Fancy Boots

I was so impressed by the amazing cowboy boots I saw at the recent Paper Cowgirl Altered Art Retreat that I dug into my backup files to find a photo of my altered cowboy boots.  These are Justins, size 7 1/2, and, alas, I now wear a size 8 or so.  I have hung on to them for years, thinking I'd give them to my daughter.  But she wears a size 8, too.They were my favorite dress boots, bought the year we went to the National Finals Rodeo when the show made its debut in Las Vegas.

So two years ago, I dug 'em out of my closet, got the fabric bits, trinkets and acrylic paints and set to work.  I painted plants and trees that represented the areas I have lived--Joshua Trees for California, Bald Cypress for Louisiana, red Hibiscus for Hawai'i, and Satsuma oranges (on the heels) for Louisiana.  I added glitter, embroidered longhorn embellishments, and two celluloid medallions from a vintage children's western holster set to finish the boots off.  Big ol' curtain tassels from Tuesday Morning add that romantic flair.

While these boots aren't made for walking, they sure look nice on an end table, and they remind me of rodeos in times past!

We Lassoed Up a Good Time!

I made this banner in Mendy's "Digi Art" class, using my own background, postcard and cowgirl.  The pretty yellow rose was one of the awesome graphics in Mendy's class kit!

I'm home from the Paper Cowgirl Altered Art retreat, but have to cull my photos before I can do a full round-up of all the fun I had at the Paper Cowgirl event.  It was fantabulous, to coin a word!

You couldn't miss me in my bodaciously bright Paper Cowgirl uniform!

I met a whole passle of amazingly talented, generous, friendly women, and learned so many new techniques for my art.  I can't wait for next year!

The Waxahachie Courthouse is the "most-photographed" courthouse in Texas!

I did it all at Paper Cowgirl--I arrived mid-afternoon in beautiful  Waxahachie, TX, and spent some time photographing the famous courthouse and other downtown sites.

I had two awesome roommates--Ms. Jaci from Oklahoma and Sarah H. who is our own "Gypsy Mermaid."

I did my swaps at the Thursday Dove's Nest meet-n-greet.  I was in charge of the Faithful Horse swap.  We had six swappers and each pony was unique!

This still life shows just a FEW of the wonderful goodies in my Altered Art Tags class taught by Ms. Lisa of Tarnished and Tattered.  Lace, fresh herbs, chalk inks, burlap and hand-dyed ribbons.  What's not to like?

I attended four super classes on Friday and Saturday:  Blessing Tags; Altered Art Tags, Digi Art, and Pocket Books.

 Sarah (Gypsy Mermaid) and another Paper Cowgirl on the porch at the Catfish Plantation.  I don't think any ghosts came to visit during our dinner!  Our chatter and laughter probably scared the spirits! ;)

On Friday, I had dinner at the quirky Catfish Plantation and shopped downtown. I loved the at the superb vendor night on Saturday, where I spent most of the money I had set aside for the retreat.

But wait, there's more! I came home on I-35 East, and stopped at a favorite place--the Ross Antique Mall--then spent some time in Calvert photographing historic buildings.

I have so many photos to share and several projects from my classes to complete that it will take a few days to get the highlights organized. This is just to wet your whistle!

P.S.--I made a Bourré

I made a mistake when I was visiting Tarnished and Tattered, and signed up on Lisa's Soapbox Mr. Linky without thoroughly reading the directions.  I have notified Lisa and hope she'll remove my name from the list ASAP.

In Southeast Louisiana, this kind of thing is called a "bourré", which means a "mistake made due to over-enthusiasm or hurry."  It comes from the name of a Cajun card game called Bourré.  During the game, if a player makes a mistake--such as failure to follow suit, failure to trump or failure to beat the highest card in the trick when able--that is a bourré. The offending player must pay each other player a penalty fee that equals the size of the pot on the table.  You can lose some serious money!

Please forgive me if you came here expecting to see a beautifully decorated soapbox, but I hope you enjoyed your visit.  Sometimes detours are the best.