goals & gratuitous mushy gushy

So as I approach my 100th post, I'm assessing my goals for this blog, what I want to communicate through it, etc. Without a doubt, I post too often about my family and use way too many nature pics. I love 'em...but they're not meant to be the focus of goodness recycled.

After September 1st, I will post mostly about either works in progress (and completed), classes I'm teaching, the creative process, artists I love, inspiration, etc. I won't completely stop blogging about my family - they are (of course!) right there at the foundation of my creative self. But there will be a more diverse set of posts and people who are new to my blog will identify it first as an artsy blog. That's my hope anyway.

I'll share goals soon, but another thing I've realized is that every 100 posts or so I should give a shout out to my husband. I won't post about our anniversaries or our birthdays...but a picture every 100 posts does seem to be appropriate. So here we are in Sacramento this summer. The picture quality is horrible, but the picture itself captures how I think of him/us. Comfortable, together, casual, thankful (I see it in there, I do!).

Thanks for all the support baby. Love you.

Ok, now back to our regularly scheduled programming! xo

Inspired!

[Mountain Dandelion, Idaho, 2010]

I'm baaaaaaaack....and with few to no stories about literally getting lost! Losing track of time though? Plenty - and whew was it terrific. My kids still have three weeks left in their summer, so I'll be here sporadically until September and then watch out. I have big plans for this blog and my business that will share its name. I have so many ideas, deadlines, projects in the works. I'm also going to re-vamp the blog a bit to make it more art- and creativity-focused. This is my 91st post and I'm planning to have three separate giveaways to celebrate my 100th post, so please stay tuned! xo

Get lost!

This post title could easily be addressed to the rabbits who are living the good life on my sweet potatoes these days.

But no, it's addressed to me. The house sale is vexing my spirit, the summer is disappearing too quickly (as always, but more so this year because we've had too many "have tos" with the house being for sale), and my kids are growing before my eyes faster than I ever imagined. I told my husband that I can't remember the last time I just lost track of time - when we just stayed too long at the pool, or the river or the park, when we played a game so long we forgot about dinner. Moms are the timekeepers, and that is how I've been spending too much of my summer - keeping deadlines, making appointments, being on time etc.

So, I'm taking a few weeks off to lose track of time with my kids. We'll be back early-August. Hope you enjoy these final weeks of summer too! xo

A: heat, stir, crush, freeze, wait

Q: What are the steps to enjoying Nigella's Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream?

Happy Weekend! xo

collage:1

What can you do to promote world peace?

Go home and love your family.

Mother Theresa

Love that quote. I made this collage for a friend who is in a new home and while I'm not happy with the result, the process was so good for me. I completely ignored the margins so that this won't fit into the frame I have on-hand. I also used copic markers without testing them out first - I should have definitely painted the quotes instead of writing them. There are other little messy things, but no matter. xo

Preparing for the 4th!

We copied this idea exactly from Alisa's blog. The tutorial is here. These were so fun to make - a bit more time consuming than we expected, but great fun. We're planning to sew up more stars (we used all paper, no fabric) and hang them from our chandeliers.

Happy Weekend! xo