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I Have Been Busy

I've been burning the midnight oil so to speak. Frantically working on new swell stuff.
Tomorrow I am taking my goods into Penelopes Hope Chest to see if she will carry some of my product.
Her store is adorable with lots of treasures at really good prices. I am very excited.

I was also talking to Claire at Tea Thyme and Lavender Her store is a treasure trove. My garlands will be in her shop in the October. Stop by if you are in the area.

Claire is French and she makes the most incredible coffee. It's like nothing I've ever tasted. When she came to the states she spent years looking for someone to roast the beans (the right way). Well, she is happy to say she found someone and now with her Italian coffee maker and her filtered water she makes the best cup of coffee I have ever had. Her lavender scones are to die for. I get hungry just thinking about them.

Anyway, here is a sneak peak at two bookmarks I made to show Lynette at Penelopes Hope Chest.

Then the other side

Now my fairy bookmark

The other side

Each bookmark has a story. The background is made from a 1798 London newspaper. I then applied a transfer technique that I love to use. The embellishments are from a 1940's bracelet. The tattered worn look adds to the vintage feel. To me these really are art pieces and I hope they go to good homes. I feel they are my babies. (I need to get a life)

Autumn leaves are falling

I have also been working on my autumn garlands.

All of these items are for sale and you can email me at annmpep@comcast.net  if you are interested. I will waiver the shipping cost.

Have a great summer day!

The Ocean In A Vase

It was 97 yesterday in Portland. So we decided to head to the coast. Big mistake. The weather report said the coast was going to be 85. Yippee! We envisioned basking in the sun, flying a kite . . . 

But by the time we actually smelled the salty air we knew there would be no basking in the sun. 

We couldn't even see the sun to bask in it or for that matter, the ocean.

The beach and the water were covered in a heavy blanket of fog.  It was weird,  disappointing, and a whopping 55 with drizzle.  We kept going north to Cannon Beach and finally flew a kite but because we weren't expecting chilly weather we promptly hopped back in the car. We could see the blue sky right over the mountains and it called to us.

As we headed home the temperature went from

55 to 97 in less than a half hour.

Argh! This is why we don't live on the Oregon Coast. 

So I did what any self respecting sun seeker would do, I went to the Dollar Store,

 

bought some beach, and brought it home with me.

I bought some stiff green foliage, sand, and a vase. I added some shells and driftwood I had collected on a sunny day at the coast and tossed them together.

I took the green foliage and peeled apart the cluster of reeds so I could spread then out in the vase. Then I curled and separated them to give my ocean in a vase more life and movement.

Photos might look different because I took some yesterday and some this morning.  

My Man Thursday 8/12/10~Gerard Butler

I mean really, need I say anything at all?

Ok, I can't help myself. There are so many reasons why Gerard Butler is My Man Thursday.

Here are just a few:

He is really good looking and he is Scottish. That should be enough. 

 

Who can resist a man in a kilt wearing a pink sweater? It takes a real man to pull off that look.

And he does it.

Some films of Gerard's that I particularly love are RocknRolla, 300, Dear Frankie. I hope beyond hope that, Burns, Coriolanus, and Excalibur are quality films and that they actually come to fruition. 

All are period pieces.

For many reasons I would  love to see Gerard in a quality period piece.

I better get some work done. Wow! Wow!

WOW!

BLOG HOP '10

Today I am going to try something different, something, dangerous, something- TECHIE. This is hard for someone who finds it difficult to log into her computer. I mean seriously, I am sooooo not computer savvy. Heidi my friend over Hip Chicks Craft Too can give you many examples of my non-tech ways.

But I will try to do this.

Here goes:

I will attempt to link up to Robin's Blog Hop '10 Party. This is a way to "meet" other bloggers.

For those of you who are regulars here at Swing Time, thank you, thank you for your support and hang tight as I attempt this.

Drum roll please . . .

Oh first, I must do a little bio thingy of who I am which is hard in itself. I mean, who am I? Wow, that's deep. Who are we? Lets pause and reflect . . .pause  . . .pause

Went to get coffee.

Ok back to my mission

Drum roll again  . . .

I am Ann without an E. I am a mother and a wife.

My beautiful, wise beyond their years, boys have taught me to let go of past restraints and become the artist, and writer that I've always wanted to be.

Each day I wake up and think, how did these little guys get to be so wonderful? Then I remember, it's my outstanding parenting skills.  :) 

While you journey with me at Swing Time Designs you will experience some of the quirky things that always seem to happen to me.  You will also experience a taste of the Northwest, get ideas for crafts and recipes. And maybe one day you will read that I got a book published. Of course I will send you a signed copy.

No worries.

 

 

Please come along. I love company.

Recipe For A Wonderful Vacation!

Ingredients:

The High Desert of Oregon

Two sets of really cool friends and their really cool kids

Some fun activities that involve a pool and exploring outside

Some type of adult beverages (I recommend wine and a ton of strawberry margarita's)

For the Kiddo's- lots of lemonade

Mix one part warm high desert terrain, one part special activities, and two parts really good friends.

Toss it all together. Add wine and margarita's to taste.

Bake in the sun by the pool for one week.

At the end of the baking period you'll have made many wonderful vacation memories.  

Ahhhhh the fun.

Last week we went to the the High Desert of Central Oregon. This area of Oregon is my favorite. I have so many memories of this dry brush filled land. The smell of warm pine needles, sage, and cedar floating through the air. It has to be experienced. You must feel the sun on your skin and the heavy heat in the air.

If you ever get the chance-go. There is so much to do and so many things to experience.

Here are some of our activities. We went on long walks beside the Deschutes River. The water is cool but so refreshing you can swim around or dip your toes.

We hiked up a beautiful hill to get a birds eye view of the majestic Cascade Mountains.

We rented a house at Eagle Crest Resort. The pools are fun and not crowded. This is not a photo of a pool. :)

We went on a day trip to the Painted Hills by the John Day River. They are incredible. The searing heat was intense but it made it all the more special to smell the hot earth and experience some of the conditions the  settlers must have faced. Yes, believe it or not people actually lived and still do live in this area. Most of it is national park land but there are surrounding farms and ranches.

 The hardships the settlers endured were unbelievable. They made people tough back then. (I thought about this as I rushed back to the car and cranked the air conditioning).  We accidentally read a sign that told us to look out for black widow spiders and rattle snake etc. Needless to say the boys stayed to the path, eyes wide open. 

Can you hear the wagon wheels?

Even the little flowers couldn't handle the heat. After awhile I felt much like the little wilted flowers.

We went to The John Day Fossil Beds in Fossil, Oregon and dug for  . .  .guess what? Yes, fossil's. And we found some. The fossils were in every layer of earth. It was very exciting and rewarding. They boys loved it.  There is a  designated area for digging so we weren't doing anything to harm the beautiful landscape.

On our way home we stopped at out favorite coffee spot Sisters Coffee in the cute town of Sisters.

The barista told me they are opening a shop in the Pearl District in Portland. I am soooo all over that.

Then we took the Old McKenzie Highway up to the Dee Wright Observatory. This place is incredible. The lava flows are impressive and the lookout is so cool.

Lava rock everywhere.

Our boys got to sit in the windows.

Now the most fun activity of all . . . 

LAUNDRY!

A BREAK!!!

Taken a wee break from 8/1/10 to 8/9/10

See ya back here in a week.