studio friday {comfort}

as far back as i can remember the sea and all of its offerings
have been a constant source of comfort for me.i have spent
many an hour and countless days in quite communion loosing
myself either with my feet in contact with the sand somewhere
or my hands holding,mind pondering each treasure i have found
and made my own, from the very generous ocean.
today and all days i find pleasure in God's gifts!


seek more comfort here

corinne's paper

crony corinne's magical marbled paper...

i spent the day at corinne's house a few weeks
ago with best pal pat,and snapped many a shot
of corinne's creations,this marbled paper just
blew me away,the colors are just the most
magnificent i have seen and the pattern is devine.
wanted to share the beauty with you!

inspire me thursday on sunday

monochromatic 1 a :having or consisting of one color or hue.

this weeks challenge...monochrome art. i chose a piece of
12 x 12 scrapbook paper,dry brushed with quinacridone red,
over stamped with my own mixture of ink colors..cranberry & merlot
colorbox reinkers,then dry brushed again with a touch of a pale pink
acrylic i had in my paint stash...i think it was a folkart color,nothing
fancy. i used two rubber sheets from marie otero's fabulous collection
found at lost aussie designs and a smattering of random swirl and circle
stamps...pretty simple technique,but i am happy with the texture that
developed using it! i am going to cover a paper mache picture frame with
this....one of these days.

see more hues here

happy,joyous & free

sissy aka tippy aka the most adored cat on earth...except for
maybe ted in webster groves......

for me?

yep...after reading a post and seeing the pictures on kim's blog ,
of the fabulous necklace and its way great presentation from
amy lyons, i was absolutely moved to purchase this "ccreate"
id bracelet...i had zero self control,i typed in all the info at a fevered
pace and two days later it arrived in this precious wrapped box...
in all of its gleaming glory! and amy even tucked in a cloth with which
to keep it sparkling...a most satisfying experience!
visit amy here!

paper rocks our world!

oh ok...paper,rubber,fiber,clay,good company& great music
....many lovely things rock our world at rock,paper,scissors!
all you midwesterners and everybody else who hasn't stopped in
...whatcha waitin' for!?
a destination,an experience not to be missed! this shop is owned...
coool historic building(on funky historic main street) and all,by a
beautiful young family dedicated to creating a welcoming,happy,
stress-free environment for all who walk through the 100+ year old door!
since the shop has opened in november,corey has lovingly and thoughtfully
started filling the place with only the most fabulous treasures of papers,
unmounted rubber sheets from her childhood bestfriend,christelle la chappelle
aka olive wimple,mounted rubberstamps of all artsy sorts,books,embellishments
and best of all,to this critic,corey sells wares from local artisans and has some
very dynamic workshops planned for the future....and other good things are in the
works...i will keep you posted,of that you can be sure!
after spending time with corey yesterday,chatting about life and the pursuit of paper
and ribbons for todays "cool composition notebook" workshop,i ran off to b&n to buy
some music that i have been wanting:
*james blunt "back to bedlam"(oops,the explicit version,my bad)
....this guy reallly reminds me of an old favorite of mine mick hucknall of simply red,
i got their new cd,"simplified",a few weeks ago...simply wonderful!
*madeleine peyroux's "dreamland"...i believe her first,but just as hypnotic as this.
*the wailin' jennys "40 days"...folk angels,my new favorite.
*neil young "harvest"...i was feeling nostalgic,it was a MUCH simpler time then.......track one.
*syd matters "syd matters" this b&n exclusive is a MUST HAVE!
met tom for a great dinner and his good humor at tony's........
THEN!the cherry on top of the creamy day, when i got home the coveted padded manila envelope was waiting for me!
angelica, had sent this gorgeous card to me with the sweetest sentiment attached and
a bag stuffed with fabulous embellisments,emphasis on flowers!!! so lucky to have you as a friend...so nice to be thought of so kindly.thank~you.
a most enjoyable yesterday.....

studio friday

i am not sure what this was originally,this
wall hanging full of wonderful "pockets"...
but for me it is where i stash old photos,copies
of old photos,cabinet cards and notions...
the most secret stash is what is too small to stick up
and out of the cubbies,the little photobooth images,
vintage playing cards,teeny millinery petals & leaves
and itty bitty tags of all kinds...and who knows what
else lurks below that surface?! gonna have to take
inventory soon.........

studio friday

inspire me thursday...big

though not big in actual size, these diminutive tags are
only 1 inch "big". what is big here is the size of this project,
and the epic mess i have created while making these 25+
tiny charms for the much anticipated Creative Underground
charm bracelet swap!

see big inspiration here .......................

self portrait tuesday {time}

the earring chronicles or a week in the life of my ear lobes.
i have scads of earrings...its what i seek out on vacations or
what i treat myself to after a job well done or even a particularly
unpleasant experience...its just my thing...earbobs.
it is just one of many choices i make everyday,and though
i have alot to choose from,i lean toward the same pairs,the all
time favorites.
the teeny silver hoops that i attach beach glassy "cheerios" to,
the vinyl record discs by laura beamer,
the two toned oval hoops by hilary druxman,
the found object & millinery flower wires by jill schwartz
or the long,dangly button earrings by kate valleroy.
all important daily decisions..just thought you should know.

spt

rent

wow. no day but today....
rent was a powerful musical.
it left alot to think about,
alot to cry about...alot of
living and caring cramed
into that 2.5 hours to ponder.

before the matinee,
hannah,jessie,kate and i
grabbed theee most delectable
greek salad in town then popped
into the contemporary art museum
to effectively kill a little bit of time! a
very cool exhibit there will be coming
down soon...each piece is made up of
speakers...woofers & tweeters.pretty
amazing,everything is art!

p.s. fun,fun gift shop that features some
of kate's fabulous jewelry!

petite papier bouquet

what a blast kate's class was saturday at
rock paper scissors....she played to a full house
of wildly creative,wickedly fun paper artists and sent us
home with our fertile imaginations and a ton of paper
to fashion mannnnny more of these blooms!
this is my little bouquet and i have more parts cut and ready
to be pasted and assembled into another wonderful garland soon!
dig those crazy tendrils!
so much fun! thanks,corey,kate & my fellow classmates for
such a great time!

studio friday [bLaCk & WhiTe]

"baby mary kay,the high chair days"

a snippet of one of the spreads i made for an upcoming
book due out in december of this year by katherine aimone
[lark books] titled "the adventurous scrapbooker" a book
about "alternative" scrapbooking....featured will be my
sweet friend and wonderful supporter sarah fishburn,along
with claudine hellmuth,erikia chumm,luann udell,
past collaborative friend,sweetheart of a gal,lisa cook and
fellow missourian,friend and dynamic artiste,steph mc atee.
i chose to create my contribution for the book in black & white!
i finished this spread above and sent the whole thing off this week...how ironic
that studio friday is about black & white this time around!

{STUDIO FRIDAY}

inspire me thursday (sense-less art part two)

the end product..."springtime gals" atc's {denise lombardozzi}

alrighty the process goes like this:
my friend pat,found this mag that our friend karyl told us
about at the journal salon meeting this month. great mag!
after seeing an article in there featuring the ideas used by
emily falconbridge i knew it was only a matter of time
before i incorporated them into my art,with my twist.
THEN,after seeing marybeth demo her paste paper
technique at the aaa meeting last week,i was chomping
at the bit to combine the two!
SO when inspire me thursday threw down this challenge
of "senseless art"...hmmm,i ran with it,trying to figure out
HOW i could pull this off without using my senses.
i sat in a verrrry dimly lit room at night without my glasses,
so i couldn't see when i sat down and covered a 12x12 sheet of
scrapbook paper with torn bits of masking tape and it was hard
to feel where i was putting them...if i was even getting them on
the paper.....i did this without benefit of my usual music playing
or candle burning and i didn't have my coffee,either! SENSELESS!
ok,that was the senseless part.
the lights came on,leonard cohen blaired from the speakers,the scent
of my sugar pear candle began to fill the air and the coffee swigging
resumed as i then grabbed my green gold acrylic paint sans the paste
stuff to create my version of mb's paste paper technique.it was a
joyous event...i have not created senseless art for a long time,i had
finished up a big deadline and was ready to just play...play i did!
the end result: i cut the 12x12 sheet into atc's (12!),then i stitched
images of "girlfriends" that i found at the antique mall on each to create
the "springtime gals" above...ready to give!

thanks,m & M!

inspire me thursday [sense-less art part one]

part one:the process of my sense-less art

stay tuned for the explanation...
until then,see more here

can't wait....

...priceless expression....that little grin.
i had my camera ready when i told hannah that i had gotten
tickets to see this here. "NAH-AH!", she said in that voice.
we are heading to the matinee on sunday.it will be all new to
me,except for the music of which i know,because that is all i
hear anymore blaring from h's room....a welcome change from
some of the other music of late! anyway,i am debating wether to
watch the movie first or wait until after....anybody?

paper gardening!

kate valleroy's fabulous flower garland

i have been waiting very impatiently for this yummy
workshop that the dynamic kate [an hgtv"that's clever"star]
will be doing this saturday at rock paper scissors @1pm.....

kate is well known around st.charles for her unusual and
beautiful jewelry designs,who knew she could also craft paper
into such a charming adornment for your home?! i can't
wait to get glue under my fingernails!

see my upcoming workshop and photos from past workshops
at rock paper scissors here .

studio friday {eyes}

eye wonder studio friday

inspire me thursday...the senses

"meadow beauty"approx.5x5 shadowbox with highly altered & embellished cabinet card

"This week's challenge involves some sensory exploration:
Can you use all five of your senses in your creative process?"

See.i see a different angle at which to prop the cabinet card
in the too small shadowbox...instead of cutting it down and loosing any part
of the card i leaned it against the back of the box and i am pleased
with the juxtaposition!
Touch. i covered the box with sticky,silky smooth molding paste,sanded,
then used generous amounts of glitter and mirrored glass shards...with a
minimum of punctures!
Smell. molding paste,coffee and a botanicus candle in "sugar pear".
Hear. music of astrud gilberto's finest hour and sand paper in motion
Taste. a heady flavor of accomplishment!

this little box is a thank-you gift for linda,for putting a big smile on my face
and joy in my heart! priceless feelings!

inspire me thursday

tote of totes

behold todays special delivery!
this lavishly stitched,
beautifully embellished,
quilted beyond gorgeous
tote of totes,sent to me
by my friend linda.
an amazingly talented,
gifted and generous woman!
many,many thanks to you,sweet girl
for thinking of me and sharing
your gift of art with me....i LOVE it to pieces!

studio friday {inspiration} & HAPPY birthday!

tine


first and foremost...happy birthday to studio friday!
what a great year it has been,so many thanks to tine for the
splendid idea and to all of those who share their 2 cents every
week.....the truest inspiration!
on a daily basis i am inspired by many things,i feel really
blessed to be able to absorb all that comes to me and use it
in creative ways.color,nature,family,friends,objects,spaces,places,
music,words,things and feelings~the good,the bad & the ugly,sometimes
the inspiration flows freely other times,not so much...but i
know that is all part of the process and i am a willing participant
waiting to soak it all up!

STUDIO FRIDAY...be inspired here!