CRESCENDOh Day Four and Madge's Thursday Musings...

Yup, it's day four on CRESCENDOh and my featured artists today are the craftylicious Cathie Filian and Kathy Peterson's inspiring Craft for Health blog. Please follow the link to visit these wonderful artists!

Madge muses...

The funny thing about life is that things are often not what they seem. We build up these grand expectations about them and then we realize that the shiny toy is maybe not so shiny at all. Expectation is a slippery slope. It can make us ignore our intuition and get caught up in our personal mythology. People can't actually know what we want from them if we don't speak it out loud. Things can't always unfold the way we'd like them to because we aren't the only ones in charge of reality.

I hear people often say that they have no regrets. I think that's pretty impressive, really. I surely have regrets. I think a life worth living almost always results in at least a few regrets. Living out loud means making choices that might not always end up the way we'd like them to. I think we all sometimes say something we didn't mean or forget to say something we did or opt for that shiny thing even when something in our gut tells us it might not be wise.

It's part of the deal. We will, if we march boldly ahead, make a few unfortunate turns and we will, if we live passionately, make a mistake or two. Yes, it's a dichotomy. There are no mistakes, but there are choices and consequences and some of the consequences are rather unpleasant. So perhaps we might call them mistakes, for lack of a better word? Those mistakes or consequences are opportunities and we can grow from them, learn from them and most importantly use them as a way to fine tune the practice of unconditional love. Practicing love for ourselves and love for those we encounter, especially those whom we don't much like.

We just keep making our way here through the wilderness and if we use our heart as our compass and our intellect to tender some of the intensity of the heart, we will at the very least end up having a most interesting journey.

I'm feeling introspective today. It is fall and this is what happens to me as winter starts lurking around the edges of my reality. I'm making huge changes and they're not going to make everyone happy. I'm probably going to step on a few toes without meaning to and I'm not quite sure how to prevent that. My entire reality and the entire fabric of my family's reality is shifting, and it is a huge thing. I have to hold on to the power of serendipity and the knowledge that no matter what choices I make, no matter where we end up, as long as I maintain the compassionate heart, all will be fine.

"My religion is kindness." The 14th Dalai Lama

"There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. We seek problems because we need their gifts." Richard Bach Illusions

“There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they're necessary to reach the places we've chosen to go.” Richard Bach The Bridge Across Forever

Love
Madge

Designerpalooza Week #5 Adirondack Chair Challenge

It's the final week of the Designerpalooza Kathy Peterson for The Cedar Store Design Challenge! This week's offering is from creative mastermind, spokesperson, designer, consultant and all around crafty guru Julianna Hudgins. She is, by far, one of the most brilliant and talented folks in the craft industry and her upbeat and positive take on everything she does is infectious in the best possible way.

Bio

Julianna Hudgins is a well-known mover, shaker and influencer in the creative crafting community. Adored by fans worldwide, she has built a loyal following through her regular television appearances on QVC craft and toy hours, TNN’s Aleene’s Creative Living, HGTV’s Carol Duvall Show, PBS Scrapbook Memories, DIY Scrapbooking, Discovery Channel’s Home Matter’s, Shop at Home TV, and the Home Shopping Network.

Julianna’s sincerity, compassion, and genuine enthusiasm for the creative arts has built a loyal viewing and shopping audience for many years. Julianna was selected by the Craft & Hobby Association to present the latest trends and techniques at the Japan Hobby show in Tokyo, has earned recognition as one of the “Top Eight Scrapbooking Authorities” by the DIY Network and has penned four insightful books on various aspects of crafting.

Known by friends and industry professionals as “Jewels”, Julianna is married to Rich and mother to Josh and her boxer dog, Billybob. She enjoys traveling, making jewelry, shopping and spending quality time with friends and family.

Julianna is giving away a FABULOUS prize so please go and leave a comment for a chance to win!

Check out this GORGEOUS chair and then don't forget to visit the blogs of the other participants!

Pat Sloan

Julie Fillo

Margot Potter

Kathy Cano-Murillo

Kathy Peterson

The Cedar Store

Designerpalooza Week #4 Adirondack Chair Challenge!

I can't believe it's week Four of the Kathy Peterson for The Cedar Store Adirondack Chair Designerpalooza Challenge! Where is the time going?!

This week we've got what I'm sure is going to be an absolutely craftacular design by the amazing Crafty Chica! Intriguing photo, isn' t it? You can click on it to visit Kathy Cano Murillo's blog and see the full design.

Kathy Cano-Murillo Bio: Kathy Cano-Murillo is a writer, artist, and craft product designer. She has sold her "Chicano Pop Art" crafts and products to hundreds of retailers including Bloomingdales, Target and Michaels. She has authored seven books including Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing and is the founder of www.CraftyChica.com, a wildly popular site crafty lifestyle site. She has a web series on LifetimeTV.com, has been profiled in The New York Times, USA Today, NPR and has an extensive Crafty Chica product line. Kathy's new novel entitled Waking Up in the Land of Glitter debuted in March. Kathy lives in Phoenix, AZ, with her husband, two kids and five Chihuahuas. Her motto for life is "Crafts, drama and glitter".

Don't forget to check out the blogs of the other designers in the challenge:

Margot Potter (of course)

The Cedar Store!

Pat Sloan

Julie Fillo

Julianna Hudgins

Kathy Cano-Murillo

Week Three of Designerpalooza! My Chair!

'Relax' Adirondack Chair Designed by Margot (and Andrew) Potter
Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved

"It was 1946 and Lana was exhausted. A few years ago, she was just another wide eyed kid on a stool at a soda fountain. What a ride! Still, years of the relentless Hollywood star machine were beginning to wear her down. Being a movie starlet isn't all it's cracked up to be, but for the most part it's nice work if you can get it. The pay isn't too shabby either.

She wrapped her "of course it's my natural color" blonde hair up in a glamorous white satin turban, added some oversized matching sunglasses and tossed her swimsuit, espadrilles and a few cotton rompers into a carry-on bag and left LA for Miami. A few nights at the Riviera in South Beach were just what a dame needed to get her moxie back. Though traveling incognito, Lana knew her ruse wouldn't last for long.

Oh to be a normal person for a day or two without any deadlines, photo shoots, film sets, special appearances, interviews or scripts to memorize. She settled back in her pretty pastel painted Adirondack chair with a tall Tom Collins for just a fleeting moment of solitude..."

Relax Adirondack Chair View Two Copyright Margot (and Andrew) Potter

Like Ms. Lana, I was feeling pretty worn out when I designed this chair. I wanted the chair to remind me that it's okay to sit back and relax. In fact, it's imperative!

I started with the idea of a 1940s pastel color palette. I'm relentlessly specific about color. It took about an hour in Lowe's to find these gorgeous saturated retro pastels. I was envisioning a chair from an old 40s beach resort that had seen better days, but still retained its retro charm. My husband and I teamed up on designing the sign and he did the manual labor for me. He's a mighty good man. We did a little sanding on some of the edges for a distressed, aged effect. You can also opt to add water to your paints to get a wash of color instead of a saturated finish.

I wanted a chair I could keep in my yard and enjoy for years to come and these Adirondack Chairs designed by Kathy Peterson for The Cedar Store are so beautifully crafted I'm quite sure they'll do the trick!

And yes, I intend to relax in this chair as soon as I get back from my photo shoot next week! No, seriously!

Next week we get a dose of fabulous from the incomparable Crafty Chica, Kathy Cano-Murillo.

Stop by and visit all of the designers in the challenge for more inspiration!

Margot Potter (of course)

The Cedar Store!

Pat Sloan

Julie Fillo

Julianna Hudgins

Kathy Cano-Murillo

Designerpalooza: Week Two!

It's week two of Designerpalooza! Design Diva Kathy Peterson and The Cedar Store have invited five fabulous designers to create their own one of a kind creations starting with a blank Adirondack chair and their imaginations. Check out this sneak peek from Julie Fillo! I'm loving it already. Here's some info about Julie, be sure to follow the link to her blog to see her chair!

Julie Fillo
Julie Fillo has been painting and loving birds and flowers most of her life. She paints in acrylics and mixed media and loves to splash color and portray exuberance in what she calls Contemporary Folk Art. She really enjoys making up flowers and plants and birds, but lately has been collaborating with a Taiwanese photographer, Sushyue Liao, using his bird images in her paintings. She has been married 35 years, has 3 wonderful children and 2 beautiful grandchildren. She paints in a tiny studio upstairs that looks out on the back garden in a 105 year old home in the North Slope Historic District in Tacoma, Washington.

Designerpalooza Week One for Kathy Peterson and The Cedar Store!

My friend Kathy Peterson is a whirlwind. She's a TV host, designer, writer, lifestyle expert and all around creative guru. She's got a fabulous new line of Adirondack Chairs for The Cedar Store and recently she invited me and four other designers to participate in a designer round robin. I was so flattered and excited to be part of such an amazing group of creative women. Each of us got our very own Adirondack chair to decorate and every Tuesday for the next five weeks we'll each post a sneak peek and a link to the featured designer's work of art.

Pat Sloan is the first designer in our group and I was intrigued by the painted pattern on her sneak peek. She's a reknowned quilter and artist and I do believe, if I'm not mistaken, I detect a quilt pattern, perhaps even a wedding circle motif, here. Here is Pat's bio below and if you click on the picture above you'll be magically transported to her blog and get the full view! Thanks to

Pat Sloan has been creating since she was a child. From the first shoebox dioramas to sketches for a fabric line, there has always been creative energy flowing. When she tried her hand at quilting in 1985, she never looked back. Now, owner and founder of the quilting design and publishing company Pat Sloan & Co., she has published over 20 books, more than 100 patterns, nearly 10 fabric lines, and has had her work featured in major quilt magazines.

Pat first began sharing her knowledge through her publications, workshops, and lectures, but as expanded her reach through social media. She has built quilting yahoo groups, forums, facebook communities, and even the group “Quilters in Second Life” for quilting enthusiasts using the popular virtual world, Second Life. Also interested in beading, painting, and paper crafting, Pat’s overall passion has always been to help others harness their creative energy.

Happy Independence Day!

It's Independence Day here in the US and I'm trying my best to relax and enjoy, though that darned straw pile is ever present. Here's a video from my appearance last year on The Balancing Act with the lovely Ms. Kathy Peterson. I share a super simple and simply fabulous bracelet featuring Beadalon wire and SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS crystals. You can adapt this project to suit any day of the year as you'll see when you watch!

Happy 4th of July!

Love
Madge

The Balancing Act for Beadalon

I'll be appearing on Lifetime TV's The Balancing Act on July 2nd. Considering how much juggling I've been doing lately, it's highly appropos. The good folks from Beadalon asked me to film a segment on jewelry making featuring their fabulous products. What fun! I flew to Tampa and had a delightful time on set showing hostess and crafty maven Kathy Peterson a simple double needle ladder stitch bracelet technique that's easy and fun for anyone to recreate.

Here's a press release they sent about the segment! Tune in!

Cheers,

Madge

The Balancing Act On Lifetime Television Offers Creative “Gems” For At-Home Crafters

Learn the Latest Looks in Do-It-Yourself Jewelry

For Immediate Release

(Pompano Beach, FL ) – A great way to display your creative side is through jewelry-making. To learn the latest trends and styles, The Balancing Act on Lifetime Television welcomes Margot Potter, a multi-talented designer for Beadalon, a provider of do-it-yourself jewelry supplies; how-to videos and other instructional aids. The segment airs July 2nd as part of the Tribute to the American Family Special.

“Jewelry-making is a super way to show off your unique personality by making one-of-a-kind pieces,” she says. “Not only is it a great family hobby, but also gives you quality time to spend with your teenager.” The end result is beautiful, wearable art that doesn’t cost a lot of money.

Beadalon provides all the goods you’ll ever need: stringing tools and other supplies for do-it-yourself jewelry fabricators. The firm lends a hand by also offering detailed instructions, animations and streaming videos on its website (www.beadalon.com.)

“If it’s not fun, it’s simply not worth doing,” says Potter, an actress, vocalist and noted author of books that include The Impatient Beader how-to series. She invites people to “think outside of the box” when designing high-quality pieces to either wear or give away as special gifts. “Coordinate the jewelry with your wardrobe as an expression of your own personal style,” she encourages.

Beadalon has been serving the at home jewelry market for the past 33 years. And long before “going green” was the environmental watchword, the firm created stainless steel jewelry parts with 60 percent recycled content. It continues to lead the way with new “green” initiatives.

Potter’s signature approach kick starts the creative process for do it yourself crafters. She invites everyone to the table for a helping of hand-designed fun and family camaraderie with crafting supplies from Beadalon.

“With Beadalon, you get to spend time together making exceptional jewelry designs in a green-friendly atmosphere,” says Doug Campbell, Executive Vice President of Programming, BrandStar Entertainment, the producers of The Balancing Act. “I know our audience will enjoy this segment.”

About Brand Star Entertainment The Balancing Act: The Balancing Act TV show on Lifetime Television is America’s only morning show about women, for women, trusted by women. Celebrating life and all there is to accomplish, The Balancing Act inspires and empowers with entertaining and educational segments, placing women in the best position to achieve success in every area of their lives. The show is produced by BrandStar Entertainment and airs on Lifetime Television 7 a.m. Eastern/Pacific (check local listings). Additional information and each segment can be accessed on the show’s website, www.TheBalancingAct.com. Each episode is also available on www.Google.com/video and www.YouTube.com. Sign up for the show’s newsletter at www.thebalancingact.com/join.php. For more details about BrandStar Entertainment please visit www.brandstarentertainment.com.