"What Good is a Birthday?..."

...especially without some yummilicious (eye)candy...

and a few mental musings

just sprinkled in here and there for a bit of spunk.:)

"A birthday is just the first day

of another 365-day journey around the sun.

Enjoy the trip."

~Author Unknown

"I have a promiscuous muse.

My muse wants to own every color,

work in many media,

and in numerous genre."

~Mary Klotz

"Rekindle your creative fire by making time to play."
~Mari Messer

...and play I did...

with a total and complete adornment of my ATCs
in luscious layers of sparkly bling!!!

This birthday week

I treated my artistic Muse

to an all out, energized "free for all"...

celebrated lavishly with brush, pen, and palette.

The two of us had a ball!

So...in answer to my question:

"What good is a Birthday?..."

Here goes:

"Because time itself is like a spiral,

something special happens on your birthday each year:

The same energy that God invested in you at birth

is present once again."

~Menachem Mendel Schneerson

"Thankful Thursday...(#16)..."

I begin this week with this "Shattered Heart" ATC

drawn in pen by Lisa in Arizona.

Lisa is currently in a Moleskine exchange

with several other artists (check out her work here)

...and...the two of us

are actually pondering the possibility of a 2way

exchange of our own!

What fun, eh?

This beautiful card is from Minami in Virginia.

I "met" her through Illustrated ATCs.

I really love the style of this card...

which was inspired by the artist Alphonse Mucha...

who, thanks to Minami,

is now becoming a favorite of mine also :)

And...speaking of favorite artists...my ATC cards

expanded by four with these beautiful beauties traded with

Marianne in the Netherlands.

Marianne is so amazing...her art is so joyful and bright.

Her imaginative compositions and designs delight me to no end.
My collection sparkles with her magic!

From the far northwest in Alaska

come these charming beauties from Patty.

I also have several of Patty's cards in my book...and each one

is so completely different from the next it is amazing.

Patty is a woman of many talents.

I am so delighted she is a bloggy friend too! :)

These three "Little Indians" are part of a series designed
by Tim in Belgium...(we also "met" through Illustrated ATCs.)
I am in love with Tim's style...and his wonderful composition.
Hopefully we will be able to trade many times more...
As a matter of fact,
Tim suggested we might collaborate making a card!
He and his daughter have done it.
Hmmm...an international collaboration!
I will keep you informed.
This happy trio is from Shayna in Alabama...
She has a cool technique using a henna applicator to apply
her white paint over a watercolor background.
So unique...and so much more controllable than brush strokes!
From Emma in England came this delicate little zentangle...
We found each other through the gallery at Illustrated ATCs...then
we set up this private trade...what fun!
Even a postal strike in London couldn't keep this trade down!
I hope to make many more in the future.
Emma has designed a series of whimsical houses I love!
Finally, the last card to arrive was from Rainie in California...
A TOTAL surprise!
I have been a fan of Ranie's zentangle work for quite
a while now...and had simply commented about a piece like this
on her new Flickr site (click here)...
and "Voila!" one like it arrived in the mail days later!
Hip Hip Hooray!
Check out Ranie's new group site here...
it is just for ATC art you DO NOT want to trade...
but still might want to share!
Cool Idea!

Thanks again everyone for a week full of artistic magic!
AbraCaDabra!
What a fun week it has been!

"Wordless Wednesday...(#16)..."

(psssst...click on images to enlarge.....)

"Hip, Hip, Hooraaay!!!..."

...Have a Happy Blooming Tuesdaaay!!!

;)

"500 Times..."

...day and night...

you have been with me.

Whether it be

looking, chatting, trading, sharing, laughing, crying,

wallowing, WooHooing, or wondering...

occasionally "popping in"...or becoming a "regular"

it matters not...

For we share a LOVE for the magic that art

adds to our lives

and through that...I have come to know you as

"friend".

Thanks from the bottom of my heart

for again being here...this actual day for my

"Happy 500th Blogpost"!

I never ever, even in my wildest dreams,

imagined this would be a reality!

...And, what a marvelously

momentous and celebratory way to spend a

"Cactus Monday"!

"WOOO! HOOOOO!"

~Me

(...as I awaken all the desert wildlife for miles around!)

"Thankful Thursday...(#15)..."

It has been a HUGE week of mail delivery from all

sorts of wonderful people in sorts of fabulous faraway places...

Gosh! It's good to be trading again!

(Click on images to enlarge...the details are amazing!)

From Renee,

a super talented illustrator living in Canada,

came these first cards of two separate trades we made.

Renee works wonders with her pen...

her lines are lovely,

her compositions magical, and her watercolor...spot on!

Check out her website...Gorgeous eye candy!!!

From Lemurkat, in New Zealand, came this perky hot pepper.

What better a place for it to live

than with my ATC collection here in the desert Southwest!

I simply love both it and her little card from NZ!

I "met" Kat at Illustrated ATCs...

and certainly hope to trade again in the future!

Another new trading friend from iATCs is Harriet, from Indiana...

AKA "Acalla".
She paints the most beautiful moons and whimsical trees.
I love her joyful style!

What a fun addition to my moon collection!

From Donn, in Florida,
came this sweet little panda Chinese brush painting.
The Chinese character in the lower right corner is Donn's name...
The red seal in the opposite corner is for good luck!
What a fun little piece! :)

From Nadine, in Germany, came these two lovely cards...
a dream catcher and these dainty, delicate flowers.
I think they make a great pair...Love those colors!
Nadine is also a member of iATCs...
her work is always amazing and loaded with fantasy! :)
Check out Nadine's website here.

This gorgeous calla lily was a "special request" painted for me
by Nicole in Trinidad and Tobago.
We met through our Everyday Matters Flickr pages.
Nicole has a wonderfully light touch
with her tropical flowers...each one is awesome!

Above is the second part of the trade I made with Renee.
"She" is named Seiko...and arrived all nestled in her
beautiful kimono inspired notecard.
Check out the cool Canadian stamps also...
trading is so much fun in so very many ways!
I am also accumulating a glorious collection of international stamps in the process too!

From Melanie, in Australia, came these two beautiful
zentangle inspired cards.
Melanie always puts a creative twist
in her artwork...We have traded several times...
and I hope many more times in the future.
I am a really big fan of her designs.

Lastly, from out of nowhere, in flew this stunning surprise from Laurel.
I cannot even begin to share with you
my delight...Laurel's work is like no other...
filled with intrinsic meaning, love and specialness...what
a treat to have a piece like this of hers!
My heart is overwhelmed.
You can check out Laurel's art in her Etsy store here.

All of these treasures are special to me...
each in its own individual way.
I thank you...each and every one...from the bottom of my heart.
Sharing one's art is sharing part of one's soul.
Thanks for including me in your life's passion!

"Wordless Wednesday...(#15)..."

"A Bit of 'Biozen' Bounty..."

...on a beautiful "Blooming Tuesday"!

(This little card has been uprooted from the desert

and newly transplanted in Juneau, Alaska

with Katie.)

Have a bloomin' happy day all!

“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.”
~Ovid

(Ancient Roman classical Poet and Author of Metamorphoses, 43 BC-17)

"A Dual Purpose Post..."

...A perky prickly pear for Cactus Monday players

and, also...

a funky little Illustration Friday drawing...

based on the theme

from a few weeks back: "Pattern."

Say!

Why not seek out and enjoy

some new patterns in your routine today?

Have a great one! :)

“Do not become paralyzed and enchained

by the set patterns which have been woven of old.

No, build from your own youthful feeling,

your own groping thought

and

your own flowering perception.”
~Lotte Lehmann

"Just To Breathe..."

a breath of fresh air into your heart

and blow away those "Blues"...

that would be my wish today...simply because

I want you to be filled

with

joy and art...

and I want your life's palette to giggle

once again.

XOXO

"A fresh mind keeps the body fresh.

Take in the ideas of the day,

drain off those of yesterday.

As to the morrow, time enough to consider it

when it becomes today."
~Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

(British politician, poet, critic and prolific novelist, 1803-1873)

"The Way We Were..."

...once upon a time...

in the Bahamas...on Spring Break...

Just a bunch of carefree sorority sisters livin' the good life!

And...this weekend,

for Homecoming,

at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois

several of these very same Chi Sigma Phi/Delta Gamma

sisters

will again be having the time of their life...

celebrating, reminiscing, reflecting and

reliving those glorious moments

of the good ol' days.

Ahhhh!

I will be here in Arizona...

but with you in Chi Phi spirit for sure

thinking fondly of

each and every one of you who became my new "family"

far away from home

those wonderful, crazy, and endearing

years away at college.

(Psst...In case you forgot...I'm the one in the center

of the back row...

wearing my college body!)

LOL...:)

Now, just where has all that time gone???

And, where did I put that body!!!!

Hmmm...

"Thankful Thursday...(#14)..."

Nothing beats it...a Family celebration!

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with family.”
~Anthony Brandt

"(Almost) Wordless Wednesday...(#14)..."

(Click on image for an "Ahhhhh" moment.)

"Despite Being Neglected..."

...Overgrown...and prone to infestation...

...Nature still found a way for my Illinois garden

to bloom.

We must each must do the same for ours spirits and hearts.

Bloom today...

bloom as brightly and beautifully as you can...

...despite it all!

(Posted for JB and with sent with a great big hug!)

"Plants give us oxygen for the lungs and for the soul."

~Linda Solegato

"Autumnal Glow..."

Happy Cactus Monday All!

"Just before the death of flowers,

And before they are buried in snow,

There comes a festival season

When nature is all aglow."

~Author Unknown

"A Blossoming..."

...Sacred Heart Milagros ATC for this Sunday.

May your heart

find a few special moments today

to blossom forth also!

(Click HERE to view my complete Sacred Heart collection.)

"This very moment is a seed

from which the flowers of tomorrow's happiness grow."
~Margaret Lindsey

"Swap Fever..."

Finally, as promised...my batch

of the actual cards I traded for the Zentangle Swap

at Illustrated ATCs...

posted here for your perusal

...all in one place..all at the same time!

Enjoy!

(Click on image to enlarge ...to better see details...)

"An old Dutch farmer,

remarked to a companion once that it was not best

to swap horses when crossing a stream."
~Abraham Lincoln

"Happy 64th Anniversary..."

...Mom and Dad!

With loads of love for you on this very special day

from all your wise, wonderful, and super spectacular "kids"!

Susan, David, Joya, and Jillian...

Mark, Katie,

Christopher, Courtney, and Corey...

Jack, Sharon,

Vanessa, Lauren, Steve, and Myles...

and, last, but not least...

Peg and Scott...

We LOVE You!!!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Our wedding

was many years ago.

The celebration continues to this day."

~Gene Perret

"Thankful Thursday...(#13)..."

Whew! What a variety and assortment of art this week!
Just like the multicolored fall leaves

fluttering from the trees...

gorgeous art has again landed on my doorstep!

Above are the 6 cards

I received in the Zentangle ATC Swap

over at Illustrated ATCs.

In order from L-R top row: These cards are from

Kat, Angela, and Katie.

The bottom row are cards from:

Patti, Marta, and Livia.

(Be sure to click on each photo posted today to enlarge it

as there is a lot of detail in each grouping.)

Then yet another trade with Melody in Utah

brought this little Egyptian beauty

and wonderful trade goodies to accompany her.

The card so unusual as it is cut to the shape of the portrait.

I absolutely LOVE Ancient Egyptian art!

Then, from Yoon See in Malaysia

came this bountiful cultural packet of all sorts of treasures.

I love the commemorative stamp

and it gorgeous fan shaped folder to pieces.

Whew! Just look at all these goodies!
I am totally fascinated by each and every one.

Thank you so much Yoon See :)

Finally, A beautiful acrylic monotype card

entitled "Arctic Poppies"came

from Katie in Alaska.

(One of her zentangle cards is in the group photo above)

I have made several private trades with Katie

through the Illustrated ATCs group...

and each trade I make

with her is an artistic delight.

I hope you find yourself today surrounded by

artistic beauty of some type...
Fully drench yourself in this beautiful autumnal season!