This past weekend I met a woman named Coco who lives in San Francisco. I found some wonderful tid-bits from her that were acquired in Paris flea markets. Here is just a tiny, tiny sampling of what I found and what will become the basis for some collage sheets, journal pages and oh, so much more!

Thank you to those of you who have sent in your entries!

Just a quick reminder to anyone who still wants to participate in the Valentines Day Contest from Charming Sam. You only have about a week to get your submission in.

All the details are here: http://charmingsam.blogspot.com/2007/12/valentines-day-art-contest.html

Photograph: A scan or photograph of your art must be received via email no later than February 5, 2008 to information@charmingsam.com at 11:59pm, PST.

High resolution photographs or scans are encouraged.

Yep, it's that time.

Need to send someone something special for the V-D day? Then go check out the Wickedly Chic Valentine's Shopping Guide. All kinds of great gifts including jewelry, home, bath & body, food & drink and accessories. *No this is not a paid listing* I do not accept paid listings on this site. :-)

Follows is an article I wrote for It's My Life! Ezine, a very nice group of people who have been extremely supportive of my work and site. With much appreciation to them for not only inviting me to be an author for them but also for being patient and wonderful editors!

Be sure to sign up for their newsletter, it is very nice.

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The Birth of Ohm

Amy Steinberg

This journey started with the birth of my daughter, Sam — An inexplicably profound and joyful experience that was a catalyst, prompting a spiritual re-birth of sorts within myself... a desire to re-connect more deeply with myself and with the world around me. At about the same time, I was commissioned to do a piece for a family in India. And, as with all my art, I immersed myself into all things connected with the assignment. I wanted to "feel" the spirit of India, and capture it on canvas. This process gave birth to a series of paintings called "Passage to India" — And one painting in particular became a spiritually pivotal piece for me...

“ The Birth of Ohm ”Even as I was sketching the large lotus flower and Hindi Ohm symbol directly onto the canvas, the two became intertwined in my mind... and I began to wonder about the grand scheme of Lotus and Ohm — How did the two come to be? Which came first? It seemed like the beauty of the Lotus could only have given birth to Ohm, the hum, the silence, the eternal beauty of Ohm. By the time I started applying the colors, it became apparent to me that this piece of art must be vibrant — It must convey the mystery and openness of one's spirituality without uttering a single word. The ochre represents mass, and bright yellows the warmth around us. Grey is for the vastness of existence. The brilliant reds symbolize our birth. I layered on photographs of an early 20th century Hindi monk. And I also added mica, for what must be seen as we enter each life. While I sold this painting many months ago, it will always be one of my most cherished pieces — for its spirituality and to commemorate my daughter's birth.

About the Author: Amy Steinberg is the artist and owner of Charming Sam Studios, a multi-faceted studio born out her varied interests in the arts. Amy designs a full line of fashion jewelry, mixed-media paintings and most recently added a line of artist papers and collage sheets to her repertoire. You can find all of her products online at http://www.charmingsam.com/ or email Amy for more information.

Read other articles in this column: Click here

Indie Arts for those of you not party to the arts and crafts movement of the last few years is equal to what "Made in America" was in the 1980's, "Support Small Business" in the 1990's and "Buy Local" is today to eco-philes.

The eco movement has its "buy from local farmers", Al Gore, sustainable living, organic food and renewable energy. We in the Indie Arts/Crafts/DIY/Handmade movement have our own ideology that can easily be summed up as "Living the Indie Life(tm)".

Here are a few "un-written" (up until now) guidelines on how to live the indie life.

1) There is no way to avoid big box retailers in this day and age, but there are ways to minimize the dollars you spend at Wal-Mart, Target, Costco and others. Before you buy something in a big box store think about where to buy the same thing from an indie company or a small local business. Want to buy a book from Amazon? Instead visit one of the many independent online bookstores and buy the book there. Or, if you have a local independent book seller check to see if they have the book or if they can order the book.

Another great idea to huge publishers? Find small book publishers and indie artists who publish and some even bind their own books. There are wonderful options such as;

• Rag & Bone Bindery
• Secret Leaves
• Rowan Morrison

Other great examples of products easily bought from indie businesses found online or at small companies in your area include:

Bath & Body - After the Rayne

Clothing - Treehouse28 & willotoons.com

Baby Clothing - Stylized Pea

Baby Bath, Feeding & More - LilyPad Baby

Linens & Pillows - Flying Needle Gallery

Jewelry - Charming Sam Studio & eeni-ren Designs

Gifts - Savvy Skirts

Handbags - Daisy Janie

Art - Jaime Zollars & ZNEArt & talentdatabase.com & Monsoon Gallery & Hang Art

Perfume - Fragrant Soul

Toys - Melissa & Doug

Reading Indie Publications - Wickedly Chic, Vintage Indie, Scientific American, Good Magazine & Decor8

Home Decor - Laughing Moon

Mattresses - All but 3% of mattesses sold in the USA are MADE in the USA so just check the tag prior to purchase.

Still want more options, check out "Still Made in America"

Support other indie artists and crafters, buy handmade when possible. Visit Etsy for lots of great handmade products from thousands of artists and crafters.

2) Buy American Made. Truly, while we don't want to be exclusionary about the rest of the world there are good reasons for making a conscious effort in buying products that are made in America when possible.

• American Jobs = Better economic conditions = consumer confidence = economic stimulus = a strong dollar and more money in your pocket. We don't need tax breaks or other fancy congressional stimulus packages.


• Saving fuel costs and dependency on foreign oil by not having to ship products from over seas.


• You are not sending dollars to countries who do not have child labor laws , animal products trade laws, human trafficking laws or sweatshop laws.


• You are not supporting governments who support hatred, do not comply with the Geneva Convention, are terrorists, dictatorships, or support the suppression of human rights and/or animal rights.


• You are not supporting people who do not believe in women's rights, the right to an education and the right to speak freely without fear of repression.

When you buy products produced in whole or partially from the following countries (as an example) you are supporting and giving money to the following;

• China - You are supporting a Communist government with atheist views & poor human rights policies.


• Saudi Arabia - No due process, no political freedoms, public executions (beheading) and various other human rights issues. Additionally you are supporting a single royal family.

Want to know more? The top ten countries with which the U.S. Trades. Learn more about other countries and dictators we buy products from.

*Minor note - Don't forget that buying American Made doesn't just mean buying from an American company. For instance The Gap is based out of San Francisco but most if not all of its clothes are manufactured outside of the United States.

3) Give your dollars to small local businesses. Some businesses in your area may be franchises owned locally. HobbyTown is a great example of a franchise that is owned by entrepreneurs in your local area and run like a small business. In contrast eating at Panera is supporting a mid-size corporation who only franchises to "development groups" who are willing to buy into a region and commit to opening multiple locations.

4) Buy from businesses and people who support indie crafters and artists. Local boutiques are a great place to look for small designers, artists and handmade goods. Not only are you supporting the indie artist you are supporting a local small business. Looking for a great, unique gift for your mom then walk down to the area(s) in your town where there are small galleries, boutiques, independent bookstores and locally owned restaurants.

5) Need gas for your car? Well, there is no way in the world to avoid multi-national corporations or repressive governments when it comes to buying gas for your car. However, you can make intelligent choices about where you buy your gas. Ask around your town to find out which stations are locally owned (franchises) or corporate owned. While your money is still going to Exxon or Mobile or whatever energy company at least if you buy from a local franchisee you are supporting the small business.

6) Food. Attend local farmers markets and if you are really lucky there may be a small grocer near you. There are also many small food companies online where you get great products and can partially avoid supporting large corporations. Here are a few to get you started

Kitchen Spices - SpiceHound

Cookies - Kits Cookies

Tea - Davidson's Teas

Pasta - The Pasta Shoppe

Hot Sauce/Salsa - El Fenix

BBQ Sauces - Sauce Goddess

Jams, Jellies & Fruit Butters - Clearbrook Farms

Confections - Coco-Luxe Confections

Tamales - Texas Tamale Company

Snacks - LesserEvil

Beef - Niman Ranch

Ice Cream & Sorbets - Mashti Malone's Ice Cream

Now you can truly start living the Indie Life with small changes in how you think about purchasing products for yourself, home and others.

(c) 2007 - Amy Steinberg, http://www.charmingsam.com/ and http://www.charmingsam.blogspot.com

Another way to help A Place to Bark!

From Chel @ ZNEArt - Many thanks to both Barbe Saint John and Claudine Hellmuth for reminding me to post this:

Bernie at A Place to Bark has entered a contest to win funding for her animal rescue foundation. For every $10.00 donated through the badge below, she gets closer to the prize. Right now she is now #5 in the top ten badgesBUT she needs to be in the top 4 badges to win the grant -From Claudine Hellmuth:"We can do it, we are SO close, thanks to all your help! To those of you posting the badges to your blogs and spreading the word -- thank you! thank you!!! Each $10 donation is important and helps her get that much closer to winning!But we need more help to get A Place to Bark to win this grant! Let's make Bernie the number 1 badge!!! We only have until Jan 31st so we have to work quickly! I know we can do this."

As a thank you for donating your $10 to A Place to Bark, Tim Holtz is giving away one of his artworks to a lucky donor and Claudine Hellmuth is giving away her incredible original artwork as shown above - a 16x20 framed artwork that was featured in Claudine's book Collage Discovery Workshop:Beyond the Unexpected.. In addition - ZNE will give away one Lifetime Membership!How to win:Everyone who donates just $10 before Jan 31st, will be entered into a chance to win. (PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION WHEN YOU DONATE, SO WE CAN CONTACT YOU, ABOUT YOUR GIFT:)

To make it even more exciting, Claudine will give away 5 signed copies of her book Collage Discovery Workshop: Beyond the Unexpected - to another 5 lucky donors!If you have already donated you are already entered. To increase your chances of winning have your friends and family donate and put your name in the dedication line when you check out.

A reminder: we need the most amount of donors to help A Place to Bark win this grant, not the most amount of money. Each person who donates $10 will be counted only once on the badge, so get your friends and family to donate too, if you can.How to Donate:here's the badge to donate from:

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELP!

To donate visit:

Network for Good - A Place to Bark>

*sigh* My wonderful husband just walked in and said, "why don't you go to Paris for a few days to get away?" Hmmmmm????? I wonder what I should say?

In the meantime I found this wonderful site called French General and look what they have right smack on the home page! Little Crowns.

They have lots of wonderful bits & pieces for artists, crafters and just about anyone else who loves beautiful things.

What a lovely find! Thank you again to my mom who has turned us on to another wonderful blog! ULLABENULLA TREASURES AND TRINKETS is worth spending some time on and exploring the many wonderful things that she finds. Also, you have to visit her store for some wonderful finds including this Halloweens Mistress Victorian Ornament Kit . I know Halloween is still like 10 months away but you can never be to early for such a wonderful holiday.

Thanks to Mumsy who found this wonderful little blog/site. Louloupi's Creations.

Beautiful art work, crafty-collage papers and a lot of stuff I couldn't read because it is all in French...which makes it all the better! But if you use this handy dandy link HERE I've translated with Google's help.

Of course once on that site I got sucked in to some of the links and found THIS. My, my... now that is some beautiful art work! The un-translated site can be found at http://merveillesenpapier.typepad.fr . Enjoy!