what i'm up to

just finishing up week 1 of a new photography class:
http://www.503photography.com/#/workshop-home-1/
c'mon - how great is this website?!

butterfly mobile

+ + =

i picked up these adorable chipboard butterflies, what feels like forever ago, knowing that i wanted to make a butterfly mobile for my daughter's bedroom. we lost a tree a while back due to a storm and i saved a branch, thinking that it would make a nice base for the mobile. it took a little while for me to make it but the idea stayed in my head. so, i stripped the bark off the branch and really debated over keeping it natural v. painting it and the painted version won in the end. i covered the butterflies in cute pp (& painted the backs with different coordinating solid colors) and then hung them at varying lengths with clear twine. and when the window is cracked (from the top) the butterflies sway gently in the breeze.....perfect! i couldn't be happier with it. not sure the picture does it justice. inspired by this - clearly i went a totally different route but still love the original as well.

thank you, kelly rae

i am loving kelly rae's book so much lately that i find myself flipping through the pages frequently. i have been so inspired that i even got myself a little canvas and decided to break out the paints! so exciting. i love the look of mixed-media collage, however i've never tried to pull it off and tend to think that it's not in my nature to layer...who knows(?) but i do love the look of layers upon layers. in the name of inspiration and exploration and the general desire to create, i have attempted it and i have to say...i loved it! it's really hard for me to create without a plan (never mind paint - haven't done that in a very very very long time), but it was sooooo good. i am planning on going back to the craft store to try another one and maybe this time i'll make it a big one...

this was an 8 x 10 canvas and clearly i wasn't thinking because i didn't take pictures throughout the process. it's too bad because i really loved the papers that i had adhered to the canvas prior to painting. i just used whatever paint colors i had on hand...all MM scrapbook paints - chocolate, buttercup, celery, sky, steel and spotlight. also, various rubber stamps and some black and cocoa ink. i am going to hang this in my craft space so i can see its message often - 'believe' - as in, me.

detail:

heck, maybe even next time, i'll even attempt to paint a person a la kelly!

what's making you happy today?

valentine follow-up & aquarium

it was a nice valentine's day around here. i managed to make valentines for the kids' daycare friends. there's nothing like a home-made valentine, no matter how simple.


i also made some home-made valentines for my children, inspired by a post from ali: the minibooks were fun to make and i also found these little mailboxes from target, in the dollar bins, which were the perfect size for holding a finger puppet, a little car and some m&ms's. i think my son really enjoyed opening it up to find some treats inside. i'm thinking about leaving them up in their rooms all year long.

we had a special movie night, complete with pj's, a big bowl of popcorn and the original animated cat in the hat dvd. it was a goooood night.

today was a fun trip to an aquarium...my daughter is one! it was so nice that it coincided with a holiday so that we were all free from work to spend the day together. i think this was my favorite shot from the day (although my timing was off and i missed the sea lion floating by the window).


more birthdays and celebrations just around the corner....good times ahead.

simple hearts

more valentine-related posts coming later in the week (hopefully!)

a day to remember

today called for a celebratory cake from one of my favorite places. good stuff all around today.

welcome 2009!

2008 was a year full of surprises and lots of good. so much to be thankful for and hoping for another fabulous year!

happy new year!