Life is a Collage....

26 days, and counting...

When you sign up for art retreats, they always seem like they are so far in the future. But before you know it...

The countdown begins!  I received this lovely little package in the mail last week from the lovely "mama birds" of Art Nest.  It is our welcome packet all wrapped up in the most magical paper envelope full of lovelies, info, and schedules!

It opens to this triptych...of pockets made from vintage wallpaper, and ribbon.   Can't wait!

It was suggested that those attending list 16 things about ourselves...I'm not sure I can do 16, but I will try....
1.  I am an only child, and so is my Mom, and my Son.

2.   My Grandfather grew up in an orphanage, and lied about his   age to join the Merchant Marines...many years later, when he went to get a passport, he found out he was about 4 years younger than he thought he was! (O.k. so that wasn't about me, but I thought it was interesting!)

3. My first job at 16, was in a store called Red Eye...a teen clothing store, and I ended up working there until I was 21.

4. I went straight there to being a travel consultant, and I am still doing that (part-time now) 24 years later! I am either fiercely loyal, or afraid of change!

5. Both! But I recently opened a new biz, and have my own website coming soon!

6. I use a lot of ... and !!! when I blog.

7. I have traveled to most of Europe, and to China, Africa, Egypt, Mexico from Baja to Yucatan, Hawaii,and many Caribbean Islands.

8. I hope to visit Belize, Costa Rica, and Greece... although I'm not terribly picky, I just love to travel!

9. My husband and I met at the Mall when I was 17 and he was 18, and have been married for 24 years this Oct.

10. I have always done some sort of art or craft, as long as I can remember (age 5 or 6)... and continue to always want to try new things and learn new techniques.

11. I love comments on my blog...it's like opening a little surprise gift each time!

12. I dream of putting together a class for an art retreat or studio/store someday!

13. My  B-day is Dec. 25, my Mom's is July 4, and my Dad's is Sep. 3, which quite often falls on Labor Day!

14. When I was about 8, I met Sidney Poitier, Harry Bellafonte, and Ruby Dee while they were filming the movie Buck and the Preacher. We happened upon the movie set while traveling through the desert, and stopped. I don't know what happened to the autographs they gave me...

15. My husband is 6'4", and I am only 5'2"!

16. I have a collection of vintage tin world globes.

Bees, because I love them....

Here are a couple of my new silver creations.....












And this big one..better than my Tiffany and Co. necklace!

Bee-utiful!

Watch for exciting news involving more bee's coming soon!

How Cute...

I went out to run some errands the other day, and this is what I came home to...




All of my boys sleeping on the sofa!

Adorable kettle corn.....

See what I mean?  Isn't that just the cutest packaging ever?!  I admit that I am a sucker for packaging....and book covers. I know, I know, don't judge a book by it's cover...but sometimes I just can't help myself! Some in my household thought it strange of me to take a picture... imagine that!  I wanted to share it with all of you. Oh, and by the way, it tasted good too!


  And while we're talking about cute, look at that great bag that my friend, Lisa gave me for my birthday....Love it!
 Perfect to fill with goodies...cheese, crackers, hummus, chocolate to take to Tahoe. You know, for in the room.  Last weekend "the girl's" and I went to Harrah's to see a concert...Marc Broussard.  It was the first time that I had heard him, and he was really great! And, we had front row seats!



Not the best pic, but look at that background...Gorgeous!






   Tahoe is truly God's country!
       Stunning!

Time will tell.........

This is how I feel today...
   The President Elect was not my first, second, or even third  choice, but I only wish him the best, and "hope" that he can make things better. The office deserves respect...no matter who is in it. I am hopefully cautious, and cautiously hopeful...
 

Just Bee.....

This is one of my new
designs.  I just love Bee's, and this is a really sweet delicate necklace.  It is only about 3/4 of an inch by 1/2 inch, and would be cute with just about any neckline....

Now in my Etsy shop! SOLD!

Organize, straighten, de-stash....

My studio is in horrible condition...I mean really, really, messy.  So much so, that there really is no workspace. But, this week I began to straighten it up, and I so need to get rid of some stuff.  Of course, as I was going through things, I got an idea for something, and decided that I must start on it right away!  Cleaning up will have to wait...unfortunately this is a much too often happening. Here is a little sneak peek of the project:


Fabric and needlework seems as though it has become so popular lately.  It has been fun to pick up and do again after son long...

Oh yea, and I did find a place on  the corner of my work table for that fun, pink carousel that Hubs have me.




I added strips of vintage ledger paper, which I scalloped and edged with charcoal pencil....
















And here are a couple of little vignette's around the room....





I got this fun jar at Home Goods.....love that store!
And, I know that Christmas is over, but I just love Santa!


















This is a little paper towel holder/shelf....with a couple of favorite things on it.







And a little pedestal plate that I made with some buttons, and a sweet orni that my friend Maija sent me.

As the Table Turns......

I wanted to show one of the gifts that I got for Christmas....
How great is this!...
A few weeks before Christmas, I went with DH to Harbor Freight, (a tool store).  I was looking for a tumbler, and some little clamps, that I had found there before.  I didn't find what I was looking for, but I saw this turntable storage thing.  I commented how I would like something like that for my studio, but that it would look so much better in PINK!  And look what he did... he carefully painted all of the pieces a lovely baby pink, and boxed it all back up for me!  Wasn't that sweet?
I may add a little vintage paper to the edges of each layer...but I'm not sure yet. I will have to show it again once it is all loaded up with goodies!

PANNINI PERFECTION....

Mmmmm....I love cheese. Especially warm, ooey,  gooey, melting cheese.  Nearly any kind works for me.  Goat, Brie, Bleu... Add some grilled veggies, and some warm yummy bread, and it becomes the most perfect sandwich ever!!  My Mom and Dad got us a Pannini maker for Christmas...

Roasted garlic, olive oil, and balsamic spread......on yummy ciabatta bread....







Add a bit of prosciutto...



 



Some creamy slices of brie...






Top with grilled red peppers, and mushrooms.










Brush both the top and bottom pieces of bread with a small amount of olive oil.
















Put it on the preheated pannini press....







Close the press, and grill for approximately 5-7 minutes.





Then, enjoy the most delicious warm, melty, yummy satisfying sandwich!  

Oh, and don't get me started on the peanut butter and orange marmalade pannini on sheepherder bread that I had for breakfast!! 

Playing Catch up.......

I have been a bad blogger...and haven't kept up with all the do'ins going on around here.   I had a little invite Silver Party for some friends, and customers, who wanted to make some Christmas gifts.......

It was fun to do it at my house, and I plan on having one of these every once in awhile....




  I served cookies, coffee, and sodas...but as you can see in the pic above, we decided to have In and Out burgers while the silver was firing in the Kiln!  (Unfortunately, there is one of these fabulous burger joints about 2 miles from my house!)
      My dear Son, Alex got a job at Bear Valley...a ski resort that is about 2 hours from us, and where Hubs is on the volunteer Ski Patrol....... (sorry
for the pic angle).

Anyhoo, he was going to be teaching snowboarding, as well as keeping his job at REI, and starting the next term at school.  Notice the WAS?  Well, on his way to orientation, he had an encounter with ice, a pole, and a few trees...one which stopped the car!.....my car.  LUCKILY he was going very slow, (even with 4wd), and wasn't hurt at all. THank God!!  My car however, was not so lucky.  We had switched
for the day, since I have
the 4wd.   This is the back. Not so bad, right?








And, I didn't think the front looked that bad either....however, there was over $7000.00 worth of damage!  can you beleive it?  Apparently there was some damage done underneath... I guess running over those small trees going down the embankment before it hit the one big enough to stop it, did some damage that we were unable to see.....(again, thank goodness Alex is fine). I am surprised that it wasn't a total loss, except that on my '02 car I only have 60,000 miles, and less than 30,000 of that is on the engine......so it should be good for awhile once the repairs are done.  Needless to say, Alex won't be teaching the snowboarding without my car to drive up there...and his little beemer isn't 4wd, so maybe next year.

   We spent Christmas eve, at my MIL's house, and had a wonderful dinner, and gift exchange. Even Finn joined in the celebrating.....








O.K, so maybe he wasn't that thrilled, but he sure looks cute!



My sweet Mother in law, was thrilled however, with her hammer?!  She was quite the carpenter in her day...adding on to their house, building bathrooms, and closets!  She's still a fixer, that one!

 After festivities there, we headed up to Sonora to my folk's house. We arrived about 1 am, and went straight to bed.... We were hoping for a "white Christmas", but there was only a little snow.  It was beautiful coming down, but was too wet to stick. 
I am sooo bad, I didn;t take any pictures while we were opening presents....
I can just say that after eating stollen, quiche, and opening presents,
it was time for a nap!!

Last year we bought my parents season tickets to a local playhouse....they loved all of the plays, and enjoyed it thoroughly. I figured why mess with a good thing, so we decided to do it again!  I wanted to present the tickets in a pretty way, so I made this...
A little glittery stage, with a Christmas Scene on the stage!


It turned out so cute, and my Mom loved it! (Dad thought it was nice too!)

New Years was rather uneventful...my husband had to work, Alex went out of town to spend it with some friends, and several of our friends were sick. Plus there is a big shindig this weekend for a friend's 50th b-day, so that will be our NEW YEARS celebration!