Happy Thanksgiving..


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I wish you all the very best life has to offer for Thanksgiving. May it be full of good things to eat, good friends and loved ones, creativity, spirituality, gratitude and especially lots and lots of good memories to last a lifetime!
May you take a moment today to hear the message that sings in your heart....and be grateful for all that you have and all that surrounds you...
Blessings to all....
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

Happy Halloween!

An interview with ANNE MARIE BENNETT, author of Bright Side of the Road

Good Morning and welcome to Artfully Yours. This morning I have the wonderful pleasure of interviewing, Anne Marie Bennett, the author of BRIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD. A book, recounting her journey, with living with breast cancer. If you have been diagnosed with cancer...know someone who is living with cancer...or could use a positive and heart felt journal to clarify your own gratitude...this is the perfect book to read. Anne Marie is open...honest...and loving with herself and her reader. You will walk away from reading this book with a sense of knowing and seeing a warrior. You will get a glimpse into a way to rearrange your own priorities in a loving and meaningful way.
Grab a cup of coffee and sit down for a moment and hear the wisdom of a cancer survivor.

Pattie: Being a caregiver myself, for someone who is living with cancer, what is the one piece of advice you can give a caregiver?

Anne Marie: The most important thing for a caregiver is to keep in mind that cancer patients ARE NOT JUST CANCER PATIENT. They are still the same beautiful interesting, and loving people that they were before their diagnosis. Sometimes on my journey with breast cancer, I got really tired of people asking "how do you feel today?" Because they were referring to my physical symptoms. I really felt most loved and cared for by the people who remembered who I really was beyond the part about being a breast cancer patient. Here are some examples of questions that people asked me that really helped me remember who I was.....
Have you read any good books lately?
Can you recommend a good movie to watch?
Are you planning any trips later this year?
What does it feel like to be away from the theater (my job) for so long?
Do you have any advice to give me about my son?
How is your spirit?
These questions will vary from person to person, of course, depending on what your loved one's interests and passions are. In the presence of questions like these, I was reminded of my best inner essence. I was reminded that I wasn't just a cancer patient. I felt like I was being seen for WHO I really was.

Pattie: Despite all you went through as a person living with cancer, you remained positive. Do you think this helps with the healing/grieving/accepting process? And how can a person gently allow for the negative feelings while staying positive?

Anne Marie: For me, the grieving process had to come FIRST. Not just grieving, but ALL the emotions that came up for me, especially fear and anger. I couldn't walk on the "bright side" without first naming and accepting and hooring all those darker feeling first. I can sum up the essence of my recipe for th Bright Side Living like this: Feel your feelings, and then change your thoughts. First I gave myself PERMISSION to feel whatever I was feeling, and to accept and even embrace my fears and worries and angers and grief. Not an easy thing, because it is very uncomfortable and sometimes messy! I found that if I just kept doing that, I could much more easily hear the negative thoughts in the background of my mind. And once I could hear the negative, self-defeating chatter inside of me, I was in a grounded position to enter that dialogue from a clearer place and change it. So for me, the part about embracing positive thoughts and gratitude was only possible AFTER I allowed myself my feelings. I find that this is true for me even now, seven years later. No matter what the situation, if I allow myself the ebb and flow of my feelings, I am more able to be clearly rooted in the bright side of positive thoughts.

Pattie: We are all programmed since childhood about our appearance. What advice can you give someone who is losing their hair and/or other appearance changes?

Anne Marie: Yes, I can definitely understand this question, Pattie! My journey took me through several physical changes. I gained a lot of weight, lost my hair (and not just on my head!) got catapulted into early menopause and lost my libido. Trust me, I was not happy about ANY of this! For me, my resistance to those physical changes disappeared the day I realized (about halfway through the journey) that I could not do anything about it! I was on this journey, and this is just how things were. I could waste a whole lot of energy bemoaning the fact that I didn't look like I use to, or I could just relax and go with the flow of it all. It really became almost like a game to me, finding the bright side of any situation especially the baldness. What could be good about not having hair? Well, I saved a lot of money at the drug store, not having to buy conditioner and styling products! Also, I saved a lot of time every morning and there was a great freedom in that, not having to purposely "look good" every day. I recently came across a Deepak Chopra quote: " Happiness is a continuation of happenings which are not resisted>" This speaks to me of the magic of acceptance, which was one of the key factors on my bright side journey.

Pattie: What one thing can someone living with cancer do to help them strengthen their spirit during their treatments?

Anne Marie: That "one thing" is going to be different for each person because each of us is so different. For me, that "one thing" was writing in my journal. Also, continuing to sit at my art table and create collage strengthened my spirit immensely during my treatment. But, for someone else, that "one thing" might be listening to NPR or going to synagogue, attending regular prayer meetings, fishing with the guys, continuing to work at a job they love, making birdhouses in the basement...You get the idea! The most important thing is to stay connected to yourself at all times, so that you know what your own personal "one thing" is!

Thank you so much for sharing with us this morning Anne Marie. During this month of October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I can't think of a better person to interview....a better book to read. I wish you continued good health and awareness as your life on the BRIGHT SIDE continues to unfold before you.

Artfully Yours,
Pattie

For more information about Anne Marie’s book, Bright Side of the Road, please visit this page: www.annemariebennett.com To purchase the book, please visit this page: www.annemariebennett.com/how-to-purchase. For more information about SoulCollage® please visit www.KaleidoSoul.com...

Brightside of the Road Book Tour....

I will be interviewing Anne Marie Bennett, who wrote Bright Side of the Road...A Spiritual Journey Through Breast Cancer on Wednesday, October the 21st... Anne Marie, is a Breast Cancer Survivor and boldly and beautifully writes from her heart about her experience.

For more information about Anne Marie’s book, Bright Side of the Road, please visit this page: www.annemariebennett.com To purchase the book, please visit this page: www.annemariebennett.com/how-to-purchase. For more information about SoulCollage® please visit www.KaleidoSoul.com...

This is BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH ...

I look forward to sharing with you some of the insight to this book and how it can guide you or help you with a loved one living with cancer.
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

Quote...

"As you make a habit of not taking anything personally, you won't need to place your trust in what others do or say. You will only need to trust yourself to make responsible choices. You are never responsible for the actions of others; you are only responsible for you. When you truly understand this, and refuse to take things personally, you can hardly be hurt by the careless comments or actions of others."

~Don Miguel Ruiz

On the News Stand.....

Once again I am pleased to be among the artist that are gracing the pages of Altered Couture!
This issue has a new look....a new feel....and it is something terrific!! The photography is amazing and my altered coolie shoes are gracing 4 pages!! I am one happy...happy...artist!
The Stampington publications showcase so many talented people, so I am always amazed when I see my work gracing the pages....If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing a copy... do yourself a favor and stop by your Barnes and Noble...pull up a chair ...grab a cup of Joe and get lost in a sea of fashion altered by artists....and dream of what you can do with something you have right in your own closet! Also....go to their website....they even have an on line store for supplies.....
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

July 3, 2009

I will readily admit that I have NOT been doing my journal this past week.....Something came over me....something that caused me to step outside of myself...my inner-ness and connect more with others.....But I will say that I missed it....So today...I will once again let my true voice sing...bringing about messages to myself!! I am careful today to take small sips of reality...sometimes reality is not what it is cut out to be...sometimes you need to check reality at the door...sometimes you need a reality check...so I am finding that if I take reality in small doses it serves me better!! LOL.....I was hit by the quote from Buddha as one of the writing prompts and when I did it the sun was coming out after days of rain.....and I was doing my journal page...exposing myself once again to myself....As I write about my soul today....I am aware of the patchwork that makes it up....scar tissue...wounds healed...some fresh...but that the majority of it is made of HOPE and GRATITUDE! And that my friends....is a very good thing!!
Atfully Yours,
Pattie

PROUD!

I am extremely proud to have been selected to have a previously published article picked to be in this magazine. I am amongst some very fine artists! My heART t-shirts and the article that went with it is honored on two pages!
This is what the magazine has in store for those of you who purchase it next month:
HandCrafted is back with Volume 5 and is fresher than ever. The newest issue will showcase an array of Stampington & Company publications to bring you page after page filled with all your favorite crafting projects (along with instructions). Each article is hand selected by the editorial staff to bring you the best of mixed-media, wearable art, scrapbooking, and stamping projects. Highlights are included from Somerset Studio®, Belle Armoire®, Art Doll Quarterly™, The Stampers’ Sampler®, Somerset Memories™, as well as many of our special publications. Come revisit some of your old projects in hopes to revive that passion that has since been forgotten.
Click HERE to see my t-shirts....
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

June 15, 2009

I have been doing my pages every day...Some without color...perhaps I have only been seeing in black and white lately....but yesterday, I opened a little...the prompt about kites made me think of Mary Poppins....and then the song...LETS GO FLY A KITE...ran through my head for most of the day....and I thought about how I should continue to have my fist holding tight to the end of a kite!(not allowing the black and white to rob me of color and dreams)...How by seeing things that are right in front of me....I am more likely to see the color that surrounds me....So I toast to the day....to seeing different shapes....to taking a soul vitamin....in order to see the shapes...sizes and colors that surround me...and I venture....I step outside of the black and white that I have been in lately...
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

June 5, 2009

Today is a day of toasting myself with a big cup of LOVE...self love! How by dipping into the soul vitamin of my creativity daily I can see a better picture...or paint a pretty picture!! I have been working in the yard...getting ready to trim some bushes and I discovered not 1 but 3 birds nests in those bushes that line my yard....So the trimming will have to wait for another month while the families that live there hatch and nurture their new little ones....I eyed these beautiful nests...these found objects of art...bits of paper and string...old plastic...dirt and leaves...all lovingly gathered to make a warm nest to rest and raise a little one or two....I saw these nests with new eyes today....the beautiful work of a busy bird going about its day with a song...and I am reminded to be more like the bird and be a little more comfortable in my own nest...and use my wings a little more....and sing a song that will make the art more beautiful....
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

June 4, 2009

Here's to a cool refreshing drink when you get hot...hot under the collar...to hot for comfort...HOT...HOT...HOT... You know those days when everything just gets to you....So I remember to take my vitamin C today....COOL....CALM...COLLECTIVE! And remind my self how perfectly imperfect I am!....And how I can swing to the left...swing to the right....stand up...
sit down...FIGHT...FIGHT...FIGHT!!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

June 3, 2009

Now, I readily admit that I am not one who remembers my dreams as a rule of thumb...but after being outside all day yesterday I remember dreaming of beautiful gardens...where I could rest peacefully....So, I toast today with that thought....I take a soul vitamin and let the night time magic reappear with the smell and vision of that dream....and the lesson that I learned this morning....To do something every day to help your own growth and to nurture your soul....I myself have been in the paint since 5! LOL....NURTURING!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

June 2, 2009

Today, I got up early once again....I like getting up early in the morning when the weather is nice...birds are singing and the smell of the morning is uninterrupted and I am alone with my thoughts....So today...I toast to opening up the day with a cheery HELLO to myself....I recognize ME...and I remember that Soul Vitamins come in all shapes and sizes and colors...it could be digging in the earth that touches me...finishing a project...the smell of freshly brewed coffee...all I have to do is remember to be aware of them.....I wrote the prompt INNER SKY....and how I have been feeling as of late....and how I am beginning to move past and out of the rain...and back to myself...my art...my writing...the ME that I love....and I am reminded today....that ART HEALS!! and I need to be aware of that more often when my inner sky breaks loose and the rain comes....
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

June 1, 2009


The beginning of a new month....and changing my attitude...adjusting it...popping the cork and taking a long tall cleansing breath.....toasting to the fact that things could be worse...that things are worse for others and looking to the positive side of life.....I did my journal page EARLY....I am posting it LATE as the day got by me.....this morning I was up at 5:30...way to early for the amount of time I did not sleep and I was not very happy about it at first...but then as I settled into the studio with coffee in hand....quietly I listened to the sounds around me....and for a moment or two I was in the woods...smelling the dew...listening to the birds....and my attitude changed...
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

May 31, 2009

It has been several weeks since I last did a journal page....Life sometimes just has a way with getting in the way!! LOL.....and although doing the journal page probably would of allowed some insight into what I could be doing...should be doing...would be doing instead of being in the middle of twists and turns....I tried to work things out the best I could ... now realizing that perhaps if I had just journaled the path would of been shorter....So today, I got up early...the morning songs outside of the birds and sweetness of the day allowed me to change my attitude...along with paint and pens....allowed me to sip the sweetness as I carefully removed the spiked top of the soul vitamins of that sweetness....Sometimes, you just have to be aware of the goodness despite the chaos....sometimes you just have to allow the bubbles of joy to float and burst around you...sometimes it is just the singing of the birds...the freshness of the air....the opening of the paint that can change your attitude from failure to success....Leaning a lesson today as this month comes to a close...
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

Fast Forward...7%

I usually delete FW's that come to my mailbox....mostly because my good husband has so many bells and whistles on this machine that nothing opens up.....BUT....this one came through from 4 different people yesterday....I had to sit up and notice the subject matter 7%...but alas, I am still not one to FW to others....so I post it here....You can copy and send as you choose or just enjoy the words written by this 90 year old....wisdom comes whenever we choose to let it!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written."

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch
.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate,
resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret,
you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words
'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."



Its estimated 93% won't forward this. If you are one of the 7% who will, forward this with the title '7%'.

I'm in the 7%.

Remember that I will always share my spoon with you!

Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves.

For The Women in my Circle...


When I was little,
I used to believe in the concept of one best friend,
And then I started to become a woman.
And then I found out that if you allow your heart to open up,
God would show you the best in many friends.
One friend is needed when you're going through things with your man.
Another friend is needed when you're going through things with your mom.
Another will sit beside you in the bleachers as you delight in your children and their activities.
Another when you want to shop, share, heal, hurt, joke, or just be.
One friend will say, 'Let's cry together,'
Another , 'Let's fight together,'
Another , 'Let's walk away together.'
One friend will meet your spiritual need,
Another your shoe fetish,
Another your love for movies,
Another will be with you in your season of confusion,
Another will be your clarifier,
Another the wind beneath your wings.
But whatever their assignment in your life,
On whatever the occasion,
On whatever the day,
Or wherever you need them to meet you with their gym shoes on and hair pulled back,
Or to hold you back from making a complete fool of yourself ....
Those are your best friends.
It may all be wrapped up in one woman, But for many, it's wrapped up in several...
One from 7th grade,
One from high school,
Several from the college years,
A couple from old jobs,
On some days your mother,
On some days your neighbor,
On others, your sisters,
And on some days, your daughters.







Thanks for being in my circle.

Sunday Coffee Talk....


I got up early...really early...to be alone for a moment or two with a "POT" of coffee!! (it is one of those mornings where a cup just won't do!!) and I sat down to read A Hand Made Life Zine that came in the mail yesterday, that I have the great pleasure of having an article in.....This Zine is put out by the lovely Robin Olson Mayberry, whom I have been in several swaps with and was blessed when she asked me to write for her zine.....Amazing to me that there are so many wonderfully creatives out there and someone is drawn enough to me and my work that they would single me out to do something like this....It is the sweetest Zine....filled with wonderful articles by different artist....Jim Dubois...Amanda Jolley....Dawn Rice...and of course Robin Olson Mayberry...
A Handmade Life...Issue 4: Creative Community is affordable and filled with inspiration plus!! Give yourself a treat....to order the Zine visit Robin at her etsy site Alchemy studios ...when it arrives pour yourself a cup of....and ENJOY! I have this morning....and it has been wonderful! Thank you Robin...for all your hard work and loving heart!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

May 14, 2009

After taking time off to enjoy a VACATION....I fast forward to today....I readily admit, that I did not do my journal while away! Sometimes you just REALLY have to take time off for good behavior...but I am trying to get back into the swing of things today...I toast today to the REAL...real coffee...real paint...real pens...REALITY! And I sip the soul vitamin of safe travels down a U-TURN that I have been thrown...bursting the bubbles of FEAR from that turn one at a time....One of the prompts today talked about trash....but I did not do that one the way it was written, instead I was focused on how much trash people just left lying around at the vacation spot...thinking well, I suppose they hire someone to pick it up...but it was senseless trash...gum stuck under tables (I hate that especially if it is fresh gum that gets stuck to my clothes...when a napkin is readily available) and speaking of napkins...why let them fall on the ground and leave them there...pick the darn things up and throw them away....senseless trash...soda and beer cans left on the side of bushes...why? Lazy? Thoughtless?....I always have a small plastic bag in my purse for just such things if a trash can is not close....SIMPLE! OK...OFF my soap box!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

May 3, 2009

As usual I have been keeping up with my journal pages...HOWEVER...I have been watching my little love for several days and he keeps me SO BUSY!! PLUS....I am getting ready to take a trip to Disney World with the husband and the little love....Today, as I did my page I was drinking out of my favorite cup...A cup that was purchased at Starbucks one Christmas...with the words LOVE...LIVE...WISH written all over it....and so I toasted the day with that cup....Taking this vacation is going to be wonderful...but it has been a long time since I traveled with a 4 year old...So I will take a little sip of the NO FEAR each day!!...I have been alone in the studio for at least 1/2 of the day today.....and realize the difference between being alone and being lonely....and I find solitude in the silence...and what it brings to me....
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

PS: SEE YOU IN 10 DAYS!!

April 27, 2009

what beautiful weather we are having here in upstate...uncommonly good weather....and I am so in my element and finding it difficult to stay inside in the studio....but I did manage to get my mandala done this morning...and my journal page....So here is to the cherry at the bottom of the glass!! Today, I got to enjoy so much...so many dreams appeared before me...spending time with those I love enjoying the perfect weather....So I did the prompt about phones....I phoned in my dream of being surrounded by my family to ground me....And I continue to strive to listen to the whispers of other dreams that float before me...
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

Coffee Talk....

I use to make these cups...filled with little inspirational notes, but I can no longer find the cute little terra cotta plant holders that I altered.... I ran across this photo of them today...and the message it brought to me....dream BIG ...There are lots of things that I dream of....lots of things that I still have on my WISH list...I long to go to retreats....creative retreats and spiritual retreats....
I dream BIG...of attending Bliss Bootcamp!!! A retreat that is small enough to allow me to feel a comfort...large enough to bring me new joys...and affordable enough because it is all inclusive...
A retreat where I will be able to recharge my creative batteries...where a connection can be made not only with my muse, but with others....where the idea of creating 24 hours a day is alive with giggles and energy...where one bubble forms another...forms another...forms another with inspiration...kindred spirits...new friendships...laughter...sharing...nournishment for the creative soul...with talent...vision...and a deep sense of self...
This morning, while sipping my coffee...I dream BIG of a retreat....and this is the one I am dreaming of.....
BLISS BOOTCAMP
!!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

PS: Are you dreaming too? There are still some spaces left! Contact the head counselor and bring your tiara....I know we are in for a magnificent ride!

Enjoy the Ride...

Press the link below....and ENJOY the RIDE!

http://www.lshs64.com/enjoytheride.html

The author of this powerful video is unknown. However, a large majority of its content is from a newsletter authored by Jon Gordon, which can be accessed at

http://www.jongordon.com/newsletter-010708-20tipsforapositivenewyear.html

Artfully Yours,

Pattie

April 21, 2009

It has been awhile since I posted a journal page...although I have been doing them...some with color...some without....but my mind has been occupied with many other things...Today...I toast to staying in the moment.....of taking a soul vitamin to make me feel taller (instead of the small child I have been feeling like lately) The rain stopped this morning....it was warm with just a hint of a breeze so being outside was enjoyable....and I bore witness to all the new growth around me....reawakening my senses.....I did the prompt about BREAKHEART PASS.....A vision of my heart wrapped in barbwire appeared when I first read those words....and it caused me to look within and see that the barbwire is of my own making...not others!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

INTERVIEW with BRENDA (BLISS BOOTCAMP)


It's a beautiful morning....sun is shining and I am so happy to be interviewing Brenda today!
We have our tiaras on...sitting sipping tea and joyous to be in each others company. LIFE IS GOOD as they say on the t-shirts! Without further ado....I am happy to introduce you to Brenda, head counselor and founder of BLISS BOOTCAMP!

ME: What is the dream that you are bringing to realization in your life?

BRENDA: I have been dreaming for years of hosting art retreats where the artists are interacting the whole time with the students....where life long friendships are made and where, when an artist leaves, she/he says to themselves... "These few days changed my life!"

ME: How did you get yourself PAST the fear to put one foot in front of the other to do this?

BRENDA: I don't know if I am past the fear yet or not :) I am 50 years old and I could have waited, and waited and waited some more...and then it could have been too late, So I just put on my big girl panties and started planning! And support from Team Bliss didn't hurt!

ME: What do you hope these retreats will provide for the person who attends? And what can they expect to learn at them?

BRENDA: I want artists to be able to get away from it all and just enjoy the moment and create. When artists gather, they blossom! It gets creative juices flowing and an energy like no other spills out. We will all learn new wonderful techniques and uncover unknown talent. And we will all learn to Love ourselves just a little bit more!

ME: Why do you think attending a retreat is important for everyone who is on a quest to reach their potential important?

BRENDA: Retreats are a special place where one doesn't have to deal with everyday garbage. Where you are surrounded by your tribe. Wisdom is all around. Amazing things happen when a group of artists join together. It's like a bowl of popcorn...a bunch of little kernels, all in their own little hard shelled world, until you put them all together, add a bit of heat and POOF-- they open and expand and change shape and have so much more to offer the world!

ME: Besides retreats I know you make wonderful healing jewelry and talisman....are you going to be sharing with others your talent also?

BRENDA: Thank you Pattie! Maybe after I get a few Bliss Bootcamps under my belt---we shall see...I would love to teach someday.

Special Bonus Question of the Day...

ME: What is the one thing that just lights up your inspiration and creativity to help you move forward toward your dream?

BRENDA: There are many wonderful retreats out there that I have attended and memories from them all help drive me onward. Many artists are out there just waiting to be given the chance to teach and I want to be able to offer them that opportunity. I also have started the Bliss Bucket--a place where people can donate money-and the Bliss Bootcamp will match those dollars and offer scholarships to artists who otherwise wouldn't be able to attend a retreat.

Thanks for sharing yourself Brenda....I hope that it gives others the inspiration to follow their dreams...to step out on that branch and leap...to fly! I am wishing you much success on this new adventure....and want to let everyone who wants to have an experience that will change their life to sign up for the bliss bootcamp experience....your southern warmth and love...not to mention the tiara makes ME extremely happy and I am SO looking forward to this retreat!
Can we go and play in the studio now???!!!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

PS: Click ANY of the words: bliss bootcamp and they will take you directly to the camps home page...where you will learn MORE about this exciting weekend!

FOLLOW YOUR BLISS!!!

I want to take this moment to let you know that I will be interviewing the fabulous, Brenda Bliss,
on Sunday, April the 19th!! I met Brenda in 2005 when I attended a retreat that she also attended! Brenda began having a dream after that retreat for herself.....for others...about connecting....about art.....And she is taking a BIG STEP to manifest that dream into reality....
Check it out!!!! BLISS BOOT CAMP!! I can't think of anyone I would rather have a PJ party with!
Can't wait to interview her!!!!! Make sure you come back on Sunday....and GRAB one of the seats at the retreat before they are all gone!!! I certainly am!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie
PS: I had the honor of designing this logo for Miss Brenda Bliss....to add to the dream...

April 13, 2009

I toast the day to my Anniversary of 24 years!!! And I eat a piece of cake (white cake and white frosting!) to remind me that life is much sweeter if you have a piece of cake every day!! LOL...
I used the prompt from Eudora Welty..."never think you've seen the last of anything"....
And I just know that I wore the crown today...because I laughed from the moment I woke up and I am still smiling....
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

The Nature of Glass....

I was recently in Tempe, Arizona...and had the great
pleasure of spending the day outside at the
Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens...
and much to my delight and surprise there
was an exhibit amongst the cactus of the
glass art by Dale Chihuly...It was stunning!
If you ever have the pleasure to see his work,
take it....
It is truly breath taking...
ENJOY!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

You can learn a little bit MORE about it
by pressing this link!



April 11, 2009


Today, I toast all the shapes that it took on...a baby shower...watching the little love...(which was a total surprise) the laughter...the stories being told...the connections....And during the day I took a sip of kindness for myself...and I did pass it along to others with good cheer and hugs....and of course the word pool prompt that I love so much.....Amazing the messages that come thru while doing one of them....Have you tried one yet? You just might like it....
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

April 10, 2009


It has been a FABULOUS Good Friday....I stayed out of hot water!! I grinned a lot...laughed a lot...smiled a lot....Followed the prompts today and did the Awe-awakened moments....and the juju....A GOOD DAY!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

April 9, 2009

I have done my journal page for the past 2 days...but I have not had time to paint them....So this is what today's looks like BEFORE I put the paint on it!! I have been DEEP in the creative mode...working on a toy box for a baby shower gift ....And tonight I can say....TOMORROW is the last day...It will be waxed and completed just in time for the shower on Saturday!! ....I have been listening to my creativity in the garden of my soul....
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

April 7, 2009

So today, although the housework was calling me...I am deep into the paint...working on a toy box for a baby that is yet to be welcomed into the world....And as I let go of some of the "mundane" that needs to be done, I am also aware that some of my OWN cobwebs need to be cleaned out...Sometimes you have to clean the mental mind in order to get on with things...So as I paint....that is the type of cleaning that is being done...
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

April 6, 2009

Toasting the day....Filling the day with good news....The parents (my daughter) of our 4 year old love gave us PERMISSION to take the little one to Disney World....SO EXCITING! So we will start to make all the travel plans to go in the beginning of May.....This balances some of the other things that are going on in my life....so I take a Soul Vitamin to maintain a HAPPY MEDIUM! Not to high...not to low!! LOL....I did the prompt of the Title wave again today....I like to use all the titles in one little burst of thought....And I have been taking running leaps to jump over the rope a lot lately....So I honor that and I am happy to be playing!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

April 5, 2009

Up and creating early today! Sometimes you just have to weigh it out....and this morning was one of them....putting the most important things at the top of the list and eliminating some of the things that just don't belong there today....Today, is one of those days where I thought I had time for a deadline....and now realize the deadline is almost here and I haven't even started the project!! Got to love the clutter of a creative mind.....But NO WORRIES!! This is when I actually do some of my best work....not putting so much thought into "perfect" but rather going straight to the task! No inner critic....no time to be bothered with it!! One of the prompts was to make a spice rack....So I spice up my life today with a dash of this and a pinch of that!...I kiss the day with creativity and I pucker up to show myself the passion of it....Sun is out....and I am having fun...fun...fun!! So the day that was suppose to be filled with a little mundane....JUST GOT WAY BETTER ....well...as least as far as I am concerned!!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

April 4, 2009

Today I toast the day by layering color on this cold and rainy/snowy day! Painting with vibrant colors always makes the outside feel better!! So that is my Soul Vitamin also....Just add an additional drop or two of color to brighten even the grayest of days!....From the prompt by Maya Anelou (one of my favs!) I made a short list of things I believe....And then I just couldn't resist writing about the revolving door...causing me to remember when you get stuck in a continuous circle sometimes you just have to turn and go the other way.....
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

April 3, 2009

So I seem to be a day late!! LOL...Not that I did not have my journal page done yesterday...because I did! But I was enjoying my day so much with my littlest love ...my grandson! We actually drove the 20 miles to go to his FAVORITE toy store...the world's greatest as he says!! He has been going there since he was 2 with us...they have a whole train yard set up and it is amazing!! So I toasted the day...with homemade waffles and drank in the joy of it! My heart imagines so many possibilities...that it over flows...and I am feeling COOL...CALM...and COLLECTIVE!....And ever so CREATIVE!! All is good in upstate!!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

April 2, 2009

After being off line for a little R and R...it is taking me a bit to get back into the swing of things!
But it was a well deserved rest....leaving behind many of the things that I normally do. Sometimes you just have to regroup...reconnect...and get some new energy. It was a beautiful day in upstate ...and I played outside for the better part of the afternoon....allowing me to be aware of how my R and R has reconnected me...allowing the sun to warm my spirit...It was a beautiful day!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

March 24, 2009

I have been having trouble with my scanner again! Temperamental machine!! LOL ...So, this is yesterdays journal page TODAY!! I took the prompt that wanted you to use titles to movies by Curtis Lee Hanson and made running thoughts..that are about ME!....I toasted the day and took soul vitamins about my dreams....I have been doing that a lot lately...visiting my heart dreams!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

March 23, 2009

I have been lost today in happiness....my journal page sat on my work desk, underneath so many projects it would make your head spin!! LOL....
Anyhow....I toast to sipping a dream to the very last drop....I am aware from the prompt about writing about the weather as it pertains to your life that I was in a storm but the sun is coming out!! And that I am finding and mending my heart that was lost in the forest of that storm...
Aware NOW of smooth sailing!!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

March 21, 2009

YES...it is my Mother's Birthday today....and she is 83 ...just like my father would of been! It was my Dad's claim to fame that for 1 whole day he was OLDER than she was!! LOL....So I pour a big glass of milk (my mother always told us to drink our milk!) in honor of her birthday and toast to Fabulous Mothers'....Now, as a grown adult I can honestly say there were times that i did not understand my mother....perhaps even ignored my mother....but as a grown adult I know that I have always respected my mother! Once I became a mother I certainly understood her better!! LOL....So if my father gave me my quick wit....then my mother most certainly gave me my quick temper!! (which I am learning to control much better with age!!)
So HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM.....May we all be able to enjoy many more with you!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

March 20, 2009


HAPPY 1st DAY OF SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't even begin to tell anyone what this means to me...DEFROSTING!!! Coming out of hibernation....Stretching....planting roots...getting stronger after a long winter...READY to bloom!! So, today I toast to NEW GROWTH...to understanding that this is just my time of year....that winter is there for me to rest a bit...recover from the other 3 seasons!! And I will sip every drop of SUNSHINE from this point forward!! I decided to write from the prompt of subliminal messages....WHY? Because I needed to get it out and remind myself TO ACT on my OWN VISIONS!!!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

March 19, 2009

Today would of been my Father's 83rd birthday...he passed away when he was 61 years old...some 22 years ago..It seems so long ago when I think of it that way...and yet emotionally it could of been yesterday! I miss my father very much....his laughter...his ways....his cooking...the bigness of him....he was a giant of a man to me....So today...I honor him...today I miss him more than ever....One of the prompts was to revisit a part of our past....I did that for this whole page...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!! (yes ... a grown woman who still refers to her Father that way...always have....always will)
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

March 18, 2009

Today I am dreaming BIG...making lists...following paths...figuring out this...and that...working on this and that....doing anything my little heart desires...WHY? Because I took a Soul Vitamin today to Jump Start myself...To Spring myself forward...to write with permanent black ink on a white sheet of paper....WHAT FUN!!!! Growing...forward toward my wildest dreams!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

March 17, 2009

Happy St.Patrick's Day....I don't believe I am of Irish descent...but then again I have heard that EVERYONE is Irish on St. Patrick's Day!! LOL....So as I did my journal page today it was natural to have a few "lucky" clovers....and I will take 2 soul vitamins for a little bit of good luck!! I choose to do a prompt of a limerick ....(I use to be fairly good at them when playing drinking games in my youth!!...) And some days you just come full circle....And this is what mine says..."there are days when everything i do looks like everything i have already done and yet there are other days when it comes full circle and i am over joyed"...Today...is such a day!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

March 16, 2009

Today is LIPS APPRECIATION DAY!!! LOL.....Today, I send out kisses from my heart....Sometimes I am very aware that a kiss is the most verbal thing that I can say....Done in many different ways it means so many different things......Today...I GET TO.....finish one project and start another!!! And all of it is SWAK!!!! To me from me!....
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

March 13, 2009

I have had a rough week in some ways....I haven't been feeling all that well...and today, I slept alot...Must have something to do with National Nap Day yesterday!! LOL....So as I read the prompts my journal page allowed me to be aware that it is all what I make it....now, I suppose I could get on myself for not being productive....but what for!! Instead I take a soul vitamin to take a moment...take a minute...take an hour... take a day to recharge!! And feel warm from the inside out!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

March 12, 2009

Some days you just have to have a good shot of FIRE to light yourself up....to allow yourself to explode!!! Today, was one of those days, when I just did a little fire swallowing!! LOL....A seed of inspiration when taken daily will help you to grow, but creatively and from within....I took the prompt..."roman candles exploding like spiders across the sky" to do a little doodle....There were several prompts about naps...because it is National Nap Day!! ....I was all over that prompt somewhere around 4:00 this afternoon....giving myself the hour...to be refreshed and ready to go!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

March 11, 2009

Today, is the day I finally met my own deadlines...you know the ones you put off and off and off...And I finally finished everything that I had on my TO DO list and sent them out in the mail...Now, if I ever clean off my desk I will find the rest of the list!! LOL....So I take a Soul Vitamin today and let my heart shine and sparkle for doing that! And I toast the day to my creative life....One of the prompts was abut windows...and I honor the ones that I opened wide today! And the Juju of how I DO take the time to explore what I have to say to ME every day through my art...my words...my affirmations...my JOY!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

March 10, 2009

Flip side....Today, I did my journal page early!! SO I FLIPPED!! as I was reminded to give myself a fresh bowl of water....Give myself a bone and bark joyfully....Some days you just have to honor yourself with what YOU want TO DO!! And this morning has just been one of those days, here it is almost noon and I am still in my pj's happily creating here in the studio since 8 this morning!!! My kitties surround me....always were I am they are there to sit on my lap...walk in my paint...get fur over everything and drink from my brush water even though I leave a fresh bowl of water out for them....guess they want to be just like ME! LOL....sometimes in dirty water...sometimes in fresh! I am very aware of my animal totems....the guides I have....the fish that allows me to swim....The cat that allows me to love unconditionally....the bunny that allows me to hop from one thing to the next....and the bird...the sweet bird that allows me to fly!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

march 9, 2009

I did my journal page late tonight....My little one was here for a visit...and anytime I can spend with him is a GOOD TIME! But I am very aware today...that GOOD ENOUGH....is GOOD ENOUGH! As long as I put my ALL into it! So today, I am remembering that all it takes is a cup of kindness for myself...and a SOUL vitamin .....And today, I did get to paint and write and draw and create....I remembered that the other night when I was out I had missed the exit to my house...how does one do that except when one is lost in thought.....and then I remembered that instead of beating myself up about that...and about other exits I miss....I must remember to look around me...listen closely and see much better the second time around!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie