Happy New Year!

Here's wishing you all a very healthy, happy, loved filled 2011! 

I am not big on resolutions, probably because I normally fall off the resolution wagon pretty early in the year, so what's the point?? BUT, I will work on posting more often again...things just got so crazy toward the end of the year. I sold about 30 books, both locally and on Etsy which I am super grateful for and hopefully I can keep the momentum going in that department.
  
My Christmas was just fabulous, we first drove 6 hours to Indiana, served Christmas dinner to families in need, hung out with the grandkids for a day and hit the 12 hour trail to Georgia *whew*. It's always a zoo at moms there are soooo many people, thankfully mom and I had a couple of peaceful days to just lounge about! To top off the festivities I got to hang out with my sweet friend, Susan:

This was a Christmas gift I made for her, my first real attempt at jewelry making:

I also got to meet up with an old friend I hadn't seen in 18+ years - so hard to catch up just over lunch, but we did our very best!

Oh the times we had, it's truly a wonder we survived. Wild, wild days and nights...

I've been doodling a piece that I'll post tomorrow.  

That's it for now - I hope everyone had an amazing holiday. Happy New Year, friends :) 

But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit, sin auld lang syne.......at the Shores

I Read Banned Books

I just did an ATC in honor of banned books week which was last week. My friend Susan has a button that says "I read banned books" which was my inspiration for it. The idea for this particular swap was 7 different people indicated what the ATC had to include: 

1. 3 circles
2. something torn, ripped or shredded
3. something that moves, opens, spins or dangles
4. something metal or metallic
5. an element - earth, water, fire or air
6. something tactile

7. graffiti writing or marks

Here is what I came up with - it's not a great scan since the book lifted it from the scanner bed. The 3 circles are the metal eyelets up top, I used torn text for the background, the miniature book opens and closes, there is a piece of copper that tops the "firepit", I painted some fire, used "brick" fabric for the tactile part and "I read banned books" is my graffiti. 
I'm always amazed at the number of classics that have been challenged and or banned all together - I've read many and don't think I've turned out too bad! Pretty sad really, some of these works are pure genius. By the way - Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl was banned for passages that were considered "sexually offensive," as well as for the tragic nature of the book, which some readers felt was a "real downer." Well, I for one will not bury my head in the sand and try to pretend such an awful time in this world's history never happened. As George Santayana once said "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Stepping off my soapbox now....

I just purchased some new pencils, I got the Derwent Graphitints and the Inktense sets (24 in each set). I've been working on breaking away from my trusty acrylics and thought they'd help in my quest...plus I was in a swap where you had to just use colored pencils so of course I had to buy some, I mean after all, my huge set of Prismacolors just wouldn't do now would they?!? It's a simple design but kinda pretty, yes? It was done with the Graphitints, I love the subtle colors you get when you brush water over them.  

An Anne Frank video tribute, music by the Goo Goo Dolls

  

It's a shivering cold fall day...........at the Shores