Mixed Media Monday - Bedtime Story

My mother had Riley's "Li'l Orphant Annie" committed to memory in completion. She'd recite it with voice inflection I can hear still, but I was never afraid because she was right there. It's a wonder the childhood tales of long ago didn't scare children silly! The poem was written long before the creation of the Orphan Annie we've come to know today. I scoured the net for an illustration from the original Riley book, and could find none, so I've created Annie as she appeared in my mind's eye all those years ago, when this second verse was my very favorite:

"Once there was a little boy who wouldn't say his prayers

And when he went to bed at night away up stairs

His mommy heard him holler and his daddy heard him bawl

But when they pulled the covers back he wasn't there at all.

They seeked him in the attic room, the cubby hole and press

And even up the chimney flue, and everywhere, I guess.

But all they ever found of him was his pants and roundabouts

And the goblins'll getcha if you don't watch out!"

Thanks for the challenge that brought this memory back to me, and thanks to all of you for listening to my tale!

Sunday Postcard - Let it Snow

Snow scenes are such fun to do, so I enjoyed this week's challenge at Sunday Postcard. My family is just having our Thanksgiving celebration this evening, so my head is all mixed up with pumpkin pie and jingle bells!! This will help me jump into the Christmas spirit after we've taken time to be thankful for our many blessings. Thank you for stopping by!

Three Muses - Time

"The moving finger writes, and having writ moves on. Nor all your piety, wit nor tears wash out a word of it." from the Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam has always been a favorite quote. The quote above by Friedrich von Schiller seems to say much the same. Both came to mind when I saw Marie's challenge. The lady in my entry is my mother as a young woman, and again 50 years later as time marched inexorably on. Thanks, Marie, for the challenge and thank you, blog friends, for stopping by.

Sunday Postcard - Swirls

This little pair look so intent, I'm sure they're considering something magic, as curiosity swirls all about them. .... That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! Credit to Vintage Moth for the image, and Zakirah for the swirls. Thanks for indulging me!

SatWo - Corrugated

Corrugated cardboard is to be part of our art for this challenge. My banker is courtesy of Vintage Moth, numbers and key from Oscraps Ophelia. He looks such a no-nonsense sort of guy, I'm sure he's a number-cruncher, and he'd be right at home on corrugated cardboard! Thanks for looking!

Art Creations - Anniversary

Has it really been a year? This was one of my favorite images, so it was a pleasure to see her again. Credits this time to Flickr Texture for Layers (Asia), Jen U Designs for the window, Fidlette for the drapes, and Creates Wings for the overlay. After my brief (and wild) foray into psychedelic, it's good to get back to normalcy!! Thanks for stopping by!

Theme Thursday - Skinny Colors

Well, ya did say colors! I just had this impish inner voice saying "Paint Something Psychedelic!". It's totally out of the box for me, but it sure was fun. Thanks for the challenge!

Three Muses - Keys

I chose KEY for the challenge this week, then I couldn't decide if I wanted to do the keys to the kingdom, the key to my heart, the key to knowledge, the key to the puzzle, or the key of C! I finally went with the key of C, and I'll leave it up to our talented participants to see just how many types of keys they come up with. I hope everyone has a good time!

Mixed Media Monday - Woman

I love the women painted by John William Waterhouse. I've used his "Undine" against a backgbround by Lorie Davison of Scrapbook graphics. The quote ("A woman can say more in a sigh than a man can say in a sermon.") makes me smile. When my children talk about my parenting skills, they always mention knowing they'd done something to displease me when I emitted a deep sigh. I love teasing them and saying they were abused children because their mother sighed at them! I do believe sighing is a woman thing!! Thank you for listening and looking!

Sunday Postcard - Music

I'm trying to break out of my "blue mode" I seem to have been in! This was fun to put together. I do so appreciate knowing in advance what the next week's challenge will be so that I have time to work on something at odd moments during the week. My weekend is busy, but I had time to work on this during the week. Credit to Christina Renee Designs and Irene Alexeeva for bits and pieces. Thank you for stopping by.

Art Creations - Gentlemen

Thanks to Terri Kahrs and the ladies at Art Creations for this great image of young gentlemen. They look so very proper! My background and elements are credited to Lorie Davison of Scrapbookgraphics. Thanks for looking!

THREE MUSES - Dreams

I love to do misty, dreamy pieces with many layers and lots of blending. Ann's challenge this week at the Muses gave me a great excuse to do just that. Images are from Flickr Collage Images, overlay from B. Datema at Scrapbookgraphics. Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday Postcard - Crackle

Embellishments by Irene Alexeeva, Flickr Collage image. Thanks for the challenge, and thanks for stopping by!

SatWo - Altered Bottle

Thanks to SatWo for a great challenge -- altered bottles. The first thing that came to my mind had to do with the words of one of Jim Croce's beautiful songs....."Time in a Bottle". Thanks to Norma Frances for the background. I put the "time" in the bottle, which I have had for so long I can't remember for sure where I got it...I think from Google. Thank you for stopping by!

ART CREATIONS - SAILOR

What a great image of a little sailor boy we're given by Art Creations this week! He was small, but I'm sure he had big dreams. The background is from Collage Images (Norma Frances), and the steamboat and ticket are Googled. Overlay by B. Datema of Scrapbook Graphics.

Theme Thursday - Borders

Before we get lost in Santa Clauses, I wanted to honor harvest time. My mother loved this time of year, and there were always fall displays such as the one above in our yard featuring some of her prize gourds and colorful Indian corn. It was a time for harvesting the last of the garden bounty, canning and storing food in the storm cellar for the winter. There, my mother had constructed shelves on which she lined her sparkling jars of canned peaches, apples, corn, beans, tomatoes, jellies and jams. In a bin in the corner were stored potatoes, apples, and onions. In the fields, the corn and soybeans were being harvested. There was a smell of burning leaves in the air, and the sound of V's of geese honking overhead. It was pheasant hunting season in our part of Illinois, and my mother's brothers came up to visit and tromped the fields in search of pheasants, which were plentiful in those days. The golden days of fading summer are my favorite time of year!

Three Muses - Couples

I'll leave it to you to guess whether this little ditty is first person or observation! The kissin' couple is from Flickr Collage Images. I'm anxious to see the rest of the pairs who show up for our challenge! Thanks for stopping by.

Mixed Media Monday - Opposites Attract

This was such fun! It's a blend of four different photos, with a frame by B. Datema of Scrapbookgraphics. Don't you think the Mallard drake looks as if he's saying "Oh, sigh, she looks just like an angel all in white!" The swan, however, appears to be thinking "Mother always told me to look out for the over-dressed dandies ...... and he looks a bit short......probably has small duck syndrome" ! Thanks for stopping by!