Monday Musings...Messages...

At the top of my blog here you will see my favorite saying. It is by Erma Bombeck. "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me. "" I get the message that we should use our talents that God has gifted us, over and over and over again. It's like it is my calling to carry that message through. My blog, my creative endeavors and my business are being built on this.

I have known deep down for a very long time that I was meant to carry on my mother's creative legacy. Last fall, I was going through photos on a cd that my sister scanned for Mom's memorial service. I found these newspaper clippings featuring an "emerging artists" article from the Mesa, Arizona Sunday paper.

I'm pretty sure my mother agrees with my thoughts on Erma's quote and she wants to let me know this. Because if you look closely at the caption underneath her painting of lilacs it says:

"Lilacs" by Barbara Whitlock. Whitlock says talent should not be neglected. "If you have a talent, it is a gift from God. It is given to you for a reason, and it is a shame not to pursue your talents, no matter what they are." she says.

Pursuing my dreams, carrying on the legacy and using my talents...

Watercolor doodles...

I have had an extra child home during the day this week. My Nikki has the flu. With any luck, she will be back at school tomorrow and there won't be anyone else at home sick. Her being home has stranded us to the house, so between taking care of her and Kyle and doing washing and cooking and other household duties, I decided to pick something new to try out to help get the creative juices flowing. Besides, just look at that lonely workspace!

It was just begging to be messed up! 

Here is what I did. I pulled out my long unused opaque watercolors and my watercolor brush. I love that brush. With a toddler, it makes for a quick and easy clean up. Not to mention, it is fun to use! But I digress. I set to painting a page full of rectangles.

Doesn't that table look better being put to good use?

After I had a page full, I used a Micron pen to draw doodles and borders in each rectangle.

I also used a white and silver Gelly Rolls. After a bit, the pens didn't want to cooperate. I don't think they liked the water colored paper. So I ended up using my brush Pitt pens. 

Here is my end result. It makes me smile just looking at it. I had so much fun, I had to do another.

This time, Nikki helped me choose and place multiple colors on the page. And I figured out that a Uniball pen worked better than all the others.  Here is an Instagram pic of my finished page. It's kind of blurry, but you get the idea. Did I mention, you can follow me on Instagram? Just click the button in my sidebar. I'd love to have you!

So, I would love to say this fun and relaxing project was entirely my idea, but I must give link love where link love is due. I found the idea on Pinterest. Here are links to two lovely blog posts that demonstrate this technique...

Here is the post at Living Creatively.

and

Here is the post at Maisa. 

(I love how she used it as a scrapbook page background!)

I hope you will try this fun activity out. It is very relaxing!

Happy creating!

Monday musings... She did it anyway!

Today, I am choosing to do it anyway!

Part of the online art journal course I am taking talks about "doing it anyway". The lesson was about the excuses we make, both real and imagined that get in the way of what we really want. "She did it anyway!" is a Brave Girls mantra. 

I had no idea how many excuses I make everyday that keep me from doing what I really want to every single day until I really sat down and examined how I spent my time. Amazing the things that hold us back. Tired, not enough time, don't feel well, fear, disorganization, facebook, words with friends, t.v., kids,

a little laziness and the mother of them all... procrastination! 

Another thing I have learned from the class is that I have a choice, every single day, every single minute, how I am going to feel, act and react and what I am going to do with each moment. I am the only one who has control of me. It's refreshing to realize that with a little faith in God and myself I can change my situation to be more joyful. I choose to find time for creativity, working out, taking care of myself so I can be a happier human being, mom and wife. 

What will you choose to do anyway today?

 

She Let Go...

My sister shared this with me on the phone last week. I loved it so much that it inspired me to do the above piece of artwork. I hope it speaks to you the way it did me.

She Let Go

She let go. Without a thought or a word, she let go.

She let go of the fear. She let go of the judgments. She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.

She let go of the committee of indecision within her. She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons. Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go.

She didn’t ask anyone for advice. She didn’t read a book on how to let go. She didn’t search the scriptures. She just let go.

She let go of all of the memories that held her back. She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward. She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it just right.

She didn’t promise to let go. She didn’t journal about it. She didn’t write the projected date in her Day-Timer. She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper. She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope. She just let go.

She didn’t analyze whether she should let go. She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter. She didn’t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment. She didn’t call the prayer line. She didn’t utter one word. She just let go.

No one was around when it happened. There was no applause or congratulations. No one thanked her or praised her. No one noticed a thing. Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.

There was no effort. There was no struggle. It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad. It was what it was, and it is just that.

In the space of letting go, she let it all be. A small smile came over her face. A light breeze blew through her. And the sun and the moon shone forevermore.

~Rev. Safire Rose

Why we need moms, sisters, girlfriends...

I had lunch with a friend today. T confided that her sister was recently diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. I was so glad she shared. She brought to mind my mother and my relationship with my sister. And I thought of all the amazing friends I have. There are so many emotions involved in having a family member battle such a disease. We want to lift them up, encourage them, help them in their fight in anyway we can.

I remembered this video from a few years ago and wanted to post it for T and her sister.

will be praying for you all on this journey.

Inspiration Friday (2/17/12)

Visit Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience.

ICAD #8 Emerson Quote....

ICAD #8 (Zig writer, Pitt Pens and Copic Sketch B04-Tahitian Blue)

Inspiration Friday (6/10/11)

Okay, so it has been a pretty busy week.

We found out we are going to have a "son". I can't believe I'm going to have a little boy! Katie fell off a skateboard and chipped her permanent front tooth and got a bloody and fat lip. Nikki lost her first tooth. And we are simply busy having summer fun.

The girls love to go to the craft store. Katie takes after me spending hours making latch hook rugs and pot holders on a loom. And they both love to draw.

Thank goodness for the drawing. Katie has a stack of her own ICADs so since I haven't kept up this week I will post ICADs 4-7 in a little bit and they will be from her ever growing stack. She has some fantastic drawings for an 8 year old! You can see ICAD #1 here, ICAD #2 here (my fave so far) and ICAD #3 here. It's also not to late to join Daisy Yellow in the summer ICAD challenge here.

I'm never to busy to peek around the web though so I thought I'd share some inpiration I have for this week...

Love, love, love these artsy canvas shoes! Gabriela Delworth has a tutorial for these and more on her wonderful blog. Go check it out!

CrAzY HoUsE asks if you can say "yum"?! I'm pretty sure I could if I made this yummy looking recipe for Apple Julep!

Oh how I wish I could really sew! I would use this tutorial from Sew Like My Mom to make my girls each one of these swimsuit cover ups. Cute and fun!

Surviving Motherhood shows us how to make this patriotic and cute bunting. (A great new blog I just discovered this morning!)

YUM! Coffeehouse shared a recipe for healthy blackened tilapia baja tacos. Say that ten times real fast! Delish! :)

Would you believe this is a pasta necklace?! Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom proves they aren't just for kids with this wonderful tutorial.

Check out the tutorial for these adorable and handy little boy burp cloths at Made By Rae. They are made by using quilting cotton fabric and jersey knit cloth. Awesome!

Scrapbooking can be so overwhelming. I love Red Ted Art's Blog simplification of the process. It would be nice to just get the photos in a safe and pretty book. It doesn't have to be extravagant!

Grab a button!

<center><a href="http://laniejandco.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Lanie J. and Company" src="http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn148/2lovelyladies/featured.jpg"/></a></center> Catch ya later with Katie's ICADs! :)

ICAD #1 Being motivated to create...

For a while now, I have been following a blog called Daisy Yellow. Tammy came up with a fun idea for the summer. I think this just might get my creative juices flowing. It is called ICAD or Index Card a Day. I dare you to join in! Go HERE to see the details.

ICAD #1 (Faber Castell Pitt Pen and Copic markers)

Talk about needing to let go of perfection! Would you believe I wanted to draw this over again? I decided not to of course, look what the card says after all. Besides didn't I say I was going to EMBRACE imperfection this year?

Maybe I can get some more doodles like THESE goin' on. I really had fun there!

Trying to get my little Katiebug to do this along with me. Wish me luck!

Have you seen Benjamin Button?

Holy cow! I rented this movie yesterday and finished watching it this afternoon. I was really touched by this movie. The similarities to my life are crazy ironic.

The movie opens with a woman spending time with her dying mother in a New Orleans hospital room. She is expressing her love to her mother and holding her hand. It made me remember the precious last moments with my sweet Mom.

The t.v. screen on the wall in the hospital room flashes to a hurricane approaching the coast. It is Hurricane Katrina. I was in the hospital in Houston having just gave birth to my second child when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.

In the movie, there is a 43 year old woman who gives birth. Makes me think just maybe I am not too old to have another child.

The story about life and death just really grabbed me. How very precious are the many (or few) moments we are given on this earth. Moments of joy and moments of heartache. I am again reminded of how truly blessed I am.

Some of the quotes in the movie that really stood out for me are:

Benjamin Button: Your life is defined by its opportunities... even the ones you miss.

Benjamin Button: It's a funny thing about comin' home. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You'll realize what's changed is you.

Benjamin Button: For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it.

Mrs. Maple: Benjamin, we're meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us?

Benjamin Button: You can be as mad as a mad dog at the way things went. You could swear, curse the fates, but when it comes to the end, you have to let go.

Benjamin Button: Some people, were born to sit by a river. Some get struck by lightning. Some have an ear for music. Some are artists. Some swim. Some know buttons. Some know Shakespeare. Some are mothers. And some people, dance.

Benjamin Button: It's funny how sometimes the people we remember the least make the greatest impression on us.

Have you seen this movie? If so, what did you think? If not, I highly recommend it! :)

Baby I'm Amazed by You!

This is my oldest daughter Katie. She is so talented and she constantly amazes and inspires me. I am so impressed with her childlike ability to create with wild abandon. She is fearless!

Here is her finished artwork. Here her medium of choice was my Prismacolor colored pencils. I love it!

This piece she did for me. Isn't it beautiful? I asked why she picked the word and she said it just came into her mind. I told her it was the perfect word  for the perfect picture.

This was a piece she doodle on a Mommy and Katie art night. Awesome use of color I say!

She is 7. She amazes me... I want to be just like her!

What a sweet and inspiring surprise for me!

(some of my work)

It is a typical Wednesday morning here. I hauled myself out of bed and to the coffee pot. Trying to wake to face another typical day in the life of a stay at home mom and homemaker. I usually spend a little time on the computer before I wake the girls and get moving. Upon checking my email for the blog, I found this gem...

Hi,
We at “Webdesignschoolsguide.com”, wanted to let you know that we featured your blog in one of our recent articles on our own blog. (40 Fantastic Calligraphy Blogs), is linked below and could be a fun way to share this announcement with your readers.


(http://www.webdesignschoolsguide.com/library/40-fantastic-calligraphy-blogs.html)


Either way, I hope you continue putting out great content through your blog. It has been a sincere pleasure to read.
 Thanks
Corinne 

I am #39!

I cannot tell you what an honor it is to be listed with some blogs/websites that I visit often to drool over  admire the beautiful calligraphy out there. The post that is linked in the list was written during my journey to remember my Mom and my childhood in the last year. I am positive Mom was smiling as I read this email this morning.

What a great way to start the day and a boost to encourage me not to give up my dreams of being an artist and inspiring others through art and my little corner of the blogosphere.

Thank you for letting me share with you!

Friday Favorites (4/1/10)

Okay, so.... I think I am over the little bump in the road I have hit the past couple of weeks. Talks and emails with good friends and my sis have helped. There is so much in the blogosphere to be inspired by, I wonder how one could possibly get into a creative rut? :) I'm back and hopefully will have some great things to share with you in the coming week.

Fabric Flower Tutorial from Nancy at My Blonde Ambitions - Love the beautiful colors!

Cherry Tomato Salad from Bridget at The Way The Cookie Crumbles - Can you say "springtime yummies"!

DIY Sugar Scrub from The Capricorn Soap Company - Sounds divine!

Rubber Cement Dyed Eggs from Crap I've Made - Unique and fun!

Mouse Trap Notepad Clip on Craft Envy - Very clever and cute!

59 Cent Shoe Makeover at MaryJanes and Galoshes - So sweet and easy!

If you have been featured here or any other Friday, please feel free to grab an "I was featured" button on the right sidebar.

Have a fantastic weekend and a beautiful Easter and don't forget HE LIVES!