artfest or bust!!

Okay, I admit it...I am UBER excited to be heading to my very first Artfest tomorrow!

* Supplies? Check!
* Trades? Dbl check!
* $$ for vendor night? Check!
* Camera? Check!
* Suitcase packed? Check!
* Journal? ...still working on it!
* Black licorice? But of course!

Oh my gosh, I can't believe it is only one sleep away!!!

Here is a picture of my story stone for Lynne Perrella's class on Thursday. The two little vials hold messages from my son and husband. The stone symbolizes my family and all of their undying love and support. Thank you both for encouraging me in all of my endeavours! Couldn't do it without my guys.



I think it is safe to post a picture of my 'crown', as my roomies probably won't be dropping by my blog between now and Artfest. Several months ago, Deb D, one of my house mates, sent all of us gals staying in 6W a crown and asked us what kind of queen we were. Mine sat naked for a long time before I finally decided on a theme. So, here I sit..."Queen of Kitschy".

Wishing all who are heading to Artfest safe travels and I hope we have a chance to meet...now back to that journal.

charmed, I'm sure...

This is getting sooo exciting! Artfest is less than two weeks away and I am in the final throws of pulling everything together. I have most of my supplies gathered, but still need to get them organized and packed. Although I stated in an earlier post that I wasn't going to put up pics of my trades, I decided to show some of the charms I have created. Since taking the soldering class, I have been trying doing a bit whenever I have had a bit of free time. It has been so much fun, burns and all!


Now all I have to do is find some folks who will want to trade with me...can't wait!!

weekend on the sunshine coast

What a wonderful time I had last weekend. Janice and I travelled over to the Sunshine Coast and spent a couple of days playing and learning with Nadine. We took the ferry over in the morning and drove up to Half Moon Bay. We spent all day in Nadine's studio catching up and working on trades for Artfest. While we played, Nadine's hubby, Owen, prepared a delicious dinner for us. Thank you for being such gracious hosts. (If you are interested in finding out more about Nadine's studio and available classes, here is the link: Art Escape Studio)

The next day, we took part in the "Memory Charms" soldering class, taught by Lorraine Stobie. Talk about a fabulous instructor! Lorraine provided me with that "Ah ha" moment--I finally got it. Once I started it was hard to stop for lunch; I just wanted to keep going.

As a side note, talk about a small world...Nadine mentioned that one of the ladies who would be attending the class was originally from Nanaimo (my home town) and was about my age. Well, it turns out that this other lady, Deb, graduated the same year as my hubby (two years before me). She looked very familiar, but it wasn't until later in the afternoon that I finally put two and two together and asked if she had a brother named Stacey. She said yes. I told her that I had gone to school with him and asked if he had gone on a school trip to Italy. She said, "No. But I did." WOW!! Then it all came flooding back! She and I were on the same trip to Italy in the late '70s! How cool was that! It was probably a good thing that we didn't clue in until later in the day, as it could have been very disruptive to the class. As it was, we started reminiscing right away. An added bonus indeed!

These are the charms I made during class. Not bad for a beginner, eh?

So, needless to say, I am working on some soldered charms to go along with the others I prepared during our play day. I'm not going to show you what I have been making though; I want them to be a surprise for Artfest. ;u)

st paddy's day countdown

Lisa Vollrath has done it again. Check out her st patrick's day countdown for some wonderful free goodies. Get them quick as they disappear quickly after the countdown is complete.

happy birthday, Nana!

88 years young!!