Happy Halloween!

I love traditions and sadly so many of my favorite childhood ones have sort of worn away with time and changes in the family dynamic. So I have created my own traditions and one of them is taking my little nephew Evan to Disneyland for Halloween. He wears his costume and we have such fun. Going to Disneyland with a child is like living my childhood all over again, when the screams on a ride were real! I see him look up at the foggy image on Pirates of the Carribbean and I remember my amazement the first time I rode that ride. I seem him grasp the bar on Big Thunder Mountain and remember having that same feeling long ago. Now I just thrown up my arms and try to squeeze Angelica as hard as possible in the turns! I guess that's why I love Disneyland so much and go there so often, being there reminds me of a time when there was no stressful job, no sick dogs, no worries. I hope to continue this tradition for many years to come...

Patchwork Indie Arts and Crafts Festival- Im in!

{my set up last year. I sold banners,

decorations, craft kits and altered art pieces}

I am so excited to be doing Patchwork Indie Art and Crafts festival again this year. Patchwork is an amazing eclectic show that has a mix of paper goods, clothing new and vintage, food, jewelry and a group of amazing artisans. I love to shop it as much as I love selling there! So if you haven't been you must stop by the Long Beach show on November 21st. Click the link on my sidebar for more info and friend them on Facebook!

-Denise

Craft Room Before and After

There is one thing that will never change about me. I am messy. I don't really know why I ended up being such mess. When I was little it did seem my Mom was always forcing us to clean our room, and that it was a perpetual mess. I think it may have had something to do with sharing a room with my sister. Not that she was anymore of a slob then I was, but I think that there is something in us that says, "Oh she left her shirt there, I'll just throw my pants there" and vice versa, until you have a complete mess brewing. You would think that getting out on my own would force me to clean my act up, but no. My roommate Lana was cut from the same cloth as I was. In our apartment in Hollywood we had a pile, and I mean a monstrous PILE  of clothing under our stairwell.  I swear it was 4 feet high. We would wash clothes, ones that we rescued form the pile, but the pile was never gone. And for two girls that were living the life in Hollywood during the 90's era of hair bands, The Cathouse, 1970's the Club, and The Scarlett Letter, we had to have appropriate clothing for all of these venues. And now here I am 41 years old and my pile of "go out" clothes has turned into a pile of glue, glitter, trim and lace. Oh and there still is a pile of laundry in my room. My husband is my roommate now, and although he swears if I weren't around he would be totally organized, he is one storage trailer away from getting on an episode of Hoarders. So in my defense, I will say that although I make amazing messes, I do like to stop and clean them up, once in a while. And here is evidence of that in my blue room:

BEFORE:

{random stuff all over the place, iron out, empty ink cartridges}

AFTER:

{now all of my holiday inspirations are out to inspire}

BEFORE:

{notice the food plate, laundry over the chair, make up scattered about}

{ahhhh, my mac all uncluttered and one of my handmade scrabble books for taking notes}

{my home inside my home}

I am going to email Lana and see if she has only old photos of our Hollywood apartment. That would be so fun to see!

-Denise

Crafting Sweet Memories

"She told the most wonderful stories and said it was because she had discovered that once upon a time is now". What a wonderful sentiment, and an even more beautiful greeting card presented to my friend Rebecca by her mother. Rebecca was going through nursing school and her Mom sent her a series of these amazing Henry Butler greeting cards. They were just too precious to stash in a shoebox so Rebecca asked if I would make them into one of my banners. After seeing Rebeccas room, I decided to simple and elegant with just a touch of fun. Thank you Rebecca for giving me this project (it will only cost her in dog sitting), it made me think of how special mothers are. I know her mom would be thrilled to know that they meant so much to her.

{hanging above my door}

{the little bling detail}

-Denise

Glitterfest Recap

As expected Glitterfest was all I hoped it would be. I want to start by saying that this event was so well run and organized. Sheryl and Dianne and the Whimzy team were great. Starting from the night before mixer party. It was great to get to meet Sheryl and Dianne in person and some of their team members. It was also great to meet some of the other artists, particularly jewelry artists Tara Wilson and Joann Doxakis. Tara and I swear we have met before and Joann lives close by and requires the use of a scroll saw, which I have, so hopefully we can get together and saw away!

In the morning we all arrived and went to our tables, but something was amiss, it was uncomfortably warm and would get progressively worse. There were AC issues and it soon became crazy hot. Regardless I have been to Glitterfest before and this room has always been comfortable, so it was just a fluke and there was not much anyone could do about it. Luckily I had my Craft Wagon which saved us from having to make more then one trip. My wagon actually got a lot of use as we loaned it out to other artists! The heat was the only downside as the Whimzy team delivered mimosas, cold water and lunch to our tables, this IS the way to do a show! The most exciting part of the day, was when a photographer from Romantic Home magazine came to my booth and took pictures. It would be such an honor to be published in the amazing magazine, so keep your fingers crossed that the editor likes the pics!

I also wanted to add that I appreciate all of the wonderful people that bought things from me, as a creator of things there is no better feeling then someone appreciating what you do enough to buy it. So thank you.

Below are some more pictures from the event. I wished I took more but it was so busy (in a good way!)

{my set up}

{second half}

{my little skellie ornaments were a hit and sold out!}

{my soldered houses were also a hit, sold most, but have three left for sale on my etsy site}

{my brie box kits sold out quickly and so did the finished ones, i have one left here on etsy}

{my clothes pin trick or treaters kits also sold out, so we sold the samples too!}

{Jenny Hernandez the Polka Dot Pixie was spreading her dust! Her little sculptures flew}

{Kim Caldwells amazing craft totes and aprons}

{Holly Loves Arts' little witches!}

{Michelle Leglers amazing Masic cupcakes}

Cheryl Stoneham, Kim Caldwell ad Michelle Legler

{Donna from the Vintage Emporium showed with her entourage!}

{the crowds are REAL at Glitterfest!}

My Mom, here is someone I could never do shows without. Although I love to create art, I am horrible at selling my art. Luckily my Mom was in sales for 30 years and is great selling my stuff. I appreciate all she does for me, it's great to spend time with her at these events. Next up Patchwork Long Beach, hopefully we will get in!

-Denise