Shopping, shopping, shopping.

Last night I called Jen and told her that we HAD to go the more beads shows. Alot of them were to trade only. I asked Jen if she had gotten any business cards yet...and of course the answer was no. So, I made her some this morning so we could get into these shows. I took a picture of part of a necklace that she had made for me and added the text. Here are the results:
I printed them out on the Avery business card paper and she was good to go. I really like the way this turned out. I think I may have to make me some! LOL I ended up buying more stuff and my feet are tired from all the walking. One of these days I am going to sit down and create!

As far as I am concerned...May is over!

Phhhheeewwwww....That was one busy month! I am glad it is almost over! Now I can create again. Today, was that last big event of May. Our annual golf tournament. This year our charity was Candlelighters for Childhood Cancer. We will have the final numbers by the end of next week, but I think we raised over $25,000 dollars. It is always so stressful organizing it all but it is worth it in the end when we raise that kind of money for a worthy cause. After the tournament today, Jen and I headed down to the bead show that was in town and picked up some goodies. Both Jen and I were drawn to these big round faceted beads. They are the size of cherries. I have no idea what I will do with them yet, but I couldn't help myself.My next favorite find was these:
I just loved the color! I have been very drawn to ocean colors. Maybe it's because I am going to Art & Soul this October and the theme is by the sea, or maybe it's that I am wishing I was back on that Gullet in the Aegean Sea! I may have to make another trip out to the bead show tomorrow, as I found out that it is multiple hotels and I only hit one of them! We will see.

There is beauty in everything

Have you ever really looked at a dandelion? I took this picture as a joke because my brother in law does a daily dandelion patrol to rid these pests out of his yard. I just thought I would show him one he missed! LOL But tonight as I looked at it, I thought about how pretty it really is. So bright, with it's petals unfurling little by little. I guess beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. Are there things around you that you think are overlooked? See if you can find the beauty around you in unexpected places. Tell me what you find.

So now what?

During my time in Florida, I took seminars on numerous business subjects. Some of them struck me up side the head. One question that is still on my mind is... "If all jobs paid $2.00 per hour would you still be doing what you are doing?" My answer was positively "No". I happen to be good at numbers, so that is why I do what I do, but it is not my passion. So then, I say, OK...art is my passion, but in what direction do you want to go? Do you want to teach? Do you want to sell? Do you want to Travel? What other passions do you have? I have so many things running through my head. I need to decide which direction will make me the happiest and move forward. One step at a time. I am going to take those risks and see if I can reap the rewards. So far on my journey, I have been successful at whatever I choose to do. Hopefully, that trend will continue... we shall see.

I'm back from Florida...

Just a quick post. I am so jet lagged I am going to bed. I am happy to be back home. I missed it. I missed blogging and reading blogs...am I weird or what???

I went to Universal Studios on Sunday.I saw Shamu on Monday.The frog prince also went out.The resort we stayed at was beautiful.Met a few of the locals...And took time to smell the flowers
I took some classes and learned a few things. It was a good trip. But now I am ready for my life to return to normal. Ready to create again...so stay tuned, because I will be posting new art this weekend.

I'm off to Florida...be back soon

So I am off tomorrow morning bright and early (6:20am) to fly to Florida for the CFMA Conference. I will be staying at the Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Studios Orlando. I am looking forward to it. My boss keeps calling it a vacation but I will be taking classes during the day....but at night I can play! I am going to Universal Studios on Sunday, and Monday night is CFMA night at Sea World. Then Tuesday evening is a Luau! I am gonna be one tired puppy when I return! I will be taking lots of pics! TTFN.

P.S. I got up at midnight last night and signed up for my class at the Zne convention with Lisa Kaus. Good thing I did cause it's closed already!

The Frog Prince is not happy with me

This past weekend, me & the frog went to Philly to see all my sisters and my brother. The first time we have all been together in 35 years. (Long Story). Well...the Frog didn't get out to see much.I left him at home much of the time so now he is sulking. I have promised to take him with me on my trip to Florida this coming weekend. And take him to Universal Studios when I go. He is so demanding. Anyways, I had the best time with my siblings.

We jammed alot in to a short amount of time

My favorite part was playing miniature golf with all of them. We really had alot of laughs and had such a good time. Next door to the miniature golf place was this little farm with animals to walk around and see. My favorite was Eli the Elk.

I could have stayed for awhile and talked to him some more. He had quite the personality.LOL...He even licked my hand through the fence. I felt kinda sad for him, being held in a tiny space.

We did alot of driving around and saw lots of scenery. I so miss the big trees and all the green.I would like to go back again so I could take pictures of all the old houses and such I saw. There is such great architecture there. But...that will have to wait as my traveling schedule is quite full for the next few months! I must go finish laundry so I can pack for my trip to Florida. I leave Friday morning and will be gone until next Wednesday. It's a work conference, so it won't all be play! TTFN

The Story So Far..........

A little over a year ago, I started this blog as my own documentation of my new artistic journey. Ever since I was little, everyone has always said I should “do something” with my artistic ability and until last year, I never really pursued it. I always thought that I could never be an artist because they had to create on demand, that it was this whole formal world that I could never fit into. Then one day I decided to buy Somerset Studio Magazine. I fell in love with all the different art in that magazine. I then proceeded to buy most of the back issues of the magazine and spent many hours reading them one by one. That is where I found out about Art & Soul and other art retreats. I convinced my sister Lynn that this would be so much more fun then going to a Scrapbook convention. So we signed up for Art & Soul Virginia 2007. Before we went, we starting doing our research on all the teachers. This is when my sister sent me the link to Misty Mawn’s blog. I fell in love with blogs and decided to start this one. That I too wanted to become an artist, that I could fit into this artistic world of mixed media. It didn't have to be formal. I could be an artist without having work in a gallery. I could just be me.

On one of my favorite blogs, Kerri Posson does her monthly “Ta Da” list. A list of creative accomplishments for the month. So here is my “Ta Da” list since the beginning of my journey:

Went to Art & Soul Virginia May 2007. Took classes from Nina Bagley, Sally Jean Alexander, Claudine Hellmuth, Keith Lo Bue, & Pamela Huntington.

Took local classes with Traci Bautista & Richard Salley

Went to Art Nest June 2007 and took classes from Misty Mawn, Sally Jean again and Kristin Steiner.

I joined MMCA, and became more active with ZNE.

I submitted my work for First Friday, a local art event, and I was chosen to have a vendor table there.

I was asked to submit my giveaway for One World One Heart for Artful Blogging and I was chosen to be included in that issue.I submitted my Flowers to Belle Armoire Jewelry and was chosen to be in the Summer 2008 issue.I submitted a piece to Somerset Studio for the Provence Theme issue. I don’t know if I was picked yet, but at least I submitted. I joined an altered Chess Set challenge.
I signed up for a class in June with DJ Pettitt and Deryn Mentock. Very excited about that!

I applied to be a vendor at Art Unraveled in August 2008, and was accepted. I also signed up for classes with Leighanna Light and Louise Duhamel.

I applied to be a vendor at the ZNE ConvenZioNE in August 2008 and was accepted. I also submitted my work to be in their gallery show. I am going to try and get Lisa Kaus’s class. 2 more days till I know about that one.

I signed up for Portland Art & Soul 2008. I am taking classes from Nina Bagley, DJ Pettitt, Beryl Taylor and Judy Wilkenfeld.

Phew...that was longer than I thought! I don't think I forgot anything. So along the way, I have learned many lessons, made new friends thru blogs and have had fun. I am looking forward to the future and all it brings with it's ups and downs. I would tell any one to follow your dreams. You never know unless you try...

Another Happy Day!

I am back from the City of Brotherly love, I will be posting more on that later, and on the counter when I came home was this:I am soooooooo excited! It is my flowers in the Summer issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry! It is the coolest thing to see and article and see your name, by Cindy Dean. Am I a goof or what? I shall be carrying this around all day today! LOL

Off to the City of Brotherly Love

Today, me and the Frog Prince, leave for Philly. I should say the city if Sisterly Love, being that I have 3 sisters and only 1 brother. We are gathering for my sister Lynn's 50th Birthday...Shhhh I didn't say that too loud did I? LOL She is gonna kill me. So anyways, this is a big occasion because we (the sisters and 1 brother) haven't all been together since about 1974 or so. Long story, but my brother has reunited with us. So, needless to say, I will be missing for a few days.
This will be the first time the Frog Prince travels without staying in a box. Stayed tuned to see his first trip!

Color, Color, Color

One of the first things people comment about in my studio is my scissors. I think it is the color that draws their eye and then, the curiosity...why do you have so many?These are from my scrapbooking days but they still come in handy when I need a different edge on my paper. In my room of black and tan, I have spots of color.Some muted, some brightSome with color hiding in it's containers

When I start to buy supplies, I usually go overboard, because I like to see all the colors. A girl has to have choices right?

But sometimes I go overboard...

One day I will use all this stuff. One day. It's just that I love color. What about you? Does anybody else have a color obsession? I do have one absolutely favorite color
Red! Red Car, Red Purse, Red Cell Phone, Red iPod. I really want a red camera but I really like my 10x optical zoom! Next will probably be a red laptop! Show me you favorite color.

Oh Happy Day!

LOL...My art is published for the first time! I was a participant in Lisa Oceandreamer's One World One Heart Giveaway, and I was asked to submit my picture for Artful Blogging. I didn't think I had gotten in, but I happened to be checking out Connie Hippin's blog and she had a post showing her piece in the magazine and low and behold, below hers, mine on the bottom of the page! So I ran out to Barnes & Noble to see if they had it as I had already been to 2 Borders book stores in the past few days looking for the new issue. And...they had it! I was so thrilled to see it! LOL Page 119. There is the page number Lynn! LOLNow I just can't wait for June 1st when I have my flowers published in the next issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry! It will be even more exciting as I had to write a little article for that one!

As good as it gets for now...

Here is my studio/office. It is jam packed! And I still have more boxes to unpack. So, I am going to have to purge again! But here it is so far:





My Favorite Shelf: