Christmas Spirit

Since it is Cyber Monday I'm listing the rest of my broken china pendants and charms in hopes of stirring up some activity on the ole Etsy site.

I'm finally in the Christmas spirit. Could I be in the spirit because a norther came in last night and dropped the temperatures? It's cold, cloudy and drizzling. I'm not sure why this is considered Christmas weather. Hmmmm... I think I'm in the Christmas spirit because I got my tree up. Yea! I still have to decorate the inside of the house and string the outside lights. I wont be working outside today, however. It's too cold!!!! burrrr. It's a chilly 53! Ha ha I know I'm a whimp. I'm so excited about my tree! It is sooooo gorgeous!
I'll be working on wreaths and garlands today, putting away all the fall decorations and sitting out all of my Christmas nic naks. Stay tuned. I hope to get some shots of my tree. Did I say I was so excited about my tree?!
Life is good. I am so blessed.
Hugs,
Charlie

French Poodle

The challenge for Inspiration Avenue's weekly contest this week is French.
Many ideas came floating into my head when I stared to do this project. I could not decide at first. I had so many choices. For example; the Eiffel Tower, french maidens, wine, croissants, fleur de lis, toile, castles, Marie Antoinette, perfume, Arc De Triomphe, Nortre Dame, Paris, and French Fries, are just a few. LoL.,....whew, I'm sure I'm missing some. I had not been in my studio all week so it really felt good to draw something, to create again. I've been wanting to draw this little poodle for a long time. It's a card, blank inside and will be available on my etsy.
I hope you all are having a great weekend and enjoying what's left of the holidays.
Hugs,
Charlie

Happy Thanksgiving

"Groom's Cake"

Are you scratching your head and wondering what the ????? First of all the wedding was gorgeous. I had a great time! My feet hurt from all the dancing. I have parts of my body aching I did not know exsisted. Why is it only women like to dance? We like to dance with each other and we don't care. As soon as "Brick House" started playing droves of us girls rushed to the dance floor. We dance the line dances, to the left to the left, to the right to the right. We will do the "cotton eyed joe" the bunny hop, the chicken dance and we will even two step together. It does not matter. We laugh and giggle and wiggle our booties. All the while the men are sitting there watching us like we are nuts. Occasionally you will get the good one to dance with you, like my husband who dances country western very well. He does a good waltz too.
Anyway I had a wonderful time, but back to that groom's cake. I know you will never guess in a million years. It has something to do with "Lost". Nuf said.

"Starting Early"

I am really behind so I will not be posting again until after Thanksgiving.
Everyone have a very
Happy Thanksgiving
Charlie

Romance

When I think of romance I think of Paris. Oh how I would love to go there one day! Visiting Pairs is one of my biggest dreams. I adore anything and everything that has to do with Paris, and sweet, dear Marie Antoinette.
This is my entry for the weekly challenge at Inspiration Avenue "Romance".
I know this is a little early but I will be gone this weekend. I have a wedding to attend.
I love weddings. I can not wait to get all my work finished so I can start packing.
We will stop in San Marcos on the way to visit my son in college and take him out to eat. I miss him so much. Then we are on the road again to Austin, Round Rock and then Georgetown. Now I have to figure out what to wear to the wedding. Yikes! I have not tried on the dress I want to wear in a while. I sure hope it fits!
Y'all have a great weekend! See you next week!
Hugs,
Charlie

Pink Rose Pendant

Here is one of the broken china pendants and charms I have been working on. It is cut from a vintage plate. I started making these for my upcoming shows. I thought I had two shows scheduled in December.....but now it may only be one. I'm not sure I got my application in on time. I was not going to list these in my Etsy shop at first but now I have a change of heart. Why not!
So for now it is back to my studio to finish a little soldering and then to the grocery store for food.
Since it is only my husband and I, I really do not cook much but we do eventually run out of food and I've been putting it off way too long.
Stop by Inspiration Avenues blog to check out the weekly challenge.
Everyone have a great Tuesday!

Good morning everyone! I have some exciting news today. Yesterday I was accepted to Inspiration Avenue Etsy Team. I'm looking forward to joining this group. I believe it will be a great fit. All the members are so gracious and friendly. I'm sure it will not only be fun but rewarding.
Above is my new side bar logo I designed for Inspiration Avenues team blog. I spent most of the evening working on it while watching the stupid Cowboys loose to the Packers. Gaaaaa that was a terrible game......if you are a Cowboy's fan!Oh well, it's only a game!
I had a fabulous weekend! Saturday was our 28th wedding anniversary. I can not believe we have been married for that long! Where does the time go?
For our anniversary my husband and I decided to buy a new bed. A new frame/head board not mattress set. We have had the same frame which was never anything special since we got married. We bought it cheap back then because we were poor and young and stupid. I'm not sure why it took us so long to decide we needed a new bed frame because it should have been traded out a long time ago. I've been looking here and there for the past couple of weeks and narrowed it down to what I thought I wanted. Saturday was time to take the hubby. I ended up with something completely different and I'm so glad. He always lets me spend more money then if I purchase it on my own. (wink wink). I've learned over the years. lol. He's a keeper. But anyway we went home and spent the day rearranging the bedroom because we were not sure if it would fit. Oh my gosh have you looked at the headboards these days! They are huge! They can fill up a whole wall! It's going to work! We went back Sunday, ordered my new bed and night stand. It will be here next Tuesday. Yea! I can't wait.
Y'all have a great day!
Hugs,
Charlie

Mosaic Cross

Here is the mosaic cross I've been working on. It is for sale and I'll be listing it on Etsy.
I'm also working on charms made out of vintage broken china. I have yet to take pictures of them and what a tedious process. Lighting is always an issue. I usually take my shots outside because I like natural lighting. This morning was so foggy. Needless to say my pictures were not coming out right. I'm wondering if Friday the 13th has anything to do with it.
I think I'm calling it a day and going shopping lol!
Y'all have a good Friday the 13th!
Don't get into any trouble.
Charlie

Deja Vu

"Deja Vu"

A sneak peak of what I've been working on. This is Cinda the witch. She is the witch in my Halloween art card. Can you guess why I named the painting Deja vu? It's very easy. You have all seen her before, only in another art form. I really like the way she turned out.
She will be listed on Etsy soon.
My muse has taken me in another direction. I started a mosaic cross yesterday. Today I'm going to grout it. A few weeks ago I made a few broken china pendants and I assume being around my old dishes stirred up the desire to make another mosaic. The worst part is my fingers get cut up from the shards and extremely dry. Ouchy!
Well, I have a lot to do today and my husband is home working in his office. I can hear him yelling at the printer again. Poor guy! This is the second printer in less then a week. I think he's going to have to send this one back too.
Oh joy, joy, joy!
Y'all have a wonderful creative and productive day!
Hugs,
Charlie

Margarita's Day

"Mission Concepcion"

My friend and I visited the San Antonio Missions Friday. It was her birthday and she wanted to do something different. I'm always up for different. I enjoy outings such as these, especially with my dear friend "Margarita Chachacha". She is always so busy with her work. I had to force her to take the day off. The weather was beautiful, sunny and mild, temps in the 70's. It gave us a good reason to drive around with the top down in my beautiful new car. We were in heaven. I felt like I was in another world and yet so close to home!
San Antonio has five missions. The Alamo is the most famous, but we did not visit the Alamo. We've seen it numerous times and it's smack dab in the middle of downtown with too much traffic and way too many tourist.
We visited Mission San Jose, Mission Concepcion, Mission
San Juan Capistrano, and Mission Espada. I had never in my 27 years of living here in San Antonio gone to the two smaller ones Espada and San Juan.

"Mission San Juan on top and Mission Espada on the bottom"

They look very much alike. I have to say they are not my favorites but I'm glad I went to see them.
Check that off my list.

Mission San Jose

These two pictures above are from Mission San Jose. It is much larger and maybe the second most visited. I remember going to this one on field trips with my children. It definitely has more to offer. The photo above of the statues are above the front entrance of the mission.

The one thing that I found interesting is that San Jose and Concepcion are nestled in quiet little neighborhoods. All the missions are on the south side which is not the developed side of San Antonio. This being the main reason I felt I was in another world. All in all it was a fun and pleasant adventure. I'm so blessed to be able to do this sort of thing. Thanks Margarita for coming up with this idea.
I hope you all have enjoyed my little tour of the missions. Maybe one day you too can come visit.
Hugs,
Charlie

Altered Art Journal Letter X

X Factor

"I am the x factor. I have no control. My muse leads me to create. Where she will take me I do not know."

The pair of shoes are a transfer. I'm not sure if it is noticeable or not. This photo is so light but you can sort of see the text coming through. I did a gel medium transfer. This technique is fun .....if it works! I've been hesitant to do this on these journal pages because if I messed up it would be a disaster. All I have to say is my little muse took over and said just do it. And it worked! I'm so excited!
There are a few things I did differently then previous tries. The first thing is to use a magazine clipping instead of a printed ink jet copy. The second thing is to put the gel medium on the surface instead of the art to be transferred. Mist the art so it is wet before you lay it down on the gel medium and let it dry completely before you start to rub off the top layer.
I'm going to practice using ink jet copies because I really hate using my magazine clippings. I believe the process will work with copies because I have read that you can use them.
Practice, practice, practice!
I'm still in my PJ's......giggle, giggle, so I have to get moving. My husband wants to look at cars during his lunch break. He is ordering a new company car. yuppppy!
Have a wonderful day!
Hugs
Charlie

Dia De Los Craftos

Moi, My Friends Margaret & Sara


As promised, here are the pictures of the craft festival "Dia De Los Craftos.
I'm really glad I joined this team. It is a group of artist who are on Etsy but happen to be from San Antonio. People have come and gone since we first formed this summer, but we now have a small core group that get a long really well.
I must note in the picture above with me are my friends who came to support me. They are not members in the Etsy group. My friend Margaret is the best. She tries to come to most of my shows. What would we do without our friends and family?
The purpose of this team is to find and then attend craft shows in our area. We realized that an internet shop was not enough. Our sells dropped this past year on Etsy and felt we needed to do more.
It is a little weird because I used to do shows alone before I got on Etsy. I joined Etsy because I was sooooo tired of doing shows. They are so much work. I have changed my inventory since my early days. I use to sell furniture and vinatage items, now I'm more artsy and crafty. AND having others to share a booth with or even tell you about an event makes it so much easier and much more fun!

Day of the Dead

"The Day of the Dead" also known as "All Souls Day" falls on Nov. 2nd, not to be confused with "All Saints Day" which is on Nov. 1." All Souls Day" is the day to remember the dead.
People honor loved ones who have passed on by building alters with paper flowers and decorated skulls. It is an imaginative and colorful celebration.
There are numerous "day of the dead" festivals happening tonight. I should go to at least one.....but I probably wont. I know I'm being lazy but I was downtown Saturday afternoon and evening for my Etsy's own version of the day of the dead festival. It turned out really nice. I'll post pictures of the "Dia de los Craftos" tomorrow.
Have a great day!
Charlie