Paint, Stamp, Glue, Glitter

Fu-Fu, I love it. I get excited when I know that I am going to be working with it. You know, the velvet leaves and flowers, satin ribbons, sparkling crystals, spotted feathers, pink paint, and GLITTER....lots of glitter!! When I pull out my three-drawer container of canvas art supplies....well, that just makes my day!!

I was happy that I had planned to work on my canvas art today since I needed a little pick-me-up. My dear friend and exercise partner, Rosie, has gone off with her family to "Dreams" in Cancun and left me to exercise all by myself for the week. It is definitely a lot harder to get up and go to the gym by yourself and not nearly as much fun. (Not that I think the gym is EVER fun)!

Special Orders are now done and I am covered with the glitter to prove it!

Taking a little break I ran down the street to get
my hair chopped off...short! Well, okay, shorter than
the short that it already was. It's nice to have it so easy
to style, but I must admit that I think it does make me look
like I have a little head on a big body. Oh well, too late now!

Oh, and by the way, I didn't get my husband to take me out
to dinner last night. He just didn't want to go out in the
heat again. So he ate a frozen pizza and I had noodles with
Parmesan cheese....Mmmmmm.
He did take me to Cheesecake Factory tonight...so all is good!

And I was THRILLED when I opened my blogspot this
evening to write another post and found that three
new readers had posted comments. Thank you. I loved
meeting each one of you and so hope you stop by again....along
with any of you new visitors. AND you KNOW I treasure your
COMMENTS!

OK, now it's time to watch Dateline. Happy Evening!
XOXO Nancy

Soldering Accomplished

What a FUN day I had yesterday. I spent 3 hours at Mystic Paper, in downtown Mesa, taking a soldering class from Josie Cirincione . That's her in the blue apron and black glasses. I'm a fan of her work and have been trying to coordinate my schedule with one of her classes. She is a very talented young woman who has also written and published two books:

Yesterday's class included instruction on glass cutting, tools, soldering technique, flux, and making an ornament. I choose to make a Halloween ornament.

Josie's class sample was a darling Christmas ornament. She created two Halloween themed ornaments to show the class how she puts them together. It was so enjoyable to have such a patient, organized and knowledgeable instructor. I picked up several useful tips to help me improve on my soldering. Of course, I had to go upstairs to the shop and pick up a few "necessary" items to enhance my soldering skills! LOL!!!

Last night we spent the evening with Jami, Mike and the girls for a delicious steak dinner. Sofia is just learning how to sit up on her own. So I snapped a couple pic's of her performing for us. She is still only 11 lbs., 10 ozs. Such a little munchkin!

Meanwhile, Hanna was out in their pool practicing her surfing technique! (with the help of her dad)

Mommy, Jami and Papa, Frank were the captive audience.

So today Hubby and I are relaxing in front of the TV watching old Lifetime movies......they always seem to suck us in! Since I am feeling lazy this afternoon I think I am going to talk him into taking me out for dinner. Sunday, this is a day of rest, right?
Anywho, it's been a great weekend, with the exception of the 106 degree and humid weather. Hoping all of you have had a good two days and been able to relax and enjoy your family too.
XOXO Nancy

PS: I KNOW THERE ARE A FEW OF YOU READING MY POST WHO HAVE NOT PARTICIPATED IN A CHANCE TO WIN MY GIVEAWAY. PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO ENTER....ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS LEAVE A COMMENT. I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
This is what I am giving away. One of my chandelier 10x10 canvas art pieces.

Wednesday, Hump Day

My daughters always have the cutest jewelry. Something darling for every outfit. I, on the other hand, seem to always be at a loss for just the right piece. BUT.....while shopping last week with my friend Ludy, I came across these two awesome necklace and earring sets. They are each so different and would definitely be a great addition to my meager jewelry collection. The above set looks like a Betsy Johnson but without the big price tag. I like that!

This silver set is truly a statement maker. The picture just doesn't do it justice as it is a very large piece that says, "Look at me, aren't I just the cat's meow"? I couldn't resist it. So unique and fun. Can't wait for the right occasion to wear it.


OK, so I said I was going to spend the week in my studio and I have stayed true to my word so far. I have been buried in flower petals for a few days now creating close to 100 Swarovski crystal embellished flowers for headbands and hats. I spent 8 hrs. gluing individual crystals on flower petals while watching TV. Something is wrong with my TV cause my favorite shows were in Spanish. I have no idea how that happened. Might have something to do with the fact that I accidentally knocked the TV off it's shelf onto the tile floor!!! Yikes!

Each flower takes about 12 crystals and at 73 flowers I finally ran out. So need to order more today. I apologize for this out of focus picture, but you can get an idea of the ones that I got done.
Some of these are really large, but that seems to be the trend right now. I plan on setting aside about 50 of these for my table at our Believe Christmas Boutique the first weekend of November. The rest will go to stores.

Today I am changing pace and working on something new for the Christmas holiday. I will give you a sneak peek, but you have to wait to see what the final creation looks like.

We got to go to dinner over at our daughter, Jami's house on Monday. She made us delicious chicken fajitas. Our dessert was this yummy white chocolate, raspberry triffle. Raspberries are my FAVORITE!

Now it's time to get back into the studio. I'm excited to work on my new creation and see how they come out. It has several steps so it may be a few days before I can show you the finished product. Hope you all have a special day. Thanks for stopping by.
XOXO Nancy

YIPPITY-DO-DA, A GIVEAWAY!!!!

It was a little late in coming,
but finally made it........
the celebration of my 100th post....

MY GIVEAWAY!!!!

I'm excited to be giving away one of my original chandelier canvas art pieces. I hope you like it. All you have to do to have a chance to be the winner is leave me a comment before midnight on Tuesday, July 22nd. I will put all your names in a hat and have my hubby pick the winner. Be sure to leave me your email so I can contact you for your mailing information.


This is an 10x10 canvas done with a white background and black accents with rhinestone embellishments. So here we go......10 days and counting down towards the WINNER~


Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we've been playing like crazy with our dear friends, Jon and Ludy Kellett. They have been in town for 9 days and we got to enjoy their company 6 of the days. We managed to cram in lots of fun and laughs, swimming in the pool, tubing on the Salt River, eating out, shopping, movies, BBQ'ing, golfing, Diamondbacks game, tennis, happy hour and eating, eating and more eating!!!
Speaking of eating...here we are in front of Liberty Market in downtown Gilbert after a delicious lunch before heading to the airport for Kellett's return to WA.

Jon and Ludy

Here's a peek at the inside of Liberty Market.

We found out this is a very poplular place with the locals.

The food is wonderful, service is fast and the atmosphere is great.

And besides, we know the owner/chef, Dave Trana, personally.

Really though, if you live in the area and haven't tried this place yet, RUN,
don't walk to the restaurant.

You won't be disappointed.

They even have an espresso bar/wine bar right in the middle of the restaurant. Very cool!Our granddaughter's really like it too!

Mmmmm...love this pineapple!
A couple days ago I received a book I ordered from blogger/author, Tara Frey.
She has written a book for bloggers, crafter, artists and creators of all kinds.
The book features 50 blogs with lots of illustrations and inspiration.
Tonight I get to curl up in my favorite comfy chair and
begin to savor all the details of her book.
I can hardly wait.
I'm sure all of you would enjoy it too.

Oh, and I have gotten a little work done this past week. Managed to put the beginnings of 38 headbands together. Only 40 more to go!As this very hot (115 degrees) weekend draws to an end, we are hunkered down inside out house with overhead fans and air-conditioner going strong. But we still wouldn't trade living here for anything. Hope you have had a wonderful weekend. Time for me to start reading!
xoxo Nancy

100th POST

It all started because I felt left out.....you know, technology wise. My daughters, their friends, artist friends of mine, and half of the world, were all blogging....except for me. So 99th post ago I jumped on the band wagon. Not sure what to blog about or exactly how to blog, I just started typing and the words just seemed to fall into place. And now it has become a regular part of my life. It's been such a wonderful experience and I have really enjoyed the comments that I have received on my posts and the new friends it has brought to me. So in honor of my 100th post I am going to do a giveaway. I will surprise you with it on my next post since I can't get a picture of it until tomorrow! Now you will have to check back if you want to try to win it....he,he!

Meanwhile, this is what greeted Frank and I yesterday morning when we came into our dinning room. Isn't she cute. She was so curious, hopping back and forth in front of our sliding glass door. Little did she know that we were on the floor only inches away from her staring back. We have darkening film on our windows so she couldn't see in.




Last Friday we picked up our old friends, Ludy and Jon Kellett for a visit. They flew in from Washington and it didn't take them long to start enjoying our hot weather!



Jon got so relaxed he fell asleep!

We had a great weekend hanging out together. They headed up to Scottsdale for a 4 day principals conference and will come back down tomorrow to spend this weekend with us before heading home.
This evening I am enjoying these sweet, juicy Bing cherries while watching a movie with my hubby. We are a very happy family as our son-in-law, Kyle, finally returned from 2 months in Germany flying missions for the Air Force. Bre and the boys were missing him so badly that I'm not sure they could have made it through another week. It's such fun to see them so happy together.
I really must run now so I can pay attention to our movie. Have a great evening everyone.
XOXO Nancy

GOTTA HAVE IT

COFFEE..............
A 24 ounce, non-fat, mocha, no whip!


That's how I start every morning.....I just have to have it......or it's not pretty!
I have started my mornings with these for the past, hmmmmmm, at least 10 year. Probably longer. Since they got expensive fast, I got my own machine from Starbucks years ago. I have now progressed to my 3rd and most wonderful latte maker, the DeLonghi. It's all automatic and an addicted latte lover's dream.
So that's how my 4th of July started. Meanwhile, my hubby headed outdoors to clean our patio for the evening's guests.
We had wanted to throw a big party, but do to lack of energy, we opted for inviting a few couples for a potluck and swim. Since it was a special holiday I thought I better throw together a few decorations. Thank goodness for the Dollar Store.
A few red, white and blue balloons, 3 sheets of flag scrapbook paper, some star wire and candles and "wa-la"!


Even managed to find a flag banner that fit around our kitchen bar.

After enjoying a delicious potluck dinner of salads, warm BBQ chicken sandwiches, grilled asparagus, brownies homemade strawberry-rhubarb cobbler and ice cream, we hit the pool.

Some dear friends: Above pic, Chuck and Rosie VanEkin
Below: Sue and Brent Smith
Judy and Marty Barrett
We missed seeing any fireworks, but it was ok, because we had fun enjoying each others company and bobbing around in the pool.

So this afternoon Jami, Mike and the girls came over for a swim and dinner.
Luckily, Sofia really loves the water.

That's how we spent our holiday. With friends and family.
We missed not having our daughter, Bre and her family with us. But thankfully, she and the boys had a great day celebrating with church friends. And best of all, Kyle is only about a week from coming home from this long 2-month+ deployment. You can bet that Bre is counting the days down.
So friends, I hope your 4th was an enjoyable one and that you too spent it with friends and family and remembered to honor our military men and women.
Now it's time to head off to bed since I must be up at 5:30 to go to exercise....oh, yippee!?
XOXO Nancy
P.S. Believe it or not my next post will be my 100th! Wow, I can't believe it. I may have to think about doing a giveaway to one of my loyal blog followers. Stay tuned for details.