Honest To Pete!

Memorial Day 2010

We had a very 'All-American' themed Memorial Day: baseball, hotdogs, armed forces tributes and a Beach Boys concert! The only thing missing was the apple pie! Despite numerous forecasts for all-day thunderstorms, we had full-on SUNSHINE. Loved the acknowledgements to our veterans and active-duty servicemen and women! (Didn't love the idiots who refused to stand for our National Anthem - too busy eating...really? sheesh...) Even though I'm a lifetime Reds fan, the Braves are "America's Team", so it was great to root them on to victory over the Phillies with a 9-3 solid win. Even more fun, singing along to every Beach Boys' hit made - and WOW were there a lot of 'em!

Spencer & Mallory: yep, just humoring their Mom by posing for pics.

Pre-game playtime at the Cartoon Network kids' area.

Dressed in their Braves gear! (I was wearing a Cincinnati T-shirt, heehee)

A little Tomahawk Chop action after a Braves' homerun!
 
 

Mike Love and Al Jardine: "Be True To Your School" =)

Gilly gettin' down to "Good Vibrations"!
 

 
 

 

 

 

Inspiration!

I believe I have finally recovered from my trip to Charlotte to spend three days as a student at Donna Downey's Inspired. Artists' Workshop 2010. The caliber of artists who come together and share their styles and techniques is, well, inspiring! Being open to new ideas, new mediums, new possibilities is what makes this event special. I am a scrapbooker, so who knew sculpting and sewing and jewelry making could influence how I design my projects? Well, apparently Donna did! She gathers artists from all spectrums of the art world together, and has them share what they do best and VOILA! You leave there Inspired!

I just wanted to share a few of the projects we worked on, and keep in mind - these are not my typical fields of expertise! Like I said, I am a scrapbooker, so everything pictured is my Rookie Debut in that particular art medium. (In other words, be kind with any critiques, LOL)

Praying Lady sculpture, done in Powertex fabric hardener. Instructor: Regine Dossche Http://www.powertexcreations.com

 

Glass mosaic on painted canvas. Instructor: Dara Troshane dvorasartstudio@gmail.com

Encaustic art on wood. Instructor: Suze Weinberg  http://www.schmoozewithsuze.com

Other workshops included a jewelry design class with Angela Bannatyne, a scrapbook album with CD Muckosky and a mixed-media journal with Pam Garrison. I also added mini-workshops to an already busy schedule because, hey, who needs sleep? Just kidding, there are just way too many artists there to pass up the opportunity to play and learn! So a big thank you to Veronica Jennings, Stephanie Ackerman, Margie Romney-Aslett, Jenni Bowlin, Sally Lynn McDonald and the hostess herself, Donna Downey for the ideas, techniques and your incredible talent you shared all weekend!

 
 
 

Yellow Roses

Mother's Day is this Sunday. You would think being the Mom of 4, I'd be kind of excited for the one day when my offspring are nice all day and show gratitude for the other 364 days that I put them first. However, this day is too bittersweet for me to pretend life is all peaches & cream. I would much rather be showering my own Mom with a handmade card, a lighthouse collectible, taking her out for brunch or buying her yellow roses - her fav!

My Mom passed away in February of 2007. She had been on the mend from lung surgery since the previous August, but something changed after the first of the year and she just never recovered. I guess in hindsight,it wasn't totally unexpected, but for me it was. She was Super Mom! Strong, independant, resourceful, handy - all the great qualities of a military wife and mother. Seeing her weak and dependant was too much for me and I chose to deny the facts and not let my mind ever think of 'what if...?'

So another Mother's Day approaches and I find myself thinking of her a lot. Happy thoughts, mostly. But still some sadness as I truly hate that my kids didn't get the chance to know her better, learn from her, or witness one of her "funnies" - which is how she would refer to her own faus pas, like forgetting to turn on the oven on Thanksgiving, thereby delaying our turkey dinner until 9pm!

Just in time for Mother's Day, almost as if on cue, my yellow rose bush - a gift from a good friend when Mom passed - has bloomed! What a beautiful sight and reminder of a beautiful lady! So to all you Moms out there who give 100% to your kids, and to all the Moms in heaven, smiling down on their kids: Happy Mother's Day!

Tools of the Trade

Disclaimer: Crop space has been cleaned for photo-op!

Spent the past two days with friends at a weekend crop at our local Archiver's store. It proved to be a fruitful weekend as I completed 3 projects: A 10-page mini-album, a multi-sized page album that required LOTS of doodling and coloring with Copics, and last but not least an accordian-style album that will become a new kit for our Scrapitudes shop!

The weekend was fruitful, too, in that time spent with good friends is always a treasure. Met a couple new scrappy gals and caught up with a friend I hadn't seen in ages. Truly one of the draws of being a scrapper, or crafter of any kind, is the social aspect. Sharing ideas, sharing supplies, sharing giggles...the finished projects are just the icing on the cake!

Something About This View

Fernandina Beach - Amelia Island  4/9/2010

There's just something calming about the sounds of waves coming ashore, and the view of the horizon is just peaceful and relaxing. I'm sure I was meant to live on the coast! I love the sounds, the smells, the fresh seafood! Walking barefoot in the sand (nature's best pedicure :-] ), I could definitely get used to that. I think I'm adding the dream of living by the ocean to my bucket list.

New Kicks

LOVE these! It's no secret that I bleed Scarlet & Grey...so when I saw these in OSU's Alumni Magazine, I placed the order immediately. Cute, huh? If you look closely at the heel, you get a glimpse of Brutus - Go Bucks!
 

A Peek At What's "In Store"

 

I just wanted to share with you a little "sneaky peeky" . . . there is something brewing in the air! You'll have to keep checking back to get more info. Like I said, this is just a little TEASE!!!

 

Day #3

Trying to figure out, set up, get it going...welcome to the world of blogging!