Thankful for Family


Christmas 2010 is over, its the day after Christmas and since we got snowed in (freak snow and basically the whole city shut down), I stayed at my parents house and just chilled. Looking back on the year 2010, so much has happened. A year ago, my husband and I were in Colorado, and we would have never imagined we would be home with family and friends. I dont even think Jermie and I even celebrated the holidays last year, all we remember is riding the bus in the snow in Colorado. lol   But it just goes to show, that with hard work and patience and prayers...you have the power to change your life.

With what I have been through the past 10 years, from serving 4 years in the army, 2 deployments, having children and moving like a billion times, a divorce, getting married again, and so much more i do not even like to talk about, it is such a relief that all my sweat and tears and everything I worked for and all that I have struggled through finally paid off. All I wanted last year was to come home to Virginia. I have been home for about 6 months and everything is falling into place.

Christmas was awesome, it almost didnt feel like it was christmas. My husband and I were in shock, but we pulled it through. Shopping and wrapping presents for everyone was so much fun and I enjoyed watching all my cousins and my children run around the house, all my aunts and my mom and friends of the family all piled in the kitchen, cooking, wrapping and eating lumpias.....I loved it.

Christmas morning was amazing, although I was sick (which I am feeling so much better), and I got alot of great presents from everyone. I am just grateful that I was able to be with my family. I know I say that all the time, but I am so humbled I cant help but to write about it. Well, that is all I am gonna say for now, just wanted to write and wish everyone a happy christmas!


Do what you love and the money will follow.

"I feel like a parent"

I spent the day with my kiddos and it was so much fun. (for those who dont know, I share the kids with their father..so the whole joint custody thing). Even though I was feeling gross with a cold, I didnt wanna lounge in bed all day, so after drinking some coffee to wake me up, Arabella wanted to paint her nails like mine. lol I had painted my nails red and put white stripes like candy canes (stole idea from julieg713 on youtube!).  My daughter has thick, gorgeous black hair and its usually just a big mess of hair, and since I will be going to cosmetolgy school next month, I decided to practice on my daughter's hair. So here is what I did..(and copied idea from another blog...hahahaha)


It looks sloppy here, but this hairdo stayed all day. three braids in the front and then wrapped into a circle held down with bobby pins. She loved it. When I was painting her nails, she asked if she could have a sip of my coffee....and I hesitated at first telling her, "This is a grown up drink", but she insisted, so I let her have a tiny sip....after she takes a drink, she looks at me and says, " That tastes good", but I told her she couldnt have anymore. Well, the lil sneaky girl that she can be stole a few large sips when I went upstairs to get hairspray and then she even let her brother...Matthias drink some too....The next hour after that they were sooooo hyper...can I say "Sugar Buzz" lol.


After she drank the coffee..she told me......" I feel like a parent!", I asked her why and she said because parents drink coffee. It was the most adorable thing ever. lol It is true what they say that kids say the darndest things! I think I am gonna scrapbook what they say and keep it, so when they are older I can show them how stinkin cute they are. lol


and speaking of the darndest things kids say, last week, Matthias told me with a very serious face, he said "Mommy, I want a tattoo".  I said, "do you want a real one or a fake one" he said "a real one!' I told him that real ones hurt with needles, plus he would have to be 18 years old. he was pretty bummed out, but I made him a deal that I would get him fake ones and he can put them whereever he wanted. lol kids are so cute!


We took the kids to see Tangled....I guess they only remember me taking them to the movies when they were younger, so I loved that I could share this with them again. When we walked into the theater..their lil faces lit up and bella whispered to me "this is so cool". I cant wait to take them again.

well, that was my day with the kiddos...I hope everyone else who has kids can share special moments like I did. Happy Holidays!

Cecilia


Do what you love and the money will follow.

Top 7 on my Christmas List

so, just for fun, I put together a list of things I want for Christmas. I am not expecting to get any of these..because some of them are a lil expensive, but these are things I am going to get myself in 2011, so in a way, these are my 2011 goals. Counter clockwise:

HELLO KITTY WATCH
I go through watches like nobody's business. It is my number one accessory and I love watches that are different and I love Hello Kitty, which seems to be a trend that never goes out of style. I love it because my grandmother used to take me to the Sanrio store during my summer visits to Florida and have loved Hello Kitty ever since.

LIP JUNKIE LIP GLOSS BY URBAN DECAY
I love lip gloss. I do not wear lip stick too much, but I live for gloss. I love this trio that Urban Decay offers and I am gonna treat myself to this once Christmas is over (if I do not get it as a gift, of course) hahaha

DOUBLE ACTION AIRBRUSH
When you read "double action", I am sure you are wondering what the heck I am talking about. I have an airbrush, but it is just a basic airbrush, I have been practicing, but for me to do really detailed work, I need an airbrush that will let air flow and paint and that I can adjust the flow of air...the one I have now is single action which is good for bigger projects..but not good for other stuff I wanna do, such as guitars. lol

MONET FRENCH EASEL
I have been dabbling into painting for a while now, and I am really liking painting on big canvases, such as my "Lily" painting. If anyone saw my makeshift easel, it was pretty sad (I used patio chairs), and my dining table is not suitable either, so I would like to get an easel that I could use indoor or outdoor.

NIKON CAMERA
Of course, any artist cannot be complete without a nice camera. My major is graphic design, and I would like to be able to take better photos. I especially want to be able to take pics of my projects and other things I have going on, like designing clotehs, or doing someone's make up or hair.

ADOBE CS5 MASTER DESIGN SUITE
I have been downloading trial version after trial version of Adobe Illustrator, and Photoshop to try and sharpen my skills and I would like to be able to have it, instead of downloading. Once I open my boutique, I will be able to get it on my business plan. lol hehehehe

TRAVEL MAKE-UP CASES
I will be attending the Rudy and Kelly Paul Mitchell Cosmetology school next month, and I am already building up my supplies..with straighteners, blow dryers and make up...and once finished, I am hoping to be able to dive right into working once completed as a stylist, so I would like to have these cases to help lug around my stuff. lol 

Well, This was my list of top 7 wants....what are yours?

Happy Holidays, Cecilia 

Do what you love and the money will follow.

I love christmas parties!!!!!!!!!!

My mother is a chief in the navy, and every year her command has a christmas party. I have not been home to attend one of these ever..so I was really excited that my husband and I were invited to go with my parents and my aunt and her boyfriend and his son and his girlfriend.  I was so excited because I love to get all dolled up...(I dont get to dress all fancy as much as I would like) and I had this one dress a friend bought for me a few years ago, so I decided to "recycle" it and wear it again. I have been into the "pin up" 50's style and decided to look like a pin up girl. I follow a girl on youtube who makes videos on how to do your hair like a pin up girl from the 50's, so after watching a video, I did my own hair.


I didnt get a chance to take a picture of my hair from the top, but what I did was after curling my hair all over, I took my front bangs and curled them and created "pin curls", using about 15 bobby pins, I pinned 3 big pin curls. It didnt take me too long, maybe a total of 10 minutes. I love that I have peek-a-boo highlights in my hair and when I did my curls, it just looked amazing. I was really proud of myself that I did it, I cant wait to go to Cosmetology school and learn more, it's gonna be so much fun. My make up was fun to do too, I used my Bare Essentials powders, and my palette of 120 colors of eyeshadow ( which I only used 4 colors mainly), and my MAC brush set, I did a natural look for my eyes with the cat eye liner on my top lids. I used Loreal Beyonce red lip stain for my lips which really makes everything "POP"!!! Since my eyeslashes are so long, I really dont need fake lashes, but I wanted my lashes to be thicker, so I bought some fake lashes from the Dolla Sto.....(dollar store) hahahaha and that was it!  Oh, and I almost forgot, the lil red flower!





This was really nice, because Jermie and I havent been able to go out and get dressed up so we had a really fun time.  During the party, they gave away prizes...to include 2 Wii's systems, 2 XBOX 360 with the konnects systems, many gift cards and other gifts..but the main prize was a 42" TV..man, we wanted that soooo bad, but we didnt win......we did manage to get a fondue set from the gift exchange gift...that my mom brought for the game...so it was funny that we took it home!

Well, that was my night last night! I hope everyone else has fun holiday parties too!  Love, Cecilia



Do what you love and the money will follow.

Thanksgiving Mayhem

Me with my children

In the blur of the past 2 weeks, I shouldve wrote about Thanksgiving...totally spaced it. lol I have been trying to edit a video that my daughter made and I want to post it, maybe I ll get it done and hopefully it will be on this post....or I will just go ahead and post it as is. (WELL.....Blogger is taking FOREVER to load my video.....so I guess its not meant to be)


Arabella "producer in the making"

 She took control of a flip video camera and became the hostess of the show, with my son trying to yell over top of her. It was really cute. Thankfully she doesnt read this...(she is only 6 years old) but I am getting her a lil Hello Kitty Video camera, so she can make her own lil videos and shows, and I am getting Matthias a nice lil camera, since he took someones camera and started snappin away.


Matthias taking a pic of the microwave. LOL can you see our reflections?


Matti took a pic of "Jammie" is how he pronounces his name


It was just so adorable and priceless. I loved every moment of it. I havent been able to see my children in a few years due to some craziness a few years ago, but I feel really blessed that God has given me another chance to be with my family. I hope everyones holidays were as precious as this. I was able to eat turkey and mashed potatoes, cresant rolls..or should I say Garlic crescent rolls because mom grabbed the wrong kind at th commisary hahahaha, we had fresh green beans, i think there was corn, I dont really remember. All i know is we all rubbed our lil hearts out. and eveyone had abite of my moms delish creamcheese pie.....i dont even remember what this was called: I know the crust was an oreo and there was some cream cheese in there...some melted caramel and chocolate...and just rish goodness.




My mother makes some really good cheese cakes...and she makes this one chocolate chip short cake with strawberries oh man, I will havet o get that recipe and post a how to. y'all will love it!


to aspiring filmakers and artists and chefs all around the world, no matter what age they are! Love, cecilia


Do what you love and the money will follow.

All I want for Christmas is a HIPPO


I was out doing a lil christmas shopping yesterday at a discount store, and came across a Shirley Temple movie. I used to love watching Shirley Temple as a kid. In Fact, I think thats why I started in tap and ballet classes when I was younger. There's so much that her movies did for americans back in the depression..when going to the movies cost 25 cents! Now it costs like, $10 to go see a movie. lol  I love putting on an old Shirley Temple movie and just getting some sewing done, or drawing up a design stuck in my head. Watching her movies brought back some nice memories. I wonder if my daughter would like her movies. Well, this is a short post, just wanted to write a quick blog about it. If you click the title of the blog, it will link you to a youtube video that is a tribute for Shirley Temple with her song " I want a hippopotamus for Christmas"

Enjoy and happy shopping!



Do what you love and the money will follow.

Personal Shopper is not CODEWORD for something else....

Sorry it has been a few days since I have posted, I have been so busy with finals at school, and with Thanksgiving and Black Friday...it was hectic. Then of course, shopping and getting a tree picked out and decorating for Christmas. I am getting wiped out. I hope everyone had a great and yummy Thanksgiving. I was grateful to be back in my hometown for the holiday and stuffed myself with turkey....my son I think ate his weight in turkey. I wish I had a pic of him just chowin down. lol

My last post, I showed a flyer I made to be a personal shopper so I can help to make a lil extra money for my school kit. I didnt have time to post it around town, so I had posted it on Craigslist, which I wasnt sure about but hey, it couldnt hurt. I got a call early in the morning from a guy who said he wanted me to shop for a tv since he would be working.  Let's just say when I met him ( and of course I brought a friend) to his job to go over a shopping contract, I think he had other intentions. So, needless to say..I left there in a hurry. lol What a creepo though. So, for those who are posting stuff...be careful! You never know who is a creep!

And speeking of a creep, the other morning, when it was pouring down rain, at 7am, this old dude came knockin on our door. My cousin and I freaked out, and I had my husband answer the door....the ol guy was trying to hand out pamplets about a church somewhere and asking if we go to church. OK, nothing against religion or churches....but first of all....its pouring out, like a hurricane out, and its 7am...when some people are still sleeping....I respect all religions, but do not like when religion is pushed onto me..or pounding on my door 7am in the morning. C'mon! Anyways, just wanted to vent and share with yall.

Its the holidays, everyone please be careful! Happy Holidays!

Do what you love and the money will follow.

My Name is Cecilia...and I am a shopaholic

I love when the holidays are here and not to sound creepy, but I love to go to the mall and sit down and watch people. I said this before in another blog, I feel everyone's energy and I love it! For me, shopping makes me feel good. I am also a huge bargain shopper and a penny pincher. I pride myself on finding good deals and finding things that are different. I see potential and beauty in everything! And I love shopping during Christmas. I could spend all day in a mall or shopping center, even if its not shopping for myself, I love it. I don't know if it's because I am a fashion major as well and I love the world of retail, or if I am just insane.

After playing around in Adobe Illustrator and I made my flyer for my gift wrap weekend, I had another idea to see if I can make some extra money being a personal shopper. I am going to post my two ads on craigslist and hope I get some business. If I get some decent clients, I may extend this shopping into the new year. So, I am excited and here is my flyer that I made:


Now that it is getting late, I am going to end for the night and see what tomorrow brings!

As ever, your shopaholic, Ce Cilia Marie


Do what you love and the money will follow.

Extra Cash is Nice Around the Holidays!

So, many of you know I am back in school for my 3rd time at college and I have been moving around the past 10 years. lol Everything is starting to fall into place...and now that it is the holiday's and I am actually home for the holidays, I wanna be able to have a good time with my children and loved ones.  Like so many other people, who are strapped for cash and are figuring out ways to make some money on the side, I have decided to hold a Gift Wrap Weekend.

So, what is that? Well, my parents live in a big neighborhood, where alot of people drive through and instead of having a yard sell, or sell cookies, I decided to try and do a wrapping service. When I was a teenager, I remember how my mom or my aunt would come into my room to hide presents from each other and have me wrap them. I didnt mind doing it, in fact I love it. My mom does too, she likes to get all the big, obnoxious bows and ribbons....put in all this work just so someone can rip to shreds. lol But that is the fun of presents!

So, since I am also a graphic design major and a big art nerd, I decided to try and make a flyer on the computer since I need alot of practice. I downloaded a trial version of ADOBE Creative Suite.. ..

and I already have a Wacom Tablet..and have been eager to really use it on something. I found some free vectors online and after a few hours I was able to put this together:



I have to say it's not bad considering its my first ever! I thought it was a good idea to maybe sell some hot cocoa and a cookie for $1.00 while people wait and I will have christmas music playing. I am not sure how it will turn out, but I am testing the waters to see how my advertising will play out.

My next project, among many, I am working on a shopping ad. Stay tuned! Thanks for reading!


As ever, with hot cocoa and warm gooey chocolate chip cookies,
Ce Cilia Marie

Do what you love and the money will follow.

My Interesting Day!

I feel very productive today! I had class this morning and it's been a great week so far and its close to finals. Most people cringe when they hear finals. But I am looking forward to the semester being over and getting a break for the holidays before 2011 begins. :) I have already enrolled for my classes for next semester and getting all set to start Cosmetology at the Rudy and Kelly Paul Mitchell School. It's about to be real hectic! But I love to stay busy!

Apart from that, I turned in a few essays for some scholarships and finished up a painting I have been procrastinating on ( here is a quick shot of it...but its a horrible pic because the light is bouning off my mom's yellow walls)


This was my first attempt at painting an actual person. I know as an artist, I should be strong in all areas..but painting faces is just not my specialty. I am working on editing this video of this project. I want to start making videos on all the lil art projects I work on, so this is just the start of many to come!

After I finished this portrait, I started painting a friend of my brother's Guitar. I have been procrasting a bit on this one too. I Finally got my airbrush machine and have practiced using it, but I do not have the right paint to atcually use it. I found out that I either need to use airbrush paint or use paint thinner with acrylic paints. So, I will have to wait until I have enough to buy that specific paint. So, I taped off the guitar on the places I do not want to get paint on. 

The guitar was already stripped and sanded so I prepper the surface with GESSO (I got at an art supply store) and let dry after 20 minutes. For this guitar, I am painting a galaxy/star theme to it, so the first coat of paint is blue mixed with black. I have only applied the first coat.


sorry its sideways..couldnt turn it :(

The lighting is horrible.....Not that I am dissin on my mom's kitchen color...but yellow is just not my thing. When I was in my Color Theory class at the Art Institute, I learned that yellow walls make babies cry..its just not a soothing color to me and it doesnt go with my skin tone...at least I dont think so. HA HA HA!

Oh, and I almost forgot! The whole purpose of my blog for today is that I wanted to blog about a contest I found where you can submit any type of artwork for a chance for it to be on this clothing line. (click the link in the title for the page) Last day to enter is Nov. 30 and you must email a JPEG of art to submissions@allpublicclothing.com check it out for more details. On Dec 2nd, the community will vote on the best designs and will win $500!

So, to everyone who reads this, thank you for reading and I hope you have a great day!

Do what you love and the money will follow.

Is it too early to start thinking about Christmas Trees???

I know its just the middle of Novemeber, but its never too early to think about christmas trees. I have to say that Christmas is my favorite holiday and not just because of presents, but I love all the holiday cheer. I know, I know, its cheesy, but it's true. I love sitting back and watching people get all excited about decorating, and in the malls and shopping centers, everyone is buying other people gifts.  I grew up all over the place, but Christmas's were almost always the same, there was food, a decorated tree and great friends and family- just a different place. I have had some crazy holidays too where I didnt have anything, no tree, not great food, but at least I had my health. Even if I didnt have any presents or any money, I stayed positive, and was just thankful to be alive.

There are many people out in this world who are not able to have a holiday like many of us do, such as military, people who are incarcerated and homeless people and so much more. This christmas, I can finally spend it at home with my family and good friends. It's been years since I have had a christmas, the last christmas I spent was with my grandmother and family in florida, and she passed away a year ago. Over the years, I realize how important being with family and caring for each other is.

ok, ok, I am getting way off subject! Sorry about that, I just start rambling on and on. But the main reason I wanted to blog today was that I was searching for christmas tree decorations, and I searched to see if there were any tree decorating contests out there, and I found one!


Check out some of these tree submitted by people all over the world, so far only 30 people have submitted their trees. in 2009, over 600 people submitted pictures of their decorated trees! Here is my favorite one!


I love how people are getting so creative! This one has peacock feathers in it and it just looks amazing. I found this other tree too, and since I love the ocean and live at a beach, I wanted to save this pic too.


This year, I will be buying a white prelit christmas tree from walmart. As much as I love real christmas tree's, There are just too much work, and I want a tree that will last and i can use over and over. I hope everyone has a fun time getting ready for christmas!

All Will Prevail

Dear Katy Perry, I love your style!

So, I am doing laundry and watching television, getting caught up on all my shows and browsing the internet...talk about multi tasking! I am such a geek, I have been searching online stores for what to get my family members for christmas, and also searching for stylist clothes that are black since I will be attending the Paul Mitchell Rudy and Kelly Cosmetology school in January and part of the dress code will that I have to wear black! And if anyone who really knows me, knows that I like to dress different and that I have a "different" style and that I love BRIGHT, LOUD and VIBRANT colors!!!!!

I was browsing and came across a preview for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show that will be airing on Nov 30, and this year, Katy Perry will be performing! I love katy perry, she has such a crazy and imaginative style that is out of this world!

She can pull off any look and I love that she doesnt care about what other's think. I love the picture below and how she is rockin the BLUE Hair!

I can only imagine who she has as a stylist, I am gonna do some research, I think it would be so much fun to be a stylist and thats one of my goals to be a fashion, hair and make up stylist! I am one step closer to doing what I want! I am super excited to be going to this school even though I have to wear black, but I can have any color accessories, so I am gonna wear the brightest colors ever! 


All Will Prevail

Happy Veterans Day!

So,  let me start this blog by saying Happy Veteran's Day to all those who are serving in the military or have served and to those who have family members that have served! I grew up in a Navy family my entire life and shocked my family when I decided to go into the army when I was 17 years old. I served 4 years as an imagery analyst and loved it, I served in OEF in Afghanistan and also served in OIF in Iraq. I am so blessed to have had that experience, the comraderie (spelling???) and the teamwork, and how you really become a family especially in the toughest of times. Those times were the best and the worst, but I would never regret or change anything about being in the army.

My husband and I attended a Veteran Day celebration that my college was having, and it was so nice, we got free sanwiches, veggie tables..(is how I like to say vegetables) lol chips, soda and some yummmmmmmyyyyyy cupcakes with sugary icing that i had to scrape off because it was just too much sugar...and thats crazy for me to say because I am a sugar-holic!!!! There was a dj playing american songs and a slide show of military members and their families. There was even a booth and some photographers giving out free pics for everyone. Jermie and I got our picture taken of course, but I dont have access to a scanner to post it, but we were cheesin away. lol  It made me proud to have served.







Here's a picture of me in Baghdad in 2004, right after I had my daughter and was deployed after she was only 4 months old! I wish I had more pics to show, but I am afraid that is all I have! I hope everyone has a blessed day!

All Will Prevail

Finally November!!!!

So Halloween came and went this year. I didnt get to do much but I did enjoy hanging out with the family and the hubby. We did get to dress us. My hubby as a scary clown ( who scares teh crap of a teenage girl walking around with her friends in the street, and made her cry....and then her friend told him he was a for a lack of better term "d**k..keepin it PG here lol. and I dressed up as a scary version of Harley Quinn...whom is of course in the comic books, is Joker's girlfriend. I did my make up and hair and did my best to look very disturbed. lol



I was told repeately by many that they couldnt take me serious when I look like this. lol. My brother, cousin and hubby participated in a zombie run in Norfolk for Halloween, where like 1200 people had to go to check points and avoid getting attacked by "zombies" who were track runners from ODU......crazy..here's a pic of one of them...and I wonder how he did his make up or who put this look together...they did an awesome job.



So umm...yea. My hunny and I also went and saw Paranormal Activity 2. and I know many people dont like these movies or think they are stupid, but I loved it! I must have screamed like 5 or 6 times! We also took the kids to a pumpkin patch and picked out pumpkins and let them run around on bouncy inflatables. So, overall..our halloween was great. Now its time for the holidays!!! Sorry I havent blogged in a while..just been busy, Ill try to blog more throughout the week! Thanks for reading and alot of love!



All Will Prevail

A Hectic Week!!!


This week has been a hectic one. I felt like I was just going a million miles an hour, running around! ( No particular reason why I put this pic of Lady Gaga, I have been listening to her in the car and have one of her songs stuck in my head!) So much as happened in my personal life, I haven't had a chance to sit down and blog. Last time, I wrote that I had painted a shelf, which I have hung up in my dining room, which is slowly become soooo cluttered with art supplies.(I can't wait to have a house so I can have room for a studio of my own). My husband and I have been taking time out and I have been showing him around the area since he has never been here! We went to the beach, went shopping, and out to eat and went to the movies too! We spent time with the kiddos too this week which was so nice. I love being a mommy! Perfect mommy-daughter moment a few nights ago, I washed bella's hair and put in some leave in conditioner that smells soooo good, when I put it in her hair, she said " that smells very unicorny!", it was so adorable, I couldnt stop laughing.




I was able to find a compressor for my Husky kit at a hobby store, and I was so eager to start painting with it, and of course Jermie being the man that he is beat me to it! lol. I am hoping to get a chance to practice with it this weekend, but my schedule will be packed, so I will have to wait. Tomorow, I am hosting a jewelry, candle and spa party which will be fun. I am excited to have a "girls night". I spent the past 2 days at the Paul Mitchell Rudy & Kelly school getting my hair done by a future professional. I love the atmosphere there at the school, and I am very excited that I am going to be attending in january! A very chill girl named Natalie did my hair, I got block coloring done with peek a boo highlights. I dont have a camera to take a pic, so Ill have someone take a snap shot of it soon. I kept my hair black but now have a few highlights of blonde and brown and added layers all over. I love it soo much. I cant wait to show a pic of it soon! I am taking Bella in to get her hair done tomorrow if I have time.



well, I have rambled on, I just wanted to give a lil update as to what I have been doing the past week. I will write again later this weekend and I hope to get a few videos posted this week as well! Have a great weekend!
All Will Prevail

Airbrush-A-Holic

I just got done painting a lil shelf that I found in a thrift store for only $8 and painted it with a blueish-purplely color. Then I took some seashells that I found while walking on the shore at Sandbridge Beach a while ago, and painted them pinkish mixed with a lil bit of white and then glued them on the shelf. I am still waiting for the glue to try, so I dont want to take a pic of it yet, But I will when it is completly dry on my next blog.  It took a while for me to add several coats of paint. I have been waiting and saving up for an airbrush kit, and I found a spray gun kit on craigslist for $30..so I am excited, I am gonna go get it tomorrow, I still need a compressor, but I will get one and of course airbrush paint. I am soooo excited...here is a pic of the kit.


For those artists who are looking to getting into airbrushing, you can find this kit on ebay, home depot or even some few auto parts shops. I have had some experience with airbrushing, but didnt have my own equipment to practice. Its easy to do tshirt designs but I am looking into doing more custom pieces.

I was browsing a few airbursh pieces on DeviantArt and came across this artist ( click on the title of Blog and it will route you to her page), I found this painting of Megan Fox (who I think is so sexy!)



This piece is so emotional and I love how intense it is. Just amazing! Well, I am off to finish a painting of my friends son. I will post soon!

Siren


All Will Prevail

"It's Cheaper to Keep Her!!!!!!!"

0After my mom and I took a nice walk through her neighborhood, we got all dolled up( the pic above is me in my bright dress, a lil blurry) and on a side note-(I bought this outfit on sale at RUE 21..shoes: $5, dress $6 and the zebra tights-$2) and went out with the girls. We were invited to go see a play "Cheaper to Keep Her". I didnt know too much about the play until I googled it on my mom's Iphone for directions, and I saw that it starred Vivica A. Fox and Brian McKnight. I didnt know if it would really be them traveling and doing this show until we got to the concert hall and I found out it would be them! I was so excited to see the play and it was totally worth the $50 to go see it.


This show was just awesome. I dont know what it is about seeing a play..watching the actors perform, I think is just a fun experience. This was a comedy, soap opera and concert all in one. Brian Mcknight is such an amazing R&B singer.

If you appreciate the arts, either its  performing arts, painting, music, dance...I definetly recommend going out to a play or broadway musical. Support the theaters and the many actors and actresses pouring their hearts into the stage. It was so awesome!

The next play that is coming up is The Lion King Broadway. I havent seen it, but I am gonna go to it!!!

artistically yours, Siren


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They Call her Lola....

I am realizing that my artistic style is really vibrant, contemporary and abstract. I had a request to paint a piece for a friend of the family for something over her couch for her living room. She was really vague about what she wanted, just that she wanted nuetral earthy colors. So, of course I didnt know what I was gonna do. I went to my Favorite art store: Jerry's Art-O-Rama and got a canvas and paint....along with a bunch of other stuff I prolly didnt need, but when stuff is on sale, I just cant help myself. lol

Yesterday, I set up my painting "studio" on my patio in the back yard and got to work. I really enjoyed it, I started out with the greens and it took me into creating a rain foresty type islander paradise with of course my favorite flowers lilies. And here is the outcome:




I am going to start a line of paintings similiar to this and will be selling them if anyone is interested. I will be participating in art shows in the springtime too in 2011. I will be posting more information as the time gets closer. Hope you enjoy and you can also view my art at DeviantArt.com on my home page:   http://siren757.deviantart.com/     or click to the ad on the right to see other art I have worked on.


Have a wonderful day!
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My BARE SKIN

Last week, I went and saw a Dermatologist for my skin. I have had acne when I was younger, and now that I am in my late twenties, I still have some acne issues. I always thought that acne had to do with what I ate because I am a JUNKFOOD JUNKIE!!! But the Doctor man at the Veteran Hospital said that it has to do with genetics and stress. So, after the DR and his assistant took turns man handling my face and checking my skin "abnormalties" ( I dont even know if thats a real word, just made it up...sounds good to me. lol) the doctor subscribed a face wash and some night cream. I asked him what kind of makeup I should use that will not make my skin and face break out. The starbucks loving, coffee breath doctor ( he was really self-conscious about, which I thought was funny because I had starbucks coffee breath too hahahaha) he recommended I use oil-free noncomedogenic make up. ( Non comedogenic is a fancy word for non-pimple haha)


I dragged my cousin with me to Sephora to try and find the COVER FX that Kandee Johnson recommended, but it was an item that I could only order online. So I ended up getting this kit:
 
 


I love how this set is set up! I got all that is included in this picture and I even got a free gift from Sephora for my birthday last month! SCORE!!!! I wish I had a picture of before I started using this set so you can see that my skin is very uneven as far as tone because of scars and freckles. But here is a lil shot of me today with my makeup and my face is so clear. I love it!



So, just wanted to share my Dermatologist and Sephora adventure!!!! Have a great day!

Smooth Skin and lots of love,
Siren




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Marilyn Monroe is my Homegirl!

Its a rainy day and after running around and taking a nice lil nap, I settled down, popped in a movie and did some online browsing. Thanks to the wonderfull world of Facebook, I stumbled across a website called: http://www.artfire.com/.  I fell in love with this website! Its a forum where people can browse for handmade items or sell their creations. I love it because it helps to support artists of all trades and for those shoppers who get tired of seeing the same things in the malls, can find something that is truely unique and that no one has. I pride myself in finding things that no one has because I like to have my own style. I love to mix and match different trends in a way that it all just flows together!

So did I mention I have a slight obsession with Marilyn Monroe? I did a search for Marilyn Monroe earrings and I came across these:



Theyre funky and classy at the same time. I am in no ways a "gangsta" but I do love bandanas and street wear and the best thing is that these babies are only $10! I posted the link to this particular artists page so if you wanna check it out, the artists page is called "Running with Scissors" . Check it out and enjoy!


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Where did you get that Ring???

I have had tons of requests asking me where I got my ring. A lil while ago my great Aunt Lucy tricked me and my mom into attending a party and it ended up being one of these jewelry parties. Usually I dont like anything that these consultants try to see me and usually the jewelry is expensive and doesnt last long. I was surprised to find out that although this jewelry is a lil pricey, They have a lifetime guaranty, that if their jewelry breaks or chips, you can send it back and they will send you a replacement and if it is out of stock or no longer available they will give you credit or give you your money back. I instanly fell in love with this ring and so did my grandmother. lol. I guess her and I have the same style. lol I wear it with everything, even in sweatpants and sneakers I still wear it and it makes my hand really pretty. :)

You can check out their jewelry at the link above. Hope you enjoy and If you want to order something, I know a consultant! lol


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You can do ANYTHING with Duct Tape!



I found by far the coolest thing a seamstress can do with duct tape. For those of us fashionista's who like to fix up our old clothes or working on a dress and we cant afford out own dress form ( because those suckers cost at least $150 more or less) and most of us would rather use that money to but a pair of shoes or something fabulous! I had checked out a few books from the library and came across this book called the Subversive Seamster..I think thats what its called and of course I dont have the book with me...but anywhooooo....lol I turned to one of the chapters and gives directions on how to make a duct tape mannequin. And I swear, I heard the light bulb  go off in my head. Why didnt I think of that?!?!?!?!?

It sounds so much fun and I wanted to post this blog and I am goign to try this out just as soon as I get ahold of some duct tape. lol Maybe Ill video it and post it on you tube. lol

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Cut up Tshirts for concert!!!

My cousin and I went to the 30 Seconds to Mars concert a few days ago and we both said...."What are we gonna wear?!?!?!?!" So I came up with these two shirts. My cousins shirt on the left..I had bought this t-shirt from DEB store on clearance for $3 and had cut it to create an off the should type look then cut slits in the front and back and shortened it. I had her layer it with a bright pink tank top and I did her make up with yellow and green eyeshadow. As for my outfit, I took a blue long sleeved shirt that my best friend gave me and cut slits along the sides and weaved them inside each other to create a braided look. I took a plain black tshirt and cut slits in the back of it. I had bought a fedora hat from Five Below and wrapped a piece of fabric around the brim so that the blue would really pop woth the black of my shirt and jeans. (You cant see it, but I also wrapped a piece of blue fabric around my ankle of my high top Black Chuck Taylors. My make up a did a white and blue smokey eye. I didnt layer on the make up just because I knew I would sweat it off in the crowded mobb of a concert. lol....then I put one feather earring in my ear and the other a heart shaped stud in the other. I got a few crazy stares from some of the older people who looked totally out of place in a concert venue lol some people loved the outfit and after the concert...some guy asked to take a picture of my outfit because they thought it was cool. So I was proud of my crazy cut up creation. So I thought I would share this with you all. Hope you enjoyed. :)



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Funky Shoes! Five Fingers!!!!


So I was sitting at the community college with my cousins and one of their friends was talking about these shoes she is going to buy. She said they were like feet, like the socks that have all the toes..but they are sneakers. Theyre made for people who want a close fiting shoe. So as I was sitting in the lobby of the school, using their wifi I googled these shoes I just had to see for myself, so I thought I would broadcast this to other fashion seekers. Check these puppies out!

I like these gray and pink ones!


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Finally Back home

I finally made it to Virginia, my home. I have been here for almost 2 months. I think its safe to say I have settled in. My first week here I was lucky and landed a job as a graphic designer at a graphics shop. Of course I only lasted a week there before they politely said they needed someone with more photoshop and corel draw experience. I was really bummed about it too. I was never really "let go" from a job before, with the one exception of my last job and 2 weeks later, they had asked me back. But this graphics place didnt ask me back. :( I have always been a fast learner and I thought I was catching on quick, but not quick enough. If that experience has taught me anything, it just pushed me even harder to want to learn things that I dont know. So, I had went out and bought a book on how to help me with Photoshop. I will teach myself until I can get back into the Art Institute here in Virginia Beach.
I have been doing some more painting lately. I posted what I have done on my Deviantart Page and have also been practicing in my lettering. I thought that I would like to learn how to tattoo because I love tattoos so Happy much. I had found an ad on craigslist for a tattoo apprenticeship at a local tattoo shop. I was excited at first, I got all my sketches together and my cousin went with me for support. As I was standing in the shop, listening to the hum of needles as one of the managers slowly looked at my amatuer sketches from art school, I started to doubt myself that I even wanted to do this. The manager was this woman who came across as a no-nonsense tough as nails, tell you straight up how it is in the tattoo life. She said some things to me not to scare me but to tell me how it is really like to be a tattoo artist. I weighed my options and decided that I didnt want to be a tattoo artist, that I loved fashion and creating art with paint and markers and all sorts of other mediums. Turning down that apprenticeship helped me to realize that I love to design clothes and graphics and that I want to open up my clothing boutique.
Well, besides that, everything is slowly but surely coming along and things are falling into place. So, I am working on a project I havent sewn anything in years since I was pregnant with my daughter. My love and I are getting married. Were already common law married but I want to have a small beach wedding in December and I am going to be designing my own dress. Something I want to do. I am so excited. It is going to be greek inspired cream colored silk or chiffon and I want certain parts to have an ombred effect that fades to a dark blue and possibly into a dark purple as well. Since it will be in December and around Christmas time, it will be chilly, so I am going to also design a lil faux fur shawl that will go around. Ill post more when I start sketching and I will video the process as well. I hope you have a great day!


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A day to myself

I took a day off today and called in sick, the first time I have called in sick since working for the company I work with now. I am still a lil frustrated with them, and I didnt want to go to work with a major attitude. I needed today to cool off and collect my thoughts and get some more stuff done with my packing. i feel bad calling in sick, but I need to focus on myself right now. I only have a few more days at this job anyways. But I took today to sleep in and when I woke up, Ive been online looking up stuff and about to start packing some more but just wanted to post something even though its not relating to art or fashion. Just in a funk and felt like writing. Well, short post today, will write more later.


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Frustrated with my Job


Do you guys ever have get so sick and frustrated with your job you just want to walk out? Like the phones are ringing off the hook, you got customers yelling at you and your paychecks arent on time and everything seems to be just going downhill. I had to keep my head because I cant afford to lose my job. I only have a week left at my job but I need every penny I can afford and I dont want to ever burn bridges. Do you ever feel stuck? I feel like that now. I have a week and a half left here and I have so much to do and I feel like I am not gonna have enough time. I am so tempted to just walk away now because I need time to finish up packing and some projects I need to complete, and I just dont have time and when I get home from work, I am exhausted. But the sensible side of me is that I definetly need my last paycheck because who knows how long it will take before I can find a job when I move. When I get like this, I just remind myself that this all is temporary and this pushes me to work harder in accomplishing my dreams of owning my own business. If my current job has taught me anything, its how NOT to run a business. Soon, I will only work for myself and do something I absolutely love, which is designing clothes and creating art that helps to inspire others. I just had to ventthis out for a minute or two..but for now, back to my projects. Bye!



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Rain and Thunder

I just made it home right before the rain really started to come down. I just got off work and headed home when it first started to rain. It had me thinking about how I love the rain. Right now, it really doesnt rain too much in Colorado, but I am heading back to Virginia in just a few short weeks and when I was walking in the rain, I felt a release of emotions and feelings like the rain just washed away all the tension and all the stress that my body has built up in the past few years. All my hard work to go home is finally paying off along with all my patience. I never thought the time would come, but everything worked out. I have so much to be thankful for, my family, my friends that stood by my side and my children. Motivation kept me going. The road Ive traveled has been long and bumpy but it was worth it. Being able to go home and be with the people I love is worth going to hell at back. I cant wait, I have so many plans when I get home. I am definetely going to focus on my art more. Im getting all my supplies back up and gonna start designing. I am saving up for my airbrush kit so I can practice my mad skills. hahaha!

well, I dont wanna ramble right now, I just wanted to write for a few minutes and send this out to the universe! Hope you have a good day!



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New Beginings Fresh Start

I have moved a total of 33 times in my life. I am only 26, a lil nuts huh?? I grew up in a military family and was used to the life of moving and packing boxes and tape. Always the new girl and kept to myself alot. When I was younger, I dont know if I hated it or liked it, I just used to go with it. I like to think of myself as a shy kid, but everyone tells me different. Looking back, it was an advantage I had to pick up and move to a new place. I could start over each time, change something I didnt like. Always being the new girl gave me the courage to make new friends and experience different areas. In terms of art and fashion, moving around gave me the opportunity to see trends and art in other cities. I loved it. Every new school I went to I took and art class, and a sewing class. By the time I was a teenager I was really good at sewing and sketching. My mother pushed me into going to a technical school for fashion design when I was 16.

It was funny, i was stubborn and didnt want to go, being a typical teenager I guess. I went to the open house and was there for like 15 minutes and left, I didnt want to go. I ended up going anyways and it was the best time of my life. 2 years I spent with a group of girls in a fashion design program. I loved it.

I never realized it, but growing up, I never saw myself as an artist. My family knew different. I shouldve realized that I would one day be an artist. I mean, cmon, at 9 years old, I had a drafting desk. And every birthday and holiday while some kids got toys for presents, I got new art supplies and loved it.

I was soooooo focused on my art back then and now as an adult, I look back and I never had a chance to really focus on my art. Life got in the way. The past year I have slowly been trying to get back into fashion and Ive come along way. And the reason I write today is that its time for me to move again and I am going back home and I plan on really being on it. I am gonna go back to school at the Art Institute and take hold of what I really want to do. I want to start my own clothing line and do custom art on bikes and cars and clothing and just talking about it gets me all excited and anxious to get home.

I am totally random in my thoughts today, but wanted to write. so who ever is reading this hpe it made some sort of sense!





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Love is All You Need



Sorry it has been so long since my last post. Time has been flying! Alot has been happening and some of it is good, other bad and alot in between. I cant believe its already the end of May! How crazy is that? I gotta say Ive been slacking a lil in the art department. I was able to finish a few pieces for a few friends of mine that got tattooed and I myself started my side pieces(see the pic above) So, maybe in a way I havent been slacking, but it feels like it. I entered an art contest just a line drawing, so I am interested to see the outcome in that. I also made a video for my parents who just got remarried a few days ago. Man, I guess when I look back on what I have accomplished this month, I realize I have done alot.

So, what I want to say for those who feel like they procrastinate or just cant seem to get started in a project or a goal, just do it. What helps me is that I write a list of all my goals and things I need to do. I try to take each one and work on it until finished. One day at a time...is one of my favorite quotes. And then all of a sudden, you start crossing things off your list. There's no excuse why you cant do something. IF it seems impossible to you, let that be a challenge to you. Like, with my art, people ask me if I can draw certain things or make a certain design, I take that as a challenge and it pushes me. So when I complete something that I am so passionate about and other people love it, it is so rewarding for me. That pushes me harder to expand my skills and broaden my horizons.

Well, thats enough for today! I am exhausted and I hope you all have a good week!

I have an amazing mother. I have so much love and respect for my mom. She is my best friend, my mentor, without her, I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be the woman and mother I am today. She has supported me through everything, and I get my strength from her. What I have learned from her, I apply to my life everyday. I just hope I can be a good mother the way she has been for me.

I have 2 children that are blossoming beautifully with each passing moment. I served 4 years in the US Army, and its funny, I like to tell this story all the time about how even my children are soldiers. Before I was deployed to Afghanistan, I was pregnant and didn't find out until I was 4 weeks into the deployment. I thought i was late because of the stress from deploying, or all those shots and vaccines they gave me, I thought my morning sickness was from the Malaria Pills combined with the excruciating heat, but I knew something wasn't right. I found out I was pregnant and I was sent back home to New York. She is my lil soldier. She is so independent and strong, just like all the women in my family. I love her so much. I gave birth to her and was then sent to Iraq only 4 months after she was born. It was so hard to leave her but I had to. We, as mothers, have to sacrifice ourselves and our dreams and our goals to help support our loved ones and children. I had pictures of her everywhere posted in my trail or in Iraq.

When I came home for Christmas for R&R after 7 months of being deployed, she barely recognized me and it almost broke my heart. I was afraid the bond was broken. But after an hour, she remembered me. I remember laying with her and stroking her face and hair, threes just no other feeling that can top that. During my 2 week stay, I ended up becoming pregnant again, but of course like my first pregnancy, I didn't find out until I went back to Iraq. I learned I was pregnant, I didn't even realize I was late. There's so much stress being in the Army and being deployed, I thought that's what it was. I didn't get sent home right away, so I was there a good month after learning I was Pregnant waiting to go home. I had to stay because of the first Iraqi Elections were taking place and no one was flying anywhere. So, my son was with me then too. It was after my experiences being deployed that I decided to get out of the service so that I could be there for my children. But I like to joke around that not only am I a combat war veteran, but so are my children.

I cant wait for my children to be a lil bit older so I can share that with them. They are still very young. I am not with them right now, they are with their father- and we get along great, I'm just taking care of somethings, but I haven't seen them in almost 2 years. So, this mother's day was a lil hard for me. I spent alot of time away from them and it's hard. I get scared that they will forget me, but I know when the time comes to see them again, all those doubts will be gone. That future moment stays in my mind, helps to motivate me to live right and do what I can to get back to them. For those mothers who cant be there for their children for whatever reason....just remember you are their mother, no one can replace you and no matter what the distance or amount of time you spend away, they will always remember you. Love conquers all.

So, that's a lil bit about my story and just wanted to share this with you all. Happy Mother's Day to everyone!



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New to Blogger

Hi all you bloggers, I started this blog after I started following Kandee the Make-Up Artist and thought it was a great idea. She inspired me to start a blog and pursue my dreams of designing. Since I was a kid, I was always drawing and sketching, selling my lil drawings during recess in elementary school...I never considered myself an artist until, I would say the past 2 years. It was always a hobby type of thing, even though I went to a vocational school for Fashion Design and have attended colleges for fashion and have taken countless art classes. I guess I wasn't confident in myself or my abilities as an artist and designer to officially say " I'm an artist".

The past few years has been a rollar coaster for me, Im still young but have gone through things most people my age and older would never dream of, but through all that, like most of us, I lost myself along the way. Looking back, I have found that the times when I was happy the most was when I was drawing, or designing or sewing something or attending college for fashion. I would go through these stages when I wouldnt pick up a pencil for months and then out of the blue when I let myself drift into my own world, I would fill a whole sketchbook in a week. But then life would kick in and the sketchbook went into a box and my dreams were pushed away further and further. I noticed I had a pattern and most of us can relate to this, when we get involved in a relationship, our focus changes and sometimes even when we dont notice it, we slowly change ourselves to make our partner happy. I had an awful pattern of this until my marriage ended and I had to rediscover who I was and what I wanted out of life.

Life likes to throw us curveballs, even if we stike out, we keep trying to hit that ball, and the important thing is trying. A couple years ago, I finally had enough courage to say, "hey, I am an artist and I want to design clothes and create art that people will enjoy". So, here's another step closer for me to creating my future and taking a step into the unknown.

My name is Siren, and I am a fashion designer, airbrush artist and soon to be a tattoo artist. What I want to do is design clothes that express my style and my love for art. I liek to create looks that are bright, outgoing and not too extreme but enough to draw attention in a good way. I am also very into motorcycles and muscle cars. I worked in an airbrush shop for a while and it really sparked my imagination on all the things I could do. I would like to do custom motorcycle clothing and customize peoples motorcycles and possibly cars. I have very big ambitions. I recently became more fascinated with tattoos, and many people including my mother has recommended I be a tattoo artist. Nothing is more fullfilling than having someone have a tattoo of your artwork on their body forever. It's one of the biggest compliments ever.

well, for my first blog I think I have rambled on enough. As I explore this new site, Ill be posting more each week. Thanks for reading!