On Friday we were off to Reno for a day of shopping and relaxing (mostly shopping), culminating in a late night stop at the airport to pick up our British Faery friend Victoria who will be staying with us and we'll all head up for Faerieworlds at the end of the month.

Since then we've been busy both about town and in the studio and these things along with an internet cable that's been annoyingly off and on, has kept me away from any computer time. But while the server has been gracious enough to work this morning, I thought I'd throw up a post showing, no, not all the fae garb we're working on - not yet - but some of the goodies I bought in Reno at the fabric warehouse. A lot of it with the idea of using for future costuming.

You can't really see, but both these fabrics are both stretchy and sheer. The one on the left also has sparklies embedded in it. I have some other flesh colored fabrics to match it, thinking of making an "almost not there" faery dress next year, and the purple and tan on the left might make good wings.


I got several yards of the flowy pastel sheer on the left, thinking skirt and/or scarves for any day wear. The blue/gray/black floral is stretchy and floral - wings? Don't have any plans for it yet. Nor for the black with embedded rhinestones but it will make a great addition to something I'm sure. Us faeries are just attracted to bling.


More bling, and polka dots - faeries also love polka dots (and stripes) - at least this faerie.


I'm hoping this beautiful green will work for a kilt for Hubby. I don't hink it's 60" yardage - hmmm, I'll have to unfold it and see. We bought what was left of the bolt, which is enough length (I looked up the yardage needs and the how-to-fold-a-quilt info AFTER we got back home) but they recommend the 60" bolt. If it's a 44/45", well, we'll see. If not, I love the green. And the stuff on top is a faux suede for making a matching pouch for carrying important faery equipment - like a water bottle and a cell phone.


Just some pretty bits and bobs, clasps, ribbons and such. The thin cord on the left is brown for some of the embellishments for my Good Faery Day outfit. Some of you know what it will be, the rest of you I'll leave some mystery on the subject. Clue - the color is a key.


What a FANTASTIC find! Hubby had no idea why I needed to buy all these. Victoria immediately loved them. For wristwarmers of course! Super cheap and perfect all shabby chic just as they are or embellished on some fun manner - lace, beads, ribbons... "For your costume?" Hubby confusedly asked. "All those?" Of course not, for ANY time. Well, any time it's cool enough for wrist/hand warmers. We're melting in 100 degree temps at the moment.


Last but not least, a beautiful red and black sheer. Daughter-in-law Lisa is gonna be in a black and red outfit on Bad Faery day and I thought this would make a great wrist or arm sleeve for her to add. As you can see by my hand under a layer, it almost looks like a tattoo pattern on the skin. And if she's not interested, I'm sure this will make a gorgeous scarf for yours truly.

That's it for now. The studio is finally in use. Victoria is making several woodsy, mossy, nature lovin' pieces. I'm currently flipping back and forth between making scrappy strings tied with bells and breaking apart and reconstructing some skeleton bones. Stay tuned in the coming days to find out what and why I'm refashioning with such odd materials.

I usually put artsy photos up here, but today they're over on Beach Treasure, carnival bright lights.

Hold onto your brain, I'm about to take you through a roller coaster of mixed metaphors -

Do you ever feel like you're just going around in circles? Dashing from one project to another, always playing catch up, forever dropping the ball, never ahead of the game?

Me too.

Sorry, don't mean to be a Debbie Downer today. I woke up feeling the adrenalin rush of the "last minute" but raring to jump in and tackle the world. Then Stressed Spouse and Surly Seventeen-Year-Old woke up and started hacking away at my mood. ***POP*** There went my energy bubble.

But it really IS the last minute - lots of deadlines looming larger, larger, larger and I don't have the luxury of staying down. Good thing I'm hardwired to be optimistic. I'm finishing up this quick pop in and then I'm gonna eat some breakfast, gulp some more caffeine, add some medicinal dark chocolate to my day, and get back up on that horse, focus on the silver lining, take it a step at a time, slap on a smile, pick myself up, dust myself off, and.... well, y'kow. All that optimistic shit.

I have finished sorting out unsorted supplies in the studio. Still have to wrestle it all out to new storage in the garage. Garage is still a mess, so that's going to be a challenge. I think that particular bit is my biggest stress. Once I get that tackled, I suspect I won't feel half as overwhelmed.

So, that said, off I go. *Laume adjusts her shoulder pads, pops her mouth guard in, pulls her helmet on determinedly and, without looking back, heads off to tackle her life*

Just a quickie - pop on over to the amazing Anne's blog for a chance to win this pretty.



Anne's been a real inspiration over the years for me, whether she knows it or not.

Actually, that's a good post theme - who inspires you? In your art or in your life? Pick one (or more) people who have made a difference in your world and let them know. It doesn't have to be a big thing, just drop them an e-mail or give them a call, mention it the next time you see them face-to-face. It will make their day, maybe even their week, I promise you.

If all goes according to plan, soon this blog will be filled with almost daily updates on all the faery fashion creations that I have to make in the next few weeks for this year's upcoming Faerieworlds. Squeeeee, I'm getting very excited. At the moment, I'm still working away on mucking out the studio so I can get in there and create. Two iced espressos with vanilla soy last night helped me make a lot of progress. Hopefully I'm just a day or two away from enough mess cleaning to switch to mess making.

In the meantime, a few random about town photos for your viewing pleasure:

Some fish swimming along a home's retaining wall. I've shown you pics of this wall before, a friend helped create it.


When I drive up this street, I always enjoy the magnificent tree trunk columns on this home.


This gorgeous girl graces the front of an uptown shop. (I think the purple swirly across her face is supposed to be her earring hanging on the other side, the wind must flopped it) She's been there for years now. The building if for sale. I hope the new owners (if there are any in this economy) will keep her up.

I receive a thrice a week newsletter from Kristin Espinasse's lovely French Word A Day blog site. Yes, it's called "word a day" and it's really "word three times a week" but, hey, she's a busy mom and writer. So, completely makes sense. You can visit her at her blog and you can sign up for her mailer there too.

I bring it all up though because I was totally taken with today's word, which is:

éclaboussement (ay-klah-boos-mahn) noun, masculine : splash (of water, color)

One of the great things about the French language is how artfully descriptive their words are. Don't you wish we had an English word that meant "splash of color"? I mean, we can SAY "splash of color", three words. But the French think it's important enough to have an official word to describe such a vision/event.

I love color, whether it be in small surprising amounts or in big joyful in your face amounts. Sometimes a photograph, regardless of what the photograph is of, really, it's all about color.

Appropriately, an example - Paris windows.

Another French example - Bicycling along the Seine.

More color? Okay - Chandelier in the Peppermill Casino, Reno, Nevada

Or a splash of bright color surrounded by deeper color - Daylily (my garden)

Homework time folks - I want to see some more splashes of color. Take a photo. Post it on your blog or online photo site and then let me know so I can go see it. Or even just show me a favorite photo you've found online that expresses a "splash of color". Or, not a photo. Maybe an outfit you wear, or a room you've designed, or a painting or other art piece you've created. Come on, Splash me!

I've been busy in the studio. Cleaning and organizing, not creating. Although I guess you could say I was creating new space and opportunity.

Mostly I've been sorting boxes and piles that have been stacked in there for about six months as it was all "art" stuff. But, despite it's ample size, the space is simply too small to be a creative work room, a guest room, a library, an office, AND a store room for multiple art mediums. So, I've decided to find different storage space for everything that isn't textile. It's still gonna have to be all those other things, but moving all the supplies for paper, assemblage, painting, knitting, and who knows what else to another location will free up enough space so I actually find things and work comfortably.

There's several places in the garage and breezeway that will work just fine for storage. For additional work tables and areas too once the yard sale is over and those areas are also opened up. For now I'm just trying to get everything into it's proper boxes and the boxes near, if not exactly in, their final storage locations.

Just two stretches of hours on two days has accomplished a lot. I had to take a couple days break for extra family activities and responsibilities, but that was okay, I put the time to equally good use - weeding like crazy and playing with two of the grandsons.

But now the house is quiet again and it's time to get back to organizing. I should really be in there now instead of on here typing atcha, but I wanted to put up a post on Beach Treasure before I let another day get past me.

I didn't realize, when I took the photo, I captured a rune (or rune looking) shape in the water. I'll have to go look up the meaning. Anyone recognize it?

Speaking of artistic creations, no one does it better than Mother Nature. I STRONGLY encourage you to grab yourself a cup of your favorite beverage, strap on your cyber-walking shoes, and click on over to Beach Treasure to join me on a hike through Fern Canyon. The only better way to spend the time would be if you could be there in person.

A few window shots from my stroll around the plaza in Arcata, CA. I was with friends, so just these few.

A pretty mermaid showing off her strands of pearls.




I totally loved this window dressing behind the mermaid. All tulle and shiny and texturey fabrics, in shades of foam and green and aquamarine, like an ocean kelp forest.

I need to recreate this somewhere in my home. Maybe in the same colors, some of my favorite. Or maybe another color theme to match wherever I find to use it. Not sure where. My bedroom behind the bed?? The breezeway screens? Bath window? Or maybe in the gazebo, the one we haven't figured out how to make yet?




Two windows in front of an art shop had gorgeous origami art. It was hard to take photos as the direction of the light made for some serious glare.




The shopkeeper ushered me inside to try from the opposite direction, which made most of it become a silhouette. But I was able to take this pic of the origami pond. Don't miss the turtle on the right.