Mother Rubber Art Stamps

guess where I was Friday night.....

2012-02-13T07:48:00.000-08:00

so awesome!
if you are in the area I recommend attending if you can.
it's a experience like only Cirque du Soleil can create and you will never forget it!

more journal pages

2012-02-05T07:21:00.000-08:00

I have been so inspired to draw ever since my class at JournalFest (Oct 2011) with the wonderfully fabulous Lisa Cheney-Jorgenson. I have always loved drawing but that class really changed things for me -Thank you Lisa!

This drawing I just jumped in and did....

This drawing I remembered to apply what I had learned in Lisa's class

here's the drawing with all the painting finished

some quick sketches while watching March of the Penguins for the first time. I found the penguins' story to be so inspiring and beautiful...

namaste,

Dawn

new journal

2012-01-23T19:32:00.000-08:00

this is my new "everyday" journal....I do my regular journaling in here, draw, paint and just "noodle" around as Judy Wise would say. :)

I made this by using the Faux Leather journal technique in the November-December 2010 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors, but I altered the technique a bit. I followed the directions when I made my first one - my Holidays 2010 journal - but wanted to have fabric on both sides of this one. So, I fused fabric to both sides of the brown paper bag paper (without crinkling it up as directed). The inside is this nice aqua corduroy fabric I used for a zipper pouch for my niece ( a Christmas gift that she loved :D); I actually used the lovely blue rose fabric on the outside for that zipper pouch too -this is when I fell in love with that fabric combination.

Then I just did the math: need a journal + love those fabrics together x faux leather technique = lovely new fabricy journal.

See, math can be fun

I also used some signatures I had leftover from our wedding reception. I had made a bunch up and put them on the tables for people to write notes to us and draw pictures and stuff. I made a lot of them and had many left and knew I wanted to make a journal out of them - this was the perfect opportunity.

I sewed them in with my machine which became challenging after the first 3 - then I figured out that I should try and use my zipper foot on my machine and viola...now there are 7 signatures in there - nice and thick.

Here is a close-up of one of the blue roses that I just had to glitter - and now I'm planning to do a few more :) I know, what a surprise!

Still trying to figure the best closure for this so it's still "in work" a bit - but I'm already using it (of course).

what do you think?

thanks for stopping by

Namaste,

Dawn

journal pages

2012-01-13T07:00:00.001-08:00

happy new year!

2012-01-05T17:37:00.001-08:00

I wish for you a joyful and prosperous 2012 !

-Dawn

lunar eclipse

2011-12-12T17:59:00.000-08:00

Photo by Frank Blau www.frankblauphotography.com

Did you see it?

I was up early Saturday and drove up to the Highlands Park and Ride, which happens to have one of the best views in Issaquah, and watched it out in the cold. It was beautiful, stunning, ....leaves you speechless to know that this is something I did with a lot of the rest of the world....

yes, it teared me up with it's silent, humongous beauty....

Huge thanksgiving sale on now!!

2011-11-27T16:43:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Stop by and enjoy 30 - 40% off almost everything on our web site...

www.motherrubber.com

http://shop.motherrubber.com

Tim Holtz Limited Edition Winter Distress Inks

2011-11-14T09:13:00.000-08:00

..........are here!
From Ranger's press release:

Tim Holtz® Winter Seasonal Distress Ink
• Limited edition seasonal colors
• Acid free, non-toxic dye inks
• Stylish vintage color palette
• Unique ink ideal for water techniques

Get them while you can! :)

-Dawn

JournalFest 2011

2011-11-04T08:46:00.000-07:00

Home again after an enchanting time in Port Townsend. This was my first JournalFest and it was just incredible. I feel as though another creative part of me has been opened up and opened wide.

After unloading my car into my dorm room look what gift appeared outside for all of us:

My first class was Orly Avineri's Face Lift. We were treated to some very disarming exercises and revisited the meaning of true beauty....and being human. Thank you Orly and my fellow travelers...My friend Gwen was in this class too!

Here are is a shot from the back of the classroom and a couple of my journal spreads from that class:

My Friday class was with the fabulous Juliana Coles. I didn't take any photos in the class but here are a couple of my spreads from that class which are in a different journal - a large history book I bought at Value Village especially for this class:

This book is surprisingly lightweight for it's size, about 9" x 12"

Finally, Saturday was Learning to See with the warm and wonderful Lisa Cheney-Jorgensen. We drew with our pens and learned how to slow down, quiet the left side of our brains, and really draw what we see:

first we did some symbolic (from memory), contour, blind contour, and modified blind contour drawings of a coffee cup.

We also did an upside down contour drawing of a drawing Lisa provided. Drawing upside down forces you to focus on lines and shapes instead of the whole picture. This helped us not get so anxious and wound-up about what we were drawing. It worked well for me. Some people were smart and turned their journals upside down before starting so that once they were done their image would be right side up in their journal. I didn't do that but I'm ok with that - it reminds me of the lesson and the learning.

The drawing on the right is of my personal object, a leaf I picked up while enjoying the grounds at Fort Worden. I am not done painting it yet - watercolors....but like how the drawing turned out :)

Here's the leaf for your reference:

Finally, I had time to draw my iPod in it's case while others were completing their drawings of their personal objects

AND, Lisa had us all do the coolest collaborative drawing. She took a photo of Tracy, cut it up into a bunch of squares and then we all drew 2 or more squares onto post-its without knowing what we were drawing. This again focussed us on shapes and lines - and turned out great!

I loved doing this with my fellow travelers.....this will always connect us together and connect us to JournalFest, and Teesha and Tracy

Here are the wonderful trades I came home with too:

What a great time I had -here's my new friend Connie:

we went out to dinner at the Fountain Cafe Saturday night with Josie and her mom Nancy (who was in my Learning To See class) and it was so much fun - great food and great company...what more could you ask for?

Connie and Nancy in their party garb:

good times were had by all!

Namaste,

Dawn

Journal Fest trades....

2011-10-22T17:52:00.000-07:00

For once I have actually finished some trades BEFORE heading off to the retreat! :)

I wasn't sure what to make but knew I wanted to use what I had already -not go buy a bunch of stuff. Amongst my piles of paper and supplies I came across these cool pre-cut pieces of card stock.

I inherited these from my sister after she bought them, along with several other wonderful things, to make my bridal shower invitations. These are 4.5" X 6.5" so that set the size.

Next, I searched online to find a free calendar template that I could shrink and customize.

Cut the pages - ugh....I somehow decided to make 52 of these....how did I come up with that number....unknown. So here's some math for you: 52 of these little guys X 15 pages per = 780. Since I could get two 4.5" X 6.5" per sheet of paper, that resulted in 390 sheets of paper to cut up. zoinks!

I then made a prototype....

and decided the back wasn't as stiff as I would like.....gee, do I have any chipboard in my piles of paper? I remembered buying some 12" x 12" sheets a while ago but, the eternal question: WHERE did I put them? :D

Found!

Cut, punched and stacked!

The final product:

What a relief to have these completed

Woo hoo!! - day after tomorrow I'm heading to Port Townsend :)

Namaste,

Dawn

Tim Holtz Seasonal Distress Inks -Autumn 2011

2011-10-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

Great news!

I was able to order some of these fantastic ink pad sets from Ranger from there second run!

These are a limited edition collection of Distress Inks in harvest hues and like the changing of the seasons, this Autumn set is only available for a limited time, so collect them now before they’re gone.

Watch for an update next week when I hope to receive them and add them to my online store. I will have a VERY LIMITED QUANTITY so if you are interested stay tuned and asked to be added to my email list at info at motherrubber dot com.

Cheers!

Dawn

Distress Ink Pad Labels

2011-10-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

Hey bloggers - Ranger has done something really cool -again!

They have provided labels for their Distress Ink Pads! You can print them onto the small address labels (Avery 5167, 1/2" X 1 3/4") and do what I did: peel the label off of the backing sheet, rub it over the ink pad a bit so it picks up some of the color, then apply it to the edge of the ink pad case...easy organization - I love it!

I added a new page on our web site for downloads such as these labels; check that page out here: Downloads

Check it out here: I lined up all of my Distress Ink Pads in one of my Ink Pad Palaces:

Happy Stamping!

-Dawn

Birth-versay Weekend!

2011-09-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

My hubby's birthday was last-last Thursday, and our anniversary was last Monday (2 years already!! woo hoo!!) so we took extra time off from work and made it a long weekend....very relaxing.

giggling at a birthday card...

My two fellow sun-soaking companions

My sister let us stay at her Oregon Coast condo - right on the beach.....we had perfect summer weather and total relaxation....we didn't cook one meal!

My Mom lives just 10 minutes away so we met up with her before venturing out.

This is a yummy Italian Soda from the Pizza Garden in Nehalem...pizza was good too!

We ate out, did a tad bit of shopping (it's a mecca for thrift and antique stores), napped, and just enjoyed each other's company...

We traveled home through Portland, stopping at Bunk Sandwiches (of Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" fame).

They serve a version of Banh Mi (Vietnamese sub sandwiches) which was delicious!

They also have Mexican Coke on the menu - yummy!

This was Collin's Italian Cured Meats sandwich....it was a bit on the sour side for him-pickled peppers on top along with vinegar I'm guessing....I thought it was delicious. :)

Is it too early for this? Haunted House Halloween Card - Instructions

2011-08-08T09:44:00.001-07:00

Here's how I made this card:

To create the background, I crumpled my card slightly then flattened it out again and then applied Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink by rubbing the ink pad over the card. I then spritzed with a bit of water and used my heat gun to dry it - this allows the orange color to spread out randomly. I then went over this with Black Soot Distress Ink in the same manner - applying the ink pad to the paper lightly and a bit randomly. I did make sure I got the edges of the card because that gives it a bit of a finished look.
I stamped the Haunted House onto glossy white card stock using Black Onyx VersaFine Ink then I colored it in using markers - I think I used the Marvy Matchables Brush tip markers. I then cut out the haunted house and traced around it adding about 1/8" onto glossy black cardstock, cut that out, and set it aside with the haunted house.
Next, I stamped my Moon Solid image onto some orange holographic sticker paper using Jet Black Staz-On ink and cut that out, then applied it to the card (making sure the card was thoroughly dry).
Finally, I stamped the Scary Dead Tree onto vellum and cut it out; I also tore a random piece of vellum to make the fog and then stamped my Tiny Bat stamp in several spots using the Jet Black Staz-On ink. I adhered that to the card so it slightly overlapped the moon.
Next, I adhered the black haunted house outline directly to the card, and then using black foam dimensional tape, mounted the haunted house on top of the black outline. Finally, using a tiny bit of the black foam dimensional tape, I mounted the Scary Dead Tree in front of the house-overlapping slightly to give the card some depth.
Viola! A Haunted House Halloween Card for you!

What do you think? comments are welcome :)

Dawn

New Gallery and cool pop-dot tutorial

2011-08-02T06:58:00.000-07:00

New Gallery of Samples

I have added this card to my new gallery of stamped samples to my web site!

As I grow my gallery I am planning to link each card to instructions for completing it along with a supplies list.

If you have cards, tags, scrapbook pages or anything else where you have used Mother Rubber Art Stamps send them in and I'll add them to the gallery!

You can email your images to info "at" motherrubber dot com.

If you prefer to send me the actual card, tag or sample, mail them to P.O. Box 1526, Issaquah, WA 98029. Include a note, your address and return postage if you would like it returned to you.

Homemade Pop-Dots

Here's a great demo for making your own dimensional foam tape in any color for cheap:
http://happilyeverpapercrafter.blogspot.com/2011/06/homemade-pop-dots.html

Comments welcome!
Enjoy your day,

Dawn

Photo Crawl Journal

2011-07-19T20:28:00.001-07:00

Here's the front cover-in work:

here's the cover finished - I added black masking tape along the edges so there's an outline around the whole book....I thought that looked cool

first page...

another page in the middle...

Photo Crawl - Seattle International District

2011-07-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

I spent a beautiful Sunday with my art friends Gwen, Paula, Jan, Lynne and Louie walking around the international district taking photos in another Photo Crawl organized by Gwen.

We started in Kobe Gardens-which I never even knew was there....

there's a pea patch where the residents can grow their vegetables and flowers...

there were little brightly colored stone walkways peaking out from under thegrass...sometimes the path is hidden and you have to keep your eyes wide open...

...and Chickens!!

then we wandered around the streets packed with people -they were having their annual SeaFair Dragon Festival and several streets were closed off and booths set up with goods for sale, crafts, learning activities and food...

After the crawl, we met up at the Panama Hotel to journal and enjoy a late lunch.

Gwen had made each of us these cool little books out of sheets of folded and gesso'd newspaper -here athey are as we were wrapping up to go home

From the left: Gwen, Louie, and Jan - on the right is Paula and Lynne in front in the green :)

I'll show you my book once I get it all finished.

Thank you friends!

Love,
Dawn

Happy 4th of July!! We're having a Website sale :)

2011-07-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day!

We're headed off to enjoy a BBQ and fireworks with the family.

But, I would love for you to spend some time shopping at my online store, so I offer you this coupon code: FREE2011 to save 20% off orders over $20 (before shipping and tax).

This code is good through July 5th as many times as you'd like to use it :)

We'll be on holiday through the 5th and will start processing and shipping orders on July 6th

God bless America!

NEW Distress Stains!

2011-06-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

I just got some new products in and added them to the online store.

Tim Holtz Distress Stains are a new product made by Ranger that use the yummy distress ink colors Tim Holtz has developed in his distress ink pads. The cool thing about the stains in they have a dabber (dauber?) cap - sort of like playing bingo at the senior center....they are a nice 1oz. size so they won't be too heavy to take with you when you go to your journaling / art-making meet-ups with your creative pals.

I did a test stripe of each color of the Distress Stains in my journal;

the paper in my journal isn't light blue like it appears in this image...weird....maybe it's my 1989 color CRT monitor on it's last legs... :)

Here's what the bottles look like:

I also have the new packaging of the Tim Holtz / Adirondack Color Wash Sprays. I L-O-V-E these and was excited to see they added a few new colors when they repackaged them too. They give such rich vibrant colors and are fun to experiment with using wet or dry applications. I'll play around and post a sample up here soon.

For now here's a sample of something I did with the original Color Wash Sprays...I did the background with the color wash and then stamped over it with a carved stamp with turquoise acrylic paint. This was for an art-journal swap.

Enjoy!
-Dawn

Dutch, Baby!! and other Easter adventures

2011-04-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

I spent this Easter weekend on the beautiful Oregon Coast with my awesome family.

Rocketman and I headed down after work on Thursday and arrived around 10:30 pm. Ate a snack and then hit the hay. We slept in the 2nd bedroom and I grabbed the top bunk - I can't remember the last time I slept in a bunk bed :) it felt like a cocoon...very cozy and comfortable after got over the fear that the top bunk would break and crush my darling husband slumbering peacefully below.

We spent Friday in Garibaldi and FINALLY made it into the local bakery-heavens how could we have waited this long?

Look at these sumptuous goodies:

cupcakes

donuts

cinnamon rolls

marzipan fruits

and of course

fresh bread!

Yum yum...

This is one of the owner Cathy-super nice...

The sweets were to die for. We found the bread a bit salty but so fresh and moist that a little butter and jam made us forget the salt.

We grabbed a coffee at the coffee shop across the street, which is now run by a Seahawks fan-woo hoo! She made a mean cup of drip by the way.

While my sister headed to the Portland airport to pick up her DH, Rocketman, Twinkle Toes and myself headed down to fredders for some grocery shopping.....grabbed a couple of RedBox flicks and went back up the coast to the condo. We then proceeded to waste 1.5 hours of our collective lives (ok, 4.5 if you add all 3 of us together) on one of the worst movies I've ever seen - SkyLine. I was Soooo looking forward to seeing it and it totally SUCKED :(

I love alien invasion movies, and really, most sci-fi flicks but this was was just soooo lame.

Oh well, now I know ;)

How could I forget: I made a Dutch Baby for the fam....everyone loved it!!

So the phrase for the weekend was Dutch Baby.

I'll be posting soon about a couple of new products I got for the Online Store.

Namaste,

Dawn

New Journal

2011-04-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

As I neared completion or fullness in my last journal I once again wanted to try something new for this journal. So, I followed the directions in one of my books (Creative Wildfire by L.K. Ludwig) to make a journal with a binding designed to lay flat-useful for us journalers. I also had some Fabriano Artistico 90lb watercolor paper that I had been dying to try and decided to go ahead and make my journal with that paper. I think I like the lighter weight papers but that's also something that changes each time I make a new journal.

I created my newest journal using one of my horse-racing photos on the front and a cool abstract digital painting I made a long time ago on an online Jackson Pollack style painting web site...I liked it so well I printed it out intending to use it in or on one of my journals eventually...well, there it is...

This is the front cover

this is the binding...

this is the back cover....

and here's a page I started

Namaste,

Dawn

Spring Cleaning?

2011-03-09T12:56:00.001-08:00

Are you feeling the itch to get your crafting or art-making space organized and clear the clutter so you can welcome Spring ? The Ink Pad Palace may be just what you need - I designed this unit after getting frustrated having to dig through shoe boxes or other containers to get my hands on the ink pad I was looking for....

It' made from cardboard, 100% recyclable and made in the USA!

Check it out:
Here it is with 10 of our optional drawers -I love the drawers for my cat-eye and tiny ink pads, as well as my small word stamps, used postage stamps, collage bits, etc....

Click the picture to visit my web site and Online Store, where you can order one of these gems.

Enjoy your day!

Dawn

little girl lost

2011-03-08T12:25:00.000-08:00

a sad day-a young girl that went to the same middle school as my darling niece died over the weekend. she killed herself-12 years old. I am sad and angry and wish we could go back in time and find her alive. she ran away from home and posted a suicidal message on her facebook page and sent a friend suicidal text messages...what does it take to be heard when you are 12? what will she miss? what has this community lost with her death? an innocent soul and someone too young to die.

Rest In Peace Ariana-may God hold you close.

February Rainbow

2011-02-19T05:36:00.001-08:00

while waiting for my husband I was treated to this colorful gift.

I love misty rainy days.

Namaste,

Dawn

Merry Christmas

2010-12-26T19:44:00.000-08:00

I hope you had a wonderful day full of joy, laughter and love.

Grand Re-Opening Sale!

2010-12-10T17:35:00.000-08:00

Hello!

We are having our grand re-opening sale from now through Sunday December 12th. Use coupon code "reopen15" to save 15% on everything in our online store!! This won't apply to shipping or sales tax.

Stop by and shop early for best selection as we won't be back ordering any products we run out of.

www.motherrubber.com

http://shop.motherrubber.com

Have fun shopping!!

Merry Christmas!

Dawn

giving thanks

2010-11-25T22:10:00.000-08:00

My life is blessed with abundance and joy. I am so very grateful for this. I had to grow up to realize what a gift my family is and that true pleasure in life comes from enjoying my time with them. I had the most wonderful Thanksgiving with them today. We talked and laughed; danced and sang; feasted and relaxed and took a healing walk through the crisp air of this dark fall evening. Winter approaches so quickly-she feels as though she is here already kissing us with her frozen sunshine.

Collin showing his Mother how an iPod works.

Greg and Collin planning out their doorbusters Friday morning adventure.

BIIIIG hug

Mom & Sissy

I hope you enjoyed your day - Happy Thanksgiving.

Today is a day to count your blessings.

Namaste.

-Dawn

Art Classes with my Sister!

2010-11-03T18:08:00.000-07:00

So, my sister has always said to me, "you're the artist in the family" which I knew was not true and I finally got to prove it to her :)

I took her to Art & Soul in Portland this year and we enjoyed two fabulous classes together.

We took Roadmap to the Creative Life from the most awesome and wonderful Judy Wise on Saturday and then Freedom to Create with the amazing Jesse Reno on Sunday.

My sis wanted to Paint Big and that's what we got to do....I made her a journal for our class with Judy and she fell in love with metallic paints and the whole art journaling process...totally awesome!

Finally, I took Dolls for Big Girls with Judy on Monday and it was wonderful. One of my table-mates asked if I had made these dolls before - which I haven't; she replied, you are good girl! :) Made me feel good.

These are our artworks from Jesse Reno's class:

Thanks for stopping by - I'll ad photos of our journals and my doll as soon as I get some good pictures.

Namaste,

Dawn

Starburst Sprays and Embossing Powders added to Online Store

2010-09-10T07:20:00.000-07:00

Ghouly Goblin Green and Jack O' Lantern Orange

Moon Glow Two-Toned Embossing Powders

Black Orchid Silver, Lucky Shamrock Green, and Jazzy Jivin' Purple Starburst Stains/Sprays

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update - I finally got done adding the Starburst Sprays and Stains to our Online Store last evening. I also now have all the color samples and color descriptions for the Moon Glow Two-Toned Embossing Powders added to the store-yeah! Both of these awesome product lines are made by Lindy's Stamp Gang-a local company right here in Washington State -yippee!

Head on over to the Online Store to check these and all of our products out now.

Coming soon: our Grand Re-Opening Sale!!

New Website is Up!!

2010-08-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
The new web site AND new Online Store are now up and running!
They are still "under construction" and I have work to do but you can look around and order stuff securely right now.

Both of these links and the image above (linked to MotherRubber.com) are set to open a new window:

http://www.motherrubber.com/

The Website has a link to the store too, but here's the URL for the store:

http://shop.motherrubber.com/

Please feel free to browse around and let me know what you think.
Check back often as I am working on this almost every night after I get home from my day job.

The shipping still seems a bit high so I'll be working on getting that piece figured out-in the mean time I will adjust your shipping down to the correct amount if needed.

Thank you and hope to see you shopping soon!

Namaste,
Dawn

Mother Rubber Web Site Update

2010-08-16T10:23:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to post something here in case you're not on my email list. We are updating our Online Store and web site. The Online store is not open right now but will be back up soon! We are upgrading to a newer and better shopping cart and are manually reloading all of our product data into the new shopping cart. Fun times!

If you would like to be added to our email list just let me know here or go to our web site and click on the Email List button and enter your info.

Above is a preview of the new look...

OK-back to work!

Keep an eye open for the new web site this week...

Dawn

Will You Still Dance When You're 60?

2010-06-04T07:24:00.000-07:00

Interesting question my husband posed to me the other evening. My thought was, of course, "Why wouldn't I?" also floating in there was, "Are you serious? are you insane?...don't you LOVE music too?" I love how thought provoking this question is for me. He had no notion of investigation just a thought that occurred to him as I was "getting down" while he was driving us home from my Mom's house on the OC last Sunday. We were laughing at me and enjoying the song on the radio.

I can't help it-I love music and I now understand that I see myself as always "the same age" - like that wonderful quote, "we are always the same age inside"

That's how I feel emotionally and spiritually. Physically I'm close but also know my body has no choice but to endure what I Gratefully and Thankfully put it through-in other words, age as my days pass.

Music is a unique human experience that can connect you with people -it's something we can share and enjoy without needing to "U N D E R S T A N D " it...I listen to French music but don't speak a lick of French (yet) but I am still feeling the music and what it means;

Dig?

namaste & much Love

Dawn

My Sister's Spring garden

2010-05-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh Spring......she has finally breathed her life into our chilled landscape.......

Surgery time!

2010-04-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I had to have a surgery to remove 4 large alien eggs from my uterus. OK, they weren't really alien eggs, they were fibroids - non cancerous tumors that are fairly common among women. I started out with the plan to remove 2 that were "discovered" during my annual. But an ultrasound revealed there were actually 3 - and then when my surgeon was in there he found there were really 4 - one had been hidden behind of of the other big ones.

ANYWAY, the surgery was done laparoscopically on March 10 and I recovered for 3 weeks and went back to work. We removed them to make room to make a baby-yeah!!

I'll save you from the horror of the photos my surgeon gave me of the surgery and the fibroids and instead will share with you a couple of the journal pages I did while recovering - once I got back to being able to sit up awake (without pain meds) for a couple hours at a time!

Photo Crawl - Pike Place Market

2010-03-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

My friend Gwen has been trying to hook up this photo crawl for a long time and we finally got together on March 6 down in Seattle. The day was glorious and we met up down at the AmTrak station to pick up Paula and Jan who rode up from Portland. I arrived a bit later than planned so I met the gals at Pike Place Market. We walked through the market, inside and out. Then we strolled down near the Seattle Art Museum to grab a coffee and lunch and do some journaling in these awesome little journals Gwen made for us for our photo crawl. It was so much fun to hang and shoot with some like-minded artists. It's very inspiring and really re-ignites my creative energy.

Olympic Peninsula & the Hoh Rainforest

2010-03-07T13:23:00.000-08:00

Collin and I went on a weekend getaway last weekend. We drove up on Friday afternoon and stayed at the Chito Beach Resort, based on Teesha's recommendation. It was a cozy little place to stay and we spent Saturday exploring the Hoh Rainforest inside Olympic National Park. It was awesome! We saw 3 herd of Elk, about 5-6 Bald Eagles, some river otters, and many other various size birds and critters, including one cute fellow with a pinecone (see below).

Daytime Seattle Trip

2010-03-06T07:14:00.000-08:00

We decided to go to Seattle to have lunch with Collin's sister on a beautiful Saturday a couple of weeks ago....looks so different in the daytime:

Found some cool graffiti and stencil art...

Early Valentine from my honey

2010-02-12T19:27:00.000-08:00

I came home to the most beautiful surprise: My sweet husband had MADE me a valentine card and had it set up on the dining table along with 6 shiny pink heart balloons, and a dozen red roses. I am spoiled beyond belief.

My dear husband Collin,

You are the light of my life. You are the man I have waited for and looked for my whole life. I am the luckiest woman alive to have a man like you. I must have made someone upstairs pretty happy to end up with you my darling. Thank you for being there for me no matter what. You make every day like Christmas. I will spend the rest of my days trying to become the person you already see me as.

I love you with all of my heart.

Now & forever

Love,

Your wife Dawn

Late night photo adventure

2010-02-07T10:24:00.000-08:00

Friday was a beautiful day in Seattle and Issaquah. It was also Go Red for Women day to help raise awareness about women's heart disease. Several Seattle land,arks were lit up red. That in combination with the clear skies and warmer temperatures inspired me to want to go take pictures in Seattle after sunset. I proposed the idea to Collin and he was game. Off we went....after the photo taking fun we stopped at Fado Irish pub for a beer and chit chat. Good times...

Space Needle...

Pike Place Market with a Red Dress for Go Red for Women day....theres' my pilot too ;)

Union Gospel Mission

Us at Fado after a long beautiful day!

Journal pages

2010-02-02T11:14:00.000-08:00

I finally have the nerve to share with you a couple of my journal pages. I have kept a diary/journal off and on for most of my life. I recently began mixing my love of sketchbooks and doodling with journaling creating my own type of art journaling. It was easy for me to look at everyone elses wonderful art journals but challenging to begin one of my own and find my own art journaling style. I am getting more comfortable with pages that start with a colored background-my sketchbooks are all a lovely, blank white page to begin with.. :)

Anyway, here are a couple pages for your consideration...(gulp)...

Studio Redoo

2010-01-19T13:41:00.001-08:00

The weekend finally came (January 15-17) -the one that we had planned for painting the garage which is 1/2 my art studio/Mother Rubber operations central. I was so excited....and wow-do I have a lot of stuff or what?!?
Anyhow, here are a few "before" shots and NO, this isn't after and tornado...

Center island which is an old dining table I use for sewing and this double-sided white shelf unit I got from the store closing sale at my Pacific Fabrics here in Issaquah for $10....seemed like such a great deal but it's just eating up my open space....this will be gone soon -it's in the back of this picture and you can't really see it-notice the ceiling is bare drywall?

Happy New Year 2010

2010-01-13T04:53:00.000-08:00

We celebrated the New Year down at the Oregon Coast-a relaxing break from the hectic holiday pace. The weather was typical northern Pacific Coast in the winter-rainy, windy, big waves and not a lot of people. In a word, perfect.

It was my husband, me, my sister, brother-in-law, and my niece staying the in their condo and my Mom driving up from her house about 20 minutes away-for breakfast of course. My Mom no longer stays up until 12:00 pm to celebrate the New Year. I guess at some point I may do the same thing...but it always seem like such a neat experience...to celebrate something that the whole world celebrates (in their respective time zones). It's like a wave of fresh, new, exciting energy that flows through everyone on the planet-one time zone at a time-totally awesome!

I hope the New Year represents something special for you-turning over a new leaf, renewing something set aside, starting over with someone or something important to you...letting go of someone or something if that's the road to health for you...

for me, I have set my 2 resolutions for the new year:

1. Work for myself full time by my birthday

2. Become a better person (this is an annual resolution that I renew each year at new years). To me this means be more kind, less judgemental and more helpful. This year's focus is when I drive in traffic -should be a good challenge!

What are you changing this year? or, what do you love that you're not changing?

share what you can!

Love,

Dawn

Farewell Paulla

2010-01-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

My best friend in the world, Jesse Scott, lost his Mommy on December 15th. She fought a brave fight against liver disease but didn't get a transplant soon enough.

I will miss her very much.

Jesse and his brother Eric have been my friends since jr. high school and have always been there when I needed help or had something to celebrate. Jesse asked me to speak at her memorial and say a prayer too.

Her laughter will be missed the most. She had a laugh that could be heard from 100 miles away....and felt in your soul from even farther. She spoke her mind no matter what-a trait I admire in her and aspire to in my own life. I am reminded of how short a time we have on this tiny planet-time we must spend to do as much good as we can and live our lives.

I thought of those movie scenes where one person is injured and they say "leave me here-save yourself-I've lived my live...."

It made me think - have I lived my life? being alive is not the same as LIVING your life...

LIVE for today...live today so you can look back and know you enjoyed every thing there was for you to enjoy and that you cried all your tears...

I think it was Erma Bombeck who said when I die and stand before my maker I want to be able to say to him I used it all up-everything you gave me I used it all..."

I want to live that life-use up and enjoy every creative, adventurous and wonderful bit that the Lord has blessed me with

....what about you?

Love,

Dawn

Christmas 2009

2010-01-06T12:41:00.000-08:00

We had Christmas at my sister's house in Sammamish again this year. She and Greg are the best hosts around and excel in snack-making, laughter inducing face-making and stories, and general frivolity. We were also blessed to enjoy the company of my nephews Thomas and Jonathan, who joined us from Chicago. Add into the mix my wonderful Mommy, my darling niece, my awesome new husband, and the crazy dog duo of Wrigley and Molly and you have a house full of love, laughter and joy for Christmas. I have a truly blessed life for which I express my profound gratitude to our heavenly Father on a continual basis.

Feast your eyes on my joyful celebration...

Greg enjoying a photo of my sissy...

My husband was so surprised! We love the Seahawks and my sis and B-I-L got him a personalized jersey with his favorite number on it. His nickname comes from his current job of building rocket engines.

I filled this neat polka dot photo album for my sister for Christmas. We were on a tight budget this year because we spent a lot of money on our wedding and honeymoon. I picked up this photo album at the Paper Source in Bellevue on sale months ago and had worked on it some before the wedding. So, I went through all of my printed pictures in boxes and all my digital photos and put some good ones in here for her. She loved it!

I love making people smile and laugh...

Mommy modeling her new jacket..

Jonathan and Thomas checking out a cool gift

Me displaying my ultra-cool walking robot pencil sharpener. My sister went to Daniel Smith and got me some totally mouth-watering iridescent watercolors, too, along with the robot =)

Here are a few shots of our tree...

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas!

Blessing to you,

Dawn

Thanksgiving weekend...

2009-11-30T11:44:00.000-08:00

Here are a few members of my sister and brother-in-law's Christmas menagerie getting ready to be presented in their annual Christmas parade...

My sister whipped out another fantastic feast for the family, which of course I ate before I thought to take a picture of it...oh well, you'll just have to believe me.

Then, we all drove over to Leavenworth for the day Friday. We started out with lunch at the Baren Haus restaurant-Greg has the Weiner Shnitzel which, much to my surprise, does NOT contatin any weiners! who knew that?

My Mom had the most beautiful steak sandwich I've ever seen, and Collin, my sister and I shared a pizza....my niece had her famous spaghetti selection ;)

my niece (cheesy grin there), sissy & brother-in-law

me & my Mommy

me & my hubby

Guess who we ran into? those bags are filled with candy canes that they were passing out to the kiddos :)

as the sun starts setting, the splendor of the town starts to glow...

How lucky am I to live within driving distance of this lovely town?

Lifes joys...

Thanks for stopping by...

Love & blessings to you

Dawn

Journaling retreat with the Gussies

2009-11-23T08:23:00.000-08:00

I have been fortunate enough to have been invited to and enjoyed a journaling retreat with a group of ladies who call themselves the Gussies. They had thie first retreat in August, someplace on Mount Baker. This November we headed up to Guemes Island and spent 3 full days art journaling, making art, reading, taking walks down to the pebble-crusted beach, and EATING! Gwen organized the food and cooked us some awesome stew; Rose made the most incredible meatloaf I've had since my childhood; Celeste melted my resolve to stay on my diet with her Oatmeal Scotchies, and Catherine spoiled us with her french toast with fruit and syrup on top-holy smokes!

That's our little home for the weekend, above.

Kathe and Paula goofing around

Lovely pebble covered beach Paula, Celeste, Gwen and I walked down to

not a car on the road for long stretches...I think we saw a total of 2 cars during our walk down to the beach and back.

Here are my walking pals (l to r): Paula, Celeste, and Gwen

Lovely misty meadow

barely a cloud in the sky as the sun went down...

Australian Honeymoon Part 2-Melbourne: FOOD!!

2009-11-16T08:33:00.000-08:00

To continue our adventure down under we decided to take a train from Sydney down to Melbourne...a full-day train trip through the country-what a dream!

It was lovely rolling hills, sheep, cows, and an occasional graffiti splashed station in some remote town...Melbourne was great although we were unprepared for the Seattle-like rain and chilly temps. They have an awesome public transportation system...trams, trains and buses will get you anyplace you need to be on the cheap too-no rental cars for us!

Anyway, there was so much to show from Melbourne that for this post I'll tell you about the restaurants we enjoyed...not in any specific order :)

Here I am at a little cafe on St Kilda's beach-delicious Greek food plus good ol' burgers and fries too-the folks here were really nice too.

Here we are outside the Pizza Piazza which is down on Chapel Street-this funky street a bit rough on the edges with cool clothing and 2nd hand shops, and restaurants! This place has great Italian food and a full gluten-free menu for those who need that. Our waitress was from Eastern Europe and remembered us when we came back the second time-totally wonderful. So, they cover the sidewalks in front of the restaurants-enclose them with clear plastic tarps, then install those gas heaters above so they basically expand the restaurant by 3 tables....there's still a walkway in between these outdoor tables and the restaurant door so we got to eat great food, stay warm and dry and people watch- a true feast for all the senses.

This was our dessert which consisted of vanilla ice cream from heaven, a shot of Frangelico Hazelnut liqueur, and shot of espresso, with a couple of mint leaves as a garnish...oh my word-you would not believe how wonderful this was!

Here is one of our self-portraits from the journey to Melbourne on the train

I couldn't resist the lure of Devonshire Tea in the morning...when the cafe car announced they had extras (you're supposed to order them ahead) I basically ran up there...they had a few left and the servers in the cafe car were sooooo nice. I chatted with them and told them we were on honeymoon.....later in the day there was the following announcement over the loud speaker:
"May I please have your attention for a very special announcement. We would like to say a very special and warm welcome to the honeymooning couple in car "G"" HA! We started giggling and I waved-you could barely see us because the seat backs are pretty high but everyone in the car was looking around to see who it was...so awesome and nice of them to do that for us.

By the way, this Devonshire Tea consisted of two fresh, WARM scones, with butter, strawberry jam, and of course delicious hot tea! It was perfect.

OK, So if you want to travel around the world for some fantastic Thai food then you better buy your tickets to Melbourne....Patee Thai food-also on Chapel Street and "bookings only" in other words, you need reservations. We came a knocking on their door after deciding to walk the 15 blocks from our hotel-getting caught in the nightly downpour and then "borrowing " a ride on the Tram to get the rest of the way there...without a reservation. The warm and kindly hostess explained that if we could eat and vacate by 6:30 pm she would be happy to seat us....it was currently 5:15-no problemo! and many thanks to that lady-wow....it was the best seafood soup I have ever had....so hungry I forgot to snap a picture of it...apologies to you Thai food fans out there...

Another curious fact about the restaurants down there....many had these signs in their windows: bring your own bottle of wine...cool, huh?

This is me in all my satisfied food-coma glory after our second visit. I had the hotel concierge book us a table and she thought we would like to experience the tables where you sit on the floor on cushions....without your shoes on...I loved it! the only thing was we were very close to the next table ....but they were all enjoying their party and only one of them was staring at us. Collin solved that problem.

The Australian Honeymoon -Part 1 -Sydney

2009-10-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

Well, off we went to the land down under!

It was a loooong plane ride (13-14 hours from San Francisco after a couple of hours to get down there from Seattle) but they were playing really good movies. I saw some of the new Star Trek movie, but fell asleep in the middle of it.

We arrived in Sydney and waited in this very organized line to get a taxi...drove us right to our hotel which was absolutely beautiful! It was the Four Points by Sheraton at Darling Harbour...wow, great lobby, super-comfy BIG bed, and a deck overlooking the harbor. A true honeymooners dream hotel. The staff was friendly and professional and took good care of us..

We were a short walk across a pedestrian walkway from the harbour, which included the Sydney Aquarium, The Sydney Wildlife Park, and oodles of little cafes, bars and shops. There is a big pedestrian/bicycle bridge that goes across the harbour, and they have a monorail just like Seattle. It was a nice warm 70 degrees while we were there...we walked everywhere and spent one day riding the monorail around town....fun times.

my Wedding day...

2009-10-21T11:09:00.000-07:00

The skies cleared and God gave us a beautiful afternoon to tie the knot.

Happy and so excited to marry the man of my dreams :)

Mommy hugging me as we get ready to walk down the aisle...

My honey gets emotional when he saw me for the first time in my wedding dress...this is REAL!

Hi honey...here I come!

Rings are on - let's have our first married KISS!!!

Praying and giving thanks for our wonderful life ahead of us.

Woo Hoo!! let's party everybody!!

a few shots on the beach...

Finally, we made it to the reception...

Laughing and crying with my best friend Jesse who was my Bridesman (not sure if that's a word but that's what I called him, among other things ) =) We've been best friends since 7th grade if you can believe that. He is also an artist at heart and a very creative soul who, along with my sister and several friends managed the whole wedding day so Collin and I could just cherish the moment. They did great and we are so blessed to have friends and family like we do.

Our Australia themed wedding cake-chocolate with truffle filling on the bottom and top layers, and vanilla cake with lemon curd filling for the middle layer. That topper is hand made by our cake artist as well. Absolutely delicious!!

The Nguyen Family!!

My cousin Bev (standing) showing us photos from when I was little...she brought copies for us to keep. My Auntie Joanne, Bev's mommy, is sitting down in the purple blouse. I love them so such and they came all the way form North Bend, WA, for our wedding. I am blessed with a fantastic family.

My Mommy, me and Bevie...

Collin and I are giggling with (left to right) Lee, Lynn, Amber and Erika...

My sister Johna (standing) and her long time friend Jennifer...these gals are SO photogenic!

Collin, and I with Jennifer and her hubby Jim with our yummy drinks in hand.

My beautiful sister and Callette (left) and Kim

The wedding party plus Collin's family in front of the historic train in downtown Garibaldi.

Mommy Lien, Collin, and me in a happy moment

Cheers - mommies toasting their babies.

A tender moment with mommy Lien.

Our first dance.

The Big day was finally here....it was strange to not have Collin around in the morning-he was close by though and I sent him a note saying -have a great day-meet me at the Church at 3:00 pm. You know, you never really know how these things are going to turn out and you can't control the whole day but you can control how you feel and approach any things that come up. It was a great day and we didn't have any major snafus...the cake was an hour late, but was beautiful and delicious...the food was catered by Kelly from The Pancake House in Tillamook and it was WONDERFUL!! Music and dancing and fun all night long!

I have a truly blessed life- I thank God every day that I wake up and find myself living a dream.

Namaste and blessings to you,

Dawn Estelle Nguyen

Art Wedding Shower

2009-08-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

Life is truly grand!

I was treated to an art wedding shower hosted by my friend Teesha Moore at her home on Friday, August 7. We had a yummy berry cobbler with ice cream and I was given the most incredible gift: each attendee, including several friends that could not physically join us, made me a cookbook/journal page! It's art AND recipes of their favorite dishes - holy cow this stuff sounds yummy and the pages totally blew me away!Teesha also created this awesome fabric cover for the pages so I can add more to it later if I get more pages or make one of my own!

Then, we went out to her studio for some drawing and painting fun! We did some totally cool drawing exercises, like using our non-dominant hand to draw something, draw something or someone without looking at your paper, draw something without lifting your pen...awesome! Then, Tara had the grand idea of doing exquisite corpse drawings that came out completely fabulous! Check everything out above...

Thank you ladies for my very special art wedding shower-I will remember that night forever!

Much love - Namaste,

Dawn

me & Collin & me

2009-07-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

a few pictures of me by request...

Building a new art journal

2009-05-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of constructing a new journal. My first one is almost full and I'm kind of tired of it anyway. I guess I could go over the pages I don't like and finish the other ones but really I just want to make some thing new =) I can always go back to #1 and fiddle around in there. These are the covers as of now-this could change too...(the squares are the inside of the covers)

Namasté

Dawn

Early Morning

2009-04-25T22:18:00.000-07:00

Today, Collin and I set out on a photography adventure to catch some early morning fog. It was cloudy so we didn't get fog, but we DID get some cool shots and were out before most people around were even awake...totally fun and awesome.

I found a ladybug sleeping on a leaf...

We saw an eagle of some kind up in this beautiful tree. He was huge. He took off and I got a few really good shots-this one is the best.

After we took pictures for a couple of hours, we enjoyed a hot breakfast at the Totem Lake Brown Bag Cafe. A fantastic morning all the way around.

Peep Cupcakes for Easter!

2009-04-17T21:30:00.000-07:00

My sister baked the most delicious cupcakes for Easter this year and I got to help her decorate them. At the request of Greg, my brother-in-law, we put bunnies on some of them -the results are here for your visual feasting pleasure. She also made an unbelievably delicious dinner of rib-eye roast, mashed potatoes, au-jus with red wine gravy, oven roasted broccoli, and green salad. I was too busy stuffing my face to take pictures of that-my sincerest apologies =P

Oh, I almost forgot to mention she tortured us with a delectable apple crisp that we weren't allowed to eat until her hubby got home...dang! She used tart Granny Smith apples and it was divine!

Why is my boyfriend in the window?

2009-04-13T11:58:00.000-07:00

So, I decided to come home Saturday night after Art Fest this year. A 2-hour drive including the Edmonds-Kingston ferry trip...not too bad. I left after the show-and -tell, so I was on the road around 8:30 pm. I called Collin (my boyfriend) to let him know and he said, "I'm so excited to see you I miss you a lot honey" (awww...so sweet). Then he asked me to call him when I get close. I said, "you bet but don't wait up if you're tired...just go to sleep. " He said OK. So, I get to our exit off of I-90 and call him. It's about 11:15 pm. he's wide awake....our bedtime is usually about 8:00 pm...so I'm thinking..."huh...he's up late. He must really miss me" ...Then I drive down our little road and I see him in the living room window watching for me. Wow-he must REALLY miss me......the porch light it out too...hmm...need to remember to replace the bulb again. I drive into the driveway and see a big sign on the garage door that says, "WiLL YOU MARRY ME?" WHAT?!?! Holy COW!!! I start laughing...I'm so happy!!! I get out of the car (completely exhausted from Art Fest) and he opens the door..."Honey!!" I say....he's smiling and hugging me...we go upstairs and he hands me a beautiful little wrapped Tiffany's box...OH MY GAWD I think....I open it and it's gorgeous!

"Honey, will you marry me?" he says.... .01794 seconds later I say "Yes, honey, of course I will marry you!!!".

Then we each had about 1/4 glass of champagne and went to sleep -all smiles and joy!!

That's a shot with Collin and Margie, my BIL's Mommy, on our Thanksgiving trip to Chicago

Namaste!

Dawn

Art Fest 2009

2009-04-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed another great year at ArtFest!.

I stayed in house 6E with my new friend Jacque B. as my roommate, and Lelainia, Tina, Sharon, Lana, and Joan. It was cool being in a house but I had to drive to all my classes. This is great if you forget things back in your room! I had Susan Wooldridge for Hidden Journal Poems on Thursday; Laurie Mika for 3-D ATCs on Friday, and Fred Mullet for Classic Rubber Fish on Saturday. They were awesome classes and I really enjoyed all of my class mates (as usual). I have good Art Fest Karma because I always end up sitting next to the nicest people-like Andrea in Susan's poetry class, Janice in Laurie's clay class, and Candice in Fred's rubber stamping class - thank you girls!

I also spent a bit of time on the beach this year, took some photos down there and went to the Journaling bonfire/party at the beach house too-always a treat.

Artist's Marketplace (vendor night) was fun-I waited to go until a bit later and Delorse and I had a nice time shopping around. I picked up some cool supplies and a pair of octopus earrings from Katherine England's table - way cool.

It's always so intense, exciting, fun, and exhausting. So, I decided to drive back home on Saturday night so I could sleep in my own bed and be with my boyfriend all day Sunday.

Guess what I got when I got home?

See my next post to find out what my big surprise was...

Namaste,

Dawn

Nose hallucinations

2009-03-11T08:37:00.000-07:00

I think my nose was hallucinating yesterday - on my drive in to work, in 23 degree weather (NO restaurants around) I swear I smelled warm blueberries....and then later on, when I got to work at about 5:45 am, I smelled pancakes with syrup on them (our cafeteria was not open yet and is in a different building)....
I wonder if we can hallucinate smells like we can hallucinate visions or images....who knows...your thoughts?

Dawn

Metal Jounals Workshop

2009-01-12T12:10:00.000-08:00

OK, so Tracy Moore makes the most awesome metal journals you have ever seen - not sure if you're aware of that fact about him or not. The great news is he has shared his knowledge with us wanna-be's and offered a metal journal workshop. Guess what? I got to go to it!

Let's talk about cool people, in a cool studio, with a warm fire and a funny dog (when she wasn't picking on Steven)...AND, the bestest hosts you've ever thought of....all that combined with the most wonderful variety of metal journals you may ever see in one place...I showed up with a little headache and thought the pounding would make it worse but it actually made it go away! who'd a thunk that?

So, check out the marvelous offerings made by my fellow classmates (and me)- and go ahead, drool over them...I do every time I peek...here is a slide show on Teesha's blog with more pictures: Metal Journals

Mine was the silver colored journal with the seahorse and stars on the front, with a red leather binding sewn with blue bookbinding thread. I'm sort of on a red and blue kick right now...I didn't take a picture but there are a couple shots of it on Tracy's slide show linked above

This furry face is Sophie the wonder dog

Peace to you.
Namasté

-Dawn

Art Fiber Fest 2008!

2008-12-27T20:50:00.000-08:00

Wow, Art Fiber Fest in Port Townsend was awesome!!
I got to reconnect with old friends, make new friends and create, create, create!!!
Here are some pictures from show and tell.....this is a wonderful painting by Ty and Marcia Shultz, two unbelievably creative artist/teachers who teach at Art Fest, and attend Art Fiber Fest and other workshops...they are so fun to be around and their wells of creativity are so deep and varied - absolute joys to be acquainted with.

these are the creations for the plushies trade...they were so awesome in person. I won one of the bright green kitties during the raffle!! I was so excited - it was the only raffle prize I wanted =) I was a lucky puck that night for sure. I love my green kittie!!

These are some cute little plushies on display-possibly from the trade as well....aren't they adorable?

This luscious bag was created by the supremely creative Teesha Moore...I'm honored to count her among my friends.

I love love love it!!

It's so much more juicy in person too =D

OK, more later....I'm off to bed!

Namaste

-Dawn

Thanksgiving in Chicago

2008-12-27T20:41:00.000-08:00

So, after my sister and brother-in-law have invited us to go with them to Chicago over and over during the past several years, we finally made it happen this past Thanksgiving! My brother-in-law's Mom and 2 sons live there so he goes back a couple of times every month.

Anyway, we got a killer deal on airfare from Southwest and stayed at the Renaissance (Marriott) about 5 mins from B-I-L's Mom's house in Norridge. We went downtown, we went to Chinatown and got to enjoy the Art Institute (museum)...totally awesome!!

This peacock was on a store in Chinatown.

Grumpy bear is my B-I-L Greg, taking us to a real Chicago pizzaria. My Mom and sweetie Collin (making that nice face) were there, and my sister and lovely niece. We were tired but really happy to be there. That's a self portrait of me with my mommy - I love that picture of us. So I'm still getting the hang of loading pictures and it has put the last ones I loaded at the top - so, that's the SuperDawg hot dog drive in - very good dawgs and cool place to chill. There's a shot of the bean and the beautiful skyline. Chicago is a great city-can't wait to go back!!

History Mine

2008-11-05T07:38:00.001-08:00

We did it!

A new day of hope dawns for the United States of America. A beacon for all those who are not perfect, who have made mistakes, and who are different. I can finally say I have a president.

Let's break out the champagne!

<--Image by Shepard Fairy and used without permission.

September 11 - Did you feel it?

2008-09-11T21:40:00.000-07:00

I woke this morning with a heart ache. At first I thought it was all the (relative) shit going on in my own life right now (I know-very self-centered) but then I realized what day it was...then I saw on TV the memorials and moments of silence...
and I realized I was feeling that sadness from the people at the memorials, at ground zero, the silent ones in the moments of silence....

Did you feel it today?

Namasté

-Dawn

Heart Art

2008-09-06T07:28:00.000-07:00

I am a team captain at my work for the AHA Heart Walk coming up in October. They are having a silent auction next week so I made these two small (3" x 3" canvas)artworks to hopefully raise a little more money.

The blu-ish background is some used art paper towels laid down and then painted over a little with Starburst Stains Baby Blue Eyes Aqua to make it shimmer - it's hard to see the shimmer in this picture. The heart is made of paper clay - painted and glued on with Sobo craft glue.

The red background is acrylic on canvas and a paper clay heart that I stamped in while still wet. then after it dried I broke it and painted it with acrylic paint and more Starburst Stains. I call it "Still Beating," as in my heart has been broken but it still works!

Oh ya, here's my ArtFest 2009 registration envelope - the theme is Sea Monsters - cool, huh?

Enjoy your day - it is your to make the best of.

Namasté

-Dawn

Losing Jupiter

2008-08-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

My fur baby Jupiter is gone now. I have his ashes in a jar.

He has been getting older and forgetting where to go the bathroom...poor kitty.

He has been through so much with me - I have had him since around 1994 - he was fully grown when I adopted him. He loved yogurt, bugs, and chasing his tail in the bathtub. I loved it when he would get that crazy look in his eyes and shoot off up the stairs or into the other room. I loved listening to his claws in the carpet.

He would drool when I pet him and snuggle under the covers with me when we would go to sleep.

Having a pet is like falling in love - you know that someday it has to end but you enjoy every single moment so you will have the memories forever.

It's hard getting used to an empty house. Once a long time ago my boyfriend at the time told me that a few minutes before I would get home Jupiter would go sit by the front door and wait for me.

He was my king.

I love you forever Jupi.

-Dawn

Beach Fire

2008-08-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

Well, since I love spending time at the ocean, here is a sunset picture of the beach I visit most often and a picture of a lovely beach fire we had there.
I was there this past weekend and had a great time at the Tillamook County Fair. We watched horse racing, some very interesting Pig 'n Ford races, and finally a demolition derby!

Why is destruction so appealing to humans? I loved the crunching and smashing of those brightly colored cars and craved more. I also now have a desire to go to a Monster Truck rally. I love machines and vehicles are one of my favorite kinds of machines. We saw a monster school bus on the drive home - next time I'll take a picture so you can enjoy it too.
After we got back to the beach condo at 10:00 pm, it was a mild evening and the stars were out. I went down to the beach to star gaze and my beautiful 10-year old niece joined me. We enjoyed the moment perfectly. I wrote a poem for her, to remember that special night:

For Madi

Wonder

Laying on the sand
under the starry night
we watch the shooting stars
and make wishes

we gently hold
the remains of the day
not wanting it to slip
into tomorrow

we count the satellites
and wonder what happens if they crash

singing the song to the gravedigger
dreaming of a long off last request

giggling, we watch the universe
in awe

it's you and me forever, angel
as we enjoy
this ecstatic moment of
silent belonging.

- © Dawn E. Shepherd
August 11, 2008

More changes!

2008-06-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

Holy cow....Yes, I'm still here - but here is actually over there now...I have moved to Issaquah with my boyfriend Collin and my kitty Jupiter. Collin and I purchased our first home back in December 2007...moving was a huge undertaking because I am a pack-rat extraordinaire. And, I had been in my last apartment for a little over 5 years...zoinks!
We are all moved now and I actually have a studio! It's in 1/2 of our tandem garage and I am actually almost 100% "set up". I have been able to complete a couple of swaps and a journal round robin that I am participating in but am now reaching the point where I will have time to actually create my own projects and have a space to work on them! I am so excited :) :) :) :D
I will post some pictures as soon as I make time...until then this is our new chair-it is soooo comfortable! That's my kitty Jupiter on the left giving it the sniff test.

-thanks for stopping by and remember to express yourself every day!
Namaste!

Dawn

Back again

2007-11-06T19:06:00.000-08:00

Well, I can't believe it's been so long since I posted. So many things have happened: I got a new day job at the same company back in June. Better pay, better boss-but then she quit. Getting busier there so I enjoy my time off by jumping into my art with more fervor.

My boyfriend and I are about to buy our first home - a town house in Issaquah - nice area and about 10 minutes from my sister's house. This has been quite an experience in itself...

Went to Art Fiber Fest, which started on my birthday this year and was in Port Townsend for the first time. It was awesome and I met a new friend Angelica from California.

This photo is the view from my sister and brother-in-law's condo on the Oregon Coast. It's beautiful!

OK, take care and I'll see you again soon.

-Dawn

I'm published!!

2007-05-20T12:29:00.000-07:00

Last year, for Art Fiber Fest 2006, I participated in a quilt square Swap, hosted by Shari Beubien. She gathered all the quilt squares from the participating artists, swapped them around, and created these wonderful wall hangings then sent them back to us. She also kept 4 of the hanging with her and mailed them off to Quilting Arts, Cloth, Paper, Scissors gals and guess what?

They published them in the current issue!! It had been so long I had forgotten she sent them to the QA/CPS folks. I was thumbing through my new issue (May/June 2007) and turned the page to page 62 and screamed!!

There were our lovely hangings in all of their quilted glory! On the facing page, they featured close-up pictures of the the beautiful square from Deb May and Suzanne Simantis. Then, I turned the page again and they had done a close-up picture of my square! I was so excited!!!

A big-huge Thank you to Shari for hosting - this is truly the best swap I have ever participated in. She put so much hard work into the swap itself and everything involved in getting them published.

Yummy Breakfast!

2007-05-20T11:33:00.000-07:00

Collin and I found this wonderful cafe in downtown Bothell, on Main Street called Alexa's Cafe. We stopped in for breakfast today (Sunday) and had the best time. The service was friendly and prompt, the food was fresh and delicious and the prices are excellent. Collin ordered the Queen Anne Scramble and I had the quiche of the day, which was bacon and cheddar cheese - yummy! We left fully satisfied and not over full because you can order half-orders of many of the menu items, including the scrambles -which is perfect for us! I forgot to take pictures as it started raining just as we left, but follow the link to their web site and they have their menus and hours online.

Kangaroo Farm!

2007-05-03T17:26:00.000-07:00

Greetings!
My friend Linda told me about this Kangaroo Farm in Arlington, WA, while I was at her house for a recent play day. So, I decided to surprise my sister and 9 year-old niece by taking them up there, with me and Collin of course, for a day at the farm. What a blast! They have Lemurs, Llamas, and Alpaca, an Emu named Charles and of course, Wallabies and Kangaroos - the best part is you get to pet them all except fort he Lemurs! They also had a bunch of Peacocks (2 breeds), beautiful chickens, turkeys, and some exotic Asian Pheasants in cages.
It was a beautiful sunny day too! My family was surprised and we all had a fantastic day! Ray, our tour guide, was so friendly and knowledgeable - a 5 -star day all the way around.
Here's the photos of this spectacular trip...I filled up my digital camera!

That's me kissing the llama Mr. T-he was actually very gently taking a snack out of my mouth!

If you look closely at the photo of the lemurs, you can see my reflection in the window-I didn't plan for that, but sort of like how it came out.

Anywhoo - enjoy!

Artistically,

Dawn

Taxing weekend

2007-04-13T07:23:00.000-07:00

Well, only because I have waited until the very last moment to complete my taxes!
I'll be crunching numbers this weekend but will reward myself with some art time once I am done!
Here's a goody for you to enjoy in the interim...

Namaste!

Dawn

Yes, I'm still alive after ArtFest 2007...

2007-04-11T17:36:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been how long since I posted??
My life has been busy for sure-I am so envious of people who blog daily or even weekly! I'll get there I think...just takes practice.
So, what have I been up to? I'll tell you...
I participated in 4 fat books for ArtFest this year - Fabric (4" x 4"), Paper 4x4, Paper 4" x 6" and Bee's fantabulous ATC Fat book! These are absolutely my favorite mementos of the weekend.
I also went to the beach journaling party for the first time - so cool! Judy Wise thought I was bartending and tried to pay me for a beer! I could have made some extra $$ but knew it wasn't right-I couldn't believe she just went to grab her wallet when I told her they were $3.00 - HA! I also met some cool journal artists - Penelope, and Dianne from Long Island. We had been emailing each other and ended up staying in the same dorm (225) and same hall! (40's upstairs). I enjoyed her company and her journals are so inspiring...check them out!

Here is a valentine I made this year...just a little goody to look at until I get my ArtFest photos uploaded.
Cheers!

Dawn

January

2007-01-30T20:10:00.000-08:00

Hello and Happy New Year!
I've been busy making art for swaps and designing some new stamps. I'm not precisely sure when they'll be done and for sale but I've got some cool sketches to use as designs.
I've decided that I will make more art for myself this year and discover/develop my personal artistic style.
I have this bad habit of "thinking Lack" - lack of time, money...as in, " I don't have enough time to finish X," or," I don't have enough money for Y." This is one of the major roadblocks to reaching my goals and is on all of my personal development study programs - your thoughts determine your reality.
I am going to change my thought patterns from thoughts of lack to thoughts of abundance - this should help bring about some positive changes I am expecting in my life.
Have a prosperous and abundant day!

Artfully yours,
Dawn

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T16:34:00.000-08:00

Hello friends and family!
I am enjoying a perfectly relaxing weekend at my Mom's house on the beautiful Oregon coast.
She's cooking the turkey and I'm helping out just a little... :)
The weather is very blustery and rainy...My sister, niece, and brother-in-law are in Chicago with his mom so we're missing them today.
Top ten "Thankful for" list:
My Family & Boyfriend
My friends
My kitty cat Jupiter
My beautiful home- Washington state
The blessings of being alive, healthy, whole, and happy
My artistic abilities and creativity
My new job
Artistic inspirations coming from practically everywhere!
Art supplies
digital photography...

I could probably go on and on, but I have to go make the broccoli!!.
Blessing to you!
Namaste!

Dawn E. Shepherd

Foggy Mornings

2006-11-14T07:49:00.000-08:00

Driving to my new day time job this morning I was able to snap some pictures of the beautiful fog that was laying in the valley. I love cold, foggy mornings like today - the sky is clear, the trees are all but bare, and winter is knocking at our door.

Leaves are changing :)

2006-10-10T18:05:00.000-07:00

Greetings again!
Fall is here and I am so excited!
The things I love about fall are: the colors of the changing leaves, the leaves all over the ground, foggy mornings, crisp cool air, wearing sweaters again, drinking HOT tea again, decorating for Halloween and Thanksgiving, using all of my fall earth-toned art supplies (ink pads, paints, pigment powders, pens, pastels, etc.), enjoying the waning sunny days and watching nature go through its cycles regardless of what is going on in the world of humans.
I have tried a cool idea that looks really awesome: Take a leaf - I used a dried one from last year, and spray it with Glitz Spritz....simple but beautiful!

Busy fall schedule

2006-09-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

With fall upon us in a few days I thought I would share with you my upcoming schedule so you may drop by to see me if I'm in your neighborhood!
>Portland, Oregon.
Saturday, September 23 & Sunday September 24.
Heirloom Productions Rubber Stamp and Paper Arts Festival
at the Oregon Convention Center, 777 M L King Blvd.
>Portland, Oregon.
Saturday, October 7.
Art & Soul Vendor night - Paris Flea Market
>Tacoma, WA
Saturday October 14th.
Auntie Amy's Rubber Stamp show in the Tacoma Dome, 10AM - 5PM

Hope to see you soon!
Dawn

Stamp & Stick Glue Pad

2006-08-04T11:20:00.000-07:00

Hello again!
I have finally tried out the amazing Stamp & Stick Gluepad from Stewart Superior and it is really fun! The way it works: You stamp your rubber stamp image with it like you would an ink pad; then heat it up a bit with your heat gun or embossing tool. The glue-ink becomes tacky and then you can stick glitter, Moon Glow Powders, chalk, or other light-weight goodies (like metallic flakes) onto the image!
It's very cool!
I'll get a sample up here within a few days so you can see the end result.

Web Site and Dawn are Back up and Running :)

2006-08-02T05:24:00.000-07:00

Hi gang,
The web site is finally back up and I've added new products and changed some of the departments around a bit to try to make it easier to shop.
I have found an awesome
program that takes a photo and turns it into a kaleidoscope! Very cool!
It's called Kaleidoscope Kreator 2.0 and I will be offering it for sale on my web site in the very near future. This first image (on the right) is an example of what it can do - amazing!

The next image is what I did with this image-I trimmed it out, adhered it to a piece of primed canvas and painted around it a little....tons of potential here!

Web Site Woes

2006-07-07T15:41:00.000-07:00

Hi Gang!
Well, I went camping on the Oregon Coast for the 4th of July weekend with my sister, brother-in-law, and boyfriend Collin (and my sister's dog Wrigley). It was fun but tiring.
When I got home my computer died AND my web site was not allowing customers into our Online Store! What a double whammy!
I have a new computer but am STILL waiting for my web hosting company to get the problem with my web hosting corrected so my Online Store will operate properly. I have many customers patiently waiting for their orders - I am so sorry about this. I am unable to email them because I cannot get into the eCommerce manager to look up their email addresses! I hope some of you read this and know that I am doing everything in my power to get you your goodies!

I'll write more when Mother Rubber is back in action again...

Art Fiber Fest

2006-06-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been over 2 weeks since I posted last!
I've been busy getting ready for Art Fiber Fest in Issaquah, WA, as well as processing orders for my web business.
Last year at Art Fiber Fest I made a cool art doll, which I posted a picture of just to make this post a little more exciting.
This year I am taking classes with D.J. Pettitt, Denise-Marie Warner (AWESOME doll artist) and Kristin Steiner. I am really excited.
Also, the vendor night on Friday (7pm - 9pm) is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC so please feel free to drop by and check out my vendor table and all the cool art for sale.

AND I have an ETSY page now with some of my art for sale!

Here's the link (and I've added it to my list of links on the left)

http://DawnEstelleDesigns.etsy.com/

See you soon!

Namaste,

Dawn E. Shepherd

Movies

2006-06-04T12:33:00.000-07:00

I am a movie lover and get excited about new movies I think I'll like. I went to see "X-Men 3 - The Last Stand" on Friday and was NOT disappointed! Great effects and great acting. A few surprises and always the promise of more to come...go see it if you liked the other X-Men films.
I loved it and cannot wait to buy it on DVD.

Here's a partial list of my favorite movies:

Blade Runner
Star Wars (all of them)
Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek VI - The Undiscovered Country
The Dark Crystal
MirrorMask
The Matrix series
Harry Potter series
Narnia
The Lord of the Rings series
The 13th Warrior
Chocolate
Legally Blonde
The Fugitive
The Quiet Earth

There are many others but these popped into my mind this morning.
Am working on creating a Yahoo! Group for Mother Rubber Art Stamps so I'm going back to work on it now.

Artfully yours,
Dawn

Stamp Show Recovery

2006-05-24T15:59:00.000-07:00

Well, Puyallup was a blast! We had tons of people at our booth all day Saturday and I taught my first class at a stamp show! I decided to teach an introduction to Fatbooks and had 9 ladies show up. The class was an hour long and we had a great time!
Since the show I've been catching up on orders and adding new stamp designs to our web page. The picture is one of the new designs that I used in another swap I am involved with. I stamped our new "Paisley - Four Flowers" design with Tangerine VersaCraft ink onto cotton fabric, then painted part of the design in with turquoise and fuschia fabric paint. To give you an idea of size, this little rectangle is the size of a business card - approx. 2" x 3". After painting, I sewed some beads on, then sewed a piece of coordinating fabric onto the back of this piece (this sample is not finished yet). Very fun! I'm excited about all of the art-making possibilities with my new line of paisley stamps. I'll post more samples as I complete them.
OK, I'm back to work catching up on my web and show orders!
Thanks for stopping by.
Artfully yours,
Dawn

Art Quilt Swap

2006-05-17T11:57:00.000-07:00

I've been burning the midnight oil getting 6 of these little 6"x 6" Mini Art Quilts finished for a swap I'm participating in. I am also getting ready for our big Puyallup, Washington, stamp show this coming weekend-very fun! I'm teaching my first class at a show-I'm nervous and excited!!
Here's a link to my Stamp Show page if you're interested in the details of the stamp show and class I'll be teaching (Introduction to FatBooks).
Well, I'm off to make some stamps-see you soon with more and better posts!!

Artistically,
Dawn

Making art for swaps

2006-04-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

Greetings again!
Today I am working on some art for several swaps I am participating in. I have gotten addicted to swapping art in the form of Fatbooks and fiber art.
I am working on a mini art quilt swap and figured out my design this morning. I will post a pic of that as soon as I complete one of the quilts. They will be 6" x 6" and our hostess Shari (check out her website here: http://www.sharibeaubien.com/) will be arranging them into a wall hanging - I can't wait!

For now, here is a scan of my Strange Botanicals Fatbook page.

Hope to see you soon!
-Dawn

Generous Artist

2006-04-25T15:51:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate enough today to visit Jami M. (check out her website here: http://www.offthehookstudios.com/) a gal I know from one of my local Yahoo groups. Well, she is moving and has accumulated tons of ephemera and stuff for making art and she offered it for free to any of us in her group who wanted to come pick it up. I was astounded by her generosity and openness. She let me rifle through the stuff she has ready for her moving sale this coming weekend too!
The drive home was beautiful and now I have a whole box of new goodies to look through for my next project - which will be a Thank You card for Jami - of course!

Off and Running....

2006-04-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

Greetings and welcome!
I am excited about trying out blogging and hope this will be fun for you too!
I am thinking of using my blog to share day to day artistic discoveries with you, as well as personal updates, thoughts, and opinions. Of course I would love to hear any suggested topics you may wish to hear about.

Weather update: Today is a beautiful day in the lovely Pacific Northwest - it is about 64 degrees (F) with a clear blue sky - perfect!

In my first adventure uploading a picture I have chosen to honor my roots - my silly family! I love this picture because my Sister and Dad look so funny, my Mom looks glamorous, and I just look zoned as usual! I'm sure I was trying to figure out who was taking our picture in that tiny little booth.

Anyway, my message of the day is: Enjoy the time you have! Live, laugh, and have fun!
Hope to see you soon - Dawn