Once Upon A Tray

What a nice surprise I got in the mail today!!

 After 5 days of the California Gift Show,  I am exhausted!

It was an amazing show, my displays were well received and I nearly sold out.

Have already signed up for the January Gift Show.

Oh, how I LOVE this venue.

Anyway, back to the mail.

Received the newest issue of Somerset Home.

In it is my article about my Display trays that I have

been building for the past 3 years.

I LOVE this issue!

Hooray to Editor,  Beth Livesay for such a beautiful issue!!!

Plus a big thank you for having my article!

Just wanted also to say thank you to all of my friends and bloggers

who have sent me emails, texts, prayers and support

recently regarding the trials my family is currently having with Addiction.

It is such a blessing to have such wonderful people in my life

and the Gift Show yielded not only wonderful sales and new clients,

but new friendships as well.

Much Love to you all...now run out and buy this magazine...

it is FULL of fabulous Ideas!!

XO,

Lisa

Truth

Blogs are mostly full of pretty & Rosy pictures,

creative ideas and uplifting stories about Life, Art and Love.

Well, today...not so much.

5 of the last 7 days have been the hardest in my life so far, 

along with watching my 2nd husband lie in a CCU for 7 days before he died.

One of my family members has a serious addiction.  An addiction that can take his life.

How hard it is to watch firsthand a person you love more than your own life basically

almost throw their entire life away over a drug.

You suddenly realize how little else matters, that you will do anything, 

give anything to get this person better.

This person is now someplace he needs to be to get help, but

with addiction or life for that matter, there are no guarantees.

I am suppose to do a Trade Show this weekend, The California Gift show.

Over a month of hard work, thousands of dollars spent, 

lots of anticipation and excitement I had for this event.

Losing 5 days of work has not only sent me behind on my time line of preparation, but even

more than that, all of the joy of creating has been robbed from my soul.

As I stood in my studio yesterday, for the first full day after what was truly 5 days of

a living nightmare, in this place I considered my Sanctum...

looking around at everything, I found no joy in any of it.

None of it matters.  It could all just disappear and I wouldn't care.

So, here I sit, eyes full of tears, a lump in my throat and cup of coffee in hand, 

trying to muster the energy to see this thing through.

I am sharing this with you not because I want your pity,

only to know that if you have gone through this

or do go through this, it is OK to share the experience.

It is OK to feel the emotion.

It is LIFE and no one is immune from it's trials.

So, I will trudge through, get done what I can and on a wing and a prayer

basically "Wing" this show, hoping to at least make some of my $ back,

because, yes...I need the money.

Which seems so trite because

after all, we can't really put a price on a life.

Much Love my friends.

Nature Break in my Backyard

It is a GLORIOUS overcast and cool morning today...decided to take coffee & tablet to back yard and plan my day.  However, was distracted by a hummingbird bathing in the droplets of water on the leaves of one of my rosebushes.

Which led me to grab my camera.

Although, I was unsuccessful at capturing the hummingbird in a photo, I wandered the yard shooting pics of other things.

May you enjoy a slice of my world...

Strawberry in my bicycle basket.

Fairy size flowers from a blooming succulent.

Gorgeous pink trumpet flowers.

Love this iron bicycle.

This Fat little male sparrow and his mate nest in my attic each year.

He is valiantly trying to get her attention all day long until he succeeds and they raise another batch of chicks.  I think they raise at least 4 groups of chicks, one after another until fall.

The moisture on everything intensifies the colors.

Another dreamy succulent in bloom.

Sweet trumpet flowers again.

Water droplets are dreamy to me...

The contrasting colors of the tomatoes got me to take this picture.

After 9 years of living here, this volunteer grape vine that grows and dies each year is yielding it's first cluster of grapes.  Rancho Cucamonga was once nothing but vineyards until they destroyed it all to build houses.  Probably an old vine from way back.

Pretty Petunia...

The graduating color on the Fern is lovely.

Sweet alyssium pops up here and there every year.

Off to the studio...may you all have a lovely Tuesday!

xo,

Lisa

Parasol Break!

Yesterday I spent all day with Rita Reade of Mammabellarte creating a long awaited crown for a class we are teaching together.  It was  LONG day and Rita spent several hours finishing it at her Studio today with components we were out of yesterday here in my studio.

Click my Classes tab at the top of my blog for more info.

Today, Emily and I decided we had to make this lantern idea that was emailed to me through Etsy yesterday....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck69TvG3xnQ&feature=youtu.be

It took almost 2 hours and we chose a large 20 inch lantern.

We just love it.  It is whimsical, light and colorful.

All of the things our Home does not lack.

Color and art are everywhere!

I found the Etsy Video to be a little over simplified.

For example.  The vid shows the last step to be trimming the hold where the light goes in.

Actually, trim that after you glue the first row at the top.

I placed my hand on the interior of the lantern and pushed the 

hot glued tip through the paper. I felt this holds it to the lantern better.

I also used a little more hot glue than it calls for, putting some on all of the splines 

at the center underside nib.

The lanterns are available at Pier One and Ikea.  

They are cheaper at Ikea, but are on sale for 20% off at Pier One.

I purchased three 24 packs of 6 inch paper parasols at Party City.

At the end of the project 13 were left over...but you might use less if you choose

a smaller lantern.

For me the project was about $16 since I had the light kit already.

Fun project to do with your daughter this summer.

Put it under a Gazebo in the garden for summer outdoor evenings or hang it in your studio or daughter's room.  Ours is above the dining table...for now!

Would make a darling grouping too with other lanterns.

Have a GREAT weekend!

Oh, I feel like a terrible blogger.  It has been WEEKS since I last posted.

The past several weeks, I have been working like a Mad Woman.

(madder than usual)

The Gift show is two weeks away and I am frantically pulling

it together.

This is undoubtedly the largest undertaking I have done and of course I want it to be PERFECT

and be totally prepared...hence my absence in Bloglandia.

Spending Most waking hours in my Studios.

I did however, manage to work on my Dream Board....remember from a few posts back?

It was fun cutting words out and seeing where they took me.

Most of the Dream Boards I have seen have pictures, sentences or words.

Things that inspire.

I am eternally inspired by the written word...in lyrics as well as literature.

But I decided to create clouds out of my words and phrases...

a visual reminder that these should be my thoughts...

Positive, uplifting, goal oriented...affirmations more like it.

Thought Clouds.

The thought clouds are only tacked on.

I can move them, make more or whatever.

Happy that I unblocked myself in doing this and gearing up for The Gift Show.

Hope to post again before the show, but please forgive me if I don't.

Much Love to you all and hope you are having a pleasant summer and surviving the HEAT!

XO,

Lisa