Sunday, July 27, 2014

You Belong among the wildflowers...........

A beautiful thought and a wonderful place to be.  
One of the many things I brought home from out local farmer's market on Saturday.

They remind me of country drives and being a child, bringing sunflower seeds home from school to grow during the summer.  It was fun to see them grow taller than I was at times.  Measuring them almost daily! 

I took pictures of my bouquet and hope to turn these sunflowers into a watercolor painting.  It's been a while since I have done a floral painting.  

Recently, I have been focused on angels, style & fashion and my whimsy collection of girls.  Through encouragement of one of my dear friends, I had four of the whimsy girls made into note cards.  
Each card has its own personality and saying.  Sweet and Kind- Hearted, would make great thank you notes.
Printed on high quality card stock and ready to frame.  Wrapped in a pretty ribbon and ready for gift giving.


                   I still like to send hand written cards out.  And, I love receiving them, don't you? 

                                                    I would love to share these with you!

                                                         
Leave a comment here, pin and share and I will select a random winner by August the 6th.  ( My brother's birthday)  To purchase your own, visit my facebook page, Light and Lovely Designs by Ursula.  Or press the Etsy button to see them and see what else is new!

In the meantime, I hope you walk among the wildflowers, send out a handwritten note to someone and don't forget to Play Hard!!!

 xxoo





Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Journal along with me.............

I started an art journal last year.  Really not knowing where it was going to lead or actually what to do with it.  I found some downloads of journal ideas and decided to go to my local art store and buy a hardcover sketchbook.  
It was fun decorating the outside, but still uncertain about what I was going to fill the inside pages with.  
Using old book pages, doilies, texture paste, hand made stamps, paint, brushes and cut out letters, my journal cover was born. 
L

It took a year to fill the pages, sometimes writing my thoughts, goals and quotes I found.  Other times experimenting with colors, designs, class projects and ideas.  
                      On line class project. "She listened to the sounds in her soul." 



I found this old children's book, The Beacon Third Reader. I learned how to turn that into a smaller journal to keep on a  table side.  The binding is frayed, the pages are brittle, but that is what I love about it.  It has so much character, inside and out.  The illustrations add to the pages.  


Take a glue stick, masking tape and gesso.  Glue three sheets together with your glue stick, giving more substance to the worn pages.  Use masking tape or washi tape to tape torn pages.  Gesso on top, as little or as much as you want to cover.  Thus, creating great pages to paint on.  I love the feel of the old and the gesso together, creating a nice surface for watercolors. Even the tape adds an interesting element. After painting the feather onto the cover, I drilled a hole into the back cover, attached my leather string and wrapped it around as many times as it would go.  





Just one of the latest pages, while studying style.

I have added a few other journals since, smaller ones to carry with me.  I also like to find old ones like this
fabric one I found at an estate sale.  The pages are lined and slightly yellowed.  I decorated the front and back with collage papers, added stickers and a name plate to the inside covers.  Using a scrap of watercolor paper, I created my own book mark.  The "Stay Creative"  collage piece is a note pad from our room at Howard Johnson's Express.  You never know where you will find inspiration.  Old mail, postage stamps, letters, and so on.

 Fun journaling across the US on our way to Florida earlier this year. This is a cheaper sketch book I found at the craft store, but it works for sketching and experimenting.  Watercolor pencils, brush,  pen and ink.  Love the brushes that hold water, great to take along!

Just added this 1927 spiral sketchbook to my collection.  It's a 9 x 12 and most of the pages are blank.  It will make a great journal and oh the history.  A few loose pieces of art were tucked inside.  What a delight!

 




By starting my journal, I gained insight into my soul, art and life.  This was the beginning of a new chapter for me.  I may not add a page each day, but when I need to express, try something new or get an idea, I know just where to go.  Marking pages for future art designs.

I also have a fine art one where I can put class projects or more complicated designs.  

Hope you enjoyed our journal time.  These are just samples and insights into mine.  I hope you create your own stories, words and pictures. 

Put your whole heart and soul into it!!

See you soon.
xxoo








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Saturday, July 12, 2014

Summer days that seem to last forever......
            Those were the days.

Laying in the lush green grass and looking up at the sky. Visualizing clouds that looked like animals, people, monsters

and other objects.  

Riding bikes without a helmet.  Adding baseball or playing cards to the spokes with clothes pins.  Listening to the motor sounds that it made while you rode through the neighborhood with your friends.



Making forts, playing ball in the street, catching fire flies in a jar, climbing trees, hopscotch on the sidewalk.  

Using rocks to etch  the squares and numbers onto the sidewalk.


Metal roller skates were attached to your shoes.  You wore the key on a string around your neck and skated on the side walk.






Having backyard picnics.  
Taking summer drives in the country.
Running through the sprinkler.
Staying in the lake or pool until your lips turned purple.
Splashing in the puddles after a summer's rain.
Catching tadpoles in the local pond.
Walking to the nearby candy store with a nickle in your pocket.
Stayed outside until the street lights came on.

Life seemed so much less complicated then.  I only wish we can get just a little of that time back. 

These are the summer days I remember growing up in Ohio.

Warm, happy and days that seemed to last forever!

Hope you enjoyed going back in time with me....Lay back and look at the sky to see what art the angels have made with the clouds today.

Until next time,
Happy summer memories!


 



 





Monday, July 7, 2014

Flea Market Sundays

Whenever I need inspiration or a little design fix, I visit my local flea markets.  

Before I went over to my favorite shop, I stopped by my booth at Spring Creek to see if I had any action over the weekend.  Even though it was the 4th of July weekend, it looked as though things needed my attention.  

The weather was just perfect, cool and light rain.  Traffic on the opposite side of the road was bumper to bumper.  So many families returning from their weekend at the Lake.   


I made this sign years ago and have decided to keep the name.


Adding art work that you or someone else did, adds interest, color and compliments the old or re-purposed items.  My favorite thing is to take something old, clean it, repaint it and use it for something other than it was intended.



Love these old benches I found!




 From there I went onto my next favorite shop called, Leola's.  It was featured in a magazine a while back and is one of the top 6 antiques shops in southwest Missouri.  
This is more of an open floor design where all the merchants work together and have these unique vignettes throughout their space.  I always get inspired when I visit this shop and Kelly is always so welcoming.



I should have purchased the letter below, there may be much history behind it.   I always wonder with, who, what and where an item has lived.
Love combining new with old rustic pieces.
Ironstone just makes my heart happy.  There is such beauty in these old, sometimes chipped  pieces.   I cherish the few I have. 
I enjoyed my Sunday afternoon flea market trip.  But, truth be known, I was really out returning a movie and took this little detour.

                   I hope you enjoyed our Sunday afternoon flea market adventure as much as I did.

See you soon!