Paper Valise

I discovered this blog and its boutique by accident and what a find! They have some very unique curiosities like tiny vintage copper envelope lockets. tiny bird tins, vintage ticket bundles, shell buttons and mica bottles and paper doilies.
http://papiervalise.com/index.html check it out if you haven't already!

It has been awhile!

It has been awhile since I have posted. Life has come around full force suprising me and challenging my every fiber. On May 21st I had a fire that started in my garage and ended up destroying my entire home. It is not with a light heart that I say we were lucky to have made it out alive. We lost all of our material posessions, but we are alive and I am happier than I have been in a long time.
I am slowly returning to the scope of life and I could not be happier!

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y boys first first haircut!!! Gone are the girlish locks!
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In progress, in flight

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Mmm..

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Summer Pasts Faire

Getting ready for the Faire April 17th can't wait! Summer Past Farms is a beautiful open working flower farm. They make soaps, lavender satchets and have a good selection of ornamental garden accessories. You'll find biird houses, iron cages, mini fountains, gazing balls, topiaries and so much more. They have a cafe that makes scrumptious smoothies, sandwiches and mango iced tea. They host an annual craft and antiques faire with over 50 vendors. A great size and crowd. I will have a booth with my friend and fellow artist Celeste Roberts who paints amazing pet portraiture and mexican art. I wil be selling cards for all occasions, journals, gift tags, paintings and more.
This is a super close up of a card that I finished, it has a nice crackle and gem in the heart which is barely noticeable. I hand painted the word Love on the banner with Interference Iron Oxide (by Golden) which I just love and am using like crazy. Staining your vintage papers with a wash of this is great too.
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Nicolas is getting sooo big! We were at the park and he was loving that day. It takes very little to make him happy, a cupcake, a trip to the park, dinosaurs...
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The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
I love this quote, my dad e-mailed it to me and it has so much truth to it.

18 March Journal page

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After sketching it to death and planning and plotting I am finally painting my imaginary casitas on a 12x36 museum wrapped canvas.This is the first of two that I will make. I am going to "let go" while I am painting and let things happen naturally. I will not force all my pre-preparation on to it. To manifest it is good to just let it flow.

A gift of Frida

I received this beautiful fabric from some friends of mine. I absolutely love it and cannot wait to use it (or not).
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Ideas are brewing for a series of mini houses....
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Pages and pages

Sharing another journal page. Frida was coming through again.

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Bracelet from Wyanne

I purchased this colorful bracelet from Wyanne's Etsy shop as a gift to myself for my birthday. I love it and it fits perfectly. The flowers are charming and remind me of my desire for summer to get here!!
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Layers

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This page is starting to take some shape, the depth is coming through. Journaling is a process that I love for its availiblity, you can just open a page and start working. I like to let the page evolve. The freedom to do whatever I want without trying to make a "finished piece". I can express myself with words and images. Words are not enough sometimes to tap into what I may want to express I just gotta have the visuals.
I was so lucky to have worked at PaperSource this past year, I learned much about paper quality and how make my own hard covered journals. I am teaching myself how to make a book using a Coptic stitch technique, its tricky and I keep trying to make it easier by creating my own version but it did not work so well. That is what I love about making and experimenting you can't lose, you just learn and grow.

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I am working on some journal pages and have completed about 5 pages. I love to work in my journals, total freedom, no rules fun. Charcoal is a great technique that I love to use. It really finishes the collaged pieces.
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I need a Cupcake that won't make me fat...

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working on my colors. I primed the panels first with gesso, and acrylic ground for pastels. After that dried I scrubbed in some titan buff then painted the background in various tones of green and turquoise. I decided to add something sweet to the base color(I have been craving cupcakes from the Lemon Grove bakery), something that does not require a lot of thought or heavy feeling- just pure enjoyment.Like the empty calories in a cupcake.
Speaking of small cakes my 43rd birthday is approaching. On that day I will not only have cupcakes but a glass of wine. I have been very strict with fat, sugar, caffeine and alcohol in my diet since I discovered that I have gallstones in my gallbladder. They have conveniently settled in a sensitive area and anytime I eat anything with too much fat or sugar etc.. I end up feeling terrible. It's just not worth it. I have been eating non irritating foods and for now am controlling the problem through diet. As a result I am losing weight which is something I have been yoyo'ing since Nicolas was born two years ago. I wont complain.

I had a class yesterday with Nadia. I am teaching her some basics on how to draw and paint. We will also do some mixed-media. She is eight years old and adorable. Last year for Halloween she was Amelia Earhart complete with plane. Her mother hand made the entire costume using card board, paint and cut up water jugs.She painted it a shiny red, It truly looked like a vintage Lockheed Vega that Amelia flew in. I will have to get a copy of the picture and post it later. SO creative.

Long Tall Skinny Journal

I completed the LTS and what fun it was to make. I used some corrugated card board for the covers, glued down vintage French grammar pages and painted over them with Golden's Fluid acrylics. I will add text, some images and more paint to the covers next but I am enjoying it plain. It measures 14" x 5" and has 20 pages of heavy watercolor paper inside.

Jenny Doh the former editor at Somerset Studios has been spreading the words "Art Saves" on her blog, Cresendoh (http://jennydoh.typepad.com/crescendo/)I love this message and its multi-layered meaning. I think of the millions of times that I have said to myself: just get through the workday and you can get back to that painting or just get the baby to bed and you can go to the studio and make those cards with the new stamps you just bought. Art has brought balance into my life and a place where I can be myself and express my viewpoint. It saves me daily.
On another level Art not only saves, but heals those who have suffered from trauma or sickness. Colorful expression, journaling, drawing, collaging helps patients recovering from cancer see the light in the midst of their darkness. Although their bodies are sick their minds are strong and coping with their illness. Art helps this process.
Jenny Doh raised 250K at CHA with the help of fellow Artists who donated their time, money and work. I want to be apart of saving people through Art.
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Bind Away

This is the cover of a long tall skinny (LTS) journal that I am making using some new techniques I've learned in Color Beyond the Basics. I love how its turning out so far.
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Life is good!!

My son enjoys going for coffee and a treat just as much as I do!! Bon vivant!!
I am going to a mini workshop tomorrow hosted by Donna Salazar. We are going to play with her new Diztrezz-it-All and some other new items. I hope to get some more insight on how to use the Bind-it-all, which is a bit tricky because it still is unfamiliar to me. I did some practice runs today and it was challenging! But once I get it down I know I am going to use it for everything.


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Peace in the most unexpected places

I have had an issue with my coffemaker for the past few months, it keeps leaking brown liquid from its base well after coffee time is over. This morning when I went to make fresh coffee I found that the leaky mess had formed my favorite sign!!! Give Peace a chance!
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The Boy I Love

I did this page in my journal 2 years ago. I loved it then and I still love it now. The little boy is my husband as a boy. Our son looks just like him. A good journal page is timeless. Not that there are any really bad journal pages. Its a process and sometimes the result is more fulfilling than others.
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Valentines Day!

I made all of these in the month of February. Who can resist the need to create "lovely" things? Of course I love my husband, my children, my family but I am also in love with my Art and the creative satisfaction it fulfills, there is no other.
So I CELEBRATE the LOVE of all things this month but primarily the LOVE of Art~

CRAFT CRITIQUE is hosting a Valentine Blog Carnival Call encouraging bloggers to show off and share Valentine related crafty projects: paper, fabric, yarn, food, jewelry...

Just e-mail CRAFT CRITIIQUE at carnival@craftcritique.com with a link to your blog post (not the blog itself... JUST the post or individual posts). Do this before February 10th, 6pm Central Time. Feel free to send in old posts, new posts or posts from your BFF's blog... anything goes... but it must be Valentine's Day or love-themed, and it must be on a blog. Here's a great tip: if you use tags on your blog, and have a TAG for "Valentine's Day" click on that... send us the link to that TAG.
Limit one link per person!

They will put together one amazing Carnival post of all the wonderful links sent to them and share with their readers YOUR terrific blog! Dont forget to tell your YOUR blog readers about the carnival too! And wham... we are all one big happy, crafty, bloggy family!

Wyanne is an Artist from Amelia Island in Florida and she does some of the most creative and freeing work I have seen in awhile. I love her work! This cheeky owl is so cute and I love the final coat of resin that she applies at the end. She makes it look so easy. Visit her at http://wyartjewels.blogspot.com/

Mis en Place

I'm starting dinner, gathering mi mis en place.
The wine is for me. I am making a roast chicken from my Julia Childs cook book from Knopf publishers in 1970. I love her books I have both volumes that very old. Creating lends itself to so many mediums and cooking is in my top two. Art and cooking. I am driving my husband bananas because I am making cookies every other day. I do admit that I have been on a baking frenzy lately but mainly due how cold it is in our house. Albeit we are in San Diego, it gets cold when you do not have a heating unit in your home. Its like camping!! Our furnace has gone defunct and is pending replacement.

Happy! I made it to the studio today and prepared some pages for painting for my online class through Julie Pritchard's Land of Lost Luggage network. She has paired up with Golden's Chris Cozen for a series of classes on color.
I look forward to it, I have been crafting and I am ready for a bit of a change. I have some ideas brewing.
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Pink door Turquoise trim

Who does'nt like a hot pink door with turquoise trim?
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About stuff that gets stolen.

So we had a minor theft occur from our front porch the night before last. While we were down for the night someone took my husbands tool bag and my son's jogger/stroller. Please! I was in a panic today because as I do not have a car right now the stroller is my main means of getting around with Nico. Anyway I went to my local Veterens thrift store and found one nearly identical to the one that was taken and in some ways nicer. The color is a periwinkle blue and has a very convenient handbrake. Its a little bit larger and her fits better in too. Some things just work out.The funny thing is that I had a strong feeling this morning before setting out to the Thrift that I would find what I needed. My husband however had to pull together tools from his old stock and use a bucket to store them. But my point is that its just stuff and you can almost ALWAYS replace it. Its just stuff!

Check it out!! For dinner I made turkey meatball subs on rosemary rolls with fresh green beans. An odd pairing but we needed a veg in there somewhere. I also made Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chip cookies which are delicioso.

While in the studio the other day I was overwhelmed by the amount of supplies and things I have to make art with. I have exotic items and everyday items. I decided that I would review the products and the projects as I go along. I will impart an honest perspective on how they performed. For example Goldens Self leveling Tar Gel. i am fascinated by what it can do. I will post a review once I have worked with its possibilities.

I went to the website at http://www.goldenpaints.com/technicaldata/targel.php
and found this informative video demoing the product.

PAPAYA! BLOG

PAPAYA! BLOG

I have made the giant leap into the land of ETSY. I finally listed a few items that I made today and they look pretty good. Taking good pictures is not as easy as I would like it to be. I cannot seem to get a good clean, crisp close-up shot. I got as close as I could and they look pretty good in the shop. I also worked with a great ETSY seller named "D" at the PhotoSpot for my banner. The Busy Bee Paperie is now open for business!!

Tread lightly

I made this acrylic painting in celebration of Valentines Day. Tread lightly on my heart and my soul. Although you cannot see it too well the reds just glow. I used some of Chris Cozen's technique for building color. The effect is deep and rich. I also used Goldens modeling paste which is easy to apply when fresh. Unfortunately I had an ancient tub that had already turned. I used it anyway by freshing it with a bit of water and working it with my palette knife. I coated the hearts with Self Leveling Clear Tar Gel which gave it a glossy finish. Golden makes amazing products that inspire experimentation.

Potty Train Me Please!!

I am determined to get him trained! He is very aware of the process but is very resistent to change. Just like a male....

Testing

I am super excited at the possibility of blogging from my mobile!!

Penwork 1

Penwork 3

Journaling Penwork 3

Teesha Moores Journaling Penwork4

Happy Post ThanksGiving!

I really love this quote:
The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect, but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves. -C.G. Jung

I am in love with this new journal I bought from ETSY. The seller is a women in Austri. She handmakes the most wonderful books with the nicest paper which is hand torn and painted.

I like this picture of me and my 13 year old daughter, she is so pretty!

I was contacted by the Tribune about my request to publish my class schedule in their design section of the Sunday edition. I was contacted that they would not be able to post it because they needed more info. I did not include my hours of operation and the address to the studio. Needless to say I am feeling dim because I did not include this initially. I will resend it again with the proper information.

Does anyone have a good idea on a creative way to make something from book jackets? My mother's friend works at a local university library where she is in charge of processing new books. The procedure is to remove all book jackets and then label them in a very institutional style. The library then throws out book jackets that in themselves are beautiful. Such amazing artwork, colors and fonts but she has brought me so many that I they now have their own storage box. I understand that she is getting ready to drop off more so I need to figure out what to do with them. I thought of sewing them together like signature pages and then binding them with book board and cloth tape. I could then alter the pages inside in various ways.

I am open to ideas...

Excited today to have a sitter for the evening. I am going to go out with the hubs to see " The Hangover" an alleged comedy. We shall see.
I have finished a whole series of cards for the show in October. I also came up with a new style. I will have to scan and post the designs.
So we are in the midst of summer life is good with little to complain about. We decided no move to Hawaii, we will continue our life in San Diego, less than 5 miles for the beach. We have the Aloha spirit and lifestyle already and we do not need to move for that.

Classes are underway

I finally to the step to advertise a class I would like to teach. I am starting off with a basic rubber stamping and altered surface class. I hope I have some respondents! I really want my studio to be a working one with classes and students and "stuff" being made!
I have not been good at blogging but I am trying to be persistent in posting. Just turning on the computer can be a challenge! I have a Blackberry so I get all my e-mails and notices on my handheld. I cannot post from it! Too small to navigate the keys....
This weekend we are going down south of the border to Rosarito beach. We are staying at Las Palomas beach club and resort. It will be nice to be surfside and to relax. Secretly I would love to send the family off with out me so I can have 3 days at the studio. I would probably just sleep there too so that I can wake up and continue creating. There is a coffee maker and mini fridge so I would not even have to come home! Now that would be a GIFT!!

The 8 hour gift...

Today my husband gave me the greatest gift ever. No-not a diamond tennis bracelet or designer handbag. He gave me time: 8 hours away from the baby and the chores and I knew exactly that I would head to my studio. I planned to make something and enjoy the day. When I got to the studio I realized that it was a total mess and in need of organization and cleaning! There was a heavy layer of glitter and embossing powder over everything and unfinished projects everywhere and tons and tons of scrap stuff. Scrap stuff like bits of paper, charms,found items and pieces of this and that. I fear I will have found something useful for it and regret it later. I took my gift today and cleaned up. I also moved furniture, desks, bookcases and re-arranged everything so that it would be more functional. I took out all my rubber stamps and displayed them on a shelf so I can see what I have at all times. I took out almost everything that I had in a bin or stored and made it readily availible for use. I have such great stuff and I forget about it when its locked away.






I put a table in the middle so that I am able to see everthing from where I am seated. Now that I am organized I hope to have another day so I can actually make something!

I am making a new journal with some really great watercolor paper. I have already sewn the signatures together but need to glue it to the binding. It is sitting here screaming at me for attention. I will not be able to get to that until I finish the embellished, outrageous theater masks that are to be used in my nieces quincenera. From there I need to make table tents which communicate that the guests should enjoy the disposable cameras found at each table but to leave them at in the basket by the door when they are done. Sometimes they never make it back so hopefully this will get the message across. After the tents I have to make the initations for my father-in-law's 70th birthday which we are celebrating in Rosarito beach. I am embossing shells and starfish on some great petal shaped invitations. The colors are sea blue and khaki with a chocolate colored font. Just the word chocolate makes my seritonen spike!

After I am done with the invitel I will return to completeing the journal and adding beeswax to a couple of paintings that have been sitting!

Working is Good

I love this color chart from the Paper Source. You choose the color that sings to you which then reveals some character traits associated with the chosen color.
I worked today from 12-4pm today. I enjoyed every moment of it, my feet were tired and my ankle swollen! Yikes..I hope the pilates and ice will help!
Although I did not get to make anything today I helped several customers with their projects. I sold several Coccoina glue stix.
It works super well and smells amazing, like almond butter. I need to hide it from the little dude or it will end up in his stomach. I used to eat paste in kindergarten and it did'nt kill me!

This mini-video is whimsical and inspiring. Super talented Jen Gray!

This is one of my favorite pictures of my little Nico. He is a bundle of energie!!!

Procrastinate no more!

I have been wanting to start a blog for the longest time. I have been putting it off until I had time to really sit down and create something "amazing". But like most people time is something I never, ever have. So I decided to stop waiting for that time to come to me and just start. It seems to be the theme of my life, waiting for the time when I can sit and do something with all my attention dedicated to the task. Sometimes you just need to start up regardless of the time restraint. I realize that I can be just as creative and open. I also decided to stop worrying about what I would post about and just let things flow. It is such and overused sentiment but life is a journey and each of has something unique and realtive to contibute. I look forward to reaching out to an enormous artistic community to share in this journey.