beading contest deadline is approaching fast!

Time sure does fly when you are having fun. It seems like just yesterday that Sara and I were sitting at one of our coffee meetings dreaming up the idea for this beaded jewelry contest...and now, it is finally time to get your entries in. We can't wait to see what you dream up.

ONLY 21 DAYS LEFT TO ENTER!

See Contest Details

bean quesadillas with salsa

I made bean quesadillas with mango, peach and pineapple salsa tonight! I found the mango, peach and pineapple salsa on allrecipes.com. This was so good I could eat it as a fruit salad just by itself. The bean quesadillas recipe is from my friend Carrie.

For the quesadillas you need:

• tortillas
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can pinto or refried beans
• rice of your choice
• shredded monetary jack
• shredded cheddar cheese
• corn
• onion
• fresh cilantro

Lightly oil skillet, place 1 tortilla in pan, and layer with rice, beans, corn, onion, cilantro, and cheese. Place a second tortilla on top and lightly press together. Cook over medium high heat for a minute or two, flip over the quesadilla and cook on the other side for a minute of two. Top with toppings of your choice; avocado, sour cream, salsa, picante.

This was really yummy, thanks Carrie! I forgot the rice and replaced the pinto beans with refried beans and it still came out great. We love making quesadillas, they are easy and you can put just about anything in them!

design: vector ribbon

While working on a logo design this weekend for a local charity event, I managed to get in a quick tutorial for drawing a ribbon.

This video showed me how to create a smooth silver ribbon with multiple folds in Illustrator. Ribbons are used all over the place but, really they are challenging to make. I applaud tutvid.com for such a great tutorial, it is really easy to follow. They made a complicated image very easy for me to recreate.

Check this video out at Hi-Res here: http://www.tutvid.com/tutorials/illustrator/tutorials/vectorRibbons.php

weekly reflection

Ethan with his still life setup of some new school stuff

Ethan starts kindergarten on Aug 12. He will be saying goodbye to his preschool family in a few short weeks. He is super excited and ready to see what this kindergarten thing he has heard so much of is all about.

This week Bert & I picked up his teacher, Mrs. Baker's supply donation list (and I totally cried)! It was so unexpected. I think I may have a tougher time on his 1st day of school then I realized. Nannie bought him a shirt, some school supplies, a thermos cup & Mario Kart lunchbox. He received a Mario Kart backpack as a gift from Miss Laura.

Ms Laura is Ethan's daycare provider / preschool teacher. He has been going to Laura's Daycare for over 2 years. I know he will miss her and all his buddies lots. He made her a super sweet card (which I totally should have taken a picture of. d'oh!). He dictated this message for me to write: Ms Laura, I will miss you when I go to kindergarten. I love you. Then he signed these words himself: Love Ethan. So cute. We are so lucky that our children are happy and loved when they are away from home while us parents head off to work. I am so very grateful for Ms Laura and her family.

heady necklaces debut

This is my debut line of heady pendant necklaces. The necklaces are handcrafted with antique brass chain and round pendants created from my original acrylic paintings. These sweet little pendants are eye catching as I like to work in vibrant colors. The image of my painting is printed on a high quality, glossy paper and then sealed onto the brass pendant with lacquer. Necklaces range from 16-18" in length.

Here are the different styles up close:

I created these heady necklaces to sell at Phish Red Rocks next weekend. Let me know what you think!

kids art: ready for take off!

Ready for take off!

Ethan tagged along with me on another trip to Michael's. Again, he found lots of things he wanted to make but, decided on a wooden model airplane kit. The boys enjoyed building their own airplanes with dad's help. Then the planes sat around for a week or 2, waiting for the right time to be decorated. It has been HOT here in the desert and we are in hibernation mode so, this weekend was the perfect time to bring out the art supplies and get painting.

We reused an egg carton as a paint palette, it is sturdy and holds lots of colors

Ethan working with his favorite colors: blue and green

Hudson working with his favorite color: red

new and improved "paint bucket"

I have to admit I need to work on getting the art supplies out in a particular order. I seem to start backwards - planes then paint then tablecloth then smocks - that is all wrong! They boys are already trying to dip into the paints before the table is set up and their shirts put on. So, I packed all the needed supplies: paints, brushes, cup, egg cartons, smock shirts and a tablecloth into the new and improved "paint bucket". Hopefully this makes our next painting adventure setup run a bit more smoothly.

Once again for only a buck, this little kit proved to be a lot of fun, it let them become the pilot and the designer!

easy pesto spaghetti

Tonight I'm making Easy Pesto Spaghetti. Pesto is an aromatic herb paste that has its origins in Italy, where people have been making it for hundreds of years with the brilliant green basil that grows wild on the hillsides. I found a super easy recipe online. It's not exactly traditional since it doesn't use Parmesan cheese or pine nuts but, you could certainly add those ingredients if you wanted.

See Easy Pesto Recipe.

painting in progress, dandelion

fireflies

Painting in progress montage

Before the East Valley Art Guild Critique, 7-16-09

Fireflies painting completed, 7.19.09

east valley art guild

I went to the East Valley Art Guild July meeting last night and I brought a painting along for the critique! I had them look at my fireflies painting in progress. Overall it received a nice reaction. Everyone liked the colors and the consciousness was that it needed a more yellow in the fireflies and more depth in the sky & grass. However, a few people liked it just as it is and voiced concerns of overworking it. So, I plan to give the piece one more working session and see where I end up. Almost there ... I can't wait to hang this painting on the big yellow wall in my kitchen!