more inSpiration

Who knew that there was a water plant called the mosaic........


We spotted this at the Como Zoo in St. Paul. Years ago I started a quilt after taking a class with Maxine Rosenthal. I really need to finish it. See the similarities....

Have a Great day.
be inspired!!

inSpiration

Inspiration. I don't know about you, but I am constantly being inspired. I thought I would share some recent inspirations.

Last week our son (12) attended hockey camp here in town. The camp was given by two guys who hail from Canada, I mention this because they TRULY have hockey in their blood. Ian Robertson led the dry land/motivational speaking part of the camp and he was AMAZING. We sat in on a couple of his talks with the kids. As a former teacher he GETS the best way to speak to the kids, gaining their attention and respect. He mixed his talks with listening and doing.....knowing full well that their attention span can be somewhat short. He gave the kind of talk that EVERY kid should hear (parents too!) He encouraged individual achievement (on the ice AND in the classroom......yes!!) as well as team participation. Our son came home motivated and inspired....as they say on the commercials..the camp was "priceless". He was VERY inSpiring.


On a recent "quick" trip to Target, my oldest and I were inSpired by some pieces we found in the kitchen area. My daughter is in the process of designing a "teen" room. I think she has definitely gotten the room she was going for. I know I like the idea of just going in her room and hanging out. She needed to paint her dresser, but was stuck. Then she spotted this.....




With the plate as inspiration, and a little of my help, she transformed the dresser (given to us by some former neighbors, thanks Shelly!) into this....


Now the corner in room seems complete. She added pieces that she has been collecting (glass orb lights from IKEA) and purchased the super cool Biorb fish aquarium...it seemed easier than the Chinchilla that she was going for.


Her room is almost done and she is feeling quite satisfied with her efforts, as she should!!!

On that same trip to Target I spotted this...a relatively simple mug.

I have been wanting to do something to the bare back splash in our kitchen, so I am using this as the jump board for my design. I sketched out designed based on the designs in the mug and have started to make the three design element tiles.


To be continued........
What inspires YOU?

Simple Things

It is important to take a step back every now and then and appreciate the simple things. Our bi-monthly trips to the organic farm in Cedar do that for us. It is a beautiful 20 minute drive from our house along a very hilly road. I must say the kids and I are in complete awe of the bicyclist that we pass. Seriously....if you saw these hills you would be too! Then when we get to the farm..you instinctively take a nice deep breath and breathe! The kids feed the chickens greens, pet the two dogs that are your instant friend, chat with the owners and select our weekly produce. It is a delight. Then the fun begins when we get home. Creating menus based on the produce that is available. This week we are spoiled with napa cabbage, beets, turnips, arugula, radishes, green onions, garlic, snap peas and two big heads of lettuce. Delish!!!!!!



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Heroic Measures

Hurry....starting at 11 a.m. est Oprah and Pantheon Books will allow you to download the book, Heroic Measures....for FREE! I love that! You need to be a member of Oprah's Book Club, but that is easy.

Pictures from charm swap coming soon.

Happy Monday!!!!

Crazy Art Girl Musings

You need to check out this blog http://alteredbelly.blogspot.com/. Belinda is a very ambitious artist, juggling family, work and art. Anyway.....she is having a blog giveaway for a resin kit. She has even hinted that a dremel giveaway is coming in the near future. The resin giveaway sends you to another link which is pretty cool. I don't think you will be disappointed. For those who like to make charms....you know who you are.....you will definitely be interested.

Speaking of charms I got to do a charm swap with my dear friends in Minnesota this week. It was so much fun. We had wonderful ginger pomegranate mojitos, laughs and we each got a collection of wonderful blue/green/beach inspired charms. I will upload pictures soon. We have already planned our next swap with a "Halloween" theme. In addition to charms we are looking at a "stuffed" swap. Have you checked out this new magazine from Somerset? Again....you won't be disappointed. It is such a hoot to see these stuffed creatures. http://www.joggles.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=95_176&products_id=19261
Follow this link to see the magazine and some of the pages. You can get this magazine at bigger book stores in there craft section of magazines or order it from Joggles....another site that won't disappoint. Sign up for there weekly newsletter. It is a great way to wake up on Sunday mornings and see what is new in the art/craft world.

Cherry Festival 2009

Today was one of those days I wish I could bottle up and save for...perhaps a snowy day this coming winter. But, unless someone knows something that I don't I will have to rely on my memory and pictures. It was a great day. This has been our first Cherry Festival and I am hooked. The kids and I really got into it today......we did the carnival rides, took in the sights (people watching at it's best but.....I meant more about the bright carnival colors, the sail boats in the bay, the puffy clouds floating on the amazing blue skies), rubber duck races, dog jumping competitions, and kids parade (which I might add was quite impressive......two marching bands from Minnesota, one from Illinois and Wisconsin!) . Life is pretty darn near perfect!

capturing the spirit of little girls

Our youngest turned 6 back in February. For one reason or another we never had her "friend" party. So yesterday we finally had THE party. And it was definitely worth the wait. She had a Pixie Pal party, invited 8 friends and to say it was magical is an understatement. The party started with me reading a book about Pixie Hollow to the girls.

What I like about this book is that it briefly describes the different pixies of Pixie Hollow and their special talents. The girls had fun saying which pixie they thought that they were like. Afterwards I reminded them that they each had their own special talents that weren't even discussed in the book. Their eyes started to sparkle. On cue with the story, we sprinkle glitter with glitter hair spray (commonly found around Halloween....but most drug stores carry all the time). Now they were really sparkling!!!!!
We settled in for our first project. Decorating their Pixie Book that I had made. It was perfect. They colored, added bling and giggled for a long time!



Then we shifted gears to cake decorating. I made individual star cakes. I played on the star theme since the directions to Pixie Hollow are........follow the second star to the right until morning and you will know when you get there. We had a palette of colored frostings and lots of sprinkles. What more could a group of 6 year olds ask for. Yummmmmmm.

Luckily we had a little time afterwards, so the girls all ran around.....hopefully burning off some of the sugar that they consumed. I heard several girls comment on how fun the party was, but our own daughter looked at me and said, "Mom, this is the best day ever!" When you hear that you KNOW it was magical!
I encourage everyone with a little girl in the their life, whether it is a daughter, niece, granddaughter, neighbor.......plan a little pixie party...I promise you won't be disappointed. For those of you with boys, please don't think that I am biased.... The Pixie theme just so happens to be something my daughter gravitates to. The Pixie she likes the most is Fawn, who happens to be described as a rough and tumble tom-boy pixie....that pretty much sums up our hockey playing 6 year old, but she still believes in magic!

Things that make me happy

The holiday weekend is upon us.
Thought I would share a few things that make me happy.

1. Our freedom!
2. My daughter remarking that she actually likes a set of charms that I worked on last night...apparently she doesn't usually like my "style".
3. A line of cars patiently waiting for a family of baby ducks to cross the road.
4. smiles....smiling really does make the world a better place.
5. painting my toe nails red, white and blue!
6. Going to library and discovering that there is a book selection for a state wide book club. Stealing Buddha's Dinner I nabbed a copy already and can't wait to sink my teeth into it. Reserve a copy from your library
7. Fun Filled Family time.

Have a great and safe Holiday Weekend!!!!

slip and score....clay day

Yesterday we gathered a couple of friends and had a clay day. Ahhhhh....I love clay. The younger two made clay masks.

Such a fun project and love to see how they see things. The older kids were not as free as the younger. Isn't that true in general. The younger you are the freer to create. This isn't a new theory or thought. But yesterday was a gentle reminder that we all at some point in time, become a bit too conscious. I am making an effort in my daily like to live a bit more freely. So far...it has been very rewarding and I find that I am being flooded with ideas. Now...If only I can figure out how to exist with less sleep I should be able to work on more of these ideas.

photo editing

Summer....where are you? I am not sure about where you live, but summer has taken a certain hiatus over here and it is starting to take its toll. New to Michigan, at least for our youngest, commented on the current weather trend....wow....summer in Michigan sure is cold and rainy. Not always, my dear, not always! But it is this year or right now. I know things can change on a dime, especially when you live on the great lakes, so I am counting on it.



Tried to bring a little summer into our home the other day and made the simple strawberry rhubarb syrup (for the lemonade recipe on Gluten Free Girl's blog....link listed on previous post) .......makes my mouth water thinking about it.


On an earlier post (quick and easy 4th of July project) I photographed the giant dandelions that we used. Well, follow this link to see an even better shot of the dandelions. http://throughjennyslens.blogspot.com/2009/06/giant-dandelions.html Her photos remind me that knowing some editing skills will only improve my shots. I am currently taking a basic photo editing class by Jessica Sprague and so far I have learned a lot. Hopefully, as my blog develops you will see some improvements in my photos as well. Check her out, Jessica Sprague....http://www.jessicasprague.com/