Good times...dare I say great times?

I'm sitting here looking into the yard laughing at my husband's attempt to catch every last plum without a bruise or squirrel bite. He wants to invent a gizmo for this - he's been talking about it for several years now - I better shut up about it though just in case it ends up being our golden goose.

I'm loving where we are in our life today. Its not perfect but its really good and the fact that I can take a moment to acknowledge that fact makes it great.

We have had the summer vacation "pick a card" plan in action for 3 days now and it is really been successful. On day one they pulled the SHOPPING card for the A.M. so they went to Home Depot and were allowed to get out of the cart and run freely - Woo Hoo! a big deal for our little guys and they went to the pool in the afternoon. On day two, they pulled the Wash the cars for AM and play with Aunt Pam for the afternoon. Today, they pulled Go for a hike and do a field guide scavenger hunt for the morning and in the afternoon they will be watering the garden with spoons, and other random objects. Since Tim is doing kid duty, he is loving it too. The kids are super enthusiastic and he has currency to get them to follow directions. "If you don't... you won't get to pick a card tomorrow."

I've been doing all kinds of fun things too. I finished assembling my quilt and sent in off to Back Porch Quilters to have it long arm quilted.

My old singer doesn't do quilting so I was happy to send it out. I feel so stinkin accomplished that I assembled this bad boy I can't stand it! It may very well be my most treasured creation. Its no masterpiece and I can see I'll have some seams to repair right out of the gate, but gosh darnit, I made a king size quilt! I am going to make drapes from the extra squares but first I have to get my remaining paintings completed for STILL LIFE.

I had to take an incomplete in this class due to some health issues - ended up being Trigeminal Neuralga which is now being treated and is MUCH IMPROVED! I was able to finish my photography class and pulled a B+ even with all the sick days but painting is a labor intensive activity that requires lots of time and concentration - something I could not do with my pain. Anyhow, I now have 2 weeks to complete 6 or 7 paintings. I jumped in yesterday feeling pretty darn good after sending off my quilt and I'm at the 1/2 way mark with a reflective silver assignment.

This is the set up

This is the painting at 50% complete

Today I go in and do my detail work, play with the color, texture, brush strokes and make adjustments to the layout. It's "a work in progress" but I'm trying to share the journey and check my ego at the door. It keeps getting in the way of learning which is the whole point. If I was an awesome painter I would not need the class.

Update: Here is the finished piece. I made a mistake using a lighter background which wants to come forward making the painting look flat. A super valuable error because after trying to fix the "flatness" with everything under the sun I was able to "see" the problem and now I "understand" creating depth a little better.

I'll also begin working on a new painting working with patterns. This is going to be a tedious project but I'm up for it. I'll be creating a set up including an object that has a pattern then replicating it as precisely as possible in my painting. The process requires both right and left brain activity. My bridge between the two hemispheres isn't a developed muscle/pathway so it will be a lot like doing sit-ups but the result is a more developed eye, a more responsive hand and the knowledge that I have completed it.

(This is not mine - this is done by an accomplished still life artist, Nancy Chaboun - AMAZING right!?)

I will also be preparing kits for camp which starts on June 30th. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE teaching art to these gals! This is my 3rd year with Camp Gen Israel and it is an honor to be on their faculty.

I want to share some of the great pictures from camping last weekend. We had such a great time! I cannot wait to go back - maybe mid-week so its less crowded and there is less partying. It didn't really bother us too much but they were pretty loud at night and we were woken up a couple times. I really can't complain because I was young once and acted the same way - maybe worse. For some reason you just don't know you are being loud when you have been drinking beer all day. Its weird like that.

We had a blast paddling down river but did not catch a single fish. It was one of those times where something always got in the way of focused fishing. Tim was pretty disappointed... which is hilarious but that is another story...

Everyone's To Do List's should look like this

So I'm trying to make sure I have lots to do for my munchkins during the summer break. I've been working on their "To-Do" list like I was trying to name all 50 states - I just can't seem to let up. The hard part is coming up with activities that are enticing for a boy and a girl and do-able for a 3 and 6 year old.

I've decided that we will have a general calendar and then each day that they don't have excursions, play dates or other coordinated activities, they EACH (one for morning, one for afternoon) will get to draw a card from the TO DO pile which we will then add to that day

Man -I wish my TO DO list looked like this:

1. backyard obstacle course
2. scavenger hunt using toy stickers from learning tree
3. Hide and seek (an oldy but goody)
4. water the plants with squirt guns
5. go to the club pool
6. build sculptures for the backyard with wood glue, nails, wire and assorted exterior suited materials
7. run through the sprinklers
8. sort toys to give to the shelter than if we come up with 20, go to toys r us to buy each a new toy
9. build a fort
10. silverware wind chimes (get silverware from good will)
11. hiking scavenger hunt with trail guide to find animals, plants, etc.
12. play in the blow up kiddie pool
13. play Faeries and elves (leave little notes and sweets for the kids from the faeries)
14. have kids each draw 3 pictures then make a story from it and write it for them - use the bind it all to make it a real book. Let them each decorate a chipboard cover
15. find the golden egg hidden in the backyard
16. Paint our wooden table and chairs which are totally thrashed from the winter
17. finger food picnic
18. go to the library
19. dress up in costumes and play in character
    
20. Make cards for the troops

Left to their own devices they do manage to have fun but you never know if someone (or something) will get hurt. This is last weekend - they woke up at 6:00 a.m.- WAY before mom and dad and they managed to find an interesting way to keep themselves busy:

The change from lazy summer to busy calendars - who authorized this?

4 days until school is out then life will get busy - how strange is that? Those days of unstructured, spontaneous living are no more. My kids need the structure, the routine or they get squirly. A schedule to a 3 and 6 year old is like swaddling to a new born baby. And truth be told, I'm pretty ineffective myself without the perimeters of deadlines and schedules. The good news is that a bunch of the events and commitments quickly approaching are creative opportunities, celebrations and family adventures. However, I have learned that one must be strategically prepared or these occasions can quickly turn into stressers and chores.

The first step was assembling our family calendar which is the real story of what life will look like. The next, and my task for today, is scheduling in time for preparations and cleanup as well highlighting days of flexibility and scheduling downtime. This summer I am making a conscious effort to stay ahead of the curve so that our family can enjoy all the activities and still experience the "lazy daze" I recall from my childhood.
To be totally honest, I have another motive. I love signing up for swaps, on-line artsy challenges and hostessing play dates with my friends but I rarely look at the calendar when signing up. I want to be more thoughtful of these activities so my world is slower, quieter, more fluid. I don't want to feel guilty during one activity because I "should" be doing another.


For example, the quilt-along is a absolute delight and I am thrilled I am doing it - not sure the King size quilt was very practical though. Its double the work and I am afraid if I fall behind, I won't finish so I've been devoting more time to it than I should - the guilt has started to set in... It is a pattern I want to break, an example I don't want to set, a life I no longer choose to live. Today, I want to be

M O R E A C C O U N T A B L E

If my husband took on things as I did and did not consult me before doing so, I would be so annoyed. Why do I think it is OK for me? I want to be a more considerate, less busy person. Of course this means that I need to sit still when there is time to sit still, not see an opportunity to "do something". Wow - this is not at all where I saw this blog entry going...this is going to be tough! But Eva gave up her binky so I can certainly do this. I'll need support and gentle reminders from my posse, OK? I think this kind of work is considered cognative behavior change. Maybe I need a carrot to stay on the path. Any ideas?

Great Scott - I've gone sewing mad!

I stumbled on to this adorable skirt pattern and I am now committed to making matching ones for Eva and me. I ordered my fabric and spent the evening goggling gathering stitches. Somebody call me a doctor, I've gone mad with sewing ambition. I'm turning into Holly flippin Hobby.

I picked out my fabric!

I am really excited about this sew along - I am thrilled to be making a quilt along side my pals across the country! I struggled with the fabric factor. I have no trouble with paper but when it comes to fabric it is a totally different thing. This is because esthetically, I am drawn to bold, lush prints but I am definitely an earth tones fashionista and interior decorator. I like blue jeans, khakis, layering tanks and t-shirts and my leather Born sandals or slip ons. My flash comes from hats, jewelry or a fun sweater/ jacket but even then its pretty muted. Our home is done in wood and green - the color comes from artwork and our kids creations. Long story, longer - this makes selecting fabric a challenge. It just isn't the same as scrapbook paper. it is a skill that one has to develop with "visual translation."

I must of filled my cart with various fabric selection a half a dozen times, then when it came time to checkout, I abandoned the site completely. Finally I found a pre-selected 1/2 yard set that works for me at fabricworm on Etsy. Cynthia was super helpful and even swapped out two of the prints I did not care for with two others that she suggested!

So here is the selection I ended up with. I substituted the two Cathedral prints (this is Cathedral Dusk below)

with Buttoned up sea and Small Gathering Sea (both are below).

She has a sample quilt on the webpage using these prints and it is gorgeous (at the top)! I am looking forward to having just as beautiful laying around in my house!

Old Red Barn Co. Sew Along

Just learned about this totally awesome challenge from my fellow Wassimanites... I'm SO, SO excited. I recently fell in love with sewing in a new in exciting way and am jazzed to be doing a challenge with my peeps. It has been a while since I was able to play for the sake of playing.

Fabulous Inspired Creations!!

Just a few projects I completed but still need photos. I am hoping to teach both of these at camp this summer! I am also looking forward to catching up with my own scrapbooking over the summer but I hate to jinx it by saying so. Just wait, come September I'll be saying - "I'll have time to finish up some projects now that summer's over..."

This is a project created by Shere Jamison, originally titled "It's a Wonderful Life" Decorative Wall Frame. I opted to go with a "My Family" and "home" theme since it is what I live and breath. I love that she encouraged stamping flourishes and mounting the paper flowers on the outside of the glass. The photo doesn't do it justice.

This project was inspired by Donna Downey's fabric scrapbooking projects as well as Susan Edmondson's casual, unfinished techniques. I love that you do not use scissors to cut the fabric, just rip and let the seems hang as they will. The stitching is not straight, the fabric buckles here and there, but this is all a part of the look.

When finished, there will be photos printed onto fabric, button, ribbon, flowers and yarn to dress up and tie together all the willy-nilly details. I love it so much that I'm almost ready to pull out my 1952 Singer and put in a fresh bobbin with really nice machine thread (I had to idea this was an important detail until last week). If I can't manage my machine, I'll just hand stitch.

These pages are so simple that you don't need a machine to make them hold up. If you don't have the pacience to securely stitch up the sides do a hybrid of glue and thread. Glue your pages and elements where you want them, then go back with a needle and colored thread to do the finishing touches and create the look of a sewn album.

Art Auction Assembly Line

I spent the entire day and evening working on the auction basket for my son's kindergarten class. About a month ago, I lead an art workshop with the kids. It was so much fun! Tim helped out along with Aidan's two teachers. The kids rotated between 4 stations to create incredible art pieces to be incorporated into a big basket of goodies. The basket will be auctioned off next week at St. Timothy's Art Show and fundraiser. I decided a stationary basket could be a lot of fun for the children, manageable for me and would be of use to the winning bidder.

At one of the tables, the kids created gift wrap on butcher paper using themed stamps, oil pastels, markers and stencils. Today, I trimmed off the edges with various border punches to give the sheets a finished look and wrapped each roll in big beautiful ribbon.

The next table decorated wooden frames, book covers and medium sized wooden pieces with glitter, confetti, foam shapes, feathers, pom poms and other tidbits. Today, I had to reattach a lot of the loose pieces that fell off and finish each piece with diamond glaze so the bits don't fall off when they get them home. I also assembled a mini album out of double sided card stock and the covers they decorated. I will title the book and stamp corner images and quotes on the pages tomorrow. With the small wood shapes, I attached magnets on the backs so that there are 6 or 8 very bright and beautiful creations to decorate the winner's refrigerator. They turned out SUPER CUTE!


The next table played with watercolors and glitter glue. I took these gorgeous works of art and cut them into sections to create greeting cards. They turned out so amazing. I would drop $5 for one of their cards without batting an eye and the basket has 12!






The last table painted on canvas paper with tempora paints. Each child was responsible for a month in the year. They were given index cards covered with stickers reflecting symbols for that month to help them decide what to paint (they are only 5 and 6 years old). I took these fabulous masterpieces and attached them to chipboard to create a large (12 x 24" calendar, It was a much bigger undertaking than I had anticipated but I think it will be the featured item in the basket. I'm including print outs for an additional year so they can glue them down over the months that have past to get more than one year from the calendar. I still need to figure out how I want it to hang and adhere the calendar pages tomorrow. It had been a 10 hour crafting session and I was know longer able to make simple decisions...


I am so excited for the kids to see their beautiful work when the basket is finally complete. I think they will all be so proud. Aidan certainly is. Hopefully it will bring in a nice contribution for the school and some lucky family will have a super fun momento of their child's kindergarten class!

My office is trashed. This is a tell tale sign of happiness!