Hold Dear

clear for artnest...

It's official! I'm ready for ArtNest!!!! It did require me taking a day off of work to finalize things but it was worth it! Now I'm ready and I don't have to stay up until midnight!!! :-)

I got my tiny trades done...

 

And packaged up...

 

Got the laundry done, the supplies all packed and even got the iPod loaded.

The only thing left to do is decide if I want to scare up some more stuff to sell at the Artist's Sale. I got the main thing all done that I wanted to bring. I scored (seriously...SCORED) some marvelous wool scraps at a local re-use shop and so I made little bundles (apprx 2" by 2 1/2" squares) and tied them up with string. Here's a few pix...

 

Every packet has four colors and every packet is different. It was just whatever color combo inspired me at the moment. I started naming them but that starting taking up way too much time! LOL!

 

 

I just LOVE looking at these...they look like Petit Fours. I should bring a serving tray to display them. :-)

A few other things I'm bringing to sell...

 

 

 

 

I have some more wool so if my little bundles go over okay at the Artist's Sale, I'll be adding some to my Etsy. :-)

Take care and when I get back from ArtNest, I'll have lots of yummy pictures to share, I'm sure of it!!! Hugs!

artnest prep and spring ornament swap...

How are you doing? Hope you are marvelous!

I didn't even want to look to see the last time I blogged. It's probably only been a week or so but it feels like months have gone by! Between this Spanish class I'm currently taking (which is kickin' my butt!!) and preparing for ArtNest, my "to do" list is huge every day.

I got my tiny trades all finished up and so this weekend I am pulling out the suitcases and officially packing for ArtNest!  Eeeee!!! Also, an invitation went out to all ArtNest attendees that they could bring stuff to sell at the Artist's Sale! Well, I have got lots and lots of fun treatly things that need to be used instead of just sitting around so I thought this is a perfect opportunity! I'll have lots of popcorn bags for sale -- those sweet little things get a lot of attention over on my Etsy. Also, I scored some beautiful strips of wool that I'm cutting into little squares to make some cute little bundles to sell. I am in love with this kind of stuff right now!

Also in my little crazy world, I joined in Stacy and Natalie's Spring Ornament Swap. I absolutely promised myself I would not join in any swaps because well, I'm full! But I know the talent of these two girls and knew I would regret not joining. I'm SO happy I did because the other gals that are in this swap are TOP DRAWER!

The theme of this swap "Spring" and we had to incorporate felt. In addition to wool, I am also in love with felt right now so that was another reason why I did not want to miss this swap. Here are my ornaments.

 

I used lots of the gorgeous felt I bought from Princess Lasertron at Silver Bella last November. I LOVE these colors!

 

 

The back is a little pocket for a Moo card. :-) I sure hope the girls like these!

Okay...lots more packaging to do so I'm off...I have a lovely cup of coffee by my side so I am prepared for a full day! See you soon!

happy long weekend...

Hi there...so I've been thoroughly enjoying this glorious three-day weekend! The days (so far) have been jam packed full of fun!

Friday night Glen and I stayed home. We made some pasta for dinner, then put on a fire and watched an old James Bond movie. Sitting around and watching an old Bond movie is the perfect opportunity to multi-task so while we were plopped on the couch, I made a serious dent in my ArtNest trades!

Saturday I spent the day with Glen and a friend. We ventured out to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. Not exactly my first choice of how to spend my Valentine's Day but since Glen enjoys that kind of stuff so much, it worth the sacrifice. :-)  When we stopped by our friend's house to gather him up, his wife served us coffee and a very sweet Heart Tart...

 

So cute and it was so yummy!

At the museum, we watched Space Station 3D at the IMAX, tasted some good wine, and had a nice lunch so, I have to admit, the day was not a total loss.  And even though it was quite chilly, the day was absolutely gorgeous! Here are a few pix...

   

 

This was the best shot I could get of theSpruce Goose. This picture does NOT do it justice as to how huge this thing is. And no matter how many times I see this plane, I never fail to ask myself, "What was he thinking?" :-)

 

 

One of my favorite sites...mistletoe in trees...

 

 

Yesterday was also a marvelously busy day. Glen and I went to watch a production of The Vagina Monologues. Not only did we enjoy the play (because it's fabulous) but it was so cool because our girlie was a co-producer and had a role in it! We are SO proud of her!!!

 

I just had to take a picture of Miranda wearing all her stage makeup! She is so photogenic :-)

After the performance, we went off for lunch at Deshutes Brew Pub, cupcakes at Cupcake Jones, and then we went over to the Portland Art Museum to catch a movie which was part of the Portland International Film Festival. We watched Seraphine and it was spectacular!

After dinner and before we had to head over to the museum for the movie, we had some spare time so we walked around the Pearl District. That was when we popped into Cupcakes Jones for just a quick after dinner snack...

We also encounted this faded ad painted on the side of a building...

 

So that brings me to today, Monday, and I have the day off! After all the running around we've been doing this weekend, it almost feels strange just lounging around, drinking coffee and still wearing my jammies at noon! I don't think I've ever been happier! :-)

randomness...

Hey there! Gadzooks it's been over a week since I last posted. I sure missed you! I just had another one of those unintended bloggy breaks. Just so many things going on and several artsy projects. Not to mention getting drawn into the world of Facebook! Michelle is entertained and having fun with it! :-)

I've been working on this particular post for a few days now and I decided that today is the day...or rather...tonight is the night! Several of the ArtNest lovelies have been sharing "16 Random Things" about themselves so that we can to get to know each other before the big event. I thought I'd go ahead and join in this fun chit chat!

I apologize ahead of time for the wonky font sizes and no numbering. Sometimes Typepad has a mind of it's own and getting bullets was about all I could manage without going mad!! :-)

16 Random Things About Me in No Particular Order...

• I love karaoke – and I can even do it without any liquid backbone! I once sang karaoke in front of 900 people – I was at an insurance convention and decided I wanted to sing and I wanted to be the first one up!

• I am a member of Toastmasters. As you may have guessed by number 1, I don’t get nervous (anymore!) when I have to speak in public. I do; however, need help learning how to think on my feet.

• I can play the drums and have a full drum kit in our Family Room. I don't play all that well but if pressed, I can keep a beat and am available if you know of a band that needs a middle-aged chick drummer. 

• I have a yellow belt in Tae Kwan Do. It’s been a few years (as in 30!) but I still have the belt so in my mind, I'm still be a yellow belt!

• I have no wisdom teeth. It’s not that they’ve been pulled, I just wasn’t born with any.

• I have worn glasses since I was in age 11. I actually got my glasses when I was 10 but didn’t wear them because I was afraid kids would make fun of me. When I did start  wearing them (it was a last resort because I couldn’t see!), the kids did make fun of me (called me “four eyes”) and my  “friends” abandoned me. Yes, it was very sad.

• I once won a wolf-howling contest.

• I was on Drill Team in high school for three years and my senior year, I was voted “Best Smile.” :-)

• I love to rollerskate. To this day, I still think I missed my true calling – I should have been a roller derby queen. Glen says I would have been terrible though because I am not agressive plus I have a very tender chest.

• I am a vegetarian and have been for about eight years now. I should probably be a vegan since I can live without eggs and I do not do well with dairy. But alas, I love cheese and partake fairly regularly.

• I got my driver's license the day after I turned 16. I would gotten it on my actual birthday but that was a Sunday and the DMV was closed! The weekend before I was going to get my license, the turn signals broke on our VW bug. I was so determined to get my license that I still took the test, using arm signals for my turns in between shifting and grinding the gears! I passed, by the way.

• I believe in love at first sight. I met my husband during Happy Hour at a "meat market" (nightclub) through a mutual friend one Friday night. We went out a few times that first week and then the following Saturday night, eight days later, Glen asked me to marry him. He told me was going to ask me sooner, but he didn't want to rush things. LOL! On March 17 of this year, we will celebrate 25 years of what I think is a very happy and successful marriage.

• I am going to college...or I should say I am very slowly going to college. I started working full-time pretty much right out of high school. I've just always wanted a degree and even though I can only handle one class per term, I'm doing it! My goal is to get a degree in Graphic Design. It may take awhile but time will pass anyways so might as well get an education while I'm at it! My class this term is Spanish.

• I have an explicable fear of polar bears. To me, they are the most terrifying, scariest thing on the planet. I also FREAK out when anything is mentioned about Jerusalem Crickets aka Gogs. DO NOT google this unless you too, want to be freakin' FREAKED out!

• I have a serious kick-ass whistle. It's typically the thumb and forefinger version but I can also whistle with any two fingers in any combination.

• My daughter is named after two of the moons of the planet Uranus. Glen's great-great-great-great-great grandfather is Sir Frederick William Herschel so that makes him Miranda's great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather. Miranda and Ariel are two of the moons. I know that's not about me but I just love that story! :-)

So in other news, I had a pretty wonderful weekend! Lots of meals out (OH how I love NOT cooking!) and then yesterday I joined up with some friends for a Artsy Field Trip with Denise, Melissa and Melissa's fiance to a few fun shops around Portland as well as a lovely breakfast!  And the day was monumentally gorgeous!

I also finished up my ATCs for an ArtFest swap. A couple of views...

 

The theme of this swap is "Marine Biology" so I found a picture of a jellyfish and then painted on top of it.

 

So now that I got this project done, there's just one more to finish up and then I can finish up my trades and ArtNest!!! :-)