Making Sense of it all - A Birthday Giveaway!

My birthday is on Wednesday....no better excuse for using the Creative Everyday Theme (5 Senses) to help me take stock of things to be grateful for...

Some of my Favorite Sights:

Colorful Koi swimming over smooth stones, creating gentle ripples in a clear, shallow pond

The warm reassurance in my Husband’s eyes on a particularly difficult day

The first noticeable clue of the changing of the Seasons like turning leaves, budding tree branches that were once devoid of green and that ultra-bright kind of sunshine that makes dark shadows below

My daughter’s smile



Sounds that Make me Swoon:

A myriad of birds chirping on a Spring morning

The song of a hauntingly beautiful female voice filling my soul when I want to feel feminine and alluring

“Mommy, I lub you”

Things I could Feel Forever:

An insanely soft, so soothing to rub, puppy ear

A breeze on my face, no matter whether it’s cool or warm, standing outside with my eyes closed facing the wind

The cold condensation of an icy glass that instantly revives you on a hot day

My daughter’s pudgy hand slipping into mine or her little arms around my neck

Some things that have Good Taste:

Coffee….I adore it, sweet and with a swirl of cream

Banana Sour cream Pancakes…my daughter requests these often, and though I follow a low carb eating plan, I can’t resist them!

The slight Sun screeny, salty flavor of kissing my little girl after a day outside. Though I don’t love that flavor, it represents childhood fun, safe and carefree :)


Smells that make me Smile:

A walk through an herb garden running my fingers over varieties of plants, then bringing them to my nose…mmmm lavender fingers…rosemary fingers….rose geranium…..

Damp, mountain air permeated with pine, soil and moss

Passing a bakery brimming with smells of different breads, pastries and fresh brewed coffee

Holding my daughter’s jacket up to my face…a mix of detergent, the outdoors and her, all rolled into one :)


I love my birthday...any day that others lavish me with attention is a good one in my book ;-p But as I get older, the difference between want and need becomes more clear. I don't need anything....and I realize what a luxury and blessing this statement really signifies!


My family and I are healthy, have little to complain about (though I sometimes have to remind myself of this a few times...haha) and are surrounded by friendships and beauty all around. 

**In celebration of another year of Life, I want to give the gifts to you!  Please leave a comment on this post to be considered for a drawing to be held Monday, April 26th.  The person randomly chosen for this drawing will get the Handmade Hair Accessory of their choice from my shop!  **

Thank you so much for checking in with me from time to time...your visits are another one of my Favorite Things :)

Health and Happiness to you and yours,
Cameron

Whew! What a week!

Hello Everyone! I've missed you so! A week is too long to go without writing, but it is absolutely impossible to get organized, take photos and generate a post when Hubby and child are home for a long weekend. Besides, you were all too busy to read about little old me, anyway, right?!

Creative Everyday Update:

Let's start with a little something new I tried thanks to inspiration from Sheree @ Raven Moon Magic. I've seen pages from books used as art/canvas before, but I guess you have to be ready before something speaks to you......this time, I was ready! After seeing what she did using the pages, I set about on a quest to find my own hidden messages within the text.

The circled words read, "She wasn't anywhere....she breathed.....home was their children."

I would have liked this much better had I just circled the "home was their children" part, but, I'm still learning to find the concise description that lies in wait.

I think I did much better with the next one...plus, it's more like me, and what I do already. The words say,"Pale neck....ivory skin....her eyes...Scandalous". I gave her fangs at first, but didn't like the way it looked. There must be a dozen layers of color on her lips. Aside from curling a bit, the thin paperback pages have held up pretty well. I think I will be on the lookout for books with thicker pages, though, since I tend to rework my pieces a little too much. So, this has been a good exercise in learning restraint....I didn't say I passed the lesson, but am always learning through exploration!

Thank you, Sheree!

How was your Valentine's Day?


Operation Hubby is still in full swing. The piano is finally getting some use by being the perfect card holder/displayer thingy :) My Darling surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a gift certificate for a massage at Glen Ivy Day Spa (You'd think I wouldn't need one considering I work at a spa, but the last thing anyone wants to do after 3 or 4 massages is stay to give a free one...even with the promise of receiving one in trade later...) So, I appreciate and need this gift very much! But, as grateful and excited as he made me with those, what he did that really made me swoon was.....He got my wedding ring resized! I haven't been able to wear it in 5 years! It's all clean and shiny....and on my finger right now!!! Yay!!!!!!

Artfire Shop Update:

Also, over the weekend, I made my first sale! A wonderful woman bought 3 of my Sea Glass hair accessories.

I know she is wonderful because I was lucky enough to meet her in person. It figures that on a web shop where anyone in the world can view and purchase handmade goods, she would end up being local! So, I just delivered the items to her doorstep rather than have her wait for it to be shipped. It's so nice to have your creations go to a good home...to someone who will love them as much as I do! Thank you, Shelly!

Been working on some cute gift bags to offer in the shop. As you already know, my goal with the shop is to make things from stuff I already have on hand. I'm finding it extremely satisfying to dip into my stash and make something new and beautiful! These are just brown paper lunch sacks, embellished with reproductions of my art, stickers, scrapbook paper and ribbon!

They're perfect for wrapping up small gift items or gift cards. Filled with shredded paper and yummy treats, would be a sweet idea, too, plus they're reusable. They just tie shut and can easily be refilled and used again. What do you think? Lunch bags too casual? I'd be curious to hear your thoughts :)

Well, I think this may very well be the longest post I've written yet. I hope to be back again on Friday, before the weekend takes over again. I'll get my cuppa joe and meet you right back here!

By the way, Button wanted me to tell you that she is NOT persnickety at all, as I formerly called her....

She's merely playful, is all, but handed me a list of pre-approved descriptives to use on my blog when referring to her.

I had trouble deciphering some of the words....feline handwriting can be very tricky to read, but I think, I recognized "Beautiful" on the list.....

So, here is Beautiful Button on the porch....(hope that makes Miss Persnickety happy!)

Creative Space

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. ~Pablo Picasso

I found a website http://www.creativeeveryday.com/ that offers the challenge of finding ways to be more creative everyday. It is a very casual, supportive site run by an artist and I liked the idea of there being themes for every month to help inspire new thoughts and direction to lead you on a journey, whether that be being more mindful of your everyday actions or starting a grand masterpiece....everyone will get something different out of the experience. I instantly wanted to be a part of this challenge, since I do work better on a deadline. However, The thought of a daily, even weekly challenge, seemed a little overzealous....I am a procrastinator, afterall. So, I figured the baby step for me, would be to take the challenge theme (this month is BODY) and use it as a starting point for some new art or craft project to be completed within a month's time. I think that sounds reasonable, perfectly doable, with a little more effort made to carving time out for working on these challenges....plus, at the end of a year, I'll have a great habit and 12 new works to be proud of. I've come to this challenge a little late, as I just signed up for it yesterday, but I'm thinking this wed's photo shoot with Killian may help kill 2 birds with one stone. If I can take a really beautiful photo that meets the criteria of the challenge (the website is very liberal with any rules for participating, I just have some self-imposed guidelines I've set for myself) then I can submit the photo to the challenge and still use it as a painting reference later. I also re-organized my (I mean my kid's) little art desk to help make being creative a little easier....I hope.

You see, my husband and I live in a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment, and up until 3 years ago, it was perfectly spacious. We used the 2nd bedroom as a computer/art room, where I could keep my supplies out and ready, as well as, unfinished projects. Then I got pregnant. I nested, painted, cleaned, made lists upon lists of things for my patient husband to complete, I decorated, shopped...even sewed curtains and pillows (imagine that)! Those are the curtains below! Everything was redone except that 2nd room. In fact, that finally (and reluctantly) became our daughter's room when she turned 2! So, then the computer was moved into our bedroom and my art (and by now, we're adding a store's worth of scrapbooking material) stuff was to be out in the dining area. Unfortunately, I had to pare down what could be out there and what needed to be boxed up since the area is quite small, but, I still had a place I could call my little nook. Tablecloths are a necessity to cover up the boxes, totes and shelving units filled with more stuff! As my daughter started to take an interest in arts and crafts, she wanted to have a place of her own, where she could have her things available to her when she was in the mood for creating. I set up a desk in her room....she never used it. I would then move my things out of the way, let her use MY nook, then clean her stuff up and put my things out again....this proved to be a waste of time. She likes to have her paints and brushes at her disposal, her markers at hand, clean paper waiting for some color. I can't blame her, it's so nice to sink into the chair and let the imagination flow out of you. Heck, she paints at least once a day, I figure she earned the transfer of ownership of the nook. Now, I move her stuff out of the way when I create (usually when she's at school or sleeping) and put it all back when I'm through. These are just a few of the paintings she did today. Call me unsentimental, but I throw out about 10 to 15 paintings of hers every week. The good ones get rotated onto her walls in her room....the really exceptional ones, I keep. Oh well, someday I will have a nook all to myself and as I sit down with my cup of tea and am listening to my ecclectic music selections, ready to put brush to paper, I'll be missing that little voice asking, "Mommy, can I paint, too?"