Jellybean Toes, Cheerios, and a Scrapping Hullabaloo

Lovely anyone?

2011-11-18T08:12:00.001-06:00

You see I know this lovely lady who has an incredibly lovely store nestled in the country just south of Winnipeg off of highway 59. It is a wonderful little old outbuilding, turned country gift store.

This time of year you walk in to find it brimming with Lovely Christmas gift items, a crackling fire, and the smells of Holidays in the air ( mmmm it's like a mix of gingerbread cookies and cider and warm vanilla).

Tonight is the second night of Christmas open house festivities including live music, a yummy chocolate fountain and other munchies, great sales on gift items in the store and more!

I am happy to share that I have matted art prints, kindness cards and Christmas postcards in the store for the event, they will be on sale at 20% off today ONLY, and I will be there from 5-9 this evening to sign prints and serve hot apple cider and Yummy hot chocolate! So if you are local and feel like a warm and cozy festive night out to kick off your Christmas mood, grab a friend and please come and join us! Here is a map and here is a quick peek at a couple of this years Christmas cards available starting tonight!

To keep it fun for all of you who aren't local, all of my prints will be on sale for 20% off online as well, but Only for today! Just enter the coupon code CHRISTMASKICKOFF when you check out.

Hope to see you there!!!

thought for the day

2011-10-19T05:43:00.016-05:00

I was helping My little Kaiella get ready for school earlier this week, lucky for me she is the one who still lets me pick her clothes which makes mornings go much smoother, and as I am guiding her little legs into the cutest pair of distressed skinny jeans she gives a big BIG sigh and says "Awww MAMA, you KNOW I hate skinny pants...they squeeze my legs!" Well, truth is she hadn't really told me that before so, surprised, I said "oh?" and she goes on to tell me "I don't care if my friends like them and my sisters like them, these are NOT their legs (pointing down to her little leggies),these are MY legs!!!" I burst out laughing and of course had to agree with her that these sweet little pudgy legs are indeed are all hers. We went off to find a pretty skirt and I got to thinking "wow, I wish we could all be a little bit more like Kaiella.

To just choose the path and make the choices that are best for our life no matter what the world is telling us we SHOULD be doing. I truly wish there were more of us who could pray about it,think about it, and make the BEST choice simply on what is right for our own life and our family...regardless of all of the expectations and "should dos" that come down on us.
Just my thought for today.
Thanks little Bella!

side note: photos are from a fun field trip I got to tag along on last spring. The rare photos like this one of her and I together are a total treasure to me.

The time has come...

2011-10-10T08:41:00.002-05:00

There is far too much that comes along and threatens to steal away with all of my inspiration and mind/heart space. You feel me? Wether it be laundry or "stuff", or just time that gets eaten away all too quickly by this and that... I often find myself chasing the day and left with no space for the call of my heart, no space to hear it and no space to answer.

What I need is to simply clear it all away sometimes, set aside days or even just hours where I either remove myself all together or put on blinders to it all simply so that I can answer the beautiful callings of my heart, of my spirit. This time will not simply come knocking at your door and invite itself in, the space is yours for the taking but you MUST MUST claim it and then dive! This is what I am learning slowly but surely, And so that is thre story behind this little piece from this post

Prints are in and available in my shop, if you too need a reminder to simply sweep it all aside for a time and clear yourself some beautiful space for inspiration!

Workin' On it Wednesday

2011-10-05T21:06:00.157-05:00

I am totally inspired by the responses I got from last weeks' "WOW", thank-you. Time for round 2 and this week and I am happy to say one of the things I am cooking up is a monthly newsletter since the vote was a resounding "YES". Thanks for that too! I'm excited to see how that unfolds as I gather content and learn how to put it all together. Me and my peeps are all miserably sick around here this week, and so what I am really working on right this moment is sleeping like crazy and getting us all better. Luckily though, I am also still in the midst of making these two new little art pieces that I started in my hotel room on the way home from San Francisco last week. It is amazing how much can spill from a heart overflowing after some time away with amazing ladies.

WOW#2

This first piece is about how very much we have to offer everyone else when we first remember to take the time to nurture ourselves and our own spirit. It's a whole hubbub of stuff all dancing together; watercolor, pencil crayon, pastels, japanese patterned tape and acrylics, hand stitching... and all in a little plain page notebook that lives in my purse for these moments of burning inspiration that can't be denied

I had a blast playing with these Japanese acrylic paints that I got from the dollar store in San Fran's Japan Town...sigh, that store (Daiso) was a whole lotta fantastic! These ones are pearly and shimmery and not quite as thick and creamy as the ones I would buy at home. Just different and different keeps my attention and makes things extra fun!

This next piece below is taking shape on the same little purse notebook, for now, I will build it a nice home to stitch it onto soon. That one is just wonderful watercolors and a ton of pencil crayon, cuz I have missed both of them over the summer and am still warming up my hands and my heart to get back in the swing of things now that the girls are in school all day. This one is inspired by my own need to clear away the distractions when my heart is calling and be sure that I have space to let it pour out.

Possibly the simplest, yet most exciting to me; I am spending my next couple of evenings "arting" up my next round of shipping envelopes so I can march on down to the post office, with my wee little puppy in tow, and send out a bunch of happy art prints. Mail is exciting to get and I figure if it has a little bit of extra love all over it then it is even MORE happy! I have been feeling like I am sending Christmas presents every time I send them off, and that makes me really happy! Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you to all of you who have supported me in this little Art sales adventure. It has been a long time coming and I am thourally, though a bit shyly, enjoying sharing all that I have been working on this year as it is ready and up in my store.

My last thought for today is this; Share joy.
Just go out and spread happines, cuz you can. Don't wait for the right time because the time will never be just right. Life keeps rollin' on. Simply make time. Even a few minutes to go above and beyond. I guarantee your heart will be filled even more than the one you are sharing with. Send mail (real actual mail), pay for the guys coffee behind you in line, Say something really nice to the next 5 people who pass by... you get the idea. It will not be expected but it will change the tone of someone's day, and YOURS!

watercolor yum

2011-10-01T00:17:00.008-05:00

Have I told you lately how I Love Paint?! All paint has it's own kind of yummy, but tonight it is watercolor, really it's always my first choice with paints. I just adore how it is not permanent, just like life isn't permanent and you simply have to roll with it. With watercolor you can add and you can remove, you can change the look by dripping water into it or using the corner of a tissue to suck some of it off the page....sigh. You can let it rest and come back a different day to toy around some more, it's drippy and sploooshy and can also be super precise. Oh watercolor how I adore thee.

I'm working on a small words only piece and doing it all tonight. a bit of spatter and some careful strokes...it is almost like a wee bit of my heart spilling over right onto the paper. Sigh...gooood stuff.

what's your favorite medium right now? do tell.

Finger Knit necklaces

2011-09-30T16:27:00.120-05:00

This week's Link Lovin' is finger knit necklaces.
Which will be funny to anyone who sat through knitting class with me at inspired 4 years ago, trying not to laugh while my face contorted and my arms cramped into some version of bird wings flapping as I tried with all of my might to create my little square. Yeah, it was a MAJOR no go. I managed to turn out a demented crooked triangle-ish shape that I decided to give my youngest as a "Barbie face cloth". Well, it IS possible that Barbie never received very good directions about doing laundry, right?
Look I even dug up some proof of the whole sad affair...

For those of you who were NOT in my sadly failed knitting class, I was fine with my failure. I decided to keep the basket of wool and use it on a scrapbook page or something.

Back to our cool link lovin' ( sorry I get side tracked) My girls and I needed a birthday gift for Great Nana and of course something happy to do together to enjoy an afternoon of girl time. Sooooo we made these necklaces happily after finding this link. Turns out, this type of knitting is more my speed! We all LOVED them. My only disclaimer is that this project is probably best for about 9 years old and up, Bella's little fingers weren't quite ready for the co-ordination of even "knitting" (but we won't tell her that!) They were finished in under ten minutes (per necklace), we could still chat and giggle while our fingers worked away at it, and we found everything we needed in my random crafting stashes. I'd say that is an all around WIN! Wanna try?

Here's what you need:
- a roll of string ( just hardware store string, nothing special)
-some chain (can get this at a bead store for nicer stuff, but can also get it at the hardware store on a roll)
-some little pliers/snips to cut your chain ( I raid Cam's tool box, Great source!)
-a few wooden beads
-any old scissors

photos above from "P.S. I made this"

And here is Emy's finished result!
Have fun and be sure to share your results with us.

Workin' on it Wednesday...

2011-09-28T11:50:00.020-05:00

Something I thought might be fun, is to tackle hump day and head into the rest of the week feeling productive by sharing what I'm elbow deep in each week, even if it isn't finished projects ( mostly won't be, hence the "workin' on it" title) just the behind the scenes works of it all...I totally enjoy taking a peek at others' inner workings and seeing the steps that build behind their cool art.

So here we go with

WOW #1

Right now I am finishing up some backgrounds for a few canvas pieces that I have in the works; this blue one will be about having faith and spreading wings etc. the words and pictures are all well underway in my mind but of course need a place to land...

So far, lots of blendy acrylic, lots of drippy watercolors, some india ink for good measure, and now time to look at it across the room and decide if it is ready for the good parts!

For this bigger canvas, I am illustrating the story of someone's life and all of the different chapters.

I drew out this huge stack of books first, and then decided the texture needed here was to cover much of the rest in vintage book pages (of course backing up the theme of the piece).

I find this page piecing done best, and with no loose edges, by using gel medium under and over the text pages. watery white glue is fine and so is mod podge, but this is just my fave. Oh, and as you can see, I also prefer fingers to paint brushes or palette knives...they are super washable ( no kidding!) and I have FULL control over what they do.

And lastly for Right now, I am finishing up an art journal on Kraft.

Not sure yet where all of these little pages will go, but they will be packaged up and sold as printable mini backgrounds in the next couple of weeks. And then I can get personal with my own and make it into a spilling over of heart.

This one is definitely keeping ink on my fingers and fun in the air! I LOVE the carefree that happens when your "canvas" is something as disposable as a roll of kraft paper...there is a whole other kind of freedom that doesn't always take place on an expensive big canvas, or GORGEOUS scrapbook paper that has been lovingly hoarded.

And last but not least, I need your help with something. I am trying to use my time better now that my girls are all settled in happily at school and I can work full time all day long ( or night)

So, I have a question for you; I am toying with the idea of finally doing a newsletter, it would include where I am scheduled to be teaching, newly released Art or products, and BEST of all there would be offers and a few tips or videos that won't appear anywhere else. Not sure if it is worth my time though, can you shoot me a note if you would like this? Or if you have any thoughts or opinions on what you would like to see content wise. I will do my best to bring you what you ask for!

Thanks and happy Wednesday!

Freedom and Faith

2011-09-26T15:35:00.041-05:00

"she marched to the Rhythm of her very own heart as it "beat, beat, beat" with passion and praise and the incredible Freedom that comes from living in Faith"

Here she is " Freedom and Faith"-inspired by a beautiful lady that is dear to my heart and has shown me over and over again the beauty of living in faith and the joy of a truly free spirit, march on my friend!

And to all of you who pop by here; may you step out and trust the little whisper within. Stop questioning, Stop doubting your own abilities, STOP getting in the way and simply choose to experience the total freedom of living in faith, the amazing feeling of soaring on wings that are far greater than you can even comprehend!

Homemade Ice Cream!!!

2011-09-23T23:36:00.079-05:00

YES, You read right this week's link Lovin' goes to seriously delish, homemade, 5 minute, SUPER easy, tastes like soft serve

ICE CREAM!!!

I would be lying if I said it is only fun for the kids, IT IS AWESOME FUN FOR MEEE!!!

We had done this as part of science waaaay back in Emy's preschool days, and I LOVED it then, but with a busy toddler at the time and then another baby filling my heart and food making mind, I went on to totally forget about ice cream in a bag until I found This Link.

Yayy internet, and yayy pinterest!

The girls and I got right to adding this to our "fun to-do" list, and it was as Rad as I remembered!

We did a batch with cream, and a batch for Tiara with vanilla soy milk. both were super, I actually liked the soy version better, kids liked the cream.

Here's what you need:

- small snack baggies, and larger sandwich or medium baggies

-2 TBSP sugar ( I did only 1 to make it slightly healthier)
-1 cup of Soy milk for lactose free, or Cream (either half & half or light cream, mmmmm)
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-1/2 cup salt; any kind is fine (I used sea salt)
- plenty of ice; you may want to pick up a bag if you don't have an ice maker
-hungry tummies!

1. fill your larger zip-loc about half full with ice and sprinkle the salt over it

2. Mix the soy milk or cream, sugar, and vanilla in your wee snack bags and zip them up good and tight. ( we used sandwich bags the first time cuz we had no wee snack bags)

3. Jump, dance and Shake what your mama gave ya

4. Check on your mixture and if it isn't frozen yet SHAKE some more!

( ours took about 4 or 5 minutes, bit longer for the cream)

5. when it is thick and frozen you can grab a spoon and eat it right out of the bag! Tiara dumped hers into a cup cuz that's how she rolls

6. Grin like crazy with the amount of happiness in your tummy and the sillies you have worked up from dancing around with a chilly bag!!!

WHOOT

OK I have an assignment for you; if you try any of our our Link Lovin' ideas and love 'em, let me know! It will make the girls' day. seriously. They help me get the pics and always ask me, "mama can you show people on your blog?"

Last but not least, I am out of the country adventuring right now, will post more on that later, so if I owe you an email please be patient with me, life is calling!

Gentle Pace

2011-09-22T02:13:00.064-05:00

"She always felt that she couldn't keep up with everyone else's pace, what she didn't see was how her gentle way of moving through life made them all slow down and see the beauty of the day"

Oh how those Gentle hearted sweet ones bring peace to us all, and somehow beat themselves up over and over again for not being as efficient as "everyone else".

Imagine if the world was made up of only the super efficient? Everything would always get done on time and probably nearly perfectly, but All of that soft peace would be missing and things would be all out of whack...not cool. We all fill the perfect place in the world even the slow and steady, If only we could see that we were made just the way we need to be, each with the specific gifts that we were created to share. Go out my friends and be bright and shiny in the way that only YOU can!

Here's to those with a gentle way, may they stop trying to keep up with the rat race and see the beauty in the way they Bless so many as they softly go through life.

Prints of this sweet story are up in my store and ready to go!

Words

2011-09-20T09:24:00.000-05:00

This month has been a crazy one of here and away, family time, me time, travel time and a whole lot of getting into the glorious routine that is fall. I have oooodles of photos to upload, more prints to add to my store, I have a stack of happy art to finish up that I am pumped about ( always the result of me taking some time to nurture my own spirit). And steady through it all I have seriously been enjoying the power of words; their beauty, their ability to wrap you in a story, or find strength and sparkle within your own self.

Find words, write words, print words, and wrap yourself up in the ones that make you feel like leaping!

Link Lovin' - Loop scarves

2011-09-16T02:09:00.027-05:00

The girls and I spent the summer checking off our "Fun to-do" list. Oh believe me, it went wayyy beyond silly putty!!! Some we came up with on our own, sure, but mostly we found such great inspiration for so many of our projects online, that I am totally inspired to share some links and how it all worked out for us here on a regular basis. A little bit of Friday Link lovin' to wrap up the week just right. Are you in?!
If we found it, Loved it, and tried it.
You better believe I want to share it, it will be something good to bring the fabulous to your Friday! And kickin' it off are these awesome loop scarves we made...
Doesn't Emy look lovely modeling one of our new creations?

The ones we made are a combo of a few different online tutorials

For all of that great step-by-step inspiration you can check them out here , here, and here.

All you need are:

-some old t-shirts (or a trip to the thrift store and a quick round of laundry) note: we used the largest tees we could for nice long scarves

-some good sharp scissors

-and about 20 minutes or so.

This project was a total 5 star for cost, time and end result!

WHOOT!

As far as Link Lovin' Fridays go; Let me know if there is a cool link you have found that we totally should try, or if there is something you'd like me to hunt for and give it a whirl. The girls and I are having too much fun to stop now, even though school's back on :)

HAPPY FRIDAY

My Wonderful little Ladies

2011-09-13T15:33:00.001-05:00

I think this might be my new favorite shot of my girls.

The sun had almost set, the moon was already lighting our way, and the pinkish glow on the water was amazing . So what did we do as the mosquitoes came out and the air grew colder with each minute? the only logical thing one can do! Go down to the beach and run in the water, splash and giggle and get sandy and wet of course!!!

Who needs clean and dry and in bed on time anyways? Not US!

It is just one of so many favorite memories from our time away together as a family this past week ( yeah we pulled them from school cuz family time is too precious not too) It was simply amazing!

I am actually heading back to our friends' gorgeous cottage alone for a few days to get some uninterrupted "ARTing" done. With crisp air, quiet cups of tea, and nothing but creation all around me I have High hopes for awesome productivity!

note: Keep an eye on my Etsy shop it is filling up more each day

and the winner is...

2011-09-13T08:54:00.000-05:00

Picked by my little Random finger pointer, Congrats Megan!

Please send me your info so I can pass it on to Kal, and ENJOY what is sure to be an incredible class!!!

God's Light shines in you...

2011-09-12T23:16:00.028-05:00

This is my own very favorite card to give from my stash here at home. There isn't one person who can't benefit from knowing that you think they shine! This pack of cards is up in My shop, and I feel like sharing some joy today so tell me who shines in your life and why they totally need one of these mini prints, I will pick 2 winners at the end of the month to send out sets to!

For today; enjoy it, smile and shine, and dance through the day my friends, it's a total gift and it's yours for the making!

ETA: thanks for sharing your hearts with me, I was touched by each of your stories. Winners have been notified so check your inbox!

Finding my wings

2011-09-12T00:30:00.027-05:00

"Sometimes there was just too much noise and too much busy for her to find her voice. She raced and she ran until she knew she must stop to find the wings of her Spirit."

I Finally finished the painting from This Post.

Have a quick read if you would like to know the story behind the piece.

This is one I need to keep around to remind myself to find the quiet moments that I need...sigh. They slip into the hubbub far too easily. truly.

Making sure of that this week; I am heading back to the lake alone with my basket of paint and brushes and a bag full of blank canvases for some quiet time to get myself back in the swing of things after a whirlwindy summer. Here's hoping that good things come pouring out from my heart and my hands! How are you finding your quiet this fall?

mated and ready to be framed at 11x14

Printed packaged and up in my shiny new Etsy shop.

BIG HUGE thank-yous to everyone who has popped over there to support me in my new adventure so far

an Amazing giveaway from Kal!

2011-09-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

Let me tell you about my friend Kal. This beautiful lady is one of the most positive motivating people I have ever come across! She's an award-winning illustrator, author, and graphic designer. She fights for the rights of artists trying to share their work online, spreading awareness about the importance of respecting artist's work with her recent link with love initiative.

She blogs daily sharing her love for life and art and small people. And on top of it all she is a wonderfully involved mama to three little girls and 2 doggies. But Kal doesn't stop there, she scoops up her Bullet-proof positive attitude and spreads it as far as she can out into the world! She has this way of teaching that can inspire and empower, even the person who thought there was no way they could ever be called creative, to pick up a paint brush or a pencil crayon, and redifine what creative means to them. Lucky for all of us Kal has a new online class launching Monday and it looks AMAZING!

Script school is an introduction to BRUSH SCRIPT. You'll get to Try Kal's signature style as you go at your own pace without pressure, learn the ins & outs of creating script (handwriting) with a brush, and Try different techniques. Guaranteed you will Be motivated and inspired by the beauty.

Seriously friends, sign up and this class will change the way you "art" in some way, that's just how it rolls with Kal!

Here's the coolest part; leave a comment here on this post and she is giving away a FREE SCRIPT school registration to one of you awesome peeps!!!

For more eye candy check out Kal's paintings, and read more about her daily journey on her blog

All images courtesy of Kal Barteski

New goodies for September

2011-09-03T01:39:00.013-05:00

You asked me for more alphabets and more alphabets you shall get! I will do may best to pump out a pile of brand new ABCs over the coming months so stay tuned. This one is pencil sketched and when stamped on the page LOOKS like you picked up a pencil and got jiggy with it. I LOVE that! mmmmm

then we have These borders, simply spray paint yumminess, that's all. On a photo, behind a photo, or bordering the top or bottom of a page...I kind of think that spray paint anywhere is an addition of YUMMY.

And lastly this set of positivity stickers are the perfect message for every bright and shiny heart. They are ideal to print on cards and sneak in your kid's lunch or print out on Avery sticker sheets to stick right onto notebooks etc.

Everything can be found Here in my corner of The Lilypad. And if you would like to win one of these for FREE cuz giving stuff away is fun, then leave me a comment about what you would like to have me design!

Perfection

2011-09-01T08:10:00.005-05:00

She finally knew she was perfect just the way she was created...True Perfection found by following her strong strong heart.

This is one of my very favorotes to date. Because it is my little Kaiella, because of the band-aid on her constantly skinned little busy knee, because she LOVES it, her cute little girl face, and the message of course...such an important message for a little girl to keep close to her heart.

I have a huge stack of "stories of light" painted and ready to go off to the printers. I found a new local printer that I am going to try working with. Really looking forward to actually going in and choosing the papers that I like by touch. I am just like that, I want to hold it and feel the texture and love it.

I have another stack of prints that are matted and signed and just need to be photographed. Those will be loaded in my new etsy shop over the next few weeks. YAYY! finally!!!I take them with me when I travel and sell some locally but I am excited to get them up online. Really excited, it has been a long time coming.

I know I have mentioned Cam building me a cart, and maybe when my full website is done we will still do that but I decided to go with etsy for now even though there are fees etc. because I think it is good exposure to a whole different audience and offers a great community of creatives. Anyone have experiences with etsy, good, bad or in the middle? what are your thoughts on the whole thing?

mated and ready to be framed at 11x14

the annual Summer panic

2011-07-28T22:13:00.003-05:00

It always seems to be right about this point in summer where I begin to panic that my time with the girls is passing far too quickly. We have just finished two weeks of swimming lessons, we've gone camping, Bella has been to Bible camp for a couple of days and Emy is going to go for a week. We've done projects around the house, we've had some incredibly good visits with really special people and spent some quieter days just hangin' out at home together. But still I get frantic that we haven't done nearly enough and it is all just going to whip by and be over before I can even blink.

Soooo since I have this mad love for checklists I have a plan! The girls and I are making a big list of summer to-dos ( aka: WANT to-dos) we'll leave room for a photo of each one and as we get it checked off we can add in our photographic proof and end up with a nice memory of summer while keeping our eyes on the things we treasure most for our time together!

Game on. I'm on it, sleeves are rolled up and my pencil is doing warm ups as we speak. Aaaand I hope, of course, that you will play along and share your moments too!

Today the girls looked at the options I gave them for homespun fun and chose making homemade silly putty. We used pretty teal coloring and lots of fine glitter, it drips, and snaps, and bounces wonderfully!
Def. fun, I used to do this with my daycare kids; check out the recipie here.

Tiara and I Picked up some more thrift store/garage sale finds today to finish our room makeover for Bella's birthday. We'll have to pick up the pace and spend tomorrow with our lovely cans of spray paint fully active, sewing machine buzzing, and tissue paper folding and fluffing into a frenzy if we are hoping to be done when she wakes up Saturday morning!!!

Here's to cherishing every ray of sunshine, all of the kooky giggles and everyday that summer gives us.

The bunch In my mirror

2011-07-20T00:11:00.002-05:00

Living out of town means when we want to go pretty much anywhere we are bound to be taking a long long ride in the car. But I truly have to say that our time in the car has become something I totally cherish; Great conversations, good laughs and secrets shared. It is time that I know I will look back on fondly. Sooo here is my view of the backseat on a typical drive...

We have the little two, happy little posers smiling and often making eyes at me, usually chattering about some adventure their little ponies went on earlier in the day or giggling like mad while one of them hams it up just to get the laughs (usually Tiara)

Then we have Emy the dreamer...She shares in the goofys of her little sisters for a bit but then If she is not sharing her deepest heart with us she is gazing out the window often grinning her soft little smile as her mind goes to fairytale places, suddenly popping up after awhile and sharing with us what she is dreaming up for her next story.

Eventually all 3 find their own worlds and thoughts to get lost in, although a good amount of time is still leaning on each other and giggling (or sometimes fighting), and telling me and Cam their latest plans and best stories, at some point everyone does find a daydream to get carried away to.

and then Tiara is the one to report any problems that are found there in back seat world, her little sister just going with the flow and giggling away..Tiara is our police officer keeping everyone in check...there is one in every kiddo bunch right?

And of course like any good long drive it usually ends like this; SLEEP

it's a blurry imperfect picture but it captures the little sweeties that we carry in, surprised that they still fall asleep and carefully trying to get them tucked into beds without waking them up

It can get crazy and loud, it can be a wild bunch of tattling and upset hearts, it can get long...but I cherish these drives. I do. It is mine, all of it, chaos and bliss magically mixed into happy pudding. They are each so amazing, my bunch, and these long drives give us all the undivided time together that we could need to know that without a doubt!

Tubby Magic

2011-06-17T22:28:00.027-05:00

Right there in her "princess tub" she descends to the depths of the ocean where she has a chat with an octopus and rides a seahorse all the way to her meeting with a good friend in mermaid country.

And lucky for me I just happened to overhear the magic happening in my bathroom! it is this incredible 6 year old world of imagination that fills my days with sparkly moments I wouldn't pass up for anything!

It is the mind of a child I hope to always manage to cling to, I hope to see the world through such a whimsical perspective,

there really is wonder around every corner when we stop being busy grown-ups and simply skip along ready to embrace it all!
I am so so very privileged to be able to capture these perfectly delightful little journeys as my girls go about their make believe adventures.

Treasure, perfect
delightful simple treasure...every last little moment of it!

Think about it

2011-06-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

The Story of "Strength"

2011-06-13T23:36:00.000-05:00

Sooo...my girl from this post who got her second chance to shine is finally finished!

She is "strength", and I am so glad she didn't end up in the trash because she had a story to share... here is a peek at her journey.

First I played around with different colors holding up different combos of watercolor crayons until I had what I was looking for. I Love this cuz it's easy to grab and put back colors until I get what I want without actually making a big mess.

She got dressed, pretty in Pink, and decided to go for lacy frills to show how soft her heart really is. Then it was time to build a background using different tones and shades of happy green

I Finished up with some nice wavy whirly grasses, gently embracing her, careful not to cover the definition she was based on.

Then she got her lovely details..ribbon, stitching and beading.

And last but definitely not least, it was time to write her story. a story based on a real woman ( or two in this case) and a story that had to be told!
If you can't read it in the image below it says: " Her Quiet Strength held up her family in Love, and with hardly a word they just knew she could hold them All; in her arms and in her heart. for her great strength came from within, came from above. it was far Deeper, Wider and Higher than anyone could understand."

Her prints have been ordered and will be up for sale as soon as we get our cart all figured out.
Here's to Beautiful women with a quiet strength far greater than the loudest voices or the biggest muscles!

World wide awake

2011-06-06T11:33:00.001-05:00

If only I could capture for you how this tree SMELLS right there in my photos, I would bottle it up and throw it in just before the shutter clicks.
I walk under this beautiful bloom filled tree as I come up my driveway and I just look up and close my eyes and breathe in as deeply as my lungs will allow, oh the sweet notes of spring are soooo deliciously delightful. Creation all around is awake and at it's best, and that is just so incredibly AWESOME! I challenge you to Take yourself out today; put on your walking shoes, grab your camera and really look with eyes wide open at the world around you and how it is right there ready to bless you with these amazing sights and smells and sounds...look way up and look way down, lay in the grass or swing as high as you can and try to touch the sky! snap some of your own awesomeness ( trust me it will make you take notice and be more thankful) and of course share your "world wide awake" in the comments cuz we wanna go there with you!!!

Sharing a space

2011-06-02T13:45:00.001-05:00

I think the only time I have shared pictures of my creative space was in this post Here way back in November of 2006 right after being named CKs first scrapbooker of the year, and at that it is only a glimpse. I don't know why, but I just really didn't take many pictures of my happy creating place. Too bad cuz I really miss it. So after recording a super fun show with the paperclipping roundtable today; talking about shared scrap spaces. I dug up the only photos I do have, taken before we moved. They are mostly quick, far away, wide angle, trying to see the whole room kind of shots, and so they look a little chaotic and don't really capture the happy creative warmth of the place, but at least they give a bit of an idea of some of the storage solutions I talk about on the show, like my ribbon rod, and using glass jars and open shelves to see all of my threads and beads and bits. In my cubes you can see some storage boxes holding the uglier things like gesso and fixative, and peeking behind the typewriter you can see where my big baskets lived for grabbing recyled bits as I worked, On the wall I had fave papers in wall pockets, and some layouts in progress were always up on a magnet strip behind my computer. The blue buckets on my computer desk held different kinds of tapes, and paints, and inks and things so I could just grab a bucket and use what I pleased. Scanner and printer was just under my desk- nothing special. Other than my old typewriter, you can't really see any of the yummy vintage pieces...guess I'll have to be sure to capture it better here in this house as I work on creating that studio space. It is Cool to start fresh because the furniture pieces I have and my taste in decor and color have changed quite a lot over the years. I am more a lover of things rustic and worn now, the older the better, and though I still love color I most likely wouldn't do stripes again, but it WAS the "play room" and that is what life is for, right? evolving and changing and loving the ride!

Sooo... you can hear most of our thoughts on sharing a space on the show , seriously, go and listen, it is always a bunch of fun!

But I will add here that I LOVED being together with everyone during those years, sitting at my island and chatting with Cam as he relaxed for the evening, or being able to glance across the open floor and see the kids in the playroom and hear the little song they are singing or answer their most burning questions.

On their end of the floor We had little bags on the wall for doll clothes, and great open shelves that Cam made for me to organize the toy madness that ensued there over the years. It was bright and happy and super fun!

I have no shelves up here yet, no organizing or displaying going on and I NEED it badly, but that is a whole other conversation...

I miss having a creative space in with everyone. I do. And so now I haul my workings out into our current family room and make a giant mess there. Sorry Cam!

But I have also learned to appreciate the depths of what I can create when I take the time to find quiet, and so I think on the whole, my new little studio with the door that closes will be a good thing, just something new to get used to.

Check out Lisa Dickinsons wonderful pictures of her serene space...mmmm, delightful, I am IN LOVE with her big bookshelf cabinet, might possibly want to go and live in it.

Today; getting ready to celebrate my mama's birthday, attacking my to-do list- which includes sending some new art out for prints, finishing up a few designs, drinking wonderful tea, and taking one of my girls out on a date tonight.

Enjoy your Thursday!

evidence

2011-04-21T02:03:00.001-05:00

We haven't had a very warm bloomie pretty spring here in Manitoba. It has been too wet and too cold, and it would be all too easy to complain about how crappy that is...

But I happen to be presently LOVING this particular sign of spring.

Muddy boots on my front porch= the evidence of happy healthy rosy cheeked children all playing in wet muddy ditches to their hearts content.

It is why we moved to the country, it is what spring SHOULD hold!

I don't take our life for granted, not for one single minute. I love living in a safe community, in this amazing part of the world where we have all we need and our kids can be playing outside without a care in the world.

Life is most definitely a gift.

What simple evidence can you choose to cherish today?

do tell

Don't give up before the beauty

2011-04-02T23:37:00.000-05:00

She is so kind and pretty and soft looking, I like her, she totally captures the feeling behind the words she was painted to express, and I almost gave up on her! When she was just a sketch I thought there was no way she was going to work, she wasn't right, I thought she looked poopy and I was very close to just trashing her...crumpling her up and throwing her away. That is so sad!

It got me thinking though, and I think that is what we often do to ourselves, to our dreams. I think sometimes we give up on our self, give up on our dreams when they are only just beginning, before they have the chance to unfold and turn into something that is incredibly beautiful, we just don't give them the chance to get there... we see just a little bit of the picture and say "ugh this is hard, this isn't what I thought it would be, I'm outta here, forget it!" or " I'm scared, people are going to think I'm crazy, this isn't going to work, FORGET it!" and we just give up on ourselves and don't push past until the beauty part has a chance to unfold. We don't push forward until we shine, until we are radiant and sparkling for all the world to see, fulfilling our awesome potential the way we were made to be! Incredible Beauty, and amazing dreams are there in each of us, I do believe that. We just have to keep going, push past that moment where we want to Forget it and tell ourselves " CUT IT OUT, you were made for this journey you are on, KEEP GOING!"

So, that is what I am going to do, it is up to you how you chose to live your potential, but hopefully my moment with this sweet girl can shed some light on something for you to!

Please don't throw yourself away before your amazing sparkle has a chance to shine!!!

Kaiella @ 61/2

2011-03-11T00:46:00.000-06:00

My littlest one, Kaiella. sigh. getting so big and always such a joy ( almost always, unless she's hungry LOL)

At 6 1/2 she...

-Loves to play make believe with tiny toys; most often little ponies, playmobil baby Jesus, or littlest pet shops
-Has lost 8 teeth and is eagerly awaiting their return

-Is very best friends with her sister Tiara; two peas in a pod, she imitates all of Tia's opinions, mannerisms and ideas

-Is quite a good artist for such a little peanut and makes all of her adorable art "To Mama Fum Bella"

-Loves to read her "early reader" books; especially silly willy, and I Like me

-is constantly moving, dancing and singing...I think there is a song in her heart and a rhythm in her soul at all times. It's a wee bit hard to sit beside her on the couch or at the dinner table but other than that her wiggly joy makes all of us smile

-Is learning to skate on her own, "glide, glide , glide" insisting that daddy teach her so she can play hockey

-says the cutest goodnight prayer asking for "good dreams please, and happiness in my little heart"

-Loves to be all dressed up; skirts, bracelets, earrings, pretty boots, hair clips...the more the better! and still let's me make her outfits in the morning if i want to

-Still is the most peaceful and easy of our bunch, just sort of going with the flow most of the time and fitting in with whatever her big sisters have cooking

Here is my latest page for my girl. journaling says:

"Oh little radiant angel of mine, always know that you are adored, that you are oh so perfect just the way God made you; full of peaceful Joy and gentle kindness. Little one, you shine with a beauty that starts in your heart & shines from the stars in your eyes. Shine on little Angel, shine on"

using a few of my newest design bits on this page

Fairytale stamps,

Graffiti spray: Fairytale

Hey Love papers,

Woody Bits; Fairytale

And finishing touches with Amy Martins yummy heart stitches

Here's to preserving 6 years old forever...it is so very HAPPY!

Fly

2011-02-28T23:13:00.000-06:00

Oh Little girl, what potential lies in you. The time has come to let go of all of your fears and soar to the heights you were made to reach!

note: All my own new products on this layout;

printable art journal mini pages,

background papers,

happy chips

alphabet stamps

May you soar with all of the beautiful freedom you were made to enjoy!

my girls

2011-02-20T03:17:00.000-06:00

Not my 3 incredible little people, but my sketched, painted, colored ladies.

I have been meeting so many incredible women in my new little town (and just in life) and as we share stories and I get to see beyond the layers we all have, I see that as women we have so much in common, so many similar stories, dreams ,fears, and wishes.

I am just continually inspired by all of these wonderful people, and by the spirit in me that just has to turn thoughts and feelings into words and art. Now that I have given into this promting to tell these stories, I just have to write them as they inspire me and my hands can hardly keep up!
I have been painting all of these girls/ladies like mad. I can't stop. I am a story writing, Girl painting maniac. I just carry this old old thesaurus with me and my pencil case all over the place in a little birdie bag, and well, there I am working on another story that moves my heart and strikes a chord with me. I Love how taking the time to celebrate the thoughts and fears and stories of those in my life, makes me see more, feel more.
I have known this for some time because it is what I do as I record our stories in our scrapbooks and my own art journals...but this somehow, makes me Love and understand so much beyond our own world.
This is about every woman's story that is waiting to be understood...not simply what is going on in our own tiny corner of the world.

Art evolves, and what inspires me changes all the time, especially if I am being true and following what makes me feel alive, allowing my own journey to unfold. So really, who knows if this will be a short lived passion, creating a lovely new collection, or something that I do for awhile, I am just here to let it pour out from my heart straight through my painted and messy hands, and Loving my view from here while it does.

note: new art prints will be available soon, we're adding a cart here in the next few months

100 days!

2011-02-17T22:58:00.000-06:00

I can't even believe they have had a hundred days of school this year already!

There are soooo many reasons that I want this year to drag by at a snail's pace and for that reason alone it just isn't going to is it? This is Emy's last year of Elementary school, her last year of recess and all things non-high school-ish; soooo many changes going on at that age,WOW.

I just wanna enjoy every day with her right where she is.

Tiara has THE most incredible teacher that I would pay millions to ( if I was a millionaire of course) just to have her stay with Tiara's grade FOREVER! And the class on a whole is incredible, super respectful and kind kids, So I just want to drag on that grade 3 time for Tiara's sake.

And Kaiella, my baby...sigh, it is one thing that she is at school ALL DAY this year, I can handle that because 6 is still little, still so soft and so full of little-isms and giggly itty bitty-ness. Seven years old and grade two, well that will just be getting far too big for me, I wanna bottle her up and keep her just like this!!!

So there you have it, now I sound like a mom who can't let go, when really I am happy for them for all of the steps that they take and all of the growth that they make, I would just like time to go a wee bit slower please :)

Love Day details

2011-02-14T13:08:00.000-06:00

I am always thrilled to celebrate a day just for sharing our Love...YAYYY! This year the girls and I baked our little hearts out getting ready to share their Love with their friends; tons of cupcakes both HUGE and mini, and for Emy marshmallow pops with fun valentines tags. YUMMMM!

The girls took their treats and cards proudly to school this morning in cute little buckets, dressed for the day from head-to-toe. I Love giddy little girl mornings, males me feel like a giddy little girl too; I can't wait till they get home with all of their party stories and all excited to dump out and look through their cards!

Even if you have no kids and no "sweetheart", hoping you take the time to make the people in your life who RAWK feel Loved and special today! send an ecard, pick up the phone JUST let them know they are important to you!

My Forever

2011-02-13T11:56:00.000-06:00

A rare page just For My Cam,
picture by Emy from our trip to Mexico, click for a MUCH better view :)

Journaling says:

He's my yesterday and my tomorrow, my smiles and my laughter, my very best friend, yes, he's my always...My forever.

I think that pretty much sums it up, This guy of mine really is incredible; he believes in me and supports my adventures and dreams and he is such an amazing daddy to our girls, AND he does dishes happily...he couldn't possibly be any dreamier if he tried!
Thanks cam!!!

Using some of my sketchy, doodley stamp sets on here
Lovely Lockets , Meadow sketchbook, and from the heart

These guys can be used digitally, printed on white cardstock or watercolor paper and painted, or applied right to your photos before printing...sigh I love me some good relaxing doodle time!

Today- we are putting the finishing touches on all of our valentines baking, finishing up cute little cards and making sure all of the Heart's day attire is clean and ready to go for tomorrow, housework can wait we have partying to do!

Painting My "right now"

2011-02-02T02:02:00.000-06:00

Here I am right now, noticing how the noise and the busy can drown out my own heart's voice. We can go go go until there isn't even a wee corner of free space to just let things sit in our hearts and minds and turn into something beautiful. I know that I personally, am definitely not finding the free space I have needed in the last while to really connect to my true self and let my spirit grow wings...soooooo of course the best way I know to express that is to paint it out.

The thing is, and I am sure that I'm not alone in this, I have not been filling my time and my mind with idle blather, just the opposite; amazing kids- little hearts who need tender mama care, family activities and time to take care of the home, teaching Sunday school, and volunteering in the classroom so I can be a part of my girls' world...etc. GOOD BLESSED LIFE!

I guess I am just realizing that quiet spirit time is not just going to up and find me, I am going to need to activily CREATE for myself just what I need. So it's decided, I'm Planning a creative retreat for myself in the near future to remedy this, just a personal quiet getaway, me, music, lots of paint and empty canvases to pour onto. I'm also going to figure out what it is that I need and finally move into this little studio room I have here; make it what I need it to be; a vibrant creative sanctuary of happy goodness!

Cheers to MAKING your time and space what you need it to be!

make a few notes today of what you need to clear away so you can hear your heart sing and just

MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!

Listening to the call

2011-01-20T03:07:00.000-06:00

I have always been sensitive to the gentle nudge on my heart, the quiet prompt that let's me know which way I should go, I call it God, you can call it whispers, or the universe, or your heart...whatever makes you comfortable.

The results of listening have taken me to places in my life I could have never dreamed possible for me.

So here I am, happily taking my little break from "work" skipping through life going along my merry comfortable way, and comfortable can be so good can't it? Unfortunately it only seems to hang out for so long before we have the chance to step out of our comfortable little bubble and take a risk or make a change, it just is, and any passionately creative person knows exactly what I mean...so there I am," la dee dah", and in walks the (perceived) party pooper...yep total bubble burster, I feel this really strong tug on my heart that I need to paint the stories of women- beautiful , strong, amazing women...NOW!

Skeptical closed minded grumpy people may be saying "yeah whatever you just WANTED to paint some people...bla bla bla God, ya sure ( insert eye roll)"

OK, those people may as well just stop reading right here cuz you're not gonna get me;

problem with this heart tugging thing is that my inner response was something like this "ME? no, sorry you have the wrong girl, I don't draw people, I don't draw anything that looks remotely rea,l in fact...I am just a silly doodler, sometimes a word art maker, and a messy fusser with paint that is all happy mish mashy...NOT a formally trained artist, nope not a maker of women, NOT NOT NOT"

But the thing about that quiet call that comes when we are really REALLY supposed to follow is that it doesn't just go away...I know this by now, but still I fight it, fight the unknown, fight the possibility of failure, I fight...

If only I would remember at the time that each time I have finally given in and listened to that quiet call on my heart a whole new world of possibility and potential has opened for me and for my family. But No, I am human ( remember just a silly doodler?) and so I forget and I fight it.

Well I guess this was one of those things that I was supposed to do because although I pushed back again, when I finally gave in what has poured out has been truly an awakening...it makes my heart sing. It has not come from me, not from anywhere I thought I had the potential to be, but from somewhere greater and bigger. And unbeknownst to me, I CAN draw these women...somehow I have it in me and I can.

Of course ~~there was NO WAY I was going to share this story~~ I feel super duper vulnerable sharing all of this, and possibly even more vulnerable sharing the paintings I have been keeping mostly to myself. So let it be said right here and right now, if you think I am a quack I really don't wanna hear it, walk away and never look back.
This is my story and I LIKE IT!
But if you can identify with me even a bit, I encourage you to listen to the call on your heart and shed all of the fears that can stand in the way.
Just BE FEARLESS, step out in faith and follow your own awesome journey, you may be surprised what come of it :)

A very honest return from some gentle time away

2011-01-03T11:16:00.000-06:00

Hi ( waving)

Grab a tea and sit with me, let's catch up.

Soooo, first let's just address the elephant in this vitrtual room; I haven't blogged for a year, I LEFT!

Totally ditched you all.

Let me tell you, I needed to leave.

I blogged for a long time, I blogged and I blogged and I blogged, and I wrote articles and I met deadlines, and I blogged on Creating Keepsakes website, and I met some more deadlines, I designed products and I filmed DVDs and I travelled the world sharing my heart... and I lived this phenomenal blessed dream like life. And so , I needed a break. I needed to think and re-group and find a new blance in all of the areas of my life that truly matter.

I needed to find a new balance that didn't leave any area of my life neglected, something that could work for me and my family, that would leave me revived and not feeling burnt out at the end of the day...not that I WAS stressed out and burnt out, but I do know that a person can only handle a crazy pace for so long. And crazy was just starting to feel long. Maybe some people can do it, and they seem to do it FANTASTICALLY, always running and meeting every expectation, handling everything that comes their way and doing it seamlessly. Buuuut anyone who knows me well KNOWS that I don't handle a thousand things at once and do them well LOL, or maybe at all, and definitely not on time...BLAHHH!

I always like to think that it has something to do with the fact that I happen to be an incredibly laid back lover of life, that's just the way I am; really chilled out and happy to just be in the moment, treasure life, and enjoy it all. I felt like things had gotten to the crazy pace where I wasn't able to do that, where I wasn't getting in touch with my authentic self and finding those moments to take it all in and enjoy, I was just trying to keep up with everyone and everything. There was always something that needed my attention, always something that I had to get to and get done and get there on time, and so when blogging just became another TO-DO, became a burden then I knew I wouldn't be writing my best or truly be able to find the moments to share my heart, cuz in all honestly I wasn't getting much time to even know what my heart wanted to share!

So for me, what's the point of that? I didn't start blogging to share my personal pity parties, or "hey today is just bla bla bla", I have never been all about quickly posting something just for the sake of writing it cuz I have to write something. I truly try and be authentic in everything I share, I won't tell you your haircut looks good if it doesn't, and I didn't want to sit here writing if it wasn't coming from my heart.

So call it a sabbatical, a well deserved leave of absence from most of my "work" so it could become PLAY again.

As a family, we moved to the country, we are sooo incredibly blessed and happy here, our pace has gone from a thousand miles a minute to ummm...about 2, possibly 1. We can walk everywhere we want to go, we spend more time outside, we spend more time just home together and I LOVE IT! Our community is fantastic. I was able to take the time to put on Art Camp for a few amazing girls and teach them all kinds of art journaling and expressive free art; they did a bunch of canvases and a little journal, and learned all of my favorite techniques! I have to say, they were probably better students than some adults I have taught...just ready to explore and I LOVED every second of it! I wouldn't have had the time to do that before, pulling back was awesome on so many levels. I've been Volunteering at the kids school A LOT and being able to be really involved there as they have made that transition to a new school and new friends. Getting to know who their friends are and what they are all about, showing them that their world is important to me. That matters SO much to me. I adore my little people and LOVE to be with them in their world... I totally want to be a kid when I grow up! We've been making our own connections here too, getting to know the great peeps in our new community. And I've had plenty of time for reconnecting with Cam without running off to get things done. Y'know, he leaves his job at 4:00 and comes home and it's done period, mine has always been different of course. But he deserves my undivided time, he's my best friend in the world, best most amazing guy EVER...seriously if everyone could have him for a husband they totally should, but I'm not sharing so. yeah, too bad. Time together is great on all of the above counts.

I have been SOOO revived by the wonderful adventures we have been on.

More to come on some of those later.

But first step back; I do say hello on facebook and twitter because it is fast and it's easy and I don't have to make sure there are edited photos etc. ( join me there if you havent yet!)

But, I LOVE blogging , and now I miss it, and now I am ready to come back, and I know I am ready because every single day it has been driving me nuts that all of the buttons and backgrounds and headers etc. on this crazy blog have disappeared on me and left this space all naked and sad.

I am itching at last to say more, to pour out and write and write and write again ( as you can see by this long winded sharing LOL) i know I am ready to come back because it doesn't feel like a chore anymore, like I HAVE to get it it; more like I can't wait to get to it!

I truly feel rested, feel like I have taken the time I needed to REFRESH and re-invent, and re-create who I am and come out with a whole bunch of new adventures, new wisdom, and a whole new outlook.

I am peaceful, balanced and HAPPY.

And as far as blog world goes, my friends, I am back.

Cam is building me a wonderful new website, that I am very excited about. So whether this blog will stay here or move, who knows. He wanted me to wait until that was ready to share again, but I just CAN'T!

So for now, here I am, all my archives are still here ( which is really fun to look way way back on when the girls were tiny, so glad to have that record of life and thoughts.)

Here's to today and cheers to tomorrow.

WELCOME BACK.

I hope that you will enjoy all that I have in store for this place, hope you will enjoy watching it take shape again as I design some new buttons and try to bring the cozy back, I have some great ideas I can't wait to share and I hope you will take this journey of renewal with me.

I challenge you today to re-invent yourself just a little bit.

You don't have to duck out for a year like I did, but just take one thing that is not fulfilling you, one thing that is not making you happy and CHANGE IT!

JUST CHANGE IT.

If it is weighing you down , cut it out, Give yourself a breath, Take a break for as long as you need to BREATHE, and possibly don't even put it back.

Try and take the quiet time to hear and follow where your heart needs to go, don't question it, just follow it.

You will be glad you did.

Finding Wings

2010-05-26T19:46:00.000-05:00

Here is my final HUGE 4 part Art piece I was sharing a bit of here
Playing with how it would look here in a picture that looks similar to my living room. Same-ish wall color, dark wood floors, Cream couch, and white trim; I wish I could have kept it...sigh, totally holds my heart. I guess really everything I make does LOL.

In case it is too hard to read in this little picture The painting says "She breathed in deeply as she spread her wings and found the freedom within her heart to Soar"

I AM happy to say that it was auctioned off for a great charity during Inspired and definitely went to a good home in my new friend Amy's freshly redone studio, can't wait to see pictures of her place!
A few close ups; I think that my fave part is the cage and the words that it holds, oh and I really like the way the sheen on the birds came out in the end, an epoxy-like finish...

There will be prints of this one coming soon for sure!
Not sure if they will be 4 parts or just done as one big image...we shall see.
Now onto a new piece that can STAY in my own new living room I guess

Special Guest Goodies

2010-05-17T09:36:00.000-05:00

I am totally thrilled to be back as a special guest at the Lilypad for a wee bit! the creative team over there rocks my socks when I get the chance to play with them. Check out the goodness that they have made with my stuffs! For some closer looks take a stroll through their amazing gallery

To start out my fun with "the pollys" I have 2 brand new goodie packs for sale here
Check back in the next weeks for more!

And remember; all of you amazing ladies who learned a tiny bit about hybrid scrapbooking in my class last week, you can print theses cards on cardstock to add as base pages to your ever growing and evolving art journals, or print the flowers to bend up, and stitch up, and pile on top of eachother for some inexpensive page building accents!
If anyone has trouble knowing how to prepare them on an 8.5x11 sheet for printing just drop me an email and I will help you out in a jiff!

Happy Creating peeps

Painting Freedom

2010-05-11T21:13:00.000-05:00

As I prepare my MASSIVE piece of original art that will go up outside of my Inspired classroom, I figured it may be fun to share some shots of the process, as I go along! The piece is going to be made up of a grouping of four 12x18 canvases, and I really didn't start out with Any idea of where this painting would go. I Love that. Love just following my instincts and letting the painting kind of unfold as I go along...it's so cool to see where it ends up. At this point I am still not finished, I do know what I will write on here and sort of the direction it is taking, but the rest will unfold over the next day or so! Anyways, here how it goes.....

A good start with a few colors of paint in carefree strokes across the canvases

A few drips added with watercolors; still working mostly on the left side of the piece for now

More drips with paint and some with just a juicy brush full of water

Totally Embracing the joy of happily created mess in my fingers!

I'm washable, tis cool More drips and splats for building background depth

Starting to work over on the Right side of the piece as well, and add some of the first patterns with spray ink

Painting Airy white birds flying across the canvases, and some more pattern with paint and gesso

Working on the words;
Layered in watercolor first- 3 different colors, Then Pencil crayons in 3 colors with white highlights for depth...
Continuing on with the words, adding India ink bits and splotches, sewing patterns, and an more depth and texture bits that it seems to need.

I'll keep going from here and see how the other side of the piece unfolds; thinking of drawing an open bird cage since this piece is all about freedom. I'll share the finished work after Inspired is over.
I am leaving on a Jet plane in the morning and SO excited for the coming days. I know they will be filed with wonderful people , growth and creative exploration!
WHOOT
Be free my friends!

A few peeks

2010-02-04T12:52:00.001-06:00

Here are a few little sneak peeks at my upcoming class for inspired!!!
This class is called "Storyteller's Toolbox" It's all about telling your story with what you've got, and of course it is jamm packed with great fun art techniques to make it all come together just the way you feel it in your heart.
I can't wait it's gonna be such a blast...more to come soon :)

Blesings in Wet Paint

2010-01-06T23:47:00.000-06:00

This layout makes me smile and think of 10 year old friends and the warmth of a summer afternoon together, yummy ice cream, and all of the ways we are Blessed right when we need it the most!
Sometimes we just need to be sure that our eyes are open to see the Blessings pouring in.

This "Wet Paint" alphabet has been released in my store this week so that other creative peeps can have a little bit of fun with it while celebrating their life's Blessings too!

Peace

Seriously Tia

2009-12-03T02:16:00.000-06:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again but this little girl truly amazes me; the depth of her spirit and the strength of her great determination is an inspiration to me every day that I am privileged to be holding her little hand through this life we are living.

New goodies

2009-11-23T23:06:00.000-06:00

I managed to find a few spare minutes this week to get some new packs of goodies up, and re-release a happy little holiday pack in My store. Just in time for some good Christmassy creating!

We are still going a hundred miles an hour here as we continue packing and preparing for our move coming up, man, a family of 5 can seriously accumulate too much "stuff" living in the same place for 6 years and having unexpected career developments, a little one with some super sensory/anxiety troubles, and just the ins and outs and adventures of "Life" to stand in the way of regular organizing and purging.
I Love that the end of this adventure means a fresh new beginning for us in a beautiful happy yellow house, and a lot of better solutions for keeping things simplified and in order, but I do have to admit that the journey is definitely wearing on us at the moment. Like Dory the fish says " Just keep swimming..."
Got to keep on keeping on for now!!!
( said with fist pump and as much positive "Go Go" energy as I have in me)

Peace

More Fun with Hamby

2009-11-13T00:12:00.000-06:00

My Natural Beauty; Tiara... this kid has that extra sparkle that just comes right from her heart. This page has flowers made from my pencil sharpenings, and visual "flow" directed with strips of torn fabric and the awesome little hambly kraft sticker strips. This background was just the perfect amount of silver dandilions to give me plenty of room for doodly writing and showing off Tia's sweet face while still leaving me the white space I like to have so my eyes can rest......too much info from my design brain there probably but that's how it goes!

Created on the Hambly Kraft paper with silver dandilions, little transparent flowers made from overlays cut up, and lots of the cute hambly stickers on here

"I Love My Life" using hambly background papers and all sorts of Kraft cardstock stickers and bits, and of course a bunch of messy happy paint!

These are my Button flowers made from Kraft journaling spots

And my journaling surrounded with all of the lovely bits!

Didn't they tell you?

2009-11-05T23:59:00.000-06:00

It's ALL about the Dress!!!

This is a layout for My playtime as hambly's November guest DT girl...TONS of fun!!!
The background is just a piece of cardboard that was on my table with some of it's top paper ripped off; I Love the contrast of the pretty lace and design bits that I chose to tell this story and the rough rugeddness of the cardboard- the fact that it kind of doesn't belong is what makes me Love it! I must have used this as apalette at some point cuz it was partially covered with this great drippy thick blotchy white paint which gave me a perfect starting place!

You can check out my Gallery over at the Hambly blog for a few more peeks as I play this month!

Enjoy the Journey

2009-11-02T11:53:00.000-06:00

a page in my Random Art Journal.
"Tick-Tock goes the clock, time keeps tickin' keeps on tick-tockin'...the time is now; Enjoy The Journey!"
I don't think there has ever been a season in my life where this doesn't speak to me. No matter the circumstances , no matter how crazy busy or upside down things can get I try so very hard to remember that if I can enjoy the journey and just take the ride through life with as much joy as possible then Every day is a gift, every day holds something I can learn and though they pass to quickly I can know that I held on to the moments with as much gratitude as I could muster.
I wish the same to you my friends.
Background page is a mixture of different inks and pencils on plain cardstock, and my clock is created with blue wire, sewing clasps and a snap, jute string for the centre and the rest is pretty self-explanatory...a mish mash of whatever was speaking to me.

Enjoy the Journey,
CD

Paint Crew

2009-10-20T23:59:00.000-05:00

What is painting without a bit of indoor graffiti?
And mine speaks the truth!
Happiness was here indeed, as the college and career students from our church came over for the night last week to Bless us with their skillz!

It was so incredible to see how fast things can come together with a whole crew to help. We cracked open that can of "chocolate Fondue" brown, turned up the tunes, and before I knew what had happened the girls had facial hair, and our room was as cozy as can be...strange combo I know, but hey, it worked!A huge huge thank-you to all of you Rawkin' peeps for your time, and for your fantastic happy fun energy here in our home!!!

crazy times

2009-10-12T05:39:00.000-05:00

A feature wall and a new pocket door all going in at once thanks to my incredible in-laws

It is one of those crazy times in life where you know you will look back and chuckle and say "
man, that was CRAAAZEEY!"
We have boxes packed up to store until we get to the next house, we have rooms pushed to the middle to receive some pretty paint, we have a bathroom half ripped apart because it is getting a makeover, and family popping in and out to help with the crazies...EVERY spare minute of EVERY day we are doing this thang and OMGoodness ~~we are exhausted!~~ if I even let myself begin to tell you how exhausted we may actually possibly be, then I would be admitting it and might stop long enough to actually realize it and run the risk of slowing down...we DO NOT HAVE TIME for slowing down so I am admitting NOTHING! What I am going to tell you is that I am Loving the bits as it gets finished around here, I have to do the multiple walk bys and to catch a few happy glances just so I can feel all happy and good about it before I go back to whichever Rubbermaid bin I might be packing up.
It's all coming together and that RAWKS!!!

Dreamy pages

2009-10-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

A quick inspiration share today.
Here are a couple of pages I have done with the new Dreams take Flight goodies

First is "angel Boy"
I may live in a very very pink world here at our house, but lucky for me I get to be a proud auntie to some precious little boys and I LOVE these little drippy, drooly, happy wiggly pictures of sweet baby Kane, he truly is a little bundle of Joy 100%.
As soon as I started going through his little 3 month session to edit I KNEW I had to do something with these two shots, this kit was just the thing I needed!

This one is called "Summer Friends"
This friendship truly is a gift from heaven in so many ways, and both of these girlies are such radiant wonderful people. These are two girls who know how to use their imagination's and how to explore with open hearts and muddy toes...I Love it!!!

This kit is about the possibilities that are waiting for us just behind the next cloud, about sharing a positive message with the ones we Love to scrap about, and about having the freedom to Dream your best dreams and make them come true!
Sooo... for some more awesome inspiration from the talented Scrap Artist Design team check out these great pages too!

"Dreams Fly" by Danielle Donaldson

"Freedom" by Lili

"Peace and Tranquility" by Alice

"Possibilities" by Gabi

"Possibilities" by Lili

Thank-you ladies and all of the other fantastic designers that have done such a fantastic job sharing their wonderful stories with this kit.

peace and dreams to you all

Dreams Take Flight

2009-10-06T10:32:00.000-05:00

Here it is!

meet my current project; Dreams Take Flight As the guest Designer over at scrap artist this month I couldn't imagine a more free and dreamy theme/ color palette to inspire the Dreamer in me as we get into the crisp crunch of fall. It's the time of year where I get excited to pull out my favorite boots, cuddle up under the best fluffy blankets we have, and get into my pile of books... or just take some cozy time to enjoy my own "freedom to dream"

Come and check out the whole big collab kit available for October only!

ETA: This kit and alphabet have now been moved to my store

whooosh

2009-10-06T09:15:00.000-05:00

that is the sound of my life zooming.....whooooosh, see there it goes again!

So. I am realizing this morning ~~that I very rarely update my blog and am being a total blog slacker lately~~ as I scroll down my neglected blog and through my recent facebook updates ( when I actually take a minute to update either) that I MUST be busy!
A sure sign is the lack of kid/life photos being shared...it is obvious that my life as of lately is not being lived with a camera in hand as it so often is. Don't get the wrong idea I'm not actually mad wild paparazzi, well Ok maybe a bit, but I usually do pick up my camera once or twice a day and capture a little slice of life around here. Instead I have been painting, and tearing out old trim, and giving away things I am not using often enough, doing some guest art here and there and then squishing and hugging and loving little girls, and it starts all over the next day...
I know, I know, everyone's life is busy, but me, I like a little but more of a chilled out pace, I am a chilled out kinda gal.
Even though I do know that my silly chilly way of life will grace me with it's presence again before we know it I am going to pretend just for today that all is chills-ville and just to make me happy here is a random selection of photos from the last couple of months....Lots of Tia because she loves the camera and just a few of our other girlies because they are far too busy enjoying the fall to stop for me to grab pictures of them!

For all of you scrappers...

2009-09-20T00:20:00.000-05:00

...Come on out and grab the deals while you can!
Little Dreamer is having a store wide Fall sale and EVERYTHING is marked down 25-35% !!!

It hasn't been feeling much like fall around here , in fact it has been Hotter than it was for most of the summer, but with the long cold winters we get in Manitoba, I'm definitely not complaining!

I did manage to get in the fall spirit a wee bit and have a few new things up in the store ( finally!)
Here are my bits, one brand new and two re-releases, and I have lots more in the works for some fun guest stuff coming up in October, so be sure to check back soon and see what's up :)
Happy Creating to you

A little free online lesson to share

2009-09-18T17:10:00.000-05:00

Hey there peeps, Today I am the guest blogger over at the CK blog,
There's tons of fun info and ideas shared there all the time, it's definitely one to add to your bookmarks.
Come on over today and check out my lesson on EXACTLY how to make this layout in just one hour!!!

Be radiant, Go strong into this day!

2009-09-14T21:19:00.000-05:00

...a message me and my girls have been discussing today...the ability is in each one of us, it is a CHOICE to shine!!!

go forth in all your beauty my fine friends

Kindergarten baby

2009-09-10T11:33:00.000-05:00

Our baby girl started school this morning. In that cute new backpack is a cabbage patch kid to hug in case she "feels tears coming" and a little framed picture of mommy "to see"...sigh, I Love having little people to admire and hug and giggle about, they are just so very fantastic!

Anyways, She was so excited that she got up this morning and drew a little picture for her teacher, requested pea soup in the new soup thermos for her first lunch, and got all prettied up in her new knee highs and sweet sweater. Such a funny little monkey she has been so excited and then came the tears when it was time for me to get her settled at her little table. The thing with baby #3 is that I KNOW she will love it, she will be totally fine and she is more than ready for the fun that she is about to have. So I am not having tears in the van this time. Amazing since I thought sending my littlest one would make me sad...but no. The days will go by so fast and I will have her little arms around me every second day for this year anyways, next year when she goes every day I might feel differently, but for today she is our newest school girl and we are so proud of her :)

So are her big sisters who were both very eager to show her the ropes and get her settled where she needed to be

ETA: I had to come back and share how happy she was at the end of the day. Little Bella says it was her BEST DAY EVER! look at this sweet little happy face after school...

Go me!!!!! ...are there Sea snails?

2009-08-31T20:45:00.001-05:00

we always seems to have waves when it comes to efficiency around here, sometimes fabulously radiant "high tide" where we are managing to do everything and do it fairy fantastically, and then sometimes we go for the oh so low-on-the-organized-and-efficient-side-of-life wave...
OK.
dude, we are like burrowing down in the ocean bottom sand with the sea snails right now......are there sea snails??? I dunno, maybe I just made them up, but you get the idea.

Today I jumped back on the meal planning bandwagon once again...don't get all excited now, cuz I know I'll fall off in a month or two when life needs attention more in another direction, but for today we are STOCKED!!!!!
I couldn't even fit all of the bags in my superstore sized cart and the bag hangedy hooks were missing too, so it was a fabulous balancing act to get it all out to the van.
But, OH, SO worth it!!!
The menu for our coming suppers this week is...

Lasagna, Cesar salad and garlic bread
Garlic pork steaks, fresh Manitoba corn, and roasted baby potatoes
Perogies and koulbasa with a coleslaw salad
tortellini with 4 cheese sauce and fresh baked buns
Toasted tuna melts and pea soup
french toast, hashbrown patties and french toast ( because breakfast is ALWAYS yummier at supper time!)
I am deciding to chatter about this so that I can look back and remember how good it was to do it right, and do it all over again next time the efficiency is at low tide. Aaannnnd so that I can tell you that I picked up this book last week and it totally inspired me, great buy, worth the money, check it out!

wings of freedom

2009-08-17T01:36:00.000-05:00

This canvas is a reminder for me, and for my girls, hung right in our upstairs hallway outside of all of our bedrooms where we begin our day.
I believe that it is so true;
We all have such beautiful potential within us if we can just stretch open our freedom wings and believe that we can each take off in all of the beautiful ways that we were made to fly.
Having said that though, in walks self doubt and a few good ol' bummer days to Rob us of our freedom...that positive mind set is easier said than done right?

So here we go;
a bright reminder hanging in our hallway right at eye level!
on this project I used a 16x24 canvas, brushed with cream and blue acrylic paint, then gel medium with old book pages, masking tape for texture, india ink and spray inks to build up my background. Then onto the yummy toppings; words are drawn in regular black uniball pen, painted with watercolor paint and highlighted with white charcoal, wings are painted with white watercolor, vintage bird card, prima flower stem, 7 gypsies keyhole and other goodie bits are all a part of the Kenner Road kits this month!May you spread your beautiful wings of freedom my friends, your potential is unlimited!
Take flight in faith.

His mighty plans

2009-08-15T23:18:00.000-05:00

Some very cool and surprising developments are stirring for us around here... and so of course my thoughts and feelings about the whole thing spilled out into my Art journal as we drove out on our road trip and Cam and I talked for 4 hours straight. It was good , and fun, and super exciting to be all abuzz together and have that driving time just to talk and share and just BE together in excitement; I'm not quite ready to spill all of the beans in any great detail cuz I want to see how everything unfolds in the coming weeks, but this is truly one of those times where we know that God will provide for our needs and his plans for us are so often better than we can even begin to dream up on our own.

Good stuff.
Just super good.

My little precious

2009-08-14T09:48:00.000-05:00

Look at my baby, turning 5 this summer and going into kindergarten, there really is not so much "baby" left in there, is there? she is slowly being replaced with lovely little girl...so lovely, I really enjoy hanging out with her, she is a truly sweet and sensitive little person. It is a gift and a privilege to be the one holding the hands of these three little girls of mine as they go through life, and getting the front row seat to watch them grow into the amazing people they were designed to be.
I am definitely the Lucky one.

This is my 3rd project for Kenner Road this month, about this kid of mine, my littlest baby who is growing FAR too fast! but somehow will always be MY baby no matter how big she gets :)
This page is made on the paper bag that Kerry-Lynn sent everything out in; I used the alpha stickers as a mask for all kind of spray ink, ripped and messied the edges of my pieces, and used torn bits to create my little "meadow" below...Gotta Love this little mama and baby bird, it's US!!! LOL
Wishing that you enjoy all of the little hands you have the privilege to hold!
Peace

Our life is beautiful

2009-08-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

Here is project #2 for my "guesthood' at Kenner Road ( see previous post)

This is just a little book celebrating a life I am truly grateful to have.

Made from some green Prima flower packaging as the cover, with light bulb pack inner pages ( y'know the wrapper that keeps the bulbs safe until you get them up and lighting your house? well ya, that stuff) and lots of Kenner Road Kit bits to doll it all up!!!We are getting ready to pick up Emy from camp tomorrow and head out on a family road trip so I will have more inner pages to share sometime later when we are done "summering"...at least it is all ready for me to add to as I have a minute. It is in a big ziploc bag with pictures printed and bits thrown in for embellishing and I have my handy dandy pen and masking tape at the ready all good to go so that I can just cart it along with me in my purse!

Happy life to you my friends!

Italy 08 with Kenner Road

2009-08-12T23:24:00.000-05:00

I am the guest designer this month for Kenner Road...Kerry-Lynn creates fantastically gorgeous vintage inspired kits that are totally right up my alley! Check out their gallery and just drool over the work of the amazing team of artists over there!!!

The good news is that I should have a layout/project to share almost every day for the next week or so starting with this layout from the time that Cam and I spent in Italy last spring.

the water splash ( blue India ink) and the Euro coin are on there to help tell the story; in the photo we are at the fountain in Rome where you throw a coin over your shoulder to ensure you will visit Rome again someday :) I sure hope that we do!!! Our friend Helena and her family showed us all of the ins and outs of getting around Rome and having an incredible time doing it! We couldn't have dreamt up better hosts to spend our time in Italy with.
The title is written directly onto the photo using a regular black uniball, and a white out pen to fill it in.

vintage treasure hunting

2009-08-07T23:09:00.000-05:00

I have this little {completely unstoppable} Love for cool old finds that can be turned into comfy pieces in our home or fun props for my photo sessions. This week was a total Jackpot in the cool treasures department and I happen to have some fairly cute little models to help me show them off!
These old shutters were a super fun find at the habitat for humanity store for just $5! They will get hung on a little girlie wall and I will most likely use the little slats to hang something from....haven't decided yet, but I have been looking for some for quite awhile so....BOOYA!!!
(This little brown eyed shutter model is a total keeper too ;)

Next in line, this chandelier above was a steal at only $20, and since brushed Gold is not the look I am going for as a pretty bedroom light we added the investment of two cans of glossy white enamel spray paint and "Voila!" a gorgeous addition to the bedroom!!!...ok well this photo isn't quite at the "voila" stage yet all stripped down and on the side of the driveway but you get the idea...just imagine the "Voila", my paint was still wet.

Then I found this antique toboggan on our church ladies road trip, just a total random find at a cute little tea house for $5 and I have some really fun photo shoot ideas for it....I mean cute fall/winter ideas that do not involve summer clothing in my driveway LOL, but again you get it...
and of course if the photo ideas are a flop there will def. be a sweet spot out in my garden for this one.

Here's to cool treasures from the past!!!

Lost little girl

2009-08-06T00:53:00.000-05:00

" I have an idea mama, let's do some pictures where I am like a lost little girl out in the woods with my bunny...kind of old fashioned ones OK?" she says to me right before going into her little lost girl poses
and then she drops the bunny and goes for some wild flowers with the idea " now how about I am a girl in Love who picked some flowers and is dreaming of her wedding day, Ok mama ?!!!"
It is such a treat to do photos with kids who have their own ideas for the shoot, whether it's my own funny kids or someone else's, I always try and work with their ideas when I can, because these little folks work along with me with such passion when they are a part of the whole thing and not just along for the ride. As in most parts of life they have fantastic thoughts and ideas when we take the time to listen and give their ideas a shot!

Thanks to my Beautiful Tiara for a lovely time out in the trees...Luv ya kid!!!

the renos begin!!!

2009-08-03T23:14:00.000-05:00

Cam is on holidays for two weeks and we have quite the tall order of things we are hoping to accomplish around the house...the kind of big projects that don't seem to have the time to unfold during regular work weeks. Starting with Little Bella's room (formerly Emy's room). Our littlest one is in the habit of keeping everyone awake and making a ruckus at bedtime so we decided to get her a big girl bed for her 5th birthday and change things up a bit putting the two big girls in a room together and getting this little one on her own for awhile.
Here are a few before shots of the room as it has been for the past couple of years

I painted her flowers when we moved to this house 5 years ago, it was a promise I made to a very little girl who was unsure about moving. The desk is an antique that was mine as a little girl, and it had been my great grandmother's before that so we have tried to tie it into the room design when we can, she Loves the history in the piece. The Rose stool was Cam's grandmother's, and Emy painted the little canvas for herself :) We will be finding the desk a new spot for her to keep on Lovin' it in her new room.and this little corner has held her "special shelf" with a starfish from Hawaii, some special hangings with diff. significant meanings, a faith candle from her auntie and a really pretty prayer book, all topped off with Nanny's candle chandelier. It will be fun to set these all up in a new spot once we have the girls all moved and re-settled in.Here is a quick little peek at some of the fun going on around here so far....
we have the little primer girl covering my flowers with 6 coats of primer ( so far they keep bleeding through!)

...and our very happy painter of pink walls

I will have to show some after shots once we have everything finished...the plans are really pretty, with white wainscoting, a pretty coral-y pink called "devoted" and a delicate white chandelier I don't think we can go wrong!!!
Lucky little one :)

sweet summer day

2009-07-22T18:16:00.001-05:00

and.....a lazy sweet summer day to follow our busy one

The girls and I spent the afternoon out in the country dancing and giggling in the rain, it was perfect happiness; THIS is what being a little girl in the summer is all about!
I have no pictures of our day to share other than one of me in the van that I took for an e-course I am doing right now, and this one of my mother-in-laws flowers, because I too was dancing in the rain...I'm living in the moment my friends, it's good good stuff.

Wishing you a summer day just as Blessed and relaxing as ours!!!

Zoo day

2009-07-21T18:14:00.000-05:00

We spent the day at the zoo today with a couple of gals that we happen to adore...such a great way to spend one of the warmer summer days we have gotten so far, and the first time we have been to the Zoo this year. I Love watching the girls get excited about the same things I can remember loving as a little girl...those adorable crazy monkeys, the pink flamingos, and then there is just something about those big bears that always grabs every kid as they arrive for their zoo adventure!

Tiara was our vigilant map reader, Emy was our FAB peacock caller, and little Bella looked adorable in her carefully chosen "zoo clothes" ( AKA: a flowered dress, polk-a-dot tights, sparkly pink dress shoes and a safari hat LOL...I wish I was 4)
The Monkeys always have been and probably always will be my personal zoo fave...they're SO funny

...and this rare species of Monkey is pretty funny too, I have to say ;)

We had such a great time just doing the day at our own pace, which is sometimes so much better than the scheduled guided field trips. Was nice just to stop and sit in the grass for a picnic when we wanted to and stroll along as we pleased.

I completely adore this little moment; the warm end of day sun, the way Emy is holding her cute little foot and the gentle way that she stops to help her little sister to fill her water bottle at the fountain. She is such a sweet Big sister

I Love signs like this...they make me want to leave the walkwayExcept for dudes like this guy with the crazy hair to scare me into staying on the straight and narrow! The kids got a real kick out of him staring down at us with all of his unique and funky flair everyone took turns hatching out of big dino eggs and huddling inside of giant trees in the barn to finish the day. It was so super Rawkin' fantastic!
HUGE thanks to Julie and Jodi for spending the day with us girls and making it 100 times better just by being who you are!!!

in the moment

2009-07-15T08:49:00.000-05:00

Another page from my 8x8 "Grow" journal. It's been far too long since I shared anything art journalie. This one is has layers of paint, molding paste, and tape underneath ( see the dots and the textures?)
then it is topped with burlap and wood patterned mac tac, and some stamp and doodley bits.
I made this one out of the desire to express how I want to live my life "Being in the moment and Living right here and now"
I don't ever want to be too caught up in my own silliness to see the beauty around me. My life is truly a gift in so many different ways. I know this 100%...
That doesn't mean I am always good at putting aside all of the curve balls and savoring the moment, no siree, but hopefully this little page will serve as a good reminder and I will keep on trying my best :)

Today I will:
-leave my camera at home when we go for a walk so that I can giggle and jump and play with the girls,
-I will take time to observe the people I Love and appreciate what makes them each special,
-and I will make the choice to be patient and at peace in long lineups or traffic Jams or whatever comes my way...perhaps I will even play eye spy instead of getting ticked off.
That's the plan!!!

How are you making the choice to be living in the moment right now today?

little flood helper

2009-05-12T01:55:00.000-05:00

One of the things about living in Manitoba in the spring is that every couple of years there is some pretty crazy flooding for a lot of folks, and we all try to come together and make things a little bit better for those who need help. I Love that about Manitobans, I Love seeing the community spirit that I grew up with growing in my own children. This year happened to be some of the worst flooding we have gotten for years, people have been working together to help sandbag the homes which have been evacuated and so many people have lost much of their belongings to flood waters. It's so sad. So Bella and I spent a day out past Lockport helping some people to load their things out to safety, she was a great little helper and we took plenty of time to play together in the mud and water too. these are the kind of days I Love most...the kind of memories that you never forget. we were both suited up and totally right in there....
Check out these fabulous little hands full of nature's best paint!!!

She took a few slides right into the slippery mud and thought that was hilarious!Even found a fabulous and furry new little friend named "Diamond Rose Petal"and we did some very yummy baking too ;)
chocolate cream pie or a milkshake anyone?!

I am hoping to get some time with the bigger girls on the weekends when they are out of school to do some more of the same, helping out people who so desperately need to get high and dry, and having a great great time doing it :)
Feeling Thankful today for good hearted people, God's cool creations, and awesome exploring!!!

Weekend away

2009-05-05T00:57:00.000-05:00

Once or twice a year we try to go down to the states for a weekend away with Cam's family, the good ol' hotel kind of fun.
We just got back home from a FANTASTIC time!!!
Our Auntie came along this time and Cam's younger brother Kyle, who is in town for a holiday from the air force. The kids just adore both of them, and of course their grandparents are the heroes of their world, so the happiness level was definitely at the highest end of the scale!
There were yummy dinners out, shopping was done, oh yes it was done and done some more...BOOYA!
aaaand the kids had an absolute blast in the pools. Emy was a little fishy as she always is and the little two girlies donned every floaty item possible ( I'm talkin' goggles, life jacket, two blow up rings AND flippers!) and finally got up the courage to join in the water fun in the Big pool

Bella even discovered a water canon to soak us all with and thought she was quite the tricky one LOL!We are so incredibly thankful to be a part of such a loving and fantastic family.
So So Blessed.

spring splashers

2009-04-28T01:31:00.000-05:00

One of our favorite Muckosky spring traditions is to go for long walks and splish splash sploosh in all of the big puddles until the girls boots are squooshy and filled up with water and they all get thrown in the tub to warm up when we get back home...SO much fun...I really need to get me some rubber boots so that I can splish splash sploosh right along with them!!!
I know, seriously I just really refuse to grow up! but I'm good with that.

This weekend the good times were all about these two little munchkins...they are the die hard adventurers...Tiara needed to watch first and check out, once again this year, what she would be getting herself into.

I LOVE this kind of outdoor, messy, totally free adventuring!!! their little squeals of pure Joy and the fun of totally letting go and enjoying Life together. Whoot for spring, and double Whoot for crazy cool Kids!!!

It's party time!!!

2009-04-24T21:24:00.000-05:00

It's time to partay in the Little Dreamer Shoppe...Little Dreamer is celebrating it's 2nd Birthday and there is all kinds of fun going on over there!
A sale, all kinds of challenges and giveaways and SOOOO many fun birthday themed kits up by different designers for a steal of a deal at only $3.00!
Here is mine; 26 hand painted pieces to bring your celebration pages a lil' bit of Rawkin' Birthday Booya!
come on over and Celebrate with us!

re-packaged

2009-04-21T01:00:00.000-05:00

What is this you ask?
It is my Store..and it is finally getting all of my products re-packaged and loaded up for sale, YAYY!!!
Thanks so so much to all of you awesome supportive customers who have been emailing and asking where to find these stuffs, I'll keep working as hard as I can to get everything back up for sale A.S.A.P.

Happy Creating!!!!!

Fire Hall

2009-04-16T23:18:00.000-05:00

I tagged along for the preschool trip to the fire hall today...I seriously think that I like these field trips as much, or possibly even more than the kids do!!! I guess it brings out the little kid in me who always has gotten super stoked about a good field trip :)
Little Bella was pretty nervous before hand, and definitely backed away from the fire fighter dude in his full attire, but on the whole she did awesome and had a really good time; climbed up in the front and back of the truck and even used the little remote thingy that lowers the hoses in the tower and makes a bit of noise...Whooo hooo Bella!
She was pretty pleased with herself for being a "big girl" and Totally proud of her new fire hat.

here's to many more happy "big girl" outings in years to come!

Easter in pictures

2009-04-16T01:12:00.000-05:00

Not as many as I usually would have to share but I am finally getting around to loading up some of the pictures from this past Easter and just thought I'd share a few of my faves for all of our family far away to feel like they can be in on it just a wee little bit.
(Love you guys)

The pretty flowers, yummy dinner, and Nana's pumpkin pies; the Easter surprises for the kids who were flouncing around in their pretty dresses, and the Awesome church services made for an all around perfect few days together. We are so so very Blessed.

cleaning pages

2009-04-11T01:53:00.000-05:00

We've been working at going through stuff around here and DE-CLUTTERING our lives....clear clear clear it OUT!!!

Anyways, I have come across a number of the pages that have gotten sent back to me after publication over the past couple of years and haven't quite made it into scrapbooks yet...I really need a better system for that cuz they tend to just come home and get a smile from me and the girls and then get set aside for sometime later, tsk tsk to me....sooooo I thought for those of you who maybe don't read CK or for our sweet family out there who love the stories ON these pages and the cute cute little people in the pictures I would post a few of them to share over the next while :)

This first layout above was in June '08 CK and is about the struggles My Tiara faces with her Sensory issues. She calls them her "Tough Days" and the journaling is about how the tough days she is facing will make her into a strong and beautiful woman, how her amazing strength and beautiful love give her wings and will help her to soar through it all while she learns and grows from each step of the journey. I decided to document this in her scrapbook because Tiara's struggles with anxiety and sensory issues were so very real for her right at the time I was making this, as much a part of her story as all of the happy smiley stuff I usually scrap about. I think that the page really captures her feelings and is a great encouragement to her. She kept coming to look at it as I was working on the detail bits, and telling me that it really is how she feels sometimes and that she will get her wings pretty soon too.

I just kept on telling her that she already has them.

sweet girl :)

The page design was inspired by this cool shell chandelier that hangs at My in-laws place. My little hanging bits represent her many tears, and the hearts on the wings represent her love and strength giving her freedom and helping her to fly through those tough days.

Quick technique notes: I painted a few different shades of blue and green with watercolors onto a full sheet of cold press paper, inspired by the chandelier colors of course, then ripped them into tiny pieces and hung them together with small jump rings. The drippy masking tape is the stuff I used on my edges to hold the paper down while I painted, re-enforcing the mood of the layout and providing an exact color match to balance out that bottom right corner of my page.

And the good news, Tiara is not worry free but is doing so much better this year than ever before...her "Tough Days" are much fewer and father between.

Spring Break Check-in #2

2009-04-06T00:33:00.000-05:00

For the second half of our Spring Break week we have taken in plenty more good family fun....it's everywhere you turn, look out!
In fact, I think my maturity level has actually regressed this week and I might not want to go back to semi-responsible grown-up-ness when the week is done...these small people are just WAY too much fun to groove with, I ADORE them!

We have sung very LOUDLY, painted all sorts of surfaces, The girls did some thrift store shopping with the money they have been saving up and got themselves a whole bunch of pretty cool finds, Emy and I explored a cool antique store, and All 5 of us took a nice long trip to the bookstore; which is always good for all involved.We finished up the week with a fun trip out for a 3-D flick; Cam and I took the girls to Monsters VS Aliens, which is kind of funny to those who know us well, since we are usually pretty careful what they watch and wouldn't even consider most things with Monsters OR Aliens in the title, but this one was actually Reeeeeeeally good! No one had a scary moment, Cam only had to hide his eyes once, and no bad dreams resulted.

Just a little FYI; I usually check out reviews for movies we are unsure of from a christian perspective at Plugged in which is a great website from focus on the family.

Truth is, I will sure miss these kiddos when they head back to school this coming week, it has been RAD-awesome to have the time to slow things down (or hype things up!) with my little ladies and have so much extra fun. Here's to funny glasses, good books and great people, both big and small!

spring break check in

2009-04-02T00:30:00.000-05:00

Drs appointments for everyone, extra kid crafting time, lots of reading together , giggly games of hide-and -seek, snowman making at the park, time with Gramie and it all goes by far too quickly. That sums up the first half of our spring break week so far! I've managed to catch a few quiet moments with a Vanilla latte and a good book here and there, and Emy has been reading everywhere we go...I LOVE the holidays from school when everyone is here with me...sigh...it's always a gift and a blessing to have extra time to just BE together!

My Internet connection is down on my main computer so I have been "unplugged" for a few days now, it's a pain, but not such a bad thing when there are good times to be made with small lovely people.
Hip Hip Hooray for happy chaos and plenty of hugs!

Creative Girls Getaway

2009-03-30T21:09:00.000-05:00

Life is dandy AND good!
I am Just back from an AWESOME creative girls weekend getaway with my pal Krista from Saskatchewan. We both drove halfway with all of our artsy stuffs and met in the middle for a Rawkin' good time!

She was working on her jewelry which was super inspiring and Fabulous!
FYI for you fellow lovers of pretty things, Krista sells her work and is EXTREMELY TALENTED!!! I got these few pictures below from her, some of the pieces she made on the weekend. That top necklace is my absolute fave.
If you are interested to find out more shoot me an email and I will get you hooked up with her.And me, I was working on scrap pages, art journaling, making product and just about every way that I could find to mess up a hotel room with my spread of "Arting" , we ate way too many snacks which is pretty standard when the two of us hook up, and got far too little sleep...also pretty standard, shopped..yep standard too, and we watched a handful of movies while chatting and creating it was SOOOO Great!!!
It always amazes me how a small time away to create and connect and just do the things that revive my spirit always leaves me SO very refreshed and renewed.
It is far too easy for us busy moms to forget about nurturing ourselves sometimes.
Anyways...enough chatter for now,
Here are a few tiny sneek peeks at some of of the pieces I was working on.
Peace to you my friends

Believe

2009-03-27T13:59:00.000-05:00

Another art journal page from my "Grow" journal. This one has 21 layers on it and was one of those pieces where I just kind of let it do itself and followed where the art was leading. I love creating when I don't know where I am going, LOoooVE the journey, and this was one of those blind exercises in just trusting instinct and going with it where it takes you...I LOVE that!

Here's a little blast from the past for a special guy in my world Happy birthday to my wonderful Daddy today. He is a great great man that has blessed my life more than he knows. xo
and Happy Friday to the rest of you

time to pack up for now...

2009-03-27T01:49:00.000-05:00

I've had a super great time being an extended guest designer over at The Lilypad for the last few months. The time has come for me to pack up and be on my way so that I can focus on my store at Little dreamer and some other things that I have in the works over the next few months. Soooo... to thank all of the Great customers who have found me and given me good Luv at The Lilypad I figured I may as well go out with a bang and I am putting everything in my store over there on sale for 40% off until it's gone next Thursday!
I'm also thinking that it is as good a time as any to be generous, since God is being so incredibly generous with the pretty white snow that is covering our streets right now! Leave me a comment before end of day Thurs Apr.2 and tell me what was your best little moment in the past week; I will pick three winners to give out $10 GCs to.

In other life news, The kids are pumped to be heading into spring break next week and kicking it off with a grandparent sleepover tomorrow which is always tons of fun for all ( from what I hear anyways). My in-laws are AMAZING and the kids think it is such a treat to get in some extra time with them whenever they get the chance!
My head/neck is a wee bit better, muscles are still angry but getting there. Thanks so much for the well wishes last week, I really wasn't meaning to sound "complainee" about it, just honest. I didn't get in for as many treatments as I was hoping this week thanks to the heaps of snow that was coming down. I am just taking the crazy snow as a blessing and a reason to get some peaceful quiet times happenin' inside the house.

Peaceful Blessings to you.

book babble and stuff

2009-03-23T06:08:00.000-05:00

Creative Stuff: My little spring friends are all done and available here until next Thursday. I think they came out pretty darn cheerful and I just might do something with them & some small canvases for Bella's room. She keeps asking to play with the little guys I have on my desk LOL, like they are puppets. A kid's imagination is such a wonderful place!

Book Babble: I am listening to Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult when I am working these days. It's not grabbing me quite as much as some of her other books have, but still really good. I have been loving her as a writer lately, so far my faves have been My sister's keeper, Change of heart and Nineteen minutes. They were all really well written and made me keep reading each for their own reasons. She really knows how to spin a tale and draw you right in, makes you feel like you know the characters and can almost place yourself right there in the story as it's unfolding.

For my "real" reading time right now I have just started Holding My Breath by Sidura Ludwig which takes place in Winnipeg; my city. That's not something you read everyday. I'm only on chapter 4 but so far so good I would say, I like her writing style.

Life bla bla bla: I am off to get fixed up this afternoon, I always leave it far too long until I am completely ridiculously damaged before I take the time to do anything about it.
I really really hope that the Chiropractor and massage appointments I have scheduled this week can work some magic for my neck/back...I have old car accident injuries and they are in quite a pickle right now. I could ignore it even longer except that I am rendered fairly useless to my family and life in general when I am like this. I would reeeeally like to be in better shape for my girls on spring break next week.
I did manage to get a bit of time to play with my KR goodie box this weekend, not done yet but just taking the time to scrap and play with yummy stuff at a peaceful pace is making me sooo happy. Here is a little peek, at one of the layouts I've got cookin'...all kinds of stuff going on there!Here's to a wonderful week!
Go gently,
CD

creative peeks

2009-03-20T05:07:00.000-05:00

A wee peek at the little guys that I have been working on creating in the past week. These little cuties are made on layers of masking tape over chipboard and hand painted with acrylic paints, then accented with art pencils and hand stitches. I have ended up with some interesting finger blisters pushing the needle through the tough chipboard for this pack, but y'know it's a good hurt; like when you work out really well and every time your stomach muscles give you grief the next day you know you've accompolished something...well almost like that anyways LOL! More on these when they are all done in a day or two...I've got to keep some sort of suspense until I'm done right?

Much to my happiness the mail truck stopped by this week with this happy happy box from Kerry-Lynn at Kenner Road...it is all SO delish!!! This girl KNOWS how to pull together colors and new cool products with vintage goodies WOW!

I want to scrap..I want to pull out every piece from this AMAZING goodie box and make a hundred pages RIGHT NOW! forget mopping up basements, cleaning art areas and nursing ridiculously bad migraines, I just want a clean page in front of me, a paint brush near by, some art pencils and possibly a sewing needle in hand.
But alas, reality comes first sooo I am gonna make Friends with an ice pack and some serious tylenol ultra for my head, schedule a few treatments for next week, and catch up on some rest. And then hopefully I can tackle all that I hope to tackle...
we shall see what the weekend holds.
Hope you all have a good one!

Hello wednesday

2009-03-18T05:25:00.001-05:00

Middle of the week already?!
Wowee sometimes it flys.
I was just thinking yesterday how great it is to have hints of spring in the air and all of the freshness that it brings. I spent the day opening windows and turning up the tunes, breathing extra deeply when we went outside. The happy bubble burst this morning though when I went downstairs to do the laundry...WHICH WAS PILED ON THE FLOOR, and much to my dismay this spring is apparently also bringing water into our basement along with the lovely fresh air this year...sigh.
that REALLLY sucks!!!
seriously.
So, today Bella and I are gonna head down there and tackle the lifting of everything off of the floor. We are going to hope and pray that there isn't too much wreckage of things we actually care about...I am reeeally not pumped about it, NOT ONE BIT, but that's life isn't it?

In better news, we are super proud of Tiara. She is working SO hard to improve her reading and with the help of good ol' Dick and Jane she is really doing better (thanks Gramie!). It's funny how as a parent I seem to need to learn over and over again how very different my three girls are and will continue to be. I KNOW this, and I Love it, I always have. But somehow, since Emy breezed through reading without batting an eye and has lived with a thick book firmly planted in front of her nose since grade one began for her 4 years ago, I forgot all that I know as a mama and assumed that Tiara would be just the same.
DUMB assumption on my part, since they are different in so many of their other strengths. But I honestly was totally shocked when Tiara started bringing home spelling tests with 2/10 and really struggling to learn to read at the same pace as the other grade 1 kids this year.
I was floored, didn't see that one coming at all.
Just another mama wake up call to keep me on my toes and remember that each of these little people I am blessed with comes with their own bunch of struggles and strengths that will be a part of molding them into who they are.
Go Tiara Go.

Just a quick head's up before I descend into basement drudgery; today is my $1 Wednesday at Little Dreamer. Just for today this $5 Big bundle of artsy label stickers is going for $1. It includes 4 sets bundled up into one; the warms and cools, flat and crinkly mooshed labels. I LOVE the way these print out on Avery sticker sheets for use on paper projects. SUPER fun!!! You can get the Avery sticker sheets at any Staples or other office supply store.
Happy Wednesday!

Grow Journal-Out on a limb

2009-03-15T04:36:00.000-05:00

I don't think I need to add anything to that...pretty much me in a nutshell :)
The branch being "out of a box" is kindof symbolic of how I try and face life. It's great deciding not to be boxed in, great to always have a choice.
How do you choose to live?

background is vintage dictionary pages, with watercolors, art pencils, india ink , and pastels. wire is just stainless harware wire, and black squares are hand stiched.

spring goodies #1

2009-03-11T14:52:00.000-05:00

Internet was out all day yesterday, which means that our phone was out too, which meeeans that there was no ringing phone or binging inbox, no blogging, or twittering or anything whatsoever to interrupt the peace and flow of the day....not too shabby... I might just need to unplug that modem of ours on purpose every once in awhileI promised a peek at the new kits I was working on and they are done and up for sale. If you are a paper crafter you are not out of luck on the fun, you can print these out for adding onto your pages and projects, and if you are a hybrid or digi creator then you know the drill!

This first one is just a fun way to say all that you have to say in your journal/scrapbook or greeting cards

These little bits were the ones that I was lovingly slaving over last week on the vintage book pages that have been holding my heart lately. They are painted and colored and pen-i-fied and then sewn for a handmade springy total package deal-e-o. ..whew!
Important thing is, They make me happyand one more for now, this is just a simple spray painted alphabet inspired by the art journaling fun that I have been having. It has kindof an artsy, edgy, urban feel and I like that sometimes.
I have at least three more packs in the works and a half cleaned art area. I keep going back and forth in my "work time" clean-create-clean-create.....hmmm hard choice right? LOL
In the end I know that I can create much better when my stuff is organized and when I clear out what I am not using etc. but oh how that takes time that I would rather be making something happy and fun.
Anyways , enough about that, Today is definitely an INDOOR day all the way, we are WAY back to inhumanly cold temps here in Winnipeg and I am a BIG suck when it comes to freezing on that level. The plan of the day is to clear off the kitchen table and pull it out to a new spot, change the table cloth to a new cute springy one that we picked up last week, and of course, try to get the kitchen clear of all things art related. Then Me and the girls are going to cook up their favorite Ham in orange sauce with some good ol' mashed potatoes and garlic bread for a nice yummy supper.
Have a good one friends, it's almost Friday!

Welcome Happy Tuesday

2009-03-10T12:19:00.000-05:00

Today is feelin' like a good day,
I started the morning by cheerfully waving and shouting "goooodniiiight!!!" out the front door as Cam trotted off for the bus stop...hmmmm, I think my brain is still sleeping and my neighbors think I am a nut, but that's beside the point. we got lots accomplished yesterday and today is shaping up nicely already.

All 3 girls got their yearly check-ups yesterday afternoon, everyone is healthy and growing good as can be. Tiara was our main concern in the past, we have had some really intense years with her, but she has learned so much about how to cope with her sensory issues over the past year, and all of the anxiety that has gone along with that for her, and has grown leaps and bounds as a person because of it. YAYYY Tia!!!
The smaller 2 girlies went with Cam last night and got all signed up for soccer this spring while Emy and I stayed together to cuddle up and read a new book we are starting. Emy doesn't like soccer so she will be swimming instead...our little fishy girl.
The book we are reading together is Fairest by Gail Carson Levine. She is a great writer and did Ella en chanted which was the first one we read. It was SO different from the movie version and SO much better, we were just itching to get our hands on this one and then hopefully her other titles. We ended up falling asleep all cuddled together and stayed that way until my neck was all crinkled and spazed and woke me up sometime in the night.

How do I know today will be a good day? Well, other than the mixed up greetings to start it out right, it isn't even 10AM yet and little Bella and I have done our exercises, put in some laundry, I have sprayed ink, stamped stamps, and painted paintish things, and Kaiella has painted 2 posters of her own. We have painted her little nails shiny pink, Aaaand...we have read a BIG stack of books together that we pulled out from under the bed where they were hiding with the dust bunnies. If you ever get the chance to pick up This one for a small person that you love I highly recommend it. I bought it for one of my girls last time I was away and we just love it! Such a great little story of Love and the future that you dream of for your child, and the art is really sweet too.I was getting out of the van after dropping off the kids this morning and found a hilarious little gift left there for me. We have this pretty Love heart that I hang on the rear view mirror when I go away to teach, so that every time they get in the van without me it is there reminding them that I am thinking of them and Loving them wherever I may be.

I guess I haven't taken it down since I was away last and there it was looking at me with this bizarre sticker courtesy of one of my funny bunch...what the heck is that???!
I totally had to laugh out loud

well on that fine note I am off to load up another load of laundry with my sweet and eager assistant. I am not known for my efficiency in the mornings so I would have to say that all this by 10 AM is a great start to what is bound to be a fantastic day!
It's up to us right?
all a matter of attitude :)
Have a FABULOUS Tuesday friends!

2009-03-09T01:38:00.000-05:00

my most prized possesions

2009-03-05T19:46:00.000-06:00

...are great things like this little gift from Tiara

translation: " I like being alone with my mom, it makes me feel calm"

she shines like a star

2009-03-04T16:31:00.000-06:00

Another page from my Grow journal.
it's a message to myself...
journaling inside of the word GROW says ""Every single day,never ever stop, never ever settle. Always learn and grow and stay open, life is full of undiscovered goodness."
We all can get stuck in a rut sometimes and forget to look up, I wanted to give myself a reminder not to let this happen :)

The background is made with tape, a text transfer, watercolors, prismacolors, pastels and acrylic paint. Lots of fun!

Today:
the weather is NOT sub arctic and I have fresh air streaming in through open windows...ahhh that puts everyone in a good mood, drives the kittens batty because they reeeeally want to get those birds out there but that too is slightly amusing. Laundry is hanging to dry and filling the house with scents of freshness, Vanilla tea is in my cup and I am putting the finishing touches on a new kit that is nice and springy and made on vintage book pages (Will share later in the week). I would say life is pretty dandy!

The reason I am not presently engaged in 4 year old play is that today the wonderful joys of preschool are busying Kaiella's little mind, and that, my friends is a VERY good thing!
She is show and telling her favorite doll "Maggie" and was pretty nervous about it on the way over to school, so I had her practice on me...cutest girl EVER. she says "...and when I hug her she shines like a star" insert big dreamy sigh and then proceeds to clear up for me that "Maggie does not actually shine light in the room from her belly button, but shines inside of my heart because she is my daughter and I loves her so much....just like you and me mama!"
oh melt my heart... Can you get any cuter than that?!
I'll play my little pony for the rest of my days if I can just bottle her up and keep her so sweet and small...sigh.

Tonight's to do list includes
-finishing my vintage book spring pieces
- working on a new class that I have been cookin' up
-making time to play in my ART journal for a bit...I figure if I can make myself do this every day then it will become a habit to make time for carefree creating again. need it love it want it...gotta do it!
-3 more loads of laundry to wash and hang
and hopefully tea and a movie with my Mom while I am up late "arting"

a life filled with adventure

2009-03-03T20:28:00.000-06:00

Today is Tuesday....Tuesday that feels like it should only be Monday and should already be Friday all at once. Kind of that lost insignificant day it seems, but such a good one this week.

My baby is 4 and a half and has re-entered the stage of life where her mind needs to be kept incredibly busy or she will go off on her own adventure, look at that sneaky little face!!!
She adventures through the fridge, making a platter of grated cheese with syrup and frozen fruit with about half a bottle of Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top...hmm, uh, YUM? not so much. Orrr..... she may decide that the entire bathroom needs a vigorous scrub down with a few tubes of toothpaste all in a matter of minutes, you get it, the kid is on a mission to have adventure in this life.
Good for her!
I am too, totally, but for the most part I tend to put a wee bit more long term thought into planning my adventures.
Sooooo I am opting for keeping her mind busy over dealing with her FAB follies, it's better for both of us. Today we had the Chutes and ladders tournament of all tournaments, she wanted to keep on going but finally got so mad at those darn slides that she declared her girl could climb the ladders AND the slides because "she is so beautiful that they just let her", nice, I'm good with that.
Then she chose some books from a forgotten series of ours on behavior and we read some great lessons about snooping, lying and being selfish. Rawkin! LOL, she was hanging on every word it was awesome, total parenting in hardcovers. We then proceeded to paint posters to put up on the wall beside her pillow; good things she wants to dream about ( well, she painted posters and I painted pieces of this new "city streets" pack I am starting )

That lasted just long enough before Bella's "cooking" was about to begin so we had to head it off with a very long and involved game of my little ponies; we were awesome, we went to the fair and to the zoo, and across a frozen lake, our ponies are superstars.
It was one of those days where I got nothing done as far as housework or scrap work or any other kind of work , but I'm totally happy knowing that I spent hours and hours doing something that will matter so much more in the long run.
It reminds me of one of the sayings I try so hard to live by, about how years from now kids won't remember if you had dishes in the sink or a pile of laundry to do, but they WILL remember that you played with them and took time with them.
Tis so true.

Genuine "C"

2009-02-27T21:59:00.000-06:00

Just a total play page I have been doodling around on for the last week or so when me and the girls are making things together, or when I'm on the phone...etc. This one is a little 5x5 square of leftover cardboard that was just begging for me to play on it. Will get bound in my "Random creativity" book.
Today...
Looking forward to the weekend, to some much needed extra rest and some family together time, however we decide to spend that. I'm hoping that some of us girls will be feeling a little bit better so that we can get outside for some good fun in the snow!
Happy weekending to you :)

stop thinking and just GROW

2009-02-25T23:32:00.000-06:00

I was pretty excited about the meals we had planned for this week until we all got hit with a tummy bug that is making all of that good yummy food sound pretty gross right now.
Ah well, good intentions anyways, there's always next week.
I have been totally slow and unproductive, Me and little Bella have been catching some extra naps and feel like we've got our butts kicked real good. Best thing for it I guess is to drink water and rest when our bodies say that we need to. I am SO bad at that though, SO BAD! I am like a baby around 9 months old when they never want to miss anything. tsk tsk
So.
I did manage to get this little journal page done while I was sitting with Cam for a bit in the evening. I can't stand just laying around, got to keep up with something!
The theme of this book is going to be growth, being free and open to learn and explore and grow in many many ways. I have another one that will be just random, but this theme has been where my heart has been taking me at the moment.

The page is totally not my usual careful detailed creating, it is just free experimenting and was lots of fun to do. The background is made with gesso and molding paste with some different lines and shapes scraped into it, and acrylic paint on top. Letters are done with india ink and a nib pen, gives a really nice dark black and a bit of a scratchy carefree look to the writing. The tree is watercolor paint on canvas ( can be printed out from this pack).
And my grass is made with little green paint strokes, left over bits of painted masking tape from another project's edges, and crepe paper scraps from our valentine kid craft flowers.
Take care, see ya next week, here's to rest and water..whooot!

Art Journaling

2009-02-24T01:05:00.000-06:00

So.
I have talked a few times about my decision for this year that I need to do something creative just for me. Something that is freeing and just messy and good with no rules, and for no one else. I just need a creative outlet that I can do everyday that is just because, not for a class, or a magazine, no rules, it can even be ugly as heck...JUST FOR ME to be getting my hands dirty and expressing my lil' heart on some surface or another.
I totally need this.
So I decided on Art journaling.
I have wanted to start an art journal for quite some time but never seemed to have the time. Just like reading, getting exercise, and taking any other time for me I am realizing that I need to MAKE the time to do the things that nourish my spirit and then I am much more good to the people who rely on me. The time will never just make itself, it needs to be a choice.
Choice made, done deal, it's ON!
Here's a few bits of some of the making that has been going on, all works in progress for now.

Please bear with me

2009-02-20T08:42:00.000-06:00

I write blog posts as life happens, because I like to look back on them down the road, and because I like writing, but the photos I want to add aren't always loaded yet and sometimes when life gets extra busy there isn't always time to add them etc.
I will always choose living fully in the moment over keeping current online, that's just me.
Time goes by too quickly as it is and these precious little people of mine just keep on growing!
Soooooo, my posts get saved as drafts and wait for me to throw them up later. I've gotten behind in the past but not quite as behind as I have been lately, so please bear with me as I work to get January's thoughts and pictures all rescued from a life in draft and happily posted in the next week or so and then we should be all back to normal :)

The photo above is a little mini canvas that I did in the mod podge booth at CHA in Anaheim last month. I LOVED just taking the time to settle in for half an hour or so and create something just for me that really speaks to me. It just re-enforced how much I need to make time to do that more often. This one is just a mix of words that I want to remember as I live, all applied and sealed with a couple of coats of Mod Podge. Some bits are from magazines, some from old books, a a wee touch of bling...such a fun ( and therapeutic) little project to do.

Happy Friday to you
Live, celebrate, and have a fabulous weekend!!!

meal planning

2009-02-19T02:01:00.000-06:00

It worked!

Laundry/shopping day was a RAD success.
Me and Bella are awesome!!!
We even managed to have the time to get a buncha backgrounds made as I was hoping...whoot whoot.
I have been slacking on meal planning for the last while, but we shopped properly and the week's menu is looking pretty good.

-lasagna, salad, and garlic bread
-Cam's AMAZING slow cooker roast
-farmer sausage and princess pasta Alfredo
-Stir fried chicken with veggies and fried rice
-hash brown casserole and a Ham
and for the busy/lazy nights we have
-Taco salad, (the super duper ever delish-child pleasing- all inclusive meal)
- and really good chicken fingers with pea soup

anyone have any really good easy recipes, specifically slow cooker recipes?
Please share 'em, we'd love that!

OK, it's boogie time, Gonna spend a few hours working into the night tonight and get way too little sleep, but I'm feelin' it and I've got to go with that when the inspiration strikes me.
ciao for now folks ;)

today

2009-02-18T09:02:00.000-06:00

Laundry and food buying day has come.
There seems to be none of either in the house and I will be off on a field trip with Emy and her class all day tomorrow. I LOVE getting involved with the girls and their school, LOVE heading out on the field trips with them when I can, and I think that I may be more excited then she is about the whole thing!
But first comes today;

Kaiella and I are gonna rawk the laundry pile and do some smart grocery buying -with a list. Because when we make a list we spend less and actually go home with what we need for suppers all week instead of just lots of yummy crackers and yogurts and fruits and what we are hungry for at the time. Please tell me that I am not the only one who does this.

It honestly sneaks up on me every single time and I wonder how the heck neither one of these things doesn't just stay done???!
Funny thing is I rather enjoy both laundry and grocery shopping...seriously enjoy them. I am a goof, I know. I'm good with that.
Hopefully we can get both chores done as much as possible and our other running arounds in the morning so that we have some time in the afternoon to get creative together. I am really hoping to get some journal backgrounds painted and ready for whenever I decide to add to them later and Bella always loves this cuz she gets to make her sweet painted "backgrounds" too, hee hee! My stove is covered in "arting" right now. yeah, I'm making stuff in the kitchen instead of where I should be again....it has been known to happen, I just can't help myself, I get an idea and off I go with it, and duuuude, the sink is RIGHT there!!!!
it doesn't get any better than that!
I am sure that I drive Cam nuts, but he is so darn cute and good about it.
Cam Rawks, I love him.

Ok so before i head into the world you are probably wondering what the heck that mess of painty-ness above is ...not sure, it is creativity, we shall see where it goes.
I mentioned painting journal backgrounds above in my "Plan de Jour" but I guess I should explain that I have recently decided to start art journaling. I will discuss this more later,
time to take on today, happy Wednesday to you!

She's TEN!!!

2009-02-16T21:08:00.000-06:00

MY sweet Emy was Ten years old yesterday! I really can't believe it, you hear people say when you are a kid how fast you have grown and you kinda give it a "yeah sure. ok I guess" in your little mind. But honestly from here on the other side, it really does seem to zoom by sometimes...as if she was just a curious little toddler getting into everything or a happy and confident 5 year old walking into kindergarten for the first time only last week. It sometimes seems as if I have blinked and here is this amazing young lady before me with a heart of Gold and so much faith and goodness to share with the world. We are so very proud of the wonderful person that Emy Chooses to be in her life every day; she is generous and oh so kind and uses her time to find ways to brighten the lives of others. What an angel.

It worked out great this weekend with Valentines day falling on Saturday and it being a long weekend here today ( it's called family day) It really was a weekend filled with celebrating her every day and she Loved it!
She woke up for E10 crepes with all of the toppings that she had requested; warm banana pudding, berries and whip cream and some sausages on the side. then got all dolled up and we went out to the movies all together. Nanny made a big birthday cookie for her after a wonderful dinner, and I sat together with her afterwards and gave her a manicure with all of the extras.
Special times for a special special girl.