Decorating and zentangles

     We are moving in just two short weeks!  I'm not that much of an interior decorator but one of the bathrooms in our new-but-old house needs some TLC.  We currently have a glass door on our shower but in the new house I get to pick out a shower curtain... which then entails picking out the rugs and any other accents.  I have had so much fun with this!
     It took me a while to decide on the perfect shower curtain (which I'll probably change out six months after we move in, because I'm like that). This is the shower curtain and it looks like it has a white background but it's really a cream color.  I'm thinking of hand sewing beads onto it because it just feels like it needs beads, plus I love to hand sew.

     I bought it from Target online.  It's made by Boho Boutique and the name is Utopia.  This picture is from their website and it's even more gorgeous in person, the red and orange really pop.  I bought two rugs (one orange and one cream color) locally.  I bought fabric from JoAnn's to eventually make curtains but I need to take measurements first.  And finally I decided to do a few zentangles for the walls.
     I probably only needed to do one or two but I've done three so far.  There is light blue and olive green in the shower curtain also that doesn't show up to well in Target's picture.

     I can't wait to move in and get this bathroom all set up so you can see the final product.

What I've been up to

     We are moving in June!  My husband is a Methodist pastor and if you know anything about us Methodists it's that the pastors move often.  Since we are in the Virginia Conference we will stay within this state.  When we got married we were assigned to a quaint little town on the Rappahannock river called Urbanna, Va.  Six years and two kids later we moved to Portsmouth, Va.  We have been here five years and are now moving to Lexington, Va.
     So, needless to say, this is what's been going on in my life for the past few months: helping the kids transition, packing and purging, starting to change our address on bills and looking for new doctors, etc.
     I am still working on my two young adult fantasy fiction stories but yesterday I revisited one of my other passions, zentangles!

So if you don't hear from me for another month or two it's because I'm knee deep in boxes.

More Art Dolls, this time with a story

Since my last post my writing has really taken off!  I have jumped into the wonderful world of fiction writing and as of today my first story is up to 20,000 words.  What am I writing you ask?  Fantasy for young adults.  I enjoy reading books with the main character being around eight to ten years old so this is who my book is for.
     In January I had a rough idea for a story and as I was sitting in my art room I noticed  my three art dolls "talking" to each other, they had a story to tell me.  My first book is their story.

Meet Azraella, the matriarch of my woodland friends, she is very calm and level headed.  Oh and she is an ant.

Meet Bazorg - He is the "clown" of the group.  He is a bird and not too smart at times.  He and Edric (the raccoon) don't get along to well.

Meet Couna - She is a bat and is very shy and quiet,  She only trusts a few other animals and Bazorg is her best friend.

Their names begin with the of letter of the alphabet in order in which I designed them.  "A" for Azraella because she was the first one I created.  Bazorg was my second and Couna my third.  This first book, so far, has characters named through "G".  I would really like to turn this into a series but I don't want to jump the gun yet.

     Domin-eye, Edric, Frena and Gumlop have also been created (3-D) but I don't want to share all of my secrets yet.

More updates

Since quitting my job, and spending more time at home, I have started to clean out my art room. Purge, get rid of stuff that I haven't used in years.  I am at a crossroads as to which direction my art and creativity are going.  I figured that if I cleaned out (and I mean CLEANED OUT) my room it would be cathartic. Clean room = clean mind = fresh start.  I'm about halfway finished and it feels great!

My second update is that I've started writing again.  I wrote poetry and short stories in middle and high school.  I never shared them with anyone but I loved writing.  Since "picking up the pen again" I have been writing Haiku's.  I am working on another blog dedicated to my poetry and ponderings.  There I will share some of my older work (1980's) with my newer works.  I'm not great at it but I love writing my ideas and ways of thinking down on paper.

I am also revisiting my love of photography.  This was my first "artistic endeavor" and since cleaning out my art room I have stumbled upon some of my photography portfolios.  I used to take black and white photos with a manual film camera.  I will be incorporating my photography into my new poetry blog. 

A few days ago I had a free day so I went to an antique mall and took pictures.  This adventure was two-fold, not only was I polishing up my photography skills but antiques inspire me to write.  Yesterday I saw this little elf-boy that I remember my grandmother putting out at Christmas, my mind then went back to what her house looked like and what my brother and I would do while we were there.

A Visit From Santa Paws

I have a very special in my heart for cats. I absolutely love cats, all cats, any color, any size, any temperament.  There is just something about a cat that calms me.  On this Christmas eve I'd like to share a poem with you from the book A Cat's Christmas by Stefanie Samek (1996, Dutton) (find it on Amazon here)

'Twas the night before Christmas, in the sleeping cats' house,
Not a feline was stirring-for even a mouse.
Cat stockings were hung by the cat door with care,
In hopes that Santa Paws soon would be there.

The kittens were snuggled in Mama Cat's bed,
With brothers and sisters curled head-to-head;
And Mama Cat on her quilt, and I on my mat,
Had just settled into a delicious catnap,

When out in the yard there arose such a clatter
I sprang from my mat to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash, 
Climbed up the curtains, pressed my nose to the glass.

And what in the world did my feline eyes see
But a small golden chariot, pulled by cats just like me!
With a fluffy old driver so white and so furry,
I knew in a moment it must be Saint Purr-y!

More rapid than rabbits his kitties they came,
And he yowled and meowed, calling each by name:
"On, Slippers! On, Sneakers! On, Bigfoot! On, Spats!
Christmas is coming! Let's go, gentle cats!

Now White Sox! Now, Bootsie! Let's go, Gloves and Mittens!
To the back porch we fly!  Let's go, cats and kittens!"
So down to the cat door his kittens they flew,
With a catnip-filled chariot-and Santa Paws too!

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the latch
The pawing and clawing of Santa Paws' scratch.
As I sniffed for his scent and looked all around,
Through the cat door Santa Paws came with a bound:

His eyes, how they sparkled! His whiskers so merry!
His cheeks were like marshmallows, his pink nose like a cherry!
His little cat mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the fur on his paws was as white as snow.

He meowed not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all of the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
Then washing his whiskers, ears, coat, and tail,
After having a snack, out the cat door he sailed.

He jumped on his chariot, to his team gave a yowl,
And away they all flew like nine cats on the prowl.
But I heard him meow, as he drove out of sight,
"Meowy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"
                                                                               ---- Clement Moorecat

My cat "Lefty" (because she was missing her left eye).  RIP little girl.

Small craft bazaar

Photos from the Winter Bazaar I was in last weekend:

I prefer making snowmen over santas

Debut of some of my altered paintbrushes

I love painting these doll chairs

My very whimsical one-of-a-kind painted doll chair

I'm now branching out and painting on other found objects as well

Another one of my painted chairs

More fabric baskets

A few Christmas coiled fabric baskets

One of my tables

Another table and I still couldn't get all of my stuff displayed

There wasn't a lot of room in the gymnasium at the school

Upcycled Paintbrushes

If I tried to explain how my creative brain works sometimes you might get lost or dizzy.  I have never been one to keep a sketch book but lately I've found that it's now the only way to organize my thoughts.  I quit my day job a few weeks ago which now allows me to devote more time to my family, my two boys, and my art.  

Ok so back to these altered paintbrushes... They are fun!  They are whimsical! They are way out of the box!

I will be doing a small arts and crafts show this weekend and will be debuting them there:

"Shabby Chic"

** "Ladybugs"

"At the beach"

"Steampunk"

** The ladybugs on the ladybug paintbrush were made using flat black stones, I then painted them and put a clear top coat on them to protect from chipping.

Thanks for looking!!

Merry Christmas!

I much prefer to create Halloween stuff but I have been working on these two Christmas wall hangings for some time now and I have finally finished them!  

I designed and embroidered this nutcracker adding beads and sequins.  The face and hands are hand painted with acrylics.  I then free-motion quilted the entire wall hanging.  It has a rod pocket on the back for easy hanging.

My "cutesy" snowman was created with the coiled fabric bowl method.  The red and white background is actually an upholstery remnant.  The snow is three-dimensional (gel medium) and I hand painted all of the buttons

The back is pretty fun too!!