Just to give you an idea of how beautiful the desert can be, this is a photo I took from across the street last year. This was after we had gotten some snow up in the moutains and there was still some on the peaks. The next day it was the most clear, beautiful day ever. I can't even tell you how many people I saw that day out in this area taking photos of our awesome mountain. People either love or hate the desert, there is usually no in between. I of course love the desert and everything that Arizona has to offer. People who are not from this area or who have never been also do not realize that in Arizona, while you can get a lot of desert landscape, you can also get moutains, streams and lakes, evergreens, etc. etc. We have a little bit of everything here. This picture is a small demonstration of how beautiful Arizona really is.

I know I must be slow or something, but since I am so new to the blog world I haven't figured out yet how to list all the wonderful blogs that I follow. That is what I'm going to work on getting done today. I know there is blog etiquette that you are suppose to follow, and I'm not sure if I am suppose to ask permission to list a blog name on mine, but I wouldn't think so. But if I'm wrong and/or if I offend anyone by not asking permission, I apologize in advance.

These are two more small collages I made for Leslie at Alpha Stamps back in early 2008. If you haven't stopped by AlphaStamps lately, you should. Leslie carries the best products and products that you do not necessarily find any where else. Her on-line shop rocks and her prices are very reasonable! Not to mention the fact that she's a wonderful person.

Good News!

I have some pretty exciting news............................ After talking to the editor of Craft Stamper which is an English magazine, I think that I just might be joining their design team. Very exciting for me given that it will be my first run at being on a Design Team. Katy, the editor seems very kind and she seemed to like all the work I did for my friends at Crafty Individuals. It makes me a little nervous because once I commit myself I don't want to let her or anyone down. I just want her to be extremely happy with what I would have to contribute.

Currently I'm working on samples for Penny at 100 Proof Press. I will be the Guest Artist on her site in July I believe. Take a look if you get a chance.

The annual Catch Up Issue of Stampers Sampler just came out and I have several pieces published in there. I didn't even know they were going to be in there. It never gets old that's for sure and I never take it for granted when I'm published. No matter how many times it's been, it is always a great thrill to see my work in a magazine.

Speaking of magazine submissions that I've done. I was going through all my submissions to Stampers Sampler and Somerset Studio that have been returned to me that were not used. I realized how quickly and how much your work can change in just one year. It's amazing to me when you look at your work from just a year ago or older, and you either do not like it or you can see what you would have done differently now. This collage was actually made for my friend Leslie at AlphaStamps using her collage sheets and her stamp. Whenever I use pop dots or any dimensional tape the scan looks weird because of that. But even though this is an older collage I still want to show it because it not only shows the progression I've hopefully made in my artwork, but it's also interesting looking at the older pieces as well.

So I'm hoping that since I am finally downloading some of my artwork, that I will actually be able to get some followers for my blog. If you see something you like or if you see something you don't like, please feel free to comment. I would appreciate any word of mouth free advertising. I'm slow at all of this or rather slow at getting my blog going and I know that. But I also know that being a mixed media artist it's practically imperative to have an active blog. I've downloaded two pages of some of my work today thanks to my sisters very fast computer. I unfortunately still have dial up and do not even have an option for high speed in my area. So that constricts me very much. But that's okay, I won't let that stop me. I plan to get my header looking better and streamline my blog some more as I become more familiar with it all. I hope that as I get better at blogging, I hope to have followers like I follow some of my favorite artist blogs.

This was a sample I made for my English friends at Crafty Individuals. I first stamped, painted and inked up the small wooden hanger. Then I went over the hanger with beeswax. I also attached some clips on the backside of the hanger using E6000. I then just cut out a piece of 8x8 cardboard and attached various stamped images to it. The images that are flat on the cardboard piece that have color, I used chalks to color them. I then stamped the various leaves, flowers, hearts, etc. on scrap paper and cut them out and attached them in and around the main cardboard piece and the hanger with pop dots. I colored those images in with Twinkling H20's. In the end for this being made on a whim with no pre-conceived idea in mind, it turned out pretty cute.

I thought this thank you card turned out pretty cute. I adore these cute little trees manufactured by Jolee's. I of course added some dimension with Vintage Photo Distress Ink (my favorite of all the Distress Inks and I think I use it on every single project I do), and then some punched out small leaves.

You guessed it...............another thank you card. I love incorporating stamped images with beautiful scrapbooking paper and of course I always love to add some beautiful ribbon.

This is one of my most favorite cards I've ever made. It was a thank you card (of course) for my sister Shelly.

This was the recent issue of Stampers Sampler that I was Guest Artist in. Such an honor and blessing.

These were a few of the ATCs I amde for the "I love ArtChix" contest.

This was a collage I made and which was published in the Gallery Issue of Somerset Studio.

And yet another sample for my friends at Crafty Individuals.

This was the first ArtChix Twinchie swap I participated in. Always have somuch fun doing an ArtChix swap. The women in that Yahoo group are so wonderful and it's like a little on-line family.

Yet another thank you card I made. I have a lot of thank you's I need to do because so many people are so good to me.

Another very similar thank you card.

One of my handmade Thank you cards.

Twinchies made for ArtChix swap. (I actually won this swap and got $100 shopping spree at ArtChix.)

Another sample for crafty individuals

Sample for crafty individuals

Well it's Wednesday and I've gotten my first ever comment from a visitor to my blog. It's from my friend Lenna over at Creative Swaps.

I can't believe we are already into the second week of April. Wasn't it just Christmas? Time really does go so fast as you get older. I never believed that until it started happening to me.

I'm going to start downloading my artwork and hopefully I will also start to become familiar with the blog terms and getting around my blog so that it looks appealing to the viewer.

April 2009 I am finally going to get a blog up and running so that I can showcase my artwork. I've been asked by so many people whether I have a blog or not and now I can finally say yes. It's about time!!