Frou-frou Friday and Pink Saturday... wow

Not sure if Frou-frou Friday is starting today or next Friday so thought I better Frou-Frou my PINK SATURDAY, thanks Beverly at How Sweet the Sound!  This is the room I stayed in while in Key West painting en plein air!  You know, my life altering experience, seriously.  I stayed at the Popular House which is painted PINK ON THE OUTSIDE!

I had the most WONDERFUL stay here - breakfast was unbelieveable.  The first morning, I believe it was Richard baked a double chocolate banana bundt cake as part of breakfast.  Each day we had an incredible desert with breakfast!  Jody owns the house, Liz (I hope I remember that right) was so sweet.  I would come back from painting on the streets - dejected because I wasn't good enough - she had kind encouraging words and hugs to push me onto the next day!  I believe it was Dave who also worked the front desk and got me where I needed to go.  I was a woman traveling alone and felt safe, secure and swallowed up by the atmosphere of the house!  The art was incredible and I hated to leave!

Soooooooooo, in honor of Connie's Frou-frou Friday - I have frou-frou'd my Pink!

I visited a couple of pink sites but have gotten everyone mixed up - journaling my blog hopping now so I can give appropriate recognition.  There isn't a bad visit on Beverly's list!!!

cheers! dana

In the works...

In an effort to focus and complete some projects I have made a to do list! Yet, again!  Currently researching my Practical Magic commitment... picked up the book and the movie to see which version I shall base my blog party on.  I know that I have not seen the movie but in starting the book, I am sure I read this years ago - this is a treasure though... I ordered the book on Barnes & Noble used books.  I got this well worn copy from the King County Library System AND IT IS SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR, Alice Hoffman.  I know I am meant to participate!
I am completing an ATC for my trade with Margaret at Alice and Camilla plus will need to get cracking on the dress challenge for August - hummmmmmmm, I think I might combine a Practical Magic piece with that!
I am continuing to follow  Peggy's Friday Foto Collage - as it makes me leave my comfort zone and stretch.  AND have added to Friday's, Connie's "Frou-frou Friday".  Connie is definitely a frou-frou gal, I, on the otherhand - not really.  But in an effort to add some ruffles to my life I am uncovering some frills to share!  My granddaughters love it and my daughter in law is cracking up over it!  PINK SATURDAYS with Beverly, A MUST, as I have meant sooooooo many new friends and great blogs!

This weekend also sending out the winnings from my last challenge, the stamps of the snail mail productions are back and ready to go out to Anna at Frosted Petunias and Barb.  Of course, I had to get some for Sinderella's Studio too!
Last, but definitely not least, continuing to work on some pieces for the 2nd annual Artist by the Lake gathering on September 12th!!!  Starting to get excited but really need to get to work!  Once this show is over, I truly plan on tackling my etsy shop.  I have had the shop ability for 2 years and have only put things on etsy a couple of times for a few short days, didn't really understand how to use it.  Still don't but I am getting so much better at understanding the computer workings since blogging.  So, will try again!
That's my update! oh, yes, I have to get ready to go to my "real-life" job too!
cheers, dana

My week in PINK...

There is nothing more wonderful than a Michigan Pink Morning Sunrise!!!  HAPPY PINK SATURDAY, thanks Beverly for hosting!   I LOVE SUMMER!!!  This summer has been great for sunrise watching, I get cold if below 70 outside soooooooooooo this steamy summer has been perfect in my eyes.  I am an early riser - first thing, grab a cup of coffee and sit outside to soak up the beginning of the day.  It has been awhile since the summer mornings have been warm enough for me to enjoy doing this.  I have a favorite window to sit in front of during the rest of the time (most of the time being here in Michigan).  What a way to start the day!  PERFECT.

I also have started working on some small pieces for my 2nd annual Artist by the Lake gathering!  Last August a group of artistic friends and I joined in my driveway and had an art show!!!  It was a great success and we have added a few more friends for this year.  Check out last years posting to see our fun!

A customer once shared with me a well known quote - which I had not heard (so much for well known).  At the time his comment made a huge impact as I was at a crossroads with making a career deicision.  His comment stayed with my on my trip to Key West to paint with Sanford Birdsey - a life changing experience, as you know if you have read about my trip.  Anyways, this little piece is a reflection of that statement.

Bloom where you are Planted.  Hope it pinks up your world as it does mine!

Happy Pink Saturday!!
cheers, dana

This week I pinked in on (peeked in on):

Debbie at http://thepaintsplash.blogspot.com/

Suzie at http://www.suziebuttoncreations.blogspot.com/

stop by and tell them I sent you!

You will love everyone on my sidebar, seriously!

My entry for #4 Friday Foto Collage...finally

This has really been a CHALLENGE (I'm shouting).  First my ink cartridges ran out, then the new ones wouldn't program - they were the new and improved for my printer, yeah right!  Then purchased the regular ones - had to call the help line to get everything going!  Okay ready - NOW - I try to use Peggy's techniques outlined in the challenge - I do not have a photo shop program soooooooooooooo - found out my printer won't print on transparencies - it does the adhesive backed type because it recognizes the backing paper BUT won't print on a clear transparency.  I proceeded in a different direction.

Printed my base picture - one I took of sunflowers (my favorite), in black and white.  Then I layed the transparency on top - painting one of the sunflowers with some acrylics but mainly gouache!!!  I found a beautiful moth to apply to the black and white - covered with gel medium and brayed down the painted transparency to the black & white photo.  Wah-lah!  Hope it still qualifies for the challenge.
It is always good to step outside of your comfort zone!  It helps us grow!
 Thanks Peggy!
cheers, dana
ps of course, I am having them printed as postcards and notecards - will be available at the 2nd annual Artist by the Lake gathering - September 12, 2010!!!

CHALLENGE WINNERS ARE...

Anna at Frosted Petunias and Barb Bryan!
I hope you had as much fun making your pieces as I did mine!  Please check your emails - I will be requesting shipping info!  You will be recieving postage stamps that ARE YOUR SNAIL MAIL reproduced! 

And, of course, my signature 64 box of crayola crayons!  What would the world be without crayons???
Thanks ladys' for your wonderful entries...let's check in again in August to see what challenge is next!
cheers, dana
visit http://frostedpetunias.blogspot.com/ - also check out here Practical Magic Blog Party!

my snail mail finished piece

The Snail Mail Challenge ends tonight at midnight so...I hope you have your entry done or just about done!  Please post a comment with a link so that I can view your entry or send to my email: sinderellastudio@yahoo.com

I completed my piece by lining the inside with handmade paper - then made the envelope out of the same paper.  Because the paper is so thin I actually took some lightweight fusible interfacing and ironed it onto the paper for the interior of the envelope. I found all kinds of instructions on envelope making - I did the simpliest one!  I then finished decorating - just a bit - and sprayed with fixative so that when used to mail - the writing won't go through onto the card!  If you haven't visited earlier - scroll down to see my snail mail piece in process. This was really fun for me - hope you enjoyed making your piece! 
Remember to send snail mail...make someone's day!!!

Thanks for joining me in this challenge! dana

MY PINKETTE'S WERE HERE FOR PINK SATURDAY!

Last Saturday was soooooooooo much fun.  I had 3 of the g-kids here.  Wow.   Anyways, Cloee (7) and Cameron (4) are two of our pinkette granddaughters.  Mason, our 11 month old g-boy, is maize and blue - pink would not work for him.  He watched and had fun too! They sat down with me and learned about PINK SATURDAY.  Of course, the girly girls that they are - LOVED IT!  So, not only did we go to the park and the lake and cook and make chocolate covered strawberries and ... and... and...

We did the dress challenge in PINK.  I showed them the dresses I have done for Margaret's Dress Challenge and -yes- they loved that too!  Here is their PINK SATURDAY project from last week!

                                                          

Cameron did her drawing and pink foam picture!  She picked out the poka dot background for her closet to hang up her special dress challenge project!

Cloee did a super pink fashion dress design on her posterboard and check out her pink dress for the challenge!  She said it was HOT - just like the weather!!!!

Again, super thanks to Beverly for hosting PINK SATURDAY!  Check out her daily postings - always a good message and feel good fun!

This week was busy, again, so only able to visit a couple PINK blogs!  I am addicted though - check out http://www.mermaidsofthelake.com/ and Denise at Couture de Papier - I want her dresses in my size!

I have also committed to enter my first party!  Anna at Frosted Petunias & Justina are hosting a Practical Magic Party - my brain is ticking!!!!

Monday is the deadline for the Snail Mail Challenge entries - please post a comment with your link to enter or send to my email: sinderellastudio@yahoo.com

cheers, dana

snail mail creation continued...

Okay - I have added my focal point and folded my card!  Front and back!

Now, onto the interior... must be able to write on it soooooooooo not sure yet but am working on it.  Then the envelope!  Plus I need to get cracking on my Friday Foto Challenge, I can't wait to try Peggy's technique!

Happy creating! dana

okay back to art-work...

I compiled my pieces to start my snail mail.  I just started layering pieces and then gluing them down - topped off with a coat of gel medium.  After everything dried I then rolled on some poodleskirt pink, warm white, and raw sienna to give some additional dimension.  My main piece will be covering some of the canvas but obviously placed where it looks like something is missing - because it is!  Everything is still drying so - I MUST WALK AWAY!

My piece is going to end up folded in half - so it looks quite discombobulated right now.  I hope I can pull it all together with the additional work on the main focus and some accents!  Trust you are working on yours... it is already the 12th of July.  I lost track of time working on a home for the kitty and had 3 grandkids for the weekend!  All good stuff though!

cheers, dana

HAPPY PINK SATURDAY

Much of this week and last, I spent trying to find this beautiful stray kitten a home.  SUCCESS!  I am sooooo happy that I did not have to send her to animal control.  She is the sweetest thing ever and if serious allergies were not a problem for my husband and one of the grandkids - we would have kept her.  Anyways, she will be well cared for and loved!  One of my facebook friends and blog followers sent me this pink kitty a couple weeks ago in honor of Pink Saturday - perfect for this weeks activities at this house. Although, Sophie, obvious Queen of the house, has found Baby (our stray) a distraction - she will also miss her.  They really have become great buddies! So once Baby is to her new home, I can get back to the business of the SNAIL MAIL ART CHALLENGE!

What fun I had visiting Pink Saturday sites from this past week:

nan at http://bubblesofjoy-nane.blogspot.com/

hayley at http://knittinghayley-aezoey.blogspot.com/

and the others I have been following since checking them out - special shout out to Anna at http://frostedpetunias.blogspot.com/  again!  http://connie-livingbeautifully.blogspot.com/ her tutorial is priceless!  AND SUPER THANKS TO BEVERLY FOR HOSTING PINK SATURDAY'S!!!
http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/
Seriously, I think about PINK all week and friends/coworkers that don't blog are mentioning pink things for me to blog about! LOL
cheers, dana

SNAIL MAIL CHALLENGE...

I have decide that in my own snail mail piece - I wanted to have a snail BUT after looking at pictures of them - I guess I forgot how ugly they are.  I remember in elementary school we had snails for a science class kept in screen topped aquariums.  Some kids broke into the school and took all the tops off - we came back on a Monday and snails were everywhere.  Stuck to the ceiling, walls, chalkboard and our desks - yuck!  Anyways - I am starting with a watercolor canvas with a sap green wash!  I am going to layer this note card so will be drawing my "snail" on 80 lb watercolor paper and trying some things with layers of paint, gel medium and tissue paper - wish me luck - hope you have started your challenge project!

Oh yes, there is always escargot!!!

My snail will definitely not be a real looking snail!
Here's to artistic freedom!
cheers, dana
THANK YOU TO ANNA, FROSTED PETUNIAS, for the awesome challenge button on my sidebar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://frostedpetunias.blogspot.com/
please see post from 6/27/2010 for challenge info!

ps need home for  found kitten...I call her Baby, she is a lover!

July dress challenge 2010

WHAT A FANTASTIC INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!  THANK GOD!  Again, I will share that I stand-EVEN in my livingroom while watching a sporting event -each time I hear the Star Spangled Banner!  Hand on heart and tears in my eyes!  I cannot imagine living anywhere else...why else would everyone keep trying to come here - even those that say they hate us!
My July dress challenge is in honor of the RED - WHITE and BLUE!!!
 LONG MAY OUR FLAG WAVE!  Click on the dress challenge 2010 button on my sidebar to check it out!

We had a super busy 4th - started on the beaches of Lake Michigan - it was crazy windy - great waves and fun!  Then off to friends for a quick visit and Mark went out sailing a bit - then to the Lugnuts baseball game with Fireworks!  I need a day off to recover - oh well - that's not on the calendar.  Off to work I go... please join in the fun with the SNAIL MAIL CHALLENGE - also, send a letter to a soldier!!!!!!!!!
cheers, dana

Proud to be an American - happy Pink Sat. with RED WHITE & BLUE

                                   YES,  I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN !!!!!!

AS WE CELEBRATE THIS INDEPENCE DAY WEEKEND, LET US ALL REMEMBER WHAT THIS COUNTRY HAS BEEN BUILT ON AND BELIEVING IN!  THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE THAT HAVE FOUGHT AND STILL FIGHT TODAY TO PROTECT OUR FREEDOM !!!!

As we celebrate our freedom this weekend with friends and family, take time to send a prayer to all those that are serving!  In combination with our snail mail challenge - please send a handwritten letter to a soldier.  If you know someone serving, send them a shout out!  If you don't, please take a minute to write a letter - send it to me and I will send all out that I receive to: http://www.letterstosoldiers.org/
You can write email letters on many websites but from time to time soldiers are not allowed access - let's start a M.A.S.H. type campaign - remember all the episodes with letters from home!
dana
please visit the Pink Saturday posts! thanks Beverly http://www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

IT'S FRIDAY ... again

and I have fallen behind in all my projects, nothing new there.  Anyways, Connie at Living Beautifully, talked about starting a Frou-frou Friday.  I don't know if she was for real or just chatting but it got me thinking.  I always called it fou-fou, I had no idea it was frou-frou - I actually looked it up in the good old fashioned Webster's!  So, as I have missed the Foto Friday Challenge this week - (sorry peggy - but I am game on for the next one!) - I decided that by changing my header (with Connie's great tutorial pages), trying to finish my first dress challenge (with Margaret's great blog due by June 30th - I am late )  HERE IS MY DRESS CHALLENGE 2010 - JUNE entry - check out Anna's, Frosted Petunias- dresses for June

 and getting ready for Beverly's Pink Saturday post- that I now qualified as a "Frou-Frou Friday" gal. 

My frou-frou isn't girly enough by most standards but my daughter in law and granddaughters' can't believe - the pink I'm in!!!!!!!!!!!

Please stop in again tomorrow for the actual Pink Saturday Post!  Thanks to Beverly's blessing - I will be posting in the RED - WHITE & BLUE, in celebration of Independence Day weekend!

Please visit these gals that I have mentioned today at:

http://www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com/ = Beverly

http://www.connie-livingbeautifully.blogspot.com/ = Connie

http://www.aliceandcamilla.blogspot.com/ = Margaret
http://www.frostedpetunias.blogspot.com/ = Anna

Also - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO STEPHANIE - Queen of Dreamsz!!!!!!!!!

Back on Monday to take on the snail mail challenge!

cheers, dana

STAND FOR OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM...

PLEASE VISIT YOU TUBE AND LISTEN TO WHITNEY HOUSTON SING OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM!  Beverly, at how sweet the sound, ( http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/ )has shared this today!  THANK YOU.  I don't know how to put the video here or I would.  So please click on my blog list with her site!  Stand proud, hand over heart and SING ALONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YES, I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS ONE NATION UNDER GOD INDIVISABLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL...REPOST IF YOU THINK GOD, OUR COUNTRY AND OUR FLAG DESERVE RESPECT.....LETS SEE HOW MANY AMERICANS WILL REPOST
dana