ART & SOUL JOURNAL - It's finished!! WOOHOO!!

Good morning everyone! It's a glorious morning here in the Hill Country - I wish all y'all could experience this fabulous weather with me!
This post is all about a surprise I have made for my dear friend, Keesha. I made this book for her as a surprise that I will give to her next week at ART AND SOUL ! (I've told her to stay away from my flickr and my blog until after the retreat - I wonder if she's the type that peeks at Christmas???) This journal is for photos from the retreat and for journaling of all of the fun she's experienced at ART & SOUL. I even made an INCHIES page for little photos of old and new friends! There are also tags in pocket pages for journaling.
I hope she likes it. I love it!

The outside of the journal is covered in a really pretty blue and red patterned vintage print. On the spine I have tied fiber for added texture and color. The best part about the front (and the BIGGEST part!) is the silver glittered Twinkle Type letters from K & Company. Notice that instead of an "&" sign between "ART" and "SOUL" I used a bird design - Keesha loves birds and nature so I know she'll love that sign!
The inside of the front cover is covered with ledger paper and the first page incorporates this year's Art & Soul themed logo, "At Home with Art and Soul". That's the Keesh there waving the beater over her head because she's so stinkin' excited to be there!
This next spread below has Keesha so excited that she just had to throw on a tutu and do a little jig! Her nickname, Little Ninjja (Ninjja with two "j"s!) is written above her crown which I know will make her happy.
Both sides of this spread leave plenty of room for journaling or photos!

Ahhh, a page for notes and a page for a photo or two pages for notes. She'll be the judge of that! She's an amazing photographer so I'll just bet you she'll put a photo or two on the right side. Oh, and check out the sequin trims I added - aren't they so sweet??
Below you can see on the left side that I made INCHIES for her to use to cram a bunch of pictures on this page of friends, new and old, and there's also room for a picture on the right side!
Another simple layout so that Keesha will have lots of room for photos. She's going to want to remember classes, projects, OPA's (Other People's Art), teachers, classmates, ME......!
Journaling tags and a page for photos. Look at that sweet pink and white garland on the right side! I just love that! And I used the bird theme on the tags - K. can journal right over the stamping. The tags slide down into the pocket page on the left.
Well, look-ie here! A page all about Keesha and ME! And check out that fabulous little pink and black stone earring that I used for the "and"! And there's plenty of room on the right side for a big ol' picture of us while we're lovin' Art and Soul!
More room for photos and journaling!
The last page in the journal has a library envelope with a note from me (I love getting in the last word!) Oh, and one thing that I think is really neat is that I was able to use this "people" paper that I have been hording for years to cover the inside back cover - these people represent everyone at Art and Soul. Cool, huh!
The back of the journal has a clock surrounded by wee bitty rhinestones and pearls just to give it a little personality - you can guess what the clock stands for!

I want to tell you the best part of attending Art and Soul next week - I will MEET Keesha for the first time! How about that! We are what I call "art friends" - we have become friends through our blogs. And hugging her neck at the retreat can only be described as a highlight for me! Oh, I just can't wait to see her!!

KEESHA'S ALMOST AS OLD AS ME NOW!

KEESHA HAD A BIRTHDAY!
KEESHA HAD A BIRTHDAY!
. . . . .AND NOW SHE'S ALMOST AS OLD AS ME!
Somehow in my tiny little brain, that makes sense!
Though I can imagine K. reading that and shaking her head "no"!
You probably remember my post, "24 + 30 = 54", where I showed you all of the blessings that my sweet friend, Keesha *better known to me as Little Ninjja* (don't ask), showered me with on my birthday. Well, after her kindness I couldn't wait for her birthday! I sent her a box full of fun things and you can see all of them on her blog. What I want to show you are the two gifts that I made her that I almost kept. I mean, that meant the most to me.
Below you are looking at the bottom of the wall hanging I made her (I can never load my photos so that they are in the right order! These are all backwards and I could have sworn that I had done it right this time! And, all of the ones of the bird wall hanging are like real small - what's with that? Beats me! LOL).
Okay, I'm digressing. . . .
I love her so much that I gave up a miniature spoon that I have horded for years to make her wall hanging perfect. I don't remember what was engraved on the back of the spoon, it was wonderful and it's in K.'s post, but I pounded the spoon flat and mounted it backwards so that the engraving shows.
Oh. So cool.

This saying is very dear to my heart and one I try to remember every morning before I start my day. It reads, "Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle." So dear. And, very meaningful when I think of K. as I think of that saying. She talks about how that saying touched her on her blog.
This 'vintage french hanger' holds the wall hanging up. I added the walnut stained ribbon to soften it and you can almost see the pearls that hang down both sides of the wall hanging.
Here's the finished product......mmmm, I do so love it! I am going to have to make some more because I must have one for myself! LOL
I also made her a bracelet. I have recently learned how to work with wire and beads, the whole enchilada, in a class at my favorite bead shop, Garden of Beaden, Fredericksburg, Texas, and thought that she would like a bracelet. I mean, I made the entire bracelet - I'm so impressed with myself!
So, there ya go. Keesha's birthday has come and gone, but the joy that I received in making her gifts will stay with me for a long, long time.

Thanks for visiting and be sure and go to the top right of this page and you'll see this "Blogarithm" box where you type in your email address? Go ahead and do it. Don't be afraid, it's legit. If you do as I say then you'll get an email whenever I post on my blog.
Now, we both know that keeping up with my fascinating life is at the top of your favorite things to do list, so Blogarithm me!
See ya later! Jan

MICHAEL'S, STAMP ANTONIO, A FLICKR AWARD AND THE MIDDLE NAME GAME....

Michael's was so much fun!
Stamp Antonio was amazing as usual!
The flickr award was such a surprise (bowing and thanking, bowing and thanking!).
And the middle name game..............well, let's just say I thought I had slipped under the radar on that one but, oh, no, Keesh tagged me! Oh, she'll pay. This is going to cost her plenty - do you know what my middle name is????
Do I look like I have hours and hours to spend thinking up words to go with the TEN LETTERS of my middle name?
Keesh - yer dead.
Okay, as I understand it from K., you basically share your middle name - give it descriptive adjectives using the letters in the name and then tag the amount of people as in the letter of your middle name.
I'll be a good sport and do the adjectives but finding 10 people to do this gives me the urge to hold my head over the toilet.....I'm too busy, too tired, and too old to waste what little time I have left looking for 10 people that haven't already been tagged! LOL

Middle Name: VERMILLION

V: Vivacious - it's true, at moments I can be vivacious
E: Eclectic - another word for strange
R: Razor sharp - what my mind used to be
M: Mixed up - I like to think of it as 'mixed media'
I: Idiot - first "I" word that came to mind
L: Laughter - I LOVE to laugh!
L: Love - I love to LAUGH! and I love God, my family, my friends, my art and you
I: Insecure - I have my moments....between Mixed up and Laughter
O: Outspoken - I'm workin' on it!
N: Nice - because nice matters

Whew. Finished. Aughh!
Now, here's what I thought would be fun.....if you're reading this and you have a blog, I choose you to play this really fun game and pass it on:)

The End

Oh, alright, one more thing.....go visit Keesha's blog because she is an amazing artist AND an amazing friend.....she'll probably want to get me a little something to make up for the stress she brought into my life. It's what makes her so nice.

CIRCUS CIRCUS shadow box

When I started working on this cigar box the only thing I knew for sure was that i wanted it to be a shadow box that was funky in nature! I often find myself vacillating between cute and eclectic and I was in the mood for eclectic! Who would have thought that I'd end up going to the circus!? The picture above is a view of the inside of the cigar box (i.e. shadow box)....it's where the action is....where the clowns, trapeze artists, acrobats, jugglers, and the rest of the excitement under the big top can be found! And it's all there for kids from 2 to 92!!

Below is a view of the back of the cigar box. I love that dog! I added glitter to the balls on his hat and pasted him on polka dot Basic Grey paper and fell in love with the back of the shadow box!

The picture below is of the acrobats on the bottom left edge of the inside of the lid. I carried the polka dot theme into the main spread of the piece and pasted the acrobats on same.

There is a lot of clip art of the circus type and a lot of it has a Paris-feel; like the couple below. They are on the front of the box in the upper left hand corner. I added some really fancy yellow 'sequins' to the hem of the madam's skirt and her hat - and that poor clown to the right just didn't look right until I put a gentleman's top hat on his head!
The main act in this circus is the juggler....the one with the gold foil fish on her head! She is in the shadow box and is pasted to harlequin Basic Grey paper. I added black glitter dots to her clown costume and gave her felt balls studded with wee bitty seed beads to juggle. The trapeze artist in the background doesn't seem to be bothered at all by the juggling going on in the foreground!

There are extra purple juggling balls on the ground in case she drops any of the orange ones she's busy keeping in the air!
There are three sweet fairy girls in the foreground that have been watching all of the different acts going on around them! The are pulled forward by vintage dominos that I mounted to their backs to give more diminsion to this piece. Their wings are adorned with glitter and they have party hats on their heads that were given to them by the clown ladies you see on the inside of the lid. And don't miss the beautiful roses that the 'arena' has been decorated with to give it just the right touch of glamour!

I call this guy below "Party Boy"! He's got the hat, he's juggling bobbins *great party trick!*, he's got glitter on his shirt and shoes, SEQUINS on his pants?!, and the always fun red glitter nose! He's squatting on the front of the cigar box collage and those colored metal bobbins?? . . . they're the real thing! CIRCUS CIRCUS!! Again, the inside spread of the shadow box is below.........when you sit and look at it you will see things the second and third time that you look that you did NOT see the first time! The circus is full of fun and frantic action just like this shadow box!
I hope you have enjoyed visiting my circus! If you're interested in giving it a home you can find it in my shop on Etsy. Thanks for stopping by!!

24 + 30 = 54

Today's my birthday.
Last year's birthday was a disappointment. I don't remember the specifics of it but I do remember being a wee bit depressed because it was kind of a bummer. I do know that I was two months into recovery from the surgeries on my ankles and still bed/chair ridden - I'm sure that didn't help my reception of another year. Anyway, that's in the past and maybe was allowed to happen so that in retrospect my birthday this year would seem oh, so fabulous. And it has been good....I've gotten several phone calls, cards, presents, am getting taken out to supper tonight, my best friend made me a cake, all good things. And in the mail I got the most wonderful present from my 'art' friend, Keesha aka. Kecia, Keesh, Ninnja, Little Ninnja, Lemoncholy, and I just have to share it all with you!! She wrapped everything separately, made me a card, and made me feel so, so special. We haven't been friends for all that long but I think of her as one of my best friends.
I have two 'art' friends that I am in contact with on a regular basis, Keesha and my friend, Twink, and every time I speak to or email either of them I am reminded of how much God has blessed me through my art. I have made these two amazing friends and have numerous other 'art' friends that I wouldn't have if not for the gift of art that God gave me and I am so thankful for all of you.
Okay, this first picture shows the entire contents of the gift box I received from Keesha.
Let me tell ya, I was feelin' the love!This second picture shows the precious little "Cworky" person thingy she made me. It's made out of a cork! How about that! She mounted it on a wooden block and he will be resting on my work table every day making sure I'm not just sitting here watching yet another rerun of Law and Order.
This photo shows the wonderful framed piece she made of "us" - I LOVE IT! Isn't it just the best? I want a label maker! I never think about a label maker until I see something that's been 'labeled'!! (postscript: It says, "The best mirror is an old friend" - Do you think she put any extra emphasis on the word "old"???)
As I said earlier, friends that I have made through my art are many, some I'm closer to than others, but I know that I can count on all of them for just about anything! And the really fun thing is that I continue to make friends I never would have had if not for this gift called ART.

Keesh, I think you're wonderful and you bless my socks off!
Not just on my birthday but every day.

Happy birthday to me!