This & That... Fun Finds!

This past couple of weeks seem like a blur. My last post I was prepping for a food 

and wine event and concluding my "heartsie' giveaway~ 

both of which were incredibly rewarding and fun. 

I was so touched that Cindy of 12 Tribes gave a sweet shout out on her blog. 

And Ms. Sonya who basically had me in tears at Starbucks, as I was reading her post about receiving her "heartsie" in the mail. I am truly grateful for the giving 

and receiving of love, with our very special "flying group"!

I've been wanting to share a few "fun finds", that I found along the way 

while prepping for the last event. I came across this sweet bulletin board at a close out store, and snatched up a few. When it came down to crunch time for my last show, 

I decided to use one to display my sign. I got to thinking, how easy it would be,

to make one with some decorative moulding, paint, a sheet of cork and a few push pins 

(of the very creative variety from etsy). 

Take a peek~ and to think... there are endless varieties of cool push pins on etsy!

*fabric push pins    *flower push pins

I love this board! I've used another, as a jewelry board 

to display my resin keychains and necklaces.

 Another little "ditty", that seems to draw a lot of attention when I do a show, 

is this little birdcage that I found in the dollar section of Michaels.

 I use this little gem for my business cards and it 
always seems to attract a lot of attention. 

It's always fun to have some props that work with your style, 
and the pieces you are showing.

Okay- off the show path and onto the personal side of life.... I have been going crazy 

for the new application I picked up for my iphone... hipstamatic

So many of you may already know about this, but I thought it was 

still worth the mention. I think this is the coolest iphone app. ever! 

I've been taking pictures like crazy using the various lenses and film choices 

that come with it. It basically puts various retro filters 

onto your image, to give that polaroid look, old school look, etc. 

There are more filters for purchase, but I have been having so much fun 

with the ones included, I haven't had the bug to get more yet. 

The pictures are decent quality and save on photoshop time. 

Check out hipstamatic to get an idea of what fun you can have!

Fun in the Big Bear snow last weekend! 

(Or was it New York snow from 1960-NOT! I'm not that old yet.)

great painting inspirations... for color, mood, atmosphere...etc.

local mountains

Off-roading adventures in the local mountains last month.

(Retro son-- he likes this picture too!)

And I couldn't complete my post without a little peek into a quickie watercolor 

that I was playing with this week. 

I am trying a few fun and colorful sketches to plan for a bigger piece. 

My family is beginning to wonder about all of the birds lately. 

I went from fruit and veggies, to birds and organic leaves pods and flowers.

Who knows where the brush will lead next week.

Where is your brush leading?  What is inspiring you this week?

Artfully yours... v a L e r i e

Looking for inspiration... check out some other creative blogs on Sneak Peek Fridays...

thanks sweet JENNIFER!

link up here...

studioJRU