Saturday

This old seed packet art is one of my favorites.

I love the sunset colors of the nasturtium, and the creamy white phlox. The really old varieties smell sooooo good. I have this photo on a journal, and ran across it in a book I bought for the garden art inside. I've shredded the book to bits, tearing & cutting out the illustrations to use in several products I'm preparing for the Farm Chicks show. At the last minute, I realized I hadn't saved the images, so I scanned them in and now they can be re-used in future products.

Sigh. Sometimes I just get on such a bender that I'm goin' a hundred miles an hour and I forget the small stuff! I am seriously thinking that this particular item will be staying at home with Deb, instead of heading to Spokane in less than two weeks for the show. If you love this image, too, please do feel free to save it for your own use...

We've done some serious damage today on our 'To Do' list, and all of the painting has been completed just in time - as I type this, the sky is darkening as the clouds to roll in from the East, which is a bit strange for us. The rain will soon begin to fall, and the humidity levels rise. So it's good that we've reached this first goal already!

This evening, before sunset, we took a break to sit at the beach, eat dinner, and relax for a bit before heading back to our projects. It was lovely, quite restorative, and my hubby made a perfect observation: "We're supposed to be loving what we do. Missing an entire sunny day because 'the list' is so long is not how we want to build this business." Smart man! The two hours we took 'off' really was time well spent...together.

He Loves Me, He Really Loves Me.....

Check out that frilly flirty foofy baby up there!

Hubby had to go to the bank yesterday on the way home, and he stopped in at the Children's Hospital Thrift Shop (conveniently located right by the bank) - all by himself, no less. No prodding from me, oh no. He's so into this now! And just LOOK what he found for me! OMG, I nearly keeled over when he pulled it out of the bag. He had a huge birdcage and some small things, plus several other aprons - all cute, perfect for Farm Chicks, but when I saw this baby, well, I just grabbed for it with no shame or control what.so.ever.

O yeah, Deb is keepin' this one, in all it's Shirly Temple ruffled glory. I'll be sporting it as part of my wardrobe for sure!

In this shot, she's on display on top of a 1940's metal kitchen table that Mr. Deb completely stripped and refinished. Is that one killer enamel finish or what? I tell ya', this guy rocks!!

Diamonds? Pearls? Cars? Macy's gift cards? Nah. Bring me foofy aprons, honey!!
(Am I too easy?)

An E-Ticket Ride

Yeah, E-tickets. Remember those?

In the old days at Disneyland, you'd buy a book of tickets at the gate - admission was free, but to ride the rides, which were categorized due to popularity and capacity, you bought tickets at ranked prices. (My grandma had a whole filing drawer full of unused tickets!)

For the Disneyland Train and the trolleys on Main Street, you needed the cheap A tickets. If you wanted to hit the Fantasyland attractions, you'd load up on B and C tickets for Peter Pan, Dumbo, etc. If you wanted to get onto the more popular rides, say maybe It's a Small World or Monsanto's Journey to Inner Space or the Mark Twain Riverboat, you'd need some serious coin for those D coupons. And for the granddaddy rides - the blockbusters, the really fast and crazy 'screamers' and 'dark rides' like Matterhorn and Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain, and of course Mr. Toad, well, you'd go broke buying those E tickets. But it was SO worth it - for the adrenaline rush, being thrown around in your seat, hearing screams of fear and delight all around you. The best part was getting off the ride, feeling your heart pounding in your chest, and laughing 'I made it!'

Whenever we've had a fun day in my family, or a particularly big rush of adrenaline, it's referred to as 'An E-ticket ride'. Yeah, so, my day today was an E-ticket ride. I didn't buy a ticket and I didn't get in line, but I ended up on the darn ride just the same.

Today was a bit like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, actually.....you go along expecting one thing, and WHAM! Something comes at you from over there that just knocks you for a loop. You try to respond intelligently and WHAP! BAM! POW! It comes at you again. Sort of like street signs saying 'GO!' 'STOP!' "turn HERE now!" and 'Wait!' all at once. You shake your head and think 'Huh?' and wonder what exactly you are supposed to do and what's next. Fun at an amusement park, maybe - not so fun in business.

Yeah, it was one of those days. A 'we'll just drop THIS in your lap' situation that caused me to seriously rethink a few things. Nothing dire, nothing horrifying, just a screaming descent into madness for a few hours at the hands of some other - 'corporate' - people. Maybe tomorrow will bring a solution, I dunno'.

But a nice quiet A-ticket ride on the Fantasyland Storybook Boats sure sounds nice right about now... as soon as my heart stops pounding and I can say 'I made it!'.

***update: the next day, apparently the 'corporate' people got their brains off of shuffle (thanks for that one, Betz!), and have now - hopefully - got their heads on straight so this project can proceed as planned. oi. ***

222 Days and Counting...

Our 'new' grandchild is barely this big right now, just an 8-week-old blip on the ultrasound photos that my son and 'daughter' posted on our family blog today. BTW, I put that in quotes because we don't use the term 'in law' in our family - we have sons & daughters, by birth and by marriage. But if I wrote 'my son & daughters' baby' you might think we were rednecks or somethin'.... ;0)

They also posted a 'countdown clock' that will tick off the days until the due date. It's pretty cool! It has a little baby floating in a womb, and supposedly the baby will increase in size as time goes on. Sort of just like a real baby...sort of. (Without the morning, noon, and night sickness and a sore back and sleepless nights.)

...And, um, yeah, about that due date...

If you add 222 days to May 17, do you know what date you come up with?

December 25th.

They sure picked a busy month! Our first grandchild, grandson Troy, was born on December 6. He'll be two this year. Our first daughter's birthday is December 13. Our son's birthday is December 30th. And then there's that holiday....oh, yeah....CHRISTMAS! Whooooooo Boy, Gramma & Grampa are gonna' be busy and go broke!

So I talked with them on the phone, and found out that he wants a boy, she wants a girl, and they've already picked names. I laughed and cried when I heard them...

Jameson Ward for a boy, and Bailey Grace for a girl.

I cried because of the 'Ward' part, which my son was quick to tell me he wanted to do to honor my mom's family. All of the men are gone, and there is no one to carry on the name. I have NO IDEA why I didn't name my son Ward, I really don't. I could kick myself...until now. This makes it even more special.

And I laughed because my son lived up to his Irish heritage, of which he is most proud, by choosing names of Irish liquor. Jameson is whiskey, Baileys is...well, you know. So, I guess it's safe to say that when baby makes his or her entrance on that wonderful day in December, we'll all drink a toast of whiskey or mint creme to celebrate!

At Last!

Praise Be, Hallelujiah, Que the Chorus: the SUN has arrived in Seattle!
The lilacs are blooming... the lake is sparkling....the sky is BLUE!

the apple tree is in blossom for it's 110th year!

The rosemary is blooming...there are buds on my rosebushes....

The only Japanese maple tree I like is outside our bedroom window, and this is what I woke up to this morning: golden chartreuse leaves, dappled with sunlight! (The sunrise is at 6) Ahhhhh...

The birds are singing, the brezze is wafting, the squirrels are jumping through the trees....it feels oddly like a Disney movie come to life, actually! All we need is a princess warbling 'Ah ah ah ah ah...." Nope, not me. Not gonna' do it...

I'm just going to enjoy this, as it's been a looooong time coming. We may even break heat records today if we hit 85. Just bring it on, I say! ;0)

SUCH an Amateur...

I took a bit of time this morning to browse through the new June Somerset Studios mag. I'm usually up, running, and on the computer early, but today my computer needed a restart, so I took a time out.

Sheesh, why don't I start my days like this more often?! Because I’m a classic type A workaholic with a never-ending list of to-do's, that's why - but if the well is dry, it ain't going to produce much, now is it?! Anyway, that half hour this morning spent drinking my tea and devouring page after page of beauty has really got my creative engines on overdrive.

I found the funniest thing as I was reading through the magazine. Bruce Adams, who writes the 'Accidental Crafter' column, has this quote at the top of his article this month:
"My crafting bike has training wheels" ! Ok, that just made me laugh!

And then a deeper realization set in – this really should be the norm for us, this willingness to admit we are still learning, still uncertain, still seeking a new experience. Yes, I agree that it's nice to study and practice and become proficient at an art form, a craft, a process. This is how artists are recognized and products are developed and empires are built, right? Being an 'expert'. We need experts.

But there is also much to be said for being an amateur…. Creative souls crave change, exploration, and constant development of new skill sets. If we always stick to the tried and true, we’ll never grow. We’ll never have the 'AHA!' moments of discovery and challenge. We'll never create a new process or style if we don’t get brave and jump in with both feet to try a new product or method or material. We'll never see our heart outside of our body in the form of art if we don’t accept that bravery and willingness to look like an amateur is necessary. Taking on a new style of art can feed our souls, and enrich the other types of art we have already experienced – ultimately filling our creative well with more depth.

I've been busily preparing things for the Farm Chicks show, and still have a lot to do. But I'm going to take this morning and make art just for me. I've got a great old book cover that I tore the pages out of for paper packs, and I’m going to rebuild it as an art journal for myself. An hour, (maybe more, who knows?!) of immersion in an artistic pursuit just for the sake of it. Not to sell it, just to make something I've never made before. For the exploration and experience of it.

I bet it will look totally amateurish when I'm done.
Isn't that GREAT?!!!!!

Tell me what art & craft projects & processes you are having fun with!

News Flash!

I got a great lil' tidbit of info from Serena at the Farm Chicks today!

There are four of us vendors who are all members of Women Take Wing!, and we have all been placed together in a row of booths at the Farm Chicks show! You'll be able to find Tammy Gilley, Heather Bullard, Bari J, and retreat all in one place at the show...so plan to come by and see us!
(You'll be able to tell where in the building we are located by all of the laughing, chattering, and general rabble-rousing going on, I'm sure...) Things are finalizing right now, and it looks as if I'll be filming segments for the Gift & Home Channel during the show - and you can bet those gals up there are my number one choices for booths to film in!

I'm busily creating a mock-up of our 'Grandma's Garden retreat' booth in part of our living room, and I gotta' tell you that I am loving the way it's all coming together! And since 'enquiring minds want to know' what retreat is offering at Farm Chicks, here's a very sneaky little sneak peek....


(You didn't really think I'd give it all away, did ya'?!!!)

Sugar Rush.....

Let's see... I installed the new display at Faded Elegance on Wednesday afternoon.

By days' end on Thursday, over half of the small items in it were gone - including the 'FooFoo Faux Food' TM wedding cake I had made, all of the cake toppers, a flower bouquet, games & game cards, and paper wedding bells. So on Friday, I got busy and made some more confections to satisfy the sugar rush!

There are more cakes than these, including cupcakes that you can just barely see back there. As I worked on them, I was hatching grand plans in my head for another version that I will make for the Farm Chicks show...just the thing to complete a Picnic in our 'Grandma's Garden retreat' theme! (Product development is speeding along here at Diva Central.... I need more hours in my day!)

Five scrap paper packs were in the booth originally - some Currier & Ives images with brides and old marriage certificates, ribbons, ephemera, etc. They were gone by the end of the first day, I was told. So I packaged some more and got them in quickly, for Mothers' Day shoppers.

I'm done, though...I have to let the booths at Faded Elegance survive as-is for now, and move on to massive production for Farm Chicks. I've finally come 'round the bend with a nasty sinus 'thing' and am feeling much more energized, so today will be very productive, I think!

I hope you all have a beautiful day....