Candice Windham Design Studio

I have to work at my other job today..the graphic design one. Somehow, it the midst of the hurricane, well tornado here in the Mid-South, today and is proving to be a calming point. I have to have almost everything finished for CHA and be packed by Friday morning, so I'm eliminating some of my larger pieces that didn't get finished to my standards and just getting on with my life. There will be time when I return for that stuff. On a happy note, it's pouring down rain here, but the temperatures are not low enough for the stuff to freeze, praise God! You gotta find the good stuff in everything and warm temps in January when it's raining are a very good thing. I got to thinking about how my Saturday went so good as far as completing projects, and then Sunday was a diaster. I had serious issues with a product I have been in love with in the past that shall remain nameless. I tried every glue I had to make this stuff stick and finally ripped it off and threw it in the trash...

Got my Swarovski (try saying THAT three times!)Crystals yesterday and have covered everything in the studio with them. Even Larry and the pups were afraid to stand still for very long.I finished most of my Fashion display last night and have almost completed my two pieces for the Terra Bella challenge. I'm feeling much, much better about my CHA displays and made my (hopefully) last trips to Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Eclectica, etc. last night. Larry had a gig at Gridley's barbecue last night, so I went in to Memphis with him and did my shopping, then went back to Gridleys for some of the finest ribs I've ever had...meaty and smokey and dripping with sauce, just the way I like 'em. Those of you in the Memphis area need to check out this place on Hwy. 64 at Summer Ave. Doug, the owner, is a good Christian man, a transplant from Greenwood, Mississippi, who makes the most awesome yeast rolls...about the size of a ladies' seven shoe. And the sweet beans and sweet tea a...

Does anyone out there ever get way-cool ideas in your dreams? When the pressure is on, I come up with some really great design ideas. I don't normally work at my graphic design job on Fridays and get to sleep a little late, but I got up at 5:45 this morning with all these great ideas buzzing around in my head. Happily, they were dragonflys and not killer bees creating the buzz. On magazines... I have to confess: I'm a magaholic. I love 'em. Let me clarify that: I love beautiful art mags, Nat'l Geographic and Smithsonian, old Life, Saturday Evening Post, Look (now I'm really showing my age) and anything to do with altered arts, sewing, crafting and fine art. I allow Bass and American Hunter in my home for Larry and occassionally use one of those for reference when I need to know how a deer or a fish looks for realistic painting. I do not, however, read sports mags geared to a specific sport, although I do love baseball and football. So why did my new subscription to...

Well, not really. I'm ready to go, but my projects aren't all finished, so I guess I'll wait another week and a half. One thing I have learned in the last 24 hours: Spray paint and cold weather do not mix. Trust me on this one. I'm about to clean up my clutter from the last wave of projects so I can complete the next round. Am I the only one who gets creativity blockage with a cluttered work area? I don't mean a cluttered studio. I think there's something a little strange about having a perfectly neat work area. I'm talking about the kind of clutter that covers the 20 feet of tabletop area where I create, with stacks of dangerously piled acrylic stamps pushed against boxes of wood-mounted stamps with Glimmer Mist and acrylic paint and Distress powders and inks and heat tools and scissors and every Krylon pen I've ever owned spread all over creation. Right now, the 12" square I usually work in is covered in 3/4" circles that I glued on to the r...

I finally finished the velvet purse I've been wrestling with for two days. Then I started digging through the crappage in my studio and discovered two more projects that I can include in my designer showcase at CHA. Unfortunately I have to work today at my part-time job that makes it possible for me to play. At least it's still creating. It's just in graphic design. You don't get to use a lot of Glimmer Mist and Grungboard in graphic design, although I do manage to squeeze the fun stuff in occasionally. Be sure to check out the Paper Creations website for a RockCandy Designs project using Artistic Outpost stamps. (And check out the AO website for Robyn's new stamps. Way Cool!) Roxi Phillips and I had a fun day creating this frame for the hero in your life. Speaking of heroes, I had a flat on the way home Tuesday night. It was dark and on a two-lane road (Austin Peay for those in the Memphis area). With all my mega-problems with my back, I knew there was no way I cou...

I have published 2 additonal posts to this blog and apparently, they have gone the way of the unicorn...nowhere to be seen. If you have seen any of my other posts, let me know where they are hiding.

The CHA deadline is upon me and I'm starting to panic. I have lists, I have deadlines...I can't find die-cut swirl grungeboard, which is an integral part of two projects, anywhere. I'm taking off work to purchase new tires this afternoon and plan to spend the downtime on the phone tracking this stuff down. On a lighter note, I have finished 4 HUGE projects that were blocking my creative muse, all graphic design projects that have been hanging over my head like the Sword of Damocles. Saturday is our dry-run for our CHA Fasion Display. I know that afterwards I will feel more confident and more inspired to get my hiney in gear. I don't mean to sound so negative. Those who know me know that I'm not usually like this. I thrive on tight deadlines and come up with my best work in time crunches. Now if I could only figure out how to add a photo gallery to this blog.....

I have been shamed into creating this blog since I started my other one more than a year ago and can't seem to remember the address, how to add photos, delete them or just remember to take time to post in general. This is not to say that I'm a stupid woman, just a very busy one. I know, I know: We're all busy. I just feel the need to start fresh. I have resolved to simplify things for 2008. My teaching schedule has been pared down, I am trying my best to not work at my graphic design work more than 3 days a week, and I am trying to devote more time to doing what I love best: spending time with my hubby and friends and just making art. In the coming weeks and months, I'll be posting new art. Keep in mind that I'll be gone to CHA and away for a little R & R for most of February, but will hit the ground running in March. So there, Roxi. Are you happy?