In Honor of the Seuss :) Happy Late Birthday!

[Via: 30 Dr. Seuss Quotes to Live By]

I certainly should have posted this on March 2nd, Dr. Seuss' actual birthday, but I just found it today :).
Great quotes for scrapbooking, journaling, inspiration. Thought for today?
#7 Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So ... get on your way!
And have a great day!

Digital Journaling

Thanks to Pinterest, I now have an interest in journaling. This has in turn led me towards digital journaling.
Kali has been helping me get started. This was the first piece I made.

It was followed by this one.

This one came about following a debate tournament. We encourage the students to honor God
in their competition, to be a light to those around them.

This one came about as I was posting pictures of that tournament on facebook. I was actually posting a shoe album :)
and thought this was the perfect scripture to accompany those shots.

The simplest one so far.
I'm having a great time figuring this out. Now, if I could just get this zentangle thing down, I'd be in good shape - hahaha!

Easy-to-Make Desktop Collage

Want to make a desktop collage to run as your computer wallpaper, but don't know how?
Recently, I received a newsletter from Scrap Girls which gave simple step-by-step instructions to making a desktop collage.
I used photos from a family photo shoot and compiled this collage. Nothing fancy, nothing hard to do.
Just an opportunity to give this family something beautiful to look at every time they sit down at their computer.

For myself, I used photos I had taken at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando.
To make your own desktop collage, check out Scrap Girls here: http://www.scrapgirls.com/NL/SG_News_120202_Thu_Collage.html
You need to scroll about halfway down into the article. Scrap Girls sends out a daily email, if you are interested,
with digital scrapbooking tips, examples, instructions, and they even have a store.
Have fun making your desktop collage!

TOMS: One For One Campaign

I'm sure you've most likely heard of Toms. If not, let me enlighten you. Kali and I are currently in Orlando, enjoying festivities leading up to her high school graduation tomorrow. Last night, we went to Downtown Disney to walk around (and buy jelly bellies for me and yellow bananas for Mark.) At the surf shop, we noticed a rack of Toms shoes and went over to check them out. 

There was this really nice lady named Sasha hand-painting designs on some Toms at a side table. Kali found a pair of jade Toms that she wanted. They had a denim pair that I wanted but the only pair they had was a size 5. I don't remember ever wearing a size 5 shoe, although I probably did when I was like ten or something. Anyway, I started talking with Sasha, she complimented the feather shirt I was wearing, one thing led to another, and a short while later I left with the peacock feathered shoes on the right. 

I posted this same picture on my facebook page and left this comment with the question, which pair do you believe belong to the teenager. Got some great comments on that post! Such fun! I'm wearing my new shoes now, and they are sooooooo comfortable.

For those of you who don't know what Toms are, they are a company that donate one pair of shoes to a needy child for every pair you buy. They match it - one for one. I've been wanting a pair of Toms for a long time, so glad that I finally have a pair. A really cool pair! And the best part? Sasha sold another pair because a customer saw mine and loved them! You can check out Toms and sign up for their newsletter at www. toms.com.

Hoggetown Medieval Faire, 2011

My children and I have always loved going to the medieval faire as it rolls through town each year. Personally, I love all the costumes and pageantry, but I really enjoy seeing all the people that come to the faire in costume. For some, it's a magical day.

Once we got inside, we were drawn to the beat of the music, four men and one woman beating away on drums and playing a bagpipe, as if their lives depended on it. They had drawn a large crowd - the pounding of the drums was almost hypnotic as it pulled us in.

There were a lot of interesting characters throughout the park. I found it funny that even though they were dressed in period costumes, many of them also wore sunglasses - haha!

I was also amazed at how many of them didn't have all their teeth!

There were also beautiful ladies on horseback. Isn't the horse beautiful as well? Just needs a slight trim on those bangs. Poor baby!

Wandering minstrels . . .

. . . including this one. Her music was beautiful!

And she very kindly posed for me :) so I was happy! There were only about a couple hundred photographers there, so I was pleased!


I totally took this photo for Phil and Devin - the two best jugglers I know! Actually, I took about 6 pictures, but people kept walking in front of my camera, so I just gave up. Sorry, guys!

This was your basic gypsy lady. One who didn't want her face in the picture.

And then a couple peddlar/gypsies that didn't mind having their picture taken. (Actually, I loved her horse! Where can I get one? No feeding, no mucking, no brushing, no worming, you get the idea.)

I love me a good dragon story! So of course I was drawn to these wonderful dragons!

I liked the way they were holding things in their hands.

And there were lots of beautiful things to look at, enjoy, and buy if you wanted to.

I loved these little oil bottles. Just didn't have a need for one. Too bad.

And let me just tell you, Kali has had a few of these over the years!

The Hoggetown Medieval Faire will be held again next weekend. So, if you haven't been yet, you should go! It's definitely worth the trip and the time!

Local Art Show - Part 2

This is a sampling of the some of the incredible pieces of art on display this weekend. Mannekin hands, fluffy feathers, and pvc pipe not taken into account.

This lady made beautiful glass catchers. She had many where she used a glass ashtray in the center of the piece. I didn't get photos of those because she looked like she was going to ask me to leave . . . so I did.

These were fantastic! Did your kids (or you) ever have any of the scratch art sets? Black paper you would scratch on with a sharp stick and it would remove the black and show you fantastic color underneath? You would literally scratch pictures onto the black paper. That is basically what this is and it was called Scratch Art. The jellyfish on the right is the piece of art the association chose to put on front of their commemorative black t-shirts for the event. I included the octopus in my collage at the front of this post.

This lady used little bits of pottery, stones, glass, shells, leaves, and beads to make these collages. A bright, lovely booth! I enjoyed it a lot!

The artist at this table was Larry Schorfhaar, a 79-year-old award winning wood-worker from Ocala, Florida. He hand-crafted all the instruments at this table. He sat in his chair, playing a dulcimer as I took several photos of his crafts. Mr. Schorfhaar had a kind, gentle smile for me as he played. (He didn't glare at me like some of the others, which I greatly appreciated :). This also allowed me to get some decent photos - which I also appreciated.)



I was most impressed with this workmanship. Not that I know anything at all. No expert here, obviously, I had to google to make sure I spelled dulcimer right. His instruments were beautiful works of art and I was greatly impressed with the love that was apparent in every piece. I enjoyed my hour at the art show. I may have to go back again next year!

Local Art Show - Part 1

This weekend, a nearby city is having a serious art show. Not your typical arts and crafts show like we have here in our smaller community, but a full-fledged honest-to-goodness art show. So, what did I see there? Well, these two photos are of my favorite find at the art show :).

So sweet! Just walking around talking to people, and believe me - a lot of people wanted to talk to this lady!

Now, no offense to the artist, but this was by far and away the ugliest thing I've seen lately. At the art show - or anywhere else. I don't get the point. At all. If there is one.

Mannekin hands, feathers, and pvc pipes. Art? I think not. It's almost an insult to the serious artists that were there. More pictures to come in Part 2. Pictures of some serious artistry.