Inside My Journal...

I have been doodling a lot in my journal this summer so I thought I would share with you what's inside... 

I have seen some really beautiful journal pages in magazines and books lately.  I love them but my journal is pretty much doodles and colored markers... 

I love the idea of a journal filled with mixed media pages but that's just not for me right now.  Most of my doodling comes in very small increments of time; like ten minutes here or six or seven minutes there... 

 During the summer months when the girls are not in school and there's lots of activities going on I just don't have large blocks of time (even an hour is considered a large block of time!).  So I keep the creative juices flowing by constantly doodling and coloring...

This is very portable too - I can shove this in my purse with three or four markers and a fine point black Sharpie and I'm good to go!   

It's starting to rub off on the girls too, the last time we went to the park, Fiona grabbed her journal and two colored pencils.  What is your grab and go method of creativity?

Putting Myself Out There...

Talk about a sign from above, the day before Thanksgiving my husband showed me an article in our local paper (The Norwalk Reflector) about an art gallery/retail shop opening up just off Main Street...

Gabby Road Studios is an eclectic little shop that promotes and sells hand crafted items made by local artists.  Here is the link to their website http://www.gabbyroadstudio.com/index.html

So on Thanksgiving Day I took the plunge and emailed the owners about my interest in selling some of my picture frames.  

The owners responded right away and within a few days I had some picture frames for sale in the shop.  Gabby Road Studios has been wonderful to work with and they graciously allowed me to photograph their wonderful space.

I believe this is a sign from God that this is what I was meant to do.  Friends and family (blogger friends included!) have been telling me for a couple of years to put myself out there and take a chance.   Gabby Road Studios was the Lord's way of saying "here I am now doing everything but selling it for you  take the chance!"  On that note I will say this - for all of you out there thinking about doing what you love - take the chance!  I hope everyone has a Blessed week:)

Trying to live in the moment...

Life here in northern Ohio continues to be very busy.  I always feel, around this time of year, like I'm on a wheel.  As the end of the year draws closer, that wheel just seems to go faster and faster.  Time is such an elusive thing!

I've been quite busy with the girls and school and all the extras - like ballet and Girl Scouts.  Kudos to those moms who have several kids all in different activities at the same time!  So far I only have one night a week where I truly feel like a limo driver.  I am continuing to work on my picture frames, my deadline date is fast approaching.  My attitude is "whatever I get finished, is what I am going with". No sense in getting myself stressed out, 

I want to enjoy this first experience.

I have been very conscience lately of trying to slow down and enjoy just being in the moment.  Like watching the fall leaves change colors - it only happens once a year!  The tree in our backyard turns a brilliant shade of yellow...

Before we know it the holidays will be upon us and another year will have gone by.  As the girls are starting to grow up I am realizing that I don't want to miss any part of it. Making sure that I'm actually engaged in the moment is the only way I can think of to not miss something.  What sort of things do you do to "be in the moment"?

Committing to an Art/Craft Show...

Well I have finally made a commitment.  A friend of mine asked if I would sell my picture frames at a craft show/fundraiser that her daughter's school is hosting.  I took the plunge and signed a vendor agreement form.  Now I just have to start making lots of frames by November 19th...  

I have three frames completed - looks like I have my work cut out for me!  I am still not as familiar with copyright laws as I would like to be, so for this show I am sticking to biblical quotes and my own verses. (Not sure but would quoting someone like Henry David Thoreau violate copyright law?)

It is very wet and rainy here in Ohio this week, so it's a good time for me to just kind of hibernate at home and start creating.  I just have to remember to keep a balance and I'll be okay.  How do all of you creative types keep balance in your lives?

A Girly Day Making Artist Trading Cards

On Saturday the girls had a few friends over to play. Five little girls running around my house for three hours, what was I going to do with them...

I decided to put together some kits for the girls to make Artist Trading Cards. Thank goodness for my overstuffed craft room! I had all the supplies needed and even had the little totes left over from a birthday party.

Thanks to Strathmore ATC card packs too! Artist Trading Cards were first introduced by an artist named M. Vanci Stirnemann, a Swiss artist in 1997. He created 1200 cards as part of an exhibit. On the last day of the exhibit he invited others to create their own cards and trade with him during the closing reception. After that - an art movement was born.

The girls had a lot of fun creating their cards and were excited to trade with each other. I always find children's art so inspiring - they have no hesitations! Have a Blessed week:)

Enjoying the last week of summer.

The girls and I visited the Ohio Outdoor Quilt Festival last weekend. What a beautiful experience! The event is held every year at Bonnie Brae Farms in Wellington, Ohio. They are a registered Elk farm. Hundreds of quilts are displayed outdoors on the sides of the farm's outbuildings. I will have more pictures to post on Friday. In the mean time, I thought I would give you a sneak peek at some of the frames I am making for my friend...

Lots of layering, painting, inking and stamping...

And even a little bit of water color pencil...

Lots of texturing, and stenciling...

And even some homemade paper hearts! I hope everyone enjoys this last week of summer:) At least it's the last week of summer here in northeast Ohio - most of the schools in this area start next week. Enjoy.

Experimenting with color...

I have a Facebook friend who has asked me to create several collaged picture frames for her. One of the frames I am making is for a 40 year old man. This has caused me to think outside of my box when it comes to color; my muses are five and seven year old girls! I have completed the frame (I will show pictures of all those frames after I have given them to my friend) but I realized that I really enjoyed working outside my normal color schemes...

I created a frame that used some of my go to colors (pinks and purples) but also experimented with colors that I don't normally use...

I consulted my color wheel a bit and then just started to experiment. Here is what I came up with.

What was so wonderful about making this piece was that once I started - I was too excited to stop. I completed this in about two days! The quote helped as well - it just speaks to me. What sparks your muse?

Photographic Friday...

The past few weeks here in Ohio have been nothing but hot and humid. We had a break yesterday with a high of only 82 (still humid but at least it wasn't 90). The girls and I took the opportunity to go to the park...

Black-eyed Susan's are one of my favorite flowers, I just love their vibrant yellow/orange color.

The girls both enjoyed the day too. It's been so hot and humid - they haven't been outside much. Unless it has been to go swimming or to play in the sprinkler, they haven't wanted to be out the last couple of weeks.

We are almost ready for school to start here; the girls wish summer would never end, I on the other hand am looking forward to the start of a more structured routine again! Blessings:)

Some watercolor playing...

I put together this little journal before we left for the farm in early July. It's just a simple construction of whater color pages, (cut pages were 6" wide by 12" long, put together the book measures about 6" by 6") sewn together with some embroidery floss. I wanted something small and portable that I could work on at the farm.

I am still working on my drawing skills - but this is my rendition of the farm house. I did not draw the back addition, I couldn't see it from where I was sitting when I was drawing anyway. The front porch and columns are field stone. (I have yet to figure out how to paint depth.)

My favorite summer flowers are cornflowers and black eyed susans. I love there vibrancy and I find them very easy to draw and paint!

Both Fiona and Alexa were painting when I painted this. This explains the purple bow (Alexa's favorite color) and the light pink background (Fiona's favorite color). I'm still trying my hand at drawing outside of my comfort zone (anything besides flowers!). So tonight I am going to raid my neighbor's front lawn; they have a bunch of huge white mushrooms growing in there lawn -picture perfect mushrooms. They aren't real happy about them but I think they make interesting still lifes for me to practice drawing! Have a Blessed week:)

Staying very busy...

It seems like the month of July has literally flown by. Please forgive my late blog posts - there just has not been enough time in the day this month to keep up with everything...

I have several projects on the table; this embroidered photo is finally complete and I have just about completed the collaged background for it.

I start my collages with a base coat of acrylic paint and usually some old book pages.

Then I move on to adding lots of layers; wrapping paper, ledger paper, tissue paper, sometimes even my girl's school works gets added in.

Once the collaged papers are all dry I start layering with paint and ink; a little paint, some stenciling, stamping, or both, then usually some distressing and inking. My process is not exact and it varies depending on things like size, subject matter, and color. Once this layer dries I will add the embroidered photo and any other embelishments I find. I'll post the completed project on Friday. In the mean time I really hope everyone is staying cool and hydrated during these nasty heat waves. Blessings:)

Photographic Friday...

Andrew and I took the girls up to Sheldon's Marsh last week. The marshland ends at Lake Erie so the wildlife is pretty abundant. This white crane was trying to catch a fish...

This gaggle of geese was having a nice early afternoon stroll. Guess we weren't the only family enjoying the afternoon together!...

This picture of Fiona, Alexa, and my niece Giada was not taken at Sheldon Marsh but I liked it just the same. Getting pictures of the kids "being kids" is something that I really love. I hope everyone has a great weekend - I hope to get some serious creating done before Monday.

Happy Fourth of July!

I hope everyone has a save and happy Fourth of July! Summer-time business has gotten a little out of control the last couple of weeks around here but things are starting to calm down. I will be back to posting more projects and Photographic Friday this week. Blessings:)