If you can't be there this is a good substitute

Some of my long time readers remember that early in my blogging I reported that I had been to Egypt the year before. It's now going on two years since my visit and I would still love to go back. There was so much to see that even though you are looking at it you get over stimulated and awed by what you are viewing. The Chrysler Museum in Norfolk has an exhibition currently with Egyptian art on loan from the Brooklyn Museum and I went there Wednesday to get a little sample of what I've been missing. Having been to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and even the smaller Imhotep Museum near the step pyramid this exhibit was VERY small. At the museum in Cairo you feel like if you aren't carful you'll knock down some ancient artifact. The Imhotep Museum is more spread out but there is still quite a bit loaded into a small area. "To Live Forever" the theme of this exhibition has more than 120 objects spread out in about 6 huge gallery rooms. But it was still worth the drive and the entrance fee of $5 for military. The Chrysler has some Egyptian items in their permanent collection so I took another look at them too.

Until my next post,
Diane

One year ago today Dec 30, 2007

Do you know where you were one year ago? I was in Egypt beginning our Nile River Cruise. The pace finally slowed down and we had a leisurely day. We went through the locks but before then we had mobile salesmen pitching (literally and figuratively) gallabeayas at the ship in hopes we'd buy them. Since the ship is waiting to go through the lock you might as well do something so you can view the outfits. Soon there will be room for two ships to go through at once and this might cut into the profits of the local floating businessmen. Yes I did say floating. These guys row out to your ship yell "Hallo" and then throw the gallabeayas your way. You look, dicker and if you don't get your price you throw it back. Once we made it through our visit of the day included a dusk tour of Edfu Temple. In the picture above I'm standing next to Horus the falcon god.

I belong to several Yahoo groups about cards, papercrafts and bookmaking. The first one I swapped with (and the ONLY one I swap with on a regular basis) is my favorite -- Stampers Corner. This is probably due to the Owner, List Mom Debi. She gives encouragement to all of us with our projects and could use a bit of encouragement herself right now as she is recovering from knee replacement surgery. She gave me some help when I was considering starting my blog so I'd like to give a little plug for the group and her blog.

The ATC I've attached was made for a swap we had last month with the theme of "Sand, Rust and Brown". I immediately thought of my Egypt stamps. The first layer is scrapbook cardstock. The second layer is handmade paper bought in bulk at Costco. I colored it with Fiber Scraps walnut ink. Next there is a layer of papyrus bought in Egypt of course. I found this great bookstore in Aswan at the unfinished obelisk and they had packages of papyrus in business card size -- perfect for cards and ATCs. The stamp is from Non Sequitur. The two small stamped images are from Limited Edition.

Until my next post,

Diane

A year ago yesterday

Do you know where you were a year ago yesterday? I do. I was in Egypt on a wonderful tour. We started in Cairo saw the pyramids, rode a camel and then took a short flight to Luxor to begin a river cruise. Before that we had a wonderful day visiting the Colossi of Memnon, the temple to Queen Hathsepsut, the Valley of the Kings, Karnak and Luxor Temples. I've always been fascinated with ancient Egypt and of course have some rubber stamps. This is one of the three ATC's I sent Sid this month. I stamped the image with Ranger archival ink. It is waterproof. I then took some Marvy Metallic Markers and put them on a non-stick craft sheet. I then used my water brush and painted in the blank areas. I used an image from a book to get the pattern colors right. My red is a big off though. The main stamp is from Non Sequitur and the small one is from Limited Edition. It was a bit toasty there in the Valley of the Kings but I kept my long sleeve shirt on to avoid a sunburn.

Until my next post,
Diane