"Sunday And The Livin Is Easy, With Some Major Randomness Thrown In"

Awakened this morning to sunshine and birdsong..

The Mr off golfing

The son off to work

My faithful pup curled on the blanket beside my bed..

I open my eyes, stretch these old bones of mine, glance down as my pup looks up at me delighted with my waking, stretching herself with a big yawn..

We climb out of our resting spots, the both of us meander our way down the hall towards the coffee...hmm...I look down and inquire of her, "well girl, should it be regular pot this morning or the delightful treat of the French press?"

As she sits waiting beside me she looks up with that adoring look only a most faithful devoted canine friend can bestow..no decision on her part...

Deciding myself upon the regular pot, much quicker, and admittedly I am feeling a bit lazy this morning..

We wait her and I...I think the coffee pot is quite like the pot of boiling water...just sits there if you stare at it..

Off we go for moments of morning necessities..

Ahhh..the smell of a brewed pot of loveliness..

Mug in hand, pup traipsing behind, out we go for a bit of patio pondering on such a lovely day...

New projects to ponder...

Starting with this...

Now that the sun has come out, tomorrow shall bring a trip to my favorite garden store "Judy's Enchanted Garden" for a bit of flowery color and on to the hardware store for a few pots to paint and fill..

And then I dream of, as I swing peacefully, this beautiful patio..

I think I must dream of something like this...

including those incredible doors...I do however worry about the rain..will have to continue to ponder that a bit..maybe a large patio umbrella like a red one..such a lovely daydream to start ones morning time!


I so however have a great umbrella now but its that ugly hunter green color..I wonder if you can paint them successfully...? A red or brown background with lots of flowers or something would be fun..like this maybe..

So cute...I think I would paint the outside Brown and the underside like this..that way it could be seen..ok now I'm totally lovin this daydream..

Now.

What to do, what to do..

dishes...na

dusting...na

sweeping...maybe

laundry...certainly

reading...most certainly

a bit of painting...YES, my gosh that's it..

One mug consumed and I toddle off to my brushes and paint..

a few pics of the things I have been working on today..

 A new canvas I am working on for my Angel Daughter...

Of course I really need to get this poor little angel girl some hair and a face would be nice too...a work in progress..

A work in progress for the "Perry Street Fair" I will be a part of in July..

This first week of the new www.bravegirlsclub.com

Soul Restoration II Class

One of our assignments was to decorate a recipe box...its nots quite done yet...but I think its pretty darn cute..

And lastly I started painting my new Art Journal for the class as well..

far from done..just started..

Well that is about it for today's randomness..
What an absolutely wonderful Sunday!


Blessings Always
Val

"Whew I've Been Busy, But Lovin It"

Wow...where have I been?

Well, to be honest, I have been inhabiting an incredible parallel universe!  Has she finally gone over the edge you might be asking yourself..?

In a way yes...over the edge into the bliss of Christy Tomlinson's

I have been completely immersed in this incredible class..

So many incredible teaching videos..

So many amazing techniques..

Sooooooo many ideas floating around in this little red head of mine..

I have been in heaven, feeling strong and productive, peaceful and  content...

And here are a few recent creations that landed on the paper of my ART JOURNAL..!!

The beginning...

Still have some more journaling to put on this one...but I absolutely adore it!!

Love, Love, Love this cutie pie!!! Makes me so happy just looking at it!!

And this one too!!!  The day I did both of these was such a fun day..

What a crappy picture...oh Val you silly girl, didn't you see that awful glare..

anyway..this was a really cool class..Christy taught us how to mix texture medium with paint and then use stencils or pretty much anything you like, adding incredible texture to your page...so what I actually did was mix gel medium with Liquitex Ink...I then obviously filled butterfly stencils..and embedded the buttons into it..when dry they are all shiny and bumpy and so cool!!!

I love this page...

The day I created this page I had the luxury of laying down for a rest mid afternoon...outside the sounds of lawns being mowed and sweet little birds happily singing from the tree outside my bedroom window lulled me to such a wonderful, peaceful sleep.

There is that darn glare again..!!

My husband absolutely loves this page..I created it by using a darling bird stencil I bought from Christy's store 

www.scarletlime.com

The stencil is from "Crafter's Workshop"

I used two small paintbrushes and brown and green chalk ink from "Color Box" to fill in the birds, branches and leaves to create the background...I think it turned about quite pretty...

So much fun for me...

I have loved every lesson, loved every new idea and

Absolutely loved this class with all my HEARTS!!!

Thank you Christy for teaching me more than you will ever know...

"Whats for Dinner Tonight?"

This recipe has graciously been shared by "The Neelys" care of Food Network

Stuffed Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 Vidalia onion, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 slices pepper jack cheese, cut from an 8-ounce block
• 1 beefsteak tomato, sliced into 3/4-inch thick rounds
• Olive oil
• 4 large onion buns or rolls
• Spicy Mayo Sauce, recipe follows
• Lettuce

Directions

Preheat grill over medium-high heat.

Add the garlic, onion, turkey, mustard, soy sauce, and salt and pepper, to taste, to a large mixing bowl. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Divide the turkey into 8 equal-sized balls and flatten them into patties. Lay 2 slices of cheese on 4 of the patties and cover each with another patty. Pinch the edges to seal the patties closed, so the cheese will not melt out.

*Cook's Note: With your finger, press down on the center of the patty. This will keep the juices locked in and prevents the burger from puffing up.

Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper, to taste, and brush with olive oil. Grill for 2 minutes per side. Remove from the grill to a plate. Toast the buns on the grill and set aside.

Grill the burgers until cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer the burgers to the buns and top with Spicy Mayo Sauce, lettuce and grilled tomatoes.

Spicy Mayo Sauce:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons hot chili sauce (recommended: Sriracha)
• 1/2 lime, juiced

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.

Baked Beans

Generously shared by:

last but certainly not least

MELONS..just the colors make me happy!!!

not too exciting I admit, but for me, there is nothing like summer food...

May have to have this too...

Hot fudge brownie cake w/strawberry ice cream

A little blurry, but you get the drift..

although this picture definitely needs the addition of fresh strawberries and a big ole pile of REAL whip cream on top...

Well thats about it from this summer table...hope your table is full of summer food too!!!

Happy Day

Val

"Up at Dawn"

What a wonderful 3 day weekend...!!

I had a Saturday off...!!! Normally that is the busiest day where I work and being the receptionist I am movin and multi-tasking like nobody's business..but alas my job sharing partner was kind enough to give the ole gal a break..thanks sweetie pie Dakota...

Spent Saturday with my daughter, she would say dragging her around..but actually we weren't in Hobby Lobby for THAT long..

She will say 2 hours, but actually I would say 40 min max..

what can I say but, I had a list..there was stuff I couldn't live without..really I'm serious...

Started Christy Tomlinson's "She had 3hearts" art journal class last Monday, so was in serious need..and couldn't wait for shipping..

Although was quite disappointed when they didn't carry "Pan Pastels" or the oil based Shiva Artist "Paintstiks"..

However I did buy some fun stuff..

Like these..

Master's Touch 25 ct. Paint Brush Set..

and these

 Obviously these are sponges..

and these

had to have these..I mean shading is important..

and these...so pretty, I love just staring at them..is that weird or what?

this was majorly important

Faber Castell's Big Brushes

was only able to get the black this time....but

I have my eyes on the rest of you!!!

After watching an incredible watercolor artist video

absolutely had to get and try these

aren't they the coolest...so excited to use them..

and then there were these

I love them all and they were 50% off..but let we tell you...THEY STINK!

probably won't get them again..

and then this was a must for a new technique I watched....

Have been meaning to get this for quite some time

soooooo..got it..

And these..to die for...not all of these yet, just Cerulean Blue right now

but more are definitely in my future..such beauties..

and these of course!

Well not all of these,just raw sienna now..but I totally think I need them all someday

and lastly these...

hey, if you are going to be working with charcoals for shading, you most definitely need blending stumps!!!

So there it is...my shopping trip to Hobby Lobby with my impatient daughter...

I swear it only took me 30-40 minutes to grab these things..

but I actually heard her describe it as being subjected to

"Crafting Hell"

Are you kidding Me?  

Well at least she went...but she obviously didn't inherit my love of all things art..

Wait a minute...she's a photographer!!!

I thought all artists in all forms were supposed to have an affection and understanding of all mediums..

Well now evidently we need to have a talk..

Happy Day to all....!!!

Val

"58 hours"

"My goofy face boy"

In just "58" I am sure very long hours for me..he will return from

his 9 month life in the big city!!!

Return to home...return to Mom, Dad, Sissy, B, Maddie, Eddie, Albus and Marley...!

We can't wait "Budword"!!!

See you soon...and so looking forward to your most special Mom hugs!!!

Love you up to God and Back again, around the world and back again...

To infinity and Beyond!!!