my latest creation

it seems lately we've been under a lot stress and pressure. there just seems to be so many things going on and it feels as if we are being bombarded in all directions. when we get through one problem another one seems to appear out of nowhere. boy, it just wears you out at times. i think that's one reason why i've had the girls painting and just being creative. it keeps them and me busy. for me being creative has always made me happy. it brings me such a sense of peace and comfort i can't describe. when i'm in my groove, i feel as if nothing can bring me down. with all that said, i've been sewing quite a bit. well, at least as much as the girls will let me. i just finished up the coolest top ever! i've decided that i will be wearing my latest creation tomorrow on our friday fun field trip. here's a sneak peek:

creating more art...stepping stones

after yesterday's disaster you would think i would learn? i didn't nor will i probably ever. today we attempted to paint once again this time in the kitchen. I figured cleaning tiled floors would be a whole lot easier and less stressful than a rug. before we started painting in our art books, i found these stepping stone kits that had been stored in the laundry room just waiting for us to do. i drugged those out and we proceeded to make stepping stones for the newly landscaped areas of our yard. The girls had fun putting their hands in the concrete and then each decorating them as they saw fit. i must say it was a lot easier than i thought it was gonna be, can't wait till they dry and we find permanent homes for them.

art day...embrace the mess

i thought i had this great idea, but now i'm not so sure. i decided that since it's so hot outside (high 80s, low 90s) that the girls and i would have some art time inside. i spread out this old sheet in the great room and proceeded to show the girls we would be making background pages for artbooks. my idea is for all three of us to make these books with paint and found images. i was really excited and figured it would be fun to get messy and create all at the same time. boy, was i sadly mistaken. we all fun decorating our pages, and getting paint on ourselves but little did i realize that lacey and lela for that matter painted more on the sheet than the paper and the sheet became so saturated with paint that it bled all the way through onto the rug. we now have a black rug with hot pink, aqua blue and purple splotches found in the design. why me? why do i even bother? oh well, i guess now i can say our rug is definitely one of a kind...maybe next time we'll try the kitchen floor.

Birthday Present, anyone???

My new thing to sew these days is pillowcases. It's probably been one of the most fun things I've ever sewed, if that's possible. I love fabric!!! It's my thing!!! So when I get to pick out fabric and mix different patterns to created the pillowcases I get so much satisfaction from it. I was having so much fun sewing them that I decided Lela could take one as a birthday present to a friend of hers. Another idea that had to go along with it was a doll pillow. So today, I spent my time putting my idea to fruition. Everything seems to have turned out really cute and I'm really excited about it. All I have left is to design a little card to go along with the packaging that tells exactly what it is. Hopefully it will be well received, it's hard to tell with a six year old, but if Lela's reaction is any indication then I will be OK.

Here is a picture of the doll pillow with its matching pillowcase. They turned out pretty good, uh?

Here is the packaging I created for the pillowcases - cellophane, paper shreds and curling ribbon. Ah, just lovely....

IDEA: Easter Wreath

I always try and keep sometype of wreath on my front door. I love the way they make the front of the porch a little more inviting. For the past few weeks it's been screaming for sometype of Easter wreath. I had actually been looking for one, but couldn't find anything I liked. Well, the other day a friend of mine had made a wreath out of bright colored eggs and tulle. I absolutely fell in love with it! So, today I decided that I would do my version of her idea. I grabbed my hot glue gun and off to work I went. It was so cheap to make which makes it that more fun! I spent $5.00 for all the eggs (which was a total of 10 bags and I even had extra left over) plus the wreath form which was no more than around $3.00. So, for less than $10.00 I got this awesome one of a kind wreath.

Growing Up

It's so fun to me watching how our girls are growing and changing. Lela in particular has all of a sudden blossomed into quite the young lady. This is a term she is not to happy with but nevertheless its a term I love! I first noticed it a few months ago. All of a sudden as if overnight she started reading. Then she was writing the most beautiful letters I had ever seen on paper. And then she was spelling words for me? Wow! Despite the trying times we have with her it is so definitely worth it. She reminds me a lot of myself. Not only is she my carbon copy of how I looked as a child it's her spirit that I'm drawn to. In the past few months I've learned to let go and let her be...well, herself. She loves pink! Everything in her wardrobe she thinks has to be pink. From the top of her head all the way to her feet. When this first started I so tried to fight it, but then one morning I woke up and said "Oh, well it's easier to just let her be." I also realized that this couldn't go on forever (or could it?). In school, I was one of "those" kids who dressed in all black and I've turned out just fine. What's so funny is I really don't even own a lot black in my closet, now. Yesterday she talked me into buying her some pink Converse hightops. Boy, did that bring back memories of me trying to convince my mom that I need black ones. I love this child! She definitely knows what she likes and its hard to change her mind. She is such a sensitive and polite little girl who loves her friends and sister, dearly. She is also turning into quite the artist as well. My favorite thing she has started doing is pausing the TV and then proceeds to draw what she sees on the screen. I have seen her intrepretation of SpongeBob all the way to Mickey Mouse. I love it when she asks me if its OK that she makes somebody's hair purple. I always tell her she is the artist and she can do whatever she likes. I just pray that she will always have the confidence to be who she is...a beautiful and unique child of God!

Self Portrait

I'm a big believer in artistic freedom especially coming from an art background. I so love it when the girls bring home a piece of artwork they have created. I usually try and save it or I end up framing it and it goes in the hallway. I still have few things from when I was younger. In fact I have this "monster" I made from clay sitting on one of the bookcases that I swear Kevin thinks is junk. In fact it something I did probably in the fourth or fifth grade, so I do have some attachment to it.

Well, Lela's class had to draw a self portrait of themselves. She brought it home today and I absolutely love it! I loved it so much I went out right after school to buy a frame for it. She did such a good job. She asked me if the nose looked OK and I told it looked great!!! I've done self portraits in the past and let me tell you they are not fun nor easy to do in my opinion; having to sit in front of a mirror for hours on end, no thank you. I'm not a vain person by any means so to sit in front of a mirror for a few hours just makes my skin crawl. I would much rather draw anything else than myself. It's so much easier to see the beauty of others, that's for sure.