A Little Imagination and a Pile of Junk

articulate complicity

It has been a good day. It has been a good week. I finished a skirt for Maisey and it happens to go with her new t-shirt. She is such a girly girl and would wear a dress every day if she had enough of them. I have to admit that girl clothes are way more fun to buy and make than boy clothes, although when we just had Soren, I would have disagreed passionately. And it broke my heart on Saturday when my my sweet son pulled me aside and asked why Maisey got 3 new things (clothes) when he only got one. I tried to explain that the pattern on the skirt was just so cute and I couldn't leave it there and never see it again, so I had to get it, not really for Maisey, but more for me. He looked skeptical but he knows me and I think he realizes already that it's true. Bad Mommy.

We did do a little shopping at the local outlet mall this weekend. I'm not really a shopper unless it is for art supplies or books, but I can get lost in Gymboree or Carters like I have a lot of money in the bank to spend. We only stopped there to eat on the way to the flea market, but since I've never been there we had to browse a little. The cherry  patterns in the window and red mary janes with the cherry snap called to me, you know.

We did finally make it to the flea market though. If you remember, I've told you how the term "flea market" in the most literal sense here in borderland differs than say a New England flea market. If you forgot, you can get a refresher here.  I didn't bring my camera or else I would have taken a picture of the sign out front: "Marijuana bags $3.50, 5 flavors." I guess living here is good for a laugh. Although we have actually seen signs advertising sacramental peyote in Rio Grande City. So, do you have to have some kind of permission slip to buy?

Another reason this week was great: mailart!!! From the talented and thoughtful Randi who recently had an art party making altered Barbie dolls. Next time can I be invited??

And from Nancy, open at your own risk...

Nancy also sent along some beautiful papers as if she could see into my soul exactly what I would love. I feel a little dizzy and confused as if I were living someone else's life and it is all going to end suddenly when everyone realizes that I don't belong here. I can't believe I have had the privilege to know such talented ladies. It is very humbling. And very exciting.

I finished up and sent off a new article today. I'm still waiting for new fabrics to show up. Hopefully, I'll have some sewing to show tomorrow.

end of the week review, aka I'm too tired to proofread

~ A bit of journaling

~ A few papers made for a art-e-zine swap

~Mailart on its way upstate--but just a peek

~ Some sewing, but I've been having a hard time sitting still in one place for it. And waiting (somewhat) patiently for my stack of new fabrics to arrive.

~ Due to a series of unfortunate incidents, we have overnight become a one car family. The main problem is that John works out of town and, for the next few weeks at least, will have to be at work at 5 a.m. Which means the kids and I will be without a car for most days. That's not that big of a deal now, but in September Maisey will start preschool 3 days a week, and getting up early to drive back and forth would be such a bummer. I would say forget it and let her homeschool with Soren, but the preschool is such a wonderful school, I feel so blessed to have found it, and I'd really hate for her to have to miss out on the experience. Besides, she will probably be reading by the end of the year and that will make kindergarten so much less stressful for me when the time comes. So, due to this slight change in circumstances, I will probably be updating my Etsy shop as soon as I can. John very lovingly reminds me of how much money he can make working an extra day at the hospital vs. what I could make if I worked my heart out for a month. Sort of depressing, but it would sure feel nice to be able to contribute to more than just the spending of the money.

So, I've been thinking of, among other things, putting  together a few paper packs of my painted/stamped papers and/or fabric, but I could use some feedback. If you were looking for handmade papers or fabrics to use in your own work or scrapbooks or whatever, what would you be hoping to find? A range of designs, colors, even sizes? Just the handmade papers or other papers & ephemera in the bundle too? A small sampler at a less expensive price or a nice sized paper pack with plenty of pieces but costs a little more? Would you expect to choose your own color scheme or at least have a few choices? Would you rather have the papers double-sided so you get twice the number of designs or would you rather have them one-sided and get more individual sheets? Would you rather have richly layered thus more costly designs or slightly more simple designs that are less expensive? Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts.

Have a great weekend and, as my Grandmother used to say, do something exciting and pretend like I'm there.

precaution tawny

The latest issue of Belle Armoire is out and I have an article in it. But first, is the dress on the cover (obviously not mine) to die for or what?? And there are more inside.

Also in this issue is Deryn's article about our charm swap last year. You can see the charms themselves and what a few of the ladies did with them. I still cannot believe I was a part of that amazingly talented group of women. It was such a fun swap and my charm bracelet/necklace is one of my most treasured things. I talked a little bit about it here and here.

I was tagged by SK to name 8 random things about myself. It took me a while to think of them all. You'd think I would know myself better.

1. I never answer the phone or listen to the answering machine, if I can help it, and rarely return phone calls. Friends and family usually get in touch with me through my husband who practically sleeps with his Blackberry.
2. Evidently my laugh is so loud that I am often told friends can recognized me from across large, loud and crowded rooms. 
3. I swear, I had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after having my first child. I couldn't even think about it and I thought I would never recover mentally from the existence shattering pain I felt. Second birth was easy in comparison.
4. At night, I brush my teeth with my eyes closed.
5. My mother got pregnant with me while she and my father were in the middle of a divorce after 11 years of trying to have a baby. I'm an only child.
6. The year I turned 30 was also the same year I had my second child and got a minivan. The worst part was admitting that I loved the minivan.
7. I get panicky if I have more than 2 things in a week that I have to do that involve anyone else or getting out of the house. I'm not agoraphobic or anything, I just like having control of my days and having them open.
8. I get obsessed with music and have to listen to the same thing for days, weeks or even months. In my mind, there is a soundtrack to every period of my life. Lately, I've been obsessed with Blind Melon.

Okay, there you go. And if you no longer want to continue associating with a crazy person such as myself, I can only empathize with you. I, unfortunately, am stuck here.

but let us say this: it rocked

Today, I thanked the Lord for mailart. And you will too when you see this.

 

It came in yesterday from Patty and made my day. It was so perfectly wrapped in a clear plastic wrapper that I knew I was going to destroy something by opening it. But I didn't and now I'm thinking I need to build a shelf in my studio to display all of my gorgeous mailart. Tucking them in here and there just doesn't seem to do them justice.

Thanks so much for the kind words about my tutorial. It was my first one for the blog, and I have this habit of giving way too much information when I am explaining anything. (Never would have guessed, huh?) At least once a week I see the eyes of my six year old glazing over as I take off on another tangent like the really cool symbolism woven throughout the Bible when all he wanted to know was whether Moses or Spiderman were real. Here, at least I can edit myself.

Speaking of mailart, mine finally made it all the way to the left coast into the spray paint stained hands of Mary Ann.

You can see more pictures on her fantastic blog over here. Did I mention that mailart is my new favorite thing??

I'll leave you with some new journal pages as my caffeine buzz wears off and the words begin to blur on the screen. I must go to wrestle the laptop out of my honey's hands so I can play my obligatory 3 games of spider solitaire in bed before the lights in my head go out for good. Oh, the beautiful and lifelike flower on the second page was a gift from my sweet Soren. One of his many talents.

my new favorite thing

I love good mail days. Good mail is the best, but mailart is the bestest! The very talented Mary Ann sent this beauty to me. (Are you jealous?) I had so much fun putting hers together. I have done lots of swaps but this is the first time I've made real "mailart." I can't believe how much fun it is. It's definitely my new favorite thing. Mary Anne's gifty will go out in tomorrow's mail, but here's a sneak peek. (MA--Don't scroll down yet! You can only look with one eye. Cover one, squint the seeing eye, and then you can look. But that's it!!)

But enough of that, let's take a better look at Mary Ann's gorgeous artwork.

 

Not only is MA an incredibly talented artist, but she totally cracks me up--I mean falling out of the chair funny. Her blog has been my new favorite thing for a while now.

Speaking of new favorite things, I discovered a must-have product for journaling junkies...are you ready?

(Pink!) stencils in a wah-fer thin tin that is perfect for throwing into your journaling-on-the-go bag. You know, the one you can't close completely and that gives you a headache for two days from carrying the thing--that one--or is that just me? Either way, I promise, you'll never notice adding these light as a feather stencils. I got the alphabet but they have other designs, too. And $5 at Hobby Lobby. You can't beat that with a stick.

I don't have any new journal pages completed, but here are some more papers, envelopes and file folders. I swear, painting envelopes and file folders is my new favorite thing. I could do it all day.

There is one more thing I want to show you but it deserves its own post. Remember yesterday when I mentioned a self-portrait stencil? Well, it came out so good that I decided to do an actual tutorial for you. You have to make some of these. You will love them. They're my new favorite things. Well, off to bed. I've been staying up to 1 or 2 a.m. for the past few nights. What am I thinking? There are just so many great ways to spend your day and I want to do it all every day.