spring fever

I'm back home dear readers...

it was a great trip...

alas I took no photos of Fort Collins...

and I had every intention of snapping pics of 

EsScentuals and my work... but I just ran out of time... 

we stayed at The Hotel which is on the Mandalay Bay grounds

here is the link...  The Hotel...

 a gorgeous, non smoking hotel

with stunning white floral displays in the lobby and thru the hotel... 

below is the walk way to the

"beach"

it was so nice to see exotic plants again...

palms, bougainvillea, hibiscus...

and art work is everywhere in Las Vegas,

this wall is on the way to the "beach"..

the beach below...

which is a sandy area with a large wave pool...

and of course, I did not get into the pool...

I left that for the athletic person I was with...

preferring to lounge... as I do...

and I do that best on vacation...

and of course we had to take the ubiquitous toe shot and 

Mr. LDV 

thought it would be more fun if his manly

toes were in the picture...

the view from out room...

as you can see...

NOT 

Paris France!

the expanse of desert...

we had sumptuous meals

one at Fleur

and then at Delmonico's Steakhouse at the Venetian where 

where I took these photos... below..

we lived in Vegas twice and it is fun to return...

always interesting and so many stunning things to see

and experience...

like these giant flowers suspended from the ceiling at the 

Venetian...

and real flowers everywhere you look...

and of course the venetian had 

lots of amazing Italian paintings...

the ceiling was incredible... 

and it was all over too soon...

as we left I snapped this photo of the stunning display in the lobby...

and I just had to get a shot of the gigli...

my flowers...

Btw, The Hotel is going to change it's name and completely remodel

everything... in true Las Vegas style...

after December it will be completely different...

I will be back on Monday gentle readers and 

out to visit your blogs this weekend to see what you have all been up to...

thanks for stopping by

ciao, ciao!

jardin collages

well, gentle readers...

I told you I would be back before I left on my 

spring vacation...

I put a couple of collage paintings 

in the shop and I thought

I would show them to you before I go... 

from my 

French Paper Series...

stitches... paint... texture...

and it looks like I will be learning how to 

charge taxes soon in the 

shop...

my, my, my...

perhaps paypal will make it easy..

we will just have to wait and see...

I loved making these

jardin pieces...

from an old botany book... and French note books, and bits of crumbling books..

 as a set...

we are off shortly to take a trip

home to Colorado...

I have missed everyone so much..

not quite a year since my last visit, but it feels like forever...

and then some fun in Vegas

I promise to take my camera...

who knows what I will find in Vegas...

hope you are having a beautiful spring/fall

wherever you may be...

xo

april pages and mini concertina...

finally dear readers,

the color green has returned...

and 

I am feeling it in my soul...

makes me want to paint with the windows wide open...

so my april pages are not difficult to understand...

I did a lot of writing though... so much going on and lots of travel plans coming up...

this little piece of Victorian scrap

seemed a perfect piece to layer on the botany page... 

and I did a little stitching...

you can view my art journal pages from last April

Here

ingredients: gesso, acrylic paint, lumiere paint, antique paper ephemera, thread, pencil, glimmer mist, coloured pencil... 

and I finally finished that little 

mini concertina I had been talking about...

you can see it up close in the 

Dolce Shop

wherever you are I hope the weather is 

finally suiting you...

I am getting ready for a spring blog break...

but I will be back soon...

as always... Grazie for stopping

by the Sweet Life...

xo

minis and mini- minis

well, gentle readers...

just a quick post to let you know

that I have new 

minis in the shop...

9 more pieces 

and while I was at it...

I made some

mini-minis...

2" squares

and the art work is 1/2"

I am busy working on my 

journal pages and 

almost finished with 

a tiny concertina book on ferns...

so do stop back

and I will be out this week to visit you...

C4N!

minis

what is it about miniatures

that we love so much?

these tiny paper works 

were so much fun to make...

my desk is littered with tiny pieces...

there are 9 of these...

in my 

Dolce Shop

they are 2 x 2 on 3 x 3 and they all have antique post marks, scrap 

and to give you an idea of what they would look like framed.. above

in a 7 1/2 x 7 1/2

of course they are unframed

and because they can fit into an envelope, I would be happy to ship them

everywhere...

it is rainy and wet here, but things are beginning to bloom

Spring seems to be finally on the way...

but these happy little pieces

made me

feel

as though Spring is really here!

C4N!

P. S. if you missed my sale it is still going on... ciao, ciao!

a little sew sale

ciao... gentle readers

I am working in the studio on several small

Mini's 

on paper...

but before I show you those...

I thought I would tell you about a little sale

I am having in the 

Dolce Shop

10% Off

all the 

Sew Somerset pieces..

my new article on abstracts will be out this summer and 

I want to make room in the shop for those pieces...

this includes the remaining Italian Beauties

and the Rose Botanical Quilts...

as always shipping is free in 

the states...

grazie,

grazie!

the sewing book series and where my header came from

sewing...

is a big subject with me

I had two grandmothers that sewed...

but they were very different...

and that made me a different kind of sewer too...

you knew there would be a story didn't you?

in 2007

Stampington announced that they were going to begin a 

new publication called

Sew Somerset

and I knew that the altered catalogue 

I was working on would be 

something I would submit...

it was made from old sewing bits and bobs

my substrate was originally  a JJill catalog

and I made a cotton transfer that turned out perfectly...

it was from an old ad

in a sewing magazine

of a woman with a downcast gaze..

and in 

2009

when I started blogging

I realized that it was the perfect image

for my header

because it looked

just like

La Dolce Vita...

doesn't it?

I was delighted to have my work published

and although I had been published in Somerset Studio

and a few of their other publications

I felt like I was home

in Sew Somerset...

flash forward on the current

of time to 2013

when I found this lovely gem of a book

Lippincott's Home Manuals-Clothing For Women

written in 1924

and you will understand 

that those sewing issues are still being resolved...

and... 

my work has really changed...

The Sewing Book Series

Sommaire

Sommaire detail

Part 1

and something tells me

that there will be a 

part 2...

these are both in the 

Dolce Shop

in the studio I am working on

 small paper stitched concertina books with nature themes

and mini collages ...

can't wait to show those to you

and see what you are all up to..

soon...

C4N!