playing catch up...

some photos from the last few weeks, finally off the camera. (I have a problem remembering to get pictures off the camera- I finally HAD to, because the memory card was full and I had to make room to take more pictures!) A couple weeks ago, we drove up to Cave Creek, AZ and spent the a few hours looking in some really neat Western interior decorating stores, and ate at a wonderful Mexican restaurant... the restaurant, El Encanto, had a pond and an outdoor courtyard, alont with some of the best Mexican food I've had in a while. The restaurant had its own floor show; the ducks, geese, and turtles in the pond would hang out and wait to pick up whatever diners would toss their way. This might be hard to see, but the duck on the right has a "top-knot" of feathers on top of its head... it looked quite a bit like a bad toupee!! We had to ask the waiter about it; he said it's just a particular kind of duck, and thast they've nicknamed this particular duck "James Brown!!"

These ducks were quite friendly! This little female was very tame, and would come right up to us. (of course, the "duck-chow" we bought to feed them might have helped, but still, it was fun.)

Here, she takes a bit of kibble from Tom's hand, with a few of her friends waiting a bit farther away behind the fence.

We bought a fresh chili ristra while we were up there. We weren't particularly looking for one, but we've wanted one of these for years, so we jumped at the chance to pick one up. They have a wonderful roasted aroma!! The peppers have dried over the course of the last couple weeks, but they're still gorgeous, and quite a traditional decoration. They should last us for at least a couple years. (we could actually use them to cook with, too, but I think we'll probably just emjoy looking at them.)

now, on to a few pieces of artwork that I've made over the last few weeks. This is a 4x4 canvas piece that I have for sale right now in my new online shop, at ArtFire.com. (check it out here.) It started out as layers of acrylic paint over a collaged base, then I added a bit of text and a distressed photo of a dragonfly (I took the photo a couple years ago when we visited the Sonoran Desert Museum in Tucson, when my parents and sister came to visit). It still looked like it needed "something" to finish it off, so I added some gold flourishes with heat embossing.

These are 6x6 collages on 3/4 inch plywood; I bought an entire sheet and had it cut up into different sized pieces to use for artwork. I collaged the background with vintage text papers, then added cut-paper borders, a bit of glitter, and focal images that I hand-cut from black cardstock. The owl is already sold, but the cat's still available. I probably won't list it for sale till next Halloween, though, since Halloween is almost here. (where did the time go, anyway??)

This jaunty fellow (also sold) was also hand-cut from black cardstock; this one took small scissors and an exacto knife-- it was fiddly, but well worth it-- I just love his bow tie! It's also on 3/4 inch plywood, this time an 8x10 inch collage. Sort of like making a journal page, but one you can hang up!! (I will definitely be making more of these.. they're a lot of fun, and besides, since I bought a 4 x 8 foot piece of plywood, I have well over 40 pieces of wood!)

And lastly, here's a tag I made from just the bits and pieces on my desk. I needed a "thank you" gift to put in with an Etsy shop sale, and didn't have lots of time to pull it together. So, I worked with what I had... most of the time, doing that works lots better than I think it will!! (I love that little hummingbird stamp, too... I definitely need to find it on my desk, and put it to work again.)