a trinket treasury

artistamps bonanza

living over here lately... but will still be posting on this blog too.
but perhaps not as often.

obsessed with artistamps, can't get enough of making them.
drawing, collaging... check out my other blog for others i have created.

way too much fun!
xox

seeing stars

xox

from the letter love files

so much to say... but where to start?

pictures are of my address book: filled with addresses of friends, inspirations, blog chums and pen pals. which leads me to the subject of letters, letter writing and mail art...

i can't call them new obsessions, actually quite the opposite. i have always been in love with anything/everything having to do with these things. but i'm taking them a step further. indulging myself even more, if that's even possible, HA! hee hee!

in the works are:

-another blog dedicated to letter writing, pen pals, mail art
and zine creations called the letter love files

-a zine about my love of letters and mail art (more to come soon)

-a mail art exchange program soon-ish (ooooohhh gonna be fun!)

and

-super awesome mail art kits
which will be eventually for sale at some point...

so this is why i've been delinquent at responding to emails and all around generally forgetting my social interactive nature. my mind is full full full of ideas and not enough time to get it all done. so pleasy please, if i owe you an email be patient with me!!!

xox

sacred hearts and red roses

ever noticed how some images seem to have a special hold over you,
and you're really not too sure why or when it all started?

well roses and hearts have always had a special place for me,
in my life as well as my art...

not too sure where it all came from,
what it all means...

but these images are showing themselves everywhere lately.

some progress with the rose... hearts to come.

and stars. many stars to come.
another favorite image of mine. notice the star orchids too?

xox

my newest loves...

i promised you new art adventures and new adventures you share hear about! hee hee! really though, this summer was THE summer of discovery. it was totally awesome. i played around with new mediums and uncovered little joys that i didn't knew existed dormant in my heart. unearthed new obsessions (did i need any more??? HA!) and endless possibilities of new creative outlets for me.

i have one word for you...

fabric

i know many amazing artists out there in the mixed media world would say this is so old news sista! but i have only just discovered the fabulousness, unlimited potential and fun that is fabric. oh and thread of course. to be honest, working with fabric, sewing and stitching has always kinda intimidated me. so much involved, seaming and needles (yikes!)... but this summer i have discovered some super ultra awesome fabric artists and posts (like here, here and here) that have given me that deep urge to take the leap and experiment with yes... fabric.

hand sewing, embroidering, stitching, dying fabric
i'm all in.

i'm currently working on a sampler, which is best explained here (one of my new fav blogs), and will be posting pics shortly. i want to get a bit more ahead before i unveil my latest craziness on you peeps. hee hee!

but here are a few pics from my very FIRST adventure in fabric and lace dying.

and oh yes, i had too too much fun!!!

 

 

 

this last pic would not for the life of me come out as the colors show up in person. much more red and burgundy than orange and pinky as you see here... weird. i must have taken over a dozen pictures of the same in different lighting to try to get the colors to be more representing. oh well!

as you can see, i'm into the "make it look old and dingy" look. i really couldn't tell you why, but antiquing fabric, creating stains and making it look old and soiled is really lots of fun. can't wait to incorporate these pieces in my sampler.

and that's exactly where i'm off to right now...
to work knee deep in fabric and get all tangled up in thread!!!
ha ha ha!

wishing you a beautiful wednesday
full of inspiration around every corner!!!

peace

sprinkles of magic along a winding path

an enchanted path encountered today...

so the mister, little miss and i have been on some very magical adventures this long weekend. and discovered this awesome little path made of stone that winds and twists for what seems like forever. we were greatly rewarded at the top with some beautiful views and a little ruin of stone walls which the little one deemed a castle. so cute!

i'll be back later this week with the post that i had originally planned for this evening, but i still need to crop and play around with some of the pictures i took... summer art adventure tales are coming!

but i'll leave you with this post from a very fabulous dancing mermaid.
something you might be up for???
i always LOVE a challenge!

see you soon
xox

sp

self-portrait

with tattoos...

be back over the weekend with some

art adventures...

xox

down the path back into blogland

i'mmmmmmmm back!!!

it's totally crazy coo coo how time can just fly by...

back in may, my plan was for just a little blog break, time to just hang out in my studio and do whatever. well time stretched and expanded into a whole summer of hanging with my loves (the mister and little miss) and new awesome discoveries with mediums that i never would have dreamed to love as much as i do now... more on that next posty post.

and now i've returned. to get caught up and share once again the beauty of being creative with all of you out there...

xox

ps. silly me. yep that arm is mine and the henna design is one of the first tattoos i got back in the spring. since then i'm hooked. decorating my world through my art as i am now on my body. a little more painful than painting regular canvases i agree, but totally awesome. more of my tattoo pics to come...

mantra wednesday??? + a media cleanse

i

am

brave

and so are you...

once again i'm a teenie tiny bit late with my mantra monday post... you see i've been debating. thinking things over, through and through. and i've decided to take a short bloggy blogland break. for a month or so, not too long. and actually i'll be taking a bit of a break from all media... a media cleanse if you will.

there are so many things that i feel like i don't have the time to really get into lately: some paintings sitting around waiting to be completed, some fun projects i've been eager to get my hands into, my yoga practice (eeeks!!!). and so i think a bit of time locked up in my studio instead of on the computer or watching tv... you know how it goes...

but i won't be too long...

i'll miss you too...

as for my mantra mondays, i'll still be creating my mantra cards and if you have been creating them too i so so SO encourage you to continue. i'll have a big catch up mantra monday post when i re-emerge in blogland this summer and we can check out what affirmations have been manifested through art in my bloggy absence.

for this week, here are some awesome mantra cards created by my favorite mantra monday contributors!!! thanks you two!!! and if you would like to share your mantra creations as well, simply link your post to the comment section below...

click on the links to see the contributors mantra card post:

serena "i am going with the flow"

and

sema "joy fills my heart and blesses my life"

awesome affirmations!!!

have a super fabulous month of may and see you soon...
take good care

peace
and
love

jennlui

xox

mantra monday

this is a new day

i am a new me

every single day offers us unlimited possibilities
to do something we've always wanted to do
to achieve something we never thought possible
or to simply enjoy the day quietly from the comfort of our sacred spaces

every day we are presented with the opportunity to begin again...

"each morning we are born again,
what we do today is what matters most."
-buddha

check out this awesome post by the fabulous dancing mermaid

i think her post is so on the spot when she says that we could so benefit from chosing a mantra or affirmation that we actually believe in and can work with. no sense putting ourselves down and repeating words that don't have truth within our hearts... sometimes rearranging a word or two can make a word of a difference in how you see an affirmation and how it resonates within your being.

and now this is me playing catch up with this week and last week's mantra monday contributors!!! thanks you two for playing with me!!! if you've created a mantra card and want to share it with us, leave me a comment in the comment section below with the link to your mantra monday post!!! yiipppeeee!!!

here is sema with her super fabulous mantra for this week where she combines two of my favorite things... mantras and mandalas!!! hee hee!!! and her affirmation for the week before, which i find is such an important one, enjoying the doing and the way of getting to our goals... enjoying the process. yay mantra magic!!! thank you sema!!!

and the wonderfully talented serena presents us with a very awesome mantra for this week - seeing and choosing joy in our everyday moments... and her mantra card for last week really touched me, as i have for as long as i can remember struggled with the feeling that i wasn't making a "big enough" difference in the world... as you might have read in this post as well as others. this card by serena reminds me that we truly can make a positive difference just by being ourselves and never underestimating the small gestures... thank YOU serena!!! such a beautiful mantra to keep close to our hearts!!!

aannndddd...

the winner of the goddess mantra card

is...

by random number generator spectacular

is...

hee hee!!!

kim the queen of arts!!!

yay yay yay!!!

pleasy please email me your mailing address kim!!!
congrats!!!

more fabulous mantra giveaways to come!!!

have an awesome mantra monday!!!
peace and love
xox