NOTE CARD PARTY...

 One of my sweetest, dearest, and long time blog friends, Vee, is having a party over at her place today, A Haven for Vee.  I think her party idea is brilliant!  It is a Note Card Party featuring photos from your personal blog that would make wonderful images on the front of note cards.

Since Spring is in full swing here at the Quill my mind has been turned toward colorful, beautiful, blooming things so I chose Grandmothers Flowers as my note card theme.  The images I chose are from various posts of the past and all the flowers featured were grown by my beloved grandmother.  Her legacy lives on as each blooming season arrives and her plantings continue to thrive and produce long after her physical touch has ceased to nourish them.

NOTE: 

Please feel free to save and print these images if you wish to use them for your own set of note cards.  I have removed my copy right mark for printing purposes.

 ~ Apple Blossoms ~

 ~ Tiger Lily ~

 ~ Pink Bush ~ 

(Sorry, I do not know the name of this one)

 ~ Dogwood ~

 In case you are interested in playing along, it is super simple:

*You simply choose 4 photographs from your own blog that would make a nice set of not cards.  They must have appeared on your blog by the time link up.

*Write up your post featuring your chosen photos.

*Link directly to your post on Vee's blog using her linky feature.

*Visit and comment on at least 10 of the participants contributions

*Have fun!

Thank you, Vee, for hosting such a wonderful party.  It was tremendous fun looking back through old posts and trying to decide on photos.  I think this is such a great idea that I am borrowing it for a Christmas gift idea!  I am already choosing sets of photos to have printed up.

I hope each of you have a beauty filled day!

THE LIFE OF RILEY: A WEEKEND AT THE FARM...

 The Life of Riley: An easy and pleasant life

We spent a glorious weekend at the farm, it was like living the life of Riley, an easy and pleasant life. 

We kicked off our shoes and lazed away an entire afternoon here...

Sheltered under an enormous pine tree we watched the wind sculpt pictures in fluffy white clouds, laughed over buzzards soaring overhead wondering if we were possibly dinner, talking quietly, enveloped in the soft scents of fresh cut grass and spring flowers, serenaded by birdsong...

Pine cones nestled and napped nearby...

The life of Riley:  an easy and pleasant life.

We walked barefoot in the old garden plot now a green carpet sprigged with the most delicate purple and blue pattern...

Where we found the very first wish of the season...

 Sprouting amid the golden coins cast about by the buttery sun...

We made the wish together, clacking foreheads, laughing like children, trying to see who could scatter the first wish on the wind.

The life of Riley:  an easy and pleasant life.

We inspected the grapevines just forming their new leaves...

Observed the gentle birthing of the soft Lambs Ear...

Meandering past the heady Purple Grape Hyacinth...

The life of Riley:  an easy and pleasant life.

Stepping onto a new carpet of Bluelets...

Near the aged stacked stone wall...

To better appreciate the infancy of the leaves and flowers on the Red Bud trees...

The life of Riley:  an easy and pleasant life.  A rare and beautiful moment in time.  Slipping away from our daily routine.  Letting sun and wind, color and texture, scent, sight, and sound, these magicians of spring, weave their soothing spell over our winter tired souls.

We could have seen any one of these wondrous things in our own backyard but they would not have been the same.  At home time marches on steadily keeping us in rank and file with everyday drills of "to do's" and the pressure of "must get to's" so that sometimes, really most times, these things go scarcely noticed.  We are held in strict formation of time and schedule to maximize effective use of our days.   

Daily life at the Quill is anything but the life of Riley, it is not always pleasant nor are all its days filled with ease.  It makes me appreciate the small snippets of time when I can break rank and come to parade rest, adopting a more relaxed and at ease position enjoying a different kind of attentiveness.  Instead of being focused on daily detail I can focus on the details of the making of a day, the birthing of a season, the unfurling of a leaf, a delicate blossom, a scudding cloud, the feel of sunshine and wind on bare skin, prickly ticklish grass under foot, catching whiffs of soft floral and grass cutting perfume, or hearing trills of birdsong.

These small simple pleasures are the essence of the life of Riley to me, taking the time to appreciate what is right before me.  They are within easy reach; making life pleasant with each changing season of new and comfortingly familiar discoveries.  They never cease to delight me and they never disappoint me.

If you could have a perfect life of Riley day, paint me a word picture in the comments, I'd love to share your vision.  

I hope you day is filled with ease and pleasantry.

A WINNER AND A CHALLENGE...

 (FREE IMAGE)

Thank you to all who entered in the give away.  Your answers were fun and inspiring and I can see we are a group of kindred spirits sharing a love for color, nature, and all things vintage!  

And the winner is...Tiffany of The Cranky Queen!

Congrats Tiffany, please email me your mailing address information and I will get started creating your one of kind treasure filled with goodies based on your likes.

(FREE IMAGE)

Are you feeling up to an artful challenge?  Well, Scott over at Vintage Image Craft has a great one for you with some great prizes to boot!  Here we are on the cusp of Spring with Easter right around the corner and what better way to celebrate than to make a basket or container using one of the great free images provided expressly for this challenge?

Here is what Scott has to say about the Spring Container challenge:

 (IMAGE SOURCE)

"Easter baskets. Bags of seeds. Vases of tulips. Jars of candy. And don't forget the humble egg. These are the "containers" of spring and Easter. What kind of unique container can YOU make using vintage images of spring?

Join our VIC Creative Challenge, April 2012, and create a unique Spring Container! Submit your craft photo, and if your Spring Container is selected, you will win a new copy of "The Artful Storybook," the fanciful survey of mixed-media, story-telling artwork, curated by acclaimed artisan, Terry Taylor.

You must begin with a Victorian vintage image of spring or Easter. Download FREE images from VIC's Facebook page, now into April. Or you can purchase ready-to-print Image Books from our VIC Store.

Incorporate one or more of those images into a unique craft that can serve as a container. Through Wednesday, April 4, you can submit your Spring Container craft photo to VintageImageCraft -- and you are in the contest!!

The top three winners will share adulation, international acclaim, and PRIZES!"

 VintageImageCraft invites you to submit your"Spring Container" by April 4, 2012!

For detailed instructions on submissions, click HERE.

While you are there check out the Easter Craft Page that features some super sweet free Easter craft tutorials.  I really love the faux chocolate egg!  

 (IMAGE SOURCE)

I'd like to give this one a try.

I hope you all enjoy a blissful weekend!

CLEANING UP AND CLEARING OUT - ART FOR SALE...

 (Image Source)

In the process of cleaning up and clearing out my studio I came across several packed up pieces of art.  It is past time to let them go and make room for new art and new ideas.  I was able to get up a partial listing today and will list more by the weekend or sometime next week.  Some of these pieces have been featured on my blog in the past and some have not.  I thank you for your encouragement and interest in getting my shoppe up and running.  

 All of these pieces are one of a kind from my collection of what I call my "experimental art" phase.  These were results of experimenting with materials, mediums, and style to help gain a sense of direction for my creative niche.  Have I found it yet?  Not exactly, but, I feel the new pieces I am working on currently are at least headed in the right direction.

Today's listed offering are:

"Cottage Bealle" Fabric Collage...

Altered Art Doll "Clara Scarlett"...

 Laura Ingalls Wilder Art Quilt...

 

Fabric Collage "SNOW" Banner...

 Mixed Media "DREAM" Sign...
SOLD

 Mixed Media "HOME TWEET HOME" Sign...

 To view the full details and pricing of the artful offerings from my nest follow this link to: Quill Cottage Curiosity Shoppe or visit by clicking on my shoppe link on my upper right sidebar.

As you can see my creative journey is a bit all over the map.  At least I see a running thread here, I like aged ivory tones ;c)  Is that weird?  Does anyone else do that?  Make art and pack it away?  Chalk it up to one of my quirks.

Should you have any questions on any of the listings you can leave a comment or email me at srpbabb@gmail.com.

GIVE AWAY SIGN UP: STUDIO STORAGE STYLE...

Please note that this giveaway is closed.
I said in a recent post that I would not be posting on the studio any more for a while but I keep getting requests for closeup looks at the new studio storage desk, especially the recycled can designs that hold supplies.  Since you asked so nicely, request granted.

 Just a little refresher of Before & After (you can see a more detailed post on this project HERE)...

 

I made one little addition of a shelf in the blank center area that I could not quite figure out what to place there.  Fingers crossed and the final brace and under mount lighting will be installed this weekend and bring this project to a close...

a

Now for a closer peek at those recycled tin cans...

(This little domino art piece was a gift from Beth)

 
I used vintage sheet music, burlap, muslin, and lace as background pieces on the white painted cans...
 
Various bits and bobs from around the studio to make interesting embellishments such as an old spoon, rusty screws, and hair pins...
 
A vintage bottle cap, photo, and jewelry piece...
 
Tarnished silverware and mini drawer pull...
 
An empty watch case...
 
Tiny tin toy spoon...
 
Old buckle, vintage graphic, chandelier crystal...
 
A clay checker, pattern paper petals, mother of pear button...
 
Mother of pearl buckle, hand woven wire birds nest, vintage millinery...
 
Handmade muslin rosettes, vintage pearls...

I also finished the cans to hold all my paint brushes...

Now, enough studio stuff for a while unless it is actual art.

At the end of this recycling project I ended up with an extra painted can.  I thought it might be fun to design just one more, fill it with ephemera and small supplies to use as a give away prize.  I want to do a custom design for the winner so READ THE SIGN UP RULES CAREFULLY, this will determine the winners personal design.  No restrictions apply to the participants, any and all are welcome!  If you do not have a blog or link back please include and email address as contact information in case you are chosen as the winner.

To sign up:

In the comments section leave the following information:

*Favorite Color

*Favorite Flower

*Favorite Collectible

*One word to describe your style (ex: vintage, modern, etc.)

If you do not have a blog or link back please include an email address as contact information in case you are chosen as the winner.

A winner will be chosen and announced one week from today on Friday, March 16, 2012.

I hope you all enjoy a beauty filled weekend!