The Light of the Moon

The Light of the Moon
by Keith Bond

Regardless of where and when you begin your artistic journey, you have enough “light” to get started. [...]
Read the rest of this article at:
http://fineartviews.com/blog/31797/the-light-of-the-moon
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Computer crash - a week ago...

Still attempting to get my computer up to snuff since the crash.  Mostly, I lost photos and the use of Picassa. Or at least, I didn't get all my photos back, but I'm working on it.  

Lesson learned.  Update more often.
This SUCKS!!!  Just another frustration...

Have any of you had this happen?

Good quote…

 
“For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision
But today well lived makes
Every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope
Look well, therefore to this day."

Attempting to connect blog with Twitter…

I’ve been having trouble connecting my blog with Twitter. I thought I did it correctly, but it’s not working right.

I deleted the connection and tried again.

So – I’m posting this to see if it will work.

Here’s a photo of one of my enamel pieces.
It can be found at Sisters We Three in Newburyport, MA on Pleasant Street.
This is an awesome store with tons of beautiful handcrafted items. 

Hope you like my necklace -

Camera experiments -

Experimenting with a few settings on my point and shoot camera on Wed.  Looks like I need to play around with these settings a lot more.  I was happier with the black and white than the Sepia.  Even the black and white didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.  I'll keep trying . . .

Sepia

 

 

Black and White

 

 

 I like the tree the best.

Painting at the Beach

Painted at the beach with a few artists from the Danvers Art Association. This was on Wednesday, the day of those terrible tornado touch downs in Springfield, MA.  It was hot and humid all day.  For us, the day started out with thunder and rain, but turned to a gray, humid and very windy afternoon. 


At the beach house I walked around experimenting with my camera.  I discovered a setting called “vivid” on my camera.  It works pretty well on a gray days. Might be too colorful on a sunny day.  I also tried the sepia setting and the black and white settings with disappointing results…I’ll have to do some more experimenting.

Here are a few of my photos from the day -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ended up painting inside because of the wind.

Twitter! and Me!

I just signed up for a Twitter account.  It’s exciting.  I hope I did it right – I'm attempting to link my blog to my new account. This is a test post to see if I did everything right.  I am a bit technically challenged at times. 

I keep plugging away at it.  Is it my creative brain that gets in the way? 

Hope it worked!

Less humidity! And...I'm running a SALE!

I love blogging!  It's so much fun.  I wish I had more time for writing...but what I enjoy most is sharing photos of places I visit and some of my creations.  Also, I have a secret addiction!!! - I love pressing "Next Blog" to see where blogger takes me.  Wonderful world of blogs out there, and don't you feel more connected because of blogs?  I do.

What have I been up to this week?  I've been in de-cluttering mode.  I'm attempting to get my art supplies, beads and fabric under control.  HELP!  I have more items than room for them.  It's quite a dilemma.  I keep spreading out through my home, and I'm attempting to get it all under control.  And, there is always the temptation to purchase more supplies.  What's crazy creator to do???

All this thinking about blogs and bloggers - It dawned on me to run a sale for my blog followers, other bloggers and those who check my blog from time to time.  I'm offering 20% off on both my Etsy sites.  Just use the coupon code at time of purchse - Coupon code: Blogger53011

Next, I'm going to get busy and list more items.  I have much to do since I have a lot of unlisted items. 
Gotta get busy.

Newburyport, MA walk

Late Saturday afternoon I took a walk in Newburyport, MA with my Daughter. It was partly sunny at my house but the closer I got to Newburyport the foggier the landscape. When we started walking it was really chilly and damp.  I was warm enough, but I was wishing I had a hat on my head. 

We walked down by the sea wall.  You could hardly see the water.  It was impossible to see Plum Island from where we were because of the fog.  Still, I enjoyed our walk.  We found a new path which took us closer to the water and behind some homes and then back out near the Coast Guard and downtown Newburyport.

1.  

People in Newburyport love to decorate with an ocean theme.  That’s part of the fun of walking around this area.

This was the path we discovered.








 

The Sheep Shearing Festival was fun...

There was a pretty good turn out for the Sheep Shearing Festival in North Andover, MA on Sunday. The weather was cool and damp - in the 50s.  Not much fun sitting around in such conditions.  The chilly breeze was what really got to us!  I think for the festival goers it wasn't as bad because they were milling around and enjoying the vendors and the sheep herding demonstrations. There were a lot of people selling jewelry.  One fellow was selling his wife's stunning lampwork beads.  I was very temped to buy some.  There were face painters for the kids, pony rides, and sand art. Other vendors were selling watercolor prints, signs, aromatic lotions, food, eclectic clothing, scarves, and more.

 Here are a few pictures of my display.

I've fallen in love with creating journals.  The above are a few of my recent attempts.  People seemed to like them.

 

These are some of my ReStyle Studio necklaces.

 

This is a piece that sold...

The sheep sounded so neat wandering around all together with their bells on.

This dog wanted my attention and his picture taken.

I would have loved to watch the sheep shearing demonstrations, but I was at my booth while they were going on. The other vendors were nice and friendly.  It was a good day.

North Andover Sheep Shearing Festival - May 17th

I'm going to be one of the crafters participating in the North Andover Sheep Shearing Festival this coming Sunday, May 17th, 2011.  I'm hoping to sell my beachy jewelry, and my ReStyle Studios "upcycled" necklaces, and accessories, etc.  A friend of mine is also going to be there selling her Vintage jewelry. 

There will be food from the Lion's Club, Boy Scouts and a few local restaurants, pony rides and other activities. They are planning to have sheep shearing demonstrations by Andy Rice of Hoggets Farm in Brattleboro, Vermont.  Also, a small herd of alpacas from a farm in Andover will be on display in a pen area that is like a petting zoo. 

I thought my "upcycled" jewelry made from fabric would be a nice compliment to a festival about wool. I'm hoping people like my newest Shabby Chic/ Eco Chic creations.  They are perfect for the summer.  They look great with tee shirts or even a sun dress! These necklaces can be found at my ReStyle Studios Etsy shop.  Just click the photo if interested. Here are a few examples of a few recent necklaces:

Hope it doesn't rain on Sunday.  It's the only day in ages the weathermen are actually predicting to be dry. The festival should be fun.

Where did this week go? Color Palette Challenge!

I'm trying to adjust to gray days. It's been gray and rainy all week...And, chilly, too.  No wonder I'm vitamin D deficient!

I've had to put my heat on everyday to take the chill off the house.  Yesterday, it was really foggy most of the day.  I wanted to get out and take some photos, but it started to pour before I got out there.  One summer day, I took photos of my kids while we were at the beach in the fog and the pictures came out great because the fog provided an unexpected lovely background. 

Since, it's been so dismal I was delighted to find a new Challenge about the use of color.  It's run by the girls from 3CreativeStudios - Terri Stegmiller, and Vicki Welsh. On the 16th of every month they announce a new color palette to try. You can use all the colors or just some of them in whatever way you wish.  The colors can be used in a painting, quilt, ATC, journal, doll, etc.  You post your submission in the 3C'S Flickr group and have a chance to win a prize.  

Color Palette Challenge for May

I'm going to use these colors for inspiration.  Should be fun
Here's the link to their blog:

http://3creativestudios.com/blog/

Brimfield, MA–Antiques Extravaganza

There was a tent full of crystal chandeliers!

I’m so fortunate to have wonderful friends.  On Thursday, I was whisked off to Brimfield, MA. to discover the delights of a mega-huge antique flea market type show.  The size of it was amazing.  I’ve never seen anything like it before.  Tents and tents and tents of dealers selling everything from vintage buttons, china, jewelry, antique furniture to outdoor statues.  There was even a tent full of Irish Linen.

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I had heard this show takes more than one day to explore, and I believe it.  We saw a lot, but there was more to see when we left.  There’s only so much you can do in one day.

I had a lot of fun just taking pictures.  I did some shopping, too.  Some items were up there in price, a few items were untouchable (for me, anyway.)  There were bargains to be had.  Especially, if you know your items.

Not only did I have fun with my friends, but the sun was out all day!!!  Can’t beat that.
Lots of Vitamin D….!!!!  YES!

To see more pictures and find out about future Brimfield Antique Shows go to:

http://brimfieldshow.com/