Oak Creek Canyon

Between Flagstaff and Sedona there's a magical place called Oak Creek Canyon; the creek flows through a land of red rocks and limestone cliffs. Hawks soar overhead, ravens caw from huge cottonwoods, pines, oaks and sycamores. Come for a stroll through a meadow dotted with apple trees...

a forest of tall pines...

stop by the creek...

see golden rocks in under the trees...

limestone cliffs...

and big red rocks...

lots of big red rocks...

and a misty evening farewell from Coffee Pot Rock!
Soon the fall colours will fill the canyon and it'll be time for another visit.

This blog needs a banner...

The first step: print the letters on card stock, then paint with an airbrush.

Tissue paper and foam core for the background -

Lots of glue for texture, then paint, more glue, more paint

The letters on their background with sparkly trim and red paper lace edging -

The test photo; I like the background but it's not what I'm looking for - maybe I'll use it next spring. Fall is just around the corner, my favorite season, and time for pumpkins and black cats!

Remember that tidy studio? Here's the reality - I do clean up between projects.

Creative Bloggers

Thank you to all who visited! What a lovely experience - many thanks to Karen Valentine of My Desert Cottage for being such a gracious hostess.

Welcome to my studio!

My studio - officially called the "shed" - but it's my personal rabbit hole. The place is small but that means I don't have to go far to find things and in the winter it heats up quickly!

Some helpers...

Who said cats are clean? Titania says "Got dirt?"

Oberon is king of the wood pile - and everything else.

Come on in...

Lots of boxes to hold stuff, a vintage green shelf

More shelves and lots of boxes

Mariba, the half mannequin, hangs out on the kiln. She put on some finery for her picture.

This is where the magic happens...





Keeping stuff tidy...

Necklace details

Earrings and pendants

Other goodies...

Pincushions

A fun scissors case

Evermore, the raven, likes the top shelf

More pincushions and needle cases

A tail-wag from Brownie...

Thank you for visiting!

Arizona Desert

This is what where I live looks like - stark but beautiful. This picture was take from Perkinsville Road which is actually a dirt track through the hills behind Jerome. The silence is amazing, only birds and wind; you can see for miles and miles.

Studio Tours

New to blogging! Can you tell? I still haven't figured out half of it - I wonder if there's a "Dummies" book for this. On July 24th the blog My Desert Cottage is hosting an event "Where Bloggers Create", here is a link to the page:

mydesertcottage.blogspot.com/2009/06/im-having-party.html

Will it work? We shall see.

Self Portrait

Self portrait: when I look at me this is what I see. The hands are old and shabby - maybe I should say vintage? They've served me well and I would like to take this opportunity to say "thank you" hands for all the years of service. When my brain forgets my hands remember - like forgotten crochet stitches that magically appear; disconnect the brain and engage the hands.