Sunday, April 28, 2013

Sunday Morning

Heart full of gratitude, disappointment, nonsense...all in a big ball this morning. Hope this Sunday finds you well friends. Working on some coffee and some mixed media post cards today..going over and over in my head last lasts church service. What a great service it was I really do love my church...last nights service was titled "What Would Jesus Say To Ted Nugget" LOL Epic..the topic was related to violence, gun control and what the bible says about it all and I just keep telling myself over and over what messages I walked away with...message came with divine timing.
They are these:
Pray for those who persecute you...when Jesus was being persecuted he did not seek revenge he did not become violent he said instead " Forgive them Father for they know not what they do" I also walked away with the understanding that those who seek to be a peacekeeper and peacemaker are blessed and highly favored. It is not in the eyes of God wrong however to protect your self and others from evil or from violent physical attacks. In fact it is a duty to the Lord to protect others and your home and personal belongings. It is also our right. 
I cannot be accountable for other peoples feelings or actions, they own their own feelings and actions. As unfortunate as some circumstances are in this life sometimes you just have to choose to walk away quietly and let the other person resolve within themselves the battles they carry, honestly I have enough of my own to go around the world a few times...
I just want to be reserved, walk away quietly and cause no hate or ill feelings in this life. I cannot be responsible for other peoples actions, and dont condone hateful behavior. With that being said..onward. 
Working today on some upcoming hopefully good news..
also some mixed media post cards for mail art.
Here is a peak at those. 



Been really loving turning photos into Polaroids as well...I like the ability to have a space for writing or not...here are a few I've done recently.





it is coming..

Friday, April 26, 2013

Long Day & Artful Reflection

Hi friends..
Coming to you late but never the less here...with coffee in hand..
it has been a long day for me indeed and hope this finds you all well..maybe sleeping? I'm off tomorrow so I thought while I am finally sitting..I would say hello and share a few things. 
I worked all day today and came home to an empty house..Don went with his son up north to see his family for a night or two before Josh goes to Basic Training..I do hope they are having a great visit..I work Saturday morning and had so many things to do I opted to stay home..and got a ton of things done. Cleaned out and organized my very limited studio space..

Artful reflection: I have entirely too many interest and projects and too much art supplies if that is even a possibility...let me rephrase this..I dont have enough room for all of the things I need to fulfill my muse! Way better...with that being said it seems there is a cycle for artists that we go through...I spent close to five hours after work tonight sorting, ditching, organizing, finding things I forgot I had..and now it will take about two weeks before it needs to be done all over again LOL I can't be the only one! 

And so...a ton of work for me..and now I sit with one of my favorite coffee cups..fresh hot coffee and my Somerset issue of LIFE April,May June issue..have had it for two weeks and just now playing catch up but I did have a chance to fly through it the day I got it and I put sticky notes on the pages of things that really peak my interest and that I want to make special note of...
While cleaning up art supplies I emptied a bucket I has some misc items in and this was stuck to the bottom..found it funny because I have been researching butterfly gardens and it was just ironic..
 One of my friends Diane Scott from my FB art group called The Enchanted Imaginarium
 Has introduced me to the concept of a Nature Journal and I have been making signatures and have all the pages and cover cut and ready to go just trying to decide how to bind it best..but I've walked through my life..always loving nature and every element of it...birds..trees and flowers have always held a special place in my heart but sometimes...we walk through life loving something..and never knowing a thing about it...other than its name or what it looks like...so I've been watching all sorts of documentaries on butterflies and humming birds and crows and all of these things I love and my summer plan is to really indulge in learning and documenting through artfully journaling these things. We spend a great deal of our down time in the summer doing nature trails with our cameras and its just perfect and so...I found this GREAT website if any of you are interested in a Butterfly Garden.
One this site you put in your zipcode..and it generates a list with images of the butterflies typically found in your region. You then click the images of the butterflies you would like to attract to your butterfly garden and it then gives you a list with photos and descriptions, directions for caring for and planting the flowers and foliage that will attract the butterflies you want to attract how cool right!? That is what I SAID!! :) Here is a link if you are interested these can be as small or as elaborate as you choose...you can Google images or other sites telling you how to do one or giving you examples of other peoples for inspiration and ideas! Here is the link! 

And so..it is late...going to read for a bit and meet with my pillow...seems strange not having Don here! Good night friends!

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Notes To Self~ Those Little Reminders

 Under the ink
& fun scribble design...
 Notes to self
Burned in mind...
Covered up 
In coloful ink
So no one can see
The private reminders 
I choose to keep

Strips with layers
& words that ring true
echos of reminders
on days I feel blue
xx

Happy Tuesday

Things I'm happy about today: My feet hit the floor this morning and I have a job.
This lovely Blythe doll my daughters got for me for Mother's Day to add to my Blythe addiction...only have two of them but boy I love them so much :)
 Living stones....HAVE to have some of these for painted wooden boxes this summer on my patio!

 Things that chime and shine!
 Statues that tell stories with their pose and eyes..
 Time well spent in the secret garden yesterday...makes my heart smile..
off to work...have a happy Tuesday! :)

Monday, April 22, 2013

Working on secret garden photos...

Love having Monday's off..headed out to the secret garden to check on Springs progress...everything appears to be right on schedule! :)






Saturday, April 20, 2013

My projects this week


From 74 to 30?

Thought Spring finally showed its beautiful face here in Michigan but two days ago it was 74 and NOW it is a bitter cold icy morning and about 30 degrees...YUCK. Winter go away...you are not wanted any longer. You are cold, you make me ache and I in need of sunshine...
and even still...there is so much in a day to be thankful for..
love
family
friends
God
my church
good coffee
hot showers
sleep
my art supplies
music in the morning
love in my snail mail box
my job
 excellent co-workers
suspect #2 being caught last night
and the list will grow...throughout the day.
Never forget to be thankful for all there is good in your life. My heart is always full of gratitude.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Beautiful Day Today

Took this photo today while on my lunch break at work. caught myself standing in the sun like Timothy Green a few times today..LOVE Spring and vitamin D!
It is raining now but I choose to focus on the fact that it was lovely all day!! :)

Kindness


Quick post before the night closes. 
Was talking with a friend about all of the hate in this world..
How it bothers me on such a deep level and how we spread it every single day many times not even realizing we do it. Through our choices in entertainment, through the things we let slip from our mouths; the way we treat others in this life. I am inspired by people who try even if on a very small scale to change this world for the better even if it is just something silly, some random act of kindness..cause just like hate, kindness spreads like wildfire too. I remember telling a story here to a friend through the blog world about how one day I went to Starbucks ..was in the drive through ordering my favorite chi-tea latte with soy on ice...YUM..and when I got to the window the girl said to me  "The car that was in front of you paid your bill" I was a bit confused and immediately looked up to see the car wondering was it someone I knew...car was gone no way of knowing...

The next thought was...THIS is what a random act of kindness is and what it feels like when someone does one for you....what a nice feeling.

I then asked how much the bill was for the car behind me cause honestly my luck is such that I would have said "I'd like to pay for the car behind me" and that car was on an office run for 16 co workers and the bill is $150.00 LOL. So when I found out it was under $10.00 I paid their bill and drove off....what a GREAT feeling and I hope that next person paid it forward...who knows if they did..maybe they only had 2.00 on them that day and they were unable..I've been there...or maybe they did it and so did the next car and the next car and the next car...I'd like to believe that some fires we start are good ones...that kindness can spread as easily as anger, hatred, all those bad things this world seems to encompass...I am not a perfect person and I have my moments where I get down right angry and I can be mean and I can be sarcastic and I can be just in general ignorant...but I become more conscious of my own behaviors and bad habits by the day and it is important to me to not just post something that says " Be the change you want to see in the world" but actually post it and mean it by my actions and intentions every day. TRY..to break those bad habits like saying hateful things in my car about the person in front of me texting or talking on their cell phone or the guy who clearly shouldn't have a license cause he is driving like a madman..Spewing hateful thought about that person who has a different opinion than mine...it is really just a matter of choosing not to focus on the act but the person. I heard in church that the moment that you start seeing other human beings as God's children regardless of what they are doing where they are in life or how different they are...more than you are assessing them for what you like or dont about them you begin to see them as valued...human life.

I really have been drawn to the videos made by Soul Pancake and I am really very touched by the things they do to change the world in little ways that are so powerful and meaningful...I've yet to see their show that is apparently or was apparently in OWN network...but I admire the ones who created this and think what they do is amazing. Take a moment and watch this video you wont be disappointed that you did. You may want to scroll to the top and stop the music player to hear it. 
 
and another
and another

These are so amazing to me...
Friends...the world needs to change. We have been called on to change for some time now and you know...this isnt a religious thing...its a personal thing its a human race, ethical, moral choice each of us need to make as a promise to ourselves to try some kindness...set that fire...
xx

Monday, April 15, 2013

Boston +

My heart and soul weeps for you all tonight..for lives lost..for the wounded
and for all of the families of the deceased and the wounded.
My thoughts, hope and prayers are with you all

+

Welcome!

So nice to have you stop by. Have worked the entire day on this here blog...did some Spring cleaning..moving things around adding new features and there will still be more to come but boy...when you do all the HTML coding yourself this is a lot of trial and error and work! Been at it all day. There are still some great things to come up my sleeve...but for now this is what I have to share with you all. There are new buttons right over there to the right...copy the code and place it on your blog as a gadget to show your love and support and if you are so kind thank you in advance! If you have a button for your blog please send me a comment letting me to know to come snag one and I will certainly be happy to display it proudly here as well!

There are some pages I have added under the Pages tab somewhere over there to the right...and there will be way more images and info under those links to come..I hope you like my new Spring / summer look and feel of this blog had been wanting to get ot this for some time now and we.. you know how busy like gets but I was getting it done today if it took me the entire day and...it totally did!! LOL Thanks for your support and it is a pleasure to have you here...on my journey. Send me a link in a comment to your blog I would love to follow you as well. Have a great Monday night friends. :)

Sunday, April 14, 2013

From my cup to yours...Good Morning Sunday!

Happy Sunday friends...
still working on a new banner and links and buttons for this place...will be changing the entire look of this blog and updating may things over the course of the week. This weekend time has gotten away from me..which happens sometimes but looking forward to some artful time tonight and off tomorrow! Just trying to get back in the swing of blogging regularly and looking forward to it...
From my coffee cup to yours...have a great Sunday!
List of Gratitude for Sunday 4.14.2013

God
My kids
my coffee cup...and coffee in it lol
did I say coffee? ;)
Artful friends in my life
my favorite rock t-shirts :)
my camera
artful time when other things calm down
love
music
Every single song I've heard so far from the Goo Goo Dolls new cd...
(Specially in love with two of them so far)
sunshine even though we have had NONE in a week..thankful I know its coming..
and I'm sure through the day this list will grow!
xx

Friday, April 12, 2013

Hellloooo....( echo echo echo)

Hello there friends!
April 12th..2013 it is today boy its been a bit since I have been here to blog...I apologie for that hopefully this catch up blog will give you an idea of where I have been all this time and whats been going on in my life. Today is Don's birthday..a very happy birthday I'd like to wish him...47 years old he is today!! Happy Birthday honey.! :)
  If any of you are still out there. Took a bit of a break from blogging but this place is still here and so am I...Alive and kicking...so many things have happened in my life in the past few months and I needed to kinda reorganize, attempt to find some balance..all sorts of new things coming up for this place hopefully THIS weekend! I am hoping that is...well at least by Monday...Been working on a great deal of art...started an art group called The Enchanted Imaginarium on Facebook...if you are an artist and you like sharing and networking with like minded creative souls hop over there add me as a friend and join the group we would love to have you there!

Hope I have not lost some of my faithful followers...Just needed a break and to find some structure. Still not sure I am 100% there ...but getting much closer! Keep an eye out folks..Can't believe I have not posted since March 3rd..here are some things I've worked on since that time for some eye candy.
Did a photo shoot of a friend and local Gospel musician at the historical and lovely Cliff Bell's in downtown Detroit...place is amazing...all mahogany wood and brass...legends have played there and its just a really cool spot a gem in the heart of the city..
Some digital backgrounds I created for the art group..
Still going strong on my photo a day 365 project...proud of that fact...

Been playing with all sorts of new art mediums and having ab last with it...doing some sketchbook challenging with April Cole from over at April Cole's Studio..been taking part in all sorts of swap and challenges and art group activities..expanding horizons!

 Been trying to get back to some of the basics in art...drawing which was my first love to begin with..some colored pencil work..some watercolor and some pastels..planning on some nature journaling this Spring and summer...
  This is just a drop in the bucket of what I have been up to since last blog..making me tired just looking at it all lol On top of this maintaining family life, day job, photo shooting, made wedding invites for my niece, communion invites for a friends daughter...
shot these cuties too! 





 Again...just a drop in the bucket..
Got to my first batch of flowers in my Secret Garden this season...surely to be spending a great deal of time there this Spring and summer...most peaceful place on earth for me right now..

 There are more where that came from but I realize this may be information overload..it certainly has been for me too but hey...gotta take these opportunities as they present themselves. 

While I am catching you all up on what has taken place in my life since my last post..it is only appropriate that I share with you a birthday has passed...42 years old I am now...feeling 30! ;) Some days...lol

Further, and far more important than any of these other things just not as easy to discuss.. I lost a brother named Robert whom I yet had the opportunity to meet. Without going into too many details...he lost his battle with depression and alcoholism just shy of 30 years old. It has been a rough week for me. He took his own life in April 2, 2013.
Robert and I talked in great lengths over the last few years on the phone and through letters. He too was an artist. He had three children 10, 7 and 4. So sad and unfortunate. Been struggling with this a a great deal all week..thank you to all of those who have sent their love and support..prayers and who have listened to me in my time of need and mourning..  One thing I have peace with is that Robert now has peace that he never knew in the living world. The story is long and not one that I would like to share but needed to include him here to let you all know aside from all that you see here...real life happens and things get muddy sometimes..and busy...and sometimes you just have to take a step back..and breathe.
Rest in Peace
Robert Dechape COMBS
July 13, 1983 - April 2, 2013

 We will meet one day...

And so friends...as you can see I've been so busy and this place has not been far from my mind...just needed a bit of time. I have some great plans for this blog that have been in the works for months now! 
Keep an eye out! 
Kiss the ones you love, take nothing in this life for granted,
be kind and by all means...have a great Friday. 
xx