"SURPRISE...!!!..."

...hey there, "SISTA"!!!

...an award from the "Queen of Blogging Soul" herself...

Soulbrush in London...
WooHoo!!!...How fun is this???!!!

And then...arriving last Monday via "snail mail"...

...was a delightfully lovely Cactus Monday ATC surprise

( L*O*V*E !!!)

received from Laurel at Studio Lolo.

She individually designed a special little 'Somethin' something"

for each

tried and true Cactus Monday

participant!

Now I ask you...how cool is that!!!???!!!

“The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise.

It is not that we seize them,

but that they seize us.”
~Ashley Montagu

"...Ain't Life Grand !???"

~Me

"A Butterfly Landed..."

...right here on my blog! What a December delight!

Kazumiwannabe has given me this Butterfly Award

and I feel like there is spring in the air!

I love the way Kazumiwannabe makes many journal pages

in montage form...bright with glorious color!

A current project being worked on, as I write, is a calendar

with wonderful animal paintings...

a treat to see!

Here are the rules that go with the award :
1. Put the logo on your blog, you can right-click and copy it from above.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you
3. Nominate 10 other blogs for this award
4. Add links to those blogs
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs
6. Give a reason why you consider their blogs cool.

So...here goes:

Serena...for her beauty of spirit and passion for nature.

John...for his appreciation of the "little things" and his nostalgic journal pieces.

Teri...for her energy, blog enthusiasm and her beautifully faceted artistic life.

Pippa...for posting "Ahhh" moments of rich soulfulness for me to ponder daily.

Cedar Raven...for her artistic appreciation of the beauty of the great northwest.

Soulbrush...for the many "Giggles" and looks at life she has given all of us.

Deborah...for taking me along in her charming sketchbooks to wonderful places.

Stephen Hall...for so generously sharing his amazing talent and inspiring us with his comments.

Muse Swings...for her brilliant, artistic, joyful palette of words and her fabulous "parties".

Lisa...for her genuine joy, enthusiasm, and love of all things artistic!

Now...Why not "pop in" on these bloggers and make some new friends...Enjoy!

"Blushing a Bit..."

Cynthia at Muse Swings blogspot bestowed a

"Blog In Bloom Award"

(which she created herself)

to several blogging buddies who she felt had "wonderful blogs

that just bloom with art, originality, creativity, beauty, humor, fun

and bring joy to those who read them. "

WOWZA!

I am so in awe of her prolific creativity

that it blows me away to receive this...

Thanks Cynthia!

Again, Cynthia , at Muse Swings blogspot,
who has an awesome, imaginative, and joyful blog of her own,
has bestowed this wonderful Premio Dardos Award to my blog.
"This award is given for recognition of cultural,
ethical, literary, and personal values
transmitted in the form of creative and original writing..."
I am touched and honored by this Cynthia...
Thank You. :)

In honour of this beautiful season,

Lavinia at Bird Bath Chronicles blogspot, created a brand new award.

And it's name says it all.

To the recipients of this award...

feel free to pass it on to blogs that you yourself have 'fallen' for,

before this glorious season is over.....

Thanks Muse Swings for passing it along to me.

Now,

I pass it along to all my regular blog followers...

and also

to those who pop in for a peek every now and then.

Thanks so much for your support.

Pick up your award and pass it along...before Autumn passes us by...

Winter is just a bit over a month away!

"I would never have thought that blogging

would be this exhiliarating and uplifting to me as an artist...

Learning everyday about the world around me

and

about the wonderfully artistic people in that world gives me

great joy and strengthens my wings."

~Me :)

"From Soulbrush..."

"Ooooh! " I said squealing with delight!

"Lookie here!"

This awaited me Saturday after sleeping overnight

in my blogland message box!

Thank you

so very much Soulbrush!

...And

a boisterous "WooHoo!" was heard all throughout the land!

This is an award for arty blogs in WORDS,
PICTURES,
DRAWINGS
and THOUGHTS...

Joyfully presented to:

Brenda at Amber Ridge Desert

Susan at Socially Sketching with Susan

Anita at Anita Davies

Kathleen at Hammeredplayer

Kazumiwannabe

Lisa at Artsyendeavors

Sandy at Myfiddlestix

Karla at Ramblin' Roads

Mia at Miasketchbook

Julie at A Succulent Life

Shirley at Paper and Threads

Claudia at Time Passages

Pippa at Pippa's Porch

No Way

Alberta and Ava at AmusingMuses

Deborah at Silverwoman Studio

Serena at Art By Serena

Arty Em at Creative Art Journal

Angie at Artvizions

Fran at Artsyfran

John at John A Lookin Around

Stephanie at Deliberately Creative

Lisa at Lisa Reed How I See It

You know the rules, now pass it on!

Spread the JOY! :)

"Oooh!..Lookie Here...! "

...This beautiful award

was just presented to me Thursday by

Marva, in Colorado, at Purplepaint's Muse blogspot.

And Friday by Kazumiwannabe.

...Double the fun!

Thanks so much Marva...and Kazumiwannabe! A big WooHoo! :)

The rules for accepting this award are:

1. Choose 5 blogs you consider deserving of this award for

creativity,

design,

interesting material and

a contribution to the blogging world.

2. List the name of each person awarded and a link to their blog.

3. Show the award and the name and blog link of the person who presented you with the award.

4. Show the link to the Arte Y Pico blog. http://arteypico.blogspot.com/

5. Show the rules.

Now...I, in turn,

would like to present this award to a few of the people who

"rock" my artistic and imaginative world.

1. Anita Davies, in England, at Art by Anita.

Anita is, plain and simple, my "self appointed" mentor...
Oprah has Maya Angelou...I have Anita...

Plain and simple -If you haven't visited her before...

Do so now...she's an artistic DYNAMO-she does not disappoint.

2. John, in Kansas, at John a Lookin' Around:

John has beautiful journal pages of life all around him.

He is currently working on a fabulous travel journal

which has inspired me to start one of my own...A must see!

3. Pippa, at Pippa's Porch.

Pippa has a thoughtful and creative blog built this premise:

"The best kind of friend is the kind

you can sit on a porch swing with,

never say a word,

then walk away feeling

like it was the best conversation

that you ever had." ~ Anonymous

I love visiting her!

4. Teri, In Wisconsin and Arizona, at Teri's Painted Daisies.

Teri is an amazing blogger...

She fills her pages daily with

a dazzling delightful variety of topics.

She is active in many drawing forums

and brings joy to my heart with her art!

5. Irene, at Nature Drawing and Journaling.

Irene is both artistic and inspirational.

Her absolute love of nature is prominent in her artwork-

and her workshops spectacular.

I make a great armchair traveller...(don't like bugs)

Irene's site is a world of adventure to me! :)

A "Must See!"

"It's A Small World..."

...And OH! How Wonderful it is!

Since I first received this award from Anita and Kathleen

I have been presented it twice again by another two lovely artists:

Lisa, of Lisa Reed How I See It, in Texas

and Clare, of Mummushka's Sketch Journals, in Australia!

Ladies, I am truly humbled.

Never, even in my wildest dreams, did I ever think

my teeny little art world

would grow to have such big and beautiful horizons.

What an honor to "know" each of you!

You can view my seven nominees here.

An Award! WOW!

Today really is a day to party!

This comes from Anita Davies in England at Art by Anita Blogspot

AND

from Kathleen in Oklahoma at My Creative Spot Blog

What a double fun surprise to receive today!

Thank both you so very much!

The rules of acceptance are:

1. Put the logo on your blog.

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3. Nominate 7 other blogs.

4. Add links to those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

So, here are seven of the many, many sites that I really enjoy:

Teri-Teri's Painted Daisies

(Wow! Looks like you are getting a second one Teri!)

Serena-Serena Lewis blogspot

Jennifer-Jennifer Lawson

Karen-Karen Blados Art and Design

Stephanie-Deliberately Creative

Angie-Artvisionz

Margaret-MaggieArt

Participation is totally optional...but definitely a lot of fun! :)

"Love's Got a Hold on Me..."

To collect your award, click on the image and the select "save as."

Anita Davies kindly gifted me this award. In return, I am to list to 5 blogs I love to visit.

First, I wanted to give special mention and thanks to the artists who inspire me greatly and to whom I visit regularly. Their names-familiar to most of us-are listed on my sidebar. I LOVE you Andrea, Anita, Danny, Grace, Desiree, and Jane! A visit to their sites is ALWAYS a special treat.

Second, now..for the awards...TA DAA!!! Since I am what you would term a "newbie" in the blogging area, I have used a little beginner's artistic license here with this award and would like to use it to honor 3 blogs that are brand NEW to me this week that I am loving to visit:

"Envelope Please" (...after all...it is Oscar night... :)

Jennifer Lawson- Jennifer's blog is fresh and filled with delightfully delicate, refined drawings. I really enjoy her attention to detail and her use of colored pencil. Plus, I am still giggling to myself about her EDM post featuring "popcorn" (as well as its follow-up posting) ;) Check them out for yourself-they are brilliant!

Draw Daily- I found "Pedalpower's" blog this week through EDM links. I so enjoy the midwest nostalgic flavor of her architectural art (I just love that route 66 gas station) and some of her newer vintage drawings. Also, "Pedalpower" is fortunate to be in a work environment dear to her heart where she can both work and enjoy her love of art at the same time...what a great combo that makes!

Desiree-Desiree's blog "The Clothes Line and other Laundry Lists" makes me want to literally bathe in my watercolor paints! Her use of color in her fruit and veggie series is so juicy and scrumptious and rich. M.m.m.m.m! I love to look at and learn about beautiful things. Desiree's website provides one with artistic beauty and a feast for the eyes. Plain and simple...Desiree inspires me! She is my newest addition to my sidebar inspiration list. Check her out!

The participation rules are simple:

1. If you get tagged (and want to play along) write a post with links to blogs that you love, too.

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme, created by Emilia.