art challenge with ellen

i do not know about anyone else, but i have been in a funk since artfest not really wanting to do any art but still buying cool stuff to art with and the cool stuff sits in the bag waiting to be used..so i was talking to my buddy~ellen and she feels the same way..so we came up with a challenge for each other late last night..that tomorrow at 10am her time and 11am my time we would each do an 8x8 and post to our blog sometime tomorrow which is actually today..of course ellen did hers lickety split but i had to work at 2pm so i did a little this morning and just now finished..now mind you, i got home at 930pm from starbucks to cook and eat dinner so i had some lag time going.....i used some tips from ellen that she learned from anahata's class at artfest.

<

and dah winner is................

lani from nova scotia!!!

i love saying nova scotia!! what is interesting about lani is that we all met during artfest and we all hung out together....we thought that maybe we wouldnt see her again until next year's artfest, well lo and behold lani will be the keynote speaker at a symposium in dublin, ohio which is so close to us, it would be insane not to hook up, so we will be getting together the end of september for a mini reunion and we are also hoping that ellen can make that trip to columbus also. she is a riot people and would definitely be an asset to the reunion!!

lani & ellen at artfest

cleveland cavaliers*

okay you are probably wondering why i am posting basketball pictures, well i

L-O-V-E lebron james, number 23 and he just happens to play for the cleveland cavaliers ..they are in the eastern conference finals and hopefully will clinch the series finals tomorrow night in cleveland!!
he is so the new michael jordan

this is a totally cool mural on the side of a building just outside the area when the cavs play...

GO CAVS!!!!!!!!!!!

once in a blue moon~

people dont forget to check out the blue moon on the horizon tonight...

2full moons in this month of may = the blue moon.....

ps..dont forget to leave your name/comment on my sunday blog entry-eye candy for

drawing tomorrow-friday!!!

xoxox

BACKYARD WILDLIFE~

this spring we have seen a variety of wildlife that we havent seen before!!
we know that we have deer around us but have never really seen any on our property, well last night we had a little fellow show up and i am hoping that his mama was close by and keeping her eye on him or her..how darn sweet this creature is!! i am always a wreck driving home at night as i am always afraid one will dart out and i will not see it soon enough!

i couldnt believe my eyes last week when i was pulling into our driveway which is close to 800ft long and i saw a pair of birds and i swear i said-you have got to be kidding me-PHEASANTS!!!

well i thought they were just stopping by but low and behold they are still here and living in our field that we do not mow..it is pretty cool and they were here again tonight, they make a strange sort of sound, i think that its mate was calling out for the other one, he was over at the neighbors pond....will keep you updated on anymore wildlife spottings!!!

xoxox..

ps..i couldnt get a good picture of this but our fireflies or lightning bugs are spectacular this year, they are like glistening diamonds lin our fields, just beautiful, now we have always had a great show put on by the fireflies but this year, they are really amazing!!! is anyone else experiencing this??? let me know!!

mail call

today i received my purchase from ruth rae

that i bought

in her etsy shop!! this gal does everything first

class & i want

to be

like her when i grow up!!

my little hanging was wrapped in ledger

paper

sandwiched

in between wax paper like paper and then

sewn

together...

they was a beautiful ATC tucked so sweetly between

the yarn

and the wrapping, that i trulytreasure and a feather

that is

stamped faith, hope and love...

more ledger paper picture and the feather

below is the actual hanging, it is so sweet

and i love this little girls face!

RUTH RAE ..YOU ROCK SISTER!!

eye candy ~

i have been a busy little shopper recently! here are afew of my finds:

these cool shoes from target $12.99-biggie b managed to chew some of the back heel down, but i am still going to wear them anyway, they are way too cool!!

my handbag is really a laptop carrier, but kecia was carrying it as a handbag, so of course i had to order one from http://www.flickabags.com/ you can choose from several designs and sizes..they are awesome!! and i love a big bag, mine is 15inches and is the largest size...check out the kaleidscope, that is my next handbag!

ok these cute little journals i got at hobby lobby for $2.99, so of course i had to buy one of each designs, i swear i went in to get one thing and $50BUCKS LATER......

ok i am feeling generous, so LEAVE A LITTLE SOMETHING IN THE COMMENT SECTION AND CHANCE MARIE WILL DRAW A NAME ON FRIDAY AND THE WINNER WILL GET ONE IN THE MAIL.....
ENJOY THE REST OF THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND..

CIAO!!

cirque du soleil

tonight julie and i are going to see one of our favorite live shows -one of the many traveling cirque du soleil shows, tonight is CORTEO. We are going with 2 of our favorite friends-Leonard & Heather) who are also getting married on Saturday(more on that later)...We have seen all the Vegas Cirque shows with the exception of the lastest one at the Mirage called LOVE(which is based on Beatle tunes) and have seen 2 other of the traveling shows, Vareki and Delirium..I just love all the dancing and the music and the acrobatics..i guess you could call me a Cirque du Soleil junkie!!! It really is a feast for the senses, so I highly suggest getting tickets for a show when it pulls into your town!!!

Ciao...



this one is my favorite scene....

look at this kecia picked up for me at artiscape~~

a cozy for my starbucks~~

inside starbucks secret on the cozys..only all coffees regardless of size get the cozys

and only all venti hot drinks get the cozy, not tall or grande..so the drive-thru

customers give me the evil eye when they do not get a cozy and have to ask for them

and i smile and say no problem..starbucks, just put a cozy on ALL hot drinks!!!

it is what the customer wants and isnt that that whole point to starbucks!!!

xoxoxox

remembering a past*

i have been thinking of my grandma lately-my mom's mom..we called her BaBa...i have so many wonderful memories of spending time with her..my sister and i would spend some summers with her and she could take the simplest things and make them seem like royality!! anyway, one of things that i remember the most is when walking dont forget to look at the ground as you never know what you may find! she was always finding the best things when she would take walks!! she was one of the most wonderful women in my life and my mom-her daughter is just like her!!

what have you found walking lately???

x0x0x

......

spring fountain

well, our fountain is up and running and is beautiful sounding!! come to find out there was a frog hibernating in the bottom of the pond....so at least one frog survived...it was so nice to sit and listen to the water last night...

kaj & biggie playing tug of war with nelly watching

xoxox....

wall art

hi people

i did a little art over the weekend..we have black & white portraits hanging in the entrance of our home of all our dogs minus nelly and biggie b..i was tired of looking at them and wanted to change things up, so i copy all the pictures and put them on canvas, added some watercolor paint and beeswax and a few embellishments and of course a little sparkle and voila'...it looks great, well at least i think so and really..that is what matters .. right!

xoxox

ps..the missing space is for biggie's portrait , i am working on his...

happy moms day to all....

me & my beautiful mom

i will be spending tomorrow with my mom at a great cook-out! she is making this cold asian noodle salad and bringing a cake...i got her this beautiful red & white toile blanket that looks like a million bucks but was only $60 at this cool and funky store near my home..she doesnt need anything she will tell you, but that blanket called at me to buy and bring it home!!! my mom is the worlds best and a saint, she will give you her last dollar and is always there when anyone needs her even when she is dead-tired...she is my hero and i love her so......love you, mom!!

Artiscape Weekend Recap

Well another event is in the books and let me just say Artiscape did not disappoint. My classes were fabulous and I learned a lot. Eventually, I will post more details on my actual classes. I finally got to meet Kecia-who I just met in the artiscape yahoo group and i feel like i have known her forever.. ( http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-9Yh3NwI6fqOZe0F6UjHp1crkfA--?cq=1 ) and I really enjoyed hangin out with Shara-one of my dearest friends and her friends Tammy & Nora all weekend.

Me & Shara

Tammy & Nora..ps...Tammy really doesnt look happy but she was so much fun and happy the whole weekend!!!

This is Nora's room, which we called the Hobby Lobby annex..

SHe had everything & anything you needed..

It was great!!

*******

My charm-which was an ATC shrunk down with shrinky dink material won the best trade award in the charm division. Kecia's project won in the unusual use of material division. Below is the ATC and it was sealed with mod podge -glitter..you all know how i love me some glitter..hehehe

Me & Kecia with our awards.....

artiscape-take flight project

here is my project for artiscape..we were give 2sets of small gold wings to use anyway as long as one or both sets of wings were used in an original art piece.. project pieces will be included in a silent auction on sunday...i won 4pieces last year with my bidding.. this year i cannot go that crazy.. i really like my piece and just might bid on that one alone..will let you know how my bidding turns out!! all the money goes to a local charity....

> biggie b is saying-enough already it is time for bed, you have to be at starbucks at 5AM

meeting sammy!

i am blessed that i have met such truly wonderful people from the blogging community and tonight was no different...sammy from my fav blog list(http://sammystuff.blogspot.com/// ) is in town for the AFIC(http://www.cyndysdolls.com/AFIC/AFIC.htm) so knowing that, there was no way i was going to let myself not see her and meet her in person, so we arrange to meet for dinner as she is staying with one of the teachers-dot lewallen-the speedie beader(http://www.wideopenwest.com/~clewallen3098/) so i went over to dot's home and visited with her & sammy in dots studio-wow, what beautiful beading and dolls -dot creates!! check her site out..and sammy, what a thrill to be in her midst, such a sweet, loving creative soul she is and she loves her pickles and was needing her fix as she hasnt had any for 2days, we fixed that when we went to dinner, but before that we went to dot's friend -judy skeel(http://www.skeelhaven.com/) another artist and her dolls are beautiful and faeries!! you all know how i love my faeries, check her site out for some eye candy..all in all i had a wonderful time tonight and such a wonderful warm feeling i had meeting sammy and dot and judy..i hope to see them on sunday again when i stop by their convention for a little browsing of the dolls and the vendors!!!

sammy with her pickles!!
me & sammy and her plate of pickles

sammy, myself, dot(across from me) and judy at max & ermas