michelle my belle

Off to Hong Kong!

Today went well. Sculptors are well on their way. So talented!

We ate a good lunch of spicy Chinese food! White Fish, some herbal gelatin soup stuff, spicy tofu and snap peas.

And, look at these yummies! They're some kind of gooey corn dumpling. Probably not very healthy but tasty!

Our new boxes with our new logo. Yippee!

I found out that China has a national holiday tomorrow and all the factories are closed. So, that means we have the day off and are heading to Hong Kong to meet up with some friends. I'll tell you more when I return.

Blessings to you all!

Knee How! (china day 1)

Well, I'm back in China. Made it safe and sound and without any travel hiccups! Thank you Lord! I'm just getting ready to head out to the factory for the day. I already got a 4.25 mile run in, and boy I can feel the pollution.

I'll keep you updated through my trip with pictures of product development and my surroundings. Thanks for taking this trip with me and keeping me company through my blog and your comments! : )

BTW - Did you know that the China government has blocked blogs? Seriously, I can't get onto any blogs. I can get into my Typepad to post but not even to view my own blog! The freedoms we take for granted in the US!

ps. knee how (not correct spelling) means "hello" in Mandarin

Goody Giveaway #2

Welcome to our 2nd Goody Giveaway!

Enter to Win - Bloomin' Delight Pendulum Clock, Birdy Picture Frame, Purdy Birdy Ceramic Box and a magnet! Value of $105 (shipping is on us!)

Here's 3 ways to Enter:

1. Comment on any of my blog posts from now till May 12th.

2. Sign up for our Newsletter on the top right hand side of this blog. No worries, we don't send many and the ones we do send include some amazing close-outs and giveaways.

3. Promote my giveaway on your blog : ) (feel free to pull this image to use on your blog)

Thank you for playing Goody, Goody Giveaway (i'm singing... incase you couldn't hear me)

Art Journaling!

April and I both fell in love with the "art journaling" concept at Artfest. This is her on the ferry back to Seattle after the retreat was over. She did a great post today on some of the supplies she's using and some of her journal pages.

Here are a couple of my Artfest journal pages. What I'm loving about creating in this way is that I feel such a sense of freedom in it. I'm not creating it to "sell it", I'm creating it for pure enjoyment and experimentation!

I'm toying with the idea of doing a little faux workshop at my studio. Am I crazy?!

Clever Entrepreneur

I'm so glad to be out of the stage of needing these for myself I mean my children! I should probably still use one!

This is my friend Lindsay who has a brilliant product. These bibs are magnetic and don't go around the neck. How CLEVER are these!

An Artfest Goal Accomplished!

I was so inspired by this gal's hand cut stamp (below in my journal), that I added it to my to do list. I probably shouldn't have taken the time right now since I have many more important things pressing... oops! And, to top it off I ended up having to carve two of them since the first one I carved I forgot to REVERSE THE IMAGE! erg!

We sold our first item on Etsy today! hip hooray! Thank you! Thank you!! : )

Esty Baby!

In case you hadn't noticed the little addition to our side bar, we are now Etsy-fied! All the items that we'll feature on Etsy are from our USA made line. This piece was always one of my favorites. Her name is "Yard Girl". She's actually been retired from our line for a few years now but we have a few left hanging around our studio so we thought we'd offer her and the others at a steal of a deal! Check out our Etsy site for more!

Funky Fremont!

On our way back from Artfest week before last April and I toured a bit of Seattle. Okay, if you have never been to Fremont (just a few miles North of Seattle) or it's been several years... you're going to want to go!

It's full of cute shops.

The most AMAZING Cold Stone I've ever seen. I think it has to be one of the most artistic buildings I've ever laid my eyes on.

Check out this craftsmanship!

I also found the most fabulous coffee spot there in Fremont. I can't remember the name and none of my pics have it in them (maybe ETG?). Look at this chandelier and the old working cash register!

Small, well organized and charming as all get out!

Down to the details of an actual Nutmeg and a chunk of chocolate that were in little hand grinders.

We both fell in love with Fremont! Good times!

Artfest Workshop #3

At Artfest many people bring little things they've made to trade with each other. Here's my pile of loot! Some of the trades people brought were quite simple while others were much more involved. Fun, Fun!

My last workshop was Michael deMeng's Morpheus Box. He provided a simple wooden box with a rotating block inside that we were to use a combination of assemblage, collage and paint to alter it into our own creations. In this pic Michael is doing a critique at the end with everyone's finished pieces. As you will see below mine was a bit different than most of the others...

I utilized a bowling pin head, vintage bottle caps, ruler, some sort of package top for the tutu and other odds and ends. In the end I think this is my favorite piece I created.

One of the workshops that I really wanted was Anahata's Wallpaper People. I'm not sure who's pieces these are but I thought they were wonderful and so different from each other.

Some examples from Katherine England's workshops.

April, Catherine (our sweet, talented roommate taking the picture) and I finishing it all off with Elevated Ice Cream!

Bye, Bye Artfest. Thank you Tracy & Teesha Moore for your passionate service to artists!

Artfest Workshop #2

Not to worry, there are only 3 workshops total. Tomorrow will be the last Artfest post I promise!

I was so blessed to sit next to the wonderful, kind and talented Mary Stanley of Santa Barbara in Judy Wise's Waxy Layers workshop.

Judy and I go way back to the Saturday Market and art show days. About 12 years ago or so. (for me that's way back -grin-) She is one of the most encouraging people I know when it comes to art and creating. She really embraces all aspects of the process, including the mistakes, which I have really appreciated since I always want everything to be just so. If you're a "creative" check out her blog, in my humble opinion it's one of the best around.

I have been interested in encaustic for a long time so I was delighted to have the opportunity to learn from Judy who has been working in the medium for a while now. We explored fundamentals of wax, transfers, intaglio and more. Thank you Judy! You did a great job and I look forward to taking another class from you sometime!

Look at this piece made by Karen Obrien!

While I was in Waxy Layers April was taking this paperclay workshop. I can't remember the name but you can check out her site for more Artfest goodies. Aren't these darling!