Oh, I Do Want To Dive In That Pool!!

Good to know!

How to reuse silica gel packets This annoying packet has a multitude of household uses.

Oh, my goodness!  How beautiful and enchanting.

Visit the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity this Saturday, 9/28/13, to explore the innovative space dedicated to nurturing the creative spirit within each of us through art classes, exhibitions, lectures, and film festivals.

Looking for something fun to do this coming Saturday in southern California? Join the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity as they host their fall fundraiser, Creativity Season. Tickets available here. 

Family Easter Traditions

My great-grandparents came from Poland with their twelve children.  They passed down many beloved traditions that became part of my childhood.  I now share those traditions with my GrandGirls so they will have the experiences throughout their lives.

A special tradition that I really love is the Easter basket blessing that takes place on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter.  Folks bring their baskets filled with their Easter foods.  Click here for more information about this tradition.

This past Holy Saturday, I brought my GrandGirls to the Polish church for the blessing.  The Girls had planted real grass in their baskets.  Here's what they looked like: 

And, we brought favorite breads that were devoured on Easter Sunday.

Do you have any treasured traditions that you celebrate on certain holidays?  I look forward to learning about new traditions.

I love my enchanting birthday gift painted by #carolynhimes with Annie Sloan #chalkpaint #morethanpaint from #peinturestudios

This will definitely be on the dinner menu very soon!

Yummy Mummy Kitchen: Beet Burger Recipe on We Heart It - http://weheartit.com/entry/58988991/via/pixelmusings

Hearted from: http://www.yummymummykitchen.com/2013/04/beet-burger-recipe.html

The 4th Annual Red Dot Auction

Which Artist’s Work Will You Take Home Tonight?

Spring Gala Fund-raiser Announced for

Chuck Jones Center for Creativity 

Costa Mesa, CA: The Chuck Jones Center for Creativity announced today plans for their spring fund-raising gala, The Red Dot Auction, to be held Friday, May 9th, from 7 to 10 PM at the Center located at South Coast Collection (SoCo), 3321 Hyland Avenue, Costa Mesa, California. Admission is $25.00 per person and open to the public. RSVP by May 2nd and receive 5 free raffle tickets when you sign in at the front desk the evening of the event. To buy your tickets online, go to ChuckJonesCenter.org or call 949-660-7791 x 20107. 

This is the fourth annual Red Dot Auction, first conceived as a fund-raising opportunity for the Center in 2011. The Center, a 501(c)3 public charity, dedicated as it is to inspiring creativity in all people, but particularly in children, was founded in 1999 by animation legend and four-time Academy Award recipient, Chuck Jones. 

What differentiates The Red Dot Auction from other silent auctions is that all of the contributing artists have signed their artwork on the reverse. Consequently attendees at the event will not know who the artist is when bidding, they’ll only have their heart to follow. “We wanted to create a fun, engaging silent auction, and to further the suspense of not knowing which work belongs to which artist, each artist received an identical 12” square stretched canvas upon which to create their work of art,” noted Wayne Todd, President of the Council for Creativity, the volunteer arm of the Center. 

“The artists who are participating come from all levels of notoriety, skill, and accomplishment, from students to emerging to established artists; we reached out around the world hoping to capture the imagination and appreciation of these artists. We are thankful that they were willing to help us achieve our goal of promoting creativity by providing a nurturing environment where it may grow and blossom,” said Craig Kausen, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Center. 

Participating artists include Rob Minkoff, director of such critically acclaimed films as “The Lion King” and “Stuart Little”; Nick Park and Peter Lord, Oscar-winning founders of Aardman Studios of “Wallace and Gromit” renown; “Dora the Explorer” producer and director, Jeff DeGrandis; Kelly Asbury, director of the box-office-giant animated film, “Gnomeo and Juliet”; Eric Goldberg, longtime Disney animator and director; Marian Jones, photographer, author, and Chuck Jones’s wife.

The Center’s vision is a world where creativity is known and experienced in all disciplines, by the many, not just the few. This is an important goal, particularly in today’s world, when arts education is practically non-existent; we are dedicated to reinvigorating the creative spirit and we are doing it through art classes, exhibitions, lectures, and film festivals, all of which spring from the material in the Chuck Jones archive. Jones was a determined saver and his writings, art, and other ephemera from a nine-decade life, along with his philosophy of guiding and nurturing instruction form the basis of our programs.

Love ever gives, forgives, outlives, And ever stands with open hands, And while it lives it gives. For this is love's prerogative, To give, and give, and give. God bless all those that I love. God bless all those that love me. God bless all those that love those that I love And all those that love those that love me. - From a 17th century needlework sampler

These would be lovely and enchanting at each place setting for a Mother's Day tea!