Charming charms

I was so excited when I got home and found a package waiting for me. I had heard a lot of buzz from different bloggers about Kelly Snelling and Ruth Rae‘s book, A Charming Exchange. I knew by looking at the cover that I needed to get my hands on it as soon as I could.

Yay! The book is a wonderful work of art in itself. So many amazing artists collaborated to make this a masterpiece. The photography is stunning; the artwork is gorgeous; and the instructional demo-like lessons are very detailed; not to mention, the wealth of valuable resources referenced. I didn’t realize one of my art-friends is a contributor… way to go, Marci! And one of my favorite artists, Deryn Mentock, also contributed some beautiful pieces. Oh, how I love vintage coin purses. If you share my passion for those old, worn, kiss-locked pieces of leather, you’ll also die for The Shepherds Amulet… it is enchanting and delightful. Go out and get this book… it will definitely wake up your muse.

Speaking of muses… I have so many ideas swirling around. I only wish my “studio” was better organized so I could work in there. I have a professional organizer coming on Saturday morning to help me get a plan together for working through the mess. I am hopeful that change is just around the corner and I can become more engaged in my creative projects. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I am really thrilled about a round robin charm swap I will be participating in and eager to get started. There are 10 participants and it will take months to complete. The participants are all members of the Charmsters group I belong to. Each participant has taken their time to decide a special theme for either a necklace or bracelet. Each of us will create our own first charm. I am planning on using one of the soldered pieces I made in Stephanie Lee‘s class and embellishing it to fit my theme: Architectural Garden. My vision of the theme includes rough stone, weathered statues, patinas on tin, old architectural pieces, salvaged gates and finials, song birds, garden angels… a special place of peace and sanctuary. Everyone’s themes are so heartfelt; it’ll be a reverent exercise creating each unique piece. I’ve been making some eBay purchases (take a look at this, this, this, and this!) lately and hope to use some of my found objects in my work. I can’t wait to begin!

Mosaic party

My friend Dawn introduced me to this monthly art group. We met on Saturday at Sandy’s (Sandy, do you have a blog?) who gave instruction on how to do a mosaic project. She was so generous with her supplies and knowledge. I had such a wonderful time. Just look at the most beautiful creations everyone made.

Our pots pre-grout

What an artistic group of ladies!

Katy, Melissa, Sandy, Janie, Me, Sylvia, Turquoize

New look

What do you think of my new blog theme and header?

Logo

Here is a picture of a basic personalized logo I created.

I should really change my blog theme and create a matching blog header, huh?

Bird swap charms

Here are the thumbnails of the pictures I took of the charms from the Charmsters bird swap I participated in. I wish I was a better photographer. I don’t know if it’s me or the camera. I guess I need to experiment more. But just look at the wonderful charms everyone created. I can’t believe how much detail everyone put into these lovely pieces of art.

Suzanne Redmond

Pam Kirschenbaum

Maya Macauley

Carlee Ragsdale

Lori Guerin

Lore Caldwell

Kristine Zakarison

Kecia Deveney

Kathy Lefleur

Julie Saunders

Christine Hendry

Cheryl Connell

Betty Hooper

Zhulia Abrok

Terri Nickelson- Williams

Sharon DuBois

Michelle Geller

Melissa Merrill

Maureen Baranov

Jennifer Griffin

Janet Wilson

Connie Williams

Carol Moore

Denise Mares

When I was at Art & Soul in Hampton, Kecia and I decided to do an individual swap. I gave her one of my silver clay charms and she agreed to send me a unique charm in return. I love what she created. She is such a talented artist. If you don’t already do so, check out her blog. And if you love her artwork as well, she has a site on etsy.

1 for 1 charm swap

Katherine’s piece

Whew! Here are the pictures of my piece for Katherine. It’s in remembrance of her father. She told me some of the items she wanted in the composition and I tried to keep that in mind when I worked on it. Only thing: I wish I’d have taken Lisa’s workshops prior to creating this piece. Anyway, I hope she likes it. I did add one small thing after I took the picture: I added the word heart from an old book to the little doll (he needed something).

Workshop: Lisa Kaus

Just a quick post. I wanted to show my work from the workshops I took with Lisa Kaus this weekend.

Here is my house:

Here is my cake:

I’m still working on the piece for my friend and will post a picture as soon as it’s finished.

Random stuff

I’ve been busy working on a piece of artwork for a friend. I love how it’s turning out and I hope she likes it too. It’s a variation on the Morpheus box I made in Michael deMeng‘s class at Art & Soul. I need to add a one more thing then I’ll post a picture of it. She has actually offered to pay me for this work. I have no clue how much to charge her for it. I need to make sure it’s finished tomorrow so I can bring it with me when I go to Phoenix on Monday morning.

Today and tomorrow, I am taking the workshops with Lisa Kaus that I’ve been anxiously anticipating for so long. She is such a wonderful and talented artist. I feel so lucky to learn some of her techniques. Her studio is amazing and organized and she has wonderful goodies tucked here and there and beautiful artwork on display. Today was the cake class… what fun! I love her style and can’t wait until tomorrow’s house class. I’ll post pictures when I have a chance. I learned how to use those artist crayons to create depth and richness. In the past, I thought they were like watercolors but now that I know the trick to using them, I am anxious to get some more to use in upcoming projects. Take a look at Laurie’s cake; isn’t it yummy! If you ever get the chance, take a class with Lisa; you’ll be happy you did.

Early Monday morning, I’ll be flying to Arizona for work. We’re meeting there for two fun-filled days. Wednesday, we’re having central air conditioning installed! Yay! No more sleeping with the windows open and no more fan in the window pulling pollen into the house. I wake up every morning with extreme sinus congestion and pressure. Plus, no more waking up at 3:00 AM to the stench of skunk wafting in through the windows. This is definitely something we should have done long ago.

My latest rant

I met Steve for lunch today at Streets of Tanasbourne, which is just down the street from my office. He was all excited about the sale at Macy’s (yes, he likes to shop too!). So after lunch, I did a quick walk-through to see if they had any cute clothes in my size (every once in a while I find something I can’t live without). Anyway, to give you a little background… I’ve NEVER been petite. I don’t aspire to be petite. Even when I was smaller, I was not petite. So why in the world do they make someone my size walk all the way around the store past all the cute little outfits

in sizes S-M-L, next to the even cuter petite outfits

to the bigger, women’s sizes in the very far back corner of the store? Yes, that is a rhetorical question… I find it insulting, nonetheless. I don’t care if it’s only $28… I mean, who in their right mind would wear this?

The description: Eye candy. Colorful polka-dot print floats against a black background in this soft silk square-neck top… Why don’t they just use the word “clown” in the description because that’s what it’d look like in real-life! Hideous on so many levels, I don’t know where to begin! And what about this lovely number:

Flaunt the safari trend with this stylish animal-print patchwork silk skirt… patchwork?! Ugh! Oh, here’s one more… what self-respecting plus-sized woman would sport this lovely tunic?

I don’t think that particular shade of pink is flattering to anyone, much less, a size 18-ish grown woman. It’s not right, I’m telling you… who is doing the purchasing for this store? Who does the photography? Notice the cutesy poses on the little models and the unflattering cookie-cutter poses on all the bigger sizes? Do they think all us big girls also have no fashion sense? Holy crap, Macy’s people! I know I’m not the only one who feels this way! There are cute women’s-sized clothing out there! This cute dress

from Spiegel comes in plus. If you want me to continue shopping with you, Macy’s, do something about it!

Road trip recap

The trip to Cody was a lot of fun. The weather was really hot and humid. I got to do some shopping and had a couple really good meals. One was at Maxwell’s and the other was at the Rib and Chop House. We got to spend time with Steve’s family in Cody as well as my family in Billings.

The dogs were good and enjoyed the trip. They especially enjoyed the times we found parks and let them run off-leash. Chloe loves to roll around in the grass.

Below are some pictures I took while in Wyoming. The bears were all around Cody and will be auctioned off later this year. All were unique and beautiful. What a great town to visit!

I don’t know why I didn’t take any pictures while we were in Montana. I was surprised to see how green it was there; it was truly beautiful.

As much as I enjoyed the trip, it was really great to get home.