| RED, WHITE & BLUES |
1st Wednesday Street Party ZNE WILL BE LOCATED AT SPACE 115 East See you there! |
Here's that banner I was working on, on Tuesday. It's about 4 feet wide by 2 feet tall. Also, the magic wand on the left of the picture was created by Sarah Huckman, I got it as part of her Enchanted Swap, and the robins egg blue circle tag above the pink bow on the left side of the picture, is a wonderful glittery art tag created by Gail Schmidt. It was her contribution to the ZNE Design Team Swap. Thanks guys! I had fun with it. Can you tell?
Speaking of fun - what a blast we had at the First Wednesday Street Fair. I have to say, as always - Mediteranean Pizza and Kettle Corn notwithstanding (thanks Gina - YUM!) the best part of the evening was hanging out with such fabulous crafty sistahs!
Here's Julee Herrmann and Iva Wilcox (L/R).
Oooh. And look at this amazing doll by Iva. The tall one with the theatre skirt. I had to have it. : D
Lucky me!
And here's Roni with all her beautiful bling.
Woo Hoo!
If you missed it, don't worry. ZNE/PCM will be at First Wednesday through September. Every first Wednesday of the month. 6-9 p.m. on Main Street in Pleasanton. It is a wonderful outing for the whole family!
Have a great day everyone!
CINCO DE MAYO CELEBRATION - 1st Wednesday Street Party
The 2008 Pleasanton Downtown Association FIRST WEDNESDAY STREET FAIR season kicks off with our annual Cinco de Mayo themed Street Party. This month's featured band is local favorite, LA VENTANA.
Shop, dine and stroll your way through downtown Pleasanton. Visit our unique shops and restaurants and hit the middle of Main Street and the additional wide variety of businesses and community organizations who will have booths set up market their products and services as well as provide information.
Stop by the ZNE/PCM booth, and then stop in at the Beer and Wine Garden to experience Latin rock and salsa at it's best. It doesn't get any better than La Ventana! Salsa right into summer and enjoy their unique and exciting musical style! Click here to visit La Ventana's website!
Beer,including selections from Anheuser Busch and micro-brews from the Main St. Brewery will be on tap. Great wines from the Livermore Valley will also be available for purchase.
Main Street will be closed from St. John Street to Old Bernal Avenue from 5 to 10 p.m. There will be plenty of off-Main Street parking available. OUR BOOTH WILL BE LOCATED IN SPACE # 175 - Closer to the St. John end of the street. Time: 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Here's who will be there from ZNE/PCM in May:
Me & ZNE(!)
Iva Wilcox
Julee Herrmann
Roni Seabury
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!
Are you all scheduling in June already? I am. Between Craft Mafia shows, workshops, and ZNE stuff ~ my calendar pages are flying furiously.
If you are in Northern California in early June, be sure and add the event above to YOUR calendar. Promises to be really fun!
xo - Chel
Ok, people keep asking me about my dear friend Imogene Indie. She's a bit of a mystery - but here is what I know:
Imogene Indie is the Indie-O-Rama Queen. She likes to sit beside me every month and dictate the IOR eZine. She talks a mile a minute, that girl. I'd tell her to type it up herself - but somehow she has always managed to get a manicure on the very same day as the eZine production. Hmmm.
In truth, her life is completely dedicated to indie artist shopping, indie artist talkin', and manicures. This is the life of Imogene Indie. Here is how she looked when she arrived at my house yesterday:
I am telling you, this gal really knows how to live.
You may wonder why I do it. Why am I a slave to Imo Indie? Well, everytime she stops by, whispers in my ear, shares the wisdom of her incredible and growing list of indie-artists friends, with me - I am just so inspired. I am downright awestruck. Ah yes, just to have Imo share a moment of her day with me - not to mention have her sit beside me with her perfectly coifed retro hair-doo, her shiny red still-wet nails, and all her indie goodies - I feel so very lucky. She may not be much of a typist (she's got better things to do) - but she is an indie artist lover through and through. I admit, I live vicariously through her. Wouldn't you?
If you want to learn yet more about good 'ol Imo - check out Indie-O-Rama - its her thing.
Speaking of artists who inspire me - yesterday I also got to hang out with a fabulous Fondante (chi-chi talk for "founding") member of ZNE - Barbe Saint John! Check us out:
Barbe's on the right. She is the most amazing mixed media artist, and she can spin a yarn (!) like no one's business. You should definitely check out her website, Saints and Sinners. Tres cool.
In fact, this morning I was browsing her wonderful stuff, and just look at these Valentine-O-Riffic earrings that my hubby picked out for me. I mean, without knowing it - he picked 'em out for me. Ha! But won't he be relieved that he doesn't have to stress over a valentines day gift for me now? I snagged 'em up off her website and they are mine all mine now! Tee hee!
OOOH! LOVE THESE!
COMING TO AN EARLOBE (or two) NEAR YOU, SOON!
Barbe and I met at a Pleasanton Craft Mafia Art Marketing Workshop. She's actually a member of the SF Craft Mafia, but (in addition to our ZNE connection) we are mafia famiglia and neighbors, so she and another SF Craft Mafia Me
mber joined us for the PCM workshop. It was a fun workshop, but - as is always the case with my wonderful Pleasanton Craft Mafia group - the best part for me is getting the chance to hang out with such talented and supportive craftisans. I am really growing to adore this fabulous bunch! Here's a piccy of us from last night. Note that I am holding our mascot - Adin! : ) Sneaky me.
Alright, well, that's about it for today. I'd give an "On To Art" update, but isn't that really what this whole issue has been about? Still, if you are looking for some fun artsy news - then check out the February issue of The ZNE Scene, because man alive are things cookin' in that group! Until then I am going to take a tip from (left to right) Sophie, B-Muse and Butter - and get some rest today!
xo - Chel
PS - THANKS FOR THE COMMENTI KAT!!! YOU ROCK MY WORLD!
YIKES!
Oh, the state of my studio is so unbelievable. I have to tip toe and do long jumps to get across the room and sit at my desk. There are SO many things on the floor right now! I'd take a picture and show you - but for the fear that you'd call the fire marshall!
My husband likes to show my studio to visiting guests, purely for the shock value.
"Honey, don't!" I always plead- but he figures that if I let it get into this kind of a state, being humiliated by it is my just reward. Sigh.
I'll try to sort through it all this week - but a complete clean up is not likely. I've got taxes to deal with. ( Can you say - YUCKY!!) And babies to watch. (Can you say - YUMMY!) and cats and dogs to pet and snuggle. This stuff takes up an awful lot of time. Ah well.
And, I am a bit melancholy today. RJ is not feeling well, but he is at his dad's house. So there my boy is, and well, he's not here. It is hard to put into words - but all reason behind divorce and joint custody flies out the window, when your child feels sick and he is not home with "you" - where he should be. Of course I called RJ and talked to him and told him I loved him and all that jazz, but still...
The good news however is that VIckie is home now (!) recovering, and she was even able to send an email message out to a few of her online groups. I just can't tell you how nice it is to know she is home.
So there's my check-in. Oh, except for this:
Look at the little man!
Adin can hold his sippy on his own now. He's not an expert mind you, but I am encouraging him to practice as much as possible.
Imagine him being able to feed himself!
Oh, and though my life being filled with diaper changes and bottle feedings and goopy cereal and peas has been so very special - I do look forward to his growing a bit more independent.
So, happily to the sippy cup we go!
Ok. Phew! So that about covers the excitement in my life as of late - and now -
On to Art!
We had a ZNE Altered Everything ~ Everything Altered workshop yesterday. We had it here at the house, though I had to barr everyone from actually entering my studio - for reasons explained earlier in this post. I like these workshops, everyone is so friendly and inspired and inspiring. Here we are! Me ~n~ a buncha ZNEers (what could be better?) getting ready to create some art. (Oh, that's better!)
And, joy oh joy, I get to create some art!
Wanna see? Here is a picture of one creation I made:
Ok! Ok! I admit it. I didn't make anything in that picture except for the confection, which I referred to as "poop" fudge.
Still, people ate it, which just goes to show the power of chocolate over all other reason.
So what did I really make? We were working on altered cigar boxes. I (get ready for a shock) decided to decorate mine with some pin up girl imagery. (That's not really a shock - but I figured that after the poop-fudge, I'd give you all a break.)
My box still needs finishing, but here's the front and inside:
I used a white glue wash to layer a decorative napkin on the top and inside of the box, and then put the images down. As you can see, I just ripped the napkin to size on the inside, but I llike that raw around the edges effect. Aside from the pin up girls, all the other embellishments were laid down where the tissue had ripped from being to wet (or being handled by my aggressive little bubble smooshing fingers). But shhhhh! Don't tell.
So, that's what's up in my neck of the woods. And you? Do tell. Leave some comments. You can leave comments on typepad, can't you? Well I know somebody can, cuz' Bella did a while back. Thanks Bella! Now, for the rest of you - check in! Say hi! Whose peeking in here... ? Until then - It's back to Life in the Land of ZNE...
I've decided that I will just break with tradition, and try to keep this blog updated, beyond once a month. Those may be famous last words - but I can try, anyways. There is just SO much going on right now, there is no way I could capture the highlights in a monthly update!
Let's see - what do I have to share today ~ ?
Well, first of all - look at this ridiculously adorable picture of my Sophie girl:
JoAnnA Pierotti took that picture of Sophie while I was visiting her, weekend before last. She dressed Sophie up in this vintage christening gown - which Sophie appeared to love - and then she laid her down with that teddy bear. Some of you may recall that Sophie was the rescue pooch that we got from Rocket Dog Rescue. Needless to say, Sophie's living in the lap of luxury now. Ha!
It's probably time for me to post a piccy of the other super cutie in my life (who am I kidding? I have dozens of super cuties in my life!) - well, in any case - the youngest super cutie:
That's right folks, he's CRAWLING! This means I am getting excercise again. Argh!
Adin is just over seven months old now, and he has teeth, he's crawling, and he eats bananas. How does this happen? This flying by of time, and the growth of our beloved children? Sigh.
(For those of you who are new to my blog, et. al, Adin is my nephew, but he hangs out with me 10 hours a day, five days a week. We are serious buddies. And for Auntie Chelise, that is a dream come true!)
On the Art side of things... (say, that is a blog in and of itself) - I've received a couple of gorgeous pieces of artwork for Vickie Mackensie. ZNEer Kathy Dirks sent this gorgeous chunky book page:
I'll post another page in the next few days. As always, I am deeply touched by the art community, and their creative generosity.
Oh, and this past weekend, I had fun hanging out with a group of crafty girls (my favorite kind) at at a Trunk Show in Hayward.
Ok, left to right, that is Lauren Smash, Kimberlee, Moi, and Jessica Ortiz. I got the most adorable felt flower pin and doll from Lauren. I'll have to post the doll in the next couple of days. I call her dotty and I'm in love. She's got a red and white polka dot dress and a tulle skirt, of course. Kimberlee and I traded some of the art tags I made for some of her delicious lip balm. Plus, she gave out some soap samples - and I am really regretting not having purchased some. Etsy, here I come! And Jessica, a fellow Pleasanton Craft Mafia Member - is one of my favorite artisans. For Christmas I bought Adin an adorable little hat that Jess made, and a floral pin for Katrina, my sister in law. Last weekend, I bought Mossy a lovely hat and matching pin, too. For her chemo days. Oh, and I broke down (it wasn't hard to do) and bought a hat for myself too. Check it out ~ terrible picture, but a fun hat! It's moss green. Oh, and look, its Richard and Abs in the right corner of the picture - dats my family! Ok, then, with this picture, I wish you all warm heads, crafty goodness, and lots of faith, hope, and love in your lives!
xo - Chel
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