Happy Easter

Hello Lovelies, are you still there?

 I have been neglecting my blog this past month, everything just got so crazy. Life in general, lots going on. Trying to find my balance between work, putting my father's house on the market for sale, and dealing with having a room mate. 

And I must say, I haven't been a very good one. And that part of me, I am ashamed of. I have realized that I am a creature of habit. I like my own space, and I need my own space, my routines, and with that, everything has gotten blurry. My balance has shifted into a not so familiar ground at times. But, I am trying my best to handle it all. And I know that I will get through it, and this too shall pass. 

The weather here this past week has been exquisiteness, the trees are in bloom, and it has started to become warmer, so wonderful to feel the sun upon my face again. Such a welcoming sight. 

And this weekend is Easter! I can hardly believe how fast it has come. I am working that day, so no big plans for me, however I do love the sweetness of Easter. The pastel colors and blossoms, and all the darling little girls dresses with ruffles, and the dapper young men in their ties. Just precious!

I even had to dress my little Tonka man, up in his tie, just for such an occasion....

LOL! Isn't he just Handsome? I think so, but a mother is always a bit bias, you know.

He get's this little chick in the basket, after the photos... 

It's his Easter reward for being  such a good boy!

I have had a few days in between for some Artsy fun too. It's good therapy... I have joined a few swaps this past month. These are for the ArtChix Blue ATC swap. I love how she turned out.

Mermaid-ens riding sea turtles...

Water fun...

Blue Faeries, but of course...

I love this image, and the words seem so fitting for me this past month...

And a little tree faerie... And YES! 

A dance in the warm sun is just what this artsy girl needs...

And, maybe some chocolate peanut butter eggs! 

Ha!

Wishing you all a wonderful Easter weekend, and much love.

 ~Susan Xo 

Sprucing up my nest

Hello Lovelies! 

 Hope you have all had a wonderful week. 

I am into my second week of working again, and I must say, I am loving it!

And at the end of the day, I would like to think that when I lie in my bed at night, reflecting upon my day, it's the small things, like giving a  compliment, or a smile. Lending a welcoming ear, that somehow may make a difference. 

You never know how some one's life is, and what they are going through, and to think that I, could provide some sort of sparkle to their day, is very rewarding. 

I even got a nice compliment from my boss, as I left for the day. She told me that I was picking up on things better than most people that have been in my position before me. Oh my, that meant the world, as I have been hoping that I would be good at my job.

 I somehow have to feel, that, as smooth of a transition as it was, to be hired, it must have been meant to be for a reason. And that makes me feel good.

I have had a few days off, to recharge, and do some spring decorating, I just love sprucing up my nest! 
Especially for spring.

That's when the faeries re-appear you know?

I took a fabulous trip to the craft store yesterday, for restocking on supplies, made a few home cooked meals for the man, (which he greatly appreciates), and, have even squeezed in some time for ArT!! 

All of My favorite things!!! It's been a great week!

Spring is almost here!!!

For spring time decorating, I like to add lots of nests, incorporate birds,eggs and faeries, into my little vignettes. 

It's fun for me, and you know I am a faerie lover...

Glass cloches are filled with nests and faeries

And lets not forget the butterflies, gotta have lots of those fluttering about too...

And Mushrooms and mosses sprinkled around, for a woodsy feel.

I know I have mentioned before, about gathering mosses from the old tree, when my niece comes to visit. So I thought I would share a few photos of the old guy I have been referring to.

This guy has warty bumps all over him, I just love this old tree...

And if you look close, there is an all mighty eye staring back at you.

I am not certain of it's age, but it's gnarled branches and huge trunk tells me he's been around awhile. This house was built in the 40's, so it very well could be that old. 

If I were 80 + I would be a little crooked too!

I started taking a class before I started working again, and I have just been dying to start on it. This process is so much fun, it's collage work, and mixed media. I pencil colored the eyes, and I painted the  background with acrylics, then added some textures with bubble wrap, and some varying stamps.

It's actually been quite therapeutic for me, to spend hours cutting out all these flowers. 

I added words from a Country Home advertisement...

And cut out the butterflies from this fabulous wrapping paper I stumbled across the other day. Don't you just Love Love Love? 

And Here It Is!!! 

I just love how it turned out, so bright and fun!

It was just the kind of art project I needed. As a matter of fact, I had so much fun making this, I woke up early this morning and made another one too!

I could just keep going on these. 

They make me so Happy!!

The Perfect project for a gray rainy day, here in Oregon.

Thank You for stopping by, and don't forget to leave your comment below, if you would like. :) 

Til next time...

Have a Beautiful Day!

~Susan

Potted Faeries

Hello again everyone! 

My first week of training had me feeling a bit overwhelmed, and excited at the same time. I have been blessed to have had several months of being wild and fancy-free. No set schedule, up late in the studio when the mood struck, and sleeping in if need be. Now... however that has changed. Set bedtime, and alarm clocks singing and ringing  in the new day. I know this is all good for me, however, I am adjusting to this all familiar old routine. lol! 

It is a great feeling though, to be back to working a "real" job. I still have my second job, which is my etsy shoppe, that of which, is creative and fun, and the best job of , being an "artist."  I'll get adjusted in a few weeks,I am certain of that.

I spent a few hours in the studio last night, and that felt soooo wonderful!

 I had gone in there, the day before, only to find myself tired, and a bit non- creative. So, I just did some reading, and looked through some old papers, and books, and enjoyed the feel of my space. I gave myself permission to be tired, and not feel guilty, after- all I am changing and with change, I would expect to be tired. Right?  

Anyways, I had a bunch of faerie stuff left on the work table, so I ended up doing some more potted faeries.

  I just love faeries!!!

Here are a few of them, that I finished up. They turned out so cute! I will try and get them listed in my shoppe this week.

I love the winter whites, and gold sprinkled magic, in this one!

Vintage millinery leaves, and velvet soft sparkling flowers were added. The white velvet flowers, were a gift from a friend, and they are so much prettier in real life. Gold sparkling acorns and mosses gathered from the old tree were added at the base, for nesting.

This little pixie, is really cute! Holding out her little dress, as if she is introducing herself to you!

Aqua feathered butterflies, and blue and yellow millinery flowers were sprinkled around the base, and I couldn't forget that little magic mushroom, that has sprouted out of her nest. I love the way this one turned out, super cute and whimsical.

I also love her little antenna's peeking out the top of her hat.

Well, that's it for today, hope you all have a wonderful week! 

Until next time...

Hugs.

~Susan  

Potted Faerie Magic

Hello Lovelies. 

It's been a bit since I last posted. Been busy, and getting adjusted to the new living situation. Well, at least trying, anyway. 

I just got a new part time job this week, and am really excited to start this new chapter, it will be wonderful to have an escape a few days a week, and I am looking forward to meeting the new people that will be there, to greet me. 

Trying to make time for art too! 

I once read an interesting statement somewhere... When asking an artist,why do you create art? Is like asking someone, why do you eat or drink? 

I thought that was perfect!!!

So true!!

I am planning to get involved with some swaps, here in the near future, as I do miss them so. In the meantime here's a little something my niece and I worked on, over the weekend. 

Faeries!!!

She did a remarkable job on her potted faerie on the right. We had fun gathering mosses from the old tree, and incorporated flowers and hand spun cotton mushrooms, that were made in Germany. They really add that little magic touch to the piece.

Here is a closer look... I admit I didn't do a very great job of vignetting for the photos, as I snapped a few shots quickly, while we were working.

And of course lots of faerie glitter magic too! We were both covered in faerie dust by the time we were finished! It was so much fun!

I used a Vintage tart tin for the base. It has a great weathered patina.  I then added a little sparkling nest,vintage millinery, and a pretty paper butterfly, made of German Scrap.

These were just too fun, to make. I want to make several more!!!

Hope you enjoy them.

Wishing you a wonderful week! 

Until next time... 

Create your own magic!!!

~Susan Xo

Balance

Hello Lovelies.

Seems i have gotten a bit busy since my last post, as a matter a fact, life's been a bit crazy this past week or so, and has left me feeling a bit off.

My daughter was super sick earlier this week, and the telephone rang in the middle of the night. The 2:30 am call that you know is never good. That prompted a 3:00 am emergency room visit. We spent the night there that night, with all the testing, ultrasounds, etc.

 Not at all what I had envisioned for myself, when I crawled into bed just 10 minutes before I got the call. 

 It's been a great number of years since I stayed up all night. Call me a baby,but I love my sleep. And she's not really a little one anymore either, as she is 25, and lives on her own. But, she will always, be my baby. The worry when your child is not well, never goes away ,no matter what age they are. And, she's 5 months along into her pregnancy, so there was some cause for alarm.

Thankfully, her and the baby are doing just fine now, but still scary. It turns out, is was just a virus. Nothing serious.

The next day, though, I slept away most of it, we had received a visit from our Brother in Law.  Seems he lost his rental and needs a place to stay for awhile. He has to be out by the end of the month. THIS month. He is family, and does not have other options. And our only option, is to help however we can. All of this has led to a massive cleaning of the garage and trying to make extra room, in our 600 sq. feet of living space.

Add in a few panic attacks from me, and yea, should be fun. I don't mean to sound terrible, just purely honest. But I have never had roommates. In over 25 years. So you can imagine my surprise with all of this.  

In a positive light, the cleanup is something we have needed to do for awhile now. But every time the thought of actually doing something about it, has come up, we just seemed to walk back in the house, closing the door, as if ,somehow, it will magically take care of itself. 

Loads of things from years ago, boxes of old junk, that have not been seen in at least 2 years or longer, are being donated. Old papers shredded.  And frankly, it's just junk, junk that we don't need cluttering up the small amount of sacred space we have. So it does feel good to finally let these old things go, and we are making some progress there. 

Now, if I could just find the strength to do this in my closet too. Ha!

I squeeze in a bit of art time when I can, and soon, I will find my balance again. I am certain of that.

I will admit, that this girl is longing for the arrival of spring. This longing, has me thinking of glittering faeries, and to see and smell the flowers once more... Soon....

til next time... Take Care and Have a Happy Week!

 ~Susan Xo

The Winner Is...

Hello Lovelies!

Thank You so much for your views and comments.

I appreciate them more than you know.

I always get a bit nervous announcing big changes.

 But... if we were to stay the same, safe in our comfort zone, How could we grow?

Grow and flourish into our own being. Being ourselves.

Taking that leap is what life is all about.

Standing on that edge, wondering if we should take the leap, or stay right where we are safely planted.

It's good to take the risk, JUMP.

 I have faith that our wings will guide us to a safe landing....

At least that is what I believe...

 Well... today is the Day! Announcing the winner of my fabulous Treat Cone is...

Drum roll please....

The winner is #1!

Cameron with: http://paintmyselfpretty.blogspot.com/

Congratulations Cameron!!!

I am so happy that you are the winner!!!

Please contact me with your info so that I can send this right out to you.

Thank You so much!

Wishing you all the best, and lets celebrate the possibilities of achieving our goals for this New Year!

Lets support one another, and make our dreams become a reality this year!

Sharing kindness can go along way.

Take Care...

~Susan   Xo

Using my Courage... And a Giveaway!

Hello Lovelies!

Well.... I did it. I have launched my 1st DVD Tutorial!

This idea of mine started as just that. An idea. An idea that sprung forth into something beautiful, exciting,scary and unknown, at first. And now that I have successfully accomplished that scary,unknown, I am Happy to say that it was worth taking the risk.

 You know those pesky voices, or is it fear, that haunt your thoughts, and try telling you, what are you doing? The what if''s? What if no one likes it? Or who do you think you are?

All that scary stuff, of not knowing. ... Then the clouds lift, and the birds start to sing, and then...choosing to just go for it. The Believing in your vision, doing it anyway.Well, that's exactly what I did! And I have to say.. it feels GREAT!

I have been working on creating this Tutorial for several weeks, planning,note taking, and becoming more technical. And guess what? It has been worth it. I have learned so much. 

Yes, the technical stuff, and also about me, and about who I am. Accepting myself, the way that I am.Even if the Tutorial isn't successful, I can honestly say that I accomplished something that I had only dreamed about doing. And that's what my word for 2013 is all about.

 COURAGE.

Taking a chance...

I have never been comfortable hearing my own voice. As a matter a fact, I don't think that most people like hearing their own voice. But that was one of those ugly fears that were holding me back. I just had to push through, and tell myself, "Just get over it." YOU CAN DO THIS.

I am so excited! My tutorial is in a DVD format, with chapters. So if there is a segment you missed, or need a refresher,you can just click on the chapter and watch it from there. Pretty cool. Huh?

The DVD and supply list are available through my Etsy shop HERE

These Treat Cones are so much fun to make too! Could you imagine getting one for Valentines Day? Or Birthday? So special. They have enough room inside to tuck in some special candies,home made creations,jewelry, or fun trinkets too!

I would like to show my appreciation to all of you that have followed me this past year and offer a fabulous GIVEAWAY!!!

Yes!

I am giving away one of my Treat Cones to the lucky winner! 

 Just be a follower on my blog

And if you would like to, ( only if you want) share my Tutorial link on your blog/or Face Book Page

you can copy and paste this link here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/120490270/treat-cone-tutorial-videovideo

And leave me a comment below...

And that's it!

I will choose the lucky winner by random selection, and will announce the winner next Tuesday January 22nd,2013

Best of Luck!!!

Thank You so much for letting me share my excitement with you today! And for all your encouragement and support. Hope to hear from you soon. And please leave your comments below to be entered in the Giveaway, and so that I can personally Thank You for your visit.

Have an Amazing Day!!!

~Susan Xo