Life has regained some semblance of normalcy. We are better!

Now I can get on with life in general and my art.
To kick start this, I'm going to join in on ' pay it forward blog project'.

As part of the deal, in order to participate, I am offering this on my blog...I get something from someone with a promise to pass along the thought, so here are the rules:

The first 5 (five) people to respond will get something made by me.

This offer does have some limitations and restrictions, so please read carefully.

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.
2. What I make will be just for you, with love.
3. It'll be done this year (2009).
4. I will not give you any idea what it will be. I will not give hints. It will be something handmade by me and will be a real tangible thing. It may very well be kooky or strange.
5. I reserve the right to make it as strange as I like, if I so desire.
6. In return, all you need to do is post this text on your blog (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) and make 5 (five) things for the first 5 (five) folks to respond.
7. Send me your mailing address--after I contact you. I MUST have a way to contact you. If you are on blogger, please make sure you have your email address in your profile. Please make this as easy on me as possible, I am a very busy woman these days.

Important: This offer is null and void if I do not see your post on your blog to pay this forward.

The loss of a my brother

The picture to the right of this space is a picture of my
baby brother, Ernie and I in Monterey CA, 1955.
He always made me laugh. He was so funny when he
was little. Always had some way to entertain us.
We were such good friends, growing up. He changed when
he became a teenager.
We had a rough time at home and we relied on each other
for support, on a daily basis.

Yesterday was by far the worse day of my life.
I received a phone call from my sister-in-law, Jackie.
My brother had taken his own life the night before.
He was only 57, but he was a tortured soul and had
been, most of his life.
My heart is broken. Not only because he's gone, but
because there was nothing anyone could do. He wouldn't
help himself and any help we tried to give him, he rejected.
I could tell he was going deeper and deeper into depression.
Most of it brought on by alcohol abuse, an abusive relationship
with a girlfriend (he and his wife were estranged).

Hey, Ern, what was so terrible that you couldn't hang on and
make things work out? What was so wrong that it couldn't be
fixed? What was so wrong that you couldn't call me and let me
talk you out of what you did?

I will miss you so much. I can't believe you won't call me this week
and tell me about work or about your plans to move.
And we had just begun to be friends, again. Now its gone. I have
no brother, Julie has no uncle, and Jackie has lost her best friend.

Our hearts are broken, and are lives left in pieces, because
you are gone.

Be at peace, little brother, be at peace.
I love you,
Sis

Kings & Queens RR Altered Book 2

This is the second spread I did. This one came to
me at the last minute. Kept thinking I wanted to
do something a little different. I had actually thought of
doing another queen spread, then I thought "King of the Road"!
Roger Miller!
There is a very interesting bio on the net, by his wife. I read
every bit of it. Got the lyrics and had way too much stuff for
two pages. So I added a page in between the spread.

Lots of stamps, and ink. This is one of my favorite spreads
in this RR. I think it's because of the subject. He always made
me smile with his music and his wit.

People who knew him said he was a musical genius, and I
believe it.

Hope Dee likes her pages.

Kings & Queens RR Altered Book

This is the first set of pages in this book.
Queens? Beauty Queens! There's some
great information and photos out there
about the Miss America pageant. Lots
of history and after I was done with this
layout, I wish I had included more of it.
But, I didn't, just some of the winners
over the years.
The background is done in quoache, then
dry brushed with iridescent red. I stamped
it with my swirl stamps to give the background
some punch.

Friday 4x4 Challenge

With an Asian theme, I couldn't resist.
The challenge is here: 4x4 Friday
This is Josh paper, & an image I stamped on Origami
paper, colored in then cut-out. I stamped the
background with three different stamps, then glued
the coin charms to the piece.
I like it. Thinking it would look nice in a small frame,
mounted on some red matte board with black trim.

Spring Chunky Book Page

Here it is! Not much, but it really is.
Theres, lots of bee's wax holding those flowers and
the leaf down.
Paper lace! OMG! I found something new to love
about paper. This stuff is so fun. I found it in colors
at the scrapbook store. Those gals think I'm crazy,
because I shop in there and never do any scrapbooking.

The back of the page is striped, this is double sided card
stock. It's stamped and has a small coin shaker on it.
This is going out in the mail tomorrow.

Tiffany's First Fatbook page

Tiffany is my 12 year old granddaughter. Both my granddaughters
are artistic. I started letting them paint with me when they were
very young. They loved it.
Krista, the 15 year old, wore lots of paint, while Tiffany was a little
neat-nik. She would wipe her hands dozens of times while painting.

Both the girls started doing some scrapbooking a few years back
and loved it. Then Krista started doing ATCs with me. Tiffany
wanted in but at 9, I thought she was still too young to concentrate
on what we were doing. I was wrong.
She made ATCs all on her own.

Recently, she was watching her mom make some fatbook/chunky
book pages for a swap on my yahoo group, Altered_stART, and
decided to make an ABC fatbook. This is Tiff's first page. She did
this with help from no one.
The little plastic bubble over the button is a "googley eye".
She took it apart to get the desired effect she wanted. She also
took the time to look up the word 'Art' in a Spanish/English
dictionary, so she could add other elements to her piece.

I'm very proud of all my girls. Julie (dd), Krista and Tiffany,
you make me so proud with your artistic abilities and the way
you use them.