Last post for 2006

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and that your new year is filled with joy and productivity. I wanted to get in one last post for this year, and hope that I will be able to post more often in 2007.


I am participating in a charm swap hosted by my blogging friend Kim. Here you see 3 of the 9 charms. They are all a little bit different. I created these resin filled bezels using some of the transparent papers I made in Mexico with Susan Lenart Kazmer and added some pastel inclusions for color. I still have to finish antiquing the wire used to attach the pearls...but I hope they like them.

Some of my art goals for 2007...
Clean my desk - maintain a clean desk
Work on my blog design/banner
Organize my craft closet
Create an Etsy site

What are your art goals?

Has it really been that long since I posted? I have had many posts planned in my mind, but December is always a crazy month for me. So in case I don't make it back before the holidays.....Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you!!!! This year I let my husband pick the tree, and the girls decorate however they wanted. I am trying not to be too particular. The man at the tree lot thought this was very unusual.

I have been busy submitting my Art & Soul class proposals, setting up the jewelry display at the Kirkland Art Center, creating jewelry, cleaning my desk, planning a pony themed birthday party for next Monday, doing school interviews and application paperwork for my older daughter, and Christmas shopping...December is always a crazy month no matter how hard I try to be organized.

I purchased a new pop up light thingamajig for taking photos of my jewelry inside instead of waiting for good weather to take them on the rocks outside. I am hoping this will be perfect....The current situation was becoming quite a problem...dropping jewelry in the mud in the garden, standing in the rain, waiting for the snow to clear, waiting for the sun to go away....if you can tell by my post....I am very excited about this new system. Here are some quick photos...

Jewelry made in Mexico with Susan Lenart Kazmer and Debra Weld - Wire, PMC, Resin, Sun...how I miss the warm weather!







Some new stuff I have been working on:

I'll post more new stuff tomorrow...we are expecting a huge wind storm tonight and I hope we have power.

Wishing you peace and joy!

Hostess Gift Idea #1
So...I was dinking around today and lighting Christmas candles and searching for the matches. We have tons of matches, but they are cleverly stashed so the kids can't get their hands on them and burn our home down. I found them...plain ugly little boxes, so I thought to myself, "I am going to cover these babies with the hoards of vintage paper and German glass glitter and put them out by the candles." They turned out pretty cute and then thought, "Won't these be great to give with a candle as a hostess gift?". Even smarter would be to take a collage/ATC shrink it down and add glitter.

So if you have any great holiday hostess gift ideas post it. I would love to hear it. I just got the new James Taylor Christmas CD. I love it!

I’ll be posting some pictures of jewelry soon and still thinking about starting an Etsy shop....but not sure when I will get that done.

Warning!!! If you have kids and they burn your house down because they found these cute match boxes DON’T BLAME ME....Place at your own risk. My sister and I were caught lighting matches in the closet when we were very very small...so head my warning.

Hola! I have returned from Mexico and getting back in the swing. I had a wonderful time in sunny Puerto Vallarta. If you ever get a chance to do a workshop at the Hacienda Mosaica, I would strongly recommend it. We spent a week working in PMC with Deb Weld and Metal with Susan Lenart Kazmer. The facility is great and it is so nice to be immersed in the workshop and the culture.

Sam, who runs the Hacienda, has a staff of locals that prepare the breakfast and lunch. Staying there felt like being in a home. Here are a few quick pictures. This first picture is where we ate and sat around with margaritas at night.



Here are a few shots from around the grounds...truly beautiful!









I will post more soon...but wanted to get some pictures up for now.

Adios...I'll have to go into my poor spanish stories later...but when I am searching for a word in spanish...occassionally a French word will pop out:) I really got strange/confused looks from the locals. I am not sure that is all that different here in the states.

Art & Soul a Week in Review

I have just returned from Art & Soul in Portland, and all I can say is "WOW!". The ladies in my class were great. They all finished their charm bracelets and were as excited about wire as I am. No one burned themselves or their neighbors and for that I am truly thankful. It was an amazing event and I even managed to sneak in a few painting classes while I was there.





Please note that one should not bend over and work as I am doing here at the hotel. It is best to be standing up and working on a higher work table.


I also want to "THANK" Edina for helping me with vendor night. I really thought it would be a slow event for me...but boy was I wrong! Thanks to anyone that stopped by and took a peak at my work. I also really enjoyed meeting some of my blog visitors!!! It is so nice to put a face with a name.

I am still walking around my house in a haze. I always have a hard time getting back to real life when I return from a retreat. Perhaps it is my minds way of trying to absorb all the information obtained in a short period of time. My mind was on constant over-drive while I was there, and I think it just needs a little time to adjust to my typical schedule of getting up making lunches and working through my list of things to do. I am not sure when I will begin the unpacking of art supplies, but I do hope to share with you some of the treasures I purchased from some very talented artists soon.

I am certified!

I just finished a 3 day certification class in Precious Metal Clay (PMC). A lot of it was review, but it feels good to have the certificate and pass the review. I will be off to Portland on Tuesday, and will post when I return.

Now I have been thinking about this since Friday...is the world spinning faster or getting crazier? I was at the "Dollar Store" the other day getting some metal trays. I checked out and was heading to my car. I looked at my receipt and noticed that the cashier didn't charge me for 1 of the 4 trays. So I went back to the clerk and told her she didn't charge me for one of the trays and that I owed her money. She looked at me like I was nuts, and the people in line looked at me like I was nuts too. She the said she wouldn't have come back to pay the $1.08, but thanked me for my honesty and rang up my tray. I felt much better, but was quite upset that this was astonishing to them. I was raised to try and do the right thing....it didn't seem that strange to me... or am I just nuts?

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

I have been running full steam and the mess on my desk sums it up....I am preparing for Art & Soul. I will be teaching a fused chain charm bracelet class and vending on Saturday. In between those two events, I'll be taking some very cool classes. I'll try and post before I leave.

Wishing you fun in the sun.

I am hoping my new website URL will be easier to remember for my friends as well as myself...my jewelry website is now www.LisaMarieCall.com. The old URL will remain in tact for about a year, but you may want to update to the new one if you link to it.

I love quotes...I often find that reading these quotes stirs something deep inside, causes action. The written word is powerful. Letters are so beautiful and it still amazes me how the combination of shapes creates something we all understand and feel. I think watching my children learn to read has made this even more evident. Here is another of one of my favorite quotes:

"It's never too late to be what you might have been." George Elliot.

I found this quote typed and taped in the bathroom stall at my old high school. Funny where we can find inspiration.

It is Wednesday, my youngest is back in preschool, and now I am back to work at my jewelry desk. I had a little tidying up to do first, but it felt good. I made several charms for Art & Soul and completed this charm bracelet....it is for those that love pink.



I also made this resin filled bezel out of PMC. Lisa Blackwell of ZoaArts made the key out of PMC. Isn’t it cute? I wear this on a long chain and love the feel and weight. I am currently making a large oval bezel. Not sure if I will fill it our sell at Art & Soul for someone else to fill with their own treasures. The oval one is just over an inch...so you could get a nice collage inside.


And for those that collect Sally Jean charms, here is a charm necklace I made with handforged sterling silver last summer...I need to add some more charms that I have collected over the year, but it wears well now. Make yourself a chain and hang them all on...this is definitely a conversation starter. Yes...I want all my friends to be wire addicts like me.


So I am trying to figure out how my art and life all fit together. I want to try and make my art my work...not just to break even...thinking of my business plan and this quote seemed to sum it up:

"Every day you sit back and wait for something to happen is another day lost." Jennifer Flavin

So this weekend has been more of a “hunt and gather” weekend. I blame Stacie for posting about The Salvage Studio. A great store in Edmonds! It has the best selection of "stuff" for collage, assemblage, and decorating. I collect fabric, trims, stamps, beads, hardware, religious charms, anything paper....hmmm I guess I collect anything that strikes my fancy. Here are a few of my finds...

I see purses with this fabric...

Great old pattern and trims....I got a couple of these.

Then I hit an antique store and got some sparkle....can't find the picture now...but trust me they are soooo sparkley.

Then while I was on a roll I thought hey...I am going to go to the new Vallue Village, and I found a few rolls of old turquoise and pink crepe streamers...I almost gasped when I saw it. I then made sure no one was watching as I tried to grab all the old rolls I could find. I didn't want to cause a rush in the store. I am sure the people there were wondering what on earth I was going to do with this old crepe paper. I love turquoise and pink! Pam...I blame you for this new obsession.


The day just kept getting better...I spied some cute mint green trays...I use these for beading projects...I almost bought some really cute ones at Pottery Barn Kids...but they were over $10.00. So when I saw these I knew I had to have them. They didn't have a price...but I figured what the heck. When I went to check out, the sales person said these are 49 cents. The days was truly going my way.



I should note that when I was heading out on Saturday to Salvage Studio, I was going to only purchase what I needed for immediate projects. Now I am thinking to myself....My name is Lisa and I have a problem. Is hoarding a disease?

Now really this week I plan on working on some projects.

Happy Hunting!

I am back!!!!! My family took a road trip through California to see some sights and of course go to Disneyland. I was very nervous about how my family would fare in the car, but we had a great time! I even surprised my husband by being a trooper. I didn’t say “Are we there yet?" or classic "How much longer till we get there?” at any time during the trip. He was very proud. He is such a good guy...imagine being trapped in a car with 3 girls that talk nonstop and giggle at nothing for 3 days.

The kids will be back in school soon, and I will be working on my art on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I hope to spend some time working on customizing my blog page. I love summer...but I really love the routine that school brings to my day.

I am currently staring at my ArtFest class registration today and keep erasing and rewriting my class priority. It is so hard to pick! It is an amazing event...if you ever get the chance to attend you should. A great place to be with "art" minded people who see the beauty in a rusty old nail. My friends here just don't seem to see it...I love them...but you probably know what I mean.



Ok...now in my life before kids I worked 50-70 hours a week and my house was organized. I was a neat freak...my husband kind of laughs about this now. I have really relaxed about this...not that I don’t still think everything should be organized and put in the right spot, but I just don’t have the time to devote to this....I’ve got things to do...artwork, jewelry etc....so I always have this dream about getting my stuff organized. The other day I found this great print press cabinet with 12 plus divided drawers....it was beautiful, but I had a hard time justifying paying $900.00 for it....although I tried to justify purchasing it to store all my beads. I finally decided I would have to come up with another option and low and behold I found one drawer at a little antique shop. I thought I’ll try this out and see if I really use it. I could easily fill the whole cabinet with beads and things.

I feel like I am rambling...so I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I’ll try again tomorrow!” Mary Anne Radmacher-Hershey

My sweet Toby has outgrown his first puppy collar so I thought I would share with you a picture of him back in January when I was able to carry him through the house like a baby.



Here he is now...I am not able to carry him around anymore. My sweet boy is all grown up. Just like children, they grow soooo fast.

Wow...where has the time gone? I have finally finished my contract job for the summer, and I am starting to work on jewelry again.

The Museum of Northwest Artists Gallery contacted me, and they are now carrying my jewelry. I am very excited about this opportunity.

I have been working on new charms and created this personal charm necklace. I make so many charm bracelets...I thought a charm necklace would be fun. Two of the charms (Bliss and the cursive L) are from www.sallyjean.com...the rest are mine. I made the large key in a casting class I just completed. I love the necklace, but it is a bit on the "large" scale. I'll be wearing this while I am teaching the fusing fine silver charm bracelet at Art & Soul in Portland....I thought having a charm necklace would be fun for students to see. If you have been collecting or making charms, this is a great way to wear them.

I often feel like a raven collecting all these sparkly little treasures...so actually putting them to use and wearing them feels good.

I have not had a lot of time to do jewelry this summer, but here are some new pieces...

Bright summer charm bracelet with handmade PMC charms.



My obsession with making "noisey" charm bracelets continued...



I love to make chains...isn't this one great? Lisa Claxton from California taught this class recently. It is her own chain design flipping the bizantine chain. I love the weight of this bracelet. Let me tell you there are a ton of jump rings to open, close, and assemble!

Try It Tuesday!

I love the idea of this blog...a new technique is shared and participants give it a try. What a great way to jump start your creativity. Here is my first "Try It Tuesday" project. Although I have done image transfers before...it was fun to try someone elses method. The lace is from my Aunt Olymphia that passed away in the spring at the age of 89. She was a crafter and had rooms of fabric, trims, etc. The local thrift store in Florida got a huge load of her stuff. I just couldn't take it with me on the plane.

Here is a lovely banner I purchased from Pam Garrison. I just love the colors and it hangs above my workspace.



We went to the zoo the other day and visited the Butterfly Exhibit at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle...so fun. This picture shows the one that landed on my shorts. It was magical...the girls didn't want to leave. I'll have to post more pictures another day. I hope to use the photos in some of my collages.

I hope you are having a beautiful summer day.

My friend Trish is turning 40, and her birthday is tonight. I turned 40 a year ago and that really didn't hit me...I turned 41 this year and that was a bit of a bummer. Nothing exciting I am just now officially over 40. But when making Trish's gift and pondering what I was going to write in her card it hit me......I have known Trish for 22 years...we met when we pledged our sorority at the ripe old age of 18/19. We graduated from the University of Washington, and both went to work for Microsoft. Yes we even sang in the Microtones...we are sooo silly or just plain geeky. Let's not go there:) At any rate I made Trish some earrings...Husky colors of course since she is a Big Big fan. Here is the wrapped present....I think it's cute and thought I would share it with you.

Here is the charm bracelet I made for the ArtFiberFest gallery - theme "Nest". I had felted a nest...but it just didn't turn out right. So I returned to my main medium...metal, wire and beads. I really like this piece and was thrilled when my friend Edina purchased it. It means I get to see it and know that it is in a good home.

Yes...I have finally started a blog. You may be wondering why I called it "My Sweet Petunia", and I can only say that each night I tuck in my youngest daughter and say, "Goodnight my sweet petunia." To which she replies, "I am not a petunia mama...I am a kitty!". I smile and think to myself...oh to be 4. I love flowers, but petunia fits her. A petunia is colorful, petite, and can grow anywhere...just like her.