Are You A List Maker?

There are many changes coming in our home, and the first is for our girl, Brenna.

 It's the last walk to this bus and all that she knows in a daily routine.

I wonder what the next season of walking out the door will bring...

Right now, this just lands me smack in the middle of unknowns, which I don't do very well.

Unknowns do not bring out the best in me.

 Unless I'm on vacation with a big, wide open day that I can fill with whatever. That kind of unknown is o.k.

Thoughts of home in my art journal

I can do lists pretty well, though. 

I like checking things off and lists make me feel secure. Because I'm fairly insecure in certain spots. Because..oh, never mind.

For instance, there is my

 NO MORE List:

No more last month absolute crazy days of school.

NO MORE LUNCH FOOD SMELLS AT 6:00 A.M.

No more alarms.

No more forgotten permission slips.

No more "sore throats" because someone doesn't want to go to the YMCA with her class.

No more IEP's and psychological evaluations to tell us things that are so not helpful about Brenna's progress, or lack thereof as determined by a test she can't complete.

Then there is the Never Ending To-Do List:

Figure out ways to fill 40 (FORTY) hours a week that she would usually be in school/traveling to school.

Look at day programs.

Look at volunteer programs.

Figure out how to build stamina for a job.

Make a schedule every day because Brenna does so much better with a schedule.

Go back to bed.

Walk out the door and pretend we are on vacation every day.

Watch Brenna and take notes on bravery and courage.

Watch Brenna take life on and hope to imitate her.

Explore job options she would like: french fry cutter person at In N Out, pre-school aide, policeman in Texas. 

O.K. maybe not that one so much.... 

This is my best list: 

THINGS TO REMEMBER:

I'm not alone.

 God's desire is for Brenna to live a full life is way bigger than even my desire.

Don't panic.

Doors will open.

The quote from my art journal by Mother Teresa:
"Love begins by taking care of the closest ones-the ones at home"

It's summer vacation. For crying out loud-live like it's summer vacation.

(I could potentially live like it's summer vacation forever.)

 Isaiah 27:3-The verse I read over and over when Brenna was first born:

"I, the LORD watch over it;

I water it continually.

I guard it day and night

so that no one may harm it."

Hope, faith, fear and list making.

What a life!

I'm going to begin a Fun Summer Things To Do List.

How about you? 

linking to 

Paint Party Friday

Art Journaling My Way Through Waco

My name is Lynn, and I am a Fixer Upper Addict.

It's true.

I have watched every episode at least once, if not three times.

I secretly desire to walk up to people and say, "How y'all do'in?" 

Or find a proper place to insert the phrase "All y'all". 

Last week I was able to completely indulge in all things Fixer Upper and took a trip with my eldest sister to see Magnolia Marketplace  in Waco.

(Or, as I liked to say, WWWWWAAAAACCCCCOOOOOOO)

And, as any self respecting artist would do, I threw a bunch of stuff into a bag to journal along the way.

Here are my basics:

Yup.

That was it.

Pretty good for packing the night before we left. 

My handy-dandy pouch that my friend, Wendy taught me to sew.

My trusty white eraser and mechanical pencil for my other addiction-

lettering.

My all time favorite Fudenosuke Brush Pen, Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen in XS, and a Sharpie.

I wanted to bring my Aqua Markers, but have found that with change in altitude, they tend to gush when you take the lids off. It's bad enough to have that happen in a car, I can't imagine on a packed flight.

My handy-dandy set of Staedtler Micron Pens.

A couple of stamps and an ink pad.

Here's the fun part-

My sister has a new toy.

It's a Polaroid Zip.

You guys.

(Y'all)

So. Much. Fun.

Each night, we printed out photos from our day that we had taken with our IPhones.

The Polaroid Zip has an App you download onto your phone, you load the paper into the Zip and print from your phone. No ink required!!

The best part?

The photos are sticky-backed. 

Is that a term? 

Now, here's the deal.

I brought all the cool stuff to journal with, along with a Moleskin notebook.

Did I use it?

Nope.

Not once.

I was pretty wiped out at the end of each day-it was a whirlwind trip over three days!

When I got home, I gathered all my cute stuff I saved and the photos, unpacked my little art journal bag and have been having fun ever since.

I made a quick journal with a couple of signatures from water color paper instead of the Moleskin.

I decided it would work better with the photo paper and I can add more pages over the summer and make it more of a summer journal. Plus, the heavier paper hides the marker better than Moleskin paper.

I took some torn up canvas from an old painting and added some lettering and stenciling to the front.

 I'm piecing together our trip and adding notes and things I remember.

It's pretty fun to relive the trip like this.

Yes. The Market/Silos/Grounds are beautiful, there were tons of people, it is mass marketed items for the most part, but the displays are stunning (lots of items that Joanna uses in their homes) and the staff is unbelievably friendly and the grounds are a treat to hang out in. In fact, I would say that was my favorite part. I wanted to go back just to sit on a picnic bench, eat more from a food truck and talk to friendly strangers. 

Have you been to Waco? 

Do you watch Fixer Upper?

I bet some of you do....

I read that Magnolia Market gets upwards of 25,000 visitors PER WEEK.

It was pretty cool to be a part of this phenomenon and to see all the amazing things that the Chip and Joanna Gaines are doing for their city.

We packed it in- Austin, all the antique stores in Waco, Common Grounds, Harp Design,  Magnolia Market, driving the neighborhoods, thunderstorms and humidity. 

Worth every minute.

Happy Friday, Y'all.

linking to Paint Party Friday

I've Got Your Back

Tis the season....

Baby Showers

Bridal Showers

Graduations

What to do, what to do???

You could get a gift card.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

-OR-

You could order this print off 

my ETSY shop 

and give a graduate a unique gift to grace their new dorm room.

Hmmmm....

What about a special Bride to be?

Do you know a hymn that will be in her wedding?

This would be a special way to remember the day.

Well, not this specific hymn, but if you go over to my ETSY shop, you can customize your order and I'll search high and low for the hymn you need.

I don't know about you, but it's baby shower season around our little corner of the world.

Why, yes!!!

I have the perfect gift to give- as is, or as a little something extra.

It's matted in 8x10, all set for a frame.

Where?

In my ETSY....

(listings are being added daily)

Stop by and browse-

you will be glad you did!!!!

Linking to 

Paint Party Friday

A Time Lapse Peak Into Getting Ready For An Art Show

This week let's take a peek into getting ready for an art show.

Not that anyone should do it this way, but but this is how it goes for my crazy life right now.

Day 1: Demolish a home with 18 amazing friends and family members.

Day 2: Toss your calendar schedule, and dive into the mess. Embrace it really good, cause you will be here for a while. While embracing, free up one arm to throw everything else into a pile to be done at the bookends of the day. Mat the prints at night, run to the printer's during karate, tell yourself you will get to Michael's for the two mats you don't have before Saturday. If not, oh well. Have fun checking off your list when you conquer Michael's.

Key word: embrace.

Here's the time lapse I tried today. No. I do not have professional equipment and my tripod was balancing my phone between a jar of gel medium and a jar of mod podge.

Remember-I'm Embracing The Mess.

(EMT)

This is the rough finish:

Day 3: Pick up your order for frames and realize they are all the wrong size.

Day 4: Put plan EMT (embrace the mess) into action and create anyway. Open the order of prints and wonder if they will fit the frames you finally found. (As of writing this post, they don't. Of course.) Think about it later and start calling yourself Scarlett. 

Now order new prints and pick them up tomorrow and save the other prints for the second show.

Add purchase new frames to your list for the next show. 

Day 5: I won't try and figure out why the same weekend of the show my husband is on call, I have a baby shower and a wedding to attend and I get a text from Brenna's teacher saying Brenna wants to participate in the 5k run on Sunday for which the permission slip has to be turned in NOW. Oh, by the way, she has to be there by 6:30 am. By now, my arms are permanently wrapped around me from embracing so much that I might as well have on a straight jacket. 

I tell the teacher to have Brenna call me cause I will take the fall for the big N-O that is coming her way.

Day 6: (or thereabouts) As well as embracing messes, I begin to embrace giving thanks, having fun, breathing and going to bed to fall asleep HARD.  I'll check back after the weekend.

Give yourself a hug.

Linking to Paint Party Friday

Short and Sweet

I've been (miraculously) keeping up with the 30 Days Of Bible Lettering challenge, 

getting ready for the Redlands Downtown Artwalk on April 24, where the lovely J.D. Meyers is sponsoring me. I will be in this store from 12:00-3:00!

my grand dog was not happy with me not paying attention to her.....

Last but not least this week, getting ready for 

#demoday !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sure our neighbors love this view.

It's been 16- sixteen months getting to this day.

It's gonna be epic.

It starts tomorrow, so I have to run. 

Gotta go take out some cabinets and put the sledge hammer I got for Christmas to good use.

playing along with 

Paint Party Friday

Meet The 3 Pens That Changed My Life.

O.K., so maybe I'm a little dramatic.

All though, in all fairness, these pens have made a HUGE impact on my life.

Say hello to (from top to bottom) the

Fudenosuke Brush Pen, hard tip, from Tombowusa.

My arch nemesis, the Dual Brush Pen in black and the fabulous find from Amazon, the Posca Paint Pen- which I found quite by accident.

All I do thanks to these three is think about lettering and I have joined a 30 day challenge over at 30daysofbiblelettering.com 

I won't lie-it's knocking me out of my tidy boundaries.

 I'm looking up all kinds of fonts, and I have yet another great reason to peruse Pinterest. 

I look at the other's and try my hardest to not think, "Oh. Well, then. Mine looks like a kindergartener did it." Instead, I tell my brain, "Maybe so, but that just means you have so many fun things to learn!"

I'm also seeing that I need waaaay more light in my art room and using bifocals compared to progressive lenses helps as well. Nothing that any self-respecting kindergartener would have to deal with, that's for sure. 

It all began with my new friend, Posca. The paint flows well, it dries quickly, you can color on top of another color and this means they all live on top of my desk. The only thing I have to watch is if I use them on any sort of a rough surface, the nib rubs off a bit. But they have stood the test. I used them on stained wood for a wedding project last week and they came through like a champ.

Next came the Dual Brush Pen. This one threw me for a loop. 

I wobble all over with this pen. I can't get the upswing to be thinner than the downstroke. It's a mystery to me. I have actually found it easier with a brush I found in Chinatown in San Fransisco!

I found I had more control with this, and I can't wait to find a better brush and more intense paints. Maybe I'll water down acrylics and see how they do. 

Then I found the golden girls of the brush pens.

Next to the Dual Brush Pen, the Fudoneske sisters pack a wallop when it comes to control.

See those little bitty tips?

Lotta control and you have to push on the downstroke. 

It's difficult to tell, but the one on the far left is the hard tip, the in the middle is the soft tip.

Here's another example:

Hard tip, Soft tip and Brush tip.

 Hard tip:

It flows fast and writes hard. You really have to make an effort on the downstroke.

Soft tip:

This has a juicy flow and the downstroke just needs a hint of pressure. 

There you have it.

It's far from perfect, but I hope I've encouraged you to give one or more of these a try. It's a great meditative process and just fun.

Thanks for joining me on this little road of discovery!

joining in on the fun at 

Paint Party Friday