Funky Art Queen

"When God Closes a Door.....He Opens a Window".  It is such a great saying.....I've always hung on to that idea to help me through really tough times.  I am hanging on to that now.  My son was just deployed to Afganistan-Baghram to be exact.  He is not quite there yet.....but he will be there soon.  He has a 6 month assignment there.   I imagine that the "closed door" is our inability to talk to him or see him at our will.  The lack of any kind of control in this event makes that door seem tighter and decreases the chances even more of us opening it.  So, "closed door=open window".  This trip is going to open so many windows for Cody, his wife, and his family.  Forgive me for the bullet point list......it is probably more of an exercise for me than anyone else. Absence makes the heart grow stronger.  Cody's wife is precious...a ray of sunshine and she loves him so much.  She is in her first trimester of pregnancy. ...

My sister and I are going to St. Louis, MO to see the touring Broadway show of Mamma Mia in Feb (next month) I'm so excited! We discovered the movie last summer and I can't tell you how many times we have watched it.  Well, we only watched it one time together.  That was a fun night.  No boys, lots of wine and lots of bling and feathered boas.  Good times.    Since that movie seemed to strike us both at such a level, it seemed only natural to go and see the Broadway version.  After all, that is where the movie started out....in theater.  The history of this production is quite interesting.  If you don't know already, the entire production is embellished (or perhaps born from music by Abba) with music by Abba.  You young thangs may not even know about Abba, but us 70's and 80's girls will totally know them and appreciate them.   According to Wikepedia: Mamma Mia! , promoted as  Mamma Mia! The Movie , is a  2008 ...

I was surfing blogs and I found this really fabulous blog....and I discovered " Jamie's Wishcasting Wednesdays" .  Today is Wednesday! Wow, I actually arrived on time to something......Today's Wishcast is ..... What Do you Wish For Your Family?  I will answer this challenge in a list format. Peace in their hearts Safety and Security A Passion for Life Someone to love Someone to love them Something to be passionate about-a hobby The knowledge that I, Lesley Chandler loved them more than they will ever know.  What do you wish for your family?

   T onight I find myself thinking about my relationship with my sisters; "Ronetta" and "Rhea".  I suppose these thoughts are brought about by the combination of my stage in life (kinda mid-life....not telling you my age) and the recent death of our father due to emphysema.  Truly, if I could write decently, I would have the best material for a tragic comedy.  The movie that comes to mind for comparison is "Hanging Up" with Diane Keaton.  Did you see it?  Here is a link to the trailer. ...if you have not watched this movie, I highly recommend it:  Three sisters who were once very close as children have grown up and moved on in their lives.  Though they maintain an attempt at maintaining a sense of "family", it is their elderly and terminally ill father who unwittingly forces them to realize and appreciate their need for each other.  Anyway, I'm the "oldest", Ronetta is the "middle child" and Rhea is the ...

OMG! Can you believe it is only 5 more days until the big guy in red shoots down our chimney (or up the drier vent..... for those of us that don't have a fireplace)? Today we are finishing up our packing for our trip to see the son and new daughter-in-law in Biloxi, MS for the holidays. I know we will have so much fun together. I just want to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my blog friends and just a general Happy Holidays Greeting! I am very thankful for my blog friends. I wish you all Peace, Safety and Love for this and all seasons throughout the new year. Can't wait to see you after the new year and hear all about your holidays. Big Hugs Lesley

Hey everyone, I'm sorry I have not blogged in a while. I know I told you my Dad was ill....and sure enough we lost him on November 18th. Everything has been a whirlwind since then and I just kind of felt like I should not blog....I don't know why. Anyway, no more suffering for him. It is very hard to imagine he is no longer on this earth with us. But, we (the three sisters) just keep pushing along and doing what we must do to help each other make it through this grief. Now, enough about that. But I did want to share that with you. Life really is a roller coaster isn't it? My son came home for the Thanksgiving holidays from Keesler Airforce base and he brought his precious girlfriend. Before we knew what was going on, we were having a little wedding at the courthouse. They clearly love and adore each other. They wanted to get married before Cody leaves for Afganistan in Feb next year. We love Patsy and I just have to tell all my art friends that she too is an artist...a crea...

"We can do no great things...only small things with great love." Mother Teresa There it is! Eureka! Ah-Ha! Elation, joy, and excitement, lights flashing, trumpets blowing! I get it! I get it! I finally get it and I'm so exited about this revelation that I can hardly write it down fast enough so that I can share it with you later on my blog. "It" has been in front of me all this time. My favorite quote, for so many years, has finally revealed to me my truth, my meaning.....the answer to the constant nagging questions burning in my heart.....Will I ever do something great?......Isn't there something far greater that God intended for me to do with my life? While asking myself these same old questions today, this quote came into my mind very strong. "Small things.....Great love". Boom! It hit me! Stop pushing so hard for that ONE GREAT THING.....that great craft book, the greatest piece of art ever, you get what I mean. Take every day and every little ...

I saw this news cast a few weeks ago and I was so excited.....you know how I love the Polaroid camera. Looks like someone is going to start making film that will work with the Polaroids. Take a look at this CBS newscast from August 30th . I never learned how to do Polaroid transfers! I have two old Polaroid cameras that still work and need film! I have like 5 pics left on one of them that I hate to use for any old pics! I love Polaroids! So Hip Hip Hooray for the people that are attempting to start up again. I will buy film from you. Did you ever have a Polaroid Camera? Do you have any Polaroid pics that you would like to share? I think it would be fun to do a polaroid pic challenge....what do you think? I would love to see them. Also, there is actually a Flickr photo sight where you can actually share real Polaroid photos. ...(don't even try to share faux Polaroids (you know the digital kind)....they will eat you up! CHANGING SUBJECTS! (Kinda) OMG! I'm so excited about my trip...

I completed this one last night. It is a 24"X 24" Mixed Media on Wood piece titled "In The Flowers". I love doing my work on wood because of the durability. I also like the low cost. I picked this very large piece of wood up at Home Depot for $6.97. I have spent 5.o0 on a 12"X12" piece of wood at Michaels. Hmmm..... Yesterday, we celebrated my Grandmother's 93rd birthday at the nursing home in which she now resides. She really seemed to enjoy herself as you can see by my collection of photos here . Just a reminder and some news about the Tuesday's Ten Tiny Things Challenge . I'm going to extend the deadline to Tuesday which seems to make perfect sense and will allow more time for some more entries. I have a few already (come see) but would love to see more. I love looking at all of your little tiny collections! FUN!!!

I finished this piece today. I decided to call it "Party Hats". I have a few other backgrounds waiting to be worked on. So, tomorrow, I will have plenty of projects to choose from and I like it like that. Speaking of tomorrow, did you know that tomorrow is "Naked Hikers" day?!!! O.K. I know it is Father's Day, I get that! But, I heard on the news that Sunday, the first day of summer is also Naked Hikers Day . I just felt like it was my duty to warn you. My sister is a hiker. I don't think she will be hiking this weekend (not because of the possibility of nudity......but because of a recent fall and minor injuries). So she is safe. However, there are so many people that might be "exposed" to. LOL Just be cautious is all I'm sayin' or enjoy......what ever the case. Tomorrow is Sunday, I hope you enjoy your day. I hope that you take some time out for you.

This is one of my latest pieces. I love doing these pieces on wood that I have been inspired to do lately. I am knee deep in creative projects and I love it. I feel so very blessed to get up everyday and to feel excited about all that I have to do. I'm also very blessed to get to interact with some wonderfully creative people. Just today, I met so many amazing and talented people at the Stanton Trade Days. I had so much fun. Heather and I met Lisa, Meagen, Catrina, Seathen and Hannah in Stanton to enjoy all the festivities. Though is was so very hot (103 today), we managed to have a great time. I bought a beautiful wooden dragonfly that was mosaic. (LOVE IT). I also purchased a few other things that I am very pleased with. I bought a train case that was in the most beautiful condition for only 10 dollars! That is a find. Can't wait to paint it. It was great fun. It was also Lisa's birthday. I gave her the present I bought her and something I made her. She made it seem like ...

My goodness, I just realized today that this post will be my 400 th post since beginning this blog in 2006. Did I really have that much to say? Does anyone really want to hear from me that much? I think YES!!!!! OF COURSE THEY DO!!! SO, I continue on Dahling ! I love blogging, love my blog friends, love the feedback, love the creating part of typing up a post and adding the pictures that fit the subject just right, love the give aways, contests, and challenges....what's not to love about blogging?!!! ! It is all a blessing to have this much fun, I think! I will continue to blog as long as I have something to blog about and the mind and hands to do it. I completed this fabric soft sculpture heart this morning....very early (since I could not sleep-day 2 of the interrupted sleep cycle-probably hormonal and a whole other post). I wanted this piece to have the crackle effect and it does in some places, just not as much as I wanted.....I'm experimenting with different techniques ...

Oh, today was such a lovely day. I started off by taking a lovely walk with my biggest fan; Sebastian. We decided to be a bit more leisurely about our walk today and take the camera. I took a few pics so that I could share the beauty of my neighborhood with you. I am always seeing things that I want to take pics of but it is not convenient to carry the cam...so today.....I did. After all , it is Sunday......a day of rest and respite. The above photo is of some flowers that have these little brown tubes sticking out from the middle. I thought they were arranged in the shape of a heart. Then, I found this sign and a few others around the Little League Baseball field. Don't worry, I did not go in there! Oh these are just a few of the pics I took. You can see all of them on my flickr ....just click on the striped legs on the side bar. Later on, my husband and I went to Scenic Mountain to eat our lunch. We stopped and bought some Tacoritos -from Taco Villia (much like the double decke...

Do you need some funky in your life? Well, here it is sistah! I did this the other night with my prisma color pencils and some markers. I have a little plate that a friend gave me with a very similiar design. This is somewhat digitally altered on Flickr. If you have followed me for any amount of time, you know I can't resist a good digital altering. I think it came out pretty funky/cool. It has been a crazy weekend already. Cody is coming home on Saturday the 25th of April. Guess what else is happening that day? ....The funky finds in Fort Worth. So, I won't be here when Cody comes home. But, I will be here Sunday. I'm going crazy trying to get everything ready for the Funky Finds. I'm very excited. I am just glad to get to spend time with Renea and Lisa. It would be nice to sell some things too so I can add to my secret (shhhh don't tell my husband who never reads my blog) fund for our 25th anniversary trip to Seattle. He knows we are planning to g...

I have worked all day (on and off) on these new art pins. Lisa showed me some pins that were kinda like this that really inspired me.....and that was all she wrote . They take so long to make as you have to allow time for baking of the clay, drying of the paint, drying of the glaze, beading, applying the pin backs. So, even though I worked so hard, I only have a few new things to show you. But I had so much fun making them. They are listed in my Etsy Shoppe tonight . Of course they will be with me at the Funky Finds event in Fort Worth in April. I have recently joined FACEBOOK and I am enjoying it so much. I'm finding my highschool classmates slowly but surely. I am connected with friends and family through Facebook. It is just the coolest network that I highly recommend. As a side note to this, I may be working on our 26th highschool reunion because of facebook. We had a 10 year reunion but nothing since. (I arranged the 10 year) and just got busy with family and so many other...

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYONE! I finally made my husband his Emperor Penguin. He asked for one a while back when I made some other paperclay penguins. This penguin was also sculpted from paperclay. I also painted a wooden block and glittered it up to appear like snow or ice. Then, I put it in this little glass globe. He really liked it and he says he is going to take it to work and put it on his desk. Isn't he sweet? Anyway, have a wonderful day!

mama and girlfriends Originally uploaded by Funky Art Queen My Mom sent me this photo today. She knows I wanted more pictures of her when she was younger. Look how she is posing for the camera (she is the one with hand on hip on the right) does it remind you of anyone? Heehee OMG-to have those purses right now! No matter how young or what time period......girls always love to play dress up. Thanks Mom. You were and are beautiful. I can see Rhea Rhea in this photo of you....so much.

I don't have much to say today. My brain feels a bit like the bobidiboo song that is on my playlist here. (Oh come on, turn up the volume and enjoy the music-the playlist is at the bottom of the blog...i updated it to reflect my mood today) I'm back from the trip to see Cody in Biloxi ( I can spell it correctly now). I spent the entire day yesterday trying to get things back in order at our house. I got a new camera for Christmas. I think it will take close ups better....much better. I've been thinking a lot about the New Year and where I really want to be going with my art. Do I want to continue with Etsy? Do I want to pursue other means for selling which would be what? Just what do I hope to achieve with all this? Anyway, I'm certainly not down about all this. I'm just always excited by the New Year and all the possibilities. It is funny to go back and look at my new years posts from the last years. 2006 in anticipation of 2007 2008-Jan Anyway, I would like to tak...

Happy Holidays! From Bilouxi Mississippi This is Craig and I on the beach in Bilouxi, Mississippi. Who would have ever thought we would spend over 13 hours driving to come here for the holidays? Oh the things we do for our children and to be with our children. At least this way, we know where everyone is! We spent some time on the beach yesterday and took lots of pics. We don't have much experience on beachs being from West Texas! We spent some time drawing pictures in the sand. Some of us wrote love messages..hmmm wonder who that was? Today, we plan to do some sight seeing, shopping, and yes, some geocaching. So, more later. Have a lovely day.

click on the article above to enlarge. I wrote this several years ago for our local paper. Forgive all the typos- hey, this is Big Spring, TX! It made the front page! I know it was a while back because there is an add for the Jurasic Park movie-the first one. I'm adding it here as an entry in Ambers Great Christmas Giveaway. I also hope my sisters enjoy this memory. Merry Christmas sisters! I love you Ronetta and Rhea. We are blessed to have each other and these good memories. Hugs. Lesley