Clip Art

I just added more new free downloadable clip art to my website. Just click on either image to see more.

Drama

“Drama is life with the dull parts left out.” ― Alfred Hitchcock      

I’ve heard many times in my life people saying “I don’t want any drama.” It makes me laugh because what is life without a little drama. I don’t like to bring it on myself, but when it arrives I welcome it. I would have definitely pressed this button.

        All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.” ― Sean O’Casey

To me living life is about embracing all parts of it, good and bad, learning to take these experiences and mold them into life lessons that help you grow and improve your future happiness.

Picnic Tents

Do you use picnic tents to keep flies off your picnic food? If so you will like this idea. I thought picnic tents were so ugly I decided to decorate them. All you need is a glue gun and some silk flowers, small shells, or what every you think would be fun to use. Open up your tent and start gluing.

The Gift of Music

Music is an amazing thing. It can change your mood, and make you smile. It can make you tense and even scared. I wish I could make music but it has never come naturally.

Not that I didn’t try I started out with viola like most kids, I practiced everyday. But being dyslexic the notes jumped around the page and made it impossible. In middle school I tried the bells thinking maybe if I listened to where the notes went I could just hit them when I knew the time was right. According to my band teacher that didn’t work out very well, so being a kind man he suggested I twirled baton in front of the band. I did and loved it I could still listen to the music and enjoy being part of the band.

Here’s a gift that was sent to me from one of my friends through email and I wanted to share it.   

On the 130th anniversary of the founding of Banco Sabadell we wanted to pay homage to our city by means of the campaign "Som Sabadell" (We are Sabadell) . This is the flashmob that we arranged as a final culmination with the participation of 100 people from the Vallès Symphony Orchestra, the Lieder, Amics de l'Òpera and Coral Belles Arts choirs.

Monster Away

When my boys were little they were afraid of monsters. I tried many techniques to persuade them otherwise.

I tried telling them if there were monsters wouldn’t I have included them in my many warnings:
Don’t go out in the road.
Don’t talk to strangers.

And if there were monsters:
Don’t open the closet there maybe a monster in it.
Logic passed them by they were just too young.

So I came up with, “Monster Away”, a powerful monster repellent able to get rid of any monster no matter how big or scary. 

                                                  You can use this image on your bottle

I bought a spray bottle and put in organic lavender oil (a very calming scent) then I added water. Make the scent strong enough so your child can smell it easily.

 I sprayed it around my children’s room after I tucked them in. I’d make a big production of it looking and spraying under the beds and in closets.

 Problem solved … from then on bedtime was much easier.

Next Stop on Our Internet Vacation is Paris

Paris is a romantic city, so full of art, and people who have a zest for enjoying life. I plan on writing separate stories on different experiences I’ve had in Paris in an attempt to share with you what I’ve learned. Today we'll look at fashion.

Paris is one of my favorite places for fashion. Fashion is deep in the French psyche; you can find it from the streets to the runways. As a fashion designer, I used to shop in Paris; buying different garments that would be good examples of the latest trends. I’d bring them back to the studio to gain inspiration for my own lines. It was a dream job.

Even years later, I still love sitting in outdoor cafes. They are a great place to grab a cup of tea, a beautiful pastry, and watch the street's fashion show go by.

Sometimes you’re even lucky enough to see a fashion show. Here’s my favorite one this fall.

Sail Boat Themed Care Package

                                    The sail boat is made from the Rice Krispies treat recipe found on the Rice Krispies box,

                                                                      with a marshmallow fondant. Accessories are made from marzipan.   

It’s a beautiful sunny day and I’m working on a care package with a sailboat theme. My kitchen smells sweet from the sugar and the freshly baked cookies. This care package has been a bit of a challenge because I needed to figure out how to keep my sail boat standing upright and still be edible.

 I’m making fish and life preserver cookies to add to the package. It’s fun making care packages; your mind drifts away and you begin thinking about where the package is going, who will be receiving it, and what their reaction may be.

Have a sweet day.

Sistine Chapel

When my boys were younger we took a trip every summer. We traveled all over Europe exploring cities, castles and museums. A couple of times we were lucky enough to spend the summer in Europe. Now that the boys are in college and on their own they want to be home in the summer so we are staying home to spend time together and with friends, so memories of travel will have to do. I do still feel a desire to travel to Europe so I’m doing a fun thing by taking mini vacations on different internet sites, if you’d like to join me I’m going to the Sistine Chapel today.

   

                                   http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html

Through the summer I’ll add more great sites.  

Estate Sales

I love going to Estates Sales where I sometimes find wonderful treasures like these prints.

These vintage prints that I found at an estate sale are in my Etsy Store.

It's interesting to see how others live or lived, what they collected and what they deemed valuable.

                                                    .

                                                         

It also reminds me how life is so precious and each day should be lived to the fullest. On a lesser note it makes me aware that I should use my treasures everyday and enjoy them while I'm alive.

                                               

Someday my home may make a wonderful estate sale. I have gathered creative, fun, and zany things. I have paintings, textiles, doll heads, beads and books.

Card Class

I taught a card making class at my house the other day. We had a lot of fun and it turned out to be more of a card party which gave me an idea: why not have card parties where everyone brings different ideas and tools? I also learned a few things while teaching everyone what I knew.

Here are some of the ideas.

One) Use Felt pens to color different areas of your stamp, giving your stamp a whole new look.

Cards by Jodie Barbour

Two) Use a mix of stamps and collage.

                                                                  Patty Fairbanks

Three) Embellish and tie your cards with yarn.

                                                                     Sharon Kerlin
Four) Use music and words to add meaning to your cards.

                                                                 LaVera Weidenbacher
Five) Add party hats to old photos.

Truc Thon

Six) Use yarn to embellish the design of your card.

                                                                          Sue Wu

Seven) Draw a frame around the edge of your card with a felt pen to add boarders. Make different things into balloons.

Eight) Use a felt pen to doodle a background design on your card.

Blue Bird Tea

Blue Bird Tea

I love putting together fun teas. I find a theme really helps. The Blue Bird Tea had a theme of Birds. It also helps to pick a color theme as well. I chose "blue and green" since those colors are cool and tranquil. I added pink to warm it up and give it punch.

After establishing my theme, I went through my house looking for any birds I had to help decorate my table. I placed them on my table and looked at what else I needed to add. As you can see from my past two blogs, I made a couple of the pieces I felt I needed to round out my table and complete my theme.

Now that I had my complete bird theme, and my colors, I was ready. Where do birds live? I needed a table cloth that looked like a bush. I found the fabric and sewed it together to create the table cloth.

I also love using a mix of my tea cups and plates, not using the same pattern, so my table's full of all sorts of wonderful colors and patterns. This also makes the table more interesting and guests feel special with their own unique setting.

I kept the theme in my food. The cookies and fudge were either in bird shapes or egg shapes. What fun! I did chocolate bird nests with jelly bean eggs. The blue birds on the table are made of molded Rice Crispy treats covered in a marshmallow fondant. The cake is a white almond cake with marshmallow fondant and the nest is covered Rice Crispy treats. The eggs in the nest are marzipan cookies.

Guests, even if they are not tea drinkers, can enjoy the managerie. The teas I chose were Jasmine green tea and Orange Pekoe, a mild black tea. I find that most people who don't normally drink tea can enjoy one of these.

The most important part of entertaining at a "tea" is to relax and take pleasure in each other's company. Everyone is delighted to be there. It is time for you to enjoy yourself and be truly present, this is the best gift your can give your guests.