Taking a Break

Hey friends.... just want to let you know I'm taking the next week off blogging.  I really really need it.

I'll be honest here.  I'm struggling.  I've had a migraine nearly everyday for 2 weeks straight and I don't think I can handle much more.  So I'm having a moment.  A very trying moment.  It's taking every bit of faith I have to keep going and have hope for the future.  Things seemed to be going so well with getting off my meds, but this week has been especially painful and it makes me wonder if I ever will get better.  It's so discouraging.  Maybe I need more time to adjust... who knows? In the mean time, I'm going to take a break from the computer.  Maybe that will help.  We'll see.

Anyway, I don't want to be depressing here.  Just want to let you know what's going with me and thank you for all your kind comments here so far.  You have lifted me more than you know.

New Prints!

I finally ordered more prints of my work and they are finally here!  

Check out the new Giclee Prints in my Shop.

And in case you've never heard of a giclee print before and you're wondering what the heck that is, here's a little description from oberonart.co.uk:

Giclée prints: Inkjet prints printed from a computer where the image has been stored as a digital file, and is then outputted onto paper or canvas with a high-resolution wide-format printer. The image may have been created on-screen or may have been scanned in to the computer. Giclee prints may be produced on a wide choice of substrate including artist paper and allow the artist/printer great control over the resulting image.

I hope these prints all find happy homes soon :)

P.S.  Colletta's Kitchen Sink is featuring a little get-to-know-you post on me today... awesome!  Head on over there to see the post.

Bright Flowers Bookmarks

Hey guys!  Like the new header?  I can never leave one header up for too long before I get tired of it.  Plus, I figured it was time to incorporate my watercolors in my blog design somehow.  I'm pretty happy with it!

Anyway, so...... onto some more watercolor goodness.....

I painted these bookmarks right after my latest flower painting.  I was having too much fun with the watercolors to stop!

I painted two sets with bright flowers.  I just love how colorful and vibrant they are!  I used stencils on the other set.  I love them all!

Crepe Paper Flowers

When I found a tutorial for crepe paper flowers involving watercolors HERE, I just had to try it.... I love almost anything to do with watercolors!

It seems like a simple concept: shaping wet petal shapes over a bowl, coloring them with watercolors, then drying them in the microwave, but for me, it was WAY harder than it seemed.  My flowers don't even come close the the ones from the original tutorial.  And, they took me WAY longer than I thought.   Plus my floral tape didn't hold, so I ended up hot gluing the petals together.  It was hard!

So ya, these look nice, but I think it would take more practice (and more time than I'm willing to spend) to get them looking great. 

At least they look alright on my table next to my Jackson Pollock eggs for now :)

Photo of the Week

Hello friends!  How was your weekend?  I'm so glad the snow is over and mostly melted for us!  I think I might go crazy if it snows like that again this spring.  I'm too anxious to get outside and exercise (especially after all the birthday cake I ate over the weekend).

So here's another photo of the birds I spotted from my back yard.  This one makes me feel peaceful and happy :)  I hope you all are having a wonderful day!

Baby Girl Crochet Headbands

Hi there!  First of all, I have to say thanks for the awesome comments on yesterday's post... they put a smile on my face and made me laugh!  It was so fun to discover that we have some random things in common.  And it's kind of nice to know that I'm not the only one that locks myself out of my house... haha!

Now onto these: 

I made some crochet headbands for a friend who's expecting a baby girl....

making these seriously made me wish I had a little girl of my own to make these for!  Then I would have someone to try them on and model them for me.   I have no idea if they fit right, but luckily this pattern allows for a lot of stretch.

I found the free pattern for the headbands HERE (6/15/20 update: the author of the headband pattern has removed it from the Ravelry site unfornately)  and the pattern for the flowers are HERE.  I use that flower pattern for just about everything!  It's a good one :)

A Few Random Facts About Me

Since it's my birthday this week (I'm turning 29-yikes!) I'm doing something different here. I'm writing about myself...just some random stuff.  I love reading personal and even random things about other bloggers.  It's a fun way to get to know someone!

So here are a few things about myself that I'm pretty sure I've never written on this blog:

• I have a sister with Down's Syndrome.  She's my youngest sister and my favorite!  She's really into the Cars movies and always will be.  She's an inspiration to me and a light in my family's life!

• I don't really like cooking.  It's more of a chore for me.  I think my husband is a better cook than I am.

• Nearly ten years ago, right after finishing my freshman year of college, I was in a serious car accident that left me with a broken back, among other things.  I feel extremely blessed to have survived that and know I have a reason to still be here :)

• When we first bought our house last year, I accidentally locked myself and my son out in our backyard when the backdoor got jammed shut.  Kind of embarrassing.  I had to call my husband on my neighbor's phone to come home early from work and rescue us.. haha!

• For the most part, I enjoy keeping my house clean and organized. It makes me feel good.

• I once ran a half marathon.... a long time ago... before I was married.  It was fun!  One of my life's dreams is to do a mini-triathlon.  It may be a while though.  I have to take baby steps first.

• The only TV show I have ever been addicted to is The Gilmore Girls, which is funny, because the first time I saw it, it annoyed me.  They talked so fast!

• My husband and I lived in the same apartment complex and knew each other for a whole year before we ever went on a date.  And then it wasn't love at first sight... or date.  I feel like we were able to become such good friends because we weren't completely and obsessively attracted to each other at first.  The attraction grew as we got to know each other. 

Well, enough of me.  Have any random facts you'd like to share here?  I'd be happy to read them!

Why I Love Watercolors

I spent some time just playing with my watercolors... just letting them mix and blend within shapes I drew.  That's my favorite thing about these paints.  They can be unpredictable, but have so much expressive potential.

It's funny to think that back in college, I was so NOT into watercolors.  I told myself I would only love oils... HA!  Then I became a stay-at-home mom and oils weren't the best option.  They're so messy!

Over the past three years I have totally fallen in love with watercolors and I'm really addicted to painting with them :)  They never do exactly what I expect them too, but that's part of the fun!

Photos of the Week

Last week was pretty good, (with the exception of some sleep problems),  But, the weather was perfect, I got some spring cleaning done, I didn't have a SINGLE migraine ( I can't remember the last time I had a good streak like that)  and I took lots of photos.... hence the photos (plural) of the week :)

Porter and I finally delivered our Love Rocks around the neighborhood.  I still don't know if anyone has found them yet, but it was fun anyway.  Porter loved the fact that we were doing something secret for our neighbors!

 a shot of my awesome walnut tree....

 my maple tree in bloom...

 And the last one- a close-up of the green coming up in my flower beds.  Most are the bulbs that didn't get picked out last year when we dug up the flower bed (those grape hyacinths are like weeds.. seriously!)  But, it looks like my hollyhocks survived the winter!  Awesome!  They are my favorite flowers :)

In the Mood for Spring

I am seriously on a roll here..... I've been painting like a crazy woman!  I have too many paintings to post and not enough time to post them!  I guess that's a good thing, right?  

 Maybe it's the warmer weather that's gotten me in the mood, but I'm loving everything to do with birds, butterflies, and flowers right now :)  Happy days!  Spring is almost here!

These three little birdies are up for sale now....

Thrifted Yarn Washcloths

Does anyone else buy yarn from the thrift store?  I know you take your chances doing that... you don't know what kind of yarn you have or where it's been, but you can always wash it!  Sometimes you even get lucky and get a bunch of yarn for an awesome deal... like this green yarn.  I got it in a bag with 4 or 5 other skeins of yarn for 75 cents!

I've now turned said green yarn ( I think it's cotton) into washcloths.  They aren't perfect, but the sure are handy!

Speckled Blue and Gold Easter Eggs DIY

Have you ever tried blowing eggs?  I love the idea!  You can save your eggs for a long time that way. It does take some work though.  About half of mine cracked, but luckily I was able to cover that up with a little acrylic paint :)

Here's a quick tutorial on how I decorated my first ever blown eggs!

Materials: 
Blown eggs: washed and dried ( You can find a good tutorial on blowing eggs HERE )
Acrylic craft paints
paint brush and/or foam brush
paint pallet or paper plate
paper towels

Step 1:  On a paper plate or paint pallet, pour small amounts of acrylic craft paint and mix colors to get desired base color.  I used a medium blue, white, and bright green for my base colors.

Step 2:   Using a foam brush, paint the base color(s) over one half of the eggs.  Let dry and then paint the other half and let dry completely.  You can paint one smooth color or blend in other colors to get a more varied look.

Step 3:  Lay eggs out on paper towels.  Cover your work area well... this gets messy! Load up a paint brush with the paint color of your choice.  Hold the paint brush in one hand next to the eggs and with a finger, flick the tip of the brush to splatter the paint onto the egg- Jackson Pollock style!

Step 4:  Let each side of the eggs dry before turning them over to flick paint on the other sides.  Then let dry completely.  Your'e done!

For easy Easter Decor, display your speckled eggs in a pretty glass bowl or basket with some greenery!

Patterson's Pond, #2

I love water.  I love hearing, seeing it, and being in it!  

This is my second watercolor of Patterson's Pond, the small body of water near my hometown of St. Johns, AZ where I like to go canoeing with my family when I visit.  It's one of the few recreational spots around. 

 I took some photos of it last spring when I visited and painted this from one of the photos.  Now it's hanging in my living room to remind of home :)

Crochet Sunglasses Case

I'm one of those people that need new sunglasses pretty much every year.  They inevitably get scratched or smashed somehow.  I never bothered to buy or make a case for them till now.....

I scoured the web for a good crochet sunglasses case pattern and I found a winner HERE at Dly's Hooks and Yarns.  Check it out!

I had to do a little adjusting from her pattern.  My first try was way too big so I adjusted the pattern to only chaining 8 at the beginning instead of 12.  This made it smaller and  really quick to make, but the stitches are still too loose for my liking.  In the future I plan to use a smaller hook to make a tighter weave to protect my glasses even better.

I also switched up the colors to make it more fun and added one of my mini-crochet flowers to the front.

Colorful crochet things just make me smile :)

Photo of the Week

Another bird photo........ taken at the Hogle Zoo with my son last week on free zoo day!  It was a good day because honestly, I haven't felt well enough to go out and do something like that in a while.  It's amazing how much the small things mean to me now.   I plan on taking advantage of all the free days at parks, zoos, and museums I can this year.  I have a feeling once I finally get all the way off my meds and the withdrawals subside, the migraines will be better.. at least that is my hope :)