Merry Christmas

Grand Mosque of Kuwait

I went on an amazing tour today.
A friend of mine arranged a private tour of the Grand Mosque here in Kuwait.

I won't write much.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. There will be more pictures over on my flickr account if you want to take a peek.

Decorate Much?

No, not really! In the 11 years I've been married I have not ever really decorated the houses we've lived in. I've always liked clothes & crafts, but I never got the house gussied up. Man, I've had house envy of all my friends & family. I just wasn't ready to do it. I was too busy working. I was too busy working & pregnant. I was too busy with postpartum depression. We only lived there for 8 months, twice ... Yea, I could go on, but the time is right this time.

For Christmas, I've put out various handmade decor I've received from a past swaps & some of my own goodies. Look at this awesome garland I received from a recent swap! Thank you Jackie & Target - oh how I miss Target. This little swag is staying up year round.

I got inspired by2 friends, hi Jo & Jackie! Jackie is always decorating & has a great sense of style. She's helping someone else prep for a Christmas party. There will be pictures to follow!

I went to Jo's house & stole this lovely idea from her. Mine is on a much smaller scale but yea, I did it!

Our Christmas tree is even themed this year. It's hard to replicate my mom's Christmas decor when she's known as Filipino Martha Stewart. So this year is the first year to just put up my decorations & enjoy. I can list & plan all my ideas of grandeur for next year & start all my projects in February!

Is It Really December?

We've been jam packed with activities here in Kuwait this fall season. The weather's kinda crazy. We dropped out of the 100's into the 90's then next thing you know, we have highs in the 60's. Of course, we're acclimated to the hot weather, so it's cold here now. I'm wearing sweaters & layering!

We took a day trip out to the desert.

On our way to find some camels.

Took a cool Self Portrait.

Watched an amazing Sunset.

We also took a trip out to the beach this past weekend. This is what the beach looks like in Kuwait in December.

Peddling my wares in my first craft show here. Most of my props are in storage so my table didn't look as full as I wanted it to. Of course, I had grand ideas to have TONS more stuff to sell. I'm getting ready for next Christmas now :)

There are more pics over on my flickr account.

Thankful - Year 3

This seems to be a tradition on my blog so I'll keep it going. (Here & Here)

Thank you Melissa

This time last year I was pretty bummed & anxious. This year I am full of thanks for the abundance & joy this move has given me.

I am thankful to be on this journey in our new home. I am thankful to be able to share it with my family. I've learned to take the good with the frustrating & chalk it up as an experience.

I am thankful for the new friends I was able to spend this holiday with. Nothing like full house & lots of food on Thanksgiving day.

Thankful for my blog friends - new & old. You bring joy & inspiration into my world everyday. Sometimes you bring me views of home that I miss - Thank you

My hope is that everyone is as full of joy as I am on this day!

Handmade Holidays

How are you coming along with your Handmade Holidays pledge? Me, I'm plugging along. I'm making things for family & for my upcoming Christmas Bazaar.

I went on a bit of an earring rampage :)

Do you want to make some quick holiday gifts? Mary has made individual tutorials from the Artists Class available. You can buy a couple or still join in on the entire class (the blog is open until February - so don't sweat a time crunch). Take a look at all the tutorials here.

A Little of This & A Little of That

I'm headed into that time of year when I'm juggling a million things. I keep reminding myself what's important. I'm a mom & wife first - party planner, business person, creative crazy woman all follow. I've always struggled with balance.

Just one earring for now. I got tired wire wrapping!

I keep wanting to put stuff in my store, but I have some important visitors coming for Thanksgiving that I've been preparing for. I don't have time to create, so I find pockets here & there & end up with lots of things started & not a lot done. It's all a balancing act.
Here are some peeks of the artwork I've been working on. I've got more pics on flickr.

Oh yea, a little holiday bazaar coming up & I don't have enough inventory & will they even like my stuff & ... I've decided to just enjoy it. I had no idea coming to Kuwait I would have the opportunity to show my wares. There are quite a few holiday bazaars to look into for next year. Seriously, I'm starting to plan for next Christmas in February :)

In ♥ Love♥ With My Dress & My Date

Hee hee, it's like I'm going to the prom! I've been running around trying to figure out what to wear to the ball. I found this pink pleated dress about a week ago & made my hubby take me back today to get it. I couldn't stop thinking of it. I had another dress, but it needs alterations. I attempted to go to a tailor yesterday but there was a *bit* of a communication issue. So here I am with my pink princess dress, which still needs altering. It's too long, of course, but there's no hem, just a raw edge. I'm petrified of cutting it, but I've started so no turning back. I'll post pictures after the event. I better go. Alterations to be completed & jewelry to be designed & created!

Wow, 2 posts in 1 day!

A Few New Images From My World

Downtown Kuwait

Boats at the Fish Souk

View from Sharq Mall

View From Sharq Mall - This was our lunch view!

I know this is a short post, but I'll have another one later this week. I've been super busy!

Holiday WIP's

Where is the time going? Is it really November? I'm enjoying looking at all the Fall snapshots around blogland :) With the cooler weather we've had a few rain drops & lots of humidity here. Not my idea of Fall!

Here's a collage of a few jewelry pieces I'm working on. I'm going a million miles an hour with my crafty things these days. I've had lots of creative juju & I just love to run it when I've got it. I'm hoping to have all these pretties completed, photographed & posted to the store here & here next week. I might find some time to do the piles of laundry & unpacking/sorting :) Maybe...

I also found out that our community is going to have a holiday show. Yea for me! I've missed doing craft shows & am so excited to do this one. Besides the jewelry, I'm making photo books/journals & canvases. It never stops! The photo above are some canvases I've started. Seems like lots of stuff started & nothing finished yet.
What are you doing to get ready for the holidays? This is my favorite time of the year!! I'd like to do the Handmade Pledge again, so I obviously need to get started with that. And with a show coming up, one can never have too much merchandise.

Keeping Busy

New in the Shop

Where has this month gone? It's been a bit crazy in the house with 2 sick kids. I've been going stir crazy at home. What's a girl to do?

I'm enjoy playing with Photoshop again! There have been some issues with the cart over on my Lollishop, so I've started moving listings into my Etsy shop. Once everything is moved you'll be able to shop from either store. I'm having a slow go of it, so take a look at my flickr photos & lollishop. I can add something to etsy if you'd like to purchase. I decided to update my etsy shop, so I made my own banner & avatar. You'll recognize the avatar - I don't think I'll ever get rid of that cutie!!

That's the new blog header up there, too! What's up with me & all this aqua?

Artist Class is also in full swing! My Stamped Key Tutorial was the project for today. It's not too late to join us - we've just started. The blog will be open until February so you can work at your own pace. Take a peek here for more info - I have a discount code there!

New Vintage Pretties to Play With

Look at this pretty set of Blue Vintage goodness I just got in the mail. I've already made something because I couldn't wait! I took the round faceted turquoise earring & turned it into a ring.

If you're interested in learning, join me & 10 other artists for Artist Class. My blog readers get $10 off registration with the code kateveeme. Take a look at the post below for all the info. Mary has been working hard getting ready. It's a stellar line up of artists & projects!

Join Me For Artists Class

I 'm so darn excited about this announcement. I'm going to be one of the teachers for Mary Green's Artist Class. She had an idea to have classes with different types of media. Surprise, I'm doing jewelry. I love Mary's idea! There will be 12 Projects with postings every day. This means lots of mini projects, tips, & downloads. The classes will be on a password protected blog. You have access to the blog from now until Oct 24. Go take a peek!

EDITED: The blog has now been password protected. Go here for info.

According to Mary "Artist Class is an online project classroom with a variety of projects and a variety of artists. It will take place over 4 weeks, on a member-only blog. Daily posts include instructions for one dozen individual projects plus additional, bonus downloads, tips, and techniques." Doesn't that sound like fun? Why don't you join us! I'll be sharing 2 different project

Register HERE with the code kateveeme & receive$10 off the class!

Project 1: Have you ever wanted to use some junk jewelry or transform a special family piece? I'll teach you how to make a fabulous blingy ring – just in time for the holidays for parties or to make as gifts.

Project 2: Turn these

into… Stamped Pendants

Blank Key Kits are now available in here!

Some of my favorite blog friends are participating artists:

Beth Leintz

Karen Watson

Karla Nathan

Tia Storm

Special thanks to Tia for encouraging me to submit some of my work for consideration as a project!

Headed to the Friday Market ~ Again!

We're going out to do some shopping today. Yippie! Here's a photo of some of the trinkets I purchased last weekend. I started playing with them & have a pendant constructed. I hope to have more creative time & play a bit more. I'll post again after the shopping trip :)

Friday Market on Saturday

Furniture for diwaniyas.

Oooh the markets here are such a treat! I went to the Friday market, which is open Thursday - Saturday. Unfortunately, I didn't find any camels. I am still on the hunt to take a picture. There was so much to look at. I need a map of this place. Thank goodness I was with a friend that doesn't have my sense of direction.

There were lots of funky rugs - contemporary, traditional, traditional with a contemporary spin. I saw a traditional patterned rug with a pink background. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of it, but it's on my list for next time.

Lots of brass & silver tableware & decorative accessories. I'm loading up before we leave.

There were a couple of chandelier vendors there. I love the pretty colored ones. More pics are on my Flickr site. The market pictures are in this folder.

Colorful bolsters for sitting area furniture for the diwaniyas.

Besides what I've posted pictures of, there is also fabric, clothing, curtains, & junk. I found a few little treasures for jewelry making - I'll post a picture of those later.

Photoshop Fun & More New Goodies

I've been sitting in bed or on the couch most of the day playing on the computer. I have some stomach bug/virus thingy. I'm really hoping it's not the flu!

This picture is of the 3 new things I listed on my lollishop yesterday! I've been on a good pace adding a few items to the store every few days. I'm really gearing up for the holidays. I wanted to do a post of the new items & now that I'm Addicted to Photoshop, I can't just plop a picture on there. What did I do before PSE :)

This is a picture of what I was planning on posting today before I went downhill. I'm excited as I haven't done rings in awhile & the crown pendant has been done waiting for a matching necklace. Hopefully I'll get those items up before the end of the week. I have the photos done, I just wasn't in the mood to write copy with body aches & a temp!
It's the end of Ramadan here, Eid Holiday, so I've had both of the boys home with me all week & we've been going out to keep them busy. It's been a bit of an off week at home. Hopefully some normalcy next week.

Thank You Katie

I've had the opportunity to take some great on-line classes this past summer. One of them is the Year of Color Blog by Kari Ramstrom. There are lots of tutorials for crafts, journaling, photography & home decor. Look at the goodies I won! They are adorable as a set & I plan to keep them together. Katie Runnels is the amazing artist that did the tutorial. She was sweet enough to give away her samples & she sent them all the way over here to me. Thank you for helping me make my house a home :)

Look What I Did!

I didn't want to go to bed last night, cause I was having a grand old time playing on Photoshop. I used some pre-made backgrounds I bought & silhouettes from Dover Clip art. (I'd love to post a link to the artist that made the backgrounds, but I can't find a live link for her! Don't you hate it when someone disappears.) I can't get over the cuteness. I even figured out how to dump some grey "paint" into the middle box. I think I'm going to print these up on some sticker paper & use them as embellishments on notebooks. These would look super cute on a canvas too. I have some 4x4 canvases on the way! Think of the possibilites - journaling, collages, pendants...

Just wanted to share!