my funny Valentine

We were kind of off the hook for Valentine swap this year with the homeschooling, but not to be completely left out, Hannah decided to send Valentine's to a few friends through the mail. She colored in some cute little cards and sent them off to her closest friends and grandparents.

She got an awesome giant valentine from her Auntie Joleen and a couple of other goodies but to me the best one was from her friend Nathan who came over to play for awhile after school. He brought her this clever Valentine that he made with his crafty Mom, who happens to be my friend Bridgette.
It reads "I mustache ( must ask) will you be my Valentine?" and the mustache peels off to stick on your face.

Now my little chickie is also a self proclaimed "nerd" so she has a variety of nerd glasses she likes to pull out. Yesterday while finishing up some math with her dad, I caught here sporting this get up and it cracked me up. I think her sense of humor is so awesome. I am also so thankful she has such fun friends...

How was your Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Wishes

Wow, where has the week gone? I am still trying to catch up to all the One World, One Heart blogs. I can't believe that Lisa got so many great giveaways. I have so many comments I think I am going to have to add a couple more little prizes to my drawing on Monday.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and romantic and inspiring Valentine's Day. I hope to find a little studio time myself after a yummy V-Day brunch. See you back here for the big drawing!! Good luck!!

ta da

Well, the little drape is coming off my final design team project for Lollishops. We were provided a kit from Carmelos who always has all kinds of goodies for creating your own artful pieces. As per usual I forgot to take a before picture because I suck like that.. LOL I bet if you hop over to the other gals blogs you will be able to get a good idea of what we were given and I will point it out on my piece.

I kind of struggled with this piece because the palette was kind of all over the place for me. I quite rarely use fuschia in my work so tying that in was hard!

I ended up making this cute Valentine holder. It has 2 pockets in which to tuck Valentines and tags like the one shown here.

We were provided with lots of trims and I think I managed to use some of each.. the white ball trim, rick rack, shimmery foil trim (flower center), satin ribbon and the red & white crepe fringe. I also used the little gold Dresden hearts, paper rose bouquet (top right) and the mercury glass beads layered with my own vintage papers and lace.

On the tag I used a little clip art image and some of the leftover ribbon. It is all stitched together because I have been creating like crazy on my sewing machine and just couldn't bear not to on this project as well.

So here is where you come in, please leave a comment on this post and I will draw a name on Friday to receive this holder. Good luck and enjoy this month of love...

dilemmas and inspirations

Wow, tomorrow is February. January just raced on by. I was really good and finished up my Design Team assignment a couple of weeks ago and I will share it tomorrow along with a give away. So be sure to check back!

This cute little heart decoration was a piece I picked up at the dollar store a while back and embellished with a little pink paint, vintage buttons and German glass glitter. I think it makes a fun decoration for February with out being over the top Valentine's Day themey. The cute little house is a pin from Berries in the Meadow that I just love. Their things are so cute and sweet.

If you see my Facebook you will know I am have been contemplating the things I want to do to spruce up our home seeing as how we will be stuck here

forever. LOL My DH is almost do

ne painting the entire outside of our house, and it looks great! It makes me so happy when I drive up to it and see how cute it looks. Here is a picture.

Anyway my next project is my living room. It has been a dark "Ralph

Lauren" red for years and I am ready for a change. I want to lighten it and freshen it up again and my major dilemma is whether or not to paint over all the brick along the end wall. I am currently debating between doing a wash over it or painting the whole deal. I'd appreciate any ideas, input or inspirational links as to how others might have tackled similar problems. I plan to paint the red portion a creamy mocha color and use aqua blue as an accent since I seem to have gathered many things in that color. Aside from that.. I am open to suggestions.

The one about Valentine's Day coming..

Hey all, I have so much to blog about after my trip to So. Cal to visit Joleen and Karin but I came home with a yucky cold and have just been in a funk. I have lots of pix to share soon but I wanted to hop in here and post about the latest card swap I am hosting.

Last summer I hosted a Summer Card swap and then followed it up with a Holiday swap. The cards that came out of those swaps have been fabulous and I have been sticking to my plan to NOT BUY any cards. I have used some of the cards I have received and gotten fun feedback from the recipients. If you are ready to gear up with your New Year's art and crafting, this might be a fun way to jump in. Here are the guidelines.

• 6 for 6 OR 12 for 12 cards.
• Greeting cards WITH envelopes that are mailable.
• Valentine’s themed. Have fun!!
• Cards DUE to me by Friday, January 30.
• PLEASE include a self addressed address label and $3.00 in cash or stamps to cover return postage. Int’l players be sure to include enough to return to you.

• Please EMAIL ME to sign up at which time I will send you my address. Cheers!

Its coming!!

I can hardly stand the anticipation. Every day I run out to the mailbox in hopes of finding my advance copy of this!

Jenny Doh just blogged about the release so I know that it is real and it is real and will be here soon. I just can hardly stand it!!

its real, its official, its a BOOK!

Oh my, its real. Its surreal..
its available to pre-order HERE!

meow

Ooops, was that the sound of a cat getting out of the bag?

Exciting news that I have been sitting on for MONTHS is finally starting to trickle out into blog land. The first peeps have popped up on Jenny Doh's blog and then we got word from our editor that its ok to share.. so TaDa!! I am going to be published IN A BOOK!

Earlier this year I was invited by my friend Marilyn Healey to participate in a round robin project with several other gals who you will recognize. Just about the time we were finishing up we were contacted by Somerset Studio for publication consideration and the next thing we knew, we found out they wanted to make a BOOK from our projects! All I can really share right now is that the working title ( I hope they come up with something else) is "Somerset in Love" and ads for it should start appearing in the October issues of their publications and it is due to be released Jan. 1 ... I better get back to my writing!

Day 4

A lot of tone on tone action going on here. Its fun to try new things in the journal without fear. This entry is about finding inspiration in the little bits and pieces of things that you save and then they kind of pile up. I used a couple of these things in the entry.. this little birdie badge I made out of a circle punch that Jeanne sent me in the Valentine's Box swap. I also included a cute image from a sweet card that Lori sent me. The journal is a nice place to keep these things and bring back a sweet memory when looked back on.

Also, I finished up my last book in the Vintage Valentine Book Exchange. This one will be going back home to Laura ASAP. Its a bit different but I enjoyed it. I hope Laura does too.

pretty pink and Good Stuff

Sorry I missed last Friday's Good Stuff installment. I was excited about my visit with Linda and forgot all about it. Anyway, I think this week's choice was worth the wait. I have had it in my Etsy favorites for a long time. I am pleased to present the shop "She Rides the Lion" which features the original hand cut lino prints from artist Sonia Romero. I have alwasy loved the look of lino and block prints so when I first spied the beautiful work of Sonia, I was entranced. This bunny piece on the left is one of my personal favorites since I have a fondness for bunny images. She also has an entire set of individual and sampler alphabet images, milagros and more including this fun Valentine. I'd love to have an entire collection of her work, but unfortunately wall space is at a premium in my home. :( I hope you will check out the selection of works Sonia has available, they are worth the visit!

Now onto a couple of pink things to share. When I got back from my weekend away on Sunday, I found a package from Lori at the FaerieWindow. I wasn't expecting anything from her so I was intrigued as I opened it and then delighted as I unwrapped one of her adorable bunny boxes. She sent it as a Thank You and just because she remembered how supportive I was when she first started blogging. Not that that was hard at all. Lori is so sweet and talented and I was very happy to swap blog links with her and lend soem support through the technical part.Thank you very much Lori. I LOVE this!! Besides, Glitter = Good in my book!
Also, here is the layout I promised in Kristen's Vintage Valentine Round Robin book. I got Lilia's last night and am eager to work on it this weekend. Only one more book to go after Lilia's and we are through. I can't believe how smoothly this whole RR has been. I have thoroughly enjoyed it!

a little love...

As promised here are the pages I did in Laura's Vintage Valentine Round Robin book. We were each asked to use one of the included "folders" of paper for our page(s). I cut mine into a heart shape.. it IS Valentine's Day after all. This little cupid with the heart is the sort of "intro" page.. then I did this fun spread inside...


It was fun and sized just right to use some of my stash of Dresden wings. Lots of layers of paper peeled back and gesso'd and rubbed with ink, some glitter and lace trim.. yummy. Then on the back we were supposed to do something simple with our name so I added a little heart and some more glitter. Also, here is a close up of the inside spread. I am really happy with the way this turned out. I have worked in 3 of 6 books in this "mini" round robin (including mine) and I am really enjoying it. Its so low pressure and fun. I find that my muse really lets go when I work in a book. Now if I can just continue that trend.











Finally, just a mini update on the wee "B". She has had a worse cough today so I took her back to the pediatrician who says he can hear more wheezing and that she has a middle ear infection which isn't helping seeing that all that "plumbing" is interconnected. Two more days of liquid steroids and 10 days on antibiotics along with her inhalers. Hopefully she can go back to school next week. She is really missing it and going stir crazy because we have been cooped up all week with cold rainy weather.

"pea" update

Thanks to everyone who has sent well wishes and good vibes to us over the past few days. The little is doing better but not out of the woods yet. There have been a few long nights for me as I have gone to check on her regularly, prop her up, fill the humidifier, etc. The "croup" seems to be breaking down but moving down as well. I took her to see a pediatrician at our health plan clinic today and she said that it has moved from the throat but she can still hear some breathing difficulty and wheezing. It has not been diagnosed as asthma per se but it is being treated as such for now. She now has inhalers to use daily until it is cleared up and then the rescue inhaler to have on hand always, just like Mommy. She will be home for a least a couple more days but we are hoping she can return to school Friday. She misses her friends and teacher and miss a little peace and quiet ;) although I DO enjoy the extra snugglies that she has been doling out. I'll post another update when we pull completely out of the woods...

In other news, I have been busy on my laptop while sitting with the pea. I just completed a new banner for Heather at Pretty Petals. It was fun to work with her lovely images and use the sweet cherubs from a vintage baby book she recently acquired. In other design news, I got two sets of business cards back from the printer this week. Its so exciting to open each box, like a mini Christmas morning cracking open the flap and getting a whiff of paper and then seeing little printed treasures like these:

and these:

Finally, tomorrow is the drawing for my 515th post give away. There is still time to enter up until I draw the name. I will also share more of my Vintage Valentine Round Robin pages.

Good Stuff...

I received my first book in the Vintage Valentine Round Robin earlier this week. It was a day when I had been moping around with no focus and as soon as our mail carrier handed me the package from Marilyn I opened it and got right to work. I love it when the muse cooperates and things just flow. I did this page first and everything fell together just right. The theme of Marilyn's book is CUPID and I happened to have this ATC is progress on my desk so I just kept going.

The other day I did my second panel in the book which was this fun bit with a cute cupid growing his patch of hearts. I had such fun working in this book and eagerly awaited the next book which arrived today. I started my layout but had to stop and let things dry so it is not finished yet. I also spent some time this morning working on choosing goodies for my partner Jeanne in ArtsyMama's Heart Swap. FUN!

Anyway, on to the post of my blog. This is something I have been wanting to do for a little while but I am finally getting around to doing it. Each Friday ( I hope, maybe Saturdays) I plan to share some GOOD STUFF, which are some of the things I find that I love.. especially from indie artists. Do without further ado....

My first pick (there are so many in my file) is something I just found today. I was visiting Emily's Blog (Inside A Black Apple) and was delighted to find her new stationary sets and postcards. I like all her designs but especially her whimsical "Hello" birdcages... Aren't they just the cutest?? You can see this design and all of her others as well as paintings, dolls and more in her Etsy shop.

Finally and not least.. there is still time to enter my give away. Just check out the post below! Have a great weekend.

love the pinks, love the whites...

I have been having a bit more muck in the studio than on the computer as of late. I don't know about you, but I find it so difficult to get motivated and back in the groove after the holidays. This past year I tried so hard to stick to our schedule and work a little so it wouldn't be such a struggle when school was back and we had to return to our previous schedule. I guess it worked a bit but my muse is fighting me as far as design work goes.

On the flip side, she seemed pretty happy to be back in the studio and I was really able to let go and just paint, glue and play. I was delighted to be invited to participate in a short round robin with Marilyn, Lilia and some other gals for a Vintage Valentine themed swap. I have made a goal to use up things in my studio or get rid of them, so I dug into my box of misc paper bits to find things to work with for the journal. I was delighted to discover a sheet of these paper dolls which quickly made it into my book. I had this blank book with the window laying around so I used it instead of making a book as I originally intended. After I got the book ready to pack up to send on to Laura, I realized that I didn't include any images of couples or lovers. I ended up adding a love quote on my second page which I didn't take a picture of before mailing it but aside from that and some hearts, I am not sure how "valentiney" it is yet. I am sure it will be by the time it gets back. Here is one more page... (before quote was added)

Now I am brainstorming for ideas of what to do for my contribution to the Hippity Hop Easter Swap that I am hosting. I am not sure what I was thinking when I allowed 55 people to sign up. I guess I had completely forgotten I'd have to swap out and MAIL all those packages. I guess it was good that Donna pointed out I had lost my marbles and offered to help with mailing. In addition Tamy stepped up to help so she is handling a group too. Thanks gals! Momentary lapse of sanity there...

Finally for today.. Shosh and I had a play date at the same time our kids did so we got together and finally put together our Sugar Shack kits from Holly. Wow, these kits are overstuffed with good stuff and we had a blast putting them together. We both almost finished up but I still need to add my crepe paper ruffle and tinsel but here is a picture of one of mine so far. Love it! I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

So now I will leave you with a reminder that the next post will be my 515th! This means a celebration and fun give-sway. Stay tuned!!!

sharing my heART

Inspired by Sandy of ArtTeaLife, I have decided to GIVE AWAY two pieces of my heART for Valentine's Day! These were originally slated for my Etsy shop but I thought it was a much better idea to SHARE them with those of you who visit me and support me day to day!

I have a pretty pink altered tag with a cute little angel and some sparkley rhinestones to offer as well as a little wooden house ornament with fun chenille ball fringe! I love chenille ball fringe. I haven't "finished" the house ornament so if you win you can decide if you would like it to have a magnetic back or a wire hanger.

To toss your name into the hat all you have to do is leave a comment. On Feb 2 I will draw 2 names and mail off these treasures in time for Valentine's Day!!