Blue Moon Studio

Birds Everywhere

I've been busy making cloth birds for my Ella Minnow Peaeshop on Etsy. I've made 12 so far and listed six; six more are cut out and ready to sew. I think they make a nice gift for under $10.00 including shipping. They look like this:

They come in every color of the rainbow. I hope you like them and would appreciate your feedback.

I'm off to a Pampered Chef party tonight. I haven't been to one in ages. I used to host all kinds of home parties back in the day, but now my circle of friends has shrunk, so I wouldn't even know who to invite. Anyway, it should be fun. I hope you have a great evening.

 

Happy BIrthday, Katie

Today is our granddaughter's third birthday.  I do not have the words to say how much joy Katie has brought into our lives.  She is such a happy girl, much older than three; in fact, if you ask her, she will tell you that she is six.  Hey, I believe it.  Her party is tomorrow and she is really excited.  It's a princess party, and let me tell you, she is a princess.  Here's Katie right around Easter time:

 
What a sweetie she is! 

My father-in-law is coming to stay with us for a month.  He comes a couple of times a year.  He is 93 years old and battles Alzheimer's, although he has done well since diagnosed and placed on medication.  We should have lots of adventures during his stay.  DH is gone now to pick him and our oldest daughter, Rhonda, up from the airport.  Rhonda is here to celebrate Katie's birthday.  Lots of family time in the next few weeks is planned.  Hubby's birthday and daughter Amy's birthday comes up next week.  I still need to find a present for hubby.  It's always so hard, though, because he never says he wants anything, ya know?  I seem to have a hard time buying gifts for men in general.  I have no idea why it is so difficult for me.  What do you get?  Shirts, pants, a new tool or garden gadget.....B-O-R-I-N-G! 

Here's a little quote for today:  What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?  (George Eliot)

Be back soon! 

Happy Mother's Day - One Day Late

I hope all you mothers had a wonderful day yesterday.  I spent the day with my daughters, Amy and Jana.  I must say that our day was perfect.  The weather was beautiful, brunch at Shuga's was yummy as always and dinner at Il Vincino was scrumptious.  The antique mall was fun, as always, and I brought home some treasures for my www.etsy/shop/ellaminnowpeae shop:  Two dictionaries for $6.00 each.  Dictionaries on Ebay are going for $45.00.  Can you believe that?  I also bought a beautiful piece of sheet music for collage and this antique picture: 
I guess her name was Ruth.  Isn't this just the cutest picture ever?  

 
Gifts from my girls:  A beautiful ceramic pear and a lovely decoupaged suitcase (with my initials and Somewhere in Time music on it).  Thank you, Amy and Jana, my two most precious gifts, for the loveliest of days.

Thoughtful Thursday

Well, I had the whole post finished and viola!  It was gone!  Just like that.  Now I need to remember what I had said.  I should have copied it before I did anything else, I think.

Anyway, it's been a long time since I posted.  You know, I think about posting all the time, and then fret about it if I don't feel like messing with the pics, wonder if anyone really wants to read what I have to say, etc.  If I don't start using this blog properly, I will switch to the free version, as I'm otherwise wasting $179.00 a year.   I used to blog a lot more frequently, then something happened and I erased my whole blog and quit for about a year.  I'm really bummed that I did that; it was not very smart.  It's been hard getting past that point of remembering that you had many posts to go back and read; now, not so much.  Enough of that business.

We recently returned home from visiting with my parents in Arkansas.  We celebrated my Mom's 75th birthday and my Mom and Dad's 59th wedding anniversary.  We survived a tornado that struck 1/4 mile from their house, rain for 11 days (only one sunny day the whole time we were there) and severe flooding.  I thought my parents were going to be evacuated from their home,  but apparently the waters have receded somewhat, thank God!  Mom and I made some collage; hopefully I will get to posting those soon.

DH has been working on our back patio sun room.  We can't wait until it is finished.  The room will have our hot tub in it; not too sure yet what else.  I would like to find a small hutch to paint and put in there to hide away all of DH's stacks of paper.  :D  We both are so bad about saving stuff.  You just never know when you might need that worthless sheet of paper, you know? 

Last night we had dinner in Colorado Springs with DD Amy at Mimi's.  I had the asparagus and brie quiche, corn chowder, along with a small side salad.  It was soooo good.  I even managed to pick up some black and beige checkered paper for collage.  Our carrot raisin bread was wrapped up in it.  (I love getting free stuff!) 

DH noticed a bird nest in our wreath on the front door today.  One of the eggs tumbled out though and smashed on the porch...so sad.  Two eggs left.  Here's a pic:

 

Well, on that note, I guess I will close, hopefully to be back soon with another blog post.  Thanks for stopping by.

Busy, busy lately, but having lots of fun. Lot of art ideas and projects going, including a show at Domino in Colorado Springs, opening night March 4. It will be my first opening. I have ordered a really cute black dress from Macy's to wear that night. Anyway, here are the two pieces I have entered in the show:

 
"Sit Down and Smile"

It was really hard choosing from the photos that I took since I processed them many different ways.  Laura Ann, the owner of Domino said she liked this and that I had it priced right for the show.  I was glad about that.  (The piece is framed in black with a white mat.)

"Three Chairs" - I was inspired by a picture I saw in Art Collector's magazine.  I love the colors in this one. 

I have two collages in the works as well, and I'm itching to paint.  I also have several photos that need to be edited and listed in my Etsy Shop.  Hubby and I went to Big Lots last night (a discount store) and they had gallery wrapped 12x12 canvases for $5.00.  I stocked up. 

On a personal note, Kathi and I went antiquing yesterday and then to lunch.  The weather was just beautiful and it felt so good to be out.  I don't know about you, but I'm tired of winter.  I'm ready for spring. 

Tonight we have grandson Eddie spending the night.  We'll go out to eat and probably hit Barnes & Noble, which is our usual ritual.  I hope you are having a good evening.

Dear Neglected Blog,
I have such good intentions to update you, but I get busy with life and you get neglected. I hope you will forgive me.

Love,
Your Slovenly Hostess

Saturday

It's after 3:00 a.m. and everyone is asleep but me.  I'm finding it difficult not to stay on my night shift, even on the weekends.  However, that is all going to change when I have surgery on Monday.  Doing things to keep my mind busy in the last few days, especially editing some pics in Photoshop, just so I won't be anxious.  I actually accomplished a fair bit of work....don't know how good it is, but nevertheless, a good bit of work.  I'll share a few pieces with you:

This piece is called "Twirl".  You might recognize the shoot from "Freedom" and "Not Allowed".  I realize it is blurry, but of course that was done on purpose.  Not only was my model moving, as I recall, but I was moving the camera as well.  I love the abstractness (is that a word?) of this piece.  And I absolutely LOVE Florabella's B&W Vanilla action.  The warm whites are yummy.  Anwyay, hope you like it.  It is not listed in my Etsy shop as yet.  I'll wait until I'm home from the hospital to do that, since I can't fill any orders while I'm away.

This next one is from another old shoot.  I kept coming back to this pic, in part because of the composition (straight on) and the contrast of the lights and darks.  I used Elle Moss' "Fairytale" action, which I think just might be my favorite from her so far.  So, here is the piece, entitled "Fairytale"  (how original, huh?)

Wouldn't this look great in a bathroom or bedroom? 

You won't believe this.  I have had a Wacom tablet for almost 3 years and have never taken it out of the package.  Tonight I hooked it up and played around.  I LOVE the wireless mouse, but the pen?...that's going to take some getting used to. 

I think I'll go read for a while.  Goodnight! 

Blue Monday Reprise

Sometimes there just aren't enough hours in a day.  We have been doing some landscaping near the front of the house, working after dark because it has been so hot.  It's looking good, though, In my opinion.  I still have a ton of weeding to do in the back.  We planted two tomato plants.  (Ain't we just the big time gardeners?) 

I'm still moving things over from my One Eye Open Etsy shop back to Blue Moon Studio.  Here's my latest listing: 

You can find it here:  www.bluemoonstudio.etsy.com

Be sure to watch for my upcoming "Grand Reopening Sale" in my Blue Moon Studio shop.  I'll be having a buy one, get one free sale VERY soon....:D

Terrific Tuesday?

Well, I missed the Blue Monday post, but it is only 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, so that's not too bad, I suppose.  I hope you all had an enjoyable Memorial Day.  I'm thankful for all those who have served in the millitary and all those who are serving now.  Mr. Blue (my hubby) is a Vietnam Vet and served eight years in the Air Force. 

Not too long ago, we started a Monday night tradition of dinner with our son and his family.  We enjoyed some grilled hamburgers last night and the kids were fun and silly as usual. 

Last week, we made a quick trip to Arkansas to see my parents.  I'm sorry to report that my mom's health is still failing.  She only weighs 98 pounds.  Please keep her in your prayers. 

I'm still moving things over to the new shop on Etsy.  It's a slow process, I know. 

Not much to report, but I did make a post, so I guess that's a good thing.  Here's a cute pic of Katie from her birthday party in May. 

Blue Monday

I have decided to just "start all over" with my blog posts, since my poor blog has been so badly neglected.   So, here we go with my first "Blue Monday" post, hopefully to be a regular or semi-regular feature. 

I also decided to go back to my Blue Moon Studio business name for a lot of different reasons, but mostly because it has been my business name for the past ten years.  I've had a graphic designer design branding for me, and to say I'm excited about the work she did for me is an understatement.   You can find Rhian by clicking on her name.  The link should take you right to her Etsy shop.  Speaking of Etsy shops, I am moving all of my photography back to my Blue Moon Studio shop.  I will soon be having a "Grand Reopening Sale" and offering buy one, get one free, so you might want to watch for that.

A lot of  exciting things have been happening for me photography-wise, not the least of which has been being a part of FPOE (Female Photographers of Etsy).   "She's a Rainbow" (found here) is the group's first book, and I am excited to tell you that have four pieces featured in it.  Here's a sneak peak of the cover:

FPOE has started another project of which I am a part, entitled, "Miss Match".  I have only played for two weeks so far, but making diptychs with other ladies of the group has really been fun.

On the personal side, my life has been quite busy.  Mr. Blue (my dear husband) just had a birthday.  We celebrated his birthday along with the birthdays of our daughter Amy and granddaughter Katie.  Their birthdays are all within the span of a week. 

We have been working in the yard, too, planting flowers, weeding, etc.  I love getting my hands in the dirt, but I can't say that I like pulling up weeds.  My daughter-in-law swears by Preen, so we are going to give that a try and see if we can at least keep the weeds out of the flower beds.  Everything I planted last year that my Mom gave me came up, every single plant.  Yay!  I should have some nice daylilies blooming at some point.  I'll be sure to take a picture so you can see.  The hostas are looking lush and full. 

Thanks for visiting.  I'll be back soon with an update.