Happy February 3rd Morning!! UP-DATED!

I hope everyone had a great weekend where ever you are...

I did, just because it is warmer again... the rain left some dampness and my joints weren't as happy as they could have been, but I made the most of it and even sat on my screened in patio and enjoyed some time just being still.

A couple of days ago,  Paintin Place in Belmar, NJ  made an announcement.  Sherry and Joel are looking for someone to take over their business and they are moving to the Palm Coast of Florida!  Sherry will be starting a business in Florida,  The Colossal Mermaid.  They are embarking on a new journey that has been a dream till now, life as a mermaid.

UP-DATE:  Sherry has started a page: Refunk Your Junk She is documenting the DIY and decorating of their new home... you have to see the great things she is doing!!

I am so very happy for Sherry, I can't tell you how much.  Over the years, she has been nothing but giving and supportive to myself and so many other people that have found their passion and many beginning and grown their own businesses.  It's been an amazing journey so far.

"Selfishly" I am so excited with their move.... they will be so much closer.  I am trying to get my own health in order right now but now my hope is expanded to finally meet this wonderful woman and hopefully take some of her classes!!  And I want to get back into painting furniture and she has the best paint!!

2014 is bringing changes to many people and it just expanded my own horizons too.  Many people are going to miss her in New Jersey but I am so excited she will be walking in flip flops real soon.  I hope you will "Like" her pages and follow along her new journey from one beach to the other.

To "Teacher" ... With Love!

"To Sir, With Love" - LuLu


I have always, always, always wanted to do something creative.  In 1979 I started a business, got pregnant and closed the business {Fashion Odyssey - another journey!?}  to be a stay at home Mom.  Then life happened while I was busy making other plans (John Lennon)  Beautiful Boy

And life keeps happening...

Without all the gory  details...it wasn't very long ago that I found myself in a very dark place...I knew I didn't want to be there, I just got stuck.  It took a while to get unstuck and it was work.  I've been a survivor, even when I didn't want to be, but I dug deep to find those survival skills once again.

When I moved to Florida, Facebook became a means of staying in touch with family and friends and after LNT closed, it was a means of  networking, playing games and being there to encourage each other.  But then I surfed and I found many pages that inspired me, made me think in a different direction...I can't tell you what direction I was going but a new journey was beginning.  In February (2012) I started my blog and a companion Facebook page.  It was just going to be about DIY things around my home, decorating and learning to garden in Florida so my plants didn't die.

I wish I could remember when my journey began with the Facebook page, Paintin Place Decorative Art Studio, but I am so thankful that I did.  I am going to be very honest here.  There are a lot of wonderful pages on FB and the web.  They all have places for comments BUT if you ask a question, answers are not usually readily forthcoming.  For the most part, you get ignored.  Sherry holds back nothing... she is so willing to share her knowledge and if you haven't, you should follow her as 2013 is HERE WE GROW!  You can find her Facebook page here.

To get me started, she shared her information so I could get my feet wet at a local craft fair here.  I didn't do as well for Christmas with tropical signs and paintings but did have a few sales and have gotten orders since and an order for 10 tropical key holders for a snow bird's departure.  We have even talked about selling my work in her studio!  I am very excited about that BUT...

I am getting ready for my "here we grow" by clearing out a spare room, putting down a new floor and will be making that into my new ART STUDIO!  When I grow up I want to be a mini Ms. Pat just like my teacher, Ms. Sherry!!  My problem is that I can only do a little at a time, financially and physically, so everything is still in the works.

Sometimes a song can take you back to another time and place but sometimes that same song takes on a totally different meaning like: You're simply the best... I hang on to every brush stroke you make!

2013....HERE WE GROW!!!   and I am so COMING OUT OF THE DARK!!