Jeri's and Jan's visit to our house and canvas we made

I am a member of an online art group called AAWA (An Affair With Art). I have been a member for many years and the leader of our group is Jeri and she lives in Texas. We got the joyful new that Jeri wanted to visit our house along with another member who is Jeri's good friend, Jan. Jan is from Salt Lake City, UT. We were so glad to have them visit us and we had a wonderful time! My dear hubby only remembered to take one photo and there were several more South Carolina girls that visited with us. Claudia, Pam, Linda, Autumn, Charlotte and Jean were there to have some meals with us and have some creative fun with us. This photo is me, Jeri, Jan and Charlotte.
This is the cute canvas that we made. I saw the directions for it here -
http://www.oneluckyday.net/2015/06/possibilities.html
We all did our canvases different and I wish I had taken photos of all of them.
I am tired but so happy to have had everyone here enjoying themselves!

A small flower canvas and a Julie Nutting Prima doll tag

My online art group AAWA (An Affair with Art) is doing a small artsy canvas swap and a Julie Nutting - Prima doll tag swap. Here is my canvas for the swap. The canvas had to be between 4"x4" and 5"x7". My canvas is a 5x7 size. The theme of the swap is "Who doesn't love a flower in bloom?"
I love nasturtiums and used to grow them in my flower gardens. I love them because them are so pretty and brightly colored and they are edible! They are peppery and spicy.
The tag was to be done with a Julie Nutting - Prima doll stamp. I did her in a red, white and blue theme because next week is flag day and July 4th is coming up shortly. But she could also be used on a card for any celebration. This doll is supposed to have boots on but I drew her some new legs and flip-flops for her 4th celebration. I hope that you enjoy looking at them!
I don't often do this but I updated my drawing of the nasturtium. I kept looking at it thinking something was missing and looked at some real flowers online. Now I like it better!

Profile - June Mix It Monthly Challenge and feminine and masculine - Art Journal Journey

Over on Mix it Monthly, the challenge was to do a profile. I love faces so this is right up my alley. I found the face in a 1955 Look magazine. The picture under the model says, "The Balenciaga Hat,
like one worn by a circus pony, was frivolous idea shown with dinner clothes."
The hat reminds me of fascinator hats sometimes worn by the British as some wore at the royal wedding. I think someone would have to be a fun loving person and not deterred by anyone making fun of their hat in order to wear any hats like these. I want to encourage you and those who read my art journal to go out there and have some fun!
Valarie on Art Journal Journey told that this would qualify for their theme of masculine/feminine also so I linked it over there too. I was unsure if we had to show both in our art work or not but glad to know this would work over there also! Thanks, Valarie!

Spring Has Sprung - The Mirrow Cracked - Wings Challenge

I usually do Conny's Mix It Monthly's challenges and saw several people doing her challenge this month which is angels linking their art with The Mirrow Cracked blog's Wings Challenge. I thought I would enter a little bird that I did today into their challenge.  Here is the link for The Mirrow Cracked Wings Challenge.
Spring has Sprung here and it has been a beautiful day today so I celebrated by doing a collage in my art journal.
I hope you enjoy seeing it.

Dancing with Angels - Mix It Monthly - Theme Angels and Saints

After my Mother-in-law's memorial service, my 16 year old Grand girlie and I sat and drew from a photo on her phone. We both were drawing the same figure in our art journals but our drawings turned out very differently. She loves water color crayons and I love water colors. The picture of a person dancing reminded of my Mother-in-law and one of our friends had said that she was dancing with the angels and her beloved husband. So this is my drawing for this Mix it Monthly. I drew it before the subject was announced and I think it fits. What do you think?

Mix it Monthly - theme fabric

My sweet Mother in Law died last week. She lived with us and she had dementia. Although I do not miss the dementia, I DO miss her. She was a sweet and giving person. We are trying to work through the grief and the life changes and I have not had a lot of strength to do art but I did have to do my work on the round robin that we do for our altered book club. So I decided to use fabric leaves for my friend, Linda's book. I also found some fabric that my friend, Dorothy in the altered book club gave me. I did a stitch on the fabric that goes through the paper so the stitch could not be as pretty as my quilting stitches are usually done on fabric but for this layout, I think it still suits it. I used a quote that surprised me because it was written in 1899 - not modern times! I watercolored the paper and then stamped over the watercolors. The picture is a scene in the Great Smoky Mountains. I love those mountains and long for some time there to heal my grieving soul.

 The quote says, " I remember a hundred lovely lakes, and recall the fragrant breath of pine and fir and cedar and poplar trees. The trail has strung upon it, as upon a thread of silk, opalescent dawns and saffron sunsets. It has given me blessed release from care and worry and the troubled thinking of our modern day. It has been a return to the primitive and the peaceful. Whenever the pressure of our complex city life thins my blood and benumbs my brain, I seek relief in the trail; and when I hear the coyote calling to the yellow dawn , my cares fall from me - I am happy." ~Hamlin Garland. McClure's, February 1899

Good Morning Sunshine for Mix It Monthly - theme color blocking

This is my mixed media art for Mix it Monthly where the theme this month is color blocking. This little girl is drawn onto tissue paper and put over the colors in my art journal.
She definitely has bed head but I hope that you enjoy seeing her in all her imperfectness.