Don't Gimme No Lip!

I'm at it again! making my Homemade Lip Balm Gang!  I made a test-batch of this lip goodness last year and handed them out to a few of you Girlies who reported back that you Loved It!  So, I'm makin' up another batch to give as little gifties this Christmas Season!  I ran outta Crisco, so it's to the market I go to get some more so I can finish my production.  The flavs I'm offering: Lemon, Orange and Peppermint~Yum, Yum, Yummers!  And I have to say, I haven't had a chapped lip since I've been using this wonderful concoction on my lips...just sayin'...

A shout out of thanks go to Mark Montano and his book: "Big Ass Book of Crafts" for the recipe on this Bad-Ass Lip Balm!  Thanks Mark!

On the Bridle Path with Kat & Ruby!

Went for an early morning  hike/walk this morning with my good friend Kathy Jo and my trustee pooch, Ruby. It was such a beautiful day for a walk in the country, and we both had been putting this off for awhile. (plus, the dog really needed it!)

We even found some wild pepper trees along the way that we picked some fresh pepper corns from~which we will use in our cooking at home!  (don't worry, they're safe, we've done this before! ) After the walk, we went to one of our favorite eateries for breakfast, Twisted Sage! Yum, Yum, Yummer's on the breakfast burrito!  What a great way to start our day, I think I'll start getting out more and hiking again, being there are so many great trails nearby!  Plus, the DOG loves it! Have a great weekend Gang!

Fa-La-La Holiday Trunk Show!

What a Total Blast we all had at my Fa-La-La Holiday Trunk Show!  This was combined with my November Crop, which made it that much more FUN! The Girls shopped, cropped and dined their way through 12 hours at Mi Casa Gang!  I made a pot of  lima bean (butter bean) and ham soup in the crock pot for our lunch.~(all made from scratch by yours truly!) I soaked the dry beans the night before!  Then, we enjoyed a Fabulous dinner, compliments of Bonnie~beef tenderloin and twice baked potatoes, thanks Bon for the BEEF! I never cooked this meal before, but it turned out FANTASTIC...if I do say so myself! (sorry, was so overcome by hunger, I forgot to take pics of the glorious food!)

The food frenzie ended on a high-note with lovely desserts~pumpkin pie, apple pie and brownies!  Thanks also to Cristina for the awesome pomegranates and fresh picked apples from Bonnie! What a harvest!  You Girls really know me...food is my favorite thing to share, and I love cooking for you Gals!

Table at the Trunk Show~tree with holiday gift tags, wallets and cases and books, Oh My! 

 Another table all laid-out with more art I created for this event along with rediscovered pieces that were displays from my old store.  Sold some too!

 I LOVE my sign! Remember, I found this old marble lovely at the Salvation Army in Vegas? Reworked it with my "Paper Magic" and Voila'~it's MINE!

 Fun heart necklace I made for an earlier show in October~might as well show it off for Christmas!

 Top view of my Marilyn canvas, Santa Book and "Marie" piece.

 "My Suitcase Runneth Over"!

 "Tag, you're It"!  Fun little tags to adorn your Christmas Gifts Gang! 

 Lovely Wall swag from my "Deck Your Walls" Collection!

 Can you believe it...I made CARDS! (I swore I would never make cards...people throw them away you know...)  But, I'll sell them! Ha, ha!

 Some of the Party-Goers~ Cristina, Kathi and Sonia!  

Up to their elbows in paper!

 Yvette and Bonnie give it a go!  This was Yvette's first swing at scrapbooking! 2 pages in 12 hours! Whoo Hoo! I hope we didn't scare her off! Actually, Bonnie schooled her on the finer points of scrapbooking~and her two-page layout was beautiful and very detailed! I'm embarrassed to show my first pages~Yvette can be proud! Good job Girlies!

Party-goer, food lover and professional scrapbooker extraordinaire, Sam Ching-Bling! Sam's always the life of the party whenever she arrives! Always with a theme~that's Sam!  Thanks for the wonderful desserts Sam!   We all had a awesome time, as did all of the visiting guests that stopped by the Trunk Show!  Thanks to all of you for your continued support and Love! You Guys ROCK~Love Ya!

Love My Grandma

 Here's another Art Journal page I did recently.  I was inspired by these old pictures of my grandma that I have from when she was 18 years old~before she married my grandpa.  I love the look of her beautiful dress and the whole vintage feel of the era.  I'm so lucky to have this photo, which I took a copy of  for this project. (Duh...) Somehow, this lovely pink and sage color suited this layout perfectly.  I especially love the pose she's in, contemplative, innocent and sweet all at the same time~typical for an 18 year old young woman looking to her future.

A close-up portrait along with the smaller full-body pose, this is on the opposite page from the above page.  My grandma always had this sweet lovely face and smile.  Unfortunately, I  never really knew her, she passed while I was a small child.  But, my Dad had her sweet smile.  

Be Fearless!

Good morning Gang!  Just thought I'd pop-in and post my latest art journal contribution!  I'm having so much fun adding my ideas and whims to this journal, my first ever art journal!   At first, I was puzzled how people found the time to keep art journals, why spend time working on a book for your own practice and reference when you could be spending that time making an actual piece?  Simply put, it's cathartic and therapeutic not to mention a learning tool and record of your trials, errors, experiments, discoveries and so much more.  After I got past the point of over thinking each entry and trying to make it a masterpiece, the ideas just flowed from me and I had to pull myself away so I would actually work on my projects outside of the journal!  It's amazing how once you tap into your creative resources, which, by the way you already have, and open the door to your creativity, you diminish your artist's block.  Or, at least, that's how it's been working for me.  I am now a firm believer in the journal, and will continue to fill books well into my golden years...or until I run out of paint~in which case, I'll get more!  I also love the idea of re-purposing old books for this purpose. I just visit my local thrift shop, aka, "boutique" and pick out a fine specimen for mere dollars and give it a new life!  I found, our local library is a good source, through their auxiliary you can purchase used books for a buck or two.  Either way, you're helping your community, reducing your carbon footprint, saving money and expanding your mind and your ART! 

New Tag Page for my Art Journal!

 Yesterday, I got ambitious and took on the challenge of making a page for my art journal out of office tags!  You know, all of us have these tags laying around, and we do use them for projects from time to time...but what about using them for something other than what they were intended?  Now, I have to admit, I was trolling YouTube one night, and stumbled on this idea, so it's not my original concept~but, I made my own version, as you can see!  This is the Tag Page-Closed... 

 This is the Tag Page-Opened.  Each tag becomes a double-sided individual mini-collage!  I love this idea! It was challenging at first, then as it evolved, it became fun to come up with interesting images and textures to add to the project.  this is also a good way to practice various techniques you have picked-up along the way or learned in class. Practice them on these tags and put them somewhere, then at a later date, bring those tags out and embellish them and use them in a project like this!  Awesome!

 Here's a close-up of the open tag page...

Close-up of the closed tag page.

Have FUN with your Art Gang, and make it Your Own!

Dia de los Muertos~Miller-Style!

I'm now fascinated with Dia de los Muertos~Day of the Dead!  I love all of the festive colors and meaning behind this lovely holiday celebration of our Dearly Departed!  So, in honor of this event, I put together my own alter-space complete with a shrine I made myself and collected photos of those close family members who have moved on.  Take a Lookie...

 Close-up of the shrine I made recently.  This was a fun new project for me and I truly enjoyed the process! I originally started with a cigar box and it grew from there.  The frame was a thrift store find, the colorful beads framing the box are from my adventures at the Rio-Las Vegas, and the paper flowers my daughter and I made a couple years ago at my store!  As you can see, a lot of the pieces have meaning on this shrine. I made it to honor my deceased Dad, sister Rena and step-dad, Ed~they are represented at the top of the box by the three round characters seated in a row. 

 This side shows photos of my sister, dad and Ed.  The metal piece by Ed's picture is nickle dredged-up from a plating tank at his shop.  Ed was a metal finisher in his long career, so I felt this represented his love for his work and passion as well. I loved the little porcelain boy and thought he looked so sweet posed with my sister's portrait.  My dad's picture is a piece I made a couple years ago as a mixed media project~I love the effect of it here.

Here's the whole "shootin' match" as my Dad used to say.  My quilt from Maui looks perfect as the backdrop for this Alter.  I really love how it turned out and may leave it up for awhile, as it reminds me of my family that have moved on and are waiting for me on the other side; it makes me happy!

Halloween Fun at the Casa!

I love to decorate my home for Halloween and have collected quite an array of delightful items over the years!  People ask me where I get all of this stuff, actually, a lot of it came from Pic N Sav!  Remember, back in the Day Gang?  Pic N Sav is now Big Lots and not so unique in the Halloween decor offerings I must say.  (and the price is higher!)  Of course, this little lovely, fiber optic dream, was a gift from my mom a few years ago~Love these guys!

This is one of my cool plastic light-up Jack O Lanterns, courtesy of Target many years ago when they used to have a great selection of Halloween goodies.  Unfortunately, Target, along with many other retailers have cut way back on their seasonal inventory.  So glad I've been collecting for years~I don't NEED another thing!

 Us Lovlies~Lynne, the Beautiful Zombie Chick, Me, Debbster, the Chinese Dragon Lady (sans my dragon...I think the little fellow snuck-off for a snack!)  and Dabrina, A most Lovely and colorful Witch! We have all known each other since High School and still keep in touch after all these years!  Actually, Lynne and I have known each other since 3rd Grade!

A delightful bunch of Party-Goers: Jesse, Randy, Josie, Suzanne and Sam!  Jesse is another alum from high school, and the girls are all of my hiking buddies! (I know, I NEED to get back to the trail!)