Cleaning the house of my heart



Who really enjoys cleaning house? I, for one, allow my ADD to take over, and find any and every distraction possible in order to procrastinate. Lol! But when cobwebs take over and dust bunnies appear under every chair, then it's time to face the music and get down to business. Once I'm in good house cleaning mode, and give the place the ol' 1-2-3, the place shines like nobody's business!

Cleaning the house of my heart is another matter entirely.... It's not easy to see exactly where the dirt has piled up, or where the rust has started to grow. All I know is that I feel like I'm in a rut, and life in general seems to deplete me. My relationships suffer, and a sad stillness creeps over my being. My bed goes unmade, figuratively, and my days seem to slide into lethargy. It's really not a pretty sight when my heart's house is in disorder.

I must have known this was happening from the inside out when I signed up for the Business Soul Sessions class that's being taught by Kelly Rae Roberts and Beth Nicholls. Even the title spoke to me... Hello Soul Hello Business. Yep, my soul needed a dusting off, and big time. What I didn't realize was how much the class content would reach down into the inner reaches of my heart, give it a big ol' shake up, and ask me to look into the depths of my soul. Yes, the soul restoration was about to finally begin.

Oh, my heck, yes. Did it ever begin.

I realized that lately, many of my heart worthy situations had been put on the back burner while I focused on the many smaller details of living my life. But those back burners had finally started to simmer and hiss at me. It was time to turn inward, and to get busy! I have been reminded that it's so important to Listen to Me. I know I talk about it a lot, but how much have I actually been doing that? Apparently, not enough. I have learned a big lesson, and it's this:

When we need to hear the message, and we don't listen, then roadblocks appear and get in our way. The roadblocks mean it's time to stop, examine, and listen, and put ourselves back in order by eliminating and dealing with the roadblocks so we can get emotionally back on track. Once we put our emotional house back in order, everything will realign and things will begin to work ok again.

My roadblocks were created by feelings of fear, inadequacy, and worry. They
seemed to encompass every aspect of my intimate personal life, from disharmony within my family, to support I couldn't muster, to the people I surrounded myself with. My roadblocks caused me to doubt myself and question my purpose. Ultimately, they have caused me nothing but pain.

What I know now is this;
  • My still waters run very deep. Though calm and quiet on the surface, I am a true force, and my force is strong and powerful. It has never led me wrong. I must learn to trust it against all odds.
  • I am going to connect with people who have *SNAP*. These are people who get me, and I get them, and we support each other, and work with each other. Yes, I need people with *SNAP* (just snap your fingers together to see what comes to mind for a person who has SNAP!)
  • I work more closely with God in charge, on every corner, around every bend. He is my leader and my guide, and speaks to me with the whispering voices that I can always hear if I just open myself up to them.
  • I will not be sorry about moving emotionally forward, for in my heart I know that I am a Sparkling Gem, and I am good, and true. People who are with me are people I will build up, and we will work together towards goodness, and ultimately we will achieve greatness.
  • My family will receive the biggest benefit of my transformation, for they are the ones I love the most and care for, and my life is made whole by the world we create together.
So, *SNAP*, I'm on it! Give it some thought and go to it... Get your own *SNAP* on, girl! Above everything else, you will love yourself for it :o)
x, Val

Mini Owl Class is This Saturday!


Well, I cannot resist a pair of oh-so-cute owlies... I don't know about you!

If you feel the same, then give the girls at Paper Tales a call, (619-222-2510) and get yourself signed up for this fantastic earring class, happening this Saturday, Feb. 25, from 1-4pm. Don't miss out, or you will be boo-HOOT-hoo-ing all day long (sorry, I just couldn't resist, hehe!)

Owl see you later!
x, Val

PS. Please read this post if you plan to take the class so you remember to bring the necessary supplies to class. See you on Saturday!

Owls on holiday


Even the teeniest owls love a good time. Just wait til you see what's been going on with my newest creations. They've been pretty busy...

First of all, I'd better explain that Toshi has been such a patient and wonderful helper for me in studio. She just doesn't complain about anything I ask her to do. Even when it comes to making the tiniest needle felted creations. Afterwards, she shyly confesses "that wasn't exactly the funnest thing you've had me make..." I totally understand, for even though these little guys look like they should be dang easy to make, they are an exercise in patience. I'm warning you about that! But Toshi is a good sport, and we made up an awesome couple of owls, don't you agree?! They are being made for the upcoming Earring class I'm teaching at Paper Tales on Feb.25th. Click here for more info on that class!


So, no sooner were one pair of owls finished before they had to go explore...

Here they are in the garden, searching for snacks in the succulents...

Then, a dip in the pool, and sunbathing...

They spent some time wistfully gazing over the canyon and watching the birds in action...

Finally finished up their outing with a ride on the giant Lola dog.
(Isn't she so sweet and patient?! Lol!)

What a day! They have confessed they are ready to be tethered to earrings so they can get their kicks while going along for the ride!

Ok, that's our adventure for today :o)
Hope you are having an adventurous day today too.
x, Val



I heART you


Image courtesy Tumbler

Wishing you the Happiest and most Heartfelt day ever today...

with lots of love from me to you...

x, Val


New Classes at Paper Tales!



Yep, classes! Hooray! The first class is Sat, Feb, 11 (um, kinda today... sorry for the late notice), but it's already filled up, so don't feel like you are missing out. We are working on a new date to run this class again. Call over to Paper Tales 619-222-2510, and tell them you must know the new class date, so you can sign up right away! Hurry up, because the last class filled up in about a minute.

The next class will be Super-duper Sweet Birds or Owls Sitting on a Cage. Aren't they cute?! I know I only have pictures of the birds, because the owls aren't even done yet... what can I say? Life has been throwing me lots of curve balls lately... This class will run on Sat, Feb 25th from 1-4. Plenty of spots are still open in this class, so give those girls at Paper Tales a call and sign yourself up!

Each class is $35, and includes one kit for you to complete the project in class, and wear your creation home! Extra kits will be available for purchase during the class so you can practice those new needle felting skills on your own.

Remember to bring the following supplies to class!
  • Needle felting foam mat (not the brush style mat)
  • Green 5 needle tool
  • "Pink pen" 3 needle tool
  • Replacement needles by Clover, "Fine" size
  • A pair of small sharp scissors
  • Jewelry making tools; 2 needle nose pliers and a small wire cutter (you can use mine if you don't have them)
I can't wait to see you in a class very soon. Save some room for a cookie or two :o)
x, Val

Fantastic Felt


I am crazy about felt! I admit it. I started as a young girl with a love for sewing, migrated to painting and drawing love, then to knitting love and finally felting. So I guess that makes Felt my current love affair. Who could possible know what will come next? For now, it's all about everything Felt!

On that note, here are a few photo's of Lynda Watson's (my felt instructor from last week) magical felt cactus brooches. Lynda is a silver smith artist, so it's no joke to me that she would naturally progress to sculpting felt. The possibilities of sculpting felt are somewhat similar to the challenges of working metal (I took a semester of metal smithing while finishing up my degree at SDSU). The benefit to working with felt is that it is clean, soft, mess free, delicate and forgiving. Plus, the natural fiber just feels so good in one's hands!






Our felting class was filled with like minded souls; knitters, artists, metal workers, jewelry artists, all natural fiber lovers. One thing I wanted to try during our time together was wet felting. Even though our instructor, Lynda, was an accomplished felter, she hadn't done too much wet felting.

I started out making flat felt sheets to get the feel of things...


All of the wet felting novices (us!) were interested in creating a range of wet felted tubes, rods and even bowls. It was crazy fun to feel the felt come together in your hands. Now I have a clear idea of the feeling of how felting works! Mary Lou, a classmate who had extensive wet felting background, made this gorgeous wet felted vessel...


Liza and I went mad over Mary Lou's piece, and decided to get crazy, wooly wet too, and dove right in to lying lightweight and airy flecks of felt together. We added soapy water, a little rubbing and agitation...

...then, voila! A bowl is born!


The end of the week brought everybody's finished work out on display for the art opening. Here's my display of wet and dry needle felting. It was a rich week filled with learning all sorts of new felting techniques, and I enjoyed every minute!

Sign me... So felt happy :o)
x, Val