Mermaid Sisters

I wanted to share some of my Mermaid Sisters with you. As many of you know from previous posts I went to Manhattan Beach, California back in July (my Birthday gift from Hubby & a retreat before his open heart surgery). The relationships & friendships formed from this weekend has been a blessing indeed. In fact I have made such amazing friendships through blogging & Art Events & they have become lifelines for me. The photo above is of me & my table mates from Les Sirenes. TABLE 2 ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let me introduce you to the sweetest group of gals you could meet (if their name is colored then click on it to get a link to their blog. Back Row is Jane (left to right) Leslie, & Kristine(OK you two hurry & get that BLOG started because you both are so amazing & have so much to share). Seated is me, Karin & Michelle. At a few of the tables there was major drama but, ours was a HAPPY place at all times. We laughed, talked, shared stories, ideas & supplies. Sometimes going to links like this will introduce you to a wonderful new find so PLEASE click & visit each of these ladies that you can, look at their talent & tell them their Mermaid Sister Charlene sent you to visit. YOU WON'T BE SORRY!

And Table 3 (left to right) Cathy (my roommate), Sherry, Cheryl, Karla, Kay Ellen, & Beth. A great group of gals that I was soooooooooooo happy to meet. I had been blogging with Karla for quite awhile & this gave us a chance to meet in person. She & Beth were everything I'd hoped for. I had met Cathy & Sherry in Savannah & Cheryl in Dallas at another event. Kay Ellen is a doll that I really enjoyed meeting (& she saved my new starfish apron when I flipped BROWN paint on the front of it) her mother is the creator of Sealah Tacky Tape. Have you tried Sealah? If not let me assure you I couldn't create without it. Jenn introduced all of the belles at Petticoats & Parasols to Sealah & it was a HIT! Check it out!!!!

Table 5 had another group of sweeties beginning with Christine, Majia, Danielle, Julie, Jessi & Jenn. Precious Joy.

And above is Jane who sat next to me at our table. Talk about talented, this gal is amazing. Go back to my post about Vendor Night & look at her table. I really enjoyed sitting so close & watching her create her magic. Since the event I have become friends (again through the amazing world of blogging with her sister Debby. Debby commented on my blog one time that she is Jane's sister & since that time we have visited often & found that we have A LOT in common. Check out Debby & Jane's site to see the creations they have for sale.

These two are the definition of ADORABLE! Julie & Majia. Julie was one of the teachers (I haven't posted her class yet due to this darn heart surgery but, keep an eye for it because it was freaking adorable & what a fun generous soul she is!) at the event. And Majia... I had seen her & heard about her MANY times in blogs & posts. I WANTED to get to know her so badly. Well, let me tell you it was worth the wait she & I had sooooooooooooooooo much fun together & we both love to dress in sort of an off the cuff ARTY way. She wears a lot of outfits by Magnolia Pearl whom I have always liked that style.

Well darn, I had two pictures of Maureen & Carole but, chose the wrong one(should be using Live Writer I know...) when downloading them... but, these two are so cute & sweet that any picture is a good one. We met the very first day in the lobby of the hotel while they were waiting for their room to be ready. It was a FAST friendship & we hung out a lot during the weekend. And they have offered to show me around if I come up to the San Francisco area. These sweeties as well as Kristine, Leslie, (from the first photo) & Debby of Romancing the Stone all live in the San Fran area & we have been cooking up another California adventure in the future!!!! OK Maureen & Carole get a Blog started!!! I know it would be wonderful if you had one!

All the cuties at the cupcake party thrown by Cynthia & Val on our shopping day in Old Town Orange.

You have met all the girls in the cupcake photos in other photos above but, Debi & Deb Hodges. Debi owns the shop Out of the Blue & hosts Mermaid Mercantile once a month at the store. Deb is my SUPER BUDDY & clothing designer I fell in love with while at the event. SHE REALLY HURT MY POCKETBOOK AT VENDOR NIGHT! Love ya Deb & can't wait for my next goodies.

Sweetness itself... Karla, Cheryl & Beth(see above for links). OK, that's it for today's intros from Les Sirenes. I have done a number of post previously & there are a lot of others listed & linked be sure & go back to meet them & see the wonder that our hostess Kim made for us that weekend.

This & the next few are sent to me by my friend Cynthia (the one that took me shopping & was my airport pickup MAXI MA as well as UBER special FRIEND!!!) from her trip to Paper Tales in the San Diego area. Cynthia went down for a cake convention & went to the store because she had met the owner Michelle (see photo one for Michelle & Karin my table mates) at VENDOR NIGHT at Les Sirenes. She shared some great shots of the store. And I can tell you that Michelle carries some great stuff because I saw the stash she, Karin, & Jane had at the event. Karin teaches classes at the store.

I can tell you that I will be shopping here on my next trip to southern California. Yes, I promised all those girls (Karin, Michelle, Deb, Debi) a week long shopping visit.

Karin I MISS YOU TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I MISS ALL OF MY MERMAID SISTERS! And the cool ocean breezes of the coast of California.

Go visit. Find some new friends. Tell me who you went to visit & what you loved! Have a great week.

In Sickness & In Health

If you've wondered where I've been & what I've been up to... well I've been taking care of my sweet husband since his open heart surgery last Thursday. He had an aortic valve replacement & aortic root replacement (to repair a 2" aneurysm in his heart). He had an amazing surgical team & the nursing staff has been so kind, helpful & ON TOP of everything. We are both tired but, sooooooooooooo very glad this is behind us & we are on the mend. The emails, phone calls & support from so many of you before, during & after the surgery has been so much appreciated. Some of you have walked this path for your own health issues, others have shared stories of helping a spouse or parent through this. It is not a walk any of us want to take but, we are so thankful that the technology is there & continues to improve for this & so many other procedures. It was scary to think of them stopping his heart, putting him on heart/lung machine & then taking his heart out to work on it. But, then I reminded myself they can do heart surgery inutero so knew this was BIG but, not something that couldn't be handled. NOW we heal. And then he will be better than before. So, to each of you THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! For all the prayers THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For all the support THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For all the friendships... know you are valued. So, in sickness & in health I DO! HUGS!

Paris To The Moon Shopping with Cynthia

I wanted to share an adorable little shop that my precious friend Cynthia (she doesn't have a blog but, she NEEDS one) took me to after picking me up at the airport for my recent trip out to California. I landed at about noon & Cynthia cruised through the airport in her darling little BMW to scoop Cathy (my roommate for Les Sirenes Art Event) & I up to start our amazing days of fun. Cynthia, Cathy & I met in the spring when we all attended Petticoats & Parasols Art Event in Savannah Georgia. If you missed the posts for that & the previous ones of Les Sirenes just click on the bottom of my sidebar & look for the category ART EVENTS & there you will find out all about the WONDER of these AMAZING EVENTS! They are so much fun... but, now lets go shop.

Paris to the Moon is TINY but, packed with so much EYE CANDY! The shop is located at 172- Santa Ana AVE. in Costa Mesa, California 92627.

This is the adorable moon that sits HIGH a top an amoire filled with MANY goodies.

Here you can see another shot of the moon/armoire & some of the treasures. Click on the photo to enlarge it to see the details better.

Here is Cathy (left) Cynthia & me (of course in the back since I'm so blasted tall) visiting with the owner of the stores sister. She works at the store as well as does a lot of the design work & teaching some classes. Her name is Daniele Montecinos but, you might know her best as one of the designers of MANY of the crowns in the popular book Crown's & Tiaras. I almost got a copy of this from my book sharing buddy Lisa one night but, someone else in the Art Group scooped it up before I could get to it.

Here's the photo shoot picture of Daniele for the book.

The shop had a darling bridal display that had such wonderful detail work in the items. I'm not sure but, I think this is part of Goldburg Studio's line. Again, click to enlarge the photos to check out the detail work on these goodies!

Love the crown with the pearls, birds & bridal couple.

And since I was in town for a MERMAID themed event, I couldn't pass up this adorable display.

Another shell covered crown.

And these adorable little Princess Horse & Carriage sprinkled with LOTS of fine GLITTER making them every more magical!

Hope you enjoyed the tour & if you are in the area POP IN! Thank you Cynthia for starting off our shopping in such a great little gem.

Iron Jawed Angels

I have been sharing so many fun & beautiful photos of my Mermaid Art Event & I have really loved what I have shared but, I want to take a step away from the beauty & talk about something that I feel is UGLY yet, very important to each of us. I received an email from my friend JoAnn (thank you to you & the person who started this email) the other day that I thought was very interesting. It peeked my curiosity & made me decide to share this information with you so that you might also THINK about this issue, if you choose I hope you will become more diligent in your RIGHT to this issue, & I hope you will pass this along to other women in your life. Now you say what am I talking about? THE RIGHT FOR WOMEN TO VOTE! Ladies, we haven't ALWAYS had this right & there were many who worked hard & suffered to help us achieve this. HBO (I hope they don't mind that I borrowed their logo above to help me put out this message) has come out with a new film that depicts this amazing battle for WOMEN'S RIGHT TO VOTE. The name of the movie is IRON JAWED ANGELS. I just ordered my CD from Amazon.com for less than $4.00 Click HERE to see info on this film

Did you realize it was not until 1920 that women were GRANTED (don't you love that word??? like men were some Fairy God Mother GRANTING....) the right to go to the polls to vote?

The women were innocent & defenseless, but they were jailed for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote. And by the end of the night, some were barley alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs & with their warden's blessing went on a rampage against 33 women wrongly convicted of "obstructing sidewalk traffic".

This is Lucy Burns, they chained her hands to the cell bars above her head & left her hanging for the night, bleeding & gasping for air.

Dora Lewis was hurled into a dark cell, her head smashed against an iron bed & she was knocked out cold. Thus unfolded the "Night of Terror" on November 15, 1917 when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there for daring to picket for the right to vote.

For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food vile & invested with worms. Alice Paul (above) embarked on a hunger strike & was tied to a chair where they forced a tube down her throat & poured liquid into her until she vomited. This went on for WEEKS until word was smuggled out to the press.

This is Pauline Adams in the prison garb she wore while serving a sixty day sentence.

Miss Edith Ainge of Jamestown, New York.

Beth Arnold

Conferring over ratification of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution at National Woman's Party headquarters at Jackson Place, Washington, D.C is (left to right) Mrs. Lawrence Lewis, Mrs. Abby Scott Baker, Anita Pollitzer, Alice Paul, Florence Boeckel, Mabel Vernon (standing right) They say in the film it is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson & his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so she could be permanently institutionalized. And so inspiring to hear the doctor refuse saying "Alice Paul is strong & brave which doesn't make her crazy". He admonished the me saying "COURAGE IN WOMEN IS OFTEN MISTAKEN FOR INSANITY"

My dear friends, I hope that this has made you stop & think about YOUR RIGHT to vote. I don't care which party you choose to stand behind but, I can tell you that every election that comes along from this point on I WILL REMEMBER that this is a HARD FOUGHT BATTLE for MY VOICE TO BE HEARD! Please pass this along to other strong women & let's be sure & make our votes & voices heard. So, whether you just copy & use the photos because you think they are interesting or if you see them for the hero's they really are... LET's REMEMBER what our sisters did for us. Also, I hope you too will watch the movie. I can't wait for it to arrive. Let's get the word out! Let me know you thoughts on this my sisters in blogland.

And I think I'm ready to think more about the beauty I saw in California. I miss all of my Mermaid Sisters & am SICK of this Texas heat. It was 105 today with a heat index of 115. WHY do I live here in the summer???????

FRIENDS!!!! A BLESSING IN LIFE!!!

I just read a wonderful post by my precious friend Diana Frey that I think shares some very interesting & important information about women & the friendships they create. It also states that this bond has some very interesting health benefits & that men do not have the same sort of bonds with their friends. So please go HERE to read this post by my amazing friend. Diana (& Riki) thank you for sharing this. Also, this gives me a perfect opportunity to thank each & every one of you for your friendship & the blessing of having you brought into my life. YOU DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!!! Have a wonderful week. And thank you to Karen of The Graphic Fairy for the image above (don't these girls look like they are a group of friends sharing & enjoying life?). She is such a giving & generous soul.

Room Decor & Sirene of the Sea Coussin by Holly

I tried to do this post last night but, at 12:30 in the morning... Blogger would not SAVE this whole post & it was lost. Sooooooooooooo I am going to try again to share with you the beauty of the decor & the first class at the amazing event in Manhattan Beach, CA put on by Kim Caldwell. Doesn't that sweet Sea Horse above just make you SMILE? SHE sure does me. And below is Lola (Kim's mannequin & MUSE) all made up in Mermaid Style. I had heard that Kim's events are DIVINE but, that word doesn't even begin to describe the beauty & attention to detail. Come along with me & let me show you more of the wonder.

Lola & the SEA HORSE were just part of the decoration. Below is the MAIN TABLE & the elegant MERMAID that graced it. I captured this shot at Vendor Night & loved how the glow of the lights made this beauty even more magical.

And this was the table with adorable galvanized buckets decorated with a sweet Starfish on the front complete with a beautiful pearl right in the middle. Each bucket had a name on it & some yummy snacks as well as a can of Izzie Tangerine Soda. A TREAT for sure. And to the far left of the snack buckets you can see the net of the beautiful mermaid from above. She was that tables centerpiece for every occasion. Above the window was a shell garland spelling out Les Sirenes.

And this is a shot of the room as you entered for class the first morning. I LOVED the Art Glass on that one wall. It reminds me of one of my favorite Glass Artist Dale Chihuly. Have you seen his work? If not click HERE to view some. FOR ANY OF THESE PHOTOS CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO ENLARGE SO YOU CAN SEE BETTER DETAILS.

And a view from the other side of the room looking out over the peaceful courtyard, with the sun shinning in the windows & a slight cool ocean breeze wafting through the open doors. If you look to the top right that was my table. TABLE 2 ROCKED!!!!

You see in the photos above that each chair back is tied with a big BURLAP bow that was so charming. Below is a close up of the detail of the chair decor. I told you this girl doesn't miss a thing! That is a GIANT SandDollar surrounded by shells.

And this was our table centerpiece. A huge shell shaped container sat on a sheer sparkling layer of blue fabric & was filled with shells, moss, mermaids, & a large piece of fan coral. Each table had an arrangement & these were surrounded by beautiful candles & jars of more pearly shells. At the end of the event Kim was so generous as to raffle off the centerpieces in a drawing. I loved it but, was thankful to not have to pay to ship it home to Texas.

This is a close up of a bit of the table detail (candle cup).

And let's talk about door prizes. Kim had some amazing ones. The crown you see below was won by my precious friend Joy. This stunning creation was made & donated by Debi Beard owner of Out of the Blue which is a store I have been dreaming of visiting. She also hosts The Mermaid Mercantile once a month at the store & I MUST attend that event ASAP. Click on her name to hop over to visit her site you won't be sorry. I got to spend time with this talented sweetie on the Sunday shopping/flea market bus tour. Debi your crown was FIT FOR A MERMAID QUEEN!

When I walked in for class on Friday morning this is what I found. Mermaid images, an event schedule, my name tag (enlarge to see the detail which is amazing), a purse full of goodies from about 15 different vendors, and on the chair is my supplies for my first class. All that stuff on the table had been set up during the wee hours of the night (after Vendor Night) while we had visions of mermaids dancing in our heads... Kim & her fairy helpers were setting up this room so we would see all this beauty when we walked in. Let me tell you I have LOVED using my new purse with the lace & shells that hang from one handle. I think of this magical event & SMILE every time I see it Kim. THANK YOU!

I wanted to share the photo below & introduce you to all of the amazing teachers. From left to right are Jenny, our hostess Kim, Julie, Melissa, Holly & guest speaker (on Saturday) Jenny Doh.

Each precious soul added her special MAGIC to make this a complete DREAM WEEKEND! I want to thank each of you for the sharing of knowledge & supplies, for the time, talent, patience, & the beauty you brought to each of us. WE LOVE YOU!

OK, the words CUTE & TALENTED don't even begin to describe these two souls!!!!! As you can see by the adorable Mermaid jeans they just happened to "whip up"... these two are just too cute for words. Let me introduce you again to our event hostess (on the left) Kim & my friend as well as for the first morning... our teacher Holly Stinnett. The name of her class Sirene of the Sea Coussin. She designed the cutest little pillow for us & she is holding her class sample here in this photo.

A TREASURE CHEST of goodies provided by Holly to help us create our beautiful little pillows of Mermaid Dreams. She was so generous with her supplies, kind words of support & help as she went from table to table. Don't you LOVE these RED Starfish she brought for us?

My friend Cheryl that I have told you about before, shared a number of these photos with me & I think this is her finished pillow below. The finished work is beautiful. The use of supplies enchanting but, most of all her photography & photoshop skills leave me breathless. Oh I have so much to learn. Thank you for sharing Cheryl. And also the others that shared photos with all of us to be able to do these posts to include all of you in our adventure.

And here are a few of the other girls finished pillows. Holly, I think these Mermaid did you proud honey!

Don't you love the feminine beauty of each one? And I do LOVE the little Sirene! She is simply stunning.

It's a good thing to have these wonderful images to look at & remember as I share them with you. I hope you aren't tired of hearing about the event. But, I just wanted to show you the wonder. And to make you feel like you have been there with me. Also, these memories make me happy as I pass the time waiting for Hubby's open heart surgery. The fact that I got to go to the event was a BLESSING indeed. So until the magic carpet comes by to pick us up again... ENJOY & come back to see the next classes. In the meantime... would some of your MERMAIDS send some of those cool ocean breeze's to us here in Texas!!! We are into over a week of over 101 degrees & I HATE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!! My heart & soul is indeed on the Pacific Coast. Have a great weekend. HUGS!