Promise Yourself

(front cover of my inspiration book)

Promise Yourself

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk of health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends aware of the special qualities within them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and let your optimism work to make your dreams come true.

To think, work for, and expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others, as you are about your own.

To forget past mistakes and press on towards a greater future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times, as a smile radiates warmth and love.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time left to criticize others.

To be too wise for worry, too tolerant for anger and too courageous for fear.

To be happy.

-Christian B. Larson

growth

Grow Your Handmade Business,

 How to Envision, Develop, and Sustain a Successful Creative Business

by Kari Chapin

Brandon got this super great book for me this Christmas with a reminder that he knows I can make something big happen with my creative heart. Isn't it great to hear those words from someone you love? 

It was a great kick-in-the-butt (that I needed) to get re-energized and re-inspired as this new year begins. I'm only about a third of the way through so far, but for all you creatives out there I would highly recommend it. I haven't had any lightning-bolt moments yet, but she includes a group of creative souls as resources throughout the text and I have found several that I would like to start following in our on-line universe. (My favorite being the uber-fabulous Alexandra Franzen.) 

As I work towards setting some new goals and intentions I keep going back to a simple statement, "You first have to know yourself." Sure it's easy to quickly pass over such a little thing, and want to devour a little further, seeking out the bulleted points of success. But maybe, just maybe it's the bigger question that we all need to think about a little bit more.

Who am I?

What do I want?

What motivates me?

The beautiful thing is that these questions are fluid and impermanent. We can change and grow and rework ourselves 'till we're truly who we want to be.

For me, now....

I believe in the importance of being inspired.

I believe that we must honor the person we were, are, and want to become.

My mission is to create art that speaks to our inner light.

What about you?

our broken hearts are healing and a big thank you to all of you

Our New Year didn't exactly start out as we planned....

 "I'll see you guys in a little bit!" I called out as I bounded out the door on January 3rd for a routine 16 week check-up. About 45 minutes later I was calling Brandon with terrible news, we couldn't find a heartbeat. We were in shock, feeling as if the rug had been pulled out from under us. We were getting so excited, at the following appointment we were going to find out the sex! And now this. This place of no answers, no what-if's, no immediate solace for our brokenness.  It just was what it was.

We felt stuck in between disbelief and shock for days. It was very surreal to have been planning and dreaming of this new addition to our family, all the wonderful and crazy new dimensions it would create for us, and to have that suddenly change. It didn't help that I still looked pregnant, but wasn't. That first glass of red wine should have tasted good, but it didn't. It was raw and painful and hard for us both. 

But in the midst of our tears we were overwhelmed by the support of our friends and family. We had no idea that this experience had touched the lives of so many people we know. I can't say enough how much it meant to me, to have friends, even ones I haven't seen in 10 years, reach out and share their stories. Share their brokenness too. It felt so good to be understood, even if I didn't even fully know everything I was feeling. I feel empowered by my girls and their families, for they have shared their strength and helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel. It makes me wish that I could have been there more for my friends in their time of need. I only hope that I can be the same support for someone in the future. I understand the quietness that this experience lays on you though, the need to deal with it privately and in your own time. 

Sometimes all a girl needs is a hug from her mom. And that is exactly what I got, when she flew out from Alaska to be with us. Thanks mom! You'll never know how much that meant to  me. And all of us. Moms just know when they're needed.

This experience has left me with a new-found appreciation for Warren and our life now. I am left with deep gratitude for the gifts we already have. It is a wonderful reminder to be present and enjoy his silly smile and wild shenanigans. His expressions seem more meaningful and his hugs feel extra sweet these days. I don't want to lose that.

And you know us, we're eternal optimists....we'll try again.

a Christmas tradition

I've been working on the final touches of our Christmas card for this year (I know...it's totally getting late!!) and before sharing the design with you, I thought you might like to see some of the old ones we've come up with. I was going to share just the cards, but then I thought, "what the heck, just share the entire scrapbook!" We've kept a copy of each card, and on the page for that year I write the quote we used and put the city, state in which we were living at the time. I'm really glad we started keeping this scrapbook, it's a tiny snapshot into our lives at that moment.

With the early cards, I hand colored each one. Yes, each one...I still can't believe it. I had to start REALLY early to get them done on time. I think there have been two years where we didn't complete cards. One year I can claim good justification - Warren was born right before Thanksgiving that year, and I was a little busy! ;-)

It's also fun to see how my artwork has/hasn't changed. Some are old favorites, and some I'm not a huge fan of anymore. But, they all make for a beautiful story of Christmases past.

And here was our first card, all the way back in 1998. 

and finally last years....

little goals lead to big goals

Ever feel like you've been working on a project forever and the end just never feels in sight? Well, I have.... I got this idea for an alphabet collage book a little while after Warren was born  and just look at where the time has gone- two years have flown by!

I put a lot of thought into how I wanted the overall book to flow and I decided on a rainbow background. So each page, and each letter has a slightly different colored background as it slowly progresses through the rainbow. I've always loved collages and wanted to incorporate basic images with my illustrations and of course various letter fonts from magazines. Not only did I want to include your typical animals and foods, but action words and character traits as well (like patience and persistence- both on my P page). Books are an important tool  in exposing our kids to rich language, and I think it's never to early to begin using quality vocabulary in our conversations with them. 

So, I'm finally in my final creative stages and ready to send it off to prospective publishers/agents. It feels good to have reached a goal before the year has ended. (I've been working like crazy on this the last few months!) Ultimately, this project has just entered a new stage, and isn't really done, but it feels really good to have made it to this next step. And especially before the year ended, I really needed this. 

I feel like I'll be open to new inspiration now that this project is "off" my plate. Ready for a new year, new projects, new ???

Warning: fun holiday treat inside!

Looking for a fun holiday project for all ages?

I did this project years and years ago with the kids I used to babysit when I was in high school....I know, I know, like a millenia ago.... Anyway, it was a huge holiday hit and we ALL loved making them, and best of all decorating them. It can be fun for all ages, although not as young as two I've discovered. Warren didn't get the concept of putting the candy on the house and not directly into his mouth. :-) 

The decorating is the super fun part, but the house preparation is easy, and best done by the adults ahead of time.

For the house you'll need:

Graham Crackers (1 box= about 4 houses)

Cardboard

Foil

Tape

Glue Gun

Stick Pretzels

First cut out a square base for your house out of cardboard and then cover it with foil. Wrap it like a present and tape the edges down on the bottom. 

With your glue gun, glue down your base. (I've found that having a base helps keep the sides in a nice neat square shape)

Start adding your sides, using glue to seal all edges that touch either another cracker or the base.

Continue adding your sides:  if you add to the outside of the base, like I did you'll find that you end up with a little opening on one, perhaps two edges. An easy fix is to take one of your stick pretzels, break it to the desired height and then use this as a filler to close that opening. This will help create strength to your house, which is a good thing when you have little fingers pushing candies onto it later.

Lay another square across the top. This is optional, but I think it helps create more stability and keeps the house from getting loose candy stuck in it later. :-)

The roof is really the only slightly tricky part. Use your glue gun and put a long row of glue on the outside edge of where your two eaves will touch the house base. (I usually hold the squares up to the house first to get an idea of where I need the glue to be) What makes it tricky is getting those two rows of glue on and then getting your squares into place before your glue dries. Hold it in place for a few seconds, then let the edges (at the peak) rest together and lay another row of glue here to connect it securely. I added another stick pretzel to most of mine this time, at the peak as well to give the corner more stability.

And voila... a beautiful graham cracker 'gingerbread' house!!

You can create a whole little village if you want....

And like I said, the REAL fun comes with the decorating. And with all the fun candy out there, you can get REALLY creative. Stick pretzels work great for outlining doors or windows. Sticks of gum, especially the wider flat kind, make great shingles, or window shutters, or doors. And of course, gum drops, skittles, red hots etc. work great as Christmas lights. They also have awesome shaped sprinkles out there too. I found white and blue snowflake ones, how cute is that?! I also happened to find green Christmas tree shaped Peeps. (A fun addition to the landscaping of your house) Like I said, you can go CRAZY with the details....so have FUN.

A note on the frosting as glue. There are lots of pre-made frosting in tubes but it's super easy to just buy a small tub (like for cupcakes/cakes) and put it into a sandwich bag (I prefer freezer grade for this) and just snip one bottom corner (just a bit...not too much) and squeeze it out this way. And another note, this might be obvious, but it's MUCH easier if you put an adult in charge of placing the frosting. I like to have the kids pick one square at a time to work on. It helps keep the mess to a minimum. :-)

Happy Holiday Projecting!!!

Lots to be thankful for

Guess who just turned two? Our little wild man is 2! We can hardly believe how fast the time has flown. Grandma made Warren a cute little pillow where the fingers fold down with velcro to make the "2" shape. And how much does a kid like to play with velcro.....A LOT! 

I attempted my first "fun" cake and all I can say is that it was a LOT of work. It was fun, but good luck trying to find a Twinkie the day after they announce on the news that Hostess is going into bankrupcy. And those cute little chocolate covered donuts for the wheels- it was a miracle that I found a package of those. (And yes, there was only one, and who knows how old they were). My sister is the cake master in our family and I did my best to make her proud. I've got a long way to go, but this was a great first experiment in cake design.

Warren managed to get a good 'blow' attempt, but Daddy helped him succeed!

Warren dove right in and made all the gumdrops quickly disappear. I think he got a bit of a surprise when one of the red ones turned out to be cinnamon flavored and not cherry like the others!

And we had a beautiful Thanksgiving as well. We had good friends join us and food and festivities were bountiful. We had a grand time playing games, watching football and sharing special Thanksgiving memories. It's amazing how connected a special dish can make you feel to those cherished childhood thoughts, or recent holidays with loved ones. Now that we're parents we think a lot about creating that environment that will hopefully spark a warm spot in the hearts of our kid(s). What amazing things we have to be grateful for, the memories we have and the ones we are creating. May all of you be blessed with a happy, healthy, and HEARTy holiday season!