My First Etsy Treasury!

Earlier this week I was included in a Etsy Treasury listing for our etsy team, eSMArts. This treasury represents the work of our very talented team. Take a look! My rhyolite earrings are in the third row to the right. Thanks to Diane of MyGemstoneBox (http://www.mygemstonebox.blogspot.com)for taking the time to create this and get it posted into the treasury listings. We appreciate all your time and effort to make this happen!




Here is a link to my etsy shop if you'd like to see more!
http://www.CreativeEyeStudio.etsy.com

Tag, I'm It

I was recently tagged by Michele Cook of Michele Cook Designs. She has some beautiful copper wire wrap pieces that you should check out.
She also likes gardening and has some lovely pictures of her flowers at her blog.
http://www.micheleslife-michele.blogspot.com

I was also tagged by the very energetic Wezz who lives in Belgium. Read about her adventures in Gatlinburg and her disappointment when she ordered Belgian waffles and tried root beer for the first time. Also check out the beautiful blue ruffles necklace pictured on her site.

http://www.cyberwezz.blogspot.com

1) Link to the person who tagged you
2) Post the rules on your blog (this is what you are now reading)
3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below)
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Six things about me…

1. I have always been the person that breaks the chain letters, recipe chains, dish towel chains, etc. However, I am taking the time to do this. LOL!

2. After being out of school for over 20 years, I went back to college and recently earned a bachelor of science degree in Marketing!

3. I hate the show Wifeswap, but watch it anyway.

4. I love to read, but rarely have time anymore.

5. I love the smells of lavender, lilac and peony. And cookies baking in the oven.
6. I enjoy a good glass of wine.

I am now tagging these folks (I apologize if you have already been tagged):

Julie with Angelamps http://angelamps.blogspot.com
Danis with DGDesigns http://dgdesignstx.blogspot.com
Shelley http://tortoisetreasures.blogspot.com
Tina http://linksandloops.blogspot.com
Tracy http://orangestarfish.blogspot.com
Dee Comer http://ReflectionsInGlass.Blogspot.Com

Kentucky Art Car Weekend - Part 2

Here are a few more pictures. I have so many to share, it's hard to choose!




This guy made really cool art from license plates. And I love the recycled can dog hanging out the window!


You had to be there to believe this. The lobsters and Billy Bass fish were all wired together and synchronized to sing and move at the same time. Many of the songs were choir type songs and they even performed to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody! Kids were startled and I saw a very large dog get pretty worked up when they started moving in unison. Pretty funny.


Less is more. This was one of my favorites, for it's simplicity of design. The theme was ocean/beach. Looking inside the car, the dashboard had sea glass, shells, etc.

Art Car Weekend - Part 1

The Ky Art Car Weekend was held in Louisville on August 1-3. Some really creative altered art cars were on display and they participated in a parade on Saturday. Here are some pictures that I took when they were parked in a church lot. I'll post a few more pictures tomorrow. They were so great and unique, it's hard to choose just a few!


This shows the detail on one of the vans. If you double click the picture, you can see there are buttons, shells, McDonald toys, barbie parts, rulers, beads, silk flowers, etc.


I liked the swirled paint job on this car. And the fins!


Close up of the hood of one of the cars. This is kinda creepy in a dismembered doll head kind of way. I am wondering how they wash their cars with all this stuff on them!

There is a very cool hotel in town called the 21C Museum Hotel. It has very interesting art that grabs your attention and gets you talking. This car was commissioned by the hotel. The miata is covered in pieces of mirror. The red penguin is from the hotel. You will find them all over the hotel, inside and out. Rumor has it, they may even put one in your room or in your bed for laughs. The hotel also has an older limo completely covered in flat red marbles. I did not see it on display at the show this weekend, but I've seen it parked in front of the hotel. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera that day!

More pictures to come!

Blue Lampwork Earrings

Just created these clip on earrings for my mom, who refuses to pierce her ears! I was not thrilled with the first set of sterling clips I bought as they were too flimsy. I bought these because they were made well, but am not wild about how big the flat silver area is at the top. My mom says they are comfortable and that's all that matters, right? She has a matching bracelet with the same blue lampwork beads and sapphire crystals.

112 Year Old Artist - Inspiration for Everyone who Creates

I found a great article at CNN about an elderly artist named Frank Calloway, who admits to having just a 3rd grade education, is diagnosed with dementia and schizophrenia and who is still creating at age 112! He has lived in different mental facilities since 1952 and is currently in a nursing home in Alabama. Apparently he is getting a lot of attention and people now want to buy his unique folk art which is sometimes drawn on butcher paper that is 30' long. I may have seen his story on CBS Sunday Morning. It sounds very familiar.

Here's the link to the full story along with a picture of him, some audio and a slideshow with photos of his art. It's a very good read.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/07/20/elderly.artist.ap/index.html

A Peek Inside the Studio

This is my work space in the basement. It's a wonder I get anything done most days. The moral of the story is, when you combine several hobbies, you end up with a lot of "stuff."

My husband bought me the bronze desktop Ott light for my birthday from Lowe's and I love it!! He also changed out the bulbs overhead to natural daylight bulbs, and it made all the difference since I don't have any windows. Reference books and magazines are on the shelves along with small tubs of yarns and fibers. On the lower shelves I have packaging materials like gift boxes and organza bags.

The metal flat files hold all my rubber stamps and stamp pads. Some decorative papers are on top along with an ipod docking station for some background music. The antique buffet to the left was bought at a yard sale and is filled with more art supplies like paints, chemicals, undecorated cigar boxes, wooden shrines, etc.

The countertop was being tossed at work and my very handy husband made the legs for me to use it in my workspace and contain most of my Iris carts. Most of my collage & paper arts stuff is on this side, including glues and tape, embossing powders, charms, Sharpies, unmounted stamps, tags, paper punches, handmade books, paint brushes, scissors and lots of tools and gadgets.

Our art cat Tucker (seated in my chair) is my design assistant. He likes to walk across any pending projects and lay on them if at all possible. And steal my chair when I turn my back. He always likes to hang out with me in the studio.

This is just a close up view of my work table, where I attempt to keep at least some of the space clear. Not much space obviously. I need to figure out a better way to keep up with my pliers, as my current system is not working. And what did we do before ziplock bags were invented?

Thanks for looking!