Everything has a place...

A lovely friend of mine, Kriss, is moving to California.

Because she is unsure where she will be living right now,
she is storing all of her stuff in one of those POD storage things.

Because those things get hot, she decided that she didn't want to have all her art supplies get ruined and that she should give most of it away.

She asked me if I would be willing to take her stuff.

I said yes. I figured that whatever I couldn't use, I could find good homes for.

The thing was that my own studio was kind of bursting...

Especially my art armoire from Home Depot. The shelves were a mess and I couldn't take a lot of things out without causing a bit of an avalanche.

So my friend's need and my own obsession with art supplies meant time for a big clean up !

Purging, re-organizing and prioritizing...

It took entire three days...

I didn't take before pictures (I always forget that !!!)

But I did take a couple of during...

After three long days, two full garbage bags, five bags of art goodies for friends, two boxes of art supplies that need to go to a classroom somewhere, two large bins of fabric that are now in another room and about $50.00 in plastic storage containers from Walmart

I now have a studio that looks more like this :

The top of the armoire - tidy and accessible tissue paper and canvases...

The inside of the armoire - everything organized, paper on top according to colors, and no avalanches in sight !

My altar back in order...

Instead of junk piled on it, I have inspiring things

Like my newest addition,

a little box

that came from Kriss that houses my funky mermaid from Mexico and some of the rocks

from my friend Lynne very nicely !

My work table still has a lot of stuff on it but that is how I like it - everything I need at my fingertips !


A place to paint and journal...

and a secondary place where I can set up the sewing machine or do jewelry making or even have a friend over...

Even the Computer desk got a bit of a purge and a tidy...

It all feels so wonderful to have a place for everything and have everything in its place.

I know it won't stay like this for too long but it is fun to jump into a summer of creative fun with this clean space just for me to play in !

Speaking of creative fun...

a little while ago, the lovely Deb from what's deb doing asked me for a 5x7 print of the

"Leaves of my Heart" piece I had done.

I sent it to her as a gift, and in return she sent me this gorgeous hand-made creation :

It is a lovely banner of flags made from bits of soft and sweet vintage fabrics.

Deb also embroidered words on extra bits and added them to the flags.

So pretty and so feminine. I loved it !

I though maybe it should go in my studio

but then I realized that the colors, the mood and the words fit perfectly into my other sanctuary

in my house..

our bedroom...

I hung the banner over two of the four windows that make up our bay window...

See how perfectly it works with the lovely bright flowers of my Pottery Barn duvet cover ?

I slept well last night with the words "breathe", "bliss", "allow" and "relax" hanging above me...

Little Boo says he likes the new addition to his window just fine too !

Thank you for your gift and your sweet friendship, Beautiful Deb.

Time to go put all those glorious and organized art supplies to work !

Happy Sunday, Beautiful Ones !

Mail Box Gifties for the Queen !

One of the best things about this time of year is how fun it can be to go and get the mail from the box each day. Instead of the usual bills and ads, there are often extra gifties and cards in there that make the day extra special.

Well, Monday was a Bonsai ! day in my mailbox ! Feast your eyes on the gifties all sent to little old me !!!!

The main box was from one Queen to another, from Kate at Queen of Creativity.

I was lucky enough to win her giveaway for her 100th post as the Queen a little while back and she sent me this incredible box full of collage goodies from her own stashes !

Look at the gorgeous face that she painted on the brown paper wrapping on the box! Believe me, I was very careful when removing it so I could save the beauty !

She added some other wonderful details to the package, all custom made with me in mind !

Love that !!!!

And inside was a ton of wonderful collage elements of all kinds ! Hand made papers, pages from old books, decorative napkins...

and some really really beautiful spray paint papers made by the Queen herself.

Thank you so very much, Kate, for all the wonderful pieces ! It made me so joyful to open the package and also to dream about where the magnificent stuff is going to go in my art making ! So much fun !

Along with Kate's gift in the mail was an envelope from WI from my dear blogpal, Beth.

A little while ago she presented some new wonderful creations that this incredibly talented lady has come up with on her blog- a series of gorgeous cards combining beautiful words and her own beautiful designs.

Well my sweet friend sent me a bundle of the cards that I just adore !

I can't wait to send them out as little bits of love to important people in my world. Thank you so very much, lovely Beth for sharing your sweet gifts with me !

And last but not least, I received a perfectly crazy, slight risque card from one of my blogpals who I am so enjoying getting to know better, Susan Sager Brown at Brokn Heart Art. I love Susan's irreverence and her open-heart and her hilarious sense of humor. Brings out the more edging side of this Queen which is fun. Plus she always has yummy eye candy on her blog every month !

Here is a little detail from her

card designed by her with that great edginess I so admire :

Imagine this image and some words about Ed's mistletoe and where he like to hang it ! ;)

Love it ! Thanks, Susan, for keeping me on your mailing list for Christmas giggles this year !

So it is Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 and I would like to take this chance to wish my sweet old friend Suzanne a happy birthday !!! She hit a big milestone today, and she has done it with some soul searching, with an eye towards living the rest of her life in some new and richer ways, and with a ton of humor which makes it all go down a little easier !!!

I love you Suzy, and happy, happy 50th Birthday !!!

This one is for you !

Happy Tuesday, Beautiful Ones ! I hope you find some gifties in your mail box today too !

I am One Thankful Queen !

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice.

~Meister Eckhart

So I haven't been around much this week. I have been busily putting together and sending off "Rock My World" rock orders that Patti and I received, which has been such a pleasure. I am also working on those birdies that some of you have expressed interest in so I can put a few in the Etsy shop, and still have enough to have an inventory at the craft fair in November.



All the while happily working like a little house elf, I have been thinking about some wonderful, phenomenal gifts that I have received lately, many of them for my birthday and others just gifts of real friendship and love that I am so very grateful for.


Finally this morning, I have some time to edit some photos and put some words together to express some gratitude for all the Kimbo Love I have been getting !

Let's go back to last Friday when it was actually my birthday. I had a fantastic drive up to Montreal. I was loving the beautiful Fall colors in spite of the few raindrops that were falling. I even snapped a couple of photos while driving. Dangerous but definitely one of the joys of digital !

happy driver

check out those colors !

How did I center this while going 70 ? ;)

Friday night I was treated like a Queen ! My sweet Mommy took me shopping at the MAC Cosmetic counter where they did me up real nice and then she bought me some new juicy colors of make-up that add some sparkle to my face to go along with my new short hair. Then it was off to dinner with Sister Nat, nephew Nathan, brother-in-law Dave, Uncles Nick and Charlie, Cousin Matt, sweet Aunt Lise and Mommy. The food was really, really bad at the quaint Italian place we went but the company was so awesome.

Not too many photos of that night as I was just hanging out and enjoying the evening.Here is Nick, Natalie, Mom, Nathan and Me.

Saturday, I headed north to La Conception for our Thanksgiving get together at Kristina and John's house.

Katie and Me !

The woods were a little dangerous due to some bear issues (yes, bear issues !) around the area so we went for a lovely walk in the farmer's fields instead. Check out those gorgeous mountains in the distance !

My 18 year old niece Jessica and my sister Nat - mom and daughter love !

The three sisters - Nat, Kristina and Me - had some silly and fun sister time !

We enjoyed a fire outside, some good card games inside, some beautiful leaf peeping, nice family chats, and not to mention, some awesome turkey and all the fixings thanks to Kristina (with a little help from her friends). A spectacular weekend.

I received so many gifts - material ones, some I gave to myself, and gifts of love and time that made my heart feel so very, very good.

Today I gathered just some of them together to take a photo.

Clockwise - fingerless gloves I bought for myself (check out the amazing stuff katwise does with old sweaters!), hand made card from Thomas, sweet card from my mommy, gorgeous purse I bought for myself in this amazing boutique in Mont Tremblant, the amazing mermaid my friend Lois created and had a wonderful creative time doing it, THE Journal from Arlene from the Canadian Chickie's journal swap, a beautiful necklace from Kristina featuring a charm with a moon on it just like the moon was on the night I was born 44 years ago, and a sweet smelling "escape" soy candle from my Aunt Lise.

Isn't she lovely, with her sparkly tail and her twisted wire hair ??? Made of love...

44 years ago on October 9th, the moon was FULL ! How cool is that ?

Isn't this purse fit for a Queen of Arts? Love it !

And now for a little more about Arlene's magical journal. You may remember back in May when we Canadian Chickies did our apron swap and Arlene made me the most beautiful, magical and lovely Mermaid Apron. Well, that talented lady decided that 2009 was to be the Year of the Mermaid - which is absolutely perfect for mermaid loving me ! So my journal from her for our journal swap carries that sweet theme. What was also cool was that the journal was waiting for me at my Mom's on Friday so it became part of the birthday treats too !

Arlene used a children's book version of The Little Mermaid , chopped it up and added key pieces to the journal, like the cover.

Look at these luminescent blue pages just waiting for my journal writing, paint and gluing fun.

The illustrations from the original book make perfect additions - I can already imagine some stuff to add to this page !

Arlene also added in some of her gorgeous sewing technique where she adds treasure beneath a layer of tulle.

Love this page !!!

I can't wait to dive in and frolic under the sea in my beautiful Mermaid Journal !

Thank you so much, Lovely Arlene, for all the love, creativity and care you put into this work of art. I truly love it !

It is hard to write a post that expresses all the joy, love and good stuff that has been floating around me lately. There are always the mundane or mean things too...that is life on this planet, I know. But there is something to be said about focusing on what is right in your little world. It absolutely, without a doubt in my mind, has begun to bring me more of what is right. Tons more really! So along with expressing the tons of gratitude I feel for all the gifts I have been receiving, I offer some encouragement for my fellow women and men on this journey with me. Focus on what is right and good, even if it is in the tiniest way, and see what happens. You may just make a difference for someone else, and you may just make a big difference for yourself. Now, wouldn't that be a gift ?

What's right with you today, beautiful Ones ?

As for me, I am off to frolic in my sea...

A New Year's Gift !

So yesterday was Chinese New Year's - The Year of the Ox, or the year of OX (hugs and kisses) as Michelle Ward noticed and shared on her blog ! According to the zodiac forecast, the Snake (that's me) is the best friend of the Ox and 2009 is supposed to be a really good year for the Snake in career and in love !

Well, my Chinese New Year already started off right ! Yesterday afternoon I received a lovely gift from my friend Gina (Joyful Purpose) in California ! If you don't know the very talented Gina, she has a beautiful blog where she showcases her amazing art, her incredible digital self-portrait pieces and lovely words of wisdom from her favorite inspirational authors and poems.

So here is the thoughtful gift that Gina sent :

all of this was inside the envelope !

sweet little candies tucked inside a lovely red flowered envelope,

a gorgeous purple tissue paper banner with the ox/dragon printed on it,

this funky postcard (Miso Pretty) and moo card,

and a pink bag with this sweet spiral inside...

What is the spiral , you ask ?

Why it is the lovely crochet scarflette that Gina made for me ! In my favorite color too ! I took this picture of me to show how it looks on ! So cool ! I love the little metal charms that hang at the ends !

Thank you, thank you, Gina for your lovely gift ! I made me feel so very touched ! All of the love and care you put into that one package made me feel really special and cared for ! Please know how very much your sweet gesture is appreciated !

Ahhh, life and love are good ! I am truly blessed...and I know it ! ;-)

Happy New Year everyone !

Happy Birthday To Me !

Happy, happy Birthday to Kimberly-Anne Pauline de Broin Mailhot !!

Born 43 years ago on October 9, 1965 at 11:52 pm.

She is a child of light....

So the Kim Birth-Festival is in full swing now, with today being the central day of the event. As the guest of honor of this shin-dig, I have been showered with more gifts of love this week than I could ever have imagined. I have got to let you in on my newly discovered secret...

when you give out little gifts of love everyday,

you receive it back in abundant, un-expected, awe-inspiring and fabulous ways !

I just really, really learned this ! I know many of you knew it already, and I had a vague idea that this was true , but this week, I learned it for real. I have to encourage you all to try and add the 29 Gifts giving movement to your life. It has changed mine this week in simple yet truly transformative ways !

So here is my birthday wish to myself :

May the next year be filled with moments where you choose to to give, both to yourself and to others, and may you remember to stop and celebrate those moments ! Cheers, sweet Girl ! You are a child of light !