KC Willis's Workshop ROCKED!!!!

 {the fabric table, I took that top piece}

Really....I mean REALLY Friends???

Is this what an Art Retreat is like?

Is this what I've been missing ALL my life??

 Yesterday, I spent the entire day with KC Willis of Lipstick Ranch & some of the
most delightful, talented & creative women you could ever meet.

 We gathered at a Community Room in Huntington Beach, California.

I got there a little early as they were setting up tables of fabric, paper,

sewing machines, baubles & buttons. It was a FEAST for the eyes!

KC had brought some absolutely AMAZING pieces of her original

fabric collages & had them set up for us all to look at & fall in LOVE with,

I LOVED them ALL!

Now, I'll tell you a secret...

 I'm a little bit of a KC Willis groupie, all though she wouldn't know that.

I have been following her work & her on-line workshops for years &

quietly coveting her work.

 Not only does the textures & layers & time worn images of her work appeal to me,

but her STRONG WOMEN & their SAYIN's & QUOTES, have captured my heart!

"Inside Every Woman a Gypsy Girl Dances by the Fire."

KC Willis also had these fabric collage envelopes that were pieces of art themselves,

filled with three CD's of workshops & demonstrations on how to create

some of her most popular techniques & art work...pretty cool right!

You can find these HERE if your interested.  ;)

A stack of some of her yummy goodness!!!

I wish I could have gone back today because she was teaching how to make

these awesome Mixed Media Collage Books.

Here's a couple inside pages she had at the workshop as an example...

aren't they FABULOUS!!!

This flag is to die for, it's spectacular with all it's vintage fabrics, red ticking stripes

& multiple vintage image transfers...loving EVERYTHING about it & you can get it in a kit!!!

So what can I say about KC?
She is a spirit filled with light & it's contagious.
Her mantra is 'Give it ALL Away'...you will get back more then you could ever imagine.
She reminds me of one of the Strong Women in her artwork...
she's funny & sassy & I adored her!
{check out her ministry work at The Pine Ridge Reservation on South Dakota}

She holds nothing back, she teaches you ever little technique she uses to create her Magic...

and as we all started our own creations, KC's Magic filled the room & we took FLIGHT!

This being my very FIRST workshop, I can see how you could get addicted to the process,
being surrounded by so many creative & generous women was a delight.

Friends, I had SOOOOOO much fun working on my own creation!  ;)
I learned how to be brave sewing with layers of  fabrics, fibers & papers,
I learned to embrace the accidental mistakes that happen when creating
& I learned that Aleene's Tacky Glue can hold almost ANYTHING in place!! lol

{Marilou & KC Willis}
But best of all, I was able to hang with some of my bloggie friends in person & have the
sincere pleasure of meeting KC Willis the artist, the humanitarian, the 'SPITFIRE'!
It was an AWESOME day!!!!

Driving the 1 1/2 hours home from Huntington Beach, I reflected on the perfect day
& as I made my way up my mountain, I looked in the rear view mirror & saw this.
I pulled into a turn out, grabbed my camera & as I caught the sky's last bit of color
I thought how very Blessed I am & once again,
there's NOTHIN like a Western Sky!!!  ;)
{stick around, my creation reveal will be my next post}

XOXO
vintagesusie

Ghouls & Ghosts & Things That Go Bump in the Night!

Can you believe Halloween is right around the corner...
are you ready for the Ghosts & Ghouls & Things That Go Bump in the Night?

Last weekend we took an impromptu mini camping trip with our little man Kai,
to Calico Ghost Town near Barstow, California...

& had the SPOOKIEST, FUN-EST, Good Time Ever!!!

The decorations were Wonderfully Ghoulish...

I LOVED this Gypsy Skeleton!!!

Kai's favorite place was this shop & restaurant covered in Scary Spider Webs,

& we were all HORRIFIED by the sight of the UNDEAD!!!

This little boy certainly doesn't know what's lurking over his head or
he would never be smiling with that BIG OLE GRIN, right!

This poor, jilted bride with her Black Roses was still thinkin...
'It's a Nice Day for a White Wedding'.

I was thinking back to Halloweens long past,
of my brother & I going out on our quest for treats with pillowcase in hand...

walking alone together in the dark, with the soft glow of streetlights & pumpkins lighting our path.

And now, I watch my little grandson, fearless & eager to break away,
ready to set out on his own path...

as I learn to let go of his hand & watch how easily he goes ahead.

He looks like such a little man to me in this picture, Thank God for the pumpkin bucket! ;)

This guy looked very Michael Jackson~esque to me,
but the BIGGEST HORRORS were still to come.

Who could have known that the quaint little school house was really
'The Little Shop Of Horrors'?? Arghhhhh, me no likey SNAKES & LIZARDS!!

ESPECIALLY really BIG SNAKES & LIZARDS, oh my!  :o

OMG, their petting it like it's a kitty...I think I'm gonna be sick!
Quick, find a diversion...

There it is, an antique pot belly stove...take pictures of that & then get out as fast as you can.

Doesn't it look totally harmless from the outside, even inviting...
DON'T GO IN, it's a nightmare!!!! LOL

We made it...finally, safe & sound back at the campsite ready for roasting marshmallows,
making smores, telling ghost stories & spitting into the fire to hear it sizzle.
(that was NOT my idea)
To my Sweetest of Hearts,
I hope you have a fun~filled All Hallows Eve!
May it be filled with the simple smile & wonder of a child's face, spooky laughter,
something sweet & yummy to eat, Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale
& something REALLY SCARY on TV, like a marathon of
'The Walking Dead'...my favoritest!
Happy Halloweenie!!!

XOXO

vintagesusie

KC Willis Workshops are in So Cal & I'm Going!!

Happy Wednesday Sweetest of Hearts...

Y'all know about the Amazing artist KC Willis & Lipstick Ranch, right!

I have been loving this girls work for years.

Her fabric collages are filled with layers of textures & vintage elements,

cool phrases & fabulous vintage images. Their richness & time worn

quality, make them look like family heirlooms that have

been treasured for years.

I ADORE them!!!

Sooooo, I am very excited that KC Willis & her Workshop is going to be here in

southern California at the end of October offering 2 workshops.
October 29th is her Mixed Media Book Workshop in LA at The French General,

October 30th is her Collage Camp with Hand Tinted Photos in Huntington Beach &

October 31st she is offering her Mixed Media Book Workshop also in Huntington Beach.

I wish I could take both of these fabulous classes, but I will be taking the Collage Camp workshop

on Sunday from 10 ~ 4pm & I can't WAIT!! Yippppeeeee....finally, my very 1st workshop!

I know there are a couple of spaces still available for these classes, so if you're interested

head on over to KC Studio Retreats & sign-up & maybe I'll see you there!!  ;)

I also have to tell you all just one more thing...

I have always been a big fan of KC & her art,

but since I have been following her on Facebook

I have become a HUGE fan of KC the person!

She is one of the most selfless people I have had the pleasure to get to know.

She is endlessly working to end poverty on her local Indian Reservation.

She gathers coats & shoes for the children to keep them warm,

backpacks, books & school supplies to make sure they get an education.

She puts out a call for help to all her friends & her requests are answered by

other selfless people. It's a community of LOVE & I LOVE watching her

Change the World

one child, one person at a time.

Again, I am so excited...not only to take my workshop, but to meet this woman

who quietly & consistently moves mountains!

XOXO

vintagesusie

Four Wheelin on the Grand Mesa

Happy New Week Friends!

A new week is like a whole new chance to be anything you want to be.

People get so excited about a New Year & make these grand resolutions,

but for me...it's just toooo much pressure!

I'd rather get excited about the possibilities of a brand new week & if I fail to be all that I can be,

I only have maybe 5 more days to try all over again, isn't that so much less stressful!  ;)

I'm finishing up my GRAND Adventure, in Grand Junction, CO on The Grand Mesa,

that seems pretty fitting to me!

One of the things I wanted to do before I left beautiful Colorado was to go 4 wheeling with
my sister, she has 2 machines & 1 is an automatic. So being this kinda fearless old lady,
I just wanted to go for it.

We packed a nice lunch, sodas, margaritas, lol...a blanket to sit on, our jackets & headed out on an

adventure of a lifetime. We left at 11am & got back at 5pm, 6 hours in the backwoods of

Colorado & I LOVED every minute of it!!

I followed my sister to a trail off their little main road, that took us on a journey miles back into the wilderness. This house was such a surprise when we came upon it, it's literally in the middle of nowhere.

I was so excited to see this vintage Airstream & to find out that this family was living in it as they

built their dream home board by board. The view they have is SPECTACULAR!

The sky was amazing that day, with the clouds over head sometimes looking ominious

& other times opening up to display the very bluest of blues.

Really, on this ride there were times when the scenery just took my breath AWAY.

This is a place you don't get to in a car, a place I could never have seen

if I hadn't have been brave enough to just 'Go For It'...

a place where I could imagine Indians riding their horses across the open plains looking for buffalo

& could almost see the smoke rising from a far off fire.

Initially, I was very cautious & a little scared, but as time went by my confidence grew until

I actually got excited when we'd come to a big ravine & I got a chance to gun it to get up & over it.

My little sister's little phrase, helped me a lot & was so true on these 4 wheelers...

"When in doubt, gun it out."

Cuz when you hit a scary section of trail your instinct is to slow way down,

but the slower you go, the less control you have over the machine.

By gassing it, it gives you the power to get up & over almost anything,

by the end of the day I felt like a pro! lol

We ate our lunch under a tree, watching the clouds.

There was no one & nothing around us...

until on our ride back & I saw some Free Range cows.

I couldn't help but think of the movie 'Open Range' where personal battles occurred over the

different philosophies of pastures & fencing & free range...

there is nothin like the Wild, Wild West my friends...NOTHIN!

Can you tell I had so much FUN in Colorado?? It was just what I needed.

I Loved ALL of our adventures & my sister is the sweetest thing on earth,

she helped me find my joy again & I'm forever grateful!!!

XOXO

vintagesusie