distractions...

Okay so I am leaving on Friday to go visit my Mom and to help her along post-surgery. Plus, while I'm there, I get to visit my two sisters and then my brother who is flying in from Minnesota for a few days. He's bringing his oldest daughter with him too! To say I am excited would be a serious understatement! So in order that I don't go BONKERS and implode or explode or do any kind of ploding, I'm going to distract myself and discuss a few other things...like the weather!

We are getting some torrential rains here in the Portland area! It was windy and rainy all night last night and all day today! I live on a hill so we're safe from any flooding but check out the little street at the bottom of our hill...

This is crazy stuff, man! We can still drive through it in our cars but wow! Another little spot in our neighborhood that always floods when it rains real hard was closed!

Something else that has been happily distracting me is the Round Robin journal I've been working on. I got it all finished up and got it handed off to Melissa today! Yay! Melissa and I work at the same company so I got to have lunch her with and another friend, Leah. Always a pleasure having lunch with those gals! :-) So the journey has begun for my little book! Oh boy! We don't get our books back until July, 2008 so that's kind of wild to think about! I hope I'm skinny by then! :-)

The theme of my book is "bird, nest, egg, and feather images." Odd, I know, but when Elise, our lovely hostess, first began discussing this round robin, she was referring to it as the ArtNest Round Robin since several of the gals doing it had just attended ArtNest (lucky!). I immediately began finding all kinds of lovely bird images so when it came time to pick a theme, I just kept it real simple.

Here are a few pictures...the cover...

The inside of the cover...

...and then the pages...this first page has a transparency over it...

Here is the instructions page and a little pouch with a goody bag for each participant!

Here's a closer view...but not too close! :-)

And then more pages...

   

 

The poem on these pages reads:

If I were a bird, I'd sing a song and fly about the whole day long,

and when the night comes, go to rest up in my cozy little nest. Jackie Silberg

Just so sweet! And then here's the last page of my pages.

The whole book put back together...

I am in line to receive a journal from Malou each time. I can't wait to see what that clever lady did with her book and pages! :-)

Okay...I'd better get...I need to set to work on the task at hand (and another good distraction)...putting the lights up on the Christmas tree! I like to do it a certain way and so Glen knows that's MY thing! :-) Boy, do I love havin' that tree in the house! Hmmm... the whole house smells like pine! I think we should keep a tree in our house year round...oh and speaking of trees...did you see that the storm brought down the largest Sitka Spruce Tree living in the United States??? Here's the story. I'm SO glad we got to see it before it came down!!!

Later, my lovelies, ta ta!

Comments

[Julie]

LOVE LOVE LOVE your book!!! The painted pages with the red background are my favorite...but the whole book looks spectacular!

[Jana]

Lovely book you have going there---will be fun to see it finished after it returns! Sad to hear about losing the Sitka spruce---we too visited it a while back. Always hate to hear about amazing trees falling or being cut tho---it's liking losing a close friend... part of the cycle of life I guess...

[ArtsyMama]

My goodness....your book look absolutely FANTASTIC!!! I want to pick it up and page through it myself. Great work girlfriend!!!
Kari

[Jan Thomason]

I found your blog through my Charmsters email and am so glad that i took the time to check it out! Your book is DARLING!
Have a great trip to visit your mom.
Stay safe.

[Bejeweled]

Birds, nests, feathers and eggs ... couldn't ask for a better theme :) Your book is just gorgeous!!

Hey....guess what? Your name was picked out of the bowl as a winning name in my giveaway over at Jeweled Elegance! I don't think I have your address, so send me an email when you get a chance and I'll get your package out to you! Congrats!!

[Lori Anderson]

OMG I love that journal!!!

[Karin (creativechaos)]

So beautiful Michelle!! I LOVE the cover! Stay dry!

[Karla Smith]

I love this so much, I'm a lover of birds too.
I've had you on my mind because of the rain. Thanks for posting, I feel much better now.
Your mom needs you now, and I'm sure she will be delighted to have you with her. Take care of yourself, and I hope you have a safe journey home.

I made a few changes to my blog and added some pics, if you'd like to visit: http://artwhisper.typepad.com

I'm also having An Old Fashioned Holiday theme this year by giving handmade gifts. I'll share along the way with pics too.

Hugs,
Karla

[Andrea]

WoW! I love birds and this journal looks chock full of goodness. Good wishes for your mom.

[Jill]

Just lovely!
Can't wait to see you at the "Celebration of Traditions" tomorrow!

[Gina]

My first comment got ate...and I SO wish Mom a terriffic rebound and for my Seester to resume.

[Leslie]

Best to your mom.

I love this book! I have a little "thing" for birds, eggs, nests, etc. I've always thought it would be fun to participate in one of these round robin exchanges.