SALE! and Pay It Forward

ConvenZioNE, here I come! I just learned this week about this wonderful altered art convention/workshop/party coming in August. I am so excited about this for two BIG reasons! First- it's in Pleasanton where Sandra, my best-est friend in the world lives and

Second- my darling new friend, Lisa Kettell, is one of the instructors!

Is that serendipitous or what? Sandra, who has loved me since I was nine, invited me to join her this coming weekend in Las Vegas for our annual Mother's Day fun, but I had to decline for financial reasons. I'm super stoked to think we can spend a weekend together in August! Get our girl time in!

Lisa, who I know that I talk about all the time lately, lives in New Jersey so this is an incredible opportunity to meet her that will probably never happen again!

So.....it's "Pleasanton or Bust" for me! I decided to mark down the pretties in my shop to help fund the trip. Everything has been marked down a little more than 30%. A little angel recently gifted some cash to me so that's my "seed" money. Now let's see if I can sell some inventory to help the cause a bit!

If you feel inclined to share the news of the sale, I would appreciate it very much! Or, if you feel inclined to shop, I would appreciate it very, very much! Thank you, sweet friends!

ALSO...

In appreciation of the angel I mentioned above AND dear Amanda who recently gifted me as part of her "Pay It Forward", I would now like to do the same! This is how it works: as a love token for my sweet friends, the first six commenters on this post will receive a little something from me in the mail. Make sure that your comment includes some way for me to respond to you so I can get your mailing address. There's nothing required from you, but if you are inclined, you can pay forward a little kindness to three peeps in your life! You don't have to have a blog to be included. You can pay it forward "blog free"! I am choosing to gift six people instead of three because I have been twice blessed this week. So, please, let me send a little mail love your way. Remember, it's grooooovy!

Swappy Updates!

Hello sweet friends! A while back I posted about my swap fever and I've been asked how I am coming along on them. Well...I must say, I am doing better on my swaps then I am at my 5K training! Hmm.....let's just not talk too much about that, 'kay? Will probably NOT be running it. You know, what would you rather do? Glue pretty bits and bobs and play with glitter OR would you like a nice set of shin splits with a side order of muscle ache? Yeah, me too!

ANYWAY!

Let's back to the fun stuff, shall we? You saw the beautiful box that Lisa sent me. Here is what I sent (slightly late) to Lisa:

I made the crown with pipe cleaners and cardboard! On top of the crown is a flat glass marble set into a bottle cap topped with a cross from a necklace. Adding the glitter was the best part! This is real silver glitter and it will tarnish with time which I think sets the mood so well. The box itself is a black velvet candy box that I've been saving forever. I added the little legs to it.

What I was trying to do with this box is to show the two sides of Marie Antoinette. This outside represents her public side. Rather a caged dove, wasn't she? Not highly independent or intelligent, she was quite tame, but she did become everyone's favorite scapegoat. The paper ruffle around the edges of the lid is to represent all the words written about Marie both during her life and posthumously. The tag under the crown says "Marie Antoinette, Reine de la France".

And this is the inside of the box. Inside the lid (on the left) I used this beautiful LeBrun portrait of Marie's two oldest children. So sweet! In the box itself I glued in little vignettes that I felt spoke to Marie's private side. I wasn't able to do everything that I wanted to do- in part because I ran out of time and money! I hope you can see the little labels I made that describe what I imagine she was like.

Then I put it in a box with some of the goodies for my other swaps I'm enrolled in. Nice little transition, eh? First there is the Princess and the Pea Hat (Lisa is my partner for that too!): I really love how this turned out! I used irridescent glass glitter on the flower petals and then I made a twining pea vine from silver wire that wraps around the hat. Strung in various locations on the pea vine are Austrian crystal beads that give off an opalescent shimmer. I like to imagine that the Prince commissioned this lovely hat for his oh-so-sensitive Princess as a wedding gift!Here's a close up of one of the flowers. The gorgeous paper that I used for this hat and that I used to line the Marie box all came from Dollar Tree! I think each pack has six beautiful 12" x 12" pieces of coordinating paper in it. I get so much use out these papers and I never feel guilty cutting into them! Oh, and the green beads on the edge of the hat? An eyeglass lanyard from Dollar Tree! I think of Dollar Tree as my "secret weapon"!

Also into the box went my Mermaid Pageant ATC's. Lisa is the coordinator for this event and she is going to distribute two cards to each participant. I can't wait to see what I get! It's been fun to experiment with different collage techniques and images. Also, I don't remember if I shared my watercolor/colored pencil mermaids that I made in March. You can see them at my flickr photostream.

Whew! One more! I may have shown this before. This is the fairy dotee doll that I made for Amanda. She has rose petal wings and a cashmere body! I got a lovely, lovely dotee all the way from Australia! She came yesterday and when she is rested up a bit from her long voyage, I will take some pics.

So, what's left? The dollhouse book collaborative, the fairytale princess necklace and the Birds of a Feather book collaborative. And I just signed up for a tiny swap trading little felty charms! What can I say? It's so fun! Plus, I've been trading my ATC's at flickr and I have acquired some beauties from other artists and I love them so much! Mail love, my friends! It's groooooovy!

Hugs to all!

Fabulous Marie Antoinette Box from Lisa Kettell

Fabulous Marie Antoinette Box from Lisa Kettell
Originally uploaded by Tender Arts

Now do you see why I love swapping? I mean, LOOK AT THIS! I cannot even believe how much I love this pretty Queen. So many yummy layers of papers and trim and fabulous-ness. But you know what I love the most? The little pearl earrings she is wearing! I know, how weird, but they are SO cute!

Inside was more decadent gorgeous MA goodies. You can take a peek at my flickr page if you'd like to see it all. All I can say is, WOW! did I ever get spoiled! Thank you so much, Lisa!

For me?

How sweet!

I feel very honored to have been awarded the "Arte Y Pico" award by the fabulous Lisa Kettell! The "Arte y Pico" award was created/made to be given out to bloggers who inspire others with their creative energy and their works, whether it be writing, artwork or more. When one receives this award it is considered a "special honor". Once you receive this award, you are to pass it on to at least 5 others. For more info on this wonderful award pleases visit: http://www.arteypico.blogspot.com/. So, wow!

There are so many women whose blogs inspire me! Some I have awarded before, so I think I will try to pick five other bloggers. I hope you will visit each of them- they bring so much light into the blogging world!

First, there is Cheryl from Confections. I have never heard this girl grumble about anything! She is so upbeat and just a joy to visit. She very kindly featured Amelia on her blog yesterday, which I thought was so sweet! Cheryl is a talented needlewoman and crafter who makes it a point to highlight the work of others on her blog and that is why I am thrilled to give her this award.

Secondly, sweet Sherrie from Symple Tymes. I first met Sherrie in 2003 on the Yahoo group, Vintage Cloth Dollmaking. At that time she was hosting a patriotic doll challenge- it was one of my first challenges and she was (is!) the kindest, most gracious lady. Not only that, but she has been all over the crafting web. If you want to know what is going on in cloth doll world, Sherrie should be your first stop!

Third, dear Amanda at Violaceous. I know this makes me sound so old, but I really love visiting her blog and reading about her everyday adventures with her cute one-year-old, Lucy. Reminds me of when I was a young mommy, working my way through all the "firsts" with my babies. She has a lovely way of writing that makes you feel at home. Plus, you need to get over there and see her awesome Lucky Inspiration Jars! Too cute!

Fourth, a new friend! Michelle at Rose Garden Romantic. Michelle is originally from Sacramento, a fellow California sister, who is putting down new roots in Texas. She is a very talented collage artist and just plain nice too!

Fifth, Becky from Auntie Bunny's Blog. I think we met on flickr and Edith Flack Ackley dolls simultaneously. She is an incredibly talented artist. Like me, she does a bit of everything, but I think she does it better! I hope you will go to her blog- she made a beautiful EFA doll named Beth that you just have to see!

Sixth, (I know, but I want to do SIX!) another friend from Edith Flack Ackley dolls, Tracey at Giggle Face Studios. Tracey is a very Talented needlewoman with a fine sense of whimsy. She is a delight to visit.

Ladies, you are all outstanding and inspiring artists! I am honored to know you!

Let's flock together!

You know, like "Birds of a Feather"! One of the swaps that I am most excited about right now is on The Faerie Zine. It is a collaborative book and the name of the swap is Birds of a Feather. Here's the idea: Sixteen artists will each create sixteen identical 5"x 5" book pages. Then, the artists will send their pages and $10 to Lisa Kettell, moderator of The Faerie Zine. She will collate the pages, create front and back covers and bind the books and then mail them to the collaborating artists. How cool is that?

You know, when I do make money in my etsy shop, I usually spend the money on boring things like groceries. I rarely get to buy any of the wonderful things I see other artists offering. By participating in swaps, I am getting the opportunity to own original art by some of my favorite artists! Doesn't that sound great? Won't you join us? There is still room in the swap for four more people. The Faerie Zine is a private group, but I will happily send you an invite. You can take a peek around and see if you might like to join the swap. Just indicate your interest in a comment and I will get back to you with an invitation.

Please come and play with us!

P.S. To get you started, here is a free image from the The Collage Pool. Nice, eh?

The artist is not a special kind of person, but each person is a special kind of artist.

(Photo by my young friend, Rachel Bale-great perspective, eh?)

The quote above is by Kelee Katillac, the author of House of Belief. It's a great book, by the way. Anyhow, I have this quote taped over my desk to remind me that my work is fine. To remind me to stop censoring myself. To remind me that I have something to offer- that we all do. Like many of you, I was encouraged to develop certain talents over others. My mother was very concerned that Art could never be a proper vocation and that I would be wise to become a secretary. And here I am. In an office all day and sneaking in my creative work on my free time.

If you have ever felt that your creativity was "wrong" or not valuable or not worthy of spending time on, I hope you will follow this link to the blog Bella Dia. Her post is better than mine and the video she shares is better than both of our posts. It is a twenty minute video, but so worth watching. Really, really wonderful stuff. Especially as it pertains to our children. Nurturing creativity is ALWAYS a good idea!

Waving Hi!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Ours was pretty quiet, but we did have a super nice visit with my brother, Jonathan and my sister-in-law, Deb, when they had dinner with us Sunday night. We had not gotten together in so long! It was great to catch up. They are talking about getting a pair of doggies! Maybe a pair of Bassett Hounds!!! My favorites!

Isn't this cute? I was organizing my pics on flickr and was so happy to see these again.

This is Happy Clowners! I made him in 2005 from Edith Flack Ackley's 1929 book, "Marionettes". Isn't he the cutest thing? But we don't have him any more. I sold him not long after I made him and my Eric has not stopped talking about him since. It's funny because when I made Happy, Eric was concerned about having a creepy clown in the house. I tried very hard to make sure that Happy would be cute and not creepy and I guess I succeeded! Anyway, I am hoping that this coming weekend, I can make another. And this time, I am NOT going to put him up for sale!

Hugs to all!