A PARTY WITH PRIZES, A PLEASURE, AND A PAINTING...

Don't you just love a good party? Well, Karen of My Desert Cottage is having one and all the land of blog is invited! She will be hosting WHERE BLOGGERS CREATE II on June 19th, 2010. This is an opportunity to show off your creative space whether it be a TV tray, card table, kitchen table, converted closet, or full blown studio.

Jo Packham of Where Women Create will be offering these great prizes:

* The first prize is a feature in Where Women Create Magazine! Jo will have the tough job of handpicking the winner.

* There will be six random selections among the party goers for the following prizes:
2 - 1 year subscriptions to Where Women Create Magazine!
2 Sets of Jo's books - Where Women Create and The Book of Inspiration
2 WWC Charm Bracelets

For full details and how to sign up to participate, please visit Karen at this link. Trust me, you will not want to miss this party it was THE event of the blog season last year. It is a great place to meet new friends and be inspired by all the creatives here in the land of blog.

I had the pleasure of meeting a new blogger, via email, this week and she has decided to start her own blog and I'd love to introduce her to you. Marylin of Cordelia's World just got her new blog underway and I would love it if you would give her a warm welcome to the neighborhood. She also has a wonderful shop, The Colonial Hitching Post, where she sells a whole host of items from greeting cards, collectibles, collage works, books, and more, so pay a visit to her store, you might just find something you have been looking for.

It is also my pleasure to tell you about a new blog shop that has opened up, Lisa of Tarnished and Tattered launched her new blog shop this past weekend! Lisa's art is amazing, you might remember that she taught me to make this in Artist Class: If it has not been snapped up there is the most amazing fabric collage featuring a tiny bird for sale over there, so go see! Congrats and best of wishes to both Marylin and Lisa on their new endeavors.

Here at the Quill I am still enmeshed in trying to settle into the new studio space. I dusted off my pencils and paint brushes yesterday and started a little sketching and decorative painting BUT, (and it is a big one), I am not a happy camper with the ensuing results - I AM RUSTY! Yes'em I am, rusty as an old bucket set out in the rain too long, as the old sayin' 'round here goes. Diane, in case you are reading this, it is NOT like ridin' a bike, it does not come back so easy as all that.Use it or lose it comes to mind, well, I think I must be losing not only my painting skills but my mind as well with this little painterly project. It may just disappear altogether. I will at least finish the bird and the nest and then decide before I go much further and waste any more time on it. To be continued...(sorry about the yucky photos, the lighting in the new space is awful!!! working on that though)Did you notice that I gave you a lot of little linky things to click on today? Well, that is so I can divert the attention away from my lack of things to blog about here at the moment. Tomorrow I will try and finish the new free tutorial so I have something fun to share by the weekend, fingers still crossed that it gets done by then. Well, I am off to either finish this painting or to paint over it. Have a bliss filled day!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy

WHERE WOMEN CREATE BOOK OF INSPIRATION...

Some days are filled with joy and beauty and some day are just not that pretty. Today was not a pretty day here at the Quill. To lift our spirits Handy Hubby and I went for a long drive about sunset, out to dinner, and then to the book store where I found some beauty and inspiration all bound up in a book.

I just had to share with you the new book I picked up this evening at the book store - Where Women Create Book of Inspiration; In The Studio and Behind the Scenes with Extraordinary Women by Jo Packham and Jenny Doh. This hardbound beauty is chock full of wonderful artists, artwork, and studios to drool over! This book lives up to its name. Some of my favorite artists are featured, Lori Oles, Connie Govea Stewart, Pam Garrison, Susan Tuttle, Ulla Milbrath, Teresa McFayden, Nicol Sayer, Angela Cartwright, just to mention a few. Of course, Jo and Jenny are in there too! I can't wait to devour the beautiful pages of this book.

Thank you to all who have dropped in to visit this week and left such sweet and uplifting comments in my absence here in the land of blog. Depending how things go tomorrow I may be away a little longer than I had anticipated. I pre-posted this week and will do so for next week, responding to comments as I am able. Thank you so much for sticking with me. I really appreciate your loving support. Just to let you know without going into a lot of detail, tomorrow will be an extremely difficult day, I would so appreciate your good thoughts and prayers.

I hope your days are being filled with beauty, joy, and blessings! Thinking of you, missing visiting you, and hope to return very soon.

Blessings,
Miss Sandy