My Birthday Wish

There is 136 days  until my next birthday and it's not just any birthday; it's my 40th the BIG 40.....so today I'm posting this as a reminder to myself on what I want to accomplish before that all important date. so without futher ado here it is...the list.

Lose weight: I’m 200 lbs and my goal weight by my Birthday is 145-150. I plan on doing 40 mins of taebo, 100 steps (stairs), as well as do my chores in 30 mins max, basically keep moving (EVERY DAY). I need to take in more water (like 8 glasses more) eat more fresh foods i.e. greens, and fruits. Have only two servings of meat a week, and reduce my caffeine intake. My focus is to change my lifestyle; to become a healthier person and live a long life.


Quit Smoking: write down the amount of cigarettes I smoke daily. Try meditation techniques, chew gum, have hard candy nearby and any other helpful resource.

Build a website: I want to have my Claraism web site up and running.

Create a book on lulu: I think it would be fun to create a book of my art and what it means to me to be on this Artful journey; Perhaps have a couple of step by step demos of some of my Art and my process.

Teach a class: I would like to teach an art class on intuition (Gut) Art; To Show women how to express themselves through Art.

Keep a v-log, blog or paper log of this journey: Not that I think anyone is going to care enough to read it daily but it’s more for me so I can look back and keep myself in check by reminding myself how hopeful I was when I started. Then why have it online? …accountability….that’s why.

My Last CupCake

My last Cupcake, it’s true my very last cupcake till my Big 40. For my Birthday I want to lose weight. I’ll be 40 this year and that’s old enough to know better and grow up and stop making excuses for my FAT! There are 136 days left. I can do this on my own without a gym and without the biggest loser. It’s my Journey and how much I’ll lose will be up to me and only me. I can’t blame anyone for the way I look today, but I can tell you that in 136 Days I’ll weigh less and do more.  Just watch me.

Sketchbook Project Help!

This is the first page of my Sketchbook Titled Help! The Sketchbook is my contribution to the ArtHouse CoOp Sketchbook Project (see the link below)

The Sketchbook Project: 2011 » Art House Co-op | We build art projects and communities

The Sketchbook Project: 2011 » Art House Co-op We build art projects and communities

Handmade Christmas Gift Tags

Christmas gift tags measuring 2 ½ by 4 ½ .


I had so much fun creating these; I used the beautiful K & Company Christmas papers and I altered regular shipping tags added for weight. For even more festive fun I added wonderful embellishments, like dimensional holly and vintage clippings. If you like them they’re available at my Etsy store Claraism.etsy.com

Retro ACEO cards

My retro ACEO cards


These were so much fun to make. "ACEO" stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals. They can be original art, print editions or photographs. These ACEOs measure the standard 2.5 x 3.5 with a black border it adds ¼ inch around.

I had left over pieces of felt and didn’t want to throw them away so I glued them onto a sheet of card stock; I thought well maybe I’ll just turn them into a nice abstract painting and started adding fun bright colors, soon the piece started taking on a 70’s neon feel. I liked it, but I knew deep down that this sheet was destined to be more. I decided to start cutting and the cards just started to take over. Now I love them! And not one is exactly the same as the other! There are 7 in this series. They are numbered and signed on the backs. available in my etsy shop claraism.etsy.com

Surprise In The Mail