From My Heart...

...to Yours! :)

Happy Cactus Monday!

This "Heartangle Series" ATC has already been taken...

but more similar to it are available here.

"I love writing.

I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle

with human emotions."
~James A. Michener

"I love drawing...

I love the swirl and swing of the lines as they tangle

with my paper and my spirit."

~Me

Hey!...thanks for the quotation idea J.M...LOL :)...!

"Once, Upon A Sheet..."

...Of glass...in a land not too very far away...

a potion of pure pigments in potent colors was poured.

Through this magical mixture a sheet of 30 pt. coated cover stock

was artfully pulled by hand

and, in the blink of an eye, was transformed into a

dreamy monoprint.

After being left in the desert sun to dry that day, it was taken

"home to the castle"

only to be stored high on a shelf and, in time,

eventually "forgotten".

However, one day an artistic Muse felt like playing.

She resurrected the massive curled print...

cropped its edges, and,

with the fine ink lines of a trusty Pitt pen, gently kissed its surface.

Truly, it awakened and was given a new life.

Reminding her of soft batik fabric...well worn and faded by the

tropical sun

it now lives here..."happily, forever and ever"...

in the Kingdom of Blogland

as her

interpretation of this week's challenge prompt for

Illustration Friday: "Worn"

"Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale."
~Hans Christian Andersen

"Skywatch Friday...(#2)..."

This is the "skyview" looking west from my back patio...

A beautiful

and unseasonably cool day in Arizona's Valley of the Sun today-

Highs to reach only into low 90's...

Currently 86 degrees at 11:00am...cool and delightful outside!

Now, if this could only last all summer!

Enjoy your view of the sky

from wherever in the world you are today!

Touch it's magic!

(To view today's sky from all over the globe...click here! )

"Only from the heart can you touch the sky."
~Jalal ad-Din Rumi

Persian Poet and Mystic, 1207-1273

"A Thankful Thursday Post..."

...about some splendidly serendipitous surprises!

This beautiful collection of artwork came from

Marianne in the Netherlands...Queen of the Mandala...

and generous of heart!

It appeared last Friday...the day of my surgery...

arriving in my mailbox from all the way across the pond

to welcome me home!

And a beautiful close up below...(click on images to enlarge)

As you can see...

these cards are certainly all bejeweled and blingy...I LOVE them!

I traded my midnight lace card (above on the left) with Melody in Utah...

her trade ALSO arriving Friday, the day I got home!
Whew!

What a super treat to find that, in addition to her lovely "Love Birds" card,
were 5 blanks of the most gorgeous textured decorated paper ever!
OOOOH MY! You know I can't wait to do something fabulous with these!
What a clever idea to trade papers too...don't you think!?
I must admit all these art treasures shown above are quite a "catch"...!
But wait...There is MORE...!!!
Tuesday...I went to the doctor for my post "surgery" follow up"...
and...upon returning home...you guessed it...LOL :)...
this batch of artistic goodies arrived from Lynn in California.
What a way to be welcomed home AGAIN!!!
Lynn has the artistic touch for turning fabric, fibers, and thread
into sewn and quilted masterpieces...dancing with magic...
the backs of these are just as gorgeous as the fronts!

AHHHHHHHHHH!
Life is certainly good.
Many thanks for these "splendidly serendipitous surprises" All!
This artistic world of ours never ceases to amaze me!
Oooh...BTW...
Yesterday I posted 4 new ATCS for trade...FYI! LOL :)

"A great attitude does much more
than turn on the lights in our worlds;
it seems to magically connect us
to all sorts of serendipitous opportunities
that were somehow absent before the change.”
~Author Unknown

"A Final Bow..."

...for the last 4 ladies in my China Bloom ATC series

Each has been taken...and has been given with "LOVE"

but

since they had not been formally revealed on my blog

I thought that a "group post" on a Blooming Tuesday would be

a perfect way to let them "take a final curtain call."

Personally, I am "over the moon" in delight with your enthusiasm

for this little card series.

They have truly been a lot of fun to make...

and...with that being said...

I have wonderful plans for designing MORE

China Bloom sets..."Ta DAAA"

...the next set will be revealed mid June

(fingers crossed...)

"Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June."
~Al Bernstein

"Desert Treasure..."

...I just HAD to paint something larger than an ATC!!!

140 lb cold press paper...7" x 11"

(Click on images to enlarge)

Have a "cooool" Cactus Monday All...

We are expecting a sizzling 108+ degrees in the desert today!!

"The world, indeed, is like a dream

and the treasures of the world are an alluring mirage!

Like the apparent distances in a picture,

things have no reality in themselves,

but they are like heat haze."
~Buddha

"And Yet More Lace..."

..."Midnight Lace" that is...the last three of six

in this ATC parade!

Card #4

right below...

...Card #5 right below...

and lastly, Card #6 right below...Enjoy!

"It is difficult

to see why lace should be so expensive; it is mostly holes."
~ Mary Wilson Little

"Midnight Lace..."

...my newest ATC Series posted today at midnight...
Card # 1...below...

Card #2...below...

...and finally...Card #3...below...

Each
ATC is drawn "lead free" with black Pitt pen
on printed decorative paper.
For your viewing pleasure
three more "lacy ladies" will be posted tomorrow at midnight! :)
Anyone interested in trading??

"Tomorrow
is the most important thing in life.
Comes into us at midnight very clean.
It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands.
It hopes
we've learned something from yesterday."
~John Wayne

"Another Series Introduction..."

...my "Au Natural Desert Series" ATC cards...

#1..."Chain Fruit Cholla" and...#2..."Prickly Pear"...

shown for the first time here

for your Cactus Monday viewing pleasure.

Both cards are painted with lots of luscious metallic colors

on paper handmade from crushed sugar cane fibers.

Open for trade if anyone is interested...with more to come

next Cactus Monday!

Enjoy! :)

Have a Happy...Cactus Loving...Monday All!

"Great things

are not done by impulse,

but by a series of small things brought together."
~Vincent van Gogh

"A Fantasy Flower..."

...Painted while feeling a bit frisky and playful a long while back.

She was then scanned, flipped using digital editor

and posted

for the first time today...

...all while waiting

for the energetic version of my artistic Muse to at long last reappear!

Have you seen her???

"Often the Muse will not respond to direct and logical requests.

She must be lured in with the playful and gentle."

~Jill Badonsky

"Another 'All Coiled Up'..."

...Coiled Basket Mandala #2 of 3...but this time all in dark browns...

(The first of the coiled series can be seen here.)

7" x 7" Bristol Board...Pitt Pen

"Our humanity rests

upon a series of learned behaviors,

woven together into patterns

that are infinitely fragile and never directly inherited."
~Margaret Mead

"Artful Gifts..."

...from across the pond

awaited me on my return from Tucson!

...From dear Soulbrush in London...

3 whimsical soul-filled African themed ATC cards

made for our trade...(click images to enlarge...check out the stamp!)

(Soul...yours will be flying from the desert soon!)

...and from Marianne in the Netherlands...

(a.k.a. "Queen of Mandalas")

two beautiful cards from her Etsy shop which I won

in a lucky draw by Felix...

...a very sweet note...an ATC card for our trade...

and a joyful mandala-filled bookmark!

Aren't I a lucky girl??? LOL :)

"Every gift from a friend is a wish for your happiness."
~Richard Bach

"Bloomin' at Jerry Bob's..."

...for breakfast in Tucson...

a beehive of local activity and huge portions!

The place was blooming with color and all sorts of interesting

people and things to draw

while waiting...

outdoors for a table...and indoors for our food. LOL :)

Painted once we returned home.

Happy "Blooming Tuesday" all...Yes, I've succumbed to the
lure of yet another little bloggy group. LOL :)
Blame it all on Teri C...
she's always blooming with great ideas!
(After all she suggested this breakfast place and started the group!)

"Bloom where you are planted."
~Proverb

"All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast."
~John Gunther

"Buried Treasure..."

(Click on image to enlarge.)

...discovered at sunset Thursday

on the grounds of the San Xavier del Bac mission church

on the Tohono O'odham reservation...

just south of Tucson.

These blossoms...no kidding...

were are large as my hand...with all fingers spread out wide!

She was stunning...

simply stunning...in every way!

I now must find out the name of this exotic beauty...

Anyone have any ideas?

(She reminds me of an Argentine Giant...

but it's the amazing coral blossoms that are throwing me for a loop!

In the meantime...

have a great Cactus Monday all!

Hopefully, this day will

surprise you with a hidden treasure of your very own! :)

"Learning is a treasure

that will follow its owner everywhere."
~Chinese Proverb

"Taking a Break..."

...a mini Spring Break...packed to the brim with sketching...

drawing...

painting...photography...

wonderous sights and new vistas!

And to top it all off...

all that without computer access!

I am already in withdrawl mode...LOL :)

I'll be back in bloggy land Saturday.

Thanks

for popping in! :)

"If you come home as happy as you leave,

you have had a good vacation."

~Author Unknown

"Her Blooms are A-Poppin!"

WooHOO! From My House...

...to Yours!

C'mon...join in on the experience...

Why not "pop in"on a friend today...just for the fun of it!?

Have a Happy Cactus Monday!

"The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"May Blessings..."

...joyful peace...and....a full happy heart...

be yours-

not only on this Easter day....but on all the days of your life.

(Art originally posted, last year... here.)

"On Easter Day

the veil between time and eternity thins to gossamer."

~Douglas Horton

"I Slept In..."

...this morning...

while the desert skies were moody and overcast

and my yard

was kissed with precious sprinkles of rain.

"I love sleep.

My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?"
~Ernest Hemingway

All Coiled Up..."

...nice and comfy...into a woven basket mandala...the first of three.

Pitt Pen...7"x 7" Bristol Board

"To be ignorant of what happened before you were born

is to be ever a child.

For what is man's lifetime

unless the memory of past events

is woven with those

of earlier times?"
~Marcus Tullius Cicero

Ancient Roman Lawyer, Writer, Scholar, Orator and Statesman

106 BC-43 BC

"Full Moonglow..."

...and Mother Nature will paint the Sonoran Desert tonight

gently dressing her

in a palette of silvery blue magic

so soft and serene.

I made my little painting here

by using a base wash

of Chinese White with dabs of iridescent blue

purple, green, and coral DS paint...

then added

lettering and a bit of "border zen" with a silver gel pen...

all to bling out

a small sheet of Strathmore black paper

ripped from my field journal.

Hmmm...

"Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby

Ain't nothing

like the real thing..."

~Marvin Gaye

:)