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:

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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:

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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,

Back at home and getting ready...

Well back at the homestead.  Will now focus on getting business cards ready, information cards on gemstone jewelry that I design specific for metaphysical purposes and get the 'display' items all put together!  This is just a short show coming up on Friday and the table costs go to charity, plus I donate one of my items for a raffle.  I don't think I will give a large one this time.  A moderate one will do!
I uploaded another quick video showing the two felted and embellished bracelets I completed over the weekend.
I have it posted for your perusal if you haven't see it already!

October days!

I believe that October is one of two of my favorite months of the year. The other being June.  Just as June gives us the fresh smell of early summer mornings and soft breezes, October blows a little harder with just a hint of "coolness" belying what's coming around the corner!  I love the temps today, I talked my sweetie into going for a brisk walk along the river and bay parkway.  We also strolled along the quiet streets of downtown looking into some of the 'potential' storefronts that I would love to open! Anyway, there were no shortage of the local fauna!  Ducks everywhere and these were walking towards us and very close!  I don't know if these are those that winter here or not, but next time we're bringing some corn niblets with us.  Here's some pic's!

Another gorgeous October day! Brought Truck to dealership to get a safety recall done and once it was done, I thought "It is way too nice to be in the house doing my creative work!" So, I took my activity bag (fiber art I brought to garage to keep busy while working on my truck) , magazines, coffee and myself and went down to our Bayside Park. It was sunny with a beautiful breeze lots of ducks and geese around looking for 'handouts' and I just soaked up the sun and got my daily dose of Vitamin D!  Anyway, here is a sampling of my latest felted pieces.  I am going to be making cellphone covers from these, only I am going to sew in a vinyl window, so that you can see who's calling before you take the phone out!  I'm also making up some art cards for Christmas giving.  They can be used as wall/shelf art after too!  I also have some new felted bracelets that I want to post too! That'll come when I get back home in a day or two! (I've been in the city at my honeys house for the last 4 days...Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada!)

October! Can you believe it? Has the collective conscious gone mad?? LOL

Blink! No kidding, it just seems that I was stressing over the upcoming summer Art Show and hoping to build up enough inventory...Whew!
Well, next week will be two years since I was downsized or "early retired" as the corporate world is now calling any lay-offs over the age of 50...damn. Even looking at that number seems foreign to me...I have lived off of my severance package so that I could take a sabbatical and become acquainted with new and build up my existing skill base as an artist.
I have dreamed for years of being able to just be an artist, to create and sell enough to be able to pay my bills and have some retirement too. There are people out there that are able to do that and I want to be able to tap into that too! My money is running out and it's imminent in the back of my mind that a lousy paying J.O.B is my only way out....I am crying inside and need some help! I want to become a bigger presence on the net and community so that there is a steady stream of income...networking is essential, so I need to do more of it. Will go to some of my forums and start to get my blog/website published more. We spend more time trying to market ourselves and little time to create!
Anyway...had my rant. I'm excited to start on some smaller projects to bring to the upcoming fall/Christmas sales. Went on a road trip two weeks ago to an Alpaca Farm with some Artist friends. Very enjoyable and the owner/operator also had a shop/mill there where they show their creations and sell their fleece by the roving/batts etc. I am inspired to continue my 'felting' process and make some functional pieces still, so I am designing/creating some cell phone holders with felt and free motion stitch. I have been adding some classic crewel stitching to my jewelry arm bands and really like the effect. I will be posting my lates pic's shortly so say tuned! I really hope that I can get some folks to stop by here and make some comments.
Stay sparkly!

Whew...struggling right now.

It's been a long couple of weeks. Working arse off to prepare for Art in the Park and took a couple of days off, to recoup and re-group. Will do two more shows this year, so hopefully they will bring in some much needed cash flow.
I need to market myself more. I wish it was easier than it is, so many talented hand craft artisans out there...how do you make yourself stand out? Been meditating on that without much success.
Decided to overhaul my studio and re-arrange everything to make it more productive? Always second guessing ourselves...Taking all week to do, never realized just how much 'stuff' I have and as a mixed-media artist we don't throw anything away! Perhaps I should focus on one thing?
I don't believe it's in my make-up for that so...too late! :-)
I need to look through my myriad of books to get inspired again, just feeling very melancholy these days...

A fun little diversion!

Been playing on Betabrand site where you can design your own striped socks! Since I like playing with colors...why not! So, I've signed up and created three new pairs of socks! Two of my socks had colors that have not been named yet! So, I've created some new 'color' choices for the company!

Betabrand Sock Contest | COLOURlovers :: COLOURlovers

Betabrand Sock Contest | COLOURlovers :: COLOURlovers: "

Cool Nippers by pateho
www.COLOURlovers.com

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Pooped! Taking a couple of days to reflect...

The Art in the Park was an amazing day, the turn out was outstanding, I believe it was the best Art in the Park ever in my memory! I didn't realize the profits that I had hoped but I still made a small profit after booth costs were deducted. I met a lot of people and received a great amount of feedback for my works. Brought back my "Drifting Saints" after a long hiatus and there were people that came up to the booth specifically to tell me they bought one of my "Drifting Saints" about 18 years ago! I said yes! that's the last time I made public sales with them! The felted vessels made some rave reviews, but didn't sell. I thought if I focussed on 'functional' art they would sell, however, I believe I will focus on large wall art and go back to painting my watercolors for awhile before going back to the 'art to wear' items...
Right now, I'm spending time with my honey as he's been an 'art widow' for the last 3 months. Giving him some extra attention this week!
I will post pictures of the event. I didn't get all the pictures from the entire festivities as I didn't have time to see them all!

Latest Drifting Saints for upcoming Art Show (29)

Latest Drifting Saints for upcoming Art Show at Mike Weir Park, Sarnia Ontario (29):

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felting-projects part 2 - YouTube

felting-projects part 2 - YouTube:

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