Keri's Wedding Weekend

Katharine and I at the wedding

After much anticipation and planning Keri's wedding weekend finally arrived this last weekend at the Flamingo in Las Vegas. The weekend was full and started off with a rehearsal dinner on Friday night at Margaritaville. I started off with a guava margarita which was so yummy! The food was also great. On Saturday I went to get my hair and makeup done. Thanks Emily and Jackie! Then, I was off to the Flamingo to Keri's suite to help her get in her wedding dress. Why do they make wedding dresses so complicated? I swear you need a degree in engineering to get in and out of one! The ceremony was outdoors in the garden area at the Flamingo, which was beautiful. I can't believe how many weddings were going on at the same time. I must have seen at least 5 brides in their dresses. I need to own a vegas wedding chapel. After the wedding it was pictures and off to the Hofbrahaus for the wedding reception. It was quite the party for those of you familar with the Hofbrahaus. Then it was back to the Flamingo for a party in the hotel suite. Whew...I'm exhausted just writing all of this. The next moring I barely made it to the farewell brunch. I still had my hair in curls and Keri mentioned that it looked like my hair had just rolled out of bed. Probably because I literally did just that. Congratulations to Keri and Dave!

Los Angeles Bachelorette Party

A couple of weekends ago my friend Anne and I flew to LA for our friend Keri's bachelorette party. The day started off by boarding a chartered bus and driving up to the Santa Barbara area. The drive was gorgeous most of the way as you could see the ocean out of the left hand side bus windows. Bridlewood vineyards was our first stop followed by three other vineyards. The weather was beautiful and the scenery was breathtaking! We ended the day with a trip to Butterfly Beach. What a great way to spend a Saturday. I would highly recommend it.

Birthday from Amanda, Chris, Bailey, Clara, Ethan and Raylin

Today I received the most wonderful package in the mail. It was filled with homemade Amish peanut butter, yum yum and hand painted jars that I am going to use to hold my paint brushes in my craft room. In one of the jars there are little slips of paper that are folded up that are written by everyone in the family. I am only allowed to open up one slip of paper per week until they are all gone. The first one I opened up today was written by my brother Chris. It said "remember the time we tried to sneak a cat in the house and dad said nice tail boy". It has me cracking up. Seriously, this is the best gift ever and I will look forward to many weeks ahead of opening up the different messages. I can hardly wait!

Birthday Presents

A big thank you to June and Jackie for the lovely handmade birthday presents. They disobeyed a strict order to not make me anything since I'm behind on making presents for the jewelry group. I still have June and Betty's to do from this summer not to mention the September b-days. Oh well! Jackie made the gorgeous wild necklace out of copper. I just LOVE it and like to think of myself as wild even though I'm probably really not in that category hehehe. June made the beautiful earrings that I just adore. Thank you so much ladies!

Wizard of Oz Birthday

My mom knows how much I love the Wizard of Oz so she made me these pillows for my birthday. Thanks mom for all of your hard work on these. They are so cool and I love them. Dash seems to love the one with the tassels too so I had to put the one in my craft room for now.

My Dear Friend Angela

I thought it only fitting to put a post on my blog for my dear creative friend Angela who so often commented on my blog posts. Angela passed away unexpectedly on Friday. She was a mentor, colleague, friend, confidante and huge supporter. I first met Angela at UNLV where she was a faculty member in the Hotel College. I went into her class to do a guest lecture and our friendship began. Angela saw a passion in me for teaching so the next thing I knew she had recommended me to the Hotel College for a part time teaching position. We started going to lunches and also realized that both of us had a creativity streak running through us. She introduced me to altered books and my creativity was sparked. She told me about ArtUnraveled and Las Vegas Art Stamps. My first "art" workshop Angela invited me to. It was the weekend with Julianna Coles. We also started an informal altered book group of our very own. Angela meant the world to me as so many of my friends do. I will miss her smile, her creative energy, warmth and love. May you find peace and comfort dear friend knowing that you will be missed and loved from afar.

Vegas Charm Exchange Baby!

Jackie was the "charm leader" for this exchange which had a vegas theme. The charms all came out very unique and cool. Great job ladies! I thought the pendant that Tanya made for all of us deserved a picture of its own since it was so cool. She took a vintage showgirl image from the Stardust and placed it in a vintage earring with resin. You rock girl! Next up Halloween charm exchange with nothing cutesy. I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.

Ouch

Right Thumb

Left Thumb

So...one of the disadvantages of working with sheet metal and glass enamel is what it does to your thumbs. I really don't want to wear gloves because I can't feel through them but when I showed Mandy my thumbs she told me about these cute little thumb covers that you can get in leather. You don't realize how much you really use your thumbs until you injure them. They hurt but it was worth it. There is no better feeling than your arms being sore from working your hammer and jeweler's saw!

Exploration of Enameling with Susan Lenart Kazmer

The ring

The back of the piece

The front of the piece

This piece was created in the enameling class with Susan. This was a wonderful class. We were responsible for cutting our pieces, filing and shaping them into whatever we wanted. I created a pendant and a ring in this class. Both pieces were fired in the kiln multiple times. This was the first time that I have ever tried enameling. I just love green and enameling! What I learned most from this class and the one yesterday is how much I really just love metal. Hammering, shaping and cutting are so much fun!

Resin with Susan Lenart Kazmer

Time for Art Unraveled!!!!! This piece was made with resin and brass. I made a mold of a rock that Susan had for us to use and cast this piece using a mold with resin. I then colored the piece to make it look more organic. The backing for the piece was hand cut with a jeweler's saw, sanded like crazy. I made everything on this piece including the clasp and attachments for the piece.

Trip To England

Brighton Beachfront

The Royal Pavilion in Brighton

Stonehenge

Bath

Rutland Waters

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting my friend Ann in England. It was great fun and I really enjoyed my visit. I had been to London before but was only there for a few days. This time around I felt like I really saw the beautiful country that England is. I also got to know a couple of locals who are friends of Ann. It was really fun getting to know the culture and a few of the local phrases and sayings. I must admit that I don't see how my friend Ann has done it! It took me two days to flush the toilet on the first try at Ann's house because the plumbing was so different. I also couldn't operate the washing machine. Even though they speak somewhat the same language things are really quite different. I really enjoyed myself and am posting a few pictures of the trip for you to enjoy!

Trip to Illinois

These past 10 days I have been traveling seeing family and friends in Illinois. I started off on the 4th of July weekend with a trip to Holiday World with my brother, sister-in-law and my two nieces Bailey and Clara. The trip was a lot of fun even though it rained the weekend we were there. There were hardly any lines for the rides and most of the time if we wanted to we could just stay on the ride and take another turn. It was great! Bailey was tall enough to ride all of the roller coasters. My personal favorite was a 13 story drop water ride. It was quite a rush. The rest of the week was spent with my mom, dad, brother, sis in law and kids. I got to hold my little niece Raylin for the first time and got to see how big Ethan has gotten. He is walking now. It was so much fun being in the country. This last weekend I went to Chicago to visit my friends Elizabeth and Amy. It was a blast and I realized just how much I missed the city.

Chemistry Lesson

Today I was playing around with resin filling these tea/coffee cups that I got when I was in California. I thought to myself I wonder what would happen if I just added a little instant coffee to the mix to get that true coffee color. What I didn't know is that I would create a weird chemical reaction. I called my friend Elizabeth, a chemistry professor, who explained to me that it was the water that created the reaction. I think the bubble effect looks kind of cool though and it still hardened just fine.

After a Bad Day....

...all you have to do is rock out to this song to feel better. Works every time.

Fun in LA

Malibu Beach

Recognize this house? Hint...here's a story

Estrella sure hope you're right

On the Santa Monica Beach

Oh what a weekend. I can't believe how much fun I had visiting my friend Keri in Los Angeles. My friend Anne and I took off from Vegas on Friday and drove to NOHO where Keri lives. The first thing we did was go to the Chinese Theatre and to see the Hollywood sign. The munchkins have their own star who knew. This one is for you ladies.... Then on Saturday we went to the Fashion District and Santee alley. That place is crazy but I loved it! They have fabric everywhere and bead stores plus tons of other stuff. On Sunday we headed to the beach in Malibu and then drove down to Santa Monica pier. Of course we rode the Ferris Wheel and I had to ride the carousel and we all got our 25 cent fortunes from the machine that looks like the one in the movie Big. Then we rented bikes and rode them down the coast. How fun was that!!! Then it was on to 3rd street promenade. Oh, we also went to Olvera Street.

Wizard of Oz Charm Exchange

Saturday was the Wizard of Oz charm exchange. I was very impressed by everyone's creativity for these charms. I love and cherish every single one of them! I can't wait to make my bracelet. Jackie also gave me a hostess gift. She covered the tin herself and even drilled a hole in the back to turn it into a music box that plays Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Thank you so much ladies and Jackie especially for the wonderful hostess gift!

Board Book

Recently I had the pleasure of joining 3 other ladies over at Linda Trenholm's studio to learn how to create a board book. Linda has some wonderful creations! My favorite were the ping pong paddles that she had picked up at a yard sale and turned into hand mirrors. How cool is that. Linda is actually on the board of Somerset Studio Magazine. She has a beautiful home and teaches out of her casita. Fresh air, wonderful company and an open environment. Everything just roams in and out of her studio including her cat, which was incredibly freeing and inspiring. This is my board book, which took me all day to create just these two pages. I was inspired to do flowers since her yard is full of them. I used images, stamps, acrylics, colored pencils, charcoal pencil, gesso and oil pastels.

Studio Chairs

The old
The new!

I finally managed to get the four chairs covered in what I'm calling my "studio" which is actually a spare bedroom. You should've heard the delivery men when I got the table a month ago. You want us to put the table in the bedroom? Are you sure? Yes....I'm sure! I am including a picture of what the chairs originally looked like. They had a brown seat cover. Now they have something vibrant and bright that just makes you want to create, well hopefully. A big thank you to my friend Mandy who came over with her staple gun and covering expertise.

Welcome Raylynn Ann

Yesterday my brother and sister-in-law Amanda had a new baby girl Raylynn Ann. I think she has the most beautiful middle name in the world, which happens to be her Aunt Mandi's middle name. She weighed 8lbs 11 oz and was 21 inches long. There is no stronger love than the love you feel for a child so I welcome her into my heart. She is in good company along with her sisters Bailey and Clara and her brother Ethan.

Peace for Jackie's Birthday

I finally get to put up this post because I've finally given Jackie her birthday present. Jackie's birthday was actually March 13th but since I hadn't given her this painting yet I couldn't post it. So here it is. I was really pleased with how it turned out. I used molding paste, gotta love that stuff, wire mesh and a peace stencil and painted over with various colors. Then...I added glitter. I couldn't resist I love shiny!

Sober

This video is dedicated to all of my friends and family who battle addiction. "The quiet scares me cause it screams the truth".

Weekend with My Mom!

This last weekend my mom came to town for a visit. We had the pleasure of seeing "O" by Cirque Du Soleil. Right outside of the theater for the show is an exhibit by Richard Macdonald. He has a studio in Monterey where he creates his beautiful sculptures. I fell in love with this one titled "Blind Faith". It spoke to me and made me think for a moment is there really any other kind? Isn't all faith blind? Each one of his pieces is carved from an actual performers physique. Amazing!

Empty Bowls Event

This Saturday I had the pleasure of attending a charity event called empty bowls. It is held every year at Green Valley High School and all of the money raised from the event goes to feed the homeless. When you first enter the event you are immediately overwhelmed by the number of bowls created by local members of the Nevada Clay Guild and Green Valley High School students. Everyone donates 12 dollars, picks out a bowl and gets soup in the bowl for lunch. You can purchase extra bowls for 10 dollars and of course I had to get more than one. They were all so beautiful how can a girl choose just one. They also have a silent auction and live auction of various artwork. Those GVHS students are so talented. They knit, photograph, paint, draw and do ceramics. Who knew?! It made me want to go back to high school just so I could take art classes. I also ran into a couple of people who I had not seen in a really long time, who happen to be members of the clay guild. They said last year this event raised 24,000 dollars to feed the homeless. They also had a huge assembly line and fired 400 bowls in one day. How crazy is that! I had to post a picture of my empty bowl, which was made by Donna Potter the GVHS art teacher. As you can see I enjoyed my chili con carne. The other picture is of all of the bowls that I purchased while I was at the event.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

In honor of St. Patrick's Day here's some U2.
I loved this live performance for Obama's inaguration!
I should add that it still gives me chills.

The Killers Human

Love this new song by the killers!

B. Original Bangle

The other day I was watching B. Original with Michele Beschen and she had a great idea of taking an old bangle and reinventing it. The first thing you do is cut strips of paper from a magazine and glue them down. I started with matte gel medium and then put varnish on the top for shine. I used an unfinished wooden bangle that I got for really cheap, I think 25 cents, at Michael's. When I saw the show I thought to myself I can make that. So..I got up off of the couch and did it!

The Cutest Kids in the World

Ethan

Bailey

Clara

Pretty Little Felt Ring

Mandy and I both made one of these rings at our last jewelry crafting day. It is from the book Pretty Little Felts. I brought the ring bases and Mandy had the felt, craft wire and antique buttons. Thanks, Mandy. They turned out so cute and every time I wear it someone wants to buy it. I need to make more of these!

Joyce's Ephemera

I was delighted to have lunch with my friend Joyce the other day. I hadn't seen her in such a long time. We met when Linda still had Las Vegas Art Stamps in a Julianna Coles class. Imagine my surprise when we found out we both were from within miles of each other in small town Illinois. She even lived in my little hometown for a awhile. At lunch she brought me this bag of ephemera for altered art making. It was filled with such fun, cool stuff. Thanks, Joyce!

Angela's Valentine

A big thank you to my crafty friend Angela, who mailed me this cute as a button Valentine canister for Valentine's Day (just behind on posting). It was wonderfully decorated and contained many, many Valentine Day themed things to use in altered art. Hooray for Valentine's!