Cute little Cheeky Monkeys...

A couple of weeks ago the girls and I went to the Yankee Peddler Festival in Canal Fulton. My cousins were in town from Buffalo, NY and were meeting us there. My family has been going to Yankee Peddler for years and I wanted the girls to experience it as well. While I was a little disappointed at what appeared to be a decrease in vendors, we did find Carol Beuhner's place "Rose Creek Cottage" and her adorable "Cheeky Monkeys". . .

For this I was SO GRATEFUL as I had promised the girls that they could get something while we were there. Most of the vendors had beautiful things but not a lot that a couple of little girls could play with and really love. We were almost getting ready to leave for the day when Fiona spotted this monkey. Are they not just precious? Fiona picked out the pink one and Alexa the purple one. I am not that good at html but Carol does have a blog if you look at my "places I like to visit" scroll down to Rose Creek Cottage and click on the link. She is the creator of Ragamuffin dolls and also makes beautiful jewelry perfect for preteen girls. Have a great week!

We survived the first week back to school...

Yes we survived the first week of school! Fiona is officially a first grader and Alexa is officially a four year old pre-schooler. I'm always amazed at how fast time seems to go by. Sometimes I think that it's just no possible that I am the mother of an elementary school student! I hope everyone else out there who has young (or older) kids starting school has a wonderful start to the new school year!

A Fairy Collage...

"We might live with the Angels

that visit us on every sunbeam,

and sit with the fairies

who wait on every flower"

Samuel Smiles

I was finally able to take some time this week and finish the fairy collage. I used an 8 x 10 stretched canvas board, painted, stamped, and glued lots of layers. I used all things that I already had around the house; tissue paper, old sheet music, an old sewing pattern, and other pieces of left over ephemera. The paper flowers were from a wedding invitation that we attended last spring, the butterfly is actually part of a hair clip of Alexa's that had broken. It's definitely nice to know I did not end up spending any extra money...

I really wanted it to look whimsical and light hearted. The girls had so much fun the day this picture was taken that I wanted the collage to reflect that. They are only little once, and I wanted to create something that will remind me of the absolute joy they have had this summer with all of this fairy magic! I hope everyone enjoys the last little bit of summer.

I'm trying some complimentary colors...

In the color class that I am taking we are now learning about complimentary colors. These are colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. I normally don't use complimentary colors, at least I didn't think I did...
If you look closely at these orange flowers, you will notice that the muslin they are embroidered on is painted teal/turquoise blue. Blue is the complimentary color of orange. When I selected the color orange for the flowers, I wasn't even aware at the time that I was selecting complimentary colors, I just liked the way they looked together. I guess I know a little bit more about color theory than I thought! (At least subconsciously.)

A Hot Air Balloon Festival and an Online Class...

We got to see hot air balloons up close and personal last weekend...

What is it about a big blue sky and a brilliantly colored hot air balloon that is so amazing to look at?

We had absolutely perfect weather last weekend to watch the hot air balloons that were taking of from the campground where my parents' camper is permanently parked. It was a little warm but the sky was clear, and blue, and the balloons were incredible! This was the closest I had ever been to them- they are MASSIVE when you are this close...

The people who were setting up, and filling the balloons with hot air really had to work hard! When the burners went off to fill the balloon, three or four people had to hold the basket down so it wouldn't float away (although the balloons themselves were tethered to the ground until take off). The girls had a blast - I was thankful though that neither of them wanted to go for a ride! They had fun just watching all of the excitement from the ground...

Speaking of excitement, I have decided to take an online class from Alisa Burke on color. The class is called "Color Your World", you can sign up at http://alisaburke.blogspot.com/ . I also bought a Moleskine journal a couple of weeks back. I have always kept a written journal, but lately have been trying out a little bit of art journaling. It's a bit odd for me, I have all of these ideas in my head all day long at work, yet when I get home and open up that journal, I just stair at the blank pages. I plan on using the journal for my color class - this way, I will have some assignments and some inspiration to get me started! I have always created things for as long as I can remember, but I have always made "things": gifts for people, something that is useful, or has a purpose. It has only been within the last year, that I have really thought about creating just for the sole purpose of creation and expression. Sometimes (and I know this is just mommy-guilt) I feel like if I am creating just to play and create, I should be doing something more constructive. I know this is a ridiculous thought so I'm hoping this class and the art journal will help me break that destructive thought process! Have a wonderful week!

Catching Up on Some Embroidery...

One thing that I consistently hear again and again when it comes to creating every day is to break projects down into smaller projects. That is what I did over the Fourth of July weekend. We had a busy weekend of activities, so I made a conscious effort to make sure I squeezed in some creative time. I gathered up several "in progress" small embroidery projects and worked on them throughout the weekend...

This dragonfly is stitched on a Shout Color Catcher. For those of you unfamiliar with these, they look a lot like dryer sheets but you put them in the washing machine and they absorb any color from clothes like red shirts or new jeans. This one came out a great worn denim color - I had washed a load of blacks and jeans. Color Catchers also take food coloring beautifully. I finished this while sitting around the campsite last Saturday night.

This is some embroidery of a set of pears. They are embroidered on a painted dryer sheet than cut out and sewed to a piece of coffee stained muslin. I let the edges of the muslin fray and then stamped them with a little bit of color to complement the pears. I am in the process of making a paper cloth bag, the pears will eventually be attached to the bag...

This is a partially completed embroidered hydrangea, also on a painted dryer sheet. I have also added some beads for embellishments. I'm not completely sure what I'm going to do with it when it is complete. Over the winter, I had been experimenting with dying some quilt batting (there was a tutorial in the winter '10 issue, I believe, of Quilting Arts magazine, by Judy Coats Perez- easy and fun), and some muslin. l. I would like to try to do something using the hydrangea, the batting and the mulin, but I'm just not quite sure what, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I get a lot of my color inspiration from the art work my girls complete. Without even giving it a thought, they can paint something and the colors are just beautiful...

There is no real process to their creativity, they don't think about what colors would look best grouped together etc, they just create with pure abandonment...

Think of how wonderful and beautiful the whole world would be if we all colored like we were five again! I hope everyone has a wonderfully colorful week (and cool for those of us still feeling the affects of a major heat wave).

Summer Time and Fairies...

There is just something about little girls, summer time, and fairies...

A couple of weeks ago the girls and I went to Days of Yore Herb and Flower Farm in Wellington for their annual Fairy Festival...

There were lots of little Fairy homes to see, things to make, and stories to hear. There were also lots of flowers and herbs to smell, touch, and even taste. We also got to make our own Fairy Garden and enjoyed a tea party too...

The best part though was seeing my own Summer time Fairies looking like they were mysteriously up to something! Happy and Blessed Fourth of July!

A Collage to lift the spirit...

On Sunday evening, I was able to put the girls to bed a little early (they were very tired from a very busy weekend!). This meant that I had the time to finish this collage that I was making for my Aunt Georgia...

I'm putting it in the mail tomorrow, bound for East Aurora, New York. I want her to be able to smile and relax a little every time she looks at it. She is always the first person to volunteer to help someone, or do what she can to help those in need. Perhaps this is a small way that I can return her kindness. Have a wonderful and cool weekend. (We have had 90 degree temps and humidity here in Ohio!)

The start of some Cozies...

I have started to cut wool for six coffee cozies. I started needle felting the rust/orange colored wool this evening. Can't show you yet but I'm using the gray wool/alpaca blend in the picture. I wanted at least one to be a little more masculine, I love needle felting flowers but they are not exactly gender neutral!

Once I get a few of them needle felted I will be glad to post more pictures. My lighting was not the best this evening and this picture does not do the vibrancy of the colors justice, hopefully, I will have better lighting over the weekend. Have a Blessed week!

And the winner of the Coffee Cozy is...

First, thank you to everyone that left a comment and gave me some great tips on making more time for my art!

As you can see, this was done very scientifically. I feel a drum roll playing in my head right now...

Suzanne, "Painter of the Past" has won the Coffee Cozy! Suzanne is an outstanding painter, you can check out all of her work on her blog at www.peartreeprimitives.blogspot.com Congratulations Suzanne! I will be sending you an email as well. This was fun, I may have to do this again. As for my whispers, I have started to cut out patterns for several coffee cozies. Fiona's art teacher at school, is a wonderful artist and makes and sells art dolls at some of the local wineries (Northwest Ohio has a thriving winery industry) and she told me the thing that works best for her is to do everything in steps; work on one "step" a night. So, right now I am cutting out patterns. Have a wonderful week!

A Collage to Lift the Spirits...

My mother's cousin(I call her Aunt Georgia) had heart surgery about three months ago. As with most heart patients, since the surgery, even though it was successful, the road to recovery can be long and trying...

Aunt Georgia is not only a very independent woman, but also the primary caregiver for her husband who has Parkinson's Disease. She has been feeling very down lately, and I wanted to do something for her that would lift her spirits a bit. She is a devout Catholic and her faith is stronger than anyone I know. Whenever I have needed extra prayers for something, I have always given her a call and asked her to pray for me. I joke a lot of times that she has a personal phone line to God, but I actually believe it...

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?" Luke 12:25-26. I know this will make her feel a bit better. I'm finishing it up tonight, I will post the completed pictures before I send it to her. I'm also going to start a new piece of paper cloth tonight, I will post some of those pictures as well... Have a Blessed week!

A day at the Rose Garden...

My sister, Gretchen, lives in Lorain, right across the street from Lakeview Beach. I took the girls over there last weekend and we all walked over to the rose garden. It was a beautiful day, sunny, cool, just enough clouds for some occasional shade and about 1,500 roses...
Lakeview Beach has been around since the turn of the 20th century. About five years ago, Lorain County Metroparks took over the care of the beach and the park from the city of Lorain. They have done massive amounts of improvements, including, restoring this vintage rose garden...
The rose garden was originally built and planted in 1934 by a city garden club. During the 70's and 80's it of course fell into disrepair. With the help of a group of very dedicated volunteers, the Lorain County Metroparks started renovating and restoring it almost three years ago...
There are dozens and dozens of antique varieties of roses, including some that are quite rare. And it smells wonderful!! Newer varieties of roses don't have as much scent as the old ones. When the wind blows right, my sister says that sometimes she can smell the roses on her front steps...

It was an absolutely beautiful way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon in the summer. Have a wonderfully Blessed week!

A cozy to warm my coffee or yours...

I made a coffee cozy for myself about three years ago. I have made several more since than as gifts for friends and family. I started this one about a month ago for myself and I finally finished it this evening. It is made from hand dyed wool, both the felt and the roving. I use a coffee sleeve as a template and cut out the felted wool, I then needle felt and embroider the design.

Once the design is finished I sew a cotton backing to it and blanket stitch a border. They are fairly simple to make and are useful and sustainable. To quote Kelly Rae Roberts from her book "Taking Flight; Inspiration & Techniques to give your Creative Spirit Wings" I've been hearing gentle whispers lately. I have had several people tell me that I should be selling these in local independent coffee shops. There are three in my area within a 25 mile radius. My biggest hurdle is finding the time to make them. I would LOVE to hear how all of you creative, crazy busy, artsy women make the time to listen to your whispers. Post a comment and next Sunday, June 19th, I will randomly draw a winner and this coffee cozy will be yours.

A Day Out Junking Around...

Sometimes there is nothing that feeds the creative soul more than a day out looking for (to quote Tinker Bell) "lost things" and treasures...

My sister, Gretchen, and I went out early Saturday morning to do some "junking". We went to breakfast first at a well known truck stop in Monroeville called Vanson's. (Great breakfast!) Then we headed down Route 20 to the western end of Clyde where we found a rather large "Antique Mall". This place is wonderful -full of a little bit of everything. I found a bag of old collector's spoons for $6.00, not sure what I'm going to do with them yet, but I will think of something...

I also found some old childrens books that I could not pass up. They are so brightly colored and such a joy to look at. They would be wonderful to use for collage projects, although Iwill have to work my way up to it. I was always raised to really respect books and the printed word; as much as I love using old book pages and things like that in my creations I always start off feeling guilty - like I'm disrespecting the book. Even though I know I am re-creating something wonderful with it so that it can live on in another way and offer even more joy to those that see it...
Finally, I found this wonderful green/teal/sparkly fabric to be used as the backing fabric to my bookmark. It contrasts nicely with the purple/eggplant kind of color the papercloth turned out to look like. That's the beauty of papercloth - I might be trying for one type of look, and get something totally different -but all good! When I made this papercloth I was actually trying to get a worn leathered look, but I ended up getting a worn eggplant kind of look. The latter actually ended up going really well with the dried hydrangea flowers I used. Sometimes a change in plans works out for the best! I hope everyone has a Blessed week a head of them.

A bookmark in progress...

Honoring my Aunt Judy, I am trying really, really hard to be creative every day and to do what I love to do - create beauty. This is the current bookmark that I am working on for my bookmark challenge; to create one new bookmark every week. These are simple to make, and will force me to create a little bit out of my comfort zone as I have only about a 2 inch by 6 inch canvas to work with!

I am making my bookmarks out of paper cloth, so this is also allowing me the opportunity to create a new sheet of paper cloth every week as well. I am one day behind on that because of being up at the farm in Michigan this weekend. I will post pictures of the completed bookmark and the new piece of paper cloth on Friday.

I have done a lot of soul searching the last month and a half. The last several years have been all good, but a good many dreams and aspirations that I seek, have really been put on hold the last several years. I'm quite positive I am not the only mother to experience this, we do it all the time. I don't want to look back and be bitter and resentful because I never got to do what I dreamed of. The truth is, there is no reason I can't do what I dream of, it is just a matter of sometimes putting myself first. On that note, I wish everyone a Blessed, dream filled week!

A papercloth bookmark challenge for myself...

I have been experimenting with a lot of paper cloth making lately. I find it to be an easy way to "play and experiment". I have made several bookmarks from this paper cloth. They are easy, quick, and allow me to create something useful that will add beauty to someone's life. Since they are simple, I am challenging myself to creating one a week for the next year. There, I did it, I finally published the challenge to myself that I have been thinking about for the last two months! Now I am committed...

My Aunt's death was hard, it forced me to really look at what is important to me right now in my life: My family, my health, and my passion to create beauty. I haven't figured out the whole balancing act yet, I may never quite figure it out, but I'm sure going to try. This challenge is one way for me to start truly creating every day. I feel better about myself, my family, and my life when I create and I know My Aunt Judy is smiling down on me...

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?" Luke 12: 25-26.