Fallen Bird Nest



Texas Tumbleweed or Bird Nest?

 It's been 57 days without rain here in Houston.  I have a yard full of dry hay instead of green grass.  The mornings have been cloudy for several days but by noon those clouds are moved north by the winds.  Today I came home to find this bird nest in my front yard, apparently blown down by the winds.  I thought, how sad for that little bird who worked so hard to build that nest for her eggs and to just loose it all by the wind.  The nest caught my eye because it is made of dried grass and it reminded me of a Texas tumbleweed.  I took the picture because I like how the nest and the dry grass in my yard blended  together.  From a distance you can't even see the nest, it kind of just blends into the yard.  As a self proclaimed artist, I'm thinking "What can I do with that nest?"  I thought of making a hat with it, not to wear of course, just as a piece of art.  What would you do with it?  Any suggestions?

Cascarones (Confetti Eggs)

This Easter we had our traditional easter egg fight.  It is a mexican custom to crack colorful confetti eggs on unsuspected heads. But be careful whose head you crack because paybacks can be hell.  We had a wonderful time with family and friends.  I would estimate we had about 25-30 dozen confetti eggs.  Thanks to Mother Nature for supplying lots of wind that day.  We did not have to rake up all that confetti.

TEXAS STEP STONES

The St. Ambrose Bazaar was a success.  I sold all the Easter baskets and some of the stepping stones.  Just had one Texas Stepping Stone left.  I decided to donate it to a silent auction for Our Lady of Guadalupe School.  Last night I received a call from someone who saw the Texas Step Stone at the bazaar.  This weekend I will be busy making two more Texas stones.  I LOVE TEXAS!

My Little Boy Growing Up To Fast

Seems like just yesterday I took John by the hand and walked into the elementary school down the long hallway to his first classroom.  Like many first time moms I cried on my drive back home.  It was not until fourth grade when John was diagnosed with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder).  Back then I was in denial of him having this disorder, thinking once he learns to read better,  he would outgrow it.   After much deliberation I went ahead and put him on medication.  My decision did not come easy.  It was a close family friend who convinced me on the meds.  Her teenage son who was also diagnosed with ADD had taken his life and she like myself did not want to put her son on the meds.  To this day she wonders, if he had taken the meds would he still be alive today?  Now that John is a teenager, he refuses to take the meds and continues to struggle through high school. So here we are, a month from John graduating from high school.  Where did the years go?  My son has grown up to fast.  I continue to pray every day that God help John throughout his life as he continues his education.  His plans are to attend Houston Community College then to graduation from Sam Houston State.  Whatever life brings,  Juan and I will always love, support and hold his hand if need be.  No matter how grown up he becomes he will always be my little boy.   

Change Happens

There is a saying here in Texas "If you don't like the weather, just wait awhile, it will change."  Sunday evening I wore a skirt and sandals to church.  An hour later I wished I had worn pants and shoes.  Monday morning I went to work wearing another skirt with sandals.  By noon I went home and changed into sweat pants and tennis shoes.  Monday night we pulled out the covers to keep warm while we slept.  This morning I dusted my boots and put on corderoy pants with a sweater. Here it is ten o'clock and the sun is shining warming up the day and yet the teachers and students are complaining that the rooms are cold, so we turn off the air conditioner.  I know that if I wait awhile, they will be complaining that the rooms are hot.  In life, change happens.  You have to be prepared to change with it.  If not, you too will be complaining.  To be prepared for the weather change, I keep a jacket at work.  As for changes in my life, I try to keep prepared for whatever life has to bring and think of any changes as a positive instead of a negative.  Thinking positive makes it easier to adjust to any changes in life.  After all, without change, life would be boring.   Here in Houston, the weather has changed again, it turned out to be a beautiful day.  I think I'll go out and enjoy this nice weather. How is the weather in your part of the world?

Stepping Stones/Yard Art

SOLD

Spring is my favorite time of year.  That is when things come to life.  Birds sing, flowers bloom.  Well some flowers, not mine.  This is the time I like to go outside and work on art projects like these stepping stones.  I purchased the cement stepping stones from my local hardware store.  There are several sizes, I chose the 12 x 12 because any bigger they get heavier and harder to pick up.  The hardest part of making these stepping stones is choosing the color stain glass.  I  have already told my sons they will go with me to unload from my car.  I sure hope I don't have to load them in my car after the show.  They do get heavy. 

Yard Art

While doing yard work, the boys came across these scalloped broken cement bricks used for landscaping.  Instead of throwing them out I decided to make some yard art.  I hope to sell them at my next show at St. Ambrose on April 17.  I have more blank cement bricks to create art.  I just do not have enough time to finish them all by next month.  We also found some rocks that I have washed and cleaned.  I have something in mind for those rocks too.  I have now asked my neighbors for broken cement or rocks they don't want. 

SOLD

SOLD

Apple

A student gave me this perfume for my birthday in January.  The name is Red Apple.  It comes in this really cute bottle and smells good - not what you would expect.  It does not smell like apples. LOL  :) It looks cute on my desk.  Can you find me in this picture?  Look closely in the leaf and in the top of the  bottle.

Fish Fry

Two years ago I started inviting my brother's family and my godmother's family for a fish fry every Friday during Lent.  As good neighbors often do, each family called asking what could they bring to the dinner.  Since I provided the fish, shrimp and fries, I ask one family to bring a dessert and the other family to bring a covered dish.  After doing this for a couple of weeks, we decided that each family would take turns hosting the Fish Fry in their own home.    It would be up to the Host Family to decide what they would provide as the main dish and the invited families to bring a covered dish or dessert.  Some Friday's would be cheese enchilidas or bean tostadas or any other dish as long as it was not meat.  It is up to the Host Family if they wanted to invite others to our Friday Fish Fry gatherings.  Last year another family was added as a Host Family.   As life goes on, and certain situations happen, sometimes a family can not Host the dinner.  No worries - there's always someone willing to take on the challenge as Host.
This Friday was my turn to Host the Fish Fry.  As Host, I invited my brother Ruben and my brother Jesse and his wife Janie who celebrated a birthday this week.  The challenge was sitting 15 people to eat at the same time.  But my biggest worry was having enough fish for all my hungry guest.  Since I am off on Friday's I had plenty of time to batter the fish and shrimp.  Thanks to my husband who came home early from work to do the frying outside.  It turned out to be a nice evening with no television, plenty of laughs and interesting conversations and most important plenty of good food.

St. Patricks Day

Multi-colored green stain glass pieces

I want to wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day.  My day started out with me fishing through green pieces of scrap glass to finish a garden stone that I am working on.  The stone is a broken piece of cement from my garden.  I placed a butterfly made with stained glass in the center of the stone.  The green glass was used as the background to represent grass. I keep most of my scrap glass to use for mosaics.  I have several plastic shoe boxes to hold different colors of glass but I keep all the same color in one box regardless of texture or shade.  It's alot of fun to see what one can create with broken pieces of glass and broken cement.  Plus I like the idea of recycling and saving money.  Tomorrow I will start grouting as I have about ten pieces that are ready for this next process.  I will post pictures of the finished stones when they are finished.  Hope you all had a Happy Saint Patrick's Day.

Pictures at Mi Tierra

Pictures of Juan & I at Mi Tierra Mexican Restaurant in San Antonio. It was a short one day trip but enjoyed the ride, music and bonding with my fifteen year old son, who also took the trip with us.

Repujado

This past Friday I drove to San Antonio to take a class in Repujado at Stamp Antonio Arts  http://www.stampantonio.com/.  Repujado is a spanish word at means to push.  Some may know it as metal pushing or metal embossing.  For this class the medium we used was pewter.  I was one of five students who had not taken the Introduction To Repujado Class.  But I have had some experience at embossing on soft copper and silver sheets, which is why I was allowed to take the class.  The other students brought some examples of their previous work.  I on the other hand did not have any examples because what I did make I gave them away as gifts. The instructor, Thelma Muraida, http://www.thelmamuraida.com/ was very informed of this craft and gave a little history of repujado and of the mexican game of Loteria, which we call Mexican Bingo.   You see the image that we embossed was picture #41 La Rosa from the Loteria game.  Thelma showed us how to create depth, texture and how to show details of  the rose.  She also kept reminding us to let our tools do the work.  Thelma was an excellent teacher with lots of patience. She did stay at the end of class to answer a few questions I had and  made herself available for any future questions.  I enjoyed the class and came home with a nice piece of art that I love and plan on mounting.  The only thing I would have liked is to have more time to patina and mount La Rosa.  There are about 50 pictures in the game of Loteria, I wonder which I will choose to push next.  But this is not just limited to the pictures in the game.  The images are only limited by your imagination.  By the way, if you are ever in the San Antonio area, I recommend stopping into Stamp Antonio Arts.  They are a One-of-a-kind Art Rubber Stamp Store and More with very friendly customer service. 

Stepping Stones

I am so excited to be working in stained glass again.  I had taken time away from my hobby to enjoy the holidays with my family.  It is time to get back to breaking glass.  It all started because I signed up to participate in a church/school bazaar in March.  But, first things first.  I could not start until I cleaned my shop.  You see, I have the habit of throwing everything in there.  I was embarrassed to let my niece in my shop when she came buy to order a piece of glass for her husband's birthday gift.  Well, I didn't quite get it cleaned, I just moved cutting the glass to my porch to enjoy these nice cool days.  I have three stepping stones ready to be grouted and my shop still not cleaned.  Oh well! Tomorrow's another day.  Oh  - wait, tomorrow I will be in San Antonio attending a class in Repujado at Stamp Antonio Arts.  Maybe Saturday I can clean my shop.  Hope you all have a great weekend.  Will give an update on my class when I return. 

OWOH Prize Winner

I had a great time traveling the world and participating in the One World One Heart (OWOH).  The winner of my prize gift is Joanie #673 of Full of Bolognie.  Joanie will receive the pink irredized stained glass heart suncatcher.  Congrats Joanie! 

One World One Heart 2011

Hi, Welcome to my blog.  I am a stained glass, mixed media artist and blogger from the Lone Star State.  I was born and raised in the heart of Texas.  When people think of Texas, they think of cowboys.  When I think of Texas, I think of home.  As a matter of fact we have people from all over the world who call Houston home.   I invite you to visit my blog to see a little part of my corner of this blogger world. You will see my first love (family and life) and my passion for art.  Stained glass remains my hobby of choice with a little rubberstamping and mixed media art thrown in.  So pour your favorite drink, sit down make yourself comfortable and have fun blogging.

Leave me a comment for a chance to win my door prize.  This stained glass heart suncatcher is made with a pink irredized glass.  By the way, don't forget to leave your contact info for the drawing which will take place February 17th. I'll also visit your blog and leave my comments.

Great Men

I am very fortunate to have two men in my life. They both are very well respected in their careers and loved by many family and friends.   So today, I wish to share my father and husband with you all. 

The first man who loved me and was a great father, provider, friend, and police officer was my dad.  Even though he is not alive, his love of faith and family has influenced me to this day. If you knew him, you know that he was a tall, heavy set man who wore the badge with pride.  What you probably don't know is the story of how he came to be one of Houston's Finest.  As a young man he followed the footsteps of his older brothers and registered for the Armed Forces.  He was rejected due to a small disability with his fingers and hands.  They thought he would have trouble firing a weapon. So he was left behind and his parents had high hopes of him attending college to become a doctor.   Of course, those were his parents dreams  - not his.  A friend tells him that the city is hiring.  The City of Houston is booming and has lost many men who have gone to war.   Somehow my dad hides his disability or the city is in need of officers that they overlook the disability and hire him.  In any case, he is capable of shooting a hand gun and is sworn in as the second Mexican American Police Officer for the City of Houston.  At the time of his retirement, my dad had thirty-three years of service to the citizens of Houston. In all those years he helped many people who found themselves in trouble with the law.  After his death, I learned that what he gained was the respect of many and am proud to say that he never had to shoot his gun.

The second man in my life is my husband, Juan.  He is also a police officer for the City of Houston who wears the badge with pride.  Juan has served the citizens for twenty years and has earned the respect of many citizens as well as officers.  We were teenagers when we met and were friends for many years before we married.  We were such good friends that I let him use my car five days a week to make the twenty plus miles to the police academy because it was more dependable than his older car.  Juan has told me that this is his dream and that he loves going to work everyday.  I don't know what made Juan decide to join the police force.  I do know that he is good at his job and that several officers respectfully call him the Ward Lord or Ward Dog.  You see in all the years of service, he has patrolled in the same beat.  The Fifth Ward beat is one of the most busiest in the City of Houston.  For this reason many rookies are trained in this beat but transfer out as soon as they can.  They say it takes a Real Police Officer to patrol Fifth Ward.  I am proud to say that I am married to a Real Police Officer.  It takes a lot to be considered one of Houston's Finest and earn the respect of many. There are many things like training, education, respect and common sense that keep Juan safe.  I believe the most important is our Faith and trust in God.   Faith follows Juan everywhere he goes and will see him enter the front door to our home where I will be waiting. 

I don't need one day designated as Father's Day to honor the two men in my life.  For this reason I am sharing two great men with you today.  I love them both.

Saint Michael

I won this charcoal drawing of Saint Michael in a silent auction at Our Lady of Guadalupe School.  The young artist is my nephew Lalo who was in 2nd grade at the time of the drawing. I had the drawing framed because the charcoal would rub off onto your fingers, clothes and everything else. Can you make out the artist writting at the bottom of the picture?  It hangs in the hallway where everyone can see it when they enter our home.   

Christmas Card

Every year Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School in Houston, Texas sends out Christmas Cards made by one of their students.  This past year (2010) my niece was the lucky artist chosen to showcase her drawing on the annual Christmas Card.  The young artist is only thirteen years old and is in the eighth grade. The young beautiful artist is also one of my many favorite nieces. 

On the front of the card is a bright star shining upon Our Mother Mary holding Baby Jesus.  The artist also wrote Peace down the left side of the card with her name underneath.  The inside of the card reads:  May the joy and wonder of the Christ Child fill your hearts this Christmas.  And may the New Year be filled with blessings.  Merry Christmas! 
I have to say that this is my favorite card I have ever received.  I love it so much that I decided to frame and display it year round.  I have not told her what I have done with the card.  It will be a surprise next time she visits.  I plan on inviting her over this weekend because I can't wait to see her reaction. 

blue ornaments

These are some examples of blue ornaments on my Blue Chrismas Tree.

Blue Christmas Tree

 For twenty years I have decorated a Blue Christmas tree for my husband in honor of all law enforcement.  It started the first year we were married.  At first it was just a small tabletop tree.  I have accumulated so many ornaments that I went to a larger table tree.  This year I have gone to a tall thin potted tree I found on clearance the year before.  I love this tree.  It is easy to set-up and the branches fold up for easy storage. This year my boys found one more ornament to add to the tree. In addition, I found a blue star for the top of the tree, round glass ornaments in silver and blue and added a string of blue lights.  I will show pics of some of the ornaments on this blue tree in another post.