Mid Week Check In....

Thank you all so, SO much for the birthday wishes for Brenna. We all had a blast celebrating her this weekend. The big sister came down with her room mate for the event, and we made a weekend out of it. I loved every minute.

My desk is still a mess, which I am taking as a good sign. Otherwise, it would be clean and that means no fun is being created. All though, it has been very slow for me art-wise.

I would, however, love to introduce you to our new video that showcases the heART Coaching Class that I am doing with my friend, Sue.

Drum roll, please........

Here is our new video, courtesy of the highly talented Andrew Norbeck, for our heART Coaching Class.

It's a doozy and we are so proud of it!!!

Take a minute to watch:

heART Coaching

We are officially on Face Book...click HERE to like us and leave a comment! We will have different journal prompts to work on and various art journaling ideas. 

Man, I wish I could travel to each one of you and do classes in your area. What a blast we would have.

We could do fun stuff like this together:

 Until that dream happens, we are hosting them here, actually at my house. Come join us, or spread the word!

Friday Ramblings

Today, I'd like to invite you to celebrate with me.

It's someone's birthday around here....

Not mine.

Nope.

Someone very, very special.

NO. NOT THE DOG.

It's this cutie-pie's 19th birthday:

Yep. Miss Brenna will officially be 19 as of Sunday.

August 11....what a day in the history of my/our life.

It rocked my world. Turned me upside down. Left me hanging in doubt and fear, angry as all get out with God. Not just angry, but hurt and feeling utterly alone and abandoned.

What a fool I was.

I weep as I write this, looking at her face. I am astounded at the depth of life I have experienced since she came into our world.

I wasn't abandoned. I was wrapped up in loving-kindness that day. I just couldn't see it. Thank God my eyes have been opened every single day since then. 

Every day, whether they are hard or fabulous.

I won't lie-it's been a helluva road for our family.

This particular road has knitted us together in ways we never would imagined. This road has caused us to trust. To laugh. To see joy that not everyone sees. 

There have been stops for weeping, for crying out in prayer, for huge frustrations, counseling, banging our heads against the wall, and begging for understanding.

I liken these to rest stops. 

Ultimately, rest stops are necessary. 

Especially if you need to stop and change a tire.

 Or a life perspective.

Afterwards, it's easier to continue traveling down the road.

I begin to enjoy the ride and realize the beauty that's going by my window:

Unconditional love.

Simplicity.

JOY.

Stretching myself for the good.

Seeing others how they really are.

Acceptance.

Taking time to treasure these moments is something I want to work on all of my life.

To work on giving thanks.

 Every day.

It's not something to be taken lightly, the lessons my daughter (oh, the joy I take in saying this...my daughter!) has taught me. No, huh-uh. I am humbled at the thought of learning from her.

I hope I do her justice.

Happy Birthday, sweetest girl.

Thank you for giving us all an amazing reason to celebrate life.

On My Desk. Which is a mess.

Ah, yes. 

My desk.

My messy, messy, wonderful desk.

Here is my take on the Versa-Tool and cutting my own stencils.

This baby heats up really, really fast. It also has a temperature regulator which is also good, as it gets just a little bit hot where you hold it.

The temperature regulator, however makes the whole thing top heavy and it falls off it's little stand, so taping it down is necessary.

It also comes with lots of cool tips. 

One other recommendation. Don't use any of this to carve a stamp out of a rubber eraser. Not really a good idea.

My friend, Lori, recommended I use a sheet of glass under the Quilter's Template Plastic-genius!

I had an old frame and I used the glass from that.

You build it like a sandwich:

I also used a piece of wood on top of my table, as I didn't want to burn through anything. Just in case.

So:

Wood, on top of the wood, your design.

On top of your design, the piece of glass.

On top of the glass, the Quilter's Plastic.

You are ready to create. 

Easy Peasy.

I used one of Brenna's sheets that she colors.

I love the repetitive patterns.

Using this, I realized that really fine lines are hard to do. Not impossible, but you really need to be able to settle down and just let everything go out of your mind to concentrate.

You also need to not be tired, because your eyes will fall out of your head after ten minutes.

Just saying.

The most important part I learned (besides not using it to carve rubber erasers), is that slooooooow and steady is key. Otherwise, your tool will skitter across the plastic and not cut in. I found this tool helpful in the area of getting myself to focus. I wonder if they also market it as a yoga tool or something?

I played around with different shapes, finding that the wider the shape, the better it will take spray.

Otherwise, paint on a dry paint brush works well.

You can see that it's not the cleanest line, the plastic tends to melt and ball up. I'm not sure how to get rid of this, but it didn't seem to interfere with the paint process.

Any tips on this?

 The chevron pattern I cut out with an exact-o knife, the anchor was done with the Versa-tool.

I also can use the cut out piece of anchor...kind of a plus!

Here's a page I did with the arrows, I used paint for this- the spray didn't quite work as the lines were a little too thin. (see photo above.)

I will definitely be trying more shapes and styles!

How about you? Have you tried the Versa-tool?

Friday Ramblings

 Dana Point, California.

I know I have said this before, but I'll say it again.

I love the beach.

Something happens to me when I'm there.

I transform into this person who thinks she can conquer the world.

That happens at home, but less frequently and mostly when I have had a little caffeine.

Really, though, I want to find some of that at home.

Probably, part of it is being away from home and all the responsibilities.

Being at the beach means my biggest question of the day is do I go barefoot or throw on a pair of flip-flops?

My mind is opened to possibilities.

It also helps that I don't have sinus headaches when I'm at the beach.

I know life is different when you are on vacation....

we had a tremendous amount of fun at our first ever family reunion.

We did good.

How can it go wrong when you have seven other friends around to play with all day?

And snuggle with?

this one might be blurry, but it's one of my favorites. this kinda love was evident all week.

nothing says love like birthday kisses.

Every night at sunset, no matter what we were doing, everyone would be shoo-ed outside to marvel at the light. Photos were taken, games were played, skim boards brought out. It was like a whole different day for an hour or so.

Plus, afterward, we knew it was game time! Literally, every night it was Taboo, Spoons, B.S., Uno, or Apples to Apples until midnight. 

By the way, I rock at Spoons. Just say'in.

So.

My question to myself is:

How do you incorporate some of the magic found on vacation into everyday life?

Being present in whatever moment I am in is a good start.

Taking TIME to ponder,

to laugh and enjoy family is always a plus.

I know on vacation, there is endless amounts of time to do these kinds of things, so it's easier to free my mind and think fabulous "what-ifs" and feel like I can do anything!

 When I get home, well, not so much.

Laundry needs to be done, I don't share making dinner with two other families, I wake up to a dog that has barfed on my blanket, school looms in the horizon, dr. appointments are scheduled, my daughter is back in San Diego and my husband is back to work.

I'm always telling myself I "should" be getting more done, and

that darned computer, Iphone or Ipad is always plugged in....

Still.

I have coffee in the morning.

I have family.

I have TIME.

I can turn on the hose if I'm that desperate to be around water, or soak in the tub or jump in the pool.

I can walk.

I can ponder.

Take the "shoulds" and toss them out into the trash.

I can remind myself that each day, there is something to be found and cherished, to be explored and amazed by, to reach out to a hand of someone I love.

I can turn off the computer and really, really listen to what's going on in my heart and my head and around my home.

I can  get lost in my artwork, run outside at sunset, invite friends over to play spoons and remind myself that this life right here, right now is good.

Really, really good.

A little bit of vacation, every day, right where I am.

And if all else fails, 

I can always find my way back to the ocean.

On My Desk

I apologize for being MIA last week. We were on vacation and I had every intention of posting on Friday, but I was completely and utterly absorbed with our days...in a way I haven't been in a long, long time. More on that THIS Friday!

Today, I sat down to my desk and found ants. This is NOT, NOT, NOT my favorite way to begin the day. Just a few of them, but pesky none the less. Particularly when they dodge and hide in my computer keys. 

EEEEEWWWWWW.

Like usual, I have a pile on my desk that needs to be put away and a list for the upcoming months to prepare for art-wise.

 I'm still determined to learn some Photoshop and take the second half of the Make Art That Sells class. Summer days make it very hard for me to concentrate and I do a lot of procrastinating. The last thing I want to do this week is over tax my summer brain with learning Photoshop, so maybe next week.

Besides, I am so loving my summer mornings.

I begin with my coffee and summer fruit, sitting at the art table.

I read Jesus Calling, work a bit in my small art journal and sometime later, Brenna wanders downstairs and I get my daily dose of snuffling around her neck for the smell of freshly woken up child.

This week, the entry for July 29 in Jesus Calling struck a chord. It talked about Jesus being the Anchor of our soul.  Being adrift, needing an anchor, feeling grounded, solid, being confident all resonates in my heart with this entry.

I will be pondering the message of "living deeply" this week and see how it comes through in my art.

I especially love this verse from the Message version:

²⁸ And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we’ll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives.

Brenna watches some t.v., and I putter in the art room, gathering ideas and beginning projects. We have breakfast together and so begins the day.

I have experimented making my own stencils the last couple of months. It's tough to get smooth lines with a razor and I saw on Instagram that some folks use a Versa-Tool.

I'm going to give it a whirl after breakfast today, using Quilter's Template Plastic.

Has anyone else tried this?

I'll post the results next week!

Someone is asking for food, so I'll sign off for now.

Have a great day~

Friday Ramblings

Yesterday, I went to visit my friend, Paula. I noticed a sweet little nest in the alcove above her front door, complete with a little baby bird. He looked ready to be done with the nest and only had a couple of downy feathers left on his head.

My friend answered her door and I commented on how great the nest was right there, and she looked very sad and before she could say anything more, the bird began to flap and fly...

to no avail.

Over and over and over, he would struggle out of his nest, only to be held down by something that was used in the materials of the nest. My friend, Paula, said she had watched this for three or four days. Now, Paula, being Paula, would have been up in that alcove in a hot second to help that little bird. Her heart is the tenderest I have seen toward animals. But Paula has been stuck herself. She is battling back problems and I have watched her over and over to try and break free herself. Her husband wasn't due home until late that night, but Paula had a plan and was I interested in helping?

Well.

You may or may not remember, but I'm fairly ummmm...well versed in bird catching/saving, as told in tthis post.

The plan was to get a ladder, gloves, scissors, broom and towel. I would climb up the ladder and knock down the nest into the towel that Paula was holding.

First off, let me tell you that birds are very industrious. How in the heck they make that nest stick the way they did is beyond me! I ended up poking and poking...and while blowing dirt off our faces, down it came-right past the towel and onto the sidewalk.

oops.

No fear....our new little friend was as sturdy as his nest. Paula held him and talked to him while I figured out where to cut the string that was holding him to his home. 

Yes, I did panic for just a split second that I would cut in the wrong place, but at the first snip, he was free and flapped away onto the ground to hide in the bushes.

As you can imagine, his little heart was beating hard and he didn't move a whole lot. I would imagine he was pretty tired after his ordeal. Paula brought a little container of water and seed and set it by him.

So, here is what I'm thinking little bird taught me:

Sometimes we can flap and strain and flap and strain, but in the end we need help from someone else.

We so need each other. We need to be independent, but we NEED each other.

Some days, we can flap and strain all we want, but it just needs to be a day where we are quiet and patient. That day can turn into many, many long days for some people. Don't forget them. Check on them. Love on them.

When you are not stuck...be thankful! It doesn't have to be for anything big. Maybe a sunset, a good book, a quiet hour, but being thankful is an amazing attribute to develop.

 (FYI-being sleep deprived makes it much, much harder to develop this. I'm just saying...)

Funny how in my journal page the last two days, I came up with these pages. Time, flight and being brave are a running theme these days for me. I'm glad I have people to share it with.

A line in the new song by Sara Bareilles called Brave. So good.

When I left later that morning, little bird was gone. He found his strength and stretched his wings.

Can you imagine how good it felt to be free?!!