Thrift Store Finds

These are some prints I found at the thrift store a few weeks ago.  They are numbered, signed prints by an artist named Mollie Jones.

I was going to use the frames, but once I got them cleaned up, I liked them, so Kelly hung them for me.

Mounted Sun and Moon Dolls

Kelly took some great pics of my dolls in their shadowboxes. It was hard to get pics of them in the boxes--there was always a glare--but you get the idea in the third picture.  Not sure why the jet black of the background turned out gray in the biggest box

We've hung them on the wall in my bedroom, and I love looking at them.

Another one down on my bucket list.  :o)

Thanks, Kel!

Ahlyssa's Art

Our thirteen year old granddaughter, Ahlyssa, made these drawings of lilies and a rose. 

The color is not quite true because I enhanced them to make them a little darker and easier to see on the computer. 

They arrived this morning, and she brought a large drawing of a rose in full bloom for me and Papa. We love it! I told her I'm going to have it framed. 

I've made my cornbread, now on to pies and a cake. Hope you're all having a great time getting ready for Thanksgiving.

Bombus Terrestris--So Cute!

My daughter Kelly makes handmade jewelry. Lately she has been doing little miniature paintings on a polymer clay base.

Here is Kelly's description of the most recent pendant from her Etsy shop, biologie:

The Bombus Terrestris! Also known as a buff-tailed bumble bee. Here is an original hand-painted art pendant with lovely pastel colors in artist acrylics worthy of a queen bee.

The first bumble bees seen in the spring are the queens. This queen is visiting a globe thistle for the sweet nectar. She'll store it in a nectar pot to feed her young.

This darling little pendant hangs from a chain necklace with a spring ring clasp and arrives wrapped in a decorated hand-folded paper gift box. The canvas of the painting is a lavender shade of polymer clay and your painting is permanently protected with jeweler's grade crystal clear resin. Each necklace is designed and painted by me - no prints, no duplicates.

· artist acrylic paints, jeweler's grade protective resin

· pendant is just under 1 inch long (22mm x 19mm) in a zinc-rich frame, water-resistant

· silver-plated chain measures 19 inches (48.2cm) with a spring ring clasp

Visit my shop for more nature inspired jewelry: biologie.etsy.com

Kelly packages her creations in beautiful little hand-folded boxes that are works of art in themselves. No need for gift wrap. :o)

If you enjoy giving handcrafted jewelry as gifts, or like wearing one-of-a-kind pieces yourself, please visit biologie. I think you'll like what you see.

Jacob's Fish Tale

Our son Jason posted this on his Google+ page about our grandson, Jacob.

Jacob brought home a worksheet they did at school. They were told to write a story about the picture. I think Jacob drew on his experience fishing off the pier in Rockport when writing his (and for his drawing on the back of the sheet).

(Incidentally, the ocean sunrise on my Google+ profile page is a picture of that pier.)

I love the story, but I especially love the drawing of the fishermen on the long, long pier. :o)

Great job, Jake! I love you!

James Dupre, Again.

Please turn off my playlist music (in the left-hand sidebar) to listen to the video.



Remember this post I made in June about a terrific young singer that I came across on YouTube? His name is James Dupre. This morning there was a comment on that post in my inbox, from someone who knows James.

Anonymous said...

Just to let you know - James Dupre is even nicer in person than he comes across on screen:) He has also signed a record contract.

I think it's so thoughtful of Anonymous to let me know that James is as nice as he seems in his videos, and that he has signed a record contract. I'm as excited and happy for him as I'd be if I knew him in person. :o)

You can listen to sample tracks from James' CD, It's All Happening, and purchase it here, and you can read his bio on his webiste, here. Enjoy!

Stardust Memories

I made a little pocket memory shrine for my mom for Mother's Day. It's tiny--about 2" by 2 1/2".

Stardust was my mom and dad's song. When I was little, Mom had a little round blue metal powder box/music box that Dad had given her. I used to love to wind it up to hear Stardust.

The pictures inside show my dad on the left, and Mom and Dad together on the right. They were married in 1946. They didn't quite make it to their 50th wedding anniversary before my dad died of leukemia in 1992.

Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous, and though they tried a couple of times, they could not live without each other.

The most important lesson I learned from their marriage is that you don't give up when things go wrong. You keep on loving one another, and work it out if it's at all possible.

I've been hearing Stardust in my head all day today. :o)

CJ Hats

For those who would like to know where Kelly got the little caps she gave me, here is the link to CJ Hats.

Mary at CJ Hats has lots of different styles to choose from, and they are all so cute!

*edited to add a note from Kelly:

I got that silk scarf, the white hat and the cute bathing cap from another site. Can't remember...oh, headcovers.com!

Thanks for the correction, honey!

The Story of the Little Knit Cap

My daughter Kelly has met so many talented and caring artists through her online Etsy shop, Biologie.

One of the Etsy vendors that she buys from found out that Kelly was looking for the little caps for me, and she sent Kelly the little knit cap seen here.

The lady's name is Rebecca, and her Etsy shop is Raige Creations.

The amazing thing about the little knit cap is that it belonged to her mother, who survived lymphoma for 15 years before succumbing to bladder cancer. The hat was knitted by Rebecca's mother-in-law, who is a thyroid cancer survivor. And the little yellow flower was crocheted and added to the cap by Rebecca herself.

Rebecca sent the cap to Kelly, telling her that she thought that I could use it, and the love that went into creating it.

My heart is touched that Rebecca wanted me to have something so precious to her as her mother's cap.

Rebecca, please know that I treasure the little knitted cap, but even more, the heart of a person who has such love and compassion for a stranger and her daughter. Thank you with all my heart.

Kelly Girl

My daughter Kelly is a "Featured Creator" at the Raige Creations blog.

The article tells a bit about her, and there is a brief interview and picture. Take a look and learn more about Biologie.

I think she is a very cool and interesting artist. :o) And she has some beautiful jewelry in her Etsy shop if you're looking for something fresh and pretty for Spring.

While you're at Raige's blog, be sure to check out her lovely handmade items. She also has some wonderful goodies in her Etsy shop.

Support handmade art!

A Toad Prince

This little lampworked toad bead is one of a strand Kelly got at the bead show we went to last Sunday. Isn't he a cutie? She put it on a satin cord and tied some of her pretty Chinese buttons, and voila, a gorgeous adjustable necklace.

She is selling it for the amazing low price of $6! Go get one; perfect for March, perfect for Spring!

(You can see other views of the necklace at her Etsy shop, Biologie).

The Butterfly Circus

Eduardo Verastegui has a new short film out, The Butterfly Circus. It is one of the finalists in the 2009 Doorpost Film Project. The theme of the film is hope. I found it very touching.

To log in to see the films and vote, please visit the site.

I've embedded The Butterfly Circus. It's a 20 minute film. Enjoy!
(You can turn off my playlist music by clicking on the double vertical lines on the player).

Hello, Dolly!

I'm away this week, so have made a few blog posts that will post automatically while I'm gone. I won't be here to fix them if they look weird when they post, so please forgive any wonky looking posts. :o)

A few years ago, when I was more crafty, I made these little dolls. The first one is completely beaded (I think I may have blogged about her before). The second dolly was made with a stick, yarn, a poly clay face I made, some beads and a feather.

I really need to get back into crafting. It was so much fun.

Japanese Dolls

Sarah mentioned in a post on her blog (that I can't locate now) that she likes Japanese kokeshi dolls, and I commented that we have some we got when we lived in Japan.

My favorite dolls are this set, called The Four Seasons. They are quite heavy for their size, and very smooth except for some subtle carving. I like their simple oval shape, the painting, and the way they feel in my hands. Aren't they sweet?

The bigger doll (in the 3rd photo) was a gift, and is actually a box. She has a screw at the back, and when opened has a "secret compartment" where you can hide treasures. :o)

I gave my very favorite kokeshi doll to my mom. She is also an oval shaped doll, and is painted with long auburn hair like I had when I was a child.

My daughter has some cute kokeshi, and the boys have some daruma, a Samurai warrior, and one that Josh said looks "po'd." (That's my Josh). :o)

The last photo is of a pair of dolls I bought at a Japanese flea market. The dolls are very old, and the detail in them is incredible. The old woman is holding a broom, and the old man's hands are made to hold something, but whatever it was is missing.They aren't in the best shape, but I like them anyway.

Cherry Blossoms

Isn't this a pretty pendant? It was handmade by my daughter Kelly, and it's for sale in her Etsy shop, Biologie.

Kelly has fused little hand-sculpted cherry blossoms and branches, made from polymer clay, onto the disc. It is strung on an adjustable satin cord, which is beautifully hand-knotted.

I love how Kelly comes up with an idea, and then learns the techniques to create what is in her vision. She is a perfectionist when it comes to her art.

She has added a few other pieces to her shop, too. Her cluster earrings are really cute; I have a pair in red that I wear nearly every day. If you need a special gift for someone, or just love jewelry, Biologie is the perfect place to shop. Everything comes packaged in darling little gift bags or boxes, also handmade by Kelly.

And be sure to check out her blog!

A New Jewelry Shop

My daughter Kelly has opened a jewelry shop on Etsy. Right now she has handmade earrings and bracelets for sale.

She's still in the process of getting the shop set up, and will have more items listed soon.

Please visit Biologie at Etsy.com to see some of her wonderful creations. Her jewelry is packaged in pretty little ribbon packets and envelopes, also handmade by Kelly. Perfect gifts for someone you love, or for yourself!

Grand Ol' Gang

What a poker party! The painting is by Andy Thomas. You can purchase a print here. Pretty cool.

Kelly's Haiku

Haiku of the Japanese Red Maple

Spring breezes caress --
Three generations of woman
hug a Momiji.

Gran, mom and I visited the botanical gardens last spring. I wrote the haiku above while looking at the picture I took of this Japanese red maple and remembering the three of us enjoying the day with each other and nature. Momiji means red maple in Japanese (Acer palmatum).

This portion of the botanical gardens is one of my favorites and is called Kumamoto En, which is the Japanese sister city of San Antonio.

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

I mentioned in another post that the Japanese Garden is our favorite spot at the Botanical Gardens in San Antonio. This is my daughter's picture, commentary and haiku that I mentioned, posted here with her permission. She makes me happy. :o)

Driftwood Horses

My sister Johnnie sent me an email with pictures of these remarkable sculptures made of driftwood. I'm just posting a couple of them. Aren't they wonderful?

I googled them, and discovered they are the creations of a UK artist, Heather Jansch.

You can see more pictures of her beautiful sculptures at her website, here. She makes other animals from the driftwood, and sculpts in bronze as well.