here are the first daffodils to bloom. Loads more to come in different colors. Someone told me once that daffodils are a symbol of hope. I love that thought.

Tiny grape hyacinths that must have come from the heavens because we never planted any of these. The deer love them so I'm glad I got this shot before the deer come and munch them.

"These days the portion of Eden for which I am responsible is fairly modest...It is a small house in a small garden in a small neighborhood. But it is large enough...Large enough to hold everything dear."--from Digging In by Robert Benson

SPRING IN MY GARDEN

I know Spring officially started last week, but here in the rocky mountains, at the base of Pikes Peak, I am just beginning to see signs of life in my garden. I have decided I want to document my garden from now until Fall so I'll be posting pictures regulary. My garden is another way that I can enjoy texture. I spend most of the winter trying to recreate the textures of nature in my art. Now I get to go outside and play and enjoy the textures up close and personal. Here are some photographs I took this afternoon.

This first one is of my daffodils. I love how they are peaking out of the dead leaves and branches that have blanketed them all winter. Can you see the munchings from the deer? They wreak havoc in my garden all summer long and I guess forgot from last year that they really don't like daffodils. Beginnings of life on the Maple tree. My husband's eyes are already beginning to water.

Fuzzies on the Aspen trees. The juncos and house finches in the garden have already started to go for them instead of the seed in the feeders.

This coming week is supposed to be in the 60's and 70's so maybe I'll have some first blooms on the daffodils to show soon.

TAOS FIBER ART BRACELET

A couple of years ago I started making these bracelets. I was looking for a way to use up the bits and pieces of fibers leftover from other projects. It was just one of those moments when something clicked and I had to run with the idea. Here are the fibers I started with for the Taos bracelet and then a picture of the finished bracelet.

What's happening in my neck of the woods

I finished my second book from the LK Ludwig painted papers journal online class. For the book I used all the paper leftover from my first book to make the pages. Last time I used vibrant colors so this time I decided to stay with more muted tones but the pages still have plenty of texture. It was great fun to make these books and I can't wait to fill them up.

Book measures 4.5" high and 3" wide. It's a cute little book.

Love the texture on these pages.

Handmade banana leaf stamp on this one.