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

"

'via Blog this'

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):

'via Blog this'

felting-projects part 2 - YouTube

felting-projects part 2 - YouTube:

'via Blog this'

felting-projects part 1.MOV - YouTube

felting-projects part 1.MOV - YouTube:

'via Blog this'

Felted Vases - YouTube

Felted Vases - YouTube:

'via Blog this'

So excited for upcoming Art in the Park festival!

This years Art in the Park is under new organization and I was fortunate enough to get in on a cancellation! I only have a week left to get inventory up to snuff in anticipation of the event. I have only about 5 nuno scarves on the go, plenty of scarf-lettes, some hats and I've recently been working on felted vessels and vase covers. Really nice....Drifting Saints are making a comeback as well, so we'll see what the next week brings. I've been experiencing RSI due to doing too much at once, so I'm giving myself lots of breaks and variations in my duties!
http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3148131 This link is to a local paper advert for the upcoming show for those that aren't local to the event!
I'm going to upload my recent videos too!

Hot and busy Summer!

Wow! Can't believe August is coming to a close already! Crikey! I haven't blogged in awhile and I've been wanting to, but as usual, I get distracted! First show of the summer was very nice, not much in the way of sales, which part of the reason was I was not able to showcase/sell my jewelry line because of the over abundance of jewelry artists, so I had to build up my inventory on my hand painted silk scarves and felted items. I also re-purpose vintage wool blankets/cloth into hats and booties etc. so I made some of those up too. My hats were popular as were my scarves.
There was really good energy at this show and I met some fantastic artists! Good networking!

I had another show within two weeks of this one and this time I showcased my jewelry, but there were very few people that came through the venue! The crowd was congregated too far away to be drawn toward the vendors and such! Too bad because I had made up a good number of my chakra bracelets and necklaces along with some amazing POG's that I had made up too.(Positive Orgone Generators are based on the principal of orgone technology by Wilhelm Reich. Orgone energy is also known as chi, ki, prana, life force, is the energy present within all objects. It surrounds us and is within us.)
Right now I am getting ready for one the big annual Art in the Park that is held every year the weekend after labor day. Unfortunately because I was a late registrant, I cannot do jewelry again! Just too many jewelry artists! Can you blame us for loving the bling?? :-)
The only down side to all this is I have major repetitive strain in my left arm right now, so I'm in a lot of pain and I'm trying to wet felt scarves and slippers!
I will post some pictures of the last two shows...but you can see some photos at my Facebook page and hopefully you'll

like

it! :-)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Patti-Cook-Mixed-Media-Arts/113872642030786?sk=photos Just click on the Art in the Park and that's the first show of the summer with my Scrum Sisters!

African Angels!

Well, not really, but I like to have titles with a ring to it, so this was fitting...who knows? I may end up calling them that anyway. Been wanting to make up some felted 'doll' pendants of a sort. I saw some really cute ones at a bead workshop and thought that I would do something a little different,I want my own artistic flair to it. So, I had sketched out some ideas and then thought of how much I love bright vibrant colors against a dark background, the way a lot of indigenous cultures do and then my thoughts went to traditional African kaftans and tribal dress. The women always look so beautiful and majestic in them, so, I am fashioning my doll pendants after various African attire! Here's a couple of pics I took prior to taking the video below it and a picture of my sketches I made of others based on some research I did regarding traditional African attire.

100_4418.MOV - Google Docs

This is my latest project (well, I've got a few going on) but I wanted to work on a small project/s this weekend and I thought that perhaps, I'll do my little felted ladies...I had some sketches and now I've got a series of colored pictures of African dress that I'm going to do...here's a quicky video of my first one.100_4418.MOV - Google Docs

Muscles I haven't used in a long time!

Whew! I've been going strong trying to get this Alpaca combed, cleaned and then ultimately felted! I have an upcoming show in July with my two other Scrum Sisters! The committee wouldn't accept my jewelry this year because they have "their quota" of jewelry artists! (These are also on the committee!) Good thing I'm a mixed media artist! I am going to focus on my felted works. I am doing some Nuno scarves, wall art, I even made a funky hat from a piece of an old wool blanket and merino wool roving. I have some wool blankets and thought to recycle them to be worn or enjoyed in some way again. Will post pictures. Been trying to find some free patterns for non-knitted hats! May just have to go in and look up some at the fabric shop. Dangerous place for me though, love to go in and come out with BAGS of purchases! ooooh, I best stay away for now, I was getting excited just writing about it. I found this amazing big old Canadian made woolen blanket a week ago at the local thrift shop. I will use it as a base for some small bags/purses and also woolen hats and arm warmers. I washed it in really hot water to get it a little more felted and I really like the thickness, it will make some warm head toppers! I will also be making some more mandala pendents/cuffs etc. as well as some goddess type pendants! After all the mystics are saying that we are moving into a more gentle feminine phase! This will give me a chance to slide in some jewelry pieces without being called jewelry! They didn't nix my felted cuffs! So, I'm bringing them too! My fellow Scrum Sisters also encouraged me to paint and add some of my "Drifting Saints" Driftwood pieces. Why not? Christmas in July!
Peace and love and all that gibbly stuff!

annamora

annamora
Love her photos! Rich in saturated colors of the area, plus my favorite CATS! love cats <3

jemARTS

Fine Art

This is my ArtFire account. They are great! I was going to sell on Etsy, however, to get started on the web, ArtFire was a better deal for me and they are really taking off! I got in for ~10 a month for their pro account and boy do they give a lot of perks. I can upload as many pictures of an item to sell as I want at no charge. Serious artisans should check this out too!

Mademoiselle Chaos: How to make yarn from fabric scraps

I googled a querie on how I can make my own fabric yarn (cost me much more than fancy yarns!) I found this amazing site! She's amazing and full of free advice and how-to's! Here it is: Mademoiselle Chaos: How to make yarn from fabric scraps

Good photography advice?

Well, I hope I can get enough folks to read my blog and give me some good advice on photographing my work without having to commission it out to a professional!  I am a starving artist here!  All my money went/goes into inventory/stock and there's not much for the marketing.  I have a great little Kodak easy share camera that takes pretty good shots and has a lot of settings on it, but like I said, I'm not proficient at taking good photos of my work yet.
Please post me or send me an email at pateos.place@gmail.com 

My Web sites where I have items for sale!

There are currently two places where I am featuring my items for sale.  My website and my Artfire Account.  I will most likely post on Etsy too as that is a household name for many folks looking for handmade arts and crafts.  You can also email me at either my personal account or my gmail account.  Thanks for looking!

This is the finished piece of a needle-felted mandala that I have been constructing. Didn't really know what direction to take with it, so I let it take me instead...this is what I ended up with! Artsy-Fartsy! This piece is actually a birthday gift I want to give to a great friend of mine. But I want to bring it out and see what the reaction to it is first, see if she really likes it and then I will sigh a big sigh and let her know I am super glad, because it's your birthday gift!  LOL

More felted mandala's (or medallions)

Here are pic's of some more mandala's that I have felted. Some will be further embellished with beads/stones and some will be left alone, however all of them will be incorporated into some form of wearable art!

I am also uploading pic's of some square mandalas that I put together with small wooden craft pieces that I found at hobby lobby and used resin to permanently adhere the pictures to the wood.  I have also used inks to 'color' in the sides of some and some I have left plain.  Those that will be made into a bracelet on their own, will be painted on the back side of the wooden piece, otherwise I'll leave them plain (maybe, depends on finished piece...:-)
Any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

This is one of many felted 'medallions' or 'mandalas' that I have made and am incorporating into wearable art! I work hardened and hammered a piece of 14 gauge copper and then took 22 gauge copper and wire wrapped complimentary colored beads to frame it all in. This will be a pendant portion of a necklace that I've envisioned. Hope it all comes together!

Twitter Account

If anyone wants to follow me on twitter, my twitter I.D. is @patehosplace

Here is a video showing a work in progress. I had beads on it and then took them off and changed it completely to add a felt flower instead.  I wanted to give it a 3D effect. I hope you enjoy it!

My best pal Cindy modeling my "Pink Cosmos" felted armband.

This is my pink cosmos close up.  Embellished with mother-of-pearl, fresh water pearls, jade lentil beads and various farafel iridescent beads Retail: $45 - Sold

This one I call "Rose Garden" embellished with organza's, wool rovings, silk tops and I added carved rose quartz leaves. Retail: $30

This is called "Secret garden", lots of embellished flowers made with various organza's, wool rovings and silk tops.  This to is embellished with Farafel beads. Retail: $30

This is called "Goldies Garden" and was a commissioned piece for a friends mother.  Suits her to a tee!  Carnelian, rubies, smokey quartz, coral, pearls and vintage glass blown beads. Retail: $75.00

This was made with Aquamarine hearts, nuggets and chips, vintage iridescent beads, fire swarovski, malachite, opal, carnelian. Scorpio girl. Retail: $35

Spunky -bracelet for a July birthday child. Made with faceted Carnelian and carnelian nuggets, cubed jade, faceted moonstone briolettes and lapis lazuli nuggets. Retail: $50

Bracelet made for a spunky Taurus gal. Features Blue sapphires faceted and round, faceted carnelian, Czech fire beads, Faceted crystal quartz and beautiful purple faceted Agate set in gold tone rings. I call it "Bali Dance!" Retail $35

Another variation of a Scorpio gal - deep and mysterious! This piece was made with pink tourmaline, aquamarine hearts, faceted aquamarine, opal, carnelian and vintage beads.  Finished off with a cute kitty charm for a fellow cat lover! Retail $50

Sumptuous sexy and sultry Libra!

 Made with Jade, smokey quartz, black and green moss agate, carnelian. Retail $50.00

Another September birthday bracelet (this gal in the latter part of the month which puts her under the Libra sign). Lovely Carnelian, Rubies, Chiastolite, Black Agate and small agate beads are used as well as Sterling Silver charms. this bracelet would retail $40.00

This convertible necklace was made for a gal that wears a lot of grays to work and she wanted something to compliment but to also have the metaphysical benefits of these stones too. Here is a necklace that is downright funky!  Made with black leather chording and 925 sterling findings a plethora of fine faceted and carved crystal and smokey quartz dominate this piece. There is rare white turquoise, shell, vintage stone beads, pearls and a single purple sugalite (very good for Virgos)The large portable pendant is a Drusy black Agate, just beautiful all by itself or with the rest of the gang! This necklace can be worn all together (the Agate hook onto the bottom ring) or it can be worn as a choker with the pendant alone. (shown below) This necklace would retail for $125.00

Detail of pendant as a choker. 

Blustery March Madness!

Brrr! the blustering, unpredictable moodiness of March, yikes! We've been up and below the freezing mark several times this last week, making roads treacherous to drive on. But fear not! All that means is that Spring is just around the corner! Yay! with the increased cost of utilities, it was getting expensive to heat up the ole place. My little cottage by the lake is not as pristine as these newer tighter homes!  Okay, I uploaded some pictures of jewelry, but was unsuccessful in posting to blog or to twitter!  I don't know why and I'm not sure what to do next, but I will continue on.  I'll just starting adding them here as I did with all the others. I hope that I can reduce them enough to fit onto this format.  I hope you enjoy them.  Please comment, I'd love to hear from anyone!

Uploading Jewelry for sale!

I've made some headways with uploading my photos to my google account. It's quite slick the way google has incorporated all this into one user id. Blog, mail and photo albums and with their software (or their partner's software) I can post to blog or twitter, great stuff!  I am hoping to upload more of my unisex necklaces, not sure what computer they were copied to (my laptop is much faster at processing these days than my "older" pc)
Anyway, I hope that I can configure my website that I have had for a year and have done very little to because it's very labor intensive, they don't make it easy to upload or even find my "administrators" page where I can do the editing. It's not a cut and paste either.  I used a generic template thinking that was easier, but it's not!
Oh well, perhaps I'll bite the bullet this weekend and "get er done!" Please leave me a comment if you have stopped by!

Art Cards doing well

Loving the feedback I'm receiving from those who purchased my VFF Art Cards!  I'm glad that I followed up on an idea.  I played with it until the final product, but that's usually the way it goes. I made 25 and have signed and numbered each one. I may do this every year, but not sure.  I had some ideas for Easter Art Cards, but my 'heart' is saying focus on Mother's Day. So that's where my creative juices will be focussed.  I do already have in the works my "Bracelets for Mum" series for our Mother's Day Art show and sale. I will have on hand a bracelet for every month of the year.  So, if your mum was born in January, that bracelet will encompass at least 5 of the stones identified for that month. I am also working on mixed media wearable art necklaces and bracelets.  I 'll be incorporating wool roving, ribbon, beads and semi-precious stones on arm and neck items, actually I have already done at least 6 of them and will upload the pics here as I have them on my PC, today I'm using my laptop at my BF house! Two of these are my personal ones. The first one I've called pink cosmos (my favorite drink too!) and the one I'm wearing one now I call "Orbs Are". My sweety and I are big into science, free energy, anomalies, the unexplainable etc. and right now we're fixated on these 'orbs' that this gal from Philadelphia  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYWhPolTrfk ) has been filming with her infra-red and night vision cameras.  These are NOT  'orbs' that have been captured by digital cameras...these are flashing flying orbs!  Too cool.  Any way, I made my bracelet in honor of them! :-)

Be My VFF! - Pictures

Here are the pictures I promised! I am showing the outside and the inside of each card.  I'm only uploading three as they are all similar but unique because each one is handmade, signed and numbered. There were only 25 art cards made, so be sure to get yours! They are 14.99 each plus shipping ($1.00 each plus .50 for each additional card)