be yourself: live with passion

Happy Friday!

Wow, it's hard to believe that the week has flown by...it's been busy.  I wish I could say that it was a lot of creative stuff but, since hubby and I own a business, there's a lot to do at month end, as well as all the quarterly stuff for payroll.  Not my favorite thing in the world...

A few random thoughts on:

Mergers and Acquisitions:      While shopping at Ink It and Scrapbooks, Etc. this past week, I'd noticed that a lot of new stuff had come in.  Naturally, in this business, one must acquire new stuff.  There are pros and cons to acquisition: 

Pro:  One is easily inspired by new stuff.

Con:  One is easily overwhelmed by new stuff.

Pro:  One has many new choices of product when creating.

Con:  One has to find the new choices of product before one can use.

Which brings me to the merger part.  As you can see from the stack at left, there is a pretty good pile of stuff which must be merged.  Paper is not a problem, nor are flat stickers, rub-ons or embellies.  The problem lies in my rubber stamp collection.  I am hopelessly addicted to rubber stamps...there, I've said it...maybe I can now start on the path to recovery.  The thing is, there are so many fun new stamps, and at the time, I can think of all sorts of uses for them.  The challenge is I have run out of space to store them and sometimes have a hard time finding them.  Here's my thinking about mergers:  I will remove all rubber stamps that are seasonal-Christmas, Easter, New Years and store them in a box under my bed (they will keep the dust bunnies company).  I will merge the drawer of horse stamps with the drawer of animal stamps and have a VERY full drawer of all animals.  See, that was easy!  I now have two empty drawers to fill.  Ahhhh, life is good.

And, speaking of acquisitions, this afternoon I will be acquiring a Melting Pot!  If you're thinking along the lines of a restaurant, sorry to disappoint!  So far, I haven't managed to hit the Forbes 100 list!  But, what I will be picking up is this cool little electric pot made by Ranger Industries.  I will be presenting a melted beeswax project to an audience and a camera in about a week and somehow, I think that an old cake pan on a stove surrounded by newspaper doesn't cut it...nor would the ancient harvest gold electric skillet (wedding gift from long ago).  When one needs to look official, like they know what they are doing, one must have the right tools.  Wonder what airport security will say about that little tool?  And the beeswax?  Hmmmmm.

Well, off to the grocery store to acquire food...everyone is happier around here with a full pantry and fridge...

in my hot little hands...

is the long awaited copy of Artful Memories...oh my word, how exciting!  It was a nerve-racking morning of waiting...anticipaticipating...wondering.  After a year of working together, Tena and I thought it would be cool to open our copies together...my copy showed up earlier than hers...more waiting.  It was totally driving me crazy!  (And Tena, too, I think!)

We met at a little bakery/cafe near Scrapbooks, Etc. and quite literally tore open our packages at the same time.  Strange...I know.  But, we were totally in this together and it only seemed right that we celebrate the occasion together, as well.  We were thrilled...happy...excited.  What a dream come true.

Tena,  my friend, this has been an awesome year.   I have totally enjoyed doing this book with you; it has been a grand adventure!  You are an amazing artist, a good listener and a great friend!

                                        

Working with North Light has been great...we appreciate the fantastic work done by our editor, Jessica and by our designer, Marissa, as well as the many other amazing people who worked so hard on this book.  Our thanks also to our guest artists, who did some fabulous projects.

Here's Jenn, from Scrapbooks, Etc., browsing through the book.  Thanks, Jenn, for taking our picture and thanks Jenn and Julie for giving us the great feedback on the book...you guys are so sweet!!!

I think I'm going to sit down and savor the book...actually read it and enjoy!  And, tonight, we're going to celebrate with dinner out at our favorite celebration restaurant, House of Tricks!  Oh yes!

Women for Women

  I am really excited to be part of this project to raise money for an organization called Women for Women.  What an honor it is to play a small part in this great fundraising event; Karen came up with such a fun idea.  For details on how you can get involved in this great cause and to see a list of the amazing artists involved in this project, check out www.karenrussell.typepad.com. 

sometimes, quiet is good...

When life gets hectic, I really need to focus on having some quiet moments...reading, meditating,  enjoying my morning coffee, sharing family meals....and blogging.   Really enjoyed having my morning coffee in my favorite mug this morning, browsing through my new Phoenix Home and Garden and Sunset magazines.

                        

I have been procrastinating finishing up on my deadlines...I know that ultimately there's a price to pay for procrastination.  I've been outside gardening and also have been stirring up some good meals.  Friday night, we had stuffed grape leaves, an Armenian dish which my mom learned from one of her neighbors years ago...it's a variation on the theme of stuffed cabbages or stuffed peppers.  Lots of work to make so I don't do them often...we thoroughly enjoyed them.  Last night was grilled salmon with skillet potatoes and a great salad.  Tonight, it's going to be grilled brats...a good Sunday night supper.  After this weekend, I think it's going to be Costco frozen dinners the rest of the week (or leftovers)!

                   

Love these funky Anne Taintor postcards from Chronicle Books!

Off to stir things up in the studio!

Chocolate Principles to Live By...

As an avid reader, I have my head poked into multiple books at one time.  Some of the non-fiction books I'm reading right now are "Simple Abundance", "Cure for the Common Life" and "The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women", all of which tend to be serious and introspective.  I believe that people are influenced by the books they read and since I already have too much of a tendency to be serious, I needed to balance out some of that heavy stuff with humor and lightness.  Off to Barnes and Noble...one happy hour of browsing later and I'm the happy owner of "Chocolate Principles to Live By", by Theresa Cheung.  I LOVE CHOCOLATE!!!!!  What chocolate lover wouldn't be sucked in by that title?  Living by chocolate principles has to be delightful, delicious and fun!!!!!

                     

                     

Here's a little sampling of some of the little "chocolate fun" sayings she included:

"**I have this theory that chocolate slows down the aging process.  It may not be true, but do I dare take the chance?

**Chocolate-covered raisins, cherries, orange slices, and strawberries all count as fruit, so make sure you get enough.

**There is nothing better than a good friend--except a good friend with chocolate.

**I'd give up chocolate, but I'm no quitter."

I'm definitely laughing my way through this book...having fun...enjoying the process of learning through humor.

In the past year, I've been reading a lot about chocolate...taking time to try different varieties. I  have found out that chocolate tastings are taken as seriously by connoissieurs as wine tastings...that the newest craze among chocolate lovers is single origin chocolate (all of the cocoa beans used come from one plantation)...that a high quality, dark (almost bittersweet) chocolate is my favorite.  Always knew that most people love chocolate, never knew there was a culture built around it. 

                     

Here's my bottom line chocolate principle for this weekend:  Savor the chocolate you love and don't be a quitter!

a cracked pot...

After it started getting light outside this morning, Vern looked out on the back patio and noticed the pot shards on the concrete...for the second time in the history of these pony palms, they have broken through their terra cotta pots...this pot lasted about a year and half.

I woke up in a serious and intense mood and intended to write some kind of life lessions from this experience...hmmm, maybe like let your creative spirit break whatever binds you...or maybe grow strong roots...(so lame)

Two cups of coffee later and I'm mellow and not at all in the mood for philosophizing...I need to buy another pot, replant my ponies, clean up the mess and move on.  Life lessons:  don't take life too seriously and have your coffee before you write!  :)

And, speaking of being taken seriously, here's a picture of my two dogs (Bouviers), Thatcher and Bodie.  Thatcher, on the left, is an almost 11 year old male who takes himself WAY too seriously and Bodie, our 7 year old female, (aptly named Wildly Bodacious), is our resident clown.  We've never had a dog who made us laugh as much as Bodie does.  This is the first time Bodie has let me take her picture...she usually sees the camera, runs away and hides.  Wonder what changed her mind.  Anyway, to commemorate the occasion, I decided to post this photo.

                                 

NEWS FLASH.....

Artful Memories, the book which I co-authored with Tena Sprenger, is due to be released by the end of the month, this month, April!!!!!

It almost seems unreal...it's been a while since we first announced this book, did the projects, the photo shoot and the writing.  When you finish all of that...it's just the waiting.  After a while, life takes over and you kind of forget about the anticipation you had while working on it.  After hearing from our editor about an earlier release date, I have to say that the excitement level is right back where it started.  I haven't seen the completed book.  I am dying to see it all put together.  It's like it's my first baby being born!

I've been a contributing artist to a lot of books-quite a few with Autumn Leaves and with Design Originals...this one is a bit different.  Tena and I did all of the stepped out projects ourselves and did the writing as well.  So, we were able to tell our stories, not only visually through the projects, but also in writing...telling the stories behind the photos, sharing the inspiration...all that good stuff.

There's an added bonus, too...our amazing guest artists who contributed their wonderful artwork to the galleries.  It's an incredible line up...are you ready?...drumroll...

                                     Kelly Anderson

                                     Jessie Baldwin

                                     Katherine Brooks

                                     Pam Kopka

                                     Miley Johnson

                                     Heidi Swapp

Didn't I say that it was an incredible line up?  We feel very honored to have them participate in our book.  You can preorder your copy at Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Borders (which will take you to the Amazon site).   

I will be waiting, with bated breath, for the guy in brown to deliver the advance copy...

                                    

a beautiful day...

Easter Sunday was such a beautiful day...bright, sunny and just perfect temperatures.  Here are some highlights worth remembering:

*Our sunrise service was awesome, as usual.  It's a tradition at East Valley to end the service with a contemporary version of part of Handel's Messiah.  Every year, I fully expect the angels to roll back and roof and join in the singing of the Hallelujah chorus.  No matter how often I hear that music, it never fails to move me to the point of tears.  Starting Easter Sunday this way sure beats starting the day with the newspaper! :)

*The egg contest was a bit unusual this year.  I won the first round hands down...solid, strong egg.  The second round was weird in that the final egg had one weak side and one strong side...that was Ashley's egg, so I guess she won round two.

*Our trumpet vine chose Easter morning to release its first blossoms of the year...kind of like they were heralding a celebration!

                                 

*Our family brunch was really great.  Food was wonderful and it was good to sit around the table after the meal and catch up.  Ashley did a great egg hunt for Joshua, although he's getting too smart for a "kid" style hunt.  Next year, I think there's going to have to be some buried treasure to challenge that boy.  Here's Ashley with her handsome cousins...the dappled sunlight in the backyard wreaks havoc on pictures...so I altered it a bit with a canvas background to break up some of the light/shadow areas.

                                 

*Watching the brothers enjoying the garden together was fun...both really enjoy putting together a garden plan and researching the plants that grow in Arizona.  (Picture quality isn't really good...lots of Arizona sunshine!)

                                     

*Relaxing in the late afternoon and evening...not doing much of anything was really welcome!

Definitely a day with lots of stories...a day worth remembering!                           

a tradition to treasure...

 

This afternoon, Ashley and I did our Easter eggs...a great tradition that two adult women still enjoy sharing.  Ashley dyed the real eggs and I glittered some wooden eggs to decorate the brunch table tomorrow.

One of the reasons we continue to dye eggs each year is because we enjoy having a contest on Easter morning to determine who has the strongest egg.  It's a Russian tradition that I grew up with; you tap your egg against the egg of another person and the cracked egg is eliminated.  You keep tapping the eggs you are planning to eat until there is one uncracked egg.  That's the strongest egg and the person who picked it is the winner.  My dad has been notorious for having the strongest egg until last year.  They were visiting us from Idaho and my egg beat his...he was quite perplexed as he was sure that he had chosen the strongest egg...maybe it's my turn now.  When Ashley was young, she would pound her egg into the top of her competitor's egg and totally smash it!  We didn't stand a chance against her unless we were doing the tapping!   This tradition definitely adds fun to an Easter breakfast.

                        

Tomorrow morning, we'll be going to a sunrise Easter service at 5:45 a.m.  Yep, that's early.  It's my favorite service of the year and I'm really looking forward to it.  Family will be coming over for brunch later in the morning and Ashley will do an Easter egg hunt for her youngest cousin, Joshua.  I'm looking forward to a wonderful day of celebration.

Wishing you a Blessed Easter!

results of a "vervy" day...

Yesterday was a "vervy" day...lots of fun things, great things, exciting things.

First, my Pottery Barn order came in...new black lidded glass jars (will show them when they are filled) and this very cool photo carousel which I am currently using to display my vintage European postcard collection.  It's a pretty amazing piece...it has a weighted metal bottom and it swivels, just like a regular display piece.  It's matte black metal...oh, so cool.   It's available in both a floor and tabletop model;  I chose the tabletop, which is about 3 feet high.  I"M LOVING IT!

Project creation was awesome yesterday...some days are just so good and productive that way.

Then, the icing on the cake...Ashley and I went shoe shopping for summer sandals.  I love buying new shoes...and, through the wonders of genetics, so does Ashley!  We had a blast trying on tons of new shoes...both ended up with several new pairs.  I'm a Born fanatic; they fit me like a glove and I found so many that I liked that fit (and all at a discount!!!!!) that I actually had to agonize over which ones to buy.  Both of us were grinning, especially after a quick stop at ULTA.

We ended the day by going out to dinner to one of our favorite little bistros - Sauce - at the Dana Village Shops.  What a fantastic day.

By the way, I picked up an interesting little factoid from the Martha Stewart Newsletter which showed up in my inbox today:

"Do You Know?  In late-nineteenth-century Germany, eggs were used as birth certificates.  The newborn's name and birth date were etched into the shell of a dyed egg, and courts honored these 'ID's' as proof of age and identity."   I never knew that!