“Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness.”  -Oliver Wendall Holmes

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines Day! In tribute to a day that celebrates love, I am sharing a quote and a piece of artwork which were both inspired by love. Hope you enjoy the eye candy!

1. Remove oval center piece and paint house black and roof red.

2. Decorate the frame by stamping it with decorative stamps and white StazOn Ink. I also used a white Gelly Roll pen to write a quote at the top.

3. Use The Ultimate Glue to collage sheet music and a bird image to your center piece.

4. Attach a nest to twigs with wire, then place it where you want it on the frame. Drill holes on each side of twigs, so you can secure them to the frame with wire.

5. Cut 2″ pieces of wire and feed each one through one hole and then over the twig into the other hole. Twist each piece of wire behind frame tightly so it secures the twig in place.

6. Place collaged center piece into frame.

7. Use wire to attach heart bead to nest.

8. Screw red wooden hope word to bottom of frame.

Have a wonderful week everyone,

Tatiana

House #1′s “Keys to Unlocking a Good Design” are Aspiration, Balance, Color, Direction, Emotion, Focus, Guidance, Harmony, and Imagination.

House #2′s “Keys to Unlocking a Good Design” are Juxtapositon, Knowledge, Layers, Movement, Notion, Objective, Planning and Quality.

House #3 & 4′s “Keys to Unlocking a Good Design” are Relations, Subject, Texture, Unity, Vision, Work, X-axis, You, and Zest.

So next time you’re trying to come up with a good design, all you have to do is remember your ABC’s.

As for today, it is Makeover Monday and I am excited to share something I made over for my Designer Showcase display. When I got accepted into the Showcase, the first thing I did was find out the dimensions of my display area. The very next thing I did, was go on a quest for the perfect back drop. I went to every thrift store in my little town of Chico and it wasn’t until I reached the last one that I found the perfect piece! When I inquired about it, I was told it was part of a set and my heart sank. Fortunately, the owner was willing to split up the set and sold me the fireplace screen without the dresser. Thank you Odds and Ends for selling me one of the key components to my display.

Here is the fireplace screen before…..

and here it is after it’s makeover…..

My display was “Crafty Cutie’s Keys to Unlocking a Good Design.” Stay tuned for tomorrows blog where I will show you close ups of the houses. You will then see what each of the keys represents.

Wishing you smiles and sunshine,

Tatiana

Today I had to share a Mixed Media piece I created titled “Out on a Limb.” I am definitely at a point in my life where I can relate to this piece and it’s title. I am feeling like I did as a child, when I would climb up a tree and crawl out on one of its branches. I’ve gone out to the point where I am now taking a risk. The limb could break and I would fall.

I look down and am greeted by a familiar face. Words of encouragement are sent my way and suddenly the branch feels stronger. Or is it that I feel lighter because my spirits have been lifted! It doesn’t matter because either way, I am able to look ahead and take one step forward. Inevitably, insecurities set in and I look down in hopes of seeing that face again. Instead, I am greeted by a helping hand who holds the branch for me as I take another step.

Although still insecure about the risks I am taking as an artist, I am able to keep moving towards my dreams thanks to family and friends. I am amazed by all the ways my family blesses me and how they and people like my friend Patty will volunteer their precious time to help me. Thanks to all you “familiar faces,” “words of encouragement,” and “helping hands.”

Without these people, I would be paralyzed by fear. Instead, I am out far enough to see how far I have climbed. As far as risks go, what is the worst that could happen? I might fall…..hurt myself a little…..have to start over again? Ironically, either way I am on the ground. I guess I would much rather fall to the ground knowing I tried than stand there wondering how far I could have gone IF I had tried.

I hope the same is true for you. I think Henry David Thoreau said it best, “Go confidently in the directions of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.”

Wishing your dreams come true,

Tatiana

Today I wanted to share this pendant to remind myself and anyone reading this to dream. All to often we get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life, we don’t give ourselves the opportunity to dream.

Since I spend most of my days with my head in the clouds, I created this “Dream” pendant as a bit of a self portrait. Unfortunately lately I’ve been so focused on what needs to get done for my upcoming show, I haven’t given myself the chance to breathe, let alone dream.

So for those of you wanting to dream, remember, it is a state of mind. Your brain needs to be able to release itself from the realities of every day life. In order for this to happen you need to give yourself some time to relax. Try to clear your mind and allow yourself to drift off…..there you go…it’s off to dreamland we go!

Last night my sister reminded me that it has been a long time since I’ve shared any of my jewelry creations. Towards the end of last year I went through a bit of a metal phase, during which the pendant pictured above came into being. I just love the feel and look of metal and couldn’t get enough of it. I find that if I repeatedly choose to work with a certain material, it’s usually because I feel a certain connection to it. With metal, it was the fact that I could beat it over and over with a hammer and it just hardened. It didn’t break or fall apart, instead it became harder and stronger.

So, believe it or not, if you keep your heart open, you can learn life lessons from anything…yes, even a piece of metal! When you feel like you’ve been repeatedly beat by people, circumstances or life in general, don’t let yourself fall apart. Instead, learn from it and allow it to mold you into a stronger individual.

Wishing you smiles and sunshine,

Tatiana

Yesterday was my youngest sons first day of school. It was such a special day! He spent the entire previous day talking about going to school. Almost every time he mentioned school, he made sure to let me know how big he was. This made me giggle the next day, as he followed behind his older brother, who made him look so little. Big brother led the way until they reached the school doors, at which point little brother opened his own door. From there on my youngest child led the way as I directed his path. When we reached his classroom he confidently opened the door, walked right in and dove into playing with his peers.

Today as I was working on my portfolio, I stumbled upon some of my first artistic creations. They made me smile and remember how I felt when creativity first began to flow through me. As I was thinking about all this I received a reply to a tweet I had made earlier to Claudine Hellmuth,  http://www.collageartist.com Claudine just so happens to be one of my favorite artists and the one who inspired my very first piece of art work, pictured above! I smiled again and realized how my sons first day of school was a metaphor for what will soon be my first CHA Designer Showcase.

Much like my son followed his older brother, I too have followed the creative lead of fellow artists and designers. They have opened many wonderful doorways and inspired me to try out different artistic paths. At some point I opened a door which led me to make my own path. I think come January 30th I am going to confidently walk through the Anaheim Convention Center doors and dive right into playing with my CHA Designer Showcase peers.

Maybe one day, I too will be able to say “I’m big!”

It is truly amazing how God works in my life! I am not one to be easily stressed or overwhelmed, but I found myself to be both yesterday. I was really down on myself about how unprepared I feel for this Designer Showcase I am going to be in and confused by all the questions its reality has posed on me as an artist.

I went on Facebook in hopes that it would distract my mind and my anxious heart. Instead it had the opposite affect. I had 2 notifications pending, one, from a fellow artist I run into at artistic gatherings and the other, from my former painting teacher. The artist, had posted a link to my Crafty Cutie fan page and wrote “a friends page …..someone who i randomly see around the town where i live who always makes me smile..hard working mom and brilliant creator.” My former teacher had responded to a comment I had made on her page with “Oh Tatiana, you felt me thinking about you………life’s struggles and creative juices drew me toward you yesterday. I thought about your precious little gems, inspiring images, and delightful creations…..I smiled. I’d love to catch up with you sometime soon, hope you are well.”

Wow! Talk about clarity! My attempt at distraction had actually given me focus and answers to the questions I posed in my previous blog post. The first two, “who am I?” and “what do I do?” were made obvious to me thanks to the people mentioned above. They were then affirmed by a dear friend who wrote “well, I know one of your purposes is to inspire others…me.” in response to my blog post. The answer to my third question, “why do I do it (create art)?” came to me after I got off the phone with my mom today.

So, here it is! I am someone who brings joy, encouragement and inspiration to others through my creations. And, the reason I create is driven by the hope that I will make a positive impact in someones life. Even if my artwork helped just one person get through a difficult moment, I will have succeeded in bringing my mothers prayer for her unborn child to life. Her prayer was that I would leave this world a better place than when I came into it.

In one of my previous blog posts http://blog.craftycutie.com/inspiration/im-back/ I mentioned how privilege usually comes with responsibility. Well, I find myself facing the reality of this today actually. My hope is that blogging about it will help me sort some things out.

I have the honor and privilege of being in the Designer Showcase at the CHA Conference and Trade Show. When I applied to be in the Showcase I had complete confidence that I was a good enough designer and artist to take part. What I didn’t realize is that is only a small fraction of what you need to make it as a designer in the craft and hobby industry.

As a designer you have to really promote yourself and your work. You should have displays and postcards that represent you and what you do. Which poses questions like “who am I?,” “what do I do?” and “why do I do it?” Sounds ridiculous I know, but it’s so much more complex than it sounds. Or maybe I am the complicated one? Either way I find myself in a very difficult transition. I have to take my focus off of creating art and onto why I create it and what it has to offer others.

Usually when life presents me with a challenge, I work through it by creating a piece of artwork. Unfortunately, I have promised myself not to create anything new unless it is related to the show. Since my usual option was not available, I decided to try something new. I went through all my artwork and designs and picked the piece that best represented me and what my work stands for. The piece is titled “Hope.”

To be continued…..