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1. Finding unexpected little surprises in corners...
2. Playing in the snow....
3. Valentine goodies...
4. A video made by the most inspiring girl in blogland! Everything she does makes me happy. Did I mention before that I want to be her?
Ok! I'm off to get ready for a fun-filled birthday-celebrating day with friends! happy Sunday!
I am so lucky to have such awesome friends! I just looked out the window and saw a package from my dear friend Tammy nestled in the snow on my front step! She sent me this beautiful handmade prize ribbon with a crocheted strawberry along with this adorable fabric piece...
I just love all things Papaya and love how she transferred the image into a little hangable "pillow". Too sweet! Thank you so much Tammy!
My birthday week has been fun so far!
Finally!! It's here! Snow! How I have been missing you!
This is my deck view from a few minutes ago. Fluffy, pretty snow! And I love it because that means other teachers call in "sick" because of the treacherous driving and I get to fill in and sub for them before my afternoon class! This morning I got to teach a great group of students from Africa and Asia how to deal with their bank accounts. It was such a great morning. I almost got knocked over by the wind on my way into the school, but hey! No problem! I know you think I'm nuts here, but I love driving in it! It just feels festive and fun for some reason! Right now it's blustery, but I'm in great mood because I can do some shoveling (another weird thing I like to do!) and be cozy for the long weekend! Plan on lighting lots of candles, working on Valentine's ornaments, and celebrating my birthday with friends.
Speaking of my birthday I had to show you the great goodies Sandy sent me!
This awesome necklace (wore it to work yesterday Sandy!) and this "Teacher" piece she made that I've been coveting for some time!...
And Sandy is the queen of presentation...look at the card and packaging....
Thank you so much Sandy!
Well, I must get off this computer, but Happy Weekend to you! I will be back soon with some more art journaling and other fun things! xo
When this is my view, things are probably pretty relaxing. Sitting in my armchair, sipping tea or wine, reading a book, journaling....
Lately I love it when this is my view.
What fun I've been having with paint and canvas! The above piece is a big 16 x 20 deep-edge canvas that I made myself thanks to the instruction of the incredibly talented Melody Ross .
It was the first time I ever created a piece with 95% paint knives and scrapers only, not brushes! And heavy-body paint! What fun it is to work with. (And no, you don't have to paint the face!) Look at the texture...
Such an easy project that I've admired for a long time (Melody has a HUGE one hanging in her studio). I made my mom a pink version for her birthday....
Not only do I love the outcome, but the making it was so enjoyable. The heavy-body paints can add up and cost you a small fortune, but boy is it fun. And I even got to use my fingers, and get messy! It also has gold-leafed edges, and I just love gold leaf. So it was a fun, fun, project.
I plan on using up the rest of the paint soon. One little piece I made for my kitchen, to incorporate into the Valentine's theme that is soon-to-come, is this Happy-Inspired canvas...
I found an old 8 x 10 commercial print on canvas and just gessoed right over it and started painting!
What have you been making these days?
Ha! I never get tired of these "blunt cards"!
So yeah...in one week I will be a year older- yikes! I hate it! But I do love having an excuse to celebrate!
I was so thrilled the other day to get my very first 36th birthday gift from someone super special- Kai!! Her daily comments and emails and kind words are more than enough gift for me- for sure! But look at what she sent:
This pile of goodies! She took the time to make me this pretty hooded scarf for the cold winter, and this sweet red (my favorite color) bird pin! And if that wasn't sweet enough, she sent me a novel and a huge art book- loaded with all kinds of wonderful handmade books!! She knows me well! Thank you dear Kai, you are a treasure to all who are lucky enough to know you!
So I will be doing my best to celebrate right up to my birthday next Monday. And luckily it falls on MLK day, so I have the day off from work! Yay!
Be back real soon with some paint and canvas fun!
One thingI really want to do this year is slow down and take a breath. I'm not saying I don't do a lot of relaxing things already, because I do, but I need to take pause and just stop and live in the moment, without my mind racing to a million other things- the most important of which is "how-this-moment-is-going-to-be-over-so-fast-and-then-when-the-hell-will-be-the-next-time-I-will-get-to-relax?!" Agh.
I just need to pause. If something makes me stop and I notice it, I want to at least pause and take 3 slow breaths while I do so, and not be thinking of the next thing.
I think I'm always so worried that I never have enough time to do what I want, that I can't fully enjoy what it is I'm doing. Whether it be reading a good book, organizing something, or sitting down to eat something. I'm just one step ahead of things. Thinking that I can only enjoy it so much because in a minute it will be over and there's so much else to do!
I certainly take note of the beauty of little things (like when I took this above photo inside of a public restroom!) but it's always feeling rushed. Stop. Snap. Look. Now HURRY!
I appreciate detail, and find inspiration and beauty in what others my not even notice, so I do feel very lucky that way. But how to not have this ever daunting feeling that "it's over too fast" ? That moments are constantly rushed?
I suppose I just want to be able to immerse myself more into what I'm doing. If I'm painting I want to lose myself. Not think about how I only have one more hour until Scarlet is back home, that I have to make dinner, do laundry, plan for work the next day, blah, blah, blah.
I guess that's everyone's fight huh? That's why there's a such thing as vacations I guess. I want a vacation. That's it. I want to live like her. Taking note. Seeing. Solitude. New places alone.
Someday? maybe?
hello blog friends! Happy 2012! Let's make it better than last year, shall we? I am so ready for great things!
So. What's been happening since the new year....Well, we celebrated my mom's birthday (January 1st!) and her and I made my grandfather's homemade ravioli! (what a bitch!!)...what a blast!
I made her a canvas painting/sign which I will show you soon. We had our yummy ravioli, ate pineapple cake and relaxed.
But backing up a bit. New Year's Eve Scarlet and I spent the night at Grammie and Poppy's house and watched the ball drop on TV. Nothing like poor Dick Clark keeping the years coming! (hey, at least he was making out with someone at midnight, unlike myself!). Then I "slept" on their couch and didn't sleep- between their cat that moaning like a suffering victim all night and my brother coming in sometime in the middle of the night burping, microwaving food, and cracking Pepsi cans open!
And backing up to the night before- I got to go out to an authentic Arabic restaurant with my "someone special"...
The food was so yummy! (even if I'm still not the biggest fan of lamb!)
The tea was to-die-for, and I bought some for home and found the secret was putting a couple of cracked cardamom seeds in while it's steeping!
So the past week has been nice. And now tomorrow Scarlet and I both go back to the classroom! I miss my students, but it's been a nice vacation. Sleeping in late suits me well!
For this new year I plan on doing a few things.
-Spending responsibly. Being frugal when I can. Still going out to eat and enjoying life, and buying books (second-hand)... but cutting the corners, and not impulse-buying.
-Thinking each day: "How can I make someone else's day better?"
- Living in the moment and making those moments fun.
What about you? Are you making resolutions, focusing on a "word" for the year?
I will be back real soon, but for now, I wish you and yours a very happy new year!"
