God Bless our Troops

God Bless our Troops On this day that we pay respect to our men and woman who gave all to protect our country, I would like to pay a tribute to my beloved Dad, Robert K. Byard, United States Navy • Pearl Harbor 1944 • World War II • Korea • Arlington National Cemetery 1996

Long May She Wave

Our American Flag takes on a more special meaning this Memorial Day weekend when we honor our American men and women who died while fighting to protect our Flag, her people and the shores of the United States of America. The image of the Marines raining the flag at Iwo Jima has a special place in my heart. God Bless America.

Summer Fun Celebration

I belong to an Etsy group of really talented guys and dolls, called Old Farmhouse Gathering. (We are neither old nor farmers, for the most part but talented none the less.) Many of the group have joined into a summer celebration by selling their summer time items. If you are interested, go to the Etsy site and in the search box, type in SFCOFG. (For those of you initially challenged as I am, the letters stand for Summer Fun Celebration Old Farmhouse Gathering.) I have three items in the celebration for sale: a Beach Bear, a Ducky and a Rabbit.

Artist Friend, Nancy Malay of Victorian Whimsies

My feature artist today is Nancy Malay of Victorian Whimsies. Nancy creates the most adorable snowmen, Santas and little animals from clay. They all sparkle with magical glitter. Nancy has been featured in and the cover of about 3 dozen well-known national magazines. She has been chosen by Early American Life Magazine as one of the top artists in America. She is a licensed artist for Midwest. My friend, Nancy Malay has so many talents but her best feature is her kindness. Nancy is always the first one to congratulate you for an achievement or offer you a helping hand. She is proud of being a wife, mother and grandmother. I start each holiday decorating project by pulling out some of Nancy’s creations. Some, I actually keep up all year. Her newest exciting news is that she will be teaching an on-line class to make the adorable birds pictured here. Go to www.artfulgathering.com for more information on her class. Nancy’s creations can be viewed on her website: www.nancymalay.com

NO TRESPASSING

I introduce today’s artist with this very amusing No Soliciting sign. Pam Ludwig has long been one of my favorite artists as you can witness with her signs all over my house. My son just scolded me for still having two of Pam’s Christmas signs up. I was mobbed at a recent quilt show as so many folks wanted to buy my Shopping sign. I couldn’t part with it. Pam and her husband Chuck create their signs in their shop in the foothills of the Ozarks in Arkansas. You can see more of Pam’s work in her Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/goldieloowoodworks Warning, you will have to wait awhile for your sign as Pam is very popular.

Artist Friend David Everett , Chicken Lips

David Everett of Chicken Lips says: “Chicken Lips is all about putting a smile on your face!” I think that David’s creations do more than make you smile; they will make you laugh out loud. Today I am putting the spotlight on my friend David. Most of his outrageous characters have big smiles with huge teeth. He magically transforms clay like no one else that I have ever seen. I own several of David’s original designs. Go to David’s site for a delightful visit with his smiling odd ball characters. www.chickenlips.biz/ David will be teaching an on-line clay sculpturing class in June for Artful Gathers. Sign- ups began this morning and I am first on the list. www.artfulgatheringfest.ning.com/