It's Photographic Friday - but a little late...

We had an extremely busy weekend so I'm sorry this is late! Just a couple of lovely photos to remind everyone of why we love summer:)

Hope you are all having a happy and safe summer! Blessings.

The Joy of Summer Colors.

One of my girls favorite things to do in the summer is to paint rocks. Where ever we go - they collect rocks, bring them home then paint them all kinds of glorious colors.

Some of the rocks find their way to different craft projects around the house, or they might decorate the patio, or become jewels in secret treasure boxes...

They also end up as fairy furniture in the fairy garden down at my parent's camper. With their unabashed use of color in mind, I started to work on another collaged picture frame. This one is in shades of blue and purple.

I will post more pictures as this gets finished. In the mean time, what are your favorite colors of summer?

Being Inspired- Journal Frames

Last week the girls and I spent a day in Chagrin Falls, Ohio visiting my cousin Colleen.



Chagrin Falls is a unique east side town (east of Cleveland) with a beautiful waterfall running right through it. We had a lot of fun seeing the waterfalls, feeding the geese, and exploring the many gift shops that line the streets of the downtown area.




One of the shops had a number of hand painted wooden picture frames for sale. The colors were splendid and very inspiring. For days after our visit I thought about those frames. Finally I decided I needed to try my hand at making my own...




Here is my completed version of a collaged picture frame. I used a wooden frame and painted it black. Then I got down to the fun stuff of collaging; old ledger paper, tissue paper, paint, inks, stamps, etc. I then drew the flowers on watercolor paper, cut them out and adhered them to the frame. I have to say I am quite pleased with the way it turned out and I have already started work on another one. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend:)

Photographic Friday...

My sister lives about a half hour drive from me, and she lives across the street from Lake Erie. The girls and I spent an evening with her and my neice one night last week...

The sand was warm, the lake was calm, and many people were out enjoying the end of the day. It was a perfect picture taking opportunity...

We all enjoyed splashing on the shore looking for beach glass. Not much glass was found so we headed up to the rose garden...

Lakeview Beach has a long history; about five years ago the Lorain County Metro Parks took it over and started massive renovations. One of those renovations included the saving of an English rose garden that had been around since 1936. The garden encompasses about two acres and hundreds of varieties of heirloom roses, all carefully tended to by dedicated volunteers. It's a beautiful place.

Finally - I have actually been creating these last couple of weeks. I have a cousin in the hospital in Cleveland so we have been back and fourth a lot recently. Here is a peek at something I am almost finished with. I am very excited about it and will post pictures of the completed project tomorrow. Have a Blessed weekend!

Photographic Friday...

With Andrew being out of town I have not gotten as much creating finished as I would have liked. I have however, had the opportunity to play with my watercolor pencils. They are very fun - I created this little flower grouping for a mason jar lid. I filled the jar with some home made granola and gave it to my cousin as a gift.

Summer has finally arrived! Around here that means hot humid days where we spend a lot of time outside. The girls love to be out in nature exploring all that it has to offer.

Summer also means that it is ballet recital time. They have worked hard all year to put on their best performances. Hope you are having a wonderful summer too!

Photographic Friday...

Because Andrew was out of town, the girls and I didn't have any big plans for Memorial Day. We did however, visit a new conservatory/greenhouse at the Lorain County Metroparks. Lots of rare orchids and dessert plants. I saw this urn of flowers resting near an exit door and I really loved it's look.

Of course we had to find species of plants and flowers that were purple for Alexa, as this stunning orchid above.

I'm not sure what the name of this plant is, but for obvious reasons Fiona fell in love with it, pink is after all her favorite color. I am always so amazed at the extroidinary artistry of Mother Nature.

Isn't it great how the best things are found right in your own backyard? Or in this case looking out our front window! This was the sun trying to squeeze itself into our living room at the end of the day, before it settled in for its' evening sleep. What wonderful things have you seen today?

Squeezing in the time...

My hubby is out of town for the next two weeks. I'm not complaining, as he only travels about once a year, sometimes once every two years. When he is gone, however, it means that I have very little time for myself...

I've been fortunate the last couple of days and have been able to squeeze in some time after the girls go to bed. This is a picture of Fiona, Alexa, and my niece Giada. My mother loves this picture so once I am finished embroidering it I'm going to give it to her:)

I was also able to squeeze in a little bit of time for some doodling. I have a set of watercolor pencils that I have been wanting to experiment with...

Hopefully I will have some time to color this in and paint it before the week is over! Isn't it amazing how much we appreciate time when we have so little of it? Have a Blessed and cool week. It reached 95 here in northern Ohio today! Nothing like going right from winter to summer:)