corner studio with a view

Sounds lovely, right? Someday maybe I'll have a more glorious studio, but for now this works for me. This is where I spend my time when I have a few minutes here and there. In our garage at our new place, there is this perfect little corner for painting. Shelves, just the right height work counter, and since it's in the garage, I can work on something for a little while, leave it to dry for a few minutes or a few days, and it's not in anyone's way. I would like to spruce it up a bit, to make it more fun and inspiring. I'm thankful for this space.

And my view? Well, from my little corner, I can watch the kids playing. Zeke and Mercy love to spend their time skateboarding and bike riding. Brooklyn is usually somewhere reading.

There goes Judah... thankfully we live at the end of a court. And I usually get to him before he gets very far.

Scripture memory #10

I realized I haven't posted the Scripture verses I'm memorizing in a while. In this post I listed the first five for the year. Today I'll list six through ten. I'm following along with Beth Moore and her "siestas" on the Living Proof Ministries blog, choosing a verse or passage from the Bible to memorize on the 1st and 15th of every month this year. Here's my continued list...

6. Hebrews 10:35-36 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. (NIV) My friend Andrea and I shared this one. So nice to have a friend along on the journey... sharing life and memorizing God's Word!

7. Psalm 9:10 Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You. (NIV)

8. Mark 9:23 Everything is possible for him who believes. (NIV)

9. Psalm 42:5, 42:11, 43:5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God. (NIV) This was for May 1st, but I was about a week late in choosing a Scripture to memorize. I went through a few days that were very hard, feeling discouraged in so many areas. Our rent was due and we were short (it ended up being only two days late with the full amount), I was feeling frustrated about our current situation (not making quite enough, stuff still in storage in Minnesota, wondering if we needed to make tough new job decisions again, etc), plus having a super hard time with three year old Mercy. Then I was reading one morning in Psalms and came across this same verse three different times. And I realized I had allowed myself to worry instead of trust in full confidence. I made a choice then to put my hope in God... for I will yet praise Him. Through it all. And it made a huge difference in my attitude and my countenance. He is my peace.

10. 1 Thessalonians 5:15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another. (NASB) This one is for the whole family. Today I'm going to print it out and put it up for all to see and memorize.

my crafty beginnings

A little background info, going back to the beginning and bringing us to this point in the journey. I am the middle of three sisters. Navy brats we were, moving every year or two throughout our childhood. Our maternal great grandmother was a wonderful sewer. We still have a few (now tattered) baby blankets and aprons that she made. My grandpa on my mom's side and also my dad enjoyed woodworking. I love the smell of sawdust and would love to learn the craft someday. Our mom used to sew clothes for us when we were little. I wish I had handy a picture of the three of us wearing these matching Holly Hobby dresses and bonnets that she made. More than a picture, I REALLY wish I still had my dress. What a treasure that would be. She also took a tole painting class when I was in high school. When we were younger, both of our parents painted ceramics as a hobby. My sisters are also wonderfully crafty in a variety of areas.

I have always liked to doodle and get creative with lettering. Arts and crafts was always a favorite time in school and girl scouts (I was a Brownie). I loved doing crafts and coloring in coloring books, but wasn't so good with a blank piece of paper. I think I was in college when I first started creating a few things from my own imagination. I remember these fabric Christmas trees I made as gifts one year, and then some yo-yo flowers in tiny pots for Mothers Day. I started sewing more after having our first baby. I wish I was proficient in sewing clothes for the kids, but I mainly make blankets. I counted one day and tried to remember all the people I've made blankets for, and I think it was fifty something that I could think of.

I also started scrapbooking after becoming a mom. The blank page was less intimidating with photos and fun papers to play with. I'm way behind now on our albums, but I love telling the stories and reliving the memories that go with all those sweet pictures.

It's been just in the last six months or so that I've had a longing to paint. I always thought it would be fun, but since I don't consider myself to have much skill with drawing, I didn't think I'd have much success with a paintbrush either. Enter mixed media painting! I started seeing some mixed media work in pictures online, and my brother-in-law Eric has created some amazing pieces. My husband Joe is a tattoo artist and a great watercolor painter. He bought some acrylic paints a while back, and we got some canvases for the kids to paint on, so I decided to go for it. My first ever painting was a just before Christmas 2008, which I ended up giving to my sweet friend Peggy in Minnesota. (sorry for the blurry photo)

She then wanted me to paint something for a giveaway for a women's event coming up at the church, and so this was my second painting. I liked the style of this one and wish that I'd scanned it before giving it away so that I could make prints, but maybe I'll recreate it one day.

Since then I've done a few more that I've gifted to friends for birthdays and such, and I painted the series currently in my etsy shop for a women's event at our church here. I sold my very first original painting to my dear friend Sandy and also got my first commissioned sale that day.

There was an art show/ grand re-opening at the tattoo shop where Joe works a couple of weeks ago, with art from various artists in the area. Joe thought our whole family (minus our one year old Judah) should enter pieces in the show, so we did.. photos of that event coming soon.

More ideas brewing and hoping to get onto a canvas soon. I have one painting in the "studio" now in progress, and one that I started working on at Mati's studio (more on that in another post). And I'm doodling more these days, getting inspiration from things all around me.

home tour part one

We've been in our new place for a few weeks now so I thought I'd give you a little glimpse into our dwelling. We'll start with the backyard. Two reasons... first, because it's the BEST part (I could stay there all day), and secondly because our furnishings and housewares are still in a storage unit in Minnesota. We've pieced things together so that it's liveable, but I'll wait to share pictures until it's furnished and embellished with our personal touches and style (which is changing by the minute).

Here's what I see from the kitchen window...

Humming bird feeder (reminder to fill it today)... There are other bird feeders throughout the yard also, and we get visits from a squirrel that our kids named "Dog".
Star of jasmine mmmmm... (Nice trellis maze thing that provides a little privacy from the walking/running/bike trail that runs along the side of our house, and makes a fun place to play.)
Back of the house view from the corner. The stones you see here lead to a storage shed, which we'll fill quickly once we retrieve our stuff from MN.
I was sitting in the swing when I took this next shot. This is a view I see often, as I sit here while rocking Judah or while hanging here with another child from time to time for a chat. This patio is currently much more colorful with lots of chalk drawings. Mercy is so excited she's learned to make an "M" all by herself! You can see the lillies here... there are also daffodils, rose bushes galore, and other lovelies that I have no idea of their names, but I do want to learn to take care of them. At the right of this photo, beyond where you can see, there are raised gardening boxes. Some contain rose bushes, some are longing to be filled (and I'm longing to fill them... good combo!). The kids are excited to help grow some veggies. All along the fence on the right side, there is a raised bed with a soaker hose in place. We just need to get out there and prepare the area and then start planting. I was talking to my sister-in-law yesterday and she recommended a book that I'll search for at the library today... Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots: Gardening Together with Children. Sounds fun! I love the idea of a pizza garden!
It is so exciting for us to have this beautiful yard. We have always been renters, and a lot of times yards are not kept up in rental homes, and it would be so much work (and costly) to start from scratch.. a lot of places we've lived have just had dead grass in the yard. In Minnesota we had a very nice yard also... such lush grass... so nice to relax in. And there was a nice corn field behind the house, which was fun. But the trees.. oh how I'm in love with the trees here. It's such a peaceful, shady yard with just the right amount of sun. I hope you hear birds singing where you are right now. Springtime is so beautiful!

Thanks for coming on this little tour. We're hoping it won't be long before we can make a trip back to get our belongings and personalize the inside of the home with familiar touches (which will hopefully help Mercy feel more secure/less testy... oh the exhaustion right now). Stay tuned for more home tour installments!

happy mother's day

Have you seen this? My sister sent it to me... thanks, Kelly!

This is a photo of my mom with her three girls thirty (something) years ago. (I'm the one on the left.)

Happy Mothers Day to all of you moms. And to those not yet moms, and those who have lost a mother or a child. My heart is full of respect, compassion and appreciation for you all.