Chel in the Land of ZNE

Do frogs eat bees?

I am continuing with my personal challenge to draw even though I can not draw.

The illustration friday theme this week - LEAP.

Here is to hoping that you all take a leap toward joy this weekend!

xo - Chel

Goodies for everyone!

I am so excited that the winner of my One World One Heart giveaway has received her goodies - all the way in Germany!

She posted this picture of the loot she received on her blog today:

Check out the Quilts and More wonderful blog, here.

And how about you?  Are you a hankering for some ephemera and goodies?  The ZNE Store is announcing its biggest greatest most wonderful destash event, ever!  Check out ZNE's new goody bag extravaganza (and the extroardinary price!!

ZaLotta!

ZaLotta grab bags include a wide variety of vintage, new, quirky and unexpected altered art / collage supplies.

Each bag will have some similar items, and many different items. Every bag will be unique. These bags are limited in quantities, so you will want to grab yours as soon as you see it up for sale!

But wait, there's more!  You will also receive ~immediately~ a digital download collage sheet that matches the theme of your ZaLotta Package!

The first series of ZaLotta is themed:

ASIAN FLAIR

Here is the digital download collage sheet you will receive:

And here is a sample Asian Flair ZaLotta package.  (Your package will be similar but not identical in content.)

Only $8 which includes first class shipping!

To see art samples, find more information, and order your ZaLotta bag - go here:

http://www.znestore.com/page/page/5635213.htm

Have a great Thursday everyone!

xo - Chel

My Crowning Glory

IVa Wilcox and Gina Grabriell came over today, and Gina brought over these extraordinary crowns that she made.  Of coruse I absolutely had to try one on - even though, as you can see, I was having an overgrown-bangs-faded-red-sloppy-bad-hair day!

These crowns she made were so unique and amazing, words can't do them justice.

We three had such a lovely lunch.  Here is the world's fuzziest picture (which is a testament to my picture taking skills) of Iva and Gina sitting together and lauging.

We drank strawberry lemonade punch and had chocolate cake and talked about artsy things and girly things and how annoying husbands can be.  We all three giggled quite a lot.

It breaks my heart in a million pieces, the circumstances under which I have gotten close to these wonderful women.

We talked a lot about the Hope Sees a Star project, which is in memory of their two daughters, Stevie and Brianna, who died last  year in April and June respectively.  We are shifting gears and changing the memorial plan to something that feels closer to home and more personal for these two mothers and their daughters, and will be unveiling those plans soon.  Hope Sees a Star is going to undergo a name change to better fit with the new project plans.  It will now be called the "Pink Sky Project."

I am so proud of everything that ZNE Members have done to help make this project a reality, and the new direction that the project is going in is so truly beautiful.  I'll let you know when we have updated the blog and posted our big announcement.  In the meantime, here is a sneak peak at what our new project blog will look like:

PS ~ Oh yeah, and I am really touched and appreciative that not only  Kris Hubick , but also Izabella, and Judy Keefe have awarded me with the "You Make My Day" award.  SO sweet.  My incredible ZNE Members make MY day, every day!

WOW!

6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

(California Time)

CALL IN LIVE:

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LIVE!  On the air on Monday 2/25/08, 6:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

Our Pause for a Cause Organization this month is:

Rupert's Kids

 

And this week's Circa Arte Prize Giveaway is sponsored by:

 

Looking forward to having YOU join us!

Making my day!

Ah, how sweet.  The most delightful Kris Hubick blog-bestowed on me the "You Make My Day" award.

I am supposed to pass it on to ten people, but that would be just impossible.  Instead, I am going to pass it on to over 60 people.

In the coming days you will hear more about an incredible project that ZNE members pulled together for our wonderful Founding Member JoAnnA Pierotti.  The Never Forgotten book project involved 68 artists and donors, who in 5 days pulled together an 82 page book and funded publishing hard bound copies for JoAnnA, her sister, and her niece Lindsay.  The book is so extraordinary we are going to make it available to the public in the next few days.  Never Forgotten celebrates mothers, children, love, loss, and healing.

All of the artists who contributed have made my day.

Here is a sneak peak at the book's "Contents Pages" so that you too can see who has made my day, and how many incredible artists are published in this fantastic art volume:

I know, I know, you can't read it.  Just double click on it and lean in close.  Ha!  And don't worry, more information and a legible artist list will be coming soon.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

I'll see and talk to you all, tomorrow.

xoxo - Chel

Swirls, Dots, and Petals

The illustration friday theme this week is:  Multiple

This one is from  my art journal - so you can see the bleed through from some doodling on the opposite side.  Ah well.  I had fun with this one.

Hope you all are having a great weekend.

xo - Chel

I'm Broadcasting Live Today!

I'M PODCASTING TODAY!

6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

(California Time)

CALL IN LIVE:

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(Date Changed from below to TODAY - 2/20)

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My Heart Breaks ~

(Artwork above copyright JoAnnA Pierotti - "A Mother's Love")

My dearly loved friend JoAnnA Pierotti's mother died this morning.  I spoke to my wonderful Mossy this morning - and she is dealing with unbelievable shock and grief right now.

I wish I could scoop up all the motherless daughters in the world, and love away all their pain.  Suture up all those broken hearts with stiches of Grace.

Sigh.  I can't write much more right now.  Early morning phone calls about mother's dying are so close to home, and my heart is broken for Mossy and her entire family right now.

xoxo - Chel

Spring is Sure to Follow

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.  ~Proverb

So, these are all the components of my Hanging up Springtime swap.

Participants need to send in a dress and a hat:

Two Gloves, and a bird:

And, as you can see in the top picture, we also created some bloomers, and a butterfly.

So, I send these in, and then I'll get a clothesline back - with a new set of each, all by different artists.  Won't that be fun!  I'm totally psyched.

They won't be assembled like this - but I had fun creating a little paper doll assemblage out of all the pieces I made:

Fun, eh?

Hope you all are having a lovely and creative weekend!

xo - Chel

Dance, Sing, Floss and Travel, and THEORY

I thought this would be a great Valnetines Day Post ~ but yesterday's post was dedicated to announcing the One WOrld One Heart winner instead (!) - so I figured I would post this manifesto I found on lululemom today.  Also, scroll down for my Illustration Friday Entry.

Wonderful things to remember, and fabulous ways to start your day (over and over, every single day)!

You can also read the text version here.

Happy belated Valentines Day everyone!

Oh, and ~ it's Friday - so I created a very quick silly doodle for Illustration Friday.  The theme this week is:  THEORY -

xo - Chel

WOO HOO! Have Fun!

Hooray!  It is Valentines Day!  I've got goodies for my hubby, goodies for my kids, and a BLOGGY GIVEAWAY!  TODAY'S THE DAY!

So, my One World One Heart giveaway post garnered 184 comments!  I used an online randomizer this morning to pick a number between 1 - 184 - and here was the result:

And so... This was comment # 7:

"Please count me in! Those goodies are looking wonderful ;-) Love your blog!

Greetings from Germany,
Dagmar

Scritto da: Dagmar | giovedì 31 gennaio 2008 a 15:12"

Glückwünsche Dagmar, Gewinnen Sie!

Thank you so much to all of you who left comments, and especially to Lisa Oceandreamer who rallied us all for this fabulous giveaway, for the second year in a row!

Wishing eveyrone a happy happy day of love!

WOO HOO!

xoxo - Chel

Tiny Peek at a Sweet Little Nest Fairy!

Oh, I am so excited ~ I got the very talented Julie Molina as my Sweet Little Nest Swap Partner.

Check out her fun blog, here:

http://julbie.blogspot.com/

So, I've been up till the wee hours creating a fun nest-y thang, complete with a tiny fairy in residence.

I'll wait until it has been shipped and received to show off the whole thing, but here are some sneak peaks:

 

That's it for now!  Hope you are all having a craft-tabulous week!

I can't breathe ~

I'm not really one to swoon, but I mean really.

Have you HEARD this?

Listen Live! Woo Hoo!

I'M PODCASTING TODAY!

12:30 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.

(California Time)

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Playing Around ~

Last night, my husband and I went over to a friends house, and he and the guys played around in a WII band.  It was hilarious.  It is so fun to watch grown men play.

I brought my art journal, which I have been forcing myself to doodle in for months now - to overcome my fear around "I can't even draw a straight line!"  I've been having fun lately, which is nice.  See that picture?  That's me.  See, I'm growing, just by playing around.

And here's a picture of the hubby on drums, my brother in law (who was playing along on a real guitar) and our friend Kevin's girlfriend Lisa.  I was wedged between her and my pregnant sister in law, Sara, and I was doodling away.

Hope you had a joy filled playful weekend too.

xo - Chel

Spring is coming and it must be the time for Swaps...

Can you imagine anything so cute?

This whole weekend is devoted to craftin' so I'm going to get started on all three of my upcoming swaps.  If you want to get in on the one above - visit GypsyMermaidLife - here.

And then, I LOVED this idea, so I am going to participate here - as well:

This one is not so much a swap, but a blog community day ~ when you sign up, you agree to post an artistic/decorating/gardening themed "tutorial" on your blog, on March 1.  I am so excited about this one!  I know exactly what I am going to do.

***To make mine a little fun, anyone who leaves a comment on the tutorial page on March 1 (the day it will be posted) will be entered into a drawing to win the item I am creating in the tutorial.  I'll pick a name using a random number generator on March 2!

You'll just have to wait until March 1 to learn more!

To get in on the Spring Fling Tutorial fun yourself, check out the Artist Reborne blog, here:

http://www.artistreborne.typepad.com/

Have a GREAT weekend everyone!

CHOOSE - I. F.

I really truly can not draw.  I've never been trained, and it's beyond obvious that I have no idea what I am doing.

But I am choosing to dance through my fear of this creative outlet and give it a go anyway.

I hope you make some choices to dance through life too!

Today's Illustration Friday Theme:

CHOOSE.

What is Love?

My kids and I decided to take a dance class together and we video taped the results.  What do you think? (HIT PLAY)

I also signed up for another Easter swap over at Bella Enchanted's blog.  My "new" studio (the one I moved into a year ago, practically - ha!) is very fru fru, so I can't wait to have some easter and springy things from new swap friends to add!

She's taking sign ups through Februaryn 20 - here.

Hope you all are having a great Thursday!

xo - Chel

A Whole New Year of Wonderfulness!

WE ARE NOW TAKING APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2008 ZNE DESIGN TEAM!

If you are a ZNE Member interested in learning more or applying for the 2008 ZNE Design Team, you can find all the info - HERE.

I'M PODCASTING TODAY!

12:30 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. - California Time

CALL IN LIVE:

(347) 324-5359

www.ZNERADIO.com!

The Class Schedule is HERE!

2008 Altered Everything ~ Everything Altered Workshops are Scheduled!

Click on the logo above to learn more.

Scroll down to see project samples for our first class!

The 2008 series of Altered Everything and Everything Altered workshops is HERE.

With a new location, and all new projects, it was impossible to narrow it down to once a month!

The new dates and times will be:

Tuesday evenings from 6 - 9 p.m.

As always, yummy refreshments, all supplies, and a special gift pack will be provided for all recipients at each class.   Classes are taught by ZNE Founder Chel Stroud Hery.

Classes will take place at Poetry on Canvas in downtown Pleasanton!

CLASS SIZE IS LIMITED TO SIX PARTICIPANTS EACH WEEK - SO PLEASE SIGN UP EARLY TO GUARANTEE YOUR SPOT!

FIRST CLASS: February 26, 2008

MIXIE PIXIES!

Mixed Media Pixie Flowers

Using a variety of paper folding techniques we will create floral star bases and embellish them with vintage images, glitter, fibers, and more.

These whimsical creations can be used as wall art, scrapbook and altered book cover embellishment,gifts, special awards, and more!  Your final piece will be guided by your style and color preferences.  The possibilities are endless.  The Mixie Pixie samples shown are only examples.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW and join us for this fun evening!

Click on the logo above to learn more.

Scroll down to see project samples for our first class!

The 2008 series of Altered Everything and Everything Altered workshops is HERE.

With a new location, and all new projects, it was impossible to narrow it down to once a month!

The new dates and times will be:

Tuesday evenings from 6 - 9 p.m.

As always, yummy refreshments, all supplies, and a special gift pack will be provided for all recipients at each class.   Classes are taught by ZNE Founder Chel Stroud Hery.

Classes will take place at Poetry on Canvas in downtown Pleasanton!

CLASS SIZE IS LIMITED TO SIX PARTICIPANTS EACH WEEK - SO PLEASE SIGN UP EARLY TO GUARANTEE YOUR SPOT!

FIRST CLASS: February 26, 2008

MIXIE PIXIES!

Mixed Media Pixie Flowers

Using a variety of paper folding techniques we will create floral star bases and embellish them with vintage images, glitter, fibers, and more.

These whimsical creations can be used as wall art, scrapbook and altered book cover embellishment,gifts, special awards, and more!  Your final piece will be guided by your style and color preferences.  The possibilities are endless.  The Mixie Pixie samples shown are only examples.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW and join us for this fun evening!

A Nest...

The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship. -  William Blake

So here's what happened.  Last week or so, I posted that I was going to participate in a hippity-hop-easter swap.  Turns out I signed up a week too late.  It was like arriving at a party the day after it happened.  I felt so sheepish and silly.

Phew!  The Speckled Egg swap to the rescue!  Once again, signed up for a swap.  And nests, what a lovely theme.  : D

If your hot on swappin' too - check it out, here:

http://speckled-egg.blogspot.com/2008/02/new-sweet-little-nest-swap.html

Hope you all had a sweet Saturday! 

xo - Chel

Cúbrame en amor.

Blanket... is the theme of this week's Illustration Friday, so I dug out this collaged ATC I made a few years ago.

¡Encantador!

Hope you are all off to a great weekend!

xo - Chel