Where Bloggers Create 2011

Has it been a whole year already?  How time flies when you're having a creatively FabUlous time.  Last year I was shamed into posting something for the Where Bloggers Create Party and that ended up being the reveal of my "secret" which you can read about here.  This year I still don't have a studio and my creating still takes place on my dining room table, but I do have an absolutely FabUlous space to share if I do say so myself.

Welcome to the guest room at Casa Navarro.  It will soon be occupied by the most special of all guests, my gal pal Charlene.  She's coming to stay with me for a whole week next month and she was the catalyst to put this room together with all of my most FabUlous treasures and creations.  And, I managed to get it done in time to share with you for this year's Party.  Let's start the tour . . .

 
For the photo shoot, I styled the daybed with the most FabUlous vintage feather fan with celluloid tines and handle.  Then I thought it needed just a little something more, so I placed a vintage brooch in the center of the handle and voila!  The night stand has a vignette with the cutest little Cole Hahn purse I scored at TJ Maxx quite a few years ago and I love how it works in the room.  Of course, I had to display the issue of Jewelry Affaire I was published in cuz a little self promotion never hurt anyone, right?  LOL

 
Next to the nightstand is the computer cabinet that is now more of a storage space inside and regally FabUlous on top.  Here's a close up . . .

Crowns, bling, treasures and All Things FabUlous including my tiara and an altered bottle (gifts from Charlene) and my prized vintage orange rose I have in my header.  There’s my FabUlous crown and feathered Crowndalier I made at A Gilded Life’s Gilded Gathering, my German glass glittered cone from a Deb Hodge class and my etched cuff bracelet from a Diane Cook class just to point out a few.  Another FabUlous find is the 2700 metal plate. Twenty Seven is my number for probably 2700 reasons, so this was a total score.

Next to the cabinet is a clothes rack that’s spilling over, so I draped my mom's custom, hand made peignoir set in her favorite shade of pink over it.  I don't remember her ever wearing it but she kept it in perfect condition and I have as well.

 
Next is my vintage suitcase and mannequin vignette.  I thought if I'm displaying my most FabUlous treasurers, then I absolutely have to put out my coveted Christian Louboutin's.  I was surprised to see that the insole is also in my mom's favorite shade of pink.  She's always with me in some way (wink).

One of my favorite purses sits inside my chartreuse-lined Round Top suitcase.  The sequins are double-sided and when you run your hand up or down them, they flip from bronze to gold; how FabUlous is that!  The fabric mannequin on the left was my birthday present from Miss Charlene and I absolutely love it!  It's from Red Shed Antiques in Grapevine, TX and Charlene knew I really wanted it and scooped her up for me.  She displays my Twisted Sistah necklace from a Diana Frey class, my aurora borealis vintage bling charm bracelet around her neck and my necklace with my mom as a child on a vintage miniature airplane.  I've used the silver mannequin as a display prop for many of the classes I've taught.  She's very versatile and has gone from holiday to vintage boudoir to tropical.  She's wearing costume pearls and a one-of-a-kind necklace I won at my first ever Gilded Life event.

I was hoping to distress the full size mannequin "a la Heather Bullard" but ran out of time.  So for now she's fresh out of the box and is wearing my original vintage bling charm bracelet as a choker, my Silver Bella round robin necklace, an amazing custom made necklace with my initials in mini scrabble tiles by my FabUlously talented friend Robin and a necklace I made with a vintage cowhide coin purse as well as the bag I made for all my Crazy in Texas Girls and a vintage crocheted bag.   And, do you see that bling bra peeking out from behind the vintage vest?  Yes, it's made completely of rhinestones - OMG!  I found it at a vintage shop for $10 and scooped it up before they could change the price.  Then when I got it home, I noticed the metal tag that says Express.  Really!!!  You just never know.  LOL

My bookcases have even more treasures.  On top is my mom's mini chandelier; it only has 3 lights and she had it hanging in her bedroom over her dresser.  I've had it in a box for 9 years and thought it would be FabUlous on display.  After a lot of Brasso and some elbow grease, it sparkles once again.  Also on display is my Fall'in for Vintage Gloves fabric fat book that was done as a collective swap.  And don’t you just love the 3 wise monkeys - see no evil, hear no evil and speak  no evil!
 
There’s FabUlous vintage baby shoes that I've been collecting to make a mirror like the ones we saw at Round Top, a collection of vintage spools, some vintage chandelier crystals and even a few books!  There's also my Vintage Glam mini book that was the first class I ever taught.

Of course, one of THE most FabUlous things in the room is my jewelry box of vintage bling.  I've seen a lot of people out in Blogland display their bling collections this way and I thought I'd give it a try.  It really is my new happy place!  LOL

 
I hope you've enjoyed the tour and have been inspired to display your creations and treasures no matter where you create them.  I can't wait to start working my way down the list to see everyone's creative spaces.  Thanks to Karen Valentine for once again hosting such a wonderful event and inspiring us all to thoroughly enjoy our own creativity.

FabUously Creative Weekend

Ah, my favorite way to spend a weekend . . . knee deep in vintage bling, German glass glitter, some serious chemistry and FabUlously talented friends.   Last month, I started on Saturday in Fullerton at Diane Cook’s Etched and Layered Cuff class.  Diane and her husband drove all the way from Texas to teach 2 classes out here and I was so excited to see her on my turf even if we had just seen each other in March at Round Top.  Diane is an amazingly talented jewelry designer and teacher.  She shared so many cool techniques in this class.  We began with a brass cuff blank, stamped it with our favorite rubber stamp and then the serious chemistry started.  I’m so bummed I didn’t get a picture of Diane in the cutest yellow polka dot apron and matching gloves, wearing her safety face mask.  Totally essential when working with chemicals, but so not me!  I did see that she posted a pic (minus the mask) on her blog too cute! 

After the etching process was finished, we layered up our cuffs with filigree, bling and a touch of sari silk.  I brought my layering pieces with me, but Diane had a vintage ear bob (earring) that was calling my name.  So, my cuff took an entirely different direction when I got it home and I love it!

Here’s Diane during one of her many demos . . .

 
Here we are after class.  She’s such a Texas cutie!

Then on Sunday, I headed out to the Urban Barn in Escondido for a Glass Glitter Cone and Jewelry workshop by the uber-talented Deb Hodge (Breathing Beside Us).  If you’ve never been to the Barn, you’ve just got to go!  It’s a slice of Round Top in Southern California.  So much inspiration and eye candy; pure heaven!  The Barn is closed on Sundays, so we were free to roam the entire store – OMG!  I didn’t take any pics, but their blog banner says it all  . . .

 
We started with our cones and they came out FabUlous!  While the cones were drying, we worked on our frames.  Deb is so generous with her kits and class supplies.  She gave us 5 different pre-soldered frames in our kits to use in our pieces.  Some were already patinaed and some were left for us to choose.  I decided on the same frame Deb used on the class sample with my grandparent’s wedding photo.  It came out so beautiful.  We even glittered the backs of our soldered frames; such a wonderful touch. 

And here’s one of my necklaces.  This is my mom on a replica airplane in front of her childhood home in New Orleans.  The house is still there today although it’s no longer in the family.  Sure wish we still had that airplane; just say’in.

I have a few other necklaces to finish and will post them later.  Can’t wait for the next FabUlously creative weekend.

March FabUlousness recap: Round Top – Spitt’in, Shopp'in and Spells, Oh My!

Ok,  this has taken quite a while to put together, so grab a cup of whatever warms your soul and reminisce with me as I recant this Crazy in Texas experience . . .

After cutting it a tad close returning my rental car in NOLA, a quick 1 hour
flight to Houston and what seemed like an eternity on the Super Shuttle, my "wet
rag" self made it to Katy, Texas where my girls Charlene, and Karen were wait'in to pick me up (Susie hung back at the hotel).  They had 2 days of 90 degree temps in the fields of Round Top without me and I was rar'in to go!  We got up the next
morning to temps in the 50's and some"spitt'in" (Texas term for mist).  So, we
layered ourselves up as we had been told and the 4 of us headed out on our 45
min drive to the fields.  You see, there's not much in the actual town of Round
Top, population 77!  Most of the people who come out for this amazing two weeks
of vintage indulgence are repeats and they book sometimes a year in advance,
leaving the rest of us with what’s left in the outskirts.

Back row: me,  Charlene, Susie, Karen and Joy
Front row: Rita, Cindy, Riki and Diane

This is our Crazy group, minus Karen DeCapite, she wasn’t feeling well and stayed back at the hotel on the verge of a major spell.  Later that night she ended up in the ER from a prescription reaction.  But no worries, she toughed it out and made it to the fields the very next day – you go girl!

I think vintage indulgence is just about the best way to describe the wonder of Round Top.   It’s actually split up into 3 events; the fields open first and there is everything from yard sale items to architectural salvage beyond belief.  All of us newbies walked around in awe the entire time.  Most of the vendors in fields have temporary tables and tents set up although there are a few stationery buildings used only twice a year.  We timed it so that we would be able to shop the fields for a few days and catch the next event opening, Marburger.  Here there are several huge tents set up with all the vendors inside and the $25 entry fee is good for it’s duration of 5 days.  The final event is The Big Red Barn where serious antiques & dealers can be found.  You can easily run amuck shopp’in, but I was only going to spend the cash I brought and  actually did quiet well.  Most everyone is willing to bargain and a lot of the vendors prefer cash.  The vignettes alone were worth the trip.  So much talent, eye candy and inspiration everywhere you look.

 
And this is one of my most favorite vignettes; freak’in FabUlous!

 
Of course, there were a quite a few boo boo faces for items that were absolutely FabUlous, but so not in my budget.

            Vintage grain sack $250  /  Skip to My Lou one-of-a-kind jewelry $200+

My first day in the fields was Sunday and we spent a good bit of time weeding through a  bin of doilies that were only $1 each!  OMG  Of course, Sunday night was the blog party hosted by Teresa Campo, of Garden Vintage Antiques.  It was so great to get to meet so many people whose’ blog you follow.  It was a casual pot luck and everyone was so welcoming.  Teresa also hosted a name badge contest.  I had made these little bags for our group and entered & I won second place!  The girl who won first place made the most amazing German doll necklace and so deserved first place.  I don’t have her name, but I know Teresa will post about it when her computer with all her pics gets repaired.   As winners, we got to choose a hand-made apron for our prize.  They’re made by a guy named Tommy Sew Fast!   How cool is that!
 

The uber talented Diane Cook was the guest of honor at the blog party.  Here she is in her custom-made booth just for the party with her daughter, Melanie.  How cute are they!

At the party we were also treated to goodie bags by the Junk Gypsies; these girls are so cute and so cool!  And those goodie bags are really sturdy (more about that in a minute).

Day 2 in fields was full of more incredible eye candy.  But for some reason, I started to not feel too good and I can say that I truly bonded with the girls in the car that afternoon when that pretty pink Junk Gypsy bag came in really handy!  I quickly got it out of my system and Cindy coined the term “puke and rally” and that’s just what I did.  As soon as my spell was over I was ready to hit the fields again.  I have to say that Susie was so sweet to escort me quickly to the car and then we laughed about it on the plane ride home.  She said she was wait’in  for my head to start spinn’in and then it was over and as Cindy had said, I rallied.  REALLY??  I had shopp’in and eat’in to do!  HA

That night we were fortunate enough to have a dinner reservation at Royer’s which is a Round Top institution and tradition.  They have 2 seatings in a tiny but so Texas cool restaurant and the food was absolutely FabUlous!
   
Marbuger is where the Magnolia Pearl phenomenon takes place.  It’s a look, a culture and a lifestyle.  But most of all, an amazing experience.  This year’s theme was birds and boy was it amazing.  There were iron dress sculptures with skirts made into bird cages with live birds inside, birds hanging from the tent ceiling made from old books, huge paper & burlap flowers, and silk, linen & doilied fabrics stacked a mile high.  Pure FabUlousness everywhere you looked! 

 
Here I am with Robin, the owner and creator of Magnolia Pearl.

 
Here’s my suitcase full of Round Top purchases which included this chartreuse-lined baby! 

And my stash of goodies from our group including my apron prize.   Joy gave us each a survival kit (many items came in handy; just say’in!), Suzie made us each a spoon necklace and my bag.
 
This was truly an amazing group of talented Crazy girls in Texas.  Thanks for a jaw-dropping time and most of all thanks to our wrangler, the FabUlous, Miss Charlene. 

I’m ready to do it all again next year and you can bet I’ll be there!

Happy Mother’s Day

This is one of my favorite pictures of my mom; she was so beautiful.  Pink was “her” color.

And this is where I get the FabUlousness from; we started early.  Don’t you just love that hat!  LOL

 
As always, pink roses will be her gift.

Wishing you and all the women in your life a wonderful Mother’s Day.

March FabUlousness recap: N’awlins - Laissez le Bon temp rouler!

Yup, I was on a plane at o'dark thirty on a Sunday morning.  Let me just say
there was no hair & makeup go'in on til about an hour before landing in the Big
Easy!  My flights were on time, my bags made it and my rental car was a tad
bigger than last year's Matrix.  Had my Yahoo maps ready and was not about
to end up driving back & forth on the Causeway like last year.  But, of course,
there had to be a snag, as in a parade!  God bless these people, they will use
any excuse to have a parade and make me take a detour -   REALLY!!!  I was
literally a few blocks away from my destination but couldn't see across the
street through the sea of people.  After a few distress calls and U turns, I
made it.  The birthday girl was wait'in at the front door and we must have
hugged for at least 5 mins.  She was a friend of my mom's way before I was born and they kept in touch their entire lives.  We've become very close since my mom passed away 9 years ago and I've decided I'm going to visit her every year for her birthday.  This year, I missed it by one day because of the Moulin Rouge event, but she didn't care as long as I got there.  She is just the cutest thing ever and I love her to pieces.

This part of my trip was about spending time together, shopping and eating.  And
boy, did we ever!

I went from cold & rainy California to hot, sticky and 100% humidity in NOLA.  I
love the food but no so much about feeling like a wet rag!  LOL  For the
birthday dinner, we went to a local teppan grill restaurant for her first
experience which she loved.  Our adventures included eating tons of seafood and of course, I had to have my beloved muffalatta - yum!

I had seen a feature on the Food Network about an ice cream shoppe called Creole Creamery and we made a bee line there.  They had cream cheese ice cream with chunks of red velvet cake in it - OMG!  There were several trips to TJ Maxx, which is too far for Miss Leah to drive and she is now proudly a Maxinista!  We drove down to Bilouxi, Mississippi to Beau Rivage casino where there was some BIG winnings go'in on!  Check out Miss Leah with her whopping $11.05 ticket from the Phat Cat penny machine!  That's 10 times more than she won last year; just wait til next year - WOO HOO!

 
While I was on the plane, I read a feature about the New Orleans Roadfood
Festival.  It just happened to be held on my last day there down in the French
Quarter.  It was like city food festivals where they have a "taste of" with
plates ranging from $2 to $8.  There were 3 blocks on Royal Street lined with
restaurant booths from small locals to biggies like Antoine's and Court of Two Sisters.

 

There was also the world's longest oyster poboy sandwich made with about a thousand oysters from Acme Oyster House.  It was made by 24 of New Orleans' best chefs (and a few helpers) and stretched along 3 blocks on Bourbon Street.   Each chef was assigned a car-length section of French bread and there was everything from classic to crazy.  As soon as they finished making it , it was cut into pieces and offered free to the crowds and it went really fast!  

We spent the afternoon in the Quarter and made one last trip to TJ Maxx before I
headed to the airport for my next adventure in Texas - Round Top!

March FabUlousness recap: Moulin Rouge – c'était Magnifique!

WOW, I’ve got so much to share that I'm gonna break it down into a couple of posts!

First up is Moulin Rouge, hosted by Kim Caldwell.  This was an over-the-top,
elegant affaire where 70 women were transported to the days of  decadent French charm.  The entire room was decorated in deep burgundy, rich gold, fleur de lis, Eiffel Towers and tons of feathers.

                                                                 
                                                                    Our table, Day 1
                               Moi, Charlene, Debby, Kim, Lulu, Holly and Christine

                                          Day 2 with one of the Moulin mannequins  
The event started with a vendor night overflowing with yummy supplies and hand
made items.  Here’s just a sampling from Dyanna Cooley of Broke Jewels and Deb Hodge of Breathing Beside Us.

  

Our first day of classes were a stunning necklace, Tres Jolie, by Shea Fragoso, and a cute 3-D paper project, Show Time at the Moulin Rouge, by Jenny Heid & Aaron Nieradka.

There was a short dinner break and then the much anticipated swaps!  There were
tags, banners, canvases, paper dolls, garters, bracelets, necklaces, journals,
mini books, jewelry boxes and pillows.  And they were all absolutely amazing! 

I participated in Le Bijoux Box swap hostd by Denise Hahn.  How cute is her sign made with chalkboard paint on a silver platter and blinged out -- Love it!

I received a gorgeous box filled with frozen charlottes and vintage findings from Lonnie Jenck.  You can see the box I made for my partner, Valita, here.

 

I hosted the FabUlous Vintage Pocket Pillow Swap and my girls pulled out all the stops!  Here are all the pillows wrapped up pretty. . .

And here are all 14 of them on display . . . (open the photo to see all the FabUlous details).

One of the most notable swaps in our group was between Maureen Kosewic and Karen France (neither of them have blogs!).  Just to show you how talented these girls are, Maureen went the extra step and hand wrote the most detailed and fascinating story of how all of the items on the pillow were collected by it's French owner in the 1800's.  I asked her to read the story as she presented it to Karen and everyone in the room was totally captivated.  Great job, Maureen!

 
I swapped with my partner, Andrea Villareal last.  This is the beautiful pillow she presented to me and I love it!  Thanks so much!  You can see the pillow I made for her here.

As the hostess of my swap, I made a pillow for Kim and everyone contributed something to add to it.  Here’s the finished pillow and coordinating pillow case . . .

And while the swaps were going on, Christine Rose Elle conducted a stunning fastenator hat make ‘n take.

 
Day two classes were a dry erase marker board made with a vintage piano roll,
She Does All She Can-Can, by Kerry Lynn Yeary and an adorable paper clay doll with her very own stage, One Last Number, by Colleen Moody.

 

That concluded my amazing Moulin Rouge experience.  The last day of the
event was an optional all day shopping trip on a luxury bus, but I was on a plane
at o'dark thirty to New Orleans!