My sleeping baby!

I LOVE this pup! Isn't he the cutest?!?

Just like a toddler in their terrible twos, you can really adore them when they're asleep!

Twilight Night

OK, what did everybody think?


November 21, 12:01 am. We bought our tickets months ago and were so excited! All 8 theaters were rented out and when we were on our way out of the midnight showing, there was a group waiting to go in for a 2:40 showing. All of Utah and salt lake County was like that, and probably more. Over 75 theaters were rented out that night!

Melodie, me and Ileana

This is my friend Jeanney who had rented out the theater.

There was a raffle with tons of prizes! Ileana won the very best thing, I was so happy for her! It's a sterling silver charm bracelet with a charm representing each of the characters.

More journal pages

I'm just about finished with my 2nd art journal, just a page or two left. I like to wait until I'm almost done to decorate the cover, so I did this last week. I was REALLY happy with how it turned out!

There is a wonderful blog by a very talented woman. She is very free and creative and I love that! embers.typepad.com In January of last year she started a project for her viewers online. It is a deck of cards called "The Deck of You." You check it out at http://embers.typepad.com/e/2007/01/page/2/ She gave a new prompt each week for a card. I've decided to use these prompts for journal pages. This is challange #3 I am...


I did this a few weeks ago. First, I put down a ripped paper towel with some Modge Podge, then just painted the sun and stapled some ribbons in the corner. The inspiriation was a small drawing of a sun that I saw in a magazine add. I really like the texture!


I had an artist friend that told me one of her teachers had taught that you should draw a self-portrait everyday. I have gotten out of the practice, but decided to do this a few weeks ago. I was really pleased with this, especially because its much skinnier than I am!


I had done these pages about a year ago, but just recently added the quote by marriane Williamson. I'd like to share it,
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'who am I to be brilliant...talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a Child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. there is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you...We are born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us...As we let our own light shine, we unconciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
I absolutely LOVE this quote! May we all learn to live it!

My own version of shower jelly.

Before I ordered my Lush, I was loving the idea of the shower jelly. I searched online and found a recipe. I made the version with the two packets of gelatin so that it would be firm enough to hold and use as is. (With the Lush version, many people pinch off a piece and smush it into a loofah because its hard to hold on to.) I think I may try using just one and a half packs next time and see how it works. You keep it in the fridge so when you use it is nice and cool and silky. I did not use the preservative and I have had the green one well over a month and it is still just fine!
I just found a new recipe that looks more like Lush's. Here is the link to it http://www.craftbits.com/viewProject.do?projectID=3

Here is the recipe I used:

1/2 cup melted transparent pour and melt soap. You can also substitute the melt and pour for a liquid shower gel or bubble bath. (I didn't notice you could use liquid soap. I might try that to make it a little more jiggly!)

2 cups boiling water

1 envelope Knox brand unflavored gelatin

1/2 oz Germaben II (a preservative that prevents mold and available from many online supply companies). Only needed if you won't be using the bath jelly within a few weeks. A couple teaspoons of Vodka (yes, the kind you drink) will also help prevent mold and can be used instead of Germaben II.

1/4 to 1/2 ounce fragrance oil

Water based soap coloring


Several small containers, like empty yogurt containers, or plastic baby food tubs. I love the plastic baby food containers because they are clear (with no label) and have snap-on lids.

GETTING STARTED

Step One
This receipe will make approximately 16 ounces of bath jelly. For firmer Jelly that you can slice, add 1 additional packet of gelatin to the above ingredients. Sliced jelly soap pictured below. I poured the gelatin/soap mixuture into square Tupperware containers, let set up and then gently removed from tray with a plastic spatula.

Step Two
In a bowl, add gelatin to boiling water. Slowly (and I mean slowly; you don't want to create a bunch of foam) stir until completely dissolved.

Step Three
Set the gelatin/water mixture aside. Using a glass measuring cup, melt the soap base on a low setting in the microwave. Be careful not to overheat.
Step Four
Allow melted soap to cool down a bit before adding fragrance and color.
Step Five
Pour melted soap into the gelatin/water mixture. Stir slowly and gently.
Step Six
Pour mixture into clean containers. Allow to set up in fridge until firm (3-5 hours).
Step Seven
Store any unused bath jelly in the fridge until ready to use. Like any gelatin, it will melt if stored at room temp.
Step Eight
NOTE: You can revise this recipe using liquid soap or bubble bath. Substitute 1/2 cup clear shower gel or bubble bath for the melt and our soap and reduce boiling water to 3/4 cups.

Jewelry Making- Watch Bands

Last spring I got these at a craft boutique here in town. I absolutely loved the idea of switching out the bands and the big chunky bracelet style! They're a little pricey so I decided that I could probably make some bands myself .


So, this was my first try at jewelry making. I love the colors of these beads! I did this a while ago, but I'm sure I will end up making lots! I look forward to making other pieces of jewelry as well.

Lush Report #2

Here are more things from Lush that I've tried and REALLY like!
This is the "Ma Bar Bubble Bar." You just break off a chunk and crumble it under the running water for nice rich toffee and chocolate scented bubbles. (It does turn the water a bit dirty looking, but smells great!)


This is the Godiva solid shampoo bar. It smells like jasmine and I have really enjoyed using it. You can buy these tins to keep them in, or if you buy two shampoos, you get a free tin.



This is their most popular soap called, "Honey I Washed the Kids." It smells like honey is gentle enough for sensitive skin. Contains Aloe Vera.

This looks black in this picture, but is actually a deep purple with glitter in it! It is their "Sweetie Pie Shower Jelly," and feels and jiggles just like Jello. It is made from seaweed and contains no gelatin. It is used a s a soap and is very fun and refreshing! This one smells quite sweet and grapey. You can see some better pictures at http://www.lush.com/

This is the "MMM Melting Marshmallow Moments Bath Melt." As you can see it looks loke a cupcake and is about the same size. This, you also crumble under the running water but it just foams instead of bubbles. It melts and releases lots of moisturizers into the water. When I use this I don't need to use anything else on my skin to shave. It is very sweet smelling. (Almost a little too sweet for me.)

They're having a special right now, if you spend $50 you get a free gift. Check them out!

Here I am!

Hello everyone, sorry for the long break. Those of you of you who know me, know that I am bi-polar and also have really bad anxiety, both of which present quite the challange in my life. Sometimes I am much more functional than others, so if you ever don't hear from me for a while, I'm probably just having a hard time. I wanted to be able to add something so I decided to post more of my art journal pages. I highly recommend art journaling to everyone. It is so freeing and especially helpful when having a difficult time. These are not pages that I've done this past week, but more recently than the others I previously posted.

On this page I just layered masking tape and then I took water soluable oil pastels by Portfolio and outlined the pieces of tape and then just smeared it with my finger. I highly recommend this product. Its inexpensive and you can buy them at Staples, Office Max, etc. A pack of 24 colors is about $9. They are nice vibrant colors and smear easily with or without water and you can layer them and blend colors nicely.

This is a page about the Hindu Goddess Sarasvati. She is the goddess of all the arts: music, painting, sculpture, dance and writing. I have a piece of crinkled tissue paper, paint and some melted crayon. I adhered her picture with melted beeswax.

The left page is covered with black artist quality acrylics, which gives it a nice glossy finish. I wrote on top with glitter gel pens. (They're called "The Ultimate Gel Pen" and I love them! They right really smoothly.) The right page is done in dry pastels.

This is the oldest of the pages I'm showing today, but I wanted to show it because it was the first time I used beeswax. You just melt it and then you can paint it right on. It gives a really neat effect. I also used a little melted crayon. I was even able to use the wax to adhere the small Scrabble tiles. Bees wax stays supple so it doesn't dry and crack and fall off.

SO, grab a notebook or sketch pad of some sort and start playing! It is so fun and refreshing. Don't judge, just pretend you're a kid! You can even just use one of those cheap black and white composition books.

A last little bit of Halloween!

I just wanted to share a couple more Halloween things and then I'll be done!
These are the art journal pages I did on my fun-filled Halloween weekend when my friend from Arizona came up to surprise me! (It was actually a couple weeks before Halloween.)


I realized in the pictures of me dressed up as a witch, you could never get a look at my hat. I LOVE this hat! I think it may be my favorite witch hat ever!

This is my "Hocus Pocus" quilt. Its quite a masterpiece, TONS of work!!

I quilted each block to go with the specific applique in it. This one has potion bubbling out of the bottle.

You can see the spiderweb I quilted around the spider.

OK, I promise I'm done with Halloween now!

Art Jornaling

For those of you who are not familiar with art journaling, it is exactly as it sounds, a combination of art and journaling. I first decided to give it a shot about seven years ago when I was inspired by the published journal of artist Sabrina Ward Harrison. Her book was called "Spilling Open- The art of becoming yourself." I have always been a big journaler and then this adds one of my other greatest passions, art. Now let me make something clear, when I say that it is one of my greatest passions this does not necessarily mean I am good at it. But the wonderful thing about art journals is there is no right or wrong. You CAN"T mess it up. There are NO rules! You can use any and every sort of art supply or found objects in your journal and just let yourself and your emotions just spill out onto the pages.

Its an incredibly theraputic process. Its not something that has to be pretty. If you're angry you can scribble in black or red, the point is to give your emotions some place to go so that you can get past them. This is also great way to figure out things. These pages started a series of pages answering the question, "Who do I want to be?" One of the things I love is trying all sorts of different techniques. I will try to share some of these with you in the future. There are also some great tutorials on Youtube. (I've decided I LOVE Youtube! You can learn how to do anything on there!) You might not be able to tell, but on the above right hand page I printed one of my favorite quotes on acetate and then just used stickers to tape it in. This is what the quote says:

"I want to be a woman who lives with TRUTH and without fear. I want to reach the highest vibration of humanity possible. I want my LIGHT to shine so brightly that others will be attracted to it and be compelled to SHINE as brightly. I want to be truth in the universe, to SEEK it, to STAND for it, to BE it. "

~Oprah Winfrey

You'll notice that I like to put quotes in my art journals. I find it a perfect way to keep favorites that I hear or read. Its a nice way to keep them accessible.

This last one I did recently, but the others were from my first art journal. I can see my style changing as I learn new things. I will share more pages soon. These were kind of similiar because I happened to choose several with quotes, but I journal all sorts of pages. Sometimes there is alot of journaling and sometimes it is more art. Sometimes I may not have much to say, but I feel like creating, so I'll just work on backrounds and then another time, go back and add to them. Or other times, I may not be feeling very creative but I have alot to say or just need to get stuff out of my head so then I'll just fill a page or two with writing. Like I said, NO RULES!!

Lush Report- My favorites so far!

OK, here we go. The very first thing I tried was the "Mange Too Massage Bar." They have these great massage bars that melt with the warmth of your hands. On the reviews that I watched, I found that alot of women use them as lotions. Its a little greasy at first but then it soaks right in. I use mine at night and rub it on my hands, elbows and feet. It has a very pleasant, light scent of honey and white chocolate.

This odd looking specimen is "Angels on Bare Skin." It is a cleanser and exfoliator. It smells very herby and natural. I wouldn't want the scent to stay on me, but the product is great! I really love the way it leaves my face feeling. Its kind of interesting to use. You just pinch off a little piece and then add a little water to it in the palm of your hand and work it into a paste.

I REALLY like this one! Its a solid shampoo called "Trichomania." I love the idea of the solid shampoo because it saves on packaging. One bar should last about 80 washes. I like the scent of this one. It is supposed to be coconut cream. This one is a shampoo and conditioner in one. I thought that I might still need to use a liquid conditioner, but I didn't. I was really happy with the way it left my hair feeling.

This is the "It's a Date Bubble Bar" You just break some off, (you can see where I took a chunk) and crumble it under the running water. They actually intend you to use the whole thing, but its not necessary. Especially if you have a jetted tub! This has a sweet and fruity scent and turns the water pink with rich thick bubbles! (And yes, that's a real date stuffed in the top!)

This is a Body Butter that used to be called "Buffy the Backside Slayer." They had to change the name, so now its just "Buffy." It is to be used in the shower and is both a moisturizer and EXTREME exfoliator. So go easy with it the first time you try it! It has ground almonds, rice and aduki beans and has a light lavender scent. You don't need to put lotion on when you get out because it leaves you nice and buttery. Just pat dry and it all soaks in!

Lush Products

As many of you know, I have recently discovered a new company called Lush. They make natural bath and body products that are SO fun! They started in the UK thirty years ago and their shops are now worldwide. (Except of course, not in Utah!) You can check them out at http://www.lush.com/ I heard about them for the first time about three weeks ago and became immediately obsessed! There are some fun review videos on Youtube that I just kept watching over and over. I placed a large online order and began anxiously awaiting their arrival! I want to share some pictures and reviews of some of the things I ordered. I will label those posts "Lush Report" so that they will be easily found (or avoided!)
The first thing I learned upon receiving my package is that most products are very heavily scented. This was a bit of a disappointment because I am quite sensitive to fragrances. I knew it was risky ordering so much without having smelled any of it. About a third of it is going to turn into gifts right off the bat and a few others are iffy. We'll see how it goes. But the items I have actually used in the last few days, I have really liked!

Halloween Night

I went trick-or-treating with ny niece, Jackie and my sister, Ileana.

These were alot of fun to make!

Witches Dinner!

Those of you on Facebook have already seen these. I had a Witches Dinner on Thursday night and we had a really good time! My friend Melodie and I.

Lucinda

Lindsay

My sister, Ileana.

Welcome and Intro

Hello everyone! With the encouragement of my friend Stacey, I have finally decided to join the blogging world and I am SO excited! I decided that it would be wise to have a place to display all the things I create so that others can view them. I have had many requests for this and now, I'm finally doing it! The greatest source of joy in my life is my creativity! There is something about creating that just makes me feel so very alive! I have SO many hobbies and I continually love to learn new things and I look forward to sharing all of these things with others! Some of the things you can expect to see and hear about are:
Quilting
Art Journaling
Cardmaking/Scrapbooking
Cooking
Jewelry
Russian Punchneedle/Stitchery
Books
Camping
I know this list will continue to grow and grow!

I also LOVE the idea of connecting with others, for both sharing ideas and experiences. In the movie Shadowlands, there is a great line that says, "We read to know we are not alone." I think one of the most comforting things in life is knowing that someone else has experienced the things that we have experienced or are currently experiencing. I remember how connected and validated I felt the first time I read my very own thoughts or feelings, written by someone else. And so, here I am, ready to share my life with you all and hopefully have some kind of positive effect! I welcome your comments and questions. Please be kind and patient with me as I learn how this all works!