be yourself: live with passion

one cannot create well if one has not dined well...

OK, so maybe I took a bit of editorial license to make it work for today's post...so what???...the intent is the same as the original quote from Virginia Woolf, which says:

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well."

Virginia, Pottery Barn (who included this quote on a set of dishes featured in their catalog) and I are in total accord on this subject.  I grew up in a Slavic family where no gathering happened without food...homemade and abundant.  The church I attended was known for its outrageous banquets and potlucks, commonly referred to as "fellowship".  (Didn't take me long to figure out that too much fellowship resulted in a larger jean size!!!!!)

Anyway, yesterday's post was all about the people and projects...today's is all about the FOOD!  Thanks to Lesli and Steve Spafford's amazing culinary skills, we ate like queens.  How about this for the menu?  Homemade minestrone soup with teeny, tiny meatballs, spinach and romaine salad with toasted pine nuts, goat cheese and homemade raspberry poppy seed dressing, toasted Italian cheese bread...when Lesli was reviewing the menu, I stopped her at this point and told her it sounded wonderful....but then she said "oh, there's more".  OK, then there was chicken fetuccini with homemade (yes, really homemade) egg noodles, a fabulous fruit punch with lemon ice cubes and the most amazing chocolate brownies...Lesli, they really are "to die for" brownies! 

Talk about feeling like a queen for a day...no cooking...no cleanup...and gourmet food.  Thanks Steve and Lesli...their company name is "Oh, It Was Nothing"...how creative is that?????  Especially when it was so something!

Many thanks to Marti and Kelly at Scrapbooks, Etc. for organizing this event, as well as to Julie and all of the other girls for taking such good care of us throughout the day.

Judging by the look of the projects at the end of the day, I would have to say that we ate well!

with their hands...from their hearts

Yesterday, Tena and I had another fabulous Day to Create, our first in Arizona, at Scrapbooks, Etc. in Mesa.   And, we had another great group of women...I love how the dynamics of each group changes but the fun I have in sharing my passion with the different groups and the enjoyment of each individual group doesn't change.  As I was uploading the photos from the class onto my laptop this morning, I noticed an underlying theme...many of the pictures focused on the hands and the particular project being worked on...the hands of the artists.  The cool thing is, though, that while the techniques we taught were done with their hands, the artistic touches which made each project uniquely theirs came from the heart.

 

A Day To Create...from the heart...makes me happy.

out from the bog...

For the past week, I feel like I have been bogged down and somewhat buried.  I've had to create a class sample for my class at Ink It! , shop for and pack kits for Saturday's 12 hour Day To Create at Scrapbooks, Etc., work on final revisions of Artful Memories, plus take care of day to day business and home life...  The great news is that IT'S ALL DONE!!!!!  Yay!  I've had some great help from the family with Vern running some of my errands and Ashley doing some of the cooking...what would I do without them?????

I had such a great time creating the Paris Chic Junk Book for my March class...I love collecting all things French, especially Paris stuff...kind of surprising because Paris isn't the very favorite of all the cities I have visited...wonder why that is?

It's a real shabby book, filled with maps, vintage postcards and fun rubber stamp images.  Some of my favorites are a set from Cavallini Papers which I got at Ink It!  They are mounted on vintage looking, stained wood and are packaged in this gorgeous tin...so inspiring to look at, just makes you want to pull out the paper and create.

Aren't they just so cool?

It's soooo good to have an evening to relax before tomorrow and it's great to be out of the bog!

"I want to stamp right now!"

Yesterday, we were hosting a birthday party for my mother-in-law and sister-in-law.  The whole family was gathered together...always a fun time.  I made a huge tray of lasagna...a family favorite...good food (and lots of it) is always a necessity at our gatherings. 

My 8 year old nephew, Joshua, was getting restless after the meal and the gift opening.  He kept going to my studio and opening rubber stamp drawers and ink drawers, all the while looking at me to see if I was paying attention.  I got the message.  When I joined him, he asked me if he could write on my ceramic message board.  No problem...we ended up having a conversation...here's what we said:

Now there's a boy who knows his mind!  I think he is potential self-employment material as he has no problem at all being the boss.

I took out the stamps-animals being preferred-and he contentedly stamped his page, choosing his own inks, alphabet stamps for his name, and animals he loved that day.  Here were his favorite stamps:

Unfortunately, he took his finished project home before I could snap a picture of it. 

LOVE THAT BOY!!!!!

Taught a great class at Ink It on Saturday.  It's fun to watch a room full of self-starters-give them the kits, the instructions and show them a sample and they go to town doing their own thing.  We had over 40 rubber stamps, lots of inks, paints of all kinds-lots of Lumiere and Jacquard Textile Paints...very fun.  One of the gals even brought "Flat Ryan", her nephew's friend who is traveling with her for the next week or two and he got to have his pic taken with the class.

Busy getting ready for our first Arizona Day to Create at Scrapbooks, Etc. with Tena all day Saturday.  Totally looking forward to it, both because we love the store and we don't have to travel this time.  Although I do love to travel, it's good to have a day like this close to home.

"What are you going to do with that naked lady?"

One day last week, my little 3rd grade neighbor, Andrew, was waiting for me as I pulled up the driveway.  I greeted him as I began walking into the house.  With huge eyes, he pointed to the object in my arms and asked, "What are you going to do with that naked lady?" 

"Oh", I said, "I'm going to dress it up and sell it for charity."  He looked at me with a baffled expression, shrugged his shoulders and walked away, shaking his head the whole time.  Boys!!!!!  I wish I had been a fly on the wall in their house at dinner time that night to hear that story being retold!

"That naked lady" was a papier mache torso which I had just picked up at Ink It!, the rubber stamping store where I locally teach.  Ink It is sponsoring a silent auction event on March 4th to benefit the Phoenix Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.   There will be over 40 decorated torsos, all in the theme "Cherchez la Femme", all done in whatever fashion the artist desires.

I chose to create a woman with a flair for the vintage and my theme was "Things Women Do".   With their hands, they touch and soothe, with their hearts, they comfort and care and with their minds and souls, they laugh, dream and create.  This is a well traveled woman; her lacy top was an antique tablecloth which came from Cochran, near Calgary, Alberta, Canada.  The quilt fabric came from Twin Falls, Idaho, trim pieces from Los Angeles and vintage lace from Pennsylvania.

Here are some of the photos:  before, during and after-front and back views:

If you happen to be in the Phoenix area March 4th, from 5:00-8:00 p.m., stop by and see all of the fashionably dressed ladies.

joy in the little things...

This morning, I was sitting at my kitchen table working on some business matters.  The back door was open, the sun was streaming through the windows, and the breeze was rustling the palm fronds.  What was I doing sitting inside, all cooped up, when it was the most beautiful time of the year in Phoenix?  The business certainly wouldn't collapse if I didn't finish what I was doing and the unfinished projects would keep until tomorrow.  Besides, the garden had some pots that were looking ragged and sadly in need of attention.

Off to the garden nursery I went.  I happily loaded up the wagon with some of my favorites-hot pink geraniums, blue lobelia, yellow cosmos, cheerful gerbera daisies and multi colored celosia.  Oh what fun!

I spent several hours this afternoon planting and digging.  It may seem crazy to some, but to me, there is something amazingly relaxing and therapeutic about feeling the warm, soft dirt in my hands.

I am sitting at my kitchen table again.  The sun is getting lower in the sky, the breeze is picking up and the air is getting a bit cooler.  My pots are filled with cheery, colorful flowers and the garden looks refreshed.  The business didn't fall apart and my projects are still there for tomorrow.

I am content.

{sweet}

It never fails to warm my heart to get roses on Valentine's Day.

I have a sweetheart of a husband.

Hope you've had a day of love, warmth and good {sweet} things!

tis the season...

  ...to celebrate love and to celebrate the ones you love.  It also marks the 29th anniversary of Vern's and my engagement (I was a very young child bride...wink, wink).   It was great then and it's even better now.   I'm so looking forward to the coming years!   I can hardly wait to see what good things will happen and how God will continue to bless!

Can you believe the background page of the little Valentine?  I opened up my box of old book pages and there it was, sitting right on top of the pile.  Must have been meant to be!  The heart is a Christine Adolph (Stampington) rubber stamp which I stamped on embossed red paper.  The little corner flourishes are die cuts from QuicKutz-just love them.

Wishing all you you a great season of love, with the ones you love!

it's my lucky day...

I've been working on creative stuff all day today, one of the projects involving a Polaroid emulsion lift.  I cannot believe it...for the first time in my lift history, the film released perfectly from the backing, seated itself on the water color paper and dried beautifully...I am ecstatic.   I can't take credit for a good outcome...in this case, practice does not make perfect...it's totally luck!  Quick post...off to sew the pieces together.

look for inspiration everywhere...

I have a creed that I call "Carol's Creativity Creed" (original, huh?).  It says:

• live with passion
• look for inspiration everywhere
• creativity comes with doing...create something every day

Yesterday, I went to Sam's Club to pick up another office computer for our business.  While I was in the checkout line, I happened to glance over to the lane next to mine.   There was a woman in that line who was dressed like she was begging for attention.  I think the look was supposed to be "boho chic" but it definitely missed the mark in the style department.   I looked at her face and here's what I saw.  Three distinct areas above her eyes and below her brows that were colored in what appeared to be carnival or circus face paint.   Grass green was the first strip just above the eyes, then sunshine yellow, then finally, aqua blue.  Hmmm, interesting, I thought.  Looks just like a paint chip above each eye. 

Now you're probably wondering what in the world this has to do with inspiration.  Well, this morning, I was getting ready to wrap a gift to mail to a friend and decided to do a hand made gift card.  BINGO!!!!!  The paint chip lady came to mind immediately.

And, here's the result.  I colored a white tag with water color crayons in green, yellow and aqua, then applied water on a brush to blend and soften.  I then colored a rubber stamp designed by Christine Adolph for Stampington using a darker blue and spritzed the surface of the stamp with a bit of water.  I then stamped the image, colored the edges of the tag with the darker blue and painted the entire surface with white gesso to give the tag a dreamy quality.  Voila! 

Isn't it amazing what the mind will do with the information we feed it?  Creativity lesson learned again...keep an open mind, you never know where you will find that inspiration!

Even in the checkout line at Sams...