Published!

In the new Somerset Holidays & Celebrations issue

My Poe Pendants and article are on pages 96-97!

And my Sleepy Hollow High altered photo is on page 106!

More stuff from Asheville and Saluda...

Asheville has some great bead stores, including Chevron Trading Post and Bead Company. Here are some goodies I picked up there:


I got a strang of red coral, lots of skull beads (wood and metal), black and orange beads, some sterling milagros, a cross, and some silver ovals. I am going to make some Halloween themed things with the skulls and black/orange beads.

Random goodies - Handmade Patchouli Oat Goat Milk soap, incense, pirate band-aids, vintage cat eye glasses, black angel wings wall hook, an Israeli silver ring, and some blank cards for altering.


From some of the antique malls in Asheville, I picked up some more vintage photos and cabinet cards. I also found 3 death notice cabinet cards.

I found some of PaPaYa cards at Malaprops Bookstore and Cafe. All the other goodies, including a new collage calendar for 2008 I scored at Random Arts in Saluda, NC. This is a great place for inspiration. It is always a stop on my way home from Asheville. They have great classes here too.


And finally, from Random Arts is my new Queen sign, just in case anyone forgets it! It is almost 3 feet long, so that will be hard to miss!

Asheville days...

My husband had a meeting in Asheville on Thursday, so I took a couple days off to visit one of my favorite "artsy" towns. It usually is cooler in Asheville compared to Columbia, but it was still hot.

I spent the day roaming the streets and all the great little stores. The downtown area is so vital - they have saved all the old buildings and architecture, with all kinds of neat shops opening on the first floors. My favorite places are the Kress and Woolworth stores. Of course, the drug stores are long gone. But instead of tearing them down, they are chock-a-block full of art! They are both artist galleries, with artists paying for space to display and sell their wares. One is called the Woolworth Walk. I purchased this photograph by Brenda Marks at Woolworth's. It is titled "Calling All Angels" and is a toned color infrared photo giclee print from the New Orleans cemetery.


I also purchased this colorful piece by Mickey Simmons. I loved this blond smoking artist painting hearts on the easel by the water. Super cool! She has green eyes like me, although I don't smoke.
As an added treat, the Woolworth still has the soda fountain, so I enjoyed a great chicken salad sandwich and sweet tea!
These are views from the parking garage of all the old buildings among some new ones and with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background.


And this was a display in a used clothing store...


More treasures from Asheville to come....

Charleston

My husband surprised me with a weekend in Charleston. We stayed at the Charleston Place hotel on Meeting Street - right in the middle of the shopping area. I hit all my usual stores and then we had dinner at Carolina's. Sunday morning was breakfast served in the room - how sweet.


Look at the pat of butter...
It was a little hot, but I could still see and shop and enjoy a weekend away.

Dippy Dabb

I just love this card. It is from some type of card game for kids, but it looks like the 50's because Dabb resembles a beatnik artist of sorts...

I took my puppies to get their real first schnauzer cut today. We took before pictures and I will upload them when we get some good ones after they come back.

It is so hot here - it was 107 yesterday with the heat index of 115. I can't even shop in that kind of weather! This is hotter than when I was stationed in Guam, and that was practically on the equator! I am just staying indoors and trying to finish Harry Potter. But I did stop by Kinkos to get some copies of things to use in my art work. I am going to try to transfer method using gel medium.

Since Michaels was right next to Petsmart, I went in after dropping off the dogs and look what I found...


I am going to use the large one in a "Poe" display with a raven sitting on top. The smaller ones I am going to try to cut just the face part off to use in my art, so that it will glue to the canvas.


I just thought this "Bag of Skulls" was cook and I can always use them. The bag itself has little skulls around the top.

I can't wait to decorate for Halloween. I bought a full size black Christmas tree at Urban Outfitters last year, and will decorate it for Halloween. Yeah!

Jet and Cindy - 46 Years!

46 years ago today, my parents eloped. They had met on spring break in 1961 at the beach and a couple months later - they eloped - August 3, 1961. My father was going to Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC (all male at the time) and my mother was going to Limestone College in Gaffney, SC (all female at the time). So after they secretly married, they left to go back to the separate schools. But their parents found out about the wedding sometime that fall and then a full wedding was planned for December 29, 1961. These pictures are from that second wedding. But today's anniversary is the one that is most special.

Crusade No. 11 - Make some noise!

Danse Macabre for all the Edgar Allan Poe fans!

"Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before."