Happy Thanksgiving

It's just a day away from the BIG DAY! I have warm and cozy butterflies flapping their wings inside my belly. I have been given many, many blessings and I would like to share just a few of the things I am thankful for.

~ I am thankful for the strength and love of our family. We love each other through thick and thin. We live close enough to see each other everyday. I never take that for granted.

~ I am thankful for Alan. He always supports me and never lets me give up :)

~ I am Thankful for my girls, Tiffanie... so deep, kind and compassionate. Amanda... brilliant and packed full of fun loving spunk. You bring joy and balance to my world.

~I am deeply thankful for Tony for his courage and strength. He is my son, he is my Hero.

~ I am thankful for my new and old friends and all the wonderful people I have met through blogging and various art groups.

~ I am thankful for my employer, which ensures that We never go hungry and I always have clay to satisfy my need to create.

~ I am thankful for my grandchildren. They are beautiful and bring such joy to my heart.

~ I am thankful for the Lord above for giving me all these things to be thankful for.

Wishing you all a blessed Thanksgiving. Warm Holiday Hugs :)

Look what arrived on my doorstep the other day, and all the way from Canada! Isn't she the sweetest little doll you have ever seen. My heart was in love the minute I unwrapped her from the delicate tissue paper. This sweet little Isabella came from my " Monster Under the Bed " swap partner and new artist friend, Sue Barton of Barton Originals.

I am simply amazed at Sue's talent. For the first day, I displayed Isabella in my living room but her Hauntingly sweet elegance told me that she needed to be displayed amongst my MOST treasured and elegant collections that surround me in my bedroom. She graces my dresser beautifully and every time I enter my room, I cant help but gaze at her with amazement.

Thank you Sue ! I cant even begin to tell you the joy Isabella brings to my heart.

Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Clause and a BLOG GIVE-A-WAY TOO!!! If you are a believer, then hop on over to the Because We Believe in Art blog for their 1st anniversary Blog give-a-way.
There are many wonderful artists who have donated one of their "OOAK" ornaments just for this special occasion and yes, YOU might be the lucky winner. WAHOOOOOOOOOOOO!

DO YOU BELIEVE ?

Exciting Adventures in the Horizon!

I would like to say thank you to all of you who listened to my venting session. And a special Thank you for your kind words of support. Geez, I feel better :)
I have something HAPPY to share. I am sure that you have all heard of the PFATT Marketplace. That fabulous little on-line shop, Chuck full of some Rockin artists that sell their exquisitely made creations. I love that place :) Well, I am so honored to be a part of these fantastic artists. In December, I will officially become a PFATT Marketplace artist. I am very excited, beyond excited! So, I've been tucked away in the little yellow studio creating some Dianie Mac Designs, and I'm having fun! My honey buns (ALAN) put the computer and a T.V in my studio. UH O! LOL, I had to laugh because I don't get cell phone reception in my studio and I can spend hours upon hours in there and totally forget about the world and that I have grown children ( JUST KIDDING, I could never forget my little sweeties). I always had a little problem with balance. Lol...anyway, when I do come up for air, I check my messages and I will have all these texts, MOM! MOM! MOM,Where are you? Mom, are you in your Studio? LOL.. My kids have lost their mother to the little yellow studio. Well, they know where to find me.. doors always warmly open:)



With the Marketplace I will definitely need a banner! I'm a little tight on funds right now so I am attempting to make my own. When the girls re-formatted my computer, I lost my favorite art program. Dah, I failed to remember the name of it. My husband has looked through all his STUFF and cant find it either??? The new program I have is over this girls head. Alan has one more program he is going to load up for me and I will see what I can figure out. You know the saying If you don't succeed, try,try again! Right now this is what my banner looks like. YIKES!

Just Venting

This is me, minus the blue eyes. Cold and a bit grumpy! It's is a bit rare for me to show my grumpster side here on my blog. But hey, I'm human and I do get down right ticked off sometimes! So, I need to vent.. This is about my day Job! I've worked for this company for 17 years. 16 of those years I have been a cake decorator. There are three of us decorators and we are not your typical decorators for this area. We do a lot of detailed art work on cakes for a small price. Over the years our customer base has grown enormously and I think many realize that they can get very cool, totally custom cakes to their own liking at a very low, low price. Sure beats running to Salt Lake City and paying qua-dripple for what we do. Many times cake orders are taken when we are already gone home. We trust that the person who takes down the order is relaying the instructions clearly. On with the story... Through the 17 years of working for this company I have seen many, many changes. I think if you work in retail you have to accept the fact that it is ever changing .. Recently, there was a position created called a quality merchandise manager(or whatever) I just call them the bakery police! On Friday I had several artwork cakes. Actually, I was very proud of them and I even had that tickle in my tummy just thinking of how happy the customer would be when they came to pick up their cake....
Well... Saturday morning in the middle of decorating like a mad woman, in front of Everyone including customers, the less then tactful Bakery Police comes in clad with clipboard in hand, with a very stern and rude voice blurts out.. Who did that Star cake? Well, hell.. I was scared to death to reply. I felt like I was six years old gettin ready for a whippin! with a hint of fear in my voice,I replied, " I did" The Bakery Police snapped back in a stern voice, one eyeball coldly gazing up over her reading glasses as she's writing on her clipboard, " The cake was wrong, we had to give it to the lady for free !" I became very defensive as I had created the cake as per what was described on the order. Now, I have done thousands and thousands of cakes over a 16 year period with very,very few complaints. I know we cant please everyone and being human and all, this sorta thing may happen at one time or another, whether I am at fault or a miscommunication between the customer and the one writing down the order. But to come in, and in front of everyone and customers in the bakery and humiliate an employee like that is very wrong. My gosh, what was she doing with the clipboard? Is there a tally? Three strikes your out? Geez...... I did what was on the order, am I really at fault. None of this mattered in the eyes of the bakery police. It was wrong and the multi- billion dollar superstore lost out on $15.95
So.. with my quick and less then rational thinking, I told her.. I will no NOT do another artwork cake for customers or this store. I am not obligated to do this as it is not a requirement for this company rather it is a gift that I have and can offer our customers. I will only do the basics, flowers, balloon and kit cakes. JUST THE BASICS.
I would never, never have felt this way if it was handled in a professional manner. Rather, I felt humiliated and very less then.. despite the thousands of of spectacular cakes I have done and the thousands of customers I have pleased. I take great pride in my work, I always try to give 110% but somehow, I felt I was damned to hell in the companies eyes for this one cake.
Thanks for listening to me vent! I do feel better now :) I have to scurry of to work now, that is if I still have a job to go to after I declared that I wouldn't be sharing my drawings on cakes for the company or customers anymore. YIKES!

I LOVE SWAPS! When I saw that Zan http://wildatheartart.blogspot.com/ was having a Monster Swap, I knew I had to join. What better way to face your childhood fear then to create the little bugger that spooked you soooo bad as a child. Yep, this is the furry feller that caused me so much grief. " The MOnsteR Under My Bed "

I started this creation with a couple of small gourds and wire for the armature of the monsters body. I used Apoxie Sculpt and paper clay to sculpt him. His rough furry texture was created using finely cut up cheese cloth and Paverpol.

The bed is made from heavy duty cardboard stuff ? dowels and paper clay.

And that skeered little boy in the bed, with his covers pulled up so tightly around him, was created from a tiny bottle gourd and paper clay. I will have to say that this was a very fun swap. Now this little Monster will be carefully packaged and mailed out to my new friend and swap partner. Maybe she can tame him , hehehe ! :)

The Monster Swap!

That time is growing very near, for the Parade of those Big Bad Monsters to appear. You know, the Monster that lurked in your closet, or was he lurking under your bed? Where ever he was, he was to be feared!
A little over a month ago, Zan Asha over at Wild at Heart http://wildatheartart.blogspot.com/ was hosting a Monster Swap. And now the time is almost here to parade our childhoods biggest fear.. " The Monster In The Closet" Be sure to hop on over to Zan's for the big Monster Parade. Saturday, November 7th.

Here is my Monster that caused me so much grief as a child!( Of course I had to twang the pic a bit.). I hope he is a little nicer to my swap partner and doesn't pinch her toes in her sleep like he used to do to me!