Love, Lucy

give credit where credit is due.

Yep, a wise friend always tells me that. This "wise one" is my good friend Val. This weekend we got together so that we could make some jewelry. I had big plans to teach her a soldering technique taught to me by the amazingly talented Ms. Natalie Hansen, check out her awesome blog Life is a collage....

Well, as my skills failed me this particular day.......... Val outdid me and made this amazing piece. It is a bracelet which is easily converted into a necklace just by attaching a long extension chain.

She is my little free bird friend. Therefore, her charms spell out FREEDOM.

So here I am..........giving credit where credit is due.

 

pink kicks.

 Who doesnt love a new pair of chucks? I DO I DO! This pair happens to be pink, sparkly and they scream "GIRRRRRRL."  I made these for my niece Taylor along with an adorable pink, bow covered tutu (which I failed to photograph.) This was a small project but the crystals bring a BIG impact. I also made her a little pink fiber board suitcase, which I monogramed with a letter T of course. She can use this for years to come to store her treasures, because you know we all have em'........or for an overnight stay to grandma's house :) It's all done in love.

hootenannies happen.

Saturday evening we had a few friends over for an impromptu dinner/hookah night.............and it turned into a lil' hootenanny. When people share the love of music, as well as odd instruments, this can just happen. 

As a child, Mia and I grew up a "country block" away from one another and as adults we once again live a block apart. Mia is a heirloom tomato grower extraordinaire (True Love Tomato Co.)/keeper of chickens/pit bull rescuer/olive curer/indian food lover/closet musician and lawyer. She is a regular Renaissance woman. Our new friend Mark is a banjo strumming/world traveler/bee keeper/a purveyor of humour, and Lauren is a passionate writer/photographer/collage making/flea market loving, artist.  I am SO fortunate to be surrounded by colorful people.

These images were stolen from Laurens blog The Urban Hippie .

 
   
 
 

home before the holidays.

 

 
 
Thank you Lauren for the beautiful photos.
 

I am a closet painter.

Well, I am definately not a "closet" anything, I wear the world on my sleeve. But this in fact was a painting I did on a old sliding, closet door which I saved from a house.  Notice the pull handle at the top? When I say that I "saved" it, I imply that its much better off in its current state. Hah! So, this was done for my super cool sister-n-law Michelle H. Its quite large and OH SO HEAVY (right Jimmy?) Not sure of the exact measurements but approx. 6ft by 4ft? hmph. Anyhow, Michelle and her husband Jimmy have a love for Venice. They honeymooned there. In the lower right I constructed a very inacurate, exaggerated panoramic rendition of the canals, with some of their actual pictures. On the lower left there is a saying that says, "and they watched us from above......." I finished it all off with one of my favorite details, copper cut tacks.  As always. 

all love.

 

i'm a risk taker, quilt maker

My first attempt to make a mini quilt turned out quite favorable. I made this for my beautiful sister-n-law, Monica, for her baby shower. Monica is an amazing mother to baby Viviana, as well as an Earth mother. Therefore, I used only vintage, pre-loved fabric remnants that I had laying around my craft room. I even cut up a few items of clothing that no longer fit me, to finish it off. The colors turned out nice, not too girly and yet, not masculine. Just right. P.S. excuse my horrible photo taking skills. As always, love.

 love.

Flea market art + Thrift store Art = Love.

It goes without saying that "i love Art." I especially love flea market & thrift store art. When I buy something sitting on the ground or on a shelf amongst misc. housewares....I feel as though im saving it's life. That might sound odd. It just hurts me to see some of these pieces sitting there, rather than being "at home" on someone's wall. Especially since someone put so much thought into making it. For some reason I appreciate this type of artwork moreso than I would any other.  Art does not have to cost alot to attract me. The design, the colors, the craft; is what draws me to a piece. Not the price tag. Etsy is another place I love to buy art. The artists are all "small people" like me, just doing what they love, hoping to make a few pennies in the process. Gotta respect that. My problem is that I don't have enough confidence to sell my work.  Besides, how do you put a $ figure on something you put your heart and soul into? My art usually becomes a birthday gift or a gift "just because." 11 of the 22 pictures below were done by myself. The other 11 were bought at a thrift store, flea market or Esty. The car one was purchased by my husband, in Cuba, by a street-side artist, several years ago.  The spanish senorita is a vintage paint-by-number purchased on Ebay. I love her.

Cat art.

Yes, even my cat has her own art work. It might be my vivid imagination, but I truly see her looking at it while she eats. One day, I even saw her mimicking the stance of this cat. Ok....... that was a coincidence im sure, but still.

These are two of my favorite things.

Below is my fancy, feline friend Bindi and my beloved olive green buffet.

Bindi was saved from a local animal shelter and the buffet was given to me by a very special person.  My loverly friend Lauren took these photos, a couple weeks ago, when she was over for an impromptu bar-b-que.  I'm saving the other photos for future subjects to blog about. Check out Lauren's awesome blog, the Urban Hippie HERE.

Isn't it cool how well Bindi matches my favorite piece of furniture? I just love the colors in these photographs. Thank you again, Lorena de las Mariposas.

 

 

Ad astra per aspera.

To the stars through difficulities. This phrase has always been comforting to me.

I cannot take full credit for this image. I found it in a Dover copyright free clipart book, filled with some of my favorite Art Deco images. Whats great about them is that they are printed in a black and white outline, coloring book style.........as if they are waiting for someone to come along and fill in the blanks. So, I basically enlarged it and did just that. I used a pearlescent paint for her flowing gown, and 14k gold leaf for the stars. If you havent tried working with gold leaf (or silver leaf,) you should. It's absolutely magical.

We will call this raven-haired maiden, Astra. 

Astra watches over my husband and I as we slumber.