english blog

  I'm doing some reorganizing around here and part of that reorganizing includes this blog. Please be patient as I get the blog to where I want it to be - I want the photos to be larger, and I need a new heading that will reflect the direction in which my little creative business is heading. I have updated my blog roll - one of the "perks" of blogging is that you can list your favorite blogs on a roll and it will automatically tell you when a blog has been updated. The list I keep on the right changes so that the most recent posts are listed first. So fun. And now, that list reflects lots of changes and updates from other artists so reading should be easy and current. There is a very small Upcycled Book Journal update in my etsy shop today. So much more to come, but for now, I'm working on getting a selection of listings there since I am starting to apply for some local craft shows. Happy Monday! xo

I had so many expectations for this first post of 2014 that I found myself a bit tongue tied (keyboard tied?) about it all. So instead of trying to write some masterpiece of sorts, I'm just going to ramble a bit to get over the hump of starting a new year of blogging.  Have you picked a word for your year yet ? I love this tradition, but my word has not presented itself to me as of today. The finalists include: clarify, clarity, build, nourish, love, patience (my kids suggested patience - hmmmm...) produce (as in vegetables and to make things) and live. I'm going to give myself another week or two before "committing" in the hopes that the right word is obvious before then. One of my favorite new-to-me artists announced that her word of the year would be "snickerdoodle" - that sounds like a fun direction to consider also. I have a list of things I want to do this year and I plan to post them here for accountability. Coming soon. I'm also very excited abo...

Lots going on over here and my little blog has been neglected to say the least. I didn't post about Faith's 15th birthday, so I'll put her first. Let's call this photo, "Predriving Teen with Huge Potato"? We dug our sweet potatoes yesterday and had our biggest harvest yet. The soil just keeps getting better and better. We had so many that David and I loaded them into a wagon and walked our block giving them away. We still have plenty to get us through most of the winter. And talking to neighbors was a great way to ring in these shorter days - the "rhythm" of which I do not always embrace. It's November and I'm now getting ready for my Black Friday sale. I'll post the invite to that tomorrow. If you live in St. Louis, and like to shop on Black Friday, I hope you'll pop in. Life is very good, but busy in ways we have not been prepared for. Having a kid in elementary, middle and high school is challenging (the schedules alone - oh my!) i...

It's Summer here for our family - our kids finished their school years yesterday. I am missing blogging so very much. Need to get back here, but don't exactly see it happening immediately. Hopefully soon though. In the meantime, I joined the Index Card a Day Challenge today - participants are decorating one 3x5 index card everyday - no pressure, no overthinking...you (I) just do it. More soon! xo

I have not been completely forthcoming in my blog space here. I've been posting less and less because I am back at work - 25 hours a week. And boy-oh-boy am I humbled by it all. I've been working for about five months and I still have not found a rhythm to getting laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping and fun (not in that order) tended to in a way that is healthy and good. And don't get me started on how I've neglected my creative pursuits.    Anyways, the stars aligned today in a twisted way - schools were closed for an ice storm that only just arrived and I have two kids who are sick - one of whom is nine today. More on him tomorrow! But because of our beautiful stuck-at-home status, I'm finally getting around to making Kyle a freezer paper stenciled t-shirt. I have some funny ideas to help him with his spelling - and then on the back I'm going to stencil, "Just another great day at New City School". Hope he likes it. Our valentine show was slow but lo...

This happens every single year so today I'm thinking I need to learn to reframe it for good (not as in forever, as in not-for-bad): the holiday art room disaster. Every fall I finish my last art show and then the holiday making begins for my kiddos so they use my (our) space and don't clean up of course and then use the space some more and then I need it, so I use the space on top of their space and so on and so on....  The papers in the photo above are from my fall kids' art class . I needed the container they were in, so I recycled this paper that I haven't needed or used since October and unearthed the things that actually belong in this container but have been clutter causing for months now. And that is one example of hundreds. Or at least fifties, yes, I am sure there are at least fifty things completely out of sorts up here. I also found this second grade painting of Kyle's which delights me. So yin and yang - that's what I'll tell myself.  Thankfully,...