Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Woo Hoo! I've Gotten An Award!!

Monica from Monica's Crafts has given me my very first award! It's the Blogging Friends Forever Award. Thanks Monica! I'm honored and so pleased!



Here are the rules:
1. Use the Twinks Bank icon
2. Nominate 5 other people only
3. Four (4) nominees have to be dedicated followers of your blog
4. One (1) has to be someone new or recently new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
5. You must link back to whoever gave you the award.

Here are the five people I would like to give this award to:

Alex from My Quill & Pen
Debbie from Debbies English Treasures
Cathy from Treasured Heirlooms
Amy from Bunny Rose Cottage

aaaaaaaaaaaaand.................

Chelle from IBreak4Glass

Come on Girls! Pass on the LOVE!!

Monday, July 28, 2008

Married 17 years & 70 years!

This past Sunday my Hubby & I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary. My husband & I spent the day with his maternal grandparents. Grandma Juanita is 88 years old and Grandpa Bill turned 93 this past April. My Hubby was named after his Grandpa. We are in our mid-forties and feel so lucky to still have grandparents alive!

Hubby & I decided we would take Grandma & Grandpa out to lunch and then for a ride to visit Morcom Rose Garden in Oakland.

My Bill, Grandma Juanita & Grandpa Bill at the Entrance to Morcom Rose Garden - July 27, 2008



The wonderful inscription on the sign says:

Roses are beauty but I never see
Those blood drops from the burning heart of June
Glowing like thought upon the living tree
Without a pity that they died so soon.

John Masefield



Roses at Marcom Rose Garden



Grandma had surgery a few months ago & has been unable to get out of the house much. This was the first time in Grandma’s life, except for the birth of her 2 children, that she had been in a hospital! Until a few years ago Grandpa used to do all the driving for them but one day he passed out while behind the wheel and decided he probably shouldn’t drive anymore so the driving fell to Grandma. Since her surgery, she wasn’t able to drive so they became housebound for the most part.

The Pool at Morcom Rose Garden



Hubby has a hobby called Letterboxing and there was a letterbox hidden somewhere in the rose garden that he wanted to find. We asked Grandma & Grandpa if they wanted to go and they jumped at the chance to get out for a few hours.

A Perfect Rose!



We ate Chinese food, which seems to be the only thing Grandma wants to eat right now, and then drove to the Rose Garden. The roses were in full bloom and we stopped to smell almost every one. We marveled at how they all smelled different. Some were spicy, some smelled fruity and some smelled like powder. Hubby searched for his letterbox and finally found it. Grandma & Grandpa were needing to rest for a bit so we found a nice bench and sat down.

Another Beautiful Rose



Since this day was our anniversary, the conversation got around to anniversaries. We asked Grandma & Grandpa how many years they had been married and Grandma said they’ve been married 70 years! Can you imagine! It's so obvious how much they still love each other after all this time.

What A Darling Couple!



Married 70 Years!



I took a few pictures to share with you. We had gorgeous weather! Grandpa fell asleep as soon as we got him home. Bill and I were honored to have spent our anniversary with Grandma & Grandpa!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

The ManicForMosaics Craft Room - The Place Where it All Happens!

There have been several people who have asked me how I organize my mosaic tiles & stuff. I'm a very organized person by nature, some people may say obsessively & compulsively organized, but the truth is that I LOVE to organize! If I thought I could make a career out of organizing other people's things, I would do it in a heartbeat! I get excited when I watch home organization shows on HGTV. When I pass by the Rubbermaid section at the store I start to salivate. I buy baskets to organize stuff I don't even have yet because I know someday I WILL have something to put in those baskets!!

So I thought I'd give a little tour of my craft room. I hope those of you who are organizers (like me) will find some inspirational ideas that you can use in your own organization. I hope those of you who aspire to be organized won't HATE me too much!

Here is the door to my craft room. I bought this sign years ago on Ebay.


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This is the view when you walk in the door. On the left is a bed. This was SUPPOSED to be a Guest Room before mosaics took over my life!


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Here is the shelf where I store the tiles that I use. The tiles that I have for sale are in the garage on another shelf. All these tiles are in parts drawers so I can see them all when the mood to mosaic strikes! Plates waiting to be cut are stored underneath.


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Another view of the tile shelf.......(with all the other stuff I had on the shelves put back!)


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The parts drawers containing my tiles.


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More tiles in parts drawers........


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A close up view of the parts drawers. I used double sided tape to stick one tile on the front of each drawer so I can easily see what's inside!


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The corner to the right of the mosaic tile shelf. See my button collection?


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Here is my craft table. This is where I cut plates as well as glue tiles onto smaller mosaic projects.


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More plates to cut. I use this old quilt rack to hold the tissue paper that I use to wrap my mosaic projects for shipping.


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Mosaic projects in various stages of completion.


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The very first thing I mosaicked. This is what started it all! I used hydrangea tiles in various shades of purple to mosaic the recessed area under the mirror & towel bar of this antique washstand.


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A closer look..........


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The closet where I store smaller things I want to mosaic in the future.


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Another view of the project closet..........


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I LOVE spending time in my craft room & working on my mosaic projects. It's a sunny room which is perfect for doing crafts. I have scented candles placed throughout the room to make it a peaceful & creative place to be. I hope you've enjoyed taking a peek!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Making New Friends....

Sometimes, when we LEAST expect it, the Universe sends someone across our path that really makes a difference in our lives. Sometimes it's a small kindness that makes your heart sing. I recently met a sweet, wonderful woman who helped me ease the transition into a new experience.

I have been an accountant for longer than I care to admit and I really enjoy what I do. In March of 2008 I was laid off from a job I had held for 6 1/2 years. I loved my job and I loved the people I worked with and it was so sad to think I wouldn't be seeing them on a daily basis. I took some time off and then started looking for another position.

Mind you now, my working outside of the home is merely in a effort to support my mosaic addiction and something I would NEVER let get in the way of my passion. But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, right?

I interviewed with a local company a few week ago and last week I started a temporary Accounting Manager position at this company. I had spoken with the receptionist briefly when I had interviewed. However, when I walked into work on my first day, there was another woman behind the reception desk. I had forgotten the last name of the person the agency had told me to ask for so I gave the new receptionist only the first name of the person. She looked perplexed and asked me if I knew the person's last name. She told me that she was filling in for the receptionist who was on vacation and this was her first day. I told her that it was my first day too! She told me her name was Linda. Linda figured out who I was supposed to report to and she let that person know that I was in the lobby. While I waited to be escorted to my new desk, Linda and I chatted for a few minutes about how it was the first day at a new job for the two of us.

I was a little nervous to be staring a new job, with a new company and with new people. Linda made me feel comfortable and I liked her immediately, in that way you bond with someone who is sharing something similar in life at the same moment you are. We chatted occasionally during the day and I learned that we lived very near each other.

This morning I arrived at work a little earlier than usual and Linda was waiting outside the door. She had forgotten her door key so I opened the door and held it open for her as her arms were full of stuff. I noticed she had a cute little box with her and I asked her what was in it. People who know me say I'm kinda nosy like that! Linda opened the box and showed me a bunch of WONDERFUL 4th of July postcard that she had made. They were so PATRIOTIC! I asked her more about her card making and asker her if she would mind bringing in more cards for me to see. Well, this darling woman went home on her lunch hour (half hour actually!) to bring me a TREASURE TROVE of things that she had made!

Here's the 4th of July postcard that caught my eye:


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With Linda's permission I wanted to share some of her other beautiful creations here. She probably thinks I'm nuts but I was so enamored of her work that I just had to show it!

Here's another of Linda's vintage inspired cards. She even makes the envelopes, which are beautiful in themselves.


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Here's a little bit about Linda and pix of her cards:

Linda has been crafting since childhood & she loves to learn new techniques & skills. She will try pretty much anything that catches her eye! Her skills include rubber stamping (which she's been doing for about 18 years), decoupage, card making, crepe paper flowers & "firecracker" boxes. She also makes jewelry - bracelets & necklaces from "found objects" and old re-purposed jewelry. Linda recently learned to solder. She makes boxes & frames that she decorates with shells & sand. Last summer, she learned to do mosaics (which was a life long dream) and enjoyed it very much.


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Linda's main focus is making and selling greeting cards and envelopes utilizing everything from old photocopies photographs, lace, antique buttons, collage, rubber stamping, old sheet music and just random things that she finds. In the past few months she started selling her cards and has sold about 200 cards at $5.00 each. Her goal is to use up all the supplies she's collected!


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Every year, Linda participates in the "Dia de Los Muertos" in her area. This Mexican celebration means "Day of the Dead" and is a day to remember & honor our ancestors. This year running from November - December 2008, Linda is proud to be part of an exhibit called "Columbarium" at the Oakland Museum in Oakland CA. She is currently working on a piece of art for the exhibit.


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Linda is always busy cutting or gluing something. She has a room in her home that is dedicated to her crafting and she spends a lot of her time organizing it and says her biggest challenge is keeping everything in its place!


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Linda - I want to thank you for your friendship those first few days at my new job. You made it a lot easier to get through it! I'm so glad that I got to know you and learn about your art.

If you want to contact Linda to inquire about her cards you may email her at LMarglon@gmail.com