Heart The Arts Prompt 2010 Week #1 " Amazing "

I have a few weeks to catch up on and I did "Amazing" last night so I can get a little closer to where I should be! It was a quickie and I had a lot of fun with it. Art Journals are really all about emotion and spontaneity so I just let loose and played around with doodles and colours. I'm going to do # 15 tonight because by this Saturday it will be Week 18 I'm supposed to be on! Whew! oh well , less chatter and more painting! Toodles! xo

New Little Goodies!!

Well it just wouldn't be pay day now if I didn't go out and buy some new goodies to play with! I swear I only stopped to buy groceries, cleaning supplies and to pay some bills! Oh well, with Mother's Day coming up it seemed like a good idea. I cannot wait to start playing! The new pieces are from Jolee's Jewels line and are Crystallized Swarovski Elements. Absolutely beautiful colours, shine and sparkle! The yellow rose pendant is stunning and would look gorgeous with some pearls and gold chain! The pink and iridescent hearts are so pretty and also the clear crystal flower ones! Can you tell I'm excited?? Stayed tuned for the photos and make sure you stop in at Ella Lynns and Casey's to see all the other beauties I have there for sale. xox

Heart The Arts Prompt Week # 13- "Need"

Well when I saw the word for this week's prompt I immediately thought, "I NEED MONEY!!" because "I NEED A NEW CAR!" Yes the joys of owning materials things..... However when I really thought about this entry I wanted to remain positive not greedy or concerned over what others thought of my little ole beater ( even though pieces of it are literally falling off whenever I go to work....the other day it was the driver's side mirror!!) My poor kids! Not embarassed at all! So I keep telling myself that I already am wealthy and I can have anything I want, money is absolutely no object! So that leaves the things that money cannot buy which is friendship, family, and of course love. I love the Beatles and their song, "All You Need Is Love" is a favourite of mine and therefore is a major part of this entry. As with all my journal pieces , the pages are spontaneous and I just go for whatever is tugging at my brain in that moment. The paint trickling down the page reminded me of rain drops which then reminded me of shelter in the form of an umbrella to keep all those little cuties warm and dry.....LOVE. That is all we need. :)

Happy 22nd Birthday Brendan

Every time I celebrate the birthdays of my children I feel this little twinge of sadness because another year has gone by and they are a tiny bit closer to leaving the nest. Brendan turned 22 today and has grown into such a wonderful young man . I am so proud of the person he has grown to be and know that the day he decides to fly away out into the world I will have to let him go. I can only hope and pray that the world is kind to him and treats him well. Brendan, as you celebrate your birthday today always remember how much you are loved and how proud all of us are of you.

Heart The Art Prompts 2010 Week # 12 "Lucky"

I am sooooo behind in these entries!! Yikes! I have 3 more to do and jewelry orders piling up! I will do it though with the help of Starbucks! Anyhoo, this prompt was "Lucky" and because I do consider myself a lucky girl ( trapped in an unlucky girls body....) this is what I came up with! Let me know what you think and tell me how lucky you are ! xoxox

Fund Raising For My Toronto Trip! :)

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I'm 2 weeks behind in my art journal but I had to get caught up with the jewelry making and replenish the rack downtown. My hubby and I are going to Toronto for the Easter weekend and I am sooooo excited! We are staying with some friends and will be having a lot of laughs, food and drinks! So before I go I thought I'd do some "fund raising" and make more necklaces ! Need some cashola for shopping! Anyway here are a few more for you and hopefully when I return on Tuesday I can concentrate on my prompts for the journal so I don't get another week behind! Happy Easter everyone!

A Few More....

Dropped a few more necklaces off at Ella Lynns yesterday and while I was there I picked up some very cool summer clothes. This store is great for selection and is #1 when it comes to friendly professional service. Thanks girls for all you do and have done for me and the ladies of Dryden! check them out at http://www.ellalynn.ca/

New Beads!!

It's so cool working in a school with globetrotting co-workers!! Some people may get jealous and wish it was them going to the exotic islands and other destinations....wishing it was them slathering on the sun tan lotion or sun block .... imagining it was them drinking fruity drinks with chunks of fruit and umbrellas in fish bowl sized glasses watching the sunset on a warm beach with their hunky man . Yes I can see how some would be jealous and dust off the voo-doo dolls, but not me. No way Jose! I wish them well slip them a shopping list and take advantage!!
One of my friends went to Cuba and brought back some very cool beads for me to play with and all I need to do in exchange is make her a cool necklace with some of them. What a great deal! My other friend went to Vancouver, British Columbia and stopped at a quaint little bead shop on Granville Island called beadworks and brought home some wonderful homemade glass beads for me. Check out my photos and then check out the shop! Thanks ladies for bringing me back such great treasures and maybe next time I can sip a fruitty drink, get a sunburn and check out some shops too! xoxox www.beadworks.ca

Heart The Art Prompts 2010 Week #11- "Fearless"

I am one of the rare people in my family who do not watch the news. Mom will call and say " Oh dear did you see what happened to that poor family in ..... " or " you better get the vaccination for the....." and the ever popular " drive carefully they say there is going to be a huge snow storm...." Now it's not that I don't care about what's happening in the world because I really do , it's just that the last time I watched the news I saw a plane crash into the twin towers in New York in real time and it rocked me to the core. I know it is important to stayed informed but I really don't want to go to bed with all the horrible images in my head that seem to be spilling from the t.v on a regular basis. If the world is going to end.... I don't want to know, it won't make any difference will it??
So..... when I found out the prompt was Fearless , I prepared my journal page with a generous layer of gesso, a thin layer of Payne's Grey, then built up the layers with darker values of the same paint. The newspaper articles describe violent crimes and other injustices and so I tore them and added them to the page. I thought I would stick with the black and white scheme but found it too drab and therefore added the bits of red images to draw in the eye. With the thought provoking lyrics of "Fearless" by Pink Floyd and light hearted images in the foreground I am covering up all the fearful articles and leaving them behind in the background where they belong. I enjoyed playing with this journal entry and don't worry about me folks... If the world was really going to end, my mother would definately phone and tell me about it!

Me And My Bro

If I could go back in time only once it would be to the early days of my childhood in Nova Scotia when I was carefree, stress free, played outside from earlier morning till dark and my best friend was in the next bedroom over. My brother Chris just turned 40 yesterday and it's so hard to believe we are grown ups with our own mortgages, families and jobs to worry about when it seems like only yesterday we were fighting over his "dinky" cars and plotting our next adventures on our bikes! Chris and I are very close in age only 13 months apart (poor mom) and so we were each others playmate for many years whether it was climbing trees, swimming in the brook that ran out behind our trailer, claiming clubhouses...mine was the barn while Chris proudly put dibs on the old outhouse. Not a problem little bro it is all yours! I would take advantage of the fact that I was older of course and had first choice but he was very proud of his little stinky piece of real estate and nailed signs all over it "Boys only" " Girls not allowed" Oh how funny and precious these moments seem to me now and how I wish we were those two dirty faced little kids again.
But alas! We had to grow up and grow up we did becoming awkward teens together, getting married , buying homes, having children, losing jobs..... It really doesn't leave much time to play!
I've been a very lucky sister to have a brother like Chris and I'm very proud of the fine young man he's become. I guess having an outhouse for your first home can teach you a few things about life ! Love you Chris and Happy 40th !

Heart The Art Prompts Week # 10 " Keep Going"

Thinking spring and all the green colours that are to come influenced this piece along with the anticipation of warm sunshine and pretty scented flowers. The prompt is " keep going " and I know all of us can relate to this one. Some days are easier than others and I tell myself whether it is a huge bill, doubt in myself, my depression, or other little things that feel huge at the time...."you must keep going...you must not give up...things will get better" And chances are things will get better and mind over matter is so important in today's crazy world.
As with all my art journal entries this one started with a slathering of gesso , some under painting, collage images and some dyed coffee filters that I kept from a St. Patricks Day craft at school. The 5 year olds aren't the only ones that had fun that day! Some glue, markers and paint and voila! My masterpiece is complete! I hope the warm weather inspires more creativity for me because I now have to start week 11 and make some more jewelry! Life is a journey and I intend to live it to the max and Keep Going. I hope you will too! XOXOXO

Spring Bling 2010

I just love March Break! I spent the afternoon yesterday listening to some classic rock and creating some cool new necklaces for Ella Lynns ( a very cool ladies wear store in our city) I really enjoyed playing with my beads again and came up with some awesome new chunky chokers and long \ medium necklaces on silver, gold and leather. Blues are very popular this summer in the fashion world so I did a few more blues than I had originally planned and glad I did. They are very pretty and will look awesome with almost anything you wear this summer.

Well I'm happy to say that the wheels are turning, beads are arriving and I have more designs spinning in this head of mine so stayed tuned my lovelies!