Here are your artsy blogging links for this week.\

Beading Arts
We’re celebrating everything to do with wire this month! Come and visit with some fabulous wire artists and try your hand at working with wire yourself!

Eileen – The Artful Crafter
Do you know how to repair cracked ceramics? Eileen shares two methods.

Welcome to the artsy blogging links for this Saturday. May they inspire you to make great things! Also, hope everyone has a wonderful Mother’s Day tomorrow.

Beading Arts
Here’s a great way to stretch out your more expensive beads to get greater impact!

Eileen – The Artful Crafter
Eileen has been at sea with creativity while making mementos of the trip of a lifetime.

Welcome to the Cinco de Mayo version of Artsy Blogging Links! What are you working on this week?

Beading Arts
Beadng Arts celebrates “Wire Month” all throughout May! Grab your pliers and come join us!

Eileen – The Artful Crafter
The Artful Crafter shares free clip art sources to publicize neighborhood fun.

Mo(o)re Whimsies
An unusual paperweight made using Amazing Mold Putty and Resin

Did you ever develop a catchphrase that you don’t know where it came from? “Boom. Done.” happens to be mine. It comes about when I have to belabor over a decision either by myself or with someone else. Like me and my hubby or me and a coworker (or, my hubby and I and my coworker and I – little grammatical fix there) belabor over a decision. It doesn’t matter whether they make the final choice or I do, when we’re done talking about it I say, “Boom. Done.”

I noticed that it’s not just during my own decisions that I say this. A friend of mine emailed me about a choice she had to make. We went back and forth with info, and finally I said, “I’d do this. Boom. Done.”

She’s actually the one that pointed out the fact that I said “Boom. Done.” often lately. Where did I pick this up from? I have no idea. Usually I can pinpoint it. I get a lot of catchphrases from my hubby. I have finally gotten over my “dude” catchphrase, which I picked up from him. I even said to my mom one day, “Dude, you gotta try this.” She laughed at me. “Dude?”

**Embarrassed**

Boom. Done. makes me feel like I’m brushing off my hands with a “decision well made” attitude for some reason. Like, we had this choice on our backs and now it’s off. Ahhh. Let’s go have a cup of tea and celebrate.

Boom. Done.

Do you have a catchphrase? Where did you pick it up?

How have you been enjoying the artsy blogging links so far? Aren’t those ladies amazing? I get so inspired by their talent.

What have you been working on? I know I’ve got a lot of creative people that stop by the blog once in a while. I appreciate every one of you. One of the greatest things about the Internet has been the ability to see just how much creative talent exists in the world. I love browsing through sites and seeing what you all make and come up with.

Here are a couple artsy blogging links to start off your week.

Beading Arts
“Spring Fever” month on Beading Arts is still in full swing as some readers share stories of pieces inspired by their own travels!

Eileen – The Artful Crafter
How to create cute clay pot garden bells for your yard.

Aren’t you glad artsy blogging links are back? Me too. Here they are for this week.

Beading Arts
The fabulous Leslie Rogalski shares her thoughts about her creative process with us! You don’t want to miss this!

Eileen – The Artful Crafter
How to create a cheery no-sew spring scene wall hanging.

Mo(o)re Whimsies
Sakura Crystal Lacquer and Terri Sproul Mixers on a gourd.

New Product Reviews and Making a mess – Laura Thykeson
Playing with her art supplies, or getting new ones to test.

Remember how I used to include the artsy blogger links here? And then I moved them to the Working Writers blog because I wanted to demonstrate to the readership there that you could really so much more with blogging. It wasn’t just about words, but making your blogs visual as well. Well, now they are back here. I think they fit better with the readership here. (Another lesson in blogging – listen to your readers.)

So here’s the first (again) installment of the artsy bloggers! I love these talented ladies!

Beading Arts
“Spring Fever” month on Beading Arts is off to a great start with some wonderful pieces shared by readers who were inspired by their own travels!

Eileen – The Artful Crafter
Don’t throw those Easter egg shells away. Here’s how to make an egg shell mosaic box using them.

Mo(o)re Whimsies
An Easter Rabbit made with Creative Paperclay®

Taz’s Corner
Radiant Rains and Existencils!

I just picked up some 10 x 10 canvasses at Michael’s this week, and couldn’t wait to break into them. I started by covering the canvas with some different papers, book pages, and music sheets. Then I added some stamps and the beginnings of the face.

I liked where that “faith” stamp ended up, and I wanted it to be on her dress, but more subtlety than it was here. So I dabbed it with paper towel and water, and then painted the dress over it.

She started out blonde, but then I started to hate her coloring. So I added some darker color, but kept her eyes and skin really light. She instantly appeared to me like one of those chicks who wears just a little too much lipstick, a too-tight sweater, and glasses that look ridiculous but she loves them anyway. (I guess you can never stop being a writer, even when you’re crafting.)

So I started on her glasses, and I liked them because they looked like a superhero mask on her. Can you just see her flying in to help out a person in need?

I gave the picture to my writing partner Genevieve, and she gave it some serious consideration….

…. and then decided that it passed her muster.

The mixed media picture I’ll show you today is a perfect example of if you don’t like it the first time, keep layering. I’ll show you what I mean.

I started with a few papers over canvas. I’m using some of the house patterns from the books I bought at the library sale, some scrapbook paper, music sheets, and pages from other books.

Then I added paint layers, this time with some green and purple. And almost instantly, I hated it. I hated the way it was coming out and how it looked.

What’s a girl to do? I asked my writing partner Genevieve and she said, “Layer over it.”

Good idea, Genevieve. So I kept the parts I liked and layered over what I didn’t.

Then I added more paint. I hated the green so I plopped a bunch of yellow on over that and pink on over that. I kept going until I had a base I liked.

Then, I drew my girl. (No glasses this time. Perhaps she has contacts in.)

I had just finished a poem called “Beautifully Unique” so I added those words to the picture also.

And of course, I didn’t like it. LOL So I had some music paper I had painted pink, and I ripped off a piece of that and glued it over the place I didn’t like. Then I re-wrote “beautifully unique” in white and then gold embossing liquid. I added gold to her dress to tie it in. Unfortunately, it was still drying when I snapped this so it is kind of hard to see. But suffice to say, now I’m done (and happy) with the picture.

One thing I’m learning with mixed media (which, in case you’re wondering I am really super addicted to – almost as much as gluing glass together) is that it is very forgiving. Some pictures I don’t feel like layering as much with paper, and do more with paint. With others, I pile a lot of both on. It really depends, and in instances like this (where you create something you don’t like) it’s so easy to just cover over it and start again.

One thing the people in my life absolutely love (and sometimes, beg for) are blueberry muffins. I wish I could take credit for this, but I can’t. The reason for it is that I have a really great recipe. That’s all. (That’s the secret to being a fabulous cook, for those of you kitchen novices. Just get a few really great recipes you can turn to.)

My blueberry muffin recipe comes from Martha Stewart (who else!) and the reason it’s so good is not only are the muffins moist and yummy but they are also impressive. You make them in a larger muffin tin (so they look like those expensive ones you get from the coffee shop) and you sprinkle sugar on top of them before you bake them. One time my cousin even though I did buy them at the coffee shop! She couldn’t believe I made them.

What makes this recipe even more fabulous is that it’s super easy. First, gather your ingredients.

Then, mix the dry ingredients.

Add them to the wet ingredients.

When everything is incorporated, hand mix in the blueberries. (If you do it with the mixer, the blueberries will be crushed and your muffins will be blue. You don’t want blue muffins, do you?) BTW, I use frozen blueberries, and I don’t even thaw them for the muffins. They cook long and slow in this recipe and come out perfectly that way.

Sprinkle sugar on top of the muffin mix before you bake them.

Look how pretty they come out!

And viola! Serve them or give them away.