Monday, May 21, 2012

Monday-3:30pm

Our stretch of dry days ended.
 The big parking lot puddle is back.  But then the birds come to drink and bathe, so that's good.  I especially love the crow couple when they drop by.  :)
We seem to be back to that pattern of a day or two of dry (cloudy to sunny) days and then rain.  But it's been warmer than it was some of the time.  80s today and tomorrow.  Then back to my favorite--70s!  ;)
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Anyways, I took the advice of my friend, Ruby, and made a couple copies of my first page in the Mixed Media journal so I could play around a little before I actually paint over the top--coward that I am.  
 I used the brown and green from my new Blick liquid watercolors and experimented trying to make vines...and played with different types and sizes of brushes a little, too.
But the computer paper just curled and buckled.  So I printed off some copies onto card stock so I can play a little more seriously--coward that I am.  ;) 
Yesterday the clouds were rolling through here all day. 
The wind was brisk.  The clouds nearly cleared... 
...and then they'd come across the sky in force again.  Was quite beautiful to watch. 
Karma didn't care.  Slept all afternoon, as per usual. 
 This afternoon--I got a RAK (random act of kindness) package in the mail from Desi!!
My goodness!!  A letter and a card inside...and tons of goodies! 
As usual, you can double click on any of the pictures and they should get bigger for you.  (Unless blogger has changed that, too, with the new format.)  
The two rubber stamps are just perfect for me.  This typewriter looks like my Underwood!! 
And the little one shaped like a house has this cat sitting in an open window stamp on the bottom. 
She sent some bags that will be perfect for collage! 
This overlay says "get well" all over it. 
She sent a couple of sets of quilting directions and a bunch of fabric samples.  (Reminding me--another project I want to get to--the journal covers!) 
A card making booklet. 
A sampling of 6X6 inch papers, some journaling cards, and air mail envelopes. 
A sampling of 12X12 papers. 
And last, but not least--one of those handmade scrap journals she made just for me!! 
I have seen these all over on youtube.  I snapped several pictures as I was thumbing through and these are not the half of it all! 
A big R for Rita! 
Tags, envelopes... 
...some stamping here and there... 
...and sayings, too. 
Desi uses her sewing machine a lot on her projects. 


I'll have to take more time and go through it slowly later.  Wow! 
And she signed the back page!! 
Now that is special! 
I've never tried making one of these myself, but it's another cool way to recycle stuff and use up your scraps.  You can put things inside, write in them, paint on pages...whatever you want to do.
Thanks so much, Desi!!
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So, lots of pictures again today.  Hope you enjoyed opening the RAK with me.  ;)  I am washing clothes and writing letters.  Have a movie to watch from Netflix tonight.  It's another dark, cloudy day...but a surprise box of goodies was quite the bright spot.  
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Have a super-duper day!!  :)
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"At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want."
Lao Tzu

25 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

what a wonderful gift from your friend! and your cloud/sky photos were beautiful!

fishducky said...

What a wonderful surprise gift--& what a kind friend!!

Beth said...

That is a truly great friend you have. I would love to get a box of goodies like that in the mail.

Karma looks so peaceful, wonder what she is dreaming about.

Janie Junebug said...

What a great gift package. I want to sleep next to Karma.

Love,
Janie

Queenie Jeannie said...

YAY! Good mail is always the best!!! Enjoy your new goodies and journal!

Gina Gao said...

That is such a wonderful gift! I really enjoyed this post.

www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

Desiree said...

I am so glad you got it and loved it!!! I was hoping the journal was not too busy for you! I had it in my car to mail for more than a week and have been overloaded form work cannot even take a lunch! So i am glad it brought a smile and brightness to your day!!! :D

Dana said...

What a great gift!

I also think temperatures in the 70-degree range are perfect. I melt after that. LOL

AliceKay said...

Wow, yes indeed. That was a great gift package from Desi. Lots of neat surprises inside. Very cool scrap journal.

I only have to click on your pictures once to enlarge them...no need to double click. That's the way it's been for awhile now.

Keep the pictures coming. Gotta get my Karma fix now and then. :)

Unknown said...

Oh MY GOSH! That is some gift box you received Rita. That is some fantastic stuff. ENJOY:)))
Fran T xo
PS Thanks for visiting my blog and love all your nice comments:)

Akannie said...

Oh, Rita !! How wonderful for you!

Great pictures--Karma looks like a kitten we named Callie that found a good home with a friend.

You are going to be a busy girl!!!

xoxoxoxox

betty said...

What a great box of goodies from your friend!!! I can see how that would brighten up your day! LOL with Karma sleeping the day away; to sleep like that would be heaven I do believe!

betty

Toriz said...

What a great box of goodies; the perfect thing to brighten up a cloudy day! :)

Tat @ Mum in search said...

How much work has gone into that journal! A wonderful gift. I actually want to try and make one now.

DJan said...

What a wonderful thing for Desi to do, and how wonderful for you to photograph and share it with your admirers, Rita! I really enjoyed it. :-)

Cindy Lane said...

You lucky duck! What a wonderful surprise. Make yourself a mug of something yummy and go through it all at your leisure.

Lucky Karma too!

Deanna said...

What a wonderful box of goodness! I've never seen such an assortment of things. I had to look twice. lol. I've never seen a scrap journal before. It is so cool. I hope you enjoy everything and your day!

We need rain here... how about sending some our way?

Megan Adamson said...

Oh I just LOVE your scrap journals!
I have three on the go at the moment and have some beautiful paper to use too. {well, it was originally origami paper, so I bought it quite cheap}
One of my favourite scrap-books is hard-board covered in a vintage cotton that I just love.
The weather here has been quite nice, but it's a pity that I've not been too well lately...I'm taking my second lot of antibiotics, so I hope I feel well soon.
Love to you and Karma.

Dee said...

Dear Rita, that box of goodies was such a treat for you to receive and for us to learn about. I so liked the scrap journal she sent you. It looks intriguing. Peace.

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

Wow aren't you lucky I like the stamp with the typewriter so many wonderful items.......we also have a number of great days followered by a run of cold and wet days........

Carol said...

WOW! What a haul!!! Don't you just love it when you get those surprise packages :0) We need rain here...but not this week :0)

Dave said...

That was nice Rita - Dave

1artsychick said...

What a wonderful gift! How exciting!
I love the scrap journal, I'd love to know how to do that.
hope you are pain free.
wendy

Harvest Moon by Hand said...

That's a wonderful box of goodies to open! It's like Christmas!!

Enjoyed the pictures of the scrap journal. Like you wrote, that's a great way to use up scraps. I'd like to try to make one, but I think mine would pale in comparison to the cool - and incredibly creative - one you received!

Gypsy said...

I wonder if you might be able to tell me who makes that typewriter stamp?