And now we are here...

I have taken a big, long break from blogging - for reasons that are good, bad and ugly. I thought about renaming my blog, starting over. But I don't want to do that. So here we are. And we'll move forward in whatever way is meant to be. I suspect I have zero people who still check in here, which means I'm essentially talking to myself when I blog.

And I'm ok with that too....

Shop Update!

 

 Shop Update today! Hope you'll pop in and take a peek. xo

Fifteen, Eleven

These two bozos continue to grow and have February birthdays. Joey is now fifteen and Kyle is now eleven. I chose these photos on purpose, because they both look younger than they are here. My babes - always. Everyone says it, and everyone is right - time flies. xo

New Journals at The Novel Neighbor

These journals and more are on their way to The Novel Neighbor today. xo

Valentines for Boys

It can be a challenge to get the boys excited about Valentines Day. And honestly, I don't take issue with this at all. But Kyle was going to a Valentines Day party, so we needed to find something that was valentine-worthy AND boy-friendly. We found this joke online. The last line is, "I'd rather have a talking frog than a princess any day," said the boy. 

He did some writing, he used a paper cutter, he cut and sewed and hole-punched. Not a bad project for a boy who is resisting doing art.

One of the frogs just had a heart painted on its back - perfect!

If you decide to make valentines with these animals, buy them ahead of time and use your coupons to Michaels, JoAnn's etc. They are a bit pricey (for valentines) otherwise.

Wishing you a lovely Valentines Day weekend! xo

You say, "Ninja Star!" I say, "Origami!"...

Kyle and I are homeschooling this year. When this semester began, I announced that we would make a more concerted effort to include art in our days. This was met with a big, theatrical sigh. Kyle loves art, but he is 10, so the sigh was not a surprise. Our first week back, he made himself a reptile and mythical creature journal (melt my heart) and this week, he is making "ninja stars" that transform into the wreath shape you see above (so enemies are unsuspecting that you have a deadly weapon in your pocket). Ok Ky - you want to make weapons out of my floral and patterned, many-colored origami papers? And you want to do this for hours? You win...no art, only weapons today. 

I have been making journals like crazy these past two weeks - just haven't been photographing them for some reason. There are fresh batches of my books at The Novel Neighbor, Flowers to the People and Maven. 

Happy Weekend! xo