Pay It Forward!

Pay It Forward
Yes I know I've already done the Pay It Forward, but I just love to make surprise gifts for others. I happened to make a comment on Anne Ida's blog the other day and found myself back in the PIF theme.
So come join in the fun and make the world a happier place. So this is how it goes...It’s the Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based of the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on. So here’s how it works: I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange.I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise! More than likely I'll get it made after Christmas and sent out early in the New Year. What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. Unfortunately this is only possible for those who have a blog.
Happy Stitching.

Cinco de Mayo !

During the 19th Century, two great events stand out with paramount significance in the history of Mexico. The first is the war of Independence, whose long struggle began on the night of September 15-16, 1810, and finally concluded in triumph on August 27, 1821. The second is the Battle of Puebla on March 5, 1862, which is commemorated each year as the Cinco de Mayo.
The celebration of the Dieciseis (16th) of September is for Mexico what the Fourth of July is for the United States. Many in the United States are aware of the struggle between royal Spain and the patriots of Mexico which led to Mexico's independence. But fewer in the United States know the history of the Cinco de Mayo, the celebration of Mexico's greatest and most improbable military victory.
The chain of events which would lead to the battle of Puebla began in the 1850's, when the Emperor Napoleon III of France sought to create an empire in the Americas which could rival the United States. Napoleon III used the power of the French army, then considered the world's finest, to attempt to impose a French-led monarchy on the Mexican Republic.
Fortunately for Mexico, the French Army was led by General Charles Latrille de Lorencez, an arrogant aristocrat who held the Mexican people in contempt. "The French soldiers enjoy such racial and organizational superiority over the Mexicans that with my 6,000 men, I control all of Mexico!" Lorencez boasted. In spite of the counsel of caution he received from his own allies, Lorencez intended to prove his claims of French dominance on the field of battle. On the Fifth of May, 1862, Lorencez drew his army, well-provisioned and supported by heavy artillery, before the city of Puebla and prepared to attack from the north.
Commanding the Mexican forces in the city was the young General Ignacio Zaragoza. Though only 33 years old, Zaragoza was a brilliant and innovative commander, whose tactics had frustrated Lorencez for weeks before the climactic battle. Zaragoza confused the French by declining battle on the open plains; instead, he used skirmishes and patrols to harass the French and gain vital intelligence while he fortified the city of Puebla. Zaragoza's army was outnumbered two-to-one by the French; in order to win, Zaragoza needed to fight the battle on his own terms.
Lorencez concentrated his attack on the northern front of the city's defenses, but the vaunted French troops could not crack Zaragoza's fortifications. Turned back but not yet defeated, the French army pulled back from its assault. Seeing his opportunity, Zaragoza launched his own attack, using troops positioned in advance for just such an opening. The French fought well, but that day they were no match for the courage and skill of the Mexicans. Defeated and humiliated, Lorencez ordered a general retreat. Against all odds, Zaragoza had held the city and had inflicted a major defeat on the invaders. The effect of the Battle of Puebla on the struggle against the French was fleeting, but the contribution of Zaragoza and his brave men to the pride of the Mexican people lives on to this day.
The Cinco de Mayo has ever since been a major holiday in Mexico, and it is celebrated by Mexicans around the world. For Mexican-Americans, though, the day holds still greater meaning. The young General Zaragoza, who died within a year of the Battle of Puebla, was born in Goliad, Texas, in 1829. The son of a cavalry officer, he brought to the battle the military traditions and the spirit of frontier innovation which characterized the original Tejanos. In recognition of the town's most famous son, a historical marker dedicated to Zaragoza stands today in Goliad, and every year the citizens of Goliad recall their part in the victory of the Cinco de Mayo.

Cinco de Mayo !

Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) is sometimes mistakenly referred to as Mexican Independence Day. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated with more fanfare by Latinos in the United States, as opposed to 16 de Septiembre (September 16th), which is the day that celebrates Mexican Independence from Spain, and is the the day that is celebrated in Mexico as Mexican Independence Day. The reasons why this dichotomy exists lies in decisions made during the Civil Rights Era, by the leaders of the Chicano Movement.Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the first leader of the Mexican revolt against Spanish rule, is known as the father of Mexican independence. Abandoning academic life in the early 1790s, Hidalgo served as the pastor of several central Mexican parishes. He made most of these parishes into centers of cultural life and independent economic endeavor, although Spanish law prohibited economic activity that competed with industry in Spain. In 1803 he became the pastor of Dolores, a town in Guanajuato. There he and his intellectual associates eventually conspired to achieve independence from Spain. When their conspiracy was discovered, they proclaimed rebellion- el Grito de Dolores (cry of Dolores)--on Sept. 16, 1810, the day usually celebrated as Mexican Independence Day.Mexico was later conquered by the French army, and their susequent defeat by the Mexican army is celebrated on Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Battle of Puebla, Mexico, where on May 5, 1862, Mexican patriots defeated the French army.

More Flowers!

Hycinthia

Artist Trading Cards...

Here are a few samples of ATC's...they are fun to make and can be done quickly if you like...When I am finished and have received my display container I will post a pic and you will see the fun and creative way to show them on you table...

Tulips...

I have just taken this photo of my daughter's tulips...

Artist Trading Cards...

The only standard requirement for an ATC is that its height and width measurements be 2.5" x 3.5", either vertical or horizontal orientation. The sky can be the limit for every other aspect of the art.
Please note that 2.5" x 3.5" is exactly one half the size of 5" x 7", which is a traditional photography and illustration size. This is important because it means that artists focusing on artwork that is to have a final size that is 5" x 7" can downsize their works to exactly 1/2 size in photo manipulation software easily to create ATCs or the basis of a printed ATC that can later be reworked with other methods such as being painted on, or inked by hand, etc.
In the world of ATCs, there is no thickness limit, either, but people customarily make them thin enough to fit inside the standard card collector pockets, sleeves or sheets.
Some people are sticklers about archival qualities, but art does not necessarily have to be "forever" so many people use whatever materials that fit their artistic needs.

Happy Mother's Day! Dear Daughters...

Happy Mother's Day to my dear daughter:
A mother, too, and yet my baby still!
Praised be the love that lasts, and always will,
Perched like a star above the windswept weather!
Years pass like clouds beneath the things that matter.
Mothers grasp the grace within the fill,
Older than the stars themselves, that spill
Towards eyes whose tears supply the maelstrom's waters.
How lucky we, to share it in our bones!
Each a mother, holding what will proveRedemption's gift,
too dear to be redeemed'
Ere time renew the miracle again.
So may you, some Mother's Day,
your ownDaughter, now a mother, send such love,
Alive to more emotion than you dreamed,
Yet far beyond the realm of joy and pain.