A Finished Project

In the midst of all of the craziness, I managed to finish another doll. She was inspired by the singer Beyonce. She turned out so pretty but decided to call her "Sasha Fierce" who Beyonce says is her alter-ego. The singer says that she is basically a shy person and sometimes has to reach inside of herself to be the beautiful star that she is. She calls her alter-ego "Sasha Fierce" who is the talented, strong, out-going woman who lives inside of Beyonce.

A Non-Traditional Thanksgiving

I can't believe how long I've been away from one of my favorite things...this blog. The last few weeks have been busy, hectic, sad, crazy, stressful, informative, enlightening, joyful, successful and so much more.

Business at The Market Place has been phenomenal. This time last year, we were praying for customers and they just weren't coming. This year we have people who are literally waiting at the front door before we open.

My boss weathered the storm through a bad economy, the negative opinions of other people, sabotage, frequent bouts of bad luck and The Market Place is stronger than ever. I am very proud of her. Her faith and perseverance have rewarded her with success.


Because we've been so busy, I've been
working six days a week and on my only day off I've been trying to make my own business grow. I finally did open displays of my dolls, cards and Christmas items at two other locations. Some of my dolls are now happily living at "Studio 5 Art and Design" in Sacramento owned and operated by Jan Hollins who is a fabric designer and an interior designer. Her husband, Lawrence Sullivan is an amazing fine artist who paints unbelievable portraits and murals. I will share some of their work on this blog in the very near future.

The third location that will now be carrying "Cre8tiv Glory" designs is "The Flower Collage & Lifestyle Design" at the Brickhouse Gallery also in Sacramento. More about them in the near future as well.

Needless to say, the work has been non-stop and the holidays slipped up on me before I knew it. Thanksgiving was pretty sad for me. I'm having some family problems at home so instead of staying at home and grieving about it, I decided to take one of my mini-vacations to a place that has always had happy memories. I drove 2-1/2 hours to the Bay Area to Coyote Pointe. We had

so many family picnics and get-togethers at this beautiful place. I wanted to put my feet in the 'salt water'. When my kids were small and I was a single parent the car we had wasn't in the greatest shape but I could get us to Coyote Pointe in about 30 minutes. My kids always felt like we had really been somewhere when we went there. Sometimes it was only peanut butter sandwiches and kool-aide in the thermos but we were someplace different than being at home. Later, when my boys were much older, we had huge family get-togethers with cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, nieces, nephews and tons of family friends. My mom and I would buy and freeze hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken legs for a few months until we had enough to feed everyone. We had baked beans,

macaroni & cheese, potato salad and anything else that anyone wanted to bring.

So, on Thanksgiving day it was cold, wet, raining, cloudy, windy and absolutely wonderful. A few quiet tears remembering the past and lots of joy reliving the same memories. I felt alive and hopeful for the future that is in my own hands.




I would love to know what these two are talking about???








Could this be another alien abduction?? Just boots, no body.

There is a peaceful symmetry in the shades of white and blue and the repetition of the masts.

These folks also took a less traditional route for Thanksgiving by going fishing.

I wonder if these birds are giving thanks for not being Thanksgiving dinner.

In the midst of so much rain and gray skies, this beautiful sunflower stood out like the sun itself

Even the fungus seems to be celebrating the day.

Gorgeous coy fish in a scientific environment.

The doorway to the future??

Love and celebrate your families with every opportunity you can get. Never let anyone or anything come between you and your families. They are the most valuable thing have.

A Finished Project: More Glamour Sox

Just finished another group of Christmas stockings. I love the shiny reds and greens and golds.

This one is more traditional.

A Finished Project: Glamour Sox Christmas Stockings

Every year I make Christmas stockings to sell. This year, I will be selling my stockings in 3 or 4 different locations in addition to my own space. Keep your fingers crossed for me, I have 2 confirmed locations and 2 pending. Anyway, I wanted to create some very unique designs to compliment the business that will be carrying them. These are some of my first designs for the first location (more info on the location later).

I wanted this set to be beautiful, glamourous and exotic using rich colors and eclectic fabrics.

I had so much fun choosing the embellishments. I used huge rhinestones, beaded fringe, eyelash fringe and animal prints.

I thought about what kind of Christmas stockings would Paris Hilton, Beyonce and Lady Ga Ga buy.

I wanted to share them here with you. Watch for the other collections I've designed for my other ckients.

Living In Sacramento: An Injured Coyote

I am still amazed at some of the things that I see since I've been living in Sacramento. I grew up in the South Bay Area, San Jose, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale areas. Most of the areas there are city and suburbs. I saw your ordinary cranky squirrels, raccoons would often raid my trash cans and now and then I might have to drive around a stubborn opossum who didn't want to get out of the middle of the road.

But since I've been in Sacramento I have had close and personal experiences with wild turkeys, snowy egrets, sand hill cranes, turtles in the park, a snake coming through the front door at work, huge jack rabbits on the front lawn and 'herds' of Canadian geese flying over head. Most of these experiences, less than a block away from my apartment.

On my way to work this morning I came out of my street and in the field just before I got on the freeway I thought I saw a cougar or some kind of large cat. I parked the car and grabbed my camera to take some pictures. After I took a few photos I decided that it was just a dog. When I got to work, I loaded the pictures on to my computer and the woman standing next to my desk said 'oh my God, it's a coyote'. The pictures showed that he wasn't doing so well. You can see that he's been hurt, possibly, by the hawk that was dive bombing him. The field has been the local buffet for the birds of prey because there are so many jack rabbits. The coyote was digging to try to get at the rabbits.

It was very strange to see the animal out in the open at 11:00 in the morning in such a populated area. He was just yards away from the local Starbucks, the gas station and the grocery store. He wasn't walking well and he seemed to be disoriented. Not good for the coyote or for the kids that would be walking home from school in just a few hours. The animal was obviously sick and might charge a small child.

I called the Sacramento Wildlife Rescue to report this poor guy but got caught in a sea of recordings, voice mails and referrals. I almost gave up, but on the last call, I was in the process of leaving a message on one of the volunteer's voicemail. I explained that I thought it was pretty urgent and fortunately, the volunteer picked up the phone. I didn't realize that she was in Nevada but she knew how to get in touch with the right people without going through all of the recordings. Hope Mr. Coyote can be helped. I'll let you know if I get a call back from the Wildlife Rescue.

A Finished Project: Christmas Cards

I didn't finish all of my Halloween projects but I decided that I'm not late for this year, just early for next year. I packed up all of the orange, black, green and purple, the fabric and all of the patterns I made and put them neatly away in a box for next year.I got an offer last week to put some of my work in a shop at the Brick House Gallery in Sacramento. I am very excited and very honored. I will give you more details when I find out more. I decided that I need to be working on Christmas projects since Halloween completely slipped through my fingers. Last year I designed and created some old fashioned ornaments and some Christmas stockings that did very well. I sold out of the stockings and wished I had made more. The one thing I didn't get to do last year was to create some Christmas cards so that has been my focus for the last couple of weeks.
I love this effect of these Christmas ornaments kind of floating on a black background. It was an idea I had last year but I never got a chance to draw them. Here are the first two designs, I have two more with ornaments almost done and about six more designs that I am determined to finish this year.
I used Prisma pens, Sharpies, Tombow watercolor pens and gel ink.
These are the finished cards. I can't wait to finish the rest and share them with you. Anyone in the Sacramento area can purchase my work at The Market Place in Rancho Cordova and soon at The Brick House Gallery.

What A Short Summer

I think this was the shortest summer in Sacramento history. Our last day of rain here was in the middle of June and our rainy season started again this month, on October 6th or 7th and it's raining again today.

I'm not complaining because I love rainy days and I didn't miss the searing hot days we usually get here every summer. We only had a few days in the 100's. I grew up in the Bay Area and this summer reminded me more of the summers there.

But this being the Central Valley of California, the hot, hot season is important for the farmers who grow, corn, tomatoes, strawberries, melons, all of the food products that we enjoy here and of course pumpkins.

While I was selfishly enjoying the cooler temperatures, the farmers have been struggling because the weather hasn't been hot enough. So now there is a shortage of pumpkins this year and fresh corn and tomatoes seemed to be in the stores and out again in the blink of an eye.

Watching A Scam in Progress

The present economy has changed the world as we know it today and has been the cause for so many to seek a different way to survive. Sometimes bad situations cause people to find something better in themselves and they rise out of the rubble stronger than before. Sometimes bad situations bring out the worst in people and the need to survive surpasses decency and ethics.

Earlier today, I was in Barnes and Noble Book Store's coffee shop getting some work done on my computer. There was a very loud woman, maybe in her thirties, at the counter. She started out by complimenting the barista about her hair. The loud woman told her that she had always wanted her own hair to look like that. The barista thanked her for the compliment and then asked her what she wanted to order. The loud woman said that she wanted a cappuccino but she didn't have enough money. The barista said she was sorry and asked if there was anything else she'd like to order. The loud woman's voice became a little nastier and she said that she would just have some water.

She sat at one of the tables and tried starting up conversations with some of people in the coffee shop. She was kind of rude and obnoxious, so most people spoke to her briefly and then tried to ignore her. One young woman with two small children sat down and the loud woman started a conversation with her by complimenting her two little girls. The proud young mother smiled and thanked her.

The loud woman continued to compliment the young woman's children. At some point in the conversation the loud woman mentioned that she needed to buy her medication but didn't have enough money to purchase it. She said to the young mother "I'm not asking for money though". The young mother became quiet and directed her attention toward her little girls and tried to ignore the loud woman. Everyone in the coffee shop kind of looked up and then went back to what they were doing. The loud women then said to the young mother "do you have any ideas how I could make $3.00 to buy my medicine?" The young mother didn't answer but a few minutes later she reached into her purse and took out some money. She said to the loud woman "I only have $2.00, but maybe it will help". The loud woman said thank you and sat for a few minutes. She pulled some more money out of her pocket and then went to the counter and ordered a venti cappuccino, came back and sat down. She then pulled out a cell phone and made a call to someone. The young mother's face turned red and you could see she was angry for being so blatantly scammed by the loud woman. She got her purse and her little girls and got ready to leave while the loud woman sipped her cappuccino. The loud woman said "That wasn't very nice of me was it? I'm sorry" but her voice was more arrogant that remorseful. The young mother left the coffee shop with her children. The other patrons in the coffee shop kind of looked at each other in disbelief.

Just when everything seemed to quiet down, the loud woman stood up and started complaining that someone had stolen her water bottle. At first she wasn't talking to anyone in particular but she made sure that everyone could hear her. She called to the barista "hey beauty queen, you need to come over here now". The barista left the counter and asked the loud woman how she could help her. The loud woman starting complaining again in an even louder voice, that someone had stolen her water bottle and that it was very expensive. The barista asked her when was the last time that she had it and the loud woman said it had been sitting on the table the whole time she had been there and that maybe it fell on the floor and rolled under one of the sofas. Again, she said that it was very expensive and she wanted it back "now". The barista got on her hands and knees and looked under both of the sofas but said that she couldn't see anything. She got up, apologized and said that she couldn't help her.

The loud woman left all of her bags at the table and walked up to the front of the store. She came back a few minutes later with a store manager. She pointed at the table and told the manager that her very expensive water bottle had been stolen. The manager looked confused and asked her what she would like her to do. Again, the loud woman said that it might have rolled under the sofa. The manager got on the floor and also looked under the sofas. She said that she didn't see it. She stood up and asked the loud woman if she would like to fill out a paper with her name and phone number and a description of the missing water bottle and if someone turned it in to lost and found she would give her a call. The manager went to the front of the store to get the form. The loud woman reached into one of her bags and pulled out a blue water bottle and put it on the table. When the manager came back, the loud woman said that someone had put it back on the table when she wasn't looking.

This whole incident was like watching an episode from one of those 'punked' shows but it was very real. I'm not sure if this rude obnoxious woman had stolen the water bottle and was just trying to find a way to get it out of the store but it was such an elaborate process. The way she treated the young mother was unforgivable but the mother's intention was good and she will surely be blessed for her generosity.

Birds For Breakfast

I was on my way to get coffee and breakfast this morning. I've been in such a creative funk this month. I have good ideas in my head for new holiday craft projects but no motivation to get started.

Halloween is only 3 weeks away and I should be done with my projects and have them ready to sell and share. I should be working on Christmas projects by now.

On my way to Panera, they have great little souffles in a pastry crust, I drove across the river and saw this beautiful flock of egrets feeding and sunning themselves. At first, I just kept driving and then I thought, where is that spontaneity that is part of an artist's and a crafter's creative spirit and personality?

I made a u-turn at the next corner and went back to take pictures of these beautiful birds.

I pulled my car into the river access and for about fifteen minutes, I didn't think about Halloween, Christmas or any other craft projects. It was just me and the birds.

It felt like my creative spirit was waking up from a long nap.

I missed the 10:00am deadline that Panera has for serving their delicious souffles but I can get a souffle any morning. The chance for watching these beautiful birds on the river is rare.

I'm so glad I had birds for breakfast this morning.