The Joys of Life

Life gets in the way...............

2011-12-16T09:03:00.000-08:00

New Dog......

Trips to the wine country with friends.............

Moving our boat from Long Beach Harbor up to the Delta......................................

Shopping the Alameda Flea Market......................

Terri Brushes Art Camp..........Oregon

Growing fresh veges in containers.................

Trips up North to Napa with Adult children......legal drinking age!

Joining more Wine Clubs...............OK so I like my wine!!!!

Emptying out house getting ready for painting....no more yellow, bye..bye......

Projects I swore I would get done......I did!

More trips up north to Delta with boat, kids and dogs....they love the water too!

Some Halloween projects.......fun...

Setting up business at the Farmers Market and Local schools Harvest Festivals to sell and do Hair feathers.........

Halloween at Shop all dressed up Jerseylious Style.....

More finished projects............DONE...Yeah!

Terri Brush visiting my house for classes here..............

More trips up north to Delta....with boat up there now we travel up north alot lately!

Bracelet finished from Terri Brushes Summer Art Camp..all sterling silver, love it!

I have been very busy with life as you can see...so sorry I haven't posted much but I hope to find some time in the new year to share some of the Joy's in my life with you ....see you soon!

Terri Brush in the House.....

2011-04-29T08:13:00.000-07:00

Hey only two spots left for classes with this amazing lady.....check out the link : http://www.terribrushdesigns.com/News.html for more info about the classes coming soon...
We are going to ROCK this Place with creativity!

PUBLISHED !!!!!!

2011-04-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

This is just so surreal....to see my name in print!

I have often thought about submitting some of my handbags to Somerset Haute Handbags ...but then when I look at what is in the magazine, I get second thoughts about my work. But with a little help from a friend...Kim Caldwell , who happen to be carrying one of my bags at an event, she was approached by non other than Beth Livesay, Managing Editor of Haute Handbags. Beth asked Kim about her bag and Kim told her about me....next thing I know I am emailing Beth pic of my bags and she says "send them all in" OK...so I am thinking maybe one of them will get in the magazine...who knows. But then I get this letter letting me know I am being published in the Spring 2011 edition of Haute Handbags and that ALL % of my bags are be published...and I need to write an article...YIKES!!!!

But it really was a fun experience....Then the magazine comes out and you see your name in print!!!! Very exciting...

One of the bags , which is a new design that I made out of an old grain sack and used an old leather belt as a handle , was purchased by Beth herself. Now what could be better icing on the cake but to have the Managing Editor of Haute Handbags carrying around one of your bags........OMG, I feel like a Celebrity!!!

Thanks Kim for the push...and thank you Beth for making me feel special...

Check out link

Junkin...Texas Style

2011-04-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

Phew........I think I have caught my breath! It just seems like from the Middle of April till now I have been on the Go....now I have had a chance to sit down and share some of the fun things I have been doing. My Texas Roundtop trip was the BOMB!!!!! I am not sure I can even explain what this is like...but lets just say it was an experience I will never forget....

I got a few pics to share ..but the shopping kept me pretty busy and some days I didn't even pull out my camera. But ...I did get some so I can give Ya'll (that's my Texan drawl) ..a little taste of Texas!

Driving into Roundtop area at first you see a few houses with stuff in the yards..kinda like a garage sale...resist...resist (that is what I kept telling myself as I wanted to stop at all of them !)

Then you start to see all of the tents....your heart starts to pound..and you can no longer resist...STOP! I say STOP!

This is an example of what is in the tents...(pinch me I must be DREAMING!!!)

Cute......

Sweet......

Good stuff......

Look at the junk...(heart starts to pound)

Just look at ALL of this STUFF!!!!!

OMG.... I am breaking out in a sweat.............

How funny is this!

Lace...ruffles..burlap and linen..everywhere you look, it is just over whelming!

Tent...after Tent...after TENT of it!!!
There are rows and rows and miles and MILES and MILES of tents! SOOOooooo busy shopping I did not get alot of pics of the tents....but keep looking!

I loved this one...what a perfect name!

Some have cute displays set up and others just have their junk out!!!!! I really loved the junk too!

Isn't this wine rack made out of old spools cute????

OK...taking a break...lunch time at the cafe in the shade...I think this day was the hottest, 95 and sunny!
Charlene, Karen V., Susie, Riki, Rita and me.

This is Cindy and Susie at the blog party showing off their blogger name tags!

Charlene and I, its her dress such so cute! Handmade by Deb Hodge...(Breathing beside us)of course she made my cute jacket too! I am also wearing my blogger badge, I made a little bag to wear on my belt with cute lace and stuff! Everyone was to make a blogger badge and wear it so we could all met and know who's , who! Really fun. Miss Sandy Navarro won 2nd place, she made the cute little cross over bags that most of our group was wearing , she gave them to all of us with our names on it. I had just got mine that night....so I wasn't wearing it. Thanks Sandy they are very cute!

OMG...talk about cute! Check out these JUnk Gypsy Gals....they came up with this wheel barrel full of goody bags for all of us at the party! They are just too stinkin cute!

Here is Diane Cook with all of her lovely jewelry...we got the sneak peek.

Our Dinner at Royers Cafe was a blast! this is the outside of the cafe...cute!

And then sweet Riki walks up in her new duds...yes Magnolia Pearl...Robin hand picked them for her! She looked so darling.....

Standing on the front porch of Royers as they sign and call your name for dinner...

Cindy, Karen Valentine and Karen DeCapite at our table.....the walls are just covered in junk!

Back at our hotel room.....we filled every nook and cranny with our junk...it was so hard for the lady to clean it everyday...but we tipped her good as we left and told her we were sorry!!!!!!

On the bed....under the bed.....

In every corner..............

Against every wall................

Oh and of course you have to see Magnolia Pearl booth...this dress was a bird cage with live birds inside!!!! Really!!!!!!

Pit stop on the trip home for the hubbies.........

Check me out! Ha!

Boy did we ever pack this little trailer full of stuff!!!!Wait I see a little room at the top...maybe one last trip for some shopping...Ha!

But 4,069 miles later...we made it home, hot and sweaty but we made it!!!!! Oh did I mention that after over 26 hours of driving home we got a flat tire in Indio , about 100 miles from home....but I guess other than locking our keys in the car at the gas station (thank goodness for ONSTAR although we also locked the phones in the car too but borrowed a phone from the gas station manager) and bringing the wrong size ball for the trailer hitch (ace hardware was close by) all in all I think we managed to have a pretty safe trip....

Yee Haw...Texas here I come!

2011-03-10T17:58:00.000-08:00

I have been savin...my money for months...and months and months now all for my BIG trip to Round Top Texas! Now my dream is about to come true in 13 days and counting....A few of my gal pals , Karen Decapite, and Charlene Gray and I started off my talking about going to Texas for the Big Roundtop antique show in the spring and now this has grown into an awesome event with a whole group of us them there refined' ladies...heading out for some jukin! Karen and I are driving so we have lots of room for all of our junk! Charlene will also drive as she lives in Texas...now the group is up to about 7 of us..I think. I haven't even met most of these ladies but I just know from all our little chats back and forth we will be the best of friends by the end of this trip.

Sandy Narravo will be joining us from so cal also...and my Friend Barb Solem who Karen and I met in Oregon at Terri Brushes Art camp....(so sorry Marianne won't be with us this trip) also Karen Valentine from AZ, Diane Cook from Texas and Rita the Redhead...can't wait to met all these crazy ladies!

So I will be packing up my boots..grabbing some jeans and my cowboy hat, and I can't forget my old leather belt with my blinged up buckle....Oh and my trusty ole shopping cart, and headin out of town for some GOOooooood times!

Ya'll check back for some fun pics after...

"What the heck are you going to do with that?"

2011-03-02T03:27:00.000-08:00

"Don't worry ....honey , TRUST me it will look cute when I am done......" of course my husband thought I had totally lost my mind! Really you paid how much for for that chair? I wouldn't have given them 2 cents for it! MEN..they just don't get it........

I had my vision and when I saw this old chair at a yard sale I haggled a bit (they wanted $25) and got it for $15. I have been checking out a few blogs about refinishing old furniture, and well...thought I would give it a try, after all it didn't cost much and I have alot of paint on hand so...why not?

The bones where good, love the cane and in perfect shape too! I just needed to paint it and replace the gold velvet cushions.

I striped off all the fabric and took off the bottom seat, leaving just the wood chair. I did sand it a bit because it had some dents and scratches that were deeper than I wanted.

Next I spayed it with Kills white primer all over.

Then two coats of creamy white paint. I got one of those sample paints at Lowes for $1.25..PERFECT!

Next I did a little distressing with a sanding block, they are the best.......

Now the fun part, also the messy part....I used Minwax stain to age the finish. First you wipe it on with a rag, then you quickly wipe it off with a clean dry rag. It gets into all the nooks and crannies and gives it an aged look...don't forget to wear gloves during this process ( I learned that by trial and error)unless you want to ruin your manicure...

I love how the stain makes all the details in the chair show .

Moving on to recovering the cushion and adding the back to the chair. The fabric I used was left over drop cloth scraps from another project. These are great...you can purchase them at Lowes or Home Depot and they are packaged in different sizes. The one I got was a larger one , I can't remember the size but I am thinking it was something like 9 x 12 and I paid $8.99 or something like that, anyway cheap and you get alot of fabric. I washed it because it is very stiff when you get it and by washing it you end up with this beautiful nubby fabric. I first cut a piece to cover the seat bottom and foam (the most expensive thing I had to buy was this foam) Then I pulled the fabric over the foam and chair bottom and stapled it all around...done.

The back was a bit harder to do as I had to make a front and back panel. The back was easy just cut and staple, but when doing the front part I had to add some foam backing and try to hold it in place while stapling it tight...OK so I need three hands...HONEY....can you come help me? Got it, now how do I want to cover the staples????? I did not want to go buy anything so I looked around to see what do I have that I could use...I need some trim, Hey I can make a ruffle out of the rest of the fabric! Yeah!!!! I love how this came out, I pleated and glued with a glue gun as I went around the back of the chair.

I added a ruffled skirt to the front of the bottom seat also to finish ....WOW..I think it came out really cute, perfect for my guest room redo..which is almost done.

I made a small pillow out of left over fabric and added this jute webbing and vintage red buttons for some added color. This is also the color scheme of my guest room. I think it gives a little pop of color.

All in all not bad for my first attempt at a project like this...but best of all my hubby LOVED IT TOO! He was so proud of me !

I am linking this post to Faded Charm : White Wednesday

Terri Brush in the House......

2011-02-24T18:08:00.000-08:00

I am so excited that Terri Brush is coming to my home on May 14th & 15th for two awesome classes....I tried last year but our schedules seemed to have clashed...but now we worked it all out and she will be coming...YEAH! We have a couple of spots left if anyone is interested just follow the link to see the pics of classes and to sign up. Terri's classes are always fun, the attitude is calm and I have met so many wonderful ladies through her events and classes.

I met Marianne and Barb (above) at Terri's Fall Art Camp and Marianne so graciously asked me to come stay with her at her home in Arizona for Terri's class in January. Her home is simply amazing (but that's a whole other story...

Karen and CeeKay also attended this AZ class.

All these sweets ladies that I can call my friends now.....

There is just nothing more SEXY that women with tools...right????

If you have been wanting to learn tips and tricks for soldering this is your chance....

heres the link: http//www.terribrushdesigns.com/News.html

BAG LADY.........Now for Sale *SOLD

2011-02-07T14:44:00.000-08:00

I have been dubbed by some as the "BAG LADY" and rightfully so......I love bags...handbags and totebags of any kind, I just can't get enough! So in preparation of my upcoming trip to Roundtop Texas for some great junkin...well I had to have a shopping cart......right? Of course that crummy old plastic liner that they try to sell you just wouldn't do for me, it had to be cute, it has to be vintage, it needed a ruffle and of course my signature flower........my mind went to work and this is what came out.......I LOVE IT!

All set and ready to fill with wonderful treasures....................................

Now this was my proto type I had to practice on some fabric that I had just in case I mess up. But it turned out perfect, so I will be making one for me out of some really cute vintage looking fabric that I purchased. Of course I told a few friends..and I have orders for a few already...but you can have one too! Just contact me and let me know what colors or fabric you would like yours made from and I will be happy to make for just for you! Happy junkin...........Note: This is now listed on my Etsy site click here to see: http://www.etsy.com/shop/joykcampbell *SOLD*you can email me if you might be interested in one as I have a few under construction!

Our Sweet Chase......

2011-02-07T09:33:00.000-08:00

That time to make that oh so hard decision had come for us .......our sweet Chase who was diagnosed with cancer on Christmas Eve was just not doing too well and I knew the trip to the vet was not going to be good news. We tried some meds which did help for a bit..but at what point does it become selfish to keep him suffering? At times he seemed happy ..but lately he just paced around , I think trying to get comfortable ...it is just so hard to know what they are feeling they try so hard to please you ..even in the end...

Our sweet boy passed on Sat. February 5th.....

You will be missed ...by all of us!

Creamy..Dreamy....

2011-01-31T06:34:00.000-08:00

I had some requests for some cream/white tone on tone bags....SOooooo this is what I came up with.....

Creamy vintage lace and hand stamped flowers with a beautiful vintage rhinestone brooch.

A little hard to see the difference in the textures and fabrics in the pictures but the white on white bag is a wonderful textured white upholstery fabric on the base and the flap is made out of a beautiful white on white damask print that I found in a vintage shop. I added the tan trim for a little bit of color.

The tan and cream bag is another find of a creamy damask fabric with a tan upholstery fabric base and tan trim, along with vintage laces and hand stamp flower.

I just loved how they came out so creamy...and dreamy......

Both these bags are sold.....but I am working on some more. Stay tuned!

A New Year...A Better Year...

2011-01-08T07:20:00.000-08:00

Sorry about not posting for a while now ..but all I can say is GOOD BYE to 2010...so ready to see you go! Guess you can figure out it was not the best of years for me. Don't get me wrong I had some great things happen, and I attended some awesome events in 2010....but also had some sad things and frustrating things too! I am not one to post the sad things I deal with in life but sometimes you just need to share with your family and friends and I consider you bloggers to be my friends! On that note my husband and I spent part of Christmas Eve (till 2 am Christmas morning) at the Animal Hospital ER with our adopted lab Chase. After our evening with 20 of our family members he just couldn't get up and I just knew something was wrong....he stayed till late Sunday night and the tests results revealed cancer, which is what they had suspected. So I have been kind of out of things just dealing with all of this and taking care of him and all the meds he needs. Of course they can do chemo but very..very ..expensive ($15,000and up) and of course no guarantee it will cure. Seems so cruel to have to make a decision like this but all we can do is love him and spoil him for the time he has left........you just get attached so quickly and he really has been just the perfect pet. But for now I am in crisis mode for awhile....

So for me I am ready for a new year of new adventures and events, and I am starting out the new year with my first trip to AZ next week for another one of Terri Brushes classes...this time I will be making a bracelet. I will be staying with one of sweetest gal I met at Art Camp in the fall , Marianne. Her and her sister in law Barb were just the sweetest ladies, and Marianne invited both Karen and I to come stay with her for this event.....so I will be on my way next week. As for Karen she will be driving and staying with one of her good friends there and both of them will be attending Terri's classes. What I great way to start off the New year..Oh and I will get to see my sweet friend Maija there too! YEAH...AZ here I come!

Begining to look alot like Christmas.....

2010-12-09T09:16:00.000-08:00

I spent the last TWO weekends getting my house ready for Christmas....I mean cleaning and dusting and getting out the Christmas Decor , putting up lights and the Christmas Tree....phew! Yes I have an artificial tree, but I love it since I don't have to worry about fire! It takes hours to fluff it just right and then put up the ornaments takes another couple of hours, I so wish I wasn't such a perfectionist..but can't change that now! I decided to do simple this year, well my version of simple anyway. I only put out about half of my decorations...and focused on some new ones, white and silver, tatter and torn is my inspiration! see for yourself.....

Simple torn books tied with twine add alittle glitter "JOY" a wreath and candle for a cute vignette.

A table scape of white and silver.....................

This tray I purchased at the Three Speckled Hens Antiques Show in Paso Robles is a new favorite of mine....made out of and old cabinet door. Picked up the silver candle holders at Goodwill for $2.99 each, added a mercury glass one that I had and my cute little soldered box that I made at one of Terri Brushes classes.

This is a silver tray scape of white pitchers that I keep on my kitchen island that I added some holiday decor too..alittle sprig of greenery and my cute little girl image inside of the chicken wire cloche.

Place simple vintage Christmas trees inside of silver aged cups and creamers. The littlest one with the green tree is my silver baby cup , hard to see but it is engraved with my name "JOY" perfect for the season.....

I love my cute galvanized buckets that I picked up at an antiques shop and stenciled with the numbers "2" and "5"............

with that I got the idea to stencil the number "25" on my bags that I made to hold my ornaments for an exchange that I doing...I think they came out cute!

Close up....

Last but not least...my latest purchase of a pair of old ice skates that I placed at the base of my mantle along with a poinsettia.

Thanks for looking...and Have a Merry Christmas!

Missing in Action......

2010-12-02T06:47:00.000-08:00

You know we all have times that we just go MISSING IN ACTION ......from our blogging! Well I have been MIA, but for good reasons! I have been busy with a couple of projects. One I am still in the process of finishing up and will post real soon........(don't you just love it when people do that to you....he...he) but the other one ...well check out the picture below. I finally DID IT!!!!! I sent some of my handmade bags off the Stampington submission for Haute Handbags. YIKES...........we will see what happens! It came to be when Beth Livesay (Managing Editor, Stampington & Company)saw my sweet friend Kim Caldwell carrying one of my bags and she asked her about it...well the rest is history. Keep your fingers crossed!

Cute Ruffled Towels.....Tutorial

2010-11-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

My good friend Karen (Some days are Diamonds) asked me to do a tutorial for her Bloggerette Sorority..YIKES! I have never done that before....but I said "SURE" so here goes...............
My inspiration came from seeing so many beautiful white linen kitchen towels with vintage images and ruffles on them....but my dilemma was I don't have a white kitchen! So I decided that I would make my own to match my kitchen. So lets get started....Pick up a pack of cotton kitchen towels, they usually come 4 or 5 in a pack . I got these at Home goods for $4.99, choose the colors that match your kitchen, mine is yellow/golds and deep reds.Next pick your favorite towel for the main piece of towel and pick a matching towel which will be the ruffle. I laid it out so you can see the contrast between the two towels.

Take the towel that will be your ruffle and fold in half then in half again.Note that you will have finished edges on both right and left sides and across the bottom. It will measure 18" in width.

You will then mark it into thirds or at 6" from each edge. I used a disappearing ink marker to mark my towel. Then cut into three pieces each one is 6" wide. You will use only the two pieces with the finished edges, discarding the middle piece. I like wide ruffles so I chose to cut them at 6" but if you want a smaller ruffle you can cut to your desired width. Now set that aside for now.

Next you can choose from a couple of options , I wanted to put an image on my towels so I printed out my image onto fabric. I found the most wonderful images from http://www.oliverue.blogspot.com/ check out her blog for tips and tricks on transferring the images, and be sure to check out the photo gallery for some inspiration, you can also purchase her images at her Esty site noted on her blog....and guess what she is having a SALE right now so you can get these images for only $2 each...WOW that's a great deal!!! You can purchase the cotton fabric sheets at most fabric or craft stores. I then cut my design to the desired size and stitched it to the center of the front of the main towel piece as shown below.

The fabric sheets have a backing you peel away leaving a very soft and flexible piece of fabric to work with.
Now get your ruffle piece and stitch across raw edge length wise using a basting/gathering (long stitch) at 1" and then again at 1/2" (note: leaving long ends of thread on both sides to gather with, do not back stitch) now gather the ruffle by pulling together the top threads only on each side and pin to the bottom edge of your main towel (as shown in picture above). Knot both ends of thread by tying behind ruffle as shown below. Then using a zig zag stitch , sew right between the two rows of gathering to stitch ruffle to your towel. No need to finish the top edge, as it gives it a very vintage feel, but you can if you do not care for this raw look.
You can then add a bit of vintage lace over the top if you so desire.

Here is what your towel will look like when complete.

Now I will show you another option. You can use Tee shirt iron on transfers to print out your designs then you cut around design and following directions on the package iron on your image for a different look.

I chose this Christmas Birdcage design to make some cute Christmas towels.......

Make your ruffle the same manner as above but if you want you can add some cute little buttons over your lace. Or .........

Maybe just a simple little red button for some added color. That is the best part about these, you can embellish them however you want too! Wouldn't these make great gifts ????? Isn't this a cute towel.....

You can also just leave them plain using your color scheme. Here are a few of my finished towels hanging in my kitchen....

These are plain and simple towels that match my kitchen.
These are fun , quick and easy to make... I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial.

Fall Findings Swap

2010-10-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

I recently participated in the "Fall Findings Swap" with Karen Decapites (http://www.somedaysarediamonds.blogspot.com/) Bloggerette Sorority Sisters. The idea was that you decorate a box and fill it with fall findings for your swap partner. Now, you did not know who had your name so you were asked to fill out a questionnaire so that you could get some info about your swap partner without contacting them.....Well, I was matched up with Debi Huntsman (http://www.lifeinmystudio.blogspot.com/) Karen did a good job matching me with her as she loves to sew ...just like me...and alot of her crafting is similar to my style too! So if you click over to her blog (noted above) you will see what I did for her....Now the twist, Karen had actually matched us up to each other but we did not know that...Yeah!!!!! So are you ready to see what Debi created for me?????? This is a close up of the box...just beautiful (note that the box did not have to be a fall box) the details are just amazing!
Here it is on my craft table along with the things she sent that were outside the box...really..she sent so much it was just like Christmas opening up all the little extra gifts. She also sent a little pumpkin candle holder, it got cut off in the pic but you can see the corner of it.
Here is a shot of the inside lid of the box, isn't it just lovely??

And all the lovelies inside the box, a little fall pillow, an old thread spool with dreamy lace on it, decorated thread spools, and bric a brac....
Some old buttons and beautiful flowers too!

This Bottle full of vintage pearls was one of the gifts outside the box, has a vintage looking label on the outside "Extra Strength Cauldron Bubbles" very cute.

These three little thread spools decorated with flowers, lace , ribbon and bling...love them!

And this beautiful tussie mussy full of lace and a a white pumpkin, I already hung up to display.....
Last but not least....of course I saved my favorite thing for last...is this darling canvas with the witches on it and the words read "He...He...He" this is SOOoooo me! Isn't it just so stikin cute??? Of course it is also already displayed proudly in my home with all my other Halloween decorations...

Thanks Debi for all your goodness....and thanks to Karen for putting this all together so we could all enjoy some new Fall Findings!

Just Jo.......

2010-10-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

Just Jo...ARE YOU KIDDING..JUST JO! If you follow this lady you can't help but to be amazed at who she is and what she does! I had the honor of spending some one on one time with Jo Packham along with my friends Karen Decapite and Tiffany (The Fancy Farm Girl) while on a trip to Washington State. When Tiffany told me that she needed to pick up Jo Packham at the airport around the same time Karen and I were coming in (we were renting a car) I said to her we can bring Jo to your house don't make that extra trip, well unless Jo would not be comfortable with that arrangement. Well of course she would not....she really is just Jo..as we would be in awe of her she just kept telling us I am just Jo...so it stuck. I took this PIC of her and Tiffany at Tiffany's home, her bedroom to be exact. What a beautiful home she has, every room just arranged to perfection. I am sure Jo gets asked so much to have her picture taken I was alittle remiss about asking too much,but I did click off a couple. We had a wonderful dinner cooked by Ms. Tiffany and had such a wonderful time hearing about Jo's adventures and Tiffany's crazy busy life. When we awoke in the morning it was misting and overcast, we walked outside only to see the most amazing sight.....spider webs everywhere..I mean everywhere, on trees and bushes all around....now who would of thought that Jo Packham would have been so amazed with this sight (as she sees the most amazing things on a daily basis) but she was just looking and laughing and asked Tiffany to take some pics for her...of course her camera is just a little nicer than mine..he..he...but I did manage to get a couple of good shots.

On our way to art camp we stopped over in Portland and did some shopping...when I got a call from Tiffany asking if Karen and would like to join her and Jo for dinner....ARE YOU KIDDING! What time we will be there.....so we got to spend some more time talking and enjoying her company, really she is just so sweet! Then on our way to Art Camp where we met up again with Tiffany and Jo.....Here is a pic of Tiffany and I , we were trying to show off our outfits that were very similar..do you think?

In the end we said our goodbyes.....Karen got this shot with Jo as we all giggled.....GOODBYE JUST JO!!!!!

Art Camp.....

2010-10-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

Upon Arrival the tables were set up so beautiful with these old jugs and sunflowers....simple but lovely! We each had our own wine glass with a handmade charm by Terri with our name on it..cute idea.....and the name tags were beautiful too , Terri told us they used an old wedding dress for the fabric to make all of the name tags and dresses on the front of our bags.

See the trim on the top is also from the wedding dress...

Sunflowers are my favorite and I just loved the way they displayed them..

Each day they did a menu board .

And just look at these cupcakes we had for desert made by Teresita...awesome!!!!!!

These ladies were the cooks....Joy and Terri (sisters) there worked their butts off...I mean really they were in the kitchen 24/7 and always the first ones up in the morning at 5:30 to start breakfast....thank you so much for all your hard work..you ROCK!!!!!!

Now the projects were just as amazing.....first my crown taught my Tiffany, I did not get any before pics..too busy working but it is made out of chicken wire and a heating duct vent....who a thought????

Everybody was so creative with their crowns.....some did Halloween ones...I think I may have to make one when I get home..sorry no pics I was having so much fun....
Then the amazing snow angel...this was taught my Christy Meyers...paper clay molded and baked in the oven overnight.....

The we made this box and the tree inside while we waited for our angels to cook.

When they came out of the oven we painted them and put them in our boxes...

Oh ...but we were not done yet....

The we added glass to the front and soldered it..added feet and I added a ribbon all around it...I just loved this project..she is so cute!
Lastly the soldered crown...this was amazing, I did not think I could do this with all these round pieces..but I did! First step to wrap all of the parts then lay out your design.

The start with making a circle...not so easy.....

But it all came together somehow...I did not quite finish but will add some more at home but I like it so far......
I had such an amazing time.....and so glad to have spent some time with Tiffany , she is an amazing , wonderful woman who I am so glad to call my friend.....

Packing up....

2010-09-24T16:46:00.001-07:00

I am packing my bags for Terri Brushes Fall Art Camp...been waiting for this day to come for 6 months now! My friend and partner in crime Karen(that would be the crime of shopping too much according to our husbands) are headed off to Oregon for a week...Yeah! For some fun shopping and girlfriend time with sweet Tiffany ( The fancy Farm Girl) and creativity galore.....

Packed up my cute new train case with all my craft supplies....check it out, it is cute right?

Got all my teacher gifts and such all wrapped up and ready to go! And of course my new apron that is a must have...you can see a bit of it in the picture, but you will have to wait to see the whole thing..he..he . I will post some pics when I get back with me wearing it...it is really cute if I do say so myself.

This is a much needed get-a-way for me...I mean really..really need to get away!!!!!! See you when I return! Hugs

LIFE.....its not always a joy

2010-09-18T11:17:00.000-07:00

Life is not exactly joyful for me right now......you know the saying when it rains it pours...well it is pouring in my life right now!! No details, I just need to say it out loud ! I want to SCREAM!!!!! But I am thankful for those close friends who listen , you know who you are and I love you!...and for my outlet. I mean my creative side that just takes over when I need some time alone.... This is my escape from life...
My sewing machine....it keeps me sane! I have so much fabric that I just started digging and decided I need to use what I have. This is what I created with stuff I already had on hand. A new bag! I need a new bag..right? A messenger style cross the shoulder bag, good for shopping!!! Maybe I need to do some retail therapy too..he..he..see I am starting to feel better already.

I used a old piece of tapestry for the flap, something I picked up and thought "I am sure I could use this for something"and had the perfect upholstery fabric in teal that matched the teal flowers in the tapestry fabric, used some other fabric that looks like burlap for the base of the bag, all this I had in my stash......
I have seen these flowers where they are stamped so I decided to try it, I took the flower apart and stamped each layer then re-assembled it adding some extra fluff and a vintage brooch.....stitched on a old doily and some fringe trim .

I also whipped up this cute little phone holder for my new droid phone, I used a piece of an old grain feed sack and some vintage lace added the black rosette and blackened a new Fleur de lis pin to attach. Picked up these cute bling binder rings from seven gypsy so I can attach to my purse or bag...

See inside my new bag I made a loop to hang it on...perfect....I am working on new apron too. One I can take with me to Terri Brushes Fall Art Camp. I really need this get-a-way right now! I am not a very profound writer and it is hard for me to find the words to say how I feel but one thing I do know is that Creativity is my therapy....

Treasure Hunting....Paradise

2010-09-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

Florence...Colorado is a haven of antiques shops......I wonderful woman named Mary I met along the way told me about this place called Florence and said if I like antiques I must go there....OMG I am so glad I did...row after row, after row, of shops......

I started to shake as we drove down the block..you know that feeling, right?

Oh the treasures I could find.......

My hubby brought our dog and his cigars and said to me "have fun" he is so good to me! I wandered up and down and in every shop that I could go to.....as he patiently waited for me.

Everyone was so very friendly....a lady then told me about a place were the men go...this was just perfect, check it out..."Mantiques" to funny...

This little town seemed to have everything. I found so many wonderful things of course I had to have..he..he....

Laces...buttons...jewels....hats with millinery flowers....old bingo cards

But my most favorite find was this vintage laundry cart....it was in perfect shape and even came with a brand new extra cover...and it is pink! I knew I had to have this !.....it would come in handy on our trips in the motorhome when we need to do laundry..right? Perfect and it folds up flat so it travels well. Ready to do laundry????
This is the bottom of the cart, it is called the Gypsy Kart, perfect name for it!

Now you know you have a great find when your hubby gets in on the action, isn't he cute toting this cart to the laundry mat....
Even the dog got in on this one! We had so much fun with this cart, what a great find!

French Cupboard ....

2010-09-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

Show off your fall creations or your fall home decor with The French Cupboard on Friday September 24th. Check out the details here: http://frenchcupboard.blogspot.com/2010/09/autumn-art-party-sept-24.html I just love Halloween so I am feeling alittle spooky inspiration coming on....come back on the 24th and check it all out.

Newest Creations....

2010-08-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

So while on our vacation this summer one of the things I really wanted to find was a vintage bicycle...after much debate with my hubby about this he convinced me that I should get a new bike that looks vintage because the old bikes are really heavy and as much as I will ride (HA!) and the great shape I am in (again HA!) I would not want a heavy bike. These new bikes are very lightweight..so my search was on..we stopped at every bike shop we saw and even searched on the GPS for them as we drove through little towns! My hubby wants one too so of course this helped so that he did not mind too much me yelling out "Turn here..quick" Anyway in a little town called Paradise Colorado I found the perfect one for me! Yellow..one of my favorite colors! When I saw it I said "that's the one I want" , "oh and I NEED a basket"...Yeah! This was by Birthday present from my hubby to me! I just knew I had to make a cute liner for this basket and I just kept dreaming of what it would look like... We had to buy the rack to take it home...but we needed one anyway..see theres room for one more (when my hubby gets his)!Love my new basket..I am ready for a ride now....Isn't it cute... I have orders for two more already, this is a pic of the one I finished for my friend, it comes out and has a drawstring so that she can carry it with her as a tote bag if she wants too!

This is not her bike, its my daughters but I wanted to show you what it looked like on the bike. Cute..right?

The events...Les Sirenes

2010-08-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

The shopping......we had a wonderful Day of shopping. Our day began when we loaded up the Bus...yes I said Bus and headed to the Long Beach Flea Market...wonderful shopping...of course I did not stop shopping long enough to pull out my camera and take any pics for you...but it was FABULOUS!!! Then back on the bus to headed to the OC, that is the Orange Circle, a great little town with lots of good shops and Antique stores. At the end of the day as you can see we were all bushed....these are some of the gals sitting in front of Heavenly Hostess one of the shops that did a little give-a-way for us..plus a discount while shopping! YEAH!

Now you know that some serious shopping took place when these classy ladies Julie Haymaker, Karla Nathan and sweet Danielle Muller are sitting on the GROUND barefoot going through their treasures...

To end our shopping event Val and Cynthia hosted a little cupcake soiree..nothing like a little sweetness to end your day!

This is where the magic took place on Sat. at the Hotel Belamar, wonderful little boutique hotel....Cynthia and Val at our table crafting or posing for pics..he..he

Sweet..sweet Sherry form Georgia who hosted the lovely Mermaid Jeans contest, with Christine in her beautiful dress. We can also count on Christine for a little style watch!

And oh the shoes......and toes! These are my toes with my fab sandals I posted about before along with Jessi's cute thongs she blinged up and Andrea's perfect toes and coral sandals...wish I had pics of all of the feet! OK that sounds weird but really some awesome shoes happening here.

Of course the jeans were great too! Me Holly, Val in her skirt and Terri's beautiful painted mermaid (i wish you could have seen the face of it)

And the faces to go with the jeans.......

Les Sirenes...

2010-08-21T09:08:00.000-07:00

Well better late than never ....right? Sorry I haven't posted any pics from my adventures this summer..but isn't that what is the best thing about summer, being busy and having FUN!!!! So here are some pics of my wonderful Les Sirenes Event.....Terri and I hosted a Mermaid and Martinis Cocktail party to start things off..we had food and flavored martinis that we set up in our room. I think everyone who came had a great time!

Terri and I greeting our guests

The food......

The Martini Bar...yummo...

We had all of our swaps on Friday night after a day of classes. First was Christine's beautiful necklace swap. Each person made seven like flowers and sent them to Christine then she mixed and matched up seven people and made them all the same flower necklace..they were all just beautiful. She had a color scheme of Blues, corals and creams...of course the picture of me was blurred but here are some of the other beauties...

The lovely Christine.....

Terri's beautiful necklace...

Sweet Val with her lovely necklace... Mine was all blues and creams....Next we did the Treasure Chest Swap Hosted by Val....these boxes were simply amazing I will let the pics speak for themselves....

Lisa with squeals of delight....

This was my swap for Jen, before I gave it to her all wrapped up!

I hope she like it.....Here is a close up shot of the top of the box.

Of course I filled the whole thing with PINK!!!!!

Terri's box..beautiful colors....more boxes, just beautiful all of them.....

And last but not least this was the box that I received from Cathy...it was so beautiful..just all covered with shells and beads....amazing!

The next swap was my Les Sirenes Wall Hanging...... each person sent me 12, 3x3 squares and I put them all together on a canvas wall hanging that I stitched up added some trim and shells and this is what everyone got....All wrapped up and ready to pass out.

All of the squares were so beautiful..and each was different.....

Here is my new Dallas Friend Charlene and I with her wall hanging...I just love the fact that she is taller than me and I don't look like a giant in the picture..as I usually do! I think she felt the same way...yeah we look normal!

I will post again with pics of the classes and shopping events.....

Proud to be an American

2010-07-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

Bikes all lined up and ready to go!

(This is my hubbies bike)

I am so proud to be an American and have the privilege to ride in our local July 4th parade along with 175 other Harleys. In the first group the front riders are a group that Honors our Veterans carry many of the old Military Flags, in the next group are 50 bikes each one carrying a flag of each of our 50 States, I got to carry Kansas, then a round of of the rest of the bikes all with many American Flags. This was really fun to see all the people along the road side clapping and saluting as we slowly rode by. Of course there was the fun side too as you will notice my cute Red, White & Blue pigtails that I made for my helmet! Hooray for the Red, White and Blue.....

(Me on my bike)

Perfect find

2010-07-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

I am attending Kim Caldwell's Artistic Affaire "Les Sirenes" on July 15th - 18th..the theme is Mermaids and the Sea. Sweet Sherry from Georgia is hosting a Embellished Mermaid Jeans Contest..OMG of course I had to join..I can't show you pics just yet of what I have made..BUT I can show you the perfect pair of sandals I found to wear with my FAB Mermaid Jeans! Aren't these just amazing??? You will never guess wear I found these either....still wondering? Well I found them at Target!!! Yes that's right Target.....these will be just perfect to top of my special Mermaid jeans can't wait to show you PICs....check back after the 18th....

New Member of the Family

2010-06-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

About 5 years back we had a yellow lab named Lady, she was then about 13 or 14 years old , we were not sure about her age as she was adopted from the pound. She was the most sweet, loving, gentle dog....of course we all love our dogs...as she got older it was hard to take her with us in our motorhome to travel as she could not get up and down the steps and she was too big to carry! So we decided to get a little dog as our future plans were to travel more and more over the years to come....that is when our precious little Duchess came into our lives, she is a mini dachshund, and she loves..loves..to travel. Well my husband just loves her and so do the boys, but lets get REAL here....the boys would really love to have a "mans dog" so they say..but thinking about bringing a puppy into our home is just not something we would consider right now.

But when one of the girls that works in my shop had to move and could not take her 6 year old yellow lab with her, she asked if anyone knew someone who might make a good home for him, well SUCKER that I am when she showed me the picture of him I just about fainted....it looked just like our lady dog. So I talked with my husband and he said we can give it a try and see how it works out....and since we have a BIG yard there would be no problem with having a BIG dog......well now we are the proud owners of "Chase" he fits right in! I have never had a male dog, so that is really different for me, but he is just so sweet, well trained and just fit right in with our whole family..dogs and all....

Of course all the BOYS just love him so he is getting alot of attention right now..the only downside is I just can't keep him out of the POOL!!!!! He is swimming at 8 o'clock in the morning ..YIKES! But we love him..it will be interesting to see how he does on a motorhome trip..that will be different for sure since he is just a little bigger than my Duchess........

Ruffles..Ruffles..Ruffles..Everywhere

2010-06-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

I am sure that you have noticed that Ruffles are the latest trend in the Fashion World....you see ruffles on dresses, skirts, tee shirts, tank tops and even bathing suits (not that you would see me a ruffled bathing suit..HA!).

I am not really what I would call a "Fu Fu" type of girl, I mean I am not into Lacey, frilly things..BUT I do love the RUFFLES....I have seen some really cute bags with ruffles too..SOOooooo if you know me , you know I have to make one! Yikes...so here is my take on the ruffled bag. I made a smaller size bag out of white denim and then stitched rows of linen ruffles around it, made a long handle so I could wear it cross shoulder and sewed some vintage lace over the handle, stitched on a shell vintage button and of course a flower and some vintage lace...LOVE IT! I really wanted something smaller and cross shoulder to take with me went we went to the wine country so I could have my hands free for better things....like wine tasting!

Terri Brush

2010-05-27T08:24:00.000-07:00

I have been just dying to take one of Terri Brush's soldering classes...SOoooo much that I signed up for her amazing Fall Art Camp in Oregon (on the coast no less) Check out her site terribrushdesigns.com for some awesome pictures of this upcoming event....

Of course I am not going this alone, I convinced my friend Karen to come along with me, and you just know that means trouble....and then our friend little miss Tiffany of shabbyscraps has so graciously offer for us to come up a few days early and stay at her cute farm house..YIKES! I am SO siked...so we are going up two days early and Tiffany is going to take us to all the best shopping places, then we will all take a little road trip down to the coast and through Portland (where Tiffany says we won't want to miss this place) for a weekend of classes and relaxing, I mean after all, all of our meals are going to be cooked for us, talk about getting pampered! I think I will bring a bottle of good wine for relaxing by the shore..OK...OK... so I will be bringing more than one!

Now if that is not enough, Terri will be in San Diego in June for some classes and I just couldn't help but sign up to learn how to make those awesome solder boxes she makes........of course I checked with her first to be sure she would not be teaching these in the fall...SOooooo I'm in, and I can't wait to learn how to make these cuties!!!!!

Spring Break

2010-05-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

Our first stop is the Delta, OK so our motorhome won't fit on this barge....now what? We had to drive all the way around on these little tiny levee roads. If you have ever been to the delta you know what I mean, and we just there at dusk so we were trying to rush to get to our camp site before it got dark! Yikes....we didn't make it and it was really hard to see out there where you are going....DARK is not the word for it, talk about and "E" ticket ride..........Well after that adventure we were ready to relax with our friends Jimmy and Vickie, who took us to this awesome restaurant for lunch up in the Napa Valley..YUMMO..the off to do some wine tasting (my favorite thing to do)we only had time to go to a few since we got a late start, but that was enough to do some damage....One day the guys played golf and I went up to Lodi to met with my friend Natalie Hansen..we had lunch and did a little shopping in down town Lodi..dummy me I left my camera at home..sorry!

Then on the San Francisco and Ghirardelli Square..had to make a stop to visit Amy at her shop....................................................

Crown & Crumpet, I met Amy at one of Kim's Artistic Affaire Events and she was so sweet and told us about her shop, so I stopped in and payed her a visit..she was busy but took the time to talk with me and show me the shop....OMG just look at these pics of her tea room....

When you enter you see this display of goodies all wrapped up so cute.

Then there is shopping and gifts galore.............

There is a fireplace and couch to sit and relax, my daughter Amanda is sitting in the corner taking it all in.

This is the tea room, the floor is pink and white checked..so cute! Can't wait to go visit again.

Then down to the wharf , the cable car was out of order so the kids just got to sit on it and get this pic.

Then we took them down the crookest street in the world..they had not heard of it. I tried to take the pictures so you would get the idea of just how crooked this street is!

What a view from here.

We also went to China town for dim sum and tea tasting.

I don't know why my son thinks he can't smile...I guess it is age!

This is like wine tasting but with tea, they make several kinds for you to try and explain the benefits of each tea.

We walked along the boardwalk at the wharf and then had dinner on the wharf, they have the best seafood.

This is my husbands favorite place.......................

A few pics at night , then back to our camp site.

We always take our little baby Duchess with us when we travel in our motorhome, she is the best but I think she was ready to go home now....ya think?

Good Friends Good Times

2010-04-27T08:14:00.000-07:00

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Arizona to take a class "Nuances de Printemps" hosted by Carol Wingert. My FAB friend Maija invited Kim and I to stay at her lovely home. She really is the Hostess with the Mostess....I also met Miss Earlene and Miss Annette. We started off our day with a little shopping (well..maybe alot of shopping)

and a coffee stop at Dutch Brothers..we hit this spot twice a day to keep our mojo going..
The a stop at Melrose, last time I was in town they were closed so I so SOOooooo happy to get a chance to visit this hot spot, and it was totally worth the wait..AWESOME store.

here is a pic of Miss Annette, Maija and Kim shopping. Then on to Sirens and Saints, cute boutique clothing store. Weird thing about this is that we heard the next day after we were there that a drunk driver wiped out this shop the very next night..so very sad!

I told you we did alot of shopping...this is the back of Maija's car..good thing she has an SUV!Then back to Maija's house where she hosted alittle get together with a few local gals. We had a wonderful meal and then Earlene and Annette brought these lovely deserts and let us all take home our little plate display.Annette, Kim Hesson, Kim Caldwell and Sherry..sorry I did not pics of all the gals but then after TWO of Maija's Pomegranate Martinis..well you know how it is...no more PICS got taken...he..he

The next day we went to Carol's home and it was the most beautiful setting outdoors and the weather was just perfect. Our kit came in this cute tin lunch bucket and was just packed full of supplies.

Carol is such a wonderful teacher, so patient and full of ideas to share.Here is picture of my cover, I added a little blue bird to my book...I had been waiting for the perfect project to use this on!

Inside more pages, but still need to add a few finishing touches, the button pack I won in a drawing and just had to use it my book, Thanks Carol!
More pages inside.........

This was such a wonderful and relaxing event, I hope I can come again soon to Arizona to visit.....

The Shopping....

2010-03-26T07:52:00.001-07:00

One of the best things about Kim's events is the SHOPPING!!!! Here are pics of the vendors tables....

Kim's table...just look at all the colors....

Candice's mom makes these awesome bracelets all Alice themed and colored.

more of Candice's odds and ends of things....

Sweet, sweet Christine Rose Elle...just love her stuff. I did get one of her amazing cuffs will post a pic later.

more of Kim's table...sorry but in all of my amazement I did not get PICS of Holly's and Jamie's tables...but you know how amazing they are, I will post PICS later of the items that I purchased from them just to tease you a bit.

Oh the pressure....

2010-03-17T08:12:00.000-07:00

My first time vending at one of Kim's FAB events...what pressure, but I did it and it was a blast.....here are some PICS of some of the things on my vendor table. I made these cute messenger bags out of cream colored denim with a raw linen ruffle, vintage Alice prints and buttons and a hand painted flower to match. This Rabbit one was cute...(if I do say so myself)

This is the one first one I made for myself that gave me the inspiration to make more of them......In this pic you can see the jute webbing that I used for the strap.
This next one is one of the altered canvas totes that I have made in the past but this one is of course ALICE themed, the Cheshire Cat is a pocket! I handmade the taffeta flowers on these totes.

These next two are my favorites of the the Mad Hatter...the first is a messenger bag and the second one is an altered tote..he is just so stinkin cute!

This is a small sampling of some other things on my table, flower hair/pins, headbands and some necklaces and bracelets that I made and some I brought from my shop. Don't you love the Pink Flamingo... it was really fun decorating the table for this event.

These are the fingerless gloves that I made and they were a HIT! Alot of the ladies purchased them to wear to the Mad Hatter Tea Party, it was so fun.

And of course you had to have this nail polish set since you nails were showing...

And Last but not least....the mushroom pin cushions, I sold every one of them! A big thanks to Kim for giving me this opportunity and to all the ladies for your purchases and wonderful compliments....

An Affaire cont...

2010-03-17T07:58:00.001-07:00

This is the cutest box that Candice put all of our supplies for our little book we made in. On top is a top hat that Val made for all of us full of special treats...THANKS VAL!

Just look at this cake...who would want to cut it? This was another special gift from Val , it took two people to carry it into the room..OH how I hated to see it get cut, but I must say I think it was one of the best cakes I have ever had, it jut melted in your mouth..YUMmmmmmmm

Sweet and Sassy girls Jessi and my roomie Cynthia posing in this frame "Through the looking glass" that Kim made for all of us to take pictures in. Just look at the flowers and the pink flamingo...I told you Kim left nothing out with this event.
Jessi and I in the "looking glass"

And of course no event would be complete without sweet Christine Rose Elle all decked out in her amazing outfit, wish you could really see all of the detail of this headpiece, it was truly a work of art!

What an Adventure......

2010-03-17T07:36:00.000-07:00

I have been to alot of Kim's events...but I must say that this "Affaire in Wonderland" was OVER THE TOP !!!!! The room was decorated in all pink, black and white, with flowers and everywhere. I can even describe how awesome it was. Kim had made chairs back covers for all the chairs around the tea party table with the itinerary in the back pocket, and we got to keep these....

Just look at the table of treats we had at our Mad Hatter tea party. Everyone came dressed so cute and most of the ladies had on their white fingerless gloves (of which some I sold at my vendor table, more on that later) there were ruffles on dresses, hats and flowers in hair..so fun!

The table setting had these towers of tea cups and tea pots, and these beautiful chairs full of moss and pink flowers everywhere. My pictures don't even do this justice.

I did make these mushrooms that are displayed on the table and they were a hit, I did give one away along with a couple of other items from my vendor table as a give a way, and sweet Lonnie won it, I think she was happy.

After our tea party Candice taught us a cute little book that we made out of envelopes all full of Alice stamps, bright ribbons and flowers. I just finished mine and will get some PICS to post soon. Then we were off the see the new Alice in Wonderland movie, and it was amazing...ever been in a movie theatre with about 30 women ? Well lets just say we had a BLAST!

Sneek Peek.....

2010-02-22T08:50:00.000-08:00

Here is a little sneak peak at what I have been busy working on for the upcoming "An Affaire in Wonderland" this will be my first time vending at one of KIM'S fabulous events...OH the pressure!!! So posts may be alittle scarce for the next couple of weeks...

A New Year ..A New Look...

2010-01-10T11:57:00.000-08:00

I always hate to make a New Years resolution because like most people we pick something that is just too hard to achieve..that is why I think about what I would like to accomplish this year and break it down into baby steps..

One thing I would like to do is to put more effort into my blog, SOoooo..a new look for me as I am working on my blog page I posted a new pic for starters...not sure it will be permanent..but it is a start. Posting more often that is the next step, I read about a way to do this faster and easier, I am all for that! But of course I have to practice first. So for now I hope you enjoy my new pic and that you come back for more...thanks for looking!

Silver Bella..

2009-12-24T08:26:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I am posting on Christmas Eve..but I finally have a moment to sit down and actually POST!!! I hope that you enjoy my pics of Silver Bella as much as I enjoyed this time with my sweet friends..New and Old.

First are pics of the apron I made for the "Queen of the Kitchen " Apron swap that I hosted, this was my first time hosting at Silver Bella and I must say I was a little nervous about doing this as the swap at this event are off the charts. The rules were simple each person was matched up with a partner and then they got to know each other through a little survey that I did online with the group, then you could talk to your partner to get know more about her likes and dislikes...then get creating..make an apron and decorate it, only rule is that it had to have a "Crown" on it somewhere...I made this lovely apron for my partner Shea, she said she liked creams and whites and was a Audrey Hepburn gal only with a little bling added..so this is what I created for her....

Doesn't it look fabulous on my vintage dress form?

And.....now you will see the most beautiful apron that Shea made for me...YIKES..love it and best thing is that it is reversible...with crowns on both sides..does she know me or what!!

OK the bad news is ...I was the last swap of the night 11:45 pm..yes that is right 11:45 pm and my camera batteries died before I could get pics of all of the aprons.... and crowns, so amazing!

So I will just share with you some random pics of my trip to Omaha..people always ask me "what's in Omaha?"..now you will see.

Upon arrival at Omaha the So Cal Group

Analise, Kim and I at the antique mall

Cheryl, Val, Jenny & Natale taking a shopping break

One of my roomies Mendy

Tiffany and me

Catching up

2009-11-24T17:21:00.000-08:00

I haven't been in blogging land for awhile due to some mass confusion issues with family...HA! I know you can all relate in someway to that...anyway just wanted to drop in and post a few pics of what I have been up to. In September I attending one of Kim Caldwell's FAB events....I even sold some of my totes at the Vendors night Soiree (see pics) Kim's events are always over the top, my first class was with the famous Lisa Kettell, she had us make the cutest little ballerina to go in a frame, I wasn't sure about this one at first but as I put her together I fell in love, isn't she cute? I still have not finished the frame with going to Silver Bella and getting ready for the Holidays...it will get done in time. I loved Julie Haymakers class also we put together a foam board frame (what a great idea) and covered it with vintage papers and made a little flower pot with felt and old buttons and such..this was another fun project. Last but not least we made the beautiful cuffs , this class was taught by Ruth Rae, I love her free style, she just seems to throw things together with such flair (of course she does not literally throw things together) I have been wanting to make one of these for a long time now. I always come away from Kim's events so happy with all of my projects and with the teachers and the new skills that they teach me. It really keeps my mind in creative mode as I want to try to come up with new ideas and creations. Of course you must look at the beautiful decorations that Kim puts up at all of her events.....She is already planning for one in July with Mermaids...OMG I can't wait to see what she comes up with for this one!

2009-09-30T07:18:00.001-07:00

"Design Gives Back" Here is my little mini doxie Duchess with her "Play Strong" scarf on ...she was very happy to help her fellow friends in need by proudly wearing her new scarf which will help to raise $2000 for abandoned pets sponsored by http://www.katillacshack.com/ check out her blog to view the pet parade....
DESIGN GIVES BACK: Decorate a Scarf & Help Lost Dogs Design Gives Back projects help the world through creative action. Right now people are abandoning dogs and cats at an alarming rate because of home foreclosure and job loss. Can you imagine having to give-up your precious little family member? Heartbreaking. Simply by decorating an Oliver Wendell "Play Strong" scarf and sending a pic of your creation on your dog–or a friend's dog–you will earn a $10.00 donation to help these abandoned pets. So, simply by applying our creativity to making a cute scarf we can raise $2,000 for these needy friends! Thanks Kalee for the opportunity to help out!

Wedding Crashers ?

2009-09-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

You know how when you are planning your wedding and are in fear of something going wrong ?? Thinking what if the flowers are the wrong color or the cake falls or I faint at the alter...well have I got a story for you! We attended the wedding of one the gals who works in my salon yesterday, It was a beautiful wedding down to all the details, pink, white and black were the colors. I did take some photos I can post later (battery dead on camera) anyway after everyone had eaten and the newly weds were making their rounds to greet everyone at the the tables there was a huge CRASH!!! and I mean HUGE!!! One of the partition walls the Country Club had set up around the room fell down, it landed on the heads of two people sitting at their table one was a gentleman maybe in his 60's and the other was this little old lady who later I heard was 91..this is really not funny, it knocked her unconscious and she landed in the lap of the man sitting next to her. When she came to, she fainted again and someone was trying to hold her head up..in case of a neck injury. The gentleman was knocked to the floor right out of his seat..although I think was not hurt as badly as this fragile woman was. The paramedics came and took them both to the hospital! How sad this was as the happy couple stood there not knowing what to do! Finally the folks at the club got the event going so that people would not just stand there looking at this going on. Now how to get over that happening at your wedding?

No more little Boy...

2009-09-09T06:47:00.001-07:00

Summer is officially over and I am up at 6 am...again! YUCK...my not so little boy is starting high school today, I have such mixed emotions. He is the baby of five and in some ways like an only child with his 7-14 year age span between his brother and sisters. He is such a joy in my life that is really had not dawned on me how this day would make me feel! It reminds me of his first day of kindergarten..of course I cried...and suddenly I am overcome with those feeling again, my baby is going out into this great big world. As I call him little, he really is not 5 ft 11 now (taller than me) although very thin, he will also be a special little boy that tugs at my heart!

This is one of my favorite pics of him at age 10
I just love his curly hair.....

SCARY MORNING !!!!

2009-07-06T11:07:00.000-07:00

We live in beautiful neighborhood in the Hills of Claremont with a beautiful view of the Mountains and Hills. Although with this beauty come some downsides....Fires ! and wildlife...and I mean wildlife...we have had bears and bobcats and raccoons and of course every night COYOTES !!! I just hate to heard them....so this morning I was up earlier than usual and let my little Duchess out..she went out and wondered around, I went and got online to check my email when I heard her barking , now this is not anything new for her but something just did not sound right, kinda of like when you hear your child cry when they get hurt...anyway I ran out only to see a COYOTE chasing her on my patio! Now we have a large back yard so for them to be that close to our back door is weird, but anyway I opened the door and ran SCREAMING...GET OUT as loud as I could chasing it (I knew it would be scared and run) and of course my little Duchess was running right behind it barking!!! Well it ran and jumped over the fence and I grabbed my Duchess and ran back into the house! My husband came down stairs asking "what is going on" me in tears and shaking holding my soaking wet little Duchess....trying to tell him that I just chased away a COYOTE! Good ending though Duchess is fine and I did not find a mark on her anywhere..but of course now I am afraid to let her outside (I guess I will have to go out and do COYOTE watch in the morning now!!!!

PLAY STRONG

2009-07-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

DESIGN GIVES BACK: Decorate a Scarf & Help Lost Dogs

Design Gives Back projects help the world through creative action. Right now people are abandoning dogs and cats at an alarming rate because of home foreclosure and job loss. Can you imagine having to give-up your precious little family member? Heartbreaking. Simply by decorating an Oliver Wendell "Play Strong" scarf and sending a pic of your creation on your dog–or a friend's dog–you will earn a $10.00 donation to help these abandoned pets. So, simply by applying our creativity to making a cute scarf we can raise $2,000 for these needy friends!
Thanks Kalee for the opportunity to help out!

Show me your Crown

2009-06-09T21:47:00.000-07:00

The day has come for "Show me your Crown" so here is my creation. I have been working in this crown and had only the base finished when I came across this blog vintagebellastudio (be sure to visit here to see all of the crowns) and just knew it was the inspiration I needed to finish.
My Crown in all its beauty

A View from the side

The back was simple as I just tied all the

pieces together with stain seam binding

A view from the top

This was really a fun project, now if I just had the perfect place to wear my Crown I would be in heaven!

Its all about the Bag

2009-05-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

One of the classes I took last November at Silver Bella was a canvas bag class called "Prada Smada" we took a canvas bag from Michael's and painted it , stamped on it and added lots of vintage lace , ribbons buttons and other goodies...I really wasn't sure what to bring for this class as we were to bring some fabric and trim for our bags. I picked some dark colors of black , green and brick red...of course these were not the colors of paint which where provided to us they were pinks, blues and creams..DUH!!! I really had no idea, this was my first time to Silver Bella and now I know everything is PINK!!!!!! I decided to try it again since I really liked the idea..so when my friend Karen's b-day was here I just knew she would love a PINK bag! This first one I made just for her, I painted pink and cream stripes on the bag then stamped with french writing stamp.

I added the pocket with Vintage lace and buttons and made a cute ruffle for around the top. I finished it off with a flower old lace and ribbon hanging down and a beautiful vintage pin in the center of the flower. She loved it and screamed when she opened it up!

Then I decided since I like her bag so much that I simply must have one for me..this a picture of my bag. I made the ruffle around the top of the bag with burlap..love it...and put this lovely Vintage pin I found on the pocket (I was saving this pin for something special) Don't just love to hoard the GOOD STUFF!

START THE CAR!!!!!!

2009-05-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

Ever get that "Start the car feeling" like that Ikea commerical on TV where that lady thinks she just got the best bargain ever and runs out yelling at her husband to start the car because she is sure they rang it up wrong and will come running after her. Well I got that feeling when I found this beautiful all glass crystal chandelier hanging over a table at an estate sale I went to. I had been looking for one for my shop to hang over my front desk...I even had it all wired up and a switch put in when I did the remodel knowing that I would put it up there when I found the perfect one. Well check it out I got this beauty for $125, they said it was from the mid fifties..it is all glass and sparkles like diamonds! I looked around at lighting stores just to compare and most of them that were all glass started at around $700 and up..wow!The pictures do not even begin to show off just how beautiful it really is I just love it and fits perfect...START THE CAR!!!!!

more...

2009-05-04T10:16:00.000-07:00

Now that my room is so pretty I have to show it off!! Look at the cute little owl that holds some of my tools..he sits on the cute tray that I got from my sweet friend Jessi just perfect! I love the fact that the skirt I made to go around my work table hides my junk on the other side..sweet. I am making a cute swag to go across my window almost done with that tissue paper pom poms...yeah can't wait to show you.

more...

2009-05-04T10:11:00.001-07:00

COMPLETE !!!

2009-05-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

My room is done....wow this really was a process, I don't know how those people on Clean House do an entire home! This one room took me about a month to do..lots of stuff to clean out and organize. OK...so I just love my new room and I can find everything since it now has a place! I am still on the hunt for a few items to fill it up ( I have one empty space on the wall) and I know what I want, just need to find it. And of course I have been looking for an old vintage dress form. I am taking a 18 day trip this summer to South Dakota (Sturgis Harley Run) trailering bikes with motor home, but little does my husband know we will be making a few stops along the way as there are many antique shops along the way..he..he

Little Bunny FOO FOO...

2009-03-25T09:32:00.001-07:00

I have a thing for Bunnies, who can resist them they are so cute...anyway this little bunny has been hiding in my storage since October when I found him at the flea market....I knew he would be perfect for my Spring decorations....I just added the wreath around him and..Wow he looks so cute on my coffee table, I think I'll keep him!

Spring Fever

2009-03-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

I am getting the BUG..the Spring Fever BUG! I have been wanting to get a glass dome or two and found a get DEAL at Micheal's...YES Micheal's, I found this beauty hidden on the back shelf in the back of the store and best of all it was on CLEARANCE! Yeah..SOOoooo I got two of them one large and one smaller..OK so I got four of them, but two where for my friend Karen who has also been looking for these. I got the cute little bunny and added a bow and vintage button, and the nest with moss, vintage flowers and some sparkly Easter eggs. I really want a glass cake stand but that is still on my list of things to find!

My Wild Side

2009-03-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

This is my gift from my Husband...I got to have my bike custom painted. I thought about a pink bike..but then I thought my husband has to ride with me and he may feel weird about that! My favorite color is blue so I decided to keep the blue color (only got it candy coated blue) and added the flames, skull, wings and of course the CROWN! OK what do you think? When I met with the painter he was looking at me funny when I tried to describe to him what I wanted, he really looked at me weird when I told him I wanted a CROWN on the skull, I asked "You must not get many girls in here with bikes" and he responded with this odd look on his face " you are the first!" Well I just LOVE it, now if this weather would just stay nice I might get a chance to take it out and show it off alittle bit...hopefully very soon!

Clean House

2009-03-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

My friend Karen is a clutter buster, you know like that show Clean House...well I needed HELP! My craft room was getting out of control so she came over and helped me get it together. First we had to unload everything, and I mean everything..and put it in baskets and bins by category, we had a trash bin and a garage sale bin. Wow just like I was on TV...since I had it all apart I figured why not remodel, now would sure be a good time since everything was out of it place I could move a few things around and bring in some new fixtures...right? So here is the mess before....I am almost finished and will post my beautiful new room in which I will no longer call it my craft room but it will be my Studio..Ha!

OH MARIE.....

2009-01-16T09:23:00.000-08:00

OH MARIE!

2009-01-16T09:11:00.000-08:00

That Kim is SOooo... AMAZING! What an event this was as Candice taught the most beautiful journal (I'll post pics when it is all done) and we indulged ourselves in everything Marie..cake , macaroons, tea, along with wonderful tasty treats Kim provided..

I did the wand swap and dress form swap (the ones I made are pictured) I need to get pics of mine to post as they are so very lovely, My wand partner Cynthia made me the cutest "Primped Salon" wand with a mirror, so cute! My dress form partner Jenny (she is a DOLL) made me a beautiful pink dress with vintage lace and crystals, now I got your attention, I will post the pics for you!

Just look at ALL this GOODNESS!!! Kim you are AWESOME!

more Silver Bella

2009-01-16T09:07:00.001-08:00

Silver Bella

2009-01-16T08:40:00.000-08:00

Man is it January already??? I have alot to post... here are some pics from my trip to Silver Bella in Omaha NE from November...YES I said NOVEMBER..(I am really behind) all the girls went out shopping downtown and then we had lunch together..group photo.. some pics of the lovely PRADA bags we made, love the bright colors some gals used. A pic of me and Pam Garrison with my beautiful Home for the Holidays class she did...love my wall hanging! I had such a blast with all of these ladies and I am DEFINITELY going next year!!!

A GRAND Event

2008-11-11T08:43:00.000-08:00

I survived....We had our Grand Opening Event and ribbon cutting of Primped Salon & Boutique last week...What a great turn out we had. I was so pleased to see the loyal customers as well as family and friends who came out to help us celebrate. Almost everything has been completed with the exception of a few minor details that are left in order to call this remodel done! Really it was more like a renovation...All the girls dressed up and we took lots of pictures. If you did not get a chance to participate in this event , NO worries because we have more things planned.

November 20th : Cookie Lee Trunk Show 5-8pm

December 4th : Mirabella Make up event 5-9pm (you don't want to miss this one, call and book your spot now (909)596-9255)

STILL ALIVE

2008-10-12T21:18:00.000-07:00

I know you may think that I have disappeared from the BLOG world but not true!!!!! I know it has been a while but if you remember back when I posted my aprons and told you that it would be a SURPRISE about where you could buy one.....well it is time to tell ALL....I was in the process of purchasing a business (of course escrow and all the paperwork take WAY longer than you think) anyway I closed escrow on August 15th (mind you this was all going on while planning and carrying out a WEDDING for my daughter on August 10th) call me CRAZY!!!! OK so anyway I am now the PROUD owner of "Primped Salon & Boutique" located in La Verne....YES I was a hairstylist once upon a time (no longer ) but this may be the best of both worlds for me...I had been wanting to open a business for a long time and was alittle nervous about it all, then I began to think about the fact that I have two daughters who are in school and Amanda will graduate in December from Citrus College Cosmetology...YEAH! SOOooooo they can work in the salon and I can run the boutique....good idea, so my search began and I was told by a friend of mine who knew I was looking for a place about this Salon for sale...well long story short I bought it, all of the stylists (8) have stayed on with me as I have remodeled this shop from head to toe...I have created a blog to try to keep track of the process and also so I can share with all of my friends about my new found venture! Of course I have many hand made items in the boutique (not all made by me either) from many creative women that I have met over the past year or more! SOooo stop waiting and go to my site and check it out http://www.primpedsalon.blogspot.com/ keep checking in to see all of the new changes and for our GRAND OPENING EVENT coming soon!

Sweet & Sinister Swap

2008-10-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of my goodies that I made for my Sweet & Sinister swap buddy Cupcake DD....you will also see then all wrapped up and ready to go! I got to meet with my Swap buddy Julie which was WAY COOL she lives close by me so we met and swapped in person....so nice to meet the people you swap with, and the Funny thing was that she knows SCRAPPY JESSI...well I am beginning to think EVeryOne knows JESSI...anyway she was meeting up with the AAA group after the event on Sat and going to the Santa Monica flea market, I was so sorry to miss out on this but just too many things I needed to do. I will post all my Sweet & Sinister gift I received later (that means that I need to take some pics for you)HA!

Apron Swap

2008-08-31T17:53:00.003-07:00

I got my package ready to ship to my APRON Swap Buddy EMILY before I left on my vacation...I was in such a rush to get it done that I forgot to take any pics of my project...oops! Put I did get a pics of the package!!! Yeah! Then when I got home my package was waiting for me to OPEN... I tore into it to unveil this darling apron...love the colors and Ric Rac, just my style THANKS Emily! She also sent me a few lovely additions ..love it ALL!

More Bday tags

2008-08-31T17:53:00.002-07:00

Barn Sale Bday Party

2008-08-31T17:53:00.001-07:00

For my Bday I went with my best shopping BUDDY Kelly down to the Barn Sale and met up with some lovely lady friends for a day filled with shopping, wine food and laughter...what more could a Girl ask for her Bday! The sale was a blast... I will post some pics of my loot later. Then Kelly and I took a little break (about 100 degrees out) for some refreshments (yes WINE is considered a refreshment) checked out a few wineries down in Temecula..GREAT! Then back to barn sale for MORE shopping and then off the South Coast Winery for a FAB dinner all planned by my friends, Kelly, Kim A., Holly, Susan, Kim H., Cheryl, Jenny and a few new friends also. Kelly made me cute little Bday hat to wear, and all of the girls made a bday tag for me...I cannot even express my gratitude for this lovely day and gifts. I even got a tag from Scrappy Jessi from Omaha!!! Thanks is on the way to you all soon.... sorry for delay with my vacation I have been out of touch! Check out these darling tags...SSooo cute I hung it in my craft room PROUDLY!

MIA

2008-08-31T17:53:00.000-07:00

I have been MIA since the first of August....OK so a wedding and buying a business plus going on vacation were just a FEW of the things that I did in the last 30 DAYS!!! But the good news is I am back and ready to post all the above events PLUS more...

First the wedding....it went off great, but I was drinking champagne like it was water...and that was before the ceremony started! Yikes...But we ALL made it through and it was lovely. Check out some of these pics..

Circus Freaks

2008-08-03T08:33:00.002-07:00

My daughters had a Hair Show at school and they picked a theme of "Circus Freaks" here are some pics of the FREAKS.... my daughter Amanda did the make up.....pretty neat! And some of the hair also.... They did not win , but it was amazing to see some of the stuff these girls come up with. By the way I made the little black hat that the Ring Master is wearing!!!!!

BUSY BEE...

2008-08-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

I need time to update this blog....yikes! Wedding is 7 days away and lots of last minute details to take care of, running around getting this and that...HELP! I finally download pictures from my camera that were over a month old. So I thought I'd better get some of them posted. I wanted to show off my new shelves in my craft room (or crap room, as my husband refers to it) I found these cute decals at IKEA and put them up, now I can display some of my treasures and have room on my table top to actually work on projects! YEAH.

Brilliante Weblog Premio-2008

2008-07-08T13:38:00.000-07:00

What a TREAT to have received the Brilliante Weblog Premio-2008 from my new friend (and Silver Bella 2008 buddy)

Cheryl Stoneham. She is such a SWEETHEART for thinking of me! Below are listed the rules for receiving this award:

1) Put the logo on your blog
2) Add a link to the person who awarded you
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4) Add links to those blogs on yours
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

So now I share this honor with the following friends and fellow bloggers that inspire me everyday!

Oh lala... Kelly, my best CRAFTING friend!!!!!

A Handmade Tale... Tina, always an inspiration along with a smile

Wish.. Jennifer, Busy as a bee always scrappin friend

Crop.Paper.Sissors... PJ, scrappin friend and giggle girl

Everyday Scraps.... Susan, Fellow scrapper and cook extraordinaire

Maija Lepore , my new found buddy from Artistic Affaire

Mamma Jamma Blabba... Cindy, one of my very first scrappin friends

Vintage Apron Swap!

2008-07-07T14:21:00.000-07:00

My friend Jessi hooked up Kelly to this Vintage Apron Swap...so up my ALLEY!Check it out if you are interested garboodles.blogspot.com Sounds like fun and I am up for a NEW adventure right Now...You get a partner and then get to know them then swap vintage aprons..how FUN!!! I will have to make a trip downtown for some FAB fabrics.Can't wait to met my partner.....and get to know her.

Silver Bella ...here I come

2008-06-30T19:36:00.000-07:00

Yeah!!!! I am in and going to Silver Bella 2008 with my dear friend Kim Caldwell , Cheryl Stoneham and Jessi Nagy...can't wait to met up with you again for this AMAZING EVENT!!!! Thanks to my sweet Kim who got on and registered me when my computer would not bring up the link...I just can't THANK YOU enough!!! I surely would have missed it if not for you. I am so looking forward to this I just know it will totally amazing.

The Girls

2008-06-24T10:58:00.000-07:00

Oh my...were do I begin to explain our weekend adventure? These are just a few of the pics of the GIRLS out dancing a LAX nightclub and at Revolution Night club on Sat night....one pic is of all the Girls in the limo...they got a better deal on the limo than on a Taxi!!! believe it or not! We hung out by the pool most of day Friday and Sat..did alittle shopping ( of course) and then cleaned up for a night on the TOWN. More pics to come...SOON, but just remember " What happens in VEGAS Stays in VEGAS!!!!"

WHAT did I get MYself INTO?????

2008-06-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

I am off this weekend to Las Vegas for the BIG Bachelorette PArty...me , and 7 young Ladies ( I say that loosely) they are a Wild Bunch. These are some of the items we got for the Party....shot glass necklaces, sipping straws with Pe---'s on them OH MY! a cute tiara for the Bride to be, and of course games, dice drinking game and PIn the Junk on the HUnk...I am bringing my friend Kelly along to help protect me from these CRAzy GIRls!!!! I made these cute little gift bags for all the girls out of these cute little corset bags I found and filled with Dirty Girl gum and Sexy lip gloss, added a Starbucks gift card because I know they will all need COFFEE in the morning and put them in a cute bag with this little tag I made for GIRLs Night OUt! Pray for ME!

Count Down

2008-06-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

I am starting to get NERVOUS!!! Less than 60DAYS to the wedding.... My two sisters Kim and Jill are having a Bridal Shower for my daughter Nikki...of course I was asked to make the invites, with little time I put together this cute invite with her wedding colors and theme. They are simple...but I like the way they came out. They are doing a recipe book for her so everyone get a recipe card to fill out and bring. Of course I will be making a OH so cute little book to hold all of the recipes. Still a lot of last minute things to do.....off today to buy wedding shoes and gifts for the Bridesmaids and Groomsmen!!!! I will need my VacATion when this is over....

A CheRRy on Top

2008-06-04T17:12:00.000-07:00

Check out the new addition to my APron Collection.....tOO Cute

Did you guess right?

2008-05-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are some pics of just a couple of the items I have been busy creating. These OH so cute aprons are perfect for the Domestic Diva...I just love the vintage pink COWGirl one! Also the pic of my custom tags I made to go on each lovely apron. Additionally I am posting a pic of the coolest suede wrist cuffs that I am making also. NOW ...I'll keep you guessing for a little while as where you can pick up one of these cuties...and I will post more later...I still have lots of fabric in the most beautiful prints...keep checking back for more info!

Bling BLINg

2008-05-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

Its official, I got my motorcycle license...I took the Ride Rite class in Corona and PASSED, then I took my certificate to the DMV where I had to take the written test, but I I wasn't prepared for was that I ALSO had to take the regular written test for a license too..they require that when you get a motorcycle license added the you also take the regular test so the your NEW license will expire at the same time, YIKES! So I grabbed a booklet and did a quick study while I was waiting to be called. You can only missed three, I missed two, So I passed! Then you just show them your certificate from the Ride Rite program showing that you passed the driving test and POOF, you get your new license. Sooo now I am legal! Check my beautiful new bike, I had a windshield added to the front, to give some relief from the BUGS that fly into my teeth...and check out the BLing I added to my new license plate frame...what will be next?

My Little Home

2008-05-21T06:50:00.001-07:00

Miss Lori Marie had the cutest project for us at AAA, we got to make our Dream Home with fabric and felt and mount it on a canvas...of course most of us did not finish this project as it needed alot of detail work done...but finally I am done. This was a fun project and I just wanted to keep adding more and more to it. I love the little Owl cut out Lori gave us and I put mine on the roof. I love bird houses so of course I put one in the front yard and what bird house would not be complete without a LITTLE birdie, so mine is in the tree. Last but not least, my home would not be a home without my little wiener dog...DUCHESS, check out her pink flowered collar!!!!She queen of the YARD....Thanks Lori for such a CUTE project!!!!

Take a Guess?

2008-05-20T15:53:00.000-07:00

OK...so I LOVE fabric...and my recent trip to LA I just had to stop and shop at my FAV fabric store Micheal Levine's. I picked up these OH so cute prints from Amy Butler and Micheal Miller. Can you guess what I will make with these lovelies? Off to my sewing machine so I can post a sample for you. Then I will give you some hints of where you can purchase one.......that is the BIG NEWS to come SOON......HE...HE...he...I'm SO bad!!!!!

AAA

2008-05-09T09:52:00.000-07:00

I can't even begin to tell you about the most fantastic weekend I spent at AAA, that is An Artistic Affaire and Kim's home in Culver city. First we had Friday night soiree at Sweetpeas with a Moroccan theme...check out the table decor (totally over the top) the colors were awesome, bright oranges and pinks, complete with a belly dancer and henna tattoo artist. Then on Sat morning off to Kim's house were I was just dumb founded by her beautiful home. She had every detail so beautifully done, we had an afternoon tea with all the trimmings....as well as lunch and dinner, seems like Kim was always coming around with a tray filled with scrumious goodies. Even her drink set up was so inviting. Check out my ever so cute little cupcake birthday book we hand stitched this was Kim Henkel's class, then Emily http://www.embers.typepad.com/ in the picture with me taught us the most beautiful bird book using PAPER Towels (can you believe it) but mine is not complete yet so I will post the pics later. Then Lori Maire (OK I will have to do a whole page on this cutie) showed us how to make our dream home on cloth and then mounted to a canvas (another incomplete project, but I am almost done with mine and will post SOON. You do have to check out her web site http://www.prettylittlethings.typepad.com/ though. Then last but not least CANDICE...and her beautiful party hat, don't we all look like Queens in our lovely hats? This was the most beautiful day spent with some of the most creative ladies I have ever met, I am just so inspired to create...create...create...Oh and Kim will be hosting another on in Oct this year, of course we got to pre sign up...but it you get the chance you simply must go to this event....it is sooooooo... worth it !

I Finally did it!

2008-04-20T08:12:00.000-07:00

As most of you who know me , know that I have been wanting to learn to ride a Harley so I can GET MY OWN, well check me out in these pics. We rented one for the day and I got on it an RODE...after a little practice we hit the road and went down to the Claremont Village for lunch. I was alittle nervous out on the street with all of the CARS, but I did pretty good. NOW we are looking at this bike for me it is the same as the one in the picture (color and all) who knows we are off to the Laughlin River Run on Thursday and maybe...just maybe...I will be bringing my own BIKE!

A Little Birdie Told ME....

2008-02-26T15:21:00.000-08:00

It was someone Birthday! Sneek peek at this little birdie that I made for my friend KELLY B. , I am really into the Birds now and since we are soooo much alike, well I thought this Pink (her fav color) birdie was just the ticket, with the little added scroll of Birds of a Feather I liked it so much I made one for me too!!HAPPY BIrthday Kel..

Smitten

2008-02-20T17:42:00.000-08:00

Finished my Valentines Day Box and Book took some time to create this one...but I am happy with the outcome. Used Maya Road box and heart shaped book I got in my kit from Scrapologie. I used a few things from the kits like the cute Rabbit coaster on the cover of book, and I really liked the heart shaped paper clips from Making Memories. The vintage valentines from Daisy D's are cute also, added alot of buttons and some flowers with heart shaped brads (glittered of course) for that touch of Bling..

Greece Finally

2008-02-11T12:53:00.000-08:00

So it only took me six months to start scrapping my trip to GREECE...I went to a Desert Scrappers Retreat and packed up all of the papers I purchased and printed out about 60 of the 750 plus pictures that I took, and promised that I would at least start this book. I got about 8 pages done. I know it doesn't seem like alot (of course it was not the only thing that I worked on) some of those GALs are just plain CRAZY as they do about 50 to 100 pages in a weekend. Me I take my time and of course I did some shopping while I was in the Palm Springs area..I just cann't go there and not shop! I found the cutest shop called PINK, and everything in it was PINK...anyway, this is just a sample of one of my page layouts that I did complete..more to come soon (I hope) for now I am busy at work on some Valentines projects.

Wedding 2008

2008-01-29T09:26:00.000-08:00

My first daughter is getting married on August 10th, 2008. Our weekends are filled with going places and making decisions about everything....she was getting overwhelmed trying to chose the Venue, and I got these cute photos of her...choice is made now and we are on for the wedding. I named it Project Wedding 2008. I am sure there will be more posts of this over the next few months. I may end up looking like this also!!!

Copy Cat

2008-01-29T09:19:00.000-08:00

I took the "JOY BANNER" class from Candice Carpenter at Its About Time Scrapbooks, and just fell in love with these cute letter banners, she make alot of them. Anyway when I saw them on Sale at Scrapping Good Times, well...lets just say I picked up a few! This is my Valentines Day Banner , I just hug it up along with some other valentines things I have. I think it came out cute...thanks Candice for the inspriation!!! Love your stuff...

Love Ride

2007-11-28T22:01:00.000-08:00

The Annual Love Ride was moved this year to Pomona Fair grounds,,oh so close to home now. We had to ride out to Pasadena to have breakfast so that we could ride in with the crowd. We live about 10 min from the fairgrounds....It was different , but fun, alot more vendors. I did find the perfect bike for me ...check out this picture...of course with all that bling bling it would be right up my alley, and check out that skull on the helmet. Hey Santa, I have been really, really good this year!!!!!

Cute Bags

2007-11-28T21:45:00.000-08:00

My scrappin Friend Mary gave this cute pattern to make these little bags. I made different ones , filled them up with candy and gave to the gals in the office. Aren't they cute ? You use a whole 12 x 12 piece of paper, score and fold , add ribbon and embellish..I think they would be cute for a Bridal shower or Baby shower, or even little Christmas gift bags, Mary made them and put a tea bag or hot chocolate bag in one side and a cute note card in the other side. I may just have to make some for the gals again!!!

Marah you ROCK!

2007-09-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

I took this class at The Red Bee in Tustin, after all it was Marah she inspires me so....loved her new RockSTar papers, so when I saw on her blog she was doing a class with all of the new papers, well I just had to take it. She is so cute and full of creative ideas it just amazes me. She used pleather? and black trash bags in this project... really I am not joking ..black trash bags. Brought my book home to PImP it Up, I will post some pics when it is complete.

Thanks Marah for your creative inspiration!

Winning the BLUe

2007-09-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

Had to make the trip to the LA Fair to check out all the scrap stuff. Here is a picture of my BLUe Ribbon winner this year. I made this cute little book about my husband and his boat fetish. In the 6 years we have been together we have owned 4 different boats. He loves his toys....I only wish they spelled my name right? Loved to see all of the ribbons on projects from people I work with at Scrappin Good Times and even a few students from my classes..you go girls! With all of this competition I will really have to get creative next year..watch out.

Simply De FRIGHTFUL Class

2007-09-08T21:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a sneek peek at my lastest creation, a 6 x 6 Halloween Book. I will be teaching this class at Scrappin Good Times in San Dimas on October 1st. Check out the store web site scrappingoodtimes.com and go to Classes to see many other creative classes from the SGT Design Team. I hope you can join us in one of our classes...that is if you dare??

It's the most SpOOKTACULAR time of the year!

2007-09-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

I love to decorate for Halloween, so when I visited Dark side of the Moon in Costa Mesa, my head started spinning...not because I had been possessed, but the decorations where just so darn creepy. My next stop was to my fav place, Scrappin Good Times in San Dimas. They are stirring up a wicked brew with all the new stuff on the shelves. My mind is thinking what fun I am going have putting all my ideas in the front window display...you won't want to miss this one. In case I forget to tell you later, this is my favorite window display (of course I say that every time)

Cooling off

2007-09-01T08:56:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again when I am focusing on fall and thinking about Halloween decorations and buying some of those cute sweaters that you see all over the stores. Then I realize it is 104 degrees outside. Yes that heat wave we get this time every year, or so it seems... We will be heading down to our boat in Newport to try to cool off this weekend. Maybe even go out and do some fishing. I am still waiting to catch the BIG one!

I am going to visit this cute store that is all the BUZZ right now. It is called Paris to the Moon, it is close to the marina, so I think I'll drop by. I first heard about this store while I was at Stamp your Heart out in Claremont. Kerri Judd and Danyel Montecinos wrote a book " Crowns & Tiaras" which is right up my alley. Then when I was reading Marah Johnson's blog she too mentioned Paris to the Moon and that she would be selling some of her creations at the store, I am so bummed that I missed her. Marah's style is an inspiration to me ( have you seen her new line, Rock star, Totally cute). I had the privilege to meet Marah and take a class from her at CHA in OC last spring. It was just so weird that all of a sudden I was seeing this store listed in a several blogs. I am going to pick up my copy of this book and maybe... just maybe.... I can get it signed.

Blinke

2007-08-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

Notice the Blinke..one of the SGT DT members Jennifer Priest made this Blinke up for the store (using the new exclusive diekut) it is just too cute..

The design was one I had done originally for our SGT Design Team tee shirts, then if came to life when it was chosen to be the Scrappin Good Times store exclusive quick kut die. NOW, you too can own this diekut and add this cute shape to your very own scrapbook pages. Drop by the store and see some of the layouts that the SGT Design Team and employees have made with this diekut. You will see just how versatile this die really is.

2007-08-23T14:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it only took me about three months to complete this blog....BUT finally I did it. It is just a start but I figured if I did not get going on this it would never happen. I have a hard time writing down my thoughts (my mind is constantly going) but I want to give it a try. Today I am getting ready for my 5oth Birthday Bash on Saturday. Yes that's right 50, I planned my own party, hey why not? I am really looking forward to it , got a DJ and went to Bev Mo for SUPPLIES. People in line where asking us "where's the party?" you can only guess how full our cart was. I like to call Bev Mo the candy store for grown ups. Anyway need to run off to Costco now , I guess I should get some snacks!!! You know, to go along with the supplies I got at Bev Mo.

I'll post some pics after the party that is if I have any that can be posted publicly. My friend Vivina and I will probably end up on the table dancing, well hopefully.....