Happy Earth Day!

My mom has always been the thrifty kind.  She has always recycled, making stuffed toys and doll's dresses from scrap cloth, piggy banks out of plastic jugs or other such projects, for as long as I can remember.

As children, we made our "dollhouses" using cardboard boxes.  We "decorated" the house by pasting pictures we cut out from old catalogs on the walls - windows with curtains, clocks and picture frames.  And so, we've been recycling even before recycling became so popular.

Today, I still find it hard to throw away all sorts of things, thinking I can make something out of it.  Scrap cloth, bits of paper, foil, all of these find their way into one project or another.    Flea markets, thrift shops, second hand stores are some of my favorite shopping places.  Earth Day is a reminder for me to have Earth day every day and not just celebrate it once a year.  

Nowadays, I try to use a reusable bag whenever I buy something so that I don't have to ask for a plastic bag.  That's what I did today.  How did you celebrate Earth Day?

If you haven't joined my giveaway, don't forget to write me a comment in this post.

ATC Giveaways for Easter, my 100+ Followers and Mother's Day

Hello to all my wonderful visitors, blog friends and followers!  As promised, I'll be having another ATC giveaway to celebrate this extra special season of Easter and to celebrate my blog having more than a hundred followers (wow, yay!!!).  And come to think of it, Mother's day is coming up soon, so I will celebrate that as well.  

I will be giving away 3 original artist trading cards (one each for my 3 reasons to celebrate!)  I picked a variety of cards, a Christian themed one, a portrait and a collage.  Hopefully, you will like at least one of them.

The "Madonna and Child in Gold" is hand drawn with colored pencils, watercolor, gold poster paint and gold glitter glue accents on a card coated with wall putty.

(In case you're interested, I made a tutorial about this technique using wall putty).

"Sunset Woman of the Woods" is hand drawn with pen, colored pencil, and watercolor on a card coated with wall putty.

"Vintage Girl with Bouquet" is a collage using book paper, a computer print of the girl, a magazine image of flowers, part of a sandalwood fan, gold poster paint, watercolor, and colored pencil.  The gold in the sandalwood doesn't show too well in the scan so you will just have to imagine it.

I will pick three winners.  All you have to do to have a chance to win one of these is...

1. Make a comment on this post about which ATC you want to win.  First name I pick gets his/her preference.  You may also tell me if you don't want to win a particular card, since of course I would want you to like what you get.

2. My wonderful followers (or new followers, yay!!!) get an extra chance to win.  Please make a separate comment so that I can use the random number generator when I pick the winners.

3. If you would like another chance, please add a link to my giveaway in your blog.  Again, please leave a separate comment to tell me.

I will be picking the winners on Mother's Day, May 9.  Hope you join my giveaway!

- Comments closed -

Thank you for joining my giveaway.  

I will announce the winners as soon as I pick them!

Making ATCs at the Beach!?

I can't believe I forgot to take pictures at the beach!  I was too busy making artist trading cards (who does that!?) that I just plain forgot I could write a post about my country's wonderful beaches.  Grrr!  

Oh well, I will just post a picture I took a few years ago.  Here is one of my 84 year old father going sailing in his Sunfish sailboat.  Yes, 84 years old!  Isn't that a blessing?

The Philippines is an archipelago.  Lots of great beaches!  Here are some pictures I took of Boracay beach when we went a few years ago.  This beach is famous for its powder-fine white sand.  See, I am trying to tempt you to go on vacation in the Philippines!

Filipinos do love going to the beach.  But it is funny, while many people of other nationalities like to sunbathe and get a tan, many Filipinos don't like to stay under the sun.  They don't want to get darker.  Many of them want to have fair skin.  One of the most popular beauty products in the Philippines?  Skin whitening products!  So many different kinds!  Do you find that funny?  We once met a young Irish girl who was so amused with the skin whitening billboards she saw along our main highway.  She took pictures, saying she just had to show them to her friends back home!  Are you fair and would rather be tanned?   Or are you like the Filipinos who are brown and would rather be fair?  As I get older, I try to be less concerned about the externals and be happy with what I have.  I used to want straight hair instead of my curly hair.  But then I realized I should be thankful I have hair. Ok, I'm rambling.  This is not what this post is about.

When I was younger, I used to stay under the sun whenever we were at the beach.  But then, most premature aging is caused by sun exposure so, by the time I got older, I was usually in the shade (after all, although I want to be less concerned about wrinkles, I don't want to bring them on!).  Uh oh, I am really rambling...

One weekend, my sister (visit her blog HeARTworks) brought boxes and boxes of art materials to the beach.  Well, the beach house, actually.  We happily spent the day making art.  Because we were away from home and the office, there was nothing to disturb us from playing with all those lovely paper scraps, paints, stamps, colored pencils, etc. etc. etc.  Well from that time on, a trip to the beach isn't complete without some art materials (we have learned to pack less now).  My father, who loves the beach and is out sailing most of the time while we're there, can't believe we would rather play indoors most of the time. 

I usually go to the shore early in the morning.  Looking at the expanse of blue sea and bright sky, feeling the breeze, watching the waves makes me marvel at God's magnificent creation.   And yet His creations are just dim reflections of His glory. 

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made..." Romans 1:20

 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

 Psalm 19: 1 

After my early morning visit to the beach, I am off to the craft table for some non stop art!  Here are some of the cards I made at the beach...

Hope you like them!

And the Winner is...

How time flies!  I promised to announce the winner to my giveaway on Easter Sunday and it's now Thursday!  Sorry about that!  Anyway, I picked a name out of a box, and the winner is...

Paulette from Beedeebabee

Paulette makes the loveliest felt pins and you must visit her site to see them if you haven't visited her yet.  She left this sweet comment, "Hi! What a great blog, and what great artwork too! Tracy is just beautiful, and so is your OWOH lady. I would love a chance to win! Thanks so much for your visit and sweet comment...it's so nice to meet you! ;D Paulette"

 

Congratulations, Paulette, and thank you to everyone who joined my giveaway. 

While I was taking a break during the Holy Week, I reached my 100th follower.  Wow!  I am delighted (that actually means I feel like doing cartwheels and jumping up and down and announcing it to the whole world, but I'm trying to be a bit more dignified about it). That, plus the fact that it's the Easter season makes me feel like having another giveaway.  I'll be off to the beach for the weekend and I'll see if I can make something to give away.

And just so that my post has a picture, here's a recent ATC I made for a personal trade.  Hope you like it!

Happy Easter season!

He has risen!

Boracay, Philippines

Easter blessings to all!
Jesus is risen!

After the pain and suffering of Good Friday comes the glory and victory of Easter Sunday! And so it is with life, that when we experience trials and challenges, in faith, we can have our own Easter experience. In the words of Saint Augustine, "We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song."

Here are the words of my favorite Easter song which we sang during my Easter season second wedding (after being a widow for nine years) eight years ago...

We are the children of Easter morning
We sing to celebrate our new lives
The dawn of an eternal morning
The fulfillment of our ageless desires
We sing with joy in our hearts overflowing
We sing to beckon those who dwell in the dark
We'll keep on singing till all men celebrate
This Easter morn

We are the children of Easter morning
We sing to proclaim the Lord's might
Now there's meaning to our life of dying
For the Lord, our God, has conquered the night
With joy we dedicate our lives to the service
Of the God of Life whose goodness we've known
Until our lives be themselves our song of Easter morn

May our simple lives be a song of praise
To the goodness of the Lord
May the Lord delight in this song we sing
This song we live with joy
If we had to sing just one song
To the Lord, Creator of life
May our lives be that song resounding in praise
To the goodness and glory of God

Reflecting on the Stations of the Cross

This week is a very special time for Christians around the world.  It is a specially good time to take a break from our usual activities to reflect on our lives and celebrate the amazing love and faithfulness of God.

I designed some banners that we will use for our Stations of the Cross tradition on Holy Thursday.  I thought I'd share them with you.   

And so dear friends, I will be taking a break from blog visiting and posting til Easter.  Be blessed!

Last day for my ATC Giveaway and a chance to win 4 more ATCs

It's the last day for my ATC giveaway for my followers. Just leave a comment on this post if you'd like a chance to win.

And my sister Patsy is having her own giveaway that you might want to join.  Four ATCs of lovely ladies with chain necklaces.  She'll be picking her winners by the second weekend of April.

Vintage Collages in ATCs

I thought I'd share with you my latest Artist Trading Cards.  There are a lot of great sites that offer beautiful vintage images so I decided to use them in some collages.  I combined the images with book paper, magazine cutouts, a part of a sandalwood fan, and added touches of watercolor, colored pencil and some gold poster paint.  The first one with the sandalwood piece is my favorite.  Hope you like them!

If you would like to have a chance to win my ATC giveaway, please visit this post.

Every Child is Precious

Such sad news.  My friends' 2 1/2 month old baby died in his sleep the other day.  He was a premature baby but we all thought he was out of danger, having overcome many challenges in his first few weeks.  We had just celebrated his baptism last February 12 and then, we were back in the same church compound, only this time, to say goodbye.

I was reminded of a poem which I came across some time ago and it is about how our children are just lent to us.  

TO ALL PARENTS
"I'll lend you for a little time a child of mine, " He said,
"for you to love the while she lives and mourn for when she's dead.
It may be six or seven years, or twenty-two or three,
But will you, till I call her back, take care of her for me?
She'll bring her charms to gladden you, and shall her stay be brief,
You'll have her lovely memories as solace for your grief.

I cannot promise she will stay, since all from earth returns,
But there are lessons taught down there I want this child to learn.
I've looked the whole wide world over in my search for teachers true
And from the throngs that crowds life's lanes I have selected you.

Now will you give her all your love, nor think the labor vain,
Nor hate me when I come to call to take her back again?"
I fancied that I heard them say: "Dear Lord, Thy will be done!
For all the joy Thy child shall bring, the risk of grief we'll run.
We'll shelter her with tenderness, we'll love her while we may,
And for the happiness we've known forever grateful stay;
but shall the angels call for her much sooner than we've planned,
We'll brave the bitter grief that comes and try to understand."
by Edgar Guest

Isn't it so terribly sad and ironic that this beautiful baby, so beloved by his family, died in a world where so many abortions take place?  This site says approximately 42 million abortions take place in one year.  "Every child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever fresh and radiant possibility"(Kate Douglas Wiggin) and I believe even the ones who have not yet been born are already so very precious.

In the Philippines, March 25 of each year is celebrated as the "Day of the Unborn". This day is "devoted to the vast number of babies forbidden to live and partake in this world."  Who knows what potential a baby would reach if he were allowed to live.   

Listen to "A Baby's Prayer"...

  

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart..." Jeremiah 1:5

Let us treasure our children and the precious time we have with them.

An ATC Giveaway for my Followers

As a heartfelt thank you to all of you who have decided to follow my blog, I'm giving away the ATC I made for my previous post, the tutorial on drawing a face using the tracing technique.  When I started my blog, I didn't know if anyone would be interested in what I had to share.  And so, I am truly so grateful for each one of my followers.  That's why I decided to have a giveaway specially for all of you who follow me (I wish I could give each one of you a giveaway!). 

All you have to do to have a chance to win my ATC (I've named her "Tracy", an appropriate name don't you think?) is to be a follower and make a comment on this post before March 31.  If you aren't following my blog, you can still join my giveaway if you decide to follow it.  If you would like a chance to win an ATC sized print of my OWOH giveaway, please let me know in your comment.  I will be giving them away as consolation prizes if anyone wants them.  Let me know if you have added a link to my giveaway in your blog and I will also give you an extra chance to win.   

GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED.

Thank you so much for joining!

I will announce the winner on Easter Sunday.