Morning in the garden...

A late July morning in the garden

White Plox, Blue Love in a Mist, Red Bee Balm

While wandering about taking photos a black capped chickadee almost landed on my head. He landed on a branch nest to me instead and just kept turning his head trying to figure out what on earth I was doing :) I wasn't quick enough to get a shot before he flitted off to the feeder.

Peek-a-boo nasturtium

Yellow nasturtiums among the cucumbers. 

I love this time of year. 

What's in my Studio - Button Sorting

It's been a bit since I joined in with Julia's What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday, so I thought I'd show one of the projects I have going.... button sorting and identifying.

I'm an avid picker at estate sales, and recently bought an old style canning jar filled with old buttons. A treasure trove! I spent a rainy afternoon last week sorting through and matching them up and putting them in little baggies to keep them sorted. I have plans for most of these. 

Some will go in my artwork, some will be listed in my Vintage Shop, and some will be sewn on cards to have at the Home for the Holidays show this coming November. I'm excited about that show in particular, as I'll have my vintage wares there along with vintage themed artwork. 

Today I'm working to identify the unusual ones... aren't these cool? 

There are very few button books at our library and fewer at the used book stores. While some internet searching has been helpful, sometimes you need a bit of a clue to know what exactly to look FOR. A little bit of mystery and one discovery leads to another... it's all part of the adventure. 

Hope your week is going well! Thanks for stopping by!

Anticipation...

Taking time

Taking time to smell the lavender. 

It's been a bit quiet on my blog the past week or so.... 

I'm recovering from a hand injury - a silly cut requiring stitches that is healing well and forcing me to slow down. 

And at my husbands urging, I'm taking time to smell the lavender, which is is full bloom and full of bees these days... and a few hummingbirds too!

I'll be back to my normal schedule soon!

Happy Summer!

Unfurl

Unfurl

Fine Art Photograph 

Helen Campbell ©

Painting with Photography. 

Prints are available in my Etsy shop

Sharing with Paint Party Friday. 

Tomato Basil Quinoa Salad

A perfect salad for warm weather days! 

Tomato Basil Quinoa Salad 

Made yesterday using our own Basil and Spinach... can't wait until our tomatoes are ready! All other ingredients were organic, with the exception of the olive oil. 

Tomato Basil Quinoa Salad 

Ingredients: 

2 cups prepared quinoa

1 can navy or white beans, drained and rinsed

3 1/2 - 4 cups diced tomatoes (we used organic cherry tomatoes sliced in half)

2 cups spinach, roughly chopped  

1 cups basil, finely chopped  

Dressing:

2 tbs Balsamic Vinegar (we used apple cider as we were out of Balsamic)

1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

zest of one small lemon

1 tsp minced garlic

pepper to taste

1. In a small bowl, whisk dressing ingredients together and set aside.  

2. In a another medium bowl, mix quinoa, beans, tomatoes, spinach and basil together.  Drizzle dressing over the top and toss to coat evenly.  

3. If desired, serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. 

Note: This recipe was adapted from The Diva Dish

Postage Stamp Art

I decided to play in a Postage Stamp Art-athon this weekend at atcsforall.com in the hopes that it got my muse activated. An Art-athon is an art marathon where we "hang out" together online and "chat" and sometimes trade art... and I've actually made a few ATCs! 

While I do trade some ATCs, there are a few I like so much, I cannot trade them away. This one in particular will be framed and in my studio. 

The background is an abstract on watercolor paper that I didn't like so I cut it into ATC backgrounds. I adore that bird stamp, it's so lovely! And when I saw this particular background, well, that was that.  

Here are some of my "trade-able" favorites ATCs.

The King is an altered playing card stained with alcohol inks. The others are all paper napkins, vintage text or stamped script, inks, postage stamps and finished with beeswax. Fairly simple, but they made me happy. And it's all about making me happy. :) 

I've collected some pretty awesome stamps over the past few years, specifically to use in my collage art. Fortunately, I have a friend who sells fabulous used postage stamps on Etsy, so I can feed my addiction. Check out LarkroseInspirations if you also love to use old stamps in your work. 

Thanks for stopping by! To my American Friends, have a wonderful 4th of July! 

From my Garden - Bee Balm!

Stages of a Blooming Bee Balm aka Monarda. 

Gosh, I love this stuff. And so do the hummingbirds.