Pay it Forward...

Are you creative? I didn't know I was till my god mother told me "I have always been". It was like the Glinda telling Dorothy "YOU had the power inside YOU all along".  I really didn't realize.. But since that day I have learned so many techniques and fun things to do to be creative.

and anyone who has crafted with me knows I am a speed crafter!  And a very fast learner. :)

So I have learned a lot.  And in return I have taught a lot. At one point I was teaching at 7 stores in California and at all of the Charity Wings Events.  I dont teach as much now, except to my friends and I have two art/scrapbooking/mixed media clubs that I host each month.. learn more here.  always room for more :)

Anyway, the point of this post is to encourage you to share your talent!  Pay it forward! and if someone takes what you have taught them and makes it their own you can feel so proud! If no one shared their talents, could you imagine?  and if no one took what they learned and made it their own, could you imagine! It's because of this that we have such a colorful artistic community. 

My dear friend Miss Vicky taught me how to make buttons stacks and I fell in love with the technique. Because of her teaching me a technique I got to design for Blumenthal Lansing!

here are a few more pieces I have made for them.

I had so much fun making these pieces and I love that is came from a technique that was passed on to me by a friend.  I hope I made her proud!

Yay! The gag order is lifted!

Just kidding! I have been dying to post pictures of some jewelry that I made for Blumenthal Lansing.  I was so thrilled they asked me to design for them! I was nervous because this is my first time doing something like this where I got paid to design art. Well, I guess I have done invitations and scrapbooks but this felt different. My first assignment was to make 3 projects for Michael's!

A bracelet, a necklace and a scrapbook page.  

I was nervous about the scrapbook page because over the years I have discovered I am really not a scrapbooker.  but I made something that I liked and they liked it too!  I had to wait till Michael's got to see the pieces before I could blog about them but I just got the ok. Helen from Blumenthal, the Craft Project Coordinator, loved them so much she commissioned 3 more necklaces from me!  Ill post photos of those soon. She has a great blog with lots of good ideas!

Hope you like my creations.  I think I am going try to get some on my etsy store... haha!  try is the key word there! and here I am, I made it to Designer on their website!

I love Blumenthal because they have been incredibly supportive of Charity Wings aka Scrapbook Royalty AND Liane is someone that I have come to consider my friend.  Here is Liane making Suzi Blu art when she came and volunteered at NJ Scrapbook Expo.  She hates having her photo taken and wouldnt look at me but she is a beautiful charitable soul and I love her to pieces!

Sometimes I get inspired...

I had a nice cozy dinner with two lovely friends of mine, Cheryl Waters and Laura Bray....

Cheryl is a lead Fiskateer and that is how we met.  Laura and I met at a ZNE retreat a long time ago and then just kept running in to eachother and knew we had to become friends!  These women are both extremely talented and wise.  When I spend time with them, some of their wiseness rubs off on me.  I am a lucky girl and a happy people.

Cheryl brought gifties for us.  Here is what I call, her version of a "pig in a blanket".

I love it so much.  I know I am supposed to take it apart and make stuff with it, but I am not going to. Its perfect just like this!

and Laura made dinner and had gifts of course! She gave us a sneak peek of some yummy goodness she is designing and made another attempt at teaching me how to embroider! She said I am a natural and I had nice stitches :)  hee hee!  All I got to do was part of the hair but it was very relaxing and fun because we could chat and stitch and every once in a while Cheryl or I would say out loud, "oh no!" or other versions of that phrase :) as we would get a knot, or break a thread or whatever. It was challenging and fun!

and then I came home and got cracking on my dress forms for my next Outside The Book Club Quarterly Swap!

I cant for the life of me get this photo to upload right side up!!  darn blogger!! deep breath! I'm a happy people :)

I have room for a few more members if you want to join. Its so fun and this coming meeting, next weds Aug 17th. we have the awesome Tracy Weinzapfel from Helmar as my guest. She is a creating genius and...

she is bringing a fun make and take!  Can't wait! Click here to read the blog with more info on my groups. I do 2 each month!

Can't seem to get a post up...

Ok, I am going to sit here and write something.  I am totally missing blogging but I just can't seem to get a post written that I like.  My brain is all funny these days.  There is so much going on in my life between having a new boyfriend which was so unexpected, and being over half way through this year that I gave myself to get my company in order... well, I think my brain might be shutting down a little.  It was such a crazy first half with non stop travel and now not so much which is good.  I like being home too.  But I am a bit disoriented from trying to make a life for myself while trying to be with someone and having a little bit of a limbo going on with career, and other hopes and dreams.  Maybe that is it. I am in limbo.

Yes, that is it... I am in limbo.

And its not an easy place for me to be.  I hope I figure it out.  I think I can.   I am a happy people after all.

I remember this day.  I am pretty sure I didnt have a worry in the world.

Can't seem to get a post up...

Ok, I am going to sit here and write something.  I am totally missing blogging but I just can't seem to get a post written that I like.  My brain is all funny these days.  There is so much going on in my life between having a new boyfriend which was so unexpected, and being over half way through this year that I gave myself to get my company in order... well, I think my brain might be shutting down a little.  It was such a crazy first half with non stop travel and now not so much which is good.  I like being home too.  But I am a bit disoriented from trying to make a life for myself while trying to be with someone and having a little bit of a limbo going on with career, and other hopes and dreams.  Maybe that is it. I am in limbo.

Yes, that is it... I am in limbo.

And its not an easy place for me to be.  I hope I figure it out.  I think I can.   I am a happy people after all.

Who knew?

That you can get on the plane with your costco card?  yep! you can!

I lost my idea when I was in Chicago. Besides the fact that I was carded for alcohol and followed around by the bartender to make sure I didn't drink...I was really really worried I would not be able to get on the plane to come home!!

Sunshine

I had a lot of Vitamin D this weekend.  I spent time in the sun, taking walks, being with friends, meeting new friends.  It was a blessing.

Here is a canvas I did in our booth at Scrapbook Expo. I love Suzi Blu. This is one of her stamps from Unity Stamp Co.  I love Unity!

 

I will be leaving for Scrapbook Expo in Puyallup, WA (Seattle Area) next week and I can't wait to make new friends and teach people how to make this awesome canvas.  Here is one that Suzi did. she is amazing!

We are also doing little luggage tags in our booth. Here is one Suzi made for me!

just felt like putting up some art on my blog.  last couple of posts were a bit deep :)

working on some cool stuff for my clubs and for CHA!

Blog blockage

I have started several posts in the last few days and just cant get them to say what I want them to. I dont know why.

My whole brain seems off to me.  I know that part of it is just the new crossroads that I am at. (when do we stop reaching crossroads in our lives?)  and part of it is wanting something so bad and not being sure that it will ever happen.

So today I just have to say it. I can't hold it in anymore.   I have to say what I really really really want. More than anything in the whole world. More than my own life.

What I really really really want is for it not to be too late for me to have a child of my own.

There. I said it. It's out there.  I just don't want it to be too late.

 All of these kids are amazing and have added so much joy to my life.

Whenever someone says, "At least you didnt have kids" (re: getting divorced) or, "Hang out with my kids, you won't want them after that" or "You're so luck you dont have kids and get to travel all the time".  or "Kids are expensive" or the best one was when I was going through fertility treatments and people would say "as soon as you stop wanting one, you will get pregnant" or the many other things that are supposed to make me feel better about not being a mother....

I just take a deep breath and hold it in because I want to scream when people say this to me.  Not at them because how could they know how much it hurts me to hear this.

How could they know that it would have made my marriage worth it even if I had to have my ex husband be in my life forever.
That I would rather hear endless nights of crying and whining.
I would trade every trip and give up everything.
Poor people have kids all the time
How do you stop wanting to have a child?

They can't know.

So if you have kids, tell me, are they your greatest joy in life? Would you trade it for anything in the world? Imagine for a minute not having them.


And even with all this going on in my head. I am still a Happy People.

Its the happy things that matter....

I wish so much that I could just be a happy people all the time.  Unfortunately life is so darn hard sometimes!  Finding your path, finding what you are supposed to do. Making decisions that will affect everything.  Its so hard!

Where is the light?

Im frustrated and confused and not sure which path I am supposed to be on.

Do I just give up and join someone elses cause?

I know that the reason people dont often ask me to do things is because they think I am really busy. And I am. I am busy running a company with a few great volunteers that give as many hours a week as they can. And two people that I pay to help me with administrative duties.

So here is the problem. I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. And the end is really close.

I promised my family that I would have income by the end of this year.  I am half way there and I dont see how to make that happen.  Its just not proving to be possible to grow an organization (with mostly volunteer help) to the point that I am take a salary out. 

So what do I do? At this point Charity Wings has grown so big that I as one person am not able to keep up.  Some major shifts happened this year to make it even harder to keep it going as well.  There are just specific things that need to happen every week and every single one of those things needs my input. I am not able to just hand things over to someone and expect it to be done.  That is the problem.


So, yes, I am busy. And that means I dont get asked to do things very often. And that means that I miss out on being social other than what I do for work.  Well, can you call it work if you dont get paid.  I dont know.

One of those days...be strong.

It happens sometimes. A day that just keeps getting worse and worse.  Until you are in such a state that all you want to do is lay your head down and cry. And then the doubt sets in.  Why is it when you are in this state you start to doubt everything about everything.  I hate second guessing myself.

I believe I was put on this earth to do things for others. There is nothing I feel more confident in than my ability to take care of people that need me.   I take that skill and work every day knowing that if I stay true to who I am, I will be doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing.

So why does the doubt still come?  Sometimes I am weak.

So what I really really really want it so be strong enough to know that I am doing the right thing.

Interrupting...Have you seen this girl?

How does art disappear? I made my first Suzi Blu art and then I got to assist her at "Inspired" which was so fun and awesome.  Suzi and I made a great team!

But somehow the piece didnt make it home with her...

Its not the first time that something I have made has not made it back to me but it bums me out a little. The piece is even cuter now because i added a little crown hat and some wings that my friends at Inspired gave me.  And I added bling!

So someone has my treasured piece. It probably made it home with someone on accident so I thought I'd put a call out and see if anyone has seen it :)

It has my initials on the bottom "ele" so I don't think anyone can mistake it for their own.  Or maybe some sticky fingers at the hotel got it.  Suzi is missing some of her step outs too.  Not sure why someone would take those though cause they are unfinished art... but Suzi is amazing so maybe they just wanted something she had touched hee hee!

Ahh well.  Still a happy people.

Redesigning Elena...the traveling princess-artist-do-gooder (Part 5)

Life does have its twists and turns and challenges.  If we run away from them we miss the lesson.  I am definitely here to learn so that I can grow and be a better person and more genuine to who I am everyday.

I am a Happy People.

and I am an Artist.

What I really really really want it to learn from life's challenges.

Elena creates...

My awesome friends Sarah and Jonas are getting married this weekend at my other awesome friend Maureen's winery in Paso Robles.  I am going to coordinate their day and I made a banner for them.  I can't wait to give it to them.  Just gotta string it together and I am done :)  She said Burlap and Lavender.  and really simple. I hope I got it right!

 

And this week was my Cool Scrapbook Club Crop. We have merged both of my clubs into one crop and it was so much fun! There were 22 of us this time and I actually showed up!  Everyone brought yummy food and I brought a make and take.