The Anchor Barn and some Unsusal Buttons

This barn is now owned by Charlene and Don Messerie. Located on the Old Wagon Road outside of Coos Bay. It was built in the 1930's. Original owner Captain Donaldson was a retired sea captain who had the metal anchor made in San Francisco and placed on the roof.

Can you imagine all the work done in this huge barn over the years?

********************************************************

I recently ran across an Etsy Shop that I found amazing. It is Tessa Ann Designs. This lady and her husband recently retired to stay home and design buttons...Yes, designer buttons of all sorts. Tessa Ann's buttons are unbelievably unique. I wanted to share with you all. The link to her Etsy shop is at the top left of this post. Go take a look at all the different designs they do at Tessa Ann Designs and her prices are good too.


Here is a sneak preview of what she has. Amazing :)

MY LATEST DIGITAL COLLAGE

I felt steam punky today so created this and plan to put it on my next bunch of tins.
I think I will call it the Steam Punk Tree, what do you think?

The Fritz Barn

This barn is east of Hauser, Oregon at the far end of picturesque Templeton Lane about 20 miles from me.
This bar was built in the 1950's. Dan Walker was the first owner and now it is proudly owned by Naomi and Dennis Fritz

The world has lost another icon

I just learned the death of one of my favorite actresses. Elizabeth was so beautiful and so talented and had a heart as big as Texas. I will always be a fan.
Rest in Peace Elizabeth

Silver screen legend Elizabeth Taylor Died early Wednesday morning at the age of 79.

During her life, she starred in nearly 60 movies and was widely considered one of the world's most beautiful women.

Taylor infamously suffered from a number of illnesses and injuries, including a bout with tuberculosis, a
benign brain tumor, skin cancer, a repeatedly broken back, hip replacements, pneumonia and finally, congestive heart failure.

Now, we don't know everything about Taylor's medical history, so it's hard to assess whether or not her her lifestyle contributed to her medical problems later in life. There are many people who develop congestive heart failure as they age.

The world will miss you Ms Taylor.

One Of My Favorite Barns

I have several favorite barns and last year I found a calendar of all the great barns here in my area. That calendar came out again this year so I will be sharing these photos with you.

This one belongs to James and Robin Waterman in Myrtle Creek, OR. It dates back to 1910. The farm was originally owned by the McCormicks, in a community once known as Bancroft. The barn was built to stable horses and stands next to what was once a boarding house and post office.

Silent Auction....Can You Help ?

Do you remember this little girl? Her name is Somer Thompson and her body was found in a landfill after she was abducted on her way to school and murdered back in October of 2009.


I recently received an email from one of my blogger friends and owner of the EarthGaia Network www.earthgaia.com.

Ironically I received this email at a perfect time because I was just wondering what to do with some old collages and cards I had stashed away from years ago. So I packed a big box up and sent it to Cathy for this cause.


So if you would like to help and have lots of things you just don't know for sure what to do with, this is a good cause. I am a member of EarthGaia. It is a small network similar to Etsy, just starting out.

Here is the email. Feel free to read it and click on the links to find out more about what happened to Somer and how your donated items will sold at a silent auction with the proceeds going to the Somer Thompson foundation.

If you have any questions contact Cathy Minerva. If you need her address to send items for the silent auction please let me know. She needs these items to be sent by April 20th.

Hope you can help and thank you in memory of Somer.

My name is Cathy Minerva and I am an encaustic artist in GA. I have been honored to be asked to handle the silent auction at the 1st Annual Purple Sunshine Motorcycle Ride and Somer Concert to be held the last weekend of April, 2011.

The event proceeds will go to the Somer Thompson Foundation. www.somerthompsonfoundation.org I encourage you to check out their website.

I am pleased to announce that my artisan and handmade website, EarthGaia, will be opening a perpetual shop called Artisans & Musicians for JUSTICE with proceeds going to the foundation.

This is a very near and dear to all of our hearts project as no family should every have to bear the tragedy of what happened to Somer. I have been working with Bobby Ingram, lead guitarist for the band, Molly Hatchet for some time to make this happen. He is also the board president and faithful lobbyer for stronger laws regarding child safety laws and stricter reporting of sex offenders.

We are accepting any type of art or handmade item to be auctioned at this event. This is a family/child friendly event! If you or someone you know would like to participate, please email me at minervasmadness@gmail.com Donations need to be to me by April 20th. Artisans are encouraged to put contact info on their donation. Any items not sold at the event will be placed in the perpetual shop for sale.

All donations are tax deductible through the 501(c)3 foundation laws. If you wish a tax receipt, please include a brief note with your name, address and fair market value

Event flyers can be seen at www.bikerslove2ride4kids.com www.earthgaia.com will be posting a donation button on the front page very soon for monetary donations. No item or dollar donation is every too small to make a difference!

Let's show people how big the heart of the art community always is with our support of this very worthy cause. Thank you!

Any questions, email me. Thank you so much for your support. This is such an important cause. xoxox, Cath

Jazz Festival

Well the Jazz Festival went well. I only sold a few tins but I met alot of people and got some cards passed out and had a good time sitting with my friend Brenda.


She took these photos of some of the bands playing at the festival of which her husband is a sax player and a darn good one at that. The photo is small so click on it to have a better view.
You can see our set up and a close up of my tins and her jewelry.

This is one of my tins. Louis Armstrong.

The inside of the Louis Armstrong tin.

The Andrew Sisters.
This is the inside.

All the tins I made that did not sell are now in my Etsy Shop. To view them just click on my shop's icon on the right of my page.

We had a bad storm just as the festival was over. We had gale force winds and hard rain.
We came home to no power. Thousands of people were without power in our area. We had no power for 12 hours. Hard to cook with no power so I got my flame less candles, my bees wax candle and my hurricane lamp out and we had a candle light dinner of sandwiches and chips . Without power we had no water since we have a natural spring it runs on a pump. Our pellet stove operates on power so we had no heat. So we went to bed early and the power came on around 3AM the next morning.

All in all it was a good day.

Emergency Numbers

I got this in an email today and wanted to share with you...

Emergency numbers may be dialed direct.

No operator assistance is necessary.

All lines are open to heaven 24 hours a day.

When you are in danger, call Psalm 46.

When God seems far away, call Psalm 139.

For peace and rest, call Matthew 11:25-30.

For keeping things in perspective, call Psalm 91.

When the world seems bigger than God, call Psalm 90.

For Christian assurance, call Romans 8:1-30.

When you leave home for labor or travel, call Psalm 121.

When your prayers grow narrow or selfish, call Psalm 67.

If discouraged about your work, call Psalm 126.

When someone fails you, call Psalm 27.

When you want courage for a task, call Joshua 1.

How to get along with others, call Romans 12.

If you are depressed, call Psalm 27.

If your pocketbook is empty, call Psalm 37.

If people seem unkind, call John 15.

For assurance of salvation, call Romans 10:13.

When your faith needs stirring, call Hebrews 11.

When you are lonely and fearful, call Psalm 23.

When you feel condemned, call John 3: 16 - 17.

When you grow bitter and critical, cal Corinthians 13.

For the secret to happiness, call Colossians 3:12-17.


Who has a friend with whom to share,
Has double cheer and one-half care.
For a Best Friend, call Psalm 9.

When in sorrow, call John 14.

When you have sinned, call Psalm 51.

When you worry, call Matthew 6:10-34.

The Badge of Ireland

My theme for this months ATC swap is Shamrock. I got to thinking about what true difinition of a Shamrock is . I was thinking 4 leaf clover but it is a clover with three leaves. Thought I would share this information about a Shamrock with all of my friends. I am Irish and I should have known . We learn something everyday don't we?

The shamrock (♣) is a symbol of Ireland. It is a three-leafed old white clover. The nameshamrock is derived from Irish seamróg, which is the diminutive version of the Irish word for clover(seamair).

It is sometimes of the variety Trifolium repens (white clover, Irish: seamair bhán) but today usuallyTrifolium dubium (lesser clover, Irish: seamair bhuí). However, other three-leafed plants—such asMedicago lupulina, Trifolium pratense, and Oxalis—are sometimes designated as shamrocks. The shamrock was traditionally used for its medical properties and was a popular motif in Victorian times.

History

According to what the Oxford English Dictionary calls "a late tradition" (first recorded in 1726), the plant was used by Saint Patrick to illustrate the doctrine of the Trinity. However, the posthumous timing of this legend (coming some 1,200 years after his death), and the lack of supporting evidence found in St. Patrick's writings have caused some to question its authenticity.

Our Beautiful Oregon

A trip to Eugene last Friday ended up being a horrible 3 hour drive home.
It rained really hard all the way and it was dark and foggy visibility was not good but.....

The following are some gorgeous photos of some of the many scenery on the way up to Eugene :)

This is the beautiful Umqua River
Goes all the way from Coos Bay to Drain Oregon where we go toward the freeway

Yep it looked like rain alright

This was a shot I could not pass up

Looks like the eye of the storm.

Over 800 Posts

Well I cannot believe that I have over 800 posts but I do !

Way back in January of 2007 I started this blog. It has been so fun and I have met so many wonderful people and expanded my horizons and talent as a collage artist since then.

I want to thank all of my followers for watching my blog. I love all of you even though I don't get over to visit you everyday. You are all so talented and many have inspired me .

I am leaning now towards 1000 posts so I will wait until that number to have a celebration. I will have to think of something really special on that day.

Here is the very first collage I created way back then. I sent it to Vickie at Whispers of Inspiration. She was a BIG inspiration to me and cheered me on the whole way I was learning all about blogging and creating collages. My daughter in law Mica with Garboodles got me started in creating collage and in blogging. It has been a blessing since my retirement. It fills my days with creativity as well as making friends . I love you all.

This was my second attempt at creating collage. I still have this little guy.

How long ago did you make your first collage and how long has it been since you started blogging?