{Inspiration} Nature's Harvest

Have I got a feast for your eyes today! Recently I found a nursery near where my son goes to pre-school called Nature's Harvest. It looked so inviting from the outside, as you can see in these pictures, so I finally made a trip inside and it was literally like falling down the rabbit hole. This building, which isn't very big at all, was a feast for the eyes and the imagination. I just stood there taking in each section, moving to the next, filling up my creative well with each step. Come on inside!!

They had just decorated for Halloween and I was in heaven. Is that a contradiction in terms?!! Oh well....just LOOK at this decor:)This was probably my favorite thing in the whole store. Look at this ingenious place setting! How perfect for a sweet and sinister gathering!!

Hope you found it inspiring as well. Have a great weekend!

Finding the goods...and a surprise!

Wewh, what a busy couple of days in blogland. Thanks for all the wonderful comments. So fun to "mingle" with so many of you. Just before Karla's fantastic party the other day, she notified me that I was also in the issue of Romantic Country magazine that she was featured in. I was surprised and elated! I had been contacted a few months ago from a freelance writer about sending some pictures of my holiday decor and crafts for the magazine. I assumed it would be published much later in a holiday issue. Then I realized that the holiday's really aren't that far away and special publications are already starting to hit newstands. Yikes!! I had sent her many pictures and was thrilled to get one in the magazine. Karla found me on page 70 and scanned in the picture for me (pic in far left lower corner). The dress was my very first paper dress made from flocked wrapping paper. The shadowbox frame was made at Silver Bella last year and has a picture of my sister and I when we were kids. So exciting to see Christmas memories on the pages of a magazine!Then after Karla's party, dear Jeanne emailed me to say she had found the magazine and found some photos of my work on another page. The squared scrapbook page below is from my Christmas journal last year and the dove sitting on the cone with the glitter star were gifts that I made for the teachers and interns at my sons Austism Day Treatment program. So fun to see these memorable holiday items here. Wowza, could it get any better!?! I was really excited to get my hands on a copy of the magazine. I've been looking for it days and today finally found a copy at Target. I immediately turned to the article I was in and found yet another series of pictures of my art. So fun! The star ornament below and the scrapbook page of my holiday decor were in my holiday journal as well. I certainly don't do my art to get it published but it is extremely fun and gratifying when it happens. It is all in the current issue, along with Karla's beautiful home. It's out until December. This is what the cover looks like.

Party hopping {Blogland Ball}

So excited to see that I get to go from one party to the next. On the eve of the full moon, the Bloglandia Ball has begun! Oh my what a party this is going to be. Just take a look at the gowns that Elizabeth has made for the event. I've slipped into my evening gown constructed of some of my favorite vintage finds. Everything feels right, I'm so happy to be here. Several other guests have arrived. I'm having an absolutely delightful time already:)

My newest friends are also ready to dress up. I found this candy pink frame with 1920's tru life paper dolls recently and couldn't resist. These girls are fabulous and thinking about going to the ball themselves. Darling!

{Karla's House Party!}

Karla is having the house party of all house party's over at her blog Karla's Cottage today! Be sure and check it out and take a peek through all the links. The photos people are posting on their blogs are absolutely amazing. Every one of these homes could be in a magazine. As a guest of her party I'm having a little open house here at my own humble abode. Karla is having the party to celebrate her article in the most recent issue of Romantic Country magazine. I also squeezed in a picture in this issue. I haven't been able to find the magazine here yet, so Karla was nice enough to scan the page I'm on (pg. 70). There's my little picture in the bottom left corner. It has the first paper dress I made out of flocked wrapping paper last Christmas. It also has a fun shadowbox frame I did at Silver Bella last year featuring a picture of my sister and I when we were kids. It's always fun to have a picture in a magazine:) Karla wanted us to write about what we love about our home. As a stay-at-home-mom I feel like I am in my home a lot. I am constantly moving around and taking in my surroundings. I want my home to really reflect myself and my family. It is an ever-changing state of affairs here. It seems like every weekend I find something new at an estate sale to incorporate into our home.
Our dining room area is also my "studio" space, so I like it to be a whimsy gallery of artful inspiration. This is my current fall set up. In our living room area we have two big bookshelves that really draw the eye in. I change it seasonally and it is my prime space to display my art, art of my friends and little vingettes of things that I love.

My bedroom really wasn't up to par to photograph, but I wanted to show off my favorite bed spread of all time. LOVE this autumn leaf spread that I usually put on in August and leave on until December. It is just soooo me!

So there is a peek inside my ever-changing home. I love that it feels cozy, warm and lived in. I always get asked about how I have all this stuff out and the kids don't get into it. Since I've always had it out, it's just a part of their everyday life and always has been.Now what can we do to cheer this guy up?! :):)

Picture perfect Sunday...

We took a walk this morning around a lake and came across this woman painting this gorgeous fall scene. Of all the studio spaces I've ever seen, mother nature has got to be the ultimate backdrop.

This week there are several fun blog parties not to be missed. On Tuesday the 25th Karla's Cottage is having a house party. Read all the details here. What fun! Then on Wednesday the 26th Elizabeth of Be...Dream...Play is having Blogland Ball. Start planning your wardrobe now...here are all the details. What a grand week it is going to be. See you all there!!

Welcome Autumn!

First off, thank you for all of your kind birthday messages. You are all so wonderful! I made this playful little fabric banner in my excitement about ushering in the fall season. I'm starting to put up some Halloween goodies. The honeycombs (below) I just received from the amazing Cari Kraft. She sells them in three's and they're all double sided and huge. They are wonderfully aged and oh so charming. The third one hangs in our front window. Love them! The lovely lady hanging inside the frame was a gracious hostess gift to me for the Sweet and Sinister swap from Julie of Jane's Apron. You can get one for yourself in her etsy shop. So retro...so fabulous! Thanks, ladies:)

Hope you're all having a wonderful fall weekend!

{Happy Birthday}

Today as I celebrate my 32nd birthday, I'm feeling a little sweet and a little sinister. I don't have an ingenious post like I did last year. You can check that one out here. So I thought I'd share some sneak peeks of what I've been up to making for my Sweet and Sinister swap partners. Check out all the wonderful art being created for this swap here. Fun stuff! Since the theme has been such a hit, I have decided to host a Sweet and Sinister Blogland Gala the last week of October. Stay tuned for more details....

{21 Days}

I'm so excited to see that Rhonna Farrer is doing another 21 day challenge. She is on round 11 and I did her very first challenge way back in round one and it literally changed my art and creative life forever. Since the theory is you can start or break a habit in 21 days, how it works is you pick a habit you want to form or break and work with it for 21 days and see what happens. Rhonna provides quotes each day to keep you working towards your goal. Many people journal about their progress and some post it on their blog. It's fun to support and cheer one another on. Here are the participants for this round.It all started for me back in February of 2006 here I posted on her first prompt. My goal was to do meditation each day. The work I produced and the inner work that was done was incredible for me. All the pictures in this post are from that challenge. They really helped me work through some heavy stuff and defined my style. This was my post on the last day, day 21! I made so many wonderful blogging friends that I still keep in touch with. So I'm going to give it another go. Anyone want to play along with me? It's worth a try. I think my goal this time will be to simply journal each day. I haven't kept an art journal in awhile and would like to keep track of my inspiration and inner musings, so I thought this would be the perfect time to begin. You can start and play along with Rhonna anytime. All her prompts are listed here.

Today's quote:

"You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it." Charles Bruxton