Crafting, Writing, and Living!

It's been a long long time

2010-04-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

Hello.
I do miss blogging. I no longer have "Santa Clarita Craft Lab." That was a bit sad to deal with, however I moved the studio to my house and I have a lovely smaller space upstairs in my son's old bedroom. I am very happy to have this space. It's a "mini Craft Lab!"

I have been spending a lot of my time writing a screenplay, so my crafting time has dwindled down. I am ready to start creating again. I think I want to start sewing. I'll keep you posted.

I am teaching a class on Saturday April 24th @ CJ's Angels in La Verne! You can check out all the details here:
Living on the Plane of Manifestation

Here's a photo of my new space.

You all have been through so much with me over the last few years. Thanks for hanging in there. I have so many new and exciting things happening. I'm really excited to share all of it with you.

Yoli Manzo returns to SCCL!

2009-10-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited about the upcoming Class and Visit from Yoli Manzo, aka Sacred Yoli! Yes. It's true. Yoli is returning to teach another fabulous class here at Santa Clarita Craft Lab!

Her class is scheduled for Friday October 23rd, and she's teaching a "Day of the Dead Shrine Wreath Class." Yoli travels all the way from Sacramento to be here with us and it is such an honor to have her. She is a great Mexican Pop Artista. Her art work always tells a story.

This is a current Piece that Yoli will have exhibited at the
"SomArts Dia De Los Muertos Show 2009"
You know there's a story in there somewhere.
Fantastic Yoli!

Here is a little something about my girl Yoli:

Yoli Manzo, was born and raised in the Silicon Valley. She now makes her home in Sacramento, California where she immerses herself in cultural art exhibiting muse from latin folk art such as Dia de los Muertos, Frida Kahlo and religious saints. Her signature has been described as having a very sharp edge that is admirable for a woman artist. She uses mixed media, strong colors, plenty of glitter and her edgy wit worthy of her label. Yoli Manzo and her art work, including shrines, jewelry, handbags, dolls, skulls and paintings have been featured in art galleries, television, and art festivals throughout northern California as well as internationally via the web. She is a member of the Scary Art Collective and Northern California Mixed Media Artists.

This is from Yoli's "Graffiti" series.

And here are the details for her Day of the Dead Shrine Wreath Class:

Day of the Dead is a Celebration of Life and Ms. Yoli Manzo, aka Scared Yoli will put us in the right spirit while teaching this class!

Students will adorn their black Altar Wreaths with their own hand painted skulls!

This is the Wreath we will create in Yoli's Class.
It's Fabulous!

Students are encouraged to bring their own photos, mementos, and other special objects to adorn their Shrine Wreaths with a personalized touch!

Check out the detail on the skulls.
Yoli will instruct us on how to paint our own skulls.

Dedicate your Wreaths to that someone Special and celebrate his/her life.

Class starts at 7pm and goes until 10pm! This class is only $45!

Over the last couple of years Yoli and I have become really good friends, although most of our time together has been spent on blogs, myspace, facebook, and via emails. She has gone out of her way to meet up with me on several different occasions to show her support to SCCL and to me. She is so busy sharing her kindness and generosity to so many others, and I am extremely grateful and proud to be on her list of people to support.

I hope you can take the time to join us on Friday October 23rd and Celebrate with us the gift of Life by creating this wonderful piece of art taught by this wonderfully special and talented Artista, Ms. Yoli Manzo.

This is one of my Favorite pieces by Yoli Manzo.
I feel it represents the way she reaches out to people through her heart
and her art.

Day For Kids!

2009-09-14T11:16:00.000-07:00

Saturday September 12 SCCL participated in a local event called Day For Kids put on by the Boys and Girls Club. It was a great time had by all! Each participant was given their own booth and all we had to do was provide an activity for the kids to do. So natch we provided a craft project!

I made a few hundred masks for the kids to decorate. They were really cute and the kids loved them! Mayra helped me set up and work the table all day. We had a lot of fun watching the kids create and we also enjoyed talking to all the parents. The event was from 12-5 and by 2pm we were out of masks! All my fliers were gone before the event was over. However, Mayra and I improvised and made another project for the kids to do!

Santa Clarita Craft lab would like to thank all those families that stopped by and shared in the fun at our booth.

And Yes! I've got pictures!

We had two masks for the kids to choose from. A Mardi Gras Mask and a Skull Mask!
The kids loved both!

Kids of all ages enjoyed our craft activity!

The skulls were well received!

Our booth was always packed!

This little boy was so proud of his mask!

Isn't this the cutest baby!

Day for Kids September 12, 2009 Newhall Park Santa Clarita Craft Lab.

Want to thank Mayra Montes for helping me throughout the day and a thank you shout out to Amarie Hill for helping me with the masks!

Zinnia! An Abosolutely Fabulous Place to Shop, Take Classes, & Just Hang Out!

2009-09-10T12:57:00.000-07:00

Zinnia! A Space for Contagious Creativity!

I am absolutely in love with this wonderful space of contagious creativity! Zinnia is a place where you can find inspiration for all the ideas you have swirling around in your head. I highly recommend visiting my friend Tamara and her store Zinnia located in So. Pasadena.

They just recently moved to a brand new location and it is just beautiful! Luckily for the neighborhood it's only about 4 doors down from their previous space. Zinnia is now located at 1024 Mission Street, So Pasadena.

Their opening day was Friday September 4th and guess who stopped by for a visit? That's right! Yours truly. OMG! When I walked in their new space it was like walking into a fantasy world. I now know what our little fairies feel like in their sweet little fairy jars!

Tamara and her gang of 6 (or more) have transformed this space into a wonderland of awe. It is amazing and so inspirational. Please take a few hours out of your day to visit Zinnia. If you can't visit in person, head over to their website and take a look at all their pictures and all the things Zinnia offers. I could go on and on, but I will let my pictures tell my story.

This is what it looks like when you walk in the front door. And that is their doodad bar!

Opposite angle of the store. They have lots and lots of collage images & papers!

They also have lots of stickers & rub-ons!The doodad bar head on. Check out all those scoop bowls! Very Classy!

And they have such beautiful ribbons, trims, and other great fibers! Oh My!

Talk about great reading and resource materials! Zinnia has a great selection of books and magazines to inspire all levels!The shelves are filled with handmade art and lovely gift items!

This is their current window display. Every holiday is celebrated at Zinnia! You can always find the perfect gift, decor, or crafting supply for what ever the up coming holiday is.

I visit Zinnia as often as I can. Hope one day you can visit them too. Tell them Santa Clarita Craft Lab sent you!

SANTA CLARITA CRAFT LAB has been having a lot of fun!

2009-08-25T08:43:00.000-07:00

Last week's Open House was a blast! We had around 10 people and the majority of them were all newbies to SCCL! That was such a great treat. I met a lot of really cool people and very artistic I might add. And as always it is also great to have my OGs in da hawse! We did mini collages and everybody had a great time.

I am selling these mini collage packets in my store for $2.50. They come with all the inspiration you need to complete your own piece of art.

I've been getting into the act too. If I can, I am taking classes at my own studio. Initially I wasn't and I was feeling so left out! Haha! I'm so happy I have been. I have to admit SCCL has had some really exciting classes! I took the Birdhouse Soldering class and really loved the way my Birdhouse came out. I also took the Andy Warhol Stamping class and had so much fun.

This is my birdhouse. Tyn Atol teaches this class. I love my finished piece of art! And I did it all in one class!

This class was so much fun. We got to play with these really fun stamps! Amarie Hill teaches this class and she brought in so many fun things to play with. This little seamstress was made by yours truly. I think it fits perfectly in my studio!

We had a great Patchwork Portrait Collage Class taught by Erin Engleston. She is such a cool artist and a great instructor. Hope when we schedule this class again you can take it. You learn a lot and of course you always leave with a completed project!

Don't you just love the purple hair. As you look at each picture notice all the detail in the background.

This student was so pleased with her work, and as well she should have been. I love it when students leave SCCL happy and satisfied.

When you take a class at SCCL you will learn so much during the class, but you will also leave with a completed project. You can immediately start to show off your art! All supplies are included when you take a class, which saves you the trouble of going out on the hunt for supplies. After you take a class, you decide if this is something you want to continue to perfect. If the answer is yes then you can go out and invest! I am carrying as many of the supplies from our classes in my store, and each instructor supplies students with a handout of instructions. If I do not carry certain items/supplies we will surely (stop calling me Surely) let you know where to find them!

Have a wonderful day and go out and get your Craft On!

Open House Tonight and it's FREE!

2009-08-19T12:33:00.000-07:00

We are having a "Meet & Greet" kind of Open House tonight! We will also be doing some crafting! I plan on having a couple of crafts going on at the same time. There will be shopping too! For all those attending Open House tonight you will get 10% off your entire purchase!

We will be making felt appliques and mini collages! Sound like fun? Come spend a relaxing evening crafting with new friends and feel free to bring a friend of your own! Open House is FREE!

Open House is from:
7pm - 10pm!
Feel free to call for more information:
(661)255-7526
or visit our website!

www.santaclaritacraftlab.com

Blogging? What Blogging?

2009-08-13T09:07:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that it's been so long since my last blog? So much has happened. I don't even know where to begin! We have had so many great classes and incredible artists teaching at SCCL, that my head spins just thinking about it. Obviously it's been keeping me busy.

I do want to Blog about my wonderful FRIEND Yoli Manzo and the class she taught here at SCCL! It was amazing! She drove all the way down from Sacramento to spend the weekend with me. She is a wonderful artist, lady, and friend. We had such a great time while she was here. She also taught a fabulous class at our very good friend Annette's CJ's Angels' shop. Both classes were off the hook!

BFFs! Right Yoli?

Frida Doll Class!
Does Yoli knows how to throw a class or what! First of all we asked that our students come dressed like Frida Kahlo. It was so much fun! I even got in the act! We celebrated Frida's birthday with food, cake, and door prizes. The tres leche cakes was really really good. Yoli's class instructed us in how to make these really cute Frida Dolls. She brought in the coolest supplies too. We had fabric, flowers, paints, embellishments, and naked dolls to play with. By the end of class we had a wonderful collection of Beautiful Fridas. Here are the pictures!

I'm telling ya, we went from nakie to undies, to full on costumes! Painting our Frida Faces was so much fun!

I got to help with the sewing!

This is Lovely Sylvia! She won the GRAND Door Prize!

This is me showing off my Frida Doll & Costume!

Here are our Beautiful Frida Dolls!

Our Beautiful Students holding their Beautiful Frida Dolls!

This was the feast we had for our Frida Doll Class!

And Guess What?

Yoli is Coming Back to teach another class!!! Yay!!! Save this date: Friday Night October 23! She will be teaching a "Day of the Dead" Class. Don't have all the details yet, but I will be letting you all know as soon as I know! I'm so excited by this news. It's a real honor to have Sacred Yoli teach at SCCL!

There is so much more to blog about. Hopefully I will be able to get a couple more in, in the next couple of days.

Come shop at SCCL! We have so many cool products. OMG! That's another blog all on it's own!

Check out our website for the cool classes we have for this month!

See you all in class.

Crafty Chica Challenge!

2009-07-08T08:49:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about this new Challenge coming out of the Crafty Chica Camp!

I want to win this one in a mad, crazed, obsessed sorta way!!! Because if I win You win! Plus you all know how much I love the Crafty Chica. I'm a mad woman when it comes to anything Crafty Chica! See how I stalk her!

Here's the 411!

Embellish a tote bag for the beach and submit your pictures of your tote creation to the Crafty Chica Challenge Flicker Group to be entered into this really incredible contest for some really incredible prizes! One of the Grand Prizes is this:

"The Grand Prize winner will receive a prize pack of their very own Crafty Chica Party, which includes enough product for five guests!"

You see, if I win You win! If I win this incredible contest, I will then have a contest of my own which will be to select 5 lucky guests to attend Santa Clarita Craft Lab's Crafty Chica Crafting Party!! OMG I'm so excited!

Hey, but if you want to enter this ONCE IN A LIFE TIME INCREDIBLE CONTEST on your own I highly recommend it! Please go HERE for all the details. I'm sure you will not be able to resist this one, because there is so much more listed in the Grand Prize list!

Good luck to all those that take on this Challenge. Wish me luck too!

Happy Birthday Frida Kahlo...My Muse!

2009-07-06T11:21:00.000-07:00

I have met so many people in my line of business that are huge fans of Frida Kahlo! She has been an inspiration to a lot of artists and rightly so. She was an amazing artist, woman, and most inspiring to me, a revolutionary!
She lived during a time when being a revolutionary was about fighting for your country because you love it and because you loved humanity, and you were not afraid of being called unpatriotic, because in your heart you knew what your truth was. It was about fighting for hope and for the future of the children. It was a time when voices, gritas, and chants traveled throughout the world for equality and justice. Her family helped the Zapatistas and the peoples' struggle during the Mexican Revolution and she grew up believing that all people were equal. She fought & marched along side Diego Rivera and other Revolutionaries for what she believed. As a romantic I have a tendency to devour this kind of story and find a connection where most people in my life do not understand. It is hard to explain, and I have learned that you have to show mostly by example and not from words.

I have tried to live up to what Frida has taught me. I consider myself a Revolutionary. I am a Rebel. I am a Fighter. I have carried my grievances to the streets. I have marched side by side other revolutionaries. I have fought for the rights and needs of the citizens of the United States and beyond.

Frida taught this to me. She lives on in my soul. She inspires me to continue the fight. Today is Frida's birthday. Today I celebrate the woman, the artist, the rebel, the revolutionary.

On Saturday July 11 the celebration continues at Santa Clarita Craft Lab. Another inspired soul will be honoring my studio by contributing her time and her talent by teaching her "Frida Kahlo Mixed Media Art Doll Class." Her name is Yoli Manzo and she is an amazing woman and artist. I found Yoli just over a year ago while doing one of my weekly Frida google searches (one can never get enough of Frida), and I came across her art work. I immediately began following Yoli (ok stalking) by reading her blogs. She is also a great writer. Our friendship evolved from blog comments to emails to swaps to phone calls to meeting up at Catalina and to now. Now! Now she is traveling from Northern California to teach at Santa Clarita Craft Lab!

It really is amazing to me that she will be here. When I first starting contacting Yoli, I hadn't yet opened my studio. I kind of threw out the possibility of her teaching a class one day (mostly a fantasy). She has been following me from the beginning and has been so generous with her support and encouragement.

This is Ms. Yoli Manzo. Isn't she Beautiful. Can't you just see the fire and passion in her eyes?

This class is going to be amazing. Yoli will show us how to paint and dress our dolls in the likeness of Frida. We will be having a birthday party while class is in session! We will have snacks, drinks, cake y musica! We will also have a couple of raffles and one big Door Prize! Wait a minute! In order to qualify for the Door Prize you have to dress up like Frida!

Yoli and Cyndi in their full on Frida Costumes! Aren't we awesome? You can be too!

How much fun is that going to be? From what I hear, there are students already putting together their costumes! Ok. A bit shy on the idea of getting all "dolled" up. No worries. You will qualify if you wear anything that honors our girl Frida; such as jewelry, make-up, flowers in your hair, or even a Uni! Join in on all the fun. This is going to be a real Fiesta! Frida Kahlo style! Ole!

Frida Kahlo Mixed Media Art Doll
& Celebration Class

Featuring
(the fabulous, amazing & chola babe)

Yoli Manzo

Mixed Media Artist

Saturday July 11, 2009
The Party starts @ 11am
Call to Reserve Your Spot Now!
(661)255-7526

Last Weekend was Super!

2009-06-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the corny blog title. I'm running out of creativity! But to be honest, last weekend was really super.

First of all Krissi Sandvik came into town to teach her "Hearts of Fire Mixed Media Imagery" Class and it was so great! She ended up with 13 students! Krissi taught so many different techniques in this one class that my head is still spinning. Here are a few of the finished plaques we made in class:
Everyone had a great time and left with a head full of knowledge. My comadre Annette says she now goes into Michaels with a whole different out look! Krissi knows her stuff, and now we know Krissi's stuff. Joy...Rapture!

Ms. Tyn Atol came back to teach her "Charming Necklace Soldering" Class. Class was full, natch! We had a lot of creative peeps attending this class. Tyn enjoyed their focus and their creativity. And here are some pictures from her class!

All in all, it was one fabulous weekend. Now let's get ready for this coming weekend.

SCCL is happy to have Amarie Hill teaching her awesome collage techniques at our studio. She's got a "Paper Doll" class on Saturday June 27 & her "Doll Menagerie" class on Sunday June 28! Come Join in on the fun. Amarie is so talented and she wants to share all her creative techniques with you. She really is amazing!

Hope to see you this weekend. Don't forget to shop @ SCCL too. We get new stuff almost everyday!

Oops

2009-06-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

So I forgot that Sunday June 21 is Father's Day! I am rescheduling the "Doll Menagerie" Class that was scheduled on that date to SUNDAY JUNE 28, 2009! Same class, same time, same teacher. Just the date has been changed. The good news is that if any of you wanted to take this class but had plans with ur daddys, well maybe now you can take it!

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful fathers in the world!

Open House Tonight

2009-06-17T16:44:00.000-07:00

Missed last month's Open House, and it seems like such a long time ago since I held the last one. Time is just rushing by. Classes for Friday and Saturday are FULL! Thank you to all those that will be attending. I'll be blogging live on FACEBOOK for both classes. Please tune in if you are unable to take the class.

So tonight's Open House is going to be "PaperClip Bookmarks." This is very easy and so cute! Come on by for some crafting, laughing, and relaxing. This is a night of FREE crafting. Oh yeah. And the store will be open if you would like to do a little shopping too!
See! Aren't they cute? It's all about going GREEN!

See you tonight!

HEARTS OF FIRE, CHARMING NECKLACE & DOLL MENAGERIE CLASS

2009-06-16T12:16:00.000-07:00

We have a busy weekend coming up and it's all so exciting. I know I keep saying how exciting everything is, but it is! Can ya all tell I'm having a great time. But you gotta know I couldn't have all this fun without you! So thanks to all the friends (new&old) spending time at SCCL and making this all so much fun. You all are great.

Now down to business.

Are you all ready for Friday night's class? What! You haven't heard? Well listen up. Krissi Sandvik from Skelekitty Fame will be here Friday night to teach her incredible Mixed Media Imagery Class called "Hearts of Fire." She is coming all the way from Northern California to teach here at SCCL! And people this class is going to be off the hook. She is incorporating so many different techniques into this one class that it's almost crazy!! She is "teaching shading, layering and clear digital and print image transfer techniques while you create your own mixed-media collage on wood. You'll also learn how to get that aged "encaustic" look without the toxins!"

Now how's that for a class! Plus she will be having a drawing for some really cool craft supplies. You. Don't. Want. To. Miss. This. Class. And I should let you know that there are 3 spots left, so call the studio now to reserve your spot.

Saturday the fabulous Tyn Atol is returning to teach her Soldering Class called "Charming Necklace." And yes. It is very Charming! This class was brought back by popular demand. It is so popular that this class is now full! As a matter of fact, I kind of overbooked poor Tyn! But she said that it was ok, and I trust she'll be able to pull it of. She's that fabulous. No worries about missing this class because Tyn is coming back all summer to teach all her fabulous techniques, and there are many. So if you are all signed up for Saturday's class don't be late. Come get your seat early!

On Sunday Amarie Hill will be teaching her Collage Class called "Doll Menagerie." I'm so excited about this class! She is such a talented collage artist, plus she makes it look all so easy. She puts you at ease with her easy way of making things flow together. She will teach techniques that will inspire you to start collaging or if you already collage you will learn something new. She will also be teaching her "Paper Doll" class on Sunday the 27th! That class looks like so much fun! Gosh! I'm glad I'll be here for all these classes, or else I would have trouble deciding which class to take! Aw, but knowing myself pretty well, I would sign up for all of them!

So that's our weekend here at SCCL! Fabulous isn't it?! I really hope you can join us. Please check out our calendar and class descriptions of all our classes. If you think June rocks, wait 'til you see July!!

UPDATE:
DOLL MENAGERIE CLASS HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED TO SUNDAY JUNE 28, 2009

Lots-o-Fun

2009-06-15T16:07:00.000-07:00

I had a great weekend at SCCL! The store is doing well. People are shopping and having fun while doing so. You should try it.

Crafting + Shopping = Happiness!

Paul Murray was here on Saturday and he taught his Embellished Canvas Class. It was a great class. He is so wonderful. I love that Man! He will be back too, and I'm sooooo happy about that. I blogged on Facebook as the class was happening and there were lots of people wishing that they had taken this class. No worries. Like I said, he'll be back! Here are a few pictures from the day!

On Sunday I taught the "Tricked Out Paper Lantern" class to the cutest girls. I had so much fun! Maybe more fun then they had. I don't know. It's kind of hard to tell. They were very happy with their hanging pieces of art! Did I mention how cute these girls were. Seriously. If you are looking for an afternoon of fun for the kids while they are on summer break, give SCCL a holler! Everybody has fun here. See how cute they are!
Don't forget to check out our class calendar. I just know you'll find a class that you just have to take. July is shaping into a great month of classes too. I just found myself another artist to come in and teach at SCCL. She will be teaching next month and her class is so cool. Yes I'm teasing you with bits of information. You'll have to wait for the July calendar!

This coming weekend is going to be incredible! But that deserves a blog all on it's own. So until tomorrow!!

Picture This

2009-06-06T08:35:00.001-07:00

This is my little store! I'm sure it will grow as time goes on. Right now my class room is bigger than the store, but I can easily fix that. Speaking of class room, I won't even put up pictures of the mess it's in right now. Haha! Even tho it's a beautiful mess. I've been crafting and packaging and it's a mess! See the shelves on the left side of this last picture? My wonderful supportive husband came in Thursday night and put them up for me. I really love the way they look. I sent him to Ikea to pick them up. He's been so helpful with everything. Thanks John for being such a great husband. I just love that man!

See you all soon.

MARKET PLACE OPENS TODAY

2009-06-05T07:57:00.000-07:00

Today's the day. I am finally opening my store inside my studio. I am now selling craft supplies for all your mixed media and general crafting needs! Can you believe it? I'm very excited about this as you can imagine. This is another part of living my dream.

So now I have new studio/store hours. It's time for me to grow up, kind of. Let's not get too carried away. Here are my new hours:

Tuesday-Friday
11am-6pm
Saturday-Sunday
11am-5pm

I'm closed Mondays.

And here are some of the items we are selling at Market Place.

This is the Scoop Bowl!

These are our Mixed Media Trinket Jars. Just full of all kinds of cool finds!

Speaking of cool finds. This is the Found Objects Drawer.
SCCL has their own Product Line! How cute.
Selling Homemade Goods too!

Really Happy to be carrying these items from some really cool people!

These Kits were made for SCCL by my good friend and artist Yoli Manzo!

These adorable Rubber Stamps were designed by Krissi Sandvik.
They are from her SkeleKitty Series.

Hope to see you all at the new Market Place at SCCL.

And of course we will be holding classes as usual. Check out SCCL's June calendar for all the cool classes scheduled! Call to reserve your spot. Classes are filling up!

I'm Very Excited About the Summer @ Santa Clarita Craft Lab

2009-05-22T09:49:00.000-07:00

This summer at Santa Clarita Craft Lab is going to Rock! We have so many artists coming to teach at the studio, I can't stand it! Here's who's coming!

Tyn Atol - Mixed Media Artist. The link takes you to her blogs.
Paul Murray- Mixed Media Artist. The link takes you to his Etsy!
Krissi Sandvik - Skelekitty Creator/Artist. The links take you to her blogs.
Joe Carrion - Mixed Media Artist. The link takes you to his bio page on the Zinnia website.
Yoli Manzo - Mixed Media Artist. The link takes you to her blog.
Kari Atol - Artist/Mixed Media Artist. The link takes you to pictures of the class she will be teaching.
Amarie Hill - Collage and Paper Artist/Mixed Media

How cool is that, and just in time for what is supposedly going to be a HAWT summer! It is really exciting stuff to have all these fabulous artist teaching at my studio. Please take the time to click on their links so you can get to know how incredible these people are. I am very honored to have them here at Santa Clarita Craft Lab! The June Calendar will be going up in a few days!

Santa Clarita Craft Lab is a mixed media studio and supply store and we're the only one of it's kind in the Santa Clarita Valley! Please visit us anytime and join us in one of our classes. Trust me. It will be a cool place to hang out during a hot summer day!

We had a lot of fun in our classes over the weekend. Here are few pictures to close out this blog. Have a lovely Memorial Day.

Crowific!

Busy Stuff Happening on all kinds of Fronts

2009-05-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

Wow! I have been blessed. Starting with Santa Clarita Craft Lab. Every time I walk into my studio I am so grateful for its existence. It's amazing. Getting my Market Place together is a lot of fun too! I can't imagine what it's like for people opening large stores. This little corner in my studio is a challenge.

I do have to cancel tomorrow night's Open House. I hate to do that because I always have such a good time. However, there is conflict of schedules, and I'm thinking you'll all understand. The good news is that this summer Santa Clarita Craft Lab will be holding the most fabulous classes taught by the most fabulous artists! Like I said, I'm really blessed!

I know that most of the time I write about news coming from the studio. I'm going to change gears and update you on a few things happening on other fronts.

MyShowBizFamily.com is about 5 minutes away from being launched. We have to add our Promo Video and one other smaller video on the main page, which we shot yesterday in some really cool little theater in Burbank. It should be ready by the end of this week! I'm really excited because we have been working really hard on this one. We want it to be perfect. If you like, you can go check it out and then I'll let you know when the videos are up and when we launch! This is a family project and it's a lot of fun working together like this. I really have to thank my sons for being such great sports and cooperating with this endeavor. We are family!

In January, John my husband shot a movie called "WMD." He plays the role of the (ex)president.

Well the movie is in the can and being promoted at Cannes as we speak. It's getting a lot of attention and the director is doing the interview circuit here in the states. Everybody is blown away with John's performance. I knew it from the beginning that he was doing a great job. The boys and I visited him on the set a few times (great video for the website for our behind-the-scenes segment) and we got to watch him work. He and the rest of the cast did a great job. Here is a link to the trailer. The reviews are polarizing. The subject matter is a hot topic right now, which really helps. No matter what your take is on this movie it's creating quite the stir! Warning: There is some violence, ok a lot of violence, and harsh language.

Tyler, my son, has been a busy boy. First of all his band is booking gigs left and right. Last Friday they played at the Whiskey A Go-Go. That was a lot of fun. Next Thursday they will be playing at the Terrace in South Pasadena, and then after that they start a "Hot Topic Tour" playing acoustics. He is falling right into the the whole rock and roll "role" too. Here's a picture of him on stage at the Whiskey.

We finally got his new head shots in. Here are a couple. He takes them every two years or so. I think we were a bit over due with these ones.

Here are the new ones.

And here are the old ones. They were sent to me as flair on facebook. Isn't that wild? Anyway I don't know that he's changed all that much. I guess he looks a little older.

In addition to all his band gigs he has a showcase coming up next Wednesday night. He belongs to an actor's workshop and they are putting together this huge workshop. The audience consists of agents, managers, casting directors, producers, and other Hollywood type people. It's a big deal for the workshop and the actors! They have a dress rehearsal tomorrow night and John and I are video taping the entire showcase, and that is why I have to cancel tomorrow night's Open House at Santa Clarita Craft Lab. This will be excellent video for our website and we are also making CDs for the actors. See how everything ties in!

Tyler is also working on a TV show called "Lincoln Heights" as a new character. He starts shooting next week. This show airs on ABC Family. I will keep you posted on when his episodes start to air. He had his first table read yesterday.

And then there's my Jesse. This morning John and I registered him for High School. I still have a lump in my throat. I've been home schooling my boys forever and they are both going to attend high school next year. Tyler has been going back and forth since 4th grade, and I've been teaching Jesse since 5th grade. What will I do with all that spare time?

Jesse starts All Stars next month. He has one big tournament weekend coming up too. Baseball is his thing. He pitches and plays outfield, usually right, and he bats 4th or 5th in the line-up. Last weekend he played 4 games and today he is completely beat up. He can barely walk and has scraps all up and down his right side. He had some major home plate collisions on Sunday. He plays hard.

Where do I find time to blog? Well I must admit I really enjoy blogging. I don't do it as often as I would like, but when I can I will.

Ok gotta get back to my editing desk.!

Great Classes Scheduled this Weekend!

2009-05-15T11:05:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited by the classes schedule at Santa Clarita Craft Lab this weekend. Hopefully you will be too.

First of all we have the fabulous Tyn Atol teaching tonight's class (Friday May 15, 2009)! She's teaching the soldering technique. I took her class last year and it was so much fun, and I'm thrilled that she is now teaching it at my studio! One of my goals for Santa Clarita Craft Lab was to get her to teach here. She comes from Pasadena so I knew it would take some serious visualization!

Her class is called "Charming Necklace" and it lives up to its name! She will show us how to use a soldering iron to make these adorable charms and then we get to assemble a sweet necklace that we will attach our charms to! Sweet!
Soldering has been used a lot in jewelry making, so if you make jewelry and are ready to take it to the next level, this class is for you! Also, soldering is becoming really popular in the Mixed Media Art world. I'mma gonna use it for so many things! Tyn will be teaching another soldering class next month on June 20, so if you miss this class make sure you make the next one. Here are pictures of her what we will be making in both classes:

These are the sweet charms.
And this is a Bird House piece we will make in June's class!This is not a charm. This piece measures around 4"x5". A great piece of art to hang on your wall.

Saturday's class will be so much fun! I'm so happy to be teaching this class. It's called Fabric Journaling (not really a word) and it's all the rage right now. We take a 6 page canvas journal and pick a theme (or not) and create two pages dedicated to our theme (or not). We use paint, fiber, fabric images, appliques, bling and more, to tell our stories in our fabric journal. Fabric journaling is a wonderful way to express yourself artistically. My journal's theme is Hearts! Here is the sample for class!
Very colorful, don't you think? If you have some fabric scraps or any other doo-dads at home you would like to use bring them to class!

On Sunday I'm teaching collage layering, but with a Mexican Pop Art twist. I love making Mexican Pop Art and teaching it is a lot of fun too. I like to give a little history/culture lesson with this class. You will be able to choose from so many images, you'll feel like a kid in a pan dulce (sweet bread) shop! We will have images from Loteria (Mexican Bingo) to La Llorona (Crying Woman) to Frida and everything in between. We will be working on canvas board. Here is a picture of the sample I use in class. It has a little bit of every thing, but you get to pick your theme and your own images!
Don't you just love the colors. And that's what I would love for you to add to your piece. A lot of color. Hey! What's Mexican Pop Art without Color!

I am totally digging my new Calendar Format on my website. I think it makes planning for classes so much easier. I've also added some fun links and other suggestions to keep you all informed and entertained. Would love to hear some feedback!

I will see you all in class. Oh yeah! and plan for a great time!

Crafty as a Fox!
Cyndi

Esther Nunez Moya Garcia

2009-05-10T09:36:00.000-07:00

My mother was born June 7, 1927. That will make her 82 this year. Her name is Esther Nunez Moya Garcia. She married my father over 60 years ago, and they spent a good portion of their lives together raising 6 children. Not an easy task, but they pulled it off and now all 6 of their children are grown adults with children of their own. This blog is dedicated to my mother.

Esther Nunez Moya was born and raised in East Los Angeles. She was the only girl out of four, which meant she had 3 brothers protecting her as she grew up. She was extremely close to her brothers and so when they grew up and got married, my mother finally got the sisters she so desired as a child. To this day her sister-in-laws are her best friends.

My mother has spent the last 10 years or so recovering from a stroke. It has been difficult for her. She lost a lot of her movement on her left side and as she gets older her symptoms become more difficult to deal with, but she is dealing with all of this gracefully.

My mother loved to throw parties. Every Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve it was understood that the Garcia's were having a party. No invitations had to go out because everybody was invited. And everybody came. She made all the food and decorated the house and managed to sew the most beautiful dresses for herself. She never wore the same outfit twice. Her hair was always perfect and she did her own nails, which always looked fabulous. And her parties were the best! People still talk about them as if they were legendary, and in some ways I guess they were. I know some of my best times were at our parties.

Raising 6 kids pulled my mom in a lot of different directions. She wasn't always fair. She wasn't always nice, and in a lot of ways she was ruthless. I'm number 5 out of 6, and my relationship with my mother is different in many ways from those of my brothers and sisters. Although we all grew up in the same house, we all left that house with different impacts. It reminds me that we are all individuals and each of us have our own stories to tell. It makes me laugh, because even though our stories are similar they are also very different. Those of you that know me must also know that I'm taking notes for a very funny, emotional, and crazy screenplay.

My mom and I are very close these days. We are both older and wiser. We both have children. We both have loving relationships with our husbands. We both have more in common today than I ever imagined we would while I was growing up. I'm comfortable with these commonalities I share with her. I've learned to accept them and I will eventually learn to embrace them. What? You didn't think I've come that far yet? I've still have some growing to do!

Yes there are some things my mother does and says that drive me absolutely crazy! Like when her eyes glaze over when I try to tell her how she should be living her life. Or like when I find the Thigh Master I gave her for her birthday sitting in the corner of the room collecting dust. Or when she doesn't listen to me when I beg her not to make tamales for Christmas, because she has to recruit the help of my sister Geri, and this always ends up in fight and a 4 hour phone call to me from Geri screaming and yelling about how much she "hates the old woman!" Secretly my other siblings and I have a pool on which day Geri will break and which one of us will get the "tamale call." I won 50 bucks last year!

Because my mom was the baby sister in her family her brothers called her (still do) Nena. I always loved that name. I wanted to be called Nena while I was growing up. This is the first time I make this information public. Nena means baby girl in Spanish. When I hear my aunts and uncles call my mom Nena it reminds me that at one time she was a baby, a child, a young lady; my curiosity stirs inside of me and I have to get to know that person, that child, that young lady. Now when I spend my time with my mother I force her to take a trip down memory lane. She tells me stories of the person I didn't know. While telling her stories she sometimes smiles; she sometimes cries; she sometimes has no emotion, but there's always a look in her eye that allows me to see inside a life I never knew. My head whirls with visions of her life as a young person, and after our talks I grow to love this woman sitting across from me even more. I grow to appreciate her reason for being, and I grow to understand that everybody has a life's journey that needs to be respected and honored.

My mother's journey is long and is on going. She is a strong, loving, funny, hard, giving, and caring woman. She was all these things before becoming a mother. Today I celebrate the Woman, the Individual, and the Mother.

Note: Those parties I spoke about earlier; well we (my brothers, sisters and I) were ultimately horrified when David Rose's instrumental jazz piece "The Stripper" began to play over the loud speakers. My mother would take center stage and do her rendition of the striptease. She never removed one ounce of clothing but she left a lot to the imagination of her party guests. She was very good at that! Now I long for those moments with a tear in my eye and a smile on my face.

My New Calendar

2009-05-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

I took the time to work on a new calendar format and here is the link

Calendar

I like it. What do you think?

May is on the Way!

2009-04-29T18:56:00.000-07:00

I got my May Class Schedule up! Wow! I can't believe it. You can check it out on my website. There are some new classes too.

I'm really excited about Ms. Tyn Atol coming to Santa Clarita Craft Lab! She's a fabulous mixed media artist from South Pasadena. She's teaching a soldering class on Friday May 15th from 7pm to 10pm. She's a really great teacher too. I just know you will really love her and will be wanting her to come back.

Her class is called "Charm Necklace" class. We will (notice I said we, you know I'll be sitting in on this class) be soldering two glass pieces together but not before we fix a little collage in between the two pieces. And then we will make our own chain necklace to attach the charm(s) to. Now how groovy is that! Check it out.
Isn't that beautiful? Of course we will be designing our own little collage. She'll have an assortment of images and papers to go through, but if you have something in mind you can always bring it to class.

How 'bout a tease of some of the merchandise I am stocking in the store?

I'm very happy to announce that my good friend Yoli from Yoli's Sac red Jou rney has supplied me with the cutest kits. They are Mixed Media Sacred Art Doll Kits and I just love them. The kits include all the supplies you will need to put together your doll. And they are all unique. Not one of them are the same. These will make great gifts for your crafty friends. Here are pictures of the ones Yoli sent to me for display.

I had to make one. Actually Yoli gave this kit to me as a gift when we met each other on Catalina Island.
Why do my pictures always come out so blurry. Sorry. I guess I moved.

Yoli includes a broach pin and a magnet for the back of your doll in each kit. I like to wear mine around town, and when people ask where I got it I tell them I made it at Santa Clarita Craft Lab! I do give my girl Yoli the credit too. You have to see the awesome art Yoli does. Take a look here at her Etsy! Amazing right?

I received my Skelekitty order on Friday. I was out of town, and the box was waiting for me when I got home. That was a nice surprise! My friend Krissi Sandvik is the artist behind these really adorable rubber stamps. I am so happy to be carrying them in my store. Krissi is a such a talented artist. You can check out her collections HERE. Krissi makes kits too and soon those will be arriving to the store. For those of you too far away from Santa Clarita Craft Lab Krissi has an Etsy too!

Here are the Skelekitties all lined up waiting for a good home.
I just got these Nichos in too. They are so darn cute! And I will be holding a class this month on how to pimp out these little cribs.
Wow! I guess I've teased you enough. There is a lot more product in the store, but I want more! By mid May people!

Hope to see you all in class!

Warning: This blog Has Lots of Pictures

2009-04-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

This Saturday April 25 Sherrie Allen will be teaching her tole painting class at Santa Clarita Craft Lab!
She will teach you to paint this pretty little beach scene on a picture frame; just in time for summer. This will make a really cool thank you gift to give to a friend for throwing a fabulous summer party!

Hope you can make this class. Sherrie is a great teacher and she's a lot of fun to spend time with! Class starts at 11am!

I'm really excited to announce that Santa Clarita Craft Lab will be featuring the talents of Tyn Atol . She is a wonderful mixed media artist and she teaches the coolest classes. She's actually really amazing and when you take her class you'll learn so much. Her first class is scheduled for Friday May 15. Class starts at 7pm. She will be teaching a soldering class. It's called "Charm Necklace." She will also be teaching a class in June. This is a picture of the first class she will teach. I'm signing up for this one! Doesn't this look cool?
The store is coming together. I hope to open by mid May. I've got a lot of inventory right now, but I still need a lot more. I'll keep you all posted.

We had some really great classes this past weekend starting with our Tile Class. Here are some pictures from that night and from the rest of the weekend.So can you tell we had a blast over the weekend! Santa Clarita Craft Lab has been entertaining a lot of groovy people. It's amazing. Living your dream is so much fun. I highly recommend it.

I've been playing with some of the merchandise I'm carrying in the store. I made this cute little bird house from a block of wood cut into the shape of a house. The houses are cut in different shapes and sizes. They are great to work with and you can paint them or decoupage them, like I did. And then you can add all kinds of fun things.

I'll post more pictures of the other things I've been making with the fun supplies my store will be carrying. Can you all tell I'm having fun!

Don't forget about class on Saturday! Tole Painting with Sherrie. She's a lot of fun!

OPEN HOUSE

2009-04-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

OPEN HOUSE TONIGHT!
WEDNESDAY APRIL 15, 2009
7PM-10PM

Tonight's Open House we will be painting white buttons!

I love buttons and the brighter the better.

I search all over for cute buttons.

In my search I have come across a lot of white buttons that I never seem to have a use for; until now!

We will take these white buttons and create whatever design you want or need for your next crafting or sewing project.

Why would we bother doing that?

Let's say you need a button with specific colors or design and you've searched high and low and for the life of you you cannot find matching buttons for your project or outfit, well now that problem is easily solved!

Plus you will be recycling and saving a few bucks at the same time.

And you'll have the exact button(s) you want!

It's a win win People.
Hope to see you tonight!

Getting it Together

2009-04-13T14:56:00.000-07:00

Getting this store together is taking a lot of time, which I don't seem to have. Haha Just kidding. It's coming together. I have some items filling up the shelves. I have to order supplies from here and there, but mostly I want to go out and search for supplies you really can't find in your everyday craft store. Not that those stores aren't great. I love Michaels, Beverly's, & Joannes. What I want to carry are unique supplies for your altered art and mixed media needs. I also would like to put the word out there to all you "indie" crafters that if you make craft supplies or have cool craft kits that you put together I would be more than happy to carry your goods. If you think you are interested send me an email at:

santaclaritacraftlab@yahoo.com

I'm really excited to be featuring Krissi Sandvik's Skelekitty rubber stamps. They are the most adorable creations. She's a really cool artist and has just released her stamps to the world. I met her on Catalina Island a couple of weeks ago, but we were already friends on Facebook & myspace. I'm also terribly excited about carrying La Sacred Ms. Yoli's totally cute craft project "kits." She is another amazing indie artist. This woman can tweak out art like a gumball machine, and it is so beautiful. And my very good friend Annette is supplying me with the coolest Mexican imports. OMG! You're gonna love this stuff! Lots of Day of the Dead stuff for your nichos, shrines and other cool Latino Inspired Art. Expect lots of fun things that will get your creativity flowing.

We had some fun classes this weekend. I'll leave you with a few pictures. Hope to see you all for Open House on Wednesday the 15th. 7pm-10pm. We are going to be painting buttons. Should be fun!

Counting Crows and New Store

2009-04-05T20:48:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy with so many things. What's new, right? I know I'm always saying that I've been so busy doing this and doing that. It's called living on the plane of manifestation. Creating things out of thin air! Haha

First of all "STUDIOS" magazine came out and I've been getting great responses from all my friends and family. One common comment I'm getting is how beautiful I look. I totally have to give credit to the photographers and my friends, Jeanne Ordelheide & Melissa Ordelheide. They did a great job capturing the spirit of the studio and how happy I was (still am) making my dream come true. It's called living on the plane of manifestation! Thank you all for your love and support. It means the world to me. Isn't the crafting world fabulous?!

I had a great class today.The ladies attending this class were so much fun. This was their first time in my studio and we all hit it off immediately. They came to craft and boy did they craft. They made really beautiful crows.

They really got into it. How could they not; it was a fun project!

This is Jackie and her crow! Great job Jackie. Love the hair!

This is Jo and her crow! Fabulous work Jo. Love your colors!

BCF (best crows forever)

I was inspired by the these two ladies that I had to make my own crow.

Thank You Ladies for a fun afternoon of crafting at Santa Clarita Craft Lab!

Now for the really busy stuff. I have been changing things around at the studio. I put together my "Market Place" where I will be selling craft supplies! Yay! I'm so excited. I had been intending to sell supplies since I opened last July, but other busy stuff kept creeping up. I finally said if I don't do it now, who knows when I'll get around to it. You know me and how busy stuff always finds its way to me. So for that last couple of weeks I have been sorting through all my stuff, moving furniture, recycling old furniture, painting, building, and throwing out a lot of trash. I finally finished putting it all together. There are a few small things I have to do, but check it out. Once I get it stocked with supplies, there will be a lot more color. I will be selling a lot of unique supplies and the usual ones too.

My husband bought this old shelf at a yard sale for $5 about two years ago. It was painted dark green and it was "old school country." I stripped it down and painted it white. It looks brand new now. I'm very happy how it looks.

I made this cute little product rack from an old table top I had laying around. I think it came out really cute.I"ll be adding more things as time goes on, but I think I have enough to get me started. Time to start stocking!

Well I really have to get to bed. I'm exhausted. Nothing a good night's sleep won't cure; that and 5 cups of coffee in the morning!

Thanks again for all your support!

April's Class Schedule is Up!

2009-04-01T15:41:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it's April! Wow!

My April Class Schedule is up. You can look at on my Website.

April's first class is this Sunday the 5th @ 11am.

It's called "Counting Crows" and I think you'll really enjoy this class. It's all about embellishing. I love to embellish. I always say, "the more the merrier!" Sometimes it's hard to figure out what to add on and what to leave off. In this class we let all our inhibitions free! I love these little crows. I like to give them as gifts (which people love to receive) and I also have them sitting all around my house. When I least expect it I come across one of my crows and it makes me smile. And that's why the class is called "Counting Crows." At the end of the day I like to count my crows and all the smiles they produced.

I really hope to see you in class!

MAID IN MANHATTAN

2009-03-31T08:33:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for a good morning movie to watch, why not MAID IN MANHATTAN!It airs TODAY at 10am on FX.

My sweet little boy, Tyler Posey stars with Jennifer Lopez in this romantic comedy. It also stars the late Natasha Richardson. She was a fabulous woman and extremely kind and loving. She will be dearly missed by all, including Tyler and me. She was a friend.

Santa Clarita Craft Lab's Goes to Catalina!

2009-03-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

We arrived to the Long Beach Terminal by 8am, and had time to drink coffee and eat a little breakfast. Our ship was scheduled to leave at 10am. We had plenty of time to relax and get excited about visit to Catalina Island.

Our Day on Catalina

Mayra, Helen, Erin, and I wait patiently to board the SS Minnow.

We held our own little crafting cruise while we sailed across the Pacific.

Oh boy. Did those Bloody Mary's Hit the spot.

We approach the Island with much anticipation!

Isn't it beautiful?

We are here at last!

I see them! I see them!

The Crafty Chica Cruisers!

We are all great friends now!

We kidnap one of them and hold her hostage!

Her name is Yoli and she is Sacred.

We force Corona's down the Sacred One's throat!

We are proud of ourselves and how we captured the Sacred One.

Alas. The Sacred One longs for her fellow Crafty Chica Cruisers.

They vow not to sail without their Princess.

We release her to her tender. Goodbye Princess Yoli. We will miss you.

Time to see the sights.

It was a beautiful day on Catalina Island.

We had such a fabulous time. We met some really great ladies. It was really great to finally meet them all. We did not see Crafty Chica. She had to get back on the ship to teach a class, but we did run into her husband Patrick and her very adorable daughter Maya. We all chatted, and then we all went our separate ways to have fun.

One Year Anniversary!

2009-03-24T09:11:00.000-07:00

Today is my blog's one year anniversary. Yes. It was a year ago today that I started this wonderful relationship with all of you out there. I can't believe that it has gone so fast. A lot has happened in that year. First of all I made my decision to start my very own crafting business. I wasn't quite sure in which direction I was going to take it but, I knew that I wanted to start living my dream. One reason for starting this blog was to help me put my ideas out into the Universe; to pitch as many ideas out there and see what kind of hits the Universe would send back. I can't keep score anymore! If you go BACK to my very FIRST blog you will see that I have come a long way.

I, at one time (in the beginning) blogged about wanting to build a studio in my own home. I also mentioned that I got a lot of my motivation and ideas from the very first edition of "STUDIOS" magazine. I loved that magazine. When it first came out I devoured it. I read every article, every ad, every tip from front to back, from back to front. I carried it with me where ever I traveled. It was my guide to my future. I was so excited!

I also had inspiration. I blogged about my inspiration through out this past year, but the one person that truly inspires me the most is Kathy Cano Murillo. I first blogged about her HERE, and then again HERE, and most recently HERE. As you can see I have evolved from being a far off in the distance, internet admirer, to a full fledged Crafty Chica Groupie (some would say stalker)! She is such a great person. She has such a positive out-look on life and she is never greedy with her ideas, her kindness, her availability, or her encouragement. She is an extremely busy business woman, but her family, her friends, and her groupies always come first. She's amazing. I highly recommend her energy, her love, and her kindness. I have to give her a lot of credit for where I am today. Thank you Crafty Chica. You are truly an inspiration to me.

This was taken on the day when I first met Kathy.

You all may have noticed that the idea to add a studio to my home didn't take wings, but instead the Universe hit a home run with another idea I pitched to it. One morning I woke up with an idea to open my studio in a commercial building. I talked to my husband John about it and he said he thought that was a good idea. So we both decided to start looking around town the next day. That same evening John called me from the batting cages where Jesse hits and said that a space was available in the very same building. As you will read HERE I was very excited about this news. Every time I dropped Jesse off for batting practice I would say to him, "One day I would really like to have my craft studio in this building." Well short story even shorter, by the next couple of days I had a home for Santa Clarita Craft Lab. Thank you to the Universe. I'm telling you guys, you gotta put it out there.

This is what my space looked like before all the creativity went into it.

I am a bit limited on time this morning so this blog isn't going to take the long walk down memory lane I had intended it take. But there is one more story I would like to share with you that has contributed to my one year anniversary celebration. As I mentioned earlier I was extremely motivated by "STUDIOS" magazine. It's a great collection of other crafters and artists' work spaces. As my friend Erin and I were painting the walls of my newly acquired studio space I was telling her that one of my dreams would be to "one day have my studio highlighted in STUDIOS magazine." She said, "Why not." And we both kind of just looked at each other, smiled and continued with our painting. Well, I'm sure you can all guess where this story is going. I just received (ironically on my one year anniversary) my copy of the "STUDIOS" 2009 Spring Edition and on pages 68 and 69 Cyndi Garcia and Santa Clarita Craft Lab are beautifully showcased in this absolutely wonderful and incredible magazine. I share the pages with Tim Holtz, Kelly Rae Roberts, Claudine Hellmuth, and many other talented individuals. I am at a loss for words when it comes to describing what this means to me. I do want to give thanks to the editor Cate Coulocos Prato who saw something in my studio that she felt worthy of this great publication. My gratitude and heart goes out to Cate for her time, encouragement, and belief in me and my "STUDIO."

The magazine goes on sale March 31. I recommend it because there are so many other wonderful studios and great ideas to get you started living your dream. There is another note of gratitude I would like to extend. When you do go out and get your copy of "STUDIOS" magazine you will read that each of us were asked what our favorite thing about our studio is. I mention two items that I have in my studio. One is a 60 year old dress form and an even older Singer sewing machine donated to me by my mother. The dress form was hers and she received it as a gift when she was a very young woman, the sewing machine belonged to her mother's mother, but had been passed on to her. She learned how to sew on it. My mother was an artist in her own right. She designed wedding gowns, and wedding cakes, and took me to my very first craft class when I was 10 years old. Thank you Mama from the bottom of my heart for all you have brought to my world. I don't think I would be the creative soul I am today without your love and encouragement.

One final thank you.

Thank you to YOU! I appreciate that you read my blog, and send your encouragement my way when you do. It's so nice having someone to talk to when you think no one else is listening!

Count Down!

2009-03-14T12:59:00.000-07:00

Monday the girls and I will be take that mini cruise to Catalina Island to meet up with "La Crafty Chica Cruise." We are all looking forward to it. I have been working on a project so I can wear it on my trip. I got the project from Crafty Chica's new sewing book called

"Crafty Chica's Guide To Artful Sewing."

It's a great book with lots of really cool sewing projects. Kathy describes herself as a"thread artist" and not a seamstress. Oh Boy can I relate to that. The book gives lots of reason to sew, and some really awesome tips by other thread artists. Her projects are not complicated at all. Most of the directions for each project are only one page. She has a "kamikaze sewing style," meaning she just dives into her ideas and creates some great pieces of wearable art. Each project comes with it's own colorful, detailed picture. I really love this book, and I recommend it anybody wanting to learn how to sew, but are afraid to take that first step. It's Kamikaze time people.

Here is my master piece. It's called:

"Yarn and T-Shirt Skinny Scarf."

I cleaned out Jesse's drawers and took out all his old t-shirts. I followed Kathy's directions by cutting the t's into small rectangles, sewed them together, and then added all kinds of fun and crazy yarn! I love it!

I have to be baseball mom today. Jesse has a double header today so after I finish this blog I'm off to the ball fields. Did I tell you Jesse pitches? Here are a couple of pictures of him on the mound.

I am pretty sure it will be a little cold on the fields so I will be sporting my new scarf! See you all next week. You know I'll have tons of pictures to post from our day on Catalina!

Friday is here already!

2009-03-13T09:34:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast this week has gone. I've been taking care of business on all fronts. It's getting a bit tricky, and at times I forget things. Home schooling my son Jesse has become intense, because now I am home schooling Tyler (my other son) now. His acting career is getting very busy (again), and regular school hours were getting too hectic for him. He also just got signed on as a new band member in a rock band called "Virtual Take Down." He's their bassist and back up vocals. Acting and music are his thing so thank gawd he has options where school is concerned. This first week was a bit crazy because I had to go through all his curriculum and get him organized and ready to be back in this kind of learning environment. Actually that wasn't too hard. I home schooled him for 5 year before he decided he wanted to go to high school. He kind of just eased back into it. The good news is that Jesse has another body in his class! The boys are really close and they get along. I have double the work (I bet some of you are asking, "does she really need more work?"), but it's for the boys.

It's recess!

My other business is going great. I finally got some help (see, I'm not that crazy). That is a relief. I really want you all to "ooh and awe" when I finally launch the website. It should be another 3 weeks before we launch, but jeeze, 3 weeks will go by quickly. In the mean time I'm still producing the training videos, interviews, and behind-the-scene videos so I'm still pretty busy where that is concerned. I've had to set-up a myspace, facebook, and another blogspot too. That's a bit tricky because sometimes I can't remember if I added everything to everything. Huh? It's tricky.

That's me in the middle!

I had to switch my days around too. For those of you that don't know, I also help to care of my elderly parents. They live about 100 miles away from me and every Monday I drive to their house to help them with all their needs. My other sisters help out too, plus we also have a caretaker coming on the days we are not there. Because of my boys' new school pattern at home I had to switch from Mondays to Tuesdays. I think I like Tuesdays better. Maybe because it's changed things up, and that's why I like it. Either way it's a long day for me, and all my other things are put on hold for that day. I don't even take phone calls. I'm way too busy.

They wait every Tuesday Morning for my arrival!

Santa Clarita Craft Lab is holding three classes this weekend starting tonight! Hope you can come and relax and do some crafting. Did you know that when you craft you also release a lot of tension? So if you had a hard day or week think about treating yourself to some fun. I know by the time Friday rolls around I am so ready to release some serious tension. Getting my craft on is my kind of therapy. It takes my mind off of all my worries and stresses. I feel so good after two hours of cutting, gluing, punching, sewing, sanding, painting, assembling, stamping, and laughing, that by the time Monday comes back around I'm so ready to wake up and start my busy schedule all over again.

The Doctor is in.

Every body's happy! No stress here!

Flaky Blogger

2009-03-08T14:46:00.000-07:00

So lately I've been a bit flaky when it comes to blogging. Sorry 'bout that. My plate is now a platter and baby it's full. How do I get myself into so much all at once? Are you like that? You just take so much on (cuz you think ur Superwoman), and you get so over whelmed that you don't know up from down, and you get dizzy, and you forget to feed your children and horrors of all horrors you can't find time to blog?!

Well, I have been busy, but I'm still finding time to have me some fun. What? Are you kiddin' me? You di'int think I wouldn't find time for fun, did you? Are you crazy?

Did you know that the Crafty Chica was in Los Angeles? She was and I went a stalking. I took my chica girlfriends with me too. We had so much fun. She was at a book signing at Handmade Galleries. We came in like we were storming the beaches of Normandy. She was so happy to see us, giving us hugs and kisses and all kinds of crazy crafty love. She set up some make and takes and boy did we make and take. It was so cool. I love that woman! Here are the pictures from our stalking good time!

My good Friend Erin getting her some Crafty Chica Love!

Here she is "La Reina" "La Crafty Chica" showing us how it's done.

Oooh. Can you see me stalking her? I'm so sly, sneaking up on her.

Busted! "Oh hi." "I didn't know you were going to be here."

Here's all the gang posing with Crafty Chica, showing off our "Make & Takes."

Erin, Crafty Chica, Me & Mayra

Just when you thought that the good times were about to slow down, guess again. The Crafty Chica puts on a fabulous cruise every year and no I'm not going on the cruise. Sad. I know. But that's not stopping me from getting in on the action! As it turns out the cruise will be docking at Catalina Island for one day. So my chica girlfriends from above and I are taking our own mini crafting cruise to Catalina and we will be joining the Crafty Cruisers on the little Island off the shores of Southern California! Isn't that Fab! We will set a sailing on Monday March 16th. And as I said we will take our own craft projects and do some crafting in honor of the Crafty Chica Cruise 2009! We will come back to the main land that same day after saying goodbye as they sail south to Ensenada Mexico.

One other thing that has been keeping me busy is I was asked to contribute some "swag" to the Crafty Chica cruise for their swag bags. I put together these really cute goodie bags for all the Crafty Cruisers. This year Craft Chica has around 30 sponsors sending her swag for this cruise. So even though I am not on the cruise, a little bit of me will be cruising with them. All kidding aside. I was very honored to be asked to participate as a sponsor. Hope they like my handmade goods.

Tomorrow's Workshop...

2009-02-21T20:25:00.000-08:00

...or today's workshop, or yesterday's workshop or the day after that; depends on when you read this.

Here are the pictures of what we will be doing, done, or did.

This shrine illustrates a story about a young woman who somehow finds herself living in a run down house located on a lonely highway situated in the hills of a small town in Bolivia, South America. She soon discovers the house is inhabited by a very outspoken, unruly ghost! She later learns her transparent roommate is the ghost of Che Guevara. Over time they develop a relationship of admiration, devotion, and unrealistic love. She sews dolls for a living, and by the encouragement of her new friend, she becomes an activist and writes articles for a local newspaper in support for the struggling Cocaleros fighting the injustices brought upon them by their own government.

Anna, the woman, rides around the countryside on an abandoned motorbike she finds in a beat up little shed behind the house. The Ghost informs her it's hers on loan. She often goes on long rides to cope with her own loneliness and inner struggles. He is always there, in the house, waiting for her return.

Unable to give her the love she deserves, Che vanishes from the house, allowing Anna to find the love she needs to feel whole again. Never finding the kind of love she felt for Che, she dies alone, but content knowing she has his undying love in her heart.

This story is called "Anna and Che."

Open House, Shrine Workshop, & Crafty Chica!!

2009-02-18T10:14:00.000-08:00

Well looks like there's a lot going on from the title of this blog! And there is!

Starting with Open House Night tonight!

We are going to be making Bottlecap Magnets. Read all about how Santa Clarita Craft Lab is going GREEN with our Open House Nights here.

While I'm on the subject, we will have a special guest running the show for March's Open House Night. I'm just teasing you today, but I will have more details later. I'm really excited about this guest, and I know you'll be glad too.

Of course Open House Night is FREE!

Sunday Santa Clarita Craft Lab is having it's first "Workshop" class. Originally I was going to start this class @ 10am, but something came up (more about that later) and I am pushing it to 2pm. Same fun workshop, just starting a little later!

This is part one of two workshops. The first workshop we will construct and paint our shrines and prepare them for part two of the workshop, which is the story telling part.

These pictures give you an idea of what we will be doing during part one.

The top picture is without the door. The lower picture includes the door. The construction technique is really detailed, and once you learn this technique you'll be able to apply it to a lot of other types of projects. Even though these pictures appear to make the shrine look basic, it's anything but. You'll really enjoy building this from scratch! Oooh. And you'll be so proud of yourself. BTW: this shrine is now complete and I will be posting those pictures on a later blog.

Call us at (661)255-7526 to make your Workshop reservations!

Ok. Now guess who's coming to town?! The Crafty Chica! She will be promoting her new book, "Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing," at the Handmade Galleries in Sherman Oaks, California. And the date is, yes, you guessed it, Sunday February 22, the same day as my workshop. So, not to disappoint people and cancel the workshop I am pushing the time to 2pm as stated above. Come on. You can't expect me to miss La Crafty Chica. You can get all the scoop here.

She's having a contest too! Click here to enter at your chance to win all kinds of cool things! Hope you can make it to Handmade Galleries on Sunday. I'll be there from noon to 1pm. See you there!

We have other great classes scheduled on Friday & Saturday too.
Friday night 7pm to 10pm is our Collage Layering Class.
Saturday is everybody's favorite, the Altered Cigar Box Class, 11am to 2pm. This class is a kid's class, but adults are welcome to join in on the fun. Make it a Mommie & Me class!
Check out our schedule here.

See you at Santa Clarita Craft Lab!

Friday's Class!

2009-02-11T22:33:00.000-08:00

I love this class! Hand Painted Mosaic Tiles. This technique is so much fun. You will be surprised by the process and how cool it is. I'm sure you'll have a great time. You can use these tiles for all kinds of different things. I like to use them in my altered art.

I received some good news the other day. The editor of "Studios" magazine contacted me to let me know that the pictures I sent them last year of my studio will be published in the up coming spring edition! Isn't that fab?!! I don't know which photos they plan on using, but I think it will be for one of the vignettes. I'm really excited. The magazine comes out March 31. It is published by the same people who put out cloth paper scissors (my fav crafting magazine).

(Oh gawd. I hope I don't end up on the editing floor!)

Well. I hope I see you in class on Friday! It should be a lot of fun.

7pm-10pm

Check us out HERE!

We're Baaaaack!

2009-02-08T18:11:00.000-08:00

Santa Clarita Craft Lab had a great weekend of activity. New friends, old friends, and lots of creativity all bundled up in a weekend of fun. My studio was busy and it was nice to have the laughter and all the high energy filling the space.

The fabric charm classes went well. These little charms are a lot of fun to make and they are so cute.

These charms are sewn together and stuffed with fiberfill to give them a "chushie" feel. We used stamps, lace, chalks, and metal charms to add some whimsy. I think the ladies did a great job making these their "own."

The collage layering class was a blast!! The ladies in this class were so creative and they really made some great looking art! Collaging can be a bit challenging, but when it is broken down, the process isn't as intimidating as first thought. I love how everyone has their own ideas and interpretation of what I am explaining. Collage can be a great technique to use when journal-ing, painting, scrapbooking, and so many other types of crafting.

One thing is for sure; when you're learning to collage it can be intense. Just look at the concentration going on with this class. I love it! And their finished products are very inspiring. Just take a look.

I taught them everything they know! I taught them how to hack a joke from here to hank-n-sack. I. Taught. Them. Everything theeeeeey know!

Oops sorry. Got carried away with a song from the Broadway Musical "Funny Girl."

These masterpieces get me all worked up.

Thank you ladies, for making me look so good. I think you did a great job with your charms and collages. I look forward to next weekend!

It's so good to be back.

Let's do a little Collage!

2009-02-03T19:13:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy to collage. The cool thing about collage, once you learn the steps to collage you can apply it to a lot of different projects. Saturday's class will be about the layering. I'll be offering other collage techniques throughout the year too. You'll see it will be fun, and you'll be the collage expert you always wanted to be!

Collage Layering

Step-by-Step

Saturday February 7, 2009

11am-2pm

Crafting makes me feel ALIVE!

2009-01-30T09:01:00.000-08:00

I am looking forward to February! Crafting has always been a big part of my life and until recently I hadn't realize how big.

During the month of January I've taken the time to tend to things going on within my family, and to take care of other issues. It's been worth it. I try to live a balanced life. Giving here, giving there. Tending to this, and tending to that. It can get hectic. I know you all know what I'm talking about. I surely know I don't own the market on "hectic." Sometimes during these extra time consuming activities my crafting has to be put on the back burner. That's ok too, however I've noticed during this last break from my crafting, I've been a bit neutral. Not down, just neutral. It almost feels like I am down, and I've even had to stop myself from believing I was down. That wasn't it at all. It's just that crafting makes me feel alive and happy. Without it I'm neutral. Does that make sense? Yes my family, my friends and my great home all make me happy, but the crafting gives me that extra "high." I guess I'm in the right business! Haha

The first class I will be teaching on Friday February 6 is my "Sew Charming Fabric Charms" class. This will be a lot of fun. We use scraps of muslin, lace, ribbon, tulle; add rubber stamps, charms and other doo-dads to the mix, and we create these cute charms that you can add to your charm bracelets or use as pendents. We use the sewing machine, but don't worry. We use a simple straight stitch! Looking forward to seeing you in class!

January has been used to work on that other project I've been telling you about. Starting up a new business is very time consuming, but we are almost there. I have been working with a graphic design artist and that's been so exciting. I highly recommend "The Layer Belt" should any of you need graphic design work done for any type to business. Ask for Chad Boone.

Here is the website banner of our new endeavour!

We are not ready to launch, but I had to show you that we are close. I've been taping, editing, interviewing, more editing, writing, sitting with the graphic arts designer, hanging out on movie sets. All kinds of really cool things! This is a new kind of acting site. It is going to be a Talent Community of constant communication, training, behind-the-scene looks, and other fun stuff. I can't wait to get it out there.

My husband John has been working on a new film. It's called WMD. He has the lead role in the movie and plays the role of a president. That's all I can say, but he and the rest of the cast are doing great work! The director has been so kind as to let me on set with my video camera to take those behind the scene shots I need for our new business. It's been fabulous.

The other day I got a knock on my front door (at home) and it was a location manager for the TV series NCIS. They are going to be shooting on my street and as it happens my house will be in the shot. That means my house has just been cast in an episode of a TV series. Keep your fingers crossed that I can get some video for our new website!

So Ready to Get Back in the Groove!

2009-01-27T08:51:00.000-08:00

Hi Ya All!

Boy have I missed my (our) studio and all my fabulous friends! Are you ready to get back into the sticky stuff? I know I am! I'm so ready to get back into all the things on the shelves and in the drawers!!! Oh the drawers! Filled with all kinds of pretty things for us to play with.

I know it has only been a month, but it feels like forever!

So let's get started!

Friday February 6

11am-2pm

Sew Charming Fabric Charms

$15

--------------------

Saturday February 7

11am-2pm

Collage Layering

Step-by-Step

$20

--------------------

Sunday February 8

11am-2pm

Sew Charming Fabric Charms

$15

Check out the website for February's Class Schedule.

See you all soon. Did I mention I've missed you!!

Peace, Love, and all that!

Cyndi

Time Off

2009-01-11T20:17:00.000-08:00

Due to family matters Santa Clarita Craft Lab will be postponing all of January's class schedule to February. As it turns out our Open House for January will be canceled, but back in February.

Thank you.

Workshops!

2009-01-03T10:47:00.000-08:00

Santa Clarita Craft Lab is now offering "Workshops!"

Our first workshop will be held this month on Saturday January 24, 2009. It's a "Shrine Crafting & Story Telling" Workshop. It's a two part workshop. Part One is all about constructing the shrine. We will build it, paint it, and do basic preparations for Part Two, which is the story telling part. Students will be given homework between Part One & Part Two of the workshop. Students will be encouraged to go on a search for objects, photos, memorabilia, and anything they want to use to tell "their" story to complete their shrines. During Part One of the workshop we will discuss ideas, themes, and the process in which to tell the story of your shrine. When Part Two of the workshop is complete you will have a beautifully constructed story telling shrine.

These workshops will be all day events. We will start early and work all day in a relaxed, stress free atmosphere. Please save the day for the workshop only (if you can). We do not want to rush this process. I want each student to take their time and enjoy every moment of the workshop without having to watch the clock.

I look forward to seeing you at the studio this year. I have so many new classes and other events planned. I'm really excited about 2009!

See you all soon!

Click here for Workshop & Class information.

2008 Graditude

2008-12-31T08:50:00.000-08:00

Thank you 2008:

For Santa Clarita Craft Lab
For All my new Awesome Friends
For making my old friendships stronger
For my beautiful family
For all the Sunshine in Southern California
For my health
For so much laughter
For introducing me to so many new crafting ideas and techniques
For Santa Clarita Craft Lab (i know. i know)
For a beautiful new Daughter
For all the work my husband had this year
For the happiness
For the love
For the hope
For our new President
For all the gifts I've received throughout the year
For my beautiful home
For my coffee in the morning
For my incredibly kind and loving boys
For my mom & dad
For my brothers & sisters
For my wealth and abundance
For my car
For my clothes
For my warm bed
For all the laughter and happy moments, each and every one of them!
For the kindness
For the strength
For the Universe
Thank you for everything!

Happy New Year everybody! I hope you all have a great New Year's Eve and here's looking at a Fabulous 2009!

Love,
Cyndi &
Santa Clarita Craft Lab

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T07:07:00.000-08:00

Hello. Have a Merry Christmas.

Hope you enjoy your day with your family and friends.

xxoo

Cyndi

Christmas is coming...

2008-12-19T08:37:00.001-08:00

...the goose is getting fat. Please to put a penny in an old man's hat! If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do, if you haven't got a ha'penny God bless you!

That's a song I learned when I was about 6 years old (about 15 years ago) (hee hee), and I have been singing it ever since. I always felt sorry for the poor fellow who didn't have a ha'penny (which is half a penny), and I would wonder, "Who doesn't have a ha'penny?" "How sad."

Sorry didn't mean to start this blog on a sad note. The song has been running in my head for weeks! Haha

So I canceled my classes for this weekend, because things are starting to get too stressful. Those who know me personally know that I consider stress a choice and I choose not to have it! Not to worry. The classes I had scheduled will be in next month's schedule. I only had two classes left anyway.

I did this craft show last Saturday, but it wasn't the best event for me. I sold very little. I had a fun time. I met some really groovy people, and made some contacts. I have product left over and I am selling it at my studio. I have opened up a "Market Place" at Santa Clarita Craft Lab!

I have some cute things (if I do say so myself) if you're interested. Check out the link.

From this point on I will be selling Hand Crafted gifts at my studio, and next year I will offer On-Line Shopping! And here's another thing to look forward to. I will be selling supplies too.

I have some pictures of a project we did in a class on Wednesday night. It was the Birdcage class. It will be offered throughout next year.

We do patchwork collage, painting, layering, and build the birdcage. It's a lot of fun. Don't you think we did a fabulous job?!

Today we will be taking a family photo for our Christmas cards. Do you know how hard it was to find a time and date we could all be in one place at the same time? Very hard! That's why we're doing it at such a late date. We're doing it at my house and we don't even have a photographer! Tripod and timer baby!

I'll be in my studio tomorrow, Saturday December 20, if any of you want to stop by to visit and/or shop. I'm not sure about Sunday (Jesse has a baseball game), so give me a call if you were thinking to visit.

Have a great weekend!

This Is So Cute!!

2008-12-10T22:38:00.000-08:00

Check out all the fun details here!

Open House @ Santa Clarita Craft Lab!

2008-12-09T10:01:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow night is my final Open House of 2008! With that said I will be having a celebration for the Holiday and to thank all my wonderful new and old (not old like old, but old like already my friend before I opened for business) crafting friends!

I've been busy making plans and getting ready for the party. We will be crafting too so I've had to plan on the craft of the night. I'm also getting my raffles together. That's been fun. I just love my job!

You can take a look at the details for Open House here.

I am making out next year's Open House schedule and I should have the new dates and activities up soon. Of course new craft classes will be listed too. I'm really excited about 2009! I know things are a bit uncertain right now, and I am doing my best to keep my class fees low. Crafting is such a great way to get rid of stress, and to have fun. I want to offer as much of that as possible. So by keeping my fees low, offering my "Take 5 classes; Get 6th class FREE" program, and having "Open House" once a month, hopefully I can spread the crafting love to as many people as possible.

Here are a few pictures of past classes and Open House.

See all the fun we have! And no Stress!
Hope to see you all tomorrow night!

Weekend Classes at Santa Clarita Craft Lab!

2008-12-05T10:10:00.000-08:00

We have lots of creative fun planned for this coming weekend, starting tonight!

To start us off I'll be teaching the Christmas Birdhouse Class tonight, December 5. Class starts at 7pm! We take a wood birdhouse and paint it, collage it, and embellish it from top to bottom! We select images from Dover Design Christmas Illustrations and size them to fit. Each panel of the house is a different scene! The embellishing part is a lot of fun too!

On Saturday December 6 we will be building this house from the ground up (so to speak). I'll show you how to work with chipboard. We cut it, punch it, paint it, and wire it all together. There is a lot of fun in between too. I'll show you how much fun it is to set eyelets and you'll see what a great look it brings to any project. I love the embellishing part. We'll give our chipboard house all it's charm by collaging, and adding stickers & rub-ons. Class starts at 11am!

My Mixed Media Accordion Style Book is a great class! We learn a lot of different techniques that will intrigue you. Come prepared to learn a lot about mixed media. Don't be intimidated by all the details. You will be surprised how much you will learn, and how beautiful the results are! Class starts at 11am.

Hope to see you at Santa Clarita Craft Lab!

Post Turkey Day

2008-12-02T07:55:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Day and weekend. Did you shop?

Oooh. Doesn't that look like fun?

I have never shopped on Black Friday. I have never shopped over the holiday weekend either for that matter. I was planning on going to Michaels on Thanksgiving Day after dinner. They were having a pre-Black Friday sale from 6pm-9pm. I fixed dinner early and made my family eat by 4pm so I could go shopping. Haha. Is that a bit self-centered? They were all wanting to eat by noon anyway. As it turns out, after dinner, which I had no appetite for, I got very sick. I came down with the stomach flu and it put me in bed for a couple of days. Don't know how I got it, but it really bummed me out. I also had plans to work in my studio too. Isn't it funny how life gets in the way?

I'm heading to my parents' house today. My daddy is in the hospital. They think its pneumonia. Not good for an 86 year old dialysis patient. But my dad is strong and a fighter. He claims it's from the 6am tequila shots he indulged in every morning for most of his adult life. My brothers, sisters and I grew up believing it was cactus juice, but we were thinking more along the line of orange juice. Why did we think it was cactus juice? That's what my dad called it. To my dad's credit it is cactus juice, and once I realized where tequila came from I giggled to myself, because he was just calling it what it was. My dad still makes me laugh. He has a great sense of humor and he has a way of bringing it out when you least expect it.

These plants have to be at least 12 years old before harvesting, plus another 100 years of aging for the really good stuff. My dad's aging time was probably 100 days. Haha. Not sure he drank the "good stuff."

I got my new class schedule up for December! Check it out! There are new classes up and I'm really excited about them. I don't have pictures yet, but the descriptions are there.

Also, take a look at Santa Clarita Craft Lab's plans for December's Open House Night. Hopefully you can join in on the fun.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-25T21:17:00.001-08:00

It's raining outside. It's nice to have rain. I'm a bit cold. I wonder if it will rain on Thanksgiving. I can't remember the last time it rained on Thanksgiving. We usually go to Catalina Island for the Holiday, but Jesse will be playing in a baseball tournament. I'm ok with that, because I have so much to do. I didn't get around to putting that tutorial together as promised in my previous blog. My studio will be closed for the holiday weekend plus Monday and Tuesday, and I'm thinking I can do it then. I am doing another craft show and have to work on my inventory. I have been working on it the last couple of weeks, and I also have to get my December class schedule up! I'm working on protocols for a couple of new classes I will be teaching and I'm liking what I'm seeing. I am also planning a party for December's Open House-December 10. A newsletter is going out tomorrow (Wednesday), or you can check out my website for details. As you can see I'm a bit busy.

Over the weekend we did get in some great classes. However, I forgot to take pictures of my Friday class. I'm really bummed because the ladies in that class made some really beautiful looking Christmas Tin Houses. I was very impressed with them. Hopefully if they read this they can send me some pics and I will post them on a later date.

Sunday's class was a lot of fun. We made Fantasy Christmas Jars. It turned out to be a mommy and me class. Talk about fun. I love working with the kids. They are so creative. The moms & grandmas did a great job too.
Click on the pictures for a closer look!

I'll be teaching a really cool class next month called the Christmas Birdhouse. Here are some pictures of the Birdhouse sample for the class. Hope you can take this class when I get it scheduled. It's so much fun to do.

Have a great Thanksgiving and a wonderful holiday! I'll see you all next week!

Road Trip

2008-11-19T16:54:00.000-08:00

I went on a two day road trip. I traveled up to San Luis Obispo. That's about 200 miles north of where I live (230 miles from L.A.). It was so beautiful. The weather was awesome and it felt good to drive along the coast and breathe in some clean air. We have had lots of fires here in Southern California (some really close, too close) and the air sucks (for lack of a better word).

Driving up the coast is always so relaxing. I drove through Filmore, Ventura, Montecito (another hot spot of fire), Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Pismo Beach, and finally reached my destination of San Luis Obispo.

I went to visit a really good friend of mine who just so happens to be a studio teacher. We met while she tutored Tyler on the set of "Collateral Damage." She has a lovely little home and garden. We walked around her beautiful town.

I took my video camera, tripod, and I taped a great interview for our new business. I had hoped to launch on the first of November, but as it turns out I am having some problems with our movie maker software. Nothing major, it's just slowing me down!

I stopped at the Santa Barbara Mission on the way, and Judy and I visited the San Luis Obispo Mission too. I took some pictures.
These pictures are of the Mission in Santa Barbara.

These are of the Mission in San Luis Obispo.

I held some great classes over the weekend. Here are some pictures of the fabulous work done in class!

Next blog I will have a tutorial on how to make a cute little elf! Hopefully that will be up by tomorrow!
Have a great day!

Open House was Lots of Fun!

2008-11-13T18:18:00.001-08:00

We had a great group of crafters show up for Open House. Cool. We made "Fall" cards. There was a lot of creativity buzzing in the Studio. Guess what? Santa Clarita Craft Lab now has "Regulars!" Yes. It is very exciting. Amy & Linda are such great people and it's really cool that I can consider them regulars and also friends. We had some new faces too, and that is also very exciting. Debbie, Lisa, Jennifer & Rachel were all newbies and I think they enjoyed themselves. Here are the pics from last night.

This little guy is so cute I had to share him with you. He is one of three ornaments we will be making in Sunday's class. Isn't he the sweetest?

Hope to see you in one of our weekend classes!

Rock & Roll

2008-11-09T20:11:00.000-08:00

Had such a great weekend filled with classes and other events. Things are going really well here at Santa Clarita Craft Lab. I am meeting such great people and they are all so creative. Sometimes I feel like I'm the student because of all the great things I'm learning from the people walking into my studio!

On Saturday we had a birthday party! It was so much fun for all of us. Sydney was the guest of honor and she invited her friends to make altered cigar boxes. Boy was it exciting! All the girls made the cutest boxes. It was really cool working with these cute little girls. They brought such happiness and laughter to my studio, it was like a dream come true. Here are some pictures, cuz they tell the story.

I also had a lot of fun on Sunday in our Fairy Jar class. We had some talented artists and they put together the cutest jars. We had a lot of whimsey floating around and lots of charm. This class is so much fun. I hope one day you can sign up for this one. Later this month we will be holding a class sort of like this one, only it will be a Santa Fairy Jar. There will be lots of Christmas magic in this class. Here are pictures of the jars created in Sunday's class.

This is Amy's Jar. She's a regular student and always has a great ideas! Her Fairy is a picture of her daughter in her Halloween costume. She was a butterfly (wings included)!

This Jar was created by Charity. She is a new student and friend. She is very talented. She used a picture of herself from when she was a little girl. This is so cute. Great job Charity!

This is Lucy's Jar. She was amazing! This was her first class at Santa Clarita Craft Lab. She had such great enthusiasm, and Lucy is only 6 years old!

I hope one day you all will come visit us at the studio and take a class or two or three or four or five! What! Five classes! Guess What? You get your sixth class free!

Don't forget about our Private Parties! As you can see they are a lot of fun, and they are not only for 10 year old little girls. Big girls (and boys) can have a crafting party too!

What a Week!

2008-11-06T12:59:00.000-08:00

Where has the time gone? Here it is Thursday and I feel like it should be Tuesday! I think I lost a couple of days earlier this week, but now it's time to get focused again. It's a new world and I'm ready!

Last Saturday I did a really really really small craft show and I had a really really really great time. I saw some friends and made some new ones. This craft boutique was held in a small church located in Glendale. From what I understand there are only 35 members! Now that's small. The people were all very nice. There was a warm feeling of community, which was needed because it was a rainy day.

I'm still working on launching our new business. I forgot to save a video I had edited (took hours) and I lost it. I have to re-edit and get it uploaded before I can make another move, but things look great. I am also putting together our myspace, blogspot, and facebook accounts together. I want to make sure all these things are in order before the big reveal.

I have a birthday party on Saturday which I am looking forward to. The party is for a 10 year old little girl and her friends. I will definitely blog about it next week. I would like to get in as many parties here at the studio as possible. If you have a special occasion you would like to celebrate, do it here. We can accommodate up to 12 people, any age group, and any occasion. On my website I list certain crafting ideas, but we can basically do any other kind of craft project. Just give me a call and we can work it out!

Check out this cute altered cigar box a student made. I loved the theme!

The other day it was really cloudy outside and I took this picture. This is from the front door of my studio.

Behind Schedule (just a little bit)

2008-11-03T10:21:00.000-08:00

November 1st has come and gone, and our "New Business" has yet to be launched. We're a bit behind schedule, but that's the nature of this business. There are a few things going on right now that are a bit distracting for us.

One: Today is Jesse's Birthday. Jesse is my baby. His is 14 today. Happy Birthday Kid. We will celebrate later today with the family. He has been so excited about this day and I'm guessing it's because of his birthday "gift list" (yes a list)! I told him he is not receiving the gifts he listed, and that the gifts we did get for him are buried in the backyard! I know I'm mean, but we tease each other this way all the time. He knows darn well he's getting what he wished for. This picture is 100 years old, but I'm not blogging from my computer and that is where all my current photos are. But Jesse is hanging on his dad's shoulders. My sons Derek and Tyler are also in the shot.

Two: The election! It's a distraction not only here in our home, but of course throughout the entire world. For many of us, it's hard to focus on anything but. With that said, launching our business during this global distraction wouldn't be the best timing.

I do want to give you a sample of my video diaries. It's just a tease and the regular videos will be longer.
This video is of Tyler going out on an audition.

Tomorrow I will be voting and then glued to my TV. I will see you all on Wednesday, at that point I will have news about that craft show I did on Saturday and pictures of a cool altered cigar box a student did at the studio.

Have a great day!

Editing, An Artsy Creative Extension of What I do

2008-10-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

Did I tell you that I am now a producer. Ha! That's what I tell people to impress them. I love to do crafts. I craft most days. I teach crafting classes. I take crafting classes. I'm a Suzi Blu student! So what in the world am I doing with a camera in my hand?

This new business of ours, John and mine, is forcing me to go outside of my comfort zone. Way outside. We are creating training videos, which I'll get back to in a moment, for our website, and I'm the one behind the production of these videos. That means I'm writing script, scheduling, taping, and (here's the scary part) editing the videos. I'm learning fast. It is time consuming. One thing that seems to be working in my favor, is the ability to "create." I'm tapping into that creative instinct of mine and it's helping me to stay clam when clam is needed. Helping me to visualize, when vision is needed, and on top of it all, feel confident in what I'm doing. Does that make sense to all you creative, talented people out there? I'm sure it does.

Our training videos are a huge part of what we will be offering. They are designed to give the viewer a look into a part of this business they could only imagine or guess. For instance, one of our videos is titled "The Commercial Audition," and in this video we not only explain the process of what to expect, but we also take the viewer into an actual casting studio, and into a casting room with all the lights, cameras, cue cards, and monitoring equipment. We familiarize our audience with the environment and how safe it is, so once they make it to that point, all they need to be concerned with is the actual audition. Easy for me to say right? I know watching and doing can be two different things, but at least our videos will take a lot of the guess work out of the way.

Ross Lacy Casting Studios-Hollywood, California
John Posey explains cue cards.

We want to help people to obtain their dreams in this business and we are doing what we can to help them realize that dream. We're presenting a very informal and friendly approach to this business. It allows me to be more creative and I enjoy that, but mostly I think our audience will enjoy it. Hey people, relax, and let's have some fun.

Nothing like Tapping into Your Recources

2008-10-29T06:16:00.000-07:00

Being in the TV/Film business all these years has provided my family with many wonderful opportunities and excitement. We have also had our share of ups and downs, but overall our experiences have been fascinating to say the least.

I think one of the best experience we've benefited from in this business is the great people we have worked with over the years. When you work on Film or on TV shows for long periods of time you become family, or at least great friends with the people on these productions. I'm not just talking about other actors, but also the crew, producers, assistance, catering, tutors (my best friend is a studio tutor), and so forth. There are some people that John has known for over twenty years, and a lot of my friends are scattered all over the world.

This is the cast of a TV Show Tyler worked on as a regular for 5 years. We are still great friends will all the cast and with the crew.

One of the features we will be offering from our new business will be taped interviews with experts from the industry. I'm very pleased to say that these experts will be our friends. We have interviews lined up with producers, studio tutors, managers, agents, directors, actors, child actors, and many others. All these interviews to start us off with are our friends. They all have been kind of enough to agree to bless us with their time and knowledge of what they do in this business.

The fun part for us is that John and I get to get together with our friends and talk about old times (some not so old). The great part for you, the viewer, will be the opportunity to learn how the business works from people that are actually in the business. Editing these interviews has been a bit challenging due to the fact that when we get to talking we often go off on tangents completely off subject. There's a lot of laughter and silliness to edit through, but the one main thing that is coming through (accidentally, but I'm liking it) is how much fun this business can be. Not just fun, but genuine. Often people in our line of work get labeled. I won't go into details of what those labels are, but let me just say their are a lot of misconceptions. Our interviews will help put a lot of those misconceptions to rest. Who knows, maybe we'll be the ones to give "Hollywood" a good name! Haha. Ok. I'm going over board.

I woke up with that song "That's what friends are for" in my head. I don't even know if that's the title, but those words keep singing in my head.

Yikes! I have to get to the studio and mass produce! That craft show is just around the corner. It's hump day!

See you all tomorrow. Have a great Day!

The Balancing Act

2008-10-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

You ever feel like running away to join the circus? If I decided today to run away to join the circus I would have to state my talent as "The Balancing Act." Lately my life has become very active with all sorts of things. And you want to know the crazy thing about it? I've brought it all on! Talk about living on the plane of manifestation!

Reading my previous blog you are aware of this new venture my husband and I are taking on. To be fair, it's not just John and me, it is also my family. I'm sort of, kind of, twisting arms to get them involved too. I have been following them around with my video camera recording their every move for my Video Diary Segment of this new business. If I have to describe it, I would have to say it's just like a "reality TV show." I mostly want to capture what it's like to balance between having kids and a husband in this business with keeping life grounded for them/us. It's one thing to explain it, answer emails, and/or blog about it, but it's another thing to actually show people how it's done, with all the ups and downs that come with the territory. It's not easy, nor is it without excitement.

I would like to say as a family in this business we don't have much drama. John and I have raised our boys to be extremely grounded; we're just your everyday average family, and we just happen to be in the TV/Film business. Jokingly I've thought about scripting some drama into my videos only to make it more like a real "reality show," but the reason for the videos is to show people how being in this business doesn't mean your life has to be filled with crazy drama. Yes, that makes great TV, but let's face it real life is not quite the same as it is on TV.

There are a lot of good internet businesses out there that offer solid information about show business, so what makes ours different? I think the appeal will be that we are people that are actually "in" the business, living and working it everyday. Between the family, collectively we have more than 45 years of experience. Let me break it down; John has been in the business for over 25 years, I have been a stage mom for over 10 years, and both Tyler and Jesse have been actors for over 10 years. Add it all up; more than 45 years. Dang. Makes me feel old. Ok let me move on. Haha

I do think my diary videos will be a big difference too. Hopefully they will show people how to balance the business with the other part of their lives, and help them to succeed in keeping their families grounded. Like I said earlier, it's not easy. I know I could have used a "How To" when I first started. For all of you out there just starting off, this will be my version of a "How To," only it's a "how to" as it's being done.

Talk about balancing act, I gotta get going. I have to work on some product for the up coming craft show I'm doing, Tyler has a "call back," John is shooting another "Boston Legal," and I have to get this all taped for my "reality show." Mean while Jesse's still in bed and I have to wake him up to start home schooling!

See you all tomorrow!

Craft Show & One other Thing

2008-10-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

I have been a bit busy working on product for a Craft Show I will be doing on Saturday November 1st. It's called Harvest Festival Boutique and it will be held in Glendale, California at the Glendale Community Church of God. I haven't done a craft show since last November and I'm really looking forward to it. My Studio is a mess and I love it. I have 15 projects going on at once and I've been bouncing from one project to the next; letting paint dry, decoupaging something else, cutting patterns, second coats here, gluing on embellishments there, applying coats of varnish, and so on. Somehow, don't ask why, but I work best this way. I know it's crazy, but I do. It's like what I do during Christmas. I don't start shopping until three days before and I spend all night Christmas Eve wrapping presents. But come Christmas morning everything is in its place looking beautiful. That's the way I role.

I also have been working on another business with my husband John. I am really enjoying this project. He and I are building an acting site together. We will be offering our combined experience in the TV and film business as a service on the internet. I'm producing, which means I'm basically running the show. Don't get me wrong. John is really giving his all to the project, I'm just the boss! HaHa.

Here's what we will be offering. Training videos in how to audition for commercials for TV & Film, how to read copy for auditions, how to put a voice over reel together, coaching, set blocking & terminology, and more. We also have interviews on tape with experts from the industry like managers, acting coaches, agents, producers, casting directors, etc. I will be blogging once a week on subjects on being a stage mom and how to get work permits for kids, school on the set, how to get your kid into the business, getting an agent/manager, ooh and so much more. We will schedule monthly chats and of course people will have access to us via email, comments, and the chats. Here's where I'm having the most fun; I've been following my kids and John around with a camera while they audition, work on sets, and basically how we balance "Hollywood" with "Normalwood!" Think reality TV. These videos will be part of the package.

John on set with Tyler. Tyler was on a TV series for 5 years called "Doc." It was shot in Toronto.

Driving through Hollywood (from my Video Diary segment)

Jesse auditions for an animated Voice Over (from my Video Diary segment).

We are hoping to launch on November 1. I will have a link on this my blog, but I will also blog more about this during the week and give you all a preview before then. So I have much to do before now and then.

Hope you all have a great Monday and I'll see you on Tuesday!

Change

2008-10-24T17:24:00.000-07:00

Read All About It!

2008-10-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

Hi.
So the article about Santa Clarita Craft Lab came out in today's Los Angeles Daily News newspaper. I've been receiving phone calls all day. It's very exciting! Now I know what it's like for my son and his celebrity! Haha just kidding, but I'm feeling a little like I'm getting my 15 minutes of fame here. The cool thing is they used one of my favorite pictures for the print copy of the article!

Here is the link for the article on-line for those of you too far away to get the LA Daily News. I get the Daily News and I didn't even know that my article came out today. I started getting calls this afternoon and I was like...wut. My paper was still sitting in the driveway of my house. My son Jesse retrieved it and put it in a safe place. He is also excited because that's him in the picture above. I would also like to acknowledge Laure, Leslie and Leslie. They helped me pull my mock class together for the photo shoot! Thank you ladies and Jesse!

Don't forget about this weekends classes. We're going to have a lot of fun. Check out our class schedule here or look on the right to see them listed on my blog!

I know I haven't been blogging as much as I used to. I have been working on another business that I will be launching on the first of November. (I'll for sure let you all in on the details when I launch.) It has been keeping me busy and I have less time to blog, but that will change once the business is launched. I want to start doing tutorials too! Christmas is coming and I thought it would be fun to do a few Christmas decoration tutorials. So stayed tuned for those.

One other thing. I said I would remind you when John's episode of "Cold Case" was going to air. Well that will be this Sunday, October 19 CBS 9pm. It's called "Roller Girl." Hope you can watch!

Have a great weekend People!

Great Classes Lined Up for this Weekend!

2008-10-10T15:20:00.000-07:00

Looking for something to do this weekend? Need a little creativity in your Life? Well have you thought about spending some time at Santa Clarita Craft Lab? You'll be glad ya did!

This weekend, starting tonight, we have some really fun classes lined up. On Friday night (tonight) we have the:

Trivet Tile Painting Class!

We do some rubber stamping, a little chalking, throw in embossing powder and you get some really cute ceramic tiles. This techniques teaches you how to design your own mosaics, trivet, or magnets. It's a fun class and you learn an easy, but impressive craft! Come check it out, and bring your BFF.

On Saturday, back by popular demand, we have the Yo-yo Pincushion Sewing Class. Learn how to turn fabric circles (not related to crop circles) into these cool functional works of art. It's a great class to learn how to sew by hand too!
Sunday's class is our classic Altered Cigar Box Class. Come get your craft on! This class is a favorite. We have a variety of cigar boxes for you to choose from, and all the pretty papers and embellishments you will need to create the coolest little box. There are a lot of different techniques we use and you'll be surprised by your inner talents.
Look forward to seeing you this weekend!

Cut. Commercial Over! That's a wrap!

Santa Clarita Craft Lab Makes News in Los Angeles!

I am happy to report Santa Clarita Craft Lab will be featured in the Los Angeles Daily News Newspaper! Yes it's true. I received a call from the editor of the newspaper this week and next thing I knew I had a photograph at the studio taking pictures! It was all last minute too. I made some calls and recruited some neighbors in my building and pulled together a class for the photo shoot. The pictures are up on their website, but I'm not sure when the article will be out in the newspaper. I'll let you know. In the mean time here's the link to my pictures.
I did copy the one below and scanned it, so it's not the best quality. This one is my favorite.

Open House Tonight!

2008-10-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

Open House Night

7pm-10pm (or later haha)

We will be making these cute "Day of the Dead" felt skulls.

It's fun and so easy. We will have all the supplies you'll need.

Hope you can join us!

Santa Clarita Craft Lab

21618 Golden Triangle Road

#203

Santa Clarita, Ca 91350

(661)255-7526

The Studio is Buzzing

2008-10-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

We have been having a great time here at Santa Clarita Craft Lab. The classroom has been buzzing. Our classes are going really well. We've had some really talented students coming through too! I'll let the pictures tell the story!

So there you go. From Mexican Pop Art to Cigar Boxes and a little Sewing in between. I hope one day you can come visit us and have fun too. And I don't even mind the mess!

See ya soon. I hope!

A Full Circle Moment!

2008-09-30T17:00:00.000-07:00

Read THIS BLOG posted March 30, 2008.

It was my fourth blog ever.

I was new to blogging, but very excited about it. I had a difficult time deciding what I should blog about. So I wrote about the first ever "Studios" edition magazine published from the "cloth-paper scissors" publishers, and how I got a lot of really great ideas for my studio from the magazine. At that point I thought I was going to build an extra room to my house for my studio, but ultimately opened my studio in a commercial building a few miles from my home. However, the "Studios" magazine was extremely helpful while I designed, organized, and put together my studio space. I keep my copy next to my desk so I can reference it when I need to. As you know staying organized is a challenge all in its self.

The second "Studios" magazine just came out! And guess what? Well I'll give you a visual clue.

There's a picture of my embellishment center from my studio on page 7 of the magazine!!!!

During the summer the publishers put out a call asking their readers to send pictures of our studio spaces for their next "Studios" magazine. How could I resist? They helped me so much I had to share my success story with them. I really didn't think they would use any of my pictures. I just wanted to let them know how grateful I was. I emailed them a few of the pictures I took with my own digital camera. The editor emailed me immediately and said she loved them and was hoping if I could send them pictures taken professionally with special specs. Oh and we need them tomorrow. What? Hmm. Sure!

My friend Robin (I love you Robin) recommended a photographer friend of hers, and her friend dropped everything (I love you Jeanne) and came over and we had this really incredible last minute photo shoot of the studio. I was thinking, "Ok I'll have some really great images of my studio for my website, blog, and advertising if nothing else." I felt like it was a win win.

I sent the images in and the editor called me about two months later saying she wanted to use one picture for this edition and...drum roll...they want to do a full spread of my studio in their spring of 2009 edition! Talk about win win!

They give me credit too. I don't know if you can read it from the picture, but it says "Photo of Cyndi Garcia's studio (santaclaritacraftlab.com) by Jeanne and Melissa Ordelheide."

So this is a total "Full Circle Moment" for me. I'm very happy, excited, thrilled, and ever so grateful. I think even Martha Stewart reads this magazine!

Go get a copy. I got my copy at Barnes and Noble. There are really great looking studios on the inside!

Day for Kids

2008-09-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday I found out about this really cool event that was going to happen Saturday (yesterday).I made around a hundred phone calls to the city and the Boys & Girls Club (the sponsor) and managed to get my application in and approved by Friday, which gave me one day to prepare for it! I worked my butt off and I pulled it all together and was able to participate in one of the biggest business events in our city.

It's called "Day for Kids" and the idea is that all the activities, food, and fun is free for the kids and their parents. Businesses sign up and the city provides them with a booth (canopy, table, chairs) at no charge. They ask that the business provide some sort of fun activity for the kids. While the kids play the parents check out the businesses. About 6,000 people attend this event.

Since I signed up late (understatement) the city didn't have a booth for me, so I had to bring my own. I don't own a canopy. I don't own a six foot table, let alone folding chairs! I got on the phone and S.O.S.ed my friends and had a canopy, table and chairs, by late Friday morning. Even though it was such LATE notice, Mayra said she would be there with me on Satuday.

All day Friday I worked on getting it all together. I made a shoebox theater using my Cricut Expressions die cut machine. I also die cut Princesses, Knights, Horses, and Dragons for the kids to make into puppets for the shoebox theater. The kids had to dress their puppets with dresses, armor, crowns, hoods, all of which I cut out too. Then they got to embellish their puppets.

It was so much fun! Here are the pictures!

I passed out so many brochures! I put together a raffle (free class) for those who signed up for my newsletter. My raffle box was full at the end of the day! All the moms where so excited about my studio and asked if I offered "Mommy & me" classes. I do now!!!!
I'm thinking about making a class of this shoebox theater thing. The kids loved it! I can do so many different scenes with my Cricut machine. It's fabulous. The pictures above where from early on. By half way through the event kids were lined up waiting to make a puppet. The wind made it a challenge too. But it turned out to be an amazing day.
There were 70 spaces available. I was space 69, and space 70 was "Free Pony Rides!" I could not have asked for a better spot.
Thank you to everybody that helped me pull this all together, and that includes the Universe!

Hello From The Studio!

2008-09-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

I've been busy cleaning the studio! It gets a little messy after a weekend of classes. I did some furniture moving too while I was at it. I moved out the couch in the lounge and replaced it with a table and a couple of chairs. I want to have two classes going on at the same time, if I can, and why not, it's my studio! Haha. I will soon be offering knitting/crocheting classes and the lounge is now ready. Small intimate classes are what I have in mind. I think that will be fun. We can get at least 6 students in the lounge now. And while that is going on we can still have our other classes in the classroom. See how smart I am! Haha.

This is just one side of the lounge. I have a couple of comfortable chairs on the other side. It looks really cool.

Come check it out!

Did you ever wonder what I looked like at age 5? Well here I am. I keep this picture in my studio because it reminds me of a time when I colored outside the lines, I didn't care that I got finger paint all over my brand new dress, made clothes for my dolls from old dirty rags laying around the house, or ate paste while I was making my homemade "trick of treat" bags from brown paper grocery bags.

Aww. The good ol' days!

Off Subject...Somewhat

2008-09-13T08:03:00.000-07:00

Maybe some of you know, or maybe not, that a couple of my family members are in the film/TV business. Yes, it's true. My husband John and my 16 year old son (soon to be 17 yikes!) Tyler are actors. John is also a writer and he is producing a film that he wrote called "Oxley's Road." It's a great story and makes me cry every time I read it (I get to read all the rewrites). Here is the demo trailer for the film. This is just a marketing trailer and will not be seen in the theater. And no (even though I wish it were true) Tyler will not be starring in this one. Sigh, but listen carefully as you watch, my son Jesse's voice is that of the "bully!" Haha

If you like you can make comments on You Tube. I'll keep you posted on the progress of the film. And one more thing while we're on the subject. On October 5 (Sunday) John will be guest starring on a TV show called "Cold Case." He plays the role of a sort of slimy, roller rink operator stuck in the '70's dude. The episode is called "Roller Girl," (no he's not the roller girl). I'll remind you as the date approaches.

And that's a wrap!

Craft/Love Fest

2008-09-11T12:04:00.000-07:00

Last night we had Open House at Santa Clarita Craft Lab. It was a lot of fun! We had a lot of creative people in the studio and this morning I can still feel their energy! I can still hear the laughter and the conversations we had (and we had many), as I sit here and type my morning blog. I feel I have come full circle.

Last night was like the way I imagined it would be. The idea of bringing people together to craft, laugh, challenge their inner artist, and provide them with a friendly, whimsy place to do all of that (and more). It really hit home. I've been living with this image for quite awhile and last night I lived it.

Last night was also just like I've been visualizing how I wanted it to be. Visualizing my studio full of fun, cheerful, and happy people is something I do every day. I visualize the laughter, the music, the phone ringing, the messy table, the crafting supplies out of their bins, the candles burning, the cookies on the table, the chairs all full, the picture taking, the talented people, the taste of the cookies, the smell of the glue (E6000), the hugs goodbye, the clean up, all of it, and last night I lived it.

Last night something special took place in my studio. Thank you to all the ladies that made that possible, and for making my dream come true.

Santa Clarita Craft Lab is all about love. Love of crafting, love of friendships, love of learning, love of sharing, love of teaching, love of laughter, love of expressing, and love of life!

Here are the pictures from last night's craft/love fest!

Okay. I didn't make it in the picture, but the empty seat is mine! It seems like Debbie

(American Flag) is holding court. She really inspired us with her creativity.

This is Linda's creation. She really pulled all the right colors together. I love her message.

"Live, Laugh, Smile. Peace."

Great job Linda!Debbie awed us with her altered tin! This little lovely is beautiful inside and out!

Check out all the details. Debbie is a scrapper turned mixed media artist. Just beautiful!

Mayra always surprises me with her finished works of art. She made a shrine box to hang on the wall from an Altoid Tin! Her mermaid swims in her beautiful "Blue" world.

This next tin was created by Carrie. Carrie came in thinking she was just going to watch. We didn't let her get away with that idea!

Carrie claims that she doesn't have a creative bone in her body. She proved herself wrong, but we all knew she had it in her. She had so much fun and left with this little tin she plans on using for her bobby pins. You go girl! (I just love the fish.)

I made this. It's very simple, but I like it.

:-)

Hope you all can make it for the next Open House we have here at Santa Clarita Craft Lab! Please check out our class schedule too. We have a lot of fun classes planned.

Lounge Act

2008-09-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I need a little break from crafting in my studio I take a quick jog (like 15 steps) over to my lounge and I sit and relax. I really love that little corner in my studio. I sometimes take a nap. I'll even do some visualization. It's so comfortable. My guests and I sit there and have great conversation about anything, but mostly crafting. I want to extend an invitation to all of you to come and enjoy the comforts of my lounge and get some inspiration!

I found this really cool tutorial the other day. A cool lady by the name of Michele Parlee is now blogging and blessing us with her teachings. Her blog, ArtsyGringa is great! She's new to blogging, but you would never know it. Her tutorials are easy to follow with great images and instructions. The picture below is a shrine I did following her latest tutorial. She's an amazing artist. Check her out!

SEPTEMBER 10, 2008

OPEN HOUSE NIGHT

THAT'S TONIGHT PEOPLE!!!

7pm - 10pm

Hope you all can make it over to Santa Clarita Craft Lab tonight for Open House Night. We're going to be altering Altoid Tins! We have all the supplies and tins you'll need!

We'll save you a seat!

I Love Crafting! Yes I do! I Love Crafting! How 'bout You?

2008-09-05T10:39:00.000-07:00

I've been working a lot of hours lately to stir up business for Santa Clarita Craft Lab. I call it work, but it's more fun than work. I really love my studio and appreciate all the support and encouragement I've been receiving from everybody, which includes all my cyber buddies.

I have a list of things to do, and I've been checking things off that list one by one. I need lists. I like lists. Lists like me. One of the things on my list was to make this really cute clutch. I made this using cool tapestry fabric I scored from an upholstery store. I have enough fabric for many classes! And all different prints and colors!

I will be teaching this sewing class this month! I just love it. It is really easy and the perfect sewing class for a beginner. It's a great class for anyone.

I've also added a new product to Santa Clarita Craft Lab. We will offer "Private Parties!" Isn't that cool? I had been receiving a lot of inquiries regarding birthday parties, office parties, and other private events, so I listened! We are offering two PACKAGES. Favor. Can you check them out and tell me if I need to add anything? Thanks!

Don't forget about Tonight's Class! Mexican Pot Art! Featuring La Crafty Chica Products!

My mom is in the hospital and I made her this little nicho for her bedside table. She'll like it. Kind of blurry. Sorry.

See you all in CLASS!

See You in September

2008-09-02T15:29:00.000-07:00

So school is back in session and that includes Santa Clarita Craft Lab! I'm really excited about the new classes I have set up for the month of September. Here is SCCL's website.

http://www.santaclaritacraftlab.com/

So did ya check them out?! Fun don't ya think?!

Well not to feel left out of all this school/class room action I signed up for a drawing class on Suzi Blu's site. It's an online class and I'm really excited to start. I have been wanting to take a drawing class and when this was put in front of me I couldn't resist. I'm sure once you check Suzi Blu out you'll feel the same way. My friends Yoli, Krissi, Helen, and Crafty Chica have signed up too. We're all in class together! I joined class about two weeks after it started and I am way behind. I gotta do me sum ketchup!

John come homes tonight and I have the honors of picking him up at LAX. I'm really excited. Shaved my legs too! He was on TV the other night (Swingtown) and that's the first time I saw him in a month. When you're married to an actor there will be times when the only time you see him is on TV or hear his voice on the radio. But it will be great to see him in person. I really missed him!

I was really worried over the weekend about Hurricane Gustav! We still don't know the extent of the damage, but from what I'm hearing most people have homes to come home to. After Hurricane Katrina struck I headed to Louisiana to do relief work and it was the most devastating thing I had ever seen. I mucked, gutted, tore down, and rebuilt about 5 different homes. Not only in New Orleans, but also in Slydel, LA and all the way into Mississippi. I also worked a couple of distribution centers. I lived in an old gutted church in the 9th ward and slept in a tent on the banks of the bayou in Slydel. I ate meals cooked for me by people living in FEMA trailers, drank southern whiskey with old hippies around campfires, and partied it up in the French Quarter. Needless to say I was ready to pack my duffel bag and head south again. Looks like my boys will not have to part with their mother, however they did say if I did go they were going with me this time.

This is me in my tent on the bayou. I made two trips to New Orleans in 2006 to do relief work. I met some of the nicest people, ate some of the best food, and danced to the best music. The gris gris really got a hold of me. So now I'm keeping my eye on Hannah, Ike, and Josephine!

ps: all my friends from New Orleans evacuated safely and immediately!

Bring on the Fun!

2008-08-21T21:05:00.000-07:00

Since John has been out of town I have been acting as single mom. I don't make it to the studio until after two o'clock or later, and as soon as I get there the boys always need me for something (like dinner), and I have to head back home. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy being mom, and feeling needed is a special thing.

I have been keeping busy with SCCL business. I've been working on getting my new class schedule up. I hope to have it posted this week. September classes will be listed! August has been a bit challenging. I never quite had the time to schedule even one class!

That said I have been busy on the artsy side with some new projects. My girlfriends from Sacred Snatch and Krissi's Stitchery have put out an online challenge to all us crafters, and I took it. I must say I have been having a lot of fun with this project.

It is a "batik decorative paper" challenge using a really fun technique that the Sacred Snatch introduced to us a few days ago. Check it out. I jumped right in and haven't stopped since. It involves coloring, painting, and decoupaging. I've made three different pieces using this technique and even had one big booboo too! Here are the pictures of my masterpieces.

This first drawing took me almost 3 days of start & stop work. Stopping because my fingers were cramping, but I was having fun. Can't remember the last time I held a crayon in my hand and lost myself. As you can see it was a really colorful piece. "Was" being the operative word.

I kinda used way too much black paint and ended up with this!

Que paso?

I wasn't that freaked out.

Ok. Yes I was!

I l oved my first picture! :-(

So my second attempt went like this:
I used a smaller canvas (actually printer paper) and just sort of colored randomly without much thought, less time, and less cramping ( I had permanent back scratchers after my first piece).

This picture took maybe twenty minutes.
I used just the right amount of black paint and water mixture, and ended up with this cool looking paper.

I then decoupaged it onto this cross, added some embellishments, and ta-da! Fab-u-loso!
There was no stopping me from that point on. Take a look at all the fun I had!

The cool thing is you can use this paper on anything, for anything.

You can collage with it, write a letter on it, decoupage your walls with it, wrap a gift with it...well you get the idea. I like it so much because it's all you baby.

Designing your own paper for your project adds a little more pride to your work.

So Sacred Snatch and Krissi's Stitchery, this is my official entry to your "online challenge." Thank you for the idea and for bringing on the fun!

Ok. Gotta run. The 5 year old little girl inside of me is dragging me back to the crayon box!

My Crafty World

2008-08-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

Went to Glendale last night to visit with La Crafty Chica. My lovely daughter-in-law Mayra went with. We had a blast! Crafty Chica had her family with her and they are all so cute together. I was kinda shy to talk to her husband Patrick. He seems really nice, and hopefully next time I won't be so weird. Her kids Maya & DeAngelo are sweet and so supportive of their mom. It was a loving group last night.

I saw a lot of friends too! Mayra and I were there before Crafty Chica showed up, but she was right behind us. Her product display was full and when we left there were only a few items left. I did some damage to the display. I took my Michaels gift cards with me. Hooray!! I got a few more of her supplies. Here are the pictures!Can you see me in the back? I was stalking La Crafty Chica before I made my move!Mayra was doing her own stalking too!

We got over our shyness and pounced! Here I am with Kathy Cano Murillo the "Crafty Chica!"Mayra with La Crafty Chica! She had a lot of fun meeting a lot of crafty people!

La Crafty Chica signs my Inspiration Cards!

This is the Murillo Family. DeAngelo, Patrick, Kathy, & Maya! Now how was I shy around Patrick? Doesn't he look like a nice man? Sometimes I can be so weird!
Here is Kathy 'splaining her products! I love the poster on the left. "Spread the Sparkle Tour!" The people at Michaels were really nice to her and her followers. It was a very nice event.

Meet Lucy! I can't believe I met her in person. Can you see the cool pots in the background. Kathy was kind enough to tell me how she made them. They are so beautiful, just like Lucy!

This is my friend Janice! She picked up some cool items! Kathy shared a great cupcake story with us too, which inspired her cupcake applique design!

As you can see we had a great time. You just can't help it around La Crafty Chica!

One last note. I also met Jackie Guerra last night. I'm a big fan of hers and it was like icing on the cake to meet her. She's a jewelry designer and I used to watch her on the DIY network. She's also a film and TV actor, aaaaaaannnnnddd she hosts a Talk Radio Program called the Jackie Guerra Show, which I enjoy listening to.

Daring Diana

2008-08-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

My brother Larry is a really great man. He is a nurse and lives in the beautiful state of Oregon. When we were kids we would play all sorts of games. He made up most of the games. He is very creative. His bedroom was across the hall from my bedroom while we were growing up, and every time I would hear mischievous laughter coming from his bedroom I knew he would be introducing a new game or sharing a funny story with us soon enough.

One day, hearing the laughter coming from his room, and not being able to wait, I skipped into his room only to find him holding one of my Barbie dolls in his hands. However, the Barbie doll had been completely transformed into this exotic looking trapeze artist. Her hair was all teased up as high as a five gallon hat, she was wearing a gold satin dress my mother would have died for, and her face was all painted up like a "child, beauty queen contestant."
I squealed the moment I saw her, because I knew we were about to have another wacky adventure.
"Let me introduce you to Daring Diana," my brother said as I flopped myself down next to him on the floor.
"She is the most courageous, the most adventuress, and the most amazing person you will ever meet."
At which point he stood up and carried Daring Diana over to the window of his bedroom and dropped her two stories down to her death. Well, that's what I thought at first, but little did I know there was a bucket of water on the ground below waiting for her death defying plunge. I ran to the window just in time to see the splash of Daring Diana as she landed successfully into the bucket! My other brother Danny, older than me, but younger than Larry, was standing by the bucket with a towel in his hand waiting for her arrival. We all cheered for Daring Diana and were awe struck by her amazing accuracy. My brother Danny plucked her out of the bucket, wrapped her in the towel and carried her back up to Larry's room, where I waited in anticipation. After full examination, we were relieved to see that Daring Diana didn't have a scratch on her. We were all in complete awe.

"I want to try!" I screamed as soon as I knew the game would continue.
"Okay, Larry said, "but first we have to prepare her for her next act."

Oh. My. God. The three of us teased up her hair, fixed her make up, toweled dried her dress, laughed and talked a mile a minute all while thinking of different tricks for Daring Diana to do. We had complete confidence in Diana. We believed she could do anything, and she did.

She plunged into the bucket several more times that day, flew across the backyard, jumped off the roof, slid down the banister, and even survived a string tied around her neck as she whirled around in circles above our heads. We cheered, encouraged, and dared Daring Diana so much that our voices were raspy by the end of the day.

That night, before falling asleep, I day dreamed about how I wanted to be just like Daring Diana. I vowed I would be as courageous, adventuress, and amazing as she was. I just knew that the next day Daring Diana would be taking us through another adventuress, wild ride, and I could barely get to sleep.

By the time the next day rolled around Larry had moved on to something else. I'm sure we were fighting wild Indians while hiding behind our homemade, cardboard box, covered wagon barricade, or holding a clubhouse meeting in the old abandoned camper in our backyard. Whatever it was we were doing you can bet it was fun and exciting.

Larry, Danny and I are all adults now. Like I said earlier, Larry is a nurse. He has spent most of his life helping, healing, caring, and nurturing others . He lives very modestly, but gives generously. He doesn't judge, he only encourages.

I often think about Daring Diana and for those of you that know me, I have tried to live up to the vow I made that night so long ago. I can be adventuress, and pretty courageous, and have even been told I'm amazing, but those are stories for other blogs. Daring Diana lit a fire in me, and for that I will always be grateful.

Daring Diana has been a metaphor in my life, but the true source of my encouragement comes from my brother Larry. I didn't know it at the time, but he was teaching me lessons about love, support, happiness, and adventure all while I was growing up. He said at the time that Daring Diana would be the most courageous, the most adventuress, and the most amazing person I would ever meet, but he was wrong.
Larry is the most courageous, the most adventuress, and the most amazing person I have ever met. I'm proud to be his sister.

ps: My brother Danny is also an amazing person, after all, we climbed the Himalayas together!

Newsletter!

2008-08-11T19:48:00.000-07:00

Santa Clarita Craft Lab

Open House Night

Wednesday

August 13, 2008

7pm - 10pm

Altered Matchbox

Come and join in on the fun as we take a simple little matchbox and turn it into a piece of art!

We will collage, decoupage, cut & paste, paint, and assemble all while enjoying the company of other crafters.

Learn some new techniques, or share a few of your own.

Bring a friend and meet new people!

It's Fun. It's Easy.

And it's FREE!

We will have all the supplies you need.

Refreshments will be served.

16 yrs to Adults only please.

This is an update notice sent to all those signed up for Santa Clarita Craft Lab's newsletter. If you would like to receive notices of our classes and events, such as the one listed above, go here and sign up! We are working on our new class schedule which will include one night class a week! Don't forget to sign up!

www.santaclaritacraftlab.com

Old School

2008-08-09T14:14:00.000-07:00

My business' byline is "Not your mama's crafts anymore!" I have often wondered if that sounds a bit offensive to some crafters that are mothers, or that have crafty mothers. Mothers that taught them how to sew, cut, glue, paint, knit, or crochet. I, myself, am a product of that "handmade" generation of talented artists and crafters.

My mother took me to my first crafting class when I was 10. I've been fascinated ever since. She had her own sewing business too. I remember sitting on the floor in the living room of our house in Santa Fe Springs, California (I loved that house), as she fitted young women in their wedding gowns that she made. She designed them too. On top of all that, she even offered to make their wedding cakes (another facet of her business). She was extremely talented. She made all my school clothes, which horrified me as a teenager, cuz I wanted all the latest fashions from JC Penney.

My mother is still alive, however she has stopped all of her craftiness. She had a stroke about 10 years ago and she has slowed down quite a bit.

My grandmother was also extremely talented. She could embroider like nobody's business. She painted on fabric and made these amazing quilts too. She tried everything. I see a lot of myself in my grandmother. I have to try everything at least once. I have to have all the gadgets and tools. When my grandmother died, everybody in the family agreed that I should have all her crafting supplies. Once the sadness of her death wore off, I went through all the boxes (and boxes) of things that were delivered to my doorstep. It took weeks to sort through all of it. I am still finding boxes I have yet to look through, and we're going on 15 years. Maybe I got the gris gris (kind of like a spell; pronounced 'gree gree') when I opened her boxes. Starting, and never finishing; trying everything once; buying, buying, buying; collecting, collecting, collecting. I feel safe to say most of you can relate.

What I 'm getting at with this blog is this: "Not your mama's crafts anymore!" isn't about a lack of respect for our Mothers. It's a salute to our Mothers. In honor of our roots, the fiber (pardon the pun) of our creativity, and the gratitude for where it has led us. Not our mama's crafts anymore, but yet our mama's resourcefulness and originality (way too long for a byline).

This is a picture of some "old school" crafting I was doing years ago! My mother taught me how to sew when I was 15. I didn't follow her love for sewing clothing. I went in a different direction. I started sewing dolls, and animals from other peoples patterns (store bought). Now I make my own patterns! I'm still sewing, and I can still hear my mother's voice in my head if my seams aren't straight.

Thanks Mama. I love you.

Wee!

2008-08-07T16:59:00.000-07:00

Look what I bought! Yippee! Hip Hip Hooray!

I wanted to buy more, but didn't want to look like a crazy woman buying up everything from the display rack! Let's see. I got Her Mojito Papers, which contain 20 really cool papers, all with Mexican themes. I love them! I also got some of her fabulous Glitter, which She explains how She created it HERE! Go and read Her story about putting the glitter together. It's a cool process. And did ya see the little Wood Frame Shrine? How cute is that?! I had to have Her Paint Writers too. I really dig the Collage Journal kit I got. All the materials you need are in the box. I'm so excited! Can't wait 'til I start making stuff. The really cool thing about Her products is that all the packaging reads in English & Spanish. I love that! You have to go check out all the other cool supplies She designed. They are great. She did an amazing job.

Congratulations La Crafty Chica!

I love you!

Uh. Did I just say that out loud?

Ok. Back to normal. I am feeling almost 100% and I want to thank you all for your kind wishes for my speedy recovery.
John has only been gone one day and I'm missing him way too much. He's called me 100x, so I guess he misses me too. His Flat is on 96th & Central Park. Lucky Dog!
Would love to blog some more, but I'm gonna go play with my new toys. HeeHeeHeeHa!

On the Road to Recovery!

2008-08-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

So I got the flu last Wednesday and have been in bed for a week! I haven't been sick with the flu in a long time. It was a bad stomach flu with a fever and body aches. Not fun. This is the first time I'm at my studio since last Wednesday. Needless to say I have some catch up to do. Still not feeling that great, but at least I'm out of bed.

The bummer part of it all is that I haven't had a chance to go to Michael's to pick up my Crafty Chica crafting products. Nor have I been able to publish my new Class Schedule on my website. Sorry if you have been checking out the schedule and July is still up. It's a drag getting sick on all fronts. Anyway. Kathy Cano Murillo will be spreading the sparkle on her "Spread the Sparkle Tour" all this month. Check it out HERE to see if she'll be at a Micheal's near you. She's coming to the Michael's in Glendale, California on August 19th and you know that's where I'll be!

Tomorrow my husband John goes to New York to work. He will be gone all of August and will miss my birthday on the 14th. I'm sad because I will miss him, plus he always gets me the best presents! Haha. Just joking. Here he is waiting for his train. Sigh. :-(

I hope I'm feeling back to myself soon. I miss being well. I missed blogging too.

Cool Tool

2008-07-29T12:08:00.000-07:00

I bought a new tool! It's called "Crop-A-Dile Big Bite!"

Here's a picture!

Now if any of you know what to do with this tool can you please tell me. I've always wanted it but could never think of why I needed it. I'll take any suggestions.

Here is a picture of the Katrina Bride I picked up at CJ's Angels last Friday.

Isn't she Fabulous?! Oh yeah and a picture of Katrina with her homegirls!

The other day I was looking at pictures from friends on myspace, and I came across this picture:

And I thought, "hey that looks a lot like my house. you know the colors!" I posted a comment on his picture telling him so. His name is Cesco (pronounced Chesco) and I've blogged about him before. He's a local So. California (BTW, we just had a strong earthquake here, cell phones are not working) artist. I own a piece of his fabulous art.

So I'm posting a picture (hey there goes another one of those earthquakes: aftershock!) of my house so you can see how great, artistic minds think alike; his and mine.

Ok. So maybe I'm not quite up to his level; artistically, but ya gotta have goals, right?!

I'm really excited because the "Crafty Chica's" product line is about to be sold at my local Michael's store (on August 1)! Yea! And to celebrate her greatness I will be offering Mexican Pop Art Classes here at the studio! Mayra and I will be teaching really cool classes using all her products. Be on the look out for "Day of the Dead" classes and other Mexican Folklore inspired fun!

Don't forget to let me know what I can do with my new tool. Keep it clean please!

ps: my son jesse just called to tell me he took all my dolls from the fireplace mantel and placed them on the floor---u know. just in case! smart boy.

Sunday's Post!

2008-07-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

This weekend was very busy. I made a couple of visits that I want to share with you.

First visit was to a place called CJ's Angels. I took a "Maceta" workshop and had so much fun. I met a lot of really fun people too! And talk about artistic. Geesh I had to sit back and watch all of them in action! Annette Armas & her husband own CJ's Angels and they import arte & other fabulous goodies from Mexico. I scored a really cool Day of the Dead Katrina Bride. I will post a picture on my next blog cuz I forgot to take a picture. But here is a picture of my Maceta!

Next visit was to my favorite art & craft supply store in So. Pasadena called Zinnia's! This store carries supplies for mixed media and altered art crafters. I. Love. It. There! Tamara is the owner of this store and I have been taking classes there for a couple of years. I'm sure some of you people have heard me brag about all the fun I have at Zinnia's. Tamara is expanding her store and opening a gallery! Yesterday I had to make a supply trip to her store because she was having a yard sale!

Check out all the cool things I got for under $5.

Don't be fooled though. I also went inside the store and purchased a lot of other cool supplies for Santa Clarita Craft Lab. Those items you'll have to check out here at the studio!

I had a very interesting visitor of my own here at the studio during the week. His name is Dillon. He is an eight year old boy. What's so interesting about an 8 year old boy, you might ask. Well Dillon spent the day at the studio taking FULL advantage of all the supplies I have and made himself a piece of assemblage art that blew me away! I tried to help him with ideas, and putting things together, but he wouldn't have anything to do with that. He was on his own and made that bit of information perfectly clear! I was a bit anxious while he was going through every drawer, box, shelf, and glitter container, but I just let that go and watched this young artist at work. He drew inspiration from every corner of the studio and at the end of the day he ended up with this awesome piece of art!

He made a candle holder for his dad (whom by the way was here all day too). The price you pay for encouraging the young! Haha. JK, however I'm still cleaning the mess! :-)

One last note. Chicken Wing, the bird we rescued last week didn't last too long at our house. He escaped from his cage and made his way to the front yard and was never seen from again. Here's hoping CW is safe and enjoying his birth right: FREEDOM!

It's Days Like This

2008-07-22T11:47:00.000-07:00

Well our weekend Classes went really well. We had so much fun in Santa Clarita Craft Lab that I think we'll do it again!

First off we had Helen's Yoyo Pincushion & More Class on Saturday! We made some really cool pincushions. I sat in on the class because the more pincushions I have for my Sewing Center the better! Our students came up with their own cool versions of the pincushion too.

Havin' fun in the yoyo class!

We also made cell phone charms with our yoyos and yoyo broaches!

On Sunday Mayra had her Fairy in a Jar class. Her student Maya had so much fun she didn't want the class to end! Maya put together a very beautiful jar. Mayra made a great jar too. She made it for her new apartment!

Here are the pics, but they don't do them any justice!

Friday was one of those days that make all the hard work you do worth it all. I had a really cute girl come in and take advantage of the day pass we offer here at Santa Clarita Craft Lab. She & her dad came to check out my digs. They were both pleasantly surprised by what they found! They left very happy and soon returned with a project Sidney, the little girl, had been working on at home. She was designing a denim tote she cut out of an old pair of jeans. Now this is my kind of kid! She and I sat down and talked design, cutting, and sewing. We came up with a plan and spent the afternoon sewing, talking, and laughing while we worked on her project. She and her dad left the studio very happy. I was so impressed with Sidney and her resourcefulness. She left me with a feeling of joy and as I was closing shop I said to myself, "It's days like this that make it all worth it!"Sydney's Tote!

Meet Sidney!

Trying to Figure this Out!

2008-07-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

Ok. Below is the new "Where's Frida?" picture. I'm having problems posting the picture, because I want you all to be able to click on it and see a larger view of the image, but when I post it with text it won't click to the larger image. I posted it on it's own and now it's working.

So try to find Frida before clicking. Click only if you need help.

Did you find the Frida in the first "Where's Frida?" picture. No? Well she's hiding by the house sitting on the cabinet. It's my "Frida Mouse!"
Thanks for playing!

Where's Frida?

2008-07-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

Birdy Birdy

2008-07-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago my boys, Jesse & Tyler, found a little bird in the parking lot of my studio. He had one of his wings missing and of course the boys felt so bad for the little guy. They came into the studio, told me about the bird, and the next thing I knew we were scooping it into a box. Now What?
Well now we have a new member of the family! Yes we gave him a name and once that happens it's ownership all the way. We have no idea how to take care of birds, so I called my sister Geri and she helped us out over the phone. She and her girl Shelby have had a number of birds over the years and they are bird experts. My grandmother had birds most of her life. She called them "pollitos" (little chickens). When I was a kid I would sit and watch her birds and talk to them. And then I saw that horrible movie "The Birds!" That was it for me. I wanted nothing to do with birds...until now.

So please let me introduce you to "Chicken Wing," "CW" for short. Here are pictures. As you will see we went out and got him a cage, food, and now he's all happy in his new digs.Jesse looking all happy cuz he has a new bird.Tyler is placing newspaper on the cosa for the bottom of the cage.The transfer is made.

Chicken Wing looking all happy!

And here's the answer to the previous blog's riddle!

A Glue Stick!

I have a boy's name, but lately I've been dressing like a girl. What am I?

Go ahead take a guess! Have a great weekend!

2 things

2008-07-16T16:19:00.000-07:00

Thing 1:

I thought it would be fun to post pictures where you all search and find my homegirl "Frida" in the picture. You know, like "Where's Waldo?" but instead, "Where's Frida?" She's quite the muse that Frida. I've been meeting (myspace, blogs, etc.) a lot of Frida fans lately and I am happy to say I'm in great company! In the Where's Waldo? pictures it's always the same guy. Tall, skinny, stripped shirt, black glasses, well in my version of,"Where's Frida?" I will post a picture, in which you will have to search for Frida, however, my Fridas will be different in each picture I post. How fun does this sound? Ok here's the first picture. Search, and if you find please don't give it away in a comment. Feel free to comment, as a matter of fact I would love for you to make comments, but don't give anything away. This first picture will be ez, just so you all get the idea!, however it's not the Frida you think! Come on you didn't think I would make it that ez, did ya? Look closely.

Thing 2:

I am going to post riddles at the end of my posts and you have to guess the riddle. I will post the answer in the following post. You can comment your answer to the riddle if you like. I think it will be fun to see your guesses.

So here's the first riddle:

Before and after uniting others, I stand alone. What am I?

Ok. That's 2 things. Have a great day!

Bizzy Bee

2008-07-14T14:04:00.000-07:00

Had a great weekend. Hope you all did too. I was in my studio all day yesterday and worked on a few projects. I finished the altered matchbox project I was working on and it is being shipped out today. I cannot post any pictures of it, because I want it's owner to be the first to see it. But I love it. I want to keep it for myself! I will blog another day about how these swaps work and how much fun they are, but I will wait 'til this swap has been received.

I also worked on and finished this really cool chipboard house we will be teaching in one of our classes. This is Helen's class and I have to say it's more like a workshop than a class. It's so much fun to work on. It took me a month to finish it, but other things got in the way. I do think it can be done in a day, if we give it the time it deserves! But here are pictures of my version of the house. I made it into Santa Clarita Craft Lab and I put pictures inside of the instructors (Mayra, Erin, Helen), my assistant Jesse, and myself. If you look closely you can see the studio inside! How clever am I?
We will be teaching another class which involves yoyos. Also, one of Helen's classes. Boy Helen gets the plugs today! Here is a picture of that. In the class you will make that groovy pincushion, a cell phone charm, and a broach all from the lovable, versatile, easy to make YOYO!. Very cute. I worked on the charms and broaches yesterday. Can ya say bizzy little bee?!

When I left the studio there was a sun show outside my door so I took a picture. This is the view from my studio everyday around 7:30pm. I watched the show for a few minutes before I headed for home.

Oh yeah! I added another, or should I say, I updated my slide show. It now has pictures of the studio, so you get a virtual tour! How cool is that. Every time you visit me on my blog you can feel like you're in the studio with me too. I did this so I would have company while I'm crafting! If you click on the little stars on the lower right side of the slide show you will be taken to the full size images.

Have a great Monday!