Don't give up before the beauty

She is so kind and pretty and soft looking, I like her, she totally captures the feeling behind the words she was painted to express, and I almost gave up on her! When she was just a sketch I thought there was no way she was going to work, she wasn't right, I thought she looked poopy and I was very close to just trashing her...crumpling her up and throwing her away. That is so sad! 

It got me thinking though, and I think that is what we often do to ourselves, to our dreams. I think sometimes we give up on our self, give up on our dreams when they are only just beginning, before they have the chance to unfold and turn into something that is incredibly beautiful, we just don't give them the chance to get there... we see just a little bit of the picture and say "ugh this is hard, this isn't what I thought it would be, I'm outta here, forget it!" or " I'm scared, people are going to think I'm crazy, this isn't going to work, FORGET it!" and we just give up on ourselves and don't push past until the beauty part has a chance to unfold. We don't push forward until we shine, until we are radiant and sparkling for all the world to see, fulfilling our awesome potential the way we were made to be! Incredible Beauty, and amazing dreams are there in each of us, I do believe that. We just have to keep going, push past that moment where we want to Forget it and tell ourselves " CUT IT OUT, you were made for this journey you are on, KEEP GOING!" 

So, that is what I am going to  do, it is up to you how you chose to live your potential, but hopefully my moment with this sweet girl can shed some light on something for you to!

Please don't throw yourself away before your amazing sparkle has a chance to shine!!!

Kaiella @ 61/2

My littlest one, Kaiella. sigh. getting so big and always such a joy ( almost always, unless she's hungry LOL)

At 6 1/2 she...

-Loves to play make believe with tiny toys; most often little ponies, playmobil baby Jesus, or littlest pet shops
-Has lost 8 teeth and is eagerly awaiting their return

-Is very best friends with her sister Tiara; two peas in a pod, she imitates all of Tia's opinions, mannerisms and ideas

-Is quite a good artist for such a little peanut and makes all of her adorable art "To Mama Fum Bella"

-Loves to read her "early reader" books; especially silly willy, and I Like me

-is constantly moving, dancing and singing...I think there is a song in her heart and a rhythm in her soul at all times. It's a wee bit hard to sit beside her on the couch or at the dinner table but other than that her wiggly joy makes all of us smile

-Is learning to skate on her own, "glide, glide , glide" insisting that daddy teach her so she can play hockey

-says the cutest goodnight prayer asking for "good dreams please, and happiness in my little heart"

-Loves to be all dressed up; skirts, bracelets, earrings, pretty boots, hair clips...the more the better! and still let's me make her outfits in the morning if i want to 

-Still is the most peaceful and easy of our bunch, just sort of going with the flow most of the time and fitting in with whatever her big sisters have cooking

 

Here is my latest page for my girl. journaling says:  

"Oh little radiant angel of mine, always know that you are adored, that you are oh so perfect just the way God made you; full of peaceful Joy and gentle kindness. Little one, you shine with a beauty that starts in your heart & shines from the stars in your eyes. Shine on little Angel, shine on"

using a few of my newest design bits on this page 

Fairytale stamps,

 

Graffiti spray: Fairytale

 

Hey Love papers,

 

Woody Bits; Fairytale

 And finishing touches with Amy Martins yummy heart stitches

Here's to preserving 6 years old forever...it is so very HAPPY!

Fly

 

Oh Little girl, what potential lies in you. The time has come to let go of all of your fears and soar to the heights you were made to reach!

note: All my own new products on this layout; 

printable art journal mini pages,   

 

 background papers,

 

 happy chips

 

alphabet stamps

May you soar with all of the beautiful freedom you were made to enjoy!

my girls

Not my 3 incredible little people, but my sketched, painted, colored ladies.

I have been meeting so many incredible women in my new little town (and just in life) and as we share stories and I get to see beyond the layers we all have, I see that as women we have so much in common, so many similar stories, dreams ,fears, and wishes.

I am just continually inspired by all of these wonderful people, and by the spirit in me that just has to turn thoughts and feelings into words and art. Now that I have given into this promting to tell these stories, I just have to write them as they inspire me and my hands can hardly keep up!
I have been painting all of these girls/ladies like mad. I can't stop. I am a story writing, Girl painting maniac. I just carry this old old thesaurus with me and my pencil case all over the place in a little birdie bag, and well, there I am working on another story that moves my heart and strikes a chord with me. I Love how taking the time to celebrate the thoughts and fears and stories of those in my life, makes me see more, feel more.
I have known this for some time because it is what I do as I record our stories in our scrapbooks and my own art journals...but this somehow, makes me Love and understand so much beyond our own world.
This is about every woman's story that is waiting to be understood...not simply what is going on in our own tiny corner of the world.

Art evolves, and what inspires me changes all the time, especially if I am being true and following what makes me feel alive, allowing my own journey to unfold. So really, who knows if this will be a short lived passion, creating a lovely new collection, or something that I do for awhile, I am just here to let it pour out from my heart straight through my painted and messy hands, and Loving my view from here while it does.

note: new art prints will be available soon, we're adding a cart here in the next few months

100 days!

I can't even believe they have had a hundred days of school this year already!

There are soooo many reasons that I want this year to drag by at a snail's pace and for that reason alone it just isn't going to is it? This is Emy's last year of Elementary school, her last year of recess and all things non-high school-ish; soooo many changes going on at that age,WOW.

I just wanna enjoy every day with her right where she is. 

 

Tiara has THE most incredible teacher that I would pay millions to ( if I was a millionaire of course) just to have her stay with Tiara's grade FOREVER! And the class on a whole is incredible, super respectful and kind kids, So I just want to drag on that grade 3 time for Tiara's sake. 

And Kaiella, my baby...sigh, it is one thing that she is at school ALL DAY this year, I can handle that because 6 is still little, still so soft and so full of little-isms and giggly itty bitty-ness. Seven years old and grade two, well that will just be getting far too big for me, I wanna bottle her up and keep her just like this!!!

 

So there you have it, now I sound like a mom who can't let go, when really I am happy for them for all of the steps that they take and all of the growth that they make, I would just like time to go a wee bit slower please :)

Love Day details

I am always thrilled to celebrate a day just for sharing our Love...YAYYY! This year the girls and I baked our little hearts out getting ready to share their Love with their friends; tons of cupcakes both HUGE and mini, and for Emy marshmallow pops with fun valentines tags. YUMMMM!

The girls took their treats and cards proudly to school this morning in cute little buckets, dressed for the day from head-to-toe. I Love giddy little girl mornings, males me feel like a giddy little girl too; I can't wait till they get home with all of their party stories and all excited to dump out and look through their cards!

 

Even if you have no kids and no "sweetheart", hoping you take the time to make the people in your life who RAWK feel Loved and special today! send an ecard, pick up the phone JUST let them know they are important to you!

My Forever

 A rare page just For My Cam,  
picture by Emy from our trip to Mexico, click for a MUCH better view :)

Journaling says:

He's my yesterday and my tomorrow, my smiles and my laughter, my very best friend, yes, he's my always...My forever.

I think that pretty much sums it up, This guy of mine really is incredible; he believes in me and supports my adventures and dreams and he is such an amazing daddy to our girls, AND he does dishes happily...he couldn't possibly be any dreamier if he tried!
Thanks cam!!!


Using some of my sketchy, doodley stamp sets on here
Lovely Lockets , Meadow sketchbook, and from the heart

 These guys can be used digitally, printed on white cardstock or watercolor paper and painted, or applied right to your photos before printing...sigh I love me some good relaxing doodle time!

Today- we  are putting the finishing touches on all of our valentines baking, finishing up cute little cards and making sure all of the Heart's day attire is clean and ready to go for tomorrow, housework can wait we have partying to do!

Painting My "right now"

Here I am right now, noticing how the noise and the busy can drown out my own heart's voice. We can go go go until there isn't even a wee corner of free space to just let things sit in our hearts and minds and turn into something beautiful. I know that I personally, am definitely not finding the free space I have needed in the last while to really connect to my true self and let my spirit grow wings...soooooo of course the best way I know to express that is to paint it out. 

The thing is, and I am sure that I'm not alone in this, I have not been filling my time and my mind with idle blather, just the opposite; amazing kids- little hearts who need tender mama care, family activities and time to take care of the home, teaching Sunday school, and volunteering in the classroom so I can be a part of my girls' world...etc. GOOD BLESSED LIFE! 

I guess I am just realizing that quiet spirit time is not just going to up and find me, I am going to need to activily CREATE for myself just what I need. So it's decided, I'm Planning a creative retreat for myself in the near future to remedy this, just a personal quiet getaway, me, music, lots of paint and empty canvases to pour onto. I'm also going to figure out what it is that I need and finally move into this little studio room I have here; make it what I need it to be; a vibrant creative sanctuary of happy goodness!

Cheers to MAKING your time and space what you need it to be!

make a few notes today of what you need to clear away so you can hear your heart sing and just 

MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!

Listening to the call

I have always been sensitive to the gentle nudge on my heart, the quiet prompt that let's me know which way I should go, I call it God, you can call it whispers, or the universe, or your heart...whatever makes you comfortable.

The results of listening have taken me to places in my life I could have never dreamed possible for me.

So here I am, happily taking my little break from "work" skipping through life going along my merry comfortable way, and comfortable can be so good can't it? Unfortunately it only seems to hang out for so long before we have the chance to step out of our comfortable little bubble and take a risk or make a change, it just is, and any passionately creative person knows exactly what I mean...so there I am," la dee dah", and in walks the (perceived) party pooper...yep total bubble burster, I feel this really strong tug on my heart that I need to paint the stories of women- beautiful , strong, amazing women...NOW! 

Skeptical closed minded grumpy people may be saying "yeah whatever you just WANTED to paint some people...bla bla bla God, ya sure ( insert eye roll)"  

OK, those people may as well just stop reading right here cuz you're not gonna get me;

problem with this heart tugging thing is that my inner response was something like this "ME? no, sorry you have the wrong girl, I don't draw people, I don't draw anything that looks remotely rea,l in fact...I am just a silly doodler, sometimes a word art maker, and a messy fusser with paint that is all happy mish mashy...NOT a formally trained artist, nope not a maker of women, NOT NOT NOT"

But the thing about that quiet call that comes when we are really REALLY supposed to follow is that it doesn't just go away...I know this by now, but still I fight it, fight the unknown, fight the possibility of failure, I fight...

If only I would remember at the time that each time I have finally given in and listened to that quiet call on my heart a whole new world of possibility and potential has opened for me and for my family. But No, I am human ( remember just a silly doodler?) and so I forget and I fight it. 

Well I guess this was one of those things that I was supposed to do because although I pushed back again, when I finally gave in what has poured out has been truly an awakening...it makes my heart sing. It has not come from me, not from anywhere I thought I had the potential to be, but from somewhere greater and bigger. And unbeknownst to me, I CAN draw these women...somehow I have it in me and I can. 

Of course there was NO WAY I was going to share this story I feel super duper vulnerable sharing all of this, and possibly even more vulnerable sharing the paintings I have been keeping mostly to myself. So let it be said right here and right now, if you think I am a quack I really don't wanna hear it, walk away and never look back.
This is my story and I LIKE IT!
 But if you can identify with me even a bit, I encourage you to listen to the call on your heart and shed all of the fears that can stand in the way.
Just BE FEARLESS, step out in faith and follow your own awesome journey, you may be surprised what come of it :)

A very honest return from some gentle time away

 Hi ( waving)

Grab a tea and sit with me, let's catch up.

Soooo, first let's just address the elephant in this vitrtual room; I haven't blogged for a year, I LEFT! 

Totally ditched you all.

Let me tell you, I needed to leave. 

I blogged for a long time, I blogged and I blogged and I blogged, and I wrote articles and I met deadlines, and I blogged on Creating Keepsakes website, and I met some more deadlines, I designed products and I filmed DVDs and I travelled the world sharing my heart... and I lived this phenomenal blessed dream like life. And so , I needed a break. I needed to think and re-group and find a new blance in all of the areas of my life that truly matter.

I needed to find a new balance that didn't leave any area of my life neglected, something that could work for me and my family, that would leave me revived and not feeling burnt out at the end of the day...not that I WAS stressed out and burnt out, but I do know that a person can only handle a crazy pace for so long. And crazy was just starting to feel long. Maybe some people can do it, and they seem to do it FANTASTICALLY, always running and meeting every expectation, handling everything that comes their way and doing it seamlessly. Buuuut anyone who knows me well KNOWS that I don't handle a thousand things at once and do them well LOL, or maybe at all, and definitely not on time...BLAHHH! 

I always like to think that it has something to do with the fact that I happen to be an incredibly laid back lover of life, that's just the way I am; really chilled out and happy to just be in the moment, treasure life, and enjoy it all. I felt like things had gotten to the crazy pace where I wasn't able to do that, where I wasn't getting in touch with my authentic self and finding those moments to take it all in and enjoy, I was just trying to keep up with everyone and everything. There was always something that needed my attention, always something that I had to get to and get done and get there on time, and so when blogging just became another TO-DO, became a burden then I knew I wouldn't be writing my best or truly be able to find the moments to share my heart, cuz in all honestly I wasn't getting much time to even know what my heart wanted to share! 

So for me, what's the point of that? I didn't start blogging to share my personal pity parties, or "hey today is just bla bla bla", I have never been all about quickly posting something just for the sake of writing it cuz I have to write something. I truly try and be authentic in everything I share, I won't tell you your haircut looks good if it doesn't, and I didn't want to sit here writing if it wasn't coming from my heart. 

So call it a sabbatical, a well deserved leave of absence from most of my "work" so it could become PLAY again. 

 As a family, we moved to the country, we are sooo  incredibly blessed and happy here, our pace has gone from a thousand miles a minute to ummm...about 2, possibly 1. We can walk everywhere we want to go, we spend more time outside, we spend more time just home together and I LOVE IT! Our community is fantastic. I was able to take the time to put on Art Camp for a few amazing girls and teach them all kinds of art journaling and expressive free art; they did a bunch of canvases and a little journal, and learned all of my favorite techniques! I have to say, they were probably better students than some adults I have taught...just ready to explore and I LOVED every second of it! I wouldn't have had the time to do that before, pulling back was awesome on so many levels. I've been Volunteering at the kids school A LOT and being able to be really involved there as they have made that transition to a new school and new friends. Getting to know who their friends are and what they are all about, showing them that their world is important to me. That matters SO much to me. I adore my little people and LOVE to be with them in their world... I totally want to be a kid when I grow up! We've been making our own connections here too, getting to know the great peeps in our new community. And I've had plenty of time for reconnecting with Cam without running off to get things done. Y'know, he leaves his job at 4:00 and comes home and it's done period, mine has always been different of course. But he deserves my undivided time, he's my best friend in the world, best most amazing guy EVER...seriously if everyone could have him for a husband they totally should, but I'm not sharing so. yeah, too bad. Time together is great on all of the above counts.

I have been SOOO revived by the wonderful adventures we have been on.

More to come on some of those later.

But first step back; I do say hello on facebook and twitter because it is fast and it's easy and I don't have to make sure there are edited photos etc. ( join me there if you havent yet!)

But, I LOVE blogging , and now I miss it,  and now I am ready to come back, and I know I am ready because every single day it has been driving me nuts that all of the buttons and backgrounds and headers etc. on this crazy blog have disappeared on me and left this space all naked and sad. 

I am itching at last to say more, to pour out and write and write and write again ( as you can see by this long winded sharing LOL) i know I am ready to come back because it doesn't feel like a chore anymore, like I HAVE to get it it; more like I can't wait to get to it! 

 I truly feel rested, feel like I have taken the time I needed to REFRESH and re-invent, and re-create who I am and come out with a whole bunch of new adventures, new wisdom, and a whole new outlook. 

I am peaceful, balanced and HAPPY.

And as far as blog world goes, my friends, I am back.

Cam is building me a wonderful new website, that I am very excited about. So whether this blog will stay here or move, who knows. He wanted me  to wait until that was ready to share again, but I just CAN'T! 

So  for now, here I am, all my archives are still here ( which is really fun to look way way back on when the girls were tiny, so glad to have that record of life and thoughts.)

Here's to today and cheers to tomorrow. 

WELCOME BACK.

I hope that you will enjoy all that I have in store for this place, hope you will enjoy watching it take shape again as I design some new buttons and try to bring the cozy back, I have some great ideas I can't wait to share and I hope you will take this journey of renewal with me.

I challenge you today to re-invent yourself just a little bit. 

You don't have to duck out for a year like I did, but just take one thing that is not fulfilling you, one thing that is not making you happy and CHANGE IT!

JUST CHANGE IT.

If it is weighing you down , cut it out, Give yourself a breath, Take a break for as long as you need to BREATHE, and possibly don't even put it back.

Try and take the quiet time to hear and follow where your heart needs to go, don't question it, just follow it.

You will be glad you did.

Finding Wings

Here is my final HUGE 4 part Art piece I was sharing a bit of here
Playing with how it would look here in a picture that looks similar to my living room. Same-ish wall color, dark wood floors, Cream couch, and white trim; I wish I could have kept it...sigh, totally holds my heart. I guess really everything I make does LOL.

In case it is too hard to read in this little picture The painting says "She breathed in deeply as she spread her wings and found the freedom within her heart to Soar"


I AM happy to say that it was auctioned off for a great charity during Inspired and definitely went to a good home in my new friend Amy's freshly redone studio, can't wait to see pictures of her place!
A few close ups; I think that my fave part is the cage and the words that it holds, oh and I really like the way the sheen on the birds came out in the end, an epoxy-like finish...


There will be prints of this one coming soon for sure!
Not sure if they will be 4 parts or just done as one big image...we shall see.
Now onto a new piece that can STAY in my own new living room I guess

Special Guest Goodies

I am totally thrilled to be back as a special guest at the Lilypad for a wee bit! the creative team over there rocks my socks when I get the chance to play with them. Check out the goodness that they have made with my stuffs! For some closer looks take a stroll through their amazing gallery

To start out my fun with "the pollys" I have 2 brand new goodie packs for sale here
Check back in the next weeks for more!

And remember; all of you amazing ladies who learned a tiny bit about hybrid scrapbooking in my class last week, you can print theses cards on cardstock to add as base pages to your ever growing and evolving art journals, or print the flowers to bend up, and stitch up, and pile on top of eachother for some inexpensive page building accents!
If anyone has trouble knowing how to prepare them on an 8.5x11 sheet for printing just drop me an email and I will help you out in a jiff!

Happy Creating peeps

Painting Freedom

As I prepare my MASSIVE piece of original art that will go up outside of my Inspired classroom, I figured it may be fun to share some shots of the process, as I go along! The piece is going to be made up of a grouping of four 12x18 canvases, and I really didn't start out with Any idea of where this painting would go. I Love that. Love just following my instincts and letting the painting kind of unfold as I go along...it's so cool to see where it ends up. At this point I am still not finished, I do know what I will write on here and sort of the direction it is taking, but the rest will unfold over the next day or so! Anyways, here how it goes.....

A good start with a few colors of paint in carefree strokes across the canvases

A few drips added with watercolors; still working mostly on the left side of the piece for now

More drips with paint and some with just a juicy brush full of water

Totally Embracing the joy of happily created mess in my fingers!

I'm washable, tis cool More drips and splats for building background depth

Starting to work over on the Right side of the piece as well, and add some of the first patterns with spray ink

Painting Airy white birds flying across the canvases, and some more pattern with paint and gesso

Working on the words;
Layered in watercolor first- 3 different colors, Then Pencil crayons in 3 colors with white highlights for depth...
Continuing on with the words, adding India ink bits and splotches, sewing patterns, and an more depth and texture bits that it seems to need.

I'll keep going from here and see how the other side of the piece unfolds; thinking of drawing an open bird cage since this piece is all about freedom. I'll share the finished work after Inspired is over.
I am leaving on a Jet plane in the morning and SO excited for the coming days. I know they will be filed with wonderful people , growth and creative exploration!
WHOOT
Be free my friends!