Art Around The House

It's been a busy weekend.

I the whole family spent all day Saturday mopping, dusting & fluffing in preparation for a very special guest.

One of my best friends...

 the one & only,

Miss Jodie R. LeJeune of Everything Vintage!

She brought along her sweet traveling companion THE Gypsy Mermaid herself, Sarah!

A couple of things about my girl Jodie,

besides being the most hilarious person I know she's a clean freak!

I say this with total love in my heart, but she is.

Her house....well lets just say it is absolute perfection. There is not a speck of dust, not a finger print on the fridge.

Nothing.

Even her dog Oreo is clean!

Now me....  I have 5 year old triplets, a husband & a spoiled dog. 

Need I say more?

So this is why I cleaned, polished & drove my family crazy! 

But we had a great visit & Jodie was so impressed with my tidy home she snapped a few pictures for me. 

I am in awe of Jodie's talents as a photographer.

  I know this post is going to be crazy long, but please indulge me.

She made it all look so amazing!

A favorite book on a favorite table.

The cabinet is a craigslist find, I painted & distressed it.

Now it holds some of my art & beautiful swaps from friends.

Every corner of my home holds treasures from dear & talented friends.

Izzy was not impressed with the fact that a famous photographer was shooting the house.

My angel from Dorthe, she was my first swap!

Pillow from Diane Knotts.

Our mantel.

An altered bottle.

Frankenstein book.

Some studio pics.

Gifts from Beth, Karla & Rebecca.

Shoe fetish.

Hug Snug anyone?

A bag made in memory of my Mom.

Oh yeah baby!

A cone from Ann, up close & personal.

Tools of the trade.

The patio outside my studio.

30 pictures!

 Am I a narcissist or what?

 Izzy finally had enough & parked it on the couch. 

Jodie & Sarah hit the road for the long drive back to Eunice. 

And me, I just kicked back & lingered in the awesomeness of a clean house. 

For about 5 minutes until the Lego's came out!

Class has begun!

First day jitters.

Not them.

Me.

They were very proud of their new lunch boxes.

(No, that is not gel in the boys hair, it's called chronic bed head)

Speaking of class.............

My first class at Maureen's was last Thursday. 

She turned a storage room into the cutest little classroom! 

I love the sheet music decoupaged on the table. 

 

A sewing station.

A closet turned snack room. 

Crazy about the muslin curtains!

The whole room is an artists dream room.

Before long the table looked like this.

Terri, Cindy & Jan sorting through the vintage elements.

Every one's work was totally unique, reflecting their individual style.

Playing with parts.

A work in progress.

Erica of Zunky Chic

shows her finished piece.

Here's a closer look.  Layers of lace & a touch of blue!

My dear friend Lori, from Katie's Rose Cottage created this awesome collage. 

 I love how she turned Dawn's little shoes into ballet slippers.

Jan's work was amazing!

A self proclaimed perfectionist, she finished this piece in a little over 3 hours.  

Susan loved the pink items from my stash & made pockets from the lace!

Clever girl.

Thank you

 Maureen, Lori, Cindy, Terri, Jan, Erica & Jan for sharing a night of creating & fun!

FYI- I'm teaching a second class of Elements of Collage on Sunday September 11 beginning at 9:30 am.  There are 3 spaces left if your interested.

~Lisa

Pillows, Purses & Super-Hero's

I am overwhelmed by the birthday wishes left for my kids.

Your comments truly touched my heart, & made me bawl harder than ever.

I thank God everyday for bringing so many beautiful friends

(& Aunt's)

 into my our life.

My sweet girl Dawn sent the greatest package yesterday.

Goodies for me, & the kids.

First me!

Look at this gorgeous journal she made to record my thoughts & ideas. 

Dawn always finds the most inspirational quotes. 

I will cherish this little book forever!

And she sent the teeny tiny shoes she made for my upcoming class. 

What a friend! 

 Can you imagine stitching all of these? 

(Don't say anything, but I think Clara made them)

Now the kids.

Actually these gifts came from Dawn's youngest son Noah.

He knows the kids are crazy for super-hero's & gifted each of them with treasures from his personal stash!

Plus some cool soap from Shop Fun Soap.

I guess this is 2nd generation blogging.  Little hoarders.

What a sweetheart Noah is!

 He takes after his Mom, huh?!

While I'm on the subject of friends....

I did a swap last month with another special person, Diane Knotts. 

Diane is seriously one of the most generous people I know.

Generous in spirit. 

She will always share anything from art techniques to copyright information.

I was happy but a little intimidated to swap with her.

I'm not sure how it went down,

 but somehow it became a pillow swap!!

I say this because Diane is a creative & flawless seamstress.

Have you seen the pillows in her shop??

There are so many beautiful elements in her pillow.

Touches of nature.

I love this handmade pin,

tons of seed beads & a silver charm.

Just perfect!

Now here's the one I made for Diane.

I made the pillow from a scrap of canvas drop cloth covered in lace.

A tiny suitcase pocket holds an antique cabinet card.

I'm loving this combination of colors.

Or should I say 'non-colors'.

Since the sewing machine was already set up I whipped up a new bag.

In the same tones.

Cream, grey & black.

The cream quilted fabric is one of my favorites. 

Hob Lob.

The ruffles are sewn from fat quarters I've had for quite a while.

I'm now obsessed with handbags, made 2 more today.

It's still in the triple digits here, I cannot wait for Fall!

Hope your having a cooler week.