On Wings of Song

TMTA - Purple

2008-11-11T10:06:00.003+13:00

Think Monday Think ATC..............the theme is purple.

Gothic Arch - Buttons

2008-11-10T21:12:00.002+13:00

The theme on Gothic Arches this week is Buttons.

TGIF - Shoes

2008-11-01T20:22:00.001+13:00

A collaged ATC for Thank God It's Friday ............ Shoes is the theme this week.

Creative Wednesday

2008-10-30T14:56:00.000+13:00

Moos are tiny........2.1 cm x 7 cm. This is my first attempt made for the Chabby Chic Moos challenge at Creative Wednesday.

Pink Ribbon Twinchie

2008-10-29T16:33:00.003+13:00

Not much time this week so a quick and easy twinchie for the Pink Ribbon challenge on Small World of Inchies and Twinchies.

Ribbons and Buttons

2008-10-29T08:18:00.002+13:00

For two Tuesday challenges.

Crazy Amigo.............the theme is buttons.

Created by Hand......the theme is ribbon and trim.

I love it when I can use my personal photos and made this ATC some time ago for a vintage swap. The two little girls are my mother's older sisters. Their names were Edith and Winifred Johnston and the picture was taken in 1904 at Nelson, New Zealand.

Two in One again!

2008-10-23T18:50:00.002+13:00

Our granddaughter has been visiting and loves to share in Nana's creative efforts. We made this one together and it's for two challenges.

Created by Hand ...........the background was created using walnut ink.

ATC Wednesday............the theme is Couples.

Artsy Girlz - Orange/Blue

2008-10-22T15:54:00.002+13:00

This ATC is for the Artzy Girlz challenge this week which is to use orange and blue.

TMTA - Halloween

2008-10-21T14:27:00.002+13:00

Think Monday-Think ATC has Halloween as the theme this week.

Not a part of our lives in this area of the world although the commercial sector is attempting to make it so.

Dans ma maison il y a....

2008-10-21T10:45:00.002+13:00

In my house there is............a tree.

This is my first house ............way out of my comfort zone attempting to paint a tree but that's what these challenges are all about.

Gothic Arch - Paper Patchwork

2008-10-20T13:34:00.003+13:00

The theme on Gothic Arches this week is Paper Patchwork.

I hadn't done this technique before but I'll certainly be trying again. This one definitely shows the imperfections of a first attempt...........I think I was a bit too impatient and needed to spend more time painting and sponging.

Twinchie Fairies

2008-10-19T10:39:00.000+13:00

Fairies is the theme on Small World of Inchies & Twinchies this week.

It all keeps getting smaller and smaller and I'm beginning to feel like Gulliver in the Land of Lilliput but who can resist Fairies. For my first attempt I've made the 2 x 2" twinchie.

TGIF - Favourite Stamp

2008-10-18T13:12:00.002+13:00

The theme on TGIF this week to use a Favourite Stamp.

I don't have many stamps although I imagine this will change in the coming months so I've settled for using this leaf . Not a good scan but I stamped it on green and embossed it with copper powder. The image is from Crafty Individuals People & Places.

Think Pink

2008-10-16T17:05:00.006+13:00

In honour of Breast Cancer Awareness month Theme Thursday's challenge this week is to Think Pink.

I've had these ladies for quite some time and I think they were just waiting for this moment. The hand of Fate can strike women of all ages at any time which is why I chose the word 'believe'. One of the first steps towards taking action for early detection is the belief that it can happen to any one of us.

I have a very dear friend who has just turned 80 and following an ex-ray after a fall breast cancer was detected. I am so sad that this wonderful, caring woman is facing this horrible experience at this time of her life. This one's for you, Shirl..........my thoughts are with you constantly.

ATC Wednesday - Stars

2008-10-16T12:06:00.002+13:00

The theme on ATC Wednesday this week is Stars.

I added some zodiac patterned vellum to some blue textured paper I made yesterday as a background for this very sweet baby from http://www.clearlyvintage.blogspot.com/......thanks.

Two in One

2008-10-16T11:49:00.003+13:00

This ATC is for two Tuesday challenges.

At Arty Girlz the theme is...........Numbers .

At Crazy Amigos it's Animalistic.

Think Monday - Think ATC

2008-10-14T13:02:00.004+13:00

This week's theme on TMTA is..........Ophelia.

Gothic Arch - Haute Couture

2008-10-14T09:27:00.003+13:00

The theme on Gothic Arches this week is Haute Couture.

My arch is a glimpse behind the glamour of the catwalk and I imagined the awful tedium of standing still for the length of time it took to perfect a hem of this magnitude.

Thanks for looking.

Theme Thursday

2008-10-11T12:24:00.003+13:00

This weeks theme is the colour purple and 4 x 4, a size I haven't tried yet nor do I have much in purple so just a simple collage with some ribbon and flowers added.

The background is from a postcard of lavender fields I bought while travelling in Provence and I liked the purple sheen of the birds feathers.

Thank God It's Friday

2008-10-11T10:18:00.003+13:00

The theme on TGIF this week is Dolls. This ATC has a picture of my mother and her doll taken in the early 1920's.

Vintage Swap

2008-10-10T16:08:00.008+13:00

Four ATC's for a Swap-bot Vintage swap. The first image came from the internet and depicts a mother with her five daughters.

Makes me wonder if she ever had the son her husband probably longed for.......or did she give up after five girls. I would have!

The second one comes from my personal photographs. These sweet little girls were my aunts, my mother's older sisters. Their names were Edith Agnes and Winifred Sarah Johnston. I find it very hard to imagine the women I knew as these two cuties. The photo was taken at Nelson, NZ in 1904.

The other two were both internet images (thanks
to Graphic Fairy) of Victorian advertisements.

These enchanting little girls and others like them seem to have often been used to promote sales of everything from breakfast food to sewing supplies.

I intend to make a set of them called the "Spirit of Children" and this first one is called Innocence.

And this one is called Wonder. I love the way she is so absorbed in the butterfly.

Does she wonder if it's going to bite??

All of these are off to the USA.

Think Monday - Think ATC

2008-10-08T22:00:00.004+13:00

This week's challenge was "Nature'.....................as it's Spring in this part of the world I went for softer pastel colours.

Gothic Arch -Turquoise

2008-10-08T14:57:00.003+13:00

The challenge at Gothic Arches this week was to use Turquoise............a colour I really like but didn't have much of to choose from. Thanks to Graphic Fairy for the image which seemed just right for the background.

Gothic Arch - Paris

2008-10-03T21:04:00.002+13:00

First attempt at a Gothic Arch.................in time for the challenge this week at http://gothicarches.ning.com/.

People

2008-09-25T12:05:00.010+12:00

For the People theme anything went as long as at least one person's face is visible.

This wasn't what I set out to do but I really like the end result even though its only a simple collage with the addition of some gold thread and the words "Live, Laugh, Love" written with gold pen.

The background does actually look as though I've been very clever with a paintbrush ......one day! :-)

Accompanying it to Arizona is 'Colour me Pink" which amuses me because I'm not a great fan of pink but it was another that seemed to put itself together.

For my other partner in New Mexico I went vintage. I think the ATC's of vintage kids with wings are really cute and wanted to give it a try. Not totally happy with it...........have a lot to learn about the layers with these vintage ones.

Reading her profile I discovered she is writing children's books based on homonyms............words like tale/tail so for her other ATC I used a

packing crate label for pears from the internet and added the image of the people. There are also two birds on the left.

Pears & Pairs

Black, White & Red All Over

2008-09-25T11:39:00.002+12:00

Well in my collage comfort zone with these two but at least the pile of magazines has a new lease of life as I search for teeny tiny images. I had fun making these two for the BRW swap and both went off to the USA.

Vintage Swap

2008-09-25T11:26:00.003+12:00

Two more for the Vintage Swap........an awful scan for the Dream one which is much nicer than it looks here.

Still working with what I know as the biggest struggle at this time was adapting to the small size.

Internet images, paper, embossed corners and some ribbon, sticker and flower for embellishment. I do like the ATC's with funny phrases on them.

I imagined here a young woman leaving home for the lights of the big city and writing and telling her mother she had gained respectable employment when the reality was somewhat different. Her sense of guilt made her constantly wonder how she would tell her mother the truth.

First ATC's

2008-09-25T10:56:00.004+12:00

Three Edwardian ladies in their fancy hats were the result of my first venture into making ATC's which was some time ago. These two have now been sent off to Australia for the Swap-bot Vintage exchange. The other one I'm keeping for myself.

Rekindling the interest in making these little cards Alice was the first and I'm keeping her too as I'd like to do an Alice in Wonderland set when I can find the right images.

I'm annoyed with myself for not scanning the ones I made for the first swap-bot exchanges before sending them off.............must try to do them as I go now.

Sharing the Journey

2008-07-07T14:40:00.005+12:00

FOOTPRINTS

Some people come into our lives

and leave footprints on our hearts

and we are never ever the same.

They help us become aware

of the delicate winds of hope...

and we discover within every human spirit

there are wings yearning to fly.

They help our hearts to see that

the only stairway to the stars

is woven with dreams...and we find ourselves

unafraid to reach high.

Throughout our lives we are sent

precious souls...

meant to share our journey

however brief or lasting their stay

they remind us why we are here.

To learn... to teach... to nurture... to love

Peace Messenger

2008-07-05T13:23:00.003+12:00

PEACE MESSENGER

Gayatri Prayer

You, who are the source of all power,

Whose rays illuminate the whole word

Illuminate also my heart

So that it too can do Your work.

While reciting the Gayatri, visualize the sun's rays streaming forth into the world, entering your own heart, and then streaming out from your heart center, back into the world. This is a powerful and life enhancing prayer.

I was given this prayer years ago by a lovely lady who gave me a wonderful rune reading. It popped into my mind as I was scanning the mandala so obviously is meant to accompany it.

A garden is an Oasis

2008-06-30T10:26:00.004+12:00

IN THE GARDEN

"One is nearer God's heart in a garden, than anywhere else on Earth"

Mandala 3................I wanted to play, to put aside any intentions and fears of not being able to draw and just let it happen. It's all very well to talk of creating intuitively but it's not as easy as it sounds. I took a pencil in my left, non-dominant hand, closed my eyes and scribbled over the circle and then set out to colour in . I wanted colour, lots of colour.........I added flowers and squiggles and was totally delighted when the bird, the caterpillar and the butterfly took shape by themselves.

I went to bed last night thinking is it really a mandala?...............it has no centre and for me that seems important. It was only this morning after I scanned it that I saw the green part that is almost central.........and it was shaped like a heart, even better so I've now outlined it in red.

Not looking for this one to have a voice but of course it does. A garden is a beautiful place, a sacred space where one finds peace, harmony and healing. It's a place that provides a home for many diverse creatures who live and grow each in their own way yet together help create the harmonious whole of sounds and colours that make the garden the special place it is.

A garden is an oasis...............without knowing it I've drawn the way I feel about the mandala group. How lovely.

It also tells me to watch my tendency to hide , to be the shy butterfly especially when I feel out of my depth. In a real life group situation you can sit back and be a listener but not on the internet. You participate or become invisible.

Growing

2008-06-27T11:04:00.003+12:00

TREE

Mandala 2...........Tree seems a bit ordinary but I can't think of anything else . Really enjoyed drawing this one probably because I was more comfortable with using markers and coloured pencils. I started at the outside and then it just seemed to create itself ............definitely a very relaxing time out during which the outer world faded and I became completely absorbed in my colouring.

Afterwards as I listened for her voice to emerge I found myself moving back and forth from the outside to the centre and back to the outside again , eventually seeing the duality pictured and the need to view this mandala from two perspectives.

Circles and cycles...............leaves, pages in the book of life turning..........rings of experience encircling the centre, changing, guarding, protecting, moving away.......losing sight of the true heart of self.

Choice.....to take the inner journey .....shedding the leaves of conditioning.......stripping away the layers in search of the centre.

A continuing spiral of growth, an endlessly fascinating voyage of discovery. Funny, but I never noticed until I saw these two mandalas scanned side by side this morning how very similar they are.

First Step

2008-06-24T14:59:00.000+12:00

WHIRLPOOL

My very first mandala. I found some acrylic paints in my scrapbooking box , took a deep breath and dived in . I can see now the emotional currents I was fighting is exactly what I painted which is why I've named her Whirlpool ................first time doubts and fears threatening to pull me under. I did enjoy the process and I'm so pleased I not only finished my mandala but also am ready to share my efforts.

Having just come from blogging my daily tarot card, the Page of Cups, I'm now imagining myself as the young Page taking that first step and looking down into the cup and seeing the creative flower of herself spiraling up and out from the whirlpool.

In the beginning

2008-06-22T15:17:00.000+12:00

I feel like the Fool who leaping off the cliff suddenly finds herself landing in a strange and foreign land. I set out to make a SoulCollage card to honour the little thrush who has been singing to me each morning but got sidetracked into mandala country and ended up colouring a bird mandala.

The colours are actually much nicer than the scan shows and considering all I could find were half a dozen old coloured pencils then the end result is better than I thought it would be.

It's the process I enjoyed the most..........the quiet relaxation similar to making a SoulCollage card so I returned to Cheryl's mandala links to find out more. I've always thought of a mandala as a very intricate, geometric pattern and how exciting to discover this is far from the truth.

I can't wait to have a go but I'll have to be patient until I have some new colouring tools. This is going to be an enormous step for the me who for so long saw herself as severely artistically challenged but now knows there is a creative voice within everyone just waiting to be released.