play.....and rest

not too long ago i started to hear a little whisper.....a little voice inside my creative soul that pops up from time to time to remind me that when you play, you also need to rest.  i usually do a fairly good job of ignoring the whisper, mainly because i like to play, and well, i'm not so good at the "rest" part.  but i have a rather persistent whisper.......and a rather impatient one, too.....because it's not whispering anymore.....it's more of a roar now, making it a lot harder to ignore.  

so, i'm going to be a good listener and take some time to rest......of course,  you know i won't be that good and i'll sneak in a little play when the whisper-roar isn't looking.......

but in the meantime, i'm counting on you to play while i'm gone.....

play lots of happy-art-play, sweet bloggy friends!!!

(i'll be back soon!)

inspiration monday

"do not wish to be anything but what you are

and try to be that perfectly."  francis de sales

here's to being an artist......
the precious, fabulous, perfectly wonderful artist
that YOU were created to be!!!

journal page finished using acrylic paint, micron pens, 

uniball signo white pen, 4B pencil, pan pastel

cubbie love

it's no secret that i love letterforms.  and i love creating letterforms.  and i love love collecting all kinds of pens to create letterforms.  but i was starting to have a love/hate thing with how i was storing them.....all thrown in a box......making it really frustrating to find the size i was looking for!  and then during a recent trip to my favorite stamp store, i discovered my answer......

meet the "color cubbie"!  it was designed to hold all of your copic markers (hard to believe that's the one collection i don't have!), but all of my microns, white gel pens, sharpies, g-tecs, and pitt pens are as happy as a value-pack-bag-of-fun-size-candy-bars-at-halloween......and i'm loving how easy it is to find what i'm looking for!!  you can read more about it here!!

hope your weekend is filled with lots of creative goodness!!!

xox

my smiling mailbox

i walked out to my mailbox yesterday and i noticed it was smiling.....and when i opened it, i understood why, because this wonderful mail art from ludid over at turn up the sound was waiting for me!!  the envelope is gorgeous, and ludid created it by repurposing the baby wipes that she uses while she's working on her gorgeous journal pages.....she glued the dried wipes to card stock,  stitched the mailing labels on, and then stitched up the sides.  the end result is a beautiful rainbow envelope that feels soft like fabric, but is sturdy enough to go through the mail!  (she also mentioned that the postage stamp wouldn't stick to the wipes, so she had to place a sticky back label to it first, and then place the postage on top!)
but the smile doesn't stop there.....tucked inside this mail art-elope was a gorgeous, colorful fabric scrap from an indian tribe of the peruvian jungle with a sweet little pin attached, a custom note that was made using the same painted baby wipes, and my very own print of "eugene finds creativity" (is he absolutely darling, or what?!!)!!!
ludid, you are such a sweetheart!!  thank you for sharing your artwork, your creativity, and your heart with me!!!  my mailbox is smiling......and so am i (and my smile is MUCH bigger!!)!


you can visit ludid here.....she creates absolutely gorgeous handmade journals, and even more spectacular journal pages to go inside!!!  and.....it's your lucky day.....she's having a give-away!!!

inspiration monday

this sweet flower was created at a quiet intersection by an unknown street-artist for passers-by to enjoy.....

and it also kindled this idea to use a variation of it with one of my favorite quotes and have some fun in my journal!!

 inspiration is everywhere.....and sometimes it's even on your friendly neighborhood street corner!!

journal page finished using scrap papers, chalk pastels, micron pens, 

uniball signo broad white pen, 2B graphite pencil, decorative tape

at a snail's pace

we moved into our new house over a year ago, and i still have lots of decorating to do.  and every time i walk past this little powder room that's tucked under our staircase,  i'm reminded that i really, really want to give it a bit of a facelift.  so this past monday (day one), that's exactly what we decided to do.

the dining room became our makeover headquarters......it wasn't long before we had every tool in the house, cans of paint, saws, hammers, nails,  boards and trim, rulers, and pencils sprawled all over the place.  and my handy little dutch sweetie was on hand to do the sawing.....

so we could nail all of those lattice strips to the walls.

on days number two and three i hung this gorgeous silkscreened wallpaper above the wall trim.....

then yesterday (day four) i filled all of the nail holes, caulked, and painted everything underneath to match the baseboards!  now i need to find some new artwork, hang a new mirror over the sink (don't you think this one would look great?!!), and add all of the finishing touches.....

{and now for the confession:  after watching all of those "makeover" shows on tv, i really thought that all this work would be finished in about two days (or maybe 30 minutes in tv-time).....next time i'm going to ask their team of three professional carpenters,  the behind-the-scenes people who make all of the extra trips to the home depot, and the interior decorator to come over and help!!}

beyond the studio

i've been away from my studio the past couple of days.....testing my painting skills on the walls of our downstairs powder room.  we've been adding a few other touches, too.....hopefully we'll be finished in a few days!  

i hope you've been having a wonderfully creative week!!

inspiration monday

many times inspiration calls us to think outside the box......

inspiration calls us to be brave.
 it calls us to go on and do the next thing.
 even if just the thought of it seems a little scary.
and sometimes inspiration gets weary of seeing us hang out in the shallow end of the pool all the time, and it offers to be one of those inner-tube-thingies around your waist, whilst whispering in your ear.....
to trot on down to the deep end, close your eyes, hold your breath,
and just jump in.
 the main thing is don't think about it.....
just keep taking deep breaths, stay in the water so long that your fingers and toes get pruney,
and keep doing what you do best!


{happy labor day to all of my american friends!}

meet the thumbuds

i think that creating artwork is just like having little babies.  we give birth to new ideas, nurture them, watch them grow......and sooner or later, we take a deep breath and let them go out into the world.  such is the case with my little "thumbuds".  these little guys have been a part of me since i was in school and doodling in my spiral notebooks in class (instead of listening to the teacher....)......

and now all of these (many) years later, they've reappeared in a more sophisticated form.....on notecards.... and they're ready to go out into the world!  if you're interested in adopting any of these little sweeties, they're currently hanging out in my etsy shop.  their main goal is to put a smile on your face, and they're fairly easy to take of.....as long as you have a steady supply of dark chocolate on hand when mealtime rolls around.....

happy weekend to you!!!

doodle mail = doodle happiness

my mail carrier told me recently that he always looks forward to seeing my mail because no one else in the neighborhood receives such great things!!  and when this little gem arrived the other day from my sweet bloggy friend pat over at lost and found, i know it must have really made his day......because it sure made mine!!  pat has the most wonderfully fabulous doodle style, and she skillfully created this mail-art postcard using some of her favorite papers, and then added some of her doodle magic, along with her spectacular letterforms (and i must apologize.....pat did a fantastic job of lettering my address, but for privacy reasons, i've taken parts of it out and left a bit of a tease so you could see how fun and colorful it is!)

and on the back are more of those wonderful papers, a few snippets of fabric, and more of her mouth-watering letters all done up in her make-me-so-happy pat style!
thank you, pat, my little doodle-partner-in-crime......i'm absolutely thrilled to receive this, and i SO appreciate your generosity in sending it to me!!!  xo

you can follow pat's doodle adventures here!!!