A girl's room & Starter Kit Winner #4

My Lily, 8, is growing up little by little before my eyes. She now likes purple more than pink. Her ears are pierced. She wants to be with me in the kitchen, or to go for walks together and talk. She is sleeping in her own room (after years of sharing with Laura; Laura is now with Annie). And she chose her own bedding online! She asked me to paint her something to go with her room. So I did. I bought different sized canvases and craft paints and copied the flowers on the bedding:

 

 Lily doesn't really play with toys, instead she collects and arranges 'pretty things'; anything that sparkles and is small; anything that can make the world more beautiful. 

It is a joy to be her mother. She is such a precious, calm, beautiful soul, and so strong and healthy too. I thank God that He allowed me to be her Momma. 

 

All these photos are by Shannon Mucha. I had planned to take the photos on Sunday but was laid up on the couch with my bad back. Shannon was so sweet to come by and take care of me Monday evening when our husbands were at Karate with our sons. She swept my floors, did the dishes, picked up toys all while holding Max! Thanks, friend.

And thank you to everyone who sent me well wishes and prayers. I am slowly mending, but still feel like someone repeatedly punched my back! I am going to have an MRI next week and try to get to the bottom of this. Back pain is NOT fun.


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Interviews

Imene of A Journey to a Simple Happy Life interviewed me for her lovely, inspiring blog. She is a fellow Artistic Mother finding her way through life as a Mom with a desire to create. I know I shouldn't say it but I loved this interview! I even read my responses to my husband and he said 'I like our life' :) Thank you Imene for this chance to share my point of view on your blog.

I was also interviewed by Interweave's online magazine Quilting Arts, (the parent company that sells the fabulous Cloth Paper Scissors magazine). They are selling my book in the Interweave Store, and this interview comes in time for MOTHER'S DAY! Check out the interview here.


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Winner

And now, for the final winner of the Starter Kit Giveaway (for this month anyhow, I may do this again at the end of the summer or Fall)! Thank you so much for everyone who entered and for all your kind, sincere comments. I can't tell you how much you make it all worth it.

I have enjoyed giving these kits away.  I hope that they give the previous winners some creative energy.

I do wish I could give everyone a kit. But there is only one (randomly drawn) winner and it is.......

Missy K of Daily Portion

And for the sweet Diva Kreszl, as you were the first to comment I am going to send you a little handmade gift :)

Congratulations to you both and thank you for entering. Please contact me by email with your addresses.

For everyone else please come by on Saturday to see who wins my Saturday Follower Giveaway. There will be 2 winners each Saturday in May.

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 Susan Tuttle is giving away a copy of her new book, Digital Expressions: Creating Digital Art with Adobe® Photoshop® Elements, between now and Tuesday, May 4th at 9pm EST. She will announce the winner (via random drawing) on Wednesday, May 5th. So visit her blog Ilka's Attic for your chance to win. 

from my couch

Folks, I have been suffering. Not poetically I am afraid, but from plain old back pain. I have a recurring back issue where my back 'goes out'. I could be bending or reaching or doing some other mundane task and all of a sudden I am trapped by pain. My lower back goes into spasms that last for a few days. On Saturday it occurred again. It usually starts to ease up in a few days, but somehow this time it is still bearing down on me. I went to the physical therapist and he rotated my hip joints again (they have a tendency to roll out of place!!!) but that didn't ease the pain. So I went to the doctor but he can't give me muscle relaxers or strong painkillers as I'm nursing. So here I sit. On my couch, unable to lift Max, craft, do laundry or drive. Sigh.

Fortunately,

I have my daughter Lily who will do, in an instant, anything I ask her to do ~ oh, my sweet lovely child.

My husband Mark who has been cooking and cleaning (!!!!) and soaking up the kids attention.

My sitter Michelle who helped with the kids on Monday and drove me to my appointment. 

My friend, Shannon who came over to sweep my floors, tidy toys, hold Max and take photos of Lily's room for my Thursday blog post.

And some entertainment... Project Runway from Netflix, the latest Cloth Paper Scissors (SO GOOD) and a wonderful poetry book to read - 'The Best of Irish Poetry 2010' (thanks Mum) and a new online drawing workshop hosted by Carla Sonheim called the Art of Silliness. And of course I have the constant chatter of children to keep me company.


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So while I heal enjoy some visual poetry from our recent trip to the Houston Aquarium.

Final Starter Kit GIVEAWAY & Vision Statement Banner

I can't make it all happen without my lists.  My long and short terms lists, my daily checklists, but most of all my personal Vision Statement. My life is so swift right now, with the book, this blog and my kids and running the house, spending time with my husband and friends.... if I don't regroup and remind myself what I am doing and where I am going and why I am doing all of this then I will go underwater.

My vision remains steady, my long terms goals wax and wane, my short term goals get added to and marked as done, my daily goals, phew, they turn over like lightening. These are ever before me, guiding my steps lest I fall off into the abyss! Sound dramatic? Well I have tried to live a free falling life and I got nowhere fast ~ So I have my systems, I bathe everything I do in prayer. 

Including a project on creating a visual vision statement banner in my book was important for me (Week 4 of the workshop section of the book). Here is an alternative version (to the one in my book) of the banner. Enjoy!

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So here is the final Artistic Mother Starter Kit giveaway for April, my birthday month :)

Here is what you get:

Here are the supplies in this 'Artistic Mother Starter Kit' (pictured right):

These are all part of the essential tool box suggested in my book:
1) A box of my favorite water-soluble oil pastels - Portfolio Series by Crayola
2) X-acto craft knife with #11 blade
3) an 8oz tub of gesso
4) A tube of gel medium - which can be used as a glue and a varnish
5) 4B pencil
6) 4 sheets of my stamped handmade papers to add to your 'Art Stash'
7) My favorite glue stick - Scotch Permanent Glue Stick

Project related things:
8) A Daler Rowney 80 page, 5.5 x 8.5 sketch book/journal (for Week 2 project in my book's workshop)
9) 9 4x4 fabric squares (for Week 3 project)
10) Balsa wood (for Week 5 project)
11) Butterfly image sheet (for Week 5 project)
12) A 6x8 canvas panel (for Week 6 project)

You know what to do - leave a comment and I will use the random generator to pick a winner. If you want a double chance to win leave me a 2nd comment to say you are a fan of the Artistic Mother Facebook Fan page.

My goal in all of this - writing the book, this blog, giving away supplies is to encourage other women, especially moms to do some art. From my personal experience when mom is happy her kids fair better. Art is important yes, it slows us down and allows us to enjoy life more, seeing the beauty in things, giving us a sense of our creative selves, our purpose, our happiness. But even more importantly... motherhood is beautiful, vital.... because well raised, well loved children make our collective future brighter!

So Momma, go create.

New bedroom and Starter Kit #3 winner

I mentioned last week that we are switching bedrooms around. We painted our girl's old bedroom and made it the master. Before I announce the winner of this, the third of my Artistic Mother Starter Kits, I thought you may enjoy some views of the room (the color of the walls is more green than in these photos):

The bedding is from Anthropologie, the furniture from Cierra Interiors and the bits and pieces are from a combo of Marshalls & Tuesday Morning. 

This room is not fully complete, we need curtains on the double doors that open out onto the front porch.

We chose some new colors and went bold. I am glad we did as the room feels like we are on holiday in the Southwest!


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So on with the winner of last Saturday's GIVEAWAY!

Again, thank you to ALL those folks who entered for the chance to win the 'Artistic Mother Starter Kit'. 

The randomly generated winner is C-Joy. I do hope that these supplies give you a burst of creative energy!

AND just for fun.....

I am going to send an ATC to the first person to comment on that post..... Paper Pumpkin!

I will talk to you both via email :)

For everyone else:

This Saturday I will be giving away another kit, so if you don't mind coming back to leave a comment again (sorry to make you do that, but it is the fairest way I think). I will have another tutorial or something fun posted too to make it worth your while!

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In May I will be doing another Saturday Follower giveaway. The ranks have grown! As there are now over 540 folks following this blog I will be giving away 2 handmade things each Saturday in May. So please check back in to see if your name comes up!

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B is for Bad Poetry

I bought the book 'B is for Bad Poetry' by Pamela August Russell for this very brilliant one line verse:

Polaroid

That's a nice sunset
in the background
but you look sad.

By Pamela August Russell


Simple I know, but anyone who can capture a truth like that has my attention and deserves my $9 on Amazon! Show me a happy Polaroid and show me a lie.

Enjoy a touch of artistic sadness today!

 

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I am doing a photo collaboration with Shannon Mucha and Anita Michelsen. Each one of us has a week a month where we suggest a prompt ~ poem, Bible verse, quote or whatever and then we interpret it in photos. 

This week it was Shannon's prompt. She suggested a poem by Philip Booth entitled 'How to see Deer'. Here is what we came up with and I love it, if I can be so bold!

We post all the photos to our group Tribloom on Flickr.

Starter Kit Giveaway #3 & Peek Inside #1 ~ Altered Storybook

This little book wangled it's way onto the cover of my book 'The Artistic Mother'.

It is also the feature of the project for Week Seven in the book's workshop. Due to space limitations in the book you only get to see a couple of pages. I thought it would be fun to show the rest of the story.

The story is called 'Annie loves drawing'. I love to write little stories in a voice that my kids like to hear. A story that is all about the little bits of their lives. I have lots of these little books. I will be sharing more of them over the summer.

Here are the pages of 'Annie loves drawing' as it meant to be read:

"once there was a little girl named Annie
she had two big sisters, laura and Lily"

"both of whom could draw lovely pictures"

"Annie loved her big sisters so much
she wanted to be just like them
one day she picked up a marker
and started to draw!"

"she drew with her left hand
and right hand"  [note to friends & relatives - yep Annie seems to be Ambidexterity]

"and after that Annie drew every morning
when her sisters were doing school
Annie loves drawing!"


There you go, so simple, I used photos from their everyday life. They are not all from the same time or photoshoot, but they come together to tell the story. And best of all, Annie loves to hear this book. It is about her, so what is not to love?

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STARTER KIT GIVEAWAY #3

I have put together a collage supply kit to help someone get going on some collage art. I have included some of my favorite supplies. This is the 3rd of 4 kits I am giving away this month. If you would like to win the third box simply LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS POST! Even if you commented on the last post, to enter for this one, you gotta comment here. I would get way too confused if I tried to combine them! I hope you understand. You don't have to say anything clever, just hello, especially if you have entered twice!

To recap for first time visitors....

Here are the rules:
1) Anyone can enter to win these supplies, you don't have to have my book (but of course I would love it if you did, that way I know these supplies are going to their intended use :)
2) Leave a comment in this post.
3) Comments will close at noon on Thursday April 22 and then I will draw for the winner.
4) If you add me to your blog roll (or already have) you can leave a 2nd comment and have a second chance of winning. But you must leave me 2 comments to be entered twice.
5) If you win, I will announce it here next Thursday and you can send me your address and I will mail you your supplies.

Here are the supplies in this 'Artistic Mother Starter Kit' (pictured right):

These are all part of the essential tool box suggested in my book:
1) A box of my favorite water-soluble oil pastels - Portfolio Series by Crayola
2) X-acto craft knife with #11 blade
3) an 8oz tub of gesso
4) A tube of gel medium - which can be used as a glue and a varnish
5) 4B pencil
6) 4 sheets of my stamped handmade papers to add to your 'Art Stash'
7) My favorite glue stick - Scotch Permanent Glue Stick

Project related things:
8) A Daler Rowney 80 page, 5.5 x 8.5 sketch book/journal (for Week 2 project in my book's workshop)
9) 9 4x4 fabric squares (for Week 3 project)
10) Balsa wood (for Week 5 project)
11) Butterfly image sheet (for Week 5 project)
12) A 6x8 canvas panel (for Week 6 project)

I have this one and 1 more of these kits to give away next Saturday. If you don't win this one you can try again next week! And again, you don't have to own my book to enter ~ as long as you will use them in the next year to make something I am happy!

NOTE on the products - These were not donated by anyone, I purchased them myself and unless stated I do not recommending them over another company's products. In fact I have never used this brand of gesso or gel medium! I am sure they are good though. I have used this brand of craft knife, canvas, glue stick and Water soluble oil pastels. The sketchbooks turned out a little bigger and fatter than I imagined, but all the more for you and they have perforated tear out pages which is a nice touch! 



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Mindy at the Wishstudio has recently unveiled her new look, new location Wishstudio. It is worth a look. The site is beautifully designed and her content is really comprehensive. The "wishstudio is the place for you to create, share your stories and talents, find togetherness, experience life and joy, and discover your very best self." I love this vision.



I will be doing a mother and child workshop along side Tracey Clark, Stephanie Lee and Pixie Campbell and in the Fall on the Wishstudio. Wow what a wonderful group to belong to! I am in the planning stage right now. Details to follow. 

Thoughts on change and Starter Kit winner #2

I love moving house or renovating. But it is ever so bitter sweet. I remember when Mark and I sold our very first home. I was so driven to sell the house and to find a new one in a better neighborhood and ecstatic when it sold in 6 days. But as we drove away for the last time I cried. I cried because that era of our life was over. I would never again lie in that bedroom and see the branches scratch the window just so. I would never again experience the way the light moved around the kitchen. All would become only a memory.

That is life. I know. We move on and what was familiar becomes the past. We learn to love the new; and soon the new version becomes our beautiful reality. I have a special place in me that revels in the thoughts of those old versions of my life!

This week in our house we are painting and shifting space. My girls have slept in the downstairs bedroom for 5 years. In that pink and yellow room I painted a giant castle on the wall (I never quite finished it). The girls would lie in bed and make stories up about the castle; it has been the backdrop for many an adventure. But it is no longer! The girls are moving to new bedrooms (Laura upstairs, Lily to the guest room which is now purple) and we are moving in to theirs! Painters came and primed and painted over the castle.

It has become a part of our memory.

I can hear the conversations in the future ‘Hey, Mom remember that castle? I use to imagine that big blue bird would fly off the wall and out the door’ ‘What color were those flags?’ ‘That was a cool castle, why didn’t you ever finish painting the garden like you said your would?’ ‘I wish I could see it one last time’. Thank goodness for cameras! I only wish they captured the feeling, the surrounding memories, the smells too.

Isn’t there something both exciting and sad about change?

Sail away!

When this room is completed I will share some photos - I am telling you it is wild - we painted the walls purple & sea green/blue/grey, the floors are burnt orange tile. We bought this bedspread from Anthropologie similar colors!!!! Oh my, it is different. So stay tuned.



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So on with the winner of last Saturday's GIVEAWAY!

Again, thank you to ALL those folks who entered for the chance to win the 'Artistic Mother Starter Kit'. 

The randomly generated winner is Chandra of 'a project a day'. I do hope that these supplies give you a burst of creative energy!

AND just for fun.....

I am going to send an ATC to the first person to comment on that post....

Stefanie Lin aka Artsy Momma 

I will talk to you both via email :)

For everyone else:

This Saturday I will be giving away another kit, so if you don't mind coming back to leave a comment again (sorry to make you do that, but it is the fairest way I think). I will have another tutorial or something fun posted too to make it worth your while!

******************

In May I will be doing another Saturday Follower giveaway. The ranks have grown! As there are now over 520 folks following this blog I will be giving away 2 handmade things each Saturday in May. So please check back in to see if your name comes up!

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I was so excited to see my blog will be featured in the upcoming Artful Blogging magazine! You can see my spread layout on Stampington. Those eyes on the cover under the title are my Laura's! What a joy to me!

It will be available May 1.