I've been busy in the last few weeks.  But I always manage to find some time to create.  

Ever since I learned to needlefelt, I've been practicing the craft by making miniature cacti.  These are in tiny pots ranging from 1/2 " to 1 1/2".  The 1/2" are my favorites.  They are soo cute!!

(1/2" pot)

(1 1/2" pot)

A week ago I also took a card making class.  My friend and local artist/designer Josie was teaching it.  It was fun.  As a result I ended up purchasing a box of 12 Memento inks.  Yummy colors that I have been using and will post my work here soon.  Below are the samples I made in class.

And then there is always room for washi tape obsession.  I've been making washi tape Christmas trees and then using them to collage greeting cards.  I made about a dozen and decided to stop at the Vision Gallery in downtown Chandler to check if they want them.  And they took all of them.  They even took a dozen or more cards I made creating fancy dresses so I had to take them all down from my Etsy shop.  

I feel excited and decided that more mess needs to be made on my work table!

I am beginning to think that in order to accomplish everything I want in a day, I need the day to have 10 extra hours.  I am sure many understand this.

In the last week, I took two crafty workshop, and one dance workshop.  The dance workshop was last night, hosted by Phoenix International Folk Dancers.  They had a guest teacher from Bulgaria.  It has been over a year since I've gone.  Last time I went, the kids were with me and they weren't on their best behavior, and I had to leave.  I felt embarrassed and it has taken me this long to show up again.  But I had fun last night dancing, and seeing my old friends.

Last Thursday I took a workshop taught by one of my friends, a local crafter.  She taught contact sheet transfers, and these are the results.

And then on Saturday I took a needle felting workshop, and I made a gnome and a lamb.  I love lamby, he is small and soft and very kissable.

I can't say that I've worked a whole lot more than my usual 40hrs, but each day has been busy from start to finish with trying to help stranded people on the west coast of Mexico after hurricane Odille hit about 10 days ago.  Busy days like that, leave me tired and want to stay away from the computer.  So I haven't blogged a whole lot.

I can't say that I've made a whole lot things either.  Two weeks ago an accidental encounter with a friend inspired me to make cards.  It was probably time to take out a pad of pretty paper I got on sale a year ago.  

And a letter that I received in the mail from another friend, inspired me to write and send a handful of my own.

I started adding the dress cards on Etsy.

Portland

I don't frequently do things that are out of my comfort zone.  So I thought it was time to do something like that.  I enjoy travel.  Road trips are high on my list of things I like to do.  And I work for an airline, but I don't travel by air too often.  Part of it is that once I get to another city by air I don't like trying to figure my way around and the possibility of getting lost.  It's out of my comfort zone.  

When we travel by air, I let my husband do all the figuring out once we are at our destination.  I've never been to a city by myself, with no wheels.  And that is exactly what I did last Friday.  

I flew to Portland.

By myself!!

I sort of had an idea in mind of what I was going to do, so even though I went by myself, I had a plan.  I heard of this very cool mixed media art store and I though I'd visit it.  It's called Collage.

On my way to it, off course I got lost.  I took the bus in the opposite direction.  I took me few stations to realize, but I kept calm, got off the bus and turned around.

I also stumbled upon this inviting yarn shop.  They had nice woolen yarn, so thick, I am not sure what size needles you'd have to use to knit or crochet something.  And also one skein of it was $80.  It looked very cozy.

These flowers were growing wild on the side of the road.

And these flamingos looked great in someone's yard.

I never thought of strawberries growing in a pot.  But what a great idea.  I wonder if they'd grow in Arizona.  If I'd be able to keep them alive.

This pet bicycle caught my interested.  I've never seen anything like this in Arizona.

I ate lunch here.

A yummy grilled cheese sandwich, with lavender flavored goat cheese.

And I am not sure what this was.  A community kid clothes donation??

A community book/library cabinet, covered with stickers.

As I rode the bus, I saw a big park and I got off to enjoy it.  It had a "reading room" with a couple of library book shelves with books and magazines to read.

I crafted in the park.

I bought some hankies, and made a curtain when I came back home.

And something I saw at one of the stores, inspired me to fill in the bezel of this hat pin with some embroidery.

Time to return to work

My two weeks vacation is coming to an end.  Back to my job tomorrow.  It seems that I was off more than two weeks.  It was time well spent, time off to recoup, regroup, to not have to worry about having to be at any place at a particular time.  I did some crafting, I went to NYC with my husband and kids, I drove to Prescott, AZ with my husband and visited some galleries and co-ops, I got a volunteer job to teach refugee women to sew, I took my kids to Halloween parties, I did not sleep in, as I wanted to make the most of my days, I helped my dad search for a job, I watered my plants with no rush, I enjoyed my time off without feeling guilty spending it without a particular plan.  It felt great.
Here are a couple of pictures of the pine forest near Prescott.


I tried to practice some collaging.  It's new to me, I picked up a book at the library and got inspired to work on some house shaped collages. 


And some smaller ATC size ones too.  I hand stitched this time, fabric on paper.

Tags

Colette Copeland is the master of tag art.  And today Maggie and I are trying to make some of our own.  I used stamps, Maggie.....she is the real artist here, she drew hers.

Phoenix Symphony envelopes

About a year ago on my way out of the library I noticed a stack of books labeled 'FREE'.  Who doesn't like free stuff?!  It happened that these free books were mostly music sheets, road maps, and a few crafting magazines from the 70's.  What a treasure for me!!  I dropped a few bucks in their donation box, and got a whole stack of this free stuff.
I forgot about them until I 'moved' my craft room a few weeks ago.  I am making envelopes now with the music sheets I got.  Quite excited!!

Art Journaling

I took a workshop today, on art journaling.  I've been psyching myself up to fill in a blank page.  It's hard, because I overthink it.  But today I decided that thinking is not necessary, doing is a lot more productive.  Here are the results.

Craft room

It looks like by the end of the month my dad may be moving to Arizona.  And so we cleared out the room in which I've been crafting preparing it for him. 
To the back of our home the previous owners have built an Arizona room.  They had enclosed a part of the e patio to be a room.  Over the years we turned it into a movie room, and now it's my new craft room.  Complete with movie chairs that I bought long time ago from an antique store. 
It still needs some work and organization, but here it is:  Welcome to my new craft room.


And off course a corner for my little daughter, so she can craft with me.

Feeling like Halloween

Using some Halloween themed stamps.  And you know...the usual, fabric, lace, shrinky dink plastic....
 

Zen-tags

I've been practicing zentanagle/zendoodles whenever I need to relax or focus my mind.  Yesterday I got a zentangle book at Joann's and made some zentangle tags.  I used spray inks as sort of watercolors.  I really wished watercolor was a technique that came naturally to me, but it is not.  And although I don't know what I am doing most of the time, it's the practice that refines any skill.  So I hope in time to be better.