Six Quick Scrapbook Pages

Tonight, I made six quick scrapbook pages.  The one above features photographs from Sudeley Gardens. Sorry about the quality of the picture, but it's dark here.  The next pages are from Cambridge:

The last one still needs journaling, but I'm going to wait until I do the rest of my Cambridge pictures, so I know what still needs to be included.  I did all these pages in less than an hour. How did I do it?  Well, remember these? If you click on this link, you will see three blank layouts I made with my June counterfeit kit. I know many people find it hard to believe that blank layouts will work for them, but for me, they're great. You can click on any of them to see them in more detail.  What do you think?

Out of the Journal Canvas Challenge: Week #2

Dina Wakley is running a challenge this month to get art journalers to work on canvas or other surfaces (anything outside your art journal). The goal is to workon two canvases each week.  I started two canvases last week and thought I had left an autopost with them, but it didn't work out. So, a little late, here are my two canvases. The one up top is actually two canvases - a 12x12 painted black, with red and yellow circles (plus drips), and a small yellow canvas that I will attach to the front. I definitely got that idea after taking Tim Holtz' Creative Block class. I plan to add a few more yellow splatters and some teal stars to the background.

And this is my second "canvas." It's actually plaster. I added lots of texture and acrylic paint, plus some grunge board and a photograph I took of a butterfly. I was going to call it done, but then I saw this fabulous creation at the Altered Bits blog, and have now decided I want to add A LOT more stuff.
So, sorry these are late. Hopefully they'll still go into the challenge drawing. I've got my next canvas started and an idea for another this week.

Yo Ho Ho! My Vacation in Scavenger Hunt Photographs

I just returned from a week's vacation in the Pacific Northwest, and I found lots of items for the Summer Photograph Scavenger Hunt. We started in Seattle, Washington. We stayed downtown across the street from the library (a building made of glass):

We also visited the famous Pike Place Market, where I found a sketch artist at work (drawing outside):

After a few days, we boarded a ferry to go to the San Juan Islands where we camped. We saw lots of forests:

We had a campfire every night, which was very nice after hiking and kayaking:

Of course, my best capture was a real pirate! I spied the buccaneer at the top of today's post while waiting for the ferry to take us back to the mainland.  He walked off the ferry, and I asked him if I could take his picture.  I'll post a few more pictures of our adventure later this week, but I wanted to get these scavenger hunt finds up. It makes me so happy to see so many scavenger hunt posts in blogland! Remember, there's still a month left. I only have three items left to find - the unicycle and bee hive will be the hard ones. Luckily, I know where lots of decorated mailboxes are located. How many items do you have left to find?

Revisiting the Topic: Appropriate Subjects to Photograph

A little while ago, I wrote this post about what subjects were appropriate to photograph and whether there were subjects that should be off-limits. I really appreciated everyone's comments because they captured so much of what I was thinking. One thing I had not focused on (although it seems obvious) is the difference between what I photograph to put in my scrapbook and what I post or publish on my blog.  Shortly after I wrote that post, I came across this terrific post at Mari's blog. She does a great job describing the differences between candid street photography and street portraits. I love this one quote in particular she has about street photography: "If your intent is to document people, candid street photography isn't exploitive. Take tastefully every photo is unique, it captures a moment in time. If taken right, you can see the emotions and mystery of the moment. She also has some great suggestions for how to deal with photographs you want to post on your blog. It's well worth checking out, as is her blog in general.
Thanks again for all the terrific comments. I trust no one would object to my photograph for today, which I think captures a moment in Chipping Campden!
p.s. I took the photograph of the school children in England from the footpath on which we were hiking and which runs right by the parish school. We were pretty far away and it was over in a moment, so that would explain why no one saw me or objected.

Mail Art: Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap

I'm participating in the "Liberate Your Art" postcard swap sponsored by Kat Sloma. We sent here five postcards featuring our original art, and we receive five back from artists all over the world! It's very cool. These are the first two postcards I received. The one of the left is from Petra Kern.  She lives on the other side of the world (Ljubjlena, Slovenia) and makes beautiful art in a style totally different from my own. The excellent zentangle on the right is from Karen in Idaho. She quilts, zentangles and art journals. So much fun to discover new artists and bloggers. Have you received anything fun in the mail lately?

10 Cotswold Cottages (10 on the 10th blog giveaway)

I admit to being totally smitten by all the wonderful thatched-roof country cottages and beautiful country manors throughout the Cotswold region. As a result, I took a few lots of pictures. So, to play along with Shimelle's Ten on the Tenth this month, I'm featuring ten Cotswold country cottages. As you enjoy them, think about which one you would want to live in (#1-10).

Did you chose a favorite?  If so, leave a comment letting me know which cottage you would like to live in, and I'll enter you into a random drawing for a little package of scrappy ephemera goodness. I'll pick a winner on Sunday, August 7th.

Cotswolds Vacation Highlights

Although we spent the least amount of time in the Cotswolds during our recent vacation, I took three times as many pictures there as any place else!  In an attempt not to bore you too much, I've tried to be selective. If you want more, come back tomorrow when my "Ten on the  Tenth" post will feature more Cotswold beauty AND a blog give-away.

In the Cotswolds, we stayed in Chipping Campden, a beautiful little town with quaint scenery, wonderful pubs and some decent restaurants.

The highlight of the Cotswolds was hiking about along the various trails.  Some were well marked thoroughfares; others required us to follow cryptic signs and climb over fences:

Along the way, we found sheep and flowers and wheat:

Our five mile hike (roundtrip) to Hidcote Gardens ended up being over seven miles because we got lost, but we did find some beautiful sites there

The next day we took a car ride over to Sudley Castle, where we found beautiful gardens and grounds and even a wooden bridge (for the scavenger hunt):

I could go on forever with pictures like these (but I won't - LOL!). Suffice it to say, we enjoyed our time wandering around the Cotswolds - a place so quaint and beautiful that Paul said "You expect to see Miss Marple walking out of a house at any minute."

Got any favorites in today's post?