It’s the second day of a four-day weekend and I’m sitting here, in my art room, staring at a mixed media canvas in process. READ THE ENTIRE POST…
“Wish” by Beth McCurdy, Somerset Studio Magazine March/April 2013, Beth’s blog http://puretoken.wordpress.com/
Here’s a few tips on how to photograph flowers and then alter the images with Photoshop to create a soft, romantic mood. READ THE ENTIRE POST…
I am a daughter most blessed, to have such a wonderful mother by birth…
and a mother via marriage…READ THE ENTIRE POST…
If you’re looking for a creative gift, try making a mixed media collage using photos of your loved ones.
I created this first mixed media, “Forever,” using a background of acrylic paints, lace, vintage-style tissue paper, and Golden Gel Medium. READ THE ENTIRE POST…
There are those gifted with wings, mighty successes that soar on currents of notoriety, and then there are freedom walkers, people who live with both feet on the ground, those who stumble through the ordinary.
We freedom walkers cheer for American idol contestants while our guitars sleep in coffin-like cases, tucked away in closets.
We sing to modest audiences, shampoo bottles perched on soapy ledges that hug shower walls.
We work hard and long, and steal artistic time like famished thieves snatching loaves of fresh-baked bread.
Although we long for powerful promises fulfilled to lift us above the average, few will ever know our names or celebrate our crafts or adorn our graves with flowers.
Yet, we help other little feet find their way.
The allure of seeking success in and of itself is our Achilles heel, the intoxicating potion that unravels reasoning, the kiss of death to pure desires.
So we work at the fine art of sipping slowly from notoriety’s cup to keep our minds from swelling and our feet from stumbling. READ THE ENTIRE POST…
Often unexpected circumstances take us where we do not want to go. Yet the resulting blessings of acceptance form a beautiful bouquet of complimentary colors—a mixture of divine will and human surrender.
Recently, I wrestled with acceptance of a situation that was causing me consternation; I was challenged to trust God during a directional change I was not prepared to take. I wanted to scream, “Wait, Lord, I’m not ready to move on.”
Then an unexpected comment appeared on my blog:
“Hi, I found your website by looking for a picture of a tree by a river. The picture you took of a willow tree by the river is what came up.
Would you be willing to allow us to print a 17 X 22 copy of that photo for use in our church for one year?
I would like to include a Bible verse – Jeremiah 17:7-8 – with it and hang it in the church. One of our themes for this year is trusting the Lord and this is exactly the picture that Jeremiah gives of a person who places his trust in God…”
(The Tree of Life and the Hidden Element)
When I read this request and then looked up the scripture, Jeremiah 17:7-8, I knew a spiritual message had come my way:
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord.
“For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.
Here’s a delightful diy project for making a floral arrangement using coral roses, snapdragons, ranunculus, baby hydrangeas, and red tip bush trimmings.
Masterful artisan and floral designer, Belinda Scheurich, co-owner of Buds in a Vase (and my delightful sister-in-law) demonstrates how to make an elegant floral that will brighten up your kitchen and serve as a focal point for any event.
Step 1: Slice oranges and put them into a tall vase. Next, put floral foam into a square container that fits snuggly into the top of the vase. Belinda snipped filler from my red tip bush to start her arrangement. READ THE ENTIRE POST..
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