What did you do today?

I have been without my digital camera and I have to say I have missed it! I have been working on flowers, fiber and plaster and I want to share them in pictures with you. The camera returns home on Friday so I can get some pictures posted over the weekend or the first part of next week. Today I went to the Visions Quilt Museum in San Diego and I love buying fibers and books there as much as I like looking at the exhibits. Today was no exception. I bought hand dyed cheese cloth in my favorite colors (pinks, purples and greens) and two very cool books, Fabric Art Collage by Rebekah Meier and From Image to Stitch by Maggie Grey. I love every book Maggie Grey has done, and this one makes me drool as well! My heart is leaning to fabric these days. I am blessed to have lots of choices when it comes time to creating! What are you working on these days?

While the cats away, the mice will play . . .

My hubby is gone on his annual vacation to the "Old Time" music festival and that gives me total freedom to play any way I want! The first part of the week was rocky as he had cancelled flights, missed flights and way too many drives back and forth to the airport. But, it has settled into a good pattern from there! There was ATC group last night and I always enjoy spending time with this group of women. Wednesday was a play date with Debi and Kathie, each of us working on jewelry projects. Tuesday was lunch with Garnet and time spent playing in the art room working on plaster flowers and coloring some altered tins. I have been reading the new Stampington magazines, Sew Somerset and Art Quilting Studio, both have been making me drool. With uninterrupted hours of reading time, I have also been devouring Have You Found Her by Janice Erlbaum. For those of you familar with my quest for the Frozen Charlotte dolls, I finally was able to get them at Glitterfest in Tustin last weekend! I am a happy camper! Sometimes with all this unstructured time I find I don't focus and I feel like I am wasting time. But then my attention will light onto something and I relish the hours I can just be in the zone and not have to be in the real world for hours at a time! Today I have plaster flowers to color and little projects wanting to be finished on my art desk so I will wander to the back of the house and see what the day holds for me. Hoping your day holds some time to create for you.

Rich to have a mom and sister!

I have been gone the past week visiting my mom and sister. May is the month of birthdays and Mothers Day and it's a tradition to head north to celebrate! What a good time we had. It's been a long time since I was able to celebrate my little sister's birthday with her on the actual birth date and we went to Morro Bay for the day in her honor. It was fun to play Scrabble together, I like it when the three of us get to play it together. I don't have a big family, but I feel rich with the family I have! I didn't create any art while I was gone, I read, played Scrabble, took walks and ate, oh my gosh, how we ate! This morning I read the following: ". . . what we're really after in life is a feeling, or a set of feelings, or an endless ocean of feelings, rather than piles of what George Carlin used to call "stuff"." My mom calls it creating memory bubbles to be stored up and treasured. I liked the memory bubbles built this past week. What feeling are you after today?

The little things that make our lives matter . . .

I was thinking about the little things that matter in our lives. I was thinking about good health and feeling strong on my morning walk. The love of and for my pets. The sound of the birds at the feeder in the backyard. Being able to pick up the phone and hear the sound of someone I love who is just a little too far away to reach out and give a hug to. Looking up into the blue of the sky and feeling the sweet breeze that caresses my face. Smiling at paint on my arms from a fun day of creating. The bittersweet feeling of finishing a book I have really enjoyed reading and am sorry to have ended. Feeling grateful that I am able to feel rested and rejuvenated each morning. The smell and taste of that first cup of morning coffee. That I get to be here now, having this experience at this time. Will you share a little thing that matters to you?

A little lunch, a little shopping, a little art . . .

Today was a good day! I met a dear friend for lunch and was able to get caught up with her. Then a hop, skip and a jump over to Stamping Details to schedule more classes to teach in June, to sign up for a book making class in May and to purchase the lovely gold encaustic wax you see here. Boy, life is good!! Every since taking the Karen O'Brien class on Friday I have been chomping at the bit to get my hands on some new glazes and since I was half way to San Diego anyway, I went down to Dick Blick and purchased the other supplies you see here. Man, I feel rich with new art supplies! Love it!! The cover piece to my project from Karen's class is coming together. Yesterday I spread out all my papers and painted the backs of them to reinforce the techniques I'd learned and to get these pages ready to put into a book. Ahhh yes, life is good today!

Wow, what a weekend!

The pictures posted here are from the class I had on Friday with Karen O'Brien at Stamping Details. The class was on background techniques, and I loved it. I have taken a class with Karen before, and she is an excellent teacher. I learn a lot from her and I like her teaching style. I think DiAnn has talked her into coming back in July, and I'll definitely be signing up for that class, too. In addition to the class I took, I also taught my Birds of Whimsy class this weekend, and it was a great group of students! I truly do get blessed by having the best students in my classes. The thing I love about this class is, they are all given the same kit to start with, but every bird leaves looking very different from her neighbor and each bird is fabulous! One day I will get it together and bring my camera so I can take pictures for you guys from my students. I also participated in the Encinitas Street Faire, and I have to give my partners big kudos for taking care of everything since I had to teach that day. I did get to show up for a glass of wine and the last hour of the show! Sales were not so good for us in this show, so we will continue to look for shows that are a better fit for our art and talents. It was our first show together as a group and it was well worth the experience. So, today I am catching my breath, doing a little laundry, picking up the art room, and mowing the lawn. It is a good day.

A little something from the knitting needles . . .

Today I am sharing photos from two felted bowls I made recently. There's just something about that felting process that intrigues me no end and when I received a felted bowl as a present from my friend Teresa for Christmas, I knew I would have to make some more myself. My favorite is the little brown/pink one. I love this yarn and when it felts, it is just yummy!
Bette, I am sending healing thoughts out to you this morning, please get well soon!
I am feeling good today. It has cooled off a bit, I have taken my walk this morning, I have art projects waiting for me in the art room and I have a Birds of Whimsy class coming up on Sunday. I hope your day is going well, also and I want to leave you with these words today: First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others. - Thomas A. Kempis 1420