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