Happy Anti-Valentines Day!!! R Rated Post

Happy Anti-Valentines Day to all my Bloggin Buddies!!! xoxoxo!!! Here is my First Batch of AV's. I am illin' from a weekend of Drinking and Debauchery so this is a brief and painful post of pics. Warning to the Weak of Stomach and Faint of HeArt these are LOW BROW. Skip this post if Low Brow is not your thingy ding.

"Stop Looking" Claimed by Sherry!!

"Wild Woman" Claimed by PB!!

"Wouldn't Need Bob" Claimed by Terri!!

"Wigged and Loaded" Claimed by Grace!!

This next one is my personal favorite!!

So far I have made only ONE Sweet Valentine. This is for my Aussie friend Lorri from Artivity. This is a photo of her parents. She posted it on her blog a long time ago for us to play with. Lorri sent me not One but TWO ATC's I saw on her Flickr page that I shamefully begged for. teehee. Thank you, Lorri!! xoxoxo I will post photos of them as soon as I stop peeing orange, for you ladies in the know, you feel me right??? I can't sit still for too long. teeFinghee.
I owe Cyndy and Cub a sweet one, too. Now WHO WANTS WHAT???? Which one appeals to you?? First come, first serve Fellow Blogging Buddies!! Nobody panic, I still have about 10 more to make. xoSusan

More Blog Love

Wow, I am fortunate to know THE MOST AWESOME Bloggers in the world. Not only are my blog friends Talented, Wise, Funny, Inspirational, you are all unbelievably GENEROUS with your friendship, and ART!!! Big Thank You goes out to Sherry of Got Art? who sent this wonderfully festive Happy New Year ATC:


How cool is that?? I love it!! Sherry is taking a little hiatus from blogging but visit her blog anyway!! There is so much talent to see there from ANY of her posts, past or present. I'm sending Positive Thoughts out to Sherry and hope YOU will do the same!!

I received a Christmas Card from Marsha of Tumblefish Studios, Gorgeous As Only Marsha Can Do It!! Beautiful detail, The Most Intense and Juicy Colors Ever!!

And in True Marsha Style, she enclosed a print of one of her horizontal works, that I requested to add to my "Marsha Wall". Yes, I am a stalker of The Highest Caliber!!
How Stunning is That???? Marsha also Generously enclosed another print, but I'm not going to share it here. I am going to Emulate Marsha's RAK and send The Magic along to a dear friend. Payin it Forward!!! xoMarsha Many Many Thanks.

I just hopped to Marsha's blog to get her address to link, and was deeply saddened by news she shared. One of her dear blogging friends lost her battle with cancer. I did not know this artist personally or by her work, so I will let Marsha's post speak for itself. Marsha's father has been diagnosed with cancer, her daughter has been in and out of the hospital frequently this winter, and her dear friends have seriously ill parents. I am going to join Marsha in asking for prayers for all of these Beloved People in Marsha's life. We Artist Blogging Friends are a POWEFUL and LOVING group of AMAZING STRENGTH and SUPPORT. Thank You Thank You for adding your Positive Thoughts, Prayers and Comments to all Your Comrades in this Big Wonderful Bittersweet thing called LIFE.

My Dear Friend from The Other Side Of The World, Lorri of Artivity in Australia, has also had a terrible loss in her life. Her Cherished mother passed away recently. Although I feel powerless to Really Help, I did the only thing I could, support her with Words and Love. Lorri's blogging about her painful loss is very real, very raw, and an amazing tribute to her mother. I have had to brace myself to visit her blog, because although, I try to be supportive, I can be a coward too. Lorri's writing is so powerfully written, and I am thankful she has her blog to help in a small way to purge her emotions. Lorri sent me an angel.

I didn't crop, sorry. Please say a prayer for Lorri and her family.

My Mom is celebrating her birthday this week. The family is celebrating this Saturday with a dinner in her honor. I am so blessed to still have my parents with me. I Love You, Mom. I Love You, Dad.

Me and my Dad.
Me, my sister Deb, my sister Linda, at her wedding 2008.
Mom and Dad's Engagement photo.

25 years together.

The Colonel and his wife attending a Military Ball.

Sam and my STUNNING Nieces.
Me, Mom and Dad
My cousin Dionne and My Wonderful sister in law, Robin.

My hilarious Nephew Joe and his Awesome wife, Erin.
The coolest Brother, Dan and The Coolest nephew ever, Tim.
Me and Dad at Linda's wedding.

Me and Sam.
I Love and Appreciate Each and Every One of You.
So this is what happens sometimes. We start out carefree, silly and shallow and End Up, Saddened yet Thankful, and therefore Grown Up. I was going to delete the beginning of this post because it started out too lighthearted. After visiting Marsha's blog and reading Lorri's latest post, I felt completely different. Then I realized turning on a dime is what life does. Keepin it Real is hard. Much Much Love, Susan

Old Fashioned Cut And Paste

Had a very productive weekend. Cleaned the whole house, laundry, lovin, and Art!! Ok, by whole house I mean not the Teenagers Bedroom and Bathroom (ghastly shiver) or the studio. I haven't had a chance to take my next on-line photo shop class this past week and I've been missing glue and scissors. So today I made some ATC's the old fashioned way. The first is the final in the triad inspired by the wisdom of my friend Beth from BarnOwlStudio. I used my hand painted watercolor paper for the substrate, the photo of the little girl is from my Aussie friend Lorri from Artivity, (thanks again for the ephemera Lorri, I had this image once, loved it, and lost it, so happy to have it again!!xo) and the stamp is from Invoke Arts. I think. The quote is from "The Dark Bride" written by Laura Restrepo. Border's Books review describes it as "A slyly humorous yet poignant love story." Right up my Alley, folks.

The next one is "Don't Ask". Substrate is illustration board gifted to me by Beth. Thanks Again, Beth! I love this stuff! Never used it before and I like it much better than my baseball cards!! Dollar bill is an ink jet alcohol transfer using Apollo 7039 and my new baby, little Epson C88. Inked and marker edges. Vintage cabinet card image. The dollar image is from a collage sheet from an etsy seller, but I have them all mixed up and I'm not sure which artist I purchased it from. My bad.
Next one is "Soft Repose". I had another phrase in mind before I found these words from different parts of an old book. I used D3 to fill in the copper ring, and dropped a little alcohol ink on top. The statuary hand was another ink jet transfer done using the 7039 and alcohol. The substrate is paper I sprayed Glimmer Mists and Adirondack Sprays on. The woman's face is from Artchix Studio.
And the last one is "Settling". Inspired by Death Cab For Cutie, one of my favorite Bands. The inspiring song is called "The Sound of Settling". Here's the video for the song. Painted watercolor background, Krylon gold webbing spray, (Anyone know where I can get other colors, especially silver and black?) slide mount thingy with stamping and alcohol inks, ink jet alcohol transfer of music on top of Greek lady. Ink and acrylic edges.
Very diverse sampling, right? Could it be that I have a short attention span?? now, what was I saying??? xoSusan

The Divine Sisters

So Lorri at Artivity was doing a challenge on her blog using this image:

Here's what I came up with:
Yes, I am irreverant and proud of it. It's all in Good Fun. Grace, remember sending me this postcard???? teehee. xoSusan

How I Spent My Valentines Day

I spent my Valentine's Day at work! At work I got a virus! Horrible headache, stiff neck, nausea and rolling innards. Guess what arrived at work to make me feel better?

Thank you goes to my dear friend, Erin. She works part time at a florist and arranged these herself. I am a lucky girl!

Guess what arrived at home to make me feel better? :
How pretty is that? Cyndy from Heliotrope Tree House and her darling daughter Cub, created this beautiful expression of blog friendship. Thank you ladies, you sure did brighten my day. Cyndy was the recipient of my "Hope Will Find You" ATC and has positively made me blush with her heartfelt thanks. Lots of healing thoughts heading her family's way from my house. If you have a moment, please say a healing prayer for Cub's great grandma.

Guess what else arrived to make me feel even better! From my BFF Grace, I received this hilarious card:

And the punchline?:
This is what my life has become!!!! Ok, the lady doing my taxes today told me I need to be more positive. I was really nervous and I guess I OVERSHARED about my life. I'm getting a refund. American Express and Chase Mastercard will be so happy to hear that. So to put it positively, this is what my life has become, FOR NOW!!! Anyhoo, my wise, all listening, and all knowing BFF included this wonderful surprise in my valentine card:
A vintage postcard by Artist Xavier Sager!!! Grace knows what I like!! And here is the back with the most exquisite handwriting in French:

Please feel free to use this in your artwork. And as always, I would love to see what you create with it.

During Valentine Week, I also received a surprise package from my generous blog friend from across the pond, Lorri, at Artivity in Australia. Lorri's work is awesome! (Off Topic- Lorri is having a fun challenge on her blog, check it out, I'm gonna work on it this weekend-stay tuned!) She and her daughter, Bec, run a store called Scrappindipity and still have time to create beautiful (and often hilarious) art! Look at all this awesome Ephemera she sent:

Great images, I especially love the image of the 5 ugly ladies and the 2 children. I have actually been looking for the image of the two children. I made this ATC(traded) a while ago and have had many requests for a "clone":
All I need to do is cut away the little boy, hehehehe. Lorri also sent this cool postcard that is a montage of her art. I wanna do one, too! Here's Lorri's:
And drum roll please, the BEST part, a framed original ATC:
Lorri's inscription tells me to "Remember Your Beauty". How awesome is that! Thank you one and all for making me feel the love this Valentines!

And guess what made me feel the best I have ever felt in my ENTIRE LIFE?? 15 years ago on Valentines Day I gave birth to this:

Ok, she was A LOT smaller 15 years ago, but you know what I mean!! She dyed her hair black! Here she is opening her Bday gift from Grace at her party at my mom and dad's house. Holy Birthday Run On Sentence Batman. My mom invited the whole family, catered it with delicious food, (my mom is an unpaid party planner!!!)and decorated the house with love. I gave Sam a flip digital camcorder, got the idea from Sherry. Thanks, Sherry! I have to share how tiny my daughter is. Here is one of her presents in a sweet box:


I couldn't resist stuffing the bikini in that small box. Sam loved it. Wal-mart. You heard me. I said it. Don't Hate. teehee.

So all in all, my virus and loneliness were counteracted by Love from Friends and Family. Before this gets Hallmarky, I'm signing off.

xoSusan