Hope you have all been good boys and girls this year!

Happy Thanksgiving

It feels like thanksgiving - the harvest is over and fields are bare; shots from deer hunters are heard; skies are grey; there's a definite chill is in the air. I feel like snuggling in for a long winter's nap!

witch from the past

I found this picture of me in one of my favorite halloween costumes. I loved planning my halloween costume - usually from an array of vintage clothes in the old hump-backed trunk - it was easy to put together a credible costume. I remember being a gypsy dressed in a colorful skirt and off-the-shoulder blouse, a scarf wrapped around my head, and tons of costume jewelry. I couldn't wait for the halloween party at school where each class paraded around the "old" gym and were judged for the best costume. I don't think I ever won a prize but there were free handouts and cake walks and lots of fun.

Trick or treating was another thrill. Groups of trick or treaters freely roamed the whole small town - we'd dare each other to run up on porches where we knew we would not get treats and might even get yelled at. There were plenty of other houses to go to where we got lots of homemade and store-bought treats which of course we started eating and trading before we got home.

Spooky

Received these wonderful old wood press letters in the mail today
from Scotland - I really like them displayed in front of my
vintage cat and moon diecut.

Halloween

I love this time of year but it's going too fast.
Halloween and fall decorations are my favorite.
I really like my bare branch tree that I can change
with the seasons. Vintage halloween is the hottest
holiday collectible. I have sold a lot of my
collection but kept my black cats.

More from my Alaska Journal

Ephemera swap

Here are a couple of journal pages I made - quickly for me - using some of the wonderful assortment of paper ephemera I received when I swapped with members of the Full Tilt Boogie yahoo group.

Alaska Journal

Finally getting started on filling journal which I made in the Full Tilt Boogie class. Iwork at a snail's pace compared to many of my fellow journalers but I've completed several pages using ephemera and pictures from our recent wonderful trip to Alaska. Take a peek . . .

Alaska journal

My first all hand-made - glued and stitched book, using the sewn on tapes binding method taught by Mary Ann Moss in the Full Tilt Boogie Class www.dispatchfromla.typepad.com/full_tilt_boogie/. I used old book covers edged with book tape. My folios are a combination of scrapbook papers, art papers, ledgers, etc. I will use this book as a journal of my Alaska trip - we leave in one hour - nothing like pushing it to the limit!!

The Greatest Generation

I was privileged to help with the EAA B17 tour at Springfield, IL last weekend. Aluminum Overcast is one of about a dozen remaining B17s still flying. I love this picture of two WWII veterans at "parade rest" during the pre-flight briefing. These two men, almost 90 years old, waited patiently on the hot tarmac in 90 degree weather to take a ride in the B17 - the same plane on which they had served during the war over 50 years ago. As befitting their generation, they waited quietly and proudly.

Happy Independence day

As close to red, white and blue flowers as I will get. I'm not even sure what the purple/blue flowers are in the foreground? They started off slow but in their third year they are doing well. I'm sure all the rain we've gotten this month (over 13 inches) has helped.

Fill Tilt Boogie

I am so excited to be signed up for my first on-line visual journaling class "Full Tilt Boogie" taught by artist Mary Ann Moss. I have accumulated several vintage photo and autograph albums over the years as an antiques shopper and dealer. Which one should I use? Actually I may use parts of all of them as they will be disassembled and then re-bound. Can't wait to boogie!

Oreo

My "vintage" cat - Oreo curled up beside a vintage doll. She looks like a soft round pillow. She appeared at our home over 22 years ago - full grown. She is long-haired and was beautiful in your youth but I had her shaved earlier this year as her fur has gotten so matted. She is deaf and arthritic but still my "pretty kitty"!

Frida Kahlo journal page

Yesterday I completed a journal spread in a vintage photo album based on a tutorial at carolynsnehring.blogspot.com. She has several great tutorials on her blog. I had some pictures of Frida Kahlo that I wanted to highlight so I did not cover the page with the watered down white paint which would have given it a dreamier look. But I did use watered down paint to cover several dictionary pages which I tore into squares and arranged on the pages as my background. This spread is a larger format - about 8x10" in a vintage photo album.

Downtown Turnaround

The Jacksonville "Downtown Turnaround" celebrated the return of the downtown square. Like many small towns, we received a federal grant in the 1970s to modernize the old downtown shopping district. Urban Renewal took away the rotary traffic pattern, added new facades to many of the old building, constructed plastic awnings over the walkways and added ugly square brick quadrant buildings on the four corners of the central park. In effect, this killed off the downtown which was already starting the downhill slide as the bigger stores moved to the new shopping mall. For many years, citizens have bemoaned the demise of the downtown. Many of us remember the glory days when the stores stayed open until late on Friday evening and the teenagers drove around and around the rotary - sometimes pulling into park and visit before heading to one of the two downtown movie theaters or to get a giant hamburger and milkshake at one of the local drive-up restaurants.
For the past several years, several dedicated citizens have headed up a renewal project for the downtown. This past year, the counterclockwise "rotary" pattern around the square was opened up and there is once again downtown parking in front of businesses. Central Park was cleaned up and is now "green" again - with the quadrant buildings gone. The past weekend celebration featured area businesses, food, drinks, and entertainment including the largest of the Eli Bridge ferris wheels - which was made in Jacksonville. It was wonderful to see so many people having fun downtown.

Jacksonville Downtown Turnaround

Personalize a free digital collage">

Jacksonville belle

I purchased several pieces of hometown paper memorabilia at a local flea market. The advertising brings back memories of businesses from long ago - some I remember but many I've never heard of. Most of the advertising I put in my antiques mall shop but I had a few paper pieces laying on my work table and decided to do a journal page around them. I can imagine the excitement in picking out fabric, patterns and accessories for a new dress - perhaps for a special occasion. I'm curious about the business card for Alonzo Smith. My maiden name was Smith - my ancestors came from England. A good friend's maiden name was also Smith - her ancestors came from Madeira Island, Portugal. We have a large population of residents with Portuguese heritage. Many changed their last name to Smith to blend in with the already established residents. They were proud Americans!

Orphaned doll needs a good home

Garage sale season in central Illinois is finally in full swing after a long spring of cold, rainy days.

I couldn't resist this beautiful old doll who has seen better days. I wish I could restore her but I hope someone else will get her and fix her up. She can be found in my etsy shop: . I love the little bluebird necklace around her neck.

Vintage orphaned doll by NX211 on Etsy

Vintage orphaned doll by NX211 on Etsy

Tap Dancing

I made a simple scrapbooking page today and journaled about my early tap dancing experiences. My mother taught tap dancing to area children in our home. She had a

tap board to put down in our living room and we danced to records played on our console.

My best friend growing up was often my dance partner. One memorable experience

was when we participated in a talent contest at a local county fair. We sang "It's a

Grand Old Flag" waving our small flags. At the end of the song, we threw the flags

aside and started our tap dance. We were disqualified for descecrating the American flag.

My Mother was mortified!

Traveling Salesman

My favorite relaxing form of mixed media is making a visual journal page. I like to sit down at my work table and pick from leftovers on the table or perhaps a picture that speaks to me. Today was the first day in a long time I've had a chance to do that -- and start a blog!! Anyway, this journal spread evolved from an old magazine page I'd saved about traveling salemen. My maternal grandfather was a traveling salesman in the Midwest. He started in the depression when they lost the family farm and continued into his 70s when he retired. He would leave home usually on Monday morning and be out 3-5 days as he made his route, staying in small town hotels and eating in diners. He often picked up hitchhikers for company. He loved his job, made lots of lasting friendships and saw the country.

Fly With Me

Come "fly with me" as I begin my blog journal. I'm "flying by the seat of my pants" but I hope to share my love of flying, antiquing and mixed media art.