It's a Beautiful Weekend to Spend in Dana Point Harbor!

Rita and Kathleen at the Festival of the Whales
Originally uploaded by smashgirl

The weather forecast looks great, and what better way to enjoy your weekend than getting outside and strolling through the Dana Point Harbor. It's the last weekend of the Festival of the Whales and there is tons going on! Bring the kids, bring you dog and enjoy the weekend listening to music and eating some great food.
While you're there don't miss the Dana Point Fine Arts booths!
I'll be there with all of my mosaic art alongside my best friend Rita, a jewelry designer. Stop by and say Hi! Enjoy your weekend!
You'll find our booths on the corner of Dana Point Harbor Drive and Island Way. (on the grassy area before Baby Beach).
Click on link for the schedule of events!
Dana Point Festival of the Whales Schedule

Indie Artists Unite to Help Haiti

Hearing about the devastation from the earthquake in Haiti, broke my heart. I wanted to help. Etsy sellers tend to have big hearts and I wasn't surprised to find "Hearts For Haiti" opening shop soon after. This is a collective of donated items from hundreds of Etsy shops to raise money to rebuild Haiti. 100% of the proceeds go directly to Doctors Without Borders

I have donated my mosaic heart, you can purchase it here on Etsy..."Hearts for Haiti".

To date...in only four days, this shop has raised over $3,000!

If you would like to help, please visit this shop and purchase a wonderful handmade item. Shipping is free (all sellers will take care of this for you). New items are constantly being added, so check back often to find a lovely item for you, while helping Haiti recover from this horrific event.

Palm Trees grow in Georgia

I've been making mosaic Aloha signs for quite awhile and am always searching for the perfect focal piece. Last summer I received a surprise gift package in the mail from Atlanta. I love surprises and was thrilled to find the box full of beautiful "California inspired" ceramic focal pieces! You may wonder who is the artist behind the palm trees and surfboards?





My Etsy friend and fellow mosaic artist Kathleen of Artsyhandpaints. Here is my first finished piece using her "Georgia-grown" palm tree. I can't wait to get started with the rest of them! If you are looking for the perfect focal for your next mosaic, head over to Kathleen's shop where you'll find these beautiful handpainted flowers!

What's new in the smashgirl studio?

My Bahama Bowl sold as I was listing my new Bali Bowl. The bowl was a garage sale find, I just added a touch of drama to it using these beautiful floral plates and finished it off with black grout.

Mega Rock Star is the plus-size version of my little rock star. I love working with rocks and pebbles! Sea Star is a mini-star embellished with sea glass, some pieces gathered this summer from the beaches of San Clemente!

Bubblegum is a fun wavy vase covered in clear and colored glass gems.

What's next? A few new things for Valentine's Day!

Old Magazines=New Cards!

While waiting for my mosaic projects to dry I leafed through my favorite Elle magazines for some inspiration...I'm never dissapointed with the beautiful glossy choices to create with! When I spotted this beautiful plum colored page I just knew it would be perfect for my mod tree cards!


Cut into simple spheres, this page became my "Orb notecards". Each one their own color combination but together a beautiful set! Perfect to send a note, a generous 6 1/2 x 5 size with plenty of space to jot your thoughts. Here's an idea from my friend Rita, she loved her handmade card so much she framed it...voila' mini art!

All of these blank notecard sets are now available in my Etsy shop, a perfect gift for your favorite teacher, hostess or friend!

Cool Blogs From Cool People

Happy Thursday! Time for sharing more cool blogs!

A knitting magician in Las Vegas? Now that's cool! Check out All Things Tangled and read Send in the Clowns! A magician dating a clown, now posing as a mime??? Only in Vegas! When was the last time you went to a party and saw Liberace and Marilyn Monroe? How cool is that? Read Liberace to find out more! I'm a sock lover, I just have to have my feet cuddled up in socks...even in the summer at night. It's just a comfort thing for me, or maybe it stems from my childhood when my grandma used to send us a new pair of crocheted slippers each Christmas. So when I saw these Christmas socks I just had to add them to my favorites...one question remains...are they magic socks?



Daily Dream-Daily Doodle is such a cool name for a blog it captured my attention right away! This Etsy seller makes jewelry to drool over...I would like one of everything please (hint: to the family). Read My Brooch and you'll see what I mean...incredible talent! What a surprise to be reading along in her blog and come upon this post titled "Sunday" and say to myself, "Hey, that looks like Dana Point Harbor". Now that's very cool to find out that we are both from the OC! Here's what living in the OC has inspired her to make..."The Citrus Tree Necklace".

Come back next Thursday for more cool blogs!

Which collar should Lucy choose?

Talk about a "lucky dog", Lucy just got picked as this week's official "Friend of Fiona" and won a new custom collar from LuckyFiona on Etsy. I am having a hard time choosing which collar to pick...they all are so cute! We need your help!
Take a look around in her shop and then leave your comment below and next week I'll tally up the votes! Don't miss Lucy's 15 minutes of fame at http://www.luckyfiona.blogspot.com/!

"Cool Blogs From Cool People"

There are sooooo many cool blogs , I'm glad that I'll be doing this feature every Thursday so I can share them all with you!

Here's my picks for this week:

Robot Love definitely makes my cool blog list! First off, she has a post titled "That's cool..." where she talks about her purse contents called "Inside Friday". Each week she gives us a picture of what's inside...I don't know if I'd be brave enough to share my purse! It makes you wonder if what you carry in your purse tells a lot about you? I look forward to seeing the evolution of her contents week to week! I also think it's so cool that she has a close relationship with her sister...she mentions her in almost every post! Very cool! Take a look at what they create together, these lovely fabric pears!


There is just something cool about food plushies! So my next pick is Midnight Snack.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, and the expectation of cooking a turkey, I just may have to get a turkey plushie to throw in the oven for the looks...as I slink off to the grocery store and buy my pre-ordered turkey dinner! I'm a bit lazy when it comes making the turkey! These super cool turkeys are available on Etsy. What a surprise to find her article, "Trying New Things" and read about her first mosaic project! You know as a mosaic artist I think that is cool and she also talks about my friend Jennifer(who gave me all my eyes) from RockCandyMosaics! Super coolness bonus points!

Eye have an idea...

WIP
Originally uploaded by smashgirl

I dug into the 129 eyes that Jennifer sent me and have started working on the offspring of Iris (my Why mosaic). I grabbed some old croquet balls that were headed to the trash and had an "aha" moment. They were just perfect for my new creations! This is my first one, I've named him Ivan. In the works are his siblings, Ivy, Issac, Irene, and Ida. Time to rub some grout in my eyes...eye'll be posting finished pictures soon!

I think I hear the Ice Cream Man!

One of my fondest childhood memories of summer is that magical tinny sound of "Pop Goes the Weasel" coming around the corner. My brother and I would dash through the screen door at lightening speed to shake out some change from my Mom. Our biggest fear was that no kids on our street would flag him down and we'd run outside only to see the back of his truck turning the corner. It seemed like the end of the world as kids!

These days my neighborhood has no stickered singing trucks driving through and I feel a little sad for my kids that they don't get to enjoy the thrill of the Ice Cream Man. Where did he go? Did he trade in his truck and start working at Cold Stone? Maybe the price of gas shut down his business? Does he still come to your neighborhood?

As seen on the Front Page of Etsy

Mod Spring Cards and Magnets
Originally uploaded by smashgirl

I've always envied those who make it to the front page! I've been working hard to reach that goal. Thanks to rockstarwife this card set made it to the front page tonight!!! I feel like a rock star myself!