Spring has Sprung

The birds are chirping and the Bradford pears are beginning to bloom...just a few signs that spring has definitely arrived here in the Dallas area. We'll reach a high today of 74 degrees. Yes!

Like many, I'm enamored with clear glass containers of all shapes and sizes to hold objects of art and supplies. My desire to have more of these containers is only halted by my limited counter space. In fact, I now choose the supplies I want to work with and haul them down to the kitchen table. (Luckily, my sweet husband lets me run amok.) Is it crazy to want to buy a bigger house just so I can have a bigger art room? Is there a support group for people who buy so many supplies and flea market trinkets that they have no room to create? I just finished
reading the new Sophie Kinsella novel, Shopaholic and Baby. This is super light and fluffy reading, but I love reading about the main character's shopping excursions. Vicarious thrills. And yes, I know I need help!

This antique cherub picture was spotted by a friend of mine in Ames, Iowa. It's one of my favorite things.

The paperbag book below was made in Lesley Riley's class. Lesley is a great teacher and I had a great time in her class. In her sample project, the pages were glued together so I followed suit. I'm not quite sure what to do with something like this. I wish now that I had opted to keep the pages loose so I could journal in it. Ah well, live and learn.

The fabric art journal at the bottom was made in Pam's class. (This one opens and is great for journaling.) Does that girl rock the art world, or what?!! What a sweetheart! She gave me my first sewing lesson ever!! Love her and her
awe-inspiring blog. Have a great day, blogger buds.

Just Putting It Out There

A few years ago, my mom gave my brother and me the cutest scrapbooks for our respective pets. I volunteered to do his and have just now (don't cha love procrastination) gotten around to finishing it. The narrator of the scrapbook is Pez the Pomeranian, and as you can see, he is quite large for his breed. He tells a little about himself and his favorite things to do. This book, like many other store bought scrapbooks, has plastic page covers. I'm ready to move on from these as part of the fun and delight of scrapping and journaling is feeling the page and all the textures it holds. I realize that I tend to put myself in a box and sometimes resist new techniques. I've been putting off working on my wedding album because, of course, I want it to be perfect and I'm scared to begin. No page protectors. No manufactured album that will look dated in ten years. No cutesy-pie embellishments. Uhhhh....okay....how do I start? You see, I have an art room filled to the brim with cutesy-pie embellishments, and while I still think they are fun, I don't really want to use them. Most of the artists and scrappers I admire use few if any manufactured embellishments. Their own style and flair come through with authentic vibrancy and clarity. Their art is their own. I am still searching for my brand.

One of my biggest challenges is trying to break my perfectionism habit. I mean, I was the kindergartener who would not go to bed unless all of my clothes and accessories for the next school day were all carefully laid out. The thing I'm (still) learning about the creative process is it doesn't work so well if you're tightly wound up in rules and shoulds and should nots.

As much as I still habitually lean towards playing by the rules, I am making a conscious effort to listen to the true music of my heart and express myself with great abandon, to make huge messes, basically, to make a lot of ugly, crappy art. Because if I don't allow myself, no cheer myself on in the making of bad, crappy art, how will I ever get to the sweet stuff? It's all about loving ourselves and being kind to ourselves, day to day, minute by minute. Not an easy task perhaps, but certainly a worthwhile and lifelong endeavor.

Day Trippin' and Junkin'

Hubby and I took a drive to Forney, Texas, last weekend. Yes folks, Forney...rhymes with horny and their official school mascot is the (drum roll please)...jackrabbit. Hee hee. Lots of warehouses filled with all kinds of furniture. Since we are bursting at the seams in the house we are in, I'm not in the frame of mind for buying large pieces, but it's always fun to look. If...no, scratch that, WHEN I have my dream art space, I would love to have a religious statue of Mary to look over and supervise my creative messes. Or maybe a carnival-esque french fry dude to spice up my muse. It was so trippy to see all the life-size statues. One of the warehouses in particular was really cool and creepy. Taxidermic animals (I am both repelled and intrigued by them), mannequins, parts of carnival rides - I wouldn't want to be trapped there at night! Other than that local jaunt, we have been laying low these days. Hope you're having a great week.

A Glimpse of the Madness

I made this inspiration bulletin board a few years ago after
seeing a similar one in Ballard Designs. It's an evolving canvas
that reflects what I'm into at the moment.

These antique cookie containers came from my Italian grandmother. They're perfect for holding rolls of ribbons.














The softie bear is a favorite etsy purchase from the talented M. Patrizio.
















More goodies to inspire my creative juices...

the baby and bird are made by the talented Nicole Bowen














The naughty little dolls are from this girl and the fancy birdie is from one of the sweetest, most genuine people, Alicia.

Happy Friday

I thought I would share with you a little collage I made at Art & Soul last year in Lesley Riley's class. Lesley is such a great instructor. She is an expert in fabrics and collage and just has a lovely way of making everyone feel good about the work they are doing. She's one of those teachers who honors and celebrates the creative process in each student and makes you feel like what you are doing is worthwhile. I hope to take more of her classes in the future. With the new year upon us, I am busy cleaning and organizing my art room and facing the nasty truth that I enjoy shopping for vintage treasures and art supplies a tad more than I like to actually make things. Can you relate? So, I'm bundling lots of brand new scrapbooking embellishments, papers, ribbons and the like and selling them on ebay. I'm overwhelmed by all the stuff and, as a result, have become (ahem) creatively constipated. Time to let it go and let it flow!

Day Trip to Hico

My husband and I took a fun day trip to Hico, Texas. Why you ask? Well, Hico is the new home of the fabulous Homestead store. If you've ever been to Tim and Carol Bolton's original Homestead store in Fredericksburg, Texas, you know what a visual feast their store provides. The Hico store is just as cool. First of all, it's in an old restored opera house, decorated with vintage, funky finds such as old mounted fish on plaques, a grand marble church altar, apothecary bottles, stuffed pheasants in bell jars, tattered, one-eyed teddy bears, bolts of what I like to call "dusty" colors - faded, muted, antique-y, Grandma like patterns and colors, without that annoying old person smell. Such a visual treat. It's hard to believe that such a cool store exists in such a small town. Bummer that they didn't let me take pictures in the store, but I did snag this one of the side of the building.