Sweet Finds

Lordy, Lordy...

 
Lordy Lordy I'm 40!

That's the BIG joke around my house.

~

But it's official,  as of yesterday,

I'm now the big 4-0!

The kids think it's funny.

 
My daughter has been telling people I was

40 for the last couple of years.  

And my son said yesterday that I'm nearly half dead.

I guess when I was 14,   forty seemed old.  LOL

Anyhoo,  I had a pretty good day.

I got lots of birthday wishes on Facebook.

Thank you,  if you were one of them.  :)

And since I spent my weekend in Houston,

I shared a wonderful lunch with Mendy!

We talked for hours & really enjoyed each

others company!  She also gifted me this

adorable soldered charm that she made!

 
Thanks Mendy.  I luv it!!

When I got home from Houston,

this was waiting for me in my mailbox:

 

 
   
Isn't it adorable?

It's from Bryanna.  I recently told her that

I am obsessed with Frida, so she purchased

this from Danita & had it sent to me.

Thanks Bry!  The bracelet will go perfectly

with the new dress I just bought!

xoxo, Joanna
  

The Next Chapter~

The last several weeks have been super busy

for me & my daughter.

Ready or not,  the next chapter in our lives

is here!!!  Eeek!  :)

She's already been to camp & drill team practices

are in full swing!

Which means,  my drill team duties as "spirit & party mom"

have started as well...

parent association meetings, fundraising, party planning

and the fun part,

making spirit gifts like  this soldered bauble.

  
The black dangly charm is an odd ball earring

that I found in my jewelry box.

 I haven't soldered in a while.

Maybe a year or so...  but I think the necklace

came together well.

I have to admit,  I love that my daughter wants me

to make gifts for her friends.   ; )

Pink Eye Candy

I'm in the middle of a studio re-do.

Fun! Fun!  :)

I'll show the entire room soon.

But for now,

I thought you might enjoy seeing

some of the pink eye candy

I have "sprinkled" about.

 

 

 

 

 

See anything you like?   tee-hee

My "non-artsy" sister came over the other day.

(my brother-in-law was hanging the new chandi I got for my studio). 

She looked around my room

for a second &  said..   

"What the hell do you do with all this stuff?

Someone could go shopping in here!

It looks like an antique mall!"

LOL

I'm sure that was a compliment!!!

hugs, Joanna

for more pink goodness,  go to Beverly's

Butterfly Wishes

Did you hear?

Mary of Green Paper issued a challenge...

Print out the "Miss Mary Hayes" collage sheet

and use all 3 of the images in any kind of art piece you'd like.

- 

I've been known to pass up many challenges,

but this one...   just seemed like fun.

I knew almost immediately what I wanted to do.

 

What do you think?

Can you "spot" the 3 images?

 

1.)  Miss Mary-    hmm,  that's obvious.  :)

2.)  vintage envelope-   butterfly wings

3.)  floral cigarette clip art-   Miss Mary's "crown"

and the little twig that she is holding.

(top)

(bottom)

 
 

I'm really pleased with the way my collage turned out!

Now I just have to find the perfect place to display her.

Mary (of Green Paper),  if you are reading this,

I hope you post another challenge soon.  : )

xoxo, Joanna

Inspired

I've been inspired by this

old farm table:

 

and these cute chippy chairs!

Inspired to re-do my studio.

I'm so excited!   I think this is,  um, the 3rd or 4th time

I've "re-done" my room.   But I think this is the best yet.  :)

I spent a good chunk of my weekend

 bouncing around from my studio to the garage...

Painting, sanding, & antiquing.

I've tried painting lil' things before,  frames & such,

and I  have always hated the outcome.

But this time,  I was determined to do better.

So, I lurked Karla's blog until I found some instructions.

And I turned this unattractive set

into something I could live with.

 

It's not the best. But,  I'm happy with it.

Esp.  since its my first piece of furniture to paint.

I still have some work to do (in my room)

but I'm hoping to be done soon.

 Until then,  here's a little peek.

I hope you like it as much I as do!  :)

hugs, Joanna

Paper Cowgirl Vendor Night

I love telling this story...   LOL

Last year,  Angela of Filigree Moon & I shared a booth.  

And I thought we made the perfect pair!  : )

She had the "handcrafted" items...

and I had the "stuff".

The perfect booth,  huh?

But this year,   she had other plans.   tee-hee

  
Yep,  that's me!  At "MY"  booth.     Alone.  : )

Due to space limitations,   she  we agreed to each have our own

booth this year.    No lie,  early on,  I was nervous...

maybe even doubting myself a little.

But I soon snapped out of it & did what I had too.

PLAN, SHOP,  & CREATE!

I even set up a "mock" booth in my living room

weeks before the show to make any "final" adjustments.

   
I have to say... things went really, really well.

I had a GREAT show!

I was able to do what I truly enjoy doing...

visit with friends/customers

 and share my "goods" at a reasonable price!

There was only one problem... I had no camera.  : (

(so, I borrowed these photos from Anne...  Thanks!!!) 

And to Angela,  my sweet, sweet friend...

Thanks for pushing me out of my comfort zone!

hugs, Joanna

ps.  I want my own booth next year as well.  LOL

A Feathered Friend

It's hard to believe a week has passed

since our gathering at Paper Cowgirl.

About this time (9:00 am) last Saturday,

I was busy packing my class kits into the car,

making sure I had all my vendor stuff,

and trying to finish up a cute lil' apron I had

started to make at 7:00 am that morning.  : )

(crafting relaxes me!)

So, back to my class...

"A Feathered Friend Collection"

 

With the gracious permission of Rebecca Sower,

I taught a collage technique I learned from her.

My vision for the classroom was "cozy & intimate",

so I draped the table with a silk cloth

and I added a simple centerpiece of twigs & doves.

Each student was greeted with a class kit,

complete with a tissue bloom, project instructions,

and a special gift:   the peat's pot nest

that was sealed in beeswax.

 

I think things went well.  *wink*

The students really seemed to enjoy themselves.

There was lots of talking & gigglin'

and they were full of compliments & praise.

I think know I had the BEST class ever!

To my students...

Thank you!!

I truly enjoyed my time with each of you

and I left class with a full heart.

hugs, Joanna

Love~ H.A.T.E

Please forgive me...

for it's been 3 weeks since my last

blog update!

Since returning from Jenn's event in Georgia,

I have been super busy with Paper Cowgirl;

assembling, creating, planning... literately everyday.

But, to be truthful,  that's not the reason I've been distant.

Unfortunately, I've had a real bad case of

Love~ H.A.T.E issues when it comes to blogging.

Do you ever feel like that?   Hopefully,  I'm not the only one,

for I would surely be embarrassed.

But after countless hours of thinking,

and chatting with friends (and the hubby)

I'm happy to report...

that I'm back.    I'm not gonna shut 'er down.

woo-hoo!  : )

hugs, Joanna

PS.  I've missed you guys!

R U like me?

Are you like Me?

Do you shop a lot??

Do you buy things because

they are on S-A-L-E??  : )

I've always denied it, but my hubby

swears I buy shit  crap  STUFF simply

because it's on "sale!"  (his words)   : )

...As in the case of these cups!

 

 I bought them about a year ago.

Yes, they were on sale!   Tee-hee.    50% off.

I thought they were cute

& figured I could stuff them with fun

little knick knacks & distribute them to some

of my Bella sistas.  But, as you can see, 

that never happened.  : )

So, here I am,  a year later...

recalling those darn,  cute cups.

Wait!

They're perfect for the napkin swap

I'm participating in!

swap rules:  

distribute 2 decorative napkins to each

person in the swap.   Simple, huh?

The napkins are to be used for decoupage purposes.

So,  I thought...  it would be super cute to

make a lil'  "Napkin Kit":

Each "kit" contains:

1 water cup,

2 pretty napkins,

a sponge brush &

1 bottle of paint

I used some left over tulle to make a little

mesh bag to hold all the contents.

Cute, huh?

 

...and my hubby thinks I buy stuff  just because!

Hmmm!

Pretty Pillows

pretty.   little.   pillows.

   

O' how I love thee!

so adorable.

so cute.

and so easy!

(made from card stock, scrapbook paper,

and other bits & pieces I had in my stash)

Wanna see what's inside of them???

You do?

I thought you might.  : )

One yard of vintage trim

gently wrapped in vintage patterned paper.

I thought it would be cute to carry out a

little sewing theme:

trim, sewing pattern, needle, buttons.

Maybe I'll add a little tag that says,

"sew cute"

what do you think??

hugs,  Joanna