MERRY CHRISTMAS...

Wishing all my family and friends a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.

A little link to some Christmas love if you care to reminisce with me...Christmas is Love.

Blessings,

Sandy

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to family and friends both far and near...

image from The Graphics Fairy

Blessings,

Sandy

A WINNER AND A CONSOLATION PRIZE...

Thank you for the sweet, kind, and encouraging messages you offered on my 10 year blogging anniversary.  As promise a winner has been drawn...

DIANA GRAY!  

congrats, please email me you mailing address and I will get your gift in the mail, srpbabb@gmail.com

And also as promise I have a consolation prize...a new art tutorial featuring a free tutorial on making your mixed media art into a sticker sheet that can be used to enhance your other works of art.

(Video at end of post)

 Paint, Collage, Stamp

Ink, Charcoal, Smudge

Mark Making, Mess Making fun!

Trim A Tag:

Craft a Note:

Cut, cut punch, stick, embellish, use as tape, etc.

CONSOLATION PRIZE VIDEO:

Thank you for all your wonderful support through the years!

blessings,

Sandy

Pressing & Preserving Botanicals with Preservation Book Tutorial...

The Graphics Fairy

I wanted to share a little video with you on collecting, pressing, and preserving flowers as well as a little tutorial for a quick and easy for a preservation book to house your pressed collection until you are ready to use them in your creative endeavors. Click the link below to view the video:

Pressing & Preserving Flowers

Enjoy!

Blessings,

Sandy

THE BIG DAY HAS ARRIVED...

The big day is finally here, my very first online class, An Artist Field Kit at Artful Gathering 2017 is launching live tomorrow, June 6th!  It is not too late to register for the class if you have been thinking about it, registration will not close until June 22nd.  This is scheduled as a 6 week class but I am extending it to an 8 week class to allow more time for project completion.

The class is $130 for 14 hours of detailed video instruction.

I am hosting a class give away for registered students, 3 of which will be randomly selected at the ending of the class to win one of the 3 handmade prizes as featured below:

I hope to see you there!

Blessings,

Sandy

TINY TRIP, TINY HOUSE, TINY BIT TIRED...

I took a tiny trip to Tennessee...

I took a tiny hike upon a tiny trail...

 I saw a waterfall flowing wild and free...

I spent the night in a tiny house nestled in a tiny dale...

 I wandered through a tiny forest of karst limestone topography... 

I let out a tiny sigh, my how the time did fly...

I was so content, standing sheltered under the aged trees...

I turned and bid Tennessee goodbye...

We were so limited on time that we were not able to hike down to the bottom of Cummins Falls in Cookeville, TN but we did take the tiny hike to the overlook.  If you look closely at the photo you can see people at the base of the falls swimming.

The tiny house we stayed in overnight was built by an Amish Woodworker and the workmanship was amazing.  It was so comfortable, clean, and well appointed.  There is another pink tiny house on the grounds as well as a cabin style tiny house being built. Hammocks hang from trees for guests to relax in and stone fire pits stand at the ready for marshmallow roasting. The rental price for these little hidden gems is beyond reasonable ( tiny house for rent ) 

The 10 acre property is privately owned with gorgeous woodland trails with limestone karst topography. Karst topography is a landscape that is formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves.   The owner of the property thinks there is an underground cave system that may have been created over time by the ebb and flow of the large lake that skirts the property.

If you are ever in the area of Galatin, TN you MUST eat at Mabel's Dining Room!  Best melt in your mouth non greasy catfish dinner you will ever dine on, truly a taste of heaven on a plate!

This was literally a whirlwind trip, 48 hours to be exact, but we managed to squeeze a little fun in between business.  I am off to plan my next adventure!

Blessings,

Sandy 

AN ARTIST FIELD KIT VIDEO - corrected version...

ARTIST FIELD KIT CLASS KITS LISTED IN THE SHOPPE...

This is it!  Registration has officially begun at Artful Gathering 2017 Online Art Retreat!  Class Kits have been listed in my Etsy Shoppe for those students who wish to purchase them.  Kits are $25.00 + shipping.  Kit contents are listed in the Shoppe listing.  Please note that you must use the Student Code in the comments section to order a kit. 

 

Please note the a kits is not necessary to take the class.  I have lovingly prepared and packaged a limited number of kits (25 while supplies last) and made them available to those who might wish to save on some of the prep work of the project process.  If you have any questions leave me a comment or contact me via email at srpbabb@mail.com

I am excited and I hope you are too!

Blessings,

Sandy

DRINKING IN THE BEAUTY...

"There is a serene and settled majesty to woodland scenery that enters into the soul and delights and elevates it, and fills it with noble inclinations."

~Washington Irving~

My every morning delight is to traverse from room to room in my home unveiling the living picture scenes that are views from my windows, letting in the sunbeams and washes of light.  I take the time to pause and gaze through each framed view anticipating what I might see.  On this particular spring morning it was a scene from a woodland fairy tale filled with birds, squirrels and butterflies.  New leaves in all shades of greens had burst forth from the nights cool rain and the warmth of the morning sun.  Tiny wildflowers and blooming weeds dotted the lawn.  I wanted to be a part of that world, so I set off on a walk on the new trail we are forging on the back side of our property...come walk with me and drink in the beauty...

At the trail head velvety new oak leaves are unfurling in the forest of oaks...

Twisting bramble vines will soon be a profusion of wild honey suckle and wild grapevine...

The air is filled with birdsong.  I hear a slight rustling off to my left and spy this little winged beauty in the bramble...

Just above him is this blooming beauty...

I discover a whole colony of these little oddities.  At first I thought they were acorns but they are soft and spongy more like a fungi.  I am not sure what they are but they made quite a scene like little nature aliens poised on pointy tiptoes peering one eyed at the stones...

Our woodlands are filled with several varieties of oak trees, I especially like the color and texture of the soft baby leaf blooms, I take just a few to press...

I am not the only one using this trail this morning, my deer friends have left their tracks in the soft earthen floor near the bramble where they usually bed down for the night...

I find the trunk of this twisted tree quite interesting and wonder how it came to be...

Over mossy stones...

Skirting the test dig for we hope will become a small wildlife pond...

Past the blooming wild blackberry vines...

Under the cleft in the rock face, where a little red fox used to live...

Sheltered by the boulders...

I stop and sit, taking in a view of the spring time sky...

Here is where I stake out my woodland hammock hanging trees, between two sturdy oaks next to this little hickory down below the boulder shelter near the old rock ringed campfire...

A hidden spot to be sure, a place to watch spring and dreams unfold...

A place to shed the layers of worry and life...

Where the framework of new dreams can form, like this natural structure becoming a wee child size tepee for the grands...

A sweet spot to hide away in...

Where thoughts can untangle...

I linger listening to the wind whisper through the pines nearby.  I let the sun warm the chill of my skin.  I listen, eyes closed, to the bird voices trying to identifying the owners.  I collect a few leaves and add them to my press.  I feel the pull of work calling, refreshed I slowly amble back to where I started.

The last step emerging from the woodland to the lawn... 

The poignancy of this image is not lost on me,   To me its an image of seasons past and present and future.  The old lying fallow, the new springing forth with life, and the future stretched out like a shadow of things to come.  I like where I am in this moment in time, right in the middle, blooming where I am planted, growing, learning, being, doing... spring really does give a sense of hope and renewal.  

I hope you have enjoyed this little stroll through my world where I center myself in solitude, find inspiration, and give thanks.  May your day be filled with the overflowing joy!

Blessings,

Sandy