Creating Beauty out of the ordinary-Practical decor-

I love the feeling of being resourceful. My mother taught my sisters and I, as her mother taught her. I remember hearing that my great-grandmother Hines used to hand-wash plastic bags, and re-use them. She also washed pickle jars out and used them like we would tupperware...now that is recycling, at its utmost.

Here is a creation that I have made out of old jars and a vintage cabinet door. With a little wire, old hankies, ribbon, cup hooks and hardware, it is the prettiest, yet most practical storage display piece.

It can hang above a desk, make-up table or in a kitchen to store pencils, paper-clips, cooking utencils or make-up brushes.

The possibilities are endless.

Stay tuned for a D.I.Y. feature on this item.

Decor and Design-An art in itself

I have been creating-creating away to fill my little shop/booth and for an art show that I did this past weekend.

I love getting lost in the world of creativity, but also thinking of practical ways that people can both decorate and have a functional use for those oh-so pretty things.

Here are some of my latest masterpieces: )...

This is an antique cabinet door that I make both beautiful and practical by decorating it in...yep...birds...my favorite, and attaching an iron hook for hanging purses/coats, etc. Truly a lovely display piece that can come custom in your colors/decor choices


This is part of a set of 2 small, round mosaic tables. I have used antique china plates in pink and green, roses, roses, galore for a wonderfully elegant shabby chic look. They are simply lovely on a patio or as coffee/side tables in your chic home.


This is a real butterfly wing from Rio de Janeiro, that was harvested in the 1950s. No butterflies were killed, the wings are taken after they "fly" on.
It is between 2 glass pieces and has glitter and a piece of vintage sheet music that says "free". This is truly a stunning piece and looks great as a bohemian, chic accessory.

This is a decorative mum made out of recycled coffee filters. It comes in an array or colors and can be purchased on my etsy shop. These are festive, fun and sustainable.

This is a necklace that I featured in my shop for Mother's Day, but makes a great gift for any special lady. It has your choice of silver or antique brass sparrows swooping into their "nest", made from costume pearls and wire. It is truly a unique piece of wearable art.

Brightening up!

The adventure of my own mini shop opening up this past month at an Art/Antique Gallery Extravaganza....has been so great. I have learned that brighter is better, in all cases, and have been playing with color. I transformed an old tea box into a lovely shelf/display nook, thanks to my Papa cutting a shelf, and to my Mother for inspiring the pink hue.






So, that was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to get it in my Flying Whimsy shop tomorrow....

I went ahead and did another pink piece, by re-vamping a barnwood box with a wrought iron cross I bought this fall at a craft show, locally.
I put some silk wildflowers and a hand-sew heart made from a vintage quilt block, complete with an adorable bee charm and some sweet buttons, of course!
It is soooo cute and makes me look forward to warmer weather coming!!! FOR SURE





....and finally, I cannot get enough turquoise, and I discovered this great color at my Mom's house last week...aquamarine, but I still consider it a nice shade of turquoise, anyway, I painted a little table and it turned it so cool I have been going crazy with it ever since! I bought a few more bottles, come to find out they still carry the same color, even after God knows how many years that paint has been bought....yayyyyay!






So, lots of color in my life, and especially in my studio lately. It looks like an easter basket exploded. I love it. I am having a great time.
All is calm, due to yoga/relaxation lately,
and all is bright, due to paint!
Go make your day bright!

-Flying Whimsy Lyndsey

February has come, that means Spring is even closer! Yay

Oklahoma has been feeling more like Minnesota this winter, and for someone like myself who enjoys the sunshine (and needs all the vitamin D I can get), this has been sort of a bummer. Two large snow/ice storms, and 2nd in line to the record snow fall record from 1947...we are at 19 inches, only 5 away from way back yonder.
So-sludge, ice, cold, cloud-cover...not my cup o tea.
I have had a lot to do indoors, so that has been great-I have had my etsy shop since this summer and decided to also open a booth in a local antique/art gallery called Rink.
It is the coolest place, an old ice skating rink that has been converted into the biggest treasure find of all time!!!
Since I decided to go for this, with the collaboration of my mother, I have been immersed in my art, sitting in my apartment listening to music (mostly Johnny Cash/June Carter seems to do the trick lately)
and painting/creating/gluing my fingers together. NEVER underestimate the power of super glue. ever.

Anyway, here are a few things I have created as of late...my favorite thing is to make something out of nothing, create treasure out of junk and art out of the ordinary...


Fun, colorful pool ball wine stoppers!!!! Quite a hit on etsy this Christmas!




I LOVE anything bird...and especially love garage sale finds from the summer like this old elgin lock that was .25!



So, with all of this creativity my apartment has looked like the bag lady's abode...and I was so glad to finally get it all (mostly) moved to the highly anticipated "booth"...and get the ball rolling.
My life has taken some different turns in the past few months, but I have to say that I am pretty content doing what I am doing.
I am happy that at any point in life we can made a complete 180 if we want to. We can be doing one thing one day, and realize the next day that we need to be doing something else. What was once fulfilling is not anymore sometimes and that is ok.
I have learned that allowing ourselves that freedom is what makes life worth exciting at every turn.
I never want to stop learning, growing, discovering, searching, helping, contributing and creating.
Above all I never want to stop loving.
That is what life is for, and what better month than the Valentine month to think on this.
So,
create something...
go ahead....
and love somebody...
or several, while you're at it.
This is the only life we have. Might as well make it a good one.

Announcing the premiere of my beautiful art on Etsy

: ) I'm beaming...I've been working hard on a collection called "Message on a bottle" for the past few months. I made my mother the first one, which was inspired by the love Chapter in Corinthians, and when I gave it to her and explained the idea she loved it.

Here goes...

Have you ever wished you could send someone a message in a bottle? Do you wish you could say something you never said or convey a message that you didn't have the right opportunity for?...and the time passed and it was gone before you knew it...

Well,

This collection is inspired by just that. It is a series of art bottles, made from recycled wine bottles etc...where each one is themed with a "message" on the bottle...to give as a gift to that special someone...even if it is yourself...to portray a special message you would like to share.

So,

I finally added these and my mixed-media art collages to our etsy shop...

here is the link

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7486284

My mother has made some beautiful art bottles as well..and also a cowgirl art collage that is soon to be displayed in our shop ; )

Also great vintage finds soon to come-

Be inspired: )

-Lyndsey

I realize I'm a dreamer in a very practical world....

As I sit here in the quiet (Yes...it is almost 4 a.m.)...I am realizing all the more every day that I am indeed a dreamer. I am trying to sort this all out recently because yet another semester commences on Monday and I have to question my motives, reasons, fears, realities and plans for why exactly this is the path I have chosen for my life. I have always felt like I have had high hopes and dreams for my life, beyond what any cubicle or 9 to 5 career could give me. This is all fine and good and I have come to accept and embrace this as all part of who I am, but no matter how gifted, artistic or creative we are it seems we (I ) am brought down to this soberin reality of survival, practicality and simply how I am going to survive...pay bills...eat...put gas in my car...etc. I know that many, many people have found the balance of doing what they love and what they are great at while also maintaining a life where they are taken care of, comfortable, and in some cases compensated very well for their success in whatever field they chose to take a risk in. This makes me smile because I hope to one day be one of those "people" too. It is definitely not the easiest route. I am surrounded (and will be on Monday) by thousands of people who are either pursuing or living that practical, secure life. There are so many teachers, doctors, lawyers, or math, science, pre-med, marketing, journalism, foreign language studies..etc..majors all over the place, but I being the dreamer, am not one of them. No....I chose the path of the artist. I am reminding myself that I did it because I love to sing, but it gets more complicated than that. I can love to sing all day, and be very good at it, but when it comes down to it this is a difficult journey and is frankly completely freaking me out. I could take a few tests and be certified to teach in Oklahoma...off to a mediocre pay, but nonetheless a secure endeavor where I wouldn't lay awake in cold sweats wondering if the risk I took was indeed worth it....but I have weighed that out and come to the conclusion that I was more willing to take that risk then sacrifice my freedom. I have tried the "norman" job life and felt like a caged bird. I wanted to scream and run... (and most of the time I did...well...at least the running part...)

I am just not cut out for the creativity stifling lifestyle that many people seem to be "ok" with. I feel like I will lose myself, but this journey of mystery and wonder is sure scary too.

I have been singing since I can remember. I sang in church mostly, but then moved on to professional training at the age of 20. I realized I had a gift for singing classically so I moved away and got a degree in it. I was confronted with many obstacles, but through listening to the voice inside of myself and the urging of many teachers/friends/family members to pursue a life/career in opera I decided to shoot for the moon. When most of my peers were moving on to teacher jobs or church minister jobs I was packing up for Grad. School. I knew that the easy days weren't over...they had in fact just begun, but boy oh boy! Was I in for an awakening!

I read some notes I had scribbled down in a notebook my very first week of class in the fall of 07...

I wrote

"I am a very small soprano fish in a big, scary Wagnerian Ocean."

There was an illustration of lil' ol me fish vs. big sharks coming at me surrounded by bubbles and music notes of course.

If you've ever heard Wagner opera then you'll know what I'm talking about. This can be very intimidating stuff!

So....

I've come this far and am making discoveries about life/art/music/dreams every single day. There are many things I love to do besides singing classically. I love to sit in my apartment and write songs at my piano...folk/indie/rock/old gospe influence...

I have recently discovered my passion for collage making, and also other artistic endeavors that bring me much joy and satisfaction out of expressing my emotions in other ways besides belting high notes...

I love photography, interior design, make-up artistry, architecture, but the #1 thing I always come back to at the top of my list of things I love to do is help people. Even if it is through small things I love the feeling in my heart that I have when I help people.

I get this feeling singing in nursing homes or volunteering for homeless people. I get this feeling when I give my stuff away to someone who needs it worse than I do or just by smiling at someone that passes by. They look back at me like they needed it sometimes, and that is worth it all...to just help one person a day makes me feel like I am doing something good, giving back to this world even though I am a person who doesn't exactly have everything figured out and am not "there" myself...wherever "there"...is.

So-

In all of this sorting out process of how to hold the balance of taking care of things and still being that drifter/dreamer/artista I have decided that it may take me a while to get to this place, but while I am on my way there I am going to make a difference in this world. It might not be on a stage dressed up as Madame Butterfly...It might not be releasing the new cutting edge indie album and having thousands of downloads a day on i-tunes...maybe not being a premiered artist in New York...or famous interior designer....

but I want to make a difference somehow..even if it is small. Even if no one ever reads my name on a marquis, if I affect one person for the better every once in a while...I will(and do) feel complete.

So,

I am on a quest.

Do something nice for someone every day. Even if it is for myself...because some days I need it pretty bad....

and I figure instead of waiting for someone else out there to "fix"it for me, I am good as any. : )

So..

I started thinking about this yesterday,

and as I was standing in line at Hobby Lobby I was in a bit of a hurry, getting pretty impatient because they aren't exactly the quickest checkers in the world...I had a few things in my cart and it felt like I had been in line forever!...

I got to the counter finally and then realized that the people behind me had a small child (around 3) who was being really good...considering the line...and the woman was very pregnant...and they only had 1 picture frame.

So...I know it isn't like handing over my winning lottery ticket or anything...but I let them go ahead of me...

and they smiled and I smiled and the checker smiled

Everyone was happy!

...and I realized that it wasn't that bad waiting a bit longer because in all reality they needed to get going probably a big worse than I did...and I gotta hand it to that kid because he was being really, really good.

So-there that one was...

and today I bought myself flowers. Yeah, they were very inexpensive Wal-Mart flowers, but I needed them. I needed to feel special, and there is nothing like fresh flowers in your house to brighten up the mood...because with all of this contemplation of "Where is my life going" I needed to chill out and be lifted.

So that is what I did, and I am going to do this every day(not buy myself flowers...I wish....but do something for someone/somewhere...

I feel like nothing but good can come out of it and despite the craziness and the unpredictable nature of my life I can feel good about something small that I do have control over. And that is priceless.

We're all here once, we might as well make it a better world.

Today is a new day. I love the way that even though life sometimes rushes over us like waves on the ocean we can wake up and everything seems new...endless possibilities...
Each and every day is a new day. I have been reflecting a lot on time, the passing of time and what we do with the time we have given to us.
My mother created a beautiful art piece entitled "time in a bottle"...this is part of our "message on a bottle" series we are creating for our etsy shop...they soon will be on there...so I will keep you posted...
I feel blessed. Life is full of infinite love. I have been full of this love every day, despite all that happens and all of the craziness that ensues....
I have been reading some quotes by Emerson that have really been helping me.
Here are some for you, I hope they make your journey lighter.

Be not the slave of your own past. Plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I pack my trunk, embrace my friends, embark on the sea, and at last wake up in Naples, and there beside me is the Stern Fact, the Sad Self, unrelenting, identical, that I fled from.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air…

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Make yourself necessary to somebody. Do not make life hard to any.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hitch your wagon to a star.

Ralph Waldo Emerson,

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.

Ralph Waldo Emerson,