September 30, 2011

Shine

You may be broken, tired or lonely, but gold shimmers in you.
Some will not see it.
Just as some can't see the moon in the brightness of day.
It's in darkness, the deepest black, that the moon radiates.
And so may you.  Shine.


September 28, 2011

Beautiful Words Make Me Weep



This is the book trailer of Angela Fested.  The music along with her words made me turn to mush.  Her poetry chapbook is coming out in January.  It's called CLEAVE and it's going to be published by Finishing Line Press, which is a small publisher.  The print run is determined by the number of preorders and the preorder period officially started yesterday.  In celebration of all this, she's giving away a $25 Amazon gift card on her blog here! (She has a book review and the giveaway details are located just under that)  Let her know what you thought of her book trailer!


September 27, 2011

To Tell a Story

storytellers button green

I love stories.

Well...that's an understatement.  I devour stories, drinking them up with slurps of satisfaction.  And as much as I love a page-turner; a real person's story is even more fascinating to me which is probably why I loved Eat, Pray, Love and Julie and Julia. Uncovering the layers of a person and hearing how they arrived where they are is endlessly intriguing.

I think any story ultimately tells something about us.  If yours differs from mine, you open my eyes to new ideas.  If our stories are alike, I feel a kinship that someone else in the world feels as I do.

This week I encountered a man that's changing the world one experiment at a time.  It began when he and his family decided to sell half their belongings and give to those in need all across the globe.  When friends heard of this idea, they wanted to join and the group grew to thirty people.  Now there are groups all across America joining them.

I was so taken with his story. I thought about my stuff--not necessarily top of the line, but still could be sold for something and given to good causes.  Hesitantly, I glanced at my bookcases and thought of all the books I'd have to sell to whittle them down to half.  I'm ashamed to say I cringed.  But my next thought went to the tsunami survivors, hungry children and victims of the world; couldn't I give up my precious books for them? My heart softened.

Maybe over time, instead of leaving tons of stuff for my kids to shift through when I die; I'll leave them with stories.

(I've linked to Sadee Schilling's Picturebook blog, and if you'd like to read more stories click the typewriter icon at the top of the page)

September 25, 2011

Much Love Monday: Dancing to the Beat of a Bongo


This week I'm celebrating the birth of my second born--my baby girl. She dances to her own beat; always.

I love:
  • her amazing voice and ability to break out into song at any moment
  • her organization skills and serious determination
  • her silliness
  • her laugh; which she uses often
  • her tender heart and pied-piper ability to draw children to her
And I hope she always dances to the bongo beat inside her soul.





September 23, 2011

Work in Progress and a WINNER!


This is what I'm working on right now.  Her mask looks more like glasses in this photo, but don't worry, it's going to get fancier and glitzy-er!  Can you tell I'm LOVING fall with those colors?

Thanks to everyone who commented on my new Etsy shop and entered the contest!  This whole week has been exciting. And now...the winner of my free print (picked by random number generator) is:

LAZY GIRL!

Congratulations!  I'll be contacting you about where I need to send it.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!



September 21, 2011

Blogging: The Virtual Magazine

Photo by Steve Denton
The thing I love about reading blogs is that it's like having your own virtual magazine where you choose what types of articles you want to read and even get to interact with the authors!  Here are some of my recent favorites:
  • Violet Bella's awesome (and easy) tutorial on crafting a stylish fringe shirt.
  • Pam makes freezer cooking seem easy.
  • Adorable coasters created from recycled sweaters.
  • If you love Lisa Ferrante's art, you'll enjoy her first youtube video.
  • Shelley's "completely humiliating" author photos had me laughing.  Brave woman, this one.
And don't forget to sign up for your chance to win a free print here!

September 19, 2011

Much Love Monday: Prints for Sale!


I'll be honest, I've been hesitant to do it.  I've had an Etsy shop for over a year and I'm just now putting up prints.  There were lots of fear boulders to climb; I didn't feel ready (ie. not good enough, not artsy enough, not prepared enough).  I was being an utter perfectionist about how the prints looked and finally just had to be honest that I was afraid to list my work.

Not wanting to be a coward, I challenged myself with a deadline--to have something up by the end of the weekend.  With trembling hands, I reached my goal. The canyon has been jumped and prints are up!  (See there's proof--an Etsy mini on the sidebar)  I'll continue to add to the store, but for now I'm relieved to have taken my first baby steps.

In celebration of the Grand Opening, I'm giving away a free print! If you're interested, browse my shop and  leave a comment here telling me the print you'd like.  I'll announce a winner on Friday.

September 16, 2011

Balance


It's hard to keep everything in balance (note the crooked balls on her head). I created this piece awhile back when things felt completely out of balance.  Tonight the temperature is 49 degrees Fahrenheit (thanks WriteStuff).  I feel happy.  I never knew weather could affect me so much until this year, and apparently, I feel joyful in cooler weather.


Fall represents beginnings to me.  It was when I was born, when I started school, and when I met my husband.


Juggling all life throws at you is difficult, but I'm glad to be alive and able to try.


Balance is taking that breath.  Appreciating what you've got and moving forward.  It's saying no to some things and yes to others.


I keep this little girl named Balance close to me, hanging on the lamp between my art table and bookshelves.  She reminds me to remember the treasures I have of health, family and faith.

What keeps you in balance?





September 15, 2011

A Shine of Rainbows

 photo from: onemoviefiveviews.wordpress.com
















I watched A Shine of Rainbows last weekend and I must say, I want to BE her. She pounces in rain puddles.  I wanna pounce in rain puddles.  She wears layers of color--the vivid kind; and sweaters with shawls. This may make me sound really old, but I LOVE shawls. And boots.  And galoshes. She dares to do what others don't.  In my life, I've been more of the safe-cautious sort, but the older I get the more I see the lack in that.  I want my kids to remember me playing with them, laughing and doing crazy things.  Memorable things. Simple things.  Amazing things. I want the main character in my story to jump off the page.

Now off to the thrift store to find a red shawl.

September 13, 2011

Easy Bench Re-Do

1.  This is the weathered bench from my friend's porch.  I modge-podged various scrapbook papers onto the top.  Kept them large which I don't normally do, but wanted to keep some of the written pieces in tact so I kept everything aligned in scale.

2.  Then I dabbed on layers of paint and modeling paste.  I wanted the wood to peek through in places, but also wanted enough coverage to be colorful.  It took awhile because I had trouble getting the colors the way I wanted.

3.  Finally it debuted on the porch. I added the sweater pillows and voila!  It's a cozy place to gather with my family or to step out for a quiet morning with coffee and computer.

**Taking these photos was a hoot because my camera screen is broken (since last weekend - sniff). I was guessing my shots as I took them and had to wait until they were downloaded to see them.  It made for quite the picture adventure.

September 5, 2011

Much Love Monday: Porches

My cozy front porch
Taken from Flicker click here for link





















I love porches.

My sweet friend used to have many gatherings on her porch.  It was a place of refuge, sharing and laughter.  Her family recently gave me some of her things because they're moving and can't keep it all.  One of them is a bench. I'm planning to spruce it up and use it as seating on my porch as a tribute to her. I also got some sweater pillows she made.  I think I mentioned once about her collection of pillows.  She loved them!  She could make a pillow out of any stray fabric.  These particular pillows were made from thrift store sweaters (wish I could show them to you, but my camera broke this weekend).  I also received some of her beautiful scarves and an old china cabinet that now houses my art supplies.

I'm grateful for things I can see and hold that give me a connection to her but it's bittersweet.


What are you loving today?

September 2, 2011

FREE



I'm learning lots about being free.  It started by letting go of blame, false guilt, and control.  I'm finding freedom in love and honesty.  The ropes are torn, my wings are ready.