Madness is Genius

I just LOVE this, don't you?
Cat is giving away this your choice of this sign or another here on her blog on May 1st!

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On another note, I want to apologize for not being really active with posting my usual art right now. I do have a ton of stuff to share...all artsy, I do! Really. It's just that my I'm distracted, and as soon as I get a thought, any thought, I lose it.

Dyllan, who will be 6 at the end of this July has been tested for peanuts and has been declared allergic. This last Wednesday through a series of freak moments he had a reaction. I gave him a child benadryl which seemed to help, but then threw up twice and I questioned myself to give him the epi pen because I was unsure of what was all happening. It was all a crazy accident that wound him in the ER for 5 hours.
He's fine now. All clear. But I'm not. I always knew this day would come and now I'm on edge.
I chitchatted with the school nurse letting her know what happened and promised that next time (when the reaction will be much worse) I won't hesitate with the epi pen. She gave me useful tips and said he can wear a bracelet that's lets people know to react quickly if I'm not present...and now I need to really read food labels because when he says he can't breathe, I have to know what he's been eating.
OK. I'm going to stop now. Sorry for the depressing ramble. I'm a newbie at this. And I'm asking for the advice of Mom's who have gone through the same and can help me out.
Thanks. :)

Recreating a Tutu's Splendor

I just LOVE this!
I hope you do too!

I'm Facinated by this Blog!

My eyes are popping and my brain is reeling with what schools are really feeding our kids!

"check out the countries that "may" have provided products for this juice! - I try to buy my produce from inside the states and this is shocking!

Mrs. Q is eating school lunches everyday in 2010 and blogging about it...photo's and all!
It's so interesting! If you have kids in school and you let them buy their own lunches...you might want to read her blog! It's Called Fed up with Lunch.

Why use Paper when you can use Fabric to wrap gifts?

It's especially nice when you want to incorporate the fabric into the gift!
It's called Furoshiki.
And you can find more about this here.
enjoy!

OK Go - This too shall pass

Every time I watch this video my jaw drops in amazement and I find something new to make me "laugh" out loud!

This is AWESOME!!!!!

50 Ways to Cope with Stress

Sometimes we all need reminders to stop and smell the flowers...
to see where this came from...
visit this amazing blog!

Felt Wee Folk by Salley Mavor

Imagine my surprise when after leaving a comment on this blog about the beautiful self portrait (above) that the actual artist would e-mail me back with a note of thanks!
Yes! None other than Salley Mavor!

She is the amazing artist behind all the enchanting creations in this book.
A friend of mine turned me onto it when she showed me some wee faeries she had made using Salley's technique.
It was love at first sight and I have been creating a few here and there to go with some new faerie chairs in the making...like the ones in (here) my shop.


I asked Salley how she originally became inspired to create, here's what she said~

"I believe that my mother, through her example, inspired me to see the world through the eyes of an artist. An artist herself, she created a home environment that was full of beautiful handmade things that she made herself or collected. She had incredibly good taste and an individualistic and folksy style. She spread her knowledge and skill not only within our family, but into the community at large. In our house materials and projects covered every horizontal surface. For our family, making things was a natural part of life. Today, I’ve noticed that my sense of well-being is very much tied to being engaged artistically.

There are so many ways to bring creativity into your life. In addition to working in my studio, I work in my vegetable and flower garden. I love all kinds of dancing, folk, contra, square and ballroom, which is a good relief from the sedentary activity of sewing. I sing all the time, but mostly in private, when I’m working in my studio. I like to bake bread and make pies, especially with decorative latticed crusts. My mother showed me that everything you do and every relationship you have can be a creative adventure."

To see more of her "creative adventures" please visit her blog here.
You will be simply entranced. Just the same as I was.


*No Connection, Unpaid, My Own Opinions

Ok, go - video

This has got to be the coolest video I've seen in awhile! Reminds me of a kaleidoscope, frosting and painting... It's a visual treat for any artist.
Enjoy!

Radishes

I've recently acquired a new art piece to add to my growing collection of favorite inspirationsal artist's!
This one is a oil painting of radishes by Jolie Guillebeau!
It reminds me of the vegetable garden we had when I was younger, growing up in Borrego Springs, CA.

She even included a personal note with one of her cards!

In her shop, you can find beautiful jewelry on miniature watercolors of her oil paintings....

And then the originals.

~This shape ball brings back so many happy memories....
Please take the time to stop by her shop for a trip down memory lane.

Oh Really...?

" I can handle another snack...my tummies not full yet."
says, Dyllan who will be 5 in one month going on 16th in the appetite department.
This is why I don't watch the food related shows when Dyllan is around.

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Today I'm sorting, creating, and getting things ready to be mailed. No photo's today...but I thought some of you might enjoy some tutorials from my favorite blogs...
Happy Creating!
~Michelle

Bottle Cap Lady Bugs

Cake Stand

Duvet Covers

Hula Hoops

Resin Knitting Needles

Top 10 uses for your Coffee grounds

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Paper casting with your cuttle bug folders tutorial

First off, I wanted to say congratulations to Niki-Ray for winning the first bunch of flowers I'm giving away all month!
Regarding this give away I'm having (see tippy top post) is really going to help me (in a creative way) as I bought my big shot to save money from buying Prima flowers (which make me drool) and be able to create my own!

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Now on to FAB tutorial that I will definitely try today as I'm addicted to these embossing folders and already have 3!
Amyee of a Scraphappy Southernbelle has given me permission to share her tuitorial with you!
The photo below shows all the materials you need;

1. Mister filled with water
2. plain paper towels
3. and your favorite cuttle bug embossing folder!

Below you see the finished piece, it looks like hand made paper!
But with out all the blender/screen/pressing mess!
(believe me I've been there)

To see the whole easy peasy tutorial, please visit Amyee's blog and let her know I sent you!

Modified "My little Pony's" and Star Wars fun stuff...

I was browsing this Star Wars site for fun and found this place.
The artist, Mari Kasurin modifys "My Little Pony's"!
I especially loved her Start Wars ones and the Edward Scissor hand Pony.

If you like Star Wars as much as I, then you'll love these Lunch Bags!

So on to Browsing the official Star Wars Blog, I found photo's from last years Comic con. Yikes! What a way to get my blood pumping in excitement! You can see the post here.
I'm taking Dyllan to this years Comic Con in San Diego. I'm Sooooo excited! Dyllan is going to be Captain Rex, and I plan on being a Jedi. We are going the last day, Sunday, so if you are going...drop me a line!


Do you see this kite? Don't you just want it? Here, on the Star Wars you can also see other kites like Vader's TIE fighter and a R2D2 inflatable pool drink server that won't be available till next year....

Lastly, I found this site for cake and party idea's since Dyllan's 5th Birthday this year will be...can you guess?..Star Wars /Clone Wars!
Complete with encouraging his friends to come as their favorite character.
~ I'm thinking this year to keep the cake simple, but fun. I'm planning on getting a large sheet cake from Costco and adding either a toy star ship or adding one made from extra cake.
Maybe the swamp scene? Any idea's would be great!
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You might be noticing my blog looks a little different. More like a lot. I would like include my art into a blog back ground but don't know how. So for now I made it plain...as much as I liked "cutest blogs on the block"...I'm at the stage where I want my own thing.
If you or someone you know does great blog back grounds, please e-mail me.
Thanks!

It's a *sign*

Sweet Jessie has nicely allowed me to share her crafty idea of transferring a childs art work into a embroidery piece! Her 6 year old is as infatuated with Star Wars as our 4 year old!

To see how she made this piece, please go here.
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I'm really excited that she did this as Dyllan has endless amounts of Star Wars art that he drew him self! I think he would be estatic if he got a quilt made from his art for his Birthday in July. Don't you?
Speaking of Star Wars...for those of you that were stumped as to what my new ring tone is, It's the theme song to Star Wars! and very realistic indeed!

Playful Spaces

“71% of adults used to play on the streets when they were young.

21% of children do so now.

Are we designing children and play out of the public realm?
This project is a study into different ways of bringing play back into public space.

It focuses on ways of incorporating incidental play in the public realm by not so much as having separate play equipment that dictates the users but by using existing furniture and architectural elements that indicate playful behaviour for all.
It asks us to question the current framework for public space and whether it is sufficient while also giving permission for young people to play in public.

Play as you go…” Bruno Taylor.

See Video Here.

How to fake Cupcakes

Have you ever wondered how they do that?

For easy instructions, please go HERE.

Then hop on over to Sugar and meringue's for more yummy's!

For you Scrapbookers or Crafters out there...

Hi all, Just wanted to let you know
I have friend that sells to me a cut rate anything I practically need for scrapbooking.

If you are looking for something , please drop her a line.
She’s in my scrapbook group and can be trusted.
I buy most of my Cricut cartridges from her
and now because of her I'm hooked on "Bo Bunny" album kits!
The above picture is a kit she sells.
I took this as a class through her and absolutely loved how it turned out!
She bills through pay pal making it even easier!
The following is a smattering of what she sells…
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Bo Bunny,
K&Company,
TLC/Breezy Design,
KidzWorxx,
Heritage Makers,
Photomax,
Collected Memory albums,
Croppin’ Companion,
Fruzzle Frames,
Scrapbook Girl Apparel,
Dress it Up Buttons,
Little Windows,
Scrap Arts,
Hot of the Press,
Clip it Up,
Word Bloom Albums,
Traditions Studio,
Time Fly Scrapbook Kits,
Stix2 Tape Guns and adhesive,
Zoom Albums,
Memory Mixer,
LifeTimes,
EK Success,
Clear Scraps,
3 Bugs in a Rug,
Provo Craft
and Rusty Pickle.
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If you cannot find what you want on her site,
you can ask her and she will give you a price if she can get it!
Go HERE to see her shop!


Happy Shopping!

interview

1. What's the real challenge about organizing your studio?

Too much stuff and not enough space! Also, I have so many bits and pieces that don't really go together!

2. Have you found any hidden treasures that you thought were long gone?

Everything I find is a treasure, so yes :). I also tend to save my "good junk" for something really special but then I end up not using it ever! So now I'm trying to use my "good junk" first.

3. What have you used to organize your items that you already had?

I used a three tier hanging kitchen basket, which I hung in my studio to hold all of my finished resin pieces that are waiting for a good home.

4. What have you had to buy?

Plastic carts with drawers! Love them!

5. Are you naturally a neat person? Or does clutter make you strangely comfortable?I like to be neat, then I feel open to create. But somehow after creating my studio is a disaster! I'm trying to get in the habit of cleaning up after each creative time, so I feel more open. 6. How many times have you had to re-organize something since starting this challenge?Almost every day! 7. Is it hard for you to "let go"? if not , what's your strategy? No. I almost never keep what I make. Then I would really run out of room. My "strategy" is telling myself I can buy more stuff every time I get rid of something!8. Do you see your craft space to be organized by the end of June? Depends on if I create on that day :). 9. If you are organized by due date, how will you celebrate?Buy more "stuff" of course! 10. any thing else...?I had my DH install utility cabinets from Lowe's when we first moved in. They were cheap and plain white, so I painted the doors before assembling them. I love them and they hold SO MUCH stuff! And they also look like 3-D art pieces on the wall.
Retro Cafe' Art Gallery Website: www.retrocafeart.comBlog: http://krishubick.blogspot.com/

Scary, but True!

If you post family photo's online, please read this!

Claudine Hellmuths current blog post summarizes what I've recently suspected!

The other day I typed in (Faerie Dust Dreams) in yahoo search.
I was pleased to see that all 9 pages were about my shop or in reference to it! But I did find a strange site.
~It was like a search engine all their own, when you typed in search words, it came up with articles re: what you typed plus pictures to match the topic. 4 of my personal art pieces that I post on my flickr account were shown there with no reference to me. I also saw what looked like family photo's. and some of children.The web site had no contact info to reached at.

This is scary and true! We have a copyright on Dyllan's personal website but what's to stop some company from taking our images from blogs, flickr and so on!?

Please go here to read how it may also affect you, and what you can do to protect your self!

The Next Survivor Series

(I got this in a e-mail and thought I'd share it with all you blog-mommies!)

THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES

Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.
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Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.
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There is no fast food.
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Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, and complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money.
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In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.
Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time.
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Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment.
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He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care.
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He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.
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Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.
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The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.
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The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn himself with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed.
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During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.
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They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.
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They will need to read a book with the children each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am.
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A test will be given at t he end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name.
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Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.
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The kids vote them off the island based on performance.
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The last man wins only if...he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice.
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If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right To be called Mother!

Ever have one of those days?

~ This picture always cracks me up! ;0)

It's from Toon Town at Disneyland!