Flea Market Studio

Happy Fourth of July and a little more....

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend. After such a devastating Loss this week, we finally got to enjoy a day. It started off with buying some of these I am taking my Art to my toes. 

While our Friends took my Daughter to a parade, I went and picked up my Hubby at the airport. What a sad week for him... It was nice to see him smile at a BBQ. We ate wayyy too much. I don't want to eat another hot dog, hamburger or potato salad till next year... 

We let the kids have fun with some sparklers... they are still legal in our City.. are we the only one? They were not like sparklers I grew up with... way to smokey.... but they had fun anyways..... I think I am done with fireworks though, poor dog! I cant give him doggie downers anymore..... They are the worst! 

I think the Ice Cream Man is the only person working on The 4th.... they come down our block at least 5 times during the week and they dont make the Trucks like the used to..... My Mom cant stand when we get anything from a truck... we do anyways... after all these years I still rebel against her.. I love the ice cream pops with the bubble gum eyeballs.

I worked on My Art Journal for Darianne today and it is getting sent to Paper Tales tomorrow along with lots of projects to Teach. I will give more details later. Here are some of the pages: I wanted to thank  everyone that emailed me and commented on my blog about my Brother in law. I will pass them on to my Sister in Law. She amazes me on how she is holding up. Please hold your loved one close...  it reminds us what really is important. Extra hugs today......Lilia

My heart is heavy....

Its amazing how the world just stops when you lose someone dear.. My brother in law was a great Man..... now he is a amazing Angel. What a week of Loss. All those thoughts that make us crazy, stressed out....  really don't matter. Living a full Life with the people you  Love is all that really matters in the end. I think I will go and listen to one of my favorite songs from Michael Jackson "Heal the World".... hugs

Santa created a monster.....

 Look what I found on the counter the other day... It is not even Christmas in July (and we dont even celebrate Christmas in July anymore since we moved away from the Family).. she kept coming out of her room and writing things down... I think she wants American girl stuff, what do you think? I think she wants tooo much..... and what a great time to do some charity  work with the children of the PS I Love you foundation... so this kid gets a little kick in the booty and realize how lucky she is... good thing it is next month. Geez..! That turkey!

I have to say though besides her grades, the other thing she has going for her is she can really make her bed! I like the way she has everything nice and neat.. Grandma would be proud.

They keep getting better and better: Yesterday Darianne came home to this. Teddy playing the bongos and Ken and Barbie dancing to Teddy's beats. Its pretty cute the way my husband keeps doing this. We got him back though, we set Teddy in my husband's favorite chair, with a cigar, the remote control, laptop, a mojito (just water,mint and limes) and his Cigar magazine. He loved it. I guess Teddy doesnt want to work, he just wants to play his bongos all day. he he

Not much else, but doing some Art and things for the shop lately.. new beeswax items going up.. my house smells like one giant candle. also some Fourth of July kits by the end of this week.  Did one little Art piece for a friends little boy. He is turning 3....  I guess it will go on his gift. Here are some of the newest beeswax tags I am working on... Thats all I got for now, I think we are the last school in the world that is still in session..... we still  have till the end of this month. A lemonade.. and watermelon are calling my name... Summer is almost here! 

Even more new Art work and a shop update..

  New niche Art work I made it is called dance.. I liked how it photographed with the birdhouses. Love those shabby colors and the way the paint is peeling off those houses. I forgot how much moisture is in the air by the beach.. everything is peeling around the house and frizzy hair.. forget about it! I had to buy a straightening iron the other day. I have been a little under the weather lately.. the kids at school have been staying home sick and I think they gave me a little present. So I have been doing lots of new Art. Kind of forces it out of me. Here is yet another Art journal that I worked on yesterday....... It is called Vintage Paris.....  It was fun to make... now I am working on the inside of it... a future class perhaps?

I have been very impressed with the way things grow around here... its amazing.  Look who is starting her own garden...

So happy she is so interested in gardening. That sunflower took 5 days to grow... can't wait till it is big enough to see the seeds.

Well my husband is on a roll...... He could not resist going on the slip and slide with Darianne... maybe to show off a little?

Here he is reading the Warning label for Adults, which clearly says NO ADULTS...

Some Kids never learn.....

Well needless to say but he hit his head hard and his arm has been hurting and swollen for a week now. Happy Fathers Day..

Well I finally put some items in the Flea Market Studio Etsy Shop. There are new beeswax collage tags, ephemera kits, Fathers Day tags and more. Cant believe its been so long since I added anything in there. Little by little. I forgot how much time it takes... God bless the people that can do it full time.

Well thats all I have for now..... hopefully I will be back again very soon with even more Art! 

Inspired...... New class

 Well this is my New class that I will be teaching   Mystic Paper in Mesa, Arizona the weekend of September 11 & 12. They are having their 5 year Anniversary. I have known those sweet girls for lets see about 5 years now when they used to have a Antiques store with a small scrapbook section in the back. They are just the nicest ladies. Cant wait to get back to Arizona and see them!

 So hard to get on the Art train when you stop for a while. I have felt so uninspired for the past 3 months. Not that there are inspiring things out there, but personally I have been at a stand still. I have gone back and forth deciding if I should just stop doing this Hobby all together, but it seems the Universe has some other plans. I sent in book I did about a year ago with some great Artists. I knew it was going to get published, but had no idea when or where. That is until I was at Barnes and Nobles this weekend and found this....   How fun is that? Made me think of how much I love to do Collaborative journals with other Artists, that is when I am happiest in my Art. I think I might have to put one together again. That is when I came home and created this book....

the same night I checked my email and got one from Jenifer at Mystic Paper asking if I wanted to teach on thier 5 year Anniversary.......that was it for me........

In other news My husband and I celebrated our 9 year Anniversary... gulp! Wow, that long? We have had our normal ups and downs........ we cant stand each others basketball teams......... and yes don't put us in the room together when they are playing each other! But we can agree on one thing......... he is so good to Me and Darianne..

What little girl wouldn't love to open her room to this.........

  When she opened up her room she was on the floor laughing so hard........ He propped all the dolls on her bed and put every hat she owns on them.... she will remember this, I know I would.

Life has been good to us here in California... yes we did have a earthquake... but sure forgot about it this past weekend with the most amazing weather. First Memorial Day weekend in 10 years where we actually sat outside the whole day without going in the pool. Gotta love it. This Summer I plan on being  at being at the beach 4 days out of the week, heck lets make it 5!  Also loving the garden.. we have a orange and lime tree........ the oranges are to die for......  Well that is all for now hopefully it wont be another month before I come back!

Welcome Little One.......

  What a perfect little Boy! He was born last Wednesday.. Michael Rocco Risoli........ My little Nephew. He is my new love. I have been waiting for my Best friend to be a Mommy for so long and now it is here! Welcome to the World little one! Your Aunt Lil Adores you!

This week is Teacher appreciation Week......... I put together a basket for Dariannes Teacher filled with a teapot, tea cup, apple tea and some muffins:  I also did finally sew that vintage pattern for Darianne. It is much harder than I thought, those darn sleeves are so hard to sew! I also need a good lesson on pattern language... but it was my first one: Its just a Kicking around outfit anyways...Hope it doesnt fall apart in the wash.. yikes!

I finally got my workouts in order and eating under control... it took such a long time. After my stressful move from Arizona... it all fell apart. Its unbelievable how it creeps up on you! I can tell you my secret weapon is Miso soup... whenever I want something good for me and salty it does the trick. I get the Miso paste at one of my favorite Japanese Markets and add tofu... 

I am making some vintage hankie pillows and finally adding things to my Etsy. It has been a long time for me to add things to the Shop with so much going on these past months... but it was time. So I am back in business! And I am back to my vintage hankie pillows! bye for now...  

One piece of Art at a time.....

 Well I finally had a chance to play.. Still waiting for my nephew to be born, he got his eviction notice yesterday.. we might have to call the authorities. What to do when you are waiting? Art of course and if you don't have enough hobbies on your Art plate... well you can start a new one like I just did... Yes I am finally putting all those thrift find patterns to use... making outfits for D. Lots of work that goes into sewing... already knew that. So I had 3 projects going on at the same time today. I scrap-booked for the first time in a very long time. Its more of a Art journal than a scrapbook.. I had a hard time finding some Scrapbook paper... have to find one online. Miss those Scrapbook stores in Arizona, there is nothing like them here in Cali. I also did a page in one of my fun Art books Now to get some things in the shop. Probably this week sometime. Back to my crazy crafts..... will leave you with more pictures of the little Art house.. Bye for now....

Getting off the ride for a while....

This has been the busiest 4 months ever.... Getting off the ride now. No plans, no Birthdays, no showers...... except for waiting for my little nephew to come into the world.  We had a nice Easter brunch at my house with just some of my Family members. 

I discovered  a wholesale florist in our neighborhood. They had day old bouquets for 2 dollars. Cant beat that unless you drive downtown to the Floral district. Learning how to live without things and living for less.... most expensive thing we spent on this year so far was that darn Birthday party.... with a little help from the grandparents. We have been renting movies at the library for free..... who knew you could rent them for free, of course the best entertainment is reading books and walking..... all free. I am on a reading frenzy.... 3 books in a month. All biographies. The last book was from John Walsh from Americas most wanted. Love this man. Anyone who puts their time and life in protecting our children and getting as he calls them "scumbags" off the street is a angel in my book. 

Here are some pictures from Easter I love the last one. This year there were no other children with Darianne on Easter, I felt kind of bad for her.... so all the eggs were hers. My family that came filled the eggs with money and gave her a basket..... lets just say she thought... kids who needs more kids? Ahhh to be a only child. My family keeps asking for another one..... not their choice and I am quite sure they will not be there for those 3 in the morning feedings.... not happening Family so please stop asking! My best friend (cousin) is telling me she is having her children back to back.... I will be asking her about that in a couple of months. Here is a picture of her just a week away from the due date.... Cant wait!! Welcome to Mommiehood.....   Well now that I am off the ride, I will be working on some Art..... Its been so long, miss playing.... Now to catch up on some blogs...... and flickr Art Friends.

Happy Birthday Baby....

She was born at 12:35 on April 3, 2002. My little girl.... She is strong-willed like her Mom, smarter than her Mom, independent like her Mom, sweet and loving like her Dad and the looks, well they are all her own. My best friend, Claire is having her Baby this month..... my advice to her and the advice that everyone gives you when you are pregnant .... it goes by so fast, enjoy it. Do I dare tell her she will never sleep the same way again? I don't think I will..... but I will let her know that when her child throws the biggest tantrum at the checkout line with the cart full of groceries with everyone watching , its ok to have the feeling of dropping him off at the nearest adoption center.... those feelings are real. So are the feelings that you will never get those childhood moments back again... lump in my throat...

We took her to American Girl for a Birthday Tea.... this was the first year I did not do a thing. If you have never been to one of these compounds.... you have never seen anything like it. They have a salon for you and your doll, a hospital and a Cafe. Packed like Disneyland. I thought that since I didnt have to do a thing this year, I would not be left with a pounding headache after the party..... wrong! Worse headache than any other party. Here are some photos:  Great day..... Happy Birthday Baby....

Mexico...

 

Its been a while since Ive blogged. Ive been in Mexico. Here is a typical fruit stand. They add chile, lime and salt. So wonderful. The trip was bittersweet. All of my Grandmother's children drove down to bury her. Nothing like Ive ever seen. So different than funeral services  here. Here is a picture of the beautiful Catholic Church in town where we held the 2 hour Mass.  They announce it in the morning of the day of the funeral and the whole town is invited. Tons and tons of flower arrangements are sent in the Famlies name. Very Sad, yet so glad I went. My Grandmother had 11 children and 42 Grandchildren, thats right 42! Here is one of the pictures I took of some of my Aunts and uncles. 4 are missing in the photo. They drive each other crazy, but you can tell they adore each other. My family is so loud, so crazy and so fun. Here is a picture of some of my cousins. This is my Aunts family of 11 ..  here are  4 of the boys that are so close Wish I knew them more. Its hard when many of your Family members live in another country. 

We spent days together and then went a little site seeing and shopping. Here are some pictures of the Market place:Fresh food, cheap prices.... I just love this Market place. 

We then went to visit my Grandmothers Home. No one lives there. It looked so lonely. It looks so run down .Yet so beautiful to me. 

 

Here is the plaque that shows the Family name and home I wanted to bring it home with me to put in my Garden. 

We then spent a day in Alamos, Sonora. It is my favorite little pueblo. The church in the middle of town was built in 1889. Have to show you some pictures....  What a adorable little Town. 

It was such a release for my Family to just have a good time and enjoy themselves from such a Sad 2 weeks. I captured sweet moments like these... 

What a great trip. So Glad I went. I realized how much  I love Mexico, how much  I love my Family and how much I love the United States. We are so lucky to live in this country. I got many emails and phone calls about how dangerous Mexico is right now and to be careful. We all know how the media really plays it up. It can be dangerous and so can living here. We never encountered anything like that except for the fact that my uncle hit a deer on the road. That was the scariest thing that happened. It can be dangerous I know that, but so can going to any other country when you dont know  it very well. We had a caravan of people following us there ,  we know the language and know the country very well. I really hope that Mexico can find a way to make people comfortable enough to want to go and visit. What a shame, it is a beautiful Country and the people are so sweet and humble. Thank you Mexico.