Whatcha Think?

Today I decided it was time.....time to step it up a bit right here in cyberland.  After talking today to my buddy Tiffin, and finding out a few new tricks that were literally under my nose for who knows how long, I now have what I've been seeking for a very long time in a website.  This blog is so fun for me.  I love telling you my adventures as an artist, mommy, teacher, wife, you name it I talk about it.  But I wanted to have some more serious pages too.  Turns out you can do that in bloggerland.   Yep.  Seriously I think since getting the I-Pod touch I am literally sizzling with techno geekness.  Hehe...Slowly the pages will be appearing right under the blog banner area.  Right now there are 4, and they are rough.  VERY rough, so peek and don't critique just yet.  I just had to get something in there to see.  And now that the hinge has been released from this little box, I'm afraid of what else I'll be finding. 

So "believe in yourself" is what I placed with this post.   Let me tell you, right now I am doing some serious believing and it is really paying off.  I suppose that sometimes just being willing to open your heart and mind up to new ideas can lead you down the most unexpected paths. 

Simple Paintings

As much as I love to paint my retroish American trucks, campers, bikes, payphones and coming soon.....ski boats, I still always have to wander back to this style of painting. Every once in awhile anyways. So soft, so sweet, and so very simple in composition. But sometimes that's just what the doctor ordered.

So what do you always come back to when you create? What always inspires you and gets you back on track with your creativity? Is it sewing? Scrapbooking? Photography? Or maybe painting too? I'd love to hear!

New on the Horizon

Sometimes things just come together so nicely. While cleaning out the studio I found this little silver bezel that Valerie gave me to try with my porcelain pendants months ago. I never really liked the shiny silver patina, so I never pursued finishing off my pendants in this manner. But now, I have potions....fabulous potions that make shiny things very dingy, very quick. And now, well let's just say I am anxiously waiting for my round and square bezels to arrive from China!! Here's the sample of what's to come:

Today I headed to my new favorite bead shop and stocked up on all the beads and shiny silver findings I need to complete the necklaces. I have about 20 shiny bezels (see below) I've ordered and received already. Now I need to cut wire and chain, magic potion the parts then wire the beads together for the chain. The bezel will also be darkened and my artwork carefully placed into the bezel for a very new look with my jewelry. I am just about beside myself with the outcome and can't wait to start putting them all together! Hopefully I'll have some available by mid-June in my Etsy shop. But really they are the icing on the cake for my SOLO ART SHOW. Yep. A very big thingy I've been wanting to share with you bloggers for a year now. And now, it's almost HERE! Yahooo!!! More details very soon on the show. For now, let's just drool over the candy drop beads in this jar why don't we?

You Grew In My Heart

I use this quote in my jewelry with the little woven nest all the time. After I finished this piece up I wanted words in the bottom corner.....and for some reason these were the words I chose. I love the colors in this piece. So very vibrant. My palette seems to be brightening up lately. Funny how you go through stages with paints. Someone asked in the last post what type of paint I use. I like heavy body acrylics. Very, very opaque. And if it's not opaque enough for me, I add white.

We are headed as a family to South Alabama this weekend. My little sister Molly is having her baby baptized. It's kind of a big deal. And we are tickled to get to see Mr. Fielding again! Hope you have a great weekend as well!

Houseful

I know I've mentioned it before, but we do have a houseful here in Newnan. I always put in my art bio that I am inspired by 4 cats, 2 hamsters, one turtle and a silly little dog. Oh yeah, I also have a sweet husband and two very clever children. Whew. It's fun here in this 1200 square foot house sometimes. But about 2 weeks ago we noticed some uninvited guests on our sweet Lily. And despite the dish soap baths, flea combing AND Frontline (that stuff seriously did not work on my 12 pd dog) she has a flea issue. And since I am a freak about the fleas, we are having the house and yard treated today. I've yet to see them anywhere but her, but she is seriously going to itch herself to death.

So why am I telling you this? Well, you gotta get this picture in your head for a little giggle. Because that's what I'm doing at this point. So the bug man calls last night and reminds me that all animals have to be out of the house and away from the yard for 2 hours. Um. Ok. So my 4 cats, 2 hamsters, turtle (although as my daughter reminded me this morning he is NOT a mammal, he still has to go), and silly little dog I guess will all pile up in the van and go.......where the heck are we gong to go? Seriously. Oh my. Good thing they all get along.

I am itching just thinking about it now. I'll be sure to tell you how it goes later. For now, I suppose I'll go wrangle everyone for a little road trip. hehehehe......

By the way pictured from top to bottom are the following: William and Lily, a rather robust Ellie, Old lady Saily (she's 16), William and Etsy and finally AJ (and yes, he has been in as many fights as his ears look). Not pictured are Dash the turtle, Jackson a rather large tabby cat, and Candy Corn the red-eyed dwarf hamster.

A Few Obstacles

"Success isn't measured by the position you reach in life; it's measured by the obstacles you overcome." -Booker T Washington So right now, my obstacles are not the ideas because they are coming so fast that I am having trouble sleeping. I've got plenty of canvases ready, wire to weave and beads to wire. My obstacle right now is this:

Yep. Everyone has a skeleton in their closet. And mine is actually an entire garage. I am a freak about having order before a new surge of creativity. And today the garage MUST be done. I can't even find my canvases. Literally. How the heck do I let this space get to this point? Urgh. I spent a good two days cleaning out the studio and re-arranging last week. So it's ready to be used. Hopefully by Monday I'll be back at the desk I so want to be at right now. For now, Ellie is keeping in warm for me. ;)

UPDATE: 5 LARGE black bags of trash and bins of overflowing items have lead me to this conclusion...... I may be a hoarder. Yikes. So we are having an impromptu Friday ONLY yard sale. 8-2. COME on. Seriously come. Oh and BTW, I have only purged a tiny portion of the garage. There is an entire attic above the garage and a rather large storage unit as well. sigh. I may need to go buy more beer. Later.......

A Little Simplicity

So last night it hit me like a brick wall.....the exhaustion that is. Yes, I do run down folks. I may sound like the energizer bunny in this blog most of the time, but after the 25 hours of art show in one weekend and this busy week, my body said "slow down Nelly". I had like one two many people ask me yesterday if I felt ok. Yikes. Do I look that bad? So today marks the last of the "obligations". I spoke at career day this morning, which was so, so much fun! I think they all want to be artists now! hehehe.... And tonight we have baseball and our Girl Scout end of year program. I can't WAIT to give Mrs. Holly her gift from the girls. She's gonna cry.... After that, I am seriously taking my own advice painted so sweetly here:

So what's on the simple agenda? I plan to visit the "redneck" swimming pool in our backyard (photos are sure to be posted soon), have a few lites, eat cheesy burgers and homeade fries, and listen to the giggles of the kids as I spray them with the hose on the swingset (a family favorite!). And that's it! Yep. Seriously. Well, I may have to like shower or something. But the garage piles, messy house and sticky floor in the den (seriously where does sticky on the floor come from?) will wait until Monday. See you then!!