Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks...

Ok. I thought it would be romantic to learn how to use a fountain pen. So I bought a set with instruction books and practice paper and pens. Yeah. Not so much romantic and more like NOT fun at all! Maybe I should give it some more time and I am being a perfectionist and too impatient. I just had notions about how my pen would flow over the page and create wonderful letters. It is really closer to fits and starts with a lot of blotting in between, oh, and the cramping from trying to hold your hand at a constant 45 degree angle. All I can say is thank goodness for computer fonts, 'cause I don't really see me mastering this craft! LOL!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Thursday. We are staying inside out of the cold (high today in the 30's!) and continuing to recuperate. Thank you everyone for all your sweet get well notes:) The boys are holding steady which is good and I slept through the night last night which is beyond good:)

"...for a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin-real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served or a debt to be paid. THEN life would begin.

At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."

~Daisaku Ikeda

We Are Not FIT, but Here is Your FIT!

BOTH of the boys are sick!!! They were sick last week, but I was just thinking it was a cold. They both became worse over the weekend. I took them in yesterday to the doctors and James has bronchitis and David has pneumonia! Poor buddies:( I have not slept since Saturday night. Poor Mommy:( So now they BOTH get breathing treatments, steroids and antibiotics. I have to admit that hearing David wheezing for the first time was really scary. I am used to James wheezing with the asthma, but not David. So here we are all tired and resting:) There was a little girl in the doctor's waiting room yesterday throwing up with the stomach flu, so I am waiting on that too! That chicken soup is as close as I am getting to homemade. We picked it up at the deli yesterday:)

Here is the FIT for the week. I found this about a month ago. I am still on the fence about the gender of this cutie. I can't tell, so I am researching the clothing. This is a Carte de Vista photo from the civil war. I am really in love with it. It seems very ethereal to me.

Happy Monday!

"And the day came

When the risk

To remain tight in a bud

Was more painful

Than the risk it took to

Blossom."

~Anais Nin

Have a Happy Monday Everyone!

Love, Jamie

How In the Heck Do You Take Your Own Picture?!!!!

I won't tell you how many bad words I have said tonight!!! These are the best I can do for now. I have taken about a bajillion pictures, cussed them all and had a full blown temper tantrum! LOL!! Any way, it's nice to meet you. This is me. Warts and all:) Except, I usually wear glasses. But every time the flash... Oh! Nevermind!! I finally gave up and took them off because it just wasn't working out.

I wanted to post again because I forgot some really lovely Victorian Calling cards that I should have posted this morning. I want my own calling card. Maybe I should make one. One of the ladies is named Ida Bean. Like, "I'da bean here on time but the carriage was late." BaBumBump!I bet she heard some dumb jokes about her name. Feel free to use these in your art, make tags with them or labels with them. I love them.

Ps-My son; he's no dummy. He just saw the blog and said, "Mom, why did you take a picture of yourself?" and I said so people who visit the blog can know what I look like. And THEN he said, "Well, what if they think you just put a beautiful woman in front the camera?" God, I love that kid:)

Here is the lovely Fit for this week. I love how the baby is so alert and staring straight at the camera. This also has a nice example of a "hidden mother". She is under that blanket to the left of the baby and her arm is outstretched holding on to the back of the baby. In earlier photos that I have (mainly tintypes) the baby will be sitting on the mother's lap and the mom is completely covered from head to toe in a blanket. It can look a little creepy. It is definitely a person shaped lump under there:) There are groups of antique photo collectors who only collect Hidden Mother examples.

Here is what I have been working on this past week and this week house wise. I redid the kitchen and made myself a little home office area to keep up with ETSY and what-not. Then, of course, I had to go back and redo everything else in the kitchen:) I even made a matching calendar and magnets for the fridge and recovered my cookbooks. So silly! But, fun!

I also finally found THE painting for the livingroom. We have been staring at a blank wall for a year. The interior decorator brought in a huge oil painting of the Tuscan seaside villages. Yeah, uummm, not us sweetie. Anyhoo, I had been keeping my eye open and this painting just blew me away. Amazing how an object can make us happy, but that's what I feel every time I look at this lovely piece. It is entitled " Parchment" and it is actually painted on parchment. Which was one of the first forms of paper and you know how I love me some paper:) The artist, Matthew Menger, is really into old and aged objects and loves to work with metallic paints. The canvas is so touchable. Rough where the parchment is and smooth where his paint begins. I can't keep my hands off of it! LOL!!

'Twas two weeks after Christmas, and all through the house,
not a wee one was stirring, not even my spouse.
The stockings were packed, the chimney was bare,
The tree was recycled, it's stand stored for next year.

The children were packed and sent off to school,
I'd practically shoved them, totally NOT cool.
And I in my sweatpants and elastic headband,
Had just hunkered down for a trip thru Blogland.

I had just hit sign in, when I heard a terrible noise,
I jumped from the chair thinking it was the boys!
But, Wait. It's just me, alone, free and clear,
But then, I knew, was over come by fear.

The dust, as it settled in my art closet reveled great distress,
The shelves had collapsed and Oh, what a mess!
I said some choice words, which I won't repeat to you,
got down on my knees and began to sort through.

The treasures lay helpless, a mess on the floor,
So jumbled and crumbled and pretty no more.
And just when I thought "Why bother! I can't win, I just lose!"
I spied in the pile my lovely, sweet Muse.

She, forgotten so long ago, lie on the floor; waiting.
Her silence spoke volumes, admonishing me for not creating.
"Where have you been?" she asked, hurt and alone,
"I have been here, waiting for answers and there have been none".

She was right to be angry, stored up on a shelf,
And I cried when I saw her, in spite of myself;
I'd missed her so and tried explaining all the reasons;
The husband, the boys, the holiday season.

But really, the excuses, rang false in my ear,
And the real reason was that I was blocked by fear.
Fear of failure and not measuring up sounded more true,
And I realized then that I had to push through.

My fears were my own and needed attention,
And working them out seemed like the best prescription.
So I dusted her off, placed her back in my heart,
And there she'll reside, gently guiding my art.
~Jamie Miller





Thank you for your sweet emails of concern. Everything is fine. I am just arting/organizing like mad and it is consuming my free time. Balance is an art in itself. I am learning in fits and starts.

FIT and It's a Sad Day In Gingerbread Land....

"He Blinded Me With Science"

I don't know why I am drawn to this fellow, but I am. His name is Paul according to the back and he is not from an era I normally deal in, but I love him anyway.



Ya'll I don't think the gingerbread houses are going to make it until Christmas! They are looking pretty sorry and are disappearing right before my very eyes. Although, I must admit that they make me smile every time I look at them:)

It's A Snow Baby, Baby!....

Look at what the Christmas Faerie brought me!!! I am so in love with my Snow Baby from Lori! She is so detailed right down to the woolen texture on her coat sleeves and hem. Just perfect!!! I purchased her at Heather's Speckled Egg Holiday Gift Show here. And the sweet Christmas box with vintage wallpaper and vintage tinsel and bottle brush trees and the little bunnies? LOVE IT!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much Sweet Lori, Love, Jamie

I finally managed to get the house decorated for Christmas! But, I can brag a little and say that I am totally done with my shopping? It's a first, believe me! I am usually still out on Christmas Eve frantically looking for something:) So, here is my Christmas mantle with some of my lovely old books thrown in for good measure:)

The boys and I went to a Gingerbread decorating class last Saturday and here are their sweet houses. David did his all by himself and I "helped" James:) Oh, AND I let the boys decorate the tree this year all by themselves. I strung the lights and they hung the ornaments. I had to put my inner Martha Stewart in a gag and straight jacket to do it, but it was worth it to see how excited they were:)

James' House

David's House

Notice how the kisses seem to be losing their tops? Oh, and the BITE taken out of the roof! I must have mousies:)

100th Post, Ledger Pages, 2 FITS and My Sweet Grandpa...

Did ya miss me? I missed you:) Sorry for the delay in FITS, but it's been crazy here. I will make it worth the wait, promise!

First, here are two more ledger pages from the Arkansas ledger. They are from two different accounts, but both families buried a loved one in the same month. You can see where the deceased's last outfit, the cloth to cover the coffin and the nails to close the coffin are purchased. There are many other clues to others dying around this time period so I think there was a sickness of some sort going around. I wish I knew what it was and I wonder if Doc McBride was riding all over town caring for the ill. Anyhoo, hope you find the reading interesting:) By the way, feel free to copy any of these ledger papges and use them in your art:)

Here are the FITS for last week and this week. Also, since this is my 100th post I am posting for you some awesome Victorian Christmas scrap. They would make great tags:)

I just got this tintype photo. It is a full plate tintype so it is big. It measures 9" by 7" and I love how the photographer has posed everyone. It must have been difficult with 14 people to work with and make stand still! If you look the two men in the back are TWINS and the Dad is rockin an awesome Abraham Lincoln beard! LOL!! The women are all beautiful and they have such wonderful hairstyles. A beautiful civil war era family captured in time.

This is a lovely CDV photo of the sweetest little girl EVER! I think she is holding an orange in her hands. She will be on my next collage sheet for sure. Too Cute!

CHRISTMAS SCRAP FOR ALL!!!!!!!

This is for my sweet Grandpa. I heard this in the car on the way home from the airport.

I love you the best, Jamie

"But when the night is falling
and you cannot find the light
If you feel your dream is dying
Hold tight
You've got the music in you
Don't let go
You've got the music in you
One dance left
This world is gonna pull through
Don't give up
You've got a reason to live
Can't forget
We only get what we give." ~New Radicals

FIT, Thank You and Dr. McBride...

FIT for this week. Is that not the CUTEST baby EVER!!! Her name is Helen Marie Lerperring and she is 5 months old. I could just kiss those fat cheeks!!!


I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have so many things in my life that I am thankful for and this blog is included in that list. Thank you so very much for visiting like you do!

I am continuing my Good Deeds and it really is fun looking around and noticing things you can do to help someone else or make their day brighter. The big thing I did last week was something my husband wanted to do. We purchased a laptop for a child who would not have access to one. It is through an organization called OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) and the laptops are SO COOL!! They are water proof, fall proof, dust proof and they have rechargeable batteries and can run on solar power!! The laptops connect to the closest internet signal but, knowing that most of these children would not have access to an internet connection they programmed the laptops to network together. So children in a classroom automatically connect together and then they can email and do activites with each other. And, if one child has internet then the others who connect to him/her have it also. VERY COOL! I wish we could know the boy or girl who gets the laptop. I hope it makes a difference in their life.



Finally, here are the pictures of the wonderful art Sweet Rella sent to me! So sorry it took so long. I took the photos before I left for Houston, but then I left the camera! I would not have had time to update anyway. I was too busy stuffing my face with my Mother-in-laws homemade chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies. LOL!!
Rella, the photo of your Mom is so cute!! Just a PERFECT Fairy! Every surface was covered with wondeful painting and is so detailed! It looks big in the photos, but in reality the bird house is only about two inches tall. Very tiny and precious!!! I would have had to use a magnifying glass to paint such detail:)

I so love the saying Rella placed on the back. So true sweetie! Thank you again!! I will cherish it always. Love, Jamie

Here are some more pages from the Arkansas ledger. This is a photo of what the ledger looks like too. I love it so much!!!!

This is the account of the town doctor, Dr. McBride. He ordered all his medicine and supplies through the store and it is a wonderful example of 1800's medical practice. He even ordered a ledger to keep track of his patients. I wish I had my hands on that one!! He also ordered six spools of thread and I shutter to think of what that was for! EEK! His purchases are so interesting so when you get a chance to sit down, take a load off and look over it:)

Some people have asked if I am selling these ledger pages in my Etsy store. This is part of my personnal collection and will stay with me. I try not to mix the Etsy with blog other than the pictures on the sidebar. Anything I show here is to share with everyone. I think it's so neat and hopefully someone else out there thinks it is too. You are free to print these out and use them in your personnal art.:)

Yesterday I walked for 30 minutes on the treadmill and took a nutritional class.

Today I am listening to "Porcelain" by Moby.

FIT and More To Come....

First, I want to thank sweet Rella for the wonderful art piece she gifted me. It is an honor sweetie! It is so lovely and I will share pictures tomorrow. My camera ran out of batteries this morning and I need to make a trip to the store for more. I should know better by now to ALWAYS have them in bulk! LOL!!!

I also want to thank sweet Kari and Kijsa for blogging about the beautiful tags they made with some of the blue ledger paper I sent to them. Thank you so much sweeties!!! They are fabulous so go run to their blog and feast your eyes!


I only have a limited time tonight but I have found the most wonderful ledger!!!! It is a store ledger from 1887 and it is so facinating. Just like a novel for me. The handwriting is very clear and legible. I have been reading over it most of this evening. The FIT for today is a page from the ledger and I will share more pages with you tomorrow. This page is an example of the things the store provided the community and the prices.

I have learned so many things! Like you went to the store to get a tooth pulled and it cost .50!! And when a loved one died you had to go to the store and purchase the nails for their coffin. I never really thought about that. So sad! There were a lot of deaths and I think it was an influenza outbreak, but I am not sure. I am still doing some detective work:)

Anyway, I am sooo excited to share this with you and I hope you enjoy learning about this community along with me:) Love, Jamie

FIT and Good Deeds...

My first week of good deeds is under my belt and I have learned many things. First off, thank you for sharing your deeds with me. It feels good doesn't it? :)


I met everyone's eye and smiled that first day and got such lovely responses back that I have just kept doing it:) So, I really will be the town crazy! I have held doors, let people go ahead of me in line, I've kept my mouth closed when I realized it was my frustration and not their problem, and I have learned an important lesson.


Sometimes, I forget that the most important people who need my good deeds are right under my own roof. So , I have met their eyes and smiled more. I have kept my mouth closed when I realized it was my frustration and not their problem. I have hugged more and laughed more and not been so serious. Hopefully these good deeds will make a true difference.

The FIT for this week is a lovely lady who reminds me of winter with her fabulous white outfit. I hope you like her:)

My thanks goes out to all of you who use the free images in your art. It makes me so very happy to see the photos given new purpose. I would like to give a special thanks to Nancy who always brings a smile to my face with her wonderful creations. And to Sarah from across the pond who wrote me to show what she did with her giveaway papers. And to sweet Rella who honors me by sharing her wonderful art. Thanks sweeties!

Pitchin' a FIT Straight to You....

Well, I must say that I am so excited everyone loves their ledger papers!!!!

I appreciate you all so much and this whole process has filled my heart. I was thinking (yes, I do that on occasion) yesterday about how awesome it felt to reach out personally to you all. It feels almost selfish because I think it benefited me in wonderful ways. And then I was thinking about GoodDeed.org and how wonderful it felt on 9/11 to donate the 1820's ledger to the Historical Society. I want that every day. So I want to make it my goal to do a good deed everyday. It doesn't have to be big, but I would like it to be for a perfect stranger. So today I am choosing one I saw on the website on 9/11 and that one is to meet every one's eye today and smile. Simple, but awesome. People might think I am the town crazy, but that's OK. They might be right! LOL!! Will you do a good deed today? Please tell me if you do because I would love to hear about it:)

Love, Jamie

PS- Thank you all for your sweet well wishes for the boys. They are on the mend and feeling better. David went back to school yesterday and James goes back today. Can you hear the angels singing? LOL!! Oh, and I FINALLY arted some too! I started small (only a tag) but, boy, it felt good!!!!! Here is the FIT for today. Is he not the cutest?!! I bet he is in his Easter outfit. This is a RPPC (Real Photo/People Postcard) and it is postally unused on the back so I don't know where this cutie is from or the year the photo was taken. I do have the overwhelming urge to put wings on him though! So, you know, it WILL happen:) LOL!!

PPS- And sweet Ali there are some ledger papers coming to you too:) David slept with his Kangaroo postcard last Friday night and he said that the Emu (the animal, NOT your drawing! LOL!) looked like a cross between a chicken (head), a giraffe (neck), an ostrich (body) and a flamingo (legs). And yesterday at the post office he told the person behind us in line very proudly that, "My Mom mails her art all the way to Australia!" He still thinks that is the COOLEST ever! LOL!

Oh, and THEN he told the person in line that that I don't shop at ---mart (name changed to protect the in---to protect me) anymore because the people there are very rude and they don't have good customer service and that we shop at another store now even thought it's more expensive and we are never going back to the other store again. Thank goodness they weren't an employee from there! I bet he tells on me all the time! LOL!!

Somehow FIW Just Doesn't Sound The Same....

So sorry I'm late on the FIT! James is sick and his asthma is really needing my attention right now. Hopefully we are on the downside of it, but I am TIRED!!! Happy Halloween to you all:)

Here is the cutest little boy for your arting pleasure. I just love him! He is one of those "perfect" photos for collage.

The last batch of free giveaway papers are in the mail and on their way to you all. Thank you so much for your wonderful support and friendship! Love, Jamie

Finally! I made it! FIT Quick and Dirty....

The first big batch of Free Giveaway Packs are in the hands of the postal service and heading your way! I have 6 more to pack and they will be mailed tomorrow. Fun!!! Here is a little sneak peek!

This is 174 year old ledger paper. It is a store ledger, but I have no other information on it's origins. Your pack has two beautiful, original sheets. Both sheets have writing but on one of the sheets I have printed some of my antique egg prints. Unfortunately the eggs are only ink jet printed. I tried printer after printer and no one would run the ledger paper through their machines. Something about policy, blah, blah, blah, only commercially approved paper, blah, blah, blah, the paper's so old it would catch on fire in our machine, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, I would recommend laser copying the page and using that copy in your art. Ink jet ink will not hold up in most applications. I hope you guys love these!!!!

My sweet husband is out of town this week and I am here with the boys:) Makes for one busy Momma! I am posting this from my new computer which works like a charm:) Thank you for all of your positive computer vibes:) Yeah!!!

Ok, real fast because I have monkeys waiting for me to read bedtime stories. The FIT today is soooo sweet! I can't pass up the baby christening gown photos. Ever. I must have 100's. But they are all so sweet:) This little cutie melts my heart! I want to snuggle him in the crook of my neck:)

Having a FIT and You Can Have One Too! LOL!!

I really like how you have been calling Free Image Tuesdays FIT in your comments. So have a FIT on me:) LOL!! These three images are gem type tintype photos. They are tiny (I put a 1917 dime beside them for comparison) only about 1" by 1". Aren't they lovely? They are so small that I didn't even know the young lady on the right was wearing glasses until I enlarged my scan! These would make some awesome jewelry! Tintypes are by far my favorite type of photograph. They have such clarity and an ethereal quality at the same time. Their faces seem so defiant. Like they are staring across time demanding that you acknowledge their existence. Ya'll must think I have flipped my lid! Don't worry. I could wax poetic about my Adopted Ancestors all day long! LOL!!


Speaking of waxing poetic... Do you ever feel like life is moving so fast that you can't keep up? That's how I feel lately. I have so many things I want/need to do and I can't get them done. I am caught in Cheryl's "hamster wheel" and I am making myself dizzy. One thing I am not doing is Arting and I really miss it. I have to do it, it keeps me stable:) The other thing I have not been doing is blogging. I was up at 2 am this morning (insomnia) and I visited every blog on my sidebar. Do you know what it felt like? It felt like home and it felt sad. I have missed so much. I have been taking way more than I have been giving lately. But, I guess that's how friendship works. Sometimes you will need to lean and sometimes I will need to lean and together we will not fall too hard. Love You Guys:) Jamie

Oh, PS-The background I used for the FIT is coming to a mail box near you:)

Free Image Tuesday....

This is a CDV from the civil war era. Those curls are called banana curls. Or if you are James they are called banamba curls:)
Ok, here is the last post (cross fingers) I make from the Voodoo! My new computer came today and is sitting in the box waiting for hubby to work his mad computer skillz. I am posting the photo now, but will be back later to update and run my new baby through it's paces:) I have gotten lots of wonderful emails about the giveaway. It's not too late. I will give you another hint. It is 174 years old. And NO, it's not the LeftoveRs that have been producing the next cure for the plague in the back of my fridge:)

It Should have Been Lemon Yellow and Free Image Tuesday....

Well, the new computer lasted exactly three start ups and then it went to that great Hard Drive in the Sky. I have a replacement arriving in 6 days. So says Dell.

But, only AFTER having my husband remove the ram, the hard drive, the extra memory, the optical card, the ram again, the keyboard (THE KEYBOARD! ack!), once again the ram, the battery and the hard drive again. Luckily, he builds computers and knows what he is doing, but what if it had been me? Or Lori? LOL!! We would have been in big trouble!

Two hours later, he went for a break and left ME on hold with the support person who then received an ear full from one frustrated wife who had been patiently acting as surgical nurse during this operation and Presto!--- I got a totally new computer. I only wish I had blown my cool earlier in the conversation. Hormones CAN work in your favor ladies! LOL!

The free image for today is one that I love so much! Look at those sweeties! And the Bows! I have boys so bows fascinate me:)

I have had some people email me about selling the free image photos on Etsy. I make it a point not to because I don't want someone buying an original photo and then seeing copies of it some place else in someone else's art piece. These photos are my personal collection and I want to share them. I was thinking of maybe having them printed into collage sheets down the line. Anyway, I just wanted to address the question:)

FREE GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!

Thanks so much for all your well wishes! I am feeling good, having some reflux trouble (yuck), but they say it is temporary. Also I want to show my appreciation to you all by sending you a treat so leave me your snail mail address at arteology@hotmail.com and I will ship the treats next week. This means you too lurkers:) Come on and don't be shy:) They are wonderful treats that start with an L and end with an R. Can you guess? And no, it's NOT liqour! Bad girls! LOL!!! Love, Jamie