the camera came!

...if only I knew how to use it. :) It's really fun to play around on it with all the automatic settings. Here are a few I took this afternoon. Hopefully they look a bit better than the ones my blackberry took!

The first few are just me messing around & then just a few of our house, view & work space.




Hooray for the "new to me" typewriter I got for $5 at an estate sale this afternoon :)

so many directions!

I just wanted to share a few preliminary photos of where I'm at, what I'm working on so far and ideas I'm flushing out. I hope you enjoy.

*note: I just bought a new camera--waiting for it to arrive in the mail...can't WAIT! so, please forgive the poor quality of these photos...future posts should be a bit more aesthetically pleasing ;)

this is my craft room...loving the space to work in! It's a bit messy in this picture, but I'm having a hard time finding a moment when it isn't messy to photograph ;) I also have a painting studio downstairs where I'm finishing up work on this painting for my dad:

So, as I mentioned earlier...I make jewelry. I love making jewelry, but I may like coming up with ideas for packaging even more. Inspiration for my current jewelry packaging came from a friend, Tracy, who showed me a little matchbox that she had turned into a magnet reminder to pray for her daughter while she was away at school. I was trying to think of a way I could use the idea when I realized I desperately needed packaging for my earrings and necklaces. (not all fit in a matchbox...but a lot do!)

The quote inside the matchbox is so true for me, but also plays a little bit with the matchbox theme...hence the emphasized "spark" and "lighted the flame" ;)

This amazing dresser is a piece I found at a random liquidation store when I was searching for a typewriter in Lompoc of all places. Wooden furniture is by far one or my favorite things...and finding unique distressed pieces like this just floors me.

This is an idea I had for a jewelry holder. Dangly earrings will hang from the latch hook canvas and necklaces can hang below on the vintage wooden thread spools. I love the oval shape on this one :) This is a cute piece on any wall and is a very practical way to display your jewelry.

Here it is in action (unfortunately against a white wall--colored would be so much better). Maybe one day I wont be a renter any longer!

This is probably too small to even decipher, but this is the logo that I just created for Shoreline Community Church's VBS this year. The idea they wanted to communicate was many paths, but you have to choose yours...and only one will lead you to the eternal city.

My most recent find. I fixed up these old handmade clocks. They were both hand stitched in the forty's...& they still work! One is battery operated & the other is electric.

"I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do." -Leonardo da Vinci

...the beginnings

I'm on a journey of discovery! I wish I could say that I thoroughly enjoy the "journey" but in reality, it's the journey that I'm afraid of. I love doing, making & creating...but figuring out my purpose behind all of it, or the goals I'm working towards--that's the hard part! I'm trying to enjoy every moment of this journey and record it so I don't forget to think about the bigger picture. I may share ideas that inspire me, things that I've made or am making and directions I'm thinking of taking. Nothing is set in stone here...it's all flexible. I call this blog my QUE because the decision to leave my full-time job and begin an artistic career full-time was, to me, a call to action--or like in theater, my cue--but I enjoy the aesthetics of the letter "Q" more than the letter "C." ;) That and the letters QUE can be found in many artistic & crafty terms (i.e. unique, boutique, antique, applique etc.) I desperately wanted to do it, but I was so afraid to take that leap. With the encouragement, advice and support of family and friends and loads of prayer, I finally made the decision to go for it.

Back Story
Anyway, as I alluded to, I recently left a job at a non-profit called Olive Crest in Orange County and moved to Solvang--back home with my parents, (gulp) who have graciously allowed me to live in their home rent free & take it over with my crafting/hoarding tendencies. I have a bedroom here, a craft room & a studio! I'll be taking a few graphic design courses in the fall to gain some foundational understanding of the programs and the field at large that I have already dabbled in, but have yet to fully master. My decision to leave the job and begin a creative career was not a spontaneous decision, though it may appear that way, but rather one that I have been dreaming of for years. I decided a while ago, when I had first wanted to pursue art as a career, that I would have to first finish my degree so that I can at least prove that I can stick to something and see it through...on paper. I have been creating since as long as I can remember: drawing, painting, building, refurbishing/refinishing furniture, and more recently making jewelry and graphic design. My only real plan is to continue to create and see if I enjoy it as much as I think I will. I just want to make sure that turning my passion into a career that will support me wont take all of the fun & enjoyment out of it. I hope to sell things online and at boutiques, craft fairs & festivals. I'm so grateful for this opportunity and season in my life. I can't wait to see where this step will lead.