Its TAX TIME!! Need I say more...

How come TAX is not a 4 letter word!  

Can't tell you how many hours I have put in on that job. 

I didn't want to keep track - just GET-R-DONE.

 I am almost there, appointment monday morning to make sure I do GET_R DONE.  

Yesterday my sweet lady friends took me to lunch 

at the Oyster Bar in the Orleans 

and then we went to see Joyful Noise. Great movie!! 

Yes, it is a feel good chick flick. 

We all broke out the tissues several times and again at the end. 

I am so fortunate to have friends like this, 

I am counting my blessings this morning. 

A little humorous aside: 

Because we all had ice tea or water with our meal

a trip to the restroom was in order before the movie started.  

Teresa and I entered the nearest one on the way to our movie location.

It is a little dark in the halls of the movie theater so

wearing my prescription sunglasses doesn't work well. 

Semi blind and babbling away we went right into the stalls. 

I was remarking how nice it was to go to a week day matinee 

because I could actually get a toilet that had just been cleaned, 

the seat still up. 

When I came out of the stall, 

Teresa had that "shocked look" 

like the E trade commercials baby!.

I looked from her face to the wall with all the urinals lined up.

and said:

"OMG we are in the Men's room!" 

Barbara and Gert were outside and hadn't noticed either.

We came out laughing so hard. 

There were two men

waiting out there to go in. 

Thank God I talk too much. 

They must have heard me babbling and identified my gender.  

If they hadn't heard my voice they probably would have come in 

and wow- how awkward that would have been. 

I had the best Giggle Fit I have had in a long, long time.

We even had to stop walking because we were laughing so hard it hurt!

You kind of needed to be there. 

The Birthday party -"awesome"-

This event "PRICELESS"!!  

Today is my birthday- # 57 so of course I am 39 again.

  My daughter is taking me out for lunch and shopping for my gift.  

I actually don't know what I want right now.  

I am going to walk my dog and think about it. 

 Have a great week-end. 

Heather

Does Anyone Know where this month went?

WHAT it's Saturday?

Oh my, January is over and I barely even knew it was here.  

Whew!!

Life just moves too fast for me sometimes.

I didn't post last week, well 

because I didn't get to take any pictures due to "crappy weather" 

and 

I just didn't feel like posting without pictures. 

Today I took a wonderful silk painting class through my quilt guild: The Desert Quilters of Nevada 

with a wonderful teacher-

 Linda Schmidt who makes fabulous art quilts and wearables. 

 It was fun and the colors are so vibrant!! 

But when I got home it was already dark so - - -

no pictures...  

I will hopefully get some taken this week. 

What I need to accomplish that - Will the whole world please 

S - - - L - - - O - - - W    D - - - O - -  -W - - - N ! ! ! ? ? ?

(Close your eyes and imagine my voice two octaves lower recorded in very slow motion)

I am working on the dreaded taxes for my Aquariart Business.  

Queen of procrastination 

I have the whole entire year to catch up on- 

I bought Quickbooks in July but even with phone help for 2 months 

it is so darned (I will not share my potty mouth version) complex 

I decided not to use it for last year, 

hopefully I will learn it and use it for 2012. 

I had a job interview friday and may be going back to work full time within the next 2 weeks- YIKES!!!

I don't even have good clothes to wear to work anymore. 

I am both excited and scared to death!! 

More about that later.

My oldest daughter's birthday is Monday and her gift has been back ordered- Grrrrrr!

My birthday is Saturday and then there is the Super Bowl 

with our fabulous Patriot's attending on Sunday!! 

I haven't done a challenge for Art Beads in 3 months, 

I haven't uploaded pictures to Flickr since October! 

I haven't read all my favorite blogs 

and have missed two posts this month 

BUT

I have been completing work for our annual Quilt Show here in Vegas which happens in March. 

Again, I will hopefully find time to take some pictures.  

So, this is my lengthy apology for no luscious pictures you can drool over this week.  

Hope you all are having a little easier time with time management and weather. 

Fingerless Glove Winner!

Thank you to all the readers who entered my 

Two Year Blog Anniversary Giveaway!

I put your names on little sticky notes- 

folded them shut and put them in this container 

with the cover on, 

shook them up and 

had my husband do the honors.

The backgrounds in these two pictures are some of the new tiles he brought home for me to photograph on.  Don't you just love the river rock.  I am so inspired by that I am planning a mixed media mosaic project to use them in.  

He chose a little orange sticky with Cyndi L's name on it!!  

Congratulations Cyndi!! 

Cyndi L is the creator of SEVEN BLOGS, 

• Mixed Media Artist
• Beading Arts
• 2012 Bead Journal Project
• 08BJP
• Real Food Fast!
• BLOG # 1 Bead Journal Project 2011
• Bead Journal Project 3

wow,

 I have no idea how she can keep up with all that. 

My favorites are 

the Mixed Media Artist and Beading Arts. 

Be sure to check them out. 

She has lots of interviews, technique tutotials, great inspirational material, 

contests, giveaways, reviews ... in her blogs. 

Cyndi will now have the warmest hands while she taps her keyboard 

madly creating these wonderful sites wearing my luxurious wine red fingerless gloves. 

This week I put my foot down and chose not to participate in the 5th Bead Soup Blog Hop because my local quilt guild- Desert Quilters of Nevada 

(we have a new website!!)

is having their annual show in March and 

the entry deadline is January 27th. 

I am determined to finish a UFO from 2007. 

(I didn't get to photograph the pieces in time, dead battery, 

so I will put up pictures of this work in progress next week)

This is a pieced vest I started in a class with Rachel Clarke that year.  

It was a wonderful class where we not only learned lots of piecing techniques 

like the curved flying geese 

but also how to custom fit and alter our pattern. 

 I am not sure this vest will still fit me 

but my goal is to finish it and lose the extra pounds that don't fit in it by March 

so I can model it in the Quilt Show Fashion Show.  

 I have 8 weeks- Yikes!! 

I also need to finish up several art quilts I will enter.  

This is my most recent piece, yet to have a name.

 

My Art Quilts ect Circle has a monthly challenge.  January was "Feathers".

My mind became obsessed with wings and so an angel was born, 

hovering over a lake with her tears (swarovsky crystals) causing ripples.

I free motion stitched the angel then thread painted on her hair and wings

before I added the background pieces.

 I have found that doing so with stabilizer and no backing fabric works best on my machine.

So the back of the quilt does not show the mess that the thread painting makes 

and the quilt top doesn't shrink and pucker either. 

The base fabrics for the angel were two shades of monochromatic marbled fabrics.

I added paint to make the left wing come forward- pearl white and silver 

and mixed pearl white and black to get several shades of grey 

and black sharpie to make the right wing receed. 

The trees were a very happy mistake- 

they puffed a lot as I was quilting over them so I purposefully stopped.

That puffiness and the different shades of green in the batik fabric 

are what makes them look so three dimensional. 

It is amazing what a little paint on multicolored batiks can do 

to create depth and the shimmer that water has. 

It is amazing what a little paint on multicolored batiks can do 

to create depth and the shimmer that water has. 

 Next time I will take before and after (the painting) pictures so you can see what a difference

purposefully applied paint and marker can make in a landscape. 

I had to change the sky so that the brightest part was around my focal point. 

The fabric I used for the sunset sky was wonderful but had random bright spots 

that pulled a little too strongly away from the focal point. 

 Next time I will take before and after (the painting) pictures so you can see what a difference

purposefully applied paint and marker can make in a landscape. 

I had to change the sky so that the brightest part was around my focal point. 

Here is a shot of the back where the water is, allowing you to see the free motion stitches.

I want this art quilt to induce a calming effect on the viewer so I think I am finished.

No more embellishing pizazz or glitz on this one. 

Hope you all have an artfully productive week too, that is my plan. 

Heather

My second publication!!

Got some publication Mojo again!!

It is very exciting and rewarding 

to have your work appreciated and published. 

My "Ophelia Cuff" is pictured on page 39 

of the January/February Issue of Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine.  

I was one of 5 finalists 

in the Mixed Media Jewelry Category 

of the Artisan 2012 Contest!

Yes this makes me 

"Do a Little Dance"! 

I was not told which piece was chosen for the publication 

which added a little surprise for me when I received it in the mail. 

You can read more about the making of my Cuff  HERE  + HERE.

I took a little breather from everything 

except my family during the holidays, 

it just felt like a good time to pause, rest and regroup.

Now I feel rejuvenated and ready to press on.

My goal for this year is to send in more submissions 

and keep creating in all the medias I love. 

I have been thinking about trying out different venues 

for selling my work.  

I would love input from any of you, 

willing to share your experiences with other sites. 

Email me if you don't want to comment (outloud) below. 

January 10th will be  

"My Muse's" 2nd year anniversary.

The journey began on Jan 10th 2010 

when I dared to reach out into cyber space 

and share my life and art with 

"I didn't know who"

 to 

having 115 fabulous followers and friends today.

Because of this blog 

I have connected with so many talented and generous artists 

and 

have found many great opportunities and sources of inspiration

like the Art Bead Scene Blog Challenges, 

The Bead Soup Hops, Bead Table Wednesday, Creative Everyday, Flicker, Picnik, Pinterest, Etsy.... 

I could go on and on but I will spare you.

I am so grateful that I am having a 

"2012 Celebration Giveaway"

You could become the proud owner of 

this lovely pair of knitted fingerless gloves. 

Grape Lacy Knitted Fingerless Gloves by Aquariart

I assure you they are stretchy, stylish, soft and luxurious

made with Berroco Lustra 

a 50% peruvian wool/ 50%Tencel (Rayon) blend yarn. 

All you need to do is 

1- comment below 

and 

2- tell one friend about this giveaway. 

and

3- have that friend comment here too. 

I will randomly choose a winner on Saturday Jan 14th 

so come on back to see if you won!!  

Happy New Year to Everyone !!

Heather

One of many pairs....

It has been wonderful to have a model for my wearable fiber items.

Have to say everything looks better on a person. 

I am so fortunate to have found Riana, 

a bubbly young woman who enjoys being photographed 

and playing dress up with all my creations.

Here is one more design and I have a brand new one I will add later. 

I am waiting for the sun to come up so I can photograph my new

Crocodile Stitch Fingerless Gloves.  

This Purple and Green Variegated Pair is made with 

Soy yarn, very soft to the touch. 

I am completely baffled by the problem I had last week 

uploading pictures and the error message from google.  

Seems like everything is back to normal today.  

Perhaps my little fairy, Nadine has been playing with my Blog at night?@!

I was so focused on my Artist's Boutique that Christmas has snuck up on me again this year. 

 I think I missed the deadline for shipping things in time for the holiday

BUT

I am going to keep listing new items as I edit my photos.

Do you have a friend who loves handmade items 

but you are not sure what to choose for them?

Let them choose their own gift!

I am having a special on Gift Certificates in my etsy shops this week. 

Buy a $10 gift certificate for a gift and get $5 off any item you purchase.

Buy a $25 gift certificate and get $10 off any item you purchase. 

Buy a $50 gift certificate and get $20 off any item you purchase. 

OR

you can convo me with special orders and choose your favorite colors. 

I have lots of gloves I haven't photographed yet- ask me about those- 

hopefully they will get done tomorrow morning.  

The elves had to watch the Patriots Game today!! 

Yay Pats! 

Have a wonderful week - Heather

To Blog or not to Blog....

The Good news-

First of all I chose a winner- 

Beth from EB Metalworks shared her inspiration thoughts 

and won the crochet cuff in my Giveaway last week.  

Congrats to Beth!! 

The Bad News-

Now I have fiddled all morning with Google conversations 

trying to figure out why I suddenly got a message 

saying I have reached my storage limit 

and can no longer upload pictures.  

This is very frustrating and really google, 

shame on you !

in this economy you decide to take advantage of your customers 

with no notice and suddenly require payment for extra storage.  Especially right now during the holiday season-

 Bah Humbug!! 

If anyone has more info about how to rectify this situation 

please get in touch with me.  

For now I have to leave you with a pictureless post.  

I have officially nicknamed 

Google -

 "The Grinch"!! 

Weather or Not...

Due to our wonderful Las Vegas windy and cold weather 

I had to reschedule a second photo shoot with Reanna my new model.  

I am hoping the wind will die down for a Monday morning shoot.  

I am behind listing new items on Etsy because they look so much nicer on a human being. 

(And especially one without goose neck and age spots for sure!!)

I can't wait to show you my new boa scarves made with a 

a really wonderful new yarn Bodega by Trendsetter Yarns.

Here is a peek at the yarn.

I had a wonderful surprise this week, 

an email from Barb Delaney, assistant editor for Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine.

She notified me that she was returning my Mixed Media Jewelry entries

 for the 2012 Artisan Search for which I was chosen as a finalist

and that they had photographed one piece to include in the Jan 2012 issue. 

This is my second publication this year- so exciting!! 

I can't wait to receive my magazine!! 

I don't know which one they chose. 

These were my entries:

My "Ophelia Cuff" inspired by the Art Bead Scene Challenge based on a painting - "Ophelia" by Redon

"Peacock Necklace"-Inspired by Nature; Feathers Challenge presented by Humblebeads 

"Woodland Fairy Bib Necklace"- Inspired by Nature- Forest Floor Challenge - Humblebeads

"Woodland Fairy Cuff"- Inspired by Nature Challenge- Humblebeads

I want to thank the Art Bead Scene staff and Heather Powers at Humblebeads 

for providing the challenges that inspired me to create these pieces. 

Where do you get your inspiration? 

I just finished reading an article in the new Polymer Arts Magazine by 

Christi Friesen about Creativity.  

She is spot on with her advice on how to get inspired and stay inspired.

How do you tap or feed your creative nature?

Send me your ideas in a comment 

and I will enter you in this

  GIVEAWAY. 

One of a Kind Crocheted Winter White
with Red-Orange Flower and Green Leaves Cuff

I will randomly choose a winner next Saturday, Dec 10th 

and ship it in time for the holidays! 

The white yarn is part elastic so it stretches to fit 6 to 8 inch wrists.

Get your comments in by Friday Dec 9th at midnite!! 

I also want to thank all my new customers 

who made my sales at the Artist's Boutique the best I have had so far!! 

I hope you all enjoy your new hats, scarves, fingerless gloves and cuffs. 

Have a Great Week!! 

Heather- Aquariart