~*LOOK.. I'm all shiny and new!!*~

I am proud to announce the launch of artsymama.com the web site! Miss Hope at Paper Relics has been a dream to work with and to make the vision a reality. We started the process when she was here for a visit and she updated my blog banner. Love the new look! Then came the web site and new etsy banner. It's so nice to have everything together now.

You can go to the main page and then click on any of the other areas to easily navigate through ArtsyMama-land! Hope you all like it. I am thrilled!
Kudos to Hope! Also, there's still plenty of room in the Sweet and Sinister swap. Check out all the details in the post below.

It's back!

Back by popular demand, I'm taking sign-ups now on A Year of Color blog for the annual Sweet and Sinister swap (see blog for details). If you're not in A Year of Color, but want to be in the swap, sign up for it here. All my swaps this year are through the YOC blog, so you must be a member to join the swap. In other news, the first sunflower has reared it's glorious head!

With another one on the way. Brilliant! I'm super excited to show you a completely new ArtsyMama web site next week. The marvelous Hope Wallace has been working hard! She also made the Sweet and Sinister button above.

Have a great weekend!

You make me happy....

Wow, what an amazing day in the blog-o-sphere! Thank you to everyone that stopped by and supported Tara's book yesterday. I will keep the blogroll up on my sidebar for awhile, so you can all continue to visit the wonderfully passionate bloggers that are a part of this vibrant, supportive blog community. I am so honored to be a part of it all. You can also re-visit the party post below and the comments with links to hear about the inspiring stories of why people blog and the impact on their lives. Thanks for being such strong allies of living the creative life and for sharing your authentic selves with us all.

The winner of the book giveaways is....Andrea @ Andrea Creates. Congrats!

Have a blissful day!

~*Blogging for Bliss book release party*~

Welcome to the celebration!!

**Party update: This just in from Tara Frey...the book just went #1 in crafts on Amazon!!!! Which means we moved Miss Martha Stewart down as of 5::30 pm est! Horray for bloggers!!**Come on inside, grab a cupcake and enjoy all the guests we have with us today in honor of Tara Frey and her fantastic new book Blogging for Bliss! On the right sidebar is a list of all the blogs participating in the book release party. Be sure and take some time to pop on over to each and read about all the people that stay true to their heart and write and create authentically, sharing themselves with the world as they "blog for bliss."

In the book, Tara brings together "creative bloggers" of all types- art blogs, quilting blogs, sewing blogs, vintage ephemera blogs, and more. She empowers the newbie to give it a try and dig deep where "you'll find your voice, and learn how to connect with others around the world." Tara also goes through the nuts and bolts of how to create a blog, how to make it beautiful, how to get traffic to your little corner of the blog-o-sphere, and even the ever-important etiquette. The book also features over 50 inspiring blogs in a "Meet the Blogger" section at the end of each chapter. Be sure and leave a comment at the end of the post for a chance to win a copy of Blogging for Bliss!

As it says in my page in the book, my blogging story began an autumn day in Minnesota in 2005. My very first post states my intention of starting my blog as, "...a place to throw out thoughts, ideas and inspirations. This blog is an attempt to be more aware. To take in my life moment by moment. It's an online scrapbook of sorts; layers of images, text, pieces of this and that. This is my life. Welcome to it!" 788 posts later, this is still what I do and my reason for doing it. It has inspired me to write my own book, teach classes and go to countless art retreats connecting with online friends from around the world. Best of all, it helps me to appreciate each day and see the beauty in everything around me. Our author extraordinaire, Tara Frey, is joining us for a little meet-and-greet.

In the book, you mention you began your blog in 2004, how has your blog evolved over the years? What have you changed? What’s stayed the same?

My blog has evolved and grown with me over the years. It first was all about my store (at the time) and I would think too much before each post. Now I blog from the heart and the words flow easily from the keyboard. I now talk about everyday things, like family, friends, and little random thought bubbles.

How has your blog helped your business?

This one is easy...without my blog there would be no book deal.

Why did you decide to write a book about Blogging for Bliss? What did you learn during this process?

The book was sort of a take off of some of my columns that feature creative bloggers. We wanted to expand this idea, feature more bloggers, and also give helpful information, tips, tools and visual imagery to inspire readers.

I learned that creative women who blog are superheros. Not only are they wives and mothers, they are creating, then inspire us all by taking beautiful photos of the creation and giving instructions as well. They are fabulous and generous creatures.

What three things are necessary to have a great blog?

Large crisp photos, a great banner, and most importantly, be yourself. Always stay true to your own voice and the words and posts will flow easily.

Do you have a favorite blog post?

If you mean on my own blog, then I think it would have to be anything I've written to my husband, (who doesn't read the blog, ironically) Except he did read "The Bullet List" I wrote him.

Thanks, Tara!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Leave a comment if you'd like to be entered in the drawing to win a copy of the book. Anyone who stops by can enter. Be sure and post in the comments when you put your party post up on your blog . That way we can all visit the other bloggers participating and don't forget to get your picture taken on the way out!

Blissful Sunday...

I'm thrilled that there will be so many bloggers participating in the blogland celebration on Tuesday here on my blog. See the right sidebar for a listing of everyone that has RSVP'd for the Blogging for Bliss book release blog party. It's certainly not too late to get involved. Here's all the details. Everyone who has a blog, has a story to tell about how it came to be and what it means to them. The story of your "blogging for bliss". I'd love to hear yours. Come on back and share with us all on August 4th!I've had a wonderfully blissful weekend here. Yesterday morning I went to an amazing estate sale and found the picture above, now one of my very favorites. It's signed and dated on the back and was made when I was 6 days old! It just screams everything I love about the end of summer. Perfect!
This morning I went to the farmer's market downtown and loaded up on some gorgeous blooms.
I also bought lots of fresh veggies, including zucchini for making bread.
While it was cooking, Chloe made the most adorable little drawings for her own alphabet. I loved all the little smiley faces, especially the "pencil" below with the lines:)
The zucchini bread came out fantastic and I enjoyed eating it off of my new set of plates from the sale. They were an amazing find that I couldn't be more thrilled with.
Yum!
We've been watching our sunflowers reaching higher and higher for the sun, since we started them from seed months ago.
This one is just about to open up. Glorious!!


Hope you're enjoying a wonderful weekend!!

**Event Reminder**

Next Tuesday, August 4th is the blog book release party for

Tara Frey's book Blogging for Bliss!

My blog will be the party headquarters and I have already begun a blogroll of everyone participating to the right on my sidebar. If you plan to post that day and do not see your blog mentioned, please comment with your url and I will add it. You will also find a button for the party on the right side bar (designed by Hope Wallace) that can be added to your blog.

ANYONE in blogland is invited to participate. To do so, on Tuesday, August 4th, post on your blog anything related to the theme of Blogging for Bliss. This theme can be interpreted any way that you would like. You could share the story of how your blog came to be and the evolution of getting to where you are now. Please point your readers back to my blog somewhere in your post so that they can follow the links and visit all of the other bloggers involved in the party. You can also copy the button below to include on your blog. Also, for those of you on Facebook, Tara’s friend Audrey has created a fan page for the book and mentions the book release blog party. You can find it all here http://tiny.cc/facebookbliss

Can't wait to see you then!

Guess who's back....

I'm back feeling reinvigorated and delighted to show you my new blog look created by Hope Wallace designs. Hope does such fabulous work and it was fun to see her in action creating the wonderful banner above while she was here on a visit. I love that it incorporates my style statement Creative Treasure. Hope you like it! The house is so quiet. I had to say good-bye to my dear sister, Laura when she left with her family on Sunday after spending almost 3 weeks together. I loved every minute of it!
Then Hope was here for several days staying with me and my crazy family. We had so much fun shopping, going to estate sales, parks and hanging out journaling together!Last Saturday Laura, Hope and I all went to Danielle's firestarter session. It was amazing and is very difficult to put into words.
Danielle is the author of the book style statement and the blog WhiteHotTruth.
The session was a mix of hearing Danielle's story and tips for the journey of being an entrepreneur, figuring out what we really want to get out of life and learing to expand to our fullest possible extent. It was truly remarkable and wonderful to spend the morning with such an amazing group.

Preparing for Hope to visit, we spruced up the house a bit with loads of flowers from the farmer's market.Hope fit right in and the kids loved her!! Here is Chloe and Hope rummaging through some vintage letters.
It was wonderful to see each other's journals in person. They are so much more amazing when you can actually hold them in your hands.

After the firestarter session we did a few pages in our journals while chatting the night away.

What an amazing couple of weeks I've had. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have such nurturing connections to some amazing women.Bye-bye....it was fun!!

Treasured days...

It's been a busy week here with my sister and her family still in town. We've enjoyed day after day of guests, wonderful family feasts and lots of fun play time together. Last weekend I made up a batch of homemade hot buttered pretzels. They were a big hit. Yum! My sister and I worked on some canvases for little Hans' room and gave the girls a canvas to work on together.
They had a blast and came up with this wonderful creation. As you can see, they were quite excited about it! We won't all be together again until Christmas, so we're enjoying every minute. Nothing beats treasured days like this!! To make things even more exciting, I'm awaiting the arrival of my wonderful art friend on Friday and then on Saturday attending an amazing firestarter session with my sister and Hope conducted by Danielle LaPorte the author of Style Statement.

Days of summer...

Our week "up north" was unseasonably cool, but we still fully enjoyed the time away, soaking up family time and lots of new experiences.The first few days were sunny and clear. There were campfires, and s'mores...of course.Some of the marshmallows were as big as baby Hans' head!It was such a delight to meet my new nephew. He is cute as can be!My sister and I loved hanging out with our girls together.
There were some cool, cloudy days when we did lots of crafts.
We tromped through the woods looking for inspiration and supplies for our projects.

Took a trip into town for turtle races and ice cream.

Saw a family of loons from the cabin window.

The kids went fishing for the first time.

What a wonderful family vacation!