Last of Mermaid Journal freebie

We've come to the end of this journal kit. I didn't think I'd carry it out so far but there are about 40 papers in various states and lots of elements and word art. In this last zip, you get another merman and merbaby.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/j918g6loufux4f7/ws_MermaidJournal_20.zip?dl=0

I'm going to take some days off to work on an autumn kit for you.

Last week of Mermaid Journal freebie

First, a shout out to Kristy, a long time blog follower, who is busy caring for her parents. So good to hear from you! Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers, knowing how challenging it is to care for our elderly loved ones.

Still tired from my weekend excursion but trying to get things underway again. I've been participating in Deepak Chopra's "Self Discovery Workshop" and also joined Vicki Robinson's art journal group and Alison Bright's 30 day art journaling challenge. This is one page I made using Alison's prompt about sights, smells, and sounds that tell you you are home.

I made the stamp of the child from an old drawing in a children's book. And I made this page with our Mermaid Journal:

Had an odd dream last night that will be my next journal page - if I can figure out how to capture it.

Today's Mermaid Journal zip is DIY. 2 backgrounds and lots of elements.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/g9fchtydxl1zhk8/ws_MermaidJournal_19.zip?dl=0

Saturday zip of Mermaid Journal freebie

If the weather and all else cooperates, I will be in Smithfield, VA today at the Autumn Antique and Vintage Market. About half a dozen of the Sentara retirees I lunch with are going so it should be a fun, if tiring outing.
Here's what we have today:

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/c9krjbchatpzv84/ws_MermaidJournal_18.zip?dl=0

Thursday freebie of Mermaid Journal

Thursday already? The week has sped by. Today's outing will be lunch at Glory's Bakery in Virginia Beach with hubby, Aunt Sissie and her boyfriend. Great Filipino food there. I'm looking forward to some lumpia and pepperoni bread and my husband wants some pancit.

Here is today's zip which includes a little flashback to Art Deco:

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4z910k0qbn5ndmu/ws_MermaidJournal_17.zip?dl=0

Tuesday freebie - late!

Interesting week so far. Monday was spent with my God-daughter & neice, Rachel. She had invited me to go shopping with her. I took her to lunch at Jason's Deli (always try to introduce her to new places), then off we went to Hobby Lobby, coupons in hand. Rachel both knits and crochets but lately has been favoring knitting and she was hoping to find some interesting yarn. We are both working on shawls and planning for next project. Neither of us liked the selection - nothing grabbed us. I was also looking for some tiny hinges for a rosewood box that had belonged to my Mother. No luck on that either. However, they were having a fabric sale - 30% off - and I spotted some chocolate Minke. Bought what I hope is enough to line a patchwork velvet piece I have. Back when I was constantly on alert for interesting fabrics for my crazy quilt stash, I found a long velvet patchwork skirt - probably 60s or 70s - in a thrift store and snapped it up. When I took it apart, I wa surprised to find that instead of just some useable pieces, once the waistband was off, and back seam (only seam it turned out) was opened, I was left with a large regtangle, big enough for a lap throw. Too pretty to cut up, so I put it aside, intending to line it and use it as a throw. Never got around to backing it but will now and what a pretty autumn throw it will make. We also visited A.C. Moore but weren't tempted by their yarn either. Last stop was Quinton's Tea Shop in Virginia Beach. Lots of yummy teas to sniff and acessories to look over. Rachel bought a couple 2 oz bags of fruit flavored teas and a cute lilypad infuser. The rose tea smelled so good and conjured up visions of warmth and contentment so I bought some of that, plus a couple bags of scone mixes to take as gifts when I go to Richmond next month. We had a little thunderstorm going off and on so Rachel and I went and brought pizza home for dinner and she stayed until things settled down.

Thought I'd be posting yesterday when I got home from lunch and gab session with the Ladies Who Lunch. But right at the end of our time together, I got hit with wave of dizziness and fatigue. Got home and crashed for hours with good 'ole Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Our lunch meeting was fun with some of us sharing old photos of days gone by. But one thing that sort of rankled with me was when the woman to my right mentioned she had talked to the woman who got so upset last time over our discussion of religion and spirituality. That woman, who wasn't present yesterday, told our friend that we shouldn't allow talk about politics or religion because it upset her. That felt like censorship. I mean, another person could than say we shouldn't talk about the homeless because it makes her uncomfortable. Or about the future of Social Security or Medicare because that makes someone anxious. Or even, don't talk about your grand children; it makes me sad because I don't have any. Ever heard of tuning out when you aren't interested in the conversation? Maybe I'm off base but I feel that if there is going to be any censorship of topics, it should be from a group consensus.

My apologies for no post yesterday. I have this for you:

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2hzolwanssbdmhg/ws_MermaidJournl_16.zip?dl=0

BTW - my Dropbox is getting full so I've had to delete some files. Anything from the first quarter is now gone.

Already Saturday? And a Mermaid Journal freebie

Finally spoke with my friend, Joyce, who lives in Jacksonville N.C. I've been worried because I hadn't been able to reach her and knew Jacksonville got hit hard by hurricane Florence. Her grand-daughter and great-granddaughter had left early on to go stay with family in Tennesee. Joyce had planned to ride the storm out but a few days before it hit, she began to be concerned with developments and she packed up and headed to her daughter's in TN. She knows there are a lot of power outages in Jacksonville but isn't aware of how their homes fared. At least for now, she is safe and dry.

I think you will like today's Mermaid Journal. I created this mermaid myself using a number of drawings and Poser figurs as reference. It's humorous and something many of us can identify with.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4rbt23ia4zapbts/ws_MermaidJournal_15.zip?dl=0

Quick Mermaid Journal freebie

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/pk6rhu4crwdyxjt/ws_MermaidJournal_14.zip?dl=0

A Happy Birthday Tuesday and a freebie

Today is my husband's birthday. I've got a cheesecake baking in the oven for him. Not doing much. We both had doctor appointments earlier in the day. Will meet with Sissy & John for dinner tonight.

Do you know the difference between Poseidon, Neptune and Triton? The first two are names for the sea god, the first is Greek and the second Roman. They were god of the Sea and other waters; of earthquakes; and of horses. As Olympians they had legs. Triton was the son of Poseidon but instead of legs he had the lower body of a fish. Triton was Poseidon's heralder. Like his father, he carried a trident but he also carried a twisted conch shell which he blew to raise or lower the waves.

Today's zip has a Triton theme.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/24gemwna8vtbefu/ws_MermaidJournal_13.zip?dl=0

You might enjoy this:
https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2013/06/why-do-mermen-get-the-short-end-of-the-trident-in-the-public-eye/

A late Saturday freebie

Hmm, don't know what happened but here I was thinking Saturday had posted and nothing is there. Sorry! If you are interested in more Mermaid lore check this out:
http://alternatewars.com/Mythology/Reliquary/Reliquary_Mermaid_Symbolism.htm
Isn't it interesting how persistent the mermaid myth is over time and culture? I read somewhere that scientists (?) think that what sailors in ancient times thought were mermaids were actually manatees. If you've seen a manatee, don't you wonder how that could be mistaken for a woman with a fish tail? The notion of aquatic humans makes for an interesting "what if" topic of conversation. For example, if mermaids are half human and half fish, do they have live births or do offspring arrive in eggs like fish do? Why have breasts unless to suckle their young from live births like humans and other mammals like dolphins and whales? Why have human type ears which can't work underwater? Why not something like dolphins use? How do they breathe underwater? Where are the gills and why have a nose? Think of what a long bath does to human skin. If any aquatic humans are found to exist, wouldn't they necessarily look much different than our depictions? What do you think they would be like?

This zip has a piece of wordart, one plain paper and a variety of little elements.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ok6uclp4dnmcb43/ws_MermaidJournal_12.zip?dl=0

We have been very lucky hurricane wise. Getting some rain, some thunder storms off and on but nothing like it could have been. Of course, it isn't over yet and. as my God-daughter and neice, Rachel, reminded today, it's still hurricane season with more expected. I thought I'd be going down to Jacksonville, NC to see my friend, Joyce in the next week or so but Jacksonville has been devastated by flood waters. I haven't been able to reach Joyce by cell phone and can only hope that she, her pregnant grand-daughter Sammi, Sammi's toddler daughter and their dogs all packed up prior to the storm and headed somewhere safe. Grandson-in-law, Tony is a Marine so I'm sure he had to remain at the base to help out. Our grandson, Tyler, who goes to college at University of South Carolina in Columbia had planned to come home for the weekend so my husband called him and advised he stay put since his apartment at the college is on the 3rd floor. But when the college canceled classes, Tyler and his roommate decided to drive home. It was good to see him but now we are worried because he is driving back today and there are so many areas where interstate and other major highways are closed due to flooding. Dear readers, I hope you are safe and dry wherever you are.

Mermaid Journal freebie zip 11

The little merbaby in today's zip came from a black and white line drawing in an old book. I'm very pleased with how it turned out and hope you like it too.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/gujag596hcwyyzn/ws_MermaidJournal_11.zip?dl=0

Zip 10 of Mermaid Journal freebie

I noticed some comments about reading and wondered if all of you who use e-readers (I use Kindle Fire) know about the many sites where you can get cheap or free e-books? Amazon has lots of free ebooks for it's readers but there are also sites like bookbub.com, bookriot.com and earlybirdbooks@openroadmedia.com where you can find bargains on anything from classics to new and self-published fiction and non-fiction.

Hurricane Florence is on it's way and all sorts of things are being cancelled, places shut down through 9/16! Storm not expected to make landfall until Thursday but it's a level 4 and might become level 5. Some local areas are evacuating already. Zone A here in Norfolk to evacuate tomorrow morning. I'm in Zone C and planning on going to lunch with friends in Vriginia Beach tomorrow. Of course could wake up to strong winds and rain and then will reevaluate.

Anyway, did you know that mermaid legends extend back to 8th century? If you are interested in the folklore you might enjoy this:
https://mermaid.galactic.to/documents/Mermaids_in_different_Cultures.pdf
Not so much about mermen but what I read about the Irish merman makes them sound like something I wouldn't want to meet - ugly with green seaweed like hair and green scales and a red nose! Nothing like the handsome Poser type mermen you might see if you google merman images. I've also noticed that many modern depictions of mermen suggest they are homsexual. Really? Where do all the merbabies come from? Got to thinking about how we might find juvenile looking mermaids but rarely merbabies. So I created a couple myself and you will find them in today's zip.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/42jsdodq03i24o3/ws_MermaidJournal_10.zip?dl=0

Since I don't know what Thursday will bring, I'm going ahead and advance scheduling zip 11.
Stay safe!

More Mermaid Journal freebie

Running late because I seem to be developing a respiratory infection of some type and I'm exhausted. Talk about bad timing as we are expecting company from New York tomorrow. Won't be posting on Saturday. Thank you all for the kind comments you've posted about this set. Today I have another premade journal page and various elements to make pages your way.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/bsd0wkbvwitkydf/ws_MermaidJournal_9.zip?dl=0

Mermaid Journal freebie - there be mermen here!

Today's zip contains one prepared page featuring a merman, a male silhouette, journal spot, and some shrimp for your element stash.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8d9rrfjuwhiurmp/ws_MermaidJournal_8.zip?dl=0

Health scare in family but I'm supposed to be silent and wait and see. Naturally, fearing the worst. Company expected on Friday from New York - husband's boyhood best friend. Got to get busy and clean and try to think of what we can do while he's here.

Labor Day weekend and Mermaid Journal freebie

The weekend may be a wash out for last minute beachgoers as we've had thunderstorms in afternoons for several days now and it's tuning up again. We have no special plans for this weekend. Do you? If so hope it's fun and safe. Today I have more Mermaid Journal and it doesn't look like much in the preview. Preview only shows a pre-decorated page and a large frame, bbut inside is also the background of the page I made and some components for your DIY stash.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3pu4f3ov04mkzf8/ws_mermaidJournal_7.zip?dl=0
Be safe!

Freebie time!

Today we have a finished page and all the components to add to your DIY stash.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6ombadf6epn7zkj/ws_MermaidJournal_6.zip?dl=0
Printing reminder: If you are going to print your pages, you might consider using a heavier weight than typical computer paper. Or if you print on regular paper and want to keep as pages in a looseleaf binder, than consider putting the pages into plastic cover sheets. That's what I typically do. Be sure to set your printer to print edge-to-edge.

See you again on Saturday.
Hugs,
SherryD

Combo Mermaid Journal freebie today

Today I'm heading out to join my "ladies who lunch" friends at Rib City. Tommorrow back to the usual: housework and pool. Anyway, today's zip is a combination of a styled page with all the components also seperate, along with another background and an element. Hope you are having fun with these.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/p4m5ery3vvk02k2/ws_MermaidJournal_5.zip?dl=0

Router problems and more Mermaid Journal

We've been having computer problems, not being able to get on internet and finally figured out it was the router. BIL replaced it (He was the one who figured out the problem) and all seems good now. At least until we try to pull up Netflix on the TV, then who knows.

Anyway, I was trying to stick to light colored backgrounds to make journaling easier to see and also to save ink for thosse who might want to print. But this paper, I lightened it a little but can't lighter it more or the fish don't stand out. Since I really wanted to use this paper and I'd already taken a plain stamp and made it into a frame what goes well with the paper, I was determined to use them. Now you might have some pages that have mostly photos or sketches etc and the paper would be a fine background for those. But if you want to write, hmm. You could just cut shapes from lighter papers to journal on but I thought a ready to use journal spot might be helpful so made one from the same basic stamp as the frame. Hope you like.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3ktm68tchdxu56y/ws_MermaidJournal_4.zip?dl=0

On the mend and more Mermaid Journal freebie

Not quite sure what's been going on with my health but think things are improving. Back is almost pain free, and headache today has been minimal and probably just due to barometric pressure changes since we've had storms off and on for days. What have I been doing? It won't sound like much but it's something. I've been able to get back to the pool to exercise twice this week already. While my husband drove down to Columbia S.C. with grandson, I thought I'd have two days to work around here but Saturday was largely a wash due to pain. Sunday was better and I managed to go through tons of paperwork, clearing out old folders of stuff from the filing cabinets and moved Dad's paperwork into their place. Made one submission to Just Art's August quote challenge and am working on another challenge. Started a journaling workshop with Kim Klassen called "Write Now." I'm a little behind but still working it. Finished Steve Berry's The Third Secret which is about the 3rd secret of the Lady of Fatima sightings, and a Kindle ebook whose title escapes me. The ebook mystery/adventure also concerned secrets in Catholic church history. Not an intentional pairing. There was also an ebook about a woman whose intuition helps her find missing children. Now reading Dawson Church's Mind To Matter. I was prepared to be dismissive of Church's book but have been impressed by the research he's done to support the material he discusses.

Today what I have for you is the first of those papers and elements I'd told you I would provide so you can make your own mermaid journal pages.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6zicd64k6872dgd/ws_MermaidJournal_3.zip?dl=0

Zip 2 of Mermaid Journal

Back is feeling better but coming off a severe migraine which coincided with a terrible storm here. Working on "normal" today. Here is next zip of Mermaid Journal:

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2ttue200yy838qe/ws_MermaidJournal_2.zip?dl=0

Start of Mermaid Journal

Quick post. Hurt my back a couple days ago trying to put a case of bottles water in my car. Today i have a cover and one ready to go journal page.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5foaehffzfanrrj/ws_MermaidJournal_1.zip?dl=0