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PaperWhimsy Musings No. 11
April 5, 2009
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Big Happenings...
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Good day and good day... it's spring and I'm feeling quite energetic and in a chatty mood. The last few Musings/Bits 'n Bobs have been somewhat brief but today... well, today's a different story. It's spring and my brain has come out of the deep freeze so I think I'll start this newsletter with a whimsical little chat. Grab your coffee and get comfy.
I've been trading emails with my lovely mummy-in-law and she's been filling me in on all "The Happenings" - mysterious and otherwise unexplained events - that have been occurring in their little village of Matfield. Sheila (MIL) and Just William (FIL also known as Peter) have been sending me juicy bits of news off and on and I've been storing them up just for you (and me because I love this kind of stuff).
The photo, above, taken by Sheila is of Just William "on the case" yesterday morning with, what appears to be a magnifying glass. Or maybe that's a cell phone. Whatever it is, JW is putting on a jolly good show of investigating the brick wall along their garden. One never knows where one might find a "Happening" when one lives in Matfield. The local riffraff best be on their toes with Just William on the case ready to snap their photo or ring them up.
Among the unexplained "Happenings" in sleepy Matfield that have been shared with me:
It was sadly reported that someone drove into the village pub sign, having stood steadfast in the same spot for over 200 years, and knocked it clear over - as yet, the case is unsolved.
Someone also (the same someone?) drove into the Cherry Trees Tearoom sign down the road and the only thing holding the sign up now is one of the Cherry Trees cherry trees - also unsolved.
Someone dumped a load of mud at the end of the lane making the lane nearly impassible - a lorry came by and scooped it up; as of this date the mud-dumping culprit has not been apprehended - unsolved.
The white duck in the village pond who thought he was a Canadian goose is actually a swan! Case closed.
Someone drove right through the village bus stop, leaving behind the roof and the back. The sides are gone. Or it could be that somebody didn't drive through the sides but actually stole them - either way, unsolved.
Among the most baffling and longstanding cases is the disappearance of the village bench that used to sit by the village pond in the village green. One day there, the next day... gone. Perhaps it is sitting next to the village bus stop walls in somebody's garden. Who knows. To date - unsolved. (See photo of village green, below, and note the absence of a bench.)
These are just some of the juicy little nuggets sprinkled throughout the emails from my mummy-in-law. We also get a thick envelope every so often filled with snippings from the local papers. The ugliest dog that was so ugly he was cute. The cutest pig that was so neat he wore Wellies to walk in the mud. The little dormouse that was carefully transported to the Secret World Wildlife Rescue Centre when his little hidey hole was dug up by an inquisitive dog. Mr. Mouse now sleeps peacefully in a little coconut shell at the rescue center. (True story, scout's honor).
See, it isn't so bad when my brain comes out of hibernation, eh? Thanks to my mummy-in-law and her tales of tiny Matfield in the parish of Brenchley located between Pembury and Paddock Wood in the southeast of England.
I'll share more adventures in future newsletters as they're told to me. I'm sure you, like me, can think of nothing quite so wonderful as hearing about a dormouse that lives in a coconut shell and the assorted mysterious "Happenings" of sleepy Matfield.
You can see more of Matfield by clicking here.
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Color!
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As I stretched my weary bones from my long winter's nap and wiped the sleepy bugs out of my eyes it slowly dawned on me that besides a cup of strong rich coffee, my very spirit yearned for... COLOR. I'm so tired of black... and grey... and greyish white... So I hastened to my computer and sent out an emergency email to the place I knew would have the perfect antidote for the last few dregs of winter grey still clinging to my eyeballs. Stef Francis! The gorgeous fibers now sprinkling their merriment all over the PaperWhimsy shoppe were especially dyed for my order and flown all the way from Devon, England, just for you (and me). My goodness, they are gorgeous and you can find them in the Fibers & Ribbons section of the shoppe. Go look... get inspired... create art... |
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And more...
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And, upon seeing those glorious fibers, my heart went a'flutter and I flew to my computer and splashed color across my Photoshop workspace and cranked up the saturation. If this color was music it would be blowing out the speakers. Oranges, reds, pinks, yellows... warm, warm, hot! You can find these vibrant bits in the Digisheets section of the shoppe and watch for more to come. Is your heart pumpin'...? Is your blood thummin'...? Are you bursting with HOT new ideas? Spring has sprung! Find these new pretties and other goodies by clicking on the New Bits button, below.
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The Poetic Journey continues...
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Week four
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"... There in the Land of Nod I never think of home, For home is there, With sleeping doves and silvery girls..."
Through the rest of 2009, we're taking a journey through the wonderful poetry of child poet Hilda Conkling, putting her whimsical and often wistful words to pictures.
We're into week four of the journey and the artwork that has arisen from these wonderful poems is nothing short of amazing. The piece featured above is by artist Debby Harriettha.
If you've been in an artistic slump this may well be the project to pull you out of it. If you're not particularly interested in doing the group thang then rejoice... the collage sheets that are being issued for these challenges in the PaperWhimsy Art Forum will also be available for sale in the shoppe... so you can play along.
If you do like the group thang and you're interested in meeting other artists who share your love of PaperWhimsy images and mixed media and collage art in general, then come on and join us.
For more information just drop me an email.
"...Sleeping boys and drowsy roses. There I find people whose eyes are heavy, And trees with folded wings,"
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Inspirations 2 Art
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Finally spring is here in
Alabama! And oh the colors are so
inspiring. From the blooming azaleas to the budding Dogwood trees, colors to
wash away the grays of winter. So with
all those colors out my windows, I have been inspired by all the new flowers,
fibers, and collage images in the Paperwhimsy shoppe. Oh, and tags too! So
please, stop by my blog and see all the colorful items I've been playing with
this week.
www.paperwhimsy.com/inspiration
Warmest,
Rande
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Other New Goodies Worth a Look...
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I, like every other mixed media
artist in the world, have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the
new Tim Holtz stuff from CHA2009.
While we still wait I managed to get a few goodies in the shoppe to
keep us busy. You've gotta check out Tim's new Salvage Stickers.
Primo. Something like 200+ stickers in the book - a ton of great
"story" starters - not to be passed up.
You can find these in the Pretty Papers section of the shoppe or by clicking on the New Bits button, below.
Also very cool are the little mini pins, paper clips and tiny fasteners. This guy is very big on sticking stuff to other stuff and he's always got a trick or two up his clever little sleeve on how to do that without using glue. Check out these bits in the Trinkets & Beads section of the shoppe. Or New Bits'll get you to them, too.  Not to be forgotten - the new Grungepaper. Very cool and practically indestructible, though, honestly, I haven't tried to destroy it - I just arted the heck out of it. This stuff is thinner than the original Grungeboard so you can stitch it, as well. You can find it in the Necessities section of the shoppe. And from 7gypsies - I love those wacky gals - are some new tags that were love at first sight for me. What I'm showing here are their Vintage Tags. You'll also find their Gypsy Tags in the shoppe in the Pretty Papers section. And New Bits will also get you to them. Be sure to check out their Journaling Cards, as well. These would make awesome pages by simply punching and running rings through them or stringing with ribbon or FIBERS. Stef Francis FIBERS.  Lots of new pretties and inspiration starters for you to peruse. Best way to see them all is to click on the magic button, below :o) *** |
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TTFN
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So, now 'tis time for me to get back to my computer and continue rejoicing over my renewed love affair with glorious color. There is nothing like feeding your creative soul with a good dose of color and nothing like the joys of creating with it. I hope this little newsletter finds you well, starts your day on a happy note and has you heading to your art table to rejoice right along with me.
Happy Sunday!
Blessings,
Gale
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