Home At Last

What is better than waking up in your own bed, shuffling down the hall in your slippers and pouring that first cup of coffee?  I am finally home for more than a week.  I'm planning on standing in the back yard and growing roots!  It's been a busy year and seems like I've spent a lot of it on a plane or in a car traveling somewhere.  I'm not complaining, but I am feeling a huge sigh of relief wash over me just to be home with no definite plans to go anywhere at this time.

I know I am a nester and I am proud of it.  Nothing makes me happier than just puttering around in my studio for hours on end.  Sometimes nothing comes of it, maybe the studio is more organized, I've tried a new technique, or I've created something that I really like.  No matter what the outcome, the process is what counts.  So now I will hunker down, I guess hibernate in a way and enjoy the cooler days of winter.  Hopefully that will mean more blog posts, a cleaner house, and more art!

What's Going on? (Part 3)

Finally, I have been taking an online class (Journal 365) with Pam Carriker and I was also able to make it to her class at Art Unraveled!  It's been hard being gone so much (and we are leaving again in the morning!) after learning all these new and exciting techniques.  I come away so inspired.  Sometimes I just want to stay home and make art in my jammies!  The time will come though. 

I will be selling some of my work at Quilted Wings - a boutique held once a year at the organizer's home. She makes phenomenal things out of old quilts and vintage sewing items. She also invites other people to join her and this year she invited me! I've made some jewelry, collaged notebooks and journals, Christmas items, and have LOTS of ideas dancing in my head.

I'll be teaching a soldering class at Embellish in early September and possible a collage one later on in the month.  Hmmm... No wonder I don't get to stay home in my jammies and make art!

Here are some of the pages I completed in the Pam Carriker classes as well as the journals I collaged the covers of for Quilted Wings.

3x4 Notebooks

5x7 Journals

With One Palette

With One Palette

With One Palette

Journal 365

Journal 365

Journal 365

What Going On? (part 2)

Another part of the Wisconsin trip was spent with my Brett and Marina.  We spent a day in Shawano, fishing, doing "art projects" and making and eating s'mores.  We had a great time despite the mosquitoes.  The kids were pulling fish out of the lake one after another.  We made flag books together and played games.  Brett teased us about the number of brownies left and became known as "the brownie liar". 

The day after the wedding, the family returned to the cottage for the gift opening and a day of water fun.  I took a ride on a jet ski (my first!) with the bride and went water skiing for the first time in about 30 years!  I did well - despite the comments from all my younger (which they remind me of OFTEN) brothers.  I think I surprised them - no fancy stuff, but I wasn't even sore the next day!

We ended the trip with our traditional visit to Beerntsen's for ice cream Sundaes.  A good time was had by all - especially me!

PS - there are no pictures of me water skiing since my husband/photographer was busy taking a picture of a snake eating a frog!

What's Going On?

What have I been up to lately?

I recently returned from a visit to my family for a wedding. My niece, Jenny got married and I have to tell you - if you want to fun at your wedding she is the wedding planner you want! She got married at the family cottage on the beach in Door County. The wedding day was beautiful - blue skies, warm temps(a little humid for this desert rat), and no wind. The ceremony was perfect. The reception was held at a hotel in Green Bay and it was very fun. If you didn't enjoy yourself at this reception, then it was no one's fault but your own!

On the way from the cottage to the reception we stopped at the "Frosty Tip" for ice cream with my brother Mark's family. It was a tradition to stop there when we were kids to break up the "hour long" trip to the cottage! At the reception, which Jenny completely planned, there was a "Candy Bar", a photo booth (with all sorts of props that people could use to dress up), a great DJ, lots of dancing and just plain fun. When the groom (he's a mechanic), went to take off the garter, he used a "creeper" to roll under her dress (this was NOT Jenny's idea!). The DJ, even helped out and slipped some car parts for him to take out before the garter. It was a big hit. Probably the biggest surprise of all was the father/daughter dance. It started out as the traditional dance and they broke into a dance routine that had the whole crowd cheering and laughing. Very few people knew ahead of time that this was going to happen and it was the highlight of the evening. Jenny even choreographed that with her father via many phone calls, texts and e-mails since right now her father is working in California. They did an amazing job. Here are some photos from the wedding.

Jenny & Justin Sloniker

Jenny and my brother Dan

My mom and I

The Father/Daughter Dance

Lavender Farm 2011

Here are some photos from the Red Rock Lavender Festival this year.  I made some pendants, wall hanging collages, and some magnets to sell and it was pretty successful.  The one day that the wind was not blowing with hurricane force, I got out to take some pictures early in the morning.  Unfortunately, the screen was not working on my digital camera and it was tough to get the pictures at the right angles.  Well, truth be told, it wasn't the screen, it was the operator of the camera that wasn't working!  I guess that I hadn't had enough coffee!

A Tribute

Today is Father's Day.  It's been 3 years since I've been able to wish my dad a happy Father's Day.  He had Alzheimer's, but thankfully, always knew who we were.  The last time I saw him, I brought him a piece of blueberry pie that I made.  It was hard for him to communicate, but I know he really enjoyed that pie! 

What do I remember about him?  I remember how we always watched scary movies together, and "The Alfred Hitchcock Show".  I remember how he put notes on my bedroom door declaring it a "disaster area".  I remember I remember how we teased my brother when we dropped him off at high school in the morning.  I remember him grilling bratwurst and hamburgers on the grill in the summer and buying "one more tank of gas" for the boat so we could water ski.   I remember him sharing his peanut butter toast in the morning with the two dogs sitting on each side of him at the table.  He would even tease them!  I remember that twinkle in his eye, when he was joking or teasing someone.  Most of all I remember that he was a faithful, devoted father and I know that we were the most important people in his life.  Thank you Dad.  Happy Father's Day.  I love you with a thousand hearts. 

New Collages

What is it about the mountains that gets me inspired?  The fresh air, lack of distraction, blue skies and white fluffy clouds?  I don't know, but I have a feeling it's a little bit of everything with an emphasis on lack of distraction.  In the past two and a half days, I have made 8 small beeswax collages.  Two of them are samples for a class that I hope to teach and the others are to sell or give as gifts. 

We arrived at the cabin on Wednesday. I unpacked, did some organizing, picked up some flowers and tomato plants and got them planted, but I skipped the whole cleaning of the cabin for now.  I just hit the highlights and will tackle the major cleaning later on (MAYBE). Last year I think I did one room a day.  I think I did them all in a row so that may have to be changed.

Anyway,  here are some photos of the collages.  Now back to work.

Life

I am finally feeling settled enough to take time from organizing and recombobulating to start  disorganizing and discombobulating again.  I always feel that I need to put away and start fresh when  a new project springs from wherever they spring from.  I've been making some soldered and glass tile pendants, and working on an online art journaling class with Pam Carriker.  Tonight I just took some time to do some art for me and it felt good.  Soon we will leave our fairly well organized and decorated new home to head for the mountains.  The weather is warming up here and the cool crisp air of the mountains is calling my name.  I'll be busy working at the Red Rock Lavender Festival, getting stuff ready for The Quilted Wings Boutique in October and hopefully teaching some classes at Embellish too.  In between, I'll go hiking and bike riding, hit some antique and second hand stores, eat pie in Alpine and relax on the deck with coffee and a book.  That does sound nice.  I am so lucky. 

Here are some photographs of some of my recent projects, a bobcat that walked through our backyard and the beautiful Palo Verde tree blooming

. 

Getting Settled

I know that no one reads my blog regularly, but I feel the need to explain where I've been for the past few months.  We bought a house, prepared our house for sale, moved about 40 minutes away, sold a house (WHEW!) and unpacked.  Believe me that's A LOT!

OK - so the move is over, most things are put away, my studio is organized (or as organized as it's going to get) and it's time to settle into life.  I am starting this "settling" stage by taking Pam Carriker's Journal 365 online class.  It's a year long class so I feel like a can actually keep up.  I've made my journal, and already spilled paint on the cover.  It's not very creative, but I liked Pam's simplicity of the black and text and I just wasn't inspired at the time.  Here are some photos of my new digs and the journal for the new adventure.