ArtsyMama

Friday, July 10, 2009

Off on summer vacation...

We're headed "up north" (as they say here in Minnesota) for our summer vacation. Just as we did last year, the year before and the year before that. My sister and her family are in town and I was able to meet my new little nephew Hans, who is absolutely adorable!! Remember when I made this for her homecoming with him?

Here are some art journal pages I did this week reflecting on how I hope to see with fresh eyes and explore the world around me while I'm gone. I pasted in the list of "How to Be an Explorer of the World" from Keri's book. Hope to keep these things in mind when I'm away and take some time to relax and see life from a child's perspective.

I adore this little rainbow butterfly that Chloe drew for me this morning. What a wonderful color combo!Have a great week!

Monday, July 06, 2009

Thinking ahead....

A couple of really fun things coming up here. First off, mark your calendars for August 4th! This is the release date of Tara Frey's book Blogging for Bliss. I am so excited to be a part of this book with so many other bloggers! I will be hosting a blog party here on my blog on August 4th along with our fearless leader, Tara Frey, and hopefully with all those involved in the book. Check back for more details on how everyone in blogland can participate!!

** Grab the button below that Hope Wallace made for us if you'd like to play along and post it on your blog!**

I know it's waaaay early and I'm not wishing the summer away by any means, but I've already gotten some inquiries about how the Sweet and Sinister swap is going to work this year. Last year I announced the swap and private blog in July and had a huge response, so I guess people are getting in the mood again!

The Year of Color blog is going strong, so rather than adding a whole other blog, that is where all the Halloween action will take place. I will be announcing the Halloween swap and taking sign-ups in August.** You must be a member of the Year of Color blog to participate in the Sweet and Sinister swap.** If you sign up now, you'll be all set to register for the swap and besides you'll have access to the archives which began January 1st. This month we've already had an amazing striped project tutorial with our guest designer, Katie Runnels with tons more to come!

Regarding all of the wonderful Halloween tutorials leading up to the big day, we will have plenty. Our guest designer for September is the wonderful Kerry Lynn Yeary with a orange/copper theme and then in October, Candice Carpenter with a black and white theme. There will also be many more Autumn and Halloween projects peppered in by many other talented folks for loads of inspiration. So that's the scoop for anyone already feeling a little tug of Halloween planning. BTW- This was my display last year, no I haven't gotten my Halloween stuff out yet!!

Friday, July 03, 2009

Happy weekend....

Wishing you all a happy and safe 4th of July!

Here's a new inspiration board I made for the Jenni Bowlin class that just started over here. I just covered foam board with faux bois contact paper and put it in a frame. This class is going to be so much fun! Anyone else taking it??

Here are a few other peeks around the house right now.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Goodbye June...

Sure have enjoyed your....

:: lemonade

:: first rides

:: flowers galore

:: fresh veggies

:: tee ball

:: swim lessons

:: boat rides

:: park dates

:: father's day

:: interesting reads (like this and this) and finally got around to this

Friday, June 26, 2009

Full circle Friday...

I started the day thinking that I wanted to do another installment of 5 Senses Friday and capture the day accordingly. Then I began to notice all the circles around me, so I decided to document the circles that pop up throughout my day.

It began with a bowl full of yummy blueberries on my cereal this morning.

With the early morning coolness, the kids decided to go out back and play with bubbles.

This led to this very cool picture of a giant oblong bubble with our house reflected back in it.

I noticed all the teeny tiny little circles of dew caught up on this web in the grass.

After a bit, the kids came inside and did some drawing. Lots of circles and smiles here.

Looking around the house I noticed some estate sale finds from last weekend.

Then a trip to the park before swim lessons yielded more circles and vibrant rainbows.

Finally, some happy kids climbing through the oval tunnels and slides.

This was all before noon! I find that on Friday's sometimes the week seems to come around full circle, so maybe this will be my new theme. Regardless, it was a lot of fun.