Meeting Merida and other Scottish Activities

My husband and I both had Friday off. So after a morning appointment, dear hubby dropped me off at Disneyland while he went to a dr. appointment. I grabbed a muffin, some coffee and headed back towards "It's a Small World" to the area set up for "Brave" and Merida the heroine of the story.

I found a comfy spot across from the entrance and pulled out my Visual Journal, to sketch. I love people watching and sketching at Disneyland. Loved the little boy, about 7 who was sitting about 10 feet from me who kept wandering a bit closer each time he walked around while his parents dealt with a sibling...I know he was trying to get a peek at what I was doing without getting too close for me to notice, but I noticed.


I left room for Merida's signature.

 A few hours after I started my hubby came to meet me, wearing his Utilikilt, ready to meet Merida. We spun the wheel to find our clan - Dingwall. Then off to meet Merida, the bear cubs

 and some archery practice.

While waiting our turn with Merida, the Monorail came by sporting it's "Cars" paint scheme. So cute.



This was a 3D display at the ScotFest. Brave was one of the sponsors this year, quite fitting don't you think? They even had a wig (hanging on Dingwald's hand) for you to put on so you could pose as Merida with the backdrop.


Keeping in the Scots frame of mind, we were off the next morning to the ScotsFest in Orange County. We love attending this event each Memorial Day. It is our chance to immerse ourselves in our ancestral history/culture. Great music, good food, lots of red heads and kilts.



Highland Dancing competition.



One of many great bands competing at the Festival.

 

"Bad Haggis" performing on the Alex Beaton Stage. The lead musician and piper can be heard on many familiar soundtracks including Titanic.



Hard to see but the Caber is center, right in front of the man with the dark red and black kilt.


Our favorite activity is the Caber Toss and other athletic events as part of the Highland Games.  Though the Caber Toss looks like an activity of strength, but it really is a game of strength and skill. Participants lift a pole, balancing it on their shoulder until they are upright. Then the goal is to lift and toss the pole so that the end in their hands flips over and lands as near to 12 o'clock as possible.


My journal page, sans the journaling, from yesterdays events.



Mother's Day Scrapbooking, Food, and Fun

I had the most wonderful time with friends this past weekend. We all traveled up to the mountain town of Big Bear, Ca for a 4-day scrapbooking retreat. The whole event is hosted and organized by my friend Melissa Papke, owner of the Scrapbook Garden and avid scrapbook teacher. The event is held at Apples Bed and Breakfast each year.  There is room for 40+ croppers to sleep, and 3 large, well lit workrooms for us in which to spread out our projects. Everyone has ample room to work, while sitting in big, comfy office chairs.

Apples from the front.

Backyard. Main house in center, one crop room and guest rooms off to the left.



Our room, Pippin 1.



My friend, Jill, and our work area.

It always takes me weeks to just figure out what to work on in order to pack. Of course I pack WAY too much stuff. But I would rather have extra things to work on and supplies to use or swap, than getting stuff up there with nothing to do. ...On second thought, "stuck" in the mountains, surrounded by pine trees, birds and warm sunshine and nothing to do sounds kind of nice. (Maybe next year I should forget to pack something...)

I arrived Thursday afternoon and after unpacking and settling in, I managed to get 20+ pages done, minus the journaling, that night. I have a hard time journaling on the spot. I wanted to consult my journal from the trip I was scapping and have time to think about it.

The folks at Apple's are the best! We were spoiled with more GREAT food than one could possibly eat, created and served by our wonderful hosts. Here are just a few of the yummy breakfasts, snacks and desserts we were served each day.



Apples' famous Apple shaped cheese balls. Yummy!



Breakfasts are always extraordinary. Homemade biscuits, muffins, granola...along with great egg dishes, yogurt, apple sausage, and maple brown sugar glazed bacon, aka "Bacon Crack" as Jill would say, are just a few of the wonderful treats greeting us in the morning.

We had the pleasure of the company of a sweet little cat who had taken up residence at the B & B a few weeks earlier. He was a friendly little guy, who loved to come see what we were doing.



Not sure why he won't stay rotated the right way....hmmmm.

 The first morning, I got up early to enjoy the trees, birds, and quiet...only to find it wasn't as quiet as I had hoped for. Why? It seems a pair of Stellar's Jays and the cat have a ritual of playing tag through the backyard. The jays were squawking away, to the angst of many of the other scrapbookers trying to sleep in. But they were funny.

All in all, I finished 89 pages, almost the whole 15 day cruise through the Panama Canal. Yeah! Now I am ready to take the next cruise we have booked. I cannot wait until next May. For our next adventure. In the meantime, I will keep working on the journaling. I promise to share finished pages as I get them done.

Postcards are Traveling

More computer troubles. Thank goodness I have a laptop to help out in the void left by my sick desktop. I have been sending out postcards for my Postcrossing adventure. So far I have sent out 14 cards. Eight of them have arrived at their intended homes. The other 6 are still traveling.



A map showing where my cards have traveled to.





NOW I am beginning to receive cards in return. So far we (my class and I) have received 6 postcards from Malaysia, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, the UK and one from around the corner (well kind of) San Diego. 



Map of where my postcards came from.



Here are a few of the cards we have received.





Hope your mailboxes are smiling as much as mine is.

Zentangle Therapy

As I said in one my recent posts, I am really glad I had picked up my pen and begun to play with Zentangles and a Visual Journal during all the craziness that was my life the first 3 months of this year. It became a major outlet for my desire to be creative on an not so energy intensive scale. Waiting in a dentist office, sitting on the couch, or even sipping my chicken noodle soup at the dining room table became a place to pull out a journal, a Zentangle Tile or my new Tangle A Day Calendar, and begin to sketch or "Tangle". It really helped to keep me focused on something other than needles, drills, and their resultant discomfort. There is a lot to be said for "zoning out" in something creative. Here are some of my calendar pages.

Happy Easter!

Good Morning! Just wanted to say Happy Easter, and Happy Passover to all my followers. I hope you are getting to celebrate the season with laughter, and good food.

As is tradition in my family, I will be sharing Portuguese Sweet Bread with friends and family today. This is my Great Grandmother's Recipe. It is a huge recipe, which guarantees you will have to share it with others. This year I formed 12 loaves and 24 rolls.

Can you smell it?

Happy Easter to everyone!

Postcrossing Around the Globe

In my search for pens that led me to letter writing, I also came across Postcrossing. This is a website that is dedicated to the sending of postcards around the world. You are given a member's address to send a postcard. Then someone different sends you one. Kind of like a large pool of pen pals. You never know where you will be sending a card, or where your next one will arrive from. I joined a few weeks ago. As a result, I have been hunting for postcards to send to Postcrossing Members. You would think in an area like So Cal, within 5 miles of two large amusement/theme parks, I could find a bunch. But not really.

As much as I like getting mail, I love to send it too. I thought this would be a fun way to see more of the world. I also hope to share the cards I send and receive with my students. I think they will get a kick out of seeing the pictures and finding the countries of origin on a map.

The first cards I have sent off to Postcross Members.

I see this as an sign of how little we write any more. I have sent 5 cards to Lithuania, Finland, the US and Austria so far.  I know that one of the cards headed to Finland has arrived, as well as one to Austria! Can't believe they showed up before the one to Nebraska.Oh well. Now that one has arrived, one will be sent to me. I am excited to see where my first card will come from. Will it have a map on it? or a picture of a monument? a photo of a beautiful scenic area or interesting architecture? hmmmm.
Until it arrives, I will be waiting (not so patiently) at my mailbox. Maybe I will look around for some goodies to MAKE my own post cards. I know some members would prefer not to receive them, but others would like "mail art." I think I will try my had at a few....Now what should I use? Paper? or Fabric?"

www.postcrossing.com

Is Your Mailbox Smiling?

I have fond memories of receiving mail throughout my childhood. I cannot forget how excited I was to find a card or letter in the mailbox addressed to me. There was mystery in that envelope. What would I find when I opened it. I did not know what I would find when I opened it, but I knew that I was special. Someone thought enough of me to write a letter, send me a note... When I moved to college and later when I moved to Japan, I looked forward to mail delivery even more. It was my connection to friend and family.

It saddens me that children these days do not know that connected feeling that comes from getting mail, now known as "Snail Mail." Such a derogatory name for such a wonderful thing. Don't get me wrong, I use email as much as the next guy. It serves a purpose; quick answers, delivered anytime, anywhere, and saves on paper...But I find myself disappointed when I open the mailbox day after day, only to find the usual bills, advertisements, and catalogs. It just isn't the same.

Letters I need to answer.

Over the past few months I have been thinking about this topic more and more. I came to the conclusion that I needed to get out my stationary, pens, and stamps, and begin writing letters more often. (If you are like me, you love paper, stationary and cards... but don't use it often.) I also started poking around in the Internet about writing... That part started when I wanted to get a fountain pen, and tried researching them. "Writing" sent me to many sites about letter writing and correspondence. It is really remarkable how many people/bloggers there are out there who are all trying to keep the art of letter writing alive.

So I have started my own "crusade" to write letters at least once a week. I have done pretty good so far. One letter I sent was to my best friend, whom I am in email contact with daily. When she received the note, she immediately sent me a text to say thank you. It brightened both our days. I encourage you to make a mailbox smile by thinking of someone, even a neighbor or coworker that could benefit from a personal note.



Love this saying....from www.Missivemaven.com.

Leave a comment telling us how you have made a mailbox smile lately.

Garden, Garden How Will You Grow?

I am taking a departure from crafting this weekend to focus on my veggie garden. I am a bit slow starting it this year, but that is ok. I think waiting was a good thing. Our city trash system includes separating items for recycling. They also compost as much of the yard waste as possible. Yesterday, they gave away one huge semi trailer full of compost to residents. We just had to come out with our containers to collect our share.

The line to get into the give away, 15 minutes prior to the start.



We are almost there.



Yeah, we get our share of the wonderful compost.

I have to say, right here and now, that my hubby is the best!!! He has been cleaning out my veggie boxes and getting them ready for me to plant. He puts in a lot of hard work so that I can do the easy part, plant seeds and water the plants...

Today, the left bed was ready for me. He worked on the right hand bed, and I got to plant my first seeds. It has been about 4 years since I have had a garden, so I am really excited. I use the Square Foot Gardening method. SFG is a way of planting vegetables in a small garden to maximize space. You can learn more in the book Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew.

I planted carrots, radishes, beets, cabbage, kale, and spinach this afternoon. I used a ruler to eyeball my square foot and the handle of my hand rake to make holes according to the SFG spacing guide. Each seed is now nestled in its bed, with a big drink of water.

I got 6 x 2 squares planted today. Tomorrow I will try to get a few more done. And now the hard part comes, waiting for the plants to show above ground.

Still having a few snags

I am still dealing with some snags in my template. So, for now I have reverted to the plainest version I can find. Thank you for your patience.

Out of Sync and Out of Touch

Well, I am not sure how it happened but all of February and March just ran away from me and I did not get anything new posted here. Sorry about that. I cannot say that they were not eventful, because they were. Between being ill, Dentist apps, and then having to catch up at work from all those events... I did not lack for activity. The sad thing about this time frame is that I may have been active, but it was not always fun. I really had no energy for sewing or playing with my Cricut. That would have required much more physical and mental prowess than I felt I had last month. I am glad I had picked up my pen and paints and had begun to play with Zentangles and a Visual Journal during this time.

For today's post I am going to spend a bit of time in my Visual or Artist's Journal. Last summer I found out Strathmoreartiststudio.com was hosting a few online workshops on Art Journals. Each new workshop was taught by a notable artist via video, online discussion boards, flicker galleries and notes. These first workshops were great mixed media ideas. Each video gives new techniques to try as well as some examples of their own finished work using the taught techniques.

Strathmore has a new series of workshops going on right now. The first was a Mixed Media Workshop. Though it is over, you can still register and view the videos, browse the discussions.... Workshop 2 just started 3 weeks ago. I am so excited as this workshop is on Sketching and Watercolor. YEAH! And it is taught by an artist I am familiar with, Cathy Johnson. I love her style and had already been scouring her various books, blogs and online videos, when I saw that she was teaching this session. I have already learned a great deal from Cathy and from the other participants. The first week was just basic washes and how to use them in a sketch. I tried several sketches/paintings last week, and was having difficulty getting the hang of water to paint ratio, as well as getting away from massive need to pay too much attention to detail.

A funny story (or two) about the Disneyland pictures - I painted the castle from my table at the Jolly Holiday Bakery on Main Street. While I was working on it Oscar, the head chef for Main Street and VERY long time employee (something like 55 years), came by to see what I was doing. He is such a joyful gentleman. When I was painting the statue, I was sitting on one of the benches that circle that inner area. A family came up to take pictures in front of it. They did several different groupings... chattering away in a language I knew was European but did not recognize. Two little girls, maybe 6 and 8 years old, crept over from the family group and proceeded to climb up on the bench to observe what I was doing. They were having such a good time watching me that they did not see their family walk away. Grandma had to finally drag them off. Somewhere in the middle of it all I found out they were here from Sweden. I just love hanging out at Disneyland. You see and meet some interesting people.

So I started back through my Visual/Art Journal looking at the pieces I liked and what I thought was successful in each page.

What I discovered was I seem to lose the perspective and detail when I try to fill a whole 7 x 10 page in my journal. I do pretty good when I keep most of the picture within a 3 x 5 to 4 x 6 max. With that in mind, I tried again. - Like this one much better. Here are one of my new journal entries. I will share more later.

I am really enjoying this class. If you are at all interested in sketching and painting in a journal, this would be a great place to start. Strathmore Artist Journal Classes

You might also like some of Cathy Johnson's websites and work.

Cathy Johnson - info

Artists' Journal Workshop

Urban Sketchers of the Midwest

Nature Sketchers

Ugh! This Looked Better When I Was Designing It

Rats! Sorry we will all have to live with the format for a few days. I liked it better when I was building the template. But is late so I am stuck with it for at least 24 hours.

Sorry about that.

WOOO HOO!

YEAH!!!!
I finally worked around some issues I was having with blogger.com. I couldn't edit my site or post anything new for the last few weeks. Now that I have fixed it I can get my posts back up and running. I have lots of things to share, and plan on updating the look of my site. I will be posting a REAL post within the next day or two.

Thanks for your patience,
QuiltFrog

UGH! I have not forgotten about you, really!!!

Just wanted to let you know that I have not forgotten about posting new creative pursuits or all of you wonderful crafty, supportive followers. Just seems I have had a heck of a 6 weeks or so. My focus has had to be elsewhere lately.

Now I  discover my desktop is not playing well with anything. I think I have some stupid virus. It was fine yesterday morning but when I got home last night I could no longer use my computer as I see fit. Therefore, this meager post is being created on my Net book. Unfortunately, I have no scanned or photographed projects to share - they are on the desktop.

I will be back up and running this week I am pretty sure. Until, then keep crafting.

Visual/Art Journal continued

I am having a blast with my Visual Journal. I like my colored pencils and water color paints the best, but I am trying to branch out and play with other mediums as well. I am not quite as carefree and unplanned as some might be, but I don't think that is really my nature most of the time. I am trying to push myself to be more spontaneous.

I did pull out my notebook the other day, while enjoying breakfast at a Panera before heading to the dentist. The restaurant I was at had a wonderful sitting area outside, with gas heaters (it was chilly) and a nice big gas fire ring. It was quite relaxing. I challenged myself to attempt the fireplace. Not bad for an amateur.

My cat is always good for a funny story, photo, or in this case a funny sketch. I have seen cats get caught up in something moving on a TV screen before, but Stitch actually sits and watches TV with us on occasion. Many times it is hard to figure out what caught his eye. This time it was the huge parrots and bats on a Nature Channel special about New Zealand. Not hard to see the appeal to a frisky cat this time around.

Besides a visit to the dentist (not a favorite place for me) I also got to have blood drawn for some tests. I am the biggest wimp when it comes to needles. I have always had trouble with them finding a viable vein for drawing even the smallest amount of blood. I usually end up with several punctures in both arms, which equals bruises...It was so bad one time, my family doctor took it from my neck. Yes, you read that right, my neck. Back to my story, I had to have blood drawn and no hubby around for moral support. I lucked out with the tech that did it though. She looked at my arms, decided not to torture me, and pulled from my hand. Yeah only one hole! Drawing hands is always a difficult task. I actually did this while my students were taking a test the next day.

Lastly, this past week and a half have been a major whirlwind for me.

Some on going issues, work changes (about 3 times in one week) and all my stress landed in its favorite place, right between my shoulder blades. That gave me 3 days off work, on my back, chiropractor visits, and not a lot of activity. Oh fun. How come I can't have a sick day where I actually have the energy to do something fun, like quilt or craft? I guess that is why they are called SICK days not CRAFT days, huh?

Well, I still have one day left before it is off to work again. I think I will work on some birthday cards for friends... and maybe another page in my journal.