Outdoor Wednesday goes to California

Susan is hosting yet another Outdoor Wednesday (click on the link on my sidebar to join the others) & for my post I want to take all of us that live in land & whisk you away to the Pacific Ocean. Talk about OUTDOOR WONDERS! As so many of you know I just came back from the central coast of California & I fell in love with the area & the people. So come join me & enjoy this beauty. The colors all POP! Seems like a huge color wheel. The Bluest Blues!

Can you hear the waves crash against the rocks?

These were all taken as we drove up Hwy.1 between Cambria & Carmel. With our convertible top down we had wind in our hair & smiles on our faces.

Long way down! Look at the contrast of colors in that water.

Breathtaking!

This is the beach in Carmel. As I stood out here & marveled at this beauty, the spray blew in my face & I loved every minute of it! I brought a zip lock bag for sand & much to my surprise... the sand was not like any sand I had ever seen. It was actually just thousands of tiny rocks.

Close your eyes for just a minute & see if you can feel the spray on your face?

Looking toward Carmel.
And after a quick return trip back to Cambria (using Hwy 101 not Hwy.1) we got back just in time to see the sky turn all kinds of beautiful colors as we pull into where we were going to eat two doors down from our hotel.

Do you love these colors?

Time to order a bottle of wine, clam chowder, & a shrimp salad. What a view but, thank goodness for the heaters overhead.

I hope all of you "land lubbers" enjoyed this little bit of paradise! Thank you for joining me.

Shaker Doll Class Arroyo Grande, California

WOW! That is all I can say! What a wonderful week I had! There is HEAVEN ON EARTH! This is me Friday morning arriving at the Santa Barbara Airport. My friend Susan & I walked off the plane onto the tarmac & into this little tiny CHARMING airport. We got our bags & headed to pick up our rent car. After just a few minutes discussing the upgrade... we left in our sporty black convertible(who wants a compact car on a fabulous trip anyway). Into the sunshine & flowers of California heading for Arroyo Grande & my class with jewelry designer Diana Frey.

Here is Diana's Shaker Doll Necklace. Isn't she amazing! Look at all the different things she used while creating this. She is an unbelievable artist & the SWEETEST person!!!!! The class was for "beginners" & believe me... I WAS A BEGINNER! I learned so much of the basics. Wire wrapping, metal working, soldering, & tools, OH BABY DID WE USE TOOLS! Tim the Tool Man would have been jealous! Drills, torches, cutters, special pliers, on & on. Another look at some of the special items in her necklace. Some of the stones she used were so beautiful. Diana & her friend Susan(I got to sit next to Susan & I will show you her goodies later) had gone to a Gem Show & bought some amazing stuff. I will be on the look out for one in my area. My pocketbook will never be the same. :)

Here is Diana showing us how to drill the doll head. See her special handy dandy drill. I will admit that I am so leery(the word is scared) of some of the tools. My friend Susan that came with me says "we'll get you over that." I can not find the words to tell you what a wonderful teacher Diana is. She is so patient, organized, thorough, easy to follow & just a darn pleasure to be with.

Drilling that hole right through that babies head submerged in a bowl of water.

Here is Susan (Diana's friend I told you about) & I at our table with all of our goodies spread out in front of us.

Some of my treasures.

And Susan's...see those unbelievable stones I hinted at. And her doll was a Blondie just like Susan. The colors were so perfect together. Some of her findings were so wonderful. This will be a true TREASURE when it is complete. OK Susan keep in touch so I can see the finished project.

And across the table from me was Diana Salvucci(on the left) & Jody Cottrell(right). Diana was from Los Angeles & Jody was another one of Diana's local friends. WHAT DOLLS they were too. We became FAST friends.
Here are Diana's treasures as she was working. See how different every one's choice of stones & findings are? Even though the class was taught with a planed design everyone put their own "SPIN" on it by choosing different components & ideas of how to lay it all out. Making it individual. Truly your own piece of art. Our teacher Diana gave us a little saying in our goody box (filled with many things including M& M' candies)which said "Infuse your work with your intensely personal truth." Wonderful saying don't you think?Big design work going on with Diana & Jody.Here's Jody's Doll. She thought the top looked like she had a party hat on so she named her "Party Girl"
This table of girls were also from Los Angeles. They had their party aprons on complete with pink pom poms & were such a riot. They were into all sorts of colors... pink, blues, greens ... fun fun fun. Tina Marie Capriotti http://tinamariecapriotti.blogspot.com/ is in the green sweater & she was a hoot... after coming out of the little girls room her lesson learned... don't wear your pom pom apron to the potty.
This is Christine Saqui showing off the soldered piece she will be teaching in Los Angeles.Check out her Blog http://www.whateverwillb.blogspot.com/ to get the information in case you would be interested in the class. She was so sweet & really talented.

And here I am with my dear teacher & FRIEND Diana Frey. This is late in the day & we were both tired (& there was a terrible glare on my glasses) but, oh how happy we were. In the background you can see my friend Susan that came on the trip with me, she is looking at all the treasures on our table. WOW what a fun filled learning day that was. And stay tuned because this precious angel invited me to her studio & I will share a tiny bit of that with you soon. And please hop over to her Blog http://dianafrey.blogspot.com/ & see some of her photos. Also, she was one of the featured artist in the magazine "Studios" by Cloth Paper Scissors (I got a copy while out there & had her sign it for me).

I can't wait to finish my Shaker Doll Necklace...to keep in contact with the new friends I have made...to take another class from Diana...to visit California again... and to become a better artist. Diana you have set me on a journey of discovery & I can not wait to experience all the joy to come. Bless you my dear treasured mentor & friend. THANK YOU!

Excited Beyond Belief!

The time has finally come for my much awaited trip! Remember "honey" gave me the money for Christmas to go out to California for the Shaker Doll Necklace Class from the talented Jewelry Designer Diana Frey. Above is a picture (sorry it so small) of it! I have been so PUMPED I can hardly stand it & the time is finally here. Check out Diana's http://www.dianafrey.blogspot.com/ site & you will see what a talented gal she is. I just hope a little of that will rub off on me!

And if that wasn't enough... the mailman made my day with the delivery of a package from Italy. YES! Italy! Even the stamps were exciting & mysterious. My precious friend Monica sent me her Easter Swap Box. It was filled with wonder. As she said in her note, "it is so wonderful to make things with love for friends". My box got a bit of a later start & she has not gotten hers yet. But, she wanted me to enjoy the Easter goodies before my trip so come & see what she sent. Beginning with this precious card she made.

Here's the basket all wrapped in cello with the card. Isn't it HUGE!

Monica had known that I was looking for old keys & tied with this fabulous ribbon (that says Pretties for You) there are three BIG skeleton keys. Such a beautiful rusty patina. I just loved the shape & color. OH MONICA THEY ARE TREASURES!

And here is the pretty wreath that she made me. I hung it in the guest bathroom over the potty. You can see my candles to the right. The colors look great together don't you think?

Here's the basket with out the cello. To the left is a bandanna that Monica's sweet Kim sent to my Fur Baby Reba. I told her Reba is not as willing to wear these little"outfits" for photo ops like Kim does. You will find Kim doing all sorts of things to be famous on her Mom's blog. A cone (front) filled with wonderful smelling soaps.

A Bunny Wand for Easter Wishes. I just love him!

This is a little candle & in the back where the tea light goes it is stuffed with Easter grass. Monica said she feel in love with this & bought it for herself but, then decided she had to add it to my basket. Thank you for sharing my sweet friend the grandsons will love this!

And this is Evelyn. She is one of Monica's creations. She hand makes these angels. Pop over to her site http://the-white-bench.blogspot.com/ & see a wide variety of these. Each one is different in little details such as the face, the outfits, what the are holding. Each one unique. Notice how her colors matched the wreath perfectly.

There at the very front left corner is a tiny little china bell that she hand painted & all the goodies sort of laying out on the table.

Now you can see the details of the decorated basket with some of the things moved away. To the left is a cute egg filled with straw, old print, a little bird & the word NEST in Monica's pretty handwriting. And there are those keys again. Notice the pretty silk flower & WISH coupon that decorated the basket. Well, I couldn't have wished for a more wonderful Easter treat! THANK YOU DEAR MONICA FOR BEING MY SWAP PARTNER! I will take lots of photos & learn a bunch in class! Hubby will hold down the fort & I will share all the wonder with you when I get back. HUGS! YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Miracle

Susan is having us all in to celebrate Outdoor Wednesday. Click on the button on the right sidebar to join Susan & the other girls when we are done here. I usually have a lot of pictures & lots of things to show but today my post is simple. This time I want to only share one picture because I think it says a thousand words. This struck me when I saw it! God managed to have this beautiful Viola bloom coming out of this piece of crystal that sits in my garden. I did not plant this. It was a miracle that enough soil filled this tiny crevasse & a seed from another plant blew in the wind & worked it's way into this small space. When I saw this I just had to share. I thought we all need to stop the rushing around. Stop & see this beautiful world we live in. Look for the beauty that is given to us. Before blogging I did not take the time to stop & look & appreciate the miracles we have all around us. Enjoy this Outdoor Wednesday & everyday.

Oh, by the way I have a beautiful group of photos on the last post I did. If you love Wisteria or the color purple go back & check those out. Since we are supposed to only post the link to Outdoor Wednesday & not our whole Blog I didn't want to cheat but... sneak a peek. Hugs

Chocolate Cookie Spring Party

I know I am late... the weekend was terrible. But, one of my wonderful blog friends Cielo of http://houseinroses.blogspot.com/was having a Spring Party & she said even if we were late we could still participate. So smell the wisteria on the breeze & come on let's go (Wisteria is brought to you thanks to the beautiful blooms at Pat's http://mytatteredelegance.blogspot.com/ house).

Who could resist that blue sky & those beautiful blooms? Now Cielo I pulled out some of my Spring treasures & set up a little tea. Let's take out the butterfly tea cup & spoon by Franz.Some Spring items to decorate with. Hmm... this nest is a favorite!And who could resist the little boot planter with these flowers & is that bird perched on the side too cute?This is looking pretty cute. The Elmwood Inn Tea (Wild Cherry flavor)canister is out. The water is boiling & yes, that is Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies (I like mine to be frozen because they crunch & are so minty & cool) on that adorable little blue egg plate. Sorry Cielo I just didn't have time to bake your yummy cookie recipe this time but, I promise to give it a try.Can you see my bunny that is perched on the chair back? I think he wants to join in too.
Alright, the tea is in the cup & I am ready to enjoy the rest of the party with all you other girls. Thank you again Cielo for letting me be late yet still participate & most of all for hosting such a fun event. Now, hurry over to visit Cielo & see all the others.

Happy Monday & have a great week!