thought for the day

I was helping My little Kaiella get ready for school earlier this week, lucky for me she is the one who still lets me pick her clothes which makes mornings go much smoother, and as I am guiding her little legs into the cutest pair of distressed skinny jeans she gives a big BIG sigh and says "Awww MAMA, you KNOW I hate skinny pants...they squeeze my legs!" Well, truth is she hadn't really told me that before so, surprised, I said "oh?" and she goes on to tell me "I don't care if my friends like them and my sisters like them, these are NOT their legs (pointing down to her little leggies),these are MY legs!!!" I burst out laughing and of course had to agree with her that these sweet little pudgy legs are indeed are all hers. We went off to find a pretty skirt and I got to thinking "wow, I wish we could all be a little bit more like Kaiella.

To just choose the path and make the choices that are best for our life no matter what the world is telling us we SHOULD be doing. I truly wish there were more of us who could pray about it,think about it, and make the BEST choice simply on what is right for our own life and our family...regardless of all of the expectations and "should dos" that come down on us.
Just my thought for today.
Thanks little Bella!

side note: photos are from a fun field trip I got to tag along on last spring. The rare photos like this one of her and I together are a total treasure to me.

The time has come...

There is far too much that comes along and threatens to steal away with all of my inspiration and mind/heart space. You feel me? Wether it be laundry or "stuff", or just time that gets eaten away all too quickly by this and that... I often find myself chasing the day and left with no space for the call of my heart, no space to hear it and no space to answer.

What I need is to simply clear it all away sometimes, set aside days or even just hours where I either remove myself all together or put on blinders to it all simply so that I can answer the beautiful callings of my heart, of my spirit. This time will not simply come knocking at your door and invite itself in, the space is yours for the taking but you MUST MUST claim it and then dive! This is what I am learning slowly but surely, And so that is thre story behind this little piece from this post

Prints are in and available in my shop, if you too need a reminder to simply sweep it all aside for a time and clear yourself some beautiful space for inspiration!

Workin' On it Wednesday

I am totally inspired by the responses I got from last weeks' "WOW", thank-you. Time for round 2 and this week and I am happy to say one of the things I am cooking up is a monthly newsletter since the vote was a resounding "YES". Thanks for that too! I'm excited to see how that unfolds as I gather content and learn how to put it all together. Me and my peeps are all miserably sick around here this week, and so what I am really working on right this moment is sleeping like crazy and getting us all better. Luckily though, I am also still in the midst of making these two new little art pieces that I started in my hotel room on the way home from San Francisco last week. It is amazing how much can spill from a heart overflowing after some time away with amazing ladies.

 WOW#2

This first piece is about how very much we have to offer everyone else when we first remember to take the time to nurture ourselves and our own spirit. It's a whole hubbub of stuff all dancing together; watercolor, pencil crayon, pastels, japanese patterned tape and acrylics, hand stitching... and all in a little plain page notebook that lives in my purse for these moments of burning inspiration that can't be denied

I had a blast playing with these Japanese acrylic paints that I got from the dollar store in San Fran's Japan Town...sigh, that store (Daiso) was a whole lotta fantastic! These ones are pearly and shimmery and not quite as thick and creamy as the ones I would buy at home. Just different and different keeps my attention and makes things extra fun!

This next piece below is taking shape on the same little purse notebook, for now, I will build it a nice home to stitch it onto soon. That one is just wonderful watercolors and a ton of pencil crayon, cuz I have missed both of them over the summer and am still warming up my hands and my heart to get back in the swing of things now that the girls are in school all day. This one is inspired by my own need to clear away the distractions when my heart is calling and be sure that I have space to let it pour out.

Possibly the simplest, yet most exciting to me; I am spending my next couple of evenings "arting" up my next round of shipping envelopes so I can march on down to the post office, with my  wee little puppy in tow, and send out a bunch of happy art prints. Mail is exciting to get and I figure if it has a little bit of extra love all over it then it is even MORE happy! I have been feeling like I am sending Christmas presents every time I send them off, and that makes me really happy! Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you to all of you who have supported me in this little Art sales adventure. It has been a long time coming and I am thourally, though a bit shyly, enjoying sharing all that I have been working on this year as it is ready and up in my store.

My last thought for today is this; Share joy.
Just go out and spread happines, cuz you can. Don't wait for the right time because the time will never be just right. Life keeps rollin' on. Simply make time. Even a few minutes to go above and beyond. I guarantee your heart will be filled even more than the one you are sharing with. Send mail (real actual mail), pay for the guys coffee behind you in line, Say something really nice to the next 5 people who pass by... you get the idea. It will not be expected but it will change the tone of someone's day, and YOURS!

watercolor yum

 Have I told you lately how I Love Paint?! All paint has it's own kind of yummy, but tonight it is watercolor, really it's always my first choice with paints. I just adore how it is not permanent, just like life isn't permanent and you simply have to roll with it. With watercolor you can add and you can remove, you can change the look by dripping water into it or using the corner of a tissue to suck some of it off the page....sigh. You can let it rest and come back a different day to toy around some more, it's drippy and sploooshy and can also be super precise. Oh watercolor how I adore thee.

I'm working on a small words only piece and doing it all tonight. a bit of spatter and some careful strokes...it is almost like a wee bit of my heart spilling over right onto the paper. Sigh...gooood stuff.

what's your favorite medium right now? do tell.