Friday, April 25, 2014

" Art-o-mat® - The original art vending machines"


Lee planed a fun pit stop for us last month as we made our way to the annual
Kansas State Button Society convention in Salina, KS.

Lee was intrigued by a website named

What is Art-o-mat®?
It is a company that has refurbished retired cigarette vending machines and
converted them to dispense vend art.  

There are about 100 machines in the USA and Canada with 400 or so contributing artists, representing 10 or more countries.  Most are in in museums and art galleries.
Oddly enough, a few stores are housed in unusual places such Boynton Health Services at the University of Minnesota, a Whole Foods Market in Des Moines, IA and The Storm Crow Tavern in Vancouver, Canada.

We were fortunate an Art-o-mat® was on our route to the convention - at the Mulvane Art Museum on the campus of Washburn University in Topeka, KS.

These machines are wonderfully restored and instead on dispensing a nasty pack of cigarettes, you put in your $5.00 token, select your artist, pull hard on the knob, and down drops
your boxed art piece.    

Now instead of once cigarette labels there are artist labels

Lee & Venita reviewing the artist choices

Ooh, I want this one!

It dropped...here it comes!

What a fun excursion!

In talking with one of the Mulvane Art Museum curators, we learned Art-o-mat® has followers that seek to visit every machine location and some followers that seek specific artists to collect.

Each piece of art must fit within this box (size of 1930-1940s pack of cigarettes), so it will properly dispense from the machine.  Some artist include a label on their box, while others may scroll their name and a design on their box.  We discovered that although this box label image shows a fish collage art, the inside artwork was a photo collage of a pansy flower.  So, the outside label may only represent the artist work, but not necessarily what is inside the box...sort of like 
grab bags from our childhood.







My final two art pieces were in plain boxes


So, have you visited an Art-o-mat®?  
If so, please share a comment and let us know which location and what artwork you purchased.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Finally it's Springtime

So delighted Spring has arrived! 

Spring flowers around our home...wished these bloomed through Autumn


(collage of front porch urns edited together)





Welcome Spring!

*************

"Hark, I hear a robin calling!
List, the wind is from the south!
And the orchard-bloom is falling
Sweet as kisses on the mouth.

In the dreamy vale of beeches
Fair and faint is woven mist,
And the river's orient reaches
Are the palest amethyst.

Every limpid brook is singing
Of the lure of April days;
Every piney glen is ringing
With the maddest roundelays.

Come and let us seek together
Springtime lore of daffodils,
Giving to the golden weather
Greeting on the sun-warm hills."
-  Lucy Maud Montgomery, Spring Song

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Isaiah 53:5, Happy Easter

This Easter morning my email messages contained a message from Hobby Lobby titled Love Letters.

This is their message
What a beautiful message to share and to receive.
By His wounds and bloodshed we are healed.
Easter Blessings and Peace to you.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Corrine's Easter Egg Cup to Me...and Easter Decor


My 5 almost 6 year old friend Corrine decorated this Easter Egg cup at my home and gifted it to me...it is precious, just like she is!  Thank you Corrine!


Sprinklings of Easter decor around our home...















Happy Easter!


Wednesday, April 16, 2014

More Easter Swaps- Part 2

Suzanne's Easter altered matchbox to me is so precious!  
Every angle is filled with the sweetest details!



(double-side image) - back view




Cute & clever, an egg cup as a pedestal!

Suzanne also enclosed lots of sweet goodies in my matchbox and accompanying packages.
Look how she wraps her goodies with such sweet & tender details



Thank you Suzanne, I am so blessed by your friendship!

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

More Easter Swaps


My friend Suzanne and I recently swapped our Easter altered matchboxes.
Neither of us knew the other was creating a matchbox on a pedestal,
but we both did just that.

Today, I am sharing photos of the matchbox I created for Suzanne.
 Tomorrow I will be posting the matchbox Suzanne created for me.

My matchbox to Suzanne














Wishing you a sweet life.

Please drop by tomorrow to see Suzanne's darling matchbox to me. 

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Easter Altered Matchbox Swap with Lynn - Part 2

Welcome back, thank you for stopping back by to see Lynn's Easter altered matchbox,
I know you will love it...


See how she attached the easel greeting card front

I did not tuck-in the easel card as I wanted you to see how it all fits.  This photo shows the sweet easel tab where you tuck-in the easel card to make it stand


Lynn also gifted me with her altered S&P shaker girl...so sweet!

Lynn knows how to spoil me...look at all the amazing goodies she enclosed in my matchbox drawer plus she also sent an extra envelope full of empherma pieces






Lynn created this thoughtful charm.  It now hangs at my desk where I see it every time I work on my computer...top charm reads Made With Love...indeed her whole matchbox and each enclosed goodie was from love...Thank you Lynn!