*a bit of serendipity*

Vanessa's Second Annual Mad Tea Party

Vanessa is hosting her Second Annual Mad Tea Party today.  Last year I started the party off with roses for Miss Vanessa, our wonderful hostess, so I thought I would do the same this year.

I had so many ideas for this tea party, but finally decided to go with a modern day Mad Tea Party.

The hostess is the Queen of Hearts.

This image I used is Cate Blanchett taken for a Vogue photo shoot.  The photographer is the amazing Irving Penn.  The incredible dress was designed by Nicolas Ghesquiere.

Cupcakes are being served.

I must add an enormous thank you to my mom and sister who helped me with the preparations.  My sister ended up decorating all of these cupcakes while I was working on my collages.

The two pictures below have a different top cupcake than the photos above.  My sister didn't think they were worthy of the top spot, but I love them, so I thought I'd share them with you.

You can tell that's a crown, right?

And the Mad Hatter is joining us.  

Alice is on her way, but she's not quite ready yet.

Have a little tea, and be sure to visit all of the other tea parties.

Links to all of the other participants can be found on Vanessa's blog.

Once again, thank you Vanessa for hosting such an incredible event.

El's Big One Six

We recently celebrated my nephew's 16th birthday.  Pool party and BBQ at my sister's house.  We all had so much fun.

My sister and the birthday boy...love them.

Playing chicken...

 

 

My cousins ~ I adore them...

 

Look at those eyes...

 

And this face...

 

How much fun is he having...

This was a game they were playing where everyone had to hide their eyes and count to 10.  He was taking it very seriously...

 

And this little guy, yikes I adore him...

Charm Bracelet Round Robin

I'm a member of a Marie Mail Art Group with a really fun and talented group of artists.  There is always all kinds of amazing swaps, challenges etc., going on in the group.  The latest one I decided to participate in is a charm bracelet round robin.  Each person makes her own starter bracelet and adds a few charms of her own.  Then the bracelet gets sent to the next person in the group and they add a few charms, etc.

I thought I would show before and after shots of my bracelet.  The photo below is of my bracelet and the charms I've added, before I sent it off to the first person.

I'll post another photo when I receive my finished bracelet.

If you'd like to see some really beautiful work from some of the members in the group, you can visit the group's flickr pool here.

A Lovely Blog Award

I received the most wonderful blog award from my sweet friend April of the artchics.  Thank you so much April, I am honored! XOXO!

After receiving the award, the recipient is to pass on the award to 7 blogs of their choice.  I will be back soon with 7 blogs I love.

In the meantime, be sure to visit April, and also her daughter Bella, who just started her own blog Fuzzy Snails ~ she has got to be one of the cutest little girls on the planet!

The Little French Flea Market

My mom, sister and I went to a great little flea market this past weekend.  It was very small (maybe 20 to 30 vendors max), but it was on the grounds of a gorgeous place called the Hidden Chateau Gardens.  For someone born and raised in Los Angeles it was interesting to find such a beautiful place so close, that none of us had ever heard of.  Apparently this chateau was built by an old silent movie actor.

Just walking around the grounds was worth the visit, but the little flea market was an added bonus.  It was all very quaint...they served complimentary snacks and coffee, they had tables, chairs and benches set out on a patio with blankets and pillows and lots of different home decor magazines to browse through.

Thought I'd share a few photos.

I saw this necklace there and fell in love with it.  The other pieces I picked up from the little flea market on Melrose and Fairfax a couple of weeks ago.

And this lamp I also picked up at the Little French Flea Market.  I had to have it ~ you can't tell from the photos, but in addition to the lightbulb on top, there is also a lightbulb underneath her skirt, so when it's turned on the skirt glows.

Can you see the possibility?

The chipping on her nose looks kind of severe in this last photo, but it's actually very superficial.  Doesn't she have a beautiful face?

I don't know how often this flea market takes place, but if you're interested in going, I'm sure you can get the information from Hidden Chateau Gardens.

Marie Antoinette Canvas Swap II

Here's a few photos of the canvas I made for Gina in Maria's swap I posted about below.

A couple close-up shots.

 

Maria, thank you so much for hosting such a fun swap.

Marie Antoinette Collage Swap

I wanted to share photos of the collage I received from Gina Smith of Lilly*s of London*ish from the swap hosted by Maria Rodarte of The Junkk Drawer.  Maria's idea was that everyone start with an 8 x 10ish canvas and divide it into 12 squares, then collage each square with something Marie related.  My swap partner Gina asked up front if she could work "outside of the lines" a little bit, of course my answer was yes.  This is the beautiful canvas she created.  There are indeed 12 sections, just not exactly square...it turned out wonderful.

Below are a few close-ups of some of the amazing pieces Gina included.

Thank you again Gina, I love it.

La Petite Maison Blanc ~ The Swaps

All I can say about the swaps I was in, is WOW!  Everyone went all out and created some absolutely beautiful pieces.  I'll first show you the things I received.

One of the swaps was the Key to My Heart Swap hosted by Joanna.  Everyone was to decorate a small canvas using whites, ivories and creams, and we had to include a skeleton key somewhere on the canvas.  This is the gorgeous canvas I received from Cheryl Stoneham.

Thank you so much Cheryl, I ADORE it!  And the saying you chose is SO perfect.  I have this up in my bedroom and I love it there.

Another swap was Miss Jessi's Petite Canvas Altered House Swap.  We were to start with a very small canvas...approx. 3x3 or 4x4, and collage it with an altered house.  This adorably sweet canvas was made by Rebecca Gawryl.  The colors she chose are so pretty ~ the flowers out front, the picket fence, love love love it.

Rebecca, thank you very much...every time I look at it, it makes me happy.

The next swap was the Spring Maiden Crown Swap hosted by Bryanna.  This is the amazing crown I received from Jody Bradshaw (I don't think she has a blog).

Jody, you did such an amazing job with this.  I know my photo isn't capturing the incredible beauty of it, but it really is so beautiful, thank you so very much!

The last swap I was in was the Parisian Shadowbox Swap hosted by Jenny Morgan (I don't think Jenny has a blog either). This shadowbox was made by Bryanna.  I'm going to post a few photos of this spectacular shadowbox because it's so unusual that one photo couldn't show you all of it.  As you will see from the photos, it is just that...spectacular.  Les Follies Bergere.  She made the shadowbox out of a coffee can.  The door to the inside was cut in the shape of a key hole.

Bryanna, I can't thank you enough.  I know how much time, effort and creativity went into this, and I hope you know I appreciate every bit of it, and I absolutely LOVE it.  Thank you!

Here are photos of the swap items I made.

The Spring Maiden Crown swap.

 

The Petite House Swap.

The Key to My Heart Swap.

    

And the Parisian Shadowbox Swap.

Thanks again to all of my partners, and a final thank you to Kim ~ a fabulous hostess!

La Petite Maison Blanc ~ The Workshops

Just a heads up that all of my workshop projects from Kim's event are still a work in progress.  I'll post some pictures now, and more when they are finished.

The first workshop was Pam Garrison's garland.  I loved the class and loved the idea.  And Pam is so unbelievably nice. 

There's so many variations you can do with this garland.  A pastel colored one for Easter or maybe a red, white and blue one for the 4th of July...etc.

About three sections in, I realized I really wanted to use some papers I had at home...specifically a polka dot paper by Jenni Bowlin that I love.   So, I just made a few sections and saved the rest for home.

This is what I have so far ~ I will show more when it's finished.

The next workshop was Amy Hanna's canvas.  I hadn't taken a workshop with her before and she is adorable.  Once again, I didn't finish the project (noticing a trend?).  And it had nothing to do with the length of the class, many people finished some absolutely gorgeous projects during the class.  No, it's all me. 

On this project, I spent waaaay too much time painting the surface of the canvas.  I know you're looking at the background and thinking hmmmm, not much there...but it didn't start out being that soft light color...is was first a dark brown, and then a light brown, and then a medium brown and then this.   Yeah,  I was having a problem making up my mind.

This is as far as I got on that day.

The girls at my table were asking me where I got the beautiful necklace I used.  Funny enough it was at a tiny flea market I love, only a few minutes from where the event was held (Melrose and Fairfax).  Again, I will post more photos when I'm finished.

The last workshop was with the fabulous Teresa McFayden ~ making one of her beautiful milagros.  Mine isn't picture ready yet, but soon.

All of the teachers are absolutely amazing ~ they are all so talented and creative, and incredibly warm and kind.  If you haven't had a chance to take a workshop with any of them yet...it's so worth it!

La Petite Maison Blanc ~ The Hostess

This past weekend was Kim's event ~ La Petite Maison Blanc.  I can't begin to tell you how wonderful it was.  If you haven't been to one of her events, I highly recommend it.  I have so much to show, so I'll break it up into a couple of posts. 

This first post is dedicated to the talent and creativity that is Miss Kim.

This adorable poster is the first thing we saw when walking in the door.

The event was in the loft, so we took stairs up to it.  On the first landing was this beautiful chair and pillow.  So simply perfect!

Then up another small flight of stairs and at that landing, was this.  I know.

Inside the loft, there were so many beautiful decorations throughout.

This was so pretty...I couldn't get a decent shot with the light coming from behind, and I'm not sure Kim would have liked me rearranging her setup just so I could get my shot. (actually, I'm sure she wouldn't have minded at all).

The room had Pam's garland hanging all around.  It's gorgeous ~ and I was so glad it was one of the classes.

And this chandelier, by Kristen Robinson, was hanging in the room as well ~ beautiful!

Then at our tables...

The box is filled with all kinds of wonderful trim, lace, buttons, etc., for us to use in our projects that day, or to just take home with us.

Every detail was taken into consideration...even the name tags.

You can see by the itinerary below, there were so many things planned for the day.  I'll post again on the incredible classes that were held, and all of the swaps that took place.

A few things I didn't get a picture of ~ the gorgeous white rose centerpiece on each table, the afternoon tea and dessert table, and even the beverage station...they were all stunning!  Oh yeah, and the vendor tables ~ filled with art from some of the most talented ladies around.

Coming up:

La Petite Maison Blanc ~ The Workshops.

and 

La Petite Maison Blanc ~ The Swaps.

 

Thank you Kim for an amazing one-of-a-kind day!