Show and Tell *** Birthday Week :)

Hi. I love October. Its finally cooling down, under 100 anyway, and the mornings and nights are so nice. I love Halloween. To me its the official start to kick off the holiday season. I always seem to have so much fun stuff to do in October. So many of my friends and family have birthdays in October. Including me:) It has been alot of fun. My friends and family are awesome. Its been alot of celebrating for a week and a half now. My BFF Johnsie(can we say that when we are over 50?) took my to my favorite Asian restuarant and gave me this beautiful Brighton bracelet. I love it and it is perfect. My Sister and my other BFF Kathy (I have alot of BFF's, thats the good part about being over 50) took me to a ceramic painting studio and I painted this rose cupcake. The cake on the plate in the background was from a previous trip. We had cupcakes from the Cake Cafe. Kathy gave me an adorable kitty tote bag and this adorable Boyds collectable box that has a tiny bear holding a cupcake. Today my other BFF's Mark and Judy took me to eat at Joes Barbque. (If you are in the phoenix/gilbert area; you have to go there!!) But it was kind of a suprise party. Both of my daughters and my son-in-law, grandkids and my other BFF Pat came too. Great dinner, great company and a great hook up with Joanns gift cards:) So, its been an awesome birthday week.

My studio re-do is coming along. Very slowly, but surely. I will have pictures soon, but I did receive the most awesome gift in the mail from one of my blogging BFF's. Francie saw my post about how my theme for my new studio is a french bakery theme and sent me this adorable cake. You can also visit Francie at http://www.thescentedcottage.com/ . I hope you all have a great week and get to spend time with your BFF's.

Make Mine Pink Christmas Ornament Swap

This year we are having a Christmas ornament swap at Make Mine Pink. You are invited to join in the fun! I will leave the link to register at the bottom of this post. This is how it works....you make three hand made ornaments and you will be given three names to mail them to. In return three people will have your name and you will be sent three hand made ornaments. I participated last year and received the cutest ornaments and I cant wait to get them out again this year for my tree. There are so many creative and talented people out in blog land. This is going to be alot of fun. You can register and get all of the details here. http://www.makeminepink.com/ornament-swap/ . The blog for Make Mine Pink can be found by clicking on the badge for the ornament swap on my sidebar. (This is a photo of one of the ornaments I received last year:) )

A Sneak Peak

I have been quite busy with this whole re-do of my apt. I knew it would be a big job and I am making a little progress. I have a few photos to share of some of my treasures I have found. I cant show you photos of a room yet, for fear someone would send them to the tv show "Horders"! :) I have spent so little on this so far, thats the good news. The bad news is when you go for the good deals, it means lots of painting and sprucing up. That just takes a little more time, and that is something I am kind of short on, but its the adventure! I have found two large domed cake plates for $2.00 each! I got the Eiffel Tower book ends at Borders on clearance for $4.98. I had been eyeing that cute paper plate holder forever at Tillies Attic (the shop I am in) but it didnt match my kitchen before. So I was happy to finally get it:) Plus I can now use all of the things I have painted at the As You Wish Ceramic Studio. I am using the two vintage suit cases for storing my patterns. I love the cupcake picture, I got that at Home Goods. As you can see I am going for the Bakery theme. I have an entry way that I am bringing my antique stove back home and I am going to set up my little entry area and make it look like a French Bakery. Tons of cute ideas for that:) So, my entry, kitchen, sitting area and studio work area will be pink with a French Bakery theme. I got the shelf with glass doors and painted it pink, it will have a dowel to hang on the bottom to thread ribbon spools on. That will be the ribbon cabinet and just below is a night stand I painted pink and put round white knobs on. This will be for my trims and lace. I am looking for a three drawer dresser to paint the same and add the same knobs. I love polka dots and those cute little knobs are perfect. The fabric accents I am using will be pink with with dots too. Cant wait to show you more.

I have been do some creating. I have been in an earring sort of mood. I made quite a few today. I hope you are having a great weekend and enjoying the fall weather. I hear its great. I wouldnt know, in AZ its still over 100!

More Great Gift Ideas

Today was our monthly open house at Tillies Attic. As some of you may know this is a local store in Mesa Arizona. These get togethers are always so much fun. We get to meet all of the vendors and visit. There is always lots of good food, drinks and chocolate! I like to post every now and then new photos of whats going on in the store. There are always new vendors and the store is looking so pretty and getting ready for the holiday season that is fast approaching. Here is a sample of whats new. Geri is a very talented fuse glass artist and has alot of new items available. If you are a Longaberger collector there is a brand new room with a great selection of very pretty baskets and their full line of products. Of course you will find lots of great vintage items as well. If your looking for some great and unique gifts at very good prices, keep us in mind at Tillies Attic. They are opened Tuesday through Saturday, 9:30 to 5:00 pm. Located on the SE corner of Guadalupe and Dobson. (1941 W Guadalupe #111 Mesa, AZ 85202)

Cupcakes and Polkadots

This Friday our Make Mine Pink Friday theme is "Cupcakes and Polkadots". This for sure will be one of my favorites! I cant resist polkadots. Who doesnt like a cupcake, even if its not edible? By visiting each of the participating shops I am sure you will find all sort of adorable and whimsical new things for your home or a special gift for someone. I cant wait to see the cupcake pillows, art, ceramics and jewelry. The fun starts tomorrow, and remember its one day only. You can find us at www.makeminepink.com/pink-friday.

The Art of the Handbag

Girls Night Out
Crystal Ballroom

Ladies Choice

I will admit to owning ALOT of purses. Its so bad that my friends refuse to help me move them all anymore. I am not really a designer handbag kind of girl. The more girly girl they are the better too. I love finding great deals on bags too. I love all colors and styles for that matter. However there are to designer bags I adore. That would be anything Brighton. I do own two of them, cute as can be. BUT.... Mary Frances has taken making bags to an art form and they are gorgeous. I was very lucky to get one as a gift two Christmas' ago. (Its the last photograph). I know they arent everyone cup of tea, but for me, they are like little three dimensional Monets or Picassos :) The photographs here are from her website. http://www.maryfrances.com/

There is no update on the studio this week... I cant believe this, but I have changed my mind on the whole color scheme. I just cant help it. I have to go with the pinks and creams. Out with the reds. I had no inspiration and was just "stuck". As fate would have it I came down with the flu. Like the stay in bed for three days and want to die kind of flu. Somewhere in the dreams of all that sleep or fever induced inspiration I came up with the perfect ideas. I have to say that is REALLY looking at the silver lining of being so sick. But I will start again this week toward my goal. It may be a bad time of year to start all of this. Afterall the holidays are coming and I should be creating lots of new things for my shop. But I just feel like I need to get my studio, my apt and my life just the way I want it,,, then start fresh and new on my business and all of my new ideas. I cant wait to share some photos soon. Have a great week.

I would like you to meet Danita

I am still in the middle of a rather large mess moving my studio. Creative time has been nothing. I love to blog, so during my remodeling I am having so much fun discovering new artist. When you start searching the blogs time has a way of disappearing! Before you know its been a couple hours. I know you all know what I am talking about. For me after visiting so many inspirational blogs I just want to start creating myself.

I purchased a new book yesterday. "Book of Inspiration" by Jo Packham and Jenny Doh. Its like a hardback verstion of my favorite "Where Women Create". One of the first artist featured was Danita. "Danita is a mixed media artist whose colorful art dolls, paintings, and jewelry are capturing the imagination of fans across the globe." Nature, Frida Kahlo, Hot Baths, Childrens Books, Paper Dolls and Paintings from the Master are what inspire here. I loved her favorite quote, "Art is the only way to run away without leaving home...by Twyla Thorp" I have been struggling with the idea I am working in too many mediums. I was inspired to see that Danita paints, makes dolls, jewelry, etc. But they all have a very distinct style that ties it all together and defnes her art. Its given me alot to think about.

I hope you enjoy her art as much as I have. You can visit her blog at http://www.danitaart.blogspot.com/ and her ETSY site is www.etsy.com/shop/danitashop

Phase One And Getting A Head Start On The Holidays

I have been contemplating that I need more work space. My second bedroom that I use for my studio seems to be shrinking each passing week. So, spending some time thinking on this situation, with one thought leading to another thought I had the great idea of making my living room my studio. I know I mentioned it in an earlier post and I have begun the slow transformation. Its going to take time because I need help moving the big stuff, paying for it with cash up front, and working full time. But thats ok. I am good with enjoying the journey these days:) But, I did get a start this weekend. I wanted a sitting area with the TV and my tunes in one area. This was my dining room. But it will do nicely if anyone happens to be over. The kitchen is right there, we can visit and if I want to work on things I can. Because I had to move things out of the dining room, I had to find a place for it, so I had to change my entry way. I tell you, its one thing leading to another and somehow I keep ending up with one extra piece of furniture. I actually put a chair outside my door with a "free" sign on it and it was gone in a matter of minutes. One problem solved! :) I will keep you posted on my progress. I am getting excited for it to all be done. How fun to be able to do it all in one large work area. I think my family thought I was a little crazy at first, but they seem to be getting the idea and think its going to be great.

OK,,, its almost September. I tell myself every year I will not wait to the last minute to do shopping... I end up waiting until the last minute! This year its a goal I am going to work very hard on. I also want to try and make it as much of a handmade holiday as I possibly can. So I have decided to be on the look out for Great Holiday Gifts and share them with you. The first person who came to mind was my friend Marie. (http://www.savonmarie.com/) And its not just because she is my friend. She has been making soap for alot of years and she has it perfected. I use her products and I love them. Her soap is awesome and it makes such a great gift at a wonderful price. Perfect for teachers, co-workers, or even hostess gifts for all the parties during the season. Her presentation is gorgeous as well. I cant wait to see what else I find to share here with you. Have a wonderful week.

Show and Tell Monday

Last week I won a blog contest that Caroline held. I know Caroline as a fellow Make Mine Pink friend:) She lives in Southern England and I love reading her blog posts and talking with her on the forums at Make Mine Pink. It sounds like such a beautiful place to live. Her work is beautiful down to the last detail. This is a rose scented sachet that hangs on a door or a knob. The applique work is amazing. It smells wonderful. I love the tags made me as well. I have been collecting these tags from my friends and I cant seem to part with any of them. The make great bookmarks:) Caroline has many talents and you can visit her blog at http://www.caroleecrafts.blogspot.com/.

I have been pet sitting this weekend and have been away from home, plus the regular 9-5, but I have managed to get a couple things done this week. The cupcake pillow was a house warming gift for a co-worker. They are making her daughters room very special and I thought that this would go nicely in there. The cake pillow is a smaller version, but it is fun. I think the most time consuming part is hand stitching the roses. I can see why people pay good money for them at Joanns!

Well, stay tuned, and I will keep you posted. I am going to be making some changes in my apartment. I spend nearly all of my time in my spare room that I have set up as my studio. Its getting too small and I have come up with the crazy idea of turning my living room/dining room into my workspace. I will have a small sitting area with the TV, but the rest of the space will be all work area. Its not traditional by any means. I live alone and well, why the heck not??? I think I will be much more productive being in the living space of the home. The TV and the kitchen will be there as well as all of my books. I plan on doing this in the middle of September. Until then I will be packing up, organizing and tossing anything I dont want anymore. I am buying some pretty red cabinets and a red three drawer dresser to store my fabric. I will have to have the internet moved and clean the carpeting too. So, I will have my work cut out for me and it will be a huge job, that once in the middle of I will be wishing I never started it. But in the end I think this is a good thing for me and my creativity. I will keep you posted. :)

Show and Tell Mondy

This weekend was near perfect. It was a rainy Saturday morning with a cool breeze. I even opened the windows for a little bit. Now on Sunday afternoon its breezy and getting cloudier. I really hope it rains again. These are very unusual temps for sunny AZ but I will take it. It was a really long week at work last week. So, a nice rainy weekend at home with lots of studio time was great. The cats were happy too:) As you can see, my office mangager, Lucy, has decided to become my model and spokeskitty. Always grateful for free employees. Here is a few of the new things I got done. There was more, but you can see some of whats new. I am slowly getting some fall colors into my shop. I hear that the dusty purples will be big this fall. It seems the earthy tones of rusts and deep greens too. I am working towards expanding my line into a fantasy and magical look. I like the dragonfly necklace, I am calling it Fairy Forest. Things have been far too serious for far too long. I am ready to have some fun and magic in my life. How about you?

I hope you all have a pretty week and happy creating.