Grace and Unconditional love

My daughter's Grandmother Laura Lee passed away on Christmas Eve.
Her spirit of love and selflessness was that of a saint, seems like Jesus chose to lift her to Heaven
on the eve of his birth - I will miss her terribly but feel her so close now.
Candace created a tribute to this amazing lady::: another heart grabbing experience::::
Laura Lee has left so much of her goodness for me in my sweet Candace Laree.

What a lovely thought::::

“A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we’re pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we’re safe in our own paradise. Our soulmate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we’re two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we’ve found the right person. Our soulmate is the one who makes life come to life.”

::::::::::::::: Richard Bach:::::

Perfect day .....

:::::To catch up on my layouts:::: Yarn, starfish a little glue and of course inspiration from a photo I took at vignettes

Mini Marie

My newest diversion::: Shrinky Dink art Charms-
so fun and whimsical
I made this pretty little Lady
and am sending over to The BeeHive ::::::

Saturday Afternoon:::::

I ventured upon the Artisan Alley craft fair in Coronado,
and I was instantly mesmerized ;)
My most favorite of all vendors was Tiziana Boccaletti
as she had the most beautiful, romantic felted scarves and cuffs.
I purchased one of each and encourage you to check out her etsy store

::::Circle Tree:::::

I decided to make a display for some of my jewelry pieces out of a Styrofoam tree.

There's just something about tree's, I love them in all shapes and sizes.

This is a fun and easy project all you need is a tree, Modge Podge, an old book, 2" circle punch

and some ink. I love Cat eye ink, its handy for aging paper.

Simply cut out your circles with the circle punch, cut them in half with scissors, ink them around the rounded edge and paste them on with Modge Podge.

I start at the very bottom and put the first row of halved circles upside down- this way we cover all the Styrofoam.After the first row is placed now apply the rest of the rows with the rounded edge pointing towards the floor- As you go along it's helpful to apply a thin layer of Modge Podge over the paper you have attached as well. When I came to the very top I cut a piece free hand to cover the tip- and also a large circle out of any paper you like for the base.
What's so great is you can decorate the tree with any type of push pin or Vintage pins, I also stuck needles through buttons;)

Thankful for TIN

I just realized that tin is easy to stamp….. kinda silly I didn’t think of this before;)

I cut the lid of a tin can with tin snips and stamped thankful with my handy dandy stamping set from harbor freight

Next I inked it with my cat eye ink pad, so the thankful stood out more

Wanted it to look weathered so I soaked it in my fab nickel aging liquid-
Bought this at Architectural salvage…..love this stuff

Not bad for a tin can!

How Fun!

I am so excited to be part of such a fun blog interaction;)
Joy from Cupids Charm is hosting a Birthday Soiree for the
amazingly fashionable Marie Antionette, so having learned of this from my friend Melanie I knew instantly I had to get in on it!
Pictured above is a 12x12 layout I made of a Marie inspired dress, I had so much fun creating this layout, something about that glamorous Marie, she is definitely my muse.Click on the posting to the left to join in the fun!

Play time

Dont you just love when you have time to create::::

Even better is when it's a suggestion, like recently my good friend April inspired me to try my hand at making an ATC to trade with a fellow artist. Once I chose the red faux leather paper I used as the background I was off and running- love paper, ink and all the goodies !

Upcoming Fall Class

Please join me for this upcoming Project at Under the Sun
I am so excited about these blocks, they are so fun and easy to make.
It all started when I was shopping at anthropology and they had these clever blocks of wood adorned with old photo’s- That’s all it took and I have been busy making these in all shapes and sizes.
Recently I taught my ladies at the shelter how to make the “blessed block” they of course inspired me to layer more colors and this is when I realized I could stamp on the paper, the possibilities are endless and the inspiration of gratitude is in the air

Architectural Salvage

Just the name says it all right?
Architectural Salvage located in the art district- is definitely one of my favorite places.
Love Love Love this place, all my favorite objects displayed in just that way,
So inspiring and authentic.

God Given Gifts

So I thought it would be a good idea to post

some images of the project we are working on at New Entre Casa.

This is a drug rehabilitation center where I have created

an art therapy program , and weekly I teach a project and spend time really getting to connect with these amazing woman, it’s my favorite part of the week and I cant express how grateful I am to be part of such an amazing program;)

Our focus this week is to express and acknowledge the gifts in our lives

With all that is going on with the economy this type of project really brings about a true feeling of peace .

Just a thought....

My amazing friend Korey sent this quote to me today-

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”

this so speaks to me, on such a deep and healing level, dont you love when your girlfriends seem to get "you" more than you do? anyway, she promises to start a blog soon, cant wait for this as she has such a nurturing yet wise way about her. :: Love you Korey::

Wow have I been seriously MIA or what?

Well, I have been busy being a travel bug, so I have a good excuse ;)
Pictured above I am floating above the Swiss Alps snapping pic’s like a fiend-
All along hearing the faint sound of cow bells down below (yes the Swiss adorn their sweet cows with bells that softly chime all day- priceless!)
Having gone on a much needed excursion to Switzerland and Greece I feel refreshed renewed and itching to create. Autumn is my most fav time of the year – there is so much that inspires us all to craft, decorate and nest.

Let's get together.....

and

PLAY I am so excited about upcoming events and classes- my fabulous friend Jackie has some great classes coming up, in fact one of them is so great I begged her to let me host at my place;)

July 14th and 15th- mark your calendars, I will be posting a picture of the fab charming Junque necklace as soon as I get my hands on it, but be sure to visit Jackie , as she has the scoop

Why Cant I ever get enough?

Ok so I go on and on but the artists that bring their wares to the barn just got it going on;)

Sherry is among one of my favorites- this pretty lady just has so much style and sparkle, I am always left wanting more ....

Cant get enough...

Of the fabulous Barn- Just love this Marie Antionette light below Right- and she is surrounded
By many treasures, which seems quit appropriate thank you;)

Loving that Barn!

This weekend is the ultra Fab barn sale in Temecula- Just love this place, if Linda would let me I would camp out- it’s that GREAT!
I made a few treasures to sell there, adorned starfish,

garden goddess bottlecap necklaces and ……..

.......cupcakes! This is a perfect example of how my mind works;)

Fun with Sealah Tape

I am so excited about this fabulous(no- sew) tape my good friend Kayellen

gave me to play with;) I have yet to master the sewing machine but

absolutely love fabrics and notions to no end, so Sealah no sew tape is my new Favorite!!

I also have a huge fascination with Marie Antionette, and all her over the top gowns,
I simply attatched and layered the fabric with the Sealah tape to create this layout for my Scrap Calendar, you can cut your pieces to fit accordingly and the fabric just latches right on.

Art Day Meet up- SWEET sucess!

We had so much fun today at our monthly Art Day Meet up, great energy, inspiration and ton's of Girl Time chatty cathy chatter:) The genius behind this monthly excursion is Jackie Baxted of

http://theartinyou.com/- she opens her home and collection of amazing alterable items for us to play, buy or even sell. This month I was guest instructor so I thought it would be fun to indulge ourselves with a Bathside perfumed talc decanter and also a totally whimsical cupcake gift box.

Not sure which one went over best, but they are both so fun and thrifty you could make these for gifts anytime of the year;) Join us next month or send us your idea's!

Vintage Charm

I am so loving playing with all the vintage findings- I made these two bracelets and now I am tempted to make them in every color combination!
There's something so very therapeutic for me as I work with my hands-
I work through my worries and hope to release my “control” issues
And the best part is I have a finished product to show for it!!

Under the Sun

I am so excited to have made a new dear friend
Sandra Lee owns this adorable shop appropriately named ”Under the Sun”
Located in Southpark… she approached me about creating a Vintage Garden themed Bottlecap necklace that I could teach at her shop- all I needed was a visit to her place and the creative Juices got flowing!

Friday's Event

Was amazing! So many great people gathered together for such a great cause.
Steve Mckinnis is my super Fab web designer and such a great multi talented guy
http://www.stevemckinnis.com/
He has posted a slide show documenting the great time had by all on Friday
http://www.arttakesavillage.com/Fundraising_Events.html

Thanks Steve you are priceless;)

Ain't friends grand?

Last night many great people came together to support my cause…
I cant express fully how blessed and completely vital I feel having such great Friends!
The support and generosity that was poured on me by all who attended and gave so openly of their time will leave a lasting contentment and true sense of community in my heart as I continue to grow my outreach.
I am so loved, and so I am able to play that forward – how’d I get so blessed?

Oh Jolee you shouldnt have

I just had to crown her…. She is a Queen after all.
I made this crown on the base of a tiara that I bought at Party City
I was going through a phase were I had to alter and use vintage frames on everything(still in that phase actually) The fun thing is you just glue gun away…
And layer all the “junque” you have stored up- this way you can go buy more

Marie Antoinette

Yes! I went and did it, I couldn’t resist……..
Now that I have Marie staring at me , I have no excuse but to adorn her with many treasures- send me some idea’s as to what she should be “growing “in her tresses, the possibilities are endless;)