ArtsyMama

Getting ready for the bellas....

2009-11-06T13:06:00.013-06:00

Well, I guess one advantage of having sick kids at home and now a car in the shop is I have more time for collecting, gathering and putting little packages together for the bellas! Silver Bella is next weekend!! I can hardly wait to see so many of you.The apron has arrived.My journal is ready. Some crafty projects are finished.

I'll see (many of you) in a few days in Omaha!
Have a great weekend!

Dark November...

2009-11-03T17:40:00.012-06:00

Not much light here today. November is definitely upon us. I'm trying to think of it as a time of cocooning and great productivity. Lots of inside time to get crafty, right?! I added some post-Halloween autumn inspiration to my wall. This little autumn cutie is from Melissa McCobb Hubbell as part of the art exchange that's going around the blog-o-sphere lately...
...and this tag.Paged through some lovely autumn images in these magazines.

And baked up some yummy treats. These apple cookies from naptime chef are delicious...and not too sweet!

November begins...

2009-11-02T12:45:00.006-06:00

with some exciting news! It's always such a thrill to be published in a magazine. Thanks to Christine at Stampington for asking me to write an article for Artful Blogging magazine about my year long Year of Color blog that will come to an end at the end of 2009.

Our November guest designer on A Year of Color is Jeska Hearne. I have adored her blog Lobster and Swan for a long time. She's the perfect guide for inspiration and beauty for this month's theme of brown and sepia tones. She encourages us to move into a season of warmth and calm with cozy accents before the holiday rush. Her tone is perfect! Please join us in these last few months of the blog. All the archives are available, so you can catch up on the whole year. I won't be doing another like it next year, so now is your last chance.

Happy November!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T21:37:00.012-05:00

Hope you're having a wonderfully spooky Halloween eve.
Costumes and jack-o-lanterns are definitely may favorite part.

The almost full moon drifting in and out of the clouds sets the perfect stage for this All Hallow's Eve.

Getting close....

2009-10-29T12:55:00.004-05:00

We are now in final preparations for the big day.

Witchy night...

2009-10-28T18:19:00.012-05:00

Getting ready to host my annual "witch's brew" gathering for some girlfriends tonight.No, this 15 ft. witch is not in my yard, I spotted her (how could you miss it!) on the way to school today. Isn't she amazing!! Reminds me of this old photo which I've always found incredibly creepy. They are similar in size. Look at her teeth. Yikes!What about this guy!?! creepy...

If you like creepy decor, I posted a bunch more of this yard (I do not know the creator) on my flickr.

Suspended...

2009-10-27T14:57:00.020-05:00

This time of year, I feel like I'm suspended in time between autumn and the coming of winter. There is a very brief period of time here in Minnesota that is gorgeous almost beyond the imagination. The trees are ablaze, the blue sky goes on forever. It is truly a remarkable time. So today on a picture perfect fall day, I took a long walk. As I was walking along, there would be a gust of wind that would send thousands of leaves dancing, twirling through the air. Swirling about a slowly settling to the ground. I noticed that many of them didn't quite make it to the ground, but would get caught in a branch or a plant and would be there suspended for who knows how long, on display for all to see...or for those that noticed.
We seem to be getting a second "peak" this year with leaf color. For this last hurrah of fall, the oaks are brilliant orange and red. They made my heart sing today.Soon all the leaves will lay to rest on the ground to be covered under a blanket of snow, tucked in for a long winter.

Last Sunday of October...

2009-10-25T19:30:00.010-05:00

Can you believe it!? Only one more week of October...yikes! I'm still hanging on to every dazzling leaf on the trees and enjoying every bit of dry weather we have (it's been so cool and rainy). I dug through my bins of Halloween decor one last time. I figure I better put it out now, or it will be another year before I see it again. So with less than a week to go, what are your Halloween plans? I'm hosting my annual spooky mom's night out this Wednesday and then there are class parties and festivities galore once we hit the end of the week. This is such a wonderful time of year! I am torn a bit between holiday's. I purposely didn't sign up for any of the Silver Bella swaps and couldn't even begin to start thinking about gathering supplies until now. I just am not in the mood for Christmas one bit...yet. I'm not a total party pooper, I will be more than game once the bella festivities are in full swing. However, this is going to help a little in the meantime. The theme for vendor night is aprons and the lovely miss Tif (aka dottie angel) made this custom artsymama apron for me to wear. Isn't it just beyond amazing?!! I certainly think so.
Now I just need to find a cute little outfit to wear with it like she has on here:) Thanks a million, tif!
So slowly I will gather holiday supplies to bring with for the amazing projects that we'll be making. But not until I carve another pumpkin or two!

five senses friday: estate sale version

2009-10-23T14:17:00.018-05:00

I was so pleased to see that abby posted a five senses Friday on her blog today. After going to a most unusual estate sale this morning, I definitely wanted to play along.I headed to a 1920's estate this morning to find out that it was that of Chet Noice, the creator of the original dough boy story, which he sold to Pillsbury and it later became their mascot, the Poppin' fresh doughboy. The home is going to be demolished and turned into a subdivison. How sad.

The house was filled with wonderful antiques and gorgeous light fixtures.

Of course several poppin' fresh boys were strewn about.

I was enchanted by a little play room in the "maid's quarters", as they told me.

Feel: walking up to the house I felt the cold, wet sleet coming down. Inside the house was big and open. You could feel the history in its bones.

Sight: so many neat old things, but realized that I certainly don't have an "eye" for antiques. Some things I was amazed at the price and others (some that I collect) were practically free. I know what I like and I'm not getting it for it's re-sale value, that's for sure.

Hear: people talking, wanting to find out stories about the man, the objects in his home. I couldn't help but keep hearing the little giggle of the dough boy as his tummy is poked in the Pillsbury commercials.

Smell: the smell of accumulated belongings that have lived in the house over many, many years. Some would call this musty, I prefer calling it the smell of aged collections.

Taste: the sugary doughnuts and coffee they were giving out

Inspiration...

2009-10-22T00:01:00.004-05:00

Above is a spread from my inspiration journal. I missed Vanessa's Halloween bash the other day, but each year I like to show you a lovely store here in the twin cities where I find the most unusual Halloween decor. Remember last year, and the year before? Here's Nature's Harvest all decked out for Halloween this year. Enjoy! I love this wonderful table setting. I'm seeing these pumpkins all over blogland now and love how they were used here.

Then we enter the domain of the skeletons.

Creepy crawlers all over the place. Eeeeek!
These face glasses are fantastic.

In other news, I was excited to be interviewed by Handmade News and I'm featured today.

Bitter sweet....

2009-10-19T15:34:00.023-05:00

This weekend was the perfect weather for getting started on carving our pumpkins. We carved up the two largest ones and will savor the experience and do a few at a time over the next several weeks. Nothing says fall to me more than the smell of fresh cut pumpkin goo.
Then we took our final trip to the apple orchard. With snow and freezing temperatures last week, this is the end of the harvest. That means great deals for us, $1 a lb. when you pick your own!
The leaves on the apple trees had turned brown and the apples were deep red. It was a beautifully muted atmosphere.

Perfection.Bittersweet, indeed.

Wild things...

2009-10-17T21:02:00.017-05:00

As Bethany says in her review here, .."my thoughts on Where The Wild Things Are tinkle in my head like a distant wind-chime. Hard to pin down exactly where the noises come from, but I do believe that’s part of the magic." I wasn't absolutely crazy about the movie when I saw it, but I just can't seem to get it out of my head. First off, you've got to see this heartwarming video about the actor Max Records, the 12 year old that carries the movie. He does an incredible job! Bethany's review of the movie pretty much sums it up for me. There's a lot there emotionally and it is absolutely beautiful. edit: I also agree with a lot of what this review says, including ""[They] took this book about imagination and escape and turned it into an hour and a half of Muppet therapy," he said. "There were obvious themes of working on divorce pains, but Max was the king of all wild things, not a family therapist. The kid uses his imagination to work through all of his issues, but that's something that you do when you're 22 and in college, not something you do when you get in your boat and sail off to where the wild things are."
But, said reviewer Avant, someone Griffioen's age is probably a better audience for the film.
"It's definitely aimed at adults," Avant said. "I wouldn't necessarily call it a kid movie, but rather a movie about being a kid."
Couldn't resist a walk in the woods today, inspired by the lovely scenery seen throughout the show. Also because it warmed up to 50 degrees and the sun came out again. YahOOOoooooooooooo...as Max would say!

Has anyone else seen it? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

The clock is ticking...

2009-10-16T07:24:00.015-05:00

Thanks so much for your wonderful comments about my photos in the last post. Capturing the season with my camera brings me such joy. Speaking of the current season, are you counting down the days yet until the 31st? It's coming up quick! It's been extremely cool and rainy here these last few days, so I've had to stay inside. I wanted to share the lovely packages I received from my sweet and sinister partners. I've been using the wonderful mug below from Melissa Heid every day for my morning coffee.

Below is the rest of the black and white goodies that Melissa gave me. The box was packed and actually included more than what's pictured, including some wonderful houndstooth magnets, a "c" necklace for Chloe, and a extra large lolly, but the kids got their hands on some of the goodies and are enjoying them as much as I am. You can see all the fun stuff she makes in her etsy shop. Thanks, Melissa!

My other partner was the fun and oh-so-creative Holly Hanks. She put together a wonderful package of vintage and handmade Halloween goodness. Perfect. Thanks, Holly!

Holly posted a much better photo of these beauties she created on her blog. Love them!
Hop on over to the flickr pool for the sweet and sinister swap, it is dripping with amazing inspiration. This years group has really gone above and beyond.

Have a great weekend!

Nature....sugar coated

2009-10-13T13:28:00.016-05:00

After yesterday's dumping of snow (which as since melted) today we woke up to nature in all of it's sugar coated glory. I ran out to one of my favorite places and captured the glittery stillness before the sun melted it all away.
As you can see, I do not have a macro lens, but the crystals were so large I was able to capture them with my regular point-and-shoot.

I actually sat and watched these crystals warm up and turn to water. It was magnificent!

I'm really excited to start Susannah Conway's Unravelling: exploring the senses course today. Anyone else taking it?

Where has autumn gone?

2009-10-12T10:48:00.006-05:00

I just posted below 12 hours ago about our first snow of the season and I'm already updating with our second, this one I would call more of a dump. The photo above was taken last Thursday, the photo below today.
I love winter and all, after all, I do live in Minnesota. However, I can only appreciate it after a lovely autumn affair with the glorious colors and the crunching of the leaves. This, my friends, is a bit too early to be white. It's as if Autumn has been erased.
Good thing I thrifted a good stash of nice warm blankets recently. At least I have something comfy cozy to snuggle up with.

In 65 years, my dad has never seen snow on his birthday.

Happy Birthday, Dad!!!

The first snow...

2009-10-11T21:06:00.012-05:00

Yep, we got some of the white stuff already and there's more on the way. It has been a cold week here in Minnesota barely in the 40's. This is what we woke up to Saturday morning. Chloe has her dance class in a building next to a beautiful garden that we walked around in and took in the first powder of the season.
Of course the kids were thrilled. Here's Chloe walking around the labyrinth path in full winter gear.
This little guy was happy to find a stash of food in the autumn decor they had around the garden.

This picture depicts how strange it is to have snow this early. The trees are still full of green leaves.

Does this mean we could have another storm like the Halloween blizzard of 1991?

Not much you can do, but enjoy it!

How do you like them apples?

2009-10-09T13:40:00.022-05:00

This week has been a flurry of daily trips to take in all of fall that we can, while it's still here. The color here is about at peak and the snow is supposed to fly tonight (!!) so we've spent the last several cool, crisp, clear days enjoying what we can of the season. Yesterday was a trip to the apple orchard.

After the orchard was a trip to one of our favorite woodland walks. Still lots of green and yellow, but we found a few spots of bright orange that illuminated everything around.

Burr....with the highs lately barely above forty, it's definitely invigorating getting out to enjoy the autumn glory.

Warning: autumn color overload

2009-10-07T22:17:00.019-05:00

My morning was spent in absolute autumn paradise at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. After several days of rain, when the sun came out today it was truly a riot of color. Enjoy!

Swap mania...

2009-10-06T17:57:00.015-05:00

The sweet and sinister swap is in full swing! Now that the packages I sent have been recieved I am excited to share with you what I gave to my two partners.The first package went to the wonderful Holly Hanks. She is a scrapbooker, so I sent lots of supplies and vintage bits.

My second partner was Melissa Heid. She is interested in Day of the Dead and Mexican style, so here is what I put together for her. You can also see her fun style in the goodies in her etsy shop.

Another year of fabulous fun. Next I will show you the amazing packages they sent to me! Also, check out loads more inspiring packages at the sweet and sinsiter flickr group.

Fall brunch....

2009-10-04T20:43:00.010-05:00

I had a wonderful day today celebrating fall with some ladies from the nature center where I used to work. I tried a couple new recipes that turned out quite yummy that I thought I'd share.Zucchini and Potato Pie

1 pound (3 medium) potatoes, scrubbed
boiling salted water
2 Tablespoons butter
2 eggs
8 ounces mozzarella or provolone cheese, diced fine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large zucchini, grated
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, or 1/2 tsp. dried, crushed
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 Tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs
Directions: Cook potatoes in boiling salted water for 25-30 minutes, until tender. Drain, peel and mash, using a potato masher, ricer or food mill. Stir in remaining ingredients except bread crumbs and 1 Tablespoon butter. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 9 inch pie plate and sprinkle with half the crumbs. Fill plate with the potato mixture, smoothing top. Sprinkle with remaining crumbs and dot with the remaining butter. Bake 30 minutes until pie is puffed and golden. Makes 4 servings. Make two to three pies depending on how many guests are invited.

I also tried my hand at making German Apple Pancakes. I've always been a huge fan of these, but never tried for myself. All I can say is YUM!

German Apple Pancakes
4 eggs
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 pinch salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup white sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 large tart apple - peeled, cored and sliced

Directions: In a large bowl, blend eggs, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Gradually mix in milk, stirring constantly. Add vanilla, melted butter and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Let batter stand for 30 minutes or overnight.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Melt butter in a 10 inch oven proof skillet, brushing butter up on the sides of the pan. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Sprinkle mixture over the butter. Line the pan with apple slices. Sprinkle remaining sugar over apples. Place pan over medium-high heat until the mixture bubbles, then gently pour the batter mixture over the apples.
Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and bake for 10 minutes. Slide pancake onto serving platter and cut into wedges. *I made them in pie pans rather than skillets and it worked out just fine.

Then we got crafty and I pulled out a bunch of my fall stash and we made some fun autumn inspired banners while we chatted away.
What a great way to spend the day!

Friday= red

2009-10-02T14:14:00.008-05:00

Today's color is red over here, finishing up autumn color week.
Found this neat panel showing how to make a crepe paper rosette and the pin cushion at a very crafty estate sale recently.
Couldn't resist a little reddish/hot pink for good measure. Loving asters right now!

Have a great weekend!

Thursday= brown

2009-10-01T11:14:00.010-05:00

Hello October!

What a wonderful month September was and I'm looking forward to many more fabulous things this month! To start out, today is brown day over here. I love the warmth and calming effect that brown has. Appropriate for this cold and blustery first day of October. More soothing photos shared here.

Wednesday= orange

2009-09-30T06:00:00.003-05:00

It's the last day of September, what a fabulous month it was! I was so pleased to be able to document each and every day of the month this year in Shimelle's class. I think it will continue on into October. This time of year for me is just bursting with creativity. We've been embracing orange over at A Year of Color all month long and Candice Carpenter is the guest designer for October. She's going to blow us all away with her black and white Halloween ideas. I can't wait! Today's color over here is orange. What a delight! I know orange isn't for everyone, but I for one, just can't get enough. Check out all the orange inspiration here. I've seen these gorgeous velvet pumpkins at several places this fall.
However, nothing beats the real thing.

See you in October!!

Tuesday= Green

2009-09-29T13:23:00.014-05:00

I'm enjoying a week of autumn color going on here and shared here. Today's color is green. Here's what my morning looked like as I collected green. Green at the patch. Green at the nursery. The very end of our harvest. Still some green in the woods.

And a hawk, waiting....

Want to join in the fun?

Wednesday- orange

Thursday- brown

Friday- red

Old is new....

2009-09-28T15:11:00.021-05:00

It's totally legit and within the parameters of my new challenge to go to estate sales. While I have changed my ways and am avoiding un-necessary trips to Target, thrifting will always be a habit I refuse to break. I just found out about Poppytalk's a week of autumn color and of course, you know I'm in! Today is yellow and I think this first picture qualifies with it's buttery yellow vibe. Check out the inspiring flickr pool for more fun.Here are some of my recent finds over the past couple of weeks, including Junk Bonanza. Chloe took the photo above, already one of my faves of a small portion of a lovely new stash of millinery I found at a sale this weekend.
Lots of lovely warm autumn hues. Of course a creepy 70's owl.
The pieces below were real gems to find. Only a dollar or two a piece and I think I've found my holiday color palette.
Some oldie but goodie pastel gems. This house was unbelievable. I wish I would have had my camera at the sale. It's basically what my house would look like if I crafted until I was ninety. Her stash was truly something.
Long live the thrill of the hunt!