An Award That Makes Me Smile

My good friend and sister-in-art, Valerie presented me with this award and it means a lot.  First, because Val is talented, generous and someone I admire greatly, and secondly, because the award is for blogs that bring a smile to your face.  What is better than knowing you've made someone smile?  Check out Valerie's blog, The Sum of All Crafts to see what I mean.

Now, the hard part.  I am to pay this forward and name 5 bloggers to receive it next.  Of course, since Val and I "travel" in many of the same circles, and know the same people, she went ahead and named bloggers I'd have loved to send this to.  So hard.  I want to pass it on to great people, and I also want to spread the word about some blogs you may have missed. 

Well, here goes......

Altered By Me....Arlene is one of my Paper Imagery Designs design teammates, and her lovely work and unique approach always brings a smile to my face.

Diann's Art Spot.....Diann's blog is as beautiful and elegant as she is, and her work is fabulous.  She was recently on an art retreat doing a book with a gypsy theme.  You'll smile at her pages for sure!

scrappassion.....I met Helena on the cruise and started following her blog to see her cruise pictures.  Now I follow simply because it is a great and beautiful blog.

Stamp With Stephanie...Stephanie is another great lady I met on the cruise.  One of my tablemates, in fact.  Steph is talented for sure, but also one of the most open, honest and FUNNY women I've ever met.  All that comes out in her blog and I know you'll enjoy it as well.

Tabby's Place....Kim is one of the first people I met when I entered the world of yahoo groups.  I've swapped many pieces with her over the years and love her work.  Her blog is as inspiring and entertaining as she is.

Now for the last part of this award, I'm to list 5 things you may not know about me.  Yikes!  You know I try to keep this blog about art, so getting too personal is not my thing here, but I'll give it a try:

1.  Next month I turn 62 (how the hell did that happen?) and I've applied for Social Security.  Enough said.
2.  My first full time job after college was an editorial assistant for a food industry trade magazine.  In addition to clerical work I sometimes got to write......blurbs about ketchup dispensers and spatulas.
3.  I JUST joined Facebook and am still trying to figure it out.  Why do people keep wanting to send me fish and flowers and hearts?
4.  If you know me, this is no little known fact.  It is my claim to fame, so I'm using it again for those few who may not know.....I was at Woodstock in the summer of '69.  Yes I was.
5.  I enjoy fishing.  Really.  Even putting bait on a hook doesn't creep me out.  Haven't gone in years.  Once had a fisherman bf.  But would go again.  Anyone have a boat?

Vintage Pendant

One of my yahoo groups, ArtHaven, has a monthly lottery.  A theme is selected and everyone is free to submit anything they like in that theme. The theme for November is "vintage."  Many people create cards, which is what I've done in the past, but this time I decided to do a vintage piece of jewelry.

Almost everything I used is from Tim Holtz's idea-ology line.  The base is an ornate plate and the flowers are from the foliage set.  Some are colored with alcohol inks, and then I added some pearls.  It reminds me of some of the nice costume jewelry pieces my mother used to collect.  

Hey, maybe my name will be picked for the lottery and I'll get to keep it, LOL!

An Award! and Some Tags

Here I am, drinking coffee and checking out all the blogs I follow, and what do I see on my friend Jennifer's blog?  She was given (very rightfully so) this Best Blog Award, and much to my surprise, she passed it on to me!

Thank you Jennifer!  Now, go check out Artistically Designed Diversions while I ponder who I should pass this on to....the hardest part of getting a blogging award is picking only a few blogs to get it next.  There are just countless great ones out there.

Well, you don't know this, but I've been away for a while thinking and drinking (coffee, that is), and here are the blogs that are getting the award from me.  Visit them!

The ART and Musings of Shelly Rae Wood  -- Shelly finds junk and turns it into treasures.  She is talented in so many ways, and funny to boot.

My Thoughts, My Life -- Stephen is in one of my yahoo groups.  His art is beautiful, and he is also a collector.  And it is always nice to see a man blogging about art and life.

GOT ART -- I met Sherry on the cruise.  She is an extremely talented mixed media artist, and her blog is beautiful, well written, thoughtful and funny.

Penny Duncan Creations -- Penny is the list owner of one of my yahoo groups, and she's a computer wiz.  She creates and shares the most amazing files.  If you are into digital at all, have a Cricut or other cutting gizmo (you can tell I am not digital, right?), run to her blog!

Angie's Artful Life -- Angie is my true sister in art!  We are both on the PID design team and though we've never met and live in such very different places and lead very different lives, we have always clicked and we work so well together.  She is a cheerleader for all, encouraging and generous.  But that is not why I'm sending you to her blog.  She creates beautiful cards, wall hangings, jewelry....you name it!

Shelly, Stephen, Sherry, Penny and Angie....grab that award, post it on your blogs and then pass it on.

On to some art.   One of the cool things we all received on the cruise...in fact the very last gift we got as we left the farewell cocktail party...was a custom made stamp of our cruise logo.

After we returned from the cruise, Gloria, one of the ATT list moms, decided to host a new swap.  We are to create tags featuring this stamp.  We make 12 and get 4 back because the additional tags are going to go to the people who made the cruise the wonderful experience it was....Tim, Wendy, their assistants and the ScrapMap team.

I just finished mine a little while ago, and I'm pleased with the way they came out.

I sprayed my tags with Tim's recipe for mica powder spray, using perfect pearls, reinkers and water.  I stamped, distressed and inked them too.  My Day of the Dead skull is wearing a sombrero (the same one, in fact that I had on the Statue of Liberty for my cruise ATCs). 

The red ticket hanging with the idea-ology piece from the ball chain is one of the tickets Mario gave out with purchases on the cruise.  I wrote my information on the back and laminated them.  Shopping at the market place and the excitement of the give aways at the farewell party were such great memories, I thought adding the ticket was fun.

A New Weekly Sketch Challenge

You may have noticed a new logo on my sidebar:

The Gotham City Stampers is my Stampin' Up team, and my upline Heidi recently created a design team within our team.  I am a proud member!

Every week we receive a sketch (done by Heidi's fiance Marty) and from that inspiration create a card.  Heidi posts our projects each Sunday and invites everyone to take the challenge and use the sketch.

Here is the card I did this week:

                                     

To see the sketch I used, all the other cards created, and to find out more about my amazing team, visit Heidi's blog.  And come back every Sunday to see what we've created that week.

Collaborative Journal

One of the collaborative journal groups I'm in, Through The Eyes Of An Artist, seems to be at about the half way mark.  I received Karen's book last week and there were so many wonderful pages already done to look at and relish.
In some of the groups our journals have themes or color restrictions, but TTEOAA is totally "artist's choice."
I so enjoyed working with beeswax on the cruise, so decided that my pages for Karen would use this medium.
I also included some of the leftover dress pattern paper from Wendy's inspiration board project, some vintage papers and other embellishments I bought in the market place on the ship, and some of Tim's idea-ology pieceds as well.
So, like I told Karen, although the work is mine, there is also a little bit of Tim and Wendy in these pages:

an artful voyage - farewell!

Saturday, October 17th -  our farewell
Oh, this week went by too quickly!  After Tim's great shadowbox class I had just enough time to drop my things off in my cabin and head to the Lotus Lounge for our farewell cocktail party and HUGE giveaways.
We couldn't believe the stack of goodies on the table that Tim was ready to give to some lucky cruisers.
Every time we shopped in the market place and spent a certain amount of money, Mario gave us tickets.  I know I did my bit for the economy by the number of red tickets I had.

Yes, there are three electric Big Shot there to be given away!  Although I did not have any of my numbers called, many of my new friends did, and the excitement in the room was tremendous.

Stephanie (aka Club 300 President), was a winner more than once.  One of the prizes was a border punch system by Tonic.  Afterwards she told me she didn't need it and wanted to give it to me.  Is that sweet or what?

Jim from ScrapMap had a giveaway too.  Someone won a spot on the 2010 Tim cruise to New England!
As we poured out of the lounge to go to dinner we each received a little suitcase.  Inside was a special stamp of the cruise logo.  Can't wait to use it in my travel journal.

Our last dinner together was the usual -- great food, fabulous service, lots of laughs.  We all exchanged emails and I hope to dine with these great ladies again in the fall of 2010.

Sunday, October 18th -  back in L.A.

I'd opted for valet checkout.  I left my bags in the hallway last night and supposedly (I guess I'm not that trusting a soul) the next time I have to deal with them will be in NYC.

I got off the ship early and easily, found my shuttle to the airport, spent some time there making phone calls and sending texts, had lunch, then took off.  Great trip home, smooth and uneventful.  I even slept a bit.  And much to my great relief and surprise, my bags DID arrive with me!

Home, unpacking, looking at all my "stuff," uploading photos, telling everyone that this was the trip of a lifetime, and then.....actually convincing one of my best art buddies to come along with me in 2010. 

Sorry it's over, but the memories and the things I learned will stay with me forever.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing this artful voyage with me.

an artful voyage - our last day at sea - Tim's mega-class

Saturday, October 17th
Our last full day.  Sigh.  After breakfast spent several hours in the studio.  Love having this creative space available 24/7.  This afternoon is Tim's mega-class.  What a wonderful way to end this artful voyage!
We entered Tim's classroom at 1:00pm and saw that we would be making shadow boxes.

The project is called "Flight of Creativity," and you can see the shadow box, a small carved wooden bird, jewelry pliers.....under the written directions, causing that little lump is the package of additional supplies.  We found a small canvas, papers, tags, crystals, a key, mirrors, clock faces, Tim's idea-ology corners, tiny bottles with cork stoppers, small bits of old wooden rulers, metal numbers, rub-ons, tickets, bling, a tiny crown for the bird, Tim's filmstrip ribbon, and more.

I noticed that on the "stage" area in front of the room were several melting pots.

And of course, on each work table were distress inks and blending tools to share.

This project was packed with techniques.

We covered the bird with pieces of dictionary paper, then inked it.

The back part of the box was covered with other papers, in collage style.  The tiny canvas was also covered with paper, then with tickets.  We were called up to the stage area 6 at a time, where Karen (aka Keychain) showed us how to cover the box back and canvas with beeswax.

Over the beeswax went some Perfect Pearls.

At this point we were free to arrange the elements however we liked.  I was considering the idea of giving my bird a little time out:

Unfortunately (or maybe luckily!), in that position he didn't fit behind the glass of the shadow box.  But it received several laughs, including a big one from Tim.

I had a lot of fun arranging and rearranging the elements until I was satisfied with the placement of everything.  Crystals were attached with screw eyes, the bird's crown embellished and attached, the frame distressed, some rub-ons applied, and voila!  My Flight of Creativity:

I actually was able to finish this project well within the 3 1/2 hours of the class, and so had some time to take pictures of some of Tim's beautiful projects that were on display all week in the market place:

I noticed this piece of art on the wall on Deck 8.  I passed it every day on the way to and from my cabin.  I had to snap it, because it reminded me of Tim.  Check out the wheels and sprockets.  And can you guess what the seat is made of?   A shoe horn!  Pretty cool.

There was actually quite a bit of art all over the ship.  Some cheesy, of course.  But some caught my eye.  I really enjoyed the graphic quality and bright colors of these (they were actually all part of one piece, displayed side by side, but I couldn't get a good panoramic shot):

On one of my many visits to the market place, Mario suggested this as a cool photo.  I'm the black flip flop, Mario the sneaker, and I just don't remember who the other feet belong to. 

All that is left to report on is the farewell cocktail party and my departure on Sunday morning.  I know I'm shamelessly dragging this out, but I want to keep reliving this wonderful wonderful experience.  Later!

an artful voyage - club 300, a beautiful necklace, and more

About Club 300....I was seated at Table 300 for dinner.  I didn't know a soul, but I'm not shy, so I wasn't worried.  However, having been on many cruises I knew that the "wrong" people or the "wrong" waiter can go a long way to spoiling a cruise experience.
Well, the luck of the draw was with me.  We were a table full of friendly, lively, and FUNNY women, and we were also blessed with the very best waiter in Robert, and assistant in Jude.
We quickly became not a table, but a cohesive group, hence Club 300.  Stephanie from NJ is our president, and Andrea, also from NJ (yea! the east coast was represented well!), who was never without her camera, is our historian.  We also all have nicknames.  For some reason, I'm called Bronx.  Go figure.  LOL!

Stephanie, Me, Andrea and an interloper from another table behind us.  LOL!

Jude and Robert gave the BEST service and we always got extras without asking.

How could we not be a happy table with such a happy waiter?

The wait staff even provided entertainment.

These are the only table pictures I took????  I must have been too busy eating.  I have to go blog hopping and steal some more.

After dinner (remember, it's still Friday, October 16th), I raced to my cabin to change for Wendy's short class.  We used Tim's fragment charms and beautiful papers and bling to create necklaces.  I also added some idea-ology pieces in between the charms.  I really love this piece and plan to make more.

And now for something completely different.....here is Kathy who really believed in wearing her art.  In my first post about the cruise there's a picture of her at the hotel in L.A. showing off one of her altered shoes.  Here Kathy models an awesome grungepaper vest:

The voyage is almost over....sigh.....but there's still Tim's mega class and the farewell cocktail party.  So stay tuned.....

an artful voyage - our day in Cabo San Lucas

Friday, October 16th
Learned my lesson in Puerto Vallerta yesterday, and signed up for an excursion this morning...it is called Coastal Highlights, and the main thing it has going for it is the air conditioned bus we'll travel in. 
I had a nice leisutely breakfast, read for a while, then took the tender to town at about 10am.  I don't have to meet my excursion group for another hour or so, so I have time to do a little shopping.  So far, I like Cabo waaay better than Puerto Vallerta.  Nicer stuff in the shops and the vendors aren't as aggressive.

On line to board the bus, I saw Kathy, one of my Club 300 tablemates (more about that later), and was happy to see a familiar face.  The bus was large, modern, and happily, very air conditioned.  On the way to our first stop we passed Cabo Wabo:

Sadly, a stop for some tequila was not in the tour description.  Onward to a glass blowing factory.  Pretty hot near the furnace, but I always find glass blowing to be fascinating.

Then on to a resort with some fabulous views, and a complimentary soft drink to sooth parched throats.

Next stop, the sister city of Cabo San Lucas, San Jose de Cabo.  I loved this town!  We saw some sights, and I had time to shop (found some cool Day of the Dead stuff, and the shopkeepers here were very low key), and grab a bite to eat.

Last stop, a cactus garden.  Along with several others, I opted to remain on the bus.  Don't love cacti, don't love the heat.

Good thing I shopped before and during the excursion, because we got back to Cabo just in time to take one of the last tenders back to the ship.

And saw some pretty sights along the way:

Tonight is our second "formal" dinner and afterwards Wendy's short class.  More on that later....