Away for awhile

Hello out there. Sorry that I have been away for awhile. I wish I could tell you I was on vacation or had another really good excuse. But I don't. Sometimes the computer just drains me. Do you ever feel like that? I'm not sure why, during those times it's all I can do to check my emails, let alone surf around and be productive in the blog world.

On another subject, I thought I'd share something I've been working on here. Remember that tree I cut out awhile back when I got carried away? Well, here is what I ended up doing with it. Please excuse the lack of depth in the photograph, I had a hard time getting a good shot of it.




I don't think it's done yet. It's kind of chaotic, there are no resting places for your eyes. However, there is something I like about that. So I think that I may just live with it on the wall of my studio for awhile until something else hits me about it. Behind the tree are some words taken from a song I really like by Phil Wickham called I will wait for you there. You really can't tell what they say, but I like knowing that they are there. It's how I was feeling while I was working on putting this piece together. My friend Melissa turned me onto Phil Whickham. He is a contemporary Christian artist, there is just something really different about his music. There is a certain depth to his music that I can get lost in. Here's what the verse says:

....and with outstretched arms I will sing out melodies
and my beating heart will pour out a symphony
Hallelujahs in the morning, Hallelujahs in the night
I will wait for you, as long as I have life.


Happy Monday everyone - hope it's a great week!

Summer

mmmm, summer..... hope yours is wonderfully warm and refreshing. i am in love with blueberries lately, they have been so sweet the last two times i bought them. i hope you are finding things you love this july. here are a few things that I have been loving...

austin evenings...the days have been blazing hot, but the evenings have been the perfect temperature with a slight breeze - perfect for sitting outside.

ice pops...when was the last time you ate one? we had some on the 4th of july and it was like taking a step back to childhood. i bought some the next time i went to the grocery store...

going swimming...i rarely went swimming when we lived in pennsylvania. mainly because i worked a normal job during the day and didn't have or know anyone who had a pool. i am loving the fact that now there is one right next door and the fact that we have very gracious neighbors who allow us to enjoy their pool with them.

that first moment when you walk outside and the heat hits you...and it warms you up because you've been freezing in the air conditioning all day.

that first moment when you walk back inside from outside and the cool air conditioning welcomes you back....

things like green, green grass and blue, blue skies...

anything that smells or tastes like coconut....

avocados....i can't eat enough of them since we moved here...

even though it's way too early, i love the fact that the school supplies are already out because it gives me the notion that september, october, november and december are only a short time away....they are my favorite months, even if it's not the same experience in texas as it was in the northeast.....

Carried Away

I always get carried away. My husband will agree with that statement for many areas of my life (i.e.- my ability to shop, worry and talk on the phone). Sometimes I get carried away when I'm working on a project - I hate to plan. A lot of times I run full steam ahead without really taking a look at what it is I'm doing.



I have had this background for awhile. I made it a few months ago and have been looking at it to try and figure out what exactly I want to do with it. Today, I jumped in with an idea that I had been mulling around in my head - full steam ahead. The background kind of reminded me of trees so I wanted branches and a bird..... notice I said branches....take a look at what I started out doing....



I got carried away. About half way through cutting this tree out I realized it was WAY too complicated and WAY too small for what I was doing. It's not like it will go to waste - I've already got it laid out on another canvas and am pretty excited about it. But it just made me laugh - a little planning may have been helpful....but then again, i wouldn't have gotten a pretty cool looking tree out of it if I had actually planned ahead :)

So here's what I ended up with...some slightly larger, slightly less complicated branches and a bird. This collage feels quiet to me. The bird almost blends into the background. Which I kind of like - almost as if it it doesn't know someone is watching it.



I am in LOVE with this lace paper that I used for the background. I love to use it as is and also to paint it to blend it in with whatever i am working on.




Be back soon - have a happy Tuesday!

Tagged!

This is what I see every morning when I open my eyes.....


Yesterday I was tagged by my good friend from college, Megan. This is a first for me. For those of you who have never experienced this before either, it's basically an info session where the blogger is asked to provide a bunch of little known facts about themselves. Except in this version, the questions are already provided. So here goes......

What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was home from college for the summer, working as an art teacher and working at a children's camp that helped to integrate kids with special needs and typical kids.

Five items on my to-do list:
1. Clean off dining room table
2. pull weeds
3. order clear bags
4. make some new cards
5. pay the bills

Snacks I enjoy:
I love popcorn (and have been known to eat it for dinner sometimes). Chips and salsa, sometimes fruit, sometimes veggies, granola bars, or an afternoon snack will usually include some sort of treat (ie - chocolate). I could go on and on.....

What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Oy. This question is endless..... first off I'd get us out of debt. I'd make sure our families were taken care of, make sure we had money in the bank for savings, probably spend some, travel some and worry a whole lot less!

Places I would live:
I'm pretty happy here in Austin, TX
I'd go back to Cleveland, OH
I will always love Lancaster, PA
I think it would be neat to live in NYC for a short period of time
the same goes for Boston

Jobs I have had:
My very first job was a babysitter. This is what I did pretty much all through high school.
Then I worked at a private art studio as a teaching assistant.
In college during the summers I worked at the same studio as an art instructor for all ages and also at a kids day camp.

My first job out of college was for a wallpaper company, where I was a Colorist
Then I moved to another wallpaper company where my positions were as follows: Designer, Assistant Stylist, and Jr. Stylist

And now, I'm a nanny :) and creator of hand cut notecards ...

Bloggers I am tagging who you will enjoy getting to know better:
Kristy (Momental Designs)
Alison (Daily Treats)
Jenna (The Simeks)
Amy (The Amazing Adventures of Anna Banana)

{The rules of the game: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.}

Oh Baby!

Hi All! Just wanted to share some shots of these baby gift cards I did recently. I am trying to get everything together and enough stock built up to start an etsy site soon. If you have never been to etsy - you should seriously check it out. It's pretty cool and it's all small time people like myself.

Shut Out

I had a planned to write a whole other post today, but I was going through my photos and came across these and just had to share them. They make me laugh. We have two dogs - Winston, a hyper 6 year old mini schnauzer and Henry, a small but mighty 6 year old scottie. In a nutshell, they drive me nuts sometimes but I don't know what I would do without them.
Winston has never gotten out of the puppy habit of stealing anything that he can and chewing it up - paper, tissues, whatever he can to get your attention when you are not giving it to him 100% of the day. When you come to stay at our house these are my instructions every time...
" My recommendation to you is that you either keep your suitcase closed (meaning zipped all the way) or the door to the guest room shut at all times. Otherwise you may find yourself chasing Winston around the dining room table to get a pair of socks or underwear back. And he's fast...." I can't tell you how many socks I have lost to him because I have just given up. (that in and of itself is probably the problem)
Anyway, a few weeks ago I was working in my studio and both of "the boys" were with me. Winston just couldn't keep his nose out of the trash so I finally got fed up and shut him out of the room. A few minutes later I looked up and this is what I saw...it made me laugh and melted my heart in a way only my animals can.

Hope you have a great weekend! Our neighbors just got done putting in a pool, so we are about to help them enjoy it! I'll be back tomorrow to post some new cards I've been working on.

IF+D

Hi There - Hope everyone is having a good weekend! I'm really happy to announce that IF+D in downtown Austin now has a small selection of my cards and artwork for sale! I've never had anything in a retail environment, so I'm pretty excited. Here are a couple of my paintings that can be found there. They are all mixed media (mostly combinations of torn paper and watercolor). I have been a fan of IF+D for awhile now. They have really cool furniture and a lot of other really great gadgets. They also support local Austin artists, so there is always something interesting hanging on the walls. If you are an Austinite and have never been, you should check them out - they are in the very cool 2nd Street District, on Colorado (near the Children's Museum). If you aren't around town, check out their website here.