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(I had a hard time posting this so by now I've traveled 30+ hours, rerouted my whole travel plan due to weather & have arrived at my first destination, woohoo)
The images looked perfect when I created them but now they look a little blurry here. But that's okay because I'm just popping in really quick to say, I'm off an a journey♡
I'll post oodles of photos & daily videos in my stories on Instagram.
I've been painting like crazy & am excited to smell different air & feel a cool breeze, see how that affects my art fun shenanigans♡
While I'm away dont forget to...
And try to always...
And above all, plunge into creativity.
Being creative has vast options, not just in making art but in things like cooking, decorating, music making, gardening, dreaming, writing, singing, dancing, crafting, dreaming & sooooo much more♡
Creativity is so good for your heart & soul.
Trust me.
I've learned this time & time again.
No matter how good or bad I have felt in life, a little creativity never ever hurt♡
Much looooove!
Wish me luck, my airplane is already delayed 7 hours & we have to take a different route to get where we're going. But the cool thing about getting older is that sitting around people watching seems to be much easier & entertaining than it was when I was 13.
Ok then, best wishes for everyday goodnesses, from me to you♡♡♡
How did I know you were fellow ridiculous fancy things lovers?
Somehow I knew it deep in my heart.
I just knew you'd understand.
Ever since I can remember I have loved fancy things.
And by fancy I mean sparkly, intricate, sweet, floral, jeweled, dreamy, etc.
Many times old, many times discovered in glass cases.
My godmother wore rings on all her fingers and it was almost more than my 10 year old heart could handle.
The first time I went into an antique store I almost fainted.
All my senses burst open, it was everything to my attic, fairytale, fancy things loving heart.
The scent of old books, the sparkle of antique crystals...
And so, I've spent the last 25 years collecting all manner of things, including (but not limited to) fancy ones.
It just makes me happy, plain and simple.
The hunt is extra fun.
But more than that...
It's my inspiration for what I love, making art.
It just opens my heart up to go out hunting for treasure and it inspires my creative side in ways I can't describe. It's almost cathartic for me. Just go out and look around, enjoying the moment.
When I was 11 my parents let me paint my walls and my furniture in my room.
I started DIYing and upcycling in the late 80's as a kookie kid looking to express the feelings deep in my soul.
This explosive feeling to make something, to let my feelings explode out of me like fireworks.
I started painting on large scale canvases at that early age.
I called it painting my feelings.
And it took me places I couldn't have dreamed of.
Portals through paint and music in the background, bliss.
But it all began with first painting and altering my surroundings.
It was the first step in my creative journey.
Boy did I paint everything up in my bedroom.
And it is always a doorway for me.
I still find myself hunting down furniture and painting it.
Like the furniture in the backdrop of the photo below.
The hunt was incredible for that cabinet and the decision to paint it pink was inevitable.
My sister drove with me to the middle of nowhere, for an old cabinet with its original fancy key!
And of course, a whole table and chairs painted teal and gold was no small project.
(and reupholstering the seats)
Now you know why I've been so busy, and I still have a roster of projects I'm working on.
But it's all part of my creative expression and the end result is only one that can make you happy.
It's being true to you.
Even if your truth is pink and teal.
With fairy lights thrown in for good measure of course.
What's a tea room without a little Marie Antoinette peeking out.
I've always said, I'm going hunting for fancy things whenever I head out to antique.
But it wasn't until I saw Beauty and the Beast that I said, I NEED all the ridiculous fancy things.
I was being funny of course, but now I always say that.
I need ridiculous fancy things :-)
It's part joke and part truth I'd say.
The joy in the hunt is finding something you see as priceless, and it ends up being 7 dollars.
Sometimes 2.
I'm obsessed with little porcelain birds and of course pretty tea cups, actually all pretty things tea related, as you may already know.
Sometimes you pay up for something really special that you know you will never find again.
And other times you get deals deals deals.
It's the colors and shapes that really inspire me.
And so I magpie it up, smash it all together in a cabinet, and everyday I am inspired when I peer through the glass.
It's like this fancy lamp...
To some it might be simply ridiculous.
To others it might be ridiculously good.
Or even ridiculously fancifully fabulous!
To someone it was a thrift store donation.
To another person pricing it, it was worth 48 dollars.
With lamps half price on the day I came around.
To me it was the most incredible find everrrrrrr.
Mainly because I love frilly things.
Silly things.
Pastel things.
Gold things.
Porcelain things.
Fairytale things.
And lambs?! Oh yes.
Flowers.
Floral clothing.
Flowers in their hair??!!!
Sold sold sold.
Ridiculous fancy things.
You inspire me so!
Now I own the domain ridiculousfancythings dot com.
What ever shall I do with it?
Time will tell.
The inspiration these collected abandoned treasures bring me is everything.
I find treasure hunting utterly relaxing.
Fulfilling.
I once tried to be zen and gave all my stuff away.
That was around 1998.
A youngster in college but I had some gooood treasures I tell ya.
I still regret it, but I also say c'est la vie at the same time.
(mostly miss my original art work I donated)
Such is life.
(and boy have I made up for that zen purge, haha!)
I admire people who can be stuffless.
But I like my stuff so I'll keep it.
And I respect those that don't want any fancy things.
Because what is life without a variety of tastes and likes?
We're all different and that is beautiful.
If someday I have to go live in the woods with nothing (my mind thinks these things might happen you see), I suppose I'd collect acorns and dried seeds and fruit pits to make jewelry with. And treasure covered in fancy moss??!! Oh my, yes!
So it seems, I'm not partial just to over the top fancy things you can only buy in the store.
I'm open to nature's ridiculous fancy things too.
Hello trumpet flower trees, hello giant dahlias, hello wisteria, hello - well you catch my drift.
Speaking of drift, even some drift wood is fancy if you ask me.
I brought a piece back shaped as a heart from the ocean last summer.
So now, tell me...
What's your favorite ridiculous fancy thing?
Inquiring minds want to know?
xoxoxo
See you soooon!
Love, V
ps:
I watched Under the Tuscan Sun in the background (one of my faves) whilst working on this blog post.
It's been ever so hot, and although I long for a tea party, I simply couldn't find the perfect time.
And plus, I couldn't feel Alice wanting to come out and play.
Normally I get a jolt of inspiration for my tea parties just like I do for my art.
I never know when it's coming, it just appears.
But it's been sooooo hot, too hot for a tea party.
And while I normally host in crazy heat, this year has been more intense temps.
Like 115'F & pure sun.
And so, I wondered if Alice would turn up for our 10th annual tea party?
Slowly, characters started to appear just after that wondering.
I roam antique stores, quietly unknowing, what will speak to me?
And then there they were.
The tea partiers themselves.
And yet, outside, still too crazy hot.
I woke up one morning recently, unable to hit the hills because for some reason the heat is really wiping me out this year. If I don't wake up early enough I have to wait until evening to do anything outside.
So, this one morning I made a cup of tea...
Walked into my cool studio and sketched on the blank canvas.
Then I mixed up paint...
Beautiful thoughts swirled.
Mister Fancy pants sang in the background.
Fresh blossoms hummed.
And in one hour, there she was on a large canvas.
Alice.
And she told me...
It's okay, have your party any time.
Be free, be you, do what makes you happy.
Art does that.
If you make art too, then you understand.
Your art tells you what to do.
Sometimes when I'm really stressed out and confused Art says to me...
Paint 3 paintings.
Then you will know.
Your answer will reveal itself.
And it really does.
You explode in so many emotions when you paint, that when you are done, you have this beautiful clarity.
Maybe not always like that, but some version close enough.
A peace lives within the wave of creativity.
Sweet Alice reminds me of so many good things.
Of a whimsical heart, in the power of believing.
Of fairytales and endless hope.
How time stands still in that creative space.
A portal to a place where everything magical lives.
Your deepest dreams and heart waves meet you for tea any day.
As for our annual tea party, I think we'll wait until it cools down.
Halloween is very near and I'm not going to have parties back to back because you all will be overwhelmed and I'll combust :-)
So, Alice and her friends say to wait until the time is right.
I've gotten so many emails and messages asking about the parties.
Alice is always there, so perhaps we'll wait until spring.
But it doesn't mean we can't wear our fanciest frocks and partake in sweets.
Why no no no.
Not with all those tiny blossoms and pretty pastels fluttering about.
We must always partake in the enchantment.
Ask ourselves, what our heart wants.
Then follow it.
On the theme of change from the last post, I was just thinking...
How hard we are on ourselves.
How we think, if we get older or take a different journey for a while, that we have lost ourselves.
I see so many friends feeling that way, as I have too in the past.
It's a natural thing for sure.
But, we are never lost. We are always there.
We only think we are lost.
I've been shown this soooo many times in my life.
The space where your joy and magic lives is ageless.
Just because you get older or grow up has no bearing on partaking in your youness.
The question is, what do you have to do to get back in if you feel you've lost your way?
If your muse feels lost, if you can't conjure up the frame of mind to create?
What do you do?
You go to your canvas.
To whatever it is that you love to do and makes you feel like you.
And even if you can't create, you take yourself to that space and you allow yourself to feel whatever feelings come to you.
If you feel sad and frustrated, you feel it.
Cry, have a fit.
Purge.
Sometimes you have to purge and release to get back to the place.
Even taking yourself there is part of the journey to getting back.
Maybe you won't paint/create that day at all.
It's okay, you still broke a barrier.
Even though you might not know it.
The other thing is to create anything if you can.
It doesn't have to be good.
That's the key.
Creating is an exercise in sanity.
It grounds you, you practice mindfulness and so many other things.
Whether it be flinging paint, crocheting, dancing, sculpting, baking, cooking.
Sometimes it's fun to be creative in a different medium, just to get the creative juices flowing.
It's your creating that keeps you ageless and sane.
And will always get you back to you...
All you have to do is plunge.
xoxo
Love, V
A wonderful song form Tori Amos' new album...
.
ps:
This is a filter free unaltered image below.
The sky did this the other night.
And then I just knew, it was time to go for it!
This hallloweeen, this is halloweeeeen!
I know it's too soon for some of you, but fellow Halloween lovers, you get it, right?
Halloween for me is a time filled with so many wonderful memories.
Making candy, dressing up.
All of our family would get involved.
It reminds me of fairs with cotton candy and kettle corn.
Sparkles and autumn crispness and laughter.
Bobbing for apples and filling bowls with candy corn.
I fell down the rabbit hole of playing with little treasures...
And I really liked it.
But you might have already guessed that over the years.
My sister and I are both lovers of tiny things and this and that's.
Keys to secret doors.
Pocket watches that have stopped in time.
Antique spools of thread.
The list goes on...
Oh how I love rusty things.
I love collecting keys too.
You should see all the rusty treasures I collected on the road over the last year.
I put them in a huge jar and gifted them to the hatter for Hanukkah.
The jar is crazy heavy.
He's been giving me something called commendations for years.
My commendations are always I.O.O.F medals & ribbons.
Love them so.
The old doll head is a 20 year ago find in a ratty little old stuff shop.
It was in a case and quite costly, but it was labeled as an old Mennonite doll head.
And so, I had to have it.
Antique door knobs and sea shells sure make me happy too.
Put it all together and you have another inspiration palette.
Dried flowers turn into paper art don't they?
I put all the treasures on a painting I am working on.
I've been doing a lot of art making lately.
Sculpting like mad and throwing paint every chance I get.
It's such great therapy besides being my life calling and all :-)
If you want some great inspiration filled with tears and awe...
You must watch Chef's Table (whole series is magical), the episode on Grant Achatz is really something.
Season 2, episode 1.
( I watched on Netflix)
They are all wonderful episodes, but even though I knew his story, I still sobbed.
I felt so inspired and encouraged about life in general, despite trials and tribulations.
Life is hard, it's our job to put it into perspective and try to see the good.
I've been practicing this thing...
Whenever I have a bad or stressful thought I immediately say, throw away that negative thought and replace it with something positive. Don't catastrophize and don't spiral into the what ifs.
Since I was 18 years old I've been on a quest for inner peace.
Sometimes I'm floating on cloud 9 and life is easy, but sometimes it's more complex, as you know.
It's just the way life is, so I find ways to make it better for myself.
I love being happy and enjoying my days.
If someone starts to tell me something I find very stressful I tell them, please don't tell me about that, it makes me sad. Can you give me a positive spin on the topic?
It's also important to let friends know that, you get stressed out too, and when they try to lump all their problems on you it's a very unhealthy feeling for you too.
I have friends I bounce my stresses off of and listen to theirs and it feels good to talk to each other.
But other friends don't bounce back and forth, they just drown you.
And then you have to say something.
You can do it all with tact and kindness and honesty.
Something like...
"I don't know about you, but I want to keep my life as positive as possible."
And while I like being there for people so much, there will be a scant few who over do the need to lean on you.
By allowing someone to lean on you too hard, you not only do them a disservice, you do yourself one.
It's important to say, I love you but I'm finding this very stressful.
I tell my friends (and myself) things my dad has told me since childhood.
Be brave and be strong.
Don't drown in a glass of water.
Isn't it so easy to drown in a glass of water when you are stressed out?
My dad always says, it's important to talk to yourself.
Talk out your worries and fears and put them into perspective.
I talk out loud to myself while walking around my garden and it works so well.
And so, I try to share that with friends too, as well as do it myself.
It's so important to be mindful of our own health - mind, body and soul.
Be good to you and focus on the little things.
I'm not sure how I veered so dramatically.
But there you go.
A bunch of knick knacks made me go all deep somehow, hahaha!
Anyhow, I for one can say...
I so appreciate you being here.
When you share your thoughts and ideas it means so much to me.
I love how we've been sharing so much lately.
Thanks for that.
What a great thing to have such kindred spirits meeting up here from time to time.
Lots of love!
Vanessa
Bunnies in my garden.
Don't let the dogs see them, luckily the bunnies always out run them.
And yes, the gophers are still trying to kill my whole garden and they took out one of my vines around my veggie garden arbor, as you can see in the back drop. Darn things.
A rose bush was toppled over yesterday by them (they eat the roots) and I'm trying to save it along with my Cleveland sage.
The trials and tribulations of being a garden keeper :-)
Hello, my name is Vanessa Valencia and I am an artist living in a lovely part of Arizona. I make all kinds of art, from painting to clay sculpting. I love tending my gardens and cuddling my dogs. This blog is about art, lifestyle, gardening, cooking, crafting & every single little magical thing in between ♥
