This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~Amanda Soule 

Alternate Reality

Three days before i gave birth to my son, i woke up feeling panicked about the lack of time i was going to have to paint once the baby arrived. That night i started a new painting and used every spare moment i had to work on it. Three days later I finished that painting and the day after that i gave birth!


Here it is:

I'm secretly hoping i'll be able to complete two more paintings this month to submit to the Art From the Heart Show in November. Not sure if that's realistic, but i'm crossing my fingers!

birthdays

There's been a few birthdays around here this month

mine

my hubby's

But most importantly, our son's! He was born on Sept. 4 at our home and he is being loved by us all. Welcome virgo #3!

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~Amanda Soule 

Nesty nest nest

Well, i've been doing a lot of nesting lately, in many forms. I've been looking through closets, organizing and getting a chance to finish up some old projects. One being this little birdie mobile i started some time ago. I actually had made 4 birds, not knowing what i would do with them. Making a mobile out of them turned out to be a fun little project for O. and i to do together. I let her string the beads on and count the colours we were using. Here's the end product...already up hanging in her little bro-to-be's room.

Looks like there's some paint touch ups i should do before this babe is born :)

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~Amanda Soule 

Young Drawings

As an artist, i'd like to think i provide an atmosphere in which my daughter can feel free to create when she'd like to. Admittedly i am not great at organizing crafts ahead of time, but tend to go with the flow should a situation present itself. We have a cupboard full of crafty things, and there is always an easel nearby equipped with paper and paint (or chalk and a chalk board).

Until not so long ago, my three year old was painting mostly abstract pieces, and then it seemed like suddenly out of nowhere, images began to emerge. It all started with a picture of this horse she drew (in a moving car, no less) and handed over to me, much to my surprise.

!!!

Soon after this she drew a dinosaur on her chalkboard:

Really? Horses? Dinosaurs? If you ask me, these are not animals/images we have been seeing or talking about in our day to day lives. She doesn't attend day care either--so i'm not sure where it's all coming from. Obviously she has seen and stored information about what these creatures look like somewhere in her brain and they have now been spilled out on to paper/chalkboard. Amazing!

And suddenly, teeth have been appearing on her figure drawings.

and last but not least, an abstract piece she created for her brother's room (for when he arrives. yup, a brother!)

One for the Boy

This week i completed another commission--for a child's room. The youngest member of a large family for whom i've painted  before. It's nice to have repeat customers, i feel like my work is appreciated.

Strawberry Pickin'

This year we finally made it out strawberry picking at Boonstra Farms. They have got it going on there, i tell ya. A large acreage, organized tractor rides out to the fields, and there are cold drinks and ice cream available (and honey!) to purchase after you've watered their fields with your own sweat for your picking efforts. Not to mention a free petting farm, and playground for kids.

We picked a humid July morning for our adventure, and it was HOT! Heat obviously didn't keep pickers away though, as the parking lot was completely full.

None for the pail, all for the mouth.

After having picked 1 pail each and becoming drenched in sweat i decided it might have been a bit of a kooky idea for a 7 1/2 month pregnant woman to be out in the fields in the heat picking strawberries. Phew!

If for nothing else, picking fresh strawberries was worth it just for this:

Add some fresh whipped cream, and you are in heaven.

I think we'll make it a yearly tradition.

Gifts from the Garden

It's that time of year again...

...when spring presents us with a multitude of textures, tastes and scents that grow right in our gardens.

More Sewing

The sewing bug has still got a hold of me. I had a chance to snoop through Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing For Baby book again, and whipped up her pattern for a change pad for baby. Pretty simple, and gratifying to complete something i know will be used so much.

Normally I'm not such an earth tone kinda person but something about the earthy colors felt right this time around. I like the two tone back/front combination. There is a layer of batting between the layers for added comfort.

And then a simple ribbon with velcro to close the whole thing up in a jiffy.

As an added bonus--i found a bib i started making from this same book about a year ago for someone else...spruced it up with a felt star, and voila! I'm sure i'll be making more of these as time goes by.

this moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~Amanda Soule

pants vs. trousers vs. slacks

I know i haven't been around here much lately, but believe me, there are all manner of projects taking place. There's probably a link to being with child and wanting to sew baby clothes, and I've been taking full advantage of it, trying hard to hone my sewing skills. I've been sewing baby pants with a pattern from this website: (I think it's the Big Butt Baby Pants).

check them out!!

Most of these still need to have elastic inserted, but I'm thrilled with my progress...I especially like adding the cuff option to make it more fun.

There shall be no shortage of pants!

Oh, and p.s. the title of the post is from one of my favorite ever bits of graffiti.

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~Amanda Soule 

Where Inspiration Comes From

This past Christmas season i was busy making a bunch of little paintings for an upcoming sale. When you're producing paintings, one after the other for a sale like this, sometimes, you lose inspiration and paintings become almost formulaic. And then someone shows you pictures from their childhood and BLAM! you see new color combinations and subject matter that get you motivated all over again!

I put together some photograph/painting side-by-side visuals, so you could see what i mean:

Inspiration usually comes when you least expect it, and usually, for me, it is an unusual color combination, an abstract idea, or some direct visual reference. I never seem to learn the lesson to carry my sketch pad with me wherever i go to jot down ideas when i get them...because i usually forget!

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~Amanda Soule 

Got My Mojo Back

Hey World, I've got my mojo back!! Or at least we're getting there. Do you know how i know? because ****

1) not so long ago i made these linen napkins:

Complete with mitered corners (took a while to get the hang of, but i did it!) Find instructions to make your own here. (now perhaps it's time to polish the silverware).

2) I've been baking more:

with alternative flours no less. This loaf of bread is the most promising gluten free bread i have made yet. I found it in the gluten free section of the Mennonite Girls Can Cook website. Score!

3) I'm becoming more creatively inspired:

the other day just for the heck of it i started sewing strips of fabric together. I think the idea will be to eventually have created an artistic fabric wall hanging of some sort...i just wanna try something new!

4) My taste for vegetables is returning:

and you know why? Because i am in my second trimester of pregnancy. yup. preggers! It's been a doozy of a time so far, but things are looking up. who knew?