The WoodWife Chronicles

St. Therese of Lisieux

2012-02-04T18:02:00.001-06:00

I have been reading her autobiography 'Story of a Soul'. It is wonderful. My friend Ann gave it to me and what a treasure!!!

Did you know that Saint Therese knew she was going to be a saint when she was young? Quote from the book.
"I don't count my merits because I have none, but I trust in Him who is Virtue and Holiness. God alone, content with my weak efforts, will raise me to himself and make me a saint, clothing me in His infinite merits."

The book is wonderful and you will fall in love with this saint. She is my special one and this is helping me get to know her better. She loved gardens and flowers and that is why she called herself the 'little flower of Jesus'.

We could all learn so much from her. Doing the little things with love was her way.

A couple of her quotes...

“May today therebe peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that hasbeen given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom tosing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.”
― St.Thérèse de Lisieux

“Miss no singleopportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by akindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.”
― St.Thérèse de Lisieux

“When I die, Iwill send down a shower of roses from the heavens,I will spend my heaven bydoing good on earth.”
― St.Thérèse de Lisieux

Thank you Ann, for this wonderful book!!!

Pygmy Goat Babies

2012-01-17T10:47:00.002-06:00

Hi all, please ignore my floor we are in the middle of a re-do and good thing or I wouldn't be able to have these goat babies in the house. Our kitchen is attached to the living room so they can wander back and forth. Guess what else? Little Diego my recent Chihuahua rescue, no more then a pup himself is taking care of them. Licking them, cleaning them,and herding them around. See pics....brought tears to my eyes - how sweet is he? It is like I saved him so now he is helping to save the goats!! Awwww. Remember these babies are tiny and smaller then a Chihuahua - also they all look the same so I have to take one out of the tote, feed it and then put it on the floor and pick up the next one!! We are milking one of the mothers who didn't want her babies and adding whole milk to that. Two days in and all are doing well and trying out their legs as they hop around the house with Diego and the rest of the gang.

My Mary Story

2012-01-10T06:58:00.001-06:00

Some of you know my story - some do not. I just thought I would share it.

My Mary Story (so far) 1-10-12

What makes this even more amazing to me, is that I was raised Methodist,where Mary is not really spoken of except at Christmas. When I was a littlegirl I was a very spiritual and faithful. Jesus was foremost in my thoughts. I would sing songs about Him while I playedon my swing set in my backyard. When I made my confirmation I saw white imagesgathered up at the altar which made me feel overwhelmed with light and I wasfilled with awe and almost passed out. That is when I knew there was ‘more’ outthere. Not only was it my church confirmation it was also my ‘confirmation’ that all was not as itseemed. I also need to add that I was and still am a very vivid dreamer and Ihave always listened to the messages in my dreams.

After my confirmation experience I felt thechurch lacking somehow and that the feminine was missing. So I left the churchto follow my own path which naturally led me to more goddess centered faiths. Idid feel very at home once I knew there was a divine feminine and I knew thisis what I was looking for. I researched many goddesses and different faithsincluding Native American, Hindu, Buddhist, Wicca, and so on, always findingthe positive in these faiths, always drawn to the feminine aspects in them. AsI read about different goddesses I always felt that something was missing, nonewere quite right. The funny thing was that I kept looking for a goddess in aprayerful pose dressed in robes. The closet thing I ever found was when I readthe book and watched the movie The Priestess of Avalon by Marion ZimmerBradley. These women were devoted to the goddess. They wore robes and had bluecrescent moons on their foreheads. This is what I wanted. Since Methodists forthe most part, only take Mary out at Christmas and then put her back with theother nativity figures – Mary did not pop into my head, but as you see I wasgetting close – the devotion, the robes, the crescent moon……

This whole course of events took about 35 years since I had left thechurch at age 15. I am now 54 and two years ago my life changed forever in thebest way possible. Right before that life-changingevent however, I had a profound dream where my angel showed up bright and largein front of me. She touched me on the forehead and told me I was no longergoing to follow my goddess path that there was something more for me. I wasupset, surprised, and confused. What else was there? What else indeed.

A few months later I was on Ebay looking for vintage jewelry and a largeMiraculous Medal was listed. Hmmm there was Mary – I felt instantly drawn tothat medal. I bid on it and won it for a couple of dollars. It was tarnishedand sold as is. While I waited for it to arrive I went back over my journalsand saw so many dreams that I had had with clues about Mary. In one dream mydiseased father had told me to look for a woman in blue robes with stars onthem. I had even drawn a picture in my journal of theses robes. Anyone who has any idea of Mary would haveknown that was about her right away but not me. There were many other clues aswell. So on New Years Eve 2009 the medal arrived. I cleaned it and it turnedout be sterling silver!! It also said on the reverse “Children of Mary Conventof the Visitation”. I put it on mynightstand and went to bed.

That night a miracle happened. I dreamed that Mary herself stood infront of me dressed in beautiful blue and white robes with a smile on her face– she was all bright and surrounded by light. In her hand she had that verysame Miraculous Medal and she was holding it out to me. She said these exactwords, “Put this medal on a string and wear it close to your heart always”. WhenI woke up I knew my life had changed. I felt like I was in love, I was likenew. I immediately put the medal on a chain around my neck and I haven’t takenit off since.

The next day I researched the medal, since I knew nothing about it, orMary, for that matter. Between then and now I have had many many dreams ofMary, Jesus and saints. In one dream Mary asked me to make rosaries so Iresearched them and bought one on Etsy to study. Now here I am on Etsy selling rosaries and other holyart – and finally after all this time at age 54, I am doing what I love to do –combining my art and holiness, and all because I listened to my dreams andMary. I need to also say that different saints have shown up in my dreams aswell and since I did not know anything about them I researched them and foundout so many amazing things. Each saint dream is a story in itself. I feel trulyblessed.

Since I am not Catholic I findall of this even more amazing, and because I tell my story to others I hadfound so many other non-Catholics, who have also been drawn to Mary. In one of my dreams, Mary told me that shedoes not belong to the church she belongs to us all. She also told me when Iasked, that she wanted everyone to have rosaries – and that they did not haveto be prayed the traditional way – just with positive thoughts and goodintentions. She said that rosaries were for everyone, as a way to be close toher, and focus their prayers. So mystory continues……as my home fills with Mary statues, and saints, and rosaries,but especially with Grace. I am thankful everyday that Mary showed up and Ilistened!!!!

Paint Party Friday Finally I Painted

2012-01-04T16:29:00.002-06:00

This is a painting I did after being inspired by a friends painting of the same saint. I still like hers better but this is my attempt. This is Saint Theresa of Avila she was a mystic and is the patron saint of writers, people in need of Grace, and she is good for headaches. I did this on stretched canvas 11x14. I exaggerated her eyes because when I look at this old painting of her - it is her eyes that draw me in.

So here is my more folk art style version.

You can see more art at Paint Party Friday here.

Happy Paint Party Friday!!

Cool Blue Saint Anne and Mary

2012-01-02T18:21:00.003-06:00

I restored this statue of St. Anne and Mary which was in traditional colors. I wanted a new airy look. So I used a pale aqua with a vintage white and then in the creases I added a black wash. You can see it on Melinda's second shop moxieantiquestoo along all my other restorations. I am really enjoying this.

Happy New Year and a new Mary

2011-12-28T06:37:00.000-06:00

Just want to wish everyone a happy new year!!!

Here are two of my new old Mary's to share with you too!! Receiving Mary as a gift is wonderful!!

Oh and a Chihuahua sandwich to share just for fun!!

Or would you call it a 5 Chi pile up?

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!

2011-12-20T19:37:00.004-06:00

Ok so I am missing a couple...here are the rest of the gang.....Little Honey, Mini Moo (can you tell why?), Little Bear, new kid Diego, and wait that is Pancho again down there in his digital reindeer outfit LOL!! He is camera hog!!

Southwest Virgin Mary Surprise and More!!!

2011-12-18T10:32:00.000-06:00

My aunt who lives in AZ. sent me a surprise. All she said when she called was that it had my name written all over it when she saw it!!! Well, it sure did......she said she thinks it was made by the ~~Hopi~~! Navajo (she found out for sure)! I love it and have never one like it before.

Isn't she lovely? I am so blessed. My sister who lives in Italy gave me a beautiful Mary statue from the Vatican and blessed by the pope!!! Also another carved from stone by the Maasai tribe when she went to Africa!! In my shelf below, the Maasai Mary is white top left and Vatican Mary is next to her. Below that is a Mexican Mary that I thought was beautiful. She even has a desert scene on her skirt.

This last one was a gift from my son's girl Larissa. Our Lady of Lourdes in a glass dome!!

Happy Holidays to everyone!! May Mary bless you all.

Queen of the Holy Rosary

2011-12-14T18:49:00.003-06:00

I have this old pamphlet from 1946 called Queen of Martyrs Pray For Us. In it, is a beautiful song about the rosary....

Queen of the Holy Rosary

"O Queen of the Holy Rosary!

Oh, bless us as we pray

And offer thee our roses,

In garlands day by day.

while from our Father's Garden,

with loving hearts and bold

we gather to Thine honor,

Buds, white, and red, and gold.

O Queen of the Holy Rosary!

Each mystery blends with thine

The sacred life of Jesus,

In every step divine

Thy soul was His fair garden,

Thy virgin breast His throne,

Thy thoughts His faithful mirror,

Reflecting Him alone."

St. Rose of Lima

2011-12-13T07:47:00.001-06:00

I recently acquired a beautiful statue of Saint Rose. She is the patron saint of Lima, Peru, and the very first saint of the Americas. She is also the patron saint for people who are ridiculed by their family for their religious devotion and spirituality.
Here are some pictures of her as well as my statue.

May we all be free to worship as we want without ridicule and hatred. May all that is dark be filled with light. May we all be free to be ourselves. Amen.

Day 12 The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

2011-12-11T11:52:00.001-06:00

For this last day of the wonderful event put on by Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon I thought I would just post the simple shrine I have to Our Lady of Guadalupe in my kitchen. Nothing fancy just a vintage statue from Mexico sitting on my counter top over looking my cutting board and bread!! I am very thankful to Rebecca for this amazing event that brought so many of us together!!!

I have had a wonderful time!!!

Day 11 Our Lady of Guadalupe

2011-12-10T15:25:00.001-06:00

Since it is Her feast day tomorrow the 12th and the reason for this Virgin a Day put on by Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon, I thought I would post a link to the best story about Guadalupe that I have come across in awhile.Well, there was a pretty good story on a kid's show called Wishbone that I saw once too!! Go here to read about Her. Stay here to look at Her.

Day 10 of A Mary A Day

2011-12-09T20:10:00.001-06:00

So here we are at day 10 of A Virgin A Day hosted by Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon. I have many MANY pictures of Mary in a folder on my computer. So it's not like I don't have a lot of choices it is just that it is so hard to choose...........OK I will pick a couple of my absolute favorites to share......

Day 9 Our Lady of Protection

2011-12-09T06:32:00.001-06:00

I did not think ahead on this one so I am running late and trying to think of what Mary to post for Rebecca's blog event recuerda mi corazon which means by the way 'remember my heart'. So today I want to post this Our Lady of Guadalupe - she is the protectress and defender of children. Yes she protects the young ones but we are all Her children and we all need protection!! So please Our Lady of Guadalupe protect and watch over us all please and keep us safe.

Day 8 Mary of the America's

2011-12-07T17:12:00.001-06:00

First let me tell you that my sister emailed me from Italy yesterday, and said that today everything will be closed there to celebrate Mary and The Immaculate Conception!! I want to live in Italy!!! Ahhh well, instead I will show you a statue I re-painted.. My friend Diane at DissyB Etsy Shop sent me two statues. This one was an awful dark purple. So out came my paints and since I never know how my statues will turn out - they have a mind of their own - this one wanted to be Our Lady of the America's and so She is.

To see more Mary's go to Rebecca's blog here

Day 7 A Virgin and Chihuahua or two

2011-12-06T18:40:00.001-06:00

Ok so many of you who are participating in Rebecca's A Virgin a Day at recuerda mi corazon commented yesterday on my post - that I must have a Mary in every corner and a lovely home. Well, I do have a Mary in every corner that is off the ground and my home is nice enough but under construction awaiting new floors my husband (clearing my throat here) is supposed to be putting in.....but I also rescue Chihuahua's so at floor level there is also a Chihuahua in every corner. Our newest member Diego was scarred up very badly at 4 weeks old (see pics) - my son brought him home from the flea market and well, now he is happy and fat and driving me nuts. He is wilder then wild but cuter then cute. So we kiss and make up when he is bad. Here are pics I took when I first got him - he was trying to walk towards my Guadalupe candle in the background so I named him Juan Diego!!! Some of you have seen and read the first part of this story so this is just an update on Diego

So my home is full of Mary's and Chihuahua's. I think Mary likes them anyway especially Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Here is Diego fat and sassy. You can see by my hand in the first pic and my husbands in this last one how much he has grown from a hand full to handful!!.

He is still working on getting those ears up!!

Day 6 Mary's Mary's Everywhere

2011-12-05T15:19:00.001-06:00

The 12 days of Mary event by Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon is just full of wonderful Mary's. I think we are all really enjoying this!! Today my offering is some of the many faces of Mary from my statues around my home. Believe me these are just a few of them........I have many many more......

This last one is very special because my son David gave her to me for my birthday !!!

Hail Mary Full of Grace. May we all be full of Grace today and each of us gift someone else with a Grace.

Day 5 A Virgin a Day

2011-12-04T17:50:00.001-06:00

Today I want to go with something that is special to me. I am captain of an Etsy Team called Mary's Graces - we say prayers for each other, we help each other out and we do give aways on our blog Mary's Graces.. Right now we are running a charity case. Anyone can enter too!! My team has become very special to me. Here is an old holy card that was in black and white that I colored in to use as our team picture. Hail Mary full of Grace.

To see more beautiful Mary's go to Rebecca s blog recuerda mi corazon

Day 4 Virgin a Day

2011-12-04T11:07:00.001-06:00

I am late today with my post but I was distracted - I slept late and my rescued Chihuahua puppy was running wild dragging pee pads through the house. OK so on to Mary and since my pup is a Chihuahua I am going with my painting of Guadalupe as today's offering!!!

See more Mary's at Rebcca's blog recuerda mi corazon

Day 3 A Virgin A Day

2011-12-02T10:00:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I was scrubbing floors and I thought, well, I thought "this sucks". So I grabbed my Miraculous Medal of Mary and said a Hail Mary prayer and when I got to the line "Blessed art Thou among women" I thought "Yes you are blessed among women - we need you with us - I know you must have scrubbed floors too during your time on earth, as well as cried tears of joy and sorrow. We all know your sorrow. We also know you joy. You are with each of us - all women, as we cry, laugh, love and yes even when we scrub floors."
After that, the scrubbing didn't seem so bad. Mary is always with us. We carry Her in our hearts. We ARE Her heart.
So here is my Mary today - a tag I made celebrating the joys and sorrows of life.

See more Marys at A Virgin a Day by Rebecca on her blog...recuerda mi corazon

Day Two of A Virgin A Day

2011-12-01T19:29:00.001-06:00

This my offering for day two of A Virgin a Day by Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon. I painted this myself to honor Mary and because I dreamed her and that always inspires me to paint her.

From Her heart, to my heart, to yours.......

Recuerdo su corazón

A Virgin a Day

2011-12-01T07:02:00.001-06:00

I am participating in Rebecca's blog here - posting a Virgin Mary a day for 12 days up to Mary's feast day on the 12th of Decemeber. So my offering today is this wonderful picture I found - Mary is everywhere....and all children big and small want to hold Her hand.

Saint Michael The Archangel Dream and Tag

2011-11-29T07:31:00.001-06:00

I had a very powerful dream with St. Michael in it. Here it is...
In the dream I was going to sleep so I had a dream within a dream and I dreamt I was with St. Therese. I asked her how it felt to be a saint and before she could answer a screen of glass appeared and a priest was pointing to a map very upset. St. Therese said that something bad was happening. I was thenback in the room I started in with St. Michael. He said the priest was looking on the map to find where evil was and we had to help. So we both started looking in closets. I found red paper at the back of one of the closets with the face of the devil. I called St. Michael over and he was going in to fight it. I said to be careful because if something happened to him we would all die.

I know spooky dream. The next night however I was with St. Michael again and stroking his wings. I felt instantly at peace and safe. I then had a crucifix in my hand and Jesus smiled at me so I know all was well.

So inspired by these dreams I created this tag.....front and back

May St. Michael the Archangel Protect us all!!

New Shop for Statue Restorations

2011-11-27T10:47:00.001-06:00

Melinda at MoXieantiques decided to create a second shop for our statue restorations here called Moxieantiquestoo.. This way we can focus on just the restorations. So far we have 4 up on the shop. Ihave 2 more that I am working on. Here is what is in the shop some befores and afters.

The two below are next. One is St. Anne which I will repaint in new colors, the next is a Hummel Mary with a very old and very bad repair job. I have broken the piece back off - re-glued and filled in the broken spaces. Next I have to match the paint and see how she comes out!!

Our Lady of Lourdes Restoration

2011-11-16T09:30:00.001-06:00

I am working with Meilinda at Moxieantiques restoring statues. Sometimes they will be listed for sale on my shop TheWoodwifesWares and sometimes at Melinda's shop. This is a statue that I hand painted in Our Lady of Lourdes style. I added details like roses at her feet and a vintage faux pearl mini rosary in her hands. To see more pics click here and it will take you to Moxieantiques and the listing for this statue. Melinda also has many other statues and other wonderful items.

Our Lady of Consolation

2011-11-10T06:51:00.001-06:00

I found this wonderful statue on Ebay called 'Consolatrix Afflictorum' which is Our Lady of Consolation for the Afflicted. She originates in Luxembourg but there is also a US shrine in Ohio. To read more click here. Baby Jesus is missing two fingers and there is a small hole in the side which I will repair and then list Her on my shop. I think. I have never heard of this Mary before anyone else?

Wooden Tags

2011-11-08T06:49:00.001-06:00

Let me tell you how I went from paper tags to wood. My son gave me a wooden toolbox - thought I could use it to store my stuff in. He was right. Inside the tool box were these pieces of wood holding up a little rack. I used a screwdriver and pried off those wood pieces like chipping a beautiful gem from a rock - for me anyway - I held those pieces up and ta da - I thought "Wooden tags" and so I went on and I created and here they are. Each one has a prayer on the back

There will be more. They are available in my shop. I do custom orders and in fact, I love to do custom orders!!

Chihuahua Rescue

2011-10-25T06:42:00.000-05:00

So yeah I rescue Chihuahua's but I gave it up. Why? Because I kept falling in love with them so I could never adopt them back out. I was afraid they'd end up in a bad place again. Rescues tend to be misfits.I am just in love with their tiny-ness with those big ears, big eyes and giant hearts. They do bark a lot but what are you gonna do. Anyhow like I said I gave it up until this guy came along. A flea market find!! He was bitten by fleas and something much larger on the side of his face. The man who had him looked unsavory. Knowing no one else would take this little beat up guy home I did. How could I not? He is probably 4 weeks old. I had to teach him to eat and drink from a dish. I sleep with him in my arms and he wakes me when he needs to use his pee pad and take a drink or eat some food. Last night we had play time at 1 in the morning. I swore I was never going to do that again. Yeah right.

I am going to name him Juan Diego. In the second picture you can see Our Lady of Guadalupe behind him and that looks like where was is headed!! So I am introducing my little Juan Diego to you!!

New Statue Restoration St. Anne and Virgin Mary

2011-10-18T11:50:00.001-05:00

I am now working with Melinda at Moxie Antiques on statue restorations. We are still working out the details. She will be sending me statues to restore and either she or I will list them in our shops. First up is St. Anne and the Virgin Mary. She came to me in pink and I painstakingly and lovingly restored her to her vintage colors. After that I rubbed off some places to give her a more vintage and actual shabby chic look. She is for indoor use only but is sealed with a matte sealer. She measures 12½ x 4 x 4 and will be available in my shop shortly. So take a look and tell me what you think please - I need lots of feedback on this so I know what to do in the future...and be honest!!!

OK I listened and I thank you and here are the new pics of the antiquing I did!!

Now what do you think?

GIVE AWAY on Mary's Graces Team Blog

2011-10-13T08:44:00.000-05:00

Go here http://marysgraces.blogspot.com/2011/10/give-away-hosted-by-holly-at.html to enter to win this.

We Are Never Alone

2011-10-05T07:07:00.000-05:00

Did you ever wonder.........When you are saying the Hail Mary prayer probably thousands of people are saying it at that exact moment too. When I think of that I can almost hear all of their voices along with mine softly praying.

We are never alone.

Prayer to Our Lady of Perpetual Help

2011-09-29T10:17:00.000-05:00

O Mother of Perpetual Help, grant that I may ever invoke thy most powerful name, which is the safeguard of the living and the salvation of the dying. O Purest Mary, O Sweetest Mary, let thy name henceforth be ever on my lips. Delay not, O Blessed Lady, to help me whenever I call on thee, for, in all my needs, in all my temptations I shall never cease to call on thee, ever repeating thy sacred name, Mary, Mary

A Miracle to Share

2011-09-26T18:24:00.003-05:00

I wanted to share this miracle that happened today. Last week I had an inspiration to create a Guadalupe tag with babies and on the back I printed 'Our Lady of Guadalupe Protect our children'.

Then I saw this beautiful vintage angel on a shop very inexpensive and the look on her face and the babies was full of so much love I had to buy it and when I looked at it I thought of my son David's girlfriend Larissa who is the sweetest little thing (4'10") and I really love her and I see why David does. She has become the daughter I never had. Here is a pic of that angel.

Anyway I just felt the need for protection of my children. Today I found out why. Larissa was going with her cousin to a dentist appt. it was raining really hard and I didn't want her to go. Then my husband called from work and said "don't let her go" but what could I do? She is young and well, she went. Before she left however I gave her a rosary (she is not Catholic but is a firm believer) and I added a Our Lady of the Highway medal for extra protection and I said lots of prayers. My husband said he did too. Anyway when I waved goodbye to her I almost cried thinking that I may never see her again. I usually do not worry much but I was full of worry at that moment. About an hour later my son David calls me and tells me the girls wrecked and I started to cry but he told me the girls were fine but the car was totalled. When I saw Larissa I gave her a big hug and she said "It was Mary" and I said"what do you mean?" and she said "we were crashing and I closed my eyes and saw Mary she was so pretty and she saved us". I cried again. whew what a day!!!

I said many prayers of thanks to Mary today.

PPF Mary Restored

2011-09-23T05:02:00.000-05:00

I bought this broken Mary statue and I knew I just had to restore her. She had no arms and I think she was missing her baby.

So I got out my sculpey clay and made her arms holding baby Jesus.

Then someone sent me something about Our Lady of the Snows so I decided to paint this Mary as Our Lady of the Snows.

I couldn't get really good pics because it was late and now it is pouring - but she is very vibrant and blue and full of sparkles!!! Maybe I will be able to get a better picture later!!

Happy PPF everyone.

Tags and More Tags

2011-09-21T16:01:00.000-05:00

I have made some special order tags and rosaries that no one has seen because they never went on my shop. So here they are.....the first one is a hula girl - I made her coconuts from clay, paint and pencil shavings!!

A Saint Francis tag for someone who lost a pet and another for a special friend.

This one has a gecko on it - front and back - can you guess who I made it for?

Here is the reverse.

This is Mary's Flower Garden Tag using flowered tissue paper.

The Song of Mary Tag

Blue Mary Tag full of glitter with the prayer Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue on the reverse.

Some are not available - some are in my shop and some will be in my shop shortly!!

I love making tags can you tell?

"Surrender to the path, and go....."

2011-09-13T07:57:00.000-05:00

I received this quote in my daily Notes From The Universe. Here is a link if you'd like to sign up for these great inspiring notes each weekday. http://www.tut.com/theclub/ click on the top that says 'notes'. I have been receiving these for years and they absolutely inspire me each day.

When I read the quote above I thought of my path filled with little lanterns.

These little lanterns are the clues we are given each day - they are like little lights or beacons of hope and faith. All we have to do is be aware and follow them.

Whatever your path looks like - a city street, a country road, a desert path, or a magical hillside - it is lit and all you have to do is have the eyes to see it.

It's like Tinkerbell and her little fairy light guiding us along.

It's Mary light

It's God Light/Universe Light

Follow the Light

Surrender to the path, and go............

Also here is a link to a song to help us all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saYYm1CkX3M

PPF My Sketch Becomes A Painting

2011-09-08T10:25:00.003-05:00

I usually sketch right onto the canvas but I was doing this sketch for something else that fell through. I tried to sketch her again on my canvas and could not get the same exact look so I tried a new technique. I glued the sketch to my canvas board and painted from there. It is 10x18 and available for sale in my Etsy Shop.
Happy Paint Party Friday All!!!!!!!!!

My New Virgin Mary Statue

2011-09-04T18:08:00.000-05:00

I got Her for $4 I might add!! Isn't she lovely? 9 inches too. There's a Newberry's sticker on the bottom - anyone remember that old dept. store? Anyway I love Her and her eyes are so blue.....not that Mary's eyes were actually blue but maybe now they are any color She wants them to be.

A Sketch soon to be painting for PPF

2011-09-02T04:53:00.000-05:00

This is my first Madonna and child. I wasn't sure how it would come out since I really have never drawn a baby before. So here is my sketch and I am now in the process of painting it!! Mary looks so happy doesn't she? You'll see it next week. It will be rich and full of deep jewel tones.....

Happy Paint (sketch) Party Friday everyone.

My Peaceful Place on the Porch

2011-08-30T16:57:00.000-05:00

Mater Dolorosa Dream Words PPF

2011-08-26T04:55:00.000-05:00

I went to bed on Friday the 19th praying to Our Sorrowful Mother because I needed some help. In a dream I heard these words.

Our Sorrowful Mother
Cries tears like rain
And in Her pain
They turn to blood
Which fall to the ground
And blossom
Into Love.

The next morning I made a sketch with Our Lady crying and Her tears falling and flowers blooming. This week I turned it into a painting. I added red lace for the curtains. I am not sure if I will make prints so I can keep Her or sell this original 10x14. It is so hard to part with my paintings,

Mary's Heart Light

2011-08-22T07:27:00.000-05:00

I heard these words in a dream and wrote them down which inspired a tag and here they are - the words and the tag.
"I am the light in the darkness.
I am the light inside you.
Follow the light and it will lead you
to My Heart"

I call this tag Mary's Heart Light. It is available on my Etsy shop.

Miraculous Medal Box Special Order

2011-08-15T15:56:00.000-05:00

This box was really fun to make for Anna at Stairway Heaven Etsy Shop and a member of our Etsy team Mary's Graces. Anna wanted a special picture of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal with white lilies. So I collaged some pictures and hand painted the lilies. Inside Anna wanted compartments and I could not figure out how in the world I was going to do that. Then I spied my little match boxes. Ah Ha!! I slid out the little drawers, painted them and 6 fit perfectly inside. I was so happy I was dancing around the living room. I am mailing it out to Anna tomorrow hoping she will dance around the living room when she gets it!!! Thanks Anna. Oh and I even decorated the bottom, hate to leave anything undone.

I LOVE special orders!!!

Treasures

2011-08-13T20:06:00.002-05:00

I won a nice lot of religious items on Ebay and then a nice woman at the flea market saved me some things and I traded for the Mary planter and the 2 large crucifixes. I love days like this and treasures galore. I held them close to me and was so happy . Here is my Ebay treasure chest.

Next are the beautiful pieces I got at the flea market.

This last piece is a very old large crucifix with a skull and crossbones on it. If anyone can tell me anything else about it -please do!!

DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE NEW GIVE AWAY ON MARY"S GRACES. A CROSS MADE BY MARIE SEGAL.

Tags Into The Light Paint Party Friday

2011-08-07T18:27:00.002-05:00

These are my new series of holy tags that I am creating. I was inspired in a dream with Mary saying I needed to create tags that showed things that were full of light like the rosary, prayer, faith and so on. I have four done so far. The first one is Faith and it is a very grounded tag using earth tones and a vintage lucite faith bead. Faith is very grounding to me.

The second one is The Rosary. I used a teeny rosary that I made, silk flowers and a very intent picture of Mary looking lovingly at the rosary.

The third one is called Pray. A young Mary looking heavenward in prayer.

The fourth I am calling The Rose. A picture of Rosa Mystica and the light that Mary as the rose brings to us.

I used many little vintage pieces in these and they will be available in my shop this week!! Hope you all like them. I am thinking of other tags that represent the light. Any ideas?

I didn't really get to paint much this week - I worked on these tags so this is my submission for PPF. Have a great day and happy PPF everyone!!

Jesus Restored

2011-08-04T16:41:00.000-05:00

Friends of mine gave me an very old wooden cross from when they had been in Africa many years ago. I wanted to find a Jesus figure without His cross so I could bring them both together. I found one on Ebay for $5. He arrived today - his paint was missing on his stomach area and the metal was showing through. He also had a broken arm. So I glued Him back together and I touched up the paint. I then glued Him to the cross and added a red sacred heart over His head. You can see in the first pic how chippy His paint still is - but sometimes its best to leave some things alone.

I have to say that as I worked I felt such love. It was amazing. It was like when I restored all my old Mary statues. It just does something to your heart.

Holy Card Storage and Other Things

2011-08-01T09:07:00.000-05:00

I love old holy cards and wanted to find a way to store them but also so I could look at them easily. So I found a small photo album in Dollar General and glued a beautiful bookmark made by my wonderful artist friend Priti Lisa (see here) on the cover.

I even had room for my vintage postcard booklet.

Here is something else I wanted to share - my shrine with my pretty rosaries that Mary watches over!!

PPF Mary's Holy Heart

2011-07-29T04:42:00.000-05:00

The story of this painting is that a friend gave me a 20x24 old wooden picture. I sanded it off and drew Mary. My son suggested I do her all in stain to keep the nice wood grain. I watered down my brown paints and did that. But me being a color person I had to add color so I watered down my color paints to create a colored stain affect. I then made a wooden rosary and added that over her head as well as using clay to create her Immaculate Heart which I baked and painted. The roses were the hardest part and I tried many different ways but when I came across an old calligraphy pen I knew that would do it and it did. Made nice little petals in my clay. Finished everything with mineral oil - because the wood was so dry and metallic gold paint. I call this Mary's Holy Heart.

There is another give a way at Mary's Graces. Click here to see.

PPF despite a power outage of 11 hours.

2011-07-22T06:44:00.000-05:00

We had a wicked storm here in TN. yesterday which knocked our power out all day. I wanted to do an ACEO but of course it was too dark. So instead my offering will have to be an older painting. A REALLY old painting, in fact my first 'real' painting that I did in high school back in 1975!! It is Mick Jagger who I was in love with at the time and I did his hair in string!! Enjoy!! Happy PPF!!

Trade

2011-07-19T17:04:00.000-05:00

My friend Kim The Recycled Catholic on Etsy and I traded. I received the most beautiful piece of her art ever!!!! You can see it under the big blue arrow in the picture below. St. Therese isn't she beautiful!! You can see better pictures taken by Kim here.

Thanks Kim I love it love it love it!!!!

Thank you and an Update

2011-07-17T19:19:00.000-05:00

Thank you everyone for answering my survey - I really enjoyed reading all of it. What great answers!!

My new venture at Mary's Graces blog and Etsy team of the same name has gone through some changes this week in its infancy.

We have changed the wording of things, there are no 'challenges' nor will there ever be any - we have enough in our lives. There will be 'Tokens of Love - Give A ways'. Our team members will donate a beautiful piece of art or item as a token of love - we will ask a question you can answer it in the comments if you want to win the item. We will post about Mary, perhaps in all of her apparitions. For instance in her apparition as Our Lady of Peace - we may ask what you did lately that instilled peace in a situation. If you want to answer the questions that I am posting on Monday July 18th and see who the lucky winner is of the beautiful crystal rosary or join Mary's Graces team or just follow our blog please click here. We already have quite an eclectic group!!

Survey Says

2011-07-13T11:09:00.000-05:00

I am conducting this survey as a test survey that I may also post on the new blog Mary's Graces but first I want to see what my WoodWife people think - who are some of the same followers of Mary's Graces.

1. What does the Divine Feminine represent to you?
2. Are you a goddess person and if so who is your special goddess?
3. If you do not know about goddesses then what does the word goddess mean to you?
4. What about Mary?

I will answer first and then everyone else can have a go.

I have studied many goddesses and cultures over the past 30 plus years - the Divine Feminine has always called to me. I got to know each goddess energy but never quite felt at home - I knew there was still my perfect match out there somewhere. I did not find her however, she found me. I had a profound dream almost two years ago where Mary showed up in all of her glory - brilliantly bright with her arms out. In her hand was a Miraculous Medal she said to me as she held it out "Put this on a string and wear it close to your heart always". And so I did and so I do. Once I started reading about Mary and she started appearing more and more in my dreams asking me to make rosaries - I fell in love. My heart totally belongs to her now and there is no other for me. Everything I do is her work.

Now it is your turn.......

PPF My First ACEO

2011-07-08T04:51:00.001-05:00

Since my disaster with Frida which was a large painting I decided to try my hand at my first ACEO. I painted Mary’s Immaculate Heart. I am happy with it.

My son’s girlfriend Larissa, who also did the monkey from last week because of my missing Frida, was inspired by my heart and did her own. Two hearts are better than one!! Happy PPF everyone. Oh and on my other blog Mary’s Graces we have a give-away going on – click on the link button on the right sidebar to check it out!!!

New Blog, Etsy Team and Mission

2011-07-05T08:55:00.001-05:00

Hettienne from Devata on Etsy and Her Grace Blog, and myself The Woodwife from Etsy and this blog - have begun a Holy Mother Mary village - a dream that Hettienne had not long ago. She will be creating an Etsy shop and team and we will both be working on that as well as this blog. We want to inspire others and open them up to Mother Mary's blessings. We will be doing give-away's and other exciting things as we come up with ideas. Please stayed tuned!!

Some of the things we want to accomplish with our blog and Etsy team is to spread kindness, peace and love through the Divine Feminine. Instead of a weekly challenge – we want to do a weekly act of kindness. This could happen in many forms such as doing a give-away on the blog, a pay it forward on your shop, a half price sale on one creation that speaks of the Divine feminine, peace, love, or kindness, a blog auction for a charity, a personal act of kindness of your own and so on. Each week we can post what everyone has done with pictures and stories etc.

Everyone who joins our Etsy team can create a widget and send me the code and I will add it to our Mary’s Graces blog. I can also add a link button to your blog. You can also ask me for the code to our blog or team link button to add to your blogs if you like. On your Etsy shop you can add that you are a member of the Mary’s Graces Etsy team, you can add a link, or even add the picture logo when you list something that has to do directly with this work, your weekly act of kindness, or just to help spread the word.
This is all new and just in the beginning stages but I think this will really blossom into something fantastic and healing for many people. All ideas and suggestions are welcome.

UPDATE - our Etsy Team is ready so click on the link to the right on the sidebar if you want to join!!!!

Flea Market Finds

2011-07-02T19:16:00.001-05:00

This morning I went to the local flea market with my son and his girlfriend. We were on the look out for treasures. We found many. We stopped at a booth with a bunch of old jewelry and in a deep bowl I found some rosaries all tangled together. They were old and had tags that read $10 or $12 each. I put them back. I certainly couldn’t afford them. The woman said “I’ll give you a good deal on those rosaries”. I said “on all of them?”. She said “you can have them all for $15”. I was speechless. There were 8 of them. My son said “you will be a fool not to take her up on that”. So I agreed. Then she told me she had two more and threw them in too!! Wow. So I ended up with 10. One is beautiful crystal beads, another has a name engraved in German on the back of the crucifix. Some are metal, wood, glass, plastic – even a purple one that my son bought me for $2 at another booth!! My lucky day. I found a little gargoyle with flowers too and he is guarding my rosaries in the pictures.

Later my son’s girlfriend gave me a tiny Mary Medal on a delicate chain with a neat old clasp. She said she found it at that same booth and when she went to pay for it the woman just gave it to her!!

We celebrated with frozen strawberry lemonades at MacDonald's. Oh boy are they good. Have you had one yet????

PPF No Frida But We Have A Monkey

2011-07-01T04:47:00.001-05:00

OK so Frida didn’t make it. I was going to paint her in black and white adding a red long stemmed rose for a pop of color. But the more I painted the grayer she looked. I finally gave up – ok let’s tell the truth here - I gave up got mad because I kept getting interrupted and I finally just messed the whole thing up and threw it away. I am sure some of you have done this. I am not proud. But I paint for the color, Frida WAS color so I should have just painted in color. Anyway in memory of my lost painting my son’s girlfriend Larissa painted her first ACEO and guess what? It is a monkey!! Frida loved monkeys. So here is Larissa’s little girl monkey thinking about her boy monkey. I am guessing it is Larissa and my son. Happy PPF all.

It’s Not Easy Being Green

2011-06-28T19:33:00.001-05:00

It’s not easy painting green either. This is the story of my labor of love done a few years ago. I love fantasy – stories, creatures, you name it. I love the stories of the Green Man so I had to paint him. It wasn't easy. It took me weeks to get his skin tones right – I mean who could I look at anyway for a model? I think I got him right – he looks great to me and if I could only have one of my paintings forever and ever it would be him. He has this look in his eyes that makes women who come to my home slightly uncomfortable – but I love his ‘look’ How about you? Ahhh to be green and unseen………

Not Frida Yet

2011-06-24T04:49:00.001-05:00

I am still working on my Frida painting so she will not be ready this week. Instead I will just show you the collage/mixed media, with a little bit of paint, journal cover I did. I used an old marble notebook and this is what I came up with….

Pocket inside….

Happy PPF everyone!!

Guadalupe Painting

2011-06-21T08:09:00.001-05:00

This is the first time I am going to sell one of my paintings in its original form. I usually can’t bear to part with them. They are like my children. I just have a feeling that this is meant for someone else so I am listing her on my Etsy shop here. I hope she finds the home and heart she belongs to.

Sunlight Through a Crow Feather

2011-06-20T10:33:00.001-05:00

This is where I sit in the morning with my coffee. My husband found a crow feather for me under the tree in the yard so I put it in my morning place. Notice how pretty the sun is shining through it. Thought I’d share.

Paint Party Friday

2011-06-17T04:33:00.001-05:00

Paint Party Friday has really inspired me and no sooner was I finished with my first painting for PPF then I had an idea for the next one. I wanted to paint something smaller 9x12 and it had to be Our Lady of Guadalupe. As I sat on my porch sketching her out I added a rosary – something she doesn’t always have and then I had the urge to add Mary’s Immaculate Heart. As I sat there and wondered if I should add it a butterfly flew right to my chest and landed on my Immaculate Heart of Mary's necklace below….

I was in awe and tears came to my eyes. I knew it was a sign so I added her heart. As I worked on this painting she seemed to take on many qualities of other Mary apparitions such as Our Lady of Lourdes with the rosary, Our Lady of Fatima, it also reminds me of Our Lady of Snows, and Our Lady of Grace as she stands on the earth. There is even has an Asian quality to it. So I have named her The Divine Mother. Mother of Earth and Heaven as she stands in the cosmic egg, surrounded by stars with the moon and the earth beneath her. Here she is.

Oh and of course I added the butterfly!!!

Shrine of Mine

2011-06-14T15:37:00.003-05:00

People know I create so they give me odds and ends and broken things. One woman that I work for gave me a broken Chinese screen. I think the wood is cherry and it is hand painted on a smooth stone – possibly marble. It is pretty old – and I think she said her husband got it in China. Anyhow I turned one section of it into a Mary shrine. I added a vintage Lucite Virgin Mary, vintage pearl chain, golden Mary charm, earring, Lucite flower, cross, and oval angel piece – all vintage. The only thing not vintage on this piece is the glue!! You can also find it on my shop here.

In between working on this shrine I also worked on another painting for Paint Party Friday. It is finished and I already have an idea for the next painting that I saw in a dream last night. WOW talk about getting inspired!! And did I mention that I love falling asleep at night? Not only because I am tired but because my dream life is so full of exciting things and ideas!! My dream was about Frida and that is all I will say – I now have two weeks to get her painted!! Happy Creating everyone.

Oh and today my friend Stacy - MagicLoveCrow gave me a Sweet Blog Award - thanks Stacy that was sweet!!

Paint Party Friday My First Time

2011-06-10T04:21:00.002-05:00

I decided to participate in Paint Party Friday because a couple of my blog buddies gave me the nudge to join in the fun on Friday’s. It is a good thing because otherwise who knows when I would have finished this painting.Sometimes we need a nudge or a swift kick. Thanks guys!! This is Saint Therese and for those of you who are unfamiliar with her you can read about her here. Suffice it to say she is the saint of doing the little things with love – and don’t we all need help with that? She is also a great saint for dealing with annoying people with annoying habits!! Hee hee. I guess you could say she is the saint of patience. I sure needed patience while I painted her too – I don’t even know if she is done yet. First her face was too pink, then too gray, don’t know if I like the background. I almost gave up and so on. Anyway here she is……acrylic on 16x20 canvas board. Title...A Rose From Heaven.

Happy Paint Party Friday all!! If anyone wants to see who else participates in this cool weekly event just click on the PPF button on my top right sidebar and it will take you there.

Mom’s Birthday

2011-06-08T05:21:00.001-05:00

June 6th was my mom’s birthday – I won’t tell you how old she was because she’d kill me. Older than me is all I will say LOL!!! I made lunch with cupcakes – I put pansies on top and they were very good – the cupcakes and the pansies. I also painted a vintage Mele jewelry box for her to organize her jewelry in. Right now it is thrown all over her dresser. She will kill me for writing that!!! If she hasn’t put everything neatly in her new jewelry box by the next time I see her I guess I will have to do it!!! Happy Birthday Mom!!

Does this look comfortable to you?

2011-06-07T15:45:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post with a couple of my strange Chihuahua's.

Frida Mi Amour

2011-06-04T10:36:00.001-05:00

I love Frida Kahlo – what a brave, tough, sensitive, artistic wonderful person. She is my inspiration – I figure if she could paint while in pain lying in bed what excuse could I possibly have? If you do not know who Frida is – look her up – watch the movie – you won’t be disappointed.

Here are some of my art creations honoring my beloved Frida. Enjoy.

I used real turquoise chips for her necklace.

And tiny plastic fruit slices on this one.

On the one below that I did for my friend Gloria I used fabric to create her skirt!!! And more turquoise chips for her necklace.

There is even a little monkey peeking out from behind Our Lady of Guadalupe. First monkey I ever painted. Frida and Our Lady are printed out pictures, the rest I painted.

May you be inspired by Frida and her story.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

2011-05-30T11:04:00.001-05:00

My friend was having nasty neighbor troubles and decided to put a Guadalupe battery candle out by his gate. That night I dreamt of that candle and Juan Diego (you can read the story of Juan Diego here). He told me that Guadalupe’s heart was with my friend but also with me and he cupped his hands and sort of threw Guadalupe's heart energy at me. Then I saw a beautiful mirror in a white frame and etched on the mirror was an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The mirror was surrounded by red roses and there were two candles and a blue bowl with sand and crystals in in in front of the mirror. I drew it in my journal.

For me the dream means that, of course Our Lady’s heart is with me, but also that I should be a mirror for her and not only see people and myself through ‘Mary’s eyes’ but I need to reflect that holiness back to others so they can see themselves through Mary’s eyes and see their own light and holiness. The roses are symbols of Mary and love. The candles are the sacred flame of spirit, crystals for clarity and sand for the sands of time, meaning, love is eternal. It’s the only thing that really matters and the only thing you get to take with you. I don’t know about you but I want to take bunches and bunches of it with me when I leave this earth!!!

Weekend Walk

2011-05-28T16:10:00.001-05:00

I decided to take a walk on our farm that is not our farm. The 250 acres that is now our little 3. I figured the guy that bought it doesn’t own it the bank does so I walked where I have always walked and dared anyone to see me and stop me. I saw no one but some pretty views and mountain laurel!!!

The land belongs to itself – no one else.

WoodWife Wednesday Gifts

2011-05-25T09:39:00.001-05:00

David’s girl Larissa’s birthday is coming up so he asked me to create something purple for her. I gave him the family discount of course – which is pay for supplies and the labor is free ha ha!!! Here is what I came up with – a necklace using a fluorite heart and a bracelet…….

Of course I wanted to make her something too…

The clay words of inspiration were made by my friend Marie – The Clay Lady. I added charms to them.

Inside the wish box is a cool agate heart in purple of course with charms of inspiration on it. She is an artist too!!

Next on my creative to do gift list is a present for my mom’s 80th birthday. I know what it is but I can’t tell you because she may read this!!!

Blogging Blues

2011-05-23T15:52:00.003-05:00

Some days I am just tired of blogging – maybe because I’m tired period. I just don’t know what to blog about and so I don’t. I am tired from the big graduation – from taking care of my sick kid who at almost 20 still needs his mama. Tired because it’s hot. What I will post is a tag I created for a merry little couple in their 80’s. It is their anniversary and their birthdays. They love to read and write so I included books. They also always walk together through the retirement village where I work. Not so much in love the woman told me but to hold each other up!!! So here’s to them – I hope they like their tag.

Graduation

2011-05-20T14:13:00.001-05:00

Last night our youngest son, Dylan, graduated high school. It was a beautiful evening as we sat up in the bleachers and looked down upon our future!!

We are very proud of him – graduating with high honors, many scholarships. and works part time too!! Here he is with my older son David, my hubby and me – proud mama. Yes Dylan is tall at 6’4”. We look very short.

Me and my boy.

My boy and his girl, Morgan

Today we are all tired from such an exciting night. And my older son David has strep throat very bad, so I am nursing him back to health. He put on a good show last night however. Here is David and his girl, Larissa. Yes he is very tall too, not as tall as Dylan, but definitely a lot taller than Larissa.

I love my boys!!!

The Return of Merlin

2011-05-17T09:01:00.001-05:00

I just finished reading this book for the third time in the last 8 years or so. Yes it is that good – yes it is that profound. There are great insights hidden in a wonderful tale of Camelot – then, and Camelot now. The story will keep you on the edge of your seat as you learn great things at the same time. My favorite quote in the book is this “We are not here to solve the mysteries, we are here to live them”. If you haven’t read this book – you should and if you have – read it again. To find our more about The Return of Merlin go to Amazon.

Holy Cards

2011-05-13T15:28:00.002-05:00

I love holy cards. Old holy cards, pictures of holy cards, I just love them. I found a very old French holy card on Ebay and won it with my Ebay Bucks. Look isn’t this one so unusual? It came all the way from Belgium!!

I also found this picture of a very old black and white holy card. I lightened it my computer program, printed it out to an 8x10 and colored it with my prisma color pencils!! Here is before.

And After.

Here are some more of my favorites. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend all!!

WoodWife Wednesday

2011-05-11T10:07:00.003-05:00

I am late again – but I forgot – gonna blame that bump on my head again. Soon I will not be able to use that excuse so will have to admit that I sometimes forget things. So anywho how about some nice words from the book The Woodwife?
“Twined together, root to root, sap seeping from flesh, the Wood Wife plants me in the soil and gives me language once again.”

And how about a line from Mary Oliver that I love....

"As for myself, I swung the door open, and there was the wordless singing world. And I ran for my LIFE"

LifeSong

2011-05-08T16:55:00.001-05:00

How I spent my mothers day or life in a day. First I woke up with a cold – my son shared – thanks Dylan.

I felt like crap as I sat down to check my email and was instantly cheered up by my friend Gloria and her blog post giveaway where I won ‘Donna Prayer Woman’ who Gloria said was me, a prayerful woman. I felt like it at that moment and said a prayer of thanks to Gloria and her sweet self. Then I went outside and while walking around the house hit my head hard on a piece of low hanging wood on the shed – bam - thought I knocked my brain loose and I cried and had to get ice. Sheeesh some prayerful woman, I thought, more like a cry baby.

Then my son David gave me a box of Whitman's chocolate (much better than the cold from Dylan) I felt prayerful again. I decided to sit still so I wouldn’t hurt myself again and chose my favorite chair in the sun. The birds were singing up a storm - it sounded so beautiful. I said a prayer of thanks for this day despite my cold and bump on my head and I thought, if there were no birds, the whole world would be silent. I heard a soft voice in my head say “Birds are the lifesong of the world”. Ahhh so true.

So sing your hearts out little birdies with your lifesong, because you help heal colds and bumps on the head. People like Gloria are also part of that lifesong and every other person in my life who lifts me up, who sing my hurts back to prayers.

So not a bad day after all just a day in the life or life in a day.

Happy Mother’s Day To All

2011-05-06T16:54:00.001-05:00

Just Stuff

2011-05-05T10:09:00.001-05:00

Here is just some stuff I have been working on. First is the Mother’s Day card I made for my Mom.

Next is a shrine I made for a friend.

A Fruitful Frida Tag that sold so fast it was like it never happened!! But it did because my friend Diane, who bought it sent me a picture of where she placed it in her home!! Thank you Diane. Frida’s crown is a bunch of paint brushes with teeny tiny fruit slices pouring out!!!! I love Frida she inspires me.

A very colorful moth on my very colorful broom handle. Guess he or she thought she matched!! That is some hairdo it has too!! Reminds me of the old rock and roll days and Kiss.

I finished a pencil drawing of Mary.

Then I had a dream where Mary, as Our Lady of Mount Carmel, asked me to make two scapulars, one with her heart and one with her son’s. So I did.

I don’t always do as I’m told, in fact hardly ever, but when Mary speaks I listen. The scapulars have been made!!

Have a good one all, And thank you for all your wonderful comments on Morgan’s horse – she really glowed when she read them.

Oh and I also learned how to make linky buttons at the top of my blog. Thank you Jan!!!

Tuesday Tour

2011-05-03T04:41:00.001-05:00

Instead of WoodWife Wednesday I am doing The Tuesday Tour. I thought since I do this every day I would take you all with me. It’s time to feed the animals….are you ready? First let me show you the pretty purple flowers on the way to the Pygmy goats. Oh and some of my herbs looked over by St.Francis and an old cow we once had named Bone Head – she sure fits the name now.

The gate to the Pygmies.

And now the Pygmies.

You think they want something? There are two babies in the picture below. Can you find them?

Next up on the other side of our house are the mixed up goats. Mutts in the goat world you could say – except for the billy named Stinky – he is pure Pygmy and daddy of all!! Aint he proud too!! He’s the one with the big horns – short body!! There’s a baby on the right too see it?!!

After these guys are fed I am off to the rabbits. I took of picture of my favorite little fuzzy guy. He is part Lion Head part Lop eared and cute as a fuzzy button. Awwwwww. I think we are going to name him Mufasa!!

Now on to the chickens – are you keeping up?

They’re waiting for me!! And yes there is a rooster out – he is always out. Poor hens they can only stand one rooster in with them and we can’t stand to eat him so he runs free.

Besides feeding all the above I also have 2 large black labs who are always hungry and some little Chihuahua’s too. Look here they are waiting for me to get back from the rabbits.

Can’t see them? Here is the zoom version.

Here is where I sit when I am done. Whew are you as tired as I am? Well, pull up a chair the view is great!!

Hope you enjoyed this little tour – I enjoyed having you!! Next time I’ll make some lemonade!!

Amazing Clouds

2011-05-01T11:01:00.001-05:00

I was out early this morning, cup of coffee in hand, and I saw these amazing clouds. I traded my coffee for my camera and here is what I captured!! Wow is all I can say.

It was hard to capture the true 3D-ness of the clouds but they were moving and looked heavy and low and very cool. I may have to use them in a painting sometime.

Morgan’s Horse

2011-04-28T10:37:00.001-05:00

My son’s girlfriend Morgan has been spending time with me this week while my son is at work. They are off from school. So I asked her if she wanted to create something. “How about clay?” I asked. “I don’t know how” Morgan replied. “I can show you” I said. “Then you can paint it” Morgan said she didn't know how to paint either. I told her I would show her that too. So first she found a picture on the internet of a horse she liked. Then I showed her how to roll the clay out flat and use the printed, cut out horse as a template. She did very well. We baked the horse and waited for it to cool. Then we began the painting lesson.

I taught her to blend and shade and she picked it up very quickly as you can see!!

Morgan wanted a Native American horse so she added a design around its eye and a paw print. Oh and she added beads and a feather charm before we baked the clay. Pretty cool huh? But we’re not done yet.

Morgan wanted the horse running on sand in the desert during a storm. She painted the whole background herself, added some cut out lightning bolts, and then glue and sand. It is soooo cool. I just love it don’t you?

Then yesterday I didn’t feel well, so she decided to take one of the butterflies that I have in my curio cabinet – a real one that had died – and she used it as her model and just drew and colored a butterfly!! Oh and her horse painting is called ‘A Desert Storm’. Here is her butterfly!!

Go Morgan!! I think she has caught the creative bug!! Before you know it she will have her own Etsy shop and blog!!!

WoodWife Wednesday/Wingin’ It

2011-04-27T04:57:00.001-05:00

Is it Wednesday already? I am not prepared – it snuck up on me. I have been busy. My son's girlfriend Morgan has been over and I have been teaching her to work with clay and to paint. She is having a ball and doing well. She is working on a special horse creation and it should be finished in a couple of days and then I will blog about it so you all can see her work. So until then I will leave you with my favorite poem from The Woodwife, of course.

"The night, blue lapis. The mountain, onyx. Saguaro, verdigris within a copper dish of moon. The wind rustles dry mesquite. A coyote howls. A star falls. And the night cracks me open, with beauty sharp and poignant as grief. The night cracks me open, like a geode, exposing the crystal veins of God”

Yeah that’s good!!

What If We Could Be Mary

2011-04-23T20:08:00.001-05:00

I went to sleep the other night wondering if I was Mary what would I do? So I began imagining myself dressed in blue robes smiling while I handed out rosaries. I then fell asleep and dreamt I was handing out rosaries.

I/Mary handed a little girl a rosary and she said “But I am not Catholic I do not know how to pray the rosary”. Mary answered “It doesn’t matter what faith you are, all good prayers will do.” The little girl walked away so happy looking at her rosary which sparkled in her favorite color. Mary kept handing out rosaries and each time she gave one to someone it was their favorite color or special in some way. Then she went to our hospital in town and asked the nurses to take her to all the sick children. Mary healed them all and then healed everyone in the hospital and for the old ones who were leaving this earth she made their journey peaceful. The hospital was so happy it changed its name to 'Our Lady of Miracles'.

The other day I was in a bad mood and grouchy. I said prayers to Mary asking Her to make me more like Her, more Mary Like. That is why I was imagining being Mary, wearing Her blue robes of love – so I could be the way she would want me to be. Perhaps we should all take up the blue mantle of love and compassion and be like Mary more often – hand out rosaries or small kindnesses. Lend a helping hand. Be full of Grace.

Hail Mary Full of Grace

Blessed art thou among women.

Happy Easter

2011-04-21T12:07:00.001-05:00

I don’t have to color any eggs this year. My chicken’s do it for me!!

Have a happy and colorful Easter all!!

WoodWife Wednesday Winner

2011-04-20T04:40:00.001-05:00

And the winner is…..oh wait first let tell you the story. This person really really really wanted this print!! She was the last person to enter. She also lives about 15 miles from me so I won’t even have to ship it because we were going to meet in the next couple of weeks at the Tea Room for tea and lunch and then go upstairs and look at antiques!! You know who you are…..

Wait for it…..

The winner is ….Aurora Fedora (Jo)

from the ‘Hellhole Diaries.’ Congratulations. See now, Jo, it’s not so bad that you cleaned your kitchen and broke your stove handle is it??!! Read her blog post here to find out what I am talking about.

For a WoodWifey quote this Wednesday, this is from the book, The WoodWife,

“Poetry is a conversation not a monologue. A writer can only put the words on paper, the vision has to come from the reader.”

Happy Wednesday everyone!!

Sweet 16

2011-04-18T11:17:00.001-05:00

My son has a girlfriend named Morgan. She is the best!! We all love her to pieces. My son is 6’4” and she is 6’. They are a striking couple.

Morgan LOVES horses. Her bedroom is painted teal and chocolate so I made her a little horsey shrine in those colors. I also added a rabbit and some other things that remind me of Morgan.

You know I had SO much fun creating this!!!

Next is the front and back.

HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY MORGAN !!!

Perfect Prayer Poem

2011-04-16T11:53:00.001-05:00

I have always loved this poem/prayer and have it in bathroom where I can see it everyday. The poem speaks for itself and no more words from me are necessary.

Poem: School Prayer by Diane Ackerman from I Praise My Destroyer. Vintage Books.

School Prayer
In the name of the daybreak
and the eyelids of morning
and the wayfaring moon
and the night when it departs,
I swear I will not dishonor
my soul with hatred,
but offer myself humbly
as a guardian of nature,
as a healer of misery,
as a messenger of wonder,
as an architect of peace.
In the name of the sun and its mirrors
and the day that embraces it
and the cloud veils drawn over it
and the uttermost night
and the male and the female
and the plants bursting with seed
and the crowning seasons
of the firefly and the apple,
I will honor all life
—wherever and in whatever form
it may dwell—on Earth my home,
and in the mansions of the stars.

WoodWife Wednesday/Painting

2011-04-12T11:42:00.001-05:00

I am so excited I couldn’t wait until Wednesday to post this. I used to paint all the time but I haven’t done a painting in over 4 years!! My new painting friends have inspired me to pick up my brush again. So I did, and of course, my first painting is Mary. Here She is and the process of getting there.

I began on an old wooden box top (or bottom not sure really).

Then added some paint.

And some more paint.

When I was done I added some jewels and a vintage filigree circle.

This is the first time since high school (many moons ago) that I have added anything to my paintings other than paint. In high school I painted Mick Jagger with string for hair. I still have that painting. Back then I loved Mick Jagger!!

Now I love Mary. I still like Mick’s music however!!

Thank you paint buddies for the inspiration.

My paint buddies and their blogs can be found on the right sidebar of this blog. You should check them out, because they are pretty awesome, as are all the blogs on my sidebar, or they wouldn’t be there!!

Also don’t forget the WoodWife Giveaway from last week – you still have until the full moon on the 18th to enter. Click here to go to that post.

WoodWife Wednesday/GiveAway

2011-04-05T18:03:00.001-05:00

So what is a Wood Wife anyway? Hmmm some say it would be me because I live in the woods and I am a wife. Also my last name has the word ‘wood’ in it. But, in fact, besides being the name of my favorite book ‘Wood Wives’ are nature spirits.

The Wood-Wives are female spirits of the forest in Germanic mythology.

They are also known as Moss Women, or Wish Wives, in Sweden. Wood Wives are described as "beautiful elf maidens, dressed in red, green and blue". They are native to and inhabit in the heart of the old forests and dense groves of Scandinavia and Germany.

Wood-Wives are generally gentle and helpful to humans. Sometimes someone traveling through or working in the woods may see a Wood Wife. They are known to ask favors of travelers or woodsmen, asking to borrow something or have something mended. The wise person will do as the Wood Wife asks, despite the only payment being a pouch of wood chips. Tales are told of mean-spirited men who have not accepted the wood chips, and who never know what they've lost. Good-hearted men who have taken the payment are happily surprised when they learn that the chips turn to gold as soon as they've left the forest.

So now that you know what a Wood wife is, the question is ‘have you ever seen one’? I saw one in my mind after I read The WoodWife and this is my sketch….someday to become a painting.

“Rain and sun shall feed me now, and roots, and nuts, and wild things, and rustlings in the midnight wood, half-mad, lie Myrddin, wandering” -Quote from The WoodWife.

OK now just for fun, and because I was inspired by Marie – I am going to try my hand at my first giveaway. The rules are;

1.) anyone can enter and please spread the word.

2.) leave somewhere in your comment the word ‘woodwife’ and I will enter your name.

3.) You have from the 5th of April until midnight (central time) on the full moon of April 18th. I will announce the winner on WoodWife Wednesday April 20th.

4.) for this first giveaway I will be shipping only to Us and Canada.

What is the giveaway you ask? You will win a 5x7 print of my Earth Spirit original drawing in the spirit of woodwives and all mysterious beings. And FYI I sign all my art ‘Blue Otter’ – why? Because I love otters and the color blue why else? Here is the print.

Good luck!!!!

I Know How To Pray

2011-04-02T19:51:00.001-05:00

I wrote this poem a few years ago when I belonged to a poetry group. It is still one of my favorites. It just flowed out of me one day as poems often do. Enjoy.

I know how to pray

Throw my head back

And gaze at the night sky

So full of stars.

I know how to bow

Fall to my knees

In the tall grass

Surrounded by honeysuckle

I know what it is to worship

Inhale the scent of the mimosa bloom

Touch the soft velvet of a rose petal

I pray and fall to my knees each day

Worshipping the beauty of this world.

WoodWife Wednesday

2011-03-29T10:42:00.001-05:00

I am so enjoying everyone’s ‘White Wednesday’s’, ‘Wonder Wednesday’s’, ‘White Washed Wednesday’s’ that I wanted to do my own Wednesday. “Alas” I thought “all the W’s have been taken” but no, right there in my very own title was a big ole W just waiting for me to make a ‘WoodWife Wednesday’. I know it is not Wednesday yet but it is somewhere so I am posting this today.

What will WoodWife Wednesday (is that an alliteration or what?) be about? I will start with how I chose the name The WoodWife, then I will tell you what a woodwife really is. After that I will do a weird woodwife fact or idea each Wednesday.

So how did I choose The WoodWife?

The WoodWife by Terri Windling is my all time favorite book!! Full of wild desert magic, poetry, poets, art and artists!! I mean who wouldn’t love that? I may even add some of my favorite quotes and poems from the book on Wednesdays!! The above cover is the American version – a painting by one of my favorites artists Susan Seddon Boulet. Here is the full painting.

Below is the European cover by another favorite artist Brian Froud!!

Below is a Froud WoodWife.

I am so in love with this book I have read it numerous times and I have done sketches of all the characters that someday I hope to into paintings. Characters like the Spine Witch, Thumper the rabbit girl, and the Root mage.

Ok so let me give you one of my favorite pieces of poetry from the book…

“The night visitors, three women, three Fates, three Graces, the ghosts who haunt me here; the painter who stands behind me; and the poet who stands before me; and the wood wife, silent at my side, rooting me to this earth…”

Mary Is In The House

2011-03-25T17:47:00.001-05:00

Mary is all over my house. Let me show you around…….I must tell you however that these are not all my Mary’s.

First is my bedroom. This beautiful Mary, who was my very first Mary, is very old and used to belong to a nun and came with the nun’s old rosary which I have kept on her where it belongs. See the light coming from her hands?

Here is a better shot of that…

Next is Our Lady of Czestochowa or the Black Madonna, and an old chalk ware Moon Mary and baby Jesus.

Below is another vintage Mary which also belonged to a nun – her necklace is mine however.

Next is part of a large old poster of Our Lady of Grace, then a praying Mary.

The next three are kitchen Mary’s. Guadalupe with glass eyes from Mexico on my counter, then there’s my kitchen table morning Mary shrine (so I start my day right), and my husbands kitchen table morning Mary shrine (so he starts his day right!!).

The next 5 Mary’s are in my living room.

The last two are as you walk in my front door.

And yes I have Mary in the bathroom – a Mary holy water font of course!!! All my Mary’s are anywhere from 2” up to 26”. And like I said these are not all of them. I do have lots of other things around too – and all of my artwork. My home is a VERY eclectic mix of, well, everything I love. Which ranges from mythology, Native American, goddesses, to fantasy. Just take a look at my bedroom window!!

There are hawk and turkey feathers, wind chimes, angels, faeries, chandelier crystals, a crystal ball from New Orleans, shells, beach glass, and sand from Long Island where I used to live, old mason jars, and well, Mary of course!!

If you come and visit sometime, I promise you will not be bored!!!!

Restoring Mary

2011-03-23T07:49:00.001-05:00

I was on Ebay and placed a bid on this very old Mother Mary in a cardboard looking shrine. The seller said it came complete with attic dust. No one else bid on her so I won her at a very inexpensive price. My lucky day, however she arrived broken. The base of the statue was in many pieces and the cloth that was on the inside of the shrine was shredded, as seen in the picture from Ebay. I wish I would have thought to take a picture of her broken base but I didn’t, but suffice it to say, it wasn’t pretty.

After I glued her pieces back together I used ‘plaster patch’ to fill in cracks and then painted the missing gold trim on her robes and the snake at her feet. I also painted the inside of the shrine gold, where I ripped off that fabric. Her prayer card was missing a piece and ready to crumble so I glued it to cardstock and covered it in mod podge. I also put some more flowers (leaving the very old ones where they were attached to the old gold fabric behind her.) on those two white looking somethings on either side of her base. Maybe they held urns? Were angels? I will never know, but Mary has been restored.

I do so love to restore Mary, in so many ways. Last summer, my husband brought home large concrete Mary statues from work. Someone had used them as doorstops in the garden shop!! Can you imagine? Well, they fell and broke so he got to bring them home. I used concrete paste as glue to piece both statues back together and to build up her nose and part of her neck that was missing. I then painted both statues because I didn't like her in gray!! Some of you may remember these.

Now don’t they look better? I have many Mary's that have come to me broken, in need of paint or in need of just a little love. I am honored to restore Mary to her former glory in anyway I can, both physically and spiritually!! After all, look how she restores us when we come to her broken and in need of a little love.

Here is another……this Sorrowful Mother came to me plain so I added color.

This old Mary had no jewels in her crown or hands for prayer. She does now.

And let’s not forget St. Francis who was also a doorstop. He was very broken indeed.

Now he protects all of our many animals in full color!! We live on a farm and have dogs, goats, chickens, and rabbits, so St. Francis is very helpful indeed!!

Next time you see a broken or damaged Mary, Jesus, or saint don’t pass them by, pick them up and bring them back to life, as they would do for you.

Blue Moon

2011-03-22T06:45:00.001-05:00

I don’t know if this full moon was an actual ‘Blue Moon’ but it certainly was huge and is only close to the earth like this, once in a blue moon. Since I found the old song that goes with this – I am calling it a Blue Moon.

I took this photo a few minutes ago off my back porch, as it was setting. I think it is so cool that as the full moon is setting behind my house the full sun is rising in front of my house. Moon blessings on you all.

Oh My Holy Heart

2011-03-17T07:32:00.001-05:00

Two nights ago I was sitting reading a book and happened to glance up at my computer screen while the slideshow was playing and this holy card was displayed.

I know it is the Crowning of Mary but I heard “Oh My Holy Heart”. So later when I was falling asleep I thought about that and dreamed this message that I was to write in the description of the tag I would create….
"Mary holds Her heart on this tag because she feels such pain and loss in our world. Her Holy Heart feels all of our pain and sorrow. She sends us the Graces of love and healing but we can also help Her by doing Her work here, We can offer our prayers up for those who are suffering. All of our prayers are like golden threads that connect together and lay a golden healing blanket on the world. So pray in any way you know how, and know that your prayer will meet up with others and knit together in a loving blanket of hope".

And so I did…..the golden ribbons and satin cords represent our golden prayer threads. There is a vintage heart of Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, and two Miraculous Medals. Miracles - we need a few of those.

I wanted to share this because I love the message of our prayers being golden threads that all connect and weave into a blanket of healing covering the earth.

So lets start weaving that blanket!!!!!!!!!

Prayer for Japan

2011-03-15T07:42:00.001-05:00

Last night I was lying in bed looking up at my statue of Kwan Yin, the Asian symbol of love and compassion. I asked her to please help her people. I thought maybe I should take a picture of her and post it here so anyone who wants to can also say a prayer.

Or light a candle…

There is also a treasury on Etsy.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d7ef516e6ab8eefd8017d41/praying-for-japan

Forgotten Faith

2011-03-14T15:14:00.001-05:00

We have all lost our way, lost our faith, done things we wish we hadn’t, at some point in our life, but there is always hope and forgiveness. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. First we ask for forgiveness from the divine and we are forgiven. The next step is to forgive ourselves – that is even harder to do. But if God can forgive us then certainly we can forgive ourselves. I am working on a series of tags called ‘Forgotten Faith’. I have been guided to create these so hopefully someone will say “that’s me” or “I know someone who has felt like that’. These are one of a kind symbols, little beacons of hope and faith, showing that there is always a way out.

This first one is called ‘Forgotten Faith’ . Each tag comes with a little story of hope in the description on my Etsy shop.

Next is ‘Salvation’, she looks up towards the sacred heart for salvation.

‘Angels Among Us’, we all know one (or are one).

‘Listening For God’ (with real sand!!). God is everywhere as Elizabeth Barrett Browning said.

"Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God”

‘On Her Knees’

Each one is lovingly created with vintage prints, lace, jewels, and hope. These are just the first few – I have many more in my head. Also I want to add here, that sometimes I wonder if my work touches people like I intend for it to do. I have received so many wonderful notes, comments, and words telling me that I do touch people and in return those people touch me. I feel blessed by every one of you – and you know who you are!!

“Hope is Faith holding its hand out in the dark”

````George Iles

Tag You’re It!!!

2011-03-09T07:21:00.001-06:00

I have been creating tags. I have noticed that Guadalupe is not often seen on tags so I wanted to honor her on many of them. I also love Mexican art and have added Frida to some as well. Someday I will visit Mexico and vacation in color!!

And now Frida….

I even gave her a genuine turquoise necklace!!

And of course we cannot forget Mary. The first one is actually a fan not a tag.

Since I love vintage I try to always add at least one vintage piece to each tag – or anything else I create. These tags are full of old lace, buttons, rhinestones, and if all else fails I use a vintage picture!!

I have done a couple of boxes as well. The Milagro box has already sold and the Guadalupe tag in purple with the sunflower sold before the glue was dry. I am thinking lots of people like Mexican art.

Oh and I always put something inside the box, because I don’t think you should ever give an empty box to someone. These boxes have little matching rosaries inside.

Happy creating everyone – you’ve been tagged.

My Secret Garden

2011-03-02T10:10:00.001-06:00

I love looking at other peoples creative spaces. They inspire me with all the creative things they have. Today I took some pictures of my little Shangri-La. I love my space so much and that helps me to create. It is like my secret garden of creative delights!! Maybe it will even inspire one of you!! Enjoy.

As you see there are little altars everywhere too. My friend Lety was right I went from one desk to three soon I will need a room. And yes that is a 7-up can from the 70’s.