Two day workshop with Teesha Moore

so what happens when you pull out your camera and it says "no CF card" you cry a little then you more on! lucky for me Holly had her camera and took this shot of my daughter Sarah , myself and Sandy.

Look at this wonderful girly glam doll that Holly created for me and gave to me at our class!!!
now my body has never looked like this but me oh my I sure wish it did!!!

this is the folder that I made in Tesssa's class to hold journal pages that we had painted and started to journal on
(THE UNBOUND JOURNAL)

This is the folder all open with a few of my pages, on the side is the front and back of the folder. I had so much fun in this class! I have forgotten how much I love to play with paper, paint and glue!

Day 2 was the fabric journal! Teesha's class samples were so amazing!

(a little peek at my work station.)

( Fabric Journal)

and here is my journal... I have a long way to go... I need to add a lot of embellishments and 4 more signatures before I can even began to journal in this! I had such a great weekend getting to know new people and working out of my own box... I truly enjoy seeing how others create, to spend a little time in some one creative process is so amazing to me. Teesha is such a kind and giving person, I had fun playing in her world a little... and yes my head is turning on how I can put my own take and adapt her book into my own process :)

the joys of summer

My Cousin Newman got married over the weekend so all of my last week was dedicated to helping, I was in full party giving swing and hosted the rehearsal dinner at my house... I cooked my brains out with the help of my 13 year old son and nice and pulled off a sit down dinner for 28! as I plated up five different courses, Brian and Brittany served our guest in a romantic candle light dinner in my backyard under our luscious fig tree.

our guest were treated to:
baguettes with a basil lemon pesto topped with garden fresh tomatoes
then steaming hot stuffed mushrooms followed by a raspberry Dijon vinaigrette with toasted candied walnuts and feta cheese on mixed baby greens. the main course was chicken breast with my special lemon glaze and roasted baby red potato's and french green beans. for desert I did a pound cake with strawberry's and whipped cream :)


I am off for a little art fun this weekend I will be taking two classes with Teesha Moore on Saturday its The Unbound Journal then on Sunday The Fabric Journal !
I am over the top excited about this! Yesterday I went to a quilt shop to buy fabric for my journal now you would think that being the fabric girl that I am that I would live in a fabric shop but truly this was my first time in a quilt shop! I own a large blot of muslin and when I need a color I make it up myself so it was a true treat for me to be in a REAL quilt shop where real quilters play! I was in total amazement by the machines that these Ladies use! and as soon as I have some free time I will for sure be taking a class here so I can learn to sew for REAL ! then when I make believe I can sew I will have a little more knowledge to back myself with! :)

just simply charming

I just received this box with the props for the cover art back from my book editor today, in a few weeks a cover will be created for: Artful Exchange: connect create collaborate, I can hardly wait to see what the art director come up with!

Kelly and I have just 4 more weeks to work on the remanding 10 pieces for our book. Then on July 29 we will both fly out to Cleavland Ohio for a week to film our hands :)

I am happy to say that the little swap that kept on going "Just Simply Charming" is at long last been featured in the July/August Belle Armoire congratulations to Carrie Edelmann Avery, Crystal Neubauer, Jerri Reimann and Lelainia Lloyd who's creations made with the charms from the swap have been published!
and a BIG thank you to Deryn Mentock who wrote the article for us all!
I must add that "Just Simply Charming" was my fist ever time hosting a swap and I was so lucky to have had such a amazing group of talented girls to work with!
I am so honored that they have continued on with Kelly and myself to created even more stunning creation for : An Artful Exchange: connect create collaborate!

My Chihuahua is cuter than your Chihuahua !

(Baxter is a one year old male and weighs 8 pounds)

I just went over the deep end! I just joined a flickr group called: My Chihuahua is cuter than your Chihuahua !

lol, oh my! that said now its time for me to get to work in the studio :)

I made these for Amber~Dawn's Black and White charm swap.
they are made of resin and have little black beedz
( these are one of my all time favortie art supplys... funny I know... I got them for the kids but I love to use them in just about all of my projects!)
black fibers with black and white papers and book text words.

!blac

!blac

!blac
k
agains
t

(whi)

te sky
?t
rees whic
h fr

om droppe

d
,
le
af

a:;go

e
s wh
IrlI
n

.g

ee cummings

kiss the ground

Debbie is my high school best friend and as luck has it after 27 years we still completely understand and support each other! She sent me the most inspiring hart felt gift yesterday in the mail! I just booked my air ticket to film the book at the end of July, then after I am done with the book I will spend a week with Debbie in Chicago at her bead shop Bella Luna.

(amazing gift from Deb)

The timing of this piece is perfect! As the jewelry for my books is being created I need to be reminded that Art has always been a part of my life and that I am so Lucky that the beauty I do is my art and being surrounded by so many supportive creative souls in my life.
So much of what we do as artist is done in solitude, inside our heads is a life all its own... Some say I work best under presser and dead lines... well at this point I must say there has been times that I have wanted to run from all these dead lines and never look at another trinket or bead. There was a fear ,but over this last week my path has become more clear and I see the sun shining and I don't want to run I want to enjoy each day and embrace this creative process of creating this book.
So with pliers in hand and wire scrapes all around me the trinkets are starting to tell me just what they want to become and what beads they want to play with and the process is starting to open up in front of me and I have found a safe space where my fear is far behind me at last!


Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don't open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
~Rumi

read the directions

My Time is not my own any more! Making Jewelry for the book has taken over my life!
there was a Mob of hungry people in my studio yelling at me last night telling me it was time to go out to dinner to eat (now make note, they do not have to yell at me to cook dinner because they know that this does not happen any more, they just wanted to go out to eat and still they had to yell!)

(hungry mob leader!)

I tyred really hard to get out of this "try some thing you have never done before swap" But when the Hostess comes to your house and and ask you were are your cards for her swap...
well then you have no choice other then to create! LOL
so here you have it "my made with some watching over my shoulder" metal foil tape and alcohol ink atc cards...
I did have fun making them :)
if I had more time I would have made them more like frames and added a hanging element.

if you try alcohol inks read the directions before you start not after you have finished like I did,
they are a little stinky and I almost passed out from breathing the fumes :)