Sunday, March 29, 2009

Max's card


The kids were making cards last week, and asked me to make ones for them. Now, I have made cards for them many times before, and they were never rally impressed by them. Yes, they liked them, but they were pretty quickly tossed aside. So I made a card for each of them, honestly not putting much effort into it. Wouldn't you know it, this time, they were thrilled. They read them to each other, shared them with the stuffed animals and with Matt when he got home. As we were getting ready to read a bedtime story that night, Max Suddenly jumped out of bed and exclaimed, "Wait! I want to put the card you made me in my room, so when you go back to work on Wednesday, and I miss you, I can look at it and feel better."


(made from the November About A Boy Scrap for A Cure kit, my favorite one!)

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

full circle


I purchased The Creative Entrepreneur by Lisa Sonora Beam a couple of months ago, and I am now beginning to go through it. Basically, it seems like a business planning, goal setting program which utilizes the art journal instead of a word processing program. That approach appeals to me, of course, so I grabbed an old Somerset Studio Art Journal calendar (appropriate, don't you think?) that came with some back issues I ordered, and went to work. I've only completed the first activity, so I can't report on the book as yet, but an interesting thing happened when I worked on the first collage. After laying down some background papers, I drew a hand in pencil. And I didn't like it. Granted, I don't usually use a 3B, but I just wasn't happy with it. I didn't like the pencil. So I added color, and didn't like that, either. Scrapping it all, I added a layer of paper on top of it, then grabbed my trusty 01 Pigma Micron. Yes, ink. I sketched the hand again, just pen, and finally, I was satisfied. In less than a year, I have come full circle. Ink is now my tool of choice most often. Who would have thought?

(Ugh! I had to scan this because it's midnight, but I hate scanned art. The colors look all off and the page looks too transparent. Oh, well! It's just an art journal page, after all!)

Monday, March 23, 2009

Garden State



I am waaaaay behind on movies, unless they come from Disney. I finally joined Netflix again, and in between 101 Dalmatians and Beverly Hills Chihuahua, I've managed to catch a few adult flicks. Saturday night we saw Garden State (I said I was behind, remember?) and not only did I love the film, but I went crazy for the soundtrack. As soon as the film was over, I downloaded it from iTunes. A great, mellow soundtrack, perfect to create art to. Even the kids like it. Once my portfolio is done, it'll be me, my iPod, a glass of wine, and lots if paint.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Daily Drawings

Happy Friday! I can't believe how quickly this week has gone by - our spring break is almost half over! Here are a few selections for the week:



Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Knit Lust

For years now, I've been yearning to learn to knit, but have resisted. I really don't need yet another obsession, and I know yarns can be quite pricey. It seems, however, to be the perfect sit with the kids while they are trying to fall asleep activity, so I may have to give in. Until then, here are a few gems I am lusting over:

A magnificent shawl from Tickled Pink Knits


This newborn "elf" hat is just too cute! From Nelly Bean Company's ETSY shop


and this kit from Kallerin's ETSY shop (and she has some amazing felted scarves, too!)

Monday, March 16, 2009

Scrap For A Cure



It's been awhile since I have scrapped, and when I came upon a stash of various pictures last week, I decided that I would scrap them all this month. A few are from a specific event, but most are random shots or left overs from past pages. Yet there are so many stories left to tell, little moments that will soon be lost to the sands of time, to a memory that grows muddier every day. I adore this shot of Max at two, but what struck me were the stains on his pajamas - the same stains that still cover his clothes almost three years later. Or the puppy pictures of Molly. Just like the children, I can't believe how fast she has grown! These were fast pages, partly because I used paper and elements from Scrap For A Cure kits. I have been a subscriber for awhile, and since My Daughter's Wish closed, I have pretty much used their kits exclusively to scrap. They are fabulous kits, with fantastic papers and tons of little goodies. These kits are PACKED, and the best part is that 5% of your purchase goes to the quarterly charity of choice.



This last little book I created for Matt for Valentine's Day with the January kit and a Piggy Tales board book I won at their virtual crop. I made the entire mini-album from the kit and still had tons of supplies left over for multiple lay outs. I sound like an infomercial, I know, but during these times, it's important to find good values.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Pay It Forward


I love the concept of paying it forward, because I firmly believe that your actions, not your words, show who you really are. There is a great scrap site called Scrap It Forward, where they sponsor a different charitable cause each month. It is very much the concept of a lot of people doing small things ca make a big difference. They are having a card drive for Autism Now, for all of you crafty mamas out there. They will auction off all of the cards and donate the proceeds. I'm sure many of you have hand made cards just sitting around, so how easy is it to send a few off? Click here to get the details. Here's one of mine to get you motivated to pull out those stamps and paper!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Somerset Studio!!!


Hooray! My Mad Tea Party mixed media paper dolls made it into the March/April issue of Somerset Studio. Got myself a whole page on 110! It's quite an honor, especially being in the same issue with Danita and judy Wilkenfeld. I have a list of potential projects to work on for future submissions, but right now I can't seem to tear myself away from altering clothes! Obsessions, obsessions...