SOME ARTING HAS HAPPENED...

and i'd like to share it.

first - i have to show you these ADORABLE "country bumpkin" bracelets & headbands made by Shell Gautreaux it is my pick for this week's catwalk over at SIStv. they are a perfect combination of texture and daintiness and just overall cuteness! how fun would these be in a fall photo shoot? seriously *swoon*worthy. CONGRATULATIONS on the catwalk this week, shell! :)

and second... i did a little arting of my own.

last friday was my first Bleuprint over at Bad Girls, which was a challenge where i had to create a sketch & a layout based on a photo that i found inspiring. as i was flipping through my fall pottery barn catalog, i found it... my inspiration. and this was the result: :

i had so much fun creating this one. i think it's the "fanciest" page i've ever done. definitely one of my favorites... probably because it's fall related. i am so looking forward to seeing all the fall & winter layouts and projects out there. how about you?

"it's the most wonderful time... of the year..."

xo

WISHFUL WEDNESDAY

these 5 wishes brought to you by the new fall *Pottery Barn* catalog... oh, why do you tempt me so?


* i wish i could have these beautiful glass containers on a table somewhere in my house without having to worry about a child, or ball... or a dog's fiercely wagging tail, knocking them over and shattering them into a million pieces.

find these delicate beauties here: Voluminous Vases

* i wish they had pumpkins like these in my local pumpkin patch. wicker & silver & wood.... oh my!

non-rotting pumpkins found here: rattan pumpkins

* i wish i knew how to cook a turkey so that i could have thanksgiving dinner at my house, thus having an excuse to set my table like this and eat off of these adorable turkey plates.

find these cute turkey plates here: *gobblegobble*

* i wish i had wine. i mean, i love these monogrammed wine glasses, but they're no good to me without the wine. which i am currently out of. so... yep, i wish had wine.

find these lovely booze holders here: stemless wine glasses

* lastly, i wish the entry to my house looked like this one - pumpkins, gigantical lanterns, black crows, leaves on the ground... all of it. freakin' pottery barn.

incindentally, this was the inspiration photo for my Bleuprint challenge and layout above. aaaahhhh... beautiful fall.

so... what are your wishes on this beautiful wednesday?

xo

WISHFUL WEDNESDAY

these 5 wishes brought to you today by a store i wish i lived closer to. or hell, even in.
*anthropologie* , i love you. marry me.


* i wish these oh-so-adorable aprons weren't "butt-outs" because i would totally wear them as dresses. eh, maybe i'll do it anyway. LOOK AWAY!

find more of these pretties here: Anthro-Style Aprons

* i wish this was my bedroom. and my bed. and my 254916 pillows. and my sheets. and my duvet. and my pretty purple rug. *sigh*

find this gorgeous bedding here: Adelaide Duvet

* i wish this yummy, frilly little number was sitting in my closet right now. someday soon, my pretty... someday soon.

find this little number here: Gumshoe Sweatercoat

* i wish it wasn't ridiculous to wear boots such as these in arizona because otherwise i'd be wearin' these suckers everywhere... all day. everyday.

take a closer look at these fancy boots here: Winding Ruffle

* and lastly... i wish i had thought up the concept of writing on my bare-ass wall and turning it into wallpaper. $700 a roll? CA-CHING!

for other lovely prints and patterns, check it here: Anthro-Style Wallpaper

so... what are your wishes this lovely fall wednesday?

xoxo

IT'S OFFICIALLY ACCEPTABLE TO DRINK PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES!

happy fall 2009!
it's my all-time favorite season... where the leaves change colors and then tumble onto the ground to create a beautiful quilt of colors (fyi - palm trees and cacti don't seem to understand this concept). it's a time of shorter days & crisp fall breezes, warm & hearty home cooked meals, pumpkin patches and pumpkin pie (nom nom), silly costumes and candy corn, family gatherings and special traditions.

it's the one time of year when i feel the calmest... when routines have finally kicked in.

it's the time of year when i wished i lived somewhere other than this stinkin' desert. like in a small town in vermont. yep.

what i look forward to the most is "fall-ifying" the house. we don't really have visible seasonal changes here so i gotta make my own damn seasons. (we do finally get a break from the 115 degree temperatures, so there's that.) it may not look autumn-y outside, but it sure as heck will look like it inside. i'm hoping to begin the transformation in the coming week. i'll post some pics when it looks like a pumpkin patch in here! :)

i do have a little tradition of my own... every year on the first day of fall, i treat myself to a starbucks pumpkin spice latte and a pumpkin pastry of some sort (today, it's a pumpkin scone. delish.) not that i haven't been treating myself to those for the past 2 weeks now, but bygones.today is a special day. SO GO GET YOU ONE TOO! mmmmmmmm...

now onto some more exciting stuff...
this past weekend, we had an online SISLive event over at Scrap in Style TV that was chock full of games, tutorials & freebies, and the fashionistas did a FANTASTIC job coming up with fun and unique challenges. (i still plan on doing every single one before year's end. it will probably take me that long.)

for this week's Catwalk, we chose a layout from one of the challenges to feature and here's the one i chose:

this was created by Kimmy (lostinadream). i LOVE the color combination she used and the minimal use of embellishments but what she did use packed a powerful punch! the shiny sequins and those crystal tear drops hanging from the bow... *swoon*. CONGRATULATIONS, KIMMY!if you'd like to take a closer look at this fab LO, you will find it here.

we also thought it'd be fun to pay a little tribute and "lift" our chosen layouts because 1. they are all fantastic and 2. any excuse to art.
here's my take:

i must give a special shout out to wendi, carolyn, diana, & pat because they all contributed to this design. fabulous!

i did get a chance to participate in a challenge hosted by the uber cute jeannie lutz. this was the result:

the challenge was to lift one of the fashionistas and i chose this lovely layout by the amazing digi-goddess, divian conner . thanks for the inspiration, div! :)

and lastly... because i'm such a newbie to this whole blog business, i just recently discovered that i cannot reply to my comments via blogger (thanks for the heads up, julie!). i kinda wish i had know that before i sent out replies to everyone since the beginning of my blog. heh. if you've left a comment and haven't heard back from me, it's not because i'm ignoring you. i swear! i'm not that rude. ;)

HAVE A WONDERFUL FIRST DAY OF FALL!

GETTIN' ARTY THIS WEEKEND!

it is rare that i have an entire weekend free & clear of obligations during this time of year. normally my weekends are booked from the first weekend of august to the last weekend of january. i kid you not.
but it just so happens that this weekend, i have nothing planned.
which makes this weekend all the more exciting for me because it happens to be the weekend that Scrap In Style TV is hosting the online version of SISLive 2009!
and that means that i'm gonna be a crafting, arting, scrapping fool from friday to sunday... so nobody bother me!
unless it's to give me a gigantical iced coffee... pumpkin spice, please.

if you'd like to get in on the fun, prizes, challenges, games, tutorials, kick in the mojo... (and if you attended the live event in june, maybe re-live the good times)... you can go here for more info:

hope to see you there!

WISHFUL WEDNESDAY

these 5 wishes brought to you today by the Williams Sonoma catalog i was flipping through last night... *sigh*

* i wish i could wake up to a plateful of these every morning:

made with the sweetest little pie molds: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/b318/index.cfm?pkey=cpie%2Dpans%2Dtart%2Dpans&ckey=pie%2Dpans%2Dtart%2Dpans

* i wish my kids (and my husband) loved vegetables so i could make this most delish pasta dish:

yummy Zucchini, Corn & Basil Baked Penne recipe found here:http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/recipedetail.cfm?objectid=3755D061%2D0CFB%2D9362%2DCC2BBD51D338371A

* i wish these chocolate croissants weren't so damn fattening because holymouthfulofmeltygoodness:

if you haven't tried these babies yet, YOU MUST: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/sku4276325/index.cfm?pkey=ccroissants%2Dbread%2Dpastries&ckey=croissants%2Dbread%2Dpastries

* i wish LIKE HELL that my kitchen was piped for a gas oven because you can bet your ass this beauty would be mine! and i'd actually use it:

omg just lookit them all *swoon*: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/shop/decor-furnishings/stoves-pot-racks/index.cfm?cm%5Ftype=gnav

* and lastly... i wish this poor chicken didn't have a cone up his hiney. i bet he wishes that too. but he does look mighty tasty!

did you know you could put beer or wine in that cone? it's true. and reason enough for me to buy this: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/c319/index.cfm?pkey=coutdoor%2Dgrilling&ckey=outdoor%2Dgrilling

happy 09/09/09!

so... what are your wishes for this special wednesday?

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!

or in this case... "big dinners". ;)

so i was supposed to pick a winner for the "art" wall hanging yesterday but this whole long holiday weekend threw me off.
i've done it though, and here's the result using the Random.Org generator thingy:

Beth Perry said...That is a beautiful hanging!And your slide show is on crack! lolIt is going supa fast!:PB

CONGRATULATIONS BP! thanks so much for stopping by and leaving me some sweet southern love. will you please email me your address? and it is a custom-made thing so if you have any color preferences, let me know. :)
also... yes, my slide show is on crack. i figured if i'm impatient with those things, then surely everyone else must be too. HA!

thanks to everyone who left a comment on my first couple of posts and have decided to take a chance & follow this blog. it's taking me a bit of getting used to, but there will be more to come. i promise.

IN OTHER NEWS...

two things:

1.) a while back, this crazy girl asked me if i would like to be a part of her new challenge blog. i believe my response was "HELL to the YEAH!". or something like that. i knew it was going to be an awesome gig, but it's SO MUCH MORE. i get to work with some fabulous divas. i get to dig deep and discover myself through my "art". i get to be inspired by so many people. and now you can too. it's gone live and the first prompt is up! head on over to:



and challenge yourself.
here's what i did for Prompt #1:

and don't forget to check out what the rest of the team has done!

2.) i am a BAD GIRL. no, really... i am! i was honored when asked to be an Elite Artist on one of the best DTs (and kit clubs) out there, Bad Girls, founded and owned by this incredible woman & artist, Wendy Rago. i am beyond thrilled to be a part of this most inspiring team & community of artists.

so, there it is. news. and a new blog! finally... i have something worth sharing.
not a bad way to kick off September, eh? :)

WELL IT'S ABOUT TIME!

hi! welcome to my blog! wow. that seems a little weird. i have officially entered the 'BLOGular' revolution, which i realize is SOOOO 3 years ago. but better late than never, right?

i have been tinkering with this blog for over a year now, not really knowing what i wanted to do. or say. or share. or not share.
it still needs a bit of tweaking & things to be added, and i'm pretty sure that the next time you visit, it will look different because, well... i'm generally never satisfied with anything i do. that's how i roll.
but for now, this is it. i had to get it up and running today, it being the 1st of the month and all, because i think it would have been weird to start it on the 3rd. or the 17th. (i have tendencies.)

nevertheless, i'm very excited (and a bit nervous) to now have a place where i can share myself & my life (as boring as it may sometimes be. feel free to yawn or doze off at any time. don't drool on your keyboard though. no bueno.)
and in turn, i finally get to connect with others and their lives.
i do need to thank my halfer for designing my banner. or is it a header? yeah... that thing up there. and my geeky husband for helping me to put it all together. i'd have been lost without those two.

so... i really wanted to have a big 'ol grand opening-like celebration for this because, if you know me at all, you know how big of a deal this is. heh. but all i could come up with was a little giveaway... a THANK YOU gift, if you will... just for stopping by and leaving me a little love. because love is all i need. :)

if you leave a comment HERE between today and let's say... saturday, the 5th, i will enter your name into a drawing and then use the 'ol random generator thing to pick a winner for a custom handmade wall hanging that will look something like this:

ready? set? GO!

and thanks again for stopping by! i look forward to sharing and being shared with. wait. that sounds inappropriate. ;)