A Quick "THANK YOU"!!!

Beautiful winged shrine from Barbara Mason

 I am hopping in quickly to say THANK YOU to two wonderful bloggers I met during One World One Heart~~and lucky ME~~I won a couple of prizes! (generally I am the last person on the planet to win something, so this was a nice surprise and also makes me wonder if the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are getting the tack down and saddling up their steeds....say it ain't so!)
The winged shrine above is from Barbara Mason @ An Art Soul......Barbara, it could not have found a better home with my love of Nichos and Shrines in any form! :-)
Visit Barbara and enjoy her work!

Incredible digital collage sheet from Rian

The second item I won is from Rian in the Netherlands, from her blog Freubel-Art and the colors there are a sensory overload! Check out her digital work~~it is what I dream of doing and know it will never happen here! LOL! I mean, I have accepted my limits.

In fact, I am about to have a Blogger rant this morning, but that's not polite when thanking those who have been kind to you by sending you some of their art.

I BOW!!!
Mille Grazie!!!

As to my normal dose of pith and vinegar, I'll be back--give me a couple more days. I am frantically working through what is quickly becoming the end of two delightful months of my on-line class with Michael de Meng and I have to admit, my brain can manage only one direction at a time anymore, and sometimes even that is iffy!

But I have to include one of the color wash samples I made, and it pretty well speaks for itself.......

That sums up my current mental state.....what I am left to work with as opposed to nice, fleshy, thinking matter! LOL!!! I should have called it *Brain-Fart* but then it would have been a totally different selections of colors, and they might be icky, ya know....

BTW------It is going to be GIVE AWAY TIME here at El Milagro when I get my stuff together, so stay tuned!

Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel!!! (if you're old enough to understand that, well, welcome to the club...)

And this is a nice give away too.....

Until I waft into blog-land again, swearing my way through trying to get another post up, I remain you loyal and mentally stained servant....

Pax.... 

Welcomes, An "I WON!" Moment, and a Belated Mothers Day Story

(...or, Anne rambles all over the place on this blog post.......LOL!!! that's a better title!)

I had all the best intentions this past weekend of getting a lot of art done and doing an art post this morning (or late last evening.....for posting this morning). You know that line about "The best laid plans of mice and men...."??? Yep. That was the weekend.

First off, big warm WELCOMES!!! to new followers! I am six away from 100 and I suppose I will have to think up a give-away at that point. I'm also getting closer and closer to a 500th post, which I think HAS to be a give-away mark, so maybe the two will coincide and I can get my brain in gear on what would be a good prize, yes?

Speaking of prizes, I managed to win a good one over at Tristan's blog by captioning the picture below with:

"The Schlitz family realized early in life the bonding potential of daily 'Evening Family Beer Time'. It also helped to distract them from Father, who had most untoward desires and fantasies about the family pet parrot, Caligula.

"Father frequently tried to get Caligula drunk and coax him away from his perch, but thankfully, the parrot was the smart one of the bunch."

All I can say kiddies is THAT ONE was right up my alley!!! Especially the parrot.......  ;-)

And now for the reverant, kind, humane part of today's rambling blogpost.

Yesterday DH decided to wash my car for me, which was very nice but it was cold out and I was not of much help. I was standing around being useless when I noticed a robin with a mouth full of food flying about in the magnolia by the drive. I knew there wasn't a nest there, so I watched and watched until it finally felt safe enough to head to the nest.

Take a gander below.......

This is on the second floor of our house, above the family room (which is over the garage). That robin has sat there through wind strong enough to take the power down, rain so bad it made everything white and hail. There are at least two babies, as I could see their thin little beaks backlighted by the sinking sun, but by the time I got the camera, Mama Robin was having no part in showing off her brood. She hunkered down and was keeping them warm and safe from the unseasonably cold breezes we had yesterday.
If that isn't the one who should have received a Mother's Day bouquet (or worms) then I don't know who is!
Here's to a good week, everyone, and hopefully I will get a chance to check back in on the robin family, with camera!

Pax.

Lovely New Header!!!

If you had not noticed by now, there is an exceptionally wonderful new blog header gracing this space; a prize I won from Susie Jefferson at 1st FLOOR FLAT  (do give her a visit...loads of fun bloggy items and she has much knowledge to share for the HTML challenged....ahem.....like this blog mistress!)
We had started this back in December when she had her blog giveaway, then I had to go to hospital, Susie had major computer problems, then she had hospital issues and all the time, we would pop in and out of each other's e-mail boxes with updates. Questions, sharing photos, getting a feel for what this was to be, but mainly it was always ended with a *take your time---the blog will be here*. Healing is more important.
So after a grueling day on the computer catching up from a complete day OFF, I hear the e-mail *happy-ping-sound* and it's from Susie, and there it was.....in all it's glory.......and I almost had a fit of tears and the usual, OMG! OMG! OMG! while squirming in the desk chair!
I could not believe that what I knew and loved and felt for New Orleans, that inspires my art, was so simply and elegantly portrayed in this header! (of course, then I panicked and wrote back saying "What do I DO now???"......the brain was off......)
I cannot thank her enough. This is truly the essence of the heart of the blog, and this artist.
And it looks sooooo fine, I am going to have to clean up my sidebars, so that the eye is repeatedly drawn to the top.
I need to learn HTML...I know that.
And y'all know I am a lazy Luddite.     *sigh*
So just quit reading and scroll to the top and feast your eyes, then promptly visit Susie and see what magic she does. 

Pax.


P.S. For the record, I think I would like this on a T-shirt.......  :-D

I Was A Winner Too!!!

I should have had this posted a while ago, but in the hustle and bustle of life, work, and my normal state of cluelessness, well, I FORGOT.

The Quilt Rat is one of my favorite fiber art blogs. Jill has more talent in her little finger than I think I do in most of my body---she does some excellent work and is constantly sharing her experiments on her blog.

She had a give away a while back and some of the prizes were the quilted fiber postcards she had made (mine, pictured here). Naturally, I assumed I would win nothing because normally I win nothing but it seems since I started blogging, my luck has improved some! I have won prizes in two give aways and it makes my little heart happy!

(ahem! back to the post Anne.....don't wander....)

Her work is amazing.....the photos of the cards  on her blog are very nice, but the real deal in your hand is quite another story. I have stared and stared at the quality of the work, and by the way---the image on this is all hand drawn.

Yes.

Not a fabric print.

It is a lightbulb, but I discovered if I turned it upside down, the symmetry is such that it reminds me of a bottle, a Southwestern gourd vessle.....and I like it both ways!

If you've not already visited, do check her blog. Even if you don't *do* fiber art, you will be impressed by the art talent!

A very belated Thanks Jill!!!

In public, where all can see! ;-)

Pax.

Delightful Give Aways and Wonderful Prizes!

Oh, today's post is fun because I get to talk about the generosity of fellow bloggers! First off, in the photo above you will find the current items being offered up by gypsylulu at gypsylulu delights in honor of her 100th blog post!!! What a way to celebrate your first 100 and let your readers enjoy the excitement too! Just click the highlighted names or on the photo and it will take you directly to the give away requirements!
Go.
GO-GO-GO!!!!!
Sign up now!
Secondly, I won second prize in a wonderful give away from Our Victorian Cottage and I had to post all the things I found when I opened the box. (remember, this is the second prize...)

A darling cup and saucer pin cushion adorned with beads, baubles and flowers......

.....Vintage and modern fancy laces, handmade lace and a bevy of retro buttons.....

....A retro hankie (which matches a couple of retro dresses I own and wear and will be carried with me when I wear them!) and a darling hand stitched needle case,

and saving the best for last......

...a child's handkerchief with bunnies playing hockey! And why is this so special?

Because my DH grew up in Detroit and played hockey for years, even after moving here, and he taught a kids hockey class (where he lost his front teeth...another story!) so when I see this big bunny and the little guy, I think of him! :-)

I don't know how I will use this, maybe not at all--just have it where I can see it, but the Bunny Hankie had to be the sentimental prize in the lot! Thank you Marilyn!!!!

Aren't bloggers the best? Are we just too lucky to have met in this manner and seem to keep pulling good people to our sites? Isn't it too much fun?

I hope you all have a good, happy and creative almost-Fall day and I think I will photograph some of the leaves that are slowly beginning to turn, and sew.

Pax.