Art by Debbie Saenz

Lots to Share...

I can't believe it's been this long since I've been around here to write. It's not for lack of anything to share, that's for sure. In fact, I've been so busy I've had to lay my blog aside for a while. 

• I've been designing lots of projects for Plaid. (Bummer! I can't show you those until after Plaid publishes them). 
• We had a wonderful visit with my mom.
• I had my first ever art show with a friend of mine who was so sweet to share half of her booth with me. 
• I have new paintings getting ready to make their way into my Etsy Shoppe. Soon, soon, soon!
• And of course, a little travel with my hubby with some, as always, jewelry making on the road :)
• I've been trying lots of new, much more healthy recipes and less processed foods. 
• Oh yea, and everything else in between!

My nephew ordered this for his girlfriend. This is her first year away in college and yes, she's missing her little pup Max. That was sweet of Jonathan to think of this for her. 

I mounted a print of Max  on a piece of wood and added Text to make it special. 

This was a little surprise I made Jonathan to give his girlfriend. I hand stamped a little Max tag and Mod Podged a small picture of Max onto a wood heart and made a keychain. Oh so cute!

It was such a treat to have my mom work in the studio with me. I was able to keep her hands very busy while enjoying her company. She was a huge help in getting ready for my upcoming show... and there was lots to do!  Thanks mom! xo

And then, of course, we had to visit the Yellow Daisy Festival. My daugher and hubby came along too. My mom and I were remembering last year when we went, it was 2 days after I got home from the hospital after having thyroid surgery. I was not in pain this year, but one thing we learned, it's no fun trying to enjoy an outside art featival in the rain! We left very soggy. Ugh!! 

The day finally came for the Suwanee Day Art Festival. I was sad my mom had already gone back home to FL and was not able to be here for my first art show. 

I have new items (You can see some here if you look really close) to list in my Etsy Shoppe. Stay posted and I'll try not to make it a habit of vanishing from Blogsphere for so long next time; and if you are wondering, yes Mod Podge Monday will resume :)

I'm currently working on:

a series of paintings...my goal? 12 paintings by the end of October! so far, 4 down and 8 to go.

I'll show you one at a time as soon as I photographed them. 

 

My New Studio: Paint Shelf is Finished!...and my new friend!

My new art studio is starting to take shape. It's amazing just how much stuff came out of my old studio, the little bedroom upstairs. Now, I'm in the process of reorganizing and giving everything a new home. And that's no small job!

One of my projects was to build a shelf to hold my paints. I wanted it to have lots of shelves, but not too deep. So, I made it myself, and really, I should have built two! 

My other paints will have to be stored in bins. That works anyway since those are paints I don't use too often....like outdoor paints, enamal paints, etc.

It started out with a pile of lumber. The funny thing was I was able to build it in less time it took me to paint it! 

Here's the unfinished shelf before I gave it three coats of paint, distressed it, and then coated it with finishing wax for a nice sheen.

Lots of my paints are practically empty, but I like to use every drop. I cut open the bottle with a razor knife when I can't get more out and then use my brush to lap up the remaining paint that sticks to the sides...which actually it a lot of paint that would otherwise be waisted in the garbage can. 

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Right now, I should be at home working on organizing my studio, but, yes, I had the opportunity to travel with my hubby again. I would be silly to give up that opportunity. Being an empty nester is not so bad afterall! So, I'm back in Charlotte NC after being in Columbia SC yesterday. 

At this very moment, while I'm writing this post, I'm sitting in a really cute little artsy cafe called The Common Market in the SouthEnd of Charlotte. I'm taking a lunch break after soaking up loads of inspiration at local art galleries. Ahh what a blast!!

I just met local artist, John Hairston, who brought in his huge canvas and tub of paints. He set up just 3 feet to my left. So after chatting with him a while I thought I would share his artwork with you here. 

He's getting ready for a solo show called 1962 The Age of Marvels, "Heros Aren't Hard to Find". You can learn more about him on his website,  All City Studios.

 

This is the flyer that hangs on the window The Common Market.

It was fun watching John finish this piece for his upcoming show. I won't be in Charlotte to see his show, but it was neat to meet John and see him in action!

Well, now I'm off to visit a few little antique shops down the street. You never know what might be found for a mixed media piece! I'm gonna go see...

 

Mod Podge Monday: Cake Topper

Last week I made a quinceañera cake. Mariana and her family are good friends so I wanted Mariana's birthday cake to be very special. The room was beautifully decorated with lots of musical notes. Mariana, along with the rest of her family, is blessed with musical talent. It was lovely and looked like a wedding reception!

When I couldn't find a cake topper that worked with my idea, I figured I needed to get my creative juices flowing, so I made one myself. I drew my pattern and cut out the numbers with my handy dandy scroll saw! Yes, then of course, Mod Podge was part of my plan. after sanding like crazy, I painted the edges and back teal, then decoupaged the fronts with pretty blue scrapbook paper. I glued them to an oval plaque and added rhinestones. 

Sparkle Mod Podge, even over the painted parts, always adds pizazz!

I haven't made a tiered cake in a while, not since the days when I was making 2 to 3 wedding cakes a week....that's probably been about 10 years ago. I use a family recipe, Hot Milk cake, which was passed down from my great-grandmother. Yum! Deliciously moist. I put Bavarian cream between the layers.   

I wanted to add lights and musical notes to the cake. My idea? I stuffed a vase with battery operated mini led lights and blue iridescent cellophane grass. I closed the opening with tape and inserted it into I hole I cut out of the middle cake layer. 

The musical note "chandelier" I made using a piece of thin Plexiglas cut into a circle. I made 6 holes evenly around the edges and added beads and musical notes. After lots of brainstorming and looking for musical notes I could hang (which ended up being an unsuccessful search), I decided to make them myself. I bent blue wire into treble clefs. I was able to make them the size I needed and hang them on jump rings. I think it worked perfectly!

I glued the entire "chandelier" part to the vase. But then I had visions of little people bumping the cake table and the cake tumbling down! I needed to figure out a way for the cake to sit securely on top of the vase. Velcro was my answer...I simply glued some velcro strips to the bottom cake plate and to the top of my "chandelier". Wa-la! Perfect! It was secure, but also easy enough to disassemble when it came time to cut the cake.  

I made this plaque to go on the cake table. I Mod Podged hymnal pages to the background and used the same paper for the "M" as I did for the numbers. A few embellishments and sparkle, sparkle! Yes, I used Sparkle Mod Podge on the painted edges and the letter. I sealed the background with Gloss Mod Podge for some contrast.

This was such a special and very fun party! Mariachis, dancing, great food, a pinata, a even lots of family members who flew in from Mexico for this special day! My favorite part was the beautiful ceremony celebrating Mariana's transition from being a little girl to becoming a young lady. She came out in flat shoes and no accessories. After her family members presented her with special symbolic gifts, she was shining with heels, all her accessories and even a new Bible! It was very special!

I must show you the thank yous that were on different tables throughout the room. Cecy, Mariana's mom made them. Chocolate bars wrapped in scrapbook paper with a little hand stamped tag and a pretty bow. They turned out so cute! 

So, next time you need a cake topper, you can make one yourself! Mod Podge to the rescue!

Happy 15th Birthday Mariana! 

My Heart is Moved...Her Name is Shannon...and there is Hope!

Last week I met a beautiful family, the Shpak family, who's hearts long to bring their little girl home. Shannon is living in an orphanage in Bulgaria. Money is the only thing that stands between her and her family. Sad.   

My heart was moved to help...I donated one of my art prints for a fundraiser, which will run until January 18th, to help bring this precious child home to her family. Myself, along with many others, donated handcrafted items to help raise the remaining money for Shannon's adoption through Reece's Rainbow. 

Isn't she beautiful? I love her bright and beautiful smile. Shannon is a Special Needs little girl with Down Syndrome.

There is more to this family's story! Ethan was adopted a year ago. He has Down's Syndrome and a complicated Esophageal Atresia with no hospital that can repair it. He's been to three so far. They are racing against time to try to get him to Boston where they have the only EA/TEF clinic in the world!  

 He's adorable and enveloped in the loving hands of his siblings; but sadly, Ethan's condition has deteriorated since this photo. It's been a long and hard road.

To follow the Shpak family's adoption journey and to participate in Shannon's fundraiser go to:

Faith Set Free

You can find out more about Ethan's story at:

 Little Wonders. 

 

I have donated a print of my Hope painting mounted on wood towards Shannon's fundraiser. I sell these in my Etsy Shoppe.

ok, I know this is not one of my typical "Mod Podge Monday" posts, but hey, it kinda works since I use Mod Podge to mount my prints on wood :) 

Please pray for this family and if your heart is led, allow God to use you by helping them financially...there is Hope and a Future for this little girl...and her brother!

 

Will it be a Boy or a Girl?

No, no, no I'm not pregnant, but I recently went to a baby shower and my friends, the parents, chose not to find out the gender of their baby. I actually like that. My first three were born that way...a total surprise! 

I wanted to make a name banner for the baby's room, but since that would have to wait until after the baby was born, I decided to make this baby blanket to give at the shower.

I figured mint green would be the perfect choice for a baby boy or girl. Soft and snugly with silky satin. 

I made this  gift certificate for the name banner to wrap up with the blankie. I made some fabric flowers with the leftover materials...one I used on a the "sweet Love" tag and the other I made as a flower clip to attach to the package.

Surprise, Surprise!  Brenna Marie was born. A girl, a sweet little girl with a head full of strawberry blond hair! I wish I had a picture to show you. She's adorable! And blessed to be born into such a beautiful, faith filled family! 

Here is her name banner. I just love this paper I found. So sweet and delicate! 

 Sparkle Mod Podge of course! And I had so much fun adding all the embellishments. 

flowers, rhinestones, pearls and ribbons and velvet ric-rac

God Bless little Brenna Marie!

xo ~ xo ~ xo

What about you? Did you or would you prefer to know the gender of your baby before the birth? It sure is tempting and there are many practical reason to find out, but a lot less fun...I think.

Blessings xo,

Debbie

My Story telling Collage

My amazing artist friend, Yvette, from The Charm House, taught a class on how to make ChatterBoards, a story telling collage. So, I just had to join the fun! Last Monday, I spent the entire day at Yvette's beautiful home creating my very own Chatterboard. It was really more like a full day art retreat complete with good food and new friends!

This is my finished piece, a story of love for my hubby. 

 I think all the 3-D embellishments add a special touch.

When we were dating, my hubby would often send me love letters in the mail. I found an envelope that held one of his letters where he had used a sweet love stamp. I carefully tore it out and used it to adorn the bottle I used in my piece. I also added the year we were married below it. My hubby loves it and it now hangs in a special place in our room.

Humm...I'm thinking of several other stories I want to tell. How about you? What would be your theme or story you would tell? 

Love & Blessings xo,

Debbie

So Thankful!

Is your heart thankful today? Everyday? We have so much to be thankful for...if we stop and consider the blessings that God has given us.  

Our family has a Thanksgiving tradition of going around the dinner table telling each other what we're thankful for. It helps us to keep an attitude of gratefulness. Nothing does more to restore contentment and joy than a true spirit of thankfulness. 

I have SO much to be thankful for, what about you?

I made this banner for my friend Laura Otero who I met in an online class by Kelly Rae Roberts. Laura is a marketing genius! Her blog, Strategic Online Marketing offers loads of tips and tutorials. She also has another blog, Dreamy Design Works Jewelry, where she expresses herself creatively by making beautiful jewelry. 

I'm very thankful for Laura's friendship and help. She lovingly and patiently helped me set up my FaceBook business page...and I had lots of questions!  

 I hope your hearts are thankful today and everyday!

~ ~ ~

Enter His gates with thanksgiving,

And His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him;

Bless His name.

 Psalm 100:4

~ ~ ~

Happy Thanksgiving

Love, Debbie xo

AHH! to have the right tools!

I met with the very talented, Dana Ruth, the owner of Atlanta Art Worx, a jewelry and metalsmithing studio located in the Artisan Resource Center in Atlanta, GA. Dana is a metal craft artist who designs and fabricates jewelry. I was in AWE while in her studio which was laden with all the tools to create magnificent metal art!

My reason for contacting Dana? Well, I have this ever-growing collection of vintage brooches, pins, and clip earrings. I needed to know how to correctly remove the backings to be able to incorporate my vintage findings into new pieces of jewelry.

Dana's work can be found in many stores and galleries throughout the country. Here's just a peek of Dana's work:

I love how her work has an industrial feel and look to it.  You can see more of Dana's work here on her website. 

Here are all my new tools!

Dana kindly showed me exactly what I needed and even gave me a lesson! I learned how to properly load a jewelers saw with the right size blade with just the right tension. She taught me about the different files and which ones I needed.

Now my vintage jewelry collection can be revamped into new creations! 

I'll share what I come up with as soon as I can.

Blessings xo,

Debbie

Southern Belles Georgia Bloggers Event

Last Saturday was another fun time with local blogging friends! 

 Marcy did a fabulous job of choosing the location and putting together the whole event.  We gathered at Kelly Kakes, a cute little "girly" restaurant nestled in beautiful historic Roswell, GA.

From left to right, with links to each blog: Hero Mason, Susan McDowell, Janice Young, Jo Ann Rogers, Julie Anne Cooper, Marcy Antle, Kris Hurst, Sharon Kyser, Marilyn Lowry, and me. 

The room was filled with ladies who love to create! We shared a delicious lunch over lovely conversation....chatting about our creative passions, stories, and all the while, inspiring each another with new, fresh ideas for our creative journeys. It's so much fun to get together with such creative souls. We missed those that were not able to join us this time.

We each made a special handmade gift to exchange...there were door prizes too!

Everyone loved this Georgia Blogger girl that Marilyn made!

These sweet earrings were made by Janice and Sharon made this amazing beaded bracelet. The flowers on the other side were a delicate purple. 

I was delighted to receive this angelic gift made by my special friend Susan.  A cigar box beautifully decorated with angels, sheet music, stars, and lots of glitter! 

There were lots of surprises inside the box! A sweet little cloth book to hold Christmas tags and a cloth pouch to hold my glasses. It was so perfect because earlier that morning, when I put my glasses inside my ugly pink plastic pouch, I thought, "I need to do something about this old ugly thing!". Thank you Susan, I already put it to good use!

 

This was the gift that I made to exchange. A Thanksgiving wall hanging. 

I love to use scripture whenever I can! 

Give thanks to the LORD,

for He is good,

His mercy endures forever! 1 Chronicles 16:34

...and I give thanks to the Lord for the lovely time we had together!

Some of us ended our special time together with an afternoon perusing through local antique shops and thrift stores. I think we were all overflowing with creative inspiration and ready to get home and dive right into our beads, paints, papers and fabrics. Our Creative juices were definatly flowing! 

If you love to create and are a blogger who lives in or around Atlanta Georgia, and would like to join us next time, just email me your contact information and I will let you know about our next event! We would love to have you!

Blessings xo,

Debbie

Yellow Daisy Festival

It's that time of year again! I LOVE art and craft fairs and festivals. There's just something exciting about it...the people, the music, the food, but most of all, of course, the assortment of creativity! I enjoy talking to the artists and even seeing some of them in the process of creating right there in their booths. 

This year Pam, my sister-in-law, was able to fly in from South Florida for this exciting weekend. This was our first day at the Yellow Daisy Festival.

I was thrilled to find out that Marian Baker was the featured artist for this year's festival. I spent about a half hour talking with her last year. She is so sweet and down to earth. You can see part of her art it in the banner behind us. 

 More than 400 artists and crafters from 38 States and 2 Countries line the winding path through the woods at Stone Mountain Park.

There was something different for everyone....colorful and fun to

rustic and weathered.

The soothing sounds of Celtic music drifting through the air

  

 Dishes, vases, and other glass findings created into votive candle yard decorations. Beautiful!

Talk about creative! This was hilarious with so many really cool creations using recycled junk. 

 

I loved these water falls.

 These girls put on an amazing clogging show!

Here we are at the end of day 2 with my daughter Sarah and our friend June.

There was so much creativity to see! Beautiful pottery, gorgeous jewelry and lots and lots of unique creations. My favorite part of these festivals is the inspiration I get. Have you ever heard of an inspiration headache? Well, I certainly have one with the heavy dose of inspiration this past weekend...now I can't wait for some studio time! 

My hope and prayer is that next year I'll have a booth at the Yellow Daisy Festival!

I know I need to work on one thing though....FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS! 

Sometimes my mind wonders in 100 different directions... 

If any of you are creative souls, what do you do to focus? I would love to hear about it!

Blessings xo,

Debbie