My favorite little lovies!

I has really special company on Thursday and Friday when my brother and his family visited and he also brought my sister's son so that meant I had all of my favorite little lovies under one roof.  I am beyond blessed.  So I have 2 nephews and one niece --and in my opinion, they are the bees knees.  Here are a few of my favorite snapshots from the short time I spent with them this week.

This is Anthony, he is five years old and has energy that cannot be matched.

Anthony watching Power Rangers.  Just look at those cheeks!

This is Vanessa --she came into my life when she was six years old.  She is now 20 and starting her junior year in college.  I'm so very proud of her.  ::big smile::

Here they are --all three of them!  Joseph is on the far right, he is Vanessa's little brother.  He is wicked smart and keeps me on my toes!  I took this picture at the Sky Lobby in the Chase Building in Downtown Dallas.

A view of Dallas and beyond from the Sky Lobby - 40 stories high!

I was so excited that all three kids wanted to have arts and crafts time with Tia.  Tia is Spanish for Aunt.  They loved making cards with me!

Vanessa was very proud of her cards and kept saying "this is so cool!"

Retro Sign Love

I love all things vintage/retro --especially signs!  Look at this little gem that I photographed in Downtown Dallas.  Photo by Sonia Hernandez Doneghue for Through These Eyes Visual Art. 

Artsy Fartsy Swap

Our most recent swap at Artsy Fartsy was an Artist Trading Card with the theme "Self Portrait".  I didn't want to give someone a project with a picture of myself on it - who would want that?  lol.  So I decided to think a little outside the box.  So here is my rendition of "Self Portrait".

The paper is by Graphic 45 from the Steampunk Debutante line.  I made the flower using Maya Road trim and then adhered a clock pendant to the center.  Pretty cool, huh?  I hope whomever gets this beauty will love it. 

Don't forget that you can follow me and all of my work on Facebook.  There's always networking and creative talk with old and new crafty friends at Ms. Ruin's Playthings!  Click on the image below to "LIKE" my page. 

Virtual Yard Sale: Bundles

VIRTUAL YARD SALE MADNESS!

Did you survive the flower garden?  Nothing a little Claritin can't handle!  Now that you've browsed through the flowers, lets have a look at all of the wonderful bundles that are also on sale in my Etsy Shop.  I tried my very best to make pairings with the large variety of scrapbook paper and embellishments.  All listings are only $.99!  Yes, NINETY-NINE CENTS!  The bulk of the sale will be spent on shipping and handling which ranges from $20 to $30...but I promise you are getting a lot of product that is brand new or gently used.  For full details on each bundle, just click on the image to view the listing.  Thanks for browsing and shopping! 

Icing on the Cake Bundle:

May Flowers Bundle:

OMG Bundle:

Our Happy Family Bundle:

 Regal Garden Bundle:

Wonderment Bundle:

Creative Memories Digital Scrapbooking Bundle:

Virtual Yard Sale: Flower Garden

We are having a Virtual Yard Sale at Ms. Ruin's Playthings.  Lets take a look at all of the beautiful flowers that are in bloom in my Etsy Shop.  Click on each image for listing details.

I'm working on it...

Madness Aftermath

Another late night at Casa de Ruin but I have had so much fun packaging up my prints to send them out to my customers.  A BIG THANK YOU to the followers of Through These Eyes...at the end of my three day sale I sold over ONE HUNDRED prints.  I am BEYOND FLATTERED to know that my visual art will be hanging in over 100 places.  Words cannot explain.  If you missed out on this sale, stay tuned...I'm sure I'll go a little mad yet again.  :)

More Design Team Projects & Special Offer

I FINALLY finished the last of my design team projects for The Crafty Scrapper on Friday night.  Yep, I'm that girl that is home on Friday night...scrapbooking.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.  But some people would be surprised by that.  lol.  Anyway...this first project is a 12x12 layout about my dog, Yeller Trouser.  She is quite the character!  This is BRAND NEW paper by October Afternoon from the 9to5 line.  The background paper is called "Girl Friday".

I LOVE this paper because as you know by now, I love old typewriters.  I cut all of these little keys out with scissors and the name of this paper is "Meeting Minutes" --how appropriate.  :) 

Okay - here's one more look at my little lovey...isn't she friggin' adorable?!?!  Wow, I need to lay off the energy drinks.  lol

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Everyone is going nuts over this Maya Road coin purse.  It's growing on me.  HA!  No, really, I recognize that it's beautiful but it's also very NOT ME.  However I think this will be a wonderful Mother's Day gift.  First of all, the coin purse is made of canvas (I cannot wait to make one for myself with embossed black birds!) so already it's awesomeness.  Lots of Maya Road and hardware by Tim Holtz.

My thought with this was to make a "Garden for Mother" --so on the inside I made this accordian style pull out with a bunch of my own garden/nature photography.  Genius, I know!  If you would like to make this same coin purse but don't have garden/nature shots, I will gift them to you in 2.5 x 2.5 (perfect size for the purse)...just shoot me an e-mail at msruintx@gmail.com and I will send them to you!

Drawing the Line

It makes me really giddy to know that I have established myself as a mixed media artist with the name Ms. Ruin.  There is only one Ms. Ruin in the world, and it's me.  ::huge smile::  I've gotta tell you, that name has kind of taken on a life of its own.  That's a good thing!  Although I don't aspire to make it big in this industry, I am humbled that so many people are interested in what I'm creating.  So if you want to keep up with Ms. Ruin on Facebook, please join my artist page!  I know I have a lot of readers here on blogspot but there's a whole lot of interaction going on at my Facebook page and I just opened shop two days ago!  Visit and LIKE Ms. Ruin's Playthings on Facebook...as in right now, please. 

With that said, I have been thinking that I am spreading myself too thin and in too many directions.  So yes, I will keep with Ms. Ruin in my mixed media and jewelry making, however, in my visual art I will solely be known as Sonia Hernandez Doneghue.  That is my real name --my social security card does not say Ms. Ruin.  LOL.  I promise.  So moving forward you will see "Photo by Sonia Hernandez Doneghue for Through These Eyes Visual Art" in photo credits.  That means I have a lot of images to update on Pinterest.  Something else to add to my to do list.  Does that list ever end?  :)

The Baker Hotel Up For Auction

Don't believe everything you read.  The Baker is not up for auction but my print OF The Baker will be up for Auction in two weeks!  The starting bid on this 16x20 is $75 and all proceeds will benefit AIDS Services of Dallas at the No Tie Dinner & Auction.

I also included a little history of the hotel on the backside of the print.  I can't wait to hear what the winning bid will be.  My friend Larry has promised to give me a play by play as he will be in attendance while I'm in Oklahoma shooting a wedding.  :)

INSPIRATION & Monica Geller Bing

One word comes to mind when I think about this weekend --DOMINATION.  I owned three closets and a craft room this weekend by gutting them out and sending a ton of stuff to Goodwill.  My friends were making fun of me because I told them about how I have closets like Monica on Friends.  They were like "Nooooo - not you!!!"  LOL.  Yep!  So me and two friends made videos of our closets and I gave a tour of my home so you know how paralelled I am to Monica Bing.  Everything is immaculate --but the closet!  To see the Monica Closet moment, just click here.  And here is MY video...

Moving on...as you know, scrapbooking supplies aren't cheap so I kept all of those items and I'm going to be making bundles (trust me, I have a lot of stuff!!!) and offering them up to my crafty friends for a few hundred pennies.  If you pick a bundle you will pay a shipping and handling fee of anywhere from 10 to 15 dollars and the product is all free!  People keep telling me to keep it for my art program, but honestly, I've been blessed with so many donated items that I can't afford to keep anymore.  I will post pictures of the bundles when they are ready --and hey, these aren't your grandmother's scrapbooking supplies --I'm talking new/gently used Fancy Pants, Rusty Pick, DCWV, Basic Grey, and Making Memories just to name a few.  I posted some cell phone pics on Facebook and people are already telling me what they want.  lol.  More of that to come!

Anyway, back to the real point of this post.  Inspiration.  Who doesn't love to be inspired?!?!  People often tell me that my work inspires them.  That is very flattering.  But how do I stay motivated?  I surround myself with things that I love.  This weekend I acquired a couple of new Kelly Rae pieces plus my new Spring bag and wallet!  So here is a look at some of the new inspirational pieces in my life.

I am in love with this clock.  I keep looking up at it and admiring it. 

I can't get enough of Kelly Rae's canvases!  I have a huge collection.  My friends tell me to stay away from the "Kelly Wall" which is a wall at the Dove's Nest that is Kelly Rae everything!!!  At lunch yesterday I told them I was going to head up to the register to pick up the Spring bag I ordered but I actually gravitated towards the back wall and picked up this canvas and the clock.  lol

Is this very me or what?!?!  This bag is by Papaya Art.  Check them out at papayaart.com

This wallet is the bees knees.  I cringed at the price, it was almost as much as the bag!  But so worth it.  I seriously have one of the coolest wallets ever and you know it.  HAHAHA!

Hope these little gems inspired you too!

March Make-n-Take Madness

Last week I gave you a sneak peek of an event that I am going to be a part of at The Crafty Scrapper.  Well, as you can see above...the cat is out of the bag!  For a rundown of all of the projects plus a peek at the design team (including me) and teachers, check out the official announcement here.

I guess I'm free to show you my entire project now!  So this is what you will be making when you come spend some time with me on March 31st.  We will be making a canvas --I believe it's a 6x6 canvas.  We will be wrapping it with tissue paper, mod podging it and then embellishing it.  If you would like to bring a picture for this project, please do so!  We will have tons of chipboard for you to use on your project.  This just an idea of what you can do.  So many people are afraid of canvas --canvas is your friend and I will help you overcome your canvas anxiety.  See you on the 31st from 10am to 5pm!

Nacogdoches: In & Around Town

Thank you for following me on my journey through Nacogdoches, Texas.  I am closing our tour with random photos from in and around town.  Not sure where my photographic journey will take me next, but I promise to take you with me.  For now...I will leave you with these snapshots of The Oldest Town in Texas.     

This sweet doggy belongs to shop owner on the town square.  He just wandered around the store giving kisses.

The store with the dog also had an old soda fountain.  I had a very awesome Diet Dr. Pepper.