Monday update

Thinking about 2009 brings so much wonder and possibilities. What will the new year hold? Last year at this time a blog was the last thing on my mind. In fact, I hated even reading blogs and had just heard of art journaling so now I wonder what new thing will be in my future.

I have not been in the mood to blog this week. I've been spending time with family and finally getting out after being snowed in for a few days. I enjoyed the snow while it lasted but enjoyed it being gone just as much so that I could get around town and not worry about safety. We had a wonderful white Christmas and I was blessed with many new art supplies. I have been having fun with my Pan Pastels. They are so smooth and come in yummy colors. I got the drawing set but I think I will get more in other colors because I love them so much. I got some art books of which I will blog about later once I get a chance to look through them. I also got Colorsoft colored pencils. They are wonderful colors and if you didn't have a set of colored pencils that you liked I would recommend them because they have a soft lead that is very nice to color with. I keep hearing other artists talk about Pitt pens and was curious what they were like. They are exactly like Micron pens. I did get them in brown which is really nice since I only had black pens to do my outlining in. I have this obsession with pens. Never can have enough pens and they all are needed, you see, for different techniques in my journal. Just talking about it makes me want to go do a page right now.

I am teaching a class on art journaling on New Years Day and I hope it goes well. I am so excited to introduce these ladies who have never done art journaling before all the fun and exciting ways to create a page. I hope they fall in love with it like I am.

Well, I am going to have to go. My kitty has made her way into my lap and taken over the keyboard. I have set her aside five times and she is a persistent one and has made her way back onto my lap and laid her paws on my hands so it is hard to type. Silly kitty :)

Arctic Blast

They are calling our crazy weather an Arctic Blast. We had more snow last night and more is expected tomorrow. It is really exciting because we really have never had a true white Christmas since I was a little girl.

Yesterday we drove to the grocery store and this is what we were driving in. Soooo Beautiful.

The birds were going crazy for the dog's food. We didn't have any birdseed so we just scattered it out on the patio. We saw birds that we had never seen before. The big ones would just grab and go but the little one pecked the food into smaller bites and ate it right there.

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas

We woke up to 14 inches of snow today. It is so beautiful and just put me in the mood to bake. My family was thrilled to say the least.

I have this great recipe for sugar cookies that you don't have to refrigerate. Makes the process much easier and more enjoyable too.

We called these cookies Moth Balls but my kids have never seen a moth ball so they didn't know what I was talking about. These are my favorite cookies at Christmas. They are also know as Russian Tea Cakes.

Peanut Blossoms are always yummy! I decide to make them in my flexible pan and insert the chocolate kiss upside down. You can use peanut butter cups too I suppose but I only had chocolate kisses. I am wondering why I made all my favorites when I am trying to loose weight. YIKES!

The entire time I was baking my grandson wanted to be in my arms and watch everything I did. He loves to watch me cook but being in his high chair next to me is not good enough. It is very hard to hold him and bake but I managed it most of the time. I wouldn't be surprised if this curiosity of his develops into more interest later. I am so hoping he has a creative side to him since none of my kids do. I always wanted a kid to color with and do art projects with. He definitely has a musical interest but he is only 14 months so you never know. Well, I feel like I accomplished something today.

Four days and counting

So much snow. We are up to 10 inches and it is still snowing. It is really pretty but I don't know what I was thinking. I imagined a quiet time at home watching the snow fall, working in my art journal and drinking coffee. Reality has hit as my sons are irritating themselves and me and I can't get anything done since I am constantly interrupted by bored children. We have managed to watch a couple Hallmark movies which I love but no one else is thrilled about it. I did slip out to my art room this morning and tried something new. I used one of my paint rags (paper towel) as the base for my journal page. It had such great color that I just couldn't throw it away. Because I used gel medium over the top it was hard to get a good picture because of the shine but you get the idea.

Now that I am looking at it I am thinking it really does represent the chaos that has been going on around here which is really funny since I'm talking about simplicity. Isn't that like life. Inner peace in the midst of chaos. I did work on another page from a couple of days ago and finished it up. It is much more calm and you will probably like it better.

Here is another one. I guess I have gotten more done than I thought.

Family Fun in the snow

We took the grand baby out in the snow today. He has just started wearing shoes and I had bought him some work boots and so here he is traipsing through the snow. He did quite well and loved every minute of it. My daughter was so afraid he would be cold that she wanted to take him in right away but he loved it so much we stayed out for about 10 minutes.

Here is the face we got when we told him he had to go inside. He was not happy. He was quite warm in that little Sesame Street Letterman's jacket I bought him last year. It has been snowing all morning but tiny little flakes. The huge storm they have been warning us about has not hit yet. I can't wait to see it hit since I get to stay home. Here is a picture of the weather so far.

Isn't it beautiful and they are saying 6-10 more inches.

I went out yesterday and finished up my shopping so

Let it snow!

Looking ahead to 2009

Whenever January is in sight I always get reflective. I start thinking what the new year will be like, where I will find myself in another year. This year, I am thinking of journals and what kind I will use to chronicle my 2009 journey. I am asking myself how much can I plan for and how much do I just wait and let happen? I can tell you that last year at this time I would never have guessed that I would start a blog, take multiple art classes, post pictures of my art on the Internet and know wonderful women from all around the world who love art the way I do. I don't think I could have planned all that but as I followed my heart one step at a time, as I listened to God's gentle prodding me to move ahead in spite of fear and as I persevered through tough times I have found myself right here. Right here in a place of new beginnings and new relationships. I look forward to the new year and wonder where this path that was started will lead. Knowing that I can't begin to plan the wonderful things God has in store for me, I think I will just enjoy the moments, press ahead when led to do so and love those in my life.

Oh, and create as much art as possible :)

Winter Wonderland

Snow is falling here today!

They were saying it was going to snow but you never want to get your hopes up because they could get dashed in the morning with no snow but it was true. Big huge flakes are falling and it is beautiful outside. I love days when I can sit by the window and watch it fall and ever so gently and blanket my little world. Our property is surrounded by fir trees and it is such a winter wonderland right now. The kids are home from school today and we are making hot chocolate and watching movies. I always feel the desire to bake on days like today. I was thinking of making sugar cookies but that is really risky because they are one of my favorites. Maybe I will make something different. I think I will put the ham in the rotisserie to fill the house with yummy smells and maybe make some potato soup to go with the homemade rolls. MMM!

Forty Pounds!

I am celebrating today. I reached the 40lb mark on my weight loss journey. I am giving myself a shout out, "GREAT JOB!" I started in August and have been very faithful to stick to the program and it has paid off. I still have 10-20 lbs to go so it is not over yet but for some reason this was the goal that made me want to celebrate. I am learning how my life is not about food but that food is for energy and health. I can't say I am there yet but I am closer to that goal too. Praise God for self control that only comes from Him. On my own I am out of control. I am soaking up success today because you never know what will be right around the corner. I hope you will stop with me and enjoy moments of success in your own life as time is quickly whizzing past. It will be a new year before we know it.

Take Heart

Oh, I am getting in the spirit. Presents ordered started arriving in the mail and I am feeling like I will have a present for everyone by the time Christmas is here. It has been debatable up to this point. It may still be touch a go for a while.

Today is normally laundry day but I ran out of detergent and the weather was bad enough that I didn't want to go out so I went to my art room which I have renamed "My Happy Place". I didn't like the way the background was going on this canvas and as I was getting ready to go to a massage appointment I got an idea. Then my massage therapist called and was stuck at home because of the weather. Hallelujah! I went right out to my happy place and started on my new idea. Here is a picture of what it became. The canvas is 8 X 8 and these two little girls are so cute. The little one has her hand on her head like OH NO! The verse right below her says, "Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." A verse near and dear to my own heart. Oh, happiness is flowing right now.

Snowman

What a fun day I had today. Met with some fellow artists and made snowmen. I forgot my camera so I will have to wait for the other gals to post theirs so you can see all the others. I had never worked on this type of medium before. I think it was called India( don't have a clue as to how it is spelled). Michelle, who hosted our gathering cut the board into snowman shapes. Everyone of our snowmen where totally different. Michelle was using a power drill on hers and Lani was glamming hers up with beads and lip gloss. Paulette didn't have very long to work on hers but to her surprise she was able to finish and, of course, it turned out amazing. Karla was still working on hers when I left so I will have to see her photo to see how hers turned out. It was such a fun afternoon and now I have a decoration for my house. The first thing my son said was, "did you pound that nail in by yourself?" I do tend to play helpless around here so that I don't have to do all the work. I stamped the word wish for the mouth and Let it Snow on the base. It might be more than a wish tomorrow. We might actually see some snow in our area. I hope it waits to come until after I go to my collage card making class tomorrow.

Don't Give Up Hope

I Finished my second large painting today. I was going for an urban kind of look. I think I got what I was looking for. I love her beautiful blue eyes and complimentary shirt. I have been trying different colors of hair and eyes to learn how to mix different colors. The words on her shirt are Don't Give Up Hope. She just spoke to me as I was working on her today. I was thinking that we may not always like the life we are in or a particular situation but it is hope that gets us through. As long as we think that it won't last forever we can get through the tough times. The last few years have been hard for me. Having four teenagers who like to push boundaries keeps me on my knees and clinging to the hope that we all will make it through. When I look at this girl I will remember that the hope I have is certain and so hang on to that on the rough days.

My kids have been so supportive of my painting. Today my oldest son said this painting was Bad, in a good way. He said he thought it would look good as wallpaper. I can't see it but it was so funny to get his perspective. He wants me to sell my paintings and make thousands of dollars to put him through collage. I had to break it to him that it probably wasn't going to go that way. If only :)

Art Give-a-way

It has been my blessing to have some friends who are artists. They are successful and a blessing to those that have followed their journey's of creativity. I admire them and would love to follow in their footsteps but we each have our own paths to follow. I look forward to see where mine takes me. Lani is one of those friends and she had an art sale this past weekend. I was able to stop by and pick up a few lovely items. She had so many beautiful things that it was hard to decide what to take home with me. She is having a give-a-way on her blog so be sure and check it out at Healing Expressions.

A Million Thoughts

A million thoughts are running through my head today and like a traffic jam they are making my brain freeze in place. I have a big women's event tonight that I need to do so many things for and can't do anything yet until the kids get home from school because a handyman is here fixing all my house boo boos. I just saw the cutest project in a craft book that I want to try as I was trying to distract myself and now I want to go get everything to do that project and can't do that either. I have a painting started in my art room that is begging for attention and a sketch that I drew last night that I want to transfer to a canvas that has a background on it. I should be making Christmas cards for the card exchange tonight but I really don't want to. I think I will save myself some work and purchase some really pretty ones instead. My head is full of a conversation I had yesterday with a fellow artist. We sat at Starbucks for almost six hours talking about life and art and it was fabulous. I want to journal it all down and process some of the encouraging words she said to me. While I was sitting there waiting for her to show up I had a lady walk by me and saw my Rosie painting in the bag on the seat and asked to see it. I pulled it out and she wanted to know where I had found it. I very sheepishly said that I had painted it and she asked for my card. I had to tell her I don't have a card because I don't sale my art and she said I really should consider it because she loved my painting. As she walked away, I stood there is shock and delight. So unexpected and so encouraging. I will live off the conversation for some time. OH, so much to think about today!

Rosie

YEA! I finished my painting today. I got up early and finished by noon. I was able to also prep three other canvases and do backgrounds on two of them. Now I will have to decide what is going to go on them. I will do some sketching this afternoon but right now I am tired after getting up early so I am going to read a book or watch some TV. In case you were wondering; the poem on the painting by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow says:

O flower of song,

bloom on

and make forever

the world more

fair and sweet.

New Painting

Finally, I was able to get out to my art room today and started working on my new canvases. There is something about being creative that settles me. I had so much fun and got a good start. I didn't take a picture but I will when I get farther along. What I really want to do is paint all night long but that is not going to happen so I will wait until tomorrow. I'm working on a bigger canvas this time. I am trying all shapes and sizes of canvases and I haven't found one that I don't like yet. I wonder what size I will prefer? I'm sure going to have fun figuring it out. Well, got to get to bed so that tomorrow can come quicker.