An autumn inspired necklace (even though the cool air of autumn is nowhere near showing up here! :( How is the weather where you are?

I have finally had a little time to create recently and I have been wanting to make jewelry. Here are a few of the necklaces I've created. Of course, the pictures do not show off the beauty, vibrancy and sparkle of the beads. What have you been creating lately?

I cannot believe how long it has been since I've posted anything here :( This is the first art I have made in months! Once it gets warm enough to get the pool out for the girls in the backyard, I should have more time to make art. I love getting my stuff out to create on the patio table while they're having fun playing outside. Hope you are all doing well and enjoying life! :)

I am still here! The weather here has been so nice lately that we have been going on tons of walks and to lots of parks...basically just having a lot of fun and enjoying the outdoors. I had a little bit of art time with my friend Carmen over the weekend and I made a fun necklace. It isn't scanning well, so sometime soon hopefully I can get a good picture of it with the camera and get it up here. I am also doing a colloborative project with my friend Sandee for something, but I'm going to be hush-hush about it for now. I have also become involved with Facebook (which is quite time-consuming) but is so great in the fact that it really does help me keep in touch with a lot of people better! So, that's what's been going on with me and I am really going to try and be better about updating my blog more often. Hope you are all doing great :)

This is a box I altered for an 'Altered Candy Heart Box' swap in one of my groups. It started as the usual red box with a tacky picture of a rose on it. It measures 12 in. x 13 in. The only thing I knew that the recipient liked were the colors blue and purple. It was then filled with all kinds of art goodies, chocolate and a handmade bracelet. Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day :)

The winner of my OWOH giveaway is: TIFF! I will be e-mailing you shortly to let you know you've won and to get your mailing info. Congrats and thanks to all of you for playing! :)

I have not forgotten about my OWOH giveaway! I will post the name of the winner and e-mail her/him sometime in the next few days. Thanks for playing and good luck!

Here is a 6 x 6 mixed-media collage called 'Celebrate the Journey'. Had a lot of fun making this one! I would love to hear what you think of this piece and please make sure to check out my OWOH give-away below! Hope you are all enjoying your weekend :)

I am very happy to be able to give something away this year for the 'One World-One Heart' giveaway (http://oneworldoneheart.typepad.com/! I didn't have a blog last year at this time so I was not able participate. Up for grabs is a handmade bracelet by yours truly. Just leave a comment on THIS post to be entered! Winner will be chosen on February 12th. Good luck and thanks for playing :)

I don't think I've ever complained on my blog before, but I just can't stand this problem anymore and I want to know what you do if this is happening to you also. Are you around someone a lot who is ALWAYS texting, using their iPhone, Blackberry, etc.? I am and it is driving me CRAZY!!! Am I the only one with this dilemma? I would LOVE to hear from others with this same problem! Thanks and sorry to complain :)

After a leisurely walk to get ice cream with my family in some gorgeous Southern California sunny weather (in the 70's!), I was able to make some jewelry today! These pieces look so much better in person! Sometimes I sit down with my beads with the best intentions of making a piece or two and I just can't get a combination that I like. That did not happen today though! It all just 'clicked'! I know that most of you can definitely relate to what I'm talking about :) BTW, these pieces are not meant to match by any means. They are two completely different combinations of beads.

Believe it or not, I am finally posting some new art! Now that things are back to their normal groove here after the holidays, I have a little bit of art time :) These are Zetti Hanging ATCs that I made for a swap. I LOVE hearts and red, so I LOVE Valentine's Day!

Hello!!! I am still here, alive and happy, but soooooooooo busy, as I'm sure you all are as well this time of year! Just wanted to pop in quickly to wish you all a Happy New Year! I hope you all have a very wonderful 2009! :)

Had a little bit of time today to make something while my 2-year-old was making stuff too! We had a lot of fun :)

These are two ornaments I made for the Zetti Holiday Ornament Swap I am hosting in the Zetti Zoo Yahoo Group. The ornaments are not necessarily supposed to be 'Christmas' ornaments since not everyone participating in the swap celebrates Christmas. Everyone was open to interpret what their version of a 'Zetti Holiday Ornament' is and go from there. It is my first time hosting ever in any group. Participants only needed to make 1-3 ornaments (they get the same number back as they sent in), which isn't such a huge and stressful commitment as some of the other swaps around are. I know that I can't participate in anything that I have to make more than just a few things in because I don't have the time and I get very stressed out! Both started as plain paper mache ornaments that I obviously altered A LOT!!! They both measure about 7-1/2 to 8 inches in length (including the hanger pictured). Please feel free to leave me a comment letting me know what you think of them. Hope you are enjoying the holiday season so far! :)

Been super busy lately, as I'm sure you all are too! Here are a few pictures of my girls from a big party for my 13-year-old

nephew last weekend at this beautiful Hyatt hotel (http://valencia.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp. We had a blast! We all love to dance, so it was a lot of fun! Hope you all have a very safe and Happy Thanksgiving! :)

This is a 5 x 7 collage called 'Do You Really See?' This piece is a bit darker than the others I've been making recently. Someone I love very much is suffering from major depression right now. It hit her like a brick wall and she's never gone through anything like this before. It is very hard for me to see her like this, but she is getting help so hopefully we will see a positive change soon. I made this piece as I was thinking about her.

We went here (http://www.davincilb.com/) after the CPR class for some awesome desserts too! I must go to bed now. I have to get up really, really early tomorrow! :(

I'm going here for dinner tonight http://www.originalfishcompany.com/home/default.html with a co-worker and our boss. I will probably have my usual...the Mesquite Broiled Shrimp on a Skewer. It comes with so much extra stuff too and it is all soooo good! Then we will be off to meet another co-worker and take a CPR re-certification class that we have to do every two years. Gotta go finish getting the house picked up! Bye :)

I was lucky enough to have time to make some art yesterday. This is a 5 x 5 piece on a gallery-wrapped canvas called 'The Gift that is Thee'. Did you get a chance to make anything this weekend? :)