Frosted Petunias

strong hearts

2012-02-12T11:10:00.000-08:00

I saw an interview with Jane Fonda a few weeks ago. She was talking about the many lessons she learned throughout her life and how she was able to get through some of the more painful parts. At age 74 she seems finally content to be living what she calls her 'third act' or the third half of her life.

She also said something that I will always remember and that was that you can be strongest in the areas where you are broken. The parts of your life that have been the most painful can also be the ones with the most important lessons. Lessons that can make those same places your strongest ones.

We all have areas in our lives that break in different ways but the trickiest one to heal is probably a broken heart. It can be little breaks or really big unbearable ones. I believe that each day you learn to appreciate the fact that you can choose to be stronger and wiser. You can choose to focus on the positive and you learn to have a different perspective which can keep you moving forward. I know it's always easier said than done. Some days it feels like you've taken two steps forward and four steps back. Life is funny that way isn't it? But you owe it to yourself to keep moving forward.

FORWARD is my word for this year.

This Valentines Day I want to honor all the strong hearts out there. Whether your heart is physically mending from illness or healing in an emotional way. My own heart is still mending but I'm also learning to be grateful that it's stronger than it has been in a long time. Sometimes I think it might even have wings.

I hope your heart is healthy and strong in every way.

I hope you can find sweet moments of bliss everyday.

Have a beautiful and magical Valentines Day.

sweets

2012-02-06T13:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a lovely weekend. Anyone have a big Superbowl party? We are not huge football fans at my house. Soccer and hockey seems to be the preferred sport by the hubby so we spent most of the day out and about and got home to see the half time show and the second part of the game.

We decided to hit Costco thinking it might be pretty empty with everyone home getting ready to watch the game. Wrong. Everyone was at Costco! Maybe it was the extra tasty samples they were giving out.

I did see something that caught my eye and I wish I took a picture of it to share with you but it was so crowded that I decided to skip it. Anyway they had the most adorable package of mini frosted cupcakes. Has anyone else seen these? I think they were chocolate with pink frosting and I guess they're featuring them for Valentines Day. Sooo cute. All I could think of was how I would love to get them for myself next month for my birthday!

So now I have mini cupcakes on the brain. This is just a pic I found on the web since I don't have one of the ones from Costco. I also discovered a new gourmet cupcake shop that opened here in our downtown. There was one a few blocks away from me but they closed over a year ago and maybe that's a good thing. This new one is a few miles away so I would at least have to drive there. It's called Vanilla Bean and they feature yummy flavors like Death by Chocolate, Raspberry Beret and Chai Tea Latte. I'm still being good about eating healthy and working out so I think I deserve a sweet treat once in a while right?

How about a cupcake quiz? What kind of cupcake are you? I like to take these now and then and the last time I took one I think I was a chocolate fudge cupcake. Here's one I just took from Betty Crocker and this time I'm a peanut butter and jelly cupcake!

Take the cupcake quiz.

So what kind of cupcake are you?

Do you have a favorite flavor?

What would be your ultimate cupcake?

Just a bit of frosting or more frosting than cake?

I love vanilla, chocolate, lemon and mocha so my ultimate one might be a mix of all those flavors that's sinfully delicious but absolutely 0 calories. And that would include the mile high frosting too!

I'm enjoying having my muse back after being gone for far too long. I'm going to work on learning to let my art go this year so I have "Wondermoon" and "Follow Your Bliss" listed in my Etsy shop right now.

Have a simply sweet and delicious day.

pink stockings

2012-02-05T08:24:00.000-08:00

Do you fly in your dreams? Have you ever dreamt about floating among the stars and the clouds and looking down at the little houses below?

I love flying dreams and when I have them everything seems to make sense.

Of course I can fly! I just have to remember to do this and this....

Sometimes I dream about flying on a broomstick.

Just push off with my heels and up I go!

I remember the feeling being so real and in that moment between dreaming and waking up I think I can remember the delicious secret to flying. "It's so easy" I would say to myself.

They say flying dreams, especially happy ones can mean you feel good about a situation in your life or that you were able to rise above a challenge. Or they can also mean you feel determined to reach a goal. I know there are lots of different ways to interpret flying dreams, each of them equally fascinating.

Whatever it is you dream about it's really important not to forget them. Sometimes stuff happens and we need to spend time on the ground to sort things out but you have to believe that you have the power to take flight. No matter how scary it might feel or how many times you get knocked down.

When you're ready to let go and follow your bliss make sure to put on your pinkest stockings and your yummiest prettiest skirt. It's always a good idea to be ready for all the fabulousness that's waiting for you out there!

Happy February. Have a beautiful week.

wondermoon

2012-01-31T16:49:00.000-08:00

Hello lovelies! Can you believe it's already the end of January? I love that the days are getting noticeably longer. I think I start to notice it right after the solstice but maybe that's just me knowing it's suppose to. We have had sunnier days the last couple of weeks but it's still cool enough for scarves and boots.

I missed visiting my favorite places while I was away from blogland so I'm slowly starting to catch up and dropping in to visit some of you here and there. It still amazes me how so many of us have been able to form friendships and build a community through our blogs. I know that for me blogging has been a blessing that's allowed me to share my dreams and to also be inspired by yours.

Creating has always been a way for me to escape. Whether it's stress, boredom or yes...housework! Meeting lots of you that feel the same way is truly the best part of blogging. I feel that we are all kindred spirits gathering under a big magical tent, sharing hugs, tears, glitter and dreams.

Although I recently went through a low period that kept me away from both my art and my blog, it was these same two things, along with your support, that has helped me find my way back. And it feels good to be able to go to this magical place under a wondermoon to play with you again.

I hope the first month of 2012 has been a good one for you. Are you keeping your resolutions? If you decided to be healthier this year please keep it up. I am finally starting to feel and see results from my commitment to be better about taking care of myself and it's so worth it. I feel better and it has helped my outlook on everything so please stay strong and don't give up!

I'll see you out there under a wondermoon....

two years and counting

2012-01-23T11:50:00.000-08:00

Cupcakes.

Yes cupcakes. That was the first thing I started blogging about two years ago.

And much to my surprise I'm still here!

I've gone from cupcakes to art and everything else in between and I've probably shared more than anyone would want to hear right here on my little bloggy.

I celebrated my two year anniversary yesterday (the 22nd) and in honor of the event I spent the day painting while the sounds of football and tortilla chips filled the air.

You can see that Petunia is all grown up and today she's ready to celebrate, dream and as always, ready to find her bliss in her brand new party dress.

Shhhhh...she's also going on a little trip in her cupcake wagon.

I hope she doesn't lose her balloon.

Happy Monday and Happy New Moon my dearies!

waiting to bloom

2012-01-18T09:05:00.000-08:00

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on your word for 2012. I love reading about what inspires you and why you decided on your word. I also want to say thank you for all your warm wishes and encouraging words. They mean the world to me.

I'm slowly finding my way back to my paints and brushes (under a thick layer of lint and dust that gathered on my work table) thanks to your support and most especially to the awesomely talented, amazing and magical Marfi who never gave up on me and gave me just the right kick when I needed it. She rocks!!

I still painted while I was away from my blog but the art that came out was dark and sad. This weekend I felt so much more hopeful and when I created this piece my son actually said it was nice to see me paint something happier for a change!

This is a self portrait in a way.

Much more hopeful, ready to dream again and patiently waiting for my heART to bloom.

♥

Stay inspired and have a beautiful rest of the week.

Oh and by the way I think I picked my two words for 2012....

FORWARD and FROSTING!

the power of words

2012-01-10T14:59:00.000-08:00

Do you remember what your word was for last year?

Mine was FAITH.

When I chose it at the beginning of 2011 I didn't realize how significant this word would be as the year unfolded. I don't think I have settled on my word for this year. But I recently heard something that I thought was very inspiring and I just wanted to share it with you.

I have been watching a lot of Anderson Cooper's new talk show. He seems to always have interesting topics and yes I'll admit I think he's sort of cute. Last week his guest was designer and artist Gloria Vanderbilt who I didn't realize, is also his mom.

It was a great show and I became really captivated by this 87 year old woman who led and continues to lead such a fascinating life. She is of course part of the great Vanderbilt dynasty, so she lived a life of privilege and wealth. But she has also experienced great lose and tragedy from the time she was a little girl.

What's amazing is that she continues to have a positive outlook on life and still believes her next great love is just around the corner. Near the end of the show she shared her favorite saying which is

"We are not put on this earth

to see through each other.

We are put on this earth

to see each other through."

This really touched me and I thought what a wonderful thing it would be if we could all remind ourselves of this every now and then. I know I am guilty of becoming too caught up in my own personal drama that I sometimes have a hard time seeing beyond my own myopic world. Especially in situations where I feel someone's thoughtlessness caused me pain. It's very easy for me to let tunnel vision set in.

But if I can step away from my emotions and see that there is always a lesson to be learned from all of my experiences, I think I might be able to appreciate the reason why different people are put into my life. From the most casual of friends (and adversaries) to the person I chose to marry.

It's so easy for us to see right through another person in a way that we don't fully appreciate the value of our relationship with them no matter how small or how brief. And instead of focusing so much on how someone can't always meet our needs, maybe we can focus on helping that person get through whatever challenges they might be having. I know this often takes much more effort but I've learned that being stuck in a negative place only kills my spirit in the end.

I'm not sure if this is exactly what Gloria Vanderbilt meant but that's what it means to me and it's something I want to remember as I try to strengthen the relationships in my life. Perspective is sometimes all it takes to turn any situation around.

Thank you Gloria for the gift of these words.

See Gloria Vanderbilt's works of art here.

Have you decided on your word for 2012?

Do you have a favorite quote to inspire you this year?

Hope you're having a beautiful week so far.

stepping into 2012

2012-01-05T13:24:00.000-08:00

A brand new year again.

I looked forward to this one more than many other years in the past. 2011 was a curiously challenging year for me in so many ways. Lessons learned, wisdom gained and a sweet soul lost. I gave up making New Year resolutions a while ago but this year I truly committed to starting fresh.

While I was away from my blog for a few months I set a goal for myself to get healthy again. And instead of waiting until the new year I just laced up my shoes and started in Fall. I found that doing aerobics really helped me work out the stress from all my personal drama and the more I did it the more I loved it. The workouts also got me walking again and now I can even run.

I can walk 4-5 miles and run part of it. And I can fit into clothes that I tucked away in the back of my closet a while back. But the best part is that I'm also getting my son to get healthy and fit which was something that really concerned me the last few years. He even watches Dr. Oz with me and helps me pick healthy recipes to try out. And since my husband already started on the fitness kick about a year ago we now have something we can all do together.

There are still challenges in our relationship but we are learning the art of communicating, patience and forgiveness. Things that often times don't come naturally to me when it comes to our marriage. Trust me, my husband made it nearly impossible for me to practice these sometimes and this past year he was unforgivably rotten. But each day we can choose to be better people and that has made all the difference. Somehow I have to trust that the universe must have something extraordinary planned for me, after all I have been blessed with a truly amazing son.

December was also filled with some sadness for me, just like another December two years ago when I lost my dear kitty Kushka.

LaLou, the beautiful smoky gray kitty from next door practically lived in my backyard the last 3 years. In fact she didn't really belong to my neighbor either. She just wandered over there one night and decided to stay. Neither of us knew where she came from. My neighbor gave her food and shelter but LaLou was free to come and go so we sort of shared her in a way. He named her Smoky but I called her LaLou because that was the sound she made when she meowed.

When I lost my Kushka to cancer 2 years ago it was LaLou's visits that cheered me up everyday. I seriously thought about keeping her for myself but in the end I think she enjoyed the freedom of being able to go wherever she wanted. I always secretly thought that she liked me the most anyway.

Sadly she became very sick the end of last year and my neighbor decided it was best not to let her suffer. Even as she was getting weaker LaLou still came to see me as much as she could and I would sit with her in a little patch of sunlight under our plum tree. She was a part of my witches tea parties both years and my Luna and I eagerly looked forward to her daily visits.

It breaks my heart to see Luna looking out the window waiting for her friend. And everyday I still look under the plum tree and I quietly say hello to LaLou because I know in my heart that she still comes back to visit her favorite spot. She was such a special, beautiful little girl and I will miss her very much.

But I also know she's with all the beautiful fury girls that have been a special part of my life over the years. All dearly missed and always always eternally loved.

So here I am eagerly stepping away from 2011 and into a new year where I hope to be able to do something I think we all need to do every now and then.

That is to re-invent myself once again.

And I hope to do that in all aspects of my life including my art.

Here's to a brand new year.

I hope this one brings you real hope, endless magic and boundles bliss!

life, love and all that stuff

2011-11-17T01:17:00.000-08:00

Being back here suddenly feels so unfamiliar to me. I have been away from my little blog and I apologize to all of you my dear friends for being gone. I hope your Halloween was wonderful and magical and I owe so many of you a big thank you for creating such amazing Witches Tea Parties. Thank you so very much.

Thank you also for all your concern and well wishes. Your emails meant so much to me and it warmed my heart to know that I was missed. It seems my personal life needed much of my attention and that is what I have been doing.

My husband and I have had our ups and downs, more down than up perhaps the last few years and it was time for us take a long hard look at what we wanted. And what we both wanted was to be better friends and partners to each other. So we committed to working much harder, starting with spending more time together.

The hard work is paying off but unfortunately my muse also decided to take a holiday. My creative juices just went out the window, maybe because I've been on this emotional roller coaster the past few months.

When I can't find inspiration to create with paint and paper I go back to digital doodling. I'm hoping it will jump start my brain so I can get back to creating again. I've had such amazing support from friends that keep encouraging me to start making things...anything! Thank you for being there for me.

I have also taken this opportunity to work on getting healthier. I had problems with my shoulder and arm all year and it took a while for it to start feeling close to okay. Stress has a funny way of putting you on an involuntary diet and when I realized I was dropping a few pounds I thought I might as well keep going, so I started walking and doing workouts again. I feel better and my shoulder and other joints seem to be doing better too.

So that is what's been going on here in my little world. Changes, hopefully for the better. Challenges waiting to be met. And if all goes well maybe I'll find my muse waiting just around the corner.

I hope you're having a beautiful season.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

day 2 of a witches tea!

2011-10-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

Are you enjoying our weekend long tea party? And can you believe I'm actually running late for the second day of my own party! Life just has a funny way of not cooperating with our best laid plans sometimes.

But I made it and I'd love to have you come and share a cup of tea with me.

Have a seat and make yourself comfortable.

This mini tea party is about remembrance, gratitude,

nurturing and honoring our magical selves.

For today's party I brewed a cup of pomegranate tea to honor

the divine feminine within all of us...

served in a mini cauldron mug of course!

I am grateful for friends I've made through this wonderful blogging

community and the kinship and sisterhood you have all shared with me.

(I love these goodies sent to me by the lovely Wendy and sweet Linda.)

I remember dear ones that have gone...like my dad, my dear lola (grandma)

and my sweetest furry baby Kushka.

(I miss her everyday)

And I honor my journey, the wisdom that it has brought me

and the doors that have both closed and opened for me.

I mentioned during last month's party that I am going through an emotional

time so much of what I'm doing is healing.

I am trying to do this by pampering myself, remembering that we

are all goddesses and powerful inside, and by finding my way

back to my art and my muse.

So today I'd like to share with you a few little things that make me smile.

A wise owl for your own sacred or creative space, wonderful English herbal tea bags to

bathe in and soothe your body and soul, and a glittery frosted petunia bracelet just

like my own that I wear everyday. A reminder to myself that life is beautiful and magical.

Anyone that left a comment on yesterday's post and on this one will be entered in my giveaway. I'll also add one or two artful surprises to go along with them.

Now it's time to carve a few pumpkins, add another tombstone to our yard

and check on the candy supply.

Thank you so much again for joining me this All Hallow's weekend!

Have a most magical Halloween...

a very blessed Samhain....

and be sure to indulge with a festive spirit or two!

Don't forget to visit my Saturday party post if you haven't yet.

Just go back to the previous post or click here.

You can go back to the main tea party page here.

Have a beautiful autumn dear friends.

a witches tea party!

2011-10-28T19:10:00.000-07:00

Come this way dear witches!

The Lady LaLou is here to make sure I don't forget anything.

My tea party cauldron is filled with my favorite goodies....

mini pumpkins, a spell book and even a lovely little witch from

a sweet faerie friend.

I know the perfect place to go for a witches tea.

Tucked away in a corner under a creaky old sign.

Did you see the brand new moon up there?

I caught a glimpse of it when I flew by on my sparkly broom.

Come and join me in my favorite tea shoppe!

This is where I love to relax with a few of my favorite things.

Here are my treasured teacups and art from a magical friend.

A tiny witch in a bag from a super talented witchy friend

and a fun spooky tin from my lovely swap partner.

Here of course is my dear Lucinda...

the lovely Fiona...

...good witch Celestina Vervaine

and fresh from her overnight broom flight is the enchanting Tallulah Bleu...

who also brought us the perfect tea party hat...

Maybe she heard Celestina brought a hat to the party too.

What would a witches tea party be without a magical tea pot?

Should I use this one?

Picked it up in Diagon Alley a while back.

Or perhaps this vintage pumpkin might be the one.

There's even a wee little one tucked away down here under the tea cart.

Maybe the faeries might like this one.

I think I'll choose one of these dainty cups...

There's one for you too.

A ghost butter cookie for me and maybe a pumpkin one for you?

Or would you rather have a bat?

Deliciously bewitching.

Go ahead...you can sneak another one and save it for later.

Don't forget to try the Mystifying Mints before you go.

Someone else decided to join us for tea...

That's my Luna...she can never resist a new witchy broom!

I hope you enjoyed your visit to my tea shoppe...

I loved having you over for tea.

Please leave a comment and let me know you stopped by then join me here again Sunday for the second day of our Witches Tea Party weekend (and a little giveaway too).

Click here to go back to the tea party page for the list of participants!

Thank you for coming by.

Happy Halloween and

a Blessed Samhain to all my dear witchy friends.

are you ready?

2011-10-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for the Witches Tea Party Under a Halloween Moon?

I've dusted my teapots, gathered my favorite teacups and sampled a spooky ghost cookie or two! All my lovely witches are waiting to see you this magical All Hallows weekend. There's a sliver of a waxing Halloween moon in the sky, ready to light our way to our witches tea party. Are you ready?

I will be back tomorrow evening with my first post.

I'm so excited to see everyone's tea party!

halloween tin swap

2011-10-22T00:29:00.000-07:00

Last month I participated in the Bliss Angels Halloween Tin Swap. The tin I made for my partner Marti will probably look a little familiar to you.

It is very similar to the matchbox I made for the Vintage Dragonfly swap. The theme is again Sybilla and Delphine's Apothecarium.

I actually created the tin first and then decided to do the matchbox the same way. For the tin I added the skull to the top then my son suggested I give him a top hat so I made an itty bitty one.

I unhinged the lid so the tin would have two separate pieces. This is the inside of the lid. I lined it with a tapestry fabric and attached a shop sign I created.

This is the inside of the tin with tiny bottles drizzled with beeswax.

The labels are cut from pages of a Portuguese dictionary sent to me by Ana from Scrap de Ana.

Black wired ribbon holds it all together.

And I made a Halloween tag to go along with it too.

Marti sent me a absolutely wonderful tin also.

I will have it up next as soon as I move the pictures over.

Have a wonderful spooky weekend!

a very late spooky monday

2011-10-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Sorry, I didn't get lost in the woods or got swept up by a gigantic pink balloon. I've been away taking a little break and taking care of things here at Casa Petunia. Thinks have been tough to say the least. I've been dealing with big emotional challenges, relationship challenges that tend to come up when you've been with someone for nearly 20 years. So lots of drama and lots of talking, and in the end we learn a lot and hope to grow and become better people.

I am so grateful to friends that have been wonderfully supportive. Thinking about me and caring about us in their own special way. Yes all those positive thoughts you sent my way really worked!

So here we are halfway through October. I don't know how the weather is where you are but it feels nothing like Fall here. Our weather has been sunny and hot the last 2 weeks and it's been very hard to get into the Halloween spirit when everyone is still running around in shorts and sandals!

But I have faith that the Autumn breezes will start blowing just in time for out tea party and Halloween. There's still lots of time to sign up and join us for one last magical October weekend.

I have missed this week's Spooky Mondays so here is a picture that I completely forgot to post last year. You might wonder exactly what it is as there isn't really anything seemingly extraordinary about it.

The odd thing about this picture is that when I took it, the walkway going up to my front door was empty. So you can imagine my surprise when I went through my Halloween pics and saw this odd figure standing in front of my door. Was it an early trick-or-treater that ran up so quickly that I just didn't notice?

Could I have possibly captured a lost soul? After much speculating and entertaining possibilities of other worldly visits we finally came up with an almost logical explanation.

The figure was actually not in front of my camera but behind it. The little jack-o-lantern was the clue. Right behind me was a small table I set up to hold the cauldron of candy to hand out to trick-or-treaters, and the jack-o-lantern sat right next to it.

At the exact time I took the picture through my front door my husband was right behind me raiding the candy cauldron. I caught his reflection in the glass door and ended up with this sort of spooky photo.

Now what I still can't explain is how I got that reflection when I was standing right in the middle of the doorway. He would have been directly behind me and it should be my reflection that's in the glass. So there is still that bit of mystery there. Very curious indeed.

Happy super late Spooky Monday and have a great weekend my lovelies!

spooky mondays is back

2011-10-03T20:54:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad my friend Wendy from Wendy's Adventures in Wonderland brought back Spooky Mondays. I had lots of fun doing it last year and today she is kicking off the first one for this year.

I decided to share a little bit of haunted history from my hometown, California's capital city of Sacramento. Lots of ghostly stories from the Gold Rush days abound here and this time of the year there are many places to enjoy a little bit of spooky fun.

One of my favorite buildings is our Governor's Mansion, a white Italianate Victorian built in 1877. It's now a part of the California State Historic Parks group and is open for tours. I went there one year for a Halloween tour on the night of a full moon. My son really enjoyed going through the house which was decorated for Halloween. We met several 'ghosts' and learned about the mansion's haunted past.

If you're interested in hearing about a paranormal investigation conducted at the Governor's Mansion by one of our local ghost hunting groups you can read about it here.

In honor of Spooky Mondays I also whipped up a digi collage inspired by our famous haunted house.

Make sure to visit Wendy's Adventures in Wonderland for more spooky fun.

Happy First Spooky Mondays!

giveaway winner

2011-10-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

Did anyone else need to drop off their broom at the shop after our big PM party? I thought I recognized a broom or two while I was there. Thank you to everyone that's still making the rounds trying to work your way through the guest list. Yes, I am still doing that myself. I haven't been able to spend as much time on the computer as I normally do so I'm working my way down slowly but surely.

But guess what? It's time to announce the winner of my mixed media collage
Maria Owens spell book!

My Practical Magic blog party giveaway is a handmade accordion book,

6 self adhesive tags for your witches pantry,

a mini 'book' box with a bar of fragrant Verbena soap inside,

and a souvenir blog party bookmark.

There were 102 comments but some were multiple posts so I assigned a number to each person once to make it fair. The total number was 93 and the Random Number Generator winner is...

Bertie from A Wildberry Path!

Yay! I'm so excited for Bertie. She had a real fun post and if you missed it you have to go back to see this absolutely amazing piece she created in honor of Practical Magic.

Congratulations Bertie and thank you so much for being a part of another

Practical Magic year!

I'll be right back for tomorrow's first Spooky Mondays

with Wendy from Wonderland.

Don't forget to check out my previous post for the October Artful Bag Challenge linky.

october artful bag challenge

2011-10-01T20:39:00.000-07:00

Happy wonderful magical October!

My most favorite month of all. I just hope it doesn't go by too fast.

For this month's Artful Bag Challenge Alter It theme I decided to go with the obvious.

I grabbed a little plastic cauldron from my too large collection.

Primed it with Gesso.

Then gave it a rusty pewter look with paint.

I added black crepe paper ruffles around the top edge and imagined it to be a fancy woodland fairy witch bag for a tea party under a Halloween moon!

A little tulle, moss and a glittery owl.

Velvet flowers, autumn leaves, glass fairie berries and a few magical items to go inside.

I'm ready for our Witches Tea Party!

Remember our theme this month is to alter an item and make it into a bag. You can have fun with a Halloween theme if you like and use anything from cauldrons to tick-or-treat bags. Or you can choose something different all together but have fun with whatever you decide to alter.

Have a boo-tiful, magical, bewitching month!

I'll be back with the winner of my Practical Magic party giveaway.

match box swap

2011-09-29T21:02:00.000-07:00

I joined the Halloween Matchbox swap at Vintage Dragonfly and was very excited to be paired with the very talented Lynn from Trash to Treasure Art. I have seen Lynn's work published in Stampington magazines many times and love her creations. Here is the wonderful matchbox and the awesome goodies she sent me.

First is this hauntingly spooky matchbox. We used the larger size box for this swap. I love the wicked tag chained to the skelly hand.

The inside was filled with one fabulous treat after another.

I absolutely love the coffin pendant! There's also an ATC, altered tiles and mini potion card.

Then there is this wonderful mini accordion book. Love all the haunting details.

And finally an altered tin with this great vintage image.

The best part was the inside! I love the spooky gothic vignette and the quote she used with it.

Thank you so much Lynn. I love everything!!

Be sure to visit her at Trash to Treasure Art, you will be delighted and inspired.

These are what I created for Lynn. I had to keep the contents outside because I got a little carried away decorating the inside of the matchbox!

I used the story I created about the two sisters' Apothecarium as the theme.

I wanted the matchbox to have the look of an old drawer you might find in a forgotten attic.

This is the bottom of the 'drawer'. I imagined it as the entrance to the shop.

This is the inside. You can see why I couldn't fit anything in it. I filled it with oddities found in Sybilla and Delphine's curious shop. Lynn actually has better pictures of my box here.

Among the items found in the shop is an obscure spellbook....an accordion book made from 4 ATCs.

A mini matchbox with a nod to the great Edgar Allen Poe.

I was also inspired to create a story about an odd species of pixies.

And I gave Lynn her very own captured Pilkington pixie. I hope it doesn't give her any trouble, they can be a handfull!

Thank you so much again Lynn. I love all my goodies and I had so much fun swapping with you.

simply....thank you

2011-09-26T12:50:00.000-07:00

As the dust begins to settle on our 2nd Practical Magic blog party I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you.....everyone that participated and created absolutely amazing posts (and all of you did no matter how small or big) and also to many of you that just stopped by to take a look and left me your lovely words.

Some of you seem to have much faster brooms than I do and zipped through the entire list through the weekend. I'm afraid mine isn't exactly the fastest model so I'm still making my way down the list. I'm up to the "Js" now and I will come and visit everyone of you. I go through both the comment section and the sidebar list to make sure I don't miss anyone. So don't put all your margaritas away yet. I'm on my way. I also want to say thank you for the lovely comments on my post here. They all make me smile.

This party has been a labor of love for me and if there is enough interest again I'd love to make it an annual event to kick of Fall. On that note I'd like to add that I was gifted several amazing things during our party last Saturday. The first is that I found, quite accidentally, my original long lost paperback copy of what else...Practical Magic!. It's been missing for years and last year I even checked one out from the library just to reference it for the party. Serendipity perhaps?

Two, we have had a yucky heatwave all week long with temps getting up to 100 midweek. I was doing all my party prep during the heat and it took lots of effort for me to imagine a cool Autumn day with the Aunts. But Saturday, the day of our party, I woke up to grey clouds, a bit of a chill and big gusts of wind rattling my chimney. It felt and looked like Fall and I was over the moon. So thank you to all of you that sent it my way :)

And last, I stepped out for just a bit at the end of the night just before ~~sitting down~~ flying away to make my visits. In my grocery store I was greeted with non other than the first pumpkins of the season. Wondrous, round, fat, orange moons rolling this way and that, and of course I just had to get a baby one.

There you have it. My delightful and practically magical Autumn gifts. Between those and all the amazing parties and warm comments I received I was a very happy witch. And that means so much to me as this has been a particularly challenging week for me personally in ways I won't get into, but this place and all of you have been my sanctuary. So I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I have lots to catch up on including a post with pictures of the most fabulous matchbox and goodies I received from my partner Lynn for the Halloween matchbox swap at Vintage Dragonfly. Love it!! I can also finally share the one I made for her. My tin is ready to go out, goodness it's been ready for a while and I don't know why I didn't just mail it, but it's on its way Marti!

So back I go to visit a few more of you.

Thank you so much again and have a beautiful first week of Fall.

Oh...I had several people sign up for next month's Witches Tea Party over the weekend. I tried to add all of them to the list as I got them but with all the margaritas and zooming around I just hope I didn't miss one or two. So if you signed up and you don't see your name up there email me and let me know ♥

practical magic party!

2011-09-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

They're here! They're here!

Remember little Kylie Owens excitedly jumping up and down (broomstick in hand) when she saw the headlights on the cars pulling into the driveway? I felt like that this morning when I checked in on the party and saw the early birds already posting their links. I took a peek at some of them. You are all amazing.

Thank you thank you so much for allowing me to indulge in something that has been a part of my life for the last 13 years. Finding so many of you that feel the same way and are willing to share your fondness for Practical Magic has been such a wonderful thing. I love that I can create this for you and bring us together to kick off my very favorite time of the year.

Well let's get started then shall we? You're here just in time for breakfast!

You caught me in the middle of mixing up a new brew. We can come back to the Conservatory and check on it later.

Come over to the Parlor. I just whipped up a batch of brownies in case the Aunts stop by after the Solstice celebration. It's never too early for brownies I always say!

A little bit of chocolate and powdered sugar sounds like the perfect way to start a day.

Make sure to take an extra piece with you. I don't want you running out of steam while you're out there on your broom. Feel free to grab a little bit of mint in case the flying gets a little rough.

Now that we're filled up on sweets come with me over to the 'Conservatory'.

I have been going through my bottles and jars,

checking all my supplies and such.

I need to make sure I have everything on hand...

.....in case a certain Dracula cowboy's nasty spirit decides to crash our party.

We remember what happened to him last year don't we ladies?

Perhaps there's something here in Maria Owens' old spellbook.

Come and hear the tale of the beautiful Maria Owens.

It is a sad tale but one also filled with promise, redemption....

...and always, magic.

I think my witches brew is just about done. We might have time for one more brownie before I head out to visit all of you and your fabulous parties.

Thank you so much for joining me today and for loving this movie as much as I do. There will always be a warm spot in my heart for Aunt Frances, Aunt Jet, Gillian and Sally. For that enchanted house filled with "thin bands of lemony sunlight" and the garden where "it was easy to think about possibilities that had never crossed your mind".

In honor of our party I created a mixed media spellbook for Maria Owens. The covers are painted and crackled, then finished with distress ink, beeswax and embellishments.

The book is an accordion style collage with my interpretation of Maria's story. It folds back down into a mini 4x6 book.

The back section has 2 pockets to hold dark spells and wicked charms.

Maria's book is my giveaway along with 6 tags to create your own witches pantry, a beautiful mini box 'book' that holds a yummy Verbena scented soap, in honor of Sally's shop Verbena, and a little bookmark souvenir to remember our party.

Leave me a comment and let me know you stopped by. I'll pick a winner next Saturday Oct 1.

Please visit as many of the party posts as you can. I know everyone worked so hard to put their posts together and I know it will take me most of this week to get to everyone but I don't want to miss any of you.

You can go back to the Practical Magic party page HERE.

Now if you think you just can't get enough of Autumn come back and join me next month for one last Halloween party.

There's a button up there on the sidebar with a link to the page.

I can't wait to see what you created.

Let me grab one last brownie, a bit of mint and my fancy new broom!

Happy Autumn, a Blessed Mabon and happy blog hopping.

september atc swap

2011-09-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

The theme for September's Blissfull ATC Swap is INDUSTRIAL. I knew that but....somewhere between the time I filed that information in my head and the time I started making my card I kept thinking of INDUSTRY.

So I set out to make my industry atc and came up with the 'Captains of Industry'. And it wasn't until I put it in the mail that I realized I was just a bit off. Sorry Wendy. I hope you both still like it.

Here is what I sent to my swap partner Amy from RubyMoon Art along with a Halloween tag I made for her.

Amy remembered the theme much better than I did and here is the wonderful ATC she sent me.

It's really amazing with this great textured foil finish and touches of vibrant color. It is a perfect industrial ATC and I love it. Amy also sent me wonderful little goodies to play with. Thank you Amy for a super fun swap!

under a halloween moon

2011-09-17T01:55:00.000-07:00

Details are here.

wicked fun

2011-09-12T09:59:00.000-07:00

Hello my pretties! I'm back from dancing with the gypsies. What a marvelous party that was and so wonderful to see lots of familiar faces, and new ones too, around the gypsy campfire. I think our dancing brought on the wind and clouds because today feels like a real autumn day. And that is exciting for me!

These dark skies and tonight's full Harvest moon are too tempting so I thought I would share a wickedly fun idea I've been playing with. Sometimes one image can inspire an entire project. In my collection of vintage images I found a picture of two ladies that really fascinated me. Soon a story started to spin in my head and I knew I had to use them for some of my Halloween creations.

I can't share all of it yet but I would like to introduce you to two interesting ladies.

You'll see more of them in the weeks to come.

Happy Full Moon Monday

a tale of gypsy dreams

2011-09-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

Hello gypsy sisters and friends!

I'm so excited to see everyone's wagon around the campfire. Thank you so much to Celia for putting this great party together.

I hope you don't mind that I brought everything with me, including my Luna of course who did not want to miss out on all the fun. I have never been one to pack lightly, especially for a journey as magical as this. I'll just park my wagon right here.

**You can click on each image for a larger view.**

The candles and lanterns are ready. Fading autumn roses perfume the woodland air and fireflies will light your way to my front door.

Join me inside for a spot of tea. A special blend that came all the way from my gypsy sisters in the Vieux Carre. Mildly spicy and wickedly sweet.

They say the old fortune tellers indulged in a cup or two before gazing into their crystal ball.

Here is a favorite card to remind us to always nurture our gypsy souls. I found it a few years ago, it's from Duirwaigh Studios, a most amazing band of artisan gypsies I might add. It still inspires me everyday.

Today I get to be that Gypsy Soul so curl up on a pillow and I will share with you my little gypsy tale.

I fell in love with the idea of gypsy life and their fascinating wagons when I was very young. Not from Disney stories or fairy tales but from a visit to my grandmother who lived in a far away country.

Her house was an old Spanish colonial filled with hand carved wood, windows with dainty shell panes and a mysterious fern garden that grew wild in the shadow of a great stone staircase.

It was at my "lola's" house (grandmother) that I learned to love old beautiful things.

She lived on the main street of a small town and one day a caravan of covered wagons rolled into town passing right in front of her house. They were not fancy wagons like the colorful romantic vardos we're all familiar with. Just simple wood carts with plain cloth shells and small horses pulling each one along (or maybe they were cattle).

The people walking alongside the wagons were also dressed in simple hot weather clothing. They were merchants on their way to sell their wares at the next town.

The wagons were stuffed with baskets and boxes of every size, textiles and cloth hung from the wooden frame and I think I remember seeing an assortment of handmade brooms peeking out from under the cloth cover. I remember the people calling out to the curious townsfolk, inviting us to buy their goods.

There was the sound of bells that came from either the horses, the wagons or maybe the travelers themselves. I don't remember really, but the sight and sound of that caravan stayed with me forever.

I do remember being very excited and asking my lola all about them.

I wanted to see what else was in those wagons. How much could they possibly fit in there and what it was like to live in one of them, traveling from one place to another?

I wanted to run down the stone steps and go away with them.

Later on I would learn about other gypsy cultures. I would fall in love with the intricately carved vardos, the layers of rich fabrics, faded tapestries and delicate lace adorning the interiors.

I would dream of traveling in one of my own, a modern one maybe, like a vintage Airstream trailer, such as this amazing one from Magnolia Pearl. I would fill it with my favorite things and lots of goodies for making art and I would travel to my favorite cities, sleepy Big Sur on our rugged California coast and the decadent and artsy French Quarter in New Orleans.

Then I would make my way to a forest of towering redwood trees and camp deep in the heart of the woods under a waning autumn moon.

For now my gypsy wagon exists in my heart. A place I go to for solace, inspiration and dreams. But with a little imagination I can create that space in a cozy corner of my house, surround myself with favorite things and dream of traveling to such far away places.

Oh are you enjoying your tea? Forgive me, I also prepared wonderful fairy cakes for you but it seems the fey have already helped themselves to it. Well it's time for us to go and see all the other wonderful wagons.

I hope you enjoyed your visit and I thank you for listening

to the tale of my gypsy dreams.

Thank you again to the lovely Celia from Adventures of the Striped Stockings for putting this all together. Her blog name makes me smile whenever I read it. Wearing striped stockings always promises new adventures.

Please leave a comment and let me know you stopped by. I have a little gift to giveaway which I will craft especially for the winner. I'll choose a name from the comments next Friday night, September 16.

The mini wagon is on it's way to another gypsy soul.

It's a surprise so I hope she likes it!

Please remember to go back to the Gypsy Dreams page for the list of all the participants. Have a beautiful weekend and I will see many of you again at my Practical Magic party very soon!

not all witches live in salem

2011-09-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

Last year one of my swap partners sent me a little witch tag that had this quote. I've seen it in other places since then and it's always been one of my favorites.

When I get stressed I either make things or I clean. I had a fun and busy weekend but other things were on my mind and one night I found myself up until the wee hours of the morning again.

I had a few new images I wanted to play with and I thought it would be productive to catch up on my Halloween projects.

I find crumpling up paper is always a good stress reliever!

And somewhere in my pile of old books I found a very old medicinal herbal which was perfect for another spooky tag.

Are you getting your witchy hats ready? The Practical Magic party is in a few short weeks and the Gypsy Dreams party is this weekend. I'm starting to load up my gypsy wagon so I can make my way over to Celia's real soon. I can't wait to see what everyone came up with!

Oh and do any of you like The Good Witch series from The Hallmark Channel?

I loved the first two movies but I lost The Hallmark Channel last year so I never knew they made a third movie, and a fourth one comes out this Fall. It doesn't look like my cable service is picking up Hallmark again like they promised (thanks AT&T) so I need another plan. I already missed Martha Stewart's Halloween special last year and what's Halloween without Martha's annual month long spooky fest?

However, I did see the other day that Target is getting ready

to put out their Halloween goodies. Yay!!

bewitch

2011-09-05T23:46:00.000-07:00

Attic window?

Pointy roof top?

Witch's hat?

I loved Wendy's moon on her Harvest Paper Purse and the way she gave it a soft muted finish. I didn't have the same materials she used to create hers so I tried to see what I would get if I mixed Liquitex iridescent white with a glazing medium, glitter pens and crystal glitter. Then I needed a place to put my moon so I recycled a piece of corrugated cardboard. When I finished, my attic window turned into a hat!

Hope you had a lovely holiday weekend.

september artful bag challenge

2011-09-01T00:06:00.000-07:00

Hello September and hello also to our third and final Artful Bag Challenge Playing With Paper theme! My inspiration this month came to me right away. The new copy of Better Homes and Gardens Halloween (which I posted here) had this amazing Autumn Mad Tea Party.

Mad hats, a tea party and velvet pumpkins. Who could resist?

I love the combination of autumn browns and gold mixed in with bright pops of lime, teal and of course pumpkin orange.

This Alice had a fabulous mismatched vintage-y outfit and an even more fabulous mini top hat fascinator. But what she didn't have was a proper tea party bag.

So I imagined one for her made from my Halloween in Wonderland scrapbook papers (Graphic45), my favorite black and white striped Halloween napkins and similar colors from the magazine's tea party.

I used the same template I created for the 'bags' I made to hold the August ATCs I sent out. On the inside of my paper purse I made a tea party collage. Again from the Halloween in Wonderland papers.

Pumpkins and tea parties. Simply divine.

That cute little fascinator Alice is wearing reminds me of Gianna Majzler's amazing hats. There are instructions in the magazine on how to make your own. I think it might be fun to make one for Halloween.

Well I hope Alice likes her new bag. It was lots of fun to make!

Now that it's officially September I'm excited to really get started on my Practical Magic party prep. It so nice to see lots of familiar 'faces' coming back from last year. I'm also putting the finishing touches on my Gypsy Dreams party post which is just a week and a half away. Let the pumpkin madness begin.

I can't wait to see all your fabulous autumn paper purses!

delicious autumn anticipation

2011-08-28T13:11:00.000-07:00

Have you had a chance to see all the amazing Artful Bag ATC's my ladies created this month? They are all so wonderfully talented and just simply lovely lovely people. A few of our ladies from the east coast are dealing with that horrible hurricane so we might not hear from them for a while. Let's hope that they are all safe and sound. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.

When I looked at the calender stuck to my fridge this morning I was almost surprised to find it still said August. I have been happily immersed in Autumn anticipation. Hunting for fall magazines, crafting Halloween goodies and prepping for Autumn blog parties.

One of the best things I have discovered about blogging is that it's allowed me to really enjoy my favorite season.

Before I started blogging and sharing my art I pretty much relied on retail shops to get into the Autumn spirit.

But with a whole community of pumpkin crazed lovelies to share my obsession with, I truly enjoy every minute of Autumnal bliss.

I have had a surge of creative motivation....crafting with paper, fashioning pointy hats and grunging up miniature skellies. The house painting is on hold indefinitely....for now. Curse these nasty headaches I keep getting.

But my work table is filling up with finished projects for Halloween challenges and props I just couldn't wait to get to. I offer you a very sneaky peak below :)

In a few days I can turn the calendar and finally welcome September. Yay September, followed by my absolute favorite month of all...OCTOBER! Isn't it sooo exciting?

It's pumpkin time again!

Oh and I have a little preview of something I have in store for October. It's not official yet but it's been on my mind as lots of you have been asking about it.

Something to think about after we put away our blenders :)

Hope you are all having a lovely and safe weekend.

artful bag challenge atc swap

2011-08-25T02:11:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all the lovely ladies who played along for the second Artful Bag Challenge ATC swap. I can't believe we just finished another round of our challenge themes. Just one more round to go.

This month I swapped cards with 2 lovely ladies and what an amazing swap it was.

These are the 2 cards I sent out.

I made a Bag Fairy for Karla and a Carpet Bag for Diane.

For each card I also made a bag to hold the card.

The ATC sits inside and the bag closes with mini magnets.

These are both made from scrapbook paper and I made up my own template.

I received both of my partners' cards today.

This package came from Diane of Dianie Mac Designs.

I already fell in love with the Halloween colors and Diane even treated me to the season's first bag of candy corn!

If you're not familiar with Diane's work you are in for a treat. She creates wonderfully whimsical clay art with a holiday theme, especially Halloween and Christmas.

Diane created this witch bag ATC just for me! What a treat! It's truly magical and amazing. I feel so honored to receive a piece of her art. I just love it.

Thank you so much Diane!

My other swap partner is Karla from Sketchbooks ATCs Mail Art. Karla and I were ATC swap partners last December. When I was a person short for my Artful Bag ATC swap and I didn't have a partner, both she and Diane offered to swap with me.

Karla's beautiful ATC came with all these wonderful goodies, including postcards and mini pieces of handmade art.

What's amazing about Karla's ATC is that it's actually a bag! And it opens up to reveal more treasures tucked inside. Each section is decorated with a unique design and held a little surprise!

Everything about it is feminine and sweet and makes me think of a lovely afternoon tea. Karla in fact tucked in a little bag of Perfect Peach tea inside which I know has very special meaning for her.

Thank you so much for creating this just for me Karla.

I feel so lucky to receive 2 very special bags from 2 lovely ladies, both amazing artists. Thank you Diane and Karla for a wonderful swap.

Please feel free to link up your ATC bag post here so everyone can see your lovely creations. You're also welcome to add your photos to the Artful Bag Challenge Flickr page anytime.

I hope everyone enjoyed their swap. Thank you again for playing.

We'll be back next month for another Playing With Paper theme.

fall magazines to inspire

2011-08-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

Our weather here has been in the news a lot lately. Like the rest of the country we have had unusual weather this Summer but fortunately for us it has been cooler than usual. I really feel bad for those of you getting those mad heat waves, especially when you normally don't. We have had a total of 5 days of 100+ degree weather this season. Our average is 23 days according to the weather guy. So I'm enjoying it and I cautiously look ahead to what the rest of the year's weather brings.

It's nearly the end of August and you know what that means?

It means the first Fall magazines are starting to hit the stands. Yay!!

Romantic Country actually had their issue out a month ago and one of the features is this enchanting white house all dressed up for Fall and Halloween.

Whenever I see an all white kitchen, like the Practical Magic kitchen, I'm so tempted to start painting my cabinets a creamy ivory. Then reality sets in and I realize one, how much work that would be, and two, it really wouldn't be practical given how my husband has an aversion to wiping up spills. But I can dream.

The Better Homes and Gardens Halloween magazine has the same 2 pumpkin theme on the cover every year. It's a nice mix of stylish Martha Stewart inspired decor and more colorful child friendly themes and crafts.

This year they even did this amazing Autumn Mad Tea Party!

I thought I would just tempt you guys with more early Halloween stuff to go out and spend your money on :)

I have also stopped painting my walls for a few days. It seems to keep giving me a yucky headache so I'm taking a break and catching up with my other projects for now. I'll be back soon with my Artful Bag Challenge ATCs and one of these days I really need to get back to painting on canvas again.

Have a beautiful day.

Oh and I couldn't wait anymore...I was waiting until next week to bring back my Fall banner from last year but with all the Fall related posts I've been doing I just couldn't wait much more. Now I'm all set for Celia's Gypsy Dreams party!

And.....there's lots of room around the kitchen table so come and join me again for the Practical Magic blog party next month!

some decorating and a new broom

2011-08-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

I love love my new walls (well the ones I finished painting so far). I was afraid it looked too much like the old color at first but once it dried and I got it on an entire wall I really loved it. It's just a little greener and more vibrant than the Butternut and makes all the my dark brown furniture pop. Happy happy! Oh if only the paint didn't give me a headache. But it's worth it.

Have you been to Pier 1 lately? They have some really wonderful Halloween stuff out right now. I had to get this glittery witchy broom to add to my collection. I love the crooked handle. Here it is against the new paint which doesn't look as vibrant here but you can see the greener tone. Very Owensy I think!

I also couldn't resist this witchy boot ornament and a few other cute things that decided to follow me home...

...like this adorable couple that's actually about to take a trip to their new home.

All this painting and moving stuff around put me in the mood to bring out my favorite design and decorating books again. I love so many different styles that I finally gave up on picking one particular one.

My biggest inspiration usually comes from these 3 design styles. I love the eclectic mix here in my home state of California, from Bohemian San Francisco to the Spanish flavor of Southern California. Old world and modern Paris...I love both. And New Orleans as you might know is an obsession of mine. The mix of colonial Spanish and tattered French decadence in the Vieux Carre speaks to my inner gypsy. So I'm revisiting my old books and magazines again, looking for a little inspiration to spruce up my little place.

Hope you're having a beautiful weekend!

atc swap reminder and new paint color

2011-08-17T01:17:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder for my Artful Bag Challenge atc swappers. If you haven't already mailed your card out to your partner you should be getting ready to mail in the next few days. We will be posting on our blogs on the 25th.

I finally decided on a color for my walls and actually bought paint today. After months of dreaming about something completely different from what's on there now, I went with one that's not too different after all.

I've had this color on my walls for about 9 years. It's called Butternut by Martha Stewart and maybe you can tell from that shade and from my dark wood furniture that my inspiration came from, where else? The Owen's living room in Practical Magic.

Image from Victoria Magazine October 1998

My living room still has the same espresso and sage color scheme as the PM house, down to the brown sofa, leather arm chair and honey colored drapes. And no matter how much I change things around I always end up going back to these favorite colors, especially when Autumn comes around and I start decorating for Halloween.

I watched the movie again the other day (probably the 387th time) and realized how much I still love everything about that house. So I ended up with another Martha Stewart color called Malted which is a little bit deeper and greener than the Butternut. I thought about going almost white, like a pale blue gray but I think I just love warm golden shades too much.

I also learned something new when I went to Home Depot to buy my paint. Now I always knew you can have any color mixed from any brand of paint. If you like a shade from a particular line you can have it mixed in any of the brands of paint available. I love Martha's colors but I went with Glidden paint which is a little cheaper. What I didn't know is that Martha's line of paint IS Glidden, relabeled with her brand. The nice man mixing my paint told me this when I asked what the difference was between the two. So I was able to save a little and still got not just Martha's color but basically the same paint.

We'll see how it all turns out tomorrow.

Hope you're having a great week so far!

the witches are in

2011-08-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

For me Fall can never come soon enough and lately it has felt almost like Fall here in Tomatoland. It's been an unusually cool summer for us despite the fact that yesterday was close to 100. But I'll just ignore that.

All I can think about are pumpkins and crows and witchy hats. By the way did you see that beautiful full moon last night? Definitely a sign that Autumn is just around the corner.

Just in case you missed my last post I'd like to officially invite you to the 2nd Annual Practical Magic blog party on September 24. I have a separate page just for it and I would love to have you come and join me again. You can click on the button up there at the top and it will take you to the party page.

I'm also really excited about a couple of great Fall events being put on by my blog friends this year. Celia is having a Gypsy Dreams party next month, Wendy is hosting a Halloween Tin Swap and JoAnne is hosting a Halloween Matchbox Swap. So many wonderful ways to start off the season!

One of my favorite yearly rituals is to start checking the shops for Halloween merchandise. Michaels usually puts theirs out right after the 4th of July. I was there last week and it looked like they had most of it out. I have so much Halloween stuff that I rarely find anything I need to add to my collection but it's just so much fun to be surrounded by all that glittery orange and black!

Another shop I love to visit is HomeGoods. The other night I was treated to a whole section filled with Autumn and Halloween goodies. I love seeing the displays before everyone gets their hands on them because by the end of September it's all pretty much picked over.

Here are a couple of pictures I took with my phone before I had to dash out and do grocery shopping. Enjoy!

What sort of delicious Autumn goodies have you found? I'd love to know!

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend.

midnight margaritas anyone?

2011-08-11T01:24:00.000-07:00

I wasn't really sure if I was going to do it again. I thought maybe once was enough and it was great fun while it lasted. But lately I started getting emails. Some of you really thought it would be fun to have another one this year. And I have to admit that the cooler weather we had last week really put me in an Autumn-y mood.

Then my friend and fellow Practical Magic fanatic pretty much twisted my arm and convinced me to just go for it again :)

And that was really all I needed.

I couldn't resist the call of that blender and the echoes of the Owens women's laughter as they did another turn around that table in that drool worthy kitchen.

So if you click on the new button up there on the sidebar
I have a little surprise for you!

quiet as a mouse

2011-08-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

Are you having a great summer? It's been so much cooler here this year, last week we had one or two days that almost felt like Fall. I was so excited I even watched a few of my favorite Fall movies one night.

Things have been rather quiet here. Not much has been happening at my art table so Luna decided she might as well take a nap there. I think I mentioned I was off to get paint for my walls and I did go to get it. But when I got there I kept changing my mind so I went home with another handful of paint swatches instead of a can of paint.

I did manage to paint a little house for my studio space.

This week I'm actually stuck at home since my husband's car fell ill and he's using mine. And it's funny how I can spend a few days not leaving the house at all and be perfectly content, but the minute I know I can't it starts to drive me crazy. Does that happen to you too? I guess I like having options.

I might visit my journal again and see if I get inspired to make some art. And there's all the prepping I need to finish to get my walls ready for when I do decide what color to paint them. Decisions, decisions.

Are you doing anything exciting or maybe getting ready to send the kids back to school?

Well I hope you're having a blissfully creative week and if you have any of that creative spirit left over please send a little my way :)

august atc swap partners

2011-08-04T23:52:00.000-07:00

Here is the partners list for the Artful Bag Challenge ATC swap.

Amy --- Wendy

Elly -- Selma

Fran -- Victoria

JenW -- Patricia

Linda -- Penny

Tina -- Tracy

We have a total of 13 swappers so I paired everyone up except for me. I'm going to wait to see if I get any last minute sign ups so if anyone is interested in swapping just email me. I will be making a card either way.

The swappers list on the right sidebar is also a link to everyone's blog. Please get in touch with your partner and allow enough time for your ATC to arrive before the 25th. On the 25th you can post your card on your blog and link up to my ATC post. You can also add your card to our Flickr page.

I can't wait to see all your fabulous bag themed ATCs.
Thank you for playing and have fun!

Update: I had offers to swap from 2 lovely ladies and I couldn't turn either one down so I'm happily swapping with an old friend and a new one.
Thank you Karla and Diane!

trunk show

2011-08-03T11:42:00.000-07:00

Remember this trunk from the Judy Moody movie? You probably know that I just couldn't stop drooling over it.

It inspired me to make my own little craft trunk from a thrift store find

And last year I altered another mini trunk to create a wardrobe to house my paper dresses for the 2010 Dress Up Challenge.

I have to confess I have always had a trunk obsession. Specially the old steamer trunks people used to take along on long ocean voyages and train rides.

I love the idea of opening up a seemingly unassuming piece of luggage and seeing it filled with hidden compartments and drawers to house an entire wardrobe (or studio). There is something about this that is magical to me.

My husband said I love anything that works like a Swiss Army knife and he is absolutely right. I love things with lots of functions. That's why I love camping gear....and diaper bags! And the smaller the item the better. I'm actually one of those people that loves to pack. I love arranging and organizing stuff to see how efficiently I can get it done. Now this doesn't mean my studio or my house is efficient and perfectly organized. It's far from it I'm afraid. But every now and then I get into these moods where I love reorganizing things to see if I can figure out a new way to make things work a little better.

So I thought I would share this collection of amazing 'trunks' I found on the web. You'll see that some really aren't trunks at all but definitely keep the idea of efficiently storing lots of stuff in a smaller space.

Wouldn't this vintage vaudeville trunk make the most amazing craft trunk? I think even Judy Moody's Aunt Opal would be green with envy.

This reproduction from Free People is a little simpler but still has lots of drawers for artsy stuff. I love the boho gypsy feel.

This one is from Coco Republic. It's hard to tell what size it is when it's closed...

Until you open it and see it's a full sized wardrobe.

I think this piece from Restoration Hardware is the ultimate magical trunk.

You open it up and it's actually....

...a secretary! What an amazing art studio that would make.

Image source: Flickr

And of course I adore old trunks like the ones they used in the Harry Potter films.

All of these are insanely priced as you might imagine. The Restoration Hardware piece is $3500. But think of all the ideas you can use to alter that old trunk you have sitting in the attic. Or the plain old cabinet or armoire in the dusty corner of your guestroom. Not to mention all the goodies you might find at your local thrift store.

Well I'm off to buy paint for my walls. Still not sure what color I want but something will come to me eventually, lol!

august artful bag challenge atc swap

2011-07-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

It's time for another Artful Bag Challenge ATC swap. I have a list of swappers so far (see right side bar). There is still plenty of time to sign up so just email me by Aug 4 and I will add your name to the list. I will post the partners on the 5th.

Remember your ATC should have a bag theme. How you interpret it is completely up to you. Please make sure you allow enough time for your card to reach your partner by the 25th. You can share your ATCs on your blog and on our Artful Bag Challenge Flickr page on that day.

Please also remember that if you sign up to swap you must follow through and send an ATC to your partner. Someone is looking forward to your lovely piece of art. If something comes up please contact your partner and let them know.

OK now I want to share the wonderful ATC I received from my swap partner Ana for our first swap last April. Ana lives in Brazil and owns the blog Scrap da Ana. She creates beautiful paper art among other things and I first saw her work last year during the Paper Dress challenge.

Ana created a stamped fabric ATC on a vintage air mail envelope. She made it into a little bag with colorful beaded stems tucked inside.

This is the back.

Ana also sent me sheets of vintage pages and ephemera, air mail envelopes and a sweet little bag made in her country. I love the bright cheery colors!

And all of it came in this wonderful box she decorated. It was stuffed with ribbons, laces, doilies and all sorts of colorful trim. It was so amazing and incredibly thoughtful and generous of her.

I have been having so much fun using these goodies in my creations. Thank you so much Ana for sharing your art and gifts.

Now whether you share a few extras with your partner is completely up to you. There is no requirement to send anything more than your ATC. Many artists love to share supplies and gifts so that again is completely up to you. My swap partner was extraordinarily generous and I just wanted to share her beautiful gifts here.

For more details about the Artful Bag Challenge please click on the button on the right sidebar. And thank you to everyone that played along for the July theme.

Hope you had a great weekend.

p.s. Happy Birthday today to Harry Potter and JK Rowling!!

Did I tell you we have seen the movie 3 times?!

faerie shoe and wand swap

2011-07-28T16:58:00.000-07:00

Hello and good Thursday afternoon! Hope you're enjoying a lazy summer day. I want to share the wonderful faerie slipper I received from Lorraine, from Over the Rainebeau for the Bliss Angels Faerie Shoe Swap.

The slipper itself is just adorable, with beautiful details and a tiny sweet faerie. But Lorraine also included a lovely card and little faerie treats!

And she also attached a length of tulle ribbon so I can hang it in a special place. Thank you so much Lorraine. I love it!

I also want to share the wand I received from Lynn, from Ruby Rabbit Studios for the Bliss Angels Spring Wand Swap in April. Somehow I forgot to post it and the shoe made me remember.

Lynn created this adorable woodland wand for me!

Topped with a birdhouse and a cute birdie peeking out. The roof is made from a pine cone and Lynn said she attached each 'shingle' individually! I love that the handle is an actual branch.

Here is another side of the birdhouse showing a clay tile with a dragonfly design.

Luna had her eye on my wand right away so I made sure to put it in a safe place where she couldn't get her little kitty paws on that birdie. Thank you so much again Lynn!

august atc swap, hp movie

2011-07-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone for your comments on my last post about my Blogger woes. I really appreciate all your suggestions and glad to hear I'm not the only one having posting issues. I think I'll keep using Chrome for now even if my text looks weird to me. At least I know it looks OK to you guys so that works for me.

Next month we are doing the second round of our ATC swap for the Artful Bag Challenge. A few people have already signed up so if you're interested in doing the swap please send me an email and let me know. I'll post the pairings on August 5.

It looks like Harry Potter DH2 is breaking all sorts of box office records. We have seen it twice and it is truly amazing. My son and I did the 2 day movie marathon last week which ended with the midnight opening of the new film. We even got fun freebies for doing the marathon (special Harry 3D glasses, hat, poster). It was so great to see all the movies on the big screen again and seeing them all back to back really made me appreciate the journey those young actors went on.

I have to say that seeing it on opening night wasn't exactly the experience I had expected. We saw it in 3D and it was amazing of course, but I think seeing it on opening night and in 3D was just a little too distracting for me. We had a great time in the theater and there was a fun party atmosphere the whole time, but I had a hard time fully immersing myself in the story. I really thought I would be in tears most of the time but I was surprised to find I never used any of the tissues I stuffed in my purse.

Even my son said he was surprised he didn't feel as sad as he thought he would be. So we spent the drive home discussing why we felt this way and came to the conclusion that although we had a great time at the marathon, all the excitement proved to be a little too distracting. I mean there was even someone in the audience who was sobbing so hard that people started giggling!

So we decided we had to go and see it again right away, which we did. This time not in 3D and during a less crowded show. Finally I was able to get into it and fully appreciate each scene and of course by the end I had gone through all my tissues. I also hope Alan Rickman gets recognized for his performance because he was absolutely brilliant.

What's next? My son wants to see the movie in D-Box. That's when you get to sit in a motion chair that moves along with the scenes in the film. A few theaters are showing DH2 with the D-Box experience (also in 3D). Now I get motion sickness at the drop of a hat, but I'm also curious to see what it's like. So I'll probably end up taking a bunch of ginger pills....which is suppose to work for motion sickness....and bring along a little brown bag just in case, lol.

Hope you're having a nice weekend!

p.s. We went to our Borders store yesterday and it made me so sad to see everything going away. I can't believe they're closing. I have wonderful memories of going to the Harry Potter midnight book releases and parties there with my little guy. It was really too much to see it all being cleared out :(

do i see what you see?

2011-07-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

Each time I go on Blogger I just become more and more frustrated. Posting has been a challenge, particularly if I have lots of pictures to post.....the WBC post took a LOT of patience. I haven't seen my followers gadget in ages and just the other day I realized not all the Blogger fonts show up the same way on different browsers.

I've been using IE7 for ages. I can't upgrade to 8 because it crashes my poor old computer. Blogger did a systems upgrade recently and I think IE7 doesn't support a lot of it which is why my followers gadget suddenly went missing.

So I downloaded Google Chrome and voila....I see my followers when I use Chrome! But the font I use for my blog looks really weird and pixelated. This totally baffles me. Doesn't Google own Blogger? Why would their browser not support web fonts they offer on their blogger site?

Maybe it's just me and this old laptop of mine. Any of you have similar woes? Can you tell me if the font I use looks normal or is it weird and blurry (that's what it looks like to me in Chrome). And are you able to load multiple images in Blogger? I used to up until last week. Now I can load one picture and I have to exit out of the editor each time I need to load the next one. Yes. The WBC post nearly made me want to give up blogging all together....at least until I can upgrade either my system or my computer.

Anyway, I was also going to add more about the Artful Bag Challenge ATC swap and also stuff about the HP movie but I'll save it for the next post. So really quickly...

I already have a few sign ups for next month's ATC swap theme and if you're interested in swapping please email me soon.

Also the Harry Potter movie was amazing of course and we have already seen it twice! I'll tell you more next time.

Those are older pictures of Luna up there, when she was still a kitten. I just love them and it's exactly how I feel about this Blogger thing, lol. Be back soon.

fairy shoe

2011-07-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

Did you have a great weekend? The WBC party is still on. There are lots of wonderful creative spaces to see and be inspired by. If you're here for WBC you can click on the button at the top of the right sidebar or scroll down to the previous post.

My shoe for the Fairy Shoe Swap at Bliss Angels is on it's way to my swap partner so I thought I would post the rest of the pictures.

I used a template from Artful Affirmations and made my shoe from pretty scrapbook paper. Then I cut out flowers from a paper napkin and collaged it on. I changed it a bit by curling the tip and turning it up slightly.

Embellished with a piece of vintage lace, a ruffle I made from old dress pattern paper, Prima paper flowers and a bit of paint, distress ink and glitter.

I imagined a fairy might have left this shoe in the woods after dancing the night away at a Midsummer ball.

This 1689 quote by John Selden was perfect for it.

I had lots of fun making my wee little shoe and I hope my swap partner Lorraine likes it too.

Thank you again to Wendy for another great fairy swap.

where bloggers create 2011

2011-07-15T04:02:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my creative space. This is my second year participating in Where Bloggers Create, hosted by Karen Valentine at My Desert Cottage.

My studio is still in the same spot. Mainly in my dinning room but as my art grew, so did all my stuff. So I branched out just a little. This room is now used mainly for storage. The hutch holds everything from my art supplies to all our general office stuff.

I used to work at this table but I got tired of always having to clean up my projects when it was time to eat. And since I like to work standing up most of the time, it was really starting to bother my back. I love my mid-century modern dinning set but the table is just a little too low.

My hutch holds some of the many gifts I have received from dear friends I met through blogging, like the magical Garden Spells chair, Petunia art doll and birthday collage from Marfi.

I also keep my favorite magazines here.

This iron stand is to the left of the hutch. It was kiwi green and had become too rusty after being in the garden a few years, so I gave it a coat of vintage white and brought it in.

I have learned a lot from my collection of art books. I also started the Artful Bag Challenge this year so I can indulge my love for embellishing old bags like this one.

For storage I like to use thrift store finds and mini wooden drawers and cabinets.

I also like to use glass jars to store ribbons, trim and baubles.

This jewelry organizer holds paper flowers, trim and other embellishments. It hangs behind the stand when not in use.

This is the small table to the right of the hutch. The craft cabinet is another favorite thrift store find. It was a very heavy wooden cassette tape holder I got for about $4.

After I took all the pictures for this post I decided to play with it some more and here is how the case ended up. You can read more about the inspiration for this project here.

To the right of the table is a fabric divider screen I made when I used to do craft shows.

I needed something to break up the long wall of tables and stands to keep things from looking too busy. It also helped to anchor my favorite chair so it didn't get lost visually.

The screen and chair divide the space between the dining room and the living room, which is to the right of my work table. This was just a small empty walk through space but I got the idea to set up a work table right by the window. I love being able to adjust the shutters and use all that great natural lighting.

And my old chair is a perfect place for me to relax and think about new projects...when it isn't occupied by my marmalade tabby, Luna.

A very skinny wall next to the kitchen is another spot I coveted for my creative space. This wall and the kitchen are to the left of the dinning table. You can see part of the tea cart in the previous picture. The wooden shelf was another thrift store treasure.

I use it to display artwork, projects and to create vignettes for blog parties or just for fun. The small 'retablo' art to the right of the shelf was made by my cousin who is also a mixed media artist

My old tea cart is right below the shelf. Almost everything here is a thrift store find. A wire record album holder and wooden plate rack hold my files and decorative papers. The wire candelabra is a favorite find from last Fall.

And this retro typewriter was a great buy at $14 and a birthday present to myself this year.

Another view of my work table and chair. Under the table is a small rolling cart and on top of the cart is a great organizer that was, yup, another thrift store treasure.

My work table is not very big so I make the most of it by using holders and organizers that stack or spin. To make it a comfortable height to work at when I'm standing, I set the table on bed risers.

Cigar boxes are also great for storage.

I used to wish I had a separate room to turn into a 'real' studio, where I would be able to shut the door and not worry about my stuff spilling onto the rest of the house.

But I learned to love having my art space out in the open. It may be more of a challenge that requires me to be extra creative about where to put everything, but that's also the best part of it. And I really love it when someone comes over and says 'Oh you're an artist!'

Thank you for stopping by to visit and thank you to Karen from My Desert Cottage for hosting again. There are lots of amazing and creative spaces to see so make sure to go there for the list of participants.

p.s. My studio assistant Luna wasn't available during this year's photo shoot. She was napping in a different room and I had to get the pictures done while the light was nice. I also didn't get to include my laptop because my son was using it. So here is a photo from last year's WBC. You can see how my space looked then.

Have a lovely creative day!

crafty trunk

2011-07-12T12:01:00.000-07:00

Shhhh!! I'm suppose to be finishing up my pictures for Friday's blog party (Where Bloggers Create), and also going through my list of errands. The big Harry Potter movie marathon starts tomorrow so I wanted to get all my other things done today. But....

Ever since Celia over at Adventures of the Striped Stockings posted THIS a few days ago I have been obsessed. Celia took her daughter to see the movie Judy Moody And The Not So Bummer Summer. Judy's Aunt Opal (played by Heather Graham) is an eccentric artsy character and this is her craft trunk. Isn't it just fabulously amazing?!

Being the mom of a Harry Potter crazed teenage son, I would have never thought of Judy Moody...and I would have missed this wonderful trunk, so thank you Celia!

Well of course I had to think of a way to make my own magical crafty trunk. At first I wanted to make one I could really use and take with me whenever I go out of town to visit my mom for a few days. I found this case at the thrift store a few months ago.

It's 15x12x6 and solid wood. It's actually a cassette tape holder (remember those) and what I love is that all the little dividers are removable. I was already using it to hold a lot of my ATC stuff but I decided to turn it into my new crafty trunk.

By the way, the trunk from the movie came from the Metropolitan Opera and is about 4 feet tall. Now somewhere in the back of my mind I think there's an old trunk about that size in my mom's garage. Hmmm...

I turned the case on it's side, took out some of the dividers, glued on paper, trim and started stuffing it with all sorts of crafty goodies...

Because this case was already way too heavy before I even started filling it, I realized it wasn't going to work as a travel trunk. So I just had fun with it and made it more decorative than practical.

I recycled a little drawer from another cabinet, made a nook for magical books, threw in bottles and boxes of this and that.

Remember my altered Sweet Tart box bag? It fits right onto the lid and even works as a little file holder.

So I may not be able to take my trunk on any trips but I love having it in my studio, and I can play with it anytime I feel like dreaming about being a hip eccentric guerilla artist.

Plus...

I can still hunt around for another trunk I can really use on the road (maybe an old suitcase). Now back to editing those pictures and getting on with my errands. Be back soon :)

forest magic, tents, a bit of HP and a sneak peek

2011-07-08T23:48:00.000-07:00

It's been three years since the last time we went camping and I have been dreaming about pitching a tent among the redwoods again.

These pictures of our tent are from my favorite camping trip to Big Sur four years ago. We went in November and it was just beautiful. I love camping in Fall when the weather is cooler and the leaves have already turned colors. Big Sur is the quintessential California coastal town. Quirky, artsy, down to earth and curiously magical. It's one of my favorite places.

We had the best campsite on this trip. Tucked away in a quite spot between giant redwood trees. Our family tent is HUGE. 'Too big to be allowed', lol, which is why my son and I named our 10x16 Coleman tent 'Hagrid'. But I love this tent...well I love all tents. It has a hinged door that swings open, these huge wings that make a cozy front porch and 2 dividers inside that create 3 separate areas.

When you camp here in Fall the entire forest floor is covered with dried leaves instead of dirt, creating a soft carpet that is magical against the lush evergreens. I remember sneaking out of our tent early in the morning...probably to go to the restroom, and taking this picture of our campsite. And I think my most favorite part of camping is waking up as the sun comes up and watching the sunlight slowly filter through the walls of our tent and then stepping outside and breathing in the crisp forest air. Pure bliss.

But I also love to stay up at night, curled up in a blanket just outside of our tent with my candle lantern and watching the little village of campers nearby. Tents of all sizes and shapes softly lit by fading campfires fascinate me. I imagine all sorts of fanciful things...like finding a circus tent deep in the woods!

Anyway I have been crazy busy. Making lots of out of town trips, painting a little and most of all being immersed in all things Harry Potter as Sebastian and I gear up for next week's opening day for DH2. We have our tickets to the movie marathon. Yes...we will be watching 8 films back to back! Movies 1 to 4 on Wednesday, then 5 to 7 on Thursday and finishing with DH2 at midnight. It's going to be insane but we had to do it of course.

Oh and here's a little sneak peek at the fairy shoe I made for Wendy's Fairy Shoe Swap. I wanted to have it done early because of all the stuff I have going on this month. I'll post more once all the swapping is done.

Here it is all wrapped up and ready to send out.

Wait...one more thing. Yesterday was the London premiere for DH2. We watched a 4 hour live stream and this is a video of the very end when the cast, filmakers and JK Rowling gave their final speeches. It was amazing, touching and it made me cry. I don't know how I'm going to make it through the movie next week!

I hope you're all having a great Summer so far!

happy 4th

2011-07-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!

I thought I would share my Teddy Bears Picnic
pics again from last year.

Have a great weekend!

july artful bag challenge

2011-07-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

It's round two of our Embellish It theme. That is to take an old bag you have in your collection and embellish it however you like. You can add trim, flowers, jewels, art. Make it practical and usable or turn it into a work of art.

Buried deep in my closet I unearthed this crochet style bag I got around 12 years ago. Remember when bags like The Sak where all the rage? This one is 7x9 with a really long strap so you can wear it across your body. I have no idea how I ever managed to use anything this small.

I have always loved Magnolia Pearl bags. I love the layers of texture, vintage air and bohemian gypsy style found in their entire line. I've seen several people create their own version of MP's pricey purses so for this challenge I used them for inspiration.

I went through my stash of vintage lace and thrift store doilies and attached a few to the front. Over the flap I added a tattered fabric cuff I made a few months ago after drooling over Thespa's amazing cuff over at Vintiquities Workshop. I followed her tutorial and tea dyed strips of muslin and rolled them into rosettes. Then I took apart one of my old bracelets and added a little bit of sparkle.

I also used the same blue trim to add a vintage key to the strap.

Finally I recycled the vintage floral brooch and a few ribbon rosettes I used on the first Embellish It bag I made back in March. And there you have it. My mini Magnolia Pearl inspired purse. I would really like to add long fringe around the edges to make it look even more Magnolia Pear-ish so I'll have to see what I can find at the thrift or fabric store next time.

Again I'd like to say thank you to everyone that played along in June. I love all of your wonderful altered art bags. I can't wait to see what you come up with this month. Remember anyone can still join up even if you haven't done any of the past ones. You can always catch up if you like.

t&t tuesday, atc swap and bizarre weather

2011-06-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

Hello and happy Tuesday! It feels like I've been away much longer than 5 days, or maybe it's just me since I've been busy these past few days. We have been visiting family, cleaning and sprucing up the house and I'm also working on organizing my work space for the WBC blog party. And I have had to be more mindful of taking care of myself as I had to take an unexpected trip to the hospital the other week. It seems my tummy is much pickier about what I put in it nowadays.

Our bizarre weather continues here in Tomatoland. Last week we were up to 102 but today is cloudy and breezy and we may actually have some rain. Something that hasn't happened here in June since stagecoach days I think, lol.

You might have noticed my Tips & Treasures Tuesday link disappeared. I think Summer may not be the best time to start up a new linky party since most of us find ourselves spending more time with our families and less time on the computer. I'll still post my favorite tips and treasures now and then and you're more than welcome to add your own in a comment if you like.

In fact here are two favorite things I have found very useful in my art space.

I love this hanging jewelry organizer for storing all the small odds and ends that easily gets lost in my drawers. There are pockets on both sides and when I don't need it I just tuck it away between the hutch and another fixture.

Almost everything sitting on my work table spins. This is a fun and very useful holder I found in the clearance section at Marshalls. The trays stack and the top and middle ones also spin so it's easy to grab any of the little bottles and tubes. And the red rubber mats keep everything from sliding around. I got a couple of these placemats for $1 and cut them up to fit under some of my organizers since the surface on my work table is slippery. That way when Luna gets up on my table things are less likely to get knocked down.

Finally I wanted to add something regarding the Artful Bag Challenge ATC swap from April. Unfortunately not everyone received a card from their partner and this is most frustrating when your partner won't respond to emails to let you know if there might be a problem. We all sign up to do these swaps because we love sharing our art with other creative souls. It's always a thrill to receive a piece of handmade art in the mail from someone who might be a future friend. We all understand that things happen, we end up with more on our plate than we expected, and other things become more important than mailing out a tiny card, wand, doll, etc. It only takes a minute to send an email to your swap partner to let them know what's going on. Later is better than never if possible. And if it's truly impossible, then a little courtesy among artists is appreciated and a quick email to update your partner should be a no brainer. I hope this helps and thank you again to all of you who share your amazing artful bags every month.

I'll see you soon with next month's Artful Bag Challenge theme: Embellish It!

more potter

2011-06-23T11:11:00.000-07:00

Still counting down the days to the final Harry film.

Last night my son set his alarm for 3:30 am and made me promise not to let him sleep through it. What was so important?

Last week an announcement was made that author JK Rowling had something in the works called Pottermore. Not a new book but something 'equally exciting', according to the buzz going around. The official announcement was on YouTube today
....3:30am my time.

Since I'm usually up late (you know floating around the night skies with my pink balloon), I just stayed up and woke him up when the alarm went off.

This is the official announcement:

So for die hard Harry fans this eases the pain of the series coming to an end. Sebastian will be counting down the days until the site goes up in October, which is right around his birthday.

More info at the UK's Telegraph

And if the Pottermore announcement wasn't enough, we also learned that a handful of AMC theaters across the country will be showing a movie marathon of all 7 HP films leading up to the midnight premiere of DH2. Two films a night starting on July 11. One of the 29 theaters participating is a few minutes from my mom's house, who lives 2 hours away. Luckily we spend a lot of time with her during summer break so I'm sure we will just happen to be visiting that week.

We saw all the movies in the theater except for the first one. Sebastian was only 5 and Harry wasn't on his radar yet. But shortly after the film came out on dvd I started reading the books to him and from then on we caught up on all things Harry very quickly.

So lots of excitement here in my house. My brother also happens to be in London on business this week and more than once I know Sebastian was texting his uncle to see if he happened to find any final Harry magazines on the news stands. Yes, being slightly obsessed is definitely in my son's genes :)

summer

2011-06-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

Happy first day of Summer.

It was 101 here today and we're expecting the same the next few days. Summer is definitely here.

The theme at Collage Obsession this week is Beach Babes.

I found a fun vintage photo.

Then I added color and images from

Deviant Scrap and Digital Scrapbook Place.

(Click on the image for a larger view)

You can see more at Collage Obsession.

endings and beginnings

2011-06-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

Last day of school for my son today....finally. It seems everyone else has been out the last few weeks, but for our school district it starts today (well tomorrow officially). Next year he starts the 10th grade. I still can't believe it, where did all those years go?

Yesterday the official theatrical trailer for the second half of the final Harry Potter movie was released. Sebastian was so excited, and sad at the same time. I know I've mentioned before how my son grew up with Harry. It's been a constant thing in our household the last 10 years and something the two of us share together...through midnight book releases, opening day for the films, collecting Potter memorabilia and doing our own special Harry Potter events throughout the year.

When I dropped him off at school this morning he looked a little sad. I asked if he was sad about the school year being over and he said no (he couldn't wait for it to end). He got out of the car, went around to the trunk to grab his backback and right before he shut the door he said 'this will be the last school year I'll ever have a Harry movie to look forward to, it's the end'.

I drove away from the school thinking how funny it was that he saw it that way. But then I realized I felt the same way too, silly as it seems, and it made me a little sad for more reasons than just the series finally coming to an end...

Harry has grown up and he's ready to move on to the next adventure,

and my not so little guy is growing up too.

But I'm really looking forward to seeing Mrs Weasely give it to Bellatrix!

And then there's also this mysterious new thing to look forward to this summer...

pottermore.com

up all night

2011-06-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

I am a night owl. Given the choice I would stay up all night working on art. I love the peace and quiet, not just in my house but also in the world just outside of me.

And I love the night sky.

My husband has to go to bed early for work so he often wonders what I do in the wee hours of the morning. If I'm not working on art I'm on the computer, or both. I'm sure he thinks I'm carrying on who knows what with who knows who.

"What do you do up all night?"

Sound familiar?

So for all of you night owls out there I dedicate my latest painting.

Now when my husband wonders what I'm doing I have an answer...

I fly around the night sky with my pink balloon of course!

I play hide and seek with the moon and tell her all my secrets.

I grab a handful of stardust to use for my art.

Then I fly back home and sneak in the house just in time for toast.

And I know I've seen some of you out there flying around

with your own pink balloon ;)

tips & treasures tuesday #1

2011-06-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first Tips and Treasures Tuesday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Today I have a few favorite things to share with you. Something old, something new...and something kinda blue! You're welcome to share your own tips and treasures as well. If you created a post just include your link with your comment. Share as many or as few as you like.

More than once I have seen pictures in Where Women Create of these great metal paint holders. They hold lots of bottles on both sides and look like you can spin it around. Some of you might be lucky enough to own one too.

From Where Women Create - May/Jun/July 2011 - pg 105

One day I remembered an old mini chest of drawers I had stored in a kitchen cupboard. I took all the little drawers out and found it was perfect to hold all the colors I use the most. The rest of the bottles are in a drawer of a hutch to the left. My work table is pretty small so one of those nice spinning doodads wouldn't work. But this is perfect and I can also use the top to hold other stuff....like a recycled jar of pesto to store my business cards!

Last week I was at Bed Bath & Beyond where one of my favorite areas is the kitchen section with all the organizers. I've seen these turntables/lazy susans hundreds of times and even have one in my kitchen. It finally occured to me that one would be perfect on my work table...duh!

I actually had a smaller single tier turntable I was using and at one point I added an old cake pedestal to make a second tier. It worked pretty well but this new one holds so much more. The price was $13 and I had a 20% off coupon so it wasn't bad at all. I just love it.

And last I want to share one of my absolute favorite things and that is this big box of folded wax paper I found at Costco. It's the kind I usually see at the bakery, used to pick out a pastry or donut, or to wrap sandwiches. Well it's a perfect work surface for everything. Painting, gluing, and for rubbing down a piece to glue to a collage. And it makes cleaning up so easy. This box of 500 was about 5 or 6 dollars and lasts forever!

So there you have it. A few of my favorite tips and treasures. I have lots more to share and I hope you can share one or two of your favorites too.

not beige

2011-06-08T15:50:00.000-07:00

Had the urge to start working on another art journal earlier. I was looking through an old IKEA catalog and the title on one of the features was Be Brave Not Beige. It was obviously an invite to embrace more color and I just loved the sound of it. I'm a huge fan of color so I started gluing and painting and came up with this.

I'm still addicted to these vintage roses. Can't stop putting them on everything, lol.

Funny thing is I like beige too. As a color anyway because I'm also a fan of neutrals, especially all the lovely muted sepia tones. But the idea of not being 'beige' or bland really appealed to me and I think most of you are the same way, which is why we love to express ourselves creatively.

You might have already heard of little Aelita Andre, the precocious 4 year old artist who just opened her own solo exhibit in New York city. The story has been making the rounds but here's the vid in case you haven't. It's quite fascinating to watch.

What's inspiring you this second week of June?

good words + missing followers update

2011-06-06T09:37:00.000-07:00

Update: Anyone else notice their followers have gone missing? I just checked the forum and lots of people are having the same problem. Here's a link to a form to fill out to add your blog to the list. Hope they can sort it out soon. I just hit 460 then they all went away :( I miss seeing your smiling faces on my page!

I'm always looking for quotes. I love to read them and many of them, especially the ones about art and creativity really inspire me. Recently I came across one in a magazine that I hadn't seen before.

"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."

This is from tennis legend Arthur Ashe. It's been my favorite since I found it.

Sometimes I just get overwhelmed when I see or read about all the new products and techniques available to artists today. Looking through the pages of my favorite Stampington magazines, I can easily find a project featuring multiple steps and products and gadgets. And I honestly really love and appreciate all of them. But like so many of you, I'm also on a tight budget and my tiny space can barely hold what I already have.

This weekend I was at Michaels and debated way too long on whether to try the Tim Holtz crackle paints. I picked a few up, put one back, walked around with two, put another back, walked around with one...

How many of you have done this before?

Finally I thought about that Arthur Ashe quote and remembered that what I really love is just making something with stuff I already have. Plain old paint, paper and glue (ok and a few of those distress ink pads). So I put the last bottle back. 25% off wasn't a good enough sale for me anyway and I'll just wait until I can use the 40% off coupon they have every week.

Spreaking of using what I have...I decided to recycle old pictures from one of my early posts last year. I remember I found a package of these metal charms with words so I threw them in a bottle and took a few pictures.

I hope you had a great weekend. With or without new goodies to try, lol. Our bizzare weather continues here in 'sunny' California. I drove through a wicked thunderstorm yesterday during a 2 hour trip and all my winter clothes are still out. So so strange....

Do you have a favorite quote? I'd love to hear.

june artful bag challenge

2011-06-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

We're halfway through our bag challenge already and we're once again doing the Altered Art theme. For this challenge we will take any everyday object (as along as it isn't a bag) and alter it to look like one. The last time we did this theme, you all came up with so many creative and wonderful ideas. I can't wait to see what you have this time.

Thank you to everyone who played along with the Playing With Paper theme last month. As always, all the paper purses were amazing. I'm a little behind visiting all the entries but now that I'm getting caught up on my projects, I'm going back to see the ones I missed.

For my Altered Art bag I decided to alter a plain old dvd case. It took me a few tries to come up with something that worked. I started with a fun sweet cupcake theme but couldn't get it to all work together.

I finally decided to go vintagey. First I gessoed the edges of the case then painted it vintage gold. I cut a piece of velvet remnant to fit the cover then basted the gold and wine trim around the edges. Then I went through my jewelry kit and attached a charm bracelet I made last year. And last, I added a velvet flower 'clasp' and a lenght of chain for the handle.

And now I'd love to see your altered art bag!