Help [ME] Ronda

Buenos Dias

I arrived safe & sound in Madrid a couple days ago.  The first day was hard to get adjusted so i am very thankful i arrived early.  Yesterday i got to play around a little bit in the city center of Madrid.  It is a lovely city, one that i hope to come back to explore a bit more.  The city has many art museums and everyone has their favorite.  Ellen highly recommended the Reina Sofia and i am so glad she did.  It was quite moving and i learned a few things about me there.  There was quite a bit of cubist artists.  i freely admit it isn't my favorite art movement but after seeing some in person, i began to understand more.  I found some pieces that i really loved.  I love getting up close and exploring the art works.  The brush strokes amaze me along with the depth the artists creates with color.  Completely fasinated.  Here are few photos i will share today.  More to come later.

Love

Cocoa Daisy's The Farmer's Market

It's Reveal day at Cocoa Daisy.  the Farmer's market is a savory kit full of fun colors that echo this time of year.  I hope you join in on the Chats, Games, & Prizes over on the message boards! New to Cocoa Daisy is a stamp subscriptions for those who want just the exclusive stamps.  Check out the awesome deal HERE.  

Also up for sale is my Trick or Treat Halloween Album.  Isn't she cute??  The project kit comes with all the supplies plus a downloadable PDF with step by step instructions on how to put together this adorable mini.  it's ghoulishly delightful!

On My Way to Madrid

To teach classes at Bambola, Casa Creativa.  I am excited to be with Sandra & Ellen again.  They are two incredible ladies i met in Greece.  I am sneaking in a few days early to do a wee bit of sight seeing.  Andrew was kind of hoping to come but his days off just didn't coordinate.  I am really excited and know i will have lots of fun. I will be home Sunday and ready to be a home body for a while!

Love

play day

After the hard yet really fun work of Scrapfest, Lisa, Caroline, & I stayed a day in Minneapolis to sneak in a little exploring time.  We visited the sculpture gardens, a beautiful park, Grand ave in St. Paul where we had lunch & shopped at an art store & a fabric store, and then back to the Mall of America.  Somehow we talked Lisa into getting on to the roller coasters at Nickelodeon.  She was very brave as she tucked her head tightly into my shoulders and squeezed my hands every so tightly.  Caroline & I were the thrill seekers.  Lisa has some fun photos up on her blog here.  I am so happy Caroline suggested this day.  It was just what i needed to relax some!  Here is a photo journal of our day.  Click on any photo to make it larger!

 

 


Happy Monday!

Cocoa Daisy Oct Sneak + Halloween Project kit!

This beautiful October kit is currently on my table beginning for some creative time.  The colors are so gorgeous and i am in love with the stamp!  But the goodness doesn't stop there.  So many fabulous add-ons up for grabs in October. Take a peek at some of the add-ons:

Canned Peaches.  Did you notice the stamp?  Yes we are adding in our exclusive stamps to the add-ons!

Apple Pie.  Another exclusive stamp from Cocoa Daisy.  These large stamps are just beautiful. 

Pumpkin Soup.  That tag just cracks me up!  Love those gorgeous leaves.

And My Halloween Project kit.  The project kit comes with an instruction sheet, detailing how to put together this beautiful mini album.  I had a blast picking out all the cute patterned papers & embelishments!

Hope you will stop by Cocoa Daisy on September 28th, 4pm Eastern for the full reveal plus chats, prizes, and games!

The Crafter’s Workshop/Balzer Designs Blog Hop: Henna Hands

Welcome to the Crafter's workshop/Balzer Designs Blog hop, week 2.  I am so excited to be part of this blog hop because i do truly love the Crafter's Workshop & their stencils and so love Julie, my wickedly talented friend.  If you haven't jumped into stencils yet, now is the time.  So many creative ideas on this blog hop you will sure to be inspired.

 

Today's hop features the Henna Hands.  I was so excited to play with this stencil that i used it in a couple different projects.  I love playing around and seeing what crafty endeavor lies just around the corner.

I had orginally started on this 8 x 10 canvas for the triangle plaid blog hop.  Do you see the texture in the background?  Things shifted, i went with the flow, and so i had a half finished canvas sitting on my desk. After kicking some Henna stencil ideas around in my head, i went back to the canvas.  i started tinkering around a bit more with the colors and added a few drips.  I found the perfect quote for my canvas and just had to use the hand with the eye.

This second piece is an art journal page.  I have a stack of pages in various stages on the corner of my desk.  Most of the background was done so i just added the henna hands, some drips of paint, and some mists to fill in the hands.

The blog hop includes:

• Julie Balzer
• Ronda Palazzari (You are here!)
• Tammy Tutterow
• Jill Sprott
• Danielle Flanders

Now it's time to hop on over to Tammy Tutterow's blog.  She is so talented and i cannot wait to see what she has created!

Stencil Love, it leaves an impression

Reflecting on Scrapfest + winners

I was blessed to be a part of the Maya Raod team at Archiver's Scrapfest in the Mall of America this year. It was such a fun awesome experience with such an amazing team.  Caroline, Lisa, Emily, & i worked the booth doing about 2000 make & takes total.  3 days with two different ones each day for a total of 6 make & takes.  I met so many nice people.  I totally love this one apron that one participant was wearing (hello Nikki).  I even got to sneak in some time with Beth, Jude, Nicole and my cousin Andrea. Caroline was really inspiring me with all the zipper flowers.  After the long days, i couldn't help but play some more with the Maya Road zipper trim in the hotel room.  Here are some photos of the last few days. (click on any picture to make it larger).

and two winners of tons of product from this previous post is:

Here are your random numbers:

5
39

that mean's

kim Strother said...

So very exciting! I know I will be getting this book. I love your style!

and

isabel said...

This is fantastic, congratulations !!!!!!

Congrats Kim & Isabel.  Please email me your address HERE. 

Scrapfest 2011

I am in Minnesota at the Mall of America working this weekend with Maya Road.  So happy to be part of the team and working the booth creating thousands of make & takes with fellow scrappers.  Did i just say thousands?  Why yes i did!  This event is packed with participants and it is so cool to feel that excitement and be a small part of this massive event.  So if you are here at Scrapfest i hope to see you at Maya Road.

With all the prepping & work before the event, i feel blessed to sneak in some time with Jude & Beth.  So very happy to see their smiling faces.  Two very amazing people.  We chatted a bit before Lisa & I had to head to some meetings.  Then it was back to working prepping.  I admit i was up a wee bit late (even for me) and up early this morning.  But i am so ready to go! 

See you there!

The High School Dude

i gave a little update on Lexi, now it's time for Anthony.  Also known as Ant, the boy (which he informs me i need to change to "the man"), buddy, and dude.  In the past 4.5 years we have been in this house, he has grown up so much.  Serious Changes.  Voice is deeper, he's getting taller, and maturing.

At the end of last school year, we were both struggling with his ADHD, his teenitis, and him missing his dad.  His grades plummeted and i wasn't sure if he was going to pass some of his classes.  Blessedly he worked really hard the last few weeks and i won't say soared, more like squeaked by but he passed.  It was so hard to watch.  I didn't know what more i could do to help him succeed.  I felt like a failure as a parent.  i was lost. he was lost. and i worried what the future held for him. 

we talked & talked about it both together and with some professional help.  He needed.  We needed it.  He promised this next year would be different.  Here's the hard part...trying to give him enough space to try again on his own, not swooping in to ride him, but still knowing when to jump in and give him the push, the redirect.  Trust.  Sometimes easier said than done.  But i have to trust him. 

So far, so great.  i can say that with a smile.  yes i know it's only the beginning of the school year but i honestly would rather see the positive, to be encouraging, to hope than to be the circling parent waiting for failure.  We are 4 weeks into the school year.  He actually has almost all A's.  Any issues he has had, he has dealt with them.  I am beyond proud of him.  He has done this, just like he said he would.  I am relieved.  Anthony sees what he is capable of and how it feels to succeed.  I am impressed.

Go Ant Man Go

The Crafter’s Workshop/Balzer Designs Blog Hop

Welcome to the Crafter's workshop/Balzer Designs Blog hop.  I am so excited to be part of this blog hop because i do truly love the Crafter's Workshop & their stencils and so love Julie, my wickedly talented friend.  If you haven't jumped into stencils yet, now is the time.  So many creative ideas on this blog hop you will sure to be inspired. So let's get started!

Today's hop features the Triangle Plaid Stencil.  I was so excited to play with this stencil that i used it in a couple ways.  I love playing around and seeing what crafty endeavor lies just around the corner. 

 


I grabbed the stencils, some Maya Mists, and some fabric (unbleached muslin & a calico print). I spritzed through the stencil and sprayed the background.  I would then flip the stencil over and using a brayer, i rolled the mists into the fabric.  I used my iron and some paper towel to heat set (only the Non-Metallics Heat Set) the the mist into the fabric so it won't bleed.  I love the way how both fabrics turned out.  Now what to do with all this fabric?

I made this little clutch using some of my new fabric prints.  I couldn't believe i had the perfect zipper for the fabric.  Loved how it turned out but decided it needed another pop of yellow so i made this flower out of fabric.

I still have tons of fabric left waiting to be used.  This one is already cut & ready to be turned into a "birdie sling" using my Amy Butler pattern.  These colors looks so pretty together.  I also have the calico print that i am thinking of turning into a tote for me. I am so addicted!

Next using my Cocoa Daisy September kit & the Triangle Plaid Stencil, i created a layout.  At first i just used my maya road lemon mists but decided it needed a punch of color.  I grabbed Salmon Metallic and put the stencil right over the layout again and sprayed.  Easy Peasy. 

The blog hop includes:

• Julie Balzer
• Ronda Palazzari (You are here!)
• Nathalie Kalbach
• Paula Phillips
• Doris Sander

Now it's time to hop on over to Nathalie Kalbach's blog.  She is so talented and i cannot wait to see what she has created!

Stencil Love, it leaves an impression