When the Motivation and a Weekend Get Married

Spring seems to bring out my inner motivation.

Well, for a couple of days, at least.

And if I can line up my motivation with my weekend and a few spare minutes, sometimes a little creative magic happens.

I got stupid excited over this little ensemble. It's a clay pot that I set on top of a column of pots that are glued together. It was meant to be a birth bath that my father-in-law created, but the saucer that made the "bath" fell off, so I was left with the column. It is sitting on top of a concrete paver that has cut outs and wasn't too steady, so I scrounged up a random floor tile (being junky has *some* advantages, I guess!) and it fit perfectly to add stability. I had planted several perennials and this vertical placement added some interest. I just l-o-v-e it!

Here's a closer look at how they are glued together:
My husband did me a "favor" and planted some honeysuckle in the front yard....
I'm not complaining toooo much. It smells deeee-vine!!
My rose bush was my biggest surprise. (This is my favorite photo of my roses.)
I counted over a dozen blooms on one bush! (My husband's sure fire way to make sure I get a dozen roses every now and again, I guess!)
Close your eyes and breathe deeply.

Can't you just smell it?

Media Cabinet Revival

Wow.

Two--NOT one, but TWO remarkable things have happened today.

One. I figured out how to transfer pictures from my phone to my computer. ALL.BY.MYSELF.

Please hold your applause....

Because you will be amazed to hear that I finished, yes FINISHED a project.

I know. I know.

What? You don't believe me?

I got pictures.

Check it:

Media cabinet--Before:

(Definitely in need of a revival. No?)

Cardboard squares cut to size.
Fabric cut to cover cardboard.
Glued fabric to cardboard with decoupage glue.
Inserted into picture openings.
Cuteness...

How bout them apples?!

It's Not ALL About Me...or...My Husband Makes Jewelry!

Being and artist, I am so blessed to be married to a man who is also an artist. My husband is a multi-talented man. He is a photographer, writer, poet and has newly discovered a talent for jewelry making.

Here are his first creations.


The earrings are not pre-formed. He snipped and bent each piece of wire by hand.



The necklaces are from a pre-made metal choker. Hubby took pre-made pendants and embellished them with wire attaching them to the choker.

I am most proud (and impressed) with the bride and groom choker. This is completely his original design. He used a pre-formed choker to spiral around his choker base and then attached the charms. I've already put in my order for one! It will be fun looking for just the right charms for it!

I'm so proud of him! It's been interesting to collaborate on some things with him. The difficulty I find is, since I'm an artist too, I want to run with my idea instead of giving him creative freedom to do his project!

Wild Child

I'm looking through a book called 1001 Ideas for Color & Paint and have been inspired to concoct some color combos for different rooms in my home.

Up first--the master bedroom.

Lime walls, Charcoal floor (painted concrete) with black and white accents and pops of primary colors.

This is my creation over at COLOURlovers

Color by COLOURlovers

Dreamy

My girl and her cousin.

Omigosh, I r e a l l y like this.

Can I get an amen?

I May Already, Actually Be a Winner!

So excited!

I just won this!

I'll post pics when I receive it. (Of course.)

Go to Chigger Hill Cottage. Quick, quick--like a bunny!

Playing with PS

I was up before the rest of the family this morning. I thought about doing a post on "savoring solitude". Of course, I wanted to add a photo to illustrate my post so I went into my archives. I found a photo of an adirondack chair.

Then I started playing....

Well, that was not at all where I began with this post, but it led to a bit of artistic serendipity!

Feeling the Highs of Anticipation and the Lows of...Well, Feeling Low.

Wow it's only Tuesday, but I feel I've felt a whole week's worth of emotions in three short days.

Sunday, for whatever reason, my hubby and I had a rough day together. I suspect he was feeling--something---which led to a loooooong conversation during which I cried most of the time. What can I say. Marriage is that way sometimes. You hit a bump, but once that hill is traversed, life can be smooth sailing again.

But that didn't happen immediately, so I spent half of Monday thinking, considering and generally digesting. I find working with my clients helps take my introspective mind off myself and I must say that my day improved with age.

At the end of this week, I'm flying out to NYC for a hair show. I've been kind of disappointed, because last week I found out that I owe a pretty significant amount for taxes this year and that kind of sucked the joy out of my trip. I feel like if I go I shouldn't spend a penny on anything that isn't Absolutely Necessary. Like food. (But I'm gonna get some GOOD food dangit!) And with that pragmatic approach, I've decided: "Hey. I'm going to New York City, whoopee!"

Today was the best yet. One of my clients today is also one of my good friends. Every time she has her hair done, we make it a point to have lunch together. Not just any lunch but a 2 hour lunch. And let's face it. If lunch is done well it will take a minimum of 2 hours. We love to savor and enjoy our food. We always choose a restaurant (no fast food) and usually we try to visit a place that will be (a.) Delicious and (b.) a Culinary Adventure. Today we tried the only Thai restaurant in town. We hit the culinary jackpot.

After feasting on omelet soup, pad Thai and some sort of catfish "pen kay" (who knows?) we studied the dessert menu. Since we couldn't make up our minds, we chose two desserts: a triple chocolate cheesecake and something with vanilla ice cream and Grand Marnier drizzled fruit. Beyond that we ended up with a couple of ginormous white and dark covered strawberries and a side of mango mousse.

May I say after polishing off our entrees we put serious dents in all of the desserts. Strawberries? Gone. Ice Cream? Only a smattering of fruit remained. Triple Chocolate Cheesecake? Barely enough to divide to take home.

But we did anyway.

Food is wonderful therapy, but this particular friend is also of creative mind. While shamelessly eating off each other's plates, she began telling me about a plot line she has and we began brainstorming using her phone to record some of our ideas. (I thought that was brilliant. My great ideas always evaporate without a trace.)

After asking the wait staff for a wheel barrow to roll us out, she returned me to work. I have retained my sense of well being, feeling that my time with her helped light my creative spark.

My heart feels free, because....

I am me.

The Color Wheel--Remix, of sorts.

My version of the color wheel using painted paper and scrapbooking sheets

Branching out...

...Which in my case means, going out on a limb.

I have taken a deep breath and signed up for my very first online class of any kind. Anything that sounds like it might have anything to do with higher learning makes me hyperventilate. (That deep breath was the very beginning symptom.)

Not only have I signed up to stretch my brain, I'm stretching my right brain with the coaching of a very creative girl: Traci Bautista. When I'm not petrified, I'm very excited. I love Traci's colorful work which has a sense of freedom. I'm looking to release my inner artist and give myself permission to break the rules and go with the flow.

I'm going to sling paint, scratch, scribble, cut and paste. It'll be just like kindergarten all over again.

Except that paper bag won't be for my lunch.
(Breathe in and out...slowly now...)
Collage Unleashed aRt! workshops

How to Cut Your Own Hair...Or Not.

"I have too much hair on my head." says me.




I know where the scissors are." says I.




"Are you sure that's such a good idea? Maybe you should wait and let one of the girls at work cut it for you." says me.







"They're always busy or I'm busy when they aren't. Besides, I cut hair all day long! Surely I can cut my own hair!" says I.




"You've always said you turn into a mere mortal when you apply the scissors to your own head..." says me.




"Shhh!" says I, "Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind's made up!"



"Pass the scissors!!"


***********************************************




How to cut your own hair--that is, if you want it to look like someone stuck your head in a blender, which, fortunately is my signature look.







Working systematically around the head, (which, coincidentally, is the ONLY logical thing about this whole situation) pick up thin vertical sections of the hair. Starting from the shortest layer (or determine how short you want your shortest layer) begin cutting, sliding down to the longest layer. This will create choppy short-to-long layers.



If your hair is dense (no dense jokes here, please) like mine is; use your hands to find the thick spots and cut from underneath beginning closer to the head and cutting/sliding outward to the ends of the hair. This will "air out" your haircut, removing bulk. Use small sections-- you can always cut more, but you can't put it back!



Use a cream paste styling product to accentuate the disheveled choppiness.







*Note: this haircut is not for someone who leans toward neat and tidy hair and symmetrical layering.

P.S. My haircut is a combination between the two photos you see here. Longer around the face, shorter through the crown and interior. When I get my laptop back, (GEEESH!) maybe I'll get some photos of my actual hair posted. What a novel idea.

In Search Of...

I carry a suitcase of a purse.

A 9 West similar to this, but this one is cuter:

While I do carry my life around in this, sometimes I only need half my life when I browse stores. Also, that big suitcase eats up a lot of square footage in the grocery cart or I have to carry it when my girl wishes to ride in the cart. I also really enjoy having both hands free when perusing, so I have a vision of a "wallet" I can keep in my "suitcase" and pull out and wear shopping.

I've looked in stores and on the web and can't find exactly what I want, but this is the basic idea:

(Is this Dooney and Burke?)

I envision something I can wear across my body that lands in my hip area. I'd like it made of cloth (something funky-ish), with a front flap that is the size of the purse so I really wouldn't need a closure.

I did find a Vera Bradley that is the right shape and size:

But looking at her prints makes my eyes cross. Odd. Because I do love a crazy print. Oh, and the fact that it is quilted and the whole world (here, anyway) carries Vera Bradley may have something to do with my dislike of it. Last and not least is the price tag of 45 dollars.

Uh. No.

So neccesity being the mother of invention, I shall make my own little "hippy purse". I began working on it last night and will post pics tomorrow maybe. Let's call my first attempt a mock up since it looks rather crude. I will definitely be making another and fine tuning some details, but I was rather pleased at how well I did for not knowing what in the world I was doing. I drew my own pattern and everything!

Stay tuned!

My Technicolor World

The rosy rising of the sun starts the whole show...

Fall has fallen.



It's obvious when you look at the ground covered
with golden leaves glowing in the sun.
























Primary colored leaves
litter the grass.



















Crimson vines trail up the trees.
The sun lights their fiery colors.

It's FALL ya'll!

A Weekend Full of...

Usually I'm full of hopes and aspirations of how to spend a long weekend. This time, I haven't even thought about it...until now. As I'm skimming through the blogs I never seem to have time to visit anymore. Observing other people's creative offerings, I realize:


I want to paint.


I want to play.


I want to sew.


I want to contemplate.


I want to knit.


I want to read.


I want to be.





A weekend full of creative thoughts and activities.