Girlfriends, organization and Kitty Meow Meow

Hello lovelies!

The beginning of November has been treating me good so far. There's been a lot of meeting up with friends. There's a certain group of gals that I love to hook up with because they are always up for food, drinks, gossip and good times. We recently got together to celebrate Jen's Jen's 30th Pictured here with her cake...which I will add was pretty delicious. The Gelato on the side just topped it off! It was actually a rare occasion because I had my camera...I never remember my camera. So here are other photos of the evening
I love the one of Pam and her Big Bow! Just being silly! You wouldn't believe how many times it took us to get a decent group photo. I also got together with the girls we call Art Book Chicks. We get together once a month to learn new things, network and show and tell. Unfortunately I forgot my camera to this meeting :( However, my friend Nancie asked "How do you organize all your craft stuff in such a small space?" One word....ORGANIZATION! I try to keep all items pretty organized but when I start a project I have to pull everything out.



My everyday pens are organized by color in a drawer. The drawers you see are all located under my craft table. Plastic boxes are filled with pom poms, sequins and such. A Printers tray holds my scrapbooking embellishments and plastic trays hold paints, pencils, etc. Vintage luggage is my friend! It stores papers, books and projects! Now, what do I do with all this stuff? I have fun and make plush toys like this KittyThe free kitty pattern was from the wee wonderfuls website. I adore the kitty and so does Mochi (which is not a good sign). Well that's the update for now I hope all is well and to those who are first-timers to my blog welcome and please check back! Here's a short quote to leave you with "progression not perfection."

Halloween's Over

I hope everybody had a wonderful Halloween. I certainly had a good time! It was one of those Halloween's that you don't get too hyped up for and it ends up being the best! I was Chinese Opera (again) and I must say that costume has never let me down! I had to resurrect the head piece...which was covered in webs and dust! The costume won me a $15 gift certificate to Starbucks! Anyhoo, my brother saw me waiting in the car and said I looked sooo bright he had to take a picture. On another note, I took a couple days off from work and made these festive cupcakes. They didn't come together as easy as I thought but I still had a good time making them. I also planted up my miniature garden pot. It's so refreshing to work in the garden again. During the past 2 days I have been reminiscing of the good o' days of not working a full 40 hour week and having time to do the fun things in life, such as cooking for friends, gardening, hanging with the dog and of course crafting. I miss that! Well, that's all for tonight. I hope everybody had a good first day of November. The rains just started here-a good night to snuggle up!

Finishing October

Hello All!

I can find something to write about everyday but, I wish I had the time to write about them. Sorry, If I jam everything in one blog but I find myself with moments when I'm inspired to write and catchup. Let's start off with Halloween...I've been busy finishing the cone hat treats for my fellow co-workers. I made about a dozen of them and I am quite happy. However, I started to feel guilty because I have more than a dozen co-workers but I just didn't have the funds and time this year. I decided to make cards for the rest of them and a couple of my friends.
Not the best close-up picture. The skeleton has googley eyes and one is popping off his head. At first, I didn't know how to portray this without looking like the eye fell off by accident. My dearest boyfriend recommended I stitch a little red thread from the skull to the hanging eye. That's why I love the guy! They came out tooo cute (in a demented sorta way)! Over the weekend I got a sad email and found out Scrapbook Dreams here in Sunnyvale is closing. But the good news is customers get 30% off everything and even better I had a gift certificate! Here are the goodies:

I hate when small businesses shut down but I believe the employees are moving into new projects.
Ok, now for the Mochi update. Kevin and I haven't had a chance to take her out as much lately until, last Friday. I took her to Las Palmas Park and she had a heck of a time
Can you tell by her face? She adores rolling around in the grass and I have a hard time getting her to sit still....I got lucky on this one. But since Friday she's been cooped up in the house all weekend. One note before I get into this next story: Mochi loves pom poms as much as I do. I love to include them into my craft projects and Mochi loves to bat them around like a kitten. Well, I purchased a big gallon size bag of them and placed them in my craft room, thinking I shut the door before I left on errands. When I came back Mochi's ears were slammed back and a look of horror appeared on her face. The craft room door was open and pompom land exploded! I couldn't keep a straight face when I scolded her.This is what happens when you keep a puppy cooped up in the house all weekend! As I was typing this part of the blog, Mochi comes running in and drops a pom pom at my feet She's probably got them stashed around the house! Too funny! I absolutely adore this dog! Well this about sums up the past week. I'm having a last minute Halloween Dinner Party and hopefully I can write more about that later. Happy Halloween to you all!!!!

Gardenias and Strawberry Balls

There is not a day that goes by, that I don't find something to write about. Too bad my time doesn't coincide with my mind! Too many weekends just fly by. A few weekends ago we went to Davenport and took in the warmth of the sand and the sounds of the calm ocean. Kevin built this scary looking face out of sand
and I guess Mochi thought it was scary too...because with one swipe of the paw she destroyed it. The day was absolutely perfect and peaceful. As the sun went down the moon was full and bright..we even made it to another beach at sunset. But I kick myself for not bringing the camera to capture those moments. This past weekend I attended the http://www.bookartsjam.org/. There are many fascinating book artists out there I especially loved Marianne Lettieri's work, it was very inspirational. After the Book Jam I decided to stop by Kinokuniya Bookstore http://www.kinokuniya.com/ and I picked up this cute book

Now, I just need to find some time to make these plush toys! As I was shopping in the Japanese Book Store, it dawned on me that I live in such a great area, where exposure to different cultures is just a short drive away...and we are lucky to live so close to these places. Although I wouldn't mind flying to Japan and checking out the real deal!

Usually, late spring is my favorite season, but when I woke up this morning the air was crisp and by lunch the sun was bursting out but the air was cold and fresh. When I walked Mochi at lunch, I past a gardenia bush...have you ever stopped and smelled the gardenias? Oh my! They have a beautiful pungent smell that brings back sweet memories. As my walk continued I noticed a big tree, with what looked like candy dangling from the tree...these candies are actually strawberry fruit from the strawberry tree. I believe they are actually edible (don't try it without some research) but I picked one for inspiration. The texture of the skin is bumpy, but smooth at the same time. These little things in life, really brighten my day! If you ever get a chance to take a stroll, don't forget to stop and really enjoy the little things in life, it could be a great source of inspiration!

The Working Craft Space

When I went to ART FIBER FEST a couple of years ago, there was an artists forum...a chance when you can ask the artists questions about how and where they create. I was relieved to hear that when they worked they would pull out all sorts of stuff and end up working in a 1 foot x 1 foot space on the far corner of the table. Whew...i'm not the only one!!!! I go through all sorts of motions when I am about to dive into a project. 1) Clean the table from my previous project 2) 1 hour later, the craft table is cleared 3) Pull out what I just put away to begin on my new endeavor. 4) Start new project and slowly get pushed to a tiny space 4) Walk away and save the mess for the next day.
Why do I bother?

Halloween Party Hats

Recently, I was looking through the latest issue of ME Home Companion and discovered the artists of Glitterville. They make wonderful glitter novelty items! I was inspired! I wanted to purchase everything they had but I'm a really TIGHT budget these days! So I decided to give it a go and have my own glittery fun. I made these Halloween party hat candy favors...what do you think?

  

I can see why Glitterville is charging what they charge...each item is meticulously hand-made. But very fun to make! Just charming!

Hey there!

Lately i've been so obsessed with reading artist's blogs that I finally decided to give in and create one for myself. Although i was hesistant...do to poore writn skills (j.k.). But then everyday i will have these tiny epiphanies and think "hey, i would like to share this with others!" So here it is! I hope my blogs will inspire and bring smiles to your faces as other artists have done for me.