A Buddha-ful day!

Last week I received our Buddha-ful artwork that I purchased from my extremely talented and lovely friend Angie of Artangel. It is one of the most profound purchases we've made and will forever cherish it.

I had my eye on this Buddha painting for some time and don't know why it took so long to purchase it. We have several Buddha paintings, prints and figurines throughout the house, but nothing of this magnitude - meaning the type of artwork, not that any of them are less worthy as they all have special meaning to us.

I told this story to Angie, but I'll share it with you as well. Our Buddha-ful artwork was traveling all the way from the UK to sunny Arizona. I had the front door open as our weather has been Buddha-ful lately. Oh, and no the 'kids' can't run out as we have a security screen door. I was working in the studio when the 'kids' started barking, then I heard footsteps coming up the walkway. I went to the door to see our mailman carrying a large package and I said out loud "OH IT'S BUDDHA!"

Angie commented that she wondered what the mailman thought as I shouted "OH IT'S BUDDHA!" at him! LOL! Maybe he thought that was one of our 'kids' names. In any case, he just smiled.

When I opened the package, held the painting in my hands and looked at this most Buddha-ful artwork, tears came to my eyes and goosebumps throughout my body. He is much more Buddha-ful in person. Angie captured the very essence of Buddha and every time we glance up at our new Buddha-ful Buddha, we feel at peace.

Angie is a very talented artist. Her work has been exhibited at various locations throughout the UK and since selling online, her work has been sold throughout Europe and the U.S. You can visit her Artangel Etsy shop to see her online gallery for yourself.

Thank you Angie! Have a Buddha-ful day everyone!

Rocki

A Cowgirl at Heart

While growing up I went I went through different phases. I've always been and will always be known as a flower child, but for a time I was also known as a "Kicker". No, not because I went around kicking people - I was a cowgirl and hung out with all the other cowgirls & cowboys. I had a Buckskin Mare named Fancy who was a very good horse and I miss her. My friends had horses, my boyfriend at the time was a rodeo clown, and life pretty much revolved around our "Kicker" lifestyle.

There's something about being a cowgirl that simply makes your heart light up. I admit that sometimes I miss that lifestyle and although I am who I am, I'll always be a cowgirl at heart.

What made me think about my old "Kicker" days is while I was creating in my studio today I came up with a new clasp that reminds me of a lasso. I have titled it: "Rodeo".

Cowgirl up.

Rocki

Aunali

It always touches my heart when my path in this life meets with another kind spirit, like Danielle of Aunali. I just love saying the name of her shop: Aunali - it is a beautiful word in and of itself, but wait until you behold the beauty in both of her shops: Aunali (Elegant Artisan Jewerly) & Olivyea (Artwork of Portraits, Landscapes and Prints)

Danielle and I met in a most disturbing way. If you read my last post about the "thief", then you'll understand why I say this as Danielle is one of the other Etsian's that had several items "stolen" by the thief. We've been talking ever since and she's an absolute joy! Moving on, as this post is not about the thief, it is about Danielle & James, her hubby, and their art.

Aunali - you must read their Profile as it is very touching. Here is a brief quote: "The name of our shop 'Aunali' is the name of our style, which we chose to signify the elegance, beauty and sense of adventure expressed in our jewelry." They not only create finished jewelry, but also a variety of very lovely jewelry findings.

Their work is a collaboration of sorts, Danielle is the artist and James is the engineer, as she says and their work is living proof of this: "I improvise and create as I go, whereas he needs to work from a preconceived design--often one of mine or a spin off of mine, but he thinks up his own as well. He is the soldering genius and can build complicated things that require lots of time, patience and skill--I tend to burn such projects to a crisp or do all the steps in the wrong order. But he needs me to create flowing, feminine forms or tell him if a shape is awkward or doesn't match the design. We really do work very closely on a lot of things. I love it!"

Sometimes while they work, the enjoy listening to "The Teaching Company lectures on philosophy or writing or to books on CD".

It's nice to know where fellow Etsian's live, so I asked Danielle about her surroundings and her answer struck me as quite romantic, which is revealed in her work: "we live in a hilly neighborhood in Temecula surrounded by tall trees of various sorts. Mornings start out overcast and the sun breaks through the mist beautifully around 9:00am. Our walls are covered with my oil paintings, all set in James' handmade and carved dark wood frames! We love to surround ourselves with rich natural tones."

By day, Danielle is a sign language interpreter for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at a local high school. Her goal is to "one day - possibly soon, doing my art full time with James" - I sense that to be a reality.

I must admit that it was very difficult to select photos for this feature as there are SO many to choose from. I love everything about their shop from artistic designs, photo style, color scheme and atmosphere. I realized that I didn't select any of their finished beaded jewelry (hooked on metal, perhaps?), but feel free to visit Aunali for yourself - you'll fall in love at first glance. I did!

Have a beautiful and Aunali kind of day,

Rocki

Shh! Surprise on the way!

I know, don't pass out - I usually do not blog on the weekends as I have no time. However, this morning I'm dragging butt and working on a second cup of coffee pondering over the past few days, but excited about what I'll be doing this weekend!

VERY short version: found an Etsy shop that had one of my items, and a couple other Etsy artists items (possibly more) in her shop for sale - pictures and all! Yep, she actually used pictures of OUR own items, slapped her name on the pics and claimed that she made them, yada yada yada. It was very sickening and disheartening to have discovered this. However, I made a very sweet friend out of this experience who you will meet on Monday. No, not the thief.

ANYway... the surprise part! I was hoping I could get to it last weekend, however I was way too busy. So hopefully by Monday I'll have some new Findings in my shop! Nope. Not tellin! My mouth is shut! (what was that comment hon?)

So in the meantime, here is a shameless plug for some of my new goodies:

Darn. Coffee is gone. Well, time to head into the studio :)

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Peace,

Rocki

Beautiful Day

I found the above picture for a friend, just something to brighten her day. When I came across it, all I could think about was fresh air, peace, happiness, relaxation and Kauai.

Yes, Kauai. Mark & I took a much needed vacation in 2007 to Hawaii. It was my first time there, but not for Mark. Being in the Navy he traveled there a lot and this was one of his many ports. Anyway, with the extremely busy weeks I've been having and wondering how I'll get through the day sometimes, just looking at this simple picture brings peace to me and positive thoughts to a racing mind. A bit of fresh air actually. So with that, I leave you with a few quotes:

"The brain is like a muscle. When we think well, we feel good. Understanding is
a kind of ecstasy."
- Carl Sagan... Broca's Brain

"Love What You Do. Do What You Love."
-Wayne Dyer...Secrets to Manifesting Your Destiny

"I wish I could make a happier world -harmonious, friendly and peaceful."
His Holiness the Dali Lama...Tying Rocks to Clouds

"The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up."
Mark Twain

"When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy."
Rumi - a 13th century Persian poet

"Happiness held is the seed; happiness shared is the flower."
Author Unknown

Last but not least:
"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do. There was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.
A.A. Milne

Peace, Happiness & love,
Rocki

Breath in, breath out

Ever have one of those days, weeks, months... in which it feels there is no end in sight? You know, eating the BIG burrito at once instead of taking one bite at a time? Well, that is how this week + is for me.

All I need to do is pull out my hair and... scratch that. I mean pull out all my scattered thoughts, take it one moment at a time and enjoy the ride. I've been real good about doing this for a long time now. Oh, not pulling my hair out, about taking it moment by moment.

However, I am human and prone to little freak-outs now and again. So I'm reaching deep down inside, will breath in, breath out, and take one tiny bite at a time.

Rocki is here

No, wait... Rocki is HERE!

Ooooh, this is nice. I'm under the waterfall.

Have a truly peaceful week and remember if you're going to eat the BIG burrito all at once, use a napkin please.

Rocki

Grumpy Girl

Feeling grumpy? Do you stink? Lips chapped? House has a funny smell? Need a laugh or bath? Need a massage? You've come to the right place because I can hook you up! Oh, except for the massage part.

If you have not seen Grumpy Girl's Etsy shop, then let me just say that you are missing out! Sharon, little miss Grumpy Girl, has a wonderful since of humor to go along with her FABulous bath, body and candle creations. The overall shop atmosphere is bright, cheerful and colorful with impeccable photos. Okay, and a little on the grumpy side - you MUST read the descriptions to understand, plus they'll give you a great laugh!

In her You Stink So Good section, you can find the above: The Anti Bitch Bar. Read about it to understand the title - hilarious!

Check out the Bitchin Aroma's section and you'll fine several yummy candles like Apple Cinnamon Fruit Cobbler Candle and even a Mason Jar Candle that you can pick your own scent!

Now if you are a chapstick/lip balm fanatic like me (I seriously have one in every room of the house, my purse, car - you name it!) then quickly run to her Lip Crack section! The Choco-Mint Orgasm Lip Balm was one of my first purchases and I am totally hooked! Nice and creamy, not hard and yucky, and the taste... WOW!

Where would we be without soap? Especially handMADE soap! Being a die-hard hippie/flower child, this Acid Trip soap was made for me. Yep. She makes it JUST for me. Okay, not really, but it seems like it. This was my other purchase and wow, this is one big bar of cold processed soap. Love it!

I just ordered some more goodies from little miss Grumpy Girl and can hardly wait to get rid of the stink around here.

Have a very grumpy day ;0

Rocki

House of Rock!

We are totally hooked on Rock Band (Wii). So hooked that we even dress up, or rather dress down, for our weekly band night. Above is Mark, my brother Chris & myself with Sasha & Yogi looking on - our groupies.

One night my brother Chris & his family said that they would be stopping by, so Mark & I decided to have a little fun. We wore our 'weekend clean the yard jeans' (lots of holes) then I used some of my hot pink hair gel (the one I used when we took Danny to Sea World) and pretty much plastered my hair with it (it didn't budge for days ;) I found some old eye shadow (I don't wear make-up) and gave myself a rock girl look. I must admit that was kind of fun. They were a bit surprised when I opened the front door.

Both of my boys play a couple musical instruments every since junior high. Jeremy lives in Portland, otherwise he'd be playing right along with us on our scheduled Thursday Rock Band night with Jason (pictured above with Mark). We named our threesome "House of Rock" and we pretty much rock the house on those nights! When it's just Mark & I, it is "Rock n Bull" (his nickname is Bullwinkle, go figure ;)

My nephew Ian is a born rocker! Mark likes playing the guitar the most. I like playing the guitar & bass too, but love the drums the most. Now I have the wireless drum set plus my own throne to sit on instead of the couch.

Ever since the night they came over, Chris has been on the lookout for a Rock Band set (Wii) and finally got one just a couple weeks ago. They are totally hooked as well. It's great family fun!

So, if you happen to hear music, LOUD music, coming from the southwest and catch a shimmer of glowing pink against the moonlight, it's just the House of Rock!

Have a rockn' week!

Rocki

The WHOLE enchilada!

Unlike my wood carved buddy above, this squirrel has worked herself to the bone this week. Scratch that. Past few weeks. Scratch that one too. Past... I'll stop.

Anyway, I'm taking the entire weekend off. That's right. The whole shebang. The WHOLE enchilada... mmmmm, enchilada (wheat/dairy free of course). I've been working well into the evenings just so I can have this ENTIRE weekend off. What will I be doing?

Saturday:
- enjoy a long relaxing morning with my honey & 4 legged kids, sipping on coffee
- yard work. What, you ask? WORK? This is not work - we love to be out in the beautiful Arizona weather and yes, we truly enjoy yard work
- more relaxing and meditating

Sunday:

Mmmm. Liam Neeson. Fabulous actor. Nice person (from what I've read). Great to look at, er, scratch that. I mean watch. No, not as in stalking, as in watching the movie Taken. Mark & I are going to the movies on Sunday afternoon and then have an early dinner. That's right. NO cooking for me this weekend. Like I said... the ENTIRE weekend off. The whole...

Mmmm. Enchilada.

Peace,
Rocki

My Shining Lights

Without a doubt, I can honesty say that one of the most rewarding things about being a part of the Etsy community is meeting people from all over the world. Especially ones that turn into friends.

Jo, of My Shining Lights, is just that person. She started out as a customer and our friendship grew from there. She is a very sweet and loving person who I enjoy talking with and getting to know more and more. We have some similar things in common, plus we're both December babies, so that brings us even closer.

If you are near the Canadian border please wave as you can almost see where Jo lives in the western corner of Minnesota. The following is a quote from her Profile, I just love what she has to say:

"My first endeavors in creating jewelry were beaded memory wire bracelets and beaded lanyards. These gave me a way to pursue a form of art. I think that, being female, means that the desire to enjoy pretty things is somehow interwoven into our genetic makeup. From the first time as infants that our eyes caught the dancing glimmer of a necklace that was draped upon our loved ones neckline and we tried to grasp, and most likely taste it, we were hooked. It is a "girl thing."

Jo is fairly new to Blogging & Etsy and is eager to learn how to promote her shop as well as other tips & tricks in running them. I've offered to help her along with this.

Please give a warm welcome to my friend Jo and visit her Etsy shop. While there, read her Profile on how she came up with her shop name - it is very sweet. Oh and her blog is Journey Through This Life - I just love that title. So please stop by her blog and say hello :)

From my heart to yours,

Rocki