.
.
.
.
.
Happy Mother's Day
.
To all our mothers around the world ...
Those we hold near to us each day ... and those we hold dear in our hearts and memories ...
And all the nurturers and sisters and daughters
May your days be filled with love, happiness and the comfort of family and friends
xx Julie
.
.
It's also Silver Sunday and the long awaited Venice Giveaway winner[s]
- that's at the end of the post ...
[I can see you scrolling!!]
.
.
.
French & Italian Antiques
.
.
In honour of our mums.. I thought I'd bring you girls [sorry guys] a bit of culture to go with your silver fix.. Yes a little culture in the way of my male model here.. Brought to you all the way from Renaissance Italy and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.. My Italian boy dates from the 1500's .. but hey.... he hasn't lost his muscle tone.. It's all about the eye candy!!! I mean culture!! So here are some of some of my French and Italian antiques.. strategically modeled by Michelangelo's Ignudo ... I had more silver antiques to show you but they are currently held captive in my trial version of photoshop.. which conveniently expired this morning..!! So.. I just made the pics extra big and hope you don't notice. haha
.
.
.
... 
.
.
.
Michelangelo's Ignudi
.
.
The splendid male model is courtesy of a postcard I bought in the Vatican Museum.. He is one of twenty Ignudi that Michelangelo painted in the four corners of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. I don't know if you have ever had the chance to see this miracle of art in real life.. but it is everything and more than you imagined.. Quite extraordinary.. I'll tell you more about that in a later travel post... and bring you the colour images then .. but now it's time for the giveaway winners..
.
.
.. The Winners Are ..
.
.
Yes winners plural! In appreciation of those bloggers who posted about my giveaway and all my lovely followers.. I drew two additional prizes
.
.
Giveaway Winner
#134 - Monika from Splendid Willow
- wins the two Venice Prints
.
Followers Prize
- wins a square Venice print
.
Prize for Posting my Giveaway
- wins a square Venice print
.
.
If you are just tuning in my Venice Prints are these [here]
.
.
Thank you everyone for your lovely comments.. not just on the giveaway post but each and every week. Your constant encouragement is the icing on the cake. Speaking of.. come back later in the week as I have a little celebrating to do.. which may include another giveaway!!!
.
.
.. I'd also like to say a big warm welcome to my new followers and once again
.
.
Happy Mother's Day
.
.
.
.
Thanks to Beth of 'Gypsy Fish Journal' for hosting Silver Sunday. Pop over there and spread the Mothers Day love ....
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
38 comments:
Julie, love the images and congratulatons to the winners of your wonderful giveaway!
Karena
Art by Karena
Julie,
Oh boo hoo.. :-( ...I knew I should have spun around three times and spit! That's what happened....
Thanks for the eye candy...The three glasses of wine at the party tonight enhance it even more. hehe
z
You are right about the young man with the muscles ...How come his don't deteriorate with age? ;-) hahahaha! Love your sparkly silvery sunday. Especially as I only got to sneak a look at blogland this morning as the house will soon be full and I am to be pushed outside until this evening. As you can guess - it's not mother's day yet in France!
Beautiful post- as usual and CONGRATULATIONS to the lucky winners!
Axx
Hi Julie, Great photos! have yourself a great Mother's day.....Julian
Congratulations to the winners! Beautiful work Julie xo
Happy Mother's Day . Michelangelo's Ignuto is a wonderful gift for any mother to set her eyes on.
Ah Fate has spurned me but I'd say she's just holding my name in reserve for a Pink Portofino Giveaway one fine day. Well done, lucky winning gals! Of course we didn't scroll down past the culture! Or if we did we scrolled up again pretty sharply.
Julie, I am so glad that my good friend Monika won this give away!!!!
xxxx
Greet
Julie! I'm doing the happy dance! I am beyond excited, I already know right where it will go! What a lovely way to wake up on Mother's Day, to find I am a winner in your giveaway.
My son is in California, my daughter in Florida, so I'm celebrating the day by going to spend the day on Jekyll Island — you just put the icing on the cake! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Oh, I almost forgot, culture smulture - it is all about the eye candy! Love your images, as always. Are you going to purchase Photoshop?
Hi Julie....keep dreaming...i am always dreaming. As a little girl in a tiny village, i dreamed that i would live far away and lead my own life, not the expected one. Well, with its ups and downs, the joys and the fear, I have...same with the house, i dreamed I would have my own house with a large garden and surrounded by nature...I have my little sanctuary.
A home can be a room,,,,,or a palace. Keep dreaming, keep working...you have such a precious talent...cultivate it and great things will happen
Happy Mother's Day to you too Julie.......thank you for the same sentiments!
xo
Anne Marie
Nice photos. Happy Mother's Day to you.
Greetings, Johanna
Congratulations to all the winners of this fabulous give-away!
Be well sweet Julie!
xoxo Laura
Congrats to the winners and Happy Mothers Day to you all!
What a Beautiful, Artful Post ~ Happy Silver Mother's Day to All.....
Thank you for the warm Mother's Day wishes, dear Julie! My son sent me a dozen roses all the way from California here to Florida and I'm in seventh heaven. Congrats to your give away winners.
Hi Julie,
Congratulations to the winners!!!Beautiful your post about mother´s day.We celebrate de last sunday.
Have a happy new week,
hugs,
Cecilia
Thank you for the lovely comment today
Congratulations to all the winners, whom are lucky, lucky people.
XX
Congratulations to all winners!
They are lucky to have your piece of art in their homes...
I´m jelous...=).
Well, I wish you a wonderful start of the week, and hope you´re having a good end of the weekend.
P.s Thank you for giving me all that info. about the olive tree. I really had no idea it had such a wonderful symbolic meaning...I don´t think the guy who bought it knew it eather =).
Hugs/
Luiza
ya, nice muscles.... and i have seen the beauty at the sistine chapel. extraordinary! couldnt take my eyes off it
~laura
Congratulations to all the lucky winners! I can't wait for the next one! Have a great week Julie! Thanks for stopping by my blog! Jennifer:)
I love your images Julie, Happy Mother's Day!
Julie, as I told you I never, ever win anything. So for me to not only win something - but to win it from you makes me so happy! I love your photo art. And I will continue to push your talent (maybe even writing?) to the next level. You are brilliant!
Thank you, thank you!
And I also would like to thank your mother for raising a wonderful, generous and so talented daughter. Happy Mother's day!
ox, Mon
I hope you had a wonderful weekend and Mother's Day, Julie! These photos are amazing...pure art, and so lovely.
Congratulations to the winner :)
xo,
Sarah
Thank you, Julie, for the lovely Mother Day wishes!
Congratulations to the winners!
I love these gorgeous little pieces of wonderful created by your very special brand of magic! Leigh
Congrats to the winners and a Happy Silver Sunday and Mother's Day to all...wherever you may be!
Marvellous the Sixtine Chapel and the Vatican Museum...It's necessary return again ,the first time you are so impressed that I think you don't apreciate all the beauty that there are there.your photographs are fantastic
Kisses
Loved your post and I was thrilled you visited mine. Please come back for a little visit often. Hope you had a fab Mother's Day and a happy week. Miles of Smiles ~ Lynn @thevintagenest
Dear Julie,
Your photographs look splendiferous, as per usual, and are getting better and better. It looks as if you are getting to grips with photoshop and having a lot of creative fun with it.
Well done to the winners of your giveaway. They really have a special treat, heading their way. XXXX
It is always so fun when you play with your pictures...I love seeing what you will do next! Congrats to your lucky winners.
Hi Julie,
My goodness, you certainly do have a gorgeous blog! I am loving your photography, pure eye candy!
Hugs,
Anne
lovely, lovelier, loveliest blog!
Great images. Thank you for visiting our blog and your lovely comments. Plenty of room on our trip for you, welcome aboard!
CONGRATS all the winners and Happy Mothers Day Julie. PS: Thanks for the man!
I didn't realise how many wonderful posts i've missed, i'm just catching up now. :( Why can't days be longer than 24 hours? I love these photos, Julie, as always. Are those Vatican blest rosaries? ;) I had a pair just like those many years ago. Good God that was three popes ago! xx
Thank you, thank you, thank you Sweet Julie Luv! I am one of the l-u-c-k-y winners and so, so happy! It's a good thing I spun around three times and spit! ha. I love that 'oldgreymare'.
can hardly wait...xoR
Post a Comment