Blessed to Create heARTistry…

Howdy Candies…It’s been a little over a week since I had my life-changing kiss with ‘trauma of the unknown’.  I reckon I should start by saying that I’ve missed each & everyone of you!  I’m always one to blog about all the good things that transpire in life but I don’t think I’ve ever taken the time to blog about something that I’m truly blessed to be able to have the ability to continue doing.  On Saturday May 5th, 2012 “Cinco de Mayo” was no ordinary celebration in the studio.  By the time mid-afternoon rolled around I was beside myself with this overwhelming sensation as though something was squeezing the life out of me.  Mind you I was battling with some illness over the last year that finally took it’s toll on my heart and landed me in a quaint room in ICU (Intensive Care Unit) with the on-call neurologist preliminary findings of having what’s known as “capillary leak syndrome”.  Sounds kinda scary eh?   In deed it was…by Sunday I was transferred & admitted into CCU (Coronary Care Unit) with blood enzyme levels indicating that my heart was experiencing damage.   By Monday afternoon I was taken into the cath lab with one of the top 5% cardio units in America to undergo an angiography.  Standard right?  Well not necessarily for a young lady who shouldn’t be experiencing such symptoms. 
I’m not even sure where to start or what all transpired but what I do know is that there were periods where we were not sure if I could remain stable let alone have the ability to create the heARTistry I love so much. 

What I learned through the process; I was given some advice during Creative Chemistry this year by Tim Holtz that I hold dear and it is to “embrace my imperfections”.  I have to say that I literally have began the process of applying such philosophy in everyday life.  See nobody could of foreseen what could of happened to me, all we knew is that this last year my health experienced some minor pitfalls along the way including a mild stroke in July of 2011, (which I took 3-4 days of therapy to recover from for approx. 4 months), A mild heart attack on 2 occasions & nearly a fatal diagnosis upon initial admittance last weekend that was thwarted for the care I received at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, ID.  After all was said & done we came to find that my initial radiology reads & cardio with another local cardiologist founded incorrect diagnosis of Renal Artery Stenosis. 

It is okay!!! I’m sure while your reading this you wonder, “What?” How is this possible…  Perhaps it was a fluke…who knows.  What I do know is that I’m safe, alive, & happily at home being able to create some heARTistry (at least a couple of new mediums I was dabbling in during my recovery).  People are people & they do make mistakes it is all apart of that “embracing their imperfections” that I think is getting me through this on an emotional level.  Plus having my Darling Husband by my side through this entire experience of the ‘unkown’.  He kept my Friends & Family on FB updated & truly was a champ throughout the whole process.  I debated to share a couple of photos from the hospital as we all know once it is goes into the info highway it is here forever.  However, I want to send a message of sorts to all of you….so please keep reading: (To leave a comment, thoughts, suggestions, or feedback - just click the title to this post & scroll to the bottom)

My Friend Took a Photo of Us The Night Before the Procedure:

Here I am doing my best to keep up my spirits & admittedly my DH kept me smiling:

So I’m not looking as Fantabulous as I wanted to…& yes I can’t live without my Creative University apparel it is a must have in my everyday life.  I actually call it my comfort clothes because it reminds me so much of the extraordinary time I spend each year at the retreat.  Make no mistake, this was no walk in the park. (That’s something I get to do this week!) These were taken the night before my procedure and I truly won’t share what I looked like afterwards…just so not blog material to say the least.  Of course this is all about my journey through my love & passions in Life & though none of this is my love or passion it is an experience I want to openly share with you so you can understand at least one thing. 

We all have a story to tell with battling an illness or fighting through a diagnosis & those who love us attempting to cope with it in their own way.  It’s what you make of the journey in the process that will keep you grounded.  I firmly believe in the power of “mindful healing”, it’s the way you think or the thoughts you have that will inevitably contribute to how fast one recovers or the faith in which they can.  I was beyond flustered that my discharge instructions wouldn’t allow for me to sit long enough to create much & I was dealing with so many mixed emotions about the findings, experience, and most of all where do we go from here?  When I allowed myself that time to just sit back and rest, follow the Dr.’s orders & find apart of me that I needed to reach again in order to do something anything that would allow an avenue of solace.  In this discovery period I realized more than anything that well…Art is apart of my soul! 
Fabulous News!!! I was able to come home to opening my package of goodies from Dyan Reaveley’s line via Ranger that I got to dabble in.  I’m excited to share the small pieces I got to create over a 4 day period.  Though as minute as it may seem, to me it was the ability to realize that I’m blessed beyond words to continue to create heARTistry.  Here they are:

My First Tag Creation using “Pondering Petunia” & some of Dy’s other stamps & stencils: (Click on the Photo to purchase Dy’s “Pondering Petunia”)

The next morning my lil gurl love this one so much that she asked me to create one for her while she was in school with “Curious Corrin”, of course she had a special request to use different legs & shoes: (Click on the Photo to purchase Dy’s “Curious Corrin”):

I enjoyed playing with the different mediums using Tim Holtz Distress Markers & Fine Detail Water Brush with Dy’s Dylusional’s line of vibrant sprays along with Claudine’s gesso that I decided to make a background tag for a later project: (Click the Photo to purchase Dyan’s Dylusions Spray Inks)

After some advice offering via my CC101 FB Group members I’ve decided that a saying along with some color-ready ribbon will work fabulous with this ensemble.  It was FUN, Invigorating, New, Exciting, & totally captured my inner-child.  Funny how only a few days prior to going in I was skyping with my Mother who is terminal about Dylusions & one of Dyan Reaveley’s videos via Ranger’s new web-site about the Dylusionals line that was just released here in the United States.  It brought us closer then ever & admittedly we also share the same love for art no matter the medium in which it’s in.  As my Mother put it so eloquently “Artists live in a different world that is not always understood by others”.  She is absolutely right! 

Though I’ve found an incredible new way of expressing my heARTistry with these products one thing I can say for certain is that every single medium I use and the designers behind them whether it is CTMH, Ranger’s Tim Holtz, Claudine Hellmuth, or Dyan Reaveley…I do know that each of them are apart of me when I start a piece from beginning to end.  I want to thank these Artists for their contributions, words of wisdom, and the products they share with me so much!!!  You have all touched my heart & made this journey to a full recovery more than just about creating a story but finding myself in the process & having the ability to share my inspirations and perhaps touch someone else heART!  Thanks for patiently (no pun intended) Stamping By…

Anniversary Surprise & More…

Howdy Candies…It’s been one wild week here at the Candy House.  I can only say this about it as it is reminisce of  “Life is like a box of chocolates…You Never Know what your gonna get”.  The week was filled with a multitude of surprises.  Is anyone else thrilled that Tax Day is finally over? I personally am & for the first time in a long time it just so happened that our Anniversary fell the day before taxes vs. the day after.  I promise we didn’t plan that 8 years ago when we decided to say our vows, it just so happen the date spoke to us at the time.  Boy oh boy the things we don’t consider until much much later in life…lol.  I can’t get into all the details of what the week brought to our doorsteps as it was filled with loss, grief, angst, joy, love, re-kindled relations & more.  What I do want to share is a highlight of our extraordinary Anniversary Gift.  (To leave a comment, thoughts, suggestions, or feedback - just click the title to this post & scroll to the bottom)

One of my Favorite Places to Get-Away “The Anniversary Inn”:

This place is a very special little hide away, not to far from home.  It allows us to get-away from the everyday & admittedly aside from R&R it allows for quality time to re-connect.  This was only our 2nd time coming here as we had a bounce back special gift certificate that couldn’t of come at a better time.  What I love about “The Anniversary Inn” is that no matter the scenario it truly does cater to many.  Here are a couple of stories I read in the room journal we stayed in:  A Mother (78) & Daughter came to just spend quality time with each other after her last round of chemo.  Two Sisters traveled through just to spend quality time reconnecting.  While we were there this time there was a Best Friend Duo that had a fun time just having a girls night in the “Hollywood” suite.  I can’t say I don’t blame them as I would do the same thing…FREE fresh popped popcorn & a huge big screen!  (Click the photo to book your get-away Suite today):

So “Punny” in the words of Joy…When I initially called to book a room I opted for the Capital suite, with the finalization of taxes etc. etc. I thought it to be fitting.  When we arrived however, Uhm I realized that 99.9% of the time when we do travel we get to stay in Suites or mini-apartments so to speak that kinda reminded me of that…so this room just was not working for me. I went out to the car to grab the rest of our dinner & asked my Darling Husband I wonder if we can switch rooms?  Well surprise surprise I was double duped because while I was in the car he managed with the help of the staff member “Stephanie” to do a switcharoo on me.  (Just from the look on my face he could tell when we walked into the “Capital” Suite) So he handed me a key that said 16 “Mansion” & this is what I walked back to the room into:

As though that wasn’t enough this is what I woke up too:

After we had our homemade breakfast & checked out, I looked above the mountain side & was curious about the Historic Boise Train Depot.  Though deserted at this time on a monday it certainly seemed we had the entire depot to ourselves & I was able to capture a really cool picture overlooking Boise & if you look close enough at the 2nd photo you can see the tippy top of our capital.:

Of course I was so thankful about the entire stay & the exemplary customer service that I created this for “The Anniversary Inn” staff (sealed with microglaze):

Then when I came home I had another SaWeet Surprise from my dearest Friend over at StamperStorage.com…My Ink Blok blending tools!  By far I have to be honest here…these are the best blending tools in the market!  Not just because they are custom made with my personal engraving…but because they are hand-crafted with lots of love using the finest imported quality of woods, & extremely durable (no fussing about the Velcro base for my felt or foam applicators), the handle makes it easier to blend & they store just like any of the other blending tools on the market only these are indispensable. Bonus it’s the personal touch of the gorgeous tag creation…I always say Customer Service & Details are the most important to me & without question StamperStorage does this: (Just click on the photo to order your personal Ink Blok today)

So this was my Sweet Anniversary Surprise!!!  I hope you enjoyed having a sneak peak into a very special day & more.  Oh Wait…there is one more thing I wanted to share…I’m feeling extremely blessed & humbled too & wanted to give a HUGE HUG & Thank You to Sizzix & Glue Dots for their generous prize package give-away they have going on their blogs.  It’s just amazing!  Yes, I won…& so can YOU.  Just hop on over to www.Sizzix.com to check out how you too, can enter to win!  I’m loving reading about all the really incredible shares of heART they are posting & highly encourage you to sneak over & feel inspired too!   They even have the “Where in The World is Your Vagabond” gauge keys promotion with 486 entries & growing (supplies are limited so find your Vagabond & Share).  Thank You so much for Stamping By…I’m headed off into the Studio to complete my “Compendium of Curiosities Vol. 2” challenge entry & will be back later today to share…

12 Tags of 2012 March Tag

Join In With Your Rendition of March’s 12 Tags (click the photo to read & submit)

I’ve been “waiting to exhale”…wait isn’t that a movie?  I reckon the story is just in the same & totally fitting for what I want to share… I endeavored into this venture with all things Tim Holtz lately and I have to admit, I’m Addicted!  The 12 Tags of 2012 is no exception & it’s actually what started this NEW Creative Journey.  I’ve always admired the mystique that comes along with butterflies.  Truly, I’m being honest here…there is something about the transformation process that is very intriguing to me.  When applied to the current stage of finding my inner-creative ME, I would say that I’ve just opened up my cocoon and spread my wings!  Well…Here let me just show you:

Here is My 12 Tags of 2012 Tag Entry for March:

Here is a Close-Up of the Sentiment “Live in the moment and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering”:

Since I’ve only recently discovered Tim Holtz , I do not have a few of the supplies that he used in his demonstration.  Of course I’m fairly good at compensating supplies that I do have on hand & what I love the most about his philosophy, is that he encourages using them.  I won’t get into all the supplies I used but I will tell you some of them that I did in creating my very first Tim Tag.  Ready?…Distress Inks for blending the background, emboss folder to create the wood grain look, perfect medium & Distress Inks to embellish with Perfect Pearls on the woodgrain, I don’t have dies but I do have the exclusive Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge and layered 3 butterflies in various sizes ranging from 1” to 1 3/4”, Artistic wire to make the lil’ antennas, & some Distress Stains to create the ribbon.  I played so much with this wonderful tutorial that I made a couple more tags I wanted to share:

Flourish Background same lay-out alternating the Perfect Pearls “Heirloom Gold” with “Copper” & “Bronze”:

The mosaic Butterflies using Tim Holtz Paper Stash paperpack (These were lots of FUN, & I’m falling in love with the Glossy Accent I must say):

I also used “Frayed Burlap” & “Vintage Photo” Distress Ink along with these for the backgrounds & even the backs are distress ink blended:

Oh Boy did I have a blast playing with the ribbon and Distress Stains!  Same method 4 different outcomes…I just folded up a piece of paper towel and dabbed randomly, then I patted the color seamless binding ribbon into the ink patches.  I love how each of them turned out:

Alas since I was already dabbling and playing with these different ideas I decided to create a couple more in Size #5 Kraft Tags as Thank You Gifts:

So, when I spoke about feeling like I’ve just transformed into a butterfly and learned to spread my wings a lil’ I mean, I truly have!  I’m so inspired by his “Grunge Style” that I’m thirsting for more inspiration and knowledge about how the chemistry of his products work.  Starting tomorrow I’m taking his First ever online class “Creative Chemistry 101”!  I’m so excited about this Candies and YOU can join along with Us too, just click on the name to link up to the classroom & register, that simple.  I want to disclose that I will NOT be sharing any of the Creative Chemistry I’m learning about but I WILL be posting up photos of different projects I create outside of class material using what I’ve learned combining my other supply inventory.  So this is the BIG News I wanted to share this Sunday that just had to wait.  I hope you’ve enjoyed viewing my latest transformation of creativity and finding ME in the process.  Off into the Creatique Studio for some SMASH Sunday, Thanks for Stamping By…

Creative University Journey Entry 3–Blog Candy Winner!

Wow!  What ah-mazing Journey this is been for me personally.  Thank you to every single Lady who touched my heart so deeply this past year.  I’m so humbled and can barely find the words of gratitude to express at the moment so I think I will just cap off the amazing trip with how truly blessed I feel for having everyone of these precious creations to display in my craftroom.  I’m filled daily with inspiration and courage when I gander around each piece.  I share these gifts of gratitude, that were given to me during my Journey at CU 2012.  I’m just so amazed at the depth of soul coming from their creatively talented hands.  From My Heart To Yours…:

Because of what I was given at CU, I came home inspired to spread a little of that inspiration to someone who’s been there for me through some true tribulations within these last six months.  For her I pay my gratitude of friendship, loyalty, honesty, and trust.  She loved it so much, she actually brought it back so I could take pics of it to share with you.  Here is the Book:

This is a sneak Peak:

What my story for her could tell:

Her Treasure:

My CU Logo Frenzy…I have a fetish for this every year & quite frankly I’m proud to say that this is my wardrobe for the entire year till 2013!

Handmade Treasures that were given to me through-out CU:

The photo Above & Below are from my Roomie’s Amy & Merri!  I feel so special & Loved the Blog matching pillow box!

Chocolates & Cards of Plenty!

The first time I’ve ever participated in a “Secret Sister” exchange.  Hosted by Michelle Johns, this voluntary exchange pairs people up who don’t know who we are until Sunday morning right before our BIG breakfast reveal.  So in other words we create, give, and share our talents with someone through-out the entire CU, then at the end WE get to meet!  I LOVE what My Secret Sister done for me.  Seriously, You can gander for yourself to see how talented she is!  I’m so touched by her generosity and what she did to get to know me.  It was very hilarious to find out that she sat right in front of me (back turned) the entire time.   During the big reveal I had genuine tears of joy, happiness, and deep appreciation for her.  I could swear she knew me personally.  My only regret is that I did not get to spend a lot of quality time getting to know her personally this year but I’m counting down to CU13 already.  So without further ado my tribute to my Secret Sister Tammy!:

Here are photos of her gifts up Close:

This journal that she created is so ME!  I Lurv it to pieces…plan on using it for my original ideas.

The Finally Gifts – A Stamp set inside the handstamped package & a Desk Calender with each month handstamped to match. :

Our Creative Journey Blog Comment, FB & Blog follow with Comments & Tweets winner is: Mz. KathieSimpleFindings!  Congrats You’re the winner of a retired “Back Country” set posted in CU Journey Entry 2.  Please contact me with your information to send out your blog candy.

Now that leap year day is over & we start into March, I wanted to make a huge announcement of my very own.  I host a group on FB called Blog Bonanaza.  What this group does is help others to learn about blogging tricks etc. and teaches others information that we share along the way.  From Banners, to side-bar buttons, blog buttons, turning your blog into a 3-column, etc. etc. we have info for all the blogging goodies.  Feel free to send me a request to join via my contact link and specify why you would like to join our Blog Bonanza group.  Here is our group Button I created:

I have some other major announcements coming up with some new artwork to post and our March Blog Give-Away and I know your going to Lurv it very much!  Please stay tuned… & Thanks for stamping by!

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