My Creative Mom!

(That's my Mom in the black t-shirt - top photo)

Lots of people know that I am pretty creative, but what most people don't know is that my Mom (Amelie Rogers) is not only "creative" but she is an oil painter and a fine one at that!

Snack Time by Amelie Rogers

My mom is taking part in a very special benefit for the Orphans of Zimbabwe. She is contributing a painting for an exhibit at Lagerquist Gallery in Atlanta. All proceeds from the collecting of paintings will go to the orphans of Zimbabwe. For more info on Zimbabwe here is a link from the BBC and from Wikipedia.

Other artists include, Geoffrey Johnson, Edward Cooper, Dodie Petro, Linda Stokes and 34 other artists.

The painting is Snack Time and it features two giraffe's having a nibble, it measures 16X20 and is oil on canvas. The painting is inspired by a photograph that my grandfather shot in the mid 60's while doing humanitarian work in Africa.

The benefit will be held at Lagerquist Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia on December 9th at 5:00 pm.

For more Info:
Lagerquist Gallery
3235 Paces Ferry Place, NW
Atlanta, GA 30305
404-261-8273

This is a copy of the photo my grandfather shot.

Join us at the Holiday Tree Lighting in LA

Join us at the Holiday Tree Lighting in Los Angeles!

Steve has been as busy as Santa's elves getting ready for the tree lighting! Gathering strands of lights, stringing them together and even developing a few clever ideas for hanging giant ornaments.

The lighting ceremony will take place on Thursday, December 6. The tree is located on Glendale Avenue in the heart of Atwater Village near the base of Griffith Park. You can't miss the 50ft height! The festivities kick off with the Wells Fargo Holiday Festival at 6:30 pm. Wells Fargo is located at 3250 Glendale Boulevard.

The festivities will include children's singing and dance groups and the Tam O'Shanter Singers! Catherine Dent from "The Shield" as well as Council President Eric Garcetti and Council Member Tom LeBounge will also be showing off their holiday spirit.

At 8:00 you can expect a very special guest.
Santa himself will be arriving via Fire Truck.
So bring the kids and a little holiday cheer!

If you are in the neighborhood - swing on by!
Cathie Filian & Steve Piacenza

This event is sponsered by: ATWATER GRIFFITH PARK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

HGTV hd - Creative Juice for the Holidays Marathon

HGTVhd is hosting a Creative Juice for the Holidays marathon!

All the high definition goodness begins tonight on HGTVhd.

Monday - November 26
10:00 pm eastern

Tuesday - November 27
10:00 am eastern
1:00 pm eastern
4:00 pm eastern
7:00 pm eastern

On DIY Network the Holiday Special begins 11. 28.07!

Wednesday - November 28 - 2:30 pm eastern

Wednesday - December 5 - 4:30 pm eastern

Monday - December 10 - 1:30 pm eastern

Thursday - December 13 - 1:00 pm eastern

Wednesday - December 19 - 2:30 pm eastern

Monday - December 24 - 2:00 pm eastern

Holiday Gift Ideas in Womans World Magazine

Check out Steve in Womans World magazine for holiday gift ideas!

Well priced ideas with a bit of flair!

Holiday Giftnanza

Fire up your glue guns and get in the holiday spirit with "Giftnanza" and
"Creative Juice for the Holidays" on DIY.The Creative Juice Holiday Special begins on November 28th at 2:30 eastern.

Giftnanza is loaded with fun projects and crafty peeps.
It all begins on Sunday, November 25 at 9:00 eastern.
Repeats on December 26, 28, 10, 13, 17, 21 & 24.
We froze our tushies off, got crafty and even had a snowball fight.

Here are some project pics from the show:

This is the tray the Sandy Genovesse made for me.
Look close and you can see pics of Max & Striker!

Here is a peek at the "beauty to go kit" that I made for Vickie Howell.

I just love the candles that Steve made for Jennifer Perkins! How cute!

Check out the killer belt that Michele Beschen made for Steve.

Vickie did such a beautiful job on Sandy's scarf & Sandy loved it :).

Check out Jen's Cha Cha Cha set -
this is so cute and I just love the way she displayed the jewelry.

Craft Some Snow People!

Snow people are so fun to make!

You can craft up a whole village of snow people. They are made with Styrofoam balls and glitter. The accessories are made from felt, scrapbooking embellishments and a few recycled items like little bottle caps for hats. Kids and adults love this projects - so get glittering.

Supplies List:

2 Styyrofoam balls - one slightly larger than the other
White, clear or iridescent glitter
Scrapbooking eyelets and brads (for eyes and details)
3 small buttons
2 toothpicks
Felt scraps (for the snowman’s scarf and hat)
2 two-liter soda bottle caps
Permanent marker
Orange acrylic craft paint
Tacky glue
Embellishments 

Steps:
1. Roll the balls in tacky glue and then sprinkle glitter all over the balls, allow to dry. Secure the larger snowball (the body) to the smaller snowball (the head) by pushing a toothpick into the body and placing the head on top, add a drop of glue. Flip the snowman over and push one of the two-liter soda bottle caps into the bottom of the body to form a firm base.

2. Use the permanent marker to color the other two-liter soda cap. This will be the top of the snowman’s hat. Cut a small circle of felt to form the brim of the snowman’s hat. Glue the soda cap to the brim. Once dry, glue the hat in the desired position on the head of the snowman.

3. Working on the face of the snowman, place and push eyelets or brads into the Styrofoam to form the eyes, mouth, cheeks, etc. You can use tacky glue for extra security.

4. Paint the second toothpick orange and allow to dry. Cut the toothpick in half and push into the nose area of the face to form the carrot nose. Tacky glue can be used for extra security.

5. Cut the felt into a long rectangular shape and snip fringe at the ends to make a scarf. You can layer up many shapes and colors of felt to add details. Wrap and glue the scarf around the snowman’s neck. Add buttons and any additional embellishments.

6. Working on the body, glue buttons down the front or push brads into the body for extra details.

Join us on Facebook, instagram, pinterest and twitter! Happy Holidays! Cathie and Steve

Felt Handprint Wreath that Kids Can Make for the Holidays.

Craft A Wreath

Kids will love to create this holiday wreath and it will look welcoming and beautiful on any door. This makes a great holiday gift for grandparents.

What You'll Need:
Green felt squares - 4 or 5 pieces
Cardboard scrap - 12"x12"
Scissors
Craft glue
Pom-poms
Pink felt square
Marker

Steps:

1 - Cut a 10 inch ring from a piece of heavy duty cardboard.

2 - Make a template of your kids hand with a scrap piece of paper. Using the template as a guide, cut hand shapes from the green felt. You will need about 10 hands.

3 - Using craft glue attach the hands around the ring, overlap as needed. Glue pom-poms as ornaments and add a bow cut from pink felt.

4 - Smile your finished! Hang on the door.

You could also create a holiday tree by using a large triangle shape. Glue hands to be the tree branches and pom-poms for ornaments.

Hope you give this one a try:)
Cathie

DIY: Painted Sake Set with

Sake is delicious warm or cold and when it is served in a custom painted carafe it is not only delicious but stylish.

This project is so simple and it would make a great holiday gift!

You can use enamel paint pens or enamel paints and a paintbrush to create any style of designs. Plaid has a good enamel paint, I have used the same paint to create retro style popcorn bowls.


shop list for the sake set:
plain light colored ceramic sake set
Folkart enamel paint - 3 or 4 different colors
various sized paintbrushes
alcohol

Steps:
1. Clean the area to be painted with alcohol.

2. Paint stripes and polka dots to create a poppy flower pattern. Do not paint the rim area. Dry 1 hour.

3. Place the painted set in a cool oven, heat to 350 degrees, bake 30 minutes, turn off the heat, wait 5 hours and remove from the oven.

4. Hand wash or top rack dishwasher safe.


Have a great week and keep crafty!

Cathie