Tuesday:) Toni’s Time-lapse Video-Trash to Treasure Vase

“When I think outside the box, I think, oooh, a box! This can become a castle or a dollhouse or a puppet theatre. Where’s my paint?”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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My friend and neighbor Kathy lost her furry friend last week. Stan was a beautiful tabby that loved Miss Toni, and he would often walk across the street and visit, keeping bunnies and mice away from my door. He will be missed.

I decided that I wanted to do something special for Miss Kathy. I found some colorful flowers at Kroger and decided to paint a colorful vase. Miss Kathy loves orange, so I had an idea. I took one of my many thrift store vases to turn into a colorful trash to treasure vase.

( Repurposed vases, Folk Art Enamel paint, and some makeup sponges.)

After I painted this one, I still had plenty of glass paint on my palette. I don’t believe in waste, so I painted a couple more vases for another time.

Fun trash to treasure project.

Saturday:) Sharing Miss Sherri’s Studio Tour Photos

“Sometimes I live vicariously through other people’s adventures.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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My dear friend, Sherri Murphy, is such an awesome photographer and artist. She also has a keen eye for artistic detail. So, Sherri said I was more than welcome to borrow some of her photos from this weekend’s MAST, McKinney Artist Studio Tour. If you missed it today, you have time to catch it tomorrow.

Mark Your Calendar for THIS WEEKEND!! Visit artists in their natural habitat (the studio). You can download the map on our website at http://mckinneyartstudiotour.com/about-mast/

Here are some awesome photos to entice you, or perhaps motivate you.

A raku firing or a blazing kiln is always pretty hot stuff.

Artists are such creative, talented, generous, and loving human beings.

You are never too old to learn or take up a new hobby or find your artistic passion. The MAST McKinney Art Studio Tour is a great place to start and get inspired.

Thanks for sharing all the photos Miss Sherri. Makes me want to go upstairs and paint.

Saturday:) Some Awesome Artists and Poets and Writers Around McKinney

“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.”

― Leonardo da Vinci

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That Leonardo guy was pretty savvy. Poetry and painting go hand in hand. Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of being invited to a special after hours Blue Moon Viewing and expressive painting soirée at The Cove in downtown McKinney. My fabulous artist friend, Anne Royer , thought I’d enjoy participating in the Japanese painting and impromptu poetry gathering. Oh yah! Right up my alley. I was honored.

The Cove was featuring the artwork of Anne Royer, KD Hafley, and Wayne Batchelder. Annie and KD are fabulous artists and Wayne is an amazing potter. The exhibit was called “Under the Full Moon.”

After the show closed on Halloween evening, Miss Annie brought Japanese papers, inks, brushes, pens, tools, teas and sake for the guests to participate in creating inspirational creations and verse.

Miss Annie, doing her thing with gold ink.

Lynne Hubner’s inspirations.

Here are the works that I was inspired to create. The other artists shared their creations and poetry, and we all wandered out from time to time to see the glorious Blue Moon masterpiece that lingered in the eerie evening sky. A beautiful artistic evening in downtown McKinney.

Look at that moon. That was SO cool. There even appeared to be a blue streak whispering through the clouds that night.

Wednesday:) Well, What’s Been Happenin’ On The Square?

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”

― W.B. Yeats

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Magic and beauty and amazing adventures are happening all around us, right before our own eyes, in our own home town. All we have to do is open our eyes. Voila! There it is.

Yesterday was a very awesome day. I got up early for a long walk and to walk the dog. Then, Helene and I made plans to scoot over to Holy Family School to take our donations of snacks and goodies for the little ones. Miss Sondra and the staff are always so appreciative of our little donations and our visits.

The construction for the Community Kitchen and Garden behind the school is coming along. It will be so nice for the community to have fresh home grown vegetables and meals available to them. Cool!

After our visit, we wandered over to the Square for lunch at The Pantry. Oh my goodness. I always get the chicken fried chicken, mashed potatoes/gravy and fried okra. SO much food. We always have leftovers.

Of course, I needed a phot op in front of the mural painted by our friend, Andrea Holmes, on the side of Fair and Square Imports across the street.

Then, off we went to visit Kim Guthrie at her studio on Virginia. She’s always busy at work by her window. Perfect for a photo op and a visit. Her awesome whimsical style has captured the hearts of all of McKinney and beyond.

Another artistic stop at The Last Gallery on Louisiana. We were greeted by another artist friend, Leslee Ortega. Leslee has a brilliant eye for color and composition, and has also mastered the art of painting with coffee. (Yep…coffee. It’s a blast. I love it too.) The gallery has become a fantastic artist co-op that features the finest artists in North Texas. (Most of them are friends of mine, so I’m a little biased.)

It was a great busy day, and what better way to end my day than a nice walk at dusk to capture one of God’s greatest works of art. The evening sunset. (I really need to paint some of these scenes. But, I have SO many. Where do I start?)

Have a great day, my friends.

Friday:) The Fabulous Kim Guthrie Art

“There are no rules. That is how art is born, how breakthroughs happen. Go against the rules or ignore the rules. That is what invention is about.” –

~Helen Frankenthaler

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My good friend and fabulous artist, Kim Guthrie, had a one day art show at The Cove in downtown McKinney this evening. Sherri Murphy and I went down to see her wonderful work. Kim had a unique colorful and playful style that evokes smiles and joy. Her love of art is as bountiful as her talent. She is also fun and funky and silly. Here she is donning her mask with a faux $100 bill to reflect her fun philosophy of “Put your money where your mouth is.”

There were so many amazing works to see. She had a “smiley face” side theme going on for this show. There’s always a creative whimsical style in her work.

That’s Kim under the Big Bad Wolf mask. She’s so cute.

This gentleman was walking home from The Cove with an original rendering of his beautiful cottage home just down the street in the Historic District of McKinney. Sherri beeped her horn as we drove by, noticing that he was taking a selfie of himself with his new acquisition. We wanted a photo too. He was so proud. I’m sure it will find a place of honor right away.

Kim Guthrie has an adorable little studio right in the square where she can be found most days painting and visiting with friends, neighbors and visitors.

Check out her website… https://www.kimguthrieart.com/

Oh yes, HAPPY BLACK RUSSIAN FRIDAY, my friends.

Saturday:) Sharing With Sherri

“Tis the privilege of friendship to talk nonsense, and to have her nonsense respected.”

~ Charles Lamb

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I haven’t seen my old friend Sherri Murphy in eons. Oh, since the sunflower field excursion, many weeks ago. Sherri has been experimenting with all kinds of painting and art techniques in the comfort of her new home studio. It seems like every day she is posting a new painting or craft project on Facebook. I commented the other day that we needed a painting play day, so today was the day.

Sherri came over this afternoon and we rummaged through some folders, ideas, examples, stencils, brushes and paints in my well-organized craft room. We decided on a small canvas with her initials in metallic copper. Then, we worked on some cute cactus in flower pots drawn with watercolor pencils. A fun project.

Look how adorable!

We started out with a quick pencil sketch, then outlined and shaded with watercolor pencils. The neat part is, then you just blend and paint with clear water, it’s like magic.

I used a little blue pastel chalk for my background.

Sherri also painted two letters, S and M, with copper paint and painted a small canvas in shades of brown, that she mottled with scrunched up plastic for a leathery look. Then, dip-dotted copper around the edges to look like small copper nail heads. Very cute. Plus, the raised

letters could stand for Sherri and Michael, or for Sherri Murphy. Dual purposed.

We both agreed that it’s a lot more fun to play and craft with friends than home in our own little artsy world. Some people like to create alone. Personally, I love to share ideas and brainstorm and experiment and kick it around a little with other artistic friends.

Fun day, Sherri Murphy! Thanks for stopping over to play. 👩🏻‍🎨👩🏻‍🎨

Friday:) The Most Fabulous Talented Friends

“I’m inspired by artists and musicians. There are so many wonderful and talented people in the world. I love discovering new music, new writers, or new art.”

~Alicia Keys

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One of the perks of being an artist, writer, and all around busy-body, is that I’ve made friends with the most fabulous talented people.

A few weeks ago, my friend Krystyna Watson posted some adorable hand-made gifts and accessories for little girls. When I saw some pink princess patterns and Mini Mouse items, I asked Krys to save me a few for my granddaughters. I usually can pick up some great Christmas gifts at her booth at St. Gabriel’s Holiday Craft Show. It was cancelled is year…oh no!

Not only can Krys sew up a storm, but a few years back, she joined me volunteering over at Towne Creek a few years, and taught our senior friends many artistic techniques, origami, paper crafts, jewelry making, knitting, crafting and other cool projects that I have no clue about. I learned a lot. She also cooked and baked yummy treats for us all. Krys is KOOL!

We arranged to meet yesterday so I could pick up my little girl gifts and check out some new projects she’s been working on. Wow!

Here are some of my treasures…

A couple of back to school totes. My little girls will love these.

These little dolls are also little shoulder bags to store all kinds of treasures.

A few hats, scarves, scrunchies, and Kleenex pouches.

Then, she gave me about a dozen or more handmade scarves to share with our senior friends at Towne Creek this Christmas. What a special gift.

I’ll be sure to share more info on Krystyna Watson’s beautiful projects when she gets ready for holiday sales. (I’m lucky to be on the inside track, and have such a talented friend.)

Yes, I’m blessed with the best talented friends.

Cheers, my friends.

Tuesday:) Take a Class, Learn Something New.

“There are so many free classes, workshops, and learning possibilities out there. It’s a shame not to take advantage of them.”

~ Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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Yesterday, I noticed there was a free drawing class on YouTube sponsored by the Artistnetwork. I texted Sherri Murphy to remind her, so she could watch and practice drawing. I just grabbed some printer paper and a #2 pencil, and did the best I could. I haven’t done pencil drawings in decades. I could use the practice.

This particular video was on drawing a clear glass with water in it. Yikes! I never did that before, but I was up for the challenge.

I tried to follow along. The artist was using graphite, charcoal, white pencils, blending sticks, etc. I had only my trusty #2 pencil.

It didn’t turn out great, but I learned something new. Who said you can’t teach old dogs new tricks?

Toni’s Extrovert Diaries:) T.E.D. Talk/ Bake Tips~ Day 12: A Dozen Days

“Believe me, it doesn’t always get better with time. Sometimes it just gets longer and more depressing. Wine helps!”

~ Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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I didn’t get moving until way in the afternoon. Nowhere to go, nothing I needed to do. A few phone calls were made to friends and family, and I did make a plan to FaceTime Messenger with some friends at 5 pm, so I had something to look forward to. We chatted and laughed and told funny stories. Oh, and some of us had an adult beverage on hand to toast our friendship and shelter in place incarceration. (Note to self- two glasses of wine is way too much, or not enough.)

I wanted to share my tips for making yummy brownies and keeping them moist for days. But, also I wanted to share how I repurpose all those empty brownie and cake mix boxes for craft projects. You’re welcome. (Crafters/artists don’t throw anything away.)

If you watch the video, yes, I had a couple of glasses of wine to encourage my creativity. 🤦‍♀️

Happy Saturday, my friends. ❤️👩🏻‍🎨🍷

Toni’s Extrovert Diaries T.E.D. Talk/Paint Day 11

” The family that paints together even when they ain’t together, that’s what family is all about.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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Its Friday already! Where did the week go? Normally, I’d say….. “in a hand basket,” you know the rest of that. My days are getting lazier and lazier. I’m living vicariously through all my friends posting on Facebook how they’re coping. Most everyone is being productive. Not me!

Today, I was inspired by my dear friend Sherri Murphy, who has been teaching herself to paint. She’s experimenting and playing with different mediums. I haven’t left the house in days, so I decided to go up into my “crap room,” and put together an emergency painter’s pandemic porch pick-up art supply kit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQIFabBZvVY

I drove over to Sherri’s house in Prosper this evening, and rang the bell. We couldn’t hug and kept a safe distance, but I know she will be enjoying the supplies for a long time.

Here’s one of her paintings from the other day. I stole it from her Facebook page. I just know that many more masterpieces will be posting in the near future. Love you, Sherri Murphy. (Call anytime for video chat tips and tricks.)

Cheers!!!!!

Happy Friday!