Debbie Overton Designs

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!

I knew what I would be doing this weekend....so I scheduled this short post to publish on Saturday....so you would know why I am MIA.....I am spending the 3 day weekend at the....

Have a Fun and Safe Weekend!

Creatively,

Monkey See Monkey Do

Mixed Media Collage 10 x 20 Gallery Wrapped Canvas

This piece is on exhibit at Monkey Love.  I have had the images for several years and when I found out I would be exhibiting at Monkey Love I just couldn't resist!

Several years ago I offered Ephemera Paper Packages on my website, but when I did my re-do I didn't add them back.  Instead I redid the packages and added them to my Etsy shop I had had for over a year and was not using.  I decided to go back to what worked before and have added a couple packages to the ole Etsy shop and will add more later.  After I get the new venture up and going I may add the shopping cart back to my website and do away with Etsy.

Mine and KC's afternoon at the beach was cut short when she received a call from Steve...he was heading out of town for a few days and wanted to know if I wanted to go...I told him I just didn't have time...way too many things around here to get done...but KC volunteered to go...she thought it would be a mini vacation for her....sleep in, Jacuzzi, pool....and the executive suite at the hotel!

So here it is almost 2am and Seth and I are still up....he can stay up all night if he wants!  I need to finish up a commission I have been working on for several weeks and then get started on a few others and I need sleep in order to function tomorrow or I should say later this morning considering it is already very early morning!

Creatively,

Happy Mother's Day

My friend  Sue at Artful Adventures posted some gorgeous necklaces on her blog again yesterday as well as some pictures her husband had taken.....then she challenged us to go outside and find some beauty in something that you've never paid close attention to before and share with our blog friends....so Sue here you go....a few photos of some of the flowers I have had since we moved in and a few from yesterday's plantings....I have always thought they were pretty...but when you really zoom in on the blooms the details are stunning.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's and mom's to be.  When I think of Mother's Day I always think of flowers....growing up my daddy always bought my mom a gorgeous fresh orchid corsage as well as sweetheart roses for my sister and I to wear to church on Mother's Day....and to this day my mom still receives one.  Now that us girls have grown and gone in different directions we don't get our sweetheart roses from daddy, but we get flowers from our own children.   

Right now I am enjoying my morning....overcast, windy and you can hear thunder in the distance....Steve got called into work due to a little storm that passed through last night...I hope he's not too long as his big breakfast sure would be good about now.....We may have to have it for dinner which is always a favorite here. 

I received a call from one of the shops over on Jekyll Island and she needed more journals, so after delivering her order we headed to the beach for a few hours.  Then Steve and I went flower shopping and came home with a truck bed full of flowers....wish I had thought to snap a picture before we unloaded all of them....but after spending time on the beach and then meandering through rows and rows of flowers in 92 degrees taking a picture was the last thing on my mind.

Seth and KC are still sleeping....I think I wore them out yesterday afternoon....we dug up plants, planted the new ones, replanted some of the old ones and at dusk we were all tired, dirty and thinking....why didn't we just call Lee our wonderful landscaper and let him come by one afternoon and do all this!  The kids were even willing to pitch in their share of the cost after about an hour in the 90+ temps.   In the end it was worth it and I know once all the blooms start opening I know it will be worth it to me.

I have tried to finish this post for the past 30 minutes....remember above I mentioned overcast, windy and distant thunder....well that changed to hard rain and high winds and I have lost power twice for a few minute's each time....I just hope the hail they are calling for misses us......guess I better go check the weather since we have been under a tornado watch most of the morning.

I hope each of you have a wonderful day planned....I am off to enjoy mine.

Excellent Start

Nancy of Sugar Lump Studios sent me this gorgeous handmade birthday card.  The quote "A sister is one that reaches for your hand and touches your heart" is actually how I have felt over the past several weeks as I have been receiving emails, cards, phone calls and little surprises in the mail all wishing me a wonderful fun filled birthday.....And it was just that. 

Sunrise at the beach...brunch...more beach time...balloons...more beach time...shrimp...cake...sunset at the beach...and a day filled with phone calls from friends and family.

Steve surprised me with another glass fishing float....a gorgeous aqua to go with the white one he gave me for our anniversary a few months ago.....together they remind me of the white sandy beach and blue/green clear water of the ocean......a favorite place for me.  As I opened the package a fragrance as fresh and clean as if I was walking on the beach arose....it was Seashore Eau de Parfum, Body Lotion and Shower Gel.

A couple weeks ago I intercepted a FedEx package addressed to KC.  Steve thought since she was coming home within a few days I would just put the package in her room and when he got home that night he was going to ask about it....well KC called and I told her a pkg had been delivered....of course she said open it.....much to my surprise was something I had been wanting for several years....Adobe Dreamweaver.....now why was she getting Dreamweaver?  She didn't know and I didn't know so I called Steve.....I could hear the surprise and disappointment as I told him what had happened.  He couldn't believe I opened it...it was addressed to KC....I explained she called....didn't know anything about it and asked me to open it.  I told him I had put it back in the box and would tape it shut if that would make him feel better.....no you have already opened it.....go ahead and install it and start playing if you want too.  Well I didn't have time to be playing as I was still working on the last minute details for the gallery exhibit.  He should have clued KC in and I would not have opened it!  However I am glad I did....I installed it and started playing.

It is taking some getting use too especially since I have been using Frontpage all these years....I am building my new business site with it...some things have already been easier to do while others are taking a bit of reading and playing and redoing....but I am getting there.

Do any of you use Dreamweaver?  I would love to hear your experience with it....the good and even the bad.  For years I have heard great things but just couldn't justify buying something else when what I had was working.  I am so thankful Steve supports all my art dreams....because now I have something else to expand and grow with.

Now with a line from one of the cards I received.....

Think of yourself as experienced and smart....and just getting off to an excellent start!

TGIF

I was so excited to awake this morning and realize it was FRIDAY....I have had a busy week filled with lots of accomplishments....and I am ready for a few days of relaxing.  Plan to plant a few flowers and work in the yard and of course with a gorgeous day scheduled for Saturday you can bet your bottom dollar I will spend part of it at the beach. 

Hope all of you dropping in to see what's going on over here also have a great weekend!!!!

Debbie

Anniversary Beach Shopping & Exhibits

So many great things have been going on I'm not even sure where I want to begin....March 13th was our anniversary and with it being Spring Break Steve and I decided we would just go out to eat and then do something special later.   Since we both had agreed we would not buy gifts for each other imagine both of our surprise when we each received something from the other one that we had wanted for a while.

January 1 through February you can comb the beaches of Jekyll Island to find beautiful, one-of-a-kind glass fishing floats.  Each day a select number of the floats are placed along the beaches just above the high tide line.  I spent many days walking and searching for one of the hidden treasures, but always came home empty handed.  Steve surprise me with this gorgeous white glass float created by artist Mark Ellinger.  Each one is individually crafted with the same techniques that have been used for 200 years to create glass art. All floats are engraved on the plug with Jekyll Island, Georgia's Jewel, the year, and the artists signature.

And I surprised him by paying attention one day while shopping on the island when he was intrigued with the Galileo Thermometers.  The glass spheres are calibrated and fitted with a metal temperature medallion.  The weight of each sphere varies slightly and as the actual room temperature fluctuates, the glass spheres will rise or fall.  As the room temperature decreases, the spheres rise and they fall as the temperature increases.  The lowest sphere with the group floating at the top of the thermometer indicates the correct temperature.  Needless to say ours usually has all but one at the top as we keep our home on the cool side....but it is fun to actually see them float up or down occasionally.

We had made reservations for Easter weekend at St. Augustine Beach a while back....Colby has good and bad days trying to adjust to all the meds, KC had just been home for 9 days and only back at school for 4 and didn't want to make the 14 hr drive for the weekend and Seth just is not a beach bum.....so Steve and I took advantage of the long weekend and celebrated our anniversary.  The weather was beautiful....the beaches were not crowded and the shopping was great! 

We left early Friday morning making our first stop within 30 minutes at Me and My Partner Antiques and Collectibles/Woodbine International Fire Museum.  I found some old school report cards from 1917 and Mr. Windy the owner pulled out a few other papers he had in a drawer to give me.  I just love the sign he has out front!  It certainly has gotten my attention a few times.  I would highly recommend a visit to Woodbine to this great antique shop and the Fire Museum is awesome...fill with tons of history.  We continued heading south making several stops along the way. 

Sunrise Saturday!  This is the view we had from our balcony!

North Country Antiques located in the Lightner Museum Antique Mall in historic St. Augustine is filled with Ephemera, Old Books, Magazines, Postcards, Stamps, Records, Advertising, Prints, and more.  Lightner Antique Mall is located inside the famous Lightner Museum. Built on top of the old Hotel Alcazar's swimming pool (The largest swimming pool in the world in 1888) and features many antique stores and a café under one roof.

When on San Marco Ave a must stop is Claire's Collectibles Fun Rubber Stamps.  If you can't find it here you most likely don't need it.  I made two stops there and came home with tons of stamps, inks, elements and magazines.

Upcoming Exhibits

For those that come to Waycross GA for Swampfest April 4-6, I will be exhibiting with a group of artists from the Okefenokee Heritage Center in the Phoenix Hotel located downtown.

I have been asked to do a solo exhibit for the month of May at Monkey Love Dessert Bar & Gallery.  Monkey Love's mission is to serve the community and their customers with the honor and respect they deserve while contributing to children's organizations to help stop child abuse. 

When you walk into Monkey Love you feel at home and the aroma is to die for....sinful desserts and pastries and coffees.....and since I am not a coffee drinker I had to have a Banana Milk Shake.....let me just say Heaven.....and then there was the slice of Coconut Lemon Layered Cake I got to go for Seth....I have looked at it all afternoon and finally just couldn't resist any longer.....I took a bite and then I took another....then I set it in the cabinet out of sight! 

I will share more about Monkey Love and the Wine and Cheese Reception at a later date.

I have lots of art to work on over the next several weeks, but I am refreshed from my trip and ready to move forward.

Thanks for stopping by!

Debbie

Spring is finally here.....

It's official.....Spring begins today....and I am so excited.  I have blooms popping out everywhere....just love to look out and see even the stray weeds that have come to life in the past week here.  Today is only going to reach the low 70's windy and sunny.....just a little let down from the mid 80's we had yesterday.....but clear blue skies as far as you can see.

Last week we had kids home for Spring Break....lots of fun....beach...shopping...eating out...beach....more shopping...late night movies...ice cream...beach...kids coming and going day and night...sand...flip flops...swimsuits and beach towels everywhere....but it was worth it.  Only a few more weeks and it will all start again for the summer!

A couple nights ago I decided to check in on a few of my favorite blogs and if you have not visited Nina Bagley's blog Ornamental lately you are missing some great reads.  Especially this one where she talks about spending time with her parents in their little cabin.  It was a perfect ending to my day....so whether you are starting your day or calling an end to one....I think you will enjoy it....I certainly did.

I finally finished another collage yesterday...actually the picture was taken while it was still drying....so please excuse the mess around the art couldn't wait to share....There are 18-20 layers of paints glazes mediums and papers....tons of drying time....I don't much care for that part....I'm not know for waiting long!  Have several more pieces in the works and will share with you soon.

A couple years ago I took an online organizational class taught by Alyson Stanfield....she has a wonderful website and her book "I'd rather be in the studio!" is filled with wonderful tips on self-promotion.  Now mind you....you actually have to do what she recommends for this to work....I already was doing some of it, but there were things I knew I needed to be doing and seeing it in black and white just makes it somehow easier to see the big picture.  So if you are looking for a little guidance in promoting yourself....take a look at what she has to offer.

I have a few things I want and need to finish up today as Steve is home for four days and as much as I enjoy his being home...I just don't get as much done.  I am counting on beautiful warm sunny days so we can work in the yard and head to the beach for a sunrise or sunset....maybe both.

Wishing each of you a wonderful Easter weekend.

Debbie