Show is coming up fast! Got to get the studio in shape, the 'sisters' are working at it!  I've been so busy with work and recently joined a new marketing venture that was (I hope!) an answer to prayer as money is tight!
Our Art in the Park show is only one month away and I have some inventory to build up and need to get in to the studio and do some more work.  I'll be setting up the frames and silk scarves tomorrow outside seeing as it's going to be sunny and hot out, that speed up the drying process for sure and then tomorrow night I'll work on either painting, jewelry or fibre art.  I have my canvas all ready to go for the fibre piece I have in mind, just now my home "studio" is 1/4 the size I had before so I'm not able to flit from one table to the next. I have to tidy up one project before I can go on to the next...sigh.  It is what it is until I can change it!  Hope your all enjoying the beautiful weather and talk soon!

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TheWomensPowerNetwork:
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Aah, the weekend is over, albeit I worked both days, I did get in a little free time to visit our local annual art-walk in down-town Sarnia!  http://www.sarniaartwalk.com/ We had just enough time to visit some favorite booths and pick up some art pieces from local artisans.  I also bought tickets and entered into a draw.  We had our pick of Artists "boxes" to choose from an early event there was a 'plein air' challenge with approximately 15 local artists of various talents. The brochure listed them and a picture of one of their paintings/works to give an idea to the public of what they do.  The day of art-walk these artists dispersed through out the area and painted/created a work of art based on a view/subject of their choosing, that work was then donated to the draw. Each ticket proceeds went to Gallery in the Grove. (my favorite and home town!)  I definitely bought tickets and one of my ticket went into Ariel Lyons (a well known watercolor artist) box.  I loved the way she painted and depicted a tree that was planted out in front of one of the store fronts at art-walk.  Well this morning I received a call that I won her painting!!  Whoooohooo! I am ecstatic about that! I'll definitely post it once it's in my possession.  I think I may bring it to work and select a frame for it first, but that'll take a week, oh well, we'll see how it goes. Not much else has been done in the studio lately other than 'playing' with all types of media on my Kumihimo disks with wire, ribbon, felted ropes....I also received a new shipment of silver wire so, I'll be gearing up to put some of my drawing/concept ideas into what appears to us as reality!  <3

The first one shows a work in progress. The initial frame I had to set up my silk scarves in wasn't working, so I was trying to come up with a quick way I can set up this type of scarf and I purchased some inexpensive 1X2's, some finishing nails( with wood glue), glue gun and clothes pins.  Worked excellent!
Just as promised, these are my latest painted silk scarves.

First day of June!  Can't believe that I haven't put anything down since the beginning of May, wow, literally time has been a blur and continues to speed by! As promised, the stones for June!
Agate, Alexandrite, Amber, Aventurine, Citrine, Chalcedony, Chrysoprase, Emerald, Pearl, Moonstone, Ruby, White Sapphire, Sapphire, Tigers Eye...wow you have all the good gemstones!  LOL

Anyway, we'll be busy readying ourselves for an upcoming sale and exhibition.  Will post pics. In the interim, I have my latest show and tell uploaded to Youtube featuring the latest felt bracelets/banges...I have dubbed them "Brangles!" tm  Enjoy!  I'll  post some of my scarves in a minute!

Happy May! Well, my whirlwind days have kept me away from blogging! For shame, because I really want to keep current and perhaps build an audience and network and hopefully start something locally for felters/textile lovers!  I am a mixed media artist first and foremost though, love painting, jewelry design, quilt arts, beading and felting! So there will always be a mixture on this site.  I do want to post May stones for those interested in the wonderful list of traditional, ancient, modern and astrological stones for the month of May! Here they are:
Green Agate, Amber, Azurite, Aventurine, Carnelian, Chrysoprase,citrine, Coral, Garnet, Pearl, Rose Quartz, Sapphire, Tigers Eye, Turquoise and White Sapphire! What an amazing choice.  For the metaphysical aspects of these stones visit my tab Patti Cook at www.art-eh.ca if I don't have it there, email me and I will certainly send you the information.  I have some wonderful resource books here to consult!

I have an Art Fair that I'm participating in a couple of weeks so I've got to get busy with my inventory! Just received my new batch of silk scarves and gutta so will be painting some new scarves, have been itching to make some felted bangles and I have a book full of sketches for jewelry that I want to make. Just finished wire wrapping 8 Auralite-23 crystals. There is a lot of debate on the authenticity of this wonderful Amethyst crystal. It has been found to also host at a minimum 17 different minerals/metals, so the benefits are extra for the owner. I have a cool link that shows a large one with lots of pictures! http://dosmangoes.xanga.com/608945917/item/

This picture above is a beautiful macro picture of the crystalline structure of Auralite Amethyst. Our beautiful Mother Earth gives birth to such beauty! 

Hello April!

Well after a surprisingly warm beginning to our season, we're now back on track with temperatures for Spring. I hope that there was no damage to the fruit trees because of the early warming. Some experts are saying it was 2 weeks earlier than normal and temps were far higher than we've experienced before, so there is a danger of losing some fruit trees...hope not.

For you lovely ladies celebrating their birthdays in this awesome spring season, the following is the list of stones best suited for you!

Amber, Aventurine, Blood-stone, Coral, Diamond, Emerald, Garnet, Jasper, Opal, Ruby and beautiful Turquoise! If you are going to invest in Amber, be sure your source is reputable, there are a lot of fake resins out there claiming to be amber!

The stones for blustery March!  Which is also my birth month!  the 17th, St. Patrick's Day, is the day that many remember too, so I am blessed that every year I hear from friends from all over the country!

March Birth Stones are:
Amethyst, Aquamarine, Bloodstone, Diamond, Jade, Jasper, Malachite, Opal, Ruby, Sapphire and Topaz!  How about that for a choice, gorgeous!  For a breakdown summary of what their metaphysical properties are visit our (Scrum Sisters Studio) website at www.art-eh.ca

Heave!  Sigh! Wow! It's March 2nd and here I am.  It's difficult to imagine that I will never enter the doors of my little cottage by the lake again after 25 years of doing so...change is as good as the rest 'they' say, whoever 'they' are anyway...
Life. My partner and I have chosen to 'consolidate' after 7 years of back and forth between our respective homes and after getting downsized, and having difficulty securing work, it was decided to sell my home, pay off debts and move in with my honey.  He's a bit overwhelmed though as even though we both knew how much 'stuff' I had, once it came into his place and his garage...well.
I have given a lot of 'stuff' away and plan on doing another round once we unpack etc. here, but in the interim, at least I was able to set up my "work and play" area here! During all of this, I also began working in a frame shop which is very interesting and will enable me to 'frame' my own artwork with professional materials and quality! It's just enough hours to put towards my 'living' here and give me 'time' to continue to create and be involved in my 'art'.  Sigh, so happy about that!
So, I'll be putting this place together slower that I had to 'move' out of my place or we'll see what happens.  H's place needs some TLC, but it has some great bones.  A beautiful century home with 10' ceilings, so it's got 'space' original crown moldings, wooden floors and doors, so it's got a cozy feeling.  A new kitchen and a new bathroom, which of course happen to be the two most expensive rooms in any home to renovate!  Sigh, onward we go!  March!  My birthday month too!
I will make a separate post with March's stones.

Whew! February has flown by, but not without a moments rest! I am relocated and have been moving all the 'stuff' one accumulates over a period of 25 years into our new residence. Ridiculous!  I have given bags and bags and boxes of clothing and items to the Goodwill charities, no time for a garage sale! Haven't had much time to create, but will sure be happy when the dust settles and I can get right into it again!
I want to post February's stones as it's getting near the end and we'll be ready for March's!
February Stones are: Amethyst, Blue lace Agate, Aquamarine, Blood-stone, Cat's eye, Garnet, Jasper, Opal, Rock crystal, Ruby, Sapphire and Turquoise!  Now go get yourself some!

Below are pictures of my latest project.  I wanted to get some samples 'out there' to help promote beginner classes!  Enjoy

My word!  It's the 25th of January already!  Amazing.  I have been seeing a lot of jewelers pushing their 'Garnet' beauties for the January babies and I thought that I would post a different spin to educate those among us that do not know.  EVERY stone on this planet is beneficial to each one of us.  They hold a charge, frequency or vibration (toe-mate-toe; toe-mah-toe...) whichever suits  your verbiage.  Those vibrational frequencies match certain organs in our physical body, but also benefit our metaphysical body. However, those that are identified under a specific birth month resonate higher for that individual.
Here is the list for January!   Amethyst, Agate, Emerald, Garnet, Hematite, Jasper, Lapis, Onyx, Opal, Rose Quartz, Ruby and Turquoise! 


I'll post each months stones on my blog for your information!

Wow!  We had our first winter snow storm of the season this past Thursday, but unfortunately with that came a serious 22 car pile up on the major highway we have coming through our way.  We got another 2 inches today. HOWEVER, the weatherman is saying it's going to melt come Monday!

I have been chomping at the bit to get sitting down and doing some serious creating on some Art Quilts that I have had on the creative burner as well as jewelry designs!  My studio has been moved to a whole new place, my sweeties house!  But this time it's been split between three floors!  The basement has been cleaned and shelves added for all the 'inventory' the main floor room is housing the tables for now until the bonus room on 2nd floor gets a cleaning and paint job prior to moving them upstairs!  I hate being in limbo!  I am waiting for someone to buy my home too, so that I can just start my new life with my honey!

Here's a couple of designs that were done for a commission.  Bracelets are the most popular item that I sell and I love customizing them for that special birthday gal!

These two are for January and May birthdays.  Top one is January using traditional, modern and metaphysical stones identified for the month. Amethyst,(I used chevron, nuggets and beads) Ruby, Aquamarine along with vintage glass hearts and hand blown glass beads.  May has a nice blend of Carnelians, Moss Agate, Green Banded Agate, Aventurine, Citrine, Amber, Azurite, Bronze fresh water pearls, with some nice azurite beads as well!

FREE BEADS

FREE BEADS:

'via Blog this'

January And All Its Splendor curated by HopesandDreamsStudio on ArtFire.com

How about this? I have been selected to be featured on their January page and as a result I made a sale!

January And All Its Splendor curated by HopesandDreamsStudio on ArtFire.com:

'via Blog this'

Happy New Year!!!

I hope that you all had a wonderful beginning, here it is already January 4th!  December was busy and both emotionally and physically draining.  We lost a beloved member of our family on Christmas day when she took her last breath. I thought that to be quite serendipitous, we buried her husband 3 months prior from Cancer as well.  Such a disgusting disease!  Brings on so much pain and suffering for everyone involved. We loved her so much.  They were the matriarchs of our family and Christmas gatherings will forever be changed...


We're off to a brand new start. 2012. It brings some anxiety and some excitement. (I am excited!) It seemed so far away to me as a child and now, here we are!  I intend for a prosperous year with new beginnings and lots of art pieces accomplished!  I also intend for every one of my brothers and sisters of mother earth to come together in peace and raise our consciousness with our beloved Gaia! There is a lot of information out there for those wishing to find it on how to raise your consciousness levels.  It's not found outside of you though! The kingdom is "within". Go to a quiet place and meditate for a few moments for for many, it's up to you. But be in a quiet place and quiet the mind and connect with our creator.  It takes time, but you will soon feel more at peace and it's gets easier to 'stay' in the moment.  I can say that with confidence because if this ADHD adult can do it, anyone can!


Okay.  I'll sign off for now.  The following pictures are gifts I made for friends at Christmas!
The first is a 'loaded' bracelet with different grades of aquamarine, blue sapphire and silver filigree beads, the second pair of earrings are 14k gold levers and 14k gold plated wire. All beads are genuine Swarovski Crystals!  Aren't they gorgeous!  The last is for a October born fiery, lovable gal so I chose the red stones in her birth month. Coral, Rubies and garnet make this "Lady in Red" so special!

Well it's that time!  Christmas get togethers to celebrate the season and a new year coming up!  Tonight I am with my "Scrum Sisters" we're having a nice evening together at a restaurant.  I had purchased some small glass jars (among many other items during her sale!) with some 'enchanted' designs on them from Kate of Enchanted Shaman and filled each from my essential oils for anti-aging lotion (carrier oil Jojoba or Almond Oil, lavendar, geranium and rosemary). Put the cork back in and put them in pretty bags.  These are the jars;

Aren't they adorable?  One for each gal!

I also decided to make them a card too with the logo we use on our business card.  Turned out great.  These are the shots and the items I used to put it all together!

The stars were done with  white UTEE mixed with gold pigment powder, black UTEE and then heat embossed!

Completed front cover, I added a little Versa-mark on Star so I could add some UTEE to give it some dimension and sparkle!

Inside cover 

Let your Light Shine!

Yikes! December 12 already!  I haven't purchased many items for Christmas yet. Was relying on good sales to finance that. I am working on some "alpaca slippers" for some family members that live through the frigid Alberta winters!   (Mind you when they get the 'chinook' winds come through the temperatures can go up to 70 degrees!)  Anyway, it's pretty much going to be a handmade Christmas year, as money has been very tight the past two years since my 'downsizing' occurred.
I did secure a part-time position with Michaels, the Arts and Craft Store as one of their Jewelry Instructors!  Whoo hooo! I've done one class already and a couple of demos on the floor and I also applied for a part-time position in their framing department!  Might as well keep it all under the same creative roof!
I've also gone in to help them with face painting for the many birthday parties that they put on as I have years of experience painting lovely young faces!  I love being all around the artsy fartsy stuff!  I am in a happy place for sure when I am there!
All my shows are done for the year.  I have to say, that the most successful show I did was a "home" show.  A dear friend of mine that purchases jewelry pieces from me asked if I would bring some jewelry in as well as giving me specifics on a few pieces she was looking for and mentioned that she will invite other friends over to have a look if they were interested.  WOW. The sales there in one evening were more that the last three shows I did combined!  I was thanking the LORD all the way home for that blessing!  No wonder there are so many "jewelry" distributors doing those home parties!  I think that I too will offer some "hostess" incentives and  try to do more of them!  The best part is doing it this way is, I don't have to haul in tables and display items and then pack them all back in the truck etc.  I can use their kitchen table with minimal display items.

My back has been telling me to lay off the shows for a bit too. A lot of heavy hauling even though I am doing it safely (dolly's and pull-a-alongs) it's still a strain.  I own a vibrasizer that is fantastic for my sciatica issues and lower back problems.  They say ten minutes on one of these is equivalent to a one hour workout for muscular strength.  I love it and it helps that's all that matters to me!  I told my mum about it too because I read it was great for diabetics (circulation issues with them) and my dad is a diabetic.

Okay, I'm going to upload a video that I made showing one of my bead storage solutions that is very inexpensive to purchase!  Talk soon!

Occupy Wall St - The Revolution Is Love

The Single Most Important Robert Reich Clip You Can Share Today | MoveOn.Org

I know this page isn't focused on political issues, but I need to get this out and do what I can to get people to awaken. Even if it's just a few and they tell a few and so on! It's our future and our children's future on the line here.

The Single Most Important Robert Reich Clip You Can Share Today | MoveOn.Org

11-11-11

A lot has happened since I last posted!  I am not going to upload any art today, just wanted to log-in on this auspicious day and say that my plea is for all mankind to stop today and focus on love.  World love, Gaia, Mother Earth and envelope her with love and white ball of protection. We are moving faster and higher as a species and she is now evolving too! This next year will be interesting and I'm excited to see all the positive changes that will occur for each one of us. Age of Aquarius...something that I only thought of as a song when I was young and now understand. It is my hope at this stage in my life that I can contribute to my own growth as well as help others to attain/reach their potential.
In light and love,