From Gloomy to Simple and Elegant

It has been a bit cloudy and rainy lately so in the words of Eyore,
"OH, What a gloomy day." Rather that let it get me down and adopt Eyore's mood, I decided to do something to brighten the day a little.

Since it was a bit chilly cooking something in the oven came to mind - What to cook? I thought a roast sounded good. In my hectic schedule I am always looking for something to cook that doesn't require a lot of time.




I peeled some potatoes then covered the roast with seasonings, onions, garlic powder, potatoes and carrots. Popped it into the oven. Fixed some frozen green beans with real bacon bits, onion and seasoning and began to let them cook on the stove.



Off I went to create.... Fun time, you know!




When all was finished I thought it would create a romantic, yet simple dinner to take a bottle of wine from the fridge and set the table with my good china. That I did.


What a Beautiful way to end a "gloomy" day! Eyore would say,
"OH, happy me!"

Glimpses of a Dream

Thinking of going to Italy is a small glimpse of a dream that is about to come true. Waking to a sunrise on the other side of the world where the view is breath taking with a scenery that has aged beautifully. Age only enhances what the eye is seeing.


Architecture - that no matter the age still mystifies the mind.



A place were lovers' hearts are kissed by the ancient artists' mortal gifts of art whether with stone or paint. Air - that creates an atmosphere to capture romantic moments to treasure forever.


This, my friend, is my small glimpse of the dream of going to Italy.....to a quaint village known as Orvieto, sitting atop a plateau overlooking vineyards and tiny homes.








Tracie and I will teach you how to use the elements from the experience to create a journal filled with memories of the days you spent getting to know about this Fabulous culture. You will drink the wines and eat the foods that come from the small market where fresh produce from the fields are sold.





Tracie Lyn and I would love to have you join us on this experience of a lifetime. We will be guided during this Adventure by Kirstin and Bill Steiner.

This is but a small "Glimpse of a Dream", not just for me, but for YOU.

Art Unraveled........

.....another EXTRAORDINARY experience filled with EXCITEMENT and the BLESSING of creating and meeting NEW FRIENDS!

Although our trip was off to a rocky start with Tracie's flight being canceled and her flying standby all the way, that was NO indication of the rest of the weekend in Phoenix. Once I arrived at the hotel EXCITEMENT filled the air and the fragrance of friendships old and new captured my senses.

After getting settled in the room it was time to meet my INchie group for our swap. WOW! What a group! They were the loveliest and most talented women one could hope to meet. We spent the next hour or so swapping our INchies and sharing introductions. My only regret is that I did not get to sit with each of them and visit the night away. I could hardly believe my eyes as I looked at each of the UNIQUELY created tiny works of art! Each and captured my heart as I thought of how these tiny bits of art were carefully and lovingly created and assembled.

Everyone pitched in to ensure that all participants received INchies from the other! Look at these BEAUTIFUL CREATIONS!!!









I received these AWESOME gifts from various members of the INchie group. I can hardly wait to use these in artistic creations.




Soon it was time to pick Tracie up at the airport. We went from the airport to dinner then headed to our room to get ready for class the next morning.

Arriving at class we greeted each student then the FUN began! It was as though we were all friends FOREVER! There was much ANTICIPATION as each person picked up their paint brushes and began to paint. Their creations were brought to life as the paints blended on the canvas. Here are a few pictures of our students working on their FABULOUS works of art! ( I apologize for not getting more closeups of everyone's work but you can visit Tracie's blog as she has pics of the students with their finished artwork):



























As Tracie and I hugged each person leaving class there was a moment of sadness that the day had come to an end. We had made new friends and loved being able to share our time with them. What BEAUTIFUL works of art they had created in class!



As always the next day proved to be as much fun as the day before. This was the Vintage Journal class. WHAT color combinations and textures! Aren't these just BEAUTIFUL!!!












Again we felt moments of sadness as each person left. More new friends had touched our lives and took a special place in our hearts.



Later that evening we went to the banquet and had a TERRIFIC time. Here is a picture of us with Vicki, one of our students and friend! Isn't she lovely?













As we began our journey home we reminisced on the experiences, fun, excitement and sense of joy in sharing with others.

AGAIN, Linda had put together a time for all of us to leave the worries of the world behind and to spend time with friends.

She had given all of us, teachers and students, an atmosphere filled with creativity and relaxation!

Please visit Tracie's blog to see more pics of our classes.

Adventure at Art Unraveled

Tomorrow I head to Art Unraveled in Phoenix to teach a class on Friday and another on Sunday.

Saturday I will be selling some special items at the Extravaganza that Linda has organized. I hope you will find time to stop by and take a look at the goodies. (sneak peak - Vintage French magazine pages)

I have some new Ma'Dam Bags that I will be unveiling.

When I return I will share some pictures of this FABULOUS Retreat!!!

Cards

Cards are always a challenge for me but when that Heather Simpson-Bluhm organized this swap I just knew I needed to join the group. I gave it a whirl and had a GREAT time making these!!! I can hardly wait to see what others send to me!

Here are the results of my meager attempts to create cards for any occasion:















































To send a gift created with your heart and hands is a WONDERFUL way to share your talents with those you love and cherish!

Tiny Visitors

Walking about in the flower garden I spotted some tiny visitors. They were quietly moved about enjoying the florals. From time to time they would pause allowing me to snap a picture quickly.





This dragonfly circled the various floral botanicals as though he was on patrol. He flew quickly from this flower to that pausing only slightly. I watched him for several minutes until he finally lit on the wooden post in the center of the garden. Do you see him there in the center?






This interesting little guy is a night hawk moth that was enjoying the sweet nector of the petunias along the walkway to the front door. At first I thought he was a hummingbird until he stopped on the petals. His long proboscises was probing deep within each of the flowers as he drank. I snapped his picture fasinated with his interesting small body.




Fluttering among the other colorful florals were a couple of monarch butterflies. They, too, were stopping frequently to savor the sweet nector.












Look very closely and you will see the tiny tree frog that was singing as I started toward the house ending my tour.

These tiny visitors bring such joy!

Say Hi!!

Please say Hi to my little sea creature! (I just can't decide what to name her. -- Any suggestions???)

She was sooo much fun to create! Have you ever seen a piece drain pipe look so cute?.

My husband was wondering what I was doing at Lowe's as I was browsing in the plastic pipe connections. He asked what I was looking for and I must admit I had to say, "I don't know, but I will know when I find it!"

Being the wonderful husband that he is he began to help me look for what I didn't know I wanted yet.....Soon, there were the perfect pieces - a "hub to hub" (whatever that means), a 90 degree elbow and a 45 degree elbow. Yeah! I had the beginnings of a body!

When we arrived home I rushed into my art room to begin work on this darling creature. I looked for the duct tape and wire - found it!.. Now, where are those glass eyes I had?..... Oh, there they are!

Now I could begin. OOPs! What will be used to cover the body? I ran to the basement and dug out an old sweater, then into my bedroom and saw the toe socks - PERFECT!!!...I had this pair of toe socks that just wouldn't stay on my feet so I decided to put them to good work.

NOW I can begin... So THAT I did! ...I taped, wrapped, wired and sewed until this WONDERFUL creature was all put together! She still needed something......
EYELASHES!!

I drove to the local Walmart and purchased some eyelashes. OH, they look GREAT!!!

AND HERE SHE IS!!!!



Hope you like her!

KNIT - STITCH - FUN

Introducing Ma'Dam Bags !


During the winter I love to knit. It is relaxing and can be set aside to finished later. Since I have practically every skein of yarn that is available I am always seek ways to use it for creating something. I decided to take a skein of inexpensive worsted yarn and combine it with a skein of a special designer yarn and just knit a row until all was used.

This provided various sizes of rectangles that I needed to use for something. Since I love making purses I decided what better way to use than to make purses. I call my purse creations - "Ma'Dam Bag".

I love bright vibrant colors so I used various fabrics from my stash. It was fun selecting just the right print for each knitted creation.

Here are some of the bags I have completed.





Yellow is my favorite color. This bag is really fun with specks of colors hidden beneath the fuzzy yellow.








Hot pink - FUN- EXCITING -and of course, it has a small splash of yellow within the chucky yarn that is combined with the hot pink eyelash to give a fuzzy look. The fun lining reveals hearts with designs of yellow and bright green. This is definitely a bag to accent an otherwise plain outfit or blue denim jeans.










Aqua is always a color for any special occasion. It looks GREAT with black, white, navy, yellow, grey and numerous other colors. It has a lining that is very whimsical with the stars and swirls. Since I am a lover of fantasy this bag stirs my imagination to a vision of fairies or other WONDERFULLY whimsical creatures.




















A little more on the conservative side this brown and mauve purse makes a wonderful accent to a suit or jeans. It captures the beautiful tones of autumn and winter and the lining is one of my favorite fabrics. It is a batik that has accents that give the appearance of trees and other follage.







The red orange color of the bag is just the right splash of color for a plain outfit that you want to give a little pizzaz! The colorful lining is a bright combination of red, orange and yellow.

All the bags are one-of-a-kind originals. They are fun and softly feminine.

I am placing them in my etsy shop. For those of you who have been fans and customers for a long time I want to thank you for your patience. It has been forever since I got anything placed in my etsy shop. Since my mother became ill and passed away I haven't been able to get anything in my etsy shop. I just wanted to say "Thank You" for continually visiting my blog and for emails inquiring about when I would be getting items in etsy.