the week in instagram…

are you as hooked on instagram as i am?!  you can find (and follow, if you’d like!) me at instagram.com/susiecarranzastudio

bare feet in grass

bare feet in grass

earrings: feathers and arrows

late night: making earrings just for fun

pretty paint water, "dream" heart ornament, Jacquard textile colors

pretty paint water, “dream” heart ornament, Jacquard textile colors

Yogi tea wisdom

Yogi tea wisdom

dandelion

dandelion: make a wish

putting items in Etsy shop on sale

putting items in Etsy shop on sale

cloudy february skies

cloudy february skies

photo booth on my iMac

photo booth on my iMac

my parents' geranium plant

my parents’ geranium plant

happy birthday to my husband, Lawrence

happy birthday to my husband, Lawrence

finally - much needed rain

finally – much needed rain

new items for a new year…

i’ve been busy working on my Etsy shop! i created a “SALE” section, to which i’ll be adding certain items at reduced prices. i’ve also been creating new hand painted pieces to add to the shop, and with Valentine’s Day around the corner, i’m hoping my new mixed media hearts, with inspirational words and phrases, will find new homes soon…

Image

these hearts were inspired by the art badge i shared in my last post (2014: create every day…). i loved the art badge so much i recreated it onto a paper mache heart (excuse the photo – it’s from my phone)…

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…and enjoyed that process so much i wanted to make more! i used recycled papers (tissue papers, Gelli Plate prints, junk mail envelopes, book pages, and more), acrylic paints, stamps, and miniature flowers – i love being able to reuse items i already have.

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(another phone pic)….

each heart is one of a kind and available in my Etsy shop now!

my sister patty…

it’s Dia de los Muertos time – a time i LOVE. the tradition, the colors, the altars…all the beautiful ways of celebrating the lives of loved ones no longer here on earth.

i  had planned to blog about Dia de los Muertos: share photos from events we planned to attend, share new Dia de los Muertos artwork, create a new altar and share with you…

then, on October 20th, 2013, we unexpectedly lost my sister Patty.

everything stopped.

i closed my Etsy shops indefinitely.  stayed off of Facebook.  retreated.  looked after my parents.

one day i’ll share with you the story of my sister Patty.  she was one of my biggest supporters.  she would go to my Etsy shop without telling me and buy LOTS of items – never asking for a discount, AND paying for shipping. (we live in the same house.)

as my brother Tommy best describes it – “your story is one of redemption, inspiration and love.

me & my sister patty at our old house

me & patty

i miss my sister.  whenever we have our own home and set up our altar once again, and when i’m ready, i’ll have a very special place for her.

rest in peace, patty.

marigolds

so – they say things happen for a reason…

haven’t written anything since christmas day.  2012.  today is january 29, 2013.

where do i begin?

let’s see…lawrence and i were buying our first house!  EXCITING, huh?!  well, we didn’t.  to make a long story not so long, the guy selling the house didn’t want to repair the damages found during the home inspection and he backed out of the deal.  right before escrow closed.  we had already given our notice to our landlord, had rented a storage unit near the house we were going to buy, and had packed up pretty much about 90% of our belongings when he backed out.

truckpacked

actually, we went through SO much crap with this guy during the whole (almost)home-buying process that we came out angry, tired, and not sure we wanted to do it again any time soon.  we’re lucky to have an awesome real estate agent, paul (lawrence’s cousin) who explained the whole process to us every step of the way and never backed down from trying to get us what we wanted.  i’m sure we’ll eventually buy the right house for us, with paul’s help.

so – we are staying with my parents.  and let me tell you, it’s HARD to go back home.  as an adult.  with your husband.  trying to run a business.  with most of your possessions either at storage, in your parents’ garage, or at friend’s house.  yes, i tell myself we’re lucky we had somewhere to go.  we’re lucky family and friends were there when we needed them.  but once the moving was over, the reality of the situation sets in:  how long will we be here?  living in one room (a room already fully furnished with an oversized couch, a bar, a trundle bed, large screen tv, and a table with 4 chairs) and living out of moving boxes?  my brother and his family took in Canela (our dog; canela is spanish for “cinnamon”) because lawrence and his brother-in-law had to build a fence before we could bring her to my parents’ house.

move:fence:canelacollageWM

we’ve been living here since january 2nd.  it’s been quite an adjustment.  funny thing is, we wanted to move closer to our parents, and we did!  can’t be any closer to my parents than living with them (as lawrence says) and we are much closer to lawrence’s parents’ home too.

so that’s what’s going on here.  i FINALLY got internet service here yesterday, so this week will be back to work on the online shops.

speaking of shops, if you haven’t checked mine out lately, please do!  lots of new work in my Etsy art shop, and lots of new items in my Etsy supply shop –

http://www.etsy.com/shop/asucarr

etsyartshopheartscollage

http://www.etsy.com/shop/susiecarranza

etsysupplyshopcollage

hope you’re having a successful new year!