Showing posts with label ZNE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ZNE. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

So much talent out there!













I received all of these wonderful things recently in swaps with fellow artists, all found on Etsy. The "nurse robot" is by the talented Mike of youneekusername on Etsy. He also sent me another old tin bandaid can filled with the wonderful nuts, bolts, widgets and whatchamacallits you see above. We've been swapping ephemera now for awhile and find we both like old tins, Alice in Wonderland, a little bit of goth/skeletons, etc. Mike sent me a great You Tube video recently that I can totally relate to about freelancing. Check out Mike's robots on Etsy.

The dress on canvas is called Flavia's Dress by the talented Constanza of peregrineblue on Etsy and Flickr. And she's having a fabulous de-stash sale on Etsy in her Boubelina2 shop. Love, love, love her stuff. And love Constanza--met her in person at ZNE Convenzione in 2008. We were in ZNE Artists and Poets together. I absolutely love the dress and wish you could see all the textures and patterns in person. It is outstanding, along with the other goodies I got from Constanza here.

The canvas "Soar" at top is by Julie King also on Etsy. I happened on to her work and asked her if she might be willing to consider a trade. She liked one of my bracelets, and I received this wonderful original. Note the close-up of the neat texture with tissue paper. And such a great message, too! Check out her originals and prints in her shop.

I've also completely updated my own Etsy shop. All of my jewelry can now be found in a brick and mortar store in Ellicott City, Maryland called The Vintage Shoppes. And some of my various handmade creations in crochet, paper clay, papercrafts and altered art/mixed media are in my on-line shop. Check it out at the link in this paragraph and see a mini version at right.


Sunday, June 28, 2009

What She Said

I said a few words in a previous post when I'd heard about the celebrity deaths last week. A post on Facebook by my art friend and teacher Gina Gabriell of Dublin, CA stopped me in my tracks. I asked her for permission to print it here.
When I first met Gina in August of 2008, I couldn't believe she was my age. In fact, I probably should have gotten her driver's license. She's young and hip and talented and down to earth and smart and nice, all really significant adjectives in my book. I took a very fun class at the ZNE convention, almost by accident, in Gina's brand new shop, Tangerine. She also has a studio, Eleven Morning. Her memories of Farrah and Michael mirror mine. It's that age thing.

But, she probed a bit deeper. The Stevie she refers to below is her daughter, who died in early 2007 with a brain tumor at age 19.

Her post (I edited a bit for length):

"I remember my cousin Ron (and every other teenage boy) had the Farah in the red bathing suit- nipples at attention poster hanging in his room. I remember thinking how beautiful she was and how I wanted more than anything in the world to have two things: 1. Boobs and 2. Big Hair.

Lucky for me curling irons and a home perm weren't too expensive but the boobs would be harder to come by and a long wait. The boob fairy finally did visit me after the birth of my first child. Because this fairy was late she decided to make up for it by giving my great-grandmothers heavy breasts. It is feast or famine with me always.

Charlie’s Angels...sigh. You had to love that cheesy show, the original crew made me want a jump suit, made me want to learn karate, made me want to wear lipstick. Alas I was trapped in a skinny boy's body but I loved those Angels.

Although I am not a People magazine reader and I don't follow what goes on in the magic world of all things shiny, I did respect Farrah making the documentary of her cancer journey. I have not seen it, but I think it can only raise awareness when someone who was the standard of beauty in her prime allows the public to see what cancer takes away. It isn't like the movies; it is painful, scary, and ugly.

Michael. It was a shock to hear that he had passed, I knew it would happen some day; I just could never imagine Michael Jackson at 70. It was hard to believe he was 50. My instincts tell me his demise was drug related but it doesn't really matter how he left, it was just his time. His heart breaking seems like a tragic and fitting ending.

The monkey, the out-there clothing, Lisa Presley, Neverland, seriously how could that shock anyone. Hollywood is the land of make-believe and he gave people something to talk about, to wonder about and keep them interested, pure marketing genius.


When I was a kid I went to see The Jackson Five at the Circle Star theater in Oakland. We were way up front and it was spectacular. These boys sang their hearts out. Micheal had a ‘fro back then and all the brothers wore bell bottoms. I thought that was boss. I was a runny nosed little tom-boy, but I danced my little chicken legs off.

While I was driving home I spoke to Stevie. I told her, "Hey Michael Jackson is in heaven now; how cool is that?" She had a little collection of DVDs that she used to watch. To her it was all ‘Old School’ and she loved the music and videos.

Stevie didn't judge people. She liked them or didn't like them. There was never an explanation or an apology, she never wavered or changed her mind. She could just feel to the heart of a person. She didn't have time to waste.

I wonder if that is how we should all live. I could have saved hundreds of hours of my life if I didn't try to help people who didn't really want help, change people who were happy in their misery, trying to build friendships with people I didn't really like because I thought it was the right thing to do. My instincts were always right but always a hindsight observation.

I am not saying people should be hateful or avoid helping another person; it isn't about the worth of a person. What I am saying is that we all have a moral compass/ good instincts, and if we listen to that without judgment we could live a little more effectively.I get lost in this. I always tell myself that that gut feeling isn't a tool for me to move in another direction but a challenge, a hurdle that will help me build a better me if I do the right thing, maybe I am wrong.

The universe gives us a road map for our lives, Point A to Point B. It offers us guidance and direction. We have the freedom to take our own route, and we can make it as long or as difficult as we like. Only two things are for sure: there is a point B and there are no shortcuts.

I think I am going to stick to my map now, listen to that inner guidance, love when my heart tells me to, run when my heart tells me to. My girl had this all figured out by the time she was five; I am a slow learner.

For some reason humans need idols. Icons serve a purpose but they too die and fade away, making room for other icons.We can chose who we love. I think we should learn to see lovable greatness in ourselves and not hang all our hopes and dreams on someone else who seems bigger and better.This is the only life we have and know right now; we have to be kings and queens of our own beauty and promise."

Well said.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Marie's Everywhere: Etsy, Blythe, Stampington, My Etsy!























I cannot wait to get my hands on this gorgeous special publication by Stampington and Co., which comes out April 1. Imagine: An entire magazine devoted to art devoted to Marie Antoinette! I am sure it will be full of gorgeous excess.
Just last week I learned one of my Marie art dolls (I think I can call them art dolls even though they are headless) is featured on the Etsy Cottage Style Blog. What is that, you ask? To borrow from the blog's description: We are a group of women, artists and sellers of the beautiful , whimsical Cottage Style. We are not an Etsy Street Team, but a loving, supportive community of like minded talented women. If you love the Shabby, Romantic, Whimsical, Cottage style, and sell on Etsy come pay us a visit and apply for membership at"Etsy Cottage Style." If you love to shop, like most of us do, you will find lots of cottage style boutiques. The blue Marie featured is still available in my Etsy shop.
And, squee! I also got an email that I have a piece of Marie artwork in the upcoming Somerset Studio Gallery Summer 2009. One of my all-time art goals has been to get published in that outstanding anthology. I can't believe it, and of course I can't wait to get my hands on that either.
I'm picturing some of my all-time favorite Maries here. The pink one with the cake for a head was a gift to Mary Ann in a 1:1 Marie Swap. The first turquoise one above was a gift for Cindi in another swap, this one in The Faerie Zine group on Flickr. And the second turquoise one above, the taller one, was a special gift for Lisa Kettell, and was recently featured in her new book, Altered Art Circus.
The Marie diorama above I made at a special gathering of ZNE art group members in Michigan last June. It is called "The Last Beautiful Dress" and may be headed to Etsy. And then there's always a Blythe, looking quite regal also, while channeling Marie.
Here's a link to all my Marie-related photos on Flickr. It's one of my most favorite photo sets.




Sunday, January 18, 2009

2008: All Bound Up Neatly








One of my favorite things to do at the end of the year -so I'm a little behind- is to bind all the fat book pages I've collected during the previous year, like the one-page-per-month, all-original-art 4" x 4" page swap from one of my art groups, Chubbyville; extra pages from Art & Soul, ZNE, Itty Bitty Book Club and other swaps, gifts and the like. It's fun to bind the year together from start to finish. I started with The Year of the Rat January page by Lois Paolo from Chubbyville and decided to use clear acrylic covers -okay, took the easy way out. Still I've got a beautiful book of all original art from my art friends for 2008.
You can see my 2007 book here and here and all the pictures of my fat book pages to date in my Flickr set here. It sure seems like the 12 months between these two books went awfully fast. I have some incredible, one-of-a-kind books that I never tire of looking through, with themes like Halloween, Marie Antoinette, pink, Blythe, Birds, Dolls, prom dresses and more.


Friday, November 7, 2008

Fantastic Blog Award!


I received this sweetest of blog awards from the incredibly-talented Jade Adams of Jade's Funki Junk. Jade has a great Zetti style and has been published in Stamper's Sampler and Somerset Studio too many times to count. I think we met via ARTchix, so it is appropriate that Jade was tagged by Helga, owner of ARTchix, to tell seven random things about herself. Jade tagged me, but everything about me is so random, I am taking the lazy way out. Jade also has super cool jewelry and collage sheets in her Etsy store. Check out her blog and shop. Jade and I have met in person, along with her mom Vonda and her sister Coral (her other sister is Amber!). We shopped and swapped at Crafts 2000 in Monroe, MI. Since then we've crossed paths some more in The Faerie Zine, ATC World, ZNE, Flickr and more. She's become a special art friend.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Me & Larry, Heading to Art & Soul, Except Larry's Not Really Going. Shhh! Don't Tell Him!






With Art & Soul Portland http://www.artandsoulretreat.com/ just 15 days away, I knew I needed to get some swaps made. Trading little bits of art is a wonderful tradition at art retreats. I don't ever want to go empty-handed because the goodies made by other artists are such fun to receive. Some people make little bags of ephemera or supplies; some make artist trading cards (ATCs) or other small-scale art. When I went to Art & Soul Hampton in May, I took both charms and ATCs, and with A&S PDX looming so soon, I resorted to making the very same charms again. I call them Ballerina Moons. It's not hard to see why, although it is hard to see in these pictures. But after several hours to make 28 charms and already putting them in their tiny bags with Moo cards from Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/lillysoflondonish, I couldn't see unbagging them all just for a photo-opp. Hopefully, I will get some cards made as well, and I still need to get some class supplies. I am making a 'Beachcomber' necklace with Gilbert Designs http://www.gilbertdesigns.net/ and am taking a collage class with Traci Bautista, author of Collage Unleashed. You can buy her book on Amazon here http://www.amazon.com/Collage-Unleashed-Traci-Bautista/dp/1581808453/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221365456&sr=8-1. I'm also looking forward to staying with Dear Michelle of Hold Dear http://michellegeller.typepad.com/, my firstest and bestest blog friend, who is going to show me around Portland. Looking forward to seeing Maria of Collage on Alberta http://collageonalberta.typepad.com/ again, and I just found out tonight that Shosh and Mike from Hannah Grey http://www.hannahgrey.com/ will be there, too. And, some of my new ZNE art friends, like Lisa Kaus http://lisakaus.blogspot.com/, will also be in town, especially easy since Lisa lives in Oregon. All in all, it should be like old-home art week. Fetch my umbrella. Can't wait!

Larry the Cat looks really excited, too. But, I have bad news for him. Unlike the charms, he is going to get unpacked, and soon.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

It IS Better to Give than Receive, But Receiving is Pretty Great in this Case!











I have several spots in my home and studio where I display art from friends: art that I've bought, swapped for, received as a gift, won, you name it. It is so inspiring to look at these treasures every day. And although the hutch over my art desk is only one spot, I wanted to show it off for now, because there's some pretty fantastic stuff right there. The "Artist" canvas I received Saturday in a swap with Cindy DeLuz http://apurpledaisy.com/. I blogged about meeting her at ZNE 2008 here http://lillysoflondonish.blogspot.com/2008/08/zne-does-not-rhyme-with-halloween.html. We worked out a swap, but she worked overtime! Not only did I receive her painting, but she sent me a darling necklace and notecards to match. She is as sweet in person as this gesture, and she wrote me a very special card and message on the back of the painting. I think I'll only have to remember what she said to find my muse.
The darling poppet box with the pointy hat is by Mica Garbarino of Garboodles Soup http://garboodles.blogspot.com/. She used a tiny porcelain doll head, which she is practically famous for, and the box she sent me says "through the open door." I think I'll go. You can find her work on etsy, and she has a totally separate store for incredible Sock Monkeys, too. She'll also be teaching how to make these darling boxes, including sewn crepe paper skirt, at the ZNE Convenzione 2009 in April-May http://www.znecon.com/, so I'll get to meet her then. The box I sent her is here https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIRysjo3PKDPtVMeUZzzPD4FTcS0O4vMnvQw-oLxdGSehwjzLhdDLzDSBSW-XzjR7haiQTGPejsTfIcPjw7EWwjs7Xp7DWU5QkhpT10xyhPpkaVrx3cDJJzCRJw3CamUZLD0w0LzntU3wh/s1600-h/moremariesmica+001.jpg.
The black and white box by Iva Wilcox http://www.ivascreations.com/ I have posted before, but in the dolly-headed-box theme spirit, I just wanted to show it again by itself because it is so darling. Iva and Gina Gabriell http://www.elevenmorning.com/ will be selling their wares Sept. 13 at a fantastic show at Tinsel and Treasures in Danville, CA. If you're on that side of the world, GO!
The bottom picture is the view over my art desk in my basement studio. I have more work from friends upstairs in my "real" office, where I have not one, but two more desks! If you look closely in the picture, you'll find artwork from Debrina Pratt http://whimsicalworldoffairies.blogspot.com/, Carla Naron http://www.collagecat.typepad.com/, Elaine Thomas http://artful-spirit.blogspot.com/, Sally Jean Alexander http://www.sallyjean.typepad.com/and more, along with my newest goodies in their new home spot. For now. I like to rearrange, too, for more inspiration!
The top photos are some paper clay figures/sculptures I made this weekend, trying to use the skills I thought I'd learned in Gina Gabriell's class at ZNECon last month. It's a lot easier to make something when someone is telling you what to do each step of the way. And while these might not look too bad in pictures, I can't decide how I feel about them in real life! I know how much glue and goop I used to hold everything together. I know I tried to rush the drying and put them in the oven, forgetting that styrofoam melts, expands and will eventually explode...but apparently that takes longer than 30 minutes, thank goodness! I've already blown out my oven element once this year! Dishwasher has been out 16 days now, but that's another story.
But I digress. These paperclay peeps were fun to imagine and create, but I think I do better at decorating their papier mache or balsa wood box bases. The Halloween witch might be my favorite. I used a very old porcelain head from my new dear IRL friends Shoshannah Jennings and her husband Mike who run Hannah Grey http://www.hannahgrey.com/. They have tons of cool old doll parts, dug up from factories in Germany. Email them if you don't see the parts on their Web site. I "work" for Shosh and Mike as a member of the Hannah Grey Design Team and was lucky enough to meet them in person recently, along with a darling team member, Julee Herman. She's so pretty you want to claw her eyes out, after you find a way to steal her gorgeous hair. That's supposed to be humorous, dear reader (and Julee), because she's a doll.
These might be gifties going to fellow art friends in some upcoming swaps. You know who you are, so don't look too closely, and skip over the part where I said these might not be 100% perfect. Handmade is supposed to be heart-made, right?

Sunday, August 31, 2008

ZNE Does NOT Rhyme with Halloween






I don't know which is crazier: that I am still blogging about the ZNE Convention (that's 'Z,' 'N,' 'E," not 'zeen') or that I am already blogging about Halloween.
The darling house canvas says 'Home is where the heart is' (so true) and 'There's no place like home' (true too). I bought it from Cindy DeLuz of http://www.apurpledaisy.com in California. Her work just makes me swoon. I love the colors and the richness and the messages. We really hit it off. Anyone who knows me knows I like the whimsy style anyway, but Cindy is so sweet you can't help but adore her. Check out her Web site for more of her work. I can hardly wait to receive the canvas she is sending me in exchange for one of my bracelets from etsy http://www.hpsgsmith.etsy.com. I definitely got the best end of the deal, but of course I hope she feels otherwise! Don't worry, I'll be blogging more about her art.
The Halloween pages are 25 five-inch by five-inch double-sided pages I made last night for The Faerie Zine Halloween Opera fat book page swap. How great it will be to get this finished book back with pages from 24 other artists and an amazing cover from Lisa Kettell http://faerieenchantment.blogspot.com. As it is, I cannot wait to get my circus, bird and dollhouse books back from her. She's crazy; she hosted all of those swaps.
I got the Halloween crepe paper at American Harvest in Pleasanton, CA. The entire store was jam-packed with Halloween stuff during the ZNE convention. I'm already making plans to attend next year, which will be April 29-May 3. http://www.znecon.com. The instructor lineup is incredible and includes both new and old art friends. I'll get to meet Lisa Kettell in person there if not before.
The orange Halloween ribbon with pumpkin faces is vintage, and I got it at the ZNE vendor fair "Pleasantries and Paperie" from a booth that sold nothing but vintage ephemera. Some of the other collage images I used are from Lisa's Altered Art (different Lisa) http://www.lisasalteredart.com, Teesha Moore http://www.teeshamoore.com, Retro Cafe Art http://www.retrocafeart.com, Paper Relics via Hannah Grey http://www.hannahgrey.com and Artchix Studio http://www.artchixstudio.com. Nothing like plugging people and virtual places I love!
Speaking of plugging, with all the ZNE love going around, I was excited to find that I was mentioned on three fantabulous blogs: Dawn DeVries Sokol, editor of 1000 Artist Journal Pages, gave me a mention at http://dblogala.typepad.com/dblogala/2008/08/ajf-the-big-sho-oe-an-ed-sullivan-ref.html, and Kris Hubick pictured 'us' here http://krishubick.blogspot.com/2008/08/longest-post-ever-zne-convenzione-2008.html. Also, the very talented Mica of Garboodles, who will be teaching at ZNE in 2009 blogged about the china head/paper doll box I swapped with her here http://garboodles.blogspot.com/2008/08/private-poppet-swap.html, and it looks like she has pictured what she is sending me. I may just have to tackle the mail person; it is adorable. Artists really are good people.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Seeing Stars at ZNE




I am sort of ho-hum impressed by 'famous' people (read: celebrities), but show me a published artist or author, and I go ga-ga. So the ZNE book signings at Convenzione 2008 http://znecon.com were quite a thrill. I purchased the book Crowns and Tiaras so I could have Pam Garrison http://pamelagarrison.typepad.com sign it for me, which she did, top right, with Lisa Kaus http://www.lisakaus.com, top left, who was also signing her feature in Lynne Perella's new book, along with JoAnnA Pierroti or 'Mossy' of Moss Hill Studios http://www.mosshillblogs.com. Although I didn't take my hardcover copy of that because I was flying, I was lucky enough to get to know Lisa a little bit and have her sign her "Birdy" canvas I bought. She's just as sweet as she looks, and so is Pam. I also got my 1000 Artists' Journals signed by editor Dawn DeVries Sokol and Pretty Little Things, signed by author Sally Jean Alexander.
Sweetness, or maybe cuteness is the proper term, certainly is evident in the second photo, with the Traveling Princess of Scrapbook Royalty, Elena Etcheverry, http://www.elena.travelingprincess.com, left, and the inimitable Miss Vicky Breslin http://www.cut-it-up.com, right. Elena is just so cute one could eat her up, what with her adorable outfits, tiaras and equally adorable aprons. I kept waiting for Elena and Diva Danielle of Diva Craft Lounge http://www.divacraftlounge.com to get into a tiara tussle, but apparently there is plenty of fabulousness to go around. Everyone really likes each other. Miss Vicky, a scrapping veteran, still retains her excitement about crafting and is so generous and nurturing of all artists in her midst.
And finally, just a teeny tiny bit of fame for moi. In the bottom photo you can see my framed mixed media collage "Let Them Eat Crow" being shown in the Worthington Gallery West in Pleasanton, CA, where it will be part of a month-long ZNE mixed media installation, which opened Aug. 22, 2008. So, I'm "gallery hung!" Off to update the resume!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

What's a Convenzione without a little Shopping and Swapping and Selling?






The ZNE Convenzione http://www.znecon.com/ last weekend had so much eye candy that I don't think my glasses fit anymore! Naturally, I had to come home with a "few" treasures. Few is a relative term when your suitcase gets weighed. In the top photo is a little nestie I got at Miss Vicky's Cut-it-Up store in Colfax, CA. It is by blog friend Karyn Gartel, so that is even cooler. The batty girl is by Lori Mitchell, and I got it at American Harvest, an unbelievable store in Pleasanton, CA., where you can buy works from Lisa Kaus, Ingrid Pomeroy, Iva Wilcox, Colleen Moody, Sally Jean Alexander and many more artists from our little circle. The dolly box is by Iva, and I got it at the ZNE vendor fair. The bracelet is by Miss Vicky herself-talk about eye candy-her bracelets are good enough to eat. More about her store later. The birdy is a Lisa Kaus original and is a 6 x 6 chunky canvas, which she signed for me.
Next up are darling ATCs I got in our swaps. Pictured are cards by Gina Gabriell, Nadine Johnson, Gina Halle, Jackie Baxted, and Lani Kent. The cards I made are here http://lillysoflondonish.blogspot.com/2008/08/on-zne-convenzione-countdown.html. Finally, we also did a chunky or 'zaftig' book swap. I made the cake pages here http://lillysoflondonish.blogspot.com/2008/06/sunday-storms-sweets-siblings-and-swaps.html and in return, received this book chock-full of 4 x 4 pages by other artists. The cover is by Donna Cook, but each book was entirely different. It was fun to get a page by Nadine Johnson that nearly matched the ATC she gave me! It was also fun to see pages from friends who were not there like Mary Ann http://firstborn.wordpress.com/ and her sister Jo http://labouroflovex3.blogspot.com/. Extra books were sold as a fundraiser by ZNE We Care Coordinator Elena Etcheverry of Scrapbook Royalty http://www.elena.travelingprincess.com/ and proceeds benefitted Bernie Berlin's A Place to Bark http://aplacetobark.blogspot.com/ and the Pink Sky project http://chelise.typepad.com/stevie_brianna/

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Sugar and spice and everything nice!






Yep, that's what all these little girls are made of, including the instructor and students. Especially the instructor. And her girls. I had the privilege of learning how to make one of these adorable paper clay music box figurines at the ZNE Convenzione last weekend in Pleasanton, CA. My class was taught by the so-sweet Gina Gabriell in her newly-renovated and soon-to-be-opened shop Tangerine in Dublin, CA. Gina http://www.elevenmorning.com/ is such a kind, supportive and generous instructor. Within eight hours every student had a darling girl all done, and each and every one was unique and sweet and well done, as demonstrated in the second photo. There's a lot of sweetness in the student photo too, and thanks to Deena, aka scrappydeena and roomie, for the finger tiara for me!
The next photo are our little girls, formed out of paper clay and styrofoam, drying in the heat box while we went out for Chinese at lunch. The last photo, immediately above, is of Gina Gabriell's materpieces, which she had out on Sunday at the ZNE vendor fair. Gina also had mixed media packets, ATCs, other dolls and the book "Pink Sky," which she wrote and illustrated and of which copies are being donated by ZNE to children's hospitals and hospices around the country. You can read more about Gina and another classmate, Pink Sky graphic artist and watercolorist Iva Wilcox and the book here http://chelise.typepad.com/stevie_brianna/.
The class was just a charmed day and a perfect gathering of like-minded souls that doesn't happen all that often. There was a lot of love in the room on Saturday.
I posted a picture of one of Gina's girls in the post below this one to announce I was heading off to class, and now that I look at my girl above, I know I learned something I will use again. I am pretty proud of my music box (though don't ask about all our striped stockings), and I definitely love her and hope to play with paper clay again soon.
ZNE Convenzione http://www.znecon.com/ was almost a once-in-a-lifetime event since it was the first-ever convention. But since it will be offered again in 2009, everyone gets a second chance. I highly recommend it, and I will be posting more pics soon.

Monday, August 18, 2008

On the ZNE Convenzione Countdown







Since I need to wake up before 4 a.m. Thursday to drive myself to the airport for the ZNE Convenzione http://www.znecon.com/, my internal clock must have been practicing this morning when I woke up at 2 a.m. After 90 minutes of tossing and turning and feeding the cat and getting a drink and all the usual stuff, I finally gave up at 3:30 and started making artist trading cards to take to California.


As is tradition at art workshops and conventions, attendees bring small pieces of art, such as ATCs or charms, or little packets of goodies and supplies to trade. I had been procrastinating, thinking I just wouldn't mess with it. But, I woke up thinking how much I love to get other people's stuff, so I figured I'd better do my part. New stuff is always inspiration for new art.


Since I will be meeting Kris Hubick of Retro Cafe Art http://krishubick.blogspot.com/ for the first time and since she bought my very first ever ATC "Free Bird," I was inspired to go all retro (by a year) on myself and make some cards with my own bird and cat doodles on Bingo card backgrounds. Even though Kris is in my state, it has taken us more than a year and 2,000 miles to actually meet! She is one of the ZNE http://www.zneart.com/ original moderators. I guess that makes me a ZNE un-original moderator!


Kris was one of the first people tabbed, and rightly so, by ZNE creator and founder Chelise Stroud-Hery http://www.chelise.typepad.com/, the smiling face above with the famous ZNE tattoo. It couldn't be more perfect that this HUGE first-ever ZNE Convenzione falls on Chel's birthday week. She has worked tirelessly to grow ZNE for more than three years, and now she is not only bringing the convention to culmination with artists and instructors from around the country, but is also working on the 2009 convention!


Now that my trades are done, all I have to do is pack and get myself there. Chel, meanwhile, will probably have to have several small cows between now and Friday. Hopefully, she will be flying high from Tuesday's birthday celebration. I'll be flying high, for real, on Thursday to get picked up by Miss Vicky http://www.cut-it-up.com/ and become a Cali girl for a few days. I'm taking a class by the talented California artist Gina Gabriell http://elevenmorning.com/. Gina is opening a studio called Tangerine in Pleasanton, and we will have our class in her studio space and lunch outside at her home. We are making darling paper clay music boxes. I hope mine looks half as cute as hers (shown at top) when I'm done. Glue gun is packed.