Time for Santa

Sorry I've been absent lately!

We were on vacation in Maui for the first week of the month & I am playing catch-up this week!

As many of you know, my daughter is in 2nd grade & has reached the American Girl Mania-stage! And, so has Grandma!

(We've been blessed with 3 hand-me-down dolls from a dear, dear friend & her generous daughters!!!) 

She went to the AG store to get some Christmas gifts for Maggie & was sucked in! She left with MANY fine things to go under the tree & a matching brocade gown set for doll & granddaughter to wear on her annual visit to Santa…

One quick shot at home with Josefina

Perfect!

Maggie listens intently as Santa explains why we can't touch & play with Elfie

Maggie pleads her case, but alas, Elf will stay on the shelf!

I actually got teary with this shot! (G-ma & G-pa)

What a cheesy grin I had! I swear it was the words Mrs. C was making us say!

A great shot of us all…just wish Nick, Kim, Eric & Jake had been there too!

Mrs. C bought these in Whoville!

Aren't they FABULOUS!!

The night's not complete without some Santa Love!!

I have to say that this was the BEST Santa visit we've ever had! He was so warm & jolly, he must have been the real thing! ;-)

{Thanks mom for making my daughter look even more beautiful in her special dress! I will remember this visit to Santa forever! 

I love you!!!}

Hope you are all enjoying the season!

I can't believe Christmas is only 10 days away with still so much to do!!!

Cheers!

WIP Wednesday turns into a Thankful Thursday!

SO…today it will have been 2 weeks since I last posted a W.I.P.

I have no pictures to share, but here's the list of what I've been up to…

1. cleaning the basement to get ready for my 1st mixed media class
2. cleaning the house to get ready for Christmas decorating
3. decorating for Christmas
4. laundry
5. holding my first class (11/22) with a bunch of great ladies
6. grocery shopping/trip planning
7. more laundry
8. more decorating…the tree took almost a week to finish!
9. decorating the outside for Christmas
10. dinner with friends for an early Thanksgiving celebration
11. shopping for the "real" Thanksgiving
12. more laundry
13. packing for a trip starting next week
14. searching for the perfect backpack/wheelie bag for The Magpie
15. prepping for Thanksgiving at parent's place…

And, really, that's just a peek at what I've been up to! Throw in the day-to-day routine & there hasn't been a minute to get creative!! I hope to squeeze in a project or two before we leave for vacation - if it does, I will post a pic or two!

But in the spirit of things…I am thankful for my family, especially my wonderful, loving hubby & bright, snuggly Magpie. I am thankful for our two kooky, sweet doggies that drive us nuts, but are always there to greet us with a wag when we come home! I am thankful for my parents who gave me life & continue to support me in my life's endeavors! I am uber thankful for my sister, who is my besets friend in the whole wide world & don't know how I would get through a day without our 5am texts! I am thankful for all my other friends & family who make my life complete! And lastly, I am thankful for the discovery of my inner-artist that allows me to share, release & grow as a person.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hug someone close today!

Cheers!

My 1st Mixed Media Mamas!

Remember when I posted this picture?

Well, this past Friday, I taught 8 lovely ladies how to create something similar to this canvas in my very first "Mixed Media Mamas" class that I set up in my basement!

Most of the girls have taken those "Canvas & Cocktails" classes where you all paint the same thing, the same way…and a few of my students are artists as well, but had never dabbled in mixed media or layered paintings. So it was great fun to share these techniques with them!!!

We started by adding 2 layers of stencils/mark making in warm & cool colors...

Jan & Lisa playing with stencils

Kelhe concentrating...

Kelhe having fun! LOL!

Sarah speeding things along!

Tonya & Lisa acting for the camera! LOL

Jan adding texture to the sides & then speeding things along.

Erin showing off her beautiful layers!

Charity's gorgeous peacock feathers!

More of Charity's after another layer or two.

After the first 2 layers, we washed the entire surface with a thin layer of paint so that the layers were still visible underneath... 

Jan & Lisa adding a wash of color…Lisa looks worried!

Kelhe getting messy!

Tonya's beautiful wash of orange!

 After that, they played with adding some stamped images to the canvases with paint & ink...

Erin's covered in a soft yellow.

Charity blended green in with her feathers.

 Then they could add more texture with modeling paste & stencils if they desired to!

Kelhe adding some more dimension...

Very subtle!

Tonya added a little contrasting turquoise!

It was so much fun to see how different all of our work turned out & to see the release of creativity that this process brings out in people! NO rules here!!!

The quintessential group shot! Albeit, a little blurry in the back row!

Of course, since I had to show the techniques, I began a canvas (above) during class & added just a bit more after class…

It's not done, but it's a great start!

I can't wait to come up with another class idea for January!!!

If you're local & you think you might want to come, email me with your contact info & I'll be sure to put you on the Evite list!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving week!!

Cheers!

Bits & Bobs for Christmas…continued

Hopefully some of you have popped over from my Altered Pages post to see some more pix of the spools I made using the great products from AlteredPages! If not, you can see the post HERE as well as the links to some of the supplies I used & a little bit about how I made them too.

Otherwise, this is mostly a "picture" post of the Christmas decorations I made using wooden spools…

I was inspired by a similar spool I saw on Pinterest to make this angel! I LOVE PINTEREST!!!

Each angel is attached to a broken pencil that I hot glued into the spools.

 

The two tiny trees I found at Michaels, the other two I bleached myself.

Lastly, I made a few ornaments too…

 

 

I'm hoping to do something like these with my Art Group next month too!

That's it for today!

I'm off to get some Christmas decorations up & work on setting up for my class in the basement this weekend! (I am teaching my first mixed media class to a group of local moms! SO EXCITED)
This is what I am going to teach them:

I will post pictures of their art when we're done!
Have a great day & see you back here for WIP Wednesdays!
Cheers!