It has been a busy couple of weeks as I prepare for my oldest daughters baby shower this weekend.  With just about everything ready to go I thought I'd share a couple of the fall touches I've added around the house starting with the mantel.


With the exception of a few colorful pumpkins and a new fall banner everything looks pretty much the same.  I did change out the artwork to this new thankful heart piece I created.


I also added a mixed media block to the top of the wine cupboard along with my favorite fall mug.


My daughter chose lavender and green as the colors in the girls room (the new baby and big sister will share a room) and requested new banners to hang over their beds so I decided to go with that color scheme for the shower.  I love the combo and can't wait to put it all together.  Hopefully I will remember to take a few pictures before the festivities begin.  No promises though...I always start out with the best intentions and get caught up in the moment and nary a photo is snapped.

Happy Friday all and have a wonderful Novemberisque weekend!

xo, Patty

* 5x7 prints of the thankful heart artwork and the fall banner are available in my etsy shop.

We had a nice cool, fallish weekend here.  So cool that I even had to get up and close the bedroom window in the wee hours of the night.


After an early morning soccer game, I spent a little time Saturday (okay, most of the day) in my craft studio painting feathers.  Once I got started it was hard to stop and it ended up being a series of four colorful feathers with different inspirational quotes and verses.  It felt so good to be in there, lost to the rest of the world.  I was trying to calculate how long it had been since I created something just for the sake of creating and I think it was nearly three months.  No wonder I've been wound so tightly.


Today is back to reality...a little laundry to finish and then putting the main bath back together.  It should be a quick project (she said optimistically) so I'm hoping to have a few pictures to share with you soon.

How was your weekend?

Happy Monday and enjoy the last official day of summer!

xo, Patty

Thank you for the encouragement last week.  It definitely was a full week but thankfully, my daughter recovered from her procedure beautifully and life, imperfect as it is, is back to normal.

I finally got the green light to do a little kitchen renovation from hubby man.  I will be working on a $500.00 budget so I am really going to have to make every penny count.  There really isn't much wrong with the kitchen except that it looks mostly like it did when we moved in seven years ago and I am ready to make it my own.


The counter tops are solid stone in shades of brown.  The appliances are all newer and stainless steel and the wood flooring was just replaced six years ago when the pipes burst and I still love it.

I have my planner out and am busy making wish lists.  The first list is if money was not object what would I do?


And then there's the real list.  What can I do within my budget that will give me the most bang for my buck and achieve the look I'm after.

Obviously, nothing will be relocated with my small budget but I think if I'm smart I can still use the money to give me a whole new looking kitchen.


Right now I'm just in the planning stages, lots of lists and sketches and internet browsing.  I am hoping to get started in the next months or so.  I will be sure to take lots of before and afters but for now, you can see how the kitchen mostly looks now in this post from two years ago.

In the meantime, it's back to my second cup of coffee, dreaming, plotting and planning for me.

Happy Tuesday all!

xo, Patty

I spent the day yesterday with my mom, sister and a good friend at the most incredible vintage marketplace.  There was inspiration everywhere (don't worry, I have tons of pictures to share over the next few days) but this post isn't really about the market.  It's about inspiration and staying focused.


My problem is never about finding things to do or ways to create.  The trouble for me is keeping focused and following through.  I have tried planners and timers and telling myself that I'm not going to start anything new until I've finished something old but nothing seems to work.


My mind is always going and I feel like if I don't do what's bubbling up now, the inspiration or idea will pass and I won't find it again.  So I am throwing this one out to you...


How do you reign in your inspiration?  I would love to hear your suggestions for maintaining focus to my inspired madness.

So, how do you do it?

xo, Patty

I'm not much of a summer girl anymore.  I much prefer Spring with it's mild temperatures and ever abundant blooms.  While so much of the U.S. has experienced a longer than usual cold winter, we Southern Californian's have had just the opposite conditions with warmer than normal days, already hitting the triple digits a few times.  To be honest, the thought of what summer will bring is a bit discouraging at this point.  (Can it really get much hotter than it already is?)


Like it or not summer is just around the corner so I thought I would take the optimistic approach to the changing season and make a list of all the things I look forward to the most as the days grow longer.

1.  Barbeques and casual dinners.
2.  Sunflowers and daisies in abundance.
3.  Lazy mornings and less structured days.
4.  Ice cream cones
5.  The smell of sunscreen.
6.  Trips to the beach.
7.  Summer vegetables.
8.  Watermelons and peaches.
9.  Campfires
10. Movies in the park.
11. More daylight hours.
12. Back to school supplies on sale.
13. So You Think You Can Dance returns.
14. Flip flops and sandals.
15.Trips to the garden center.


Okay, now it's your turn to add to the list.  I know I forgot something...

What would make your favorite things about summer list?

xo, Patty

I have been spending time in my studio working on these 5" x 4" mixed media blocks.  I got hooked in an online class by the talented artist Junelle Jacobsen. 



I've been experimenting with a couple of different techniques, trying to make them my own.  I'm not sure I'm quite there yet but that's alright, I am having so much fun trying.



For now I have a pretty good supply of blocks to practice on and have been eyeing my husbands wood pile for suitable scrap lumber for him to cut some more.  If my calculations are right, he has enough wood to keep going for quite awhile.


And that's a good thing, these silly little blocks are kind of like potato chips.  You just can't stop at one.

xo, Patty

Joy really is all around us if we would but adjust our minds to look for it.


It's present even in the ordinary and routine tasks we do everyday.


It's as simple as pausing to feel the breeze in your hair and the sun warming your face as you hang laundry on the line.  And of course a few pretty fabrics blowing in the wind never hurt anything.

This original 8x 10 mixed media canvas (along with many other wonderful things made by other talented artisans) will be auctioned off by Joy from Small Town Joy on her instagram account @rileysgodpocket tomorrow, 5/1/2014, for a great cause.  Go check it out...

xo, Patty

One of the first things I do after Christmas is to get my new planner ready for the new year.  I have been purchasing the same planner from Target for the last couple of years but thought this year I wanted to personalize one a little bit so I picked up an expensive plain one from Walmart.


I always use a big 8.5 x 11 week a glance planner because I am a writer and note taker and this size gives me plenty of space to do both.



I picked this pretty teal blue color because I new I had some new Pink Paislee paper that I was itching to tear into.


And I mean that literally...


I started off by deciding what paper I wanted where and then started tearing and placing them jigsaw puzzle style until I was satisfied with the result.


Then I just started modge podging it down in reverse order.  (I always take a picture with my camera phone for reference at this stage.)


Once it was all down and dried a bit I started adding paint and stamps and doodling...


Then I finished the right side edges off with a couple of rows of washi tape.


I love the idea of having a single word to inspire you throughout the year and had already decided mine would be "home"...as in stay home more and get stuff done...home comes first...love your home, etc.  but then as always happens, I started reading other peoples words and was having second thoughts about mine.


That's when it hit me to make a list of all the words and phrases that I want to live by in 2014 and put them on the cover of my planner.  You'll notice that I left just enough room on the bottom to add another word or two if I am inspired to do so.


I varied the fonts and mixed up the placement and I really like how it turned out.  I used another layer of modge podge to adhere the words down and finish it off.

Now all I have to do is put all the important dates inside and write my list of one year and five year goals on the back cover.  I love starting the new year off organized, even if it doesn't last as long as I wish it would.  What about you?  Do you have a day planner for the new year?  Will you write down any hopes and dreams?  I'd love to hear them.  I'll share mine tomorrow as well as my list that I started 2013 off with.

xo, Patty

btw...If you'd like a copy of my words and phrases just let me know and I'd be happy to email you one.

Good morning.  I finally took a moment to list a few original mixed media pieces in my Etsy shop.  I am much better at working in my craft studio than I am at listing what comes out of it.


These pieces are the originals from classes I have taught in the last few months.  They are filled with lots of distressing and doodling for extra texture and detail.


If you like what you see but would like one redesigned to fit your colors or style, go ahead and leave me a comment and I would love to consult with you and design exactly what you have in mind.


Thanks for taking a peek and for your support and encouragement.


Now I am off to do a little studio clean up so that I can get busy on my next project...

xo, Patty

If it were possible to deny the end of summer is near, my grandson starting kindergarten yesterday just may dash the last hope of that not being true.  Yep, the seasons they are a changing...


The buzz in my craft room has definitely taken an autumn turn.


I was asked to teach at a good friends birthday party in a couple of weeks with her only request being that it be Halloween in theme.  My mind got to whirling and twirling and I came up with this cute and kind of spooky mixed media canvas.


The paper is from Graphic 45 and I love that it has just the right amount of cuteness to ghoulishness ratio. 

I am preparing a few of the party decorations as well and will be sharing those with you soon.


And for those of you wondering, grandma made it through the first day of kindergarten with only a few tears shed and a little bit of moping.  Grandboy on the other hand, had a wonderful day!

xo, Patty

My sister flew back to Houston earlier this week and my life seems to be settling in to a normal pace once again.  She was here a full two weeks this time and what a jam packed time it was.  I think she hit just about everything Southern California has to offer.


We started out in the mountains, spent a day at an amusement park, she and my mom took a drive up the coast to Monterey, we spent a couple of days at the beach and of course, ate plenty of real Mexican food and drank a couple of margaritas along the way.


I'm sure she went home pretty much exhausted but full of family and good memories.


I have been busy trying to catch up with housework and laundry all week.  (Funny, isn't that how most vacations end?)


Can you believe we are midway through summer?  On the one hand I'm wondering where the time went and on the other hand, counting the days until fall weather arrives.


This pretty rooster canvas is a result of a day in my studio.  I headed in there for a little decompression time and came out with a few new items for the shop which will be reopening fully stocked soon.

Okay now it's your turn.  How is your summer going?

xo, Patty

As women tend to do, our paper doll went in another direction all together...


and she wore an orange dress that she forgot she had tucked in the back of her closet.  It just happened to coordinate perfectly!


Have a wonderful weekend.

xo, Patty

Do you remember playing with paper dolls as a kid or is that terribly dating me?  I would spend hours carefully cutting out clothes, being ever so careful not to cut through those little white tabs that held the clothes to the doll.  I wonder if that's where I got my love of cutting paper from?  There was no dollar limit or wrong sizes just endless possibilities and an outfit for every occasion.


Creating a mixed media canvas gives me that same feeling of creative freedom.  Arranging paper on a surface and then choosing colors for flowers or presents or dolls is still as fun as it used to be.


Here's where the question comes in.  I finished this canvas for my class this month and now I am thinking maybe it reads a little too dark. 


What do you think?  I cut out a new dress in a light background flower print just to try it out.


Dark dress or light one?  Number one...or number two? 


One more question...

If I were to add some of these to my etsy shop when I reopen it later this month, would you prefer a  half inch dimensional canvas to hang or a flat canvas panel that could be popped in a frame?

Tell what you think?  I have a favorite but I will leave the decision up to you.

xo, Patty