Cleaning Up To Create

Yes, the new year is one day away.  Along with the New Year comes a new on-line art class that I am so super excited to be a part of.

LifeBook 2013 by tamara laporte is going to be a one year long Art Journaling class that will teach me all types of new techniques for my Mixed Media art.  21 teachers plus Tamara will be teaching the year long course.  I treated myself to this class with the money my pops gave me for Christmas.  After much thought and "window" shopping to see what I wanted to spend the money on, I finally decided this was something I truly wanted to do for myself.  The money leftover from paying for the class went towards a wonderful on-line shopping trip to Blick to buy some new art supplies for the class.  I just LOVE buying new art supplies.  I love it so much that I almost hate opening them when they arrive and using them.  I want them to stay new forever, hahaha.

After I had made this commitment to this class, I realized my "studio" was in shambles.  I had been pottering with the sewing machine earlier this winter and working on many different projects and not necessarily finishing any of them.  I had run out of space to store my supplies that I was accumulating and the room was a MESS!!!!  There is a big OLD pool table smack dab in the middle of the room I use to do art in.  I cannot tell you that last time anyone played pool on it.  Robby wants to sell it, but we just have never gotten around to advertising it on any listings.  SO.......it has turned into a crafting/storage table for me.  But I would really love for it to vanish so I can fix the room up the way I want it. 

Here is an idea of how it looked before I started tackling the mess and how it looked after.  Notice the befores are taken during lovely daylight and the afters are at night.  I got a little distracted and had to break for dinner.  I am not nearly done organizing, but I was getting really tired and just needed to stop and I will start fresh tomorrow.  The class starts on Tuesday, so as long as I am cleaned up by then I should be good.

I know, the pool table doesn't look much different at all.  But actually, stuff that was on there was put away, and more stuff was put on there in it's place, hahahaha.

But seriously, the lighting in that room during the day is amazing.  It is so bright and cheery, I wish every room in my house was this bright.  And with views like these from the room, it is hard to concentrate for too long on what I am suppose to be doing.

The late afternoon light streaming in even made a mess look not quite so ugly.

Well, the ironing board is now back where it belongs and will no longer be used as a table to hold "stuff".  I can actually get to my table to sit at it now:)

Maybe I will even find a way to hang some pieces that I did last year and never got around to hanging up.

 

 

So, tomorrow I will get back to work in there again and make room for all the new supplies that should be arriving soon.  If any of you artsy folks have any storage ideas for me, I would love to hear them.  Shelving, storage container ideas, anything and everything would be helpful. 

 

Hope everyone has a safe and wonderful New Year's Eve.  I am once again sick with the Kiddie Crud as I have now named it.  This first year of working so closely with 2 year olds is kicking my BUTT!!! Robby and I will be staying home and staying alone so I don't get anyone else sick.  But for all of you who read this blog, have a Very Happy New Year, be safe and be happy.  XXOO

Debbie

 

So this is Christmas........

 

Yes, this is Christmas.  This is what the season is about.  And this year, more than any, I have been reminding myself over and over again of this fact.  This year for me, like for many people, has been stressful, disappointing at times, difficult to navigate and then oh so wonderful all at the same time.

 

My word for 2012 was ACCEPTANCE and that is what I tried to remember.  Acceptance of everything....emotions I couldn't explain, changes in jobs, family situations I couldn't control, decisions people made that I was not in agreement with,  good things that happened to me I did not ask for and any and all other things that would come into my life.  I discovered that Acceptance was a tough word to chose.  It is so much easier at times not to accept things when they are not as we would want them to be.

 

This Christmas is one of those things I would rather not accept.  It is not the type of Christmas I would chose to have, but I have accepted that it is the best Christmas I can have this year.  So, while I sit here with my sweet husband, waiting for my boys to come from their Dad's house so that we may celebrate Christmas together, I want to share a few photos of how I finally pulled together a few decorations in our home this year.  Once I "accepted" the fact that Christmas would be different, I remembered what the season is really about and how lucky I am to have my family with me for any amount of time and that the part of my family which can't be physically with me, is still always in my heart and by my side. 

 

Merry Christmas to you all and may 2013 bring much love and happiness and acceptance to you all.

 

 

 



Caught Up In The Spirit

 

 

Ahhhhhhhh, Thanksgiving Day has passed, but Thanksgiving really goes on every day right?  Or at least it should.  Thanksgiving Day was low key this year, but oh so perfect.  It was just me, my hubby, 3 of my boys and my dad.  Once again, I was the only girl to be found in the house.  Last year was a tough Thanksgiving, but this year was all about being Thankful for everything I do have and being present in the moment, rather than being sad about what I don't have, or more accurately, who I don't have.

This whole Holiday season feels different this year.  It feels more special and more important than ever, that I try and savor each moment of it.  I guess it is because I have become more keenly aware that at any moment things can drastically change and I don't want to waste a minute not doing what I feel in my heart is most important.

My family is what is most important to me.... my children, my husband, my dad, my brothers and their families.  Doing things that feed my soul is also very important to me right now.  Being creative every day in some form whether it be cooking, sewing, crafting or getting back to the mixed media I loved so much last year.  I have felt overwhelmed recently and not very centered and I want that to change.  This past week with family surrounding me, I have been able to pull myself back to center and here is where I want to stay.

I hope that you all have a very beautiful Holiday and that you find time to celebrate and appreciate the simple things that make our hearts and souls happy.  It isn't the perfect gift bought at a store or finding the greatest sale on Black Thursday or Friday, but something much deeper that can only be found when we look inside ourselves at what really matters.  Find that and go with it. 

Merry Every Day to all of you.
xxoo

Bursting With Love

This weekend, my home will be filled with my middle brother and his family.  I am so stinkin excited about it all.  You see, these three,

 

Plus these two,

 

 

Along with these two,

 





 

And this cutie pie,

 



And this amazing kid who is not officially family, but close enough,

 



are all coming to spend the weekend with Robby and I and our kids.  My heart is bursting with excitement.  It is not often I can get my brother out to my home in the boonies, but luckily his youngest daughter is hooked on my chickens and just had to stop by for a visit on her way home from college for Thanksgiving break.  Her big sister and her husband, are moving back to Va. from up-state New York this weekend and decided since her mom, dad and sister would be here, they would stop here and visit for the weekend too:)  Add in the pups that belong to said sisters and my Beauty gets a weekend long play date with her cousins.  The cute kid up above, he is the loving boyfriend of my youngest niece in the family above.  He too gets to have some Chicken Therapy over the weekend.

 

I have needed a weekend like this for a long time.  My heart has been missing family something awful, and this is just the fix for a cracked heart.  It is sure to be mended by the end of the weekend. 

 

I love this gal like she was my own, flesh and blood sister.  She has been a part of my life for over half of it and has been there for every up and down I have been through and has always held my hand, wiped my tears and soothed my soul along the way. 

 



And these two, along with my other niece who is not going to be here this weekend, have given me the girly stuff I need, having had 4 sons and no daughters.

 

So, here I sit, waiting for everyone to arrive and the festivities to begin.  Some arrive tonight, and the rest tomorrow.  Best believe I will be back to tell you all about it!!!

 

Hope your weekend is as great as mine.

XX

I Sew and He Builds

Ahhhhhh, the weekends are truly the best.  Yesterday was spent cleaning for me and hunting for my hubby.  But today, today was all about planting myself down with Molly and spending the day making a cute little Fall Bunting to hang.  After chook feeding and coffee drinking, Robby and I parted ways and he headed off outside to work on the root cellar he is building for us, and I took a seat with my faithful friend Molly.

All of the lovely colored threads I inherited from my mom.

Lucky, lucky me:)

 



I have never made bunting before, and for those of you who know me or read this blog, you know my experience with Molly (my sewing machine) is very limited.  I am teaching myself to sew in a very trial by error sort of way.  I bought some really cute Fat Squares a few weeks ago at Walmart of all places.  I thought the colors were great for Fall and would make a cute bunting to hang in my kitchen.  I found this tutorial on one of my favorite blogs, The Yvestown Blog, and decided it was time to try it out.





My flags all cut and ready to be sewn together.

 

I saddled up to Molly, took a deep breath and let the festivities begin.  First was sewing the flags together and then turn them right side out and press them.  That went very smoothly and I was feeling pretty good about my progress.

 

Next was sewing them onto the bias tape which I had already folded and pressed to prepare to accept the flags.  This was the trickiest part and if one looks real close to the finished product, one would see quite a few woopsy-daisies, but that's okay.  Just proves it is handmade, right?

After I was done, I took it to the kitchen and strung it in my big kitchen window, it was long enough to drape twice:)  Unfortunately, my flash doesn't work on my camera and the sun was so bright behind the window, so you can't really see the colors, but you get the idea.  I love it and can't wait to find some fabric for Christmas and do some Christmas Bunting.  I know it's not anything fancy, or too difficult, but it makes me feel happy and maybe it will make others who come in my home smile too!!

Robby made a lot of progress on the root cellar too.  The roof is on and all that's left is covering it with dirt, finishing up the front with some more logs and a door, adding some steps down to the cellar and leveling out the ground around it.  I am so proud of Robby for building this for us.  The cedars were all cut on our property so it was a very cheap cellar for us to build.  Lots of manual labor but with materials we already had on hand or on property.  I LOVE that.

Looking down into the cellar early on, from the "roof".

 

Before dirt was packed around the sides and the roof was put on.

 

 

 

 

Black paper put down as a barrier for moisture.  Now to be covered in 18 inches of dirt.

 

 

All of this crafting and building made Robby and I very hungry for something sweet.  So I went to the kitchen to whip up some Pecan Bars for us to have as a treat:)

 

 

 

 

 

Looks like someone couldn't wait for them to cool

and for me to cut them.  Wonder who the could be?

 

Hope your weekend was as good as mine and that the week ahead brings you much to smile about, lots of love and a few moments in each day to be creative and do something that makes you really, really happy. 

XX







My Saturday Morning In Pictures

Good Morning Sunshine!!!!!!
 

 

 

A beautiful, chilly, frost bitten morning.

Happy Saturday everyone,

make it a great one!!!!

XXOO

 

Tea with my chooks to start the day

 

 

Sylvester

 

 



Nephertiti

(actually she is a he)

 

 



Loving her puffy cheeks

 

 



About to hop in her box

 

 



Figs that the chooks haven't found yet

 

 



Frost on their leaves

 

A brave rosebud the frost hasn't killed

 

 

A spot to stop and rest

 

 Warm up by the stove

Now to get another cuppa and enjoy my morning

 

 

ps. the quality of the pics aren't so great as I was using my Ipod while outside to take pics.  But you get the idea at least, right?