SPC Pattern Week 1-Kicking Back

SPC I love the pattern on the back of my patio chairs but if you are sitting in them, of course you can't see it. But....if you have your feet up....

Too much stuff...do I really need all this?????

Have you ever look around your house and wondered why you have all this stuff???? I have been in a funk lately and I don't quite know what it is. When is too much? I know that when you make more you spend more but really....do I want all this??? I have been questioning whether I want to live in this big of a house (2055 square feet). You have to buy all this "stuff" just to fill it up! I am feeling overwhelmed with space. I am craving a more simple life. I want to spend my money on other things than paying for the upkeep of a big house. I want to travel more. I want to take more art classes. I want to do...not just be.... Last years trip to Turkey, my trip to Art & Soul and my trip to Art Nest have given me the travel bug badly! I look at all my pictures and they bring back a flood of memories. Isn't that what life really is all about? Experiencing all there is to see and do? My sisters and I are planning our next sister trip. This time we will be going to Italy and we also want to do another Blue Cruise on the Aegean Sea. We had such a relaxing and fabulous time that we HAVE to do it again. When I was at Art Nest and I was talking with Misty Mawn, I told her she should teach a class on a boat in Turkey! LOL..she said it would be too confining. I told her I would send her some pictures of my trip, but I decided to post them here for all to see. I would have NEVER thought that Turkey had soooooo much history. It was very incredible. Here are some pictures of our time at Ephesus;

Now Here we are on the Cruise portion of our trip. The captain is taking us to shore so we can visit the donkeys. Isn't the color of the water incredible?

Here we are swimming. Actually what we called noodling. Oh I wish I was noodling now....They feed us well. The fruits and vegetables were so good. We ate, we swam, we sunned, ate some more, slept, sunned and ate some more.

One day, I will convince an artist, who knows...it may be me in the future when and if I am well known, to have an art retreat on one of these gullets in the Aegean Sea. I have the hookups (Sandy are you listening) to make this a very incredible trip. Of course it would have to be some low tech art because power is limited. Can't have 10 soldering irons on the boat! Ahhhh....I love to dream....

Ocean Jasper Earrings

I just got a BUNCH of new gems! I love them! I am really into the earthy colors and natural stones these days. It's amazing how much time just one pair of earrings takes me. Maybe because I am so new at the wire wrapping thing. But I just love the look. Here is my newest creation. It is made of Ocean Jasper and Rose Quartz and of course wire. What do you think? Watch out Jen...I am moving into your territory! LOL

Jen and I will be creating all kinds of things for "First Friday" in September. Our art debut! First Friday is a local art event that is held the first Friday of every month. Click on the link to find out more. It is a really cool event. So we are setting up a table and we shall see how we do! I am excited about it and I am cracking the whip on Jen! Get going girl!

My first try with the Herringbone Wire Wrap

Not too shabby for just playing around. I only have colored wire in the smaller gauges so that is what I used. I shall be using this technique in future jewelry pieces.

Monsoon Season

Monsoon season is here in Las Vegas. I know people from far away don't understand our city and it's tendency to flood when there is rain. Today it rained just like any other town in the USA. Just a general sprinkling. I sat on the back porch, listening to the rain coming down...it was very nice. BUT...that is not a normal rain for Las Vegas. usually when it rains...it pours. So much so that the ground can not suck up all that water. We are surround here by mountains. 360 degrees. See the ones in the distance from the view from my balcony? So we get rain and it all comes rushing down...thru the streets and anywhere else it can find it's way thru. We haven't had major flooding here for a couple of years so I suppose we are due. Here is a picture of the Aug 2003 flood. And this was after it had receded. I had to park my car at the casino down the street and walk home because I couldn't drive my car thru the community gate. I took this picture when we were walking back to get my car home.
So if you are ever in Las Vegas and it's raining...heed the warnings...

SPC It's raining

Water being my favorite element and the fact that it is raining here in Las Vegas, which doesn't happen too often, made me take this SPC.

It's Raining!

It's raining here in Las Vegas! yeah! I love when the weather is different!

New Jewelry Creations

I went bead shopping this weekend. I picked up some very colorful beads! I don't know exactly what I am going to make but I loved the colors. Very cheery.

I made some earrings with some of the other beads I bought. Here are my Blue Peruvian Opal Earrings:

And here are my Kyanite earrings. These are my favorites. Very rustic.
This was my try at wire wrapping. I don't think I did too bad. I made these really quickly which was a good thing cause I need to create something and finish it. I have just been in a really blah mood lately, but I really shouldn't be. Life is good for me. Work issues are not an issue...I won't go into details but certain things have changed my perspective and I am doing pretty good. Home life is good. I have a wonderful husband and good kids...what else could I want? But...I am still in the doldrums. I suppose it will pass....I just don't like feeling like this. Very not me. That's all for now. TTFN.

Hiding Away from Reality

I am still hiding...I have done no creating... But.... I will this weekend. I need to get back on the ball.

Fun Stuff

I thought I would share some fun pics of my pets to lighten things up for me. Here is my little Boston Terrier Missy. She is camera shy but had to keep an eye on me... Here is our kitty Pumpkin...don't ask about the name...just go with me here... She decided to climb up in my daughters clothes organizer. I guess she decided Thursday was her day.

Here is Sammy when he was a kitten, hiding in the wrapping paper from a Christmas morning.

And can you tell which one if the cat??? Sammy Again, he almost looks like a furby! And let me tell you...those furbys right there....I was one of the stupid ones that woke up at 4 in the morning to go stand in line for a 5am store opening so my daughter could have them. I made my hubby go with me so I could get more than one! He is really a good guy! How many guys do you know that would wait in a line at 4:30 in the morning to get a "Furby"??????

Just a few tidbits of life gone by in the Dean household. I am trying to get myself out of this funk that I am in. I just want to hide away and not come out to play right now... That's it for now...TTFN

Happy National Ice Cream Day!

Heart Theme Fat Book

I was asked to join in a Fat Book Swap. I have never done one and I am a little nervous about my page that I am creating. Is it "arty" enough. Too much? You tell me... The theme is hearts. This is just the start of it. I have a quote to go on it somewhere...I haven't decided where yet.

I will be taping the edges of the glass and soldering on the curly Q's and then attach it to the page with wire or jump rings so that it floats in the middle of the hole. The other side will be a different color and a different quote of course. I have until August 31st to get these done, so I have plenty of time. Too much?

Women are like teabags...

My sister wanted me to create her something with an Eleanor Roosevelt quote. So here it is:
I was impatient tonight and wanted to get something done. That is my one big downfall! Impatience. I used a clip art teacup and I should have hand drawn it. It is not exactly what I wanted but I still like it. Still the learning process...

Sisters

I love my sisters! I have convinced them (well 2 of them) that they should start their own blogs. They have been reading mine and they stopped calling me cause they were finding out all about my life through my blog! I told them that wasn't fair! LOL So now...if they post to theirs...I can do the same. It's fun to find out stuff about your family that you don't really know. Funny how you can know someone and but not know them...does that make sense???

Catch the Trade Winds

Here is a painting/collage I did today. Of course I used my Twinkling H2O's. The only collage part it the little boy. I have been drawn to doing these watercolor/ink creations lately. I just want to be different than anyone out there. Am I? I really like this one despite a few little mess ups. And of course every time I create something, I learn...

My Website

Today, I took a day off of work, just to do things I wanted. So I worked on my website. I learned alot about what I want to do and don't want to do. Websites are ALOT of work! wow. So here is my attempt for now. www.cindydean.com It needs alot more work but it is better than what was up there before. I also know that I need to take MUCH BETTER pictures! Here's to another step in my process! Cheers!

Jen is mean mean mean, you know what I mean??

LOL...I told Jen that I was going to blast her on my blog tonight because she was egging me on today. Then she closed my door to my office because she said I was crabby today! I went out of my office and into hers a few minutes later and I told her "Ha! I'm out!" She said "Yeah I see that, it's a defective lock!" LOL I was kinda cranky today. She told me she loves it when I'm spicy! LOL I had to walk out of her office on that one. We banter back and forth all the time. She didn't make me cry though! I am taking the day off tomorrow so there Jen! Do with out me! Have fun with the new girl and you know who! I snicker as I say that cause that will get her goat! tee hee hee....

(Just in cause you thought I was serious, we are just playing for those of you who haven't seen Jen and I around each other....)

Things I love

As I was cleaning up my desk tonight, I was noticing certain things that always seem to make it out and around my desk no matter where I am living or how many times I move. So I decided to share these with everyone. I guess in a way, possessions speak about who you are on some level. What do mine say about me? Well, lets see:

Here is one of my many many many bears, yet he is one of the few I have out. I used to collect bears and had them displayed all over my house. I have outgrown the decor with bears but I will always keep this one out. I love his outfit and his little barbell. He makes me smile when I look at him.

Here is my frog that sits on my photo printer on my desk. His crown has been broken many times from falls from various places, but I keep gluing it back together. I just love my frog. My little sister and I have a thing for frogs! LOL I won't go into details, but when we were little we used to find frogs and play with them all the time.

Books, I love books and magazines and reading. When I was little my grandmother would read these books to me:

Little Black Sambo and Peter Rabbit. Books have a way of taking you to a different time and place. I can read and get so wrapped up in the story that I feel like I am there. I guess that was my escape from reality. Especially during my teenage years when I would always be trying to hide from my father. Out of sight out of mind was our motto. Reading would keep me occupied for hours. Sometimes I would even go out my bedroom window to leave the house because if he saw you he would put you to work. I am not talking regular chores around the house, I am talking like here "Here's a shovel, go move this truck load of manure into the garden area" or "Here, move these 10 wood piles from this location to that location. My little sister hated when I read magazines because I would never play with her. She never understood it! Even to this day she hates when any of us sisters read magazines around her! LOL...Sorry Sammy....(That is our nickname for her)

Here is my evil eye that Sandy got me from Turkey. Way before I went there. It was a key chain, but it is hard to recognize it now. It has been worn down and abused. I don't want to get rid of it because I figure with all those evil eyes that are gone or missing, it must have saved me from quite a few evil things! So it sits in my desk drawer....lonely and every once in a while I will pull it out and look at it.

Next is my Alien pen. Isn't it the cutest thing? It's little antenna on the top of it's head jiggles as you write. I feel silly when I use it. But that is me. Silly. I like odd things. I like to be different.

I found this next object at Home Goods store. I think it is supposed to hold a tea bag but I just loved it because it was Alice in Wonderland. So it sits on the shelf above my desk, gathering dust.

Then the final thing I will show is a bracelet that was my grandmothers. It is old and it is broken but I love it so. It is horse themed and I have always been a horse lover. As a little girl they were my passion. I would always be drawn to the horses. Anything to be around them. We lived next door once to a little pony named Alphie. I would always find something to bring over to him. An apple, a carrot. Everyday. The people that owned him never really paid attention to him so I went into his pasture and cleaned out his little stall/cover. I did alot of things for that little pony even though he wasn't mine. There is something about a horse. I love the smell of them. As Jen would say "the sweet stench of horse". LOL I love the noises they make. And how gentle they can be for being such a large animal. They have soul....just look into their eyes and you will see.

That is it for now. It tells you a little more about me. I leave you with a challenge...what do you have that says something about who you are? Post it on your blog and let the world know a little more about you.

The Artist's Way

I am reading a new book. It is called "The Artist's Way" by Julie Cameron. So far I am pretty into it. I read the first two chapters last night. I am actually doing one of the exercises that it suggested. They are called the morning pages. I started this morning. You are supposed to write 3 pages of whatever comes to your mind. Doesn't matter if you just write, I don't know what to write. Yes 3 pages. That was hard! I am not a writer to begin with so I struggled this morning. It took about an hour. The hard part will be tomorrow when I have to get up and go to work and try and get that done. I guess I will be waking up early! I have to say, it did make me write down some of my ideas for my business. I kept looking at the long BLANK pages and had to force myself to keep writing. I did have a sense of accomplishment when I finished all 3 pages. We shall see where this leads because usually I am all gun ho about something and will do it for a couple of days and then the novelty wears off and I drop it. I am going to try and push through that point, just like I did this morning after writing only 1-1/2 pages. Just keep going....just keep going....I think I can...LOL

Learning HTML all by myself

There has got to be an easier way! I have been playing around for much of the day, trying to work on my website. I have ideas of what I want but I am flying blind because I have NO IDEA how to do what I want! So it has been trial and error today. I have the yahoo site builder program but I want it a little more custom than that. I guess if I read some books on html and web design that might help but I am such an impatient person, I just want to do it now....

I am working on the business aspect of this journey right now. I just applied for my resale license yesterday. I am running thru ideas on what to create and how to sell it. I did this today because I had laundry and housework to do and it's easier to leave this kinda stuff to do that then when I am creating art. I am also hibernating....too damn hot out! I haven't even gone outside once today and I had no desire too. Although the pool did look very tempting but I didn't feel like cleaning it first! Lazy I know....

So stay tuned...I will be working on my website and getting that up and running. I might as well use it since I have it!

This is what Hell feels like

THIS is what hell must feel like. I hate going outside now. I know our "official" temperature was only like 116 or something like that but here is what my car said....and believe me, it felt like it. I hate summers here. Thank God they only last about 3 months! I am sure that when I get my electric bill next month it will be a whopper! Well I must be off because I just noticed I need gas! I don't want to get it during the day so I shall do it in the evening when it's "only" 108 and no sun...

Below is the official SEVERE WEATHER WARNING FOR SOUTHERN NEVADA:

ANOTHER DAY OF HOT TEMPERATURES IS OCCURRING ONCE AGAIN. RECORD TO NEAR RECORD HEAT IS EXPECTED DUE TO A STRONG AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER SOUTHERN NEVADA. HIGH TEMPERATURES TODAY ARE EXPECTED TO BE113 TO 116 IN LAS VEGAS... BARSTOW...AND THE MORONGO BASIN...114TO 118 ALONG THE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY INCLUDING LAKE MEAD AND LAKE MOHAVE...114 TO 116 IN THE MESQUITE AREA...105 TO 110 IN KINGMAN...PAHRUMP AND PRIMM...120 TO 124 IN DEATH VALLEY...AND 119TO 123 IN BAKER. A FEW DEGREES OF COOLING IS EXPECTED SATURDAY AND AS A RESULT AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IS NOT ANTICIPATED NOW FOR THEN. AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO REACH DANGEROUS LEVELS THAT WILL STRESS THE BODY IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN. RESIDENTS AND ESPECIALLY TOURISTS WHO ARE NOT ACCLIMATED TO THE DESERT HEAT ARE URGED TO PLAN OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES DURING THE EARLY MORNING AND LATE EVENING HOURS. STAY OUT OF THE SUNSHINE AND IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM IF POSSIBLE DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS.IF YOU MUST BE OUTDOORS...DRINK PLENTY OF WATER EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT THIRSTY. DEHYDRATION AND HEAT STROKE CAN OCCUR QUICKLY IN THESE EXTREME TEMPERATURES. CHECK ON ELDERLY RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS. A ND NEVER LEAVE CHILDREN OR PETS IN THE CAR UNATTENDED.

My First Self Portrait Challenge

I have always admired Nina Bagleys and Misty Mawns SPC's that they post on their blogs. I went to the SPC website and checked it out and decided to try it out for myself. I have always hated pictures of myself, but I have decided to take on the challenge and work thru my "issues" LOL. So, July's theme is Elements: Water - Earth - Air - Fire. So here I am....in water...relaxing in my pool after a hard week...oh wait...it's still the middle of the week! Damn I need a break!

Here's the Scoop! No I didn't win the 25 Grand.

Ok....So I didn't win the 25 grand but I did help name the new mall. I guess 6 people picked the same name that was chosen which of course was Desert Star as I said in my last post. They decided to have a random drawing of prizes for the 6 people. I won a $1000.00 shopping spree when the mall opens up in Oct of 2009. I am happy with what I got. I don't have to deal with the Tax man on this one! LOL Plus if I won the 25 grand I would have had to deal with people asking for stuff which it started to happen before I even won! Nuts... I can't even imagine what lottery winners go thru! So I am happy to have part in the legacy of naming the mall. I was told I will be invited to the ground breaking and the opening as a VIP so that is cool. I was interviewed and had pictures taken. I just want to say thanks to all the people that wished me luck. It was a very exciting thing and I am grateful for the experience.

I may be a winner!!!

I am so excited! Awhile ago we entered a contest for North Las Vegas residents, to name a new mall that is being built here in North Las Vegas, well today I was called and told I am one of 6 finalists! Yeah! We picked the name Desert Star. We shall see if it wins tomorrow night at 8pm. The 1st prize is a $25,000.00 gift certificate to the new mall! Don't ask me what I will spend it on but that would be cool! Wouldn't it be great to say that you named a mall??? So that was a great ending to my day. It was a hectic day and I needed something to make me smile.

Naughty Girls Art!

I have been busy taking care of everybody the past week. Donna was released from the hospital on Saturday, so I went and picked her up and took her home and got her settled. And then I had to feed Jens Kitties. LOL...not that I really needed to feed them because she has a ton of bowls of food & water around the house. They would be good for a few weeks with out me going over there! But I did feed them their fancy feast canned food and scooped the litter for her. So....after I got back from feeding them today, I decided it was time to do some creating! Here it is! It is Car Art. You can hang it from your rear view mirror. It is part of my new naughty girl collection. LOL Don't you love it! I have a collection. Well I will when i make the next one in the series! This one is called She Sells Sea Shells. I hand painted the background on watercolor paper with Twinkling H20's. Created the collage, added shells and soldered the pieces. The bottom stone is a Peruvian opal. It is so pretty. Added a few little flowers beads and there you have it!

Here is a close up of the top half: Yes those are real shells that are soldered between the glass.

Here is a close up of the bottom half: That is a tiny starfish soldered between the glass.

I am thinking of listing it on Etsy or Ebay. I haven't decided yet. So let me know what you think!