Snow

It snowed here yesterday, not alot but enough to make this...
My kids were so excited for the first snow that they had me outside at 8:30 a.m. I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. What is the weather like where you are?

P.S.
I am playing around with the layout of the blog so if something seems wonky here and there you know why.

Anthropologie Inspiration

These images are from the recent Anthropologie catalog. There were lots of inspiring pics.

These images are from the recent Anthropologie catalog. There were lots of inspiring pics. I love this purse!
Cool print on the dress.
Lovely ribbon work don't you think?

A page from my sketchbook

I spent about an hour last night working fast in my sketchbook. A great to unwind from a busy day.

I am really feeling the need (it really is a need) to paint and collage. Ideas are floating around in my head and I love to be able to play with them in my sketchbook. It feels safe and free and I enjoy being able to share some of the pages with you.

I am going to be focusing more on painting and collage in the new year. I am going to learn more about blogging and websites and shops amongst many other things. I also want to sign up for
A Year of Color after reading about it in Artful Blogging. Not sure if it is happening for 2010. Does anyone know more? What are you going to be working on in the new year?

Just wanted to mention that on the Bella Wish blog she is giving away 3 copies of Kelly Rae's book Taking Flight. Isn't that sweet? You have until Monday to stop by and comment for a chance to win.

Stop by Regina's blog, Creative Kismet by tonight (Friday) for a chance to win a great giveaway.

Also, I read about UK handmade mag on Lupin's blog. She has an awesome tutorial on her blog and in the online mag. It is also filled with lots of other great goodies. Enjoy!

Sneak Peek

A new all white wreath. Available here tomorrow.

Loving...

* I really want a print of this new painting by Kelly Rae. Something about this one really speaks to me. I love the title "What is calling you?". I love the layers and I always love butterflies. They hold a special meaning for me.
* I found Cori Dantini's work (Above). Love it!! She had a post on her blog about Squeak Carnwath.
The link takes to her you tube video about her art and process. So great! Here is a link to her website.

*Gorgeous paper cuts by Skinny Laminx
*I bought myself a copy of Artful Blogging the other day. This was a big splurge for me. It was money well spent. I am only about a third of the way through and I can't wait to read more. I usually read this in the bookstore but it was great to take it home and take my time with it. I already follow tons of blogs but I can't wait to go check out all of these. Love the photos and articles. Check it out if you don't already.

*I love that my daughter is so into Frosty ( she calls him Christmas) and Rudolph ( she calls him reindeer) this year. She went down for her nap singing Frosty. She carries the plushies around with her all of the time. She gets so excited when she sees Santa. It is the cutest thing.

* I also love that she calls her brother my Ryan and her pajamas cajamas. I love this age.

I hope your week is a great one!

How to Holiday: Advent Christmas Countdown

So Tuesday starts the countdown to Christmas. I completely ran out of time to make the little stockings that I intended to use for the countdown. So the other day when I was in the craft store I decided to pick up a piece of foam core board and stickers. I already had the little pegs, the envelopes, and the ribbon. Originally I was going to glue the pegs on but then I thought I would be better off using ribbon and clipping them on. I again got my kids involved. They colored and applied tons of stickers. They loved it. I was going to paint or stamp the numbers on but in the end I just wrote them on with a Sharpie marker. You could do so many fun things with this. Lots of possibilities.

Supplies:

-1- 20"x30" foam core board
-1 spool of ribbon
-24 assorted envelopes
- stickers, crayons, paint, etc. go crazy here
-24 small wood pegs
- decorative scissors, regular scissors, marker, tape
-An awl or some other tool to poke a hole through the foam core board

How to:

1. Take all of your envelopes and lick them shut, fold, then cut in half vertically. You can use decorative scissors or regular ones. Your choice.

2. Decorate in whatever way you choose. Have fun with it!

3. Eyeball or measure 2 inches down from the top and two inches in from the sides and poke a hole with your awl on both sides. Attach a length of ribbon to one side and leave enough room for hanging and attach to the other. I just tied a knot.

4. Lay out the envelopes on your board. I did 3 across by 8 down. I then got out my ribbon and attached with tape on the back while the envelopes were still laying on the board. Just so I made sure they were in the right spot. Repeat up the board.

5. Attach envelopes with the pegs and hang your countdown.

Here are some of the things I am doing for the countdown:

-make cookies
-cut down the tree
-make gingerbread
-make xmas cards
-cut out and decorate snowmen
-go out to dinner
-go out and look at xmas lights
-eat ice cream after dinner
-watch a xmas movie before bed
-make a xmas garland
-decorate the tree
-candy
-go to the library and borrow 2 Christmas books/movies
-sing xmas carols
-attend a holiday event at the school

Cornstarch Clay

We began making some ornaments this weekend to give to teachers, friends and family. I try to have my kids get involved with as many acts of giving as I can. I also love for them to make things. My kids had a blast using the cookie cutters to cut out holiday shapes. I just poked a hole at the top and we let them dry. You could leave them white which I think is pretty and simple or paint them. My kids painted them. They loved that too!
I found this recipe and the instructions via familyfun.go. com. I first read it the magazine while I waited for a drs. appt. and then looked it up when I got home. This clay is easy peasy to make and it hardens up nice to make ornaments or whatever you like. We made 2 batches!

From the site....

Little fingers with limited modeling experience will appreciate this dense, easy-to-shape dough. The mixture's high salt content gives it a grainy texture and a sparkly white color, ideal for dyeing with food coloring or decorating with tempera paints.

MATERIALS

1 cup salt
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
Food coloring or tempera paints (optional)

Heat the salt and 1/3 cup of water over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. (An adult should prepare this mixture, which gets quite hot and bubbly.) Remove from heat and add the cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water. The mixture should now look like thick mashed potatoes; stir until it thickens, then let cool for a few minutes before kneading. If the dough feels too sticky at first, your child can work in some extra cornstarch as she kneads. Add food coloring, if desired.

WHAT TO MAKE:

When dry, this dough is heavy and durable, which makes it excellent for larger items, such as candlesticks, small bowls, trivets or a lasting impression of your child's hand. Cornstarch Clay's sticky consistency is also a plus when sculpting figures: A tail or head easily attaches to a body with a gentle push. One batch of dough is enough to make a slew of snowmen ornaments, Noah's ark figures or dollhouse characters.

DRYING TIME:

1 to 4 days

STORAGE:

Cornstarch Clay will keep unrefrigerated for up to 2 weeks when stored with a small bit of wet sponge in a plastic bag or sealed container.
My son painting them.
My daughter painting the freezer paper I put down to protect the table.
Finished painted ornaments ready for giving. I am going to attach them to a potted paper white.
This was really fun and it kept the kids busy for quite awhile.