Tales From the Terra-Cottage

FIT (Free Image Tuesday) and Quickie Journal...

2008-05-02T04:20:00.001-07:00

Here's the FIT (Free Image Tuesday)for today. For those of you just visiting I have a free image posted every Tuesday. Eventually, I will get around to getting them all in one spot to make it easier to get to the past images. As it is now you can look through the past posts and grab them:) You are free to use these images in your mixed media pieces. I love to see what you make, so send me a link:)

I love her dress and the colorization they did on the table rug. I also love the pocket watch she has tucked in the waist of her skirt. You all know that tintypes are my favorite form of antique photographs. She is an exceptional example of civil war era photography.

FIT...and I'm Still Not Fit...

2008-02-29T09:02:00.000-08:00

Still hanging low and recupperating. The flu really does suck just like Lori says. LOL!! Thank you for your well wishes and virtual chicken soup:) Here is the FIT for this week. I have no info. on these but I am guessing 40's or 50's era. I love the big cheesy grin on the boy:)

Here are pics of the journal kit I am sending to my sweet friend Pat. Nothing fancy, just general things I like to have handy with arting.
*colored pencils
*drawing pencils
*good, permanent black pen
*eraser
*Cutter Bee scissors for collage cutting
*glue stick
*paint brushes
*paint
*Journal paper
Everyone has their arting needs and Pat can add to and subtract anything she needs to the container once she gets going. Happy Arting friend! Love,

FIT for the Week, FLU and Journal Kit....

2008-02-21T13:18:00.000-08:00

Look at this cutie!!!!!! I LOVE how her little feet are stuffed in those little shoes:) The flowers around her are perfect for the coming Spring also.

I have the FLU. The FLU is horrible and I feel 100 years old. Hopefully it will go away soon. To all the winners of my giveaway, your packages are on their way to you:) I hope you all love everything:)

I wanted to share a journal kit I made for a friend who is just starting out on her mixed media journey. It has everything you need to have on hand to make a quick journal page. I will take pictures before I pack it away and share them with you later:)

And the Winners Are!.....FIT for the Week...

2008-02-15T07:47:00.000-08:00

So sorry this was delayed. Poor David came home sick yesterday and I am not feeling so good myself! Apparently, I am NOT Wonder Woman! Who knew? LOL!!! I used the random number generator to pick my winners this year:) So, here they are!

*The winner of the 1834 ledger paper is sweet Miss Artsyfran. Her blog is filled with wonderful art so check it out when you have a chance:)

*The winner of the 1867 Paris Fashion page from Peterson's magazine is sweet Miss Shelley. I love her site and I love that her favorite word is Oiseaux EVEN more! LOL!!

*And the winner of the French letter from 1766 is Sweet Miss Tootsiegrace who CAN count herself as the luckiest girl in the world! LOL!! I had to laugh when her post was generated. I guess all that finger crossing really worked Marisa!

Lisa, you really outdid yourself this year sweetie! Thank you for all of your hard work and for once again bringing us all together. My only regret is not having the time to reach more bloggers this year. I thank everyone who visited and hope you stop back in often and enjoy the free collage images here at the Terra-Cottage. Love, Jamie

Here are the FITs for this week.

* The first is a RPPC from 1907. It is a photo of Gussie and her identical twin sister. The tree is an incredible background for the photo and it looks to be beside a stream. Just lovely! The postcard was mailed here to Rockwall to Gussie's suitor a Mr. Francis Clark Jr. I got this in a plastic baggie at a garage sale this summer. I have other photos of the sisters I will share at another time.
This tintype is one of my favorites! (Which ones aren't? LOL!!) The babies are heartbreakingly beautiful. I love how the little one has his little hand on his brother's shoulder. It has spots and marks and bends, but that only enhances it more for me.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T05:32:00.000-08:00

My sweet David when he was only 1:)

I am out the door off to the Design Center to pick out hardware and such for my In-laws, then Valentine's day parties and THEN I get to teach my little Cub Scouts after they have been jacked up on sugar all day! LOL!! So, feel free to enter the giveaway until this evening and I will annouce the winners then. I hope everyone has wonderful day! Love, Jamie ps-I will also post the FIT tonight:)

Flowers from my sweetheart:)

Wonderful Turn Out!...Thank You...Journal Page...

2008-02-10T04:46:00.000-08:00

I am so very excited about the giveaway turn out! Thank you so much and please know that I am slowly working my way to you. I need to dedicate a full morning this week to finish getting to everyone. The people participating are awesome! Thank you so much. I know Lisa is beyond thrilled:)

The later part of the week and this weekend was spent with my Mother-in-law looking at houses. We flew her here Friday and she left this morning. They are moving here from Houston so we can help her take care of my Father-in-law. I can't believe it, but due to an awesome realtor, a lot of footwork and fate we actually found and bought a house in two days. The house will be finished in 30 to 45 days and it is sooo beautiful! She is super excited. I thought the process would take at least several trips up here, but it worked out perfectly. She has left me in charge of picking out the granite counter tops, carpet and hardware. I am a little nervous, but I think we are on the same page. I hope:) I better be!

Art Journal Page 02/18/08

FIT (Free Image Tuesday) and Quickie Journal...

2008-02-05T08:43:00.000-08:00

Daily Art Journal page 2/5/08

Thank You All and Journal Page.....

2008-02-04T10:18:00.000-08:00

I am so thrilled with the giveaway so far! I am slowly working my way around to everyone's wonderful offerings. I want to win them all! LOL!! Thank you for participating and making this year even bigger than last. Thank YOU Lisa for making it all happen.

Daily Art Journal 02/04/08

One World, One Heart Giveaway.....

2008-02-03T06:32:00.000-08:00

*The winner of the 1834 ledger paper is sweet Miss Artsyfran. Her blog is filled with wonderful art so check it out when you have a chance:)

*The winner of the 1867 Paris Fashion page from Peterson's magazine is sweet Miss Shelley. I love her site and I love that her favorite word is Oiseaux EVEN more! LOL!!

*And the winner of the French letter from 1766 is Sweet Miss Tootsiegrace who CAN count herself as the luckiest girl in the world! LOL!! I had to laugh when her post was generated. I guess all that finger crossing really worked Marisa!

Lisa , you really outdid yourself this year sweetie! Thank you for all of your hard work and for once again bringing us all together. My only regret is not having the time to reach more bloggers this year. I thank everyone who visited and hope you stop back in often and enjoy the free college images here at the Terra-Cottage. Love, Jamie

It's that time again!!! Time for the One World, One Heart Giveaway!!! Thank you so much Lisa from Heart of the Nest for hosting this wonderful event again for us. Those of you who were involved in the first OWOH know how awesome it turned out. If you have a blog I highly recommend participating. Lisa has set up a One World, One Heart Giveaway blog to tell you all about it here.

These are my three offerings:

Giveaway 1- A lovely packet of 4 sheets of ledger paper from 1834. One has prints of antique egg images from my collection.

Giveaway 2- A beautiful engraving of two well dressed French ladies entitled "Les Mode Parisiennes" from Peterson`s Magazine 1865 February issue.

Giveaway 3- A French letter from 1766. When America was not even America yet:) How cool is that?!!!

On February 14th there will be three winners whose names will be drawn. One person will be choosen for each of these items. Just leave your name in the comment section of this post to enter. Now, go have fun entering all the other wonderful giveaways also!!!

FIT Early and a History lesson for Me:)...

2008-01-27T12:08:00.000-08:00

I am posting the FIT early because I will be busy with appointments on Tuesday.
I found this photo almost a year ago and since Mardi Gras had already passed I filed it away until this year. I thought it would make an awesome Mardi Gras collage.

When I pulled it back out last week and scanned it I was able to get a clear close up of the words written at the bottom of the woman on the right hand side's dress. I had always assumed the origin of the photo was France, but it's not. The words say, "Grand Ball of the Philharmonic Society of Hanoi". Hanoi was the capital of French Indochina from 1887 to 1954. The French occupied Vietnam until after WWII. During the years of 1901 through 1911 the French built an opera house that was a smaller scale copy of the Palais Garner, one of Paris' famous opera houses. That is now called the Hanoi Opera House.

I wonder where the Ball was held? Was the photographer set up at the ball to take everyone's photos? I bet everyone was so excited to be getting the Opera house which would remind them of home. It's a very cool piece of French Colonialist history. The lady in the Mardi Gras dress is named Madame Laurent and I can not clearly read her "Queen of Spades" girlfriend. I will post the names in case one of you can:)

I Got Issues...

2008-01-26T08:09:00.000-08:00

Apparently I need to Art. My wrapping just gets more and more complicated! LOL!! Thank you everyone for your continued concern about the boys. They are not well yet but hopefully a few more days will take care of that:) We are going on little sleep and lots of hot chocolate. Hugs to all and I will be posting FIT early tomorrow and it is really lovely:)

Step 1

Step 2

Lesson Learned....

2008-01-25T07:24:00.000-08:00

"The silly when deceived exclaim loudly; the fool complains; the honest man walks away and is silent."

[Fr., Le bruit est pour le fat, la plainte pour le sot; L'honnete homme trompe s'eloigne et ne dit mot.] Author: Francois de la Noue ("Bras de Fer")Source: La Coquette Corrigee (I, 3)

Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks...

2008-01-24T05:47:00.000-08:00

Ok. I thought it would be romantic to learn how to use a fountain pen. So I bought a set with instruction books and practice paper and pens. Yeah. Not so much romantic and more like NOT fun at all! Maybe I should give it some more time and I am being a perfectionist and too impatient. I just had notions about how my pen would flow over the page and create wonderful letters. It is really closer to fits and starts with a lot of blotting in between, oh, and the cramping from trying to hold your hand at a constant 45 degree angle. All I can say is thank goodness for computer fonts, 'cause I don't really see me mastering this craft! LOL!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Thursday. We are staying inside out of the cold (high today in the 30's!) and continuing to recuperate. Thank you everyone for all your sweet get well notes:) The boys are holding steady which is good and I slept through the night last night which is beyond good:)

"...for a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin-real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served or a debt to be paid. THEN life would begin.

At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."

~Daisaku Ikeda

We Are Not FIT, but Here is Your FIT!

2008-01-22T09:39:00.000-08:00

BOTH of the boys are sick!!! They were sick last week, but I was just thinking it was a cold. They both became worse over the weekend. I took them in yesterday to the doctors and James has bronchitis and David has pneumonia! Poor buddies:( I have not slept since Saturday night. Poor Mommy:( So now they BOTH get breathing treatments, steroids and antibiotics. I have to admit that hearing David wheezing for the first time was really scary. I am used to James wheezing with the asthma, but not David. So here we are all tired and resting:) There was a little girl in the doctor's waiting room yesterday throwing up with the stomach flu, so I am waiting on that too! That chicken soup is as close as I am getting to homemade. We picked it up at the deli yesterday:)

Here is the FIT for the week. I found this about a month ago. I am still on the fence about the gender of this cutie. I can't tell, so I am researching the clothing. This is a Carte de Vista photo from the civil war. I am really in love with it. It seems very ethereal to me.

Happy Monday!

2008-01-21T09:12:00.000-08:00

"And the day came

When the risk

To remain tight in a bud

Was more painful

Than the risk it took to

Blossom."

~Anais Nin

Have a Happy Monday Everyone!

Love, Jamie

How In the Heck Do You Take Your Own Picture?!!!!

2008-01-17T20:24:00.000-08:00

I won't tell you how many bad words I have said tonight!!! These are the best I can do for now. I have taken about a bajillion pictures, cussed them all and had a full blown temper tantrum! LOL!! Any way, it's nice to meet you. This is me. Warts and all:) Except, I usually wear glasses. But every time the flash... Oh! Nevermind!! I finally gave up and took them off because it just wasn't working out.

I wanted to post again because I forgot some really lovely Victorian Calling cards that I should have posted this morning. I want my own calling card. Maybe I should make one. One of the ladies is named Ida Bean. Like, "I'da bean here on time but the carriage was late." BaBumBump!I bet she heard some dumb jokes about her name. Feel free to use these in your art, make tags with them or labels with them. I love them.

Ps-My son; he's no dummy. He just saw the blog and said, "Mom, why did you take a picture of yourself?" and I said so people who visit the blog can know what I look like. And THEN he said, "Well, what if they think you just put a beautiful woman in front the camera?" God, I love that kid:)

Here is the lovely Fit for this week. I love how the baby is so

2008-01-17T06:38:00.000-08:00

Here is the lovely Fit for this week. I love how the baby is so alert and staring straight at the camera. This also has a nice example of a "hidden mother". She is under that blanket to the left of the baby and her arm is outstretched holding on to the back of the baby. In earlier photos that I have (mainly tintypes) the baby will be sitting on the mother's lap and the mom is completely covered from head to toe in a blanket. It can look a little creepy. It is definitely a person shaped lump under there:) There are groups of antique photo collectors who only collect Hidden Mother examples.

Here is what I have been working on this past week and this week house wise. I redid the kitchen and made myself a little home office area to keep up with ETSY and what-not. Then, of course, I had to go back and redo everything else in the kitchen:) I even made a matching calendar and magnets for the fridge and recovered my cookbooks. So silly! But, fun!

I also finally found THE painting for the livingroom. We have been staring at a blank wall for a year. The interior decorator brought in a huge oil painting of the Tuscan seaside villages. Yeah, uummm, not us sweetie. Anyhoo, I had been keeping my eye open and this painting just blew me away. Amazing how an object can make us happy, but that's what I feel every time I look at this lovely piece. It is entitled " Parchment" and it is actually painted on parchment. Which was one of the first forms of paper and you know how I love me some paper:) The artist, Matthew Menger, is really into old and aged objects and loves to work with metallic paints. The canvas is so touchable. Rough where the parchment is and smooth where his paint begins. I can't keep my hands off of it! LOL!!

Twas two weeks after Christmas...

2008-01-14T15:33:00.000-08:00

'Twas two weeks after Christmas, and all through the house,
not a wee one was stirring, not even my spouse.
The stockings were packed, the chimney was bare,
The tree was recycled, it's stand stored for next year.

The children were packed and sent off to school,
I'd practically shoved them, totally NOT cool.
And I in my sweatpants and elastic headband,
Had just hunkered down for a trip thru Blogland.

I had just hit sign in, when I heard a terrible noise,
I jumped from the chair thinking it was the boys!
But, Wait. It's just me, alone, free and clear,
But then, I knew, was over come by fear.

The dust, as it settled in my art closet reveled great distress,
The shelves had collapsed and Oh, what a mess!
I said some choice words, which I won't repeat to you,
got down on my knees and began to sort through.

The treasures lay helpless, a mess on the floor,
So jumbled and crumbled and pretty no more.
And just when I thought "Why bother! I can't win, I just lose!"
I spied in the pile my lovely, sweet Muse.

She, forgotten so long ago, lie on the floor; waiting.
Her silence spoke volumes, admonishing me for not creating.
"Where have you been?" she asked, hurt and alone,
"I have been here, waiting for answers and there have been none".

She was right to be angry, stored up on a shelf,
And I cried when I saw her, in spite of myself;
I'd missed her so and tried explaining all the reasons;
The husband, the boys, the holiday season.

But really, the excuses, rang false in my ear,
And the real reason was that I was blocked by fear.
Fear of failure and not measuring up sounded more true,
And I realized then that I had to push through.

My fears were my own and needed attention,
And working them out seemed like the best prescription.
So I dusted her off, placed her back in my heart,
And there she'll reside, gently guiding my art.
~Jamie Miller

Thank you for your sweet emails of concern. Everything is fine. I am just arting/organizing like mad and it is consuming my free time. Balance is an art in itself. I am learning in fits and starts.

FIT and It's a Sad Day In Gingerbread Land....

2007-12-18T07:10:00.000-08:00

"He Blinded Me With Science"

I don't know why I am drawn to this fellow, but I am. His name is Paul according to the back and he is not from an era I normally deal in, but I love him anyway.

Ya'll I don't think the gingerbread houses are going to make it until Christmas! They are looking pretty sorry and are disappearing right before my very eyes. Although, I must admit that they make me smile every time I look at them:)

It's A Snow Baby, Baby!....

2007-12-12T15:57:00.000-08:00

Look at what the Christmas Faerie brought me!!! I am so in love with my Snow Baby from Lori! She is so detailed right down to the woolen texture on her coat sleeves and hem. Just perfect!!! I purchased her at Heather's Speckled Egg Holiday Gift Show here. And the sweet Christmas box with vintage wallpaper and vintage tinsel and bottle brush trees and the little bunnies? LOVE IT!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much Sweet Lori, Love, Jamie

I finally managed to get the house decorated for Christmas! But, I can brag a little and say that I am totally done with my shopping? It's a first, believe me! I am usually still out on Christmas Eve frantically looking for something:) So, here is my Christmas mantle with some of my lovely old books thrown in for good measure:)

The boys and I went to a Gingerbread decorating class last Saturday and here are their sweet houses. David did his all by himself and I "helped" James:) Oh, AND I let the boys decorate the tree this year all by themselves. I strung the lights and they hung the ornaments. I had to put my inner Martha Stewart in a gag and straight jacket to do it, but it was worth it to see how excited they were:)

James' House

David's House

Notice how the kisses seem to be losing their tops? Oh, and the BITE taken out of the roof! I must have mousies:)

100th Post, Ledger Pages, 2 FITS and My Sweet Grandpa...

2007-12-04T04:34:00.000-08:00

Did ya miss me? I missed you:) Sorry for the delay in FITS, but it's been crazy here. I will make it worth the wait, promise!

First, here are two more ledger pages from the Arkansas ledger. They are from two different accounts, but both families buried a loved one in the same month. You can see where the deceased's last outfit, the cloth to cover the coffin and the nails to close the coffin are purchased. There are many other clues to others dying around this time period so I think there was a sickness of some sort going around. I wish I knew what it was and I wonder if Doc McBride was riding all over town caring for the ill. Anyhoo, hope you find the reading interesting:) By the way, feel free to copy any of these ledger papges and use them in your art:)

Here are the FITS for last week and this week. Also, since this is my 100th post I am posting for you some awesome Victorian Christmas scrap. They would make great tags:)

I just got this tintype photo. It is a full plate tintype so it is big. It measures 9" by 7" and I love how the photographer has posed everyone. It must have been difficult with 14 people to work with and make stand still! If you look the two men in the back are TWINS and the Dad is rockin an awesome Abraham Lincoln beard! LOL!! The women are all beautiful and they have such wonderful hairstyles. A beautiful civil war era family captured in time.

This is a lovely CDV photo of the sweetest little girl EVER! I think she is holding an orange in her hands. She will be on my next collage sheet for sure. Too Cute!

CHRISTMAS SCRAP FOR ALL!!!!!!!

This is for my sweet Grandpa. I heard this in the car on the way home from the airport.

I love you the best, Jamie

"But when the night is falling
and you cannot find the light
If you feel your dream is dying
Hold tight
You've got the music in you
Don't let go
You've got the music in you
One dance left
This world is gonna pull through
Don't give up
You've got a reason to live
Can't forget
We only get what we give." ~New Radicals

FIT, Thank You and Dr. McBride...

2007-11-27T03:54:00.000-08:00

FIT for this week. Is that not the CUTEST baby EVER!!! Her name is Helen Marie Lerperring and she is 5 months old. I could just kiss those fat cheeks!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have so many things in my life that I am thankful for and this blog is included in that list. Thank you so very much for visiting like you do!

I am continuing my Good Deeds and it really is fun looking around and noticing things you can do to help someone else or make their day brighter. The big thing I did last week was something my husband wanted to do. We purchased a laptop for a child who would not have access to one. It is through an organization called OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) and the laptops are SO COOL!! They are water proof, fall proof, dust proof and they have rechargeable batteries and can run on solar power!! The laptops connect to the closest internet signal but, knowing that most of these children would not have access to an internet connection they programmed the laptops to network together. So children in a classroom automatically connect together and then they can email and do activites with each other. And, if one child has internet then the others who connect to him/her have it also. VERY COOL! I wish we could know the boy or girl who gets the laptop. I hope it makes a difference in their life.

Finally, here are the pictures of the wonderful art Sweet Rella sent to me! So sorry it took so long. I took the photos before I left for Houston, but then I left the camera! I would not have had time to update anyway. I was too busy stuffing my face with my Mother-in-laws homemade chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies. LOL!!
Rella, the photo of your Mom is so cute!! Just a PERFECT Fairy! Every surface was covered with wondeful painting and is so detailed! It looks big in the photos, but in reality the bird house is only about two inches tall. Very tiny and precious!!! I would have had to use a magnifying glass to paint such detail:)

I so love the saying Rella placed on the back. So true sweetie! Thank you again!! I will cherish it always. Love, Jamie

Here are some more pages from the Arkansas ledger. This is a photo of what the ledger looks like too. I love it so much!!!!

This is the account of the town doctor, Dr. McBride. He ordered all his medicine and supplies through the store and it is a wonderful example of 1800's medical practice. He even ordered a ledger to keep track of his patients. I wish I had my hands on that one!! He also ordered six spools of thread and I shutter to think of what that was for! EEK! His purchases are so interesting so when you get a chance to sit down, take a load off and look over it:)

Some people have asked if I am selling these ledger pages in my Etsy store. This is part of my personnal collection and will stay with me. I try not to mix the Etsy with blog other than the pictures on the sidebar. Anything I show here is to share with everyone. I think it's so neat and hopefully someone else out there thinks it is too. You are free to print these out and use them in your personnal art.:)

Yesterday I walked for 30 minutes on the treadmill and took a nutritional class.

Today I am listening to "Porcelain" by Moby.

FIT and More To Come....

2007-11-20T19:55:00.000-08:00

First, I want to thank sweet Rella for the wonderful art piece she gifted me. It is an honor sweetie! It is so lovely and I will share pictures tomorrow. My camera ran out of batteries this morning and I need to make a trip to the store for more. I should know better by now to ALWAYS have them in bulk! LOL!!!

I also want to thank sweet Kari and Kijsa for blogging about the beautiful tags they made with some of the blue ledger paper I sent to them. Thank you so much sweeties!!! They are fabulous so go run to their blog and feast your eyes!

I only have a limited time tonight but I have found the most wonderful ledger!!!! It is a store ledger from 1887 and it is so facinating. Just like a novel for me. The handwriting is very clear and legible. I have been reading over it most of this evening. The FIT for today is a page from the ledger and I will share more pages with you tomorrow. This page is an example of the things the store provided the community and the prices.

I have learned so many things! Like you went to the store to get a tooth pulled and it cost .50!! And when a loved one died you had to go to the store and purchase the nails for their coffin. I never really thought about that. So sad! There were a lot of deaths and I think it was an influenza outbreak, but I am not sure. I am still doing some detective work:)

Anyway, I am sooo excited to share this with you and I hope you enjoy learning about this community along with me:) Love, Jamie

FIT and Good Deeds...

2007-11-14T16:04:00.000-08:00

My first week of good deeds is under my belt and I have learned many things. First off, thank you for sharing your deeds with me. It feels good doesn't it? :)

I met everyone's eye and smiled that first day and got such lovely responses back that I have just kept doing it:) So, I really will be the town crazy! I have held doors, let people go ahead of me in line, I've kept my mouth closed when I realized it was my frustration and not their problem, and I have learned an important lesson.

Sometimes, I forget that the most important people who need my good deeds are right under my own roof. So , I have met their eyes and smiled more. I have kept my mouth closed when I realized it was my frustration and not their problem. I have hugged more and laughed more and not been so serious. Hopefully these good deeds will make a true difference.

The FIT for this week is a lovely lady who reminds me of winter with her fabulous white outfit. I hope you like her:)

My thanks goes out to all of you who use the free images in your art. It makes me so very happy to see the photos given new purpose. I would like to give a special thanks to Nancy who always brings a smile to my face with her wonderful creations. And to Sarah from across the pond who wrote me to show what she did with her giveaway papers. And to sweet Rella who honors me by sharing her wonderful art. Thanks sweeties!

Pitchin' a FIT Straight to You....

2007-11-06T03:05:00.000-08:00

Well, I must say that I am so excited everyone loves their ledger papers!!!!

I appreciate you all so much and this whole process has filled my heart. I was thinking (yes, I do that on occasion) yesterday about how awesome it felt to reach out personally to you all. It feels almost selfish because I think it benefited me in wonderful ways. And then I was thinking about GoodDeed.org and how wonderful it felt on 9/11 to donate the 1820's ledger to the Historical Society. I want that every day. So I want to make it my goal to do a good deed everyday. It doesn't have to be big, but I would like it to be for a perfect stranger. So today I am choosing one I saw on the website on 9/11 and that one is to meet every one's eye today and smile. Simple, but awesome. People might think I am the town crazy, but that's OK. They might be right! LOL!! Will you do a good deed today? Please tell me if you do because I would love to hear about it:)

Love, Jamie

PS- Thank you all for your sweet well wishes for the boys. They are on the mend and feeling better. David went back to school yesterday and James goes back today. Can you hear the angels singing? LOL!! Oh, and I FINALLY arted some too! I started small (only a tag) but, boy, it felt good!!!!! Here is the FIT for today. Is he not the cutest?!! I bet he is in his Easter outfit. This is a RPPC (Real Photo/People Postcard) and it is postally unused on the back so I don't know where this cutie is from or the year the photo was taken. I do have the overwhelming urge to put wings on him though! So, you know, it WILL happen:) LOL!!

PPS- And sweet Ali there are some ledger papers coming to you too:) David slept with his Kangaroo postcard last Friday night and he said that the Emu (the animal, NOT your drawing! LOL!) looked like a cross between a chicken (head), a giraffe (neck), an ostrich (body) and a flamingo (legs). And yesterday at the post office he told the person behind us in line very proudly that, "My Mom mails her art all the way to Australia!" He still thinks that is the COOLEST ever! LOL!

Oh, and THEN he told the person in line that that I don't shop at ---mart (name changed to protect the in---to protect me) anymore because the people there are very rude and they don't have good customer service and that we shop at another store now even thought it's more expensive and we are never going back to the other store again. Thank goodness they weren't an employee from there! I bet he tells on me all the time! LOL!!

Somehow FIW Just Doesn't Sound The Same....

2007-10-31T03:35:00.000-07:00

So sorry I'm late on the FIT! James is sick and his asthma is really needing my attention right now. Hopefully we are on the downside of it, but I am TIRED!!! Happy Halloween to you all:)

Here is the cutest little boy for your arting pleasure. I just love him! He is one of those "perfect" photos for collage.

The last batch of free giveaway papers are in the mail and on their way to you all. Thank you so much for your wonderful support and friendship! Love, Jamie

Finally! I made it! FIT Quick and Dirty....

2007-10-23T17:33:00.000-07:00

The first big batch of Free Giveaway Packs are in the hands of the postal service and heading your way! I have 6 more to pack and they will be mailed tomorrow. Fun!!! Here is a little sneak peek!

This is 174 year old ledger paper. It is a store ledger, but I have no other information on it's origins. Your pack has two beautiful, original sheets. Both sheets have writing but on one of the sheets I have printed some of my antique egg prints. Unfortunately the eggs are only ink jet printed. I tried printer after printer and no one would run the ledger paper through their machines. Something about policy, blah, blah, blah, only commercially approved paper, blah, blah, blah, the paper's so old it would catch on fire in our machine, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, I would recommend laser copying the page and using that copy in your art. Ink jet ink will not hold up in most applications. I hope you guys love these!!!!

My sweet husband is out of town this week and I am here with the boys:) Makes for one busy Momma! I am posting this from my new computer which works like a charm:) Thank you for all of your positive computer vibes:) Yeah!!!

Ok, real fast because I have monkeys waiting for me to read bedtime stories. The FIT today is soooo sweet! I can't pass up the baby christening gown photos. Ever. I must have 100's. But they are all so sweet:) This little cutie melts my heart! I want to snuggle him in the crook of my neck:)

Having a FIT and You Can Have One Too! LOL!!

2007-10-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

I really like how you have been calling Free Image Tuesdays FIT in your comments. So have a FIT on me:) LOL!! These three images are gem type tintype photos. They are tiny (I put a 1917 dime beside them for comparison) only about 1" by 1". Aren't they lovely? They are so small that I didn't even know the young lady on the right was wearing glasses until I enlarged my scan! These would make some awesome jewelry! Tintypes are by far my favorite type of photograph. They have such clarity and an ethereal quality at the same time. Their faces seem so defiant. Like they are staring across time demanding that you acknowledge their existence. Ya'll must think I have flipped my lid! Don't worry. I could wax poetic about my Adopted Ancestors all day long! LOL!!

Speaking of waxing poetic... Do you ever feel like life is moving so fast that you can't keep up? That's how I feel lately. I have so many things I want/need to do and I can't get them done. I am caught in Cheryl's "hamster wheel" and I am making myself dizzy. One thing I am not doing is Arting and I really miss it. I have to do it, it keeps me stable:) The other thing I have not been doing is blogging. I was up at 2 am this morning (insomnia) and I visited every blog on my sidebar. Do you know what it felt like? It felt like home and it felt sad. I have missed so much. I have been taking way more than I have been giving lately. But, I guess that's how friendship works. Sometimes you will need to lean and sometimes I will need to lean and together we will not fall too hard. Love You Guys:) Jamie

Oh, PS-The background I used for the FIT is coming to a mail box near you:)

Free Image Tuesday....

2007-10-09T18:04:00.000-07:00

This is a CDV from the civil war era. Those curls are called banana curls. Or if you are James they are called banamba curls:)
Ok, here is the last post (cross fingers) I make from the Voodoo! My new computer came today and is sitting in the box waiting for hubby to work his mad computer skillz. I am posting the photo now, but will be back later to update and run my new baby through it's paces:) I have gotten lots of wonderful emails about the giveaway. It's not too late. I will give you another hint. It is 174 years old. And NO, it's not the LeftoveRs that have been producing the next cure for the plague in the back of my fridge:)

It Should have Been Lemon Yellow and Free Image Tuesday....

2007-10-02T08:05:00.000-07:00

Well, the new computer lasted exactly three start ups and then it went to that great Hard Drive in the Sky. I have a replacement arriving in 6 days. So says Dell.

But, only AFTER having my husband remove the ram, the hard drive, the extra memory, the optical card, the ram again, the keyboard (THE KEYBOARD! ack!), once again the ram, the battery and the hard drive again. Luckily, he builds computers and knows what he is doing, but what if it had been me? Or Lori? LOL!! We would have been in big trouble!

Two hours later, he went for a break and left ME on hold with the support person who then received an ear full from one frustrated wife who had been patiently acting as surgical nurse during this operation and Presto!--- I got a totally new computer. I only wish I had blown my cool earlier in the conversation. Hormones CAN work in your favor ladies! LOL!

The free image for today is one that I love so much! Look at those sweeties! And the Bows! I have boys so bows fascinate me:)

I have had some people email me about selling the free image photos on Etsy. I make it a point not to because I don't want someone buying an original photo and then seeing copies of it some place else in someone else's art piece. These photos are my personal collection and I want to share them. I was thinking of maybe having them printed into collage sheets down the line. Anyway, I just wanted to address the question:)

FREE GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!

Thanks so much for all your well wishes! I am feeling good, having some reflux trouble (yuck), but they say it is temporary. Also I want to show my appreciation to you all by sending you a treat so leave me your snail mail address at arteology@hotmail.com and I will ship the treats next week. This means you too lurkers:) Come on and don't be shy:) They are wonderful treats that start with an L and end with an R. Can you guess? And no, it's NOT liqour! Bad girls! LOL!!! Love, Jamie

Free Image Tuesday Right On Time.....

2007-09-25T13:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I needed that like I needed 4 more holes in my stomach! LOL!!! Seriously, I want to thank everyone for their good thoughts and prayers. They were very much appreciated. Actually I feel so much better than I did before the surgery. The doctor said my gallbladder was inflamed and "angry" so I guess it's good I had it removed. I also had a 1.9 centimeter gallstone! Yikes!Thank you Cheryl for giving me the loving shove I needed to muster up the courage to do so:) I was askeered! So I am recouping well and my Mom is here helping with the boys. Actually the recovery has been pretty easy since the surgery was done laproscopically. Yeah modern medicine! My husband watched the boys the first week and did a wonderful job. Mom is here spoiling the boys and loving every minute of it. They probably won't let her leave when the time comes. They love her so:)

My husband not only took off an entire week to care for me but he also had a wonderful surprise waiting for me. My very own Dell Laptop!!!! In Spring Green!!! Even the mouse is Spring Green:) Now I can spend some evening time in Blogland when he is having his computer time:) I am very excited! He even gave me a computer cushion so I can relax in the living room and surf:) So yeah more blog time and yeah Hubby!!! Here is a picture of my new baby:)

The Free Image for today is a lovely cabinet card of two ladies. They are identified on the front as Kate Rowland and Mary Davis. Maybe they are sisters and one is already married. The background for the photo is unusual and the pose used is unusual also. I really like this one:) Love you all and I hope your week is going well! Love, Jamie

Also, I got this note from sweet Darlene:

I tried to print two of your free little girl pictures (from June 11 and July 17).I must be doing something wrong because the pictures look blurry. I can see some of the pixels.Thanks, Darlene

Is anyone else hving this problem and does anyone have a suggestion as to how I can help her or do better with the photos? You all know I am a complete computer dork! LOL!! We are working on it Darlene!:)

Free Image Tuesday A Day Early....

2007-09-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

These are tintypes of the same girl. I love her different hairstyles in the photos.

I am going into the hospital this afternoon and I am having my gall bladder removed. So here is tomorrow's image and I hope you are all having a good week! I'll check back in when I can! Love, Jamie

I've Been Tagged!.....

2007-09-12T11:35:00.000-07:00

Sweet Erin over at Things and Stuff and Sweet Sarah over at Joy For The Journey tagged me to play the name game so here it goes! You are supposed take your middle name and write a word/fact that helps describes you for each letter. Be prepared to be here awhile. My middle name is Micheline.

M- Micheline is my namesake. She was a young girl in France during WWII. My grandfather stayed with her family while he was stationed there for the war. I was given her name. My Mom is working on getting some photos and letters from her for me.

I- I still can't whistle.

C- Creative My mom says I started drawing very early and when I was two I drew a perfectly recognizable whale blowing water out of it's blowhole. James drew a duck for me yesterday:)

H- Homemaker I'm no June Cleaver, but I am so grateful to stay home with the boys.

E- Eat I do it to sooth my soul, to stuff my emotions down and I hide behind the resulting fat.

L- Love My love for my family is infinite.

I- Inspired Inspired by all of you and the wonderful art you share. The lives you share.

N- Nurturer I am good in this role.

E- Educator I am still a teacher in my heart:)

1920's bird reprint from my personal collection and an original 1865 bill of sale

This is a sneak peek of my new line of note cards. They will be in the ETSY shop soon and I am really excited about them! And, yes, I did cut that out by hand and all the others. I can only say thank goodness for sharp scissors and Exacto knives! LOL!!

9/11 Rememberence, My new ledger and MyGoodDeed.org and Free Image Tuesday...

2007-09-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

Today is the anniversary of 9/11. I found a wonderful website called My Good Deed at http://www.mygooddeed.org/. It is a site to pledge a good deed in honor of 9/11. If you have a chance please visit and pledge your good deed. One man pledged to meet people's eyes and smile when he passed them and one little boy pledged to help a friend with his homework:) It is a wonderful way to turn those horrible hours and days and months and now years that have followed 9/11 into a way to make things better for others and yourself.

I received a new ledger yesterday. I originally bought it for the ETSY store. And I have been waiting patiently for it to arrive in the mail. It is a leather bound ledger from 1829.

After opening the package I realized it was more beautiful and more exquisite then I had imagined. I knew then when I saw it that it did not belong with me. But, you know how I love those ledgers:)

So, I thought about it all night and this morning I spent the better part of the morning reading over the 1829 newspaper clippings that were inside trying to find where it came from and what it was used for so long ago. There are no indications inside the ledger. The person who sold it to me said it was a general store ledger, but it is not from a store. I believe that it is a lawyer's ledger or a debtor's prison ledger that keeps track of debts and unpaid loans. I gleaned from the newspaper clippings found inside that it was from Hudson, New York.

I then searched Hudson, NY and found out that it was in Columbia County. I checked the early 1800's censuses for that area and found almost all the names of the men in the ledger so that confirmed it's origin for me. I knew then that I needed to send it where it really belonged. So I contacted the Columbia County Historical Society and spoke with Helen the curator. I told her what I had figured out about the ledger and she asked if I was interested in selling it to them for their archives. I told her that I would be donating it to them and she was so excited. She said their accquisition funds were limited. So, I am mailing it off this afternoon. It feels so right and good. I am thrilled that this was my good deed for 9/11 and the fact that the ledger was originally from New York makes it even better.

I know you are all thinking that my good deed should have been to answer all of your sweet and wonderful comments:) LOL! James has been sick and I have yet to have a free Tuesday or Thursday. Bare with me sweeties! You know I love you all:) Love, Jamie

These are photos of the ledger and then scans of some the ledger pages and newspaper clippings. Those pages are your Free Image Tuesday and they would make awesome backgrounds for your collage work:)

Free Image Tuesday and More.....

2007-09-04T17:34:00.000-07:00

I'll start with the free image:) I love these gals! Are they nuns? Are they nurses? Why do I think Halloween when I see them? They seem a little creepy for some reason. Is that bad for me to say? LOL!!! This photo is a RPPC (real people post card) but it is postally unused so I do not know where it came from or anything else about it.

I want to share a story from a 1895 children's book called, "Ripples of Mirth". It belonged to Master Hiram Landon in 1897. I was so taken a back when I read it and could not believe that it was a "children's" story. We shelter our kids from death, but at that time it was an all to common occurrence with younger children.

I do know that some of the photos I own (especially the ambrotypes and tintypes) are probably the only photos taken of that person their entire lives. That's why post-mortem photography was so common. When a young child died there often was no photograph of them alive, so the family would have the photographer come take a photo before burial.

It's an interesting glimpse into early Victorian mores and society. I am thankful we live in a time with advanced medical knowledge and better living situations.

James starts pre-school this week so that means Momma gets some free time for Arting! Yeah for Momma!!!!! I will also get more computer time:) I hope everyone is having a wonderful week and thank you so much for your wonderful, supportive comments from my previous post. They all made me smile:) Love, Jamie

Somerset Studios Holidays and Celebrations....

2007-09-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

I had one of my assemblage pieces published in the new publication called "Somerset Holidays and Celebrations" I am so excited to finally be able to share it with all of you! I have been holding it in for a long time:) It is scary to submit something! I just knew they were going to send it back with a thanks, but no thanks letter.

I originally submitted the piece for the Vintage Halloween call for the October Somerset Magazine, but they wrote me back and said they wanted it for the gallery section of the "Holidays and Celebrations" publication. Umm.... OK! I can tell you I was on a high for many days after that. What a thrill to see one of my pieces in my favorite publication!

Remember the little dollhouse book aging tutorial I did a long time ago? That's when I was making the piece:)

I used a photo reprint of a cabinet card photo I had purchased a long time ago. I thought she looked like a witch the minute I saw her and I knew that I would use her one day for Halloween. I was shocked when I received her to turn the photo over and find that her name was --Katie Spellman. How perfect was that!! She was meant to be a witch:) I used an old tin lithograph toy for the butterfly wings and old tintype photos for the pictures on the wall. I tried to find people who also looked witchy. I created a torn wallpaper effect for the insides of the box which is super easy and I would be glad to give a tutorial on that also. Then I altered the dollhouse books and inserted copies of 11th century runes and spells in place of the blank pages. The whole outside of the box is covered in vintage anatomy figures covered in textured red vellum. Cool! They only show the front of the box in the publication, but it sure is exciting for me! Thank you each and everyone of you who visit here and make me smile with your sweet words. You are so appreciated:) Love, Jamie

Free Image Tuesday....

2007-08-28T12:36:00.000-07:00

I am running in here really quick before I have to pick David up from school:) I want to share with you one of the newest tintypes I have added to my collection. It is by far my favorite and that's saying a lot because I love them all:) I just can't get past the beautiful eyes and the clarity of this photo. Let me know if you use it in your art! I hope everyone is having an awesome week! Love, Jamie

Free Image Tuesday

2007-08-21T06:56:00.000-07:00

I want to share these two diaries I received just yesterday. They are simple pocket diaries, one from 1913 and one from 1914. They were filled out everyday either by Otto Pierson or Grace, his wife. I believe they were country folks, but there is no indication of where they lived. It must have been in the Northern US because the winter weather was sometimes 14 below. How do I know this? Because they recorded the weather everyday. Just a short entry. Sometimes it just says, " Awful hot" or "Awful cold".
Otto writes who visited that day or if he walked his little daughter Martha up to his Momma's house for supper, which he called "going up home". Grace records the eggs that were laid and sold. Every item they purchased was recorded and the amount they paid. He notes if the town doctor gave him a ride home in his automobile. There were church meetings, ice cream socials and picnics at Llyod's Grove.Otto loved his wife and was concerned if she was ill. He recorded the illnesses of her and Martha, the birth of his son William on May 18, 1913 and then again almost a year later William's death on March 24, 1914 from Cerebral Meningitis. After that entry he records every cemetery visit, which were usually made on Saturdays or Sundays after church. Grace didn't make anymore entries after William died.
I read them over and over and each time I pieced their lives together from those short entries. These two simple books transported me into Otto's and Grace's life for an afternoon. They are cherished treasures.

I thought if any of you are in a Halloween mood you could use this creepy little gal. I am sure she was a very sweet, cute girl, but older tintypes sometimes get this silvery look about the eyes.

I haven't been a very active blogger lately. I am hoping to get into an ETSY routine so I have more time here. Thank you for all of your sweet words and support.

Free Image Tuesday.....

2007-08-14T04:42:00.000-07:00

I have several pictures to share today and one that I think is really interesting. All of these photos are Real People Post Cards or RPPC's. It was a great, inexpensive way to send photos to family that lived far away. Just stick a stamp on the back and mail it out.

This first one is Dale and Helen Dexter. Little Helen does not look very happy. I bet she has a set of lungs on her when she does not get her way!

This fella looks so proud in his bow tie and best suit:)

And this cutie has the sweetest face! I have used her a lot in my work.

I know this last one is not very clear, but I find it really fascinating. The boy is in his room and on the wall is the equivalent of modern day posters. He has cabinet cards, RPPC's, calling cards and greeting cards. It's cool to know that even in the early 1900's teenagers were still teenagers:)

Booster Rockets.....

2007-08-09T07:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the Annual Check-up for the boys. They are both good and healthy, but they both needed shots so I was dreading it. My seven year old David needed a chicken pox booster and my four year old James needed 4 shots, two in each thigh. I didn't tell them until the morning of the appointment because I know David would have worried himself so much anticipating the shot.
They were both scared but when the doctor told David he was going
to have a booster shot James began crying and saying he didn't want a "Booster Rocket" on him! LOL! Poor buddy! They both got through it and then we went over and I had my blood drawn. So we all got Booster Rockets:)

I want to thank everyone for their sweet comments. They mean so much to me. I am blessed to know each and everyone of you:) Love, Jamie

Speaking of medical things. I found this in a book I bought at an antique store here in town and I thought you guys would be interested in it. I think it's from the 40's or 50's but that's just a guess. What a hoot!!!!! I would have killed to stay in bed for over half a month after the baby came and then when my little bundle was 1 month old I would go to the beauty parlor and fix myself up! LOL!!!!

Free Image Tuesday and Thank You!.....

2007-08-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

Here's today's free images. I love the little cuties in the first photo. I know you can do something totally sweet with them! The next photo is my only photo of female twins. I love how you can see that one is trying to wear her hair different from the other:) I have no information about the names of these folks. But, I am sure I (and you!) will come up with something:)

Thank you all for your support over at ETSY yesterday! It is a scary thing, as you most know, but seeing your comments and emails really helped ease my fears. I think I'll stay a while:)

Good Morning!!!!...

2007-08-06T04:43:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for the well wishes for Mom's birthday and Dad's surgery recovery! Mom's birthday was awesome. She got hit on by a 20-something lad who had a crush on her! Way to go girl! And she won 300 bucks!Yeah Mom!!!!

Dad is doing great! He feels so much better and I told him all the sweet thoughts you all sent:) He sees the doctor again today to have his drain removed and to make sure the infection is completely gone. That was too close for comfort Daddy! Don't do it again! LOL!!

On to business! Literally. I opened an ETSY shop called Art-e-ology this weekend. Special thanks to Cheryl who helped add my store name to my collage. I couldn't have done this without her and I am lucky to call her friend.

I am busy adding more items to the shop this morning. I am so excited to be offering my wonderful antique ephemera and vintage mixed media supplies to you. Take a peek if you get a chance! And thanks so much to Karin who stopped by and made my first order!! Thanks Sweetie! It's on the way!

Happy Birthday Mom and Get Well Fast Dad!.....

2007-08-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

Today is my Mom's birthday!! Her friends (they call themselves the Yo-Yos after the Ya-Ya Sisterhood:) are taking her away to a casino for the weekend. They get together once a month for a Yo-Yo party and they all have Indian Princess Names. FUN! I was sneaky and called the hotel before they got there and paid for their stay. I so wish I could be there with her. Have fun Momma and win big!!! Love, Jamie

My Dad had to have emergency gallbladder surgery yesterday. Poor Daddy! I hate that I am so far from home! He is doing much better and they kept him overnight. His fever was 105 by the time he got into surgery and the doctor said that the gallbladder was very infected. He is so blessed that they went in when they did. His fiance is there taking care of him so that makes me feel better. I'm thinking about you all the time Dadddy. Love, Jamie

Here is the piece I made with this week's free image. I named

2007-08-02T04:59:00.000-07:00

Here is the piece I made with this week's free image. I named them and I hope they don't mind. I think the names fit them well. Here's a tip. I bought paint brushes from a store where everything is a dollar. Don't do that. They were shedding like a cat all over the place! I'm still picking them off the painting.

I wanted to share an artist that I read about on Tricia's blog A Little Birdie Told Me . Her name is Jen Crossley and her blog is called A Mark in Time. I am just blown away by her art. I have poured over her blog all morning and everything is fantastic. Thanks for sharing her link Tricia!

Free Image Tuesday....8 Random Things....

2007-07-31T10:31:00.000-07:00

This is another full plate tintype that is a copy of another photograph. Look at those sweeties!!! I love everything about this picture. Their plaid dresses, their solemn expressions and the way that someone painted the lace on the little one's pantaloons. Just lovely. I hope you will use it in your art and share with us.

Sweet Fran Welch at Ethereal Art tagged me to share 8 random facts/habits about me on the blog. As much as I love to ramble, and you know I do, it was a hard assignment. So here are my random things:

I always eat one thing at a time on my plate. I don't mix my food. I start with my least favorite thing and always save my favorite thing for last.
I can imitate the cry of a newborn baby with scary precision. Just ask Cheryl. I gave her New Mommy flashbacks!
I question what I am doing with this whole art thing about a million times a day.
I am a caretaker, nurturer type person and I am learning to put my needs first a little bit each day.
I can't whistle.
I am a voracious reader and I read my favorite books over and over and over:) They are comfortable, like old friends.
I was a second grade teacher for 10 years before I had children. I love to teach and the beginning of the school year is hard for me because that's when I miss it the most.
I had my tonsils removed when I was fifteen and again when I was 34 after they GREW BACK!

I apologize for being absent lately on your blogs. Please know that even if I am not commenting I have been thinking of all of you daily. I have been getting ready to open an ETSY store and share some of my wonderful vintage things with you. I can't wait!

New Art.... Star Wars Exhibit.....

2007-07-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

Collage made with vinatge letter, CDV and bird's nest/eggs reprints, acrylics, gel medium and ribbon.

We are off to see the Star Wars exhibit with the boys. I will share pictures when we get back. Thank you everyone who has left comments this past week. I am so thankful for your support and sweet words. Your words lift me like no other. I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!!!! Love, Jamie

Congratulations Nancy!!!!!....Other Free Image....

2007-07-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

I want to thank Nancy from Vintage Papers for giving me the "Rockin' Girl Blogger" award. You are so sweet Nancy! When you get a chance run on over to her blog and see her art pieces featured in the new August/September issue of Somerset Studios magazine. Now THAT rocks!!Here are the rest of the girls from yesterday. There are two missing, but I will scan them in later:)

Collage done on wood base with vintage eggs, vintage letter and vintage image reprint, acrylics, distress ink and matte gel medium.
I realized yesterday that I never used my own free images!!! I'm going to start. They're free, right? LOL! I would like to thank Cheryl from Stash Studios for finding those awesome egg prints and the antique letter circa. 1875 for me. I LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!!

Free Image Tuesday!....

2007-07-24T08:02:00.000-07:00

This is a group of girls from a girl's school. This is from 1915 and I wish I knew their names. There are seven in the group but only six will fit on the scanner. I have another set that I will share later:) Have a wonderful Tuesday!!!!

Love in the Mail!!!!.....

2007-07-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

My heart was a flutter when the mail man came this morning!! I knew Miss Ooh Lah Lah was coming home today:) She was made by Lori at Faerie Window who is so talented and imaginative!! I love how everything came wrapped and tied with sweet bows. She included a sweet note, some yummy Moo cards and a little ribbon covered box to hold Ooh Lah Lah's cone purse. And even an extra treat!! Her sweet table made from a vintage album cover and sweet wooden spools. So enchanting!

Here is everything unwrapped. I love how Lori's note has her banner picture on the front! Smart!

And here is Miss Ooh Lah Lah in her new home:) She's going to rest a while before she starts her two-step lessons:) Thank you so much Lori!!! Your attention to detail is wonderful and your craftsmanship is top notch! Love, Texas

Have A Happy Weekend Everyone!.....

2007-07-20T13:26:00.000-07:00

Collage done on antique ledger paper with transparency overlay, vintage image reproduction and vintage text.

This collage was quick and dirty! I am trying to loosen up and just go with it instead of always having every detail planned out before I start. I think I am missing out on some great "Aha" moments by not letting myself relax.
I hope your weekend is filled with love and laughter! Hopefully I will get a chance to check in with you all:) Love, Jamie

Free Image Art Pieces.....Mail Goodies....Thanks To All.....

2007-07-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

Look at this sweet cigar box assemblage piece by the talented Miss Sue whose blog is called When I Get Around To It. I LOVE that name girl! Thank you so much for using the image in your art. I can't tell you how thrilling it is for me to see it in an art piece. Thanks sweetie!

I also got a special ATC from super talented Mrs. Nancy Maxwell James of Vintage Papers. It came in it's own handmade card and was made using one of my free images. What a sweetheart Nancy is to share that with me. I love them both Nancy!

Well, today is also devoted to all (all of you!)the wonderful artists out there who inspire and make my heart go pitter-pat:) I have some lovely things to share that the mailman brought me during my vacation. I'll start with the super talented Miss Lori from Faerie Window! Boy, does she spoil me. This is my consolation prize and console it did! Look at those sweet art pieces. Her talent, attention to detail and craftsmanship is above none! Thank you so much for your support and friendship sweetie!

Next, the fabulous Corey Moortgat at Corey Moortgat-Collage Artist sent this wonderful package of goodies as a thank you to me and I love every piece of it!!! Thank you so much Corey. I can't wait to use them in my art!

This wonderful piece of art was purchased from the very talented Tricia Scott at A Little Birdie Told Me. Not only did I receive this wonderful beeswax collage (I love those eyes) I also received some fabulous goodies from Tricia. Thank you so much for inspiring me Tricia!

I also was thrilled to see some very wonderful pages from a 1912 book called The Book of Knowledge on her ETSY site. I bought these because my copy of the book (see photo above:) is not so great and I love the print of the dolls from around the world. (see photo below:)

Colette Copeland of A Bird In The Hand who makes wonderful fabric art, collage art and even paints:) She is a dear and this is the sweet cabinet card assemblage I purchased from her. I love how she wrapped it in fabric and the sweet Thank You tag. Wonderful work Colette! And last, but not least! This is the beautiful piece I purchased from the super talented Linda Harre from Studio Stuff. I have been in love with it ever since I first saw it in Somerset Studio magazine. Linda has so much beauty in her and it comes out in her art. Thank you Linda!

Good to be Back in Blogland....Art....Free Image Tuesday.....

2007-07-17T08:18:00.000-07:00

Did ya miss me? I missed you!!!!! I am so happy to be back and getting back into a routine. Mom's visit was awesome and the boys and I miss her terribly. She is such a fun grandma and spends all her time playing with the boys. They love it! Except for her getting sick, it was a perfect visit.

I spent yesterday cleaning out my art closet (really, it's my clothes closet, but who cares about clothes?) and I have come to the conclusion that I have too much stuff!!!! I better start making some art on a more regular basis and stop buying things! LOL!! I am making it a goal to end the spending and I am only buying supplies like glue, gesso or having copies made of photos. Really. Promise:) I am going to really try hard. I pretty much have everything I need right now. It's just hard to get past the "wants but doesn't need" thing I have going on right now. So my goal is less spending and more arting!!!! Here is the piece I just finished this morning.

Here is the free image. I don't know anything about this cutie except that the photo was taken in Guilford, ME. I think her eyes are fabulous! If you use her let me know and I will post your art:)

Tomorrow I am going to post and show you all the wonderful things I have received from the postman since I've been gone. I am blessed. It may take some time to get around to you all today, but that's my goal:)

Miss You Guys!!!...Free Image Tuesday....

2007-07-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

Oh, how I miss you all and my time here in Blog Land. Mom has been sick and is only now feeling better, so I think I will not be back on until she leaves on Thursday or Friday. I can't wait to catch up with all of your fabulous creations and say hi to you all!:) To make up for my absence I am posting three awesome photos today!

Meet Willard and Carl Shinn. I don't know how they made those feisty boys sit still to get their hair curled, but I bet it wasn't easy. I can barely get a comb through my guys' hair in the mornings!

There are no names on the back of this one, but I so love the sweet expressions on their faces. This photo was taken in Philadelphia.

This beauty is Miss Belle Davis from Burlington, NJ. She looks like a very independent gal to me. I wonder how long it took to get dressed in all those layers of clothes?

Free Image Tuesday...My Sweet Mom!....

2007-07-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

My Mom is here for the next two weeks!!! Yeah!!!! The boys are so excited that their "Boo" is here to play with them. I love it when she visits:) She came bearing gifts and I am sharing them with you today for Free Image Tuesday. I don't know how much computer time I will have while she is here, but I will visit when I can and post when I can. I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July and be careful with those fireworks!

It's Time for More Bad Art......

2007-06-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

This was my first (and last) attempt at sculpting polymer clay. When I was growing up my parents and I always went to the State Fair in Columbia, South Carolina. We would do the rides and games, but my favorite thing (elephant ears with powdered sugar) was to see the animals and to look at the crafts and art submissions. I would walk up and down the isles looking at the paintings and drawings. That was where I saw my first ever "fairy in a jar" art. It was a large jar and the fairy was sculpted out of clay. She was so delicate and her wings shimmered and she wore a tiny burlap dress. She was standing with her hands pressed against the glass looking out at me. All over the inside of the jar were the tiniest muddy hand prints where she had fluttered around trying to get out of the jar. The jar sat upon a stack of antique books about fairies and there was a large magnifying glass lying along side. It was the most enchanting thing I had ever seen. I looked at it for so long and then would have to move so others could come by, but I would go back and stare.

That had to have been 18 years ago and I have always remembered it. I was so thrilled to see the new fairy jars start to emerge in the mixed media art world. Soooo, I thought I'll sculpt a fairy and stick her in a jar too. Well, this is my attempt and it looks like the missing link:) Not fairy like at ALL! LOL!!! I might try again someday, but for now I am going to leave this to the experts:)

Free Image Tuesday...EBAY find...Journal page...

2007-06-26T05:22:00.000-07:00

Look!!! Sweet Mrs. Nancy Maxwell James of Vintage Papers made a card with one of my free images!!!! Yeah! It is a beautiful card. Thank you Nancy. I am tickled that you used it and shared with us:)

This is a full plate tintype I recently purchased. It is about 8 by 6 in size, so large for a tintype photo. The coolest thing about it to me is that I think it is a tintype copy of an ambrotype photo. So it really is one of the earliest forms of photocopy. Cool, huh? You can see the edges of the ambrotype and where the original photo had been in an oval frame. I also love the little girl and the sad face of the mother.

This next photo I found on EBAY and it went way to high for my pocket book:) But I wanted to share it because it's so unusual. Poor little things. At least they were found and taken care of by someone who cared. You can enlarge the back of the photo to read about them. It says,"I found them in a stable on one of the coldest days in winter without fire, or clothing. Their bed was in the dirty straw taken from under the horses. Parents drunk and of the most unpromising kind."

This is a journal page.

New Favorite Thing and Journal Pages.....

2007-06-25T09:26:00.000-07:00

First here is my newest addition to the living room. I found it at my favorite antique store although it is not an antique. It was one of those things that you see and immediately you know you have to have it. My husband is not so sure about it yet but I will make it grow on him:)

These are journal pages. I can't stop painting the eggs! I should just call my journal '"The Egg Book". LOLOL!! Sometimes my fear of creating something poorly is a tremendous block. I freeze instead of work through it. The last page addresses that blockage.

Free Image Tuesday.....

2007-06-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

I found these at an antique store here in town. Score!! Hope you like them Mom!! I hope these scanned ok and if you use them in your art let us see your creation. Thank you everyone for your wonderful support and kind comments. I am amazed daily at this community and the joy it brings me.

To Miz SmoochieLips, With Love....Bad Art..and My Muse....

2007-06-18T05:56:00.000-07:00

This is for MizSmoochie Lips. It's to make up for being such a lame swap partner. She sent me a wonderful box full of wonderful things and I only sent my 1 art piece. I am soooo not cut out for swaps. I hope you like it Tia. I don't know why I felt the need to turn Glinda the Good Witch into a cupcake, but there it is. Did you know she was 53 when she played that role? Amazing!
Last week Tia called for people to post their art mistakes and I LOVE that idea. I've got tons, so I'm gonna post them every once in a while. Sometimes our mistakes help us grow to be better at what we are striving to accomplish. This is the first collage I ever made. I looked at Altered Art for over a year and collected things before I ever even put gesso to paper. I was so terrified of not making something good. Something I loved. I went about it all wrong. It has no soul. I basically went down a mental checklist of things I loved about collage and made sure each element was in the piece.

vintage photo? Check!
vintage eggs? Check!
Crown? Check!
little random triangles as border? Check!
old text/ music paper? Check!
wings? Check?
bird? Check!
mysterious phrase snippet? Check!

How could I go wrong? My husband took one look and said, "That looks like Monty Python". Ouch. I didn't make another piece of art for over 6 months.

I started small and this piece spoke to me. The haunted eyes of the children and father. The absence of the mother. Her image is the same one I used in my first collage. I like her better here.
This lovely lady is my Muse. She has no name, but I know she was meant to be mine. There is an old farm house across the highway from our neighborhood. The sweetest couple lived there and they always had huge, beautiful vegetable gardens. The man would let my son (then only 3 and brother less) ride his tractor and pull onions. He finally became to old to keep up with a 100 year old home and the land and it all was sold. He was so sad to leave his home and it broke my heart.

The house sat for sale for over two years. Then I noticed a sold sign in the yard. The new owners began renovations on the old house and used bulldozers to scrape up and turn over all the gardens. One day there was lush beautiful vegetable plants (they were growing wild now) and the next there was sod laid out in neat rows. Then they bulldozed one of the two barns. I so upset and one Sunday afternoon, when there were no workers, I went over there to look at the other barn before it was gone too. My heart was beating out of my chest and I just knew any minute a police car was going to drive up and I'd be arrested for trespassing. There was nothing left inside and the workers were using it to store the new wood siding for the house. Still I poked around and took a few rusty nails and found a glass jar with a rusty lid. I was poking around in the chicken coup and when I looked down there was a black piece of cardboard in the straw. It looked like the cover of a book laying there. I picked it up and turned it over and it was her. Left alone for all that time, laying in the chicken coup. There I stood in a hot, dusty barn with chills all over my body. It may sound strange, but I know I was meant to go there and find her before they tore the barn down. So she is my Muse. I don't think she needs a name. But her influence was enough to call me across the highway to her and now she has a home.

From the Kitchen of...

2007-06-15T23:50:00.000-07:00

First off look at my sweet boys "Arting" yesterday morning. My three year old is actually striking a pose for the camera with one hand on his hip. Very suave sweetie! Thank you for the watercolor book Mrs. Cheryl!!!
Ok. Lori at Faerie Windows tagged me for a recipe. Which if you haven't stoppped over to see her newest creation you are missing out 'cause he is precious!
So.You all know I don't cook so I concocted a simple meal which only takes 30 minutes tops. UNLESS you are taking pictures. And having some wine. So, honestly, I don't really know how long it would take to make it. At least it's easy. And there's wine involved:) So here's the most action my poor kitchen has seen in years. You might want to cover the children's eyes.
First you need red wine. Some to serve and some to use for the recipe. And music. Mazzy Star worked well.

And bread baked by someone that's not me:) I also served cooked shrimp and cocktail sauce as a before dinner snack.

List of ingredients:

1 bunch fresh asparagus ( or broccoli or any other fresh veggie of choice)
1 cup red wine
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 packages Fettuccine (I used the fresh 'cause it only takes three minutes)
1 container Light Alfredo sauce ( I used some you can microwave 'cause I'm a loser in the kitchen:)
2 pounds Fresh Sea Scallops (shrimp would do well too. Or chicken. Meat. Meat does well)
Salt'NPeppa

Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to medium hot skillet.

Add scallops and Mr. Salt.

Don't forget Mrs. Pepper.

And one for my Homeys.

Saute scallops until they are browned on both sides. I kept them in the pan about 10 minutes.

And don't try to screw the olive oil cap onto the uncorked bottle of wine just because you usually re-screw a cap after pouring a glass of wine. Just........no.

Add the asparagus to your boiling pasta water and cook for 3 minutes.

Zap it for two minutes.

Remove asparagus and add pasta and boil for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain pasta when done.

Scallops should look like this when they are done. Transfer everything to plates and serve.
TA-DAAA!!!!

Hey, at least it's not Lunchables.

Now run on over to Stash Studios for dessert!

Free Image Tuesday and Home...

2007-06-11T09:06:00.000-07:00

This cutie is one of the little girls I used for one of the tag swap girls. I think she is so precious!

This is the outside of a business letter from Sweden in 1863. I love it because it's such a beautiful blue, the handwriting is so elegant and you can still see the seal used to close it. Also the paper itself has such a wonderful rustle to it when it is handled. I LOVE the sound of old paper and old book pages. I wish I knew Swedish and I would know what it was about. Below is the invoice from the inside. No envelopes, just the contents folded and sealed. Very romantic, even if it's just a business letter:) These pages would make great backgrounds or papers for collage. Let us see what you create if you use them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RksdQrqLNs

"Home" by Zero 7. My new favorite song of the moment:)

She's Smoochie-licious!!!......

2007-06-11T06:52:00.000-07:00

Look at what wonderful goodies my Cupcake swap partner Miz SmoochieLips sent me!!!!I LOVE them all and have had to explain to the boys OVER and OVER why they can't eat the cupcakes. The packaging and the presentation were as fabulous as the actual swap stuff! AND, I totally pimped out my car with the cupcake air freshener! LOL!!! I am so very pleased Tia. Thank you ever so much sweetie! Love, Jamie

Done Arting....

2007-06-07T12:53:00.000-07:00

When you have come to the edge of all the light you have and step into the darkness of the unknown,
Believe that one of the two will happen to you,
Either you will find something solid to stand on or you’ll be taught to fly.
~Richard Bach

This piece is for my lovely friend Cheryl at Stash Studios. She is a constant source of inspiration, support and joy in my life. Thank you for everything. Love, Jamie

Free Image Tuesday and Arting....

2007-06-05T05:15:00.000-07:00

My three year old calls it "Arting" when I am working on a project. "Momma, are you arting now?" I think I will never call it anything else again. Well, I am arting and it is flowing so well. You know that feeling you have when everything is coming together just like your head envisioned? It is rare, but a total high when it happens. By the way, run on over to Cheryl at Stash Studios and see the wonderful frames featured today. She took Corey Moortgat's design and made it all her own. I LOVE them!!!!

Here are your free images for this Tuesday. The first is a book about the history of France. It was published in 1884 so no etching of the Eiffel Tower. I believe it was meant to be a child's book since it claims that it is written all in words of one syllable:) It has wonderful illustrations but sadly is falling apart from the binding.
Next is a photo of sweet Jennie Sliza. She looks like a teacher to me for some reason. I love her dress and the background used by the photographer. If you look on the table beside her there is a cabinet card photo leaned against the books. Possibly of her mother. It was a common practice to do this if someone close to you had passed away as a remembrance. Also the book she is holding looks to be a family photo album. Cool stuff!!

Ledger Love...Or, What We Did Before Computers....

2007-05-31T06:29:00.000-07:00

To say I have an addiction to collecting ledgers is being kind. An obsession is more like it! I can't get enough of them and I cherish each and every one.

From the 1700's general store ledgers to the 1930's farming ledgers. They all offer a wealth of information and history. I thought maybe once a week or so I would share some of my favorites with you.

My all time favorite is a country general store ledger. It spans from 1891 to 1894 and has 834 pages of all of the transactions and accounts for those years. I love it even more because I have a photo of the store and I know some of the family history.

It came from the great Niece of SIMON HEBERLING and the store was called Heberling & Son General Store. Here is what the pages look like. I love how every one's name is written so wonderfully at the top. Mr. Heberling even has a special section in the back and for the account holder's name it just says, "Mother". Good Boy!

I can't believe they were willing to sell it, but at least it's in a good home. When I first got it in the mail I was so excited that I just randomly flipped out of order through the pages. About the 5th page I turned to had this name at the top and then I knew I was meant to have custodianship over this piece of history. Cool stuff.

That Ole' Black Magic.....

2007-05-30T06:08:00.000-07:00

We got our new computer from Voodoo yesterday and I am SOOOOO excited! It totally rocks and I NEVER thought I could get so excited over a piece of electronics, but I have fallen in love:) When my husband first built it and ordered it to be made I was like, ok, whatever. He said it was the Ferrari of gaming computers and I was like, yawnnnn. But, once I saw it come out the box it was love at first site.
When we first opened the box it started playing music! It had a light activated music chip that was set off when we removed the top packing. The boys flipped out and of course spent the rest of the time in the bathroom turning on and off the lights to activate it. It also came with organic, chocolate covered espresso beans and Voodoo logo temporary tattoos and a tee-shirt. I love Voodoo:)

I love all the cool cut outs in the aluminum case. They remind me of Michelle Ward's art. The blue tubing (which I thought was just some new way to pimp out your machine) is actually liquid coolant that keeps the processors and video cards from overheating. LIQUID COOLANT!!! HOW COOL IS THAT? Totally! I am probably one of the most inept computer geeks of all time. Right, Lori?!? LOL!! So sorry for posting about this but, I think it's neat and thanks for indulging me. I may not have access to the blog until we get everything transferred and whatnot. In the mean time, I feel some art waiting under the surface ready to come out:)

I just thought of something! NO WONDER he didn't blink an eye at my little pile of books at the bookstore! I may just have to go back:)

Free Image Tuesday...Sweet Husband...

2007-05-29T06:20:00.000-07:00

These are the wonderful things I bought at the bookstore yesterday. (We finally had to get out of the house despite the rain because the children were making us crazy:)

The bottom open book is a book of 2500 royalty free images called, "Scan This Book Two" by John Mendenhall. You may use them anyway you wish, even altering them in Photoshop and calling them your own. Can't beat that!
Then I got the newest Somerset Memories June/July issue which features another fabulous article by Linda Harre highlighting her grandson Chase's baby book. She was also in the April/May issue, which featured Chase's twin brother Hunter and his baby book. She is so very talented. Please run over and feast your eyes on her blog, Studio Stuff. It's one of my favorites!
The Bird and Nest stamps from Cavallini Papers & Co.,Inc. are something I have wanted FOREVER and I just grabbed them and ran! (yes, we payed for them:)
and the last book is called, "The Little Big Book of Birds" from Welcome Books. It has the most wonderful bird facts and tips for watchers. But, the reason I bought it is it has fabulous vintage images of birds on almost every page. And there are 351 pages. Sweet!

BUT, the best part is that my sweet man (who had herded the boys through the store so I could look alone) did not even blink an eye when he saw my pile of goodies. Thank you sweetie!

Here are the pics for today. I love the sad look in this beautiful gal's eyes. She must have broken lots of hearts. I included the gentleman (I use this term lightly because he looks a bit of a scoundrel to me:) because I think he looks like a younger Matthew McConaughey. Use these anyway you wish, but if you do please share your creation:)

Happy Memorial Day Weekend and Cupcake Swap.....

2007-05-27T14:57:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is having a wonderful long weekend. We are having storms and rain and that's just fine with me. We have been under drought restrictions for over a year now, so any rain is good rain! Plus, the boys like to run around like maniacs in it:)
Cupcakes made from Paper Clay and covered with 1883 German text, rhinestones, paper box, Basic Grey papers, vintage Swedish tart tins, vintage photo reprint from my collection, acrylics, varnish, epoxy, glue and stain medium.

My husband pretty much has taken over the computer until Tuesday , but I wanted to stop in and post pictures of my cupcake swap. Sweet Colleen over at Frostings and Sparkles is hosting it and it will be shipped off tomorrow. I hope my partner likes it because I'm not a real glitter girl. This swap had me nervous because I have never done any kind of cupcake anything before. But, it's always nice to explore new stuff and discover new mediums. I used paper clay for the first time and I really love it. It is so much easier to work with than polymer clay and a lot more forgiving. I may experiment some more with it in the future. I received a beautiful tag from Karin and I used some of the tissue paper she used to wrap the tag in as part of the cupcake cup. I loved being able to use my vintage Swedish metal tart molds. Lord knows they would never see the inside of an oven at my house:) I covered the paper clay cupcake with 1883 German text and then stained it pink and added rhinestones for bling. I covered the round box with Basic Grey paper and then antiqued it with ink. Here you go Miz Smoochie!!! The sweet little girl can sit on top if you like, but she is not attached:) See you all tomorrow!

Hey All You Fabulous Ladies!!!!!....

2007-05-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

That's how I tagged an email to my Tag Swap Gals. Only I forgot that my husband and I share an email. So when they got the email it had a man's name attached to it and they all thought some pervert named David Miller had hacked into our tag swap group! LOLOL!!! It made us all giggle so the next time I emailed I tagged it, "Dude looks like a Lady!". Good Times:) I am loving all the tags I have received so far ladies. You guys ROCK!

Well, I AM talking to all of YOU fabulous ladies. This wonderful artist Gina at Joyful Purpose is going to teach an art journaling class this summer for the Free Arts for Abused Children program. She asked for some help and if you have anything that's on her wish list please consider sending it to help enrich the lives of these girls. It's a great cause! Here is a copy of the list: ( There is no mailing address yet, but I am sure she will update it:)

My wish list for the girls ...
We need the following new or gently used items (all items are tax deductible donations through Free Arts)
rubber stamps
ink pads
caran d'ache neo color II crayons
brushes
papers
embellishments
pens
markers
water color paint
stencils
letter stamps
hole punches
punches any shape
ephemera
rub ons
(please, only items that you would use yourself not things you would throw away :) )
If you can donate any thing from the list please let me know -

I personally am getting together a great big box and I think my husband will want to kiss Gina for motivating me to do it:) Thank you all for your wonderful and uplifting words yesterday. I am amazed daily at the support and community I feel here. Love you guys!

I Forgot Free Image Tuesday!!!.....

2007-05-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

I added some extras to make up for my mistake:) These are called CDVs and they are about the size of a playing card. There is only one date and it's on the back of the green card with the lady. It says March 1st, 1876. The others are around that time also. The top two photos are from Vermont and the bottom two photos are from New York. I believe the two siblings are both boys! The baby's sash has been colored blue so I am thinking boy. You can tell with the older boy because of his hairstyle and he has a matching fabric "belt" around his waist. I wonder if the little boys hated wearing "dresses" and having their mother's curl their hair? I bet much fussing went on during picture day morning. The older boy is missing a button on his outfit. I can see him throwing a tantrum and trying to get out of his good clothes! LOL!!

I feel...

2007-05-22T14:45:00.000-07:00

I feel like these sweet, old shoes. Worn out, crumpled and dejected. The weekend went as well as it could have so that is a blessing. We traveled to Houston to pick up my Mother-in-law and Father-in-law and then we all traveled to Baton Rouge. My Father-in-law has what we think is Alzheimer's disease. He has no short term memory, but does not seem to comprehend his mental state. He seems to believe he is fine, but he is very short tempered and defensive so I believe he must know it's bad and is scared.
We had to go to his house in Baton Rouge to prepare for his move back to Houston with my Mother-in-law. They are not divorced, but he has worked out of state for the past 12 years. She has been getting ready to consolidate the two households and we needed to pack his house. His overall physical health is terrible (congestive heart failure, fluid around lungs and heart) and he is unable to even walk across the room without being so winded he can't speak.
Part of the mission for the weekend was to get rid of the things that they did not have room for in Houston. He has saved every car magazine he has ever owned since, well forever and there were boxes and boxes and boxes. He thought my husband would want them. But there were so many of them it's just not practical to keep them. They were so heavy we ended up buying a dolly to help cart them out of the house. He has been told we were coming to get the Baton Rouge house ready for weeks, but a few hours before we picked them up in Houston he asked my Mother-in-law why we were coming and if it was to help them decide where the furniture would go upstairs in the Houston house. Needless to say, once in Baton Rouge when he saw his things leaving the house he was not happy. But, I believe he simply felt so bad he had no fight left to fight.
I know they were just magazines, but they were important to him and now I feel terrible and sad. We saved all his model trains and his framed vintage car ads. We saved his hard back books and movie posters. His Fred Astaire posters and his Clark Gable posters. He even had an original "Gone with the Wind" movie poster. We were careful and went through every box. Why do I feel so callous and heartless? The whole situation makes me feel sad for everyone involved. My Mother-in-law is wonderful and handling things very well. We have a hard road ahead with this situation. I'm sorry to write about this, but it does make me feel better. Your sweet comments and support make me feel so blessed also. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Love, Jamie

Tag Swap and I'm Still Alive...

2007-05-17T07:16:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures for the tag swap I participated in over at Tammy's blog. I have never made tags before and it was fun! They are NOT the most polished tags and they are all different lengths and the backs are really ugly. I'll know how to go about it better next time. But, I loved using some of my cuties and copies of my letters from 1854:) I can't wait to see all the ones I get in return. I already have three and when I get all twelve I will take a picture for everyone to see.

I still have an ear infection and I am hoping the antibiotics kick in sometime soon. It has not been a fun week. I am leaving to go out of town tomorrow, so I won't be back on until Monday. My husband's father is not in very good health and we are helping him get ready to move from Baton Rouge to Houston. Wish me luck! Take care all you fabulous ladies!!!!

Late Free Image Tuesday.....

2007-05-15T16:56:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is late. I have been dealing with a sick boy since last week and then today found out I too have an ear infection and upper respiratory infection. Yeah for me!! So here I sit feeling terrible and like I have an ice pick in my ear. Anyhoo, thank you all for your sweet comments and I apologize for not visiting your blogs lately. Give the antibiotics some time to work and then I will be fit as a fiddle.

The image is the front cover of a children's book from 1902 that I recently acquired. I love it and the black and white etchings inside are beautiful. I would have killed to have had that cover picture at Easter time this year. Oh well! There are many more Easters to come:)

Happy Mother's Day!...

2007-05-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

This photo is the spring board for the art piece I made for my mother. I hope she likes it:) Happy Mother's day to all of you!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week....

2007-05-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

Collage made from 1880's school book pages, vintage music pages, mid to late 1800's CDV card and vintage images of children from my collection, painted wooden egg , shredded paper, altered doll house books and vintage skeleton key.

This is the collage I made for the 7 year old's teacher. She is really great and just stern enough to get him motivated. It will be placed in a shadowbox, but I can't get a good picture because of the glass. (edited:Ok, got one ok picture of the shadowbox without the flash). Actually, I can't seem to get a good picture at all, so I posted both. Sorry! I miss teaching. I love staying home with the boys but I do miss the classroom. I miss that one moment that happens during the day where you know in your heart you are connecting with every child, you have their rapt attention and you are getting through. It's a total high.

edited to add: I just saw this at Stash Studios. Please keep this sweet baby in your prayers. I am so sad her family has to go through not knowing what is wrong.

Free Image Tuesday, Commission Piece, Wild Kingdom and Thrift Finds....

2007-05-08T07:58:00.000-07:00

This is my new treasure and I am so very in love with the baby in her mother's arms. This is a full case ambrotype from the mid 1800's. It closes, latches and has the most wonderful detail on the outside of the case. Use the images, but please let me see if you do!! I hope the free images are useful to you.

This piece was commissioned for a new grandboy:) I removed the glass for photo taking purposes.

Check it! I'm a wild life photographer! I have never tried to take any pictures with my macro setting outside and we have this wonderful blooming bush and every evening it is covered with scores of butterflies and bees. The boys could watch it for hours. I love how you can see the pollen grains on the butterfly's tongue. It doesn't take much to make me happy:)

I got these yesterday at Helping Hands. The plates remind me of my grandmother's china service and were a dollar a piece. The brush is old, silver and made with horsehair. I payed 7 dollars, but had to have it:)

Ok, the silverware was in bins marked 10 cents a piece. So, thinking I would get some for assemblage pieces I started looking. All of the knives are stainless, but I did find some old silver plate ones also. Once I got to the spoons I hit the jackpot. All those spoons are almost 100 years old. (I have two more in the car) They are WM Rodgers & Son from 1915. I looked them up on Replacements, Ltd. and the cost to replace each is 17.99. The pattern is called International Hampden (silverplate, 1915) SWEEEETT!!!! I LOVE finding stuff like that! I get such a thrift high:) I think someone needs to fire the silverware sorting person at Helping Hands. Or not:)

Then I found these totally AWESOME 9.5 inch letters in the electronic section. See, it pays to look in every nook and corner. They are iron and so heavy I had to lug them up front to keep until I was done. Best part? 1 dollar a piece. Yes, I was a happy woman yesterday:)

New Art and Tagged....

2007-05-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

Vintage image reprint from my collection, Basic Grey paper, 1891 ledger paper, 1880's German text and Swarovski rhinestones

This is how I feel lately! I have good intentions, but the procrastination just washes over me. I even procrastinated being tagged! How sad is that?! So here it goes:)

Lori tagged me to list my 5 favorite sites in Blogland.

1. My good friend Cheryl over at Stash Studios. She is smart, savvy and a constant source of support and eye candy! She is a magician with fabric and bends it to her will. She also has a studio that I would give my right arm for:)

2. Miss Lori herself at Faerie Window. Her talent with paper mache is outstanding and her attention to detail gives everything she does superior quality. Her generousity and kindness shine.

3. Misty Mawn is an artist whose work never fails to move me. Her paintings are some of the most original and inspired pieces I have ever seen. She gives of herself in her art and also within the art community through her classes and the sharing of her knowledge.

4. Kelli Perkins at Ephemeral Alchemy. She is a artist with many talents and her style and personality are one of a kind. Her fiber art and assemblage pieces are my favorite. I have a new assemblage piece from her and I keep moving it to different places in the house to figure out where I can always see it:)

5. I can't stop at five and I want to include everyone on by sidebar. You can look and see I have many, so I decided to introduce you to some sites you may have never visited before. These folks give me great inspiration and I love to see what they have cooking in the studio.

http://kellyraeroberts.blogspot.com/

http://altereddiva.blogspot.com/

http://joyouslybecoming.typepad.com/

http://otherpeoplesflowers.blogspot.com/

http://croulier.typepad.com/rouliers_rusty_reliques/

http://smalltreasures.blogspot.com/

http://thevintagedragonfly.typepad.com/the_vintage_dragonfly_stu/

Contact Paper Transparency Tutorial....

2007-05-02T04:46:00.000-07:00

A couple of you asked yesterday how I made my wings for the botanical piece, so here is the technique. I am not sure where I first learned this method of making a transparency, but it was either from Somerset Studios magazine or Ms. Claudine Hellmuth's Collage Discovery Workshop book. Both highly recommended by the way:)

Supplies Needed:

laser or toner print of image
clear contact paper
scissors
spoon (or if you are fancy a bone folder:)
bowl with warm water

Step 1 Choose an image that you would like to turn into a transparency. It works well with images that are not too dark. You must make sure that the copy you are using is NOT an ink jet copy, but a laser or toner copy. Ink jet copies do not work with this technique. Believe me, I learned the hard way:) I get mine copied at an office supply store.

Step 2 Cut out your image and cut a piece of transparent contact paper that is slightly bigger.
Step 3 Place the image face down on the sticky part of the contact paper. I then use a spoon ('cause I'm usually in the kitchen) to burnish the back of the image to assure it is completely adhered to the contact paper surface.

Step 4 Place image in a bowl of warm water until the paper is saturated. I leave it until the white paper turns grey.

Step 5 Remove from the water and begin to gently rub and roll the paper off the contact paper with your finger. This takes some time, but don't rush it or rub too hard because you can rub some of the ink off the transferred image. Sometimes once the image has dried there is a white residue visible. Just wet your finger and rub it away.

Step 6 Trim your image and use in your art project. You can glue it down, sew it, use eyelets anything you wish. I glued my wings down yesterday. Easy! You can also use packing tape to make transparencies, but you are limited by it's size. I like the contact paper because it can be sized to fit any image.

Free Image Tuesday...Happy May Day!!!....Artwords Entry #51....

2007-05-01T06:36:00.000-07:00

Here are two tintypes from the mid to late 1800's from my personnal collection. I love how the tintype images were hand-tinted. If you use these please send us a link to your art:)

I received my beautiful May Day basket from sweet Lila. We were joined together in the May Day swap hosted by Kari over at Artsymama. I love it Lila and thank you for the sweet candle and journal. I love the natural papers on the inside. Today is also Lila's oldest daughter's birthday:)

This is my Artwords entry for the botanical theme. I paper pieced all the elements using handmade papers, watercolor paper and scrapbook papers. I made a contact paper transparency for the wings. I think she's supposed to be Mother Nature.

Sweet Mail Surprise....

2007-04-30T07:16:00.000-07:00

Well, what a sweet surprise I received in the mail last week! Thank you so much Colleen! I love everything and the boys love the lollipops:) The tin is lovely and the magnetic frames are perfect for holding ATCs. I already put Early Bird's in one:) The papers are perfect and will be put to good use too! If you haven't had a chance to stop by Colleen's blog, Frostings and Sparkles, please do so, it's very yummy and she has some new eye candy posted!

I really missed everyone last week. I am off to catch up on my comments and I wanted to thank everyone for their sweet comments. They really mean the world to me. Love, Jamie

Artwords Entry #50....Woman...

2007-04-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

He promised her the Moon and the Stars.

I turned the mother image into a transparency and then hand painted the background and cut out flesh toned paper for their faces. I'll need to work on that technique. It is not easy to get it to match exactly. I was messing around with what I wanted to show through on her shirt. I had a grammar primer from 1882 and it had a glossary in the back and "drudgery" was the first word that showed through so I went with that theme. I love the disapproving Mother-in-Law. My husband is very wary of this piece:) No hidden meaning Honey!

I will have my computer time back on Monday. I have really missed you guys and please don't think I am ignoring your sweet comments!

May basket and Free Image Tuesday!......

2007-04-24T03:14:00.000-07:00

Here's a sneak peek at my May basket for the May basket swap over at Artsymama's place. I am not cut out to arrange floral stuff. Or make and tie bows and ribbon. Or cut fabric. I have fussed with this thing until I can't do anymore! Lila honey, I hope this thing gets to you in one piece. Everything is glued down with epoxy, so I hope it makes the trip. I kind of made it into a hidden glen where fairies have fairy tea with fairy sweets. I'm going to put something across the front, but I haven't figured it out yet. I hope this counts, because my first attempts at a "traditional" May basket looked like they were arranged by my three year old! LOL!!!

Since we are so close to Mother's Day I thought I would share a Mother picture. This is a RPPC (Real People Post Card) I love these because they were available to many people who could not afford professional pictures and they show more everyday life than a studio photo. They also represent a time when communication through the mail was the main way families kept in touch. You may use this image as you wish, it is from my personal collection. If you do, please let us know so we can see your creation:) Don't forget, one of the first posts I made I posted a Mother and child photo that would be awesome for Mother's Day too. Go back and grab it too!

New Day.....

2007-04-23T06:49:00.000-07:00

This is the ATC I made for a trade with Early Bird. I love this little girl. I just got her in a batch of photos. I printed her and then used photo pens and hand colored her. I hope you like her, girl!

Make sure you run on over to Lori's blog Faerie Window and sign up for her fabulous giveaway! She has created a one-of-a-kind paper mache lovely named, "Little Miss Spring". Her work is beautiful and very creative. Make sure you leave a comment and good luck to you all!

This week my husband is on vacation, so my computer time will be limited:) Gotta let the man get his geek on!

Perfectly Precious Piggy! and Introducing!.........

2007-04-20T06:49:00.000-07:00

I received my "When Pigs Fly" sculpture from Lori yesterday. I can't begin to tell you the craftsmanship that went into the little fellow (I've decided he is a boy piggy:) He is so detailed and even has the tiniest, cutest curly tail that you don't even see unless you peek down into his nest. It's like a sweet surprise. He has his sweet little wings and his little fancy collar. He sits upon a box covered with ledger paper and German scrap and let me say I have never seen a box covered so well in paper. I don't know what her secret is, but it is flawless. I love the presentation. I love the art. I love the care and time that went into this piece. Thank you Lori. It will be cherished always. Love, Jamie

Also I received an email yesterday from Early Bird and she has made an ATC using the free image I posted last Tuesday. It is wonderfully beautiful and I get to trade it with her:) The coolest thing is she is new to making ATC's, but she has taken to it like a duck in water. She has even started her own craft blog, My Krafty Korner, where she can post her art. You can see the other ATC's she has made there. I am so very proud of her and her new found passion. Great Job Sweetie! Love, Jamie

There Are Good Things Too.......

2007-04-19T06:24:00.000-07:00

I always wonder what people think when they see me pick up their trash. I just can't help myself. I got a sweet card the other day from my friend Lynette in North Carolina. I have never met her, but she wanted to write and thank me. It was our anniversary of sorts. A little over a year ago I was digging in a huge pile of trash. It looked like someone had been evicted and all their stuff had just been put out on the curb. I initially stopped because sitting there was a huge printer's drawer. JACKPOT! So, I pulled over and started looking. I quickly found a photo album. It was a baby album of a little girl who had been born stillborn. It had her birth certificate, a little lock of hair and her sweet footprints. Immediately I knew this was wrong. No one would throw these away intentionally. I dug deeper and found more albums and two more baby books. ( This time sons who had lived) and searched until I could not find any more. I quickly loaded them into the car and went home.

What to do? I looked through every book. I saw the birth of all three of her children. Megan (born still), Colby and Dillon. I knew their names. I saw the boy's first birthdays, their first steps and the love their Mother had for them in her eyes. I saw Lynette get married and her honeymoon. Their family vacations and reunions and day to day life. I thought if this was an eviction then I probably will never find her. So I started looking in Megan's baby book. There were the baby shower pictures, the birth and a few pictures of sweet Megan. Lynette had filled out all the pages as much as she could and then the part where you record the Firsts and beyond was paper clipped closed. It was so sad, but I was thrilled to find she had filled out the family tree.

I decided to start with her father because I knew his last name would not have changed during the years. I looked it up on the Internet, hoping against hope he still lived in North Carolina. There it was plain as day and I called. I awkwardly explained who I was and what I had found and he said Thank you and that he would give Lynette my number. She called back very quickly and was thrilled and angry. She had moved from this area and left her photos with her ex-boyfriend to send at a later time. She had declining health and needed to be close to family and they all lived in North Carolina. She was so grateful. I said yes I have all of them. Megan's, Colby's and Dillon's and I will mail them to you. Then she became very quiet.

"What do you mean?", she said. I repeated it and felt confused. Had I found the wrong person? Then she began to cry. Those WEREN'T the pictures her ex-boyfriend had, but they were hers. She had stored them at a friend's home 10 years (now 11) ago and when they had a falling out the friend told her that she had thrown them all away. Lynette was devastated. All the records and pictures of the children gone forever. She never even told the boys (now teenagers) and she dreaded the day when they would ask about them. And Megan. The few pictures in her book were the only photos Lynette had ever had of her. She had resigned herself to only her memory of the short time she had when she was born. It was heartbreaking for her. The only thing we can figure is the friend did NOT throw them away, but later divorced and her husband threw them out. We probably will never know, but the important thing is they found their way home.

Lynette and I have formed a bond over the phone and she sends birthday cards to the boys and writes sweet letters to me. I felt like I knew so much about her from the albums even before I ever talked to her. Now when we talk she will say remember when I was in Florida (referring to the photos) and say yes and it goes from there. I have her memories too. Her children's childhood's forever in my mind. And sweet Megan and Lynette's grief. It is so important to preserve the past. Keep your memories alive. I feel like we do that in our art.

If you have made it this far, thank you for sticking with me. Below is the newspaper article the Fayetteville Observer ran about our story:)

April 1, 2006
Precious mementos
Section: Local & State Jennifer Calhoun
By Jennifer Calhoun
Staff writer
It had been 10 years since Lynette Poston had seen pictures of her stillborn daughter, Megan.
She thought the pictures, like her child, were gone forever.
But that changed when Poston, 38, who lives in Fayetteville, received a phone call in mid-March from a Texas woman named Jamie Miller.
Miller, 37, said she'd found a box of baby books and photo albums on the side of the road and believed the mementos belonged to Poston.
"I was confused at first," said Poston, who had lived in Dallas for 20 years and believed the albums had been thrown out by an estranged friend 10 years earlier.
"I had already grieved the loss of those things," she said.
Including, she said, the loss of the only pictures of her stillborn daughter.
Poston had left Dallas six months earlier to be closer to her family in Fayetteville because of her health problems.
Poston was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor about eight years ago.
Miller, a former teacher and stay-at-home mom from Removed for privacy, Texas, spied the pictures while driving near her neighborhood. The antiques lover saw an old pressman's table left on the curb. Next to it sat a box full of photo albums and baby books.
"I knew no mother in her right mind would throw those away," Miller said. "To me, it looked like someone was being evicted, and I didn't want that stuff to be thrown away."
After rescuing the box, Miller decided to go through the items to find out who the albums belonged to.
But what she found was a large portion of Poston's life.
"She was a total stranger, but I felt like I already knew her," Miller said.
"She had pictures of her wedding, pictures of her in childbirth, her children's first birthdays and even locks of her children's hair."
When Miller saw the photos of the stillborn daughter, she cried.
"It broke my heart. (Poston) just seemed so young to have to go through that."
Soon after, Miller found a phone number on the Internet for Poston's father, Larry, who was mentioned in the albums as living in Fayetteville.
After receiving the call, Larry Poston passed on the strange message to his daughter.
"I probably said 'Oh my God' about 10 times," Lynette Poston said. "(Miller) wouldn't even let me pay for the postage. She told me I'd suffered enough."
At the time, Miller didn't know about Poston's illness.
Instead, she says, she was moved by the meticulous way Poston had recorded the lives of her children.
"I just think that since I became a mom, I realize how fast time goes," Miller said.
"Once it's gone, it's gone. All you have left is what you record. If you don't have that, all you have are your memories."
Poston and Miller have become friends since their first contact three weeks ago, talking on the phone for hours at a time and laughing uproariously.
Poston believes the best thing to come out of the situation is Miller's friendship.
"I feel blessed right now, regardless of health problems," she wrote in a thank-you letter to Miller.
"I now have someone special to share these memories with, too."
Contributed photos
Staff photo pages 1A and 4A by David Smith
All archives are stored on a library system from NewsBank Media Services.

Even Husbands Can Be Crafty!....

2007-04-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

Meet the Hanes Bunny! My husband watched the kids while I was at the store and he fashioned this out of the 7 year old's dirty socks. Niiiice, Honey. Anyhoo, he said they played with it for about 45 minutes. Think of all the money we could have saved at Christmas time! If I had only known they wanted dirty sock animals I could have hooked them up! LOL!!! After I took this picture the 7 year old insisted on sleeping with it. Next time, I'll take the kids with me.

PS-Thanks for all the sweet thoughts for MY Bunny Boy! He seems to feel better today AND he slept through the night. YEAH for me!!!!

Collage using vintage photo reprint, vintage text, acrylics, charcoal, stamps, magazine cutouts and sumi ink.

Trash-Tastic!!!!!

2007-04-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

Today was Bulk Trash day in my hometown. We have them twice a month. Twice!!! A Month!!!! You can set out ANYTHING (refrigerators and other broken appliances) and the trashmen haul it off for you. It rocks. Well, not according to my husband, but anyhoo...

I figured I'd put this out pretty early into the blog just so everyone understands upfront how strange I am and can trim their links accordingly! LOL!! I don't "do" every bulk trash day, but sometimes I just know when it's the right time to go. (trash ESP?) Then you can find me driving up and down the streets looking in everyone's trash like a crazy baglady. I'm the same way with garage sales. I can pass 50, but be totally drawn to the next and I always find something cool. Today was one of those days. Here are the thrown away treasures I found:

I love those suitcases!! I love the labels also. There is another one on the smaller suitcase that says, "President Hotel- Bangkok, Thailand. How cool is that!!? The jewerly I found in a little basket that I didn't photogragh. The necklace is real gold baby! All of the gift bags have never been used and how cute is that Bunny bag? Score! Nothing like free stuff:) Are you embarrassed yet Mama? LOL!

Weird.....

2007-03-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

My Mother at 2 and 11 and my Jar Faery

Am I crazy or do they really look alike? Something has been nagging me all day and I finally went and pulled out all the pictures of my Mom when she was growing up and now I know I felt weird because the faery looked familiar to me! Right now my Mom is saying, "No Jamie, you are just plain weird!" Love you Mom! I was drawn to the jar faery and there were several to choose from at the time. Now I think I know why! Do you see it or am I really just sleep deprived from a sick baby and too little caffeine?

It's Time!! It's Time!!!

2007-03-21T17:53:00.000-07:00

I have had such a wonderful time this week . Thank you for all your kind comments. I hope we can do this again real soon!

Here is everyone's names ready to go. I did get you in Nici, but I must admit it was not typed nicely but written in my chicken scratch:)

!

Shaky, Shaky, Shaky!

And the winners are......

Kelli won prize 1 ( the ephemera) and Tammy won prize 2!!!!! I will contact you both for your mailing address.

What did Tammy win? Yummy Eastery Goodness. I dyed the tags in vanilla coffee and they smell so good! I hope it's ok!

A Mother's Love.....

2007-03-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

This photo is from my personnal collection. Feel free to use it any way you wish. I love that they look so content and happy. If you do use it make sure to send me a link. I would love to see what wonderful creations you make! I am in the middle of making eggs. Don't know what to do with them yet, but I seem to be a little obsessed with them lately:) My mom sent some love through the mail yesterday. She makes beautiful jewerly and she made two new necklaces for me with stones that look like bird's eggs. She's my touch stone.