Artistically Designed Diversions

Happy Holly Daze !!!!

2011-12-27T14:03:00.001-08:00

I hope you are all having a fabulous holiday enjoying traditions with your family and friends.

I thought I'd share a few snapshots of my Christmas Eve celebration at our house.
This is a snowman I made out of the Crayola Model Magic and Martha Stewart glitter. My son claimed it, so he'll be taking it home with him. The second photo shows the scale. The base is made from a glass candle lid I'd saved and it made a perfect stand.

My sister, Melanie, in front of my 4 foot pink tree. I decorated it with cupcake ornaments and have my friend,Beth, to thank for buying it for me! Thank you Beth, you rock!
My nephew, Kyle, is peeking through the decorations on my kitchen island.
My mom and Kyle's wife, Mimi are in front of the white tree in the great room.
Melanie, my cousin Tina and I are posing in front of the biggest tree in the front room.
Here we are again! We were enjoying the Key Lime Pie martinis I made for the party!

Fun Holiday Project !

2011-12-19T15:09:00.000-08:00

I found a cool project to do with my art students in the book, Adventures in Mixed Media by Jane Davies. First, I made scribble painted paper and after it dried, I made these cute bird ornaments. My art club kids made the paper in one afternoon and the next meeting we made the birds. My friend, Sherrill, had her 3rd graders make them out of scrapbook patterned papers. She made sure the wings contrasted with the bodies and they turned out adorable.

The kids thought my face on the bird looked a little creepy. But, given the choice to add their face, many of them decided to go for it. You can make the bird's eye on one side and add a face on the other and hang it either way!

Christmas Creations 2011

2011-12-19T14:45:00.001-08:00

Happy Holidays to everyone! I have not posted in a loooong time. But I'm back and I hope I can be a better blogger. Here are some of the Christmas card designs I came up with this year. I had my annual card party for my friends at work. This year the theme was "Semi-homemade cards". I used cards that I got on clearance last year and we embellished them. Sometimes I covered the entire front of the card, but the sentiment inside and the envelopes were already done!

Giveaway Coming Soon!

2011-09-29T20:01:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about the newest publication from Stampington. It's called Mingle and it features all kinds of artistic gatherings. Since I started on the mixed-media art journey in 2006, some of my most cherished times have been getting together with my artist friends and creating together. Keep on the look-out for a giveaway coming in October. I will send out a copy of the new magazine to a lucky winner who comments on a future post. I have been pretty consumed with starting a new school year and dealing with a class size of thirty 6 and 7 year olds. I have started my after school art group and they are as enthusiastic as ever!

I will be posting new art very soon. Make sure to click on the Mingle badge on the right side of my blog and check out the preview pages.

Goodbye Samson!

2011-08-12T21:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had to make the decision to say goodbye to our beautiful lab Samson after trying desperately to save him. He spent 5 nights at the vets and didn't get any better. He had stopped eating and didn't even respond after the first time we visited him. We found him 5 years ago and he had been a street dog for awhile. He was so skinny and was used to begging for food. We took him to our vet and he had a microchip. They contacted the previous owners and they said, "That dog ran away months ago, you can keep him". He was housebroken and had been fixed. He walked on the leash much better than our pedigreed, trained lab, Maggie May! He was so pretty but we all learned that Maggie was the brains of the operation. We called Samson our male model. He still thought of himself as a cute little puppy and would try to actually climb up on people's laps! All 95 pounds of him!Our family and friends will miss him, but I am glad we had him for 5 years and he had a nice life with us!

New journal pages from old paintings

2011-08-07T10:43:00.000-07:00

In one of my artist yahoo groups we were exchanging 8 x 8 journal pages. I was behind the

deadline and I needed to get on the ball. I had recently dug out my portfolio from the one and only college art class I had taken. It was filled with large watercolor and acrylic paintings.

They were done on quality paper but the results were not frame-worthy! So....I stole someone else's idea of cutting up old artwork to make journal pages. They made great backgrounds to get started. I used stencils and spray inks and added collage elements and words. I also made 26 tags to send out and they actually got sent BEFORE the due date, miracles never cease!
I will share more of the tags in another post. I tried to leave plenty of room on the pages for the artist's to add their own journaling . If you can't read the tiny collage phrases click on the photos to enlarge them.

July Journaling!!!!

2011-07-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

I have been journaling like crazy in my short time off of work. Jumping off the crazy carousel of year-round teaching left me drained and exhausted! I am trying to slow down, enjoy my family and just BREATHE!!! My journal becomes a happy place where I illustrate positive messages to myself. I recently sent off 5 finished journals to be considered for the Art Journaling publication. They were completed in the past three years. I could definitely see a HUGE learning curve. I had to cringe a little over my first visual journal. But, hey, baby steps right? I loved a few of those pages and hopefully won't be judged too harshly on my first awkward attempts. I am now working on 5 different journals that differ in size and paper type. It's fun to skip around and work in whatever journal I feel like grabbing ( or that fits into my purse, beach bag, etc.). I am hoping to start a journaling group with my friends at work as a stress management tool. I know it works for me and I am totally hooked on this form of self-expression.

A Day At The Beach!

2011-07-14T23:00:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh! Just what we needed around here a lovely relaxing day at the beach yesterday.Dave, Sera, Weston and I spent the day at Balboa Beach Wednesday. It was sunny and clear with a slight breeze. The surf was too rough for surfing or swimming, but it was great ti sit on the sand and watch the waves.
See that big huge wave behind me? I stayed on the beach.
That tall guy is my baby who just turned 17. His big sister just graduated from college!
This was the view from my chair while I drew in my sketchbook and read magazines.

If you haven't been to the beach lately and you are close enough to get there. Go lay on the beach and put your toes in the sand.

Awesome Class with Teesha Moore!

2011-07-10T12:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I drove to Carson to the Rubber Stamp Convention all by myself because I couldn't get anyone to go with me. I tried begging, bribing, whining...NOTHIN'! So... I got adventurous because I really wanted to take the 2 hour visual journaling class with Teesha Moore. I had taken a mini-workshop several years ago and I knew I liked Teesha's artistic and teaching style.

I was not disappointed! We got to work on a single journal page which I put right into the journal I brought with me and did a double page spread! Teesha talked about the steps she uses and her take on paper, paints,markers, pens, journaling,etc. It is always fun to work alongside creative people.
The first two photos are the pages I worked on at the workshop.

The pages below are some recent journal pages I've done.

After spending most of my time and energy on work and hosting my nephew's wedding reception last week, it was great to spend some time journaling! Art rocks!!!

It's Heeeeeerrrrrrreeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

2011-06-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

I got a wonderful surprise in the mail this week! A brand new publication from Stampington called Create With Me. This magazine is dedicated to celebrating artistic experiences with children. I have a four- page piece featuring the artwork of my after-school art club students. I am going to present them with their own copies at our year-end party next week. The magazine is just gorgeous and is filled with inspirational

ideas for art adventures with young artists. It is going to available July 1st.

You can order a copy at Stampington.com. If you do check out my article on page 52 and let me know what you think! My kids are going to be so jazzed about seeing their art and names in print!

Stamp Carving Workshop Fun!

2011-06-12T12:16:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I had a stamp carving workshop at my house. My friend, Wendy Gault, is a master stamp carver and she volunteered to teach us how to get started. She gave us a ton of information on the history, tools, letterboxing, as well as stamp carving tips.

Melanie, Kaylee, Julie, Sera, and I carved our first stamps and made ATCs for everyone to take home with them. Wendy made an ATC from her hand-carved stamp ( but I think she had already carved it before the workshop). Can you tell which ACWendy carved? She likes to take photos of landscapes and turn them into intricate line drawings that she carves into stamps. Everyone had a great time and we took a break to eat lunch together. Wendy is a great teacher and we were all impressed with our amateur efforts. That night I carved 2 more stamps. I made the little fairy baby and then I

carved a self-portrait stamp from a Photo Booth pic I printed out. I experiemented with different combinations of ink and tracing the stamped image with black fine line marker. Thanks Wendy for a wonderful workshop! I am excited about all the ideas I have to carve my own original stamps.

Recent Art and Exciting News!!!!!

2011-05-21T16:30:00.000-07:00

Hello my fellow art enthusiasts! I haven't fallen off the face of the planet. I have been consumed with testing second graders! Here are a few things I've completed in the past few weeks. The super exciting news is that I have written an article that is being published in a new Stampington publication titled Create With Me. This magazine will feature artwork by children and the previews look amazing. I started an after school art club in January and Tuesdays have become my favorite day of every week. I have 14 pint-sized artists happily working away and all of us making a merry colorful mess. The best part is they have to help me clean it up! The kids are so excited about seeing their art and names in print. I can't wait until it is released on July 1st. Click on the magazine link to check it out for yourself!This is a sketch I colored with Portfolio crayons and added white rub-ons.
This page is for a Marie Antoinette Journal group I'm in. It's Marie's Facebook message!
This spread is for an artistic evolution round robin. It's fun to work in a limited color palette!

Whirlwind Weekend to the East Coast!

2011-05-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

Oh My Goodness! What a crazy weekend I had! I flew the red-eye after work Friday night

to arrive in Boston at 5:30 A.M. I wanted to see my son, Jamison, perform in his first tour!

He is playing multiple roles in the Theatreworks USA production of Junie B. Jones.

He plays Junie B.'s dad, the bus driver, Mr. Scary her first grade teacher, and Gladys Gutzman the Queen of Snacks ( lunch lady)!!!!

I saw the show with about 2,400 kids in New London. CT at a gorgeous theater called The Garde Arts Center. It was high energy hilarious fun. Since I teach second grade I am very familiar with the Junie B. Jones books. Of course, Gladys Gutzman brought down the house!!!
Here I am after the show with my handsome son!
This is an official looking building in Boston(?)
Here is the stage for the show and that is Junie B.'s giant journal that opens up to the classroom.
A very old, kinda spooky cemetary in Boston. We had a few hours Sunday to walk around Boston. I really need to come back with Dave and Weston so we can get the full Boston experience.
Jamison and Ed drove me to NYC Saturday evening and treated me to a Broadway show.
We saw Priscilla, Queen of the Desert! It was a magical, sparkly disco extravaganza!!!!
This is how I feel whenever I'm in Times Square!!
Jamison and Ed at the Cheers bar in Boston, where we toasted with Blue Moon beer.

Ed was a sublime host and did not complain once about ALL that driving!!!!

A big huge hug to both of you for a wonderful, wild, unforgettable time! Love you! OXOX

Bathing Beauty Sunday

2011-04-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

Maggie rarely looks right at the camera when I try to take her picture!
Can you see why we call Samson our polar bear?

Maggie is such a pretty girl, why oh why won't she look at the camera?!

You can see the blue film in her eyes, that was our first clue she was having vision problems.
Awwww! Look how cute our big boy is. We also call him our male model because although he got the looks, Maggie got the brains LOL!
Look how tired out Samson got just by getting washed, dried, and clipped!

My main goal today was to haul my two big doggies into the car and drive 20 minutes to the do-it-yourself dogwash, The Scrubby Puppy. Because my labs live in the house and don't get too dirty this is an occasional ordeal. They really needed their toenails clipped and we pay to have it done there. If you read my earlier post this year about Maggie's health crisis, you'll be happy to know that she is feeling and looking soooo much better. She has gained 20 pounds back and the insulin shots have regulated her glucose levels for the diabetes. The sad side effect is that

she has totally lost her eyesight in the last two months. We now have to be careful not to move the furniture around and keep unexpected items up off the floor so she won't run into them.

Maggie turned 7 years old April 12th and we are so happy to have her feeling better. We are all adjusting to her blindness, but as long as she seems happy and healthy everything's good.

Samson, our 95 pound "polar bear" is as lovable as ever. We have him on the same restricted diet as Maggie now and we hope he will slim down so he doesn't get diabetes as well! I love it when they are all freshly washed and blown dry and they smell like doggie conditioner!

I thought I'd share some pics of my bathing beauties Maggie and Samson.

Artistic Evolution pages

2011-04-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

I just started a new round robin group project called Artistic Evolution. We are all using the same chipboard journals with pages that vary in size so you can see the edges of other pages. The idea is you start with a color combo and a theme and each artist carries the previous page theme to the next page. It will be fun to see how the ideas morph from one page to another. I had two books here and I did the spreads this weekend.

Happy Spring!

2011-04-07T22:18:00.000-07:00

To celebrate spring I got a drastic haircut because it seems like I really need to lighten up!

The weather can't decide what season it is and I am trying hard to rise above the constant

stress at work. I can't wait to show my sister how I copied her new look! What do you think?

Another OWOH prize flies in! My sister is a cutie!

2011-03-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

TGIF everyone! Look at this adorable froggie bracelet I won in the One World One Heart event from Liv at Liv luvs scraps. It just arrived all the way from Sydney Austalia! It will be going to my lovely cousin, Tina, who collects frogs! Thanks Liv!
My sister Melanie and I went to see Kenny Loggins perform last night and she surprised me with a totally new do! It was an awesome concert and we had a blast singing and dancing!
She had been threatening to cut all her hair off and she did it!

Doesn't it look cute? She had a few women come up and tell her they loved it at the concert. They even took a picture of her haircut! Which reminds me, I need to get an appointment to

get my highlights handled! I wish everyone a weekend filled with ART and HUGS !

Oui Oui It's Marie!!!!!!!

2011-03-22T22:43:00.000-07:00

I am pushing myself to get all my round robin books done before I go back to work Monday!Here are two different Marie Antoinette spreads I finished this yesterday! The first is Lee's

Marie relaxing in a big goblet ready to party!
Lee wanted recipes to go with the pages. Since I am NOT a cook, but I AM a decent mixologist when it comes to cocktails, I added a drink recipe!Below, are Marita's pages and she requested a cake recipe for each double page spread.
Once again, being challenged in the kitchen, I found a delightful CUPCAKE recipe.
I had fun using yummy flocked paper for Marie's dress and the cupcake.

All Dolled UP !!!!!

2011-03-18T11:55:00.000-07:00

Since I have a few days left of my vacation from teaching second grade, I've been holed up here making a glorious art mess all over my "dining" room table. I'm still on a creative high from my art retreat to Florida and I am missing my art peeps from the Keys! So.... I decided to bring them all here.Without further ado, I am pleased to introduce my art sistahs!

Come on over and play girls- Look! We can even stand up on my messy art table!
Val is coming from Michigan- It's sunny and warm here Val!
Tracy has her hat and scarf on in Washington, but she won't need it here!
Teri looks beautiful and ready for California in her sleeveless dress and bare feet!
Oui Oui Sue! Is that a French Poodle you're holding? How's the weather in Illinois?
Doesn't Sarah look like an innocent schoolgirl here? We know better Sarah! Sarah is our awesome Aussie( but we know she's a secret Kiwi as well)
Nicole was the baby of our group and with that smile who can resist Florida's sweetheart?
Marita looks like the super hot Daphne from Scooby Doo here doesn't she? Come on down from Oregon and visit the sunny southern California girl!
Lovely Linda is ready for some fun in the sun! I know you live by the ocean in Florida but you should check out the California waves!
Lillian is strutting her stuff all the way from Canada!
Long, lean and lanky Julie only needs to drive 25 minutes to get here!
Are we buying this sweet and innocent look from Jacquie? Hmmmmm?
Ingrid is rockin' the bohemian look all the way from Michagan!
Elena is feeling the rocker pirate vibe in Key Largo!
Mary TylerMoore has nothin' on our sassy Eileen from the Bronx!
Hey did you guys get the memo? Daisy doesn't do cutesy! But she is cute, isn't she?
Beatriz is sporting a springtime look down in Alabama! Absolutely adorable!

And last, but certainly not least, is the darling Gina ready to pop over from Oregon!

Projects from the KEYS retreat!!!!!

2011-03-18T09:49:00.000-07:00

I was so excited that I finished my printer's tray as soon as I got home from Florida. I had filled a baggie with all kinds of goodies and doodads people brought to share! This one was so much fun to put together!
This is a little page that Beatriz Guzman taught us how to make in her class at the Paper Niche. She said to make one doll and I got a little obsessed and made three! Luckily my pal, Jacquie, did my background for me while I was cutting and pasting the little outfits!
Here are a few pages from the Over The Edge journal class that Ingrid Dijkers taught.
It's really cool how you can see the edges of all the pages peeking out!
Here's a little frozen charlotte merbaby that Ingrid made and gave us for our books.
Here you can see the edges stacked up and making you want to turn the pages...
I liked the wired button edge technique because the wire didn't have to be neat and perfect!
Ingrid brought tons of templates for us to trace and use for page shapes.

Of course do you think I ( the A.D.D. queen) slowed down to actually TRACE any templates for use in the future? I'm glad so many of my friends took great detailed photos that I can rely on.
Some of the edges had fold outs that add another interactive element to the books!

OWOH Prize # 2 has Flown In !!!!

2011-03-15T15:48:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to Kathy Sprinkle from The Everyday Mommy blog for the fabulous $25.00

Etsy gift certificate I won for One World One Heart. I chose a signed and numbered digital print from Trudi Scissons at Two Dresses Studio.

I was gone for 6 days and it was waiting for me when I got home! It's so gorgeous I framed it and hung it right away! The lettering on the bottom says Honor All Beings. I adore it and want to thank Kathy for the great prize and Trudi for the inspiring art!

Hey Soul Sisters! I'm Gonna Really Miss Ya !

2011-03-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

Here we are on Day one after giving our welcome gifts to each other! We are still waiting for Jacquie and Linda to join us! Elena is behind the camera!
Jen and Jacquie!
My beautiful friend Elena and I on the last night.
Here is the entire group after our day long workshop with Beatriz (she's in hot pink).

I just got home last night from a whirlwind 6 days of sharing,connecting,learning,discovering,

art-making,eating,drinking,laughing,gabbing,teasing,singing, and dancing at the KEYS4ART II hosted by the fabulous Elena Vigil-Farinas in Key Largo Florida! Oh my goodness, I am wandering around my house this morning trying to process everything we experienced this past week. It was truly a magical coming together of creative, beautiful women. A huge standing ovation to Elena, Nicole and Jacquie for ALL the planning and preparation that went into hosting this retreat. Everything was wonderful and the time went so quickly for all the long months of anticipation, list-making and problem-solving that are involved. All the details are very much appreciated and I will treasure every moment! Thank you to all of my friends who participated for the beautiful, thoughtful gifts. Thank you to the teachers who were so inspiring and generous! I will share a few favorite photos here and I know my friend Eileen will do a great day by day breakdown of the trip on her blog. I will do more posts later, but I am still buzzing from the collective creative energy of this group of amazing artists and people.

OWOH Prize from Blooming Ideas !!!

2011-03-04T16:24:00.001-08:00

I want to send out a big THANK YOU to Teri at Blooming Ideas for sending me this gorgeoushandmade necklace and earring set! I love -love-LOVE it!!!!!!!!!!!!
It even came packaged up beautifully on a purple velvet card in a lace-trimmed sheer bag.

I actually was lucky enough to win THREE prizes and I will add updates very soon.

I am very excited to be getting ready to fly across the country to meet up with 17 other artists

and friends for an art retreat. Hosted by Elena at her Key Largo home, we have a whirlwind FIVE days of ART,FOOD,DRINKS, and more FUN than humanly possible!!!!!!! Look for someone detailed posts when I return home with all of my new creations and photos of the

extravaganza!

Jamison's Golden Birthday

2011-02-24T00:07:00.000-08:00

Hats off to my firstborn son, Jamison Earl Daniels, for reaching the milestone of his golden birthday! He is turning 24 on the 24th of February! Here's a little Benjamin Button style trip down memory lane starting at age 10 down to the day he was born. Click on the photos for close-ups!
Jamison is singing his signature song at the time, Angels Among us, with the Carousel Players at the Carousel Mall.

Here Jamison dressed as Peter Pan sings Never,Never Land. He was the only kindergartener to perform in the school talent show. There was only one little hitch in his program...
the fairy dust he had in his little bag refused to cooperate when he wanted to throw it out on the audience to end the number.
Here I am helping Jamison open his gifts at his second birthday party. Please note mom's fashionable 80's acid washed denim shirt and leggings!
And now for Birthday Party Number ONE!!!!!!

Our whole family was very amused because this really WAS the first time Jamison tasted
SUGAR! I was trying to be such a good mommy. His cousins Kyle and Lacey are the same age as Jamison and you can see them in the background of both of his parties. It looks like Lacey might be learning to walk here.
Jamison is sporting his first pair of Nike tennis shoes and he couldn't even walk, but they did match that outfit, right?
Awwww! Look how cute and chunky he got in just three months!
Jamison's big sister Sera loved holding him. Jamison's eyes were so big and round when he was a newborn we did start calling him ET.
This picture was the first time we looked at each other. The second one is Jamison's great grandma Dianne holding him. Happy Birthday Jamison from your family who was your very first audience. We are all still cheering you on every day. I love you, Mom

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!!!!!!

2011-02-17T21:32:00.000-08:00

TaDa!!!!! The winner of my Cupcake Wallhanging is....Laura fron Funkyluke - # 405 Congratulations Laura!!!!!!!

I am pleased as punch to announce I won THREE fabulous prizes today- Yahoo!!!!!!!!!

I won a gorgeous handmade necklace and earrings from Terri a t Blooming Ideas !

Check out her fantastic blog!

I won a $25.00 gift certificate for ETSY from Kathy Sprinkle at The Everyday Mommy blog.

You should definitely check her cool blog out. I won a beautiful frog bracelet from Liv at

Liv Luvs Scraps. Check out all of her creative designs. I will post pics when I get my

wonderful goodies in the mail!!!!! Thank you to Lisa for hosting OWOH and thank you to everyone who visited me and left such lovely encouraging comments.

One World One Heart 2011 Blog Event

2011-01-30T21:38:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my Artistically Designed Diversions. My little world of art and friends that help me stay sane in my incredibly busy job as a second grade teacher. I have met so many amazing artists since I started my on-line journey in 2006. Actually meeting many of my cyberspace art friends in person has been a wonderful gift. I treasure the atmosphere of creativity and sharing that bloggers have fostered. To celebrate I am joining Lisa Oceandreamer's One World One Heart blog event. I hope you will enjoy looking around my blog and I hope to visit as many blogs as I can. If you are an active blogger and you leave a comment on THIS post, you will be entered to win my door prize. It's a quilted Cupcake Wall-Hanging I made and it's even got sequin and bead sprinkles on top! I'll announce the winner on February 17th so make sure and leave your e-mail so I can contact you if you take the cake!

January Journal Journeys continued...

2011-01-29T20:43:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of the latest entries in my art journal this month. I am still trying to do all of Milliande's prompts. I have started an after-school art club at school and am introducing 7-11 year olds to the concept of art journals. We are going to be adding personal symbols to personal banners. I am planning on

participating in the last One World One Heart event this year. I will be posting all the fun details after midnight on Sunday.

Update on Maggie May!!!!!

2011-01-22T10:43:00.000-08:00

Our Maggie is feeling so much better!!!! After a scary few weeks where we almost lost our beloved 6 year old lab, she seems to be recovering very well. She had lost 20 pounds and was battling several serious conditions all at once. Now we are down to insulin shots twice a day and one pill in the evening. She is putting weight back on and is running up and down the stairs again! Her legs still get shaky at times and her energy and stamina are not completely back to normal yet. I took some pictures to show her progress and she has always been a fickle model. She will NOT look at the camera and she refuses to hold still so I can take a picture! So... these are the best I could get but I think she looks beautiful because she was looking so skinny and weak just a few weeks ago!

More January Journal Pages !!!!

2011-01-22T10:06:00.000-08:00

Here are some more of the January journal pages I've been doing with Milliande's online prompts. My goal is to do one page for each day in January! I am totally impressed that I've done 21 days so far! It's been fun to check the gallery for each day's prompt and see how many ways there are to go with a theme idea! I still have the most trouble with the actual JOURNALING, writing enough on each page. I like how Milliande incorporates her writing into the design so you don't focus on the writing separately. Her words just seem to blend into the page as another design element.

January journal pages!!!!!

2011-01-09T00:14:00.001-08:00

I am so jazzed that I have kept up with the first 8 days of Milliande's January Journal prompts! She explored the theme of zebras for the first week. It's really cool to see how differently the theme is interpreted

by the artists who upload their work! So many great, inspiring ideas!

It is actually a miracle I got this far because my family has been dealing with a crisis this past week. Our 6 year old yellow lab, Maggie, was at the vet's fighting for her life for 5 days! I think the journaling kept me from freaking out! She is home now and we have a regimen of 5 kinds of pills several times a day and insulin shots twice a day. She is perking up a little but she has lost so much weight she is very weak.

All good thoughts and prayers for her are very welcome! Time will tell if I can complete

the journal challenges for the entire month. Wish me luck !!!!!

New Art Journal for the New Year !

2011-01-02T19:42:00.000-08:00

My friend Lillian sent me the link to an awesome art group online. Milliande has tons of free tutorials and she is starting a daily art journal prompt for 2011. I did the first 2 days and I'll see how I can keep up while I'm working ! It's fun to see how many different ways artists can take a theme. Check it out and maybe you'll want to join us!

Portal of Prose and The Enchanted Forest

2010-12-29T20:10:00.000-08:00

These are the pages I did for my friend Megan's book. Here theme is Enchanted Forest. Her pages are different shaped chipboard pages. I decided to make the scalloped shape into a sun on one side and a moon on the other. The page underneath is the enchanted forest in the daytime and the enchanted forest at night!

This spread is for the coolest little book titled Prose Portal. We were to make pages based on books that made an impact on us. I felt it was like a little time machine and I kept going back to books I read over and over as a child. One of my favorite books is Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. These pages represent the Ozark mountains, the two coonhound dogs and the magical red fern.

New Marie themed journal pages

2010-12-27T22:03:00.000-08:00

I have been waiting for my vacation time to catch up on my art groups. This spread is for my Marie Antoinette Art Journal Round Robin

group. I drew Marie ready to go to a masquarade ball. I am working on two more books and I will post those as soon as I finish them! It feels good to finally get to work in my friend's books.

Santa Baby, hurry down the chimney tonight!

2010-12-25T14:04:00.001-08:00

While I was digging in my crowded garage bringing the Christmas decorations in I happened upon this original 45 of Eartha Kitt's Santa Baby in my grandmother's records! Isn't it cool looking? It's dated 1954 on the back. I created a shadowbox complete with a hot pink stocking, a pic of a light blue Cadillac, a copy of the cover of the single, and a photo of a Tiffany's box. I lettered some of the lyrics around the edge of the shadowbox. I love this version of the song and I thought this was a cool way to display it for the holidays.

It will be traveling to Connecticut tonight as a gift for my son's partner.

What do you think? Is it retro enough?

I hope your holiday is overflowing with love!

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree!!!!

2010-12-20T19:29:00.000-08:00

TaDa! Here is my sweet little

Marie themed tree. I made most of the embellished ornaments.

It's a tabletop tree and I LOVE it.

Now I'm on the hunt for a cool big white tree OR a silver

aluminum tree from the 50's!

Merry. Merry To You All!

2010-12-20T17:48:00.000-08:00

This is what I've been up to this week.

I wanted to make some

ornaments for my little white tree I bought after Christmas last year. I am in a Marie Antionette Round Robin and I wanted to make some girlie, frilly, sparkly ornaments for MY tree. I had some embossed wallpaper and I layered sheet music, scrapbook paper, lace, ribbon, glitter and jewels! I had so much fun I made a bunch more to give my girlfriends at work! I will take a photo of my pretty little tree so you can see how it all looks!

Please Check out My Son's Next Career Move- It's an Album, Baby!

2010-12-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

Hello blogger freinds! Happy Holiday Season to all of you!

Please take a few minutes to check out my son's video from Kickstarter.com.

Scroll down and turn my Playlist OFF and then click on the video above. It's pixelated at the beginning and then it straightens out!

Kickstarter provides a unique concept to help struggling artists live their dreams. They have one month to raise the funds for a project online. It's ALL or Nothing!!!!! My son has reached 1/3 of his goal and he only has 9 days left. If you want to support his talent, he will be grateful for ANY donation starting at FIVE dollars! If you wish to leave a comment I will forward those to him . Thank you so much for taking the time to listen. If you'd like to read more about Jamison's project OR make a donation click on the blue title right under the video and you'll get to his page on Kickstarter!

Thanksgiving Greetings!

2010-11-25T12:09:00.001-08:00

I made a few Thanksgiving cards for my family this year. The components came from Paula's Kit Club. I was a member for several years and I treasure all of my lovely themed kits! I wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving . Surround yourselves with loved ones and be happy with what you have! I am so thankful for the love, friendship and art that fills my life!

Christmas Card Workshop Designs 2010

2010-11-18T10:48:00.001-08:00

I have been busy this week making preperations for my annual Christmas Card workshop extravaganza!

I invite my friends from work and my family to make Christmas cards. I design 5 new designs every year. When I started this tradition I assumed everyone who came really wanted to learn new cool techniques. But, I soon found out that, NO, not everyone is handy with the scissors and glue. So...

I got with the program and I prepare lots of the elements ahead of time and my frinds have fun coloring and putting the pieces together. We have dinner and drinks and spend a few hours making handmade holiday cards. Of course, I have to make sure they get a good start before I serve any cocktails!!!!! My party is tomorrow evening and I will try to post some pics of the festivities.

A Face In The Crowd- Sketchbook progress

2010-10-23T20:24:00.001-07:00

Here are a few of my latest drawings for the Sketchbook Project. I have about 20 pages left to fill before I mail it off to the Brooklyn Art Library. It is due in early January so I know I can get it finished. I am working on the 3/4 profile. The hardest part is getting the eyes right because it is not as symmetrical as a front view. Sometimes my eyes come out a little cross-eyes looking! I've enjoyed

this project and I do feel like I've gotten better. I like coloring with colored pencils and I know I need to learn to blend my colors more.

Welcome 2 new dolls!

2010-10-23T19:58:00.000-07:00

I made this card to welcome my dear friends latest granddaughter. Congratulations Bonnie, Michael, Grandma and Grandpa!!!!
My cousin Tina made her very first art doll when I kidnapped her and forced her to go to the workshop with me. I totally LOVE what she created! Awesome job, girl!

ART DOLL WORKSHOP !!

2010-10-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I spent a sunny Sunday making ART DOLLS at Wendy's in Torrence. She was hosting a mixed-media artist group that meets regularly to teach techniques to each other.

I convinced my cousin,Tina, to come with me and give it a try. We had such a fun day putting our dolls together. Our hostess Wendy had the wooden blocks (which were made to hold rubber stamps but she scored them stampless) and paintbrushes which made the body and the head of the dolls. Next, we shared the goodies we all brought and decided what to attach for arms, legs, hair, wings, etc. All of the dolls turned out so differently ! You can really customize this project by using your own buttons, charms, symbols, to make a gift that holds personal meaning.

Wendy is putting together kits that she will sell in her ETSY shop. I am going to buy a few for my next art get together. The kits contain all the basic components and you can customize it with your own colors and embellishments! Tina's doll came out so cool I was jealous! I will post a picture of hers as soon as I get it.

2010-09-20T21:47:00.000-07:00

Drawing + Writing = Learning! Visual Art Journals

www.donorschoose.org

If this project gets enough donations, 25 students in California (South) will get resources MY CLASS needs to learn!!!!!

Make a commitment to see "Waiting for Superman" (waitingforsuperman.com) and you can get a FREE $5.00 donation to contribute at donorschoose.org! It was REALLY easy. Please consider contributing to my class project or perhaps a teacher at your school who is doing the same thing. DO IT TODAY AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIFE OF A TEACHER WHO IS STRIVING TO ENRICH THE LIVES OF HIS OR HER STUDENTS!

Sketchbook updates!!!

2010-09-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more pages in the sketchbook project I am doing for the Brooklyn Art Library.

The completed book needs to be mailed in January and will tour the country with thousands of other sketchbooks in the exhibit! Cool! I will try to go to San Francisco to see it next June.

Buried in Altered Books!

2010-08-24T18:23:00.001-07:00

I have FOUR books here to work on and send on in the altered book groups I'm in. I got 3 at once and here is the second layout I did. This theme is, A Gift From The Sea, and the colors are beach glass colors. I did a retro layout and included the poem, maggie,millie,molly and may by e.e. cummings. What do you think?

You Can Do Magic...

2010-08-22T13:58:00.000-07:00

Here is what I did yesterday in a round robin group I'm in called We Dream in Color.

The color theme here is Greens and purples with a touch of gold and the book is titled Spells and we were to illistrate a chant, spell or recipe for something we desired. I wanted to illustrate song lyrics on my page. I journaled some of the lyrics to You Can Do Magic by America. Doo doo doo do do doo doo do do!

Traveling Sketchbook Project: The Beginning...

2010-08-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

Here is the cover and some of the first pages of my Sketchbook Project journal. This project is sponsored by the Brooklyn Art Library and you can check it out here: Sketchbook ProjectI ordered the Moleskin journal from the project website and I need to complete the journal in any style I choose and send it back by January 15th. Thousands of artists journals will travel in the exhibit to museums around the US. They are all bar-coded and you get an e-mail whenever someone checks out your journal to look at your artwork. Cool, huh? This journal has the very thin pages so I am gluing thicker pages in to make it sturdier. I was worried about completing it in time, but because I can use sketches I have in other books I have a good start!

Memorable moments from our beach retreat

2010-07-17T15:35:00.000-07:00

We stayed near Moonlight Beach in Encinitas and it was just beautiful!
Weston enjoying the Meditation Garden wearing his Ipod the whole time of course!
Dave and I watched the sunset one evening from the perfect viewing spot.
The coy pond at the meditation garden was awesome.
One of the only pictures we got of Dave smiling- gotcha!
The view from the top of the meditation garden-wow!
We came across a family finishing up a HUGE sandcastle on the beach- I loved the cool details.
We enjoyed gorgeous blue skies every day on our vacation.

Happy Fourth of July!

2010-07-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

I made this for my mom's birthday, which happens to be on the fourth of July. I am also entering a challenge that Suzi Blu put out this week. She has a fabulous NING group and tons of inspiring videos and online classes. Check it out here http://www.suziblu.ning.com

My wonderful husband Dave took these pics after I gave it to mom today. I did include her feet and it has a bigger background in shabby red,white, and blue. That's her dog Abby who had 5 puppies today!

Sivan Garr Presents - I Love You

2010-06-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

Please watch this video and let me know how it made you feel! I was surprised at my reaction and was moved to share it with YOU! ** Turn Off my Playlist first !!!! OK- the video doesn't seem to work click on the link here... Sivan Garr Presents- I Love You

New pages for June

2010-06-12T18:51:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness! I haven't posted for a few weeks because my computer needed a new hard drive and then my printer wouldn't scan and I was freaking out! I thought I needed a new printer. Luckily, the computer guy at my school told me how to download the latest version of the installer program for my printer and my scanner came back to me today! Ahhhhhh!

So, here are a few new journal pages and the latest round robin pages I've done for my We Dream in Color group.
I like how the layers on this page turned out, but I was trying out the 3/4 view of the face and now that I look at it here, she looks a tad bit cross-eyed. How do you like my wonky girl?

This girl's face looks O.K., but that ONE hand is HUGE! She only has one MAN HAND !
I got this cool rubber stamp from Cherry pie stamps. I was playing with the Portfolio Oil pastels and then I layered sparkly gel pens over them. My homage to Klimt!
This spread is for a journal of SECRETS... both pages have an envelope with a secret tucked inside, but I'm not telling what they are!

My Wild Weekend!!!!

2010-05-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

Whew! What a whirlwind weekend I've had. Friday, right after work, Dave and I drove to Orange to the Crescendoh Launch party. Jenny Doh hosted a really cool party complete with delicious food, drinks, fabulous make and take, inspiring speakers, and amazing artists everywhere you looked! My friends Suzi Blu, Julie Bergman, and Tracie Hanson were there and we had a great time. You can find out more about more about Crescendoh and Art Saves by clicking on these links.

Saturday, my cousin Tina, my wonderful freinds Sherrill,Donna,Rhonda, and Diana came over for pizza and drinks and then we headed out to the EAGLES concert. We've been to many reunion concerts and this one was by far one of the BEST. Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmidt were at the top of their game whether singing alone or in harmony or playing solos. The Eagles played for almost 3 and 1/2 hours to an adoring packed house. We sang all night long! Ahhhhh...... Art and Music galore in one weekend....Priceless!

Fine Arts Auction Banner by my Second Graders!

2010-05-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

This is what I accomplished with the help of 21 second graders in 3 days this week. Every year

I have to make an auction piece for my class to present at our Fine Arts Night. Parents get paddles and bid on the children's art as a fundraiser for our elementary school. Sometimes it's a class book, or ink and chalked cards and envelopes, painted aprons, photo collages, etc.

I had NO idea what I was making last week and this was due Tuesday!!!! Luckily, I am very motivated by adrenalin!
At the retreat I went to in Key Largo last month, my friend Eileen shared the rosen paper technique she learned from Lynne Perella. I made a big background piece this weekend. It came out so cool, I decided to have my students make a large banner for our auction.
On Monday I brought in a 4 foot by 4 1/2 foot piece of red rosen paper. I had applied the gesso and some tissue paper, pattern paper, and paper flowers gessoed on for texture. I showed the class the white banner and told them I wanted to make it a colorful, vibrant celebration of Spring! I painted the background colors and had the students draw pictures. They drew the ladybugs, butterflies, dragonflies, hummingbird, flowers, leaves, and grass. I asked three kids to write the large words Grow, Create, Bloom. We traced the drawings with black sharpie markers and glued them onto the background. They colored the background with portfolio oil pastels. The pictures and flowers were colored with oil pastels, watercolor crayons, sharpies, and glitter watercolors.
I covered the whole piece with matte Mod Podge. I added the dotted lines and dots with Sharpie poster paint markers and glued gems to the flower centers. I attached the vintage white pom-pom trim, giant red rick-rack and orange rick-rack to the top and bottom of the banner.

The piece hangs with a dowel inserted through a sleeve on the back side. I got a lot of positive comments about it from teachers and parents. MY students LOVED it and several brought their parents to bid on it. I am thrilled to report that our collaborative piece brought in $100.00 at the fundraising auction! We worked hard to create it in just three days and it is such a happy, bright, lively banner. One of my students is going to hang it in her bedroom and enjoy it for a long time to come.

New Journal Pages and more portrait practice!

2010-05-09T20:35:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy at work I haven't made time to update my blog. I have been working away on my journals and round robin altered book groups. I thought I'd share a new little journal I made after watching Teesha Moore's online tutorial. These are all paper journals made from Fabriano artistico 140 lb. hot press paper. It is a dream to work on and I painted the backgrounds on these pages.

These are some practice portraits from my journal. I used pencil to sketch all the faces and different mediums to color them. The first one I colored with Portfolio Oil pastels that have been rubbed into the paper with paper towels.

This face was colored with prismacolor pencils, the background is Portfolio oil pastels.
This face was my first attempt at pan pastels. The colors blend nicely and I LOVE them. This face came out too yellow and looks too dark. But it made me run out and by a set of 10 colors and I know what my new collection will be!
This is a pencil sketch from a magazine photo. Can you guess who it is?

Don't Rain on My Parade- Jamison is trying out for GLEE!

2010-04-25T21:48:00.000-07:00

Jamison will be playing Gepetto in Pinnochio at The Hartford Theater opening this Friday.
Please check out my son Jamison's audition for Glee! Click on this link and watch his video. You need to scroll down and turn my Playlist OFF first!
Then click on This link and vote for him to get a live audition for the show!
You need to sign in to the Glee page with your Facebook or Myspace Username/password
Then scroll down the page to the GLEEKS section- write Jamison in the search box and click on the star under his video!
Each click is a vote for him!

checked out Jamison @Glee

2010-04-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

Spring Has Sprung!

2010-04-05T21:24:00.001-07:00

Here is my little Easter journal page I did based on a template by Suzi Blu. She drew the bunny girl, the animals and flowers. I did the background and lettering. I think it's a happy page!

Journal Experiments

2010-04-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone! Here are the latest experiments in my art journaling adventure!I sketched this 3/4 profile face from a magazine photo during my son's piano lesson this week.

You'll need to click on it to see it properly. My scanner doesn't pick up pencil very well so I darkened it.
I colored this face with colored pencil and I can see I need to blend the neck more !
I drew this from my youngest son's baby picture and I know his head LOOKS big, I actually

drew in his features bigger than they were because he did have the biggest head ever! He is 15 and 6 feet tall so he did grow into that noggin. I colored this one with chalk.
Here is the second self-portrait stencil I made. It has more cuts so it made a more detailed

print. I'd love to hear any comments and I hope you all have a beautiful Easter weekend.

Flower Fairies Fly in For Spring!

2010-03-19T20:26:00.001-07:00

Take a peek at what I did today! The first collage is my friend Kathy's beautiful granddaughters.

She is such a proud grandma that I'd promised her I'd make something special to show them off. Then, my cousin ,Mo, posted some adorable pictures on Facebook of her baby girl and her best friend's baby girl with big flower headbands on. They were so cute I wrote and asked if I could make them into flower fairies. She said yes and here are the two 8x10 cnavas collages I did today. I got them done just in time for the first day of Spring tomorrow. I will send them to my cousin and she can decide which to keep and which to send to her BFF. If you want to see the details just click on the photo and you will see the large scan image.

Journaling Jubilee

2010-03-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

Here are the latest journal pages I've completed. The first two pages I used my self-portrait stencil.
This one is called The Wheel of ME- I used the befunky.com website to try some different effects on a photo. There are lots of free ones and more if you sign up. You should check it out!

I tried the gesso over magazine pics for this one. I got a great deal on some cool clear stamps at Big lots yesterday. They were only $1.00 a set. Awesome!
I did these pages by coloring blocks with my Caran D'Ache crayons and then using the Sharpie water-based markers over them to write the virtues I'm aspiring to live out.
I have had a few weeks off work to refuel and get introspective. I am really trying to use positive thoughts, imagery and words to keep myself on the high road. It is easy to get sucked into fear and negativity in my job and I am working hard at being good to myself and changing

patterns and habits that have not served me well. If anyone has ideas or suggestions along this line I am ready to listen.

Fun With Self-Portrait Stencil

2010-03-12T20:03:00.000-08:00

I finally tried a cool idea I got from the book True Vision: Authentic Art Journaling by L.K. Ludwig. I thought it would be too hard, but I just decided to do it tonight. I made a self-portrait stencil. I used a photo booth pic from my Mac webcam. I used a free online site to turn the photo into a cartoon and I printed it in high contrast black and white. The site I used waswww.befunky.com. Then, I put a clear plastic sheet over the photo and traced all the black areas with a sharpie. I found an X-acto knife pen and cut out ALL the black areas. I experimented with my stencil using spray inks from Ranger and Tattered Angels. I sponged pigment ink over the stencil for the purple one. I thought I'd share my results here and then work these into some journal pages. I think you should try one- I am NOT an expert with the X-acto knife. When the little pieces didn't come out easily I used tiny scissors to finish cutting and lifting the pieces out.

So, my friends, the moral is... If I can do this, YOU can certainly do it, too!

This is the cartoon photo I started with.

The purple one was made from pigment ink sponged over the stencil. This made the cleanest lines.
This one was sprayed with Ranger ink, the purple was left on the stencil and it rubbed off on this one.

This one did not make a clean print because too much spray got underneath the stencil. I let it dry and then resprayed with a darker ink.
This one was a negative print first. I soaked up all the ink on top of the stencil with a new sheet of paper. Then I used the stencil to ink the positive lines into the white spaces.

Inspired by Wonderland!

2010-03-09T19:28:00.000-08:00

I saw the movie Alice In Wonderland Sunday afternoon and I LOVED it! I thought it was visually rich and interesting. The characters were quirky, but not disturbingly so. I created a spread in my journal to illustrate a quote that is highlighted in the movie. Of course, in my journal these pages are side by side and you can read the entire quote. I have a few other art projects that I should have been finishing up, but this one demanded to be first!

Catching up on my Art Journal pages

2010-03-06T13:23:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my art journal pages from the journal I started in January. I have been working on drawing faces after taking several classes from Suzi Blu. I have taken some of the faces from my sketchbook and incorporated them into my journal pages. I am trying to add more writing to my pages, so I may add words to some of them later. I really like the idea of painting many pages ahead of time and adding a few collage elements. This gives me a choice of backgrounds when I want to start journaling on a page.

The word that got cut off by my scanner is GRATITUDE!

Gigi and Poppy and a little sweetness

2010-02-27T10:24:00.001-08:00

One of my dearest friends daughter had her first baby this week. As her parents rushed to leave work and meet her at the hospital this little man was in no mood to wait around. After a mere 3 hours little Nigel Gregory was born and the new grandparents missed his arrival!
But one look at this little face made it all worthwhile. So, congratulations to mommy and daddy and to Gigi and Poppy!
Instead of a card, I made this paper mache house collage as a welcome home gift. Lucky for me I have a few weeks off and I can come visit soon. I can't wait to meet your beautiful boy!

Cherry Pie Stamps Rock!

2010-02-22T18:41:00.000-08:00

I got one of my One World One Heart prizes today. Marina in Florida is an amazing artist who owns Cherry Pie Stamps. She sent me a beautiful piece of original art, one of her art post cards,

AND I got to choose one of her awesome stamps! I picked a close up of Klimt's The Kiss. Go check out her website! She has so many cool images from Klimt, Dali, nudes, collage elements,

you'll love it, I promise! Thanks Marina! I sent off my prizes to my winners on Saturday and I can't wait to hear what they think of them when they arrive.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

2010-02-15T20:28:00.000-08:00

The winners have been selected for my OWOH giveaway! I want to thank each person who

made such heartfelt, encouraging comments to my son, Jamison. I appreciate the warm, supportive sentiments about my art,too. I hope some of you will come and visit me often!

So, without further ado...
1. Box of goodies from Paula's Kit Club: Angie H. from Texas
2. True Passion painted collage: Tanya909 from Florida
3. Butterfly painted collage: Memories for life scrapbooks in Iowa

4. Under The Sea painted collage: Tinker from California

Bal Masque at The Artful Paper Doll

2010-02-13T22:19:00.001-08:00

Presenting my creation for the Bal Masque at The Artful Paper Doll blog party! I did get it done today and I am posting on the 13th California time! Whew! I call this my Dreaming of Art masque.

One World One Heart - Drumroll please!

2010-01-25T19:07:00.000-08:00

I am joining hundreds of other amazing blogging artists on a magical carpet ride and I invite you to come along. Lisa, from The Whimsical Bohemian blog started this event in 2007 and wanted us to present our giveaways in an interesting way this year. My oldest son is a musical theater major at the University of Hartford and his college years have been a wild carpet ride for our family. I asked him to help me with this project and he is smart enough to know he owes me bigtime! All YOU have to do is click on the video in this post and enjoy a short slide show while my son, Jamison, sings for you. See our journey together in under 3 minutes.

At the end of the slide show you'll see what prizes I am giving away on February 15th.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and I will

draw 4 names from all the comments I receive. I am looking forward to visiting many new blogs and being blown away by

tons of incredible creative energy. Good luck!!!!! ***TURN OFF MY PLAYLIST FIRST

All You Need is Love!

2010-01-17T12:22:00.000-08:00

If you haven't seen this video of the Global Chorus put together by the Starbucks Love Project last month, you need to check it out! My second graders LOVE it because it shows so many different people coming together to sing one song with a message the world needs to hear! Take five minutes, click on the link above, give it a listen and let me know what you think!

Make sure to click on the arrow to start the video and turn up the sound on your computer.

*****Turn my playlist off first!

Cheers! Happy 2010 People!!!!!!

2009-12-31T17:38:00.000-08:00

Happy,Happy New Year to my art friends everywhere! I've been busy starting a brand new art journal and making my vision board for this year! I am celebrating with good friends at home and I have a new cocktail I'm making. It's a Berry Merry Martini- Yum!So, here's a toast to all of you who love ART like I do and are sharing your dreams by honoring
your creative spirits! Thank you for stopping by my little corner of blogdom- I love sharing my

art with you and reading the comments you write! You rock!

New Angels

2009-12-30T23:18:00.000-08:00

Even though December was a jam-packed busy month for me, I managed to get some art done thanks to my buddy Suzi Blu! I decided to take her online class for some much needed inspiration. I love angels and had fun with these pieces.

New Dreambox for Helga's challenge

2009-12-30T23:03:00.001-08:00

I made this Dreambox today in response to Helga's blog challenge. I had to combine 3 of her previous challenges in one! O.K.- I was inspired by my loved ones,( my boys)I used pattern in the painting of the metal box, and I was inspired to make this project by looking at the very cool Dreamboxes from Helga's class at Art and Soul. I made transparencies from my boys current photos and made little birds from their newborn photos. I attached charms along the bottom edge. The word SOAR and the bird images and charms remind me of how they are flying away more every day. My greatest wish is that they will always soar into their futures.

The inside collage was difficult to photograph because of the reflective surface of the plastic transparencies.

Christmas Moments

2009-12-25T14:59:00.000-08:00

Christmas moments to remember!The whole family will have fun with this !!!!
The cousins are all teenagers now!
My mom and her first great-grandchild, Dexter, 5 months old.
My new Lambie snuggie and slippers- so soft and warm !!!!!!!
My cousin, Tina, and my boys Jamison and Weston.
Weston and Jamison getting to know Dexter.
My lab, Samson, with a Christmas bow around his neck.
Awwww! A baby's laugh is always the best moment!

2009-12-24T11:39:00.000-08:00

Take a look at this amazingly cool Christmas Card made by my dear friend,Terri. I loved the design and how she used all the different paper to piece together the picture. My step-daughter Sera noticed that the bird was made from phone book pages that contained Terri's last name!

The bird house perched on top of the tree is made from OUR last name in the phone book!

So, I needed to post a shout out to Terri for her attention to detail that my 40-something eyes didn't catch! I love this card! Check out my friend's blog on my blog list Tinker Art!

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!

2009-12-23T20:51:00.001-08:00

I can't believe I didn't post in December until now! I have been so busy since I went back to teaching second grade on Nov. 30th. My kids learn a holiday show every year and I only have 3 weeks to teach them 9 songs and dances! They performed their Gingerbread Show today to a packed classroom of parents and grandparents. NOW I have a few days off and I need to finish up my own Christmas to do list !Here is a photo of Julie, my sister Melanie and me taken on Sunday December 21st. Julie came down from Reno to visit and we had a great art day. She and Melanie were best friends in elementary school and had a reunion. We ate lunch and worked on art stuff and gabbed it up! I will make sure to post a few more times before the new year!

I hope everyone has a chance to celebrate with loved ones and I am going to try to RELAX and enjoy this time.

We Dream in Color Project Pages...

2009-11-28T18:38:00.000-08:00

I just finished this spread for my We Dream in Color round robin group. I made a fabric quilted heart and made fabric arms for the portrait on the right page. When her arms are stretched out you can read the words "You radiate Joy Beauty Peace Wisdom and Power."

I am all caught up with both of my round robin groups and will get the month of December to work in the next 2 books that come to me. I am back to work Monday and won't start my Christmas break until December 23rd. I am making gifts for family and friends and I will post

and let you see my progress. I am also planning some cool holiday giveaways so keep checking back!

New Works

2009-11-18T15:01:00.001-08:00

I have had these Dreamboxes for a while and was hesitant to do anything with them in case I might mess them up beyond the point of no return. My friend, Sherrill, came over to work on art projects yesterday, so I had the perfect opportunity to dive in!The first one has a paper doll I made for an ARTchix swap and Helga used it on a sheet of tags.

I cut her out and put her inside the nicho and painted the outside with paint pens.
This one is for my friend, Mary, who just wanted something celebrating The Day of The Dead.
This is the inside of the Day of The Dead box. I really like how it turned out, we'll have to see how Mary likes it.
These pages are for a color themed round robin I'm in and Val's colors are hot pink and green.
I think these colors totally pop off the pages!

Cupcakes on my mind...

2009-11-16T22:12:00.001-08:00

This weekend I got to hang out with my buddy, Beth, and we checked out a new cupcake shop in Long Beach. They were delicious! I am obviously becoming obsessed because here are the projects I finished this week. I designed a fabric wall-hanging with sequin and bead sprinkles.
I whipped up these cards using images from a digital collage sheet I got from Itkupilli.

I love using the pom-poms, even though they make my scans a little blurry! We shall see if this gets the cupcakes out of my system for a while. I am glad that cupcake shop is an hour away or I think I'd be in REAL trouble!

It's Our 25th Anniversary Baby!

2009-11-10T10:32:00.000-08:00

This is my beloved, This is my friend-

I pledge to share my life openly with you, to speak the truth to you in love;

I promise to honor and tenderly care for you,

To cherish and encourage your own fulfillment as an individual

through all the changes of our lives.

Today is our 25th wedding anniversary and in my family that is a HUGE accomplishment! I wanted to share a few photos from our homespun wedding day and remember the vows that we chose on that day. When I looked through my wedding album, I found the original cards we all read from, and my sister Melanie's have blurry places because she could not make it through any of her readings without crying. It was a beautiful day and we have made it through many changes. I feel blessed every day to have my beloved friend by my side through this journey.

Happy Anniversary Dave!

A Blog Award!

2009-11-02T20:13:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to get this blog award from Elizabeth because she has such an amazing blog herself! I want to pass it on to some inspiring blogs you should check out!

Here's one for Kitty called The Artful Paper Doll

My friend Mija who has just started blogging and is an incredible artist and person

Pilar who creates wonderful art and shares books and music galore,

Eileen from New York showcases fabulous techniques and projects

Picking Names Out Of A Hat...

2009-10-31T21:59:00.000-07:00

The trick or treaters have trickled out and I am shaking the names up in my witch's hat.

My hubby is mixing them up and drawing names so I can send out my spooky art to the winners. I had him draw 5 names- one for each of the pieces I posted.

And the winners are:

Happy Haunting goes to Sue Young

Happy Halloween skeleton wall hanging goes to Martha Brown

SoulMates goes to Peggy Daily Gatto

Jesters ATC goes to Peggy Louise

Beware of Me ATC goes to Julie at Juls4real

Congrats to each of you and a big thank you to everyone who commented!!!!!

I will e-mail you all for your addresses so I can get these mailed off to their new homes.

I took the Diva Challenge!

2009-10-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

My friend Kimberly Moore had a challenge on her blog to give her line portrait a DIVA makeover! Here's what I came up with. This challenge is open until October 3oth-

you should give it a whirl!

Spooktacular Blog Giveaway!!!!!!

2009-10-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

OOoooohhhhhh.... this is my 129th blog post and I vaguely remember I promised a giveaway on my 100th post. Oops! Sorry about that, but better late than never I always say! I have some vintage Halloween pieces to giveaway... if I get 31 comments by October 31st. I will choose 3 winners at random from all the comments I get on this post on Halloween night ! If you mention your favorite in your post I'll try to give you that choice if you win! They vary in size so I will list title and size under each scan.
Happy Haunting - 8 1/2" x 9 1/4 "
Happy Halloween wall hanging 5 1/2" x 14"

Soulmates 10" x 12"
Jesters ATC
Beware of me ATC

Christmas '09 Card Designs Preview !!!!

2009-10-21T19:38:00.000-07:00

I have been hosting a Holiday Card workshop at my house for several years. I design 5 different cards and set up centers to put the cards together. We make 4 of each card and end up with 20 handmade cards. My friends really enjoy this tradition and I have fun coming up with new ideas every year. I stamp and cut all the pieces and all they have to do is fold, ink, color, glitter, and glue!

The cards with the children on them are 3 versions of the same design.
This glitter bird is made from a Martha Stewart kit. I added the background paper, stamped holly and Peace circle, and a strip of ribbon on the bottom edge. The superfine glitter is just gorgeous!
You can click on any card to make it larger to see the details!
This gingerbread paper is flocked and the chocolate brown trim is embossed.

Halloween Rejects!

2009-10-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd share my latest reject from submission-land. I made this accordion book for the vintage Halloween theme and I just got it back in the mail. I had fun making backgrounds and choosing vintage images to add to the book. This is the front cover...
the left page is an old cabinet card that I altered
Don't you just love creepy twins????
The right page says,"Which witch is which?"
and finally, the back cover, ooohh spooky!

2009-10-03T21:28:00.000-07:00

Look how I used my tag to create the cover of my new We Dream In Color round robin book.
My colors are black, white and hot pink and my theme is BEAUTY. I used a black and white tweed cosmetic case for my book. The small case used to contain mini lip glosses and now holds the sign-in tags for my book. Eleven awesome artists will make a 2-page spread for my book and I will glue them together to make a long accordion style book that fits into my case.I'm sure I won't be able to close my book when it comes home to me, but that's perfectly fine!

My buddy Peggy will be the first one to work in it and I KNOW she'll do something fabulous!

2009-09-25T21:06:00.000-07:00

I made this pink and green tag for Helga's weekly challenge on her blog, My Artistic Life.

She always has interesting new art and ideas and I like when I can make time to join in the fun.

Sweet sketches and Spooky ATCs

2009-09-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

These are sketches of my friend's beautiful daughters. I drew them from photos and plan to incorporate them into collages for their room. It's harder to draw children because the facial proportions are so different. I was happy that the models recognized themselves and they are

2 and 3 years old!

The slightly creepy ATCs are for a swap at Paula's Kit Club. I had to make 14 Halloween themed cards.

The rick-rack is copper metallic and very sparkly! I had fun putting these together and hope my fellow ATC swappers like them!

This concludes my show and tell of art from the past week. I have a very busy weekend planned

and won't get to spend much art time. I am almost ready to send off my new We Dream In Color round robin book off to my buddy Peggy. I'll post photos before I pack it up.

Until then remember my creed... BE CREATIVE OR BE CRANKY!!!

Playing with Paper Dolls Again!

2009-09-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

This is what I've gotten done this month! I am chipping away at my long "to-do" list. Luckily, I enjoy checking off art-related items! I finished the first two pages for a color themed round robin. Sarah's colors were black, white, and RED! I had drawn the face in my sketchbook and then I cut out her hair from the sparkly diamond dust paper.
I made the two paper dolls to tuck into the pocket on the facing page. The stickers are from an ARTchix sheet and the colors were perfect!
I created the paper dolls below for an ARTchix contest/swap. Each artist creates a set of 6 dolls using something from one of the ARTchix paper doll collage sheets. I had fun mixing and matching and searching through my collection of metal charms.

Each doll had some type of metal charm adorning her body. I think they came out pretty cool and they each have their own sassy style!

Now, I am off to put together a NEW color themed round robin book that will be sent out into the world October 1st. Oh yeah, I have to make 14 Halloween ATCs for my Paula's Kit Club swap. I'll keep you posted...

More Mixed Media Madness!

2009-09-10T16:54:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more pieces I worked on this weekend. I am having fun with the backgrounds and layers.

I did the portraits on paper and then glued them to a piece of plywood,

I collaged the background with paint,

various papers, stamps, rub-ons, stamps, metal charms, trims, and glitter. To finish the pieces I used different products. I melted beeswax on one, used a glossy varnish on two of them. I used a matte mod podge

on the pieces that I wanted to have

more texture on the surface. I even dug through my ancient stash of broken costume jewelry for some

larger embellishments.

Portrait Class Progress

2009-09-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

I promised I would continue to update my progress in Suzi Blu's on-line class. Here are some of the projects I completed this weekend. I had drawn, colored, and painted the faces in my sketchbook. I finally got some plywood cut into 12 x 12 inch pieces and glued the faces to them. Then, I painted the backgrounds and added rub-ons, stamps, inks, glitter, tissue, etc.

Because my scanner won't scan a 12 x 12 image you can't see the whole piece. I'm not sure I'm done with these yet. I want to coat some of them with beeswax.

The second picture is a journal spread I worked in for my I Dream In Color round robin group.

The part of the class I had the most trouble with is actually spending time writing and adding my own words to my portraits. I am so comfortable expressing myself in visual images. I love adding words I have an emotional response to such as song lyrics or quotes. I am a little hesitant to put my own words on my artwork because it seems more personal. I am working on getting past that point of resistance and being bolder with my words.

I will post any new additions as I finish these up.