Practice makes Perfect

Between all the chaos last week, I decided to bust out my machines and just do some practicing on an orange I had laying around.

I used one of my favorite rose images as a reference and did this freehand. I know an orange peel is a lot different from human skin, but it’s a start to get a feel for the machines. Its not too bad for my first time. (I don’t count my ring finger tattoo because it was 3 letters)

This week, I have been trying to get back into my groove. I had some fiasco situations happen in regards to some projects I did/worked on which left me drained and in a funk. As an artist, you know, not everyone is going to like my work whether it is my drawings, my designs, my makeup, my paintings. Rejection is something that everyone faces, especially artists. I cant say that it doesn’t affect me. I do get sad when something doesn’t work out, but it is something that I need to accept and move on. SO that’s what I have been doing.

I know I am not the best artist, but that’s why I keep working on my craft and keep pushing myself to practice more. I encourage anyone else reading this, to keep doing what you love, even when you get doubters, even when people push you down, stand up and keep pushing yourself. Believe in yourself!

You cannot live to correct the past. Instead you can live determined to correct the future through the past. It's only through the past that we can learn to know the future. A wise man learns from his mistakes. so let the past nurture you.

The Sun Always Shine After The Storm

I’ve been M.I.A for a lil bit and I promise it’s not because I was too busy. I don’t want this post to be sad, but last week, my Grandpa Fred lost his battle to cancer. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer about 6 months ago. And how fast the time has flown by. Last week has been a whirlwind of emotions for myself and my family that left me drained and exhausted. On the bright side, my grandpa is no longer in pain. He passed peacefully and with a smile onto heaven. 

He was such a kind and gentle soul, never showed anger or yelled or shouted. He had an abundance of patience that was very contagious. He is the very man that the women in our family looked up to and hoped our partners could live up to. He always called me “Miss Marie” even when I became an adult.

When I went to visit him in Texas as a child, my young, entrepreneurial mind at 10 years old was determined to sell Dr. Pepper, chips and handcrafted bracelets made of yarn. So, my grandfather helped me to build my own wooden stand and set it up at the end of the driveway. We painted it white and I sat there in the hot texas sun I think for maybe a week, only selling a few things. I will never forget that memory. He used to take me down the street to get snowcones in the evening, he took me to see Lion King when it was in theaters the first time, and when I first joined the army, he jokingly said I was out of the “Will” (a family joke since my Entire Family is NAVY)

My grandmother and him surprised me by visiting me in AIT school in Fort Huachuca, AZ when I was 18. He even came to the airport to see me during a flight layover. I was the first grandchild, and my children are the only great grandchildren. I am happy that they were able to spend time with him. Matthias and him sat in my mom’s backyard reading a book together. Grandpa had such a way with children, in helping them to understand problems and helping them solve it.

He was the strong and silent type who may have not always been there all the time since we used to live far apart, but when times were hard and I needed family present, him and grandmother were there standing tall and proud. For that, for his love will forever live in my heart and soul.

The ceremony was held this past Saturday at Fort Story, VA where most of the family was present. Most of us got up and said a few words, remembering what an amazing role model he has been for us all. Family is so important to me. I am so thankful that I was able to be present for this, because when my grandmother passed almost 3 years ago, I was not able to attend.

The picture above is my father and my mother, which I do not have a lot of pictures of, and I want to cherish it.

My father and my husband, Jermie in front of his mustang.

I couldn’t help but take a few pictures of some of the flowers. I am thinking of getting some roses tattooed in honor of my family who has passed on.

I thought of you today, but that is nothing new. I thought about you yesterday, and days before that too. I think of you in silence, I often speak your name. All I have are memories and a picture in a frame. Your memory is a keepsake, from which I'll never part. God has you in His arms. I have you in my heart.

Poetry in Motion

It was as if the Gods heard my plea for nice, warmer weather because yesterday and today has been so nice! I also got a replacement washer machine this morning since ours broke about 2 weeks ago. I am gonna be doing laundry for days! Today is so nice and I was going to work out, but I decided lets go to Mount Trashmore, where the kids can go play and I can walk around the lake. I actually lose more weight walking and eating right than any other method.

I just wanted to share with you a quick video of a young lady I worked with a few weeks back. You may have remembered when I posted behind the scenes photo from this shoot. I did the makeup for her. It’s not your typical makeup because I had to actually make her look bruised and beaten. She is a poet and this video shows her expressing herself.

The beauty about what I do is I get to meet with so many talented people! I just love it! Last night, I met up with a gentleman I did a tattoo design for and I don’t think I ever posted a picture of it. But here it is:

He was quite happy with it and it has opened doors for me to design tshirts for him! I am super excited for this too!

I also had a meeting with Central 111 to do some body painting for an event they are having later this month! I will post a flyer when they release it.

Well, this is a short post, because I am out the door to go get my walk on! Eventually I will work myself up to jogging hopefully!

Have a great Sunday! See ya again soon!

Spring and Summer can you get here faster please

Our washer machine broke sometime last week and were not getting a replacement until Sunday. Which stinks! So, I took a load of laundry over to my mom’s, plus I needed a break from my art studio. I have been painting day in and out and I just needed to get out of my house even for a lil bit!

The weather was nice today and got me thinking about Spring and the fast approaching summer season coming up. We rent a townhouse and we actually have a decent sized backyard and a kind-of patio in the front- more like a concrete slab in front of our door. I have been on Pinterest scouring ideas for our yard. I want to make our backyard nice so that we can have cookouts and BBQ’s. Here are some cute ideas I wanted to share- maybe it will inspire you too!

I love oversized lanterns like these to put big candles in!

Isn’t this a cute idea?! Big lawn cushions and a movie with popcorn!

I love firepits! Especially once the sun goes down and it gets a lil chilly, I love sitting by the fire to warm up. Something about watching the flames is mesmerizing.

I’m not really big on gardening, but I don’t mind getting my hands dirty. I love bright and colorful flowers!

I love the way big planters look! These would be awesome at night!

If only I lived right on the beach! This is perfect for listening to the waves crash and stargazing!

This is in Spain, which is one of my dream destination vacations! Can you imagine drinking a glass of wine and snacking on cheese, grapes and crackers? I can! If only I could teleport!

How romantic would this be?

I love wearing basics during the summer, meaning I keep it pretty casual. I cant wait until I can wear shorts and sandals!

I cannot wait! Can you? What are you looking forward to this summer?

The mind has a thousand eyes, And the heart but one; Yet the light of a whole life dies, When love is done.

Wednesday Workday

I have been holed up in my art room for what seems like forever working on this stage prop, but I tend to overdramatize the time because it either goes too slow or too fast. I wish I had a garage full of power tools, because as of lately, I have been needing things like power drills, saws and staple guns. I finally was able to get some help with putting together my giant canvas stage props. I have been painting the main background, and I cleaned out my airbrush this morning and used that to add the shading and detail. I cant wait to show you guys! ( I want to wait until after the show)

When I take breaks, I have been surfing Pinterest and youtube. I made dinner tonight and picked this recipe to try out:

Chicken Tortilla Soup!

It was sooooooo good too. We paired rice with this and chips and salsa and we were all blissfully full. I have been trying to cook  more home cooked meals instead of turning to fast food or going out or worse- skipping meals altogether ( sometimes I forget to eat because I am zoned out in my art)

I haven’t been doing any tattoo drawings just because I want to get this prop done. I have had to take many break since the kiddos are on spring break too and more cleaning!

Since I have been doing a lot of makeup, I have been ordering more supplies online. I finally received the disposable mascara wands I ordered weeks ago.

I ordered this concealer palette as well, which I was able to use on the play last week and it came in handy!

I ordered this palette below and I cant wait to use it. It looks just like the Urban Decay Naked Palette- but way cheaper!

Did I ever tell you that my Ben Nye Matte Foundation Palette worked so amazingly on all 3 nights of the play last week! Stage makeup is so very different from regular beauty makeup. I am glad that I had it because I worked on so many different people with different skin tones and I wasn’t scattering around trying to match up tones and shades. The coverage was great onstage too. I definitely recommend ANY and ALL makeup artists to get this palette. It’s a great tool to have! I already have to order a few replacements!

 

Speaking of the play, here are a few backstage photos!

I’m on the side of the stage working props and assisting the actors/actresses with their Mics!

I managed to get a quick snapshot with Sampson Logan, whom I have also seen in the hit play “It’s Cheaper to Keep Her”

In other things, Kreative Thinking met up earlier this week to go over the clothing that we are making for the fashion show coming up in June! I am super excited to start working on some outfits after I am done painting these props!

My interview for Kreative Thinking was edited earlier this week and here it is! Check out what I do for Kreative Thinking!

Interview

Let me know what you think (and excuse the lighting, it was filmed in my art studio!)

Thanks for stopping by! See you in the next post!

Square Up!

Good Morning my loves! It’s 734am and I am actually awake! With the kiddos on spring break I am up when they are! I don’t mind as I am sipping on my coffee and I am about to make some cinnamon rolls! Yum!!!!

I have been painting all day yesterday until hubby came in with the mail and I finally received my Square! I know I am probably late on the whole Square scene because it’s been out forever, but I finally got on track. If you don’t know what the square is you have been living under a rock! The square is an attachment you put on your phone and you are able to accept credit cards and from what I hear checks as well. Many small business owners and freelancers have this lil contraption.

I tested it out with hubby’s credit card and it’s so simple. You can go to The Square Website and simply enter your name and email and they send you a link so set up your account. You just enter in all our information such as name, address and bank information because when you swipe a card it goes to your bank account in 1 to 2 days. In case you are wondering, they charge a 2.75% per swipe, no additional fees and next day deposit. You also download the app on your phone and everything is FREE. Yes you heard right, it’s free. I paid nothing, nada, zip, zilch!

Having something like the square definitely helps when I am on site and a client doesn’t have cash or they just prefer to use credit card because it’s easier to track their expenses.  If you sell jewelry, handmade goods, tshirts or whatever,  this makes it so easy.

I like it because I usually use Paypal for certain things such as tattoo drawings and invoices from makeup gigs and the only downfall to using paypal is that it doesn’t deposit automatically to my bank. I have to transfer it to my bank account and it takes anywhere from 3 to 4 days and nobody has time fo’ that! hahaha

So, I guess this can be somewhat of a review post of the Square. Oh and here is a tip that someone suggested to me is that you should include the fee in your total cost you charge so that you get the full amount of your product/service.

Have you squared up? What are your thoughts on it? I would love to hear from you!

April Showers

 

How was everyone’s Easter Weekend? Ours was pretty good, we did have some rain here and there and it was a lil chilly, but we made it through! The kids, hubby and bro visited my Dad where he spoiled the kiddos with candy and baskets, then we had a lil bbq that we always go to with family and friends. We went for a lil walk and the kiddos picked flowers for us!

I pretty much took a Spring Break Vacay from my blog while Nique was here in town. Plus, I had worked on a play the later part of the week, so I was exhausted from that as well. (pics to come soon!)

Nique went back to Colorado and I miss her so much. It’s crazy that 2 years had already passed since her last visit in 2011. We finally got our sister tattoos which I already posted last post. She also wanted to get her hair done, so of course I had to hook up my sis!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Monday and it’s April already! The kiddos are on spring break and luckily the weather is nice enough so they can run around outside while I attempt to get some work done. I’m trying to wake up a bit by drinking some coffee. I am also re-doing the Pink in my hair since it fades. (That’s the downfall to having bright colors).

Nique and I managed to do some thrift store shopping and regular shopping in the mall too.

Nique had bought me the cute wallet above “Keep Calm and Dream On”- I love anything Galaxy print and of course anything to do with Dreams. We were out and went to Tillys (one of my fav stores) and came across these tan boots with the floral print inside that fold down! I had to snatch them up! They were $40- which is a lot for me to spend, but I know I will wear these all the time!

Charlotte Russe was having a sale on their jewelry Buy one Get one 50% off, so I scooped up some rose studs and these silver feather earrings which I gave one to Nique so we each have a feather!

This is my planner! (Bought at Target) and I always like to put stickers on my planners and these girl stickers by Fatal which are my favs as well!

I scored this cute 80’s boombox bag (with working speakers) at the thrift shop for $4! I have been rockin’ this baby all week! I just love it!

Alright, now that I am done blogging for the day, I am off to jump in the shower and then get some work done!