Packing up....

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

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

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 ....

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....

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

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...

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.....