Stone Collecting

I am a sucker for stones. I never met one I didn't like. This little section of Cousin's Shore on PEI is like paradise for me. My daughter and I recently went stone hunting and came away with lots of smooth wonderful stones. She would ask "how about this one?" Oh yes, that's a beauty. We have to have that one. We don't take too many as to leave plenty for others to find.

Maybe I'll try my hand at crochet like the gorgeous stones here. Or just keep them by my side like a little stone garden at my fingertips. There is something very peaceful about touching and rearranging these stones. Perfection in a smooth round cool package.

Scenes from Prince Edward Island

I thought I would take you on a little tour of one of my favorite villages on PEI: Victoria by the Sea. This lovely little town is located along the southern coast of Prince Edward Island over looking the Northumberland Strait.

There are lots of tea rooms on the island revealing a decidedly British influence. This is one my favorites. I just love the vibrant island colors and sweet lace curtains, not to mention the window boxes bursting with geraniums.
This is a traditional island home with typical PEI colors. Notice the lovely painted details above the rounded dormer windows.

This sweet dory window box was found outside Olde Lovely, a cute little shop located in Burlington (5 minutes outside Kensington), PEI. If you have the chance, be sure to visit this beautiful shop and visit with Cyndi, the owner. Tell them Maminka Girl sent you!

More journal pages

A few more pages from my Journal of Interest: Permission to play Blind contour drawing...haven't done this since college.
Mixing styles: very old vintage pages mixed with modern day advertisements

I reworked this title page but am still not happy with it...don't like my handwriting but I still love that quote. And it is so true.

Journal of Interest

Here's a peek at my Journal of Interest which is an E-Zine workshop I have been taking with Teresa McFayden.

It was made by "deconstructing" an old book and using the covers..great idea! I was excited to find this old illustration of a mother scrapbooking with her children.

Inside cover above. One of my favorite quotes for the title page.

O Canada!

Happy Canada Day. I have been doing some art journaling this year. I thought today would be a good red day in honor of Canada's birthday. How nice that we are here in PEI which is the birthplace of the confederation don't you know. Now how about some nice weather for the fireworks on the beach this evening? Dreaming of blue skies

Prince Edward Island...the green island

My art journaling is VERY raw compared to some of the gorgeous art journals I see out there but the whole point is to let loose and not worry about that. I recently signed up for this "Journal of Interest" class taught by Teresa McFayden of Paper Bella. Maybe I can make some improvement and learn some new tricks.

Island Projects

In an effort to keep busy and maintain a connection to my studio back home I made a little art kit to take with me to the island. I have to admit, I really enjoyed putting together all the bits and pieces. I tried to include only the things I really love and not worry whether or not they were compatible. I think that if you find beauty in each item, you can't go wrong with the finished product. I was limited by the container ( a little vintage suitcase) so I couldn't go crazy but had to carefully edit. This my biggest challenge (for everything, not just art). I love the way everything looks together all nested and bundled.

Here is my first project: I have been wanting to make a little British flag for sometime. My daughter wanted a pillow but I didn't have enough fabric for that. Instead I made this tiny appliqued work using the "approximate" colors. I had a little frame up here that was not being used.

Now I just have to decide where to hang it. Next trip I will bring some red and white wool for a Canadian flag...we are on PEI after all.

May the Honeymoon Never End

This week my husband and I celebrated our 24th anniversary. We have been an item for 31 years..met at the end of high school and corresponded all through college. I saved every letter and so did he! It is sort of sad to me that we all use electronic means of communication these days and my kids will probably never have shoe boxes of letters containing the everyday mundane details of a long distance courtship. Oh well... we still exchange cards and that is something. This is the card that Thomas gave to me and I swear I almost bought the same exact one because I was pressed for time to make one this year. It says inside: "May the Honeymoon Never End". In the end I was too cheap to buy it because it was quite pricey for a card. My big spender got it instead for me. This is the card I made for him from an old magazine image and a scrap of vintage wallpaper. I really do love making my own cards and it was a weak moment that I considered purchasing one.

This was my gift to Thomas. He re-reads this book at least once a year. He says it relaxes him and he still laughs his way through the chapters. Every book that he reads is compared to Herriot and believe me, nothing holds a candle to them. I have tried to find comparable books but I always get a comment like "it's okay, but it's no James Herriott". It doesn't do any good to tell him that sadly Mr. Herriot is no longer with us and he is going to have to move on. He needed a new copy because his old one was yellow and brittle and missing its cover.

This was my gift: one of our favorite classic movies and my favorite movie candy which I don't have to share.