Golden Words - Holiday Blessings

I recently received an email from Rajinder S. Bedi of Abstract Art Lovers it was so beautiful, I have to pass it on to my friends who read my blog:

MERRY CHRISTMAS! and . . .

A Very Happy New Year 2010!!!

I wish you Health and Success.........
So you may enjoy each day in comfort.2010
I wish you the Love of friends and family...
And Peace within your heart.
I wish you the Beauty of Nature...
That you may enjoy the work of God.
I wish you Wisdom to choose priorities.. .
For those things that really matter in life.
I wish you Generosity so you may share...
All good things that come to you.
I wish you Happiness and Joy...
And Blessings for the New Year.
I wish you the best of everything.. .
You so well deserve. .

Creative Eckspression - Birthday Cards

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Updated April 22, 2012 (images added)

Below are some Birthday cards I've created...
At the bottom, you'll find more examples and a brief description for a suggestion that you may use if you'd like to create your own custom birthday card for someone special.   

October 25, 2009 A Birthday Card for My Friend Bo Chambers

October 25th was my friend Bo Chambers' birthday, so I took a photo I took of some hummingbirds that were flying around in the front yard and cut and pasted, played with the saturation, tint, tone, and contrast (and some lettering of course) and came up with the finished card I wanted for her.

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October 18, 2009 A Birthday Card for My Brother, Ray

October 18th was my brother's birthday. He was born when I was 9 years old...9 years later, when I was 18, I moved out and kinda grew away from him...9 years later, when he was 18 and in college, we grew close again...then, 9 years later, he got divorced and I lost touch with him....here it is...9 years later, I found him on facebook!! We're both happy-having looked for each other and finally finding each other. Since it was his birthday, I decided to draw a special card for him. He plays the saxaphone beautifully...he plays for church mostly, but he says he has a cd with a band now-I'll let you know more about that when I learn more. So, naturally, I decided to paint his alto sax for a card...wow was that hard...a lot of valves and keys and detail.

To the left, beginning of that painting.

Now I had to add in something in the background, but I didn't want to distract from the main image..
Below, is the card when I finished with the sax.

I decided it needed some pizazz so I decided to see how it would look if I added more contrast and saturation...and I found the image I wanted.

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Below are some more examples of birthday cards I've created.  If you'd like to create your own custom birthday card for someone special, you're welcome to take a copy of my art if you see something you like, go into Paint (that's a program everyone has) and paste the art in there, then take your rectangle selector and take a portion that you think would look great for the background of your card you want to make...it can be a small portion or a larger portion....I've found that small portions make interesting card backgrounds..  After you paste it, take your bottom right corner dot and align your cursor on it then left click and pull your selection down and out to make the size card you can put your message on and print out if your recipient wants to.   It's lots of fun to do and everybody loves receiving a one-of-a-kind  card that you took your time to make...what better gift to give someone than your time?   :)

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Creative Eckspression - Digital Art by Shirley

DIGITAL ART

by

Shirley

The digital art, on this page, are my creations made with the help of my computer. Some were created totally with the computer and some were pieces of art which I drew and digitally altered to acheive the effect I wanted to relay. These pieces are available as hand signed and numbered limited edition giclee prints If you'd like to make an inquiry,

Please Click Here for Inquiry Info

Don't forget to check out my SketchBook4 giclee prints at

http://shirleyis.blogspot.com/2008/12/sketches-by-shirley.html

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Celestial Geisha II

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Hot Ice

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Sultan Maple

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On the Fringe of Bluegreen
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Nature Blooms
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Draw

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Cosmic Child
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Jammin'

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Dena's Pink Camelia
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Additional Art, also shown in Hall B can be view by clicking here .

To view a slideshow/movie of the art shown here, click Art the Cornerstone page.

Bookmark this site and be sure to check back...another "hall" to be added ....

Golden Words - The Gift of Today

The Gift of "Today"

About 29 years ago, I found a birthday card that I ended up purchasing for Greg, my boyfriend at that time. Greg has since translated, however, I have kept a vigilant search in hopes of finding the message that was on that card. A few months back, I ran across "The Gift of Today" on the internet. It's very similar to the message on the card, so I jotted it down, the author was given as "unknown". I edited it a little, cutting back on some repetitive sentences and tried to make it to the point and every word necessary. I added the last sentence, remembering the final line of that birthday card of long ago, but I left out the reference of it being a birthday* and another year being "God's gift", otherwise, it'd make a nice wall plaque or decoupage. Anyways, I wanted to share these golden words of wisdom with you. Maybe they'll help you get creative. Feel free to use the image above if you'd like.

*Suggestion - Should you happen to use this for a birthday card for someone, you may want to throw a reference to "another year was given to you" and something like " Happy Birthday (NAME HERE)!", on the line below "That is why it's called The Present". If you're going to use the image above to help you out with your birthday card, when you print it, you may want to reverse the colors ( if your printer will do that) if not, copy then take the image to a program that you can edit it in, thereby reversing the colors. It'll give you a white background with color reversal.

Oh yeah, if it's too much for you to edit and make the additions, feel free to left click on the picture above and send me an email, leave a comment of what you'd like revised and your email address, and I'd be glad to make the "birthday card" revisions for you and email it as an attachment to you for your use.

Baraka Bashad (May the Blessings Be)

Golden Words - No More Pesky Flies!!!

No More Pesky Flies!!!

(or Wasps!)

(ANOTHER "GREEN" SOLUTION)

Will wonders ever cease? Another wonderful email with some golden words of wisdom. I have to pass this one on to you. Do you have a problem with flies? You know, the ones that buzz around you and have the nerve to land right on your face or your hand or wherever...you swat at them and they buzz away and come right back to do the very same thing. Follow these inexpensive and simple directions...you'll be amazed at how scarce flies (and wasps also) will be.

Take a ziplock baggie (sandwich size...I used a snack size and it worked) fill it half full of water and drop 4 or 5 pennies into it. Zip it up and tack it up wherever you have a fly problem. ( Ours is hanging from the middle of our door entry ways. Since they've been up...no flies. Unreal! It really works, try it!

Some Responses:

Ann Says:

October 5th, 2008 at 5:51 pm

I tried the ziplock bag and pennies this weekend. I have a horse traailer with full LQ. The flies were very bad this weekend while I was camping. I put the baggie with pennies above the door of the LQ. NOT ONE FLY came in the trailer. The horse trailer part had many...Not sure why it works but it does!!!!!!!

Maggie Says:
June 7th, 2009 at 11:40pm

I swear by the plastic bag of water trick I have them on the side porch (our house entry) and all around the basement door. We saw these in Northeast Mo. at an Amish grocery store & have used them since. They say it works because a fly sees a reflection & won't come around.

Danielle Martin Says:

September 20th, 2008 at 8:43 pm

Fill a ziplock bag with water and 5 or 6 pennies and hang it in the problem area. In my case it was a particular window in my home. It had a slight but significant passage way for insects. Ever since I have done that it has kept flies and wasps away. Some say that wasps and flies mistake the bag for some sort of other insect nest and are threatened by this.

There's lots of other testimonials, but I think you get the gist. I had to try it....it works.

Creative Eckspression - Recycling

Do you have a need for a recycle logo? (Like the little triangular symbol to the left) I found a website that has many different recycle cliparts for copy and use. Go to http://www.planetpals.com/recyclesymbols.html
If you ever find yourself in need of a flower pot to put a new plant clipping in or to grow some starts by seed and don't have a "stock" of empty flower pots stacked up in the garden shed, here's an idea with an opportunity to express/explore your creativity and at the same time, do your share of reducing plastic waste by making something useable with it.



Check this out! It can take up to 1000 years for discarded plastic to degrade! The numbers are ever increasing, but look at the figures from 2003, only 12% of plastic bottles sold were recycled. . .leaving 40 million bottles a day that ended up as trash or litter. Every little bit each person does can help cut down on the ever growing (literally) "plastic fantastic" world being created. If you'd like to read more about this and/or read more unreal facts of our waste, just click anywhere on this "green" text and read the linked pages.

The "flower pot" pictured here is a finished example I made from a discarded 2 liter juice bottle. I guess I could put up a few more, different, photos to let you see what it looks like from different angles and if you approve of it being presentable enough to become a part of decor in your abode, patio, or garden, maybe you (and your group, if you're supervising, or teaching or heading a group in need of a green craft project) could just follow my simple instructions I've posted here. Bear in mind, if the project group consists of younger children, this may include some processes which should be handled by an adult or "someone responsible enough", I'll leave that up to your wise descretion.

The "planter" or flower pot pictured above was made from a plastic fruit juice bottle similar to the soda pop bottle pictured here.We had some friends come to visit which gave me the opportunity to have the slightly larger than small pop bottles. Most of the soda pop bottles we have around here are smaller than this one pictured, and they're the perfect size for new starts and seed starts. Right now, I'm in the need for smaller pots than the one pictured above (already made), to start some seeds. What I'll be working on is a one liter size pop bottle.

Materials Needed

• 1 used, empty, plastic bottle
• 1 pair of scissors
• 1 straight pin (or anything you can use to poke a small hole in plastic)
• 1 pair of pliers
• 1 propane torch
• fingernail polish
• potting soil
• plant or seeds
• overcoating (nail polish, spray lacquer, spray enamel-make sure it's compatible with polish)

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*suggestion(s) - *your choice of color(s)-should coordinate with the decor of where the planter will be placed

*if color doesn't matter to you, this is a perfect opportunity to use some older nail polish that's starting to thicken

* the thicker polish will give your planter texture.

Grab your plastic bottle and peel the label off. Some bottles peel off pretty clean, some leave behind a glue residue. If the bottle you chose to use leaves a glue residue, it can be washed off with soap and warm water or, if it's difficult, the glue will wipe off easily with some quick swipes of Goof Off on a rag. (You must be in a well-ventilated room!) Then, take your scissors and cut the top of the bottle off at about 1/4" higher than the height you'd like your planter to be to make one with a top like the one above. . .or a half inch higher if you'd like to turn your lip out, which is what I did with this one.

Now, we're ready to start shaping our planter...

Be sure you're working in a well ventilated area.Turn on the propane torch to a low flame (see picture). Remember, everywhere you start heating up the plastic, the plastic will start shrinking. You don't have to touch the flame to the plastic, if you touch the flame to the plastic, it will heat up so fast, it will turn the plastic white, then, will begin bubbling, and in no time turn brown then catch fire and turn black and drip burning plastic to the floor...and we don't want to do that. Anyways, like I said, just swipe the area of the bottle you want to shrink about 2 inches away from the tip of the flame,come back to whereyou started and swipe again, until you get a feel for how much the plastic is shrinking. Do this all the way around the bottle so your "planter" won't be lop-sided.

When you think you have the shape you want turn your soon-to-be planter upside down. You'll want to take your straight pin or anything you have that's sharp and will easily poke a small hole into the bottom of the bottle, just above where it rests on a surface. Do this 3 or 4 times around the near-bottom. These will be your drain holes so water won't sit in the bottom and get sour and kill your plant.

Now take the pointy part of your scissors and enlarge your pinholes slightly (you probably won't want to get much bigger than 1/4" wide...if you made a larger planter,(6"diameter) a 1/2" drain hole wouldn't be too big. Now you're ready to decorate your planter. You can paint it any way you like. I just like to dab and stroke. Unless you want the colors to run together, you might want to wait till each color dries before starting another color. Don't worry if you get too much color on your plant pot, you can always go back and scrape off the excess with your fingernail or a dull knife within 5 hours after applying it. That's a safe time, if you wait too long to take paint (nail polish) off, it will chip and you won't have much control of what comes off. You may want to put a clear coat on for a final finish and added protection. Test some of your nail polish on a piece of cardboard or paper then (if you buy clear spray paint) spray over the nail polish after it's dried, give it a few minutes and make sure your clear spray will set up. It will help to know if your nail polish is lacquer or enamel when you purchase your clear spray. Let it dry to touch. Now all you have to do is put your freshly moistened potting soil into the pot and plant your cuttings or seeds or plants. Then you're done, you've made a useful planter custom designed to fit your decor from a plastic bottle that was going to be garbage!

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shirley_is Games Page

GGAMES

This is a games page to play, relax, and excersize your brain to keep it from ossifying.

Please bear with me as I add more to this site.

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Free Rice is a game that helps feed the hungry. This is a multiple choice game that will help you to develop your vocabulary and how's that

for incentive . . . For every correct definition , you accumulate more grains of rice that a contributing benefactor will deliver to the hungry.

If you don't care for the category of words you're being given, you are allowed to change categories at the upper right hand corner.

I like this game a lot! At least "playing games" is going to a good cause!!! LOL

To play Free Rice, click on the Icon below.

Click Here to
get this game
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Free Games Online Add Flash Game to your blog, MySpace, FaceBook, Orkut or website! Kids Play

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Deluxe Pool Speed and accuracy are what you need to succeed. Have you got what it takes?

Play this free game now!!

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Free Games Online Add Flash Game to your blog, MySpace, FaceBook, Orkut or website!KidsPlay

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Shanghai Mahjongg Clear the board of stones by finding all the matching pairs.

Play this free game now!!

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Sushi Sudoku - GameNinja.com

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Play Reel Gold

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o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Mah-jong Connect - GameNinja.com

Mah-jong Connect - GameNinja.com
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New Super Mario Bros - GameNinja.com
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