Looking back at 2010 !

Boy! I have come a long way in one years time , I must say ,after all I went through in 2009 I can seriously say wow! I have accomplished so much , even though to me , it was slow , you can't really think about how long it took to get their , because as we all know , its never enough for ourselves , we always think we could have done more or better . I've learned this year that we can't keep punishing ourselves for how far we have gone or not , we just have to keep going . Above is a photo of a bag I completed for a magazine submission . This was so much freedom to finally finsish something I set my mind to do , and I wanted to give up so many times like I had in the past with so many projects that I had never completed because, I would say it wasn't good enough , their was always an excuse . When I finished this , I had finally broke through my own barriers . I couldn't believe it! I was so proud of myself , because I realized that I can do it! I did do it!

I look at this past year & think wow ! Artfully I have done alot , even if its a little bit everyone , you have to be proud of yourself ! Remember , you always make these excuses and whatever little bit that you have done , you have done alot! You have !

An art journal I made for Bombshell Stamps . I became a Bombshell design team member & I was so proud ! I had been wanting to be on this design team for a year and I am Miss October , I knew after I had accomplished this ,that it was a start to breaking my fear to try , to keep trying, that maybe it was a sign from the universe/god to keep trying , so this was the beginning of goin' for it!

What are signs you say ? Well messages you just get from God or the Universe .The coincidences that you get everyday . You can be talking to yourself in your head at the market for example,and the person in front of you answers your question , they don't know you , and you didn't talk to them but they anwered your question and you trip out for a second and go wow! that was weird. You don't only hear them but see them in everything or anything . The picture above is an example , here is some spilled milk I was filling up my grandbabys sippy cup and I spilled a litle , I said to my daughter , " Look! theres a heart shape !" , it was like God/Universe was reminding me that I am loved , no fear!

Like I said , messages come in different ways , this picture above me was another sign , and I took this one to heart . I was doughting myself on everything I was doing , and not to mention , everything was getting in my way , like dropping everything for my family or rushing here and there for my remodeling plans , and one day Dave and I decide to go on a hike , it had stopped raining where we were at and all of a sudden their it was a rainbow! I knew wow! I really have to believe in myself , thats what God/Universe wants me to do , just keep doing it no matter what!

So I keep art journaling to keep my mind in check LOL! I have done many art journal videos on Youtube if you ever want to check them out heres where to go Artful T.V. by the Maryannk

I have enjoyed my artful world and meeting all of you . Thank you for inspiring me and I am sure you will continue to inspire me this next coming year . Life is what we make of it , we live this life now , and by golly we better make it worth it for ourselves , and I can say that I am doing just that !

In conclusion to the end of the year , what I've done this year , most of all , my hubby Dave who is always been supportive of me and I of him , and I can't wait to embark on our newest project we're doing right now musically , we have come a long way together , we just had our 21 annivarsary and we say, " Wow! we have survived alot together ! ", and my daughter ,our grandbaby Athena , we have all come a long way as well , we now get along with our girl Krystal Rose and most of all which I didn't know how long it would take but it came sooner than later , my grandbaby's daddy , my daughters boyfriend , Preston . We all get along now and well what can I say I am proud of my little family I truly am!

I must say , I 've truly had an awesome year in 2010 , and 2011 will even be a better one .

Have a Wonderful New Year all and thanks Valerie Hart for suggesting we do this , it was awesome to all my Wishcasters , Fellow Fliers at Kelly Raes taking flight e-course , to all the Ning sites I am with

Thank you for your friendship and I will see you in 2011!

Happy New Year to you all and thanks as always for listening!

Luv always ,

MaryAnn K.

Wishcast Wednsday:What do you wish for the New Year?

Hello Wishcasters ! I always enjoy talking to you all and sharing our wishes together , I learn that I am not the only human being that feels ,pain,sadness,struggles,love,joy ,happiness and beauty . Thank you for reminding me all these feeling are real in all our lives . So Jamie Ridler asks ," What do you wish for the new year ? " . To take the next step in my ART! What I mean by that is start getting it out there , I have started by submitting my art to magazines and lets see what happens with that , but also sell it , as well as my music with my hubby . The painting above is a painting I finished as my xmas present to myself a class I took a year ago with Suzi Blu her le Petite Dolls class . I finally finished it for my hubby's and I's 21 Annivarsary . Thats him and I LOL! We look cute huh ? I was so proud of myself to finish it , and now I just want to make more .

Thank you all for being such great people , I enjoy talking to you and getting to know all of you and your dreams and wishes , until next week have a Happiest New Year and AS YOU WISH FOR YOURSELF , I WISH FOR YOU ALSO ! : P

Thanks for listening ,

MaryAnn K.

Wishcast Wednsday : What is your winter wish ?

Hello everyone ! Its Wishcast Wednsday with Jamie Ridler ,today she asks us ,

" What is your winter wish ? " I can say this one won't be so heavy on the mind because that question just puts the answer quick in my head and its that my remodeling of my home be done . Its terrible , because its raining really bad and the side of my house is covered in plastic and we just hope that it doens't get too damaged . It has been a year trying to get my plans approved by building and safety,due to the fact Im on a slope so they wanted to make sure that the earthquake safety was right . Im glad that its now finally approved which only means that my house will be earthquake safe so were happy about that , but its been torture . I respect all you ladies who have had the patience to get through and survive a remodel , I think it takes its toll on us ladies , the men just love it , its like their kind of art , but for us its rearranging all your stuff until its done . So thats my wish .

Its like those birds up above the picture . They love their home and look very comfortable just hang on the tree , I want to hang on my tree and go , " Aaaawwww,this is my home comfy and cozy ! " Hopefully when the storm finally passes things will start picking up again with finishing my home . : )

Thanks as always wishcasters I do enjoy wednsday because of you !

Thanks for listening and Merry Christmas !

muah ! xoxo Maryannk

Its funny that Im coming to understand what I always knew I needed in my life

Hello everyone ! Lately I've been wanting to journal more , and what better way than on my blog . As Im always saying , its hard to be an artist. So many obstacles in front of you , from family to daily life frustrations , to your own personal problems be it your health or even mental well being , lets face it ! its all a task . Since my kids leaving the nest to go to college , my daughter ,a mother herself , with her own little family at 19 ! I have finally come to realize that my family have to live their lives in their own way . That took me a while to accept due to the fact that both of them need guidance , but can only receive that guidance only if they want it . Neither one of them do , both my daughter and my nephew who I was a guardian to , do not want our advice or help , and you know what ? After a year of them away , I have to say , its been great LOL! Now I only want the best for both of them , but they left the nest so I should let them be , and let them be is just what I am giving them .

Since , Dave and I are on our own , we have our home to ourselves , its quiet ,and doing my art is now non-stop . So many exciting things are happening with our music , with my clothing design , its alot of work and not much sleep but , I'm doing what I love doing , and thats all that matters in the end , sleep can wait.. anyways I recently finished a altered bag so that was a major accomplishment for me , having a deadline ,sending it away and not knowing if it will get published or not ,all was a fear I have learned to overcome .

I have learned so much from a year and a half ago when I discovered all the mixed media artists on Youtube . These talented gutsy ladies sayin' go do it! No excuses ! and just cheering all of us on , really helped and continue to still do so to so many of us who think we can't . Im glad to be one of these women that has graduated into someone who has healed , recovered , and has strength to face the unknown , and by all means follow your dreams and go for it !

Thanks as always for listening and stay warm on this wintery day !

Luv ,

Maryannk.

Im feeling good in my designs! In my style!

Hello everyone , Im so proud when I get on here to blog everyday , it means my life hasn't been boring to me . I have been really making myself feel good lately . Im losing weight , I've been hiking everyday , I brought out all my winter clothes , and realized that I have made all of them throught the years . I went wow! I can't believe I have made all of these! Today I had gone out for the day , you know,xmas shopping thang . So I went to Barnes N Nobles and just pulled a whole bunch of magazines and sat down with my coffee and got inspired !

Afterwards I headed down to a 97 cent store and bought a couple of things I would need for my mini albums Im gonna make as xmas presents . This cloudy weather can make one feel gloomy and down but we have to remember what time of year it is , its time to be excited for xmas , we can't help what's going on with family & some of our friends who aren't very happy . I learn that every year . Its so routine with my family whose gonna be the grumps and whose gonna be depressed and honestly you can try to get them out of it , but the truth is they don't want to try , not even for you , so what can you do when someone chooses to be in a funk , you have to leave them alone and hope that their gonna meet you sometime before xmas . So try to stay cheerful as much as you can , I know sometimes you get blue , I do , but I just make myself feel good by dressing up a little bit , putting on a little make up and havin' a smile on my face.

Thanks for listening friends ! : P

Luv ya ,

Maryann k.

Im very proud of myself , I completed this project to send out for submission!

I did it! I am very proud of myself . As some of you might know who have been keeping up with me , I have been working on this for a couple of months now , to submit to a magazine , I have to be honest , I was so overwhelmed , I thought my ideas weren't good enough , everything was just an experiment , I was just going with the flow , but thats what creating is about right ? You don't know what its gonna be until its done . This is my Monster Messenger Alice in Wonderland bag ! I made this out of an old pair of levi's I had , well Dave was upset , they were his pair of jeans,but he wasn't wearing them in forever , so of course when he saw me cutting them up he said , " What are you doing! " , I said , " You haven't worn these in months ! ", so I should say thanks Dave LOL! So lets see what happens . I was so excited when I was sending it on its way at the post office , I was a mess , I looked terrible , my hair a mess , no sleep from finishing the final touches as you can see I really looked bad , but it didn't really matter because I felt accomplished and to me that was all that mattered , I will let you know if it gets published . I was glad to complete a challenge such as this , it made me realize that , it is possible to make stuff , and I can't wait to open my etsy shop that I continuously speak about but is taking so long for me to put up . I think this project convinced me I have nothing to fear.

Thanks for listening as always ! : )

Maryann k.

Wishcast Wednsday : How do you wish to SOAR ?

Hello everyone ! Again its been a long time since I got to participate with all of you Wishcasters ! I have missed you all . So many good things have been happening Im so excited to tell ya about! So today at Wishcast Wednsday with Jamie Ridler ,she asks , " How do you wish to SOAR ? Well its been the same wish lately, because its continuess due to all the opportunites that have been arising . I wish to SOAR through my opportunites facing the fear full on and then turning out to be FEARLESS! Thats how I wish to SOAR .

This picture above is right before I looked up and saw this . I went on a hike with my hubby Dave and I was overwhelmed talking about how I don't want to fail in making my art , designing for people and giving them a beautiful costume that I designed with all my love and passion for the art of costume design. When we left and got into the car I looked up and there it was....a rainbow in the sky! That was a beautiful sign to me that to be happy because everything was gonna be ok. I will succeed ! : P

Thanks for listening Wishcasters! I have missed all of you and have a beautiful Holiday season ! : P

Hopefully I can do this next Wednsday!

Love ,

Maryann k

Sometimes I wonder...Am I worthy to me.....

In the last week ,after Thanksgiving,I got this overwhelming feeling,do I think Im worthy enough ? Its funny because I will have a thought that really is a question & it gets answered by someone that didn't know they were answering it in the first place , what some call a coincidence. This time the question was answered by my sweet kitty Bondeen . I was feeling unworthy and just out of place & then I started to talk to Miss. Bondeen , and she looked like this , of course I put my hat on her LOL! but her face answered my question . She thinks Im worthy , with that precious face how could I even dought myself . I guess because Im working on this bag line for the artist in mind and I just dought that anyone would like it . I started thinking , " I must be crazy to think anyone would buy this.", but then I ask myself...,"How do I know , unless I just try?" Then I start working on my art again , then I stop that to go down to the music studio and rehearse with my band. Then do it all over again the next day. I guess we just dought ourselves and unless you just break through that , the dought can stop you from succeeding , because you waste time in the funk , time just flies by and then before you know it the whole day has passed you by.

Well I just wanted to let ya all know whats been on my mind , I have so much to show you , yet I think because all of the family stuff goin' on around here , its been tough , I just can't seem to get a grasp on things lately , I know Im not the only one, but I hope to just overcome this yukiness soon , cuz well theres so much possiblities for me , for you....

Thanks for stopping by and listening : )

Maryannk

My desert life .... A good life indeed! : )

I have always been a city girl , a Hollywood chic at that LOL! I remember Dave and I had said we wanted to get out of the city and really focus on our dreams,being so close to everyone wasn't really allowing us to dive into our music , our art . That was 17 years ago . We're only 40 minutes away from Hollywood so it is still close enough to reach out and touch , we still have a place in Hollywood in called ," The Hollywood Dell ", its walking distance from the Hollywood Bowl . We're fixing up that place for the tourists who come into town, they can rent it for a couple of days, or weeks for those who do business out here . I love being in the desert , since living out here , I am really able to focus on myself , no distractions from family and friends , don't get me wrong , I love them very much , but as an artist trying to get your art out there you truly have to be in this meditative state more often then not . When I go out to do business in Hollywood I am so excited to go into town . Its such a treat now . I catch up with my neighbors at The Dell and sometimes we will spend a weekend out there and we hang out with friends and family , walk down to the lil' cafe down the street , its really beautiful , or watch one of our friends bands play at a club that night . Being out here in the lil' town of Agua Dulce , is beautiful I wake up to these amazing desert hills , see the bunnies outside my windows and squrriels , I hear the owls at night , sometimes I see them . The stars are amazing , and its very quiet . My neighbors are a 1/4 acre away so privacy is nice . My mind is clear and yes sometimes I can get a lil' bonkers at times being isolated but I always bring myself back with my art journaling , writting a song on the keyboard or making a video , those things always bring me back to my true self... my real self... the me I want to be.... free to be... and I wouldn't have it any other way .

I am grateful for all that I have , I really am . No matter how difficult things may get I really shouldn't be complaining about anything in my life LOL! Sometimes I feel like Im one big whinning complainer LOL! There are no excuses for me not to full fill my dreams and I have been working toward them everyday . My biggest problem is believing in myself that I can do it , and not giving a whole hella beans what anyone thinks LOL! Not everyone is gonna like what you create , not everyone will agree with you , thats just the way it is right ? Living in the desert is my rock ( as well as my soulmate Dave : P) and Im holding on to it ! Real tight !

Thanks for stopping by and listening , it really means alot friends : )

Maryannk.

It doesn't really matter what anyone really thinks...

If its one thing I can not deal with is people not being able to just be themselves , yet try to find a place where they can be excepted . Theres always artists trying to disclaim other artist because to them they might be fonies or aren't what they feel real . I think all we want as artist is ,well some of us anyway , is to be able to just be the artist we want to be and not be judged for it . I may not be right all the time but then again no one is perfect . I am an artist who loves to be inspired, learn from other fellow artists , and grow from my life experience . Sometimes I find that some people just want to know you to find out your not; not see the beauty and realness of your thoughts . I am who I am , you are who you are , I am glad to know you , and I hope we have a friendship that we can both relate to in the arts . If you are here to find something you can judge than please , don't be a friend if your here to judge me . I have put my comments on private now because now I have certain artist trying to disclaim what I speak of , and say its not true when , maybe they refuse to believe that even artists do things to expand their minds . I am NOT SAYING YOU SHOULD DO DRUGS BECAUSE THIS OR THAT ARTIST HAS! all Im sayin' is artist have used hilusinigenics to do so , and some sorry to say are FAMOUS ONES! Sorry to hurt those who don't believe they have . I am from Hollywood , I have been around the art scene all my life , I was always around musicians and have seen what drugs do . Have I dabbled ? Yes. Have I been an addict ? No. Have drugs expanded my mind ? Yes! Do I still do them ? Only Mary Jane on occasion but that is it . Am I a bad person ? of course not!

I am an artist just like all of you , we have a lot in common we do ! If you look up Carlos Castaneda , he has books out , tons actually , and he speaks of how these drugs expanded his mind . I choose to tell what Im about and speak my opinions because Im tired of society making us all think we can't! I am not gonna be afraid anymore to tell you what I think or what is or what I find fasincating about certain artist of the past , and sorry for those who feel that they have to hide behind SOCIETIES EYES! If this makes you feel uncomfortable about knowing me , Im truly sorry I scare you . Im just speakin' my mind and making art . I hope that if theres anything I can inspire in you , is to be you , be free to speak your mind , don't be afraid . It is ok .

OH! AND BY THE WAY TO THE PERSON WHO SAID THEIR WAS NO DRUGS , YES THERE WAS(NOT THAT IT MATTERS BUT IT MATTERED TO YOU!) THE ONLY INFO I WAS WRONG ABOUT WAS CARROLL HANGIN WITH THESE GUYS, YOU ARE CORRECT THAT HE DIDN'T MY BAD! BUT! HE DID GO TO THE OPIUM DENS BACK IN THAT TIME AND THE OTHER GUYS DID HANG OUT AND ALL THAT IM AFRAID, SO SORRY THE TRUTH HURTS YOU.

To the rest of you its just a story, and my thoughts on it . thats all . thanks for listening and the controversy..... I guess.... : / Maryannk

Hey Everyone! This is what I've been up too! Keepin' it green by using old jeans!

Hello! So sorry I have stepped away for a while . I thought it would be best to step into my imagination for a bit so I thought it would be wise to not be on the internet until I figured out what I was going to invent LOL! I see all of you working so hard and speaking about it on your blogs and thought , " I don't think Im working hard enough ! ", so I became a mad scientist in my art room and cooked up this for a submission to a magazine, its my deranged , estranged Alice.When I was a teenager I read the books from the author, Lewis Carroll ," Through the looking glass " and , "The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland", I found them very pschycadelic and trippy. I, as some of you might know, am a musician so growing up I loved listening to Jimmy Hendrix, The Beatles , Janis Joplin and then there was Jefferson Starship!

I fell in love with the song White Rabbit , and when listening to it I realized that ,this was totally what Alice was to me! A girl who fell into a hole , a rabbit hole to be exact, and basically started to hilusinate on ," the drink me" and , " the cookie" and thats when she went into wonderland for an adventure that we all enjoy the story. I mean Lewis Carroll was buddies with , Dr. Seuss, J.R.R. Tolkien(Lord of the Rings),and C.S.Lewis , ( Chronicles of Narina ). These guys were true DaDa Movement big time. Politically envolved and always hung out together. They also did hilusinignics to expand their minds. So it made sense that Alice would be trippin'

so! I made this in that way and its recycled denim Im using . An old pair of jeans I had lying around , the hole is the hole in the knee LOL! Very inventive huh ? I have always been a fashion designer , I love making clothes , I went to art school to become a costume designer so thats my main favorite medium of the art world , but since discovering mixed media , I've learned to incorporate both together , nothing that isn't already being done by Danita and various others in the freemotion quilting world, but I think I truly have a nack for it and Im lovin' it big time! : P

This is what I've been up to and also making bags with this concept in mind, Im also gonna start designing clothes again with the freemotion,mixed media design and it will be in a trippy , pschyidelic look , like my favorite storytellers , I love being trippy and speaking my mind and most of all speaking and breathing my art!

Thanks for listening and stopping by , more to come ! : )

Taking a break from the art studio & what a good life !

I have really been bustin' a move lately , with my cool bags Im gonna be selling on Etsy . So I told Dave we're gonna start hiking everyday now just to give our brains a break . This was just an amazing time of the end of the day , it completed Daves & I's day .

Lately there have been blog hops that ask what are you thankful or grateful for ?

I am grateful for this sunset everyday , I live in a beautiful place in the high deserts and the weather right now here in the lil' town of Agua Dulce , Ca. is very " Crispy " thats the perfect word to use because thats how icey it feels out there , which I haven't felt in a while. I have so missed chili nites , so Im thankful for this very much. Im also grateful for my family . I adore them , I love my soulmate with all my heart and I love & adore my daughter & grandbaby , the Universe couldn't give me more than I already have , OH! and my precious kitty Bondean ,and my funny ol' dog Ms. Panda Woo.

thanks for stopping by ! : P Maryann k.

Hello ! Welcome to the Bomshell Blog Hop !

Hello ladies Today is the Bomshell Blog Hop , fun! fun! fun! So here we are , just before Halloween for Halloween , I love this holiday , I can totally be my normal ,weird self and is all good ! LOL! So you should be coming from Meredith's blog and if so your in the right place .

Here is what I have done for the hop . If you didn't get a chance to head to the store and get a Halloween bag for your trick or treaters no need to fret , just get a paper bag , its also being green /recycling and make a trick or treat bag heres mine .

I painted gesso all over it to give it more sturdiness then painted purple acrylic paint all over it and put glitter glue around the edges of the white and purple . I also painted the gold into the eyeballs and silver on the wings , as well as stamped into acrylic silver paint which the stamp took well to , if you don't mind having paint residue on the stamp , which I don't because I do alot of mixed media art so it doesn't bother me , I just wash off the stamp as much as I can and make sure that theirs no glumps in the stamp which is easy to scrape off the stamp.

For the sides I drew in my scary, " SPOOK U " , Then put purple glitter glue around the words,

you can do anything you want , get creative and let your artistic mind go wild!

This is the prize if ya win , good luck ! : P MaryAnn K. ( Ms. October )

Make sure you leave a comment before movin' on , so you can have a chance to win! : P

I hope you are having fun hoppin' along head on over to click on Kapree !

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Kapree

Check out my art journal page I did with Tam in her free Heart of Art e-course!

I am so delighted to say I am enjoying this art course online FOR FREE ! With Tam at her Willowing Ning site . I have known of Tam for quite sometime now ,and spoken to her from time to time , we both love to do art videos on YouTube . She has been teaching online classes for about 2years now ,and is an amazing artist not to mention a beautiful, earthy woman that Im glad to know . One day she had a giveaway of one of her courses she teaches and many of us went to try to win it . Alot of us had told her that we really wanted to win the course because we couldn't afford to buy her DVD being that times are tuff right now. After hearing what all of us had said she then decided to give all of us a art course for free . We all were so excited ! This is the first week of the course and it is amazing ! You feel like your in a class in a college , you don't have to even be looking at the video all the time, just listening to her tell you how to do shading and what to do , I find myself glancing back and forth to my work and then looking at my computer to see if Im on the right track , its awesome . Not to mention its therapy which Im always feeling about art , especially art journaling . So please ! mozy on over there and sign up to be in the free art course , if you can give a little back in the bottom of the site there is a donation button to give anything you can , it helps for Tam .

I hope to see you there ! Heres what I have done so far in the first week :

We have learned how to do backgrounds in her techniques she is so known for on YouTube .

What I enjoy the most is learning how to use watercolors with white acrylic paint. I have always loved watercolor pencils and crayons and Tam really focuses on this which for me is a joy. I have been art journaling for a while now , but what I learned through her class also , is how to do the face with not only the watercolor technique but with pencil shading which is very new to me . Heres the face I did , very different from what I have learned from other online classes I have taken in the past.



This class is open to everyone and is free . You can join at anytime and as you can see , you will get wonderful results , and its a healing class which is a plus for me because Im all about healing through art .

Again, hope to see you there !

It's "WISHCAST WEDNSDAY!" What do you wish to fly free from ?

Hello! I have not did the Jamie Ridlers Wishcast Wednsday in a really long time , I have missed it terribly. You all have to check out this weekly wake up as I like to call it , what I like about it the most is that its in the middle of the week , so it gives you a mental check on yourself , which I think is so needed . So I say hello to all my Wishcast buddies and Jamie I have missed you all. So here we go,the question was ," What do you wish to fly free from?". I would have to say ,procrastination. I have been wanting to get my etsy up for a while now , like literally for about 2yrs now . There was always something getting in my way , but now in the last 2 weeks I have organized my time and kind of put my foot down and the family and said, hey! my time is my time , just because you think my day is spent doing and making art does not mean you can interupt or think I can do favors , those days are over! LOL! Now I tell the family , you have to schedule the time with me and let me know in advanced because I am busy . At first the kids and hubby we're a little thrown back , but they were very respectful to the fact that I had finally put my foot down on my art creating time. I should have done it a long time ago , but Im sure it was because I wasn't ready to take myself seriously , and now I really am . Im proud of myself , now Im finally doing what I love to do and not afraid to do it and no more excuses , so I fly free from

PROCRASTINATION!! Its a great freedom. : )

Thanks for stopping by until next time Wishcasters : )

Maryann k.

Im one step closer to Getting My ETSY SHOP OPEN!

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a great 3 day weekend , now back to the ol' grind .The last week I have been doin' the Etsy Bootcamp , which is getting your etsy shop ready for selling for the holidays. I had a giveaway of a bag I made and I thought well Im gonna try that market ,for all of us bloggers , artists , photographers ,etc. Well... its for everyone but being all the things I just mentioned I know that when your out and about you need to load the camera, the journal , the art journal , the water bottle , so that is who Im tryin' to sell to. Heres what I have so far in the making the design process . Im really liking how its coming out and I have been pumping these quilt thingys pretty quickly which Im excited about . I have made some characters , very whimsy and fun . I've already started cutting out the bags their stacked up by the sewing machine ready to sew and I just ordered my freemotion foot ,which

should be here at the end of the week so I can sew my quilts together. I feel really good after taking the take flight course with Kelly Rae Roberts and in taking the pledge with Etsy, it all couldn't happen at a better time for me . I so needed the motivation like you wouldn't believe, although all of us here are crafters so I know you all can relate. I really can't wait to show ya the products I will be making. Im off to continue this goal , thank you all for listening ,we are all in this together ! : )

Luv & hugs

Maryann k.

Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp !! My Pledge

I, Mary ann k , pledge to participate in the Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp to the best of my abilities. I vow to check in every week, do my homework and support my fellow Holiday Boot Campers. I will read the weekly newsletters and blog posts, check in on the weekly forum thread, read the weekly blog post, check off the checklists and salute the mascot. I promise to share what I've learned with those who need it, support my fellow Etsy indiepreneurs and, most of all, have a positive and persistent attitude. I understand that together we can spread the word about our handmade and vintage goods, making this holiday season a more unique and meaningful one to gift givers and give-ees everywhere!

Im tired of every year around the holiday season sayin', " Im gonna make some crafts and sell it on my etsy for the holidays ,and then another year goes by and I don't do it . I always end up smiling and just throughing up my hands and sayin' " I'll do it next year for sure! ", Its been several years of doing that .I want to finally make the change and I don't want to procrastinate any longer so I have took the etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp Pledge to make sure I do it and mean what I say. So here I go everyone wish me luck and stay tuned for what Im about to make and sell! : )

Thanks for stopping by luv Maryannk

Im the guest artist of the month on Bombshell !!!

Hello everyone ! Im so excited and proud to announce that I was givin' the honor to be the guest artist of the month ! Can you believe it ? Im so excited being I just love these stamps. So my mission was to make a challenge for the month so, I made the challenge be POCKETS!!! So all you have to do is make a card Halloween invitation to a party where the invitation goes into a pocket. Cool huh? well...I thought it was LOL! neways mozy on to the bombshell site and go and participate in the challenge , theres a prize to win some goodies .I will be posting another one as well.I will be back with more details . Have an awesome weekend friends and as always thanks for stopping by. : )

Thanks again!

Maryannk

This is for the September challenge by Willowing Ning's Monthly Art Group

Hi Everyone ! This is a monthly art challenge that Tam has on her site called Willowing Ning

This last month Sept , challenge was " FLY" . This meaning was definitely a good one for me , to fly , is a wonderful thought to me ,because I feel that way everytime I give myself the time to meditate , so that is what this art journal painting means to me." When I close my eyes I fly ". Thanks Tam for the word for Inspiration . Tam is also so kind to be giving an art course for free called " The Heart of Art " . She felt for everyone who couldn't afford to buy her classes because of the economy being what it is lately , so she started this free course but if you can donate whatever you can would be appreciated . So go on over to the willowing link , and hey! if you can buy a DVD Tam would love that as well. : P

Thanks for stopping by ! Maryann k.

This is for the September challenge by Meredith featured artist of the month , " Rise to the Occasion! "

Here is my take on the September challenge for Bombshells artist of the month Meredith . Her challenge was to do something 3D or 2D and it could be a card ,altered book or art journal page , so I chose to do a altered book . This book I art journal in when I just have to get something off my chest in that very second that Im annoyed with someone or something LOL! I always turn to this altered book , so I thought it was about time I did the front cover and this challenge was perfect for it . The book to me sybolized that Im putting in the book what is poisoning me LOL! so I thought that should be the background and I put the skull heads on the edges cuz its eating my heart that is golden and then theres the sacred heart which is in gold as well that symbolizes its still sacred to me no matter how hard the poison tries to get in .

I hope you liked my take on Merediths challenge and go check out the Bombshell site , right now they are having a blog hop and you win something if ya hop along so head on over when ya get a chance , but don't wait to long cuz it ends today .

Thanks for coming by next month I will be the Artist of the month so stay tuned for some fun ! : P

Until the next blog , thanks Maryann k.

The " Be Free ! ", Art Bag Giveaway ! Enter to win!!!

Hey everyone! So here is the lovely ART BAG ! I was telling you about . This is my 1 year anniversary in art journaling giveaway and Good luck in winning it cuz it is really a fun bag indeed ! I so have to make myself one LOL! So this is how it goes . You have until Sunday to :

1. follow me here , and if your already a follower just post

a comment down below sayin you would like to be entered in

THE FISHBOWL DRAWING

2. subscribe to me on YOUTUBE and message or comment to me

RE: ART BAG

3. friend me on facebook and message RE: ART BAG

Depending on how many you join ,thats how many times you will be in the FISHBOWL to

possibly win the art bag .

Good luck everyone and thanks for participating in winning a fun bag I made , that really means alot to me to give to you : ) LOVE MARY ANN K.

Watch the Video

Hello!Hello! My art room be coming along ladies! : P

Hello everyone! I am coming along with my new and improved art studio and I am absolutely excited that it feels like its finally becoming something LOL! I am kind of behind on some of my prompts with various groups I am with and I am so sorry , I believe, I will be putting up some stuff up today sometime . I have Bombshell Stamps September prompt, I will be doing by the Bombshell of the month Meredith , so I will be back to show ya what I come up with on her challenge . Im also doing Tams monthly challenge on " Flying" so I will show you whats going on with that as well . Also , next weekend is the one year anniversary of me doing art journaling and my videos , so I will probably have a giveaway for that so I will let you know how that works. We're gonna have some fun ladies ! I can't wait to be done with my art room its really been a overwhelming nitemare but also an exciting event for me at the same time . Its strange because since I started on the remodeling of the room , all these new ideas keep coming into my head and it just gets me so excited ! Can't wait to share those thrilling ideas with you all !

Thanks as always for listening and joining me in some fun : )

Maryann k

Im finally getting my art studio fixed up ! Exciting!

Hey everyone ! So since next month is gonna be a busy month with me I thought now is the time to get my art studio in order as a celebration to new things going on.

I finally got into my art studio that use to be my daughters room and as you can see in this picture theres her old posters and stuff on the wall .I got all that stuff off the wall and am painting it , at first , it was a little sad because my littles girls room is no longer her room but after I got over that LOL! I was so excited once the paint went on the wall . As you can see I have to organize all my art supplies but once its all in order its gonna be ready to do some art and my videos that I love to share with you all . I got my stamps from Bomshell stamps so Im excited to get ready to show ya a video of how to's for ideas for Halloween , so stay tuned ! Until next time thanks for listening as always ! : ) Maryann k

Im taking the next step in my ART...SCARY!!!

Hey everyone ! I know I haven't posted in a while , but I do have some really cool stuff goin' on . Lets see... where to start...well for one , I have finally decided to take the next step in my art , I had to overcome my fear of doing it , and getting over the fact that I felt I wasn't good enough and how could I possibly call myself an

"Artist". Then I decided to really get in touch with my higher self and meditate , so I started doing that a couple of weeks ago . I have always meditated , I am half Mexican and half Thai ( Thailand ) so my parents raised me both with their religions because they wanted me to choose what faith I wanted; so my mother was Catholic and my father was Buddhist , I loved both religions but Buddhism always took me more than Catholisim . So I have been meditating since I was very young . Anyway ,I have been meditating and I realized all the coincidences and signs that were showing me what the answer to my question was . OOPs! I didn't tell you what the question was , " Am I good enough to do my art ? " I had gone to Venice Beach and a artist had told me that I reminded him of Frida Khalo , that my energy was beautiful and that I should not be afraid to be who I am suppose to be , now this was an artist I had just met , who was selling his art on the walk . I thought , " Oh My Gosh ! " , this person didn't know me from Adam , and he's answering a question I had been meditating on for about a week at that point . So the next day , I started to paint the pic you see here , and realized what was I waiting for ? Why did I fear my art ? What was I thinking ? I will be making some painting and putting them up on my etsy , so I will keep you posted when they go up .

My second exciting project I will be doing is , Im going to be the guest designer next month for Bomshell stamps , Im excited about it because I have been a big fan of these stamps and its an absolute honor to be a guest designer and especially that I will have the Halloween month which makes it more fun! I will keep ya posted on that as well .

I just want to say , that if you ever feel like you fear yourself to the point where you start to get anxiety , stop!breathe! and put yourself in a quiet place, quiet your mind and ask that question that bothering you , then go out do your thing and watch for the answers they could be some words your child says , or someone's conversation in the market , and you will just go wow! this person that was by me in an opportune moment just answered my question feel it , be happy , and DO IT!!!

Because the intention is there you will be surprised how impowered you feel .

Thanks for listening as always loves ! Maryann k.

Goin with the flow , in life,in art...

Hello friends ! So I have been dealing with my house remodeling and now its back on , " GO " , so Im excited about that , its been at a hault for a while now . In the meantime I have been doing my art , practicing music with my band , yes! for those of you who didn't know , Im also a musician , I sing and play the bass guitar right now , I also play keys and violin , but because band members have left the band I have took on the bass . I love it though , its a beautiful instrument . I also have been doing alot of my art as well , painting , art journaling , my videos ; just always being creative its a beautiful , wonderful thing . What I enjoy about all of this , is that , Im meeting all of you . Your all so amazing and talented , most of all inspiring .

While on this journey and watching all of you , I have noticed that we all get into a funk from time to time , I mean , we are all human , tryin' to make it all work and on top of it all still have time for our , " Creative Selves " , its all really hard to juggle it all . When I read someone's blog describing what their going through and basically saying how its getting hard to hold on , I feel for that individual , because Im right there with them . Life is gonna through ya a bone and then the next minute life is gonna through ya an obstacle . Even though , in that very moment you feel like your in hell , remember that its temporary , remember the moments when everything seems perfect , your gonna be back their again , its just this back in forth thang , of a good day or a bad day , you only hope theirs gonna be more good ones then bad . So .... hang in their , its all gonna be OK , it will be, and always remember get through life , through your ART ! : P

Thanks for listening friends ! luv Maryann

Hey Everyone Im remodeling my blog page !

Hey everyone , sorry if you have come by that my blog has been in a disaster , Im tryin' to remodel around here but I got all confused and it just got messy and out of hand , so I have it on the most basic right now but , know that it will look interesting soon . Thanks for your understanding it just got a little crazy!

Thanks again! and I have alot of good things coming in September and October ! : P

Art Ramblings , " Artful TV " :by Maryann 4rm Zero

Good things coming ahead !

Hello everyone ! Sorry I haven't been around here in a while , got caught up with stuff around here and I have had some really good things happen in the last two weeks that Im so excited to share with you . The first is I have entered in the , "Sketchbook Project" , you all should swing over there and enter , the deadline is Oct.31st , and it goes to various galleries in the nation , and you can keep track of who views it , you get a title and you basically spend 3 months drawing , painting ,whatever your medium may be and just have fun with the topic you chose . It must be postmarked by Jan.15th . I will be posting a art video on it very soon .

The second exciting happening is I just found out that I will be the Bombshell of the month in October for my favorite stamp company called Bomshell Stamps ! Im very excited to do some fun art,crafty stuff with the Bombshells , so I will keep ya posted on when I start up on the month of October as a guest .

I just want to say to you all , that please... believe that when you do get through all the stuff that is going on in your life , to take time for you through it all . I speak from experience . A year ago I was really so lost in everything that was happening and if it wasn't for my art , I really don't know where my mind would be today . I would hate to think I would still be depressed , possibly on meds who knows how far I would have gone , but I kept telling myself that there was a way and I found art journaling and all of you fine ladies here in the interwebs , I thank all of you for letting me know that I wasn't alone in the things I was going through , that you all had similar situations going on . Take time out for you ! Give yourself , "Me Time".

Thanks for listening and until next time have a wonderful day and make art ! : P