It's a Good Friday !

(An oldie but a goodie - Rebirth Collage from 2007)

No new art to show as I was struck down by the dreaded Stomach Flu this week. Man, that has to be one of the worst ! Thankfully, I am feeling a lot better today and have enough energy to get the house ready for an Easter weekend visit from my pal Suzanne from Montreal.

She is bringing her 100 pound Old English Sheepdog, Sam, with her. So between Chica who is shedding her winter coat like crazy, and Sam, who brings back in every speck of dirt possible with him every time he goes outside, I don't think I will be worrying too much about house cleaning until things go back to normal on Monday. Just some fresh linens on the guest bed, a shiny bathroom, some spring flowers on the dining room table and a well-stocked fridge and we should be all set for a lovely weekend !

Wishing you a Happy and Blessed Easter to those who celebrate the holiday, and a wonderful spring weekend to those who don't ! Either way, I hope you find many moments of rebirth to celebrate !

Lots of love from the Queen who is so thankful her insides are back where they belong !

Rebirth & Artist Dates aka Craft Store Shopping

This is a collage I did last year for the art journal workshop I guide each month - the theme for spring was "Rebirth". It is one of my favorite pieces of all time ! Though grey and cool today, it is at least starting to feel a little spring like thanks to the snow slowly leaving the landscaping !!!! I need some green !!!!

My friend Sonia and I went on a fun artist date yesterday to Absolutely Everything in Topsfield, Mass. Okay, it was a shopping trip to a great store! They literally have almost absolutely everything a mixed media artist could want in terms of supplies ! It was so much fun to see some many of the tools I have been looking at on-line in person ! They have a huge selection of rubber stamps and I picked up a couple from Tim Holtz's Stampers Anonymous {Components} Collection . They are perfect for ATC's but I know I will use them in my art journal. I also beefed up my Gelly Roll Pen collection now that I have found out how well they work on acrylic (dried !!!) paints. I was really trying to be reasonable with the budget but I could have bought so many treats !!! Like a kid in a candy store ! Such fun. It is a good thing that the store is an hour from my house !

As I was checking my usual favorite suspects today, Julie at The Land of Lost Luggage had a fun photo guessing game posted ! Fun idea ! It was an extreme close up photo and her visitors had to guess what it was. Guess who guessed correctly ! Yep, the Queen of Arts ! Check out Julie when you have a chance if you haven't already. She is great !

I haven't had much energy for any other creative endeavors this weekend. I am taking next week off from subbing - screening calls to avoid the principals in search of warm bodies to cover for the day ! I want to spring clean in my studio - it is such a mess ! I have to do the old organizing trick of sorting through things and making boxes to store elsewhere, give away, and trash !!! I have so many things that I have been holding onto just in case and I have also somehow acquired so many new things that I love to use but have no room for in my storage system. It is really time to make room for the new ! The rest of the week will hopefully be spent playing in a nice tidy studio all ready for new messes !!!!