Neil Gaiman video and quote for the New Year

Here is a quote from Neil Gaiman.

It is my wish for all.

"May your coming year be filled with magic

and dreams

and good madness.

I hope you read some fine books,

and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful,

and don't forget to make some art -

write or draw or build or sing
or live as only you can.
And I hope,
somewhere in the next year,
you surprise yourself."

- Neil Gaiman

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Savor the day!

Yvonne

Dried Oranges

It's been awhile since I've dried fruit of any kind,

but when I was reminded of it by Kimmie

on one of her lovely posts at

Art in Red Wagons

I decided to try my hand at it again.

I strung them up and hung them on my patio.

They look lovely in the sunshine!

They remind me of stained glass.

I just took some ribbon

and did some quick weaving in and out of each slice.

I had a total of 40+ slices from one bag or oranges.

You could do different things with dried orange slices...
for Christmas you could

put glitter on them and hang as tree ornaments, or

glue to a wreath (like Kimmie's beautiful wreath).

I thought of hanging the swag at my kitchen window also....
anytime of the year.

 We've had some wonderful weather these past few weeks,

and even got some rain.

Maybe I'll dry some apples next!

Hope your holidays have been merry
and I hope you all have a Happy New Year!

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Chrysanthesum Tea

Happy tea day!

This is the last of my posts,

for this year,

  joining in on Kimmie's Tea on Tuesday .

How time flies!

It's been an exciting year for tea.

I've tried all kinds of new teas,

received tea gifts,

and made some new tea friends.

To read some of my past tea tuesday posts,

just go to labels in my sidebar

and click on Tea on Tuesday.

This morning I'm having a

Chrysanthemum Tea Drink,

or Tra Hoa Cuc...

made by Yeo's out of Singapore.

It is an authentic Asian drink

found in a 10 oz. can at my local grocer.

It's actually pretty good.

I heated it in the microwave and poured it into my

small lidded, hand painted,

made in China cup,

that I found while thrifting this year.

I love lemon with tea,  and is sweetened with sugar cane.

Lemon will actually help preserve

the flavinoids found in tea.

To read more interesting facts on tea,

a buyers guide and steeping tips,

click here....

http://www.eatingwell.com/healthy_cooking/healthy_cooking_101/shopping_cooking_guides/tea_buyers_guide_and_steeping_tips

I look forward to many more tea days with you.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

What words make you think of Yellow? inchie

I can hardly believe the

Every Inchie Monday Project

is over for this year.
This is the very last inchie for this project.

The prompt word for this last week is

YELLOW.
These are words given to watercolor paints.

What words do you think of when you think of yellow?

Sherwin Williams came up with these...

...full moon

...butter up

...june day

...bee

...decisive yellow

...cheerful

...lantern light

...lemon chiffon

and more.

Vi sit Kris to see what is happening!

http://everyinchiemonday.blogspot.com/

As for me,

and my inchies,

 I have already put them into an art piece...all 52 of them.
I actually finished all of my inchies in September
and created the piece called WORDS.
 It was in my head from the get go.
Some of you may have seen it,
but if  you haven't you can go here...
http://inkspillersattic.blogspot.com/2011/09/words-inchies-and-art.html#links

It's been great fun Kris!

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

The Creative Personality

creative (syn)

 imaginative, ingenious,

original, resourceful, clever,

inventive, innovative, mystical

This was taken from Webster's Thesaurus.

 You may want to read this article called

The Creative Personality

by David Lyman

 After you read the article

 let me know which one describes you the most.

I think the one that says,

"Creative people don't mind being lost"

fits me the best.  LOL

It's wonderful to have creative friends isn't it.

This past week I have received 2 creative gifts

from friends.

My friend Lana sent this wonderful notebook to me....

red, black, white fabric/ribbon collage...love it!

The word FRIEND,

and the word timeless

and its definition on front as well.

Vintage button and lace.

The feather is a very nice touch,

since I love feathers.

The heart is poly clay.

 That's fabric on the inside covers...

with words such as authentic,

simple, pure, timeless, and real...

along with the definition for each.

I love it, thanks Lana!

I may put my collection of quotes in it.

From the article, I always see Lana

(who is an amazing fiber artist and poet) in this....

"Creative people see things, where others do not."

You can see her work here...

http://lanasthreadsandmusings.blogspot.com/

My friend Karen gave me one of her bottle creations.

This is her best yet!

Karen saw that I have some Day of the Dead art

in my home, so she created a little art doll
for this Dio de los Muertos creation.

 

What is so cool about it is that she made the doll from poly clay

and used wire for the little legs,

and put it inside the bottle!  Too cool!

 Then she adds different things like old jewelry (for some bling of course),

vintage buttons etc.

The bottle is covered with black lace,

(leaving a window to see in of course),

then in the top is animal print sheer fabric

with a vintage cross jewelry pendant

on top of that.

I love it Karen, thank you!

From the article, I see Karen in this....

"Creative people are not content with the obvious."

Karen is so full of creativity that

her whole house is filled with her own unique,

beautiful, repurposed furniture and decor.

She is very special and always makes people smile!

I am so happy both of these creative women are in my life.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Winter Solstice

"From mid to end of December is the darkest time of the year.

Like our gardens our own animal natures begin drawing us inward,

we take refuge in layers of warm clothing,

 hot tea and darkened rooms

 brightened by candles and working fireplaces.

We may even feel wistful and contemplative

 as outer "sight" slips mysteriously into inner "insight"

and we take stock of what is passing

and what is possibly coming towards us,

just not yet here or fully visible.

This is winter solstice! "

---Eileen Lawlor (behavorial therapist)

Here is a beautiful Native American flute song titled

Winter Solstice

by Rona Yellow Robe

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Tea unplugged

Happy Tea on Tuesday everyone!

I've had my sister visiting all last week,
and we've been out of town off and on
 for Christmas visiting.

I really needed to take a break

from blogging, taking photos,

 and even my art.

Sometimes you just have to unplug

from all your normal routines.

While my sister was here I did take one photo

for today's post.

We had lunch one day at

Hester's Cafe and Coffee Bar.

My tea was called

Kauai Cocktail Tea.

'BERRY' delicious!

During this holiday season I hope you have a chance

to get unplugged, enjoy each other more,
go see Christmas lights,
and sing songs of the season.
You don't have to be focused on getting just the right photo
of all the events that take place.

Just commit all the wonderful moments

to memory, and....

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

What words make you think of green? inchie

Words for green are wonderful!
These are words given to colors in a watercolor palette.

Not only in watercolors but in

paint colors from places like

Sherwin Williams have great words for colors.

Here are just a few 'green' color words...

...center stage

...envy

...festival green

...spirited green

...workout green

...jitterbug jade
...dancing green
...lacewing
...grasshopper
...espalier
...eco green
...Kilkenny

and more.

What's your word for green?

This inchie and 51 others I made

are in one piece called
WORDS..
Click here to see it...
http://inkspillersattic.blogspot.com/2011/09/close-ups-of-words.html

The year long project of inchie art can be seen here....
http://everyinchiemonday.blogspot.com/

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

What words make you think of blue? inchie

These are words given to colors in a watercolor palette.
Blue is one of my favorite colors.

For the month of December,

the Every Inchie Monday prompt words

are colors.

This week the word is

BLUE.

I am sticking with the theme of

paint words used for colors.

Not only watercolor paints,

but Sherewin Williams paint colors.

For blue I found ...

...bewitching blue

...blue beyond

...dazzle

...hyacinth tint

... nautilus

...aviary blue

...carefree

...bubble

and more.

What's your word for Blue?

This inchie and 51 others I made

are in one piece called
WORDS..
Click here to see it...
http://inkspillersattic.blogspot.com/2011/09/close-ups-of-words.html

The year long project of inchie art can be seen here....
http://everyinchiemonday.blogspot.com/

Savor the day!

Yvonne

Wise old owl tea

The wise old owl sat on an oak,

the more he saw the less he spoke,

the less he spoke the more he heard,

why aren't we like that wise old bird?

We have a great horned owl who visits our backyard

quite often, and I spied him again this morning.

 Happy Tea on Tuesday everyone!

Since I haven't been able to photograph my local owl

when he visits, I thought I would show you

 my new little snowy owl ornament I bought.

My DH and I will be putting up the tree tonight,

and he will be this years addition.

Isn't he cute!!!

 I'm having Egyptian Mint green tea today by

Zhena's gypsy tea and I'm enjoying it

in my 'snowman with birds' mug I found last year

(while thrifting of course).

I hope you are having a good day.
We finally got some cooler weather again,
down to the 50's.  But still no rain for us here...
it got close, but never made it this far south.

Glad you stopped in, and to read more tea posts

visit Kimmie at

http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/

Kimmie also has lots of great creations in her Etsy shop.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

What words make you think of red? inchie

These are names for colors in a watercolor palette.

This weeks inchie is for the prompt word

RED.

I love color!

I also love the names given to colors.

I was looking through Sherwin Williams paint colors

 and this is what I found for reds.

...cherry tomato

...gypsy red

...heartthrob

...fireworks

...real red

...stop

...ablaze

...positive red

 What's your word for red?

This inchie and 51 others I made
are in one piece called
WORDS..
Click here to see it...
http://inkspillersattic.blogspot.com/2011/09/close-ups-of-words.html

The year long project of inchie art can be seen here....
http://everyinchiemonday.blogspot.com/

 

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

PPF Christmas Angel

Happy PPF!

This is my mixed media Christmas angel.

I love doing my angels on hymnal pages,

book pages, or watercolor paper.

I usually add acrylics, and also quotes

that I print out on paper.

I use stencils quite often in the background.

She is a full size watercolor sheet.

I named it,

To Live in this World...

From Mary Olivers quote,

"To live in this world,

you must be able to do three things:

 to love what is mortal

to hold it against your bones

knowing your own life depends on it

and

when the time comes

 to let it go,

 to let it go."

Savor the Day!

Yvonne