Yellow finch, ROBIN(our STATE bird)

morning dove, female cardinal, red male cardinal.

Bird with yellow eye and blue head......MEAN, I do not like them, still they are pretty!

I have a bird feeder and bird bath! I cannot tell you the joy I get seeing these sweet creatures come to my window. Here are some of the birds that come to visit! We have others, but I am not quick enough with the camera. They do not sit still long enough either(for me). Maybe if I had a whole day to just take pictures sitting at the window waiting.......then I could get some good shots. Anyways, I hope that you enjoy seeing a few. HAPPY BIRDing!

Hugs,Patti

These are some BIRD themed fabric ATCs for a swap. I did get a little art done this weekend! Wheeeeeee!

Hugs,Patti

This is RUFIO,

PUPPY(on left) to today(on right)! Hehehe!
Isn't he a cutie pie....

Amber is at work, so we get his full attention. Lucky us!

This is a Cyclamen that I got as a gift from Cathy. It is really doing well and I thought I would share it before my black thumb gets a grip of it!

Aren't the leaves beautiful! It still has a bud too, though it is coming time for it to go into it's sleep state soon. Just thought I would share! I love plants, just usually they do not love me! :0)

Ohhhhhhhhhh finally I got some art in today!!!!! The top picture is a card I made for my girlfriend's bbbbbbbbeautiful daughter, she had a special day with a great group of friends and I wanted to just send her a card with all their smiling faces......as FRIENDSHIPs are so precious!

The next item is an altered book TIP IN(pages for the altered book that the receiving person can glue/tip in to her book without sending the whole book through the mail). I chose BABY for the theme, because aren't babies grand?????? Hehehe, anyways, the little tabs that say "BABY" sit off the side of the page and I did use a cereal box background for this piece. You can see those in the post below.

The items are up against cereal boxes too ...........they are just laying here, so why not! :-) Hope your weekend was nice!
Hugs,Patti

I was inspired by Karen at this link.......

http://artinthegarage.blogspot.com/2009/03/tuesday-tutorial-complex-backgrounds.html

She puts tutorials out and this one shows this fun technique to recycle emptied cereal boxes!
The first picture is the plain box, then primed with gesso undiluted.

Then papers are added with gel medium and then a watery wash of gesso over the top.

Then stamps are used to stamp out a fun background. All the boxes can look different depending on how they are stamped.

Then color is added with a brush, I did shades of green and orange and pink on different boxes. This blends the stamping and maks it look more apart of the whole thing.

Then some light overstamping with paint on top, is the finishing touch! This comes out great because it is stiff and will make nice backgrounds or atcs.

I like how they turned out! Thanks Karen for the inspiration and check out her blog......very fun!

My friend Marcy volunteers at the Daytona Greyhound Shelter. They have a FREE voting site to earn money and you can vote EVERY DAY starting TOMORROW.........

Here is the link and instructions! I promise it is not complicated and once you do it a few times, you can do it with your eyes closed. "-)

1. Go to http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/
2. Click on the large purple box “Click to give”.
3. At the very top of the next page click on the box that says in red “Vote now”.
4. On the next page, enter “FL” and “Daytona Beach” and click “Search”
5. Select “Greyhound Pets of America Daytona Beach” (be sure you select the Daytona Beach group!) and click on “Vote”.
6. Identify the picture of the animal and click on “Confirm Now”.
The voting site will send you a daily reminder to vote. All you need do is go to the website and on the left hand side it says "Daily Click Reminder". Click on it and enter your e-mail address and you will be sent a reminder daily to vote....doesn't get much easier then that!

THANK YOU FOR HELPING THE GREYHOUNDS of DAYTONA BEACH.

Time for some baking. I made some wonderful sugar cookies yesterday! A delicious recipe that Mary had given me. They are sooooooooo good, and I bagged some up for family and friends! Yum, :) I hope you have a good week and Easter is almost here! xoxoxox Patti

This is some envelope art for a friend of mines' Son, who is playing in the Division III basketball college tournaments with Guilford NC. He is a great player, and I wanted to send him a congrats card for the success of the season.....so this is the envelope! Amber said I did it in toooooooo girlie of colors, but they are the colors I love, and so that I just did what flows! :0) I suppose he might have liked blue and gray better------I am hoping he will not get teased! It is painted with layers of acrylic and then some spray paint too, then stamping and then collaged with the image of TC playing ball! I know his family is soooo proud and so am I! :0)

http://tumbleweedtess.blogspot.com/2009/03/blog-give-away.html

My friend Barb is having a give a way for her the One Year Anniversary of her starting her blog! Go on over and play! Her art is ssssssssuper!
Hugs,Patti

Our sweet Rufio is recovering from surgery! He has been fixed (though he was not broken :) and he had his dew claws removed(they were long and nasty and hooking on things and causing pain for him and us), and his little cone is helping him to leave everything alone. Poor boy! He will get his stitches out next week Friday, and that will be good! ISN'T HE ADORABLE!?We already know the answer! Hehehehe! We are babying him to the best of our ability! <3

I have received another giveaway from OWOH, it is a set of new ledger papers. They are from 1842-1843 from a Newport general store called Mudget & Higbee. The handwriting is so very WONDERFUL!!!
I won this from Art-e-ology and her name is Jamie!
Her etsy link is here...

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5839065

but she is gone to Disney until the 23rd, to visit a MOUSE! :0) So stop by her and see her wonderful items for sale, or visit her blog and take in an artful look and leave her a comment!
http://readarteology.blogspot.com/

THANK YOU JAMIE!

P.S. Jamie does FIT(Free Image Tuesday) and gives wonderful images you can download for free. They are precious......visit her blog! One she is sharing is the picture in my post here! Wheeeeeeee!

This is an 8x10 fabric piece for a CHARITY project headed by Heidi at.....

http://myhidingplaceincyberspace.blogspot.com/2009/01/charity-art-quilt-project.html

She is going to make a quilt from the pieces donated with a gypsy theme to raise money for the Orphans in Romania. I am pleased to participate and hope that her efforts can be blessed to make a difference.

http://afancifultwist.typepad.com/a_fanciful_twist/
I have received yet another winning from the One World One Heart give away......
from the sweet talented Vanessa!
I got three glorious canvas prints and a cd with music that her brother composed to match her artwork!
Her blog is the one of the most creative that I have ever seen! Going there, is like stepping into a fanciful wonderland! She takes amazing photos and documents everything in such a way, it is like reading a whimsical book! Just fun!!!!!!!!! Her art space is breath taking, full of art and fun.......go take a peek there and leave her a message and let her I know I sent you and tell her I said THANKS again for the great heartfilled gift! :0)
THANK YOU VANESSA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I received TWO more prizes from the wonderful OWOH give aways!
You can go to see what I have won on their blogs.......
Janie, at
http://ladyponies23.blogspot.com/
http://ladyponies23.blogspot.com/2009/01/one-world-one-heart-giveaway.html
You can see all she sent me , the first pictures show my winnings!
Janie sent me a boat load of fun scrapbooking supplies, with a huge variety of fun items to play art with! AMAZING!!!! THANK YOU Janie for your generous gift!
And Cat, at
http://darklingwoods.blogspot.com/
http://darklingwoods.blogspot.com/2009/01/one-heart-one-world.html
Cat sent me TWO fantastic prints, and some sweet stickers and all wrapped up like a lovely gift! Just beautiful!
I am a very lucky girl!
Hugs,Patti
P.S. I am hoping that my packages arrive at their destination soon! One is going to Canada and one to Brazil! I am thinking it might take a while! :(

One of my favorite pictures is Mary and my Mom on the right picture, Mary is hugging my Mom. Is that not the sweetest thing?It was Mary's birthday.

I know this might be a difficult thing for some, but these are boards that I have finished for my wonderful Mary! The family asked that I do a couple boards, Mary is suffering from Ovarian cancer and at the end of her journey. If there is one thing I have learned through all this, knowing that someone is slipping away from you....is that each person suffers along in their own way, with their own opinions of how things should be happening , what should be happening, what is proper, what is expected etc. It is a little hard working on these while Mary is still with us.....but I found a joy in pouring my heart into it.....especially into the yellow board which is my tribute to her special and loving personality...which gave us all joy! The red board is a bunch of pictures from work--old ones, since Mary is the original owner and creator of Martino's restaurant that my Mom and I have worked for the past 32 years! I have grown up there...and Mary has always been a blessing to me.

I am going to show you my tattoo(at the top of the post) again in honoring her, she has suffered from Breast Cancer and now the Ovarian Cancer, and thus the colors of the ribbon(pink and teal) that wrap around the Chicago Style Hotdog (one of our best selling items). This tattoo is on my ankle, and I did add a small version of it to the board too!
Anyways, I just wanted to share these......and show tell the world I am blessed to know Mary.

My first WINNINGS from the ONE WORLD ONE HEART give a ways on the blogs has arrived! I am such a lucky girl! It comes from SHARON at http://wildflowerhouse.blogspot.com/


Go see her beautiful fabric artwork!She is one talented gal! I received a gorgeous stitched heart filled with lavender and I LOVE IT! It is hanging in home already and I have made a new friend!


THANK YOU SHARON!!!!! Hugs,Patti
P.S. My two packages to the winners on my blog and winging their way to their destinations as well!

First is a birthday card and little heart hangie for a friend of mine! She cares for her parents and is a wonderful gal....I hope she can enjoy these!

ART Banner for another friend of mine. This can hang somewhere so she remembers that art is a fun part of her world and it brings us together! Hope everyone had a nice weekend! Hugs,Patti