Birthday Drama

Annie's Birthday Banner

Entry Decorations

 Well I am happy to report that we all survived the sleepover of 2011. Take one room, add a bunch of 5th grade girls, and what do you get? A boat load of drama. It brought back so many memories of my sleepover days, some good, some not so. Don't get me wrong, these are all great, kind, fun loving kids. But when they are all mixed together with cake, ice cream, and soda, something just goes wrong. I knew I was in for a long night, when a sleeping bag arrangement couldn't be made. I now understand why committees take days, weeks even  to make decisions. Without a little mom intervention, those girls would still be arguing about which movie to watch. I found that some of the girls, didn't understand the concept of compromise. It was their way or tears.  The Wii dance game was a lifesaver, lots of  songs, lots of  room to dance,and lots of energy to burn. All in all it was a great time, and Annie felt special and loved. Next year I'm thinking we can pack all that special love into a three hour party, and have one friend at a time sleepovers. It's strange my 15 year old son has had a few sleepover parties ( they call them sleepovers, but they never sleep) this last summer, and none of his friends argued about what movie to watch, or cried when things didn't go their way. My husband, who is an only child, was baffled by the whole drama. It's now Monday morning, everyone is at work or school. I think I'll have some left over birthday cake for breakfast and dance to my favorite songs on the Wii. If you have ever had birthday drama, leave a comment. I could use a laugh.

Vintage Window Remix

 I recently purchased 3 vintage windows, they are beautiful in their own right, but I had this vision in mind, to glam them up. Here is the first one. These are not the best pictures, I hope the details show. I placed tempered glass over the paned glass, so you can see through both. I'm really happy with it and look forward to fixing up the other two. I'm knocking around the idea of using all white on one and maybe a tree on the other. Do you have any other ideas? 

More Wool Roving

As you can see I'm still felting away. Theses are my experimental patches and samples to show how my polymer embellishments can be used. I will be a vendor at the Cloth Paper Scissors CREATE RETREAT in Costa Mesa this May. If you are planning to be there, come by and say hi.

My New Passion

I know it's been awhile since my last post. I've had so much fun experimenting with wool roving and polymer clay, that I haven't had time for much else. There's a lot of potential with these mediums. I have a few more pieces in a different color story. You'll have to wait to see these later. I'm giving myself through Monday to continue on this course, then I need to get back to some tempered glass pieces I have started.I hate to have unfinished work laying around. But I have to say, there's something relaxing about working with these soft fibers. I'm looking forward to seeing where this combination will go.

Happy Valentine's Day

Polymer Clay Cupcake

 I couldn't sleep last night, so I was up making this jumbo glitter cupcake. It is completely made  of polymer clay. Wouldn't a whole tray of these be cute? I need to make them smaller next time. I made this one for a very special friend for Valentine's Day. Her name is Vicky and she loves anything vintage. She just made a couple of birds that will look really cute with this. I'm hoping she doesn't check my blog today, so I can call her and be on the phone when she sees it. Everyone should have a friend like Vicky.  She has been a great support for me on my artist's journey. She has cried in the valleys when I have been disappointed , shouted from the mountain top with me to celebrate the victories , and has kept me laughing when I forgot how to laugh on my own. She loves me and my art, and has done so much to encourage and promote me.  She is one of the most gracious and generous people I have known, and her husband is the same. So Vicky I hope you like your big fat cupcake and this little surprise.  I know God put you in my life at just this time, to help me make it over this last hill. Do you think we'll get to the top to find a mountain? I hope not! But if there is, I know you will be one of  the people pushing me from behind. I just wanted to honor you and our friendship today. If you read this early, you better cry when you read it with me tomorrow. I'm joking, just call me. If any of you have a friend like this, you are blessed. Leave me a comment and tell me about them.

One World One Heart 2011

World Wide Event For Bloggers

One World One Heart Door Prize

What a fun event, one heart. Here at Crimson Heart Studios, we are all about the heart, and we love the month of February. My name is Cindy Dubbers and I live on the central coast of California, and yes, the weather is beautiful. While most of the country was digging out of snow, we were wearing shorts and tee shirts. But I understand that rain is on the way.

I'm a mixed media artist that works in paint, paper, fabric, and almost anything else I can get my hands on. The medium I use most often and have for the longest time is polymer clay. I've challenged myself to see how many other mediums play well with polymer. One of my latest pieces was of polymer and wool roving. The door prize I'm giving away is a clay heart made up of individual tiles that is surrounded by tempered glass. The piece is 4x4 in size and is very shiny.  If you love hot pink, black and white, and hearts, this might be for you. If you are an active blogger, leave a comment to enter a drawing for the door prize.   The winner will be selected February 17th and I'll email the winner and post it as well. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Thanks for stopping by.    P.S. I just found out that I'm a 2012 Cloth Paper Scissor calendar artist. I'm doing a happy dance!          Congrats to" Just Me" for winning the 2011 OWOH door prize.

Wool Roving and Polymer Clay

Wool and polymer, what an unlikely pair. This proves that polymer can be added to most any medium, and that medium will be enhanced by it. This is one of those projects that came out completely different on it's completion, than it started in my head at the beginning. As artists, we understand that the creative process can take on a mind of it's own. This is a perfect example of that. I started out with the tree trunk. I loved it's aged, weathered appearance. At some point, I realized the tree had gone from majestic to whimsical. Knowing I was at the point of no return, I continued on through Never Never Land, knowing I could never bring this piece back to reality. It reminds me not to take myself or my artful journey to serious. It's  like those moments you want everything to be so proper, then one of your kids burp and the moment is gone, never to be seen again. But that moment turns out to be the one that brings laughter to you every time you think of it. I just hope I'm the one laughing and not the judges, when I submit this piece. Last year I won best of show. This year I just want to bring a smile to someones face.

Ice Cream For Breakfast

NATIONAL ICE CREAM FOR BREAKFAST DAY

PUT YOUR JAMMIES ON

NOTICE ANNIE'S CUSTOM SLIPPERS

Today was "International Ice Cream for Breakfast Day".  Is this a great country or what? Wait, it gets better. If you show up in your jammies, the maple bacon ice cream in a waffle cone, made for this special day, was free. So Annie and Dad, the ice cream lovers in our family, set off to the village of Arroyo Grande to find this cold treat. On any given day, as you drive through the village, you will probably see a line formed on the sidewalk in front of Doc Burnstein's, a favorite ice cream hangout. But today the line looked a little different, most everyone, adult and child alike were in their PJ's.  Most of the parents there probably thought it was a great memory making event, as my husband did. Besides that, who can turn down free dessert, especially at 9:30 AM. So hats off to the Doc, and all the fun parents of the central coast.