I like this sign. It says a lot about how I'm feelin' right now.

IT'S ON AND POPPIN'!

It's the end of month and it sure has been an interesting one to say the least. Especially this week. I have been challenging myself to become more prolific in computer techniques/graphics as well as getting my products out into cyberspace.

I have been teaching myself how to create unique works of art in Adobe Photoshop since a friend did some creative work on the website. She inspired me to learn more and use all of these programs and software I've acquired over the years. Thanks Miss Emily Y.

I have even delved into making mini movies with a movie maker program I have. It's really quite ambitious when you think about it. Gathering footage, graphics, clipart and photos require just the right selections to tell your story. Sometimes it comes together nicely, but other times I have found myself just stifled.

My goal is to create a BANNER for my blog and other website venues. I have been struggling to come up with just the right images, and I haven't been able to pull it together yet. I just love the banners that I see on other sites and I am determined to come up with a few that mirrors my style and work.

And now I have an Etsy shop and that's great. You can sell your handmade items on there for a nominal fee. I have noticed that not only do a lot of "artists" have websites and blogs, but they also sell their products on eBay and Etsy. So, I have joined the ranks and pray that I continue to grow and expose people to my goods. I have even had a few "comments" on this blog....so somebody out there's reading. IT'S ON AND POPPIN! :0)

Much needed "R & R"

I remember the first time I heard that expression, the year was 1978 and a coworker said it. I didn't want to appear dumb, so I didn't ask what it was right out. She kept saying it, and I wanted to see how she connected "R & R" to what she continued to talk about....in the hood, we never say R & R...we say "GET OUT OF DODGE." Meaning...we're going away, on vacation, for a little Rest & Relaxation. LOL!!! R & R...yep I took a much needed mini vacation to my hometown of Sacramento.












First stop San Francisco. My mom, sister, and I took the Ferry from Vallejo into San Francisco on a mission to find a wonderful store that I found on the internet.




Tobie, Mom, Christine - Say cheese!














This store, Bell'occhio, sells wonderful and rare items such as ribbons, perfume, ephemera, candy and stationery.













This store is a treasure shop for people like me who just love romantic and vintage items.

I was sursprised by how small the space was, but it was gorgeous inside. Lots of beautiful signs, dress forms, and mannequins. They have the rarest of rare items you'd ever expect to see in a French inspired boutique.

I asked the shopkeeper if I could take photos of some items, but she wasn't hearing it. Good thing I snuck one picture of me inside the place. Otherwise how would you know what it looks like, and how would I remember all the beauty of Bell'occhio. What I loved about the store was the time and care that was taken in packaging my bought items. My goods were wrapped in tissue, and then tied with a gorgeous red bow. She even finished ribbons off by clipping them with rare pinking shears. This kind of luxury packaging is reserved for the well-heeled and its a time honored tradition. I just loved it.


The other cool thing about the store was their door. The shopkeeper walked us out and showed us this mechanical eye that's affixed to the door. She demonstrated to us that it "opened" and "closed" to let customers know if the shop was open or closed. It was really quite unique.

My sister, mom and I walked almost 16 blocks from the pier to the store, and it was great fun. However, my mom and I decided to take the trolley back to the pier. My sister Tobie is an avid walker, so she walked the entire way back.



What a great day we had, visiting the shops and boutiques at the ferry and then checking out the store. We plan to go back and spend an entire day just shopping in San Francisco.

Hi and bye Mom!!

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY....

While I was visiting Sac. I had one other thing on my mind and I couldn't wait to get there...GOIN' FISHIN' with the family. My cousins Marilyn and Herman were members of a resort just outside of Sac. and a few of the family spent the weekend doing what we love best, Fishin' and Eatin'. :0) My sister Fran, and I took our great niece Alexis on her first fishing trip and it was a lot of fun. My dad and other cousins met us there, and we all had a wonderful time fishing, playing cards and eating....did I mention we love cooking and eating???


I hadn't been fishing for a couple of years, so this was going to be a treat. We got there on a Friday night, but no one was interested in night fishing. So we sat up and talked and ate snacks and nestled in for an early morning wake up call to go fishing. I got up about 5:30am and we were dressed on on the bank by 6:15 or so. This resort, Lake Minden, was beautiful and the weather was perfect.

My great niece Alexis did very well for her first time fishing. And she learned how to fish on a rod & reel, not an 'ole pole like we had when we were kids! It was fun to see her finally reel one in. Go Lexi!!

So here's my story of the one that got away. My sister and I were standing near one another, and I finally got a great bite. Fran always catches the big ones, but I could tell that I had a nice fish on my line. Well, in my anxiousness to reel this nice sized bass in, the fish kind of took over and swam toward a large tree branch floating in the water. I was so busy reeling I wasn't paying attention, so it ended up getting hung up in that branch. My dad called right in the middle of us trying to get the fish and it was like chaos and panic!! I didn't want to lose the fish, but it was apparent that I was going to have to break the line. When I did, we noticed that the fish was still tangled up in the branch. So I threw down the reel, ran to my cousins RV and grabbed anything that would help me pull the branch within reaching distance.

After several tries, I grabbed the branch...and all the while, my sister was holding on to me as I reached and reached for the tree. It was so funny, as I'm sure passersby didn't have a clue what I was doing...all they saw was this "human chain" she and I had formed. I was determined not to lose that fish!!! So finally, finally I pulled that large branch out of the water, and me and my sister were so happy we had it....until further inspection of the branch showed that the fish was no longer tangled and had plopped right back into the lake. Doggonit!!! We were so busy pulling out that branch that neither one of us kept an eye on getting to the fish. So....I was left with my fish tale, and NO PICTURES either...of the one that got away. Later, as we were telling the story to my cousins, one cousin offered that she was in the club house and a few patrons were retelling what they had just saw on the lake...two women forming a human chain. Little did she know that it was us they were talking about. I didn't care...I was on a mission! I caught about a dozen or more little perch/bluegills...but had to throw them back since they were so small. I might have been catchin' the same ones over and over - who knows?? It was fun and that's all that mattered.


My cousins drove their Mobile homes and man, they have beautiful RV's! We ate and fellowshipped the rest of the day. What a nice outing for the family, and I hope to return soon to LAKE MINDEN. Thanks for a great time guys...Marilyn, Ebony & Big Will, Diane & Slim, Norman & Art, Dad, Fran, Alexis, Herman, Jr. & family, Anthony, Angie and families...we had a great time!

NIECES & NEPHEWS ARE GREAT...OH MY!

I also visited with a few of my great nieces and great nephews while I was there. These are my brothers Raymond and Robert's grandchildren from their sons and a daughter...Aaron, Bryant, Decia, Damont. Loves'em!



Chelsea, Darrius, and Coco!!!




Derrick Jr. on his way to the ballpark!







Niece Vanessa and her Aunt Francine!!





My man Frenchie. My nephew's so handsome!















"The recent Graduate" Iessa & mom Olivia

I even visited with my girlfriend in Stockton, and she treated me to a wonderful concert featuring Norman Brown. I really had an enjoyable trip!!

"HAVIN' MY BABY. WHAT A LOVELY WAY TO SAY HOW MUCH YOU LOVE ME!"

Right about now, that's what my nephew is saying to his fiance. On June 2, 2007, Ezekiel was born to Kevin & Cher. He's healthy and everybody is ecstatic! He's a cutie too! Yes he is...yes he is. This is my sister Fran's first Grandbaby, my little great nephew from the Burton/Brewer family. In a few short months, she'll have a second grandbaby to celebrate as her daughter Atija is pregnant too! What a way to expand the family!! Love is in the air....:0)

IESSA GRADUATES

This was the month for a lot of great nieces and nephew news! My great niece, Iessa, graduated from Sacramento High School on June 2, 2007. Here are some pics

Olivia, Iessa's mom, threw a wonderful Grad party. What a great time we had celebrating this young lady's achievement. She's studying nursing with hopes of becoming a Pediatrician. Way to go sweetie, this is my late brother Robert's granddaughter. Bryant (late) and Oliva are her parents. Most of the family, including a lot of my other great nieces and nephews were there also.

There's no place like home

A couple of weeks back I flew into Sacramento Airport for a little R&R (I'll post some pics of this trip home shortly) and there had been a wonderful renovation of the airport. New food court, news stands and souvenir shops. I hadn't flown in so long I was totally taken aback. There was once catch though. Here's what passengers had to endure to claim their luggage. Sac-o-tomates....ain't nothin' changed. LOL!!!!!

ART WALK AT THE BREWERY COMPLEX

Some months back I attended a wonderful Art Walk at The Brewery in Los Angeles. What a wonderful day to walk into the studios and galleries of artists in this beautiful setting. I was also there to attend a play at one of my choir member's playhouse - "KSLG Playhouse". Sharon Graines is the first black female to own a theatre house, and I support her whenever I can. Her playhouse is at The Brewery and me and my friend April enjoyed the whole experience.

Sharon and company take their bows.

Here are some of the sights we took in at the complex. I just loved the complex because of the foliage and lots and lots of cacti and various succulents. It's amazing to me how beautifully designed the spaces are.

These are some outrageous (to say the least) designs from YOUR PSYCHO GIRLFRIEND clothing boutique.

What a stunning lady!

I just love the expression on this mannequin's face. I want to recreate the face (au Noir), and this is perfect. She has just the right amount of Sass & Class.

Isn't this alphabet tag lovely? This is from designer Anahata of PaPaYa!! I absolutely love their designs. I can't describe the style it is but for lack of a better description, I'll say it's "ethereal," that always covers the gamut of interesting work such as this.

Here is one more favorite thing. I was on the bus one day and saw a woman carrying a tote bag with a fabulous image of a woman's head on it. I had to know where she got it and she told me the store she worked in carried it...BUT...they had sold that particular bag and hadn't had it for months. Well being one not to be deterred, I set out on a mission to find the designer. If I could find the designer, I could locate a store, and perhaps get one. So I called the woman's store and spoke to the manager. I described the tote and luckily she remembered the designer/company. It was produced by a company called "FLUFF".........internet!!! I went straight to it and found several sites called Fluff until I saw her! Wouldn't you know it, they didn't have any more totes or handbags with her image, and they didn't even have a T-shirt with her image.....all these other images on the site except for her. I liked some of the other stuff, but she was the one I wanted. Oh well....here are a couple of items from their beautiful line of products.

What's so great about the day I saw the tote was that I had just begun to attempt designing my own kind of logo. I had been doodling on the train and came up with an image with a long neck just like this mannequin.

As you can see from my diary page, I had begun designing this and BAM! I see a truly magnificent specimen of the very thing I wanted to duplicate. The reason I had started with this long neck image was years ago I checked out a fashion illustratin book from my neighborhood libary, and I loved the images. The night before, I had found those illustrations, and decided that I would try to recreate something for myself. Thus...the mannequin head image. This is what freaks me out sometimes. I can't often tell other folks about these "coincidences/blessings", whatever you want to call them 'cause one might think I was a bit loopy, but I always document what I'm saying and ONE DAY, SOMEONE WILL BELIEVE...that I'm blessed and highly favored. :0)

Some people say there aren't any coincidences, it's just God talking to you - I can believe that. So anyway, these things happen more often than I'm willing to admit to anyone, but there you have it. I am always happy to share my insights, and viewings of all things ARTSY(and Fashiony- yes) because I love it so...and maybe you do too.