Wishcasting Wednesday

Well here we are the end of the year and of course Jamie asks us:

What do you wish for 2010?

I thought this would be an easy one but things change and so must our wishes. I've let go of a few things in the past few weeks that I'd been holding on to even though I knew it was time to move on and let go. Why is it we hold on to thing when we know they may not be in our best interests? Is it just the security of knowing what it is as apposed to the unknown?

So for 2010 I wish for the strength and courage to move on and try new things. To believe in the process and the bigger picture.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Boxing week sales

Things are still busy around here with the boys home for the holidays and still more family to visit this week.

I just wanted to share my boxing sales find with you. The Painted Pony has everything on sale for just a few days this week. Check out her blog here for what's on sale or go visit her at the store in Stittsville.

Best Wishes

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and is resting up today. Luckily the weather was fine for us here as we traveled from family to family on Christmas Eve and Day. Today we are glad of the rest and to be inside on this icy winter wonderland. It's beautiful from my door but treacherous on the roads. Keep warm and save. Have a wonderful weekend.

Winner

Sorry for the delay in posting. As you can probably guess I've just been busy getting ready for you know what.

So the winner is Jennifer Pearson Vanier. She writes a wonderful blog called Adventures in Mixes Media that I love to follow. Check it our here. And in warmer weather be sure to visit her wonderful Milk House Gallery near Prescott, On. She has so many wonderful things for sale to use for your next collage or altered art piece or what ever your creative fancy is, as well as her own collage pieces to inspire you.

Well this is a short post since I'm off to do more shopping today. The boys are home for the holidays and of course they haven't done any shopping yet. So wish us luck. They tell me they can get it all done in an hour.

Oh by the way I think I've finally gotten over the tag craze. I have made a few pieces of jewelry but they are presents so I'll have to wait to post them till after Christmas. But here's a clue as to what's new in my jewelry stash. It's very riveting!

Wishcasting Wednesday

Today's Wishcasting prompt is:
What do you wish to give?

This fits in so well with my blogging this week since I've been giving away tags to my commenter. Of course we all feel like giving this time of year and it feels so good to be giving back to my followers who support my creative side. The feedback has been wonderful and I hope to keep giving through my blog in the next year.

Another aspect of giving I enjoy and would like to continue doing is the sharing of my knowledge of crafty things. When I'm interested in a new product I dive in and want to know everything there is about it. How it work or what you can achieve with it. Why one product is better than another. And how can I push the limits of products. This helps me a great deal when I'm teaching but I also find myself sharing this information when I'm with a group of kindred spirits. I will continue to give this way as long as I have friends that would like to receive this gift.

Enjoy the giving season!

More tags

Yes I made more tags last night. And it seems that a few of you are looking for another chance to win. I think I do have to stop making tags though and get some other things done, like my Christmas shopping! So you have till Friday evening to leave a comment before I do a random draw for the next tag.

Winner

And the lucky winner of a tag is:
Laura said...

I agree, I'd want to keep your tags to myself... they're gorgeous!

Thanks Laura, e-mail me with your mailing address and I'll get that right out to you.

Thank you all for you lovely comments. It's so nice to get some feedback. Stay tuned. I may just have more tags to share in the upcoming week.

Win a tag

Okay, the tag creating may be turning into an addiction. It's day 12 of Tim's tags but I don't think I can stop making them and I probably have more tags than I do presents to put them on!

Oh wow, it just came to me. I'd love to share some of my tags with my readers. So if you're out there, let me know what you think of my tags so far and I'll pick a random comment to win a tag. I'll try to get it to you before Christmas too. You have till Monday at noon to comment.







Here is a tag inspired by Tim's tag yesterday and one of my own.

Tim Holtz inspired cards

Well I can't keep up with Tim's great tags but I have been trying to fit in a bit of creative card making time. Some of my tags came out pretty similar but their are a few variations which is the fun part of creating. Some of them I've kept as tags and some I made into cards which is another reason I've gone crazy for these tags. They are very versatile. Here are a few cards and a tag I made this past week. Have you tried any of his tags yet? If not get at it!!







Now to send out some of these Christmas cards to some special people on my list.

Keep creating for Christmas!

Twelve tags of Christmas

Well it's that time of year again and Tim Holtz is at it again. He's sharing his 12 tags of Christmas with us to get the season started. I'm hoping to get some of my versions done too. Here is my first tag which is his day 3 tags. I've just made a few alterations to use what I already have. The flower was way cool to make. I was so glad I had some to be able to try it out. Let me know if you're joining in I'd love to see your tags.

Happy Tagging!

Wishcasting Wednesday

Okay I know it's Thursday but the week has gotten away from me and I guess I missed Wednesday. So on to the Wishcasting.

This week Jamie's Wishcasting prompt is:

What is your winter wish?

Well I didn't realize until this winter wish came my way but I've been in denial that it's winter yet. So I've decided to not think of the cold aspects of winter. My wish is to stay warm and cozy all winter long. To hibernate at home while working on my creative side. To concentrate on all those things I've put off all fall because I've been busy with workshops and shows. Winter is a great time for doing those things that their never seems to be time for. I'm going to make a list of all those things I've been meaning to get done or organized in the last few years and set January and February aside just for them. And if I don't get them done in that time I will then decide if it's worth doing it at all or if I need someone else to do it for me. Wow that may be a big order but I think by giving myself an ultimatum it may just work. These wishes really do bring out interesting thing for me.
What is your wish for this week?

Motivation

Their is nothing like a deadline or two to get you motivated. With the Open House on Sunday and another show next week I've been in a great creative mode. Here is one of a few more cards that I've gotten done today.

Have a creative weekend.

Open House

Just getting ready for my Open House Art and Craft sale on Sunday. Hope you can make it. It's at 3557 Munster Rd. from 1:00-5:00pm.

These are some coasters I'm finishing up for the show.

My workspace

So I don't usually show people my workspace without altering (read tidy) it before hand but here is my jewelry workspace where I was working last night without any alterations. Okay so it's not so bad but you can't see the large piles of things all around that I haven't figured out how to organize yet.
After discovering Magpie girls blog this morning the wheels and cogs in my brain started to creak. I was reading her 8 things list about Creative Rhythm and it made me realize that I really don't know what my creative rhythm is. Some days it seems to work but for the most part I don't feel that it does. I get distracted easily and don't have my priorities clearly set in my mind. So without putting a huge amount of thought into it here is my preliminary list of 8 things about my creative rhythm:

1. I work best with soothing music in the background.
2. Things need to be relatively organized so I can get at them as soon as the thought strikes me. Digging or searching for items can loose the creative flow.
3. I don't tidy up after myself every time I have a creative session but I do do regular tidy ups so things don't get too out of hand.
4. I seem to be doing a lot of creating in the evening which is strange for me because I've never been a night person. This is something to consider, why I'm doing it and how I can create more during the day.
5. Outer creative stimulus is important both for the creative mind and socially support, so I get together regularly with a creative friends.
6. When I'm creating my mind seems to be going a mile a minute, my pulse feels like its racing and I'm working on many creations at once. Although this works on some levels it's exhausting and probably not the most productive method. This is something I need to look closer at and see how I can improve it.
7. Lists: I am a list person which I need to accept and use them for good not evil. See them as helpful support not nagging reminders.
8. Although I don't schedule things in my life I think some loose schedule would be helpful for me right now.

Thanks you for listening to my creative rambling. Let me know what your creative rhythm is.

Here's a pair of earring I did finish last night in the midst of my disorganized desk.

Wishcasting Wednesday

This weeks Wishcasting question is "What step do you wish to take?"

I wish to take one step at a time on this journey of art that I'm on for this is all that I can do. I think I'll make it a slow step so that I can savour the creative process and remember to enjoy the view along the way.

I will also take this step with special friends by my side for the joy and support they give me and hopefully I can give them back. For without these friends I don't think this step would be possible and I know it would not be as much fun. It has been my friends that started me on this journey and friends that have encouraged me when I wasn't sure it this was the right step to be making.

So if you're taking a creative step remember to keep you friends by you side along the way.

Enjoy the journey.

Blooms

Here's a canvas I finished up last week. Or at least it may be finished. I think I may still add a word or two. Any suggestions?

This is a short post since I'm getting ready for my Open House sale this Sunday. I started some new jewelry pieces last night so if all goes well I'll post them tomorrow or you'll have to come to the Open House to see for yourself.

Must go create!

Tags

Ah Monday! So quiet and peaceful after a busy family weekend.

Although I was being very domestic last week, I did have a friend come over one night and get me started on some tags. I was up long after she had left creating with my tags and thinking Christmas. I bought a box of a thousand large tags and shared them with a few friends a couple of weeks ago.

So why tags? Well if you know me you've probably heard me mention Tim Holtz and if you've ever checked out his blog you've seen him use tags for all his techniques. Well last December I got together with Cindy and Sharron over at Painted Pony and we did a few of Tim's Christmas tags . It was so much fun I had to get more tags.

Here are some that I got done. I'll post more soon. Look for Tim's 12 Days of Christmas tags starting again this year on December first.

Wishcasting Wednesday

Wow, a wish to make each week. Check it out over at Jamie Ridler's blog. I found this blog through Sheila's blog. She's been wishing for a few weeks and I thought I'd try it out too.

Since she told me about it I've found myself thinking about wishes. Do I believe in wishing? Do I dare not believing in them? Well I do believe in the power of spiritual energy in and around us and how this can grow exponentially when people join together in efforts to make something happen. So yes I guess I do believe in wishes, I just hadn't really thought of it as wishes and I certainly haven't tried to wish together with others. It's a very exciting thing to try.

This week's wish prompt is "What do you wish to embrace?"

I wish to embrace possibilities. To open my mind and heart to those possibilities. To be aware of them as they approach me and take them into my arms and gently hold on to them without crushing them before they can grow within me. To see them for what they are... part of me, that has always been there trying to peek out to see if the time is right to surface and be used to its full potential.

Have you made a wish today?

Prince Edward County

We just had a wonderful weekend with a few family members in Prince Edward County. Other than a bit of rain and wind on Saturday the weather was pretty good for Halloween weekend. We visited many local wineries to sample some great wines and brought home plenty to enjoy in the upcoming months. We were also able to check out a few Antiques stores although many were closed for the season. We must go back in the summer. Here are a few pictures of the many that I enjoyed taking. The scenery is beautiful their and I look forward to going again.

Re-organizing

Well I've been cleaning and reorganizing my studio. I'm very fortunate to have a very large space to create and teach. In the last year I've been very bad at keeping up with the organizing of it so things have started to pile up. I know I shouldn't bring anything else in without taking something out but that doesn't seem to happen for me. So now I'm facing with the job or sorting and purging to declutter not only my space but also my mind. As things get messy in the studio it make me not even want to go in there and when I do I get distracted by the clutter build up. If things work out I may even post a photo of my studio.

So the creating has been pretty slow right now. These are a pair of earrings I made a few weeks ago.










And this is an upcoming class I'll be teaching at the Painted Pony. If you're interested she's ordering the clocks this week so sign up soon.

Wire Work

I have so many things in jewelry making that I want to try. I had no idea when I started this journey just how fascinating it was and how many different ways there are to make jewelry. I've been trying out some wire wrapping this past week. Mostly just spirals and such. Here are a few of the projects I finished with wire wrapping.

Metal on candles

Part of my incentive for cleaning last week for company coming over was to do some fall decorating. And I managed to find a little time to make these Candle sleeves made form Ten Second Studio metal. I got the idea from their Taco Tuesday video. Check it out here. It was a really fast and easy project.
Today I'm doing some prep work for this weekend show at the Goulbourn Museum on Sunday. I'll post some pictures of some new jewelry I've made tomorrow.

Thanksgiving

Well we're having a wonderful weekend for Thanksgiving and much to be thankful for. We had 2 great meals with family and some beautiful sunny weather. What more could we ask for. The morning air is becoming more crisp so it's time to get out there and in joy all the sunshine that we can.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Daisy

Well I know this isn't a fall picture. But I finally downloaded my picture from my camera from the last 2 months and installed Photoshop Elements to my computer and this is the picture that resulted from playing with it again. I have a lot to learn but cropping and making close up is well within my range. And a little tweaking with the sphere button is kind of fun and funky.

I think a fall car trip to take some colourful pictures is in order. The sun is peaking through the clouds this morning. Have a great day and don't forget to stop and check out the beautiful fall colours.

Next Workshops

Well fall is definitely in the air and all those wonderful fall workshops have started. I did 2 workshops this past weekend and had a great time with some wonderful students. It's very inspiring to see what creations other people come up with. I try to have open ended workshops where people learn the technique but can incorporate there own ideas style to it. All the students I had this last weekend were very creative and made some wonderful jewelry.

Here are a few upcoming workshops. The calendar is going to be on October 23rd at Painted Pony, and the Piano hinge book will be on 0ct. 25th at St. Elmo's Fire.

No Photo's?

Well I haven't been posting because of computer problems. I guess we all have to go through them at one time or another. I've gotten a new computer so a little more patience is needed to get everything back to what I'm use to. I don't have any of my photo's back on my computer yet and haven't even downloaded my camera software so photo's have to wait a little while longer.

I have been working on some interesting things though. Check out my Metal Book Workshop at Painted Pony. It's a 5"X8" journal with the covers both made of embossed metal. And the inside pages are coloured with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist. I've already got ideas to make another one for a Christmas present. It's hard to make just one of something when there's so many colour choices...

Well I'll try to get the computer up to date in the next couple of days to get some pictures to post. What is a blog without pictures!!!?

Almonte Fibrefest

It's that time of year again. The Almonte Fibrefest is this weekend. I'll be there selling jewelry for the weekend. If you haven't been before, it's a great show with lots to see. The show hours are Saturday from 10am to 5 pm and Sunday 10am to 4 pm. I'll be in the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum but there will be more vendors in the North lamark Agricultural Hall also. Hope to see you there.

New Workshops

Well I've been very busy working on some projects for workshops this fall. The problem being I have so many ideas in my head and they all think they should be worked on first. So it's been a little crazy...at least in my head anyway. But I have managed to quiet the projects in my head enough to get a few things ready. Here's a sneak peek at one of the necklaces we'll do at a workshop at The Painted Pony. The date has yet to be set but I'll let you know when the new schedule is up for the fall.

Watch parts

Here's a necklace that I was inspired to make after taking the wired dragonfly workshop last month. It's made with watch parts that are all wired in place. I've tried to make both the front and the back interesting because necklaces always flip over while wearing them anyway, also it's like have 2 necklaces in one.

Summer learning

Well summer sure does make the time fly. I've been more busy gardening than creating but I did manage to go to a workshop at the Dragon's Lair on the weekend and learn how to make this wire wrapped dragonfly from Jane Christie. Lot's of fun and I learned a lot. Can't wait to try it on some of my own jewelry creations.

This week looks like a busy but fun one. I'm off tomorrow to do a kids workshop at a friends place. Then I have a get together with a friend and maybe a trip to a beading store with another friend. And to end the week I'm teaching metal embossing at the Painted Pony on Saturday and jewelry making at St. Elmo's Fire on Sunday. Wow...does it get any better!

Jewelry

Well it seems summer has arrived today. I'm just taking a break from gardening. I know the garden should already be planted, but life happens and the garden can wait. Even though I've been busy with other things lately I did manage to get some jewelry done in the last few weeks. Here are a few of the pieces I did. To see more you can go visit St. Elmo's Fire gift shop in Stittsville. For the address check out her web site here.