Happiness is...Thoughts of Thanks

...a warm, fuzzy purring kitten
...a bowl full of FRESH Palisades, Colorado Bing Cherries
...grilling a delicious meal
...picture text messages
...having my swap card maxed out

Quincy and I went to the Farmer's Market this morning. It sure was fun to get out for a little while and enjoy the lovely sunshine.

I hoped to find some strawberries, but either I didn't look hard enough or there weren't any to be found. I did, however, find some beautiful Bing Cherries. They sure are sweet and juicy! Is it just me? or are those vendors really proud of those ears of corn???

Happy Saturday Five

Fresh Doughnuts!
Cool Air
Herbs are Growing
Yard Sales
Found Treasures

Gosh! I can't decide if my favorite buy today was the red fabric with beads and glitter, the box of 12 skeins of Lion Brand Chenille yarn, or the Lyle Lovett "Pontiac" CD. I plan to transform the red piece of fabric into a skirt. It is the perfect red and the sparkles are just perfect, too. Not too big, not too flashy! Just enough to give a little glamorous glint. It was in the clearance bin and goodness knows I'm crazy for a clearance sale. I HATE to pay full price for anything. I am not different from any other bargain hound. I want to stretch my dollar just as far as I can, too!

The Chenille will become another shawl. I should have plenty to make a nice sized shawl. The yarn labels were still on the skeins. That stuff was originally 7 dollars per skein. And I swooped up the whole box for a mind-boggling 3 dollars! I feel very blessed about that! Moses really likes the chenille! I can't keep him OUT of it! Goofy Cat!

Haiku About Haiku

Just seventeen small
syllables strung together
to convey a thought.

My Trees Have The Blues

Some tree jewelry....i love it!

Fun Friday Five

Running Shoes
Relaxing in the Tiki Lounge with the boys last night...watching the bats swoop and dive for their nightly meal.
Hanging out with my daughters talking and giggling 'til two in the morning
Friday energy....gonna try to go to a few yard sales today!
being a mom

Running Shoes Haiku

Worn and white, they have

Run me through a journey of

Miles and fitness

Thoughtful Thursday Five

happy healthy kids
my new blog is wonderful ... it has all the features i wanted
our new kitten is adorable and makes us all smile and laugh
life and new possibilities
time to be creative
Bonus thankful "thang" COFFEE! COFFEE! COFFEE! Sweet and hot!

Anticipation

....yeah, so that word makes me think of Carly Simon's song. In fact, I will probably need to go listen to it before I leave this morning.

I placed an order for some art books last week. Two of them arrived yesterday. Oh!!! They are GREAT. One of them is geared for getting kids creating. "The Creative Family" by Amanda Blake Soule. My girls are both really creative, but the boys just don't seem too interested. Although, sometimes, if I have a "group project" in progress, both Ryan and Alex might join in, but usually, in the conception stages, they have no interest. They just usually don't put much brain power into thinking about being vcreative on their own. There are some fun ideas that I can't wait to try. Oh! and Yes! Quincy ALWAYS loves to jump right in and has no fear of being creative.

The OTHER book that arrived yesterday: "Kaleidoscope" by Suzanne Simanaitis really got my creative gears cranking. I don't know why but even to smell the pages makes me happy. That paper smells soooooooo good! And the cover has a neat matte and glossy mix. So there is even the element of touch there. All the pages are filled with very visually stimulating images. I read most of the book last night before I fell asleep and had a hard time putting it down.

So back the anticipation piece....I eagerly anticipate the arrival of one other book and a periodical. Hopefully they will be here SOON! I can't wait to get my hands on them to devour them, too!

Passionately Curious

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious."
~Albert Einstein

Birdie Slings

Mama's Bag

'Manda's Bag

I saw this pattern and just knew I had to make a few.

My daughters and I love THEM. They are big and roomy! The pattern calls for just two pockets in the interior...but I like to have pockets for keeping stuff organized, so I made our Birdie Slings with FOUR interior pockets....Oh! The joy of creating for yourself.

If I can ever get Kaitlyn to stay home long enough, I'll hotograph her bag, too. She chose some really neat fabrics. She is always on the go and of course takes her bag with her.

The pattern is by Amy Butler. I bought mine at http://www.quiltarts.com/ The ladies there provided us with prompt service and the handwritten note telling me they appreciated my business really impressed me. I do plan to order from them again!

Christmas Apron

Last Christmas season, I picked up this Debbie Mumm arty apron. I had thought I would give the finished project as a gift last Christmas, but ran out of time. I was pawing through piles of craft supplies and found this and felt suddenly inspired to get it made up. When I was finished, I had mixed feelings. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it went together...and deeply saddened that I didn't make it up and give it as I'd originally planned.

I plan to keep it now and wear it while I am creating my Christmas crafts this season.

I really enjoy Debbie Mumm's artwork. It's whimsical, folksy, country, charming and just plain CUTE! I really like a lot of her quilt designs, too.

Monday Five

Projects GALORE
ECLECTIC Music collection
MARVELOUS Mug Collection
ZANY Humor
The FUNKY FLAMINGOS finally LANDED!

Tickled Pink!

THEY'RE HERE! THEY'RE HERE!

A few weeks ago, I was enjoying a quiet morning when the thought occured to me that I HAD to have some pink flamingoes for my yard.

Initially, I was okay with just trying to find the typical plastic fowl....but anyone who knows me, knows I try NOT to have things other folks may have! I want something completely DIFFERENT. I searched high and low...and found a perfect pair.

They "landed" in my yard today.

I'm so excited to welcome them into my garden. I am sure we will enjoy their company.

I'm just tickled PINK!

The Littlest Fireman

Feeling sort of down-in-the-dumps, trying to work through some awful stinkin' thinkin' and feelings of not belonging. I took my paper journal out to my sacred spot in the garden to write for a while and to just be until I felt better.

I heard a muffled scuffling noise. I turned to see what it was and found that Quincy had put on his fireman pants and was dragging his fireman coat on the sidewalk with his every other pace. The look on his face was already communicating to me an intense need. I asked him, "Whatch'a doin'?"

"I wanna put on my fireman suit! I need help with dis," he told me.

I took the heavy play coat and helped wrap it around his little body. Then he turned to me and told me..."Well, I want to wip it up, too." (He doesn't pronounce his z's very well.)

I helped him put the zipper together so he could fasten the two sides of the coat together.

When the pull reached his chin, he smiled at me and I knew....

I do belong......right here.

Grass-Hoppy Poppy

I was playing around in the yard earlier when I spied a bright green grasshopper on one of my poppies.

Of course, I ran for my camera!!

The Gang

Hail! Hail! The gang's all HERE!

This is the photo I wanted to include with my last post....couldn't find it so I "went with" another image. I couldn't stand that I didn't know where this photo was. I couldn't rest 'til i found it. This just doesn't happen very often. My 16 year old son doesn't like to have photos made of him very often.

Saturday 5

• camera


• thoughtful cards received in the mail


• thunderstorms


• my home


• my children

Friday Five

• i found my bracelet from Dick...one minor repair and I can wear it again!
  
• It's FRIDAY and it's officially SUMMER (sorta!)
  
• Amazon.com.....I can't wait for my new books to arrive!
  
• more lovely rain today....so refreshing
  
• anticipating the landing of flamingos

Kelly Art

I've seen these lovely pieces of jewelry around in magazines, on the internet and in boutiques. They were always a little too pricey. I looked at it with the attitude that if someone else can do that, I can do it, too. Upon the completion of this project, I could understand why these little gems carry a healthy price tag. I used recycled glass from some picture frames that met their demise and printed out some tiny pictures of my friend and me. One one side, the charms spell out "F-R-I-E-N-D" and on the flip side of the charms, there are pictures of my friend and me during a trip I made to Washington to visit her. She and I share a love for coffee so I included a little bit of coffee "charm" as well.

I had fun with this project...except for the fact that my first soldering gun literally blew up in my face. It was without serious incident, but i did have to replace my soldering instrument.

On my next soldering art projects, I will not use glue dots. They melt and tend to ruin the art on white paper.

Welcome, Moses!

We adopted our sweet, little kitten from a neighbor.




Moses is a sweet little boy who has won all of our hearts.

We tried out several names for him before deciding on Moses. It was not an easy task finding a name we could all agree to use for him.

Let's Play 20 Questions! SWAP CRAZY

Let's Get to Know Each Other And Play 20 Questions!Please copy and paste into your blog (if you don't have a blog, please email your partner with your replies).

1. What is your favorite Summer Drink(s)? Pink Lemonade or Margaritas

2. What is your favorite Summer Activity? gardening, hiking

3. If you could spend a lazy afternoon reading, what would be in your hands? Any Somerset Studios Magazine or a quilting book

4. What is your favorite type of craft/art medium? Photography, Sewing, paper crafts

5. What is one art/craft supply you absolutely have been dying to have or try? Precious Metal Clay

6. What are your favorite colors in our 'rainbow sherbet' theme? Pink, lime green, yellow, orange, aqua (or blue) I'm not sure what this is.

7. What is your favorite sweet treat? Swedish Fish

8. Are there any craft or art supplies you would NOT be interested in receiving? no...i love 'em all, i think??

9. What is your favorite song today?

10. How do you 'pamper' yourself during the hot summer days? Relax in my garden/yard

11. Do you have any kidlets or pets? I have five kids, a big orange bunny named Hunny and I am getting ready to welcome a new kitten into my home.

12. What is your best potluck dish for summer get togethers? Brownies or Five Cup Salad

13. If you could take a summer vacation anywhere, where would it be? I would LOVE to see Ireland or Italy

14. Describe your decorating style. Does that say anything about your personality? I don't know if I really follow any prescribed "STYLE" per se, but if I find something i really like, I find a spot for it in my home. I love old things and shabby chic things and cottage-y things.

15. What are your initials? KMW

16. Why do you like to join swaps? I love shopping for swaps! It's a fun way to make new friends and sending off little "care packages" to surprise someone is just LOTS of fun!

17. You have 25 dollars to spend just on you for a little treat. What do you buy? ((you can list more than one thing)...fabric for jammy pants, a starbucks drink, a new Somerset Magazine, a stack of yummy patterned papers

18. What's one craft supply or art supply you absolutely can not live without? fabric or patterened papers

19. Who's the last person you hugged? My 3 year old son, Quincy

20. What's your favorite number and why? my favorite number is 7. I just like the way it sounds to say it and it's been lucky for me! :)

***Just a little mish mash of questions to help you get to know your partner!! Please comment on this post once you have your 20 questions up so we ALL can visit you, too!!!*****

Shy? Me??

I've blogged before!

There is no reason I should feel shy about blogging here on blogspot. It really isn't any different from livejournal, myspace or yahoo 360! I'm a seasoned blogger...in fact, I sometimes wonder if I am ..... dare I say it? "addicted"

I wanted this to be mostly for a creative spot in my world where I can talk about my creative endeavors. A place to kick around ideas and be inspired. I am looking for a sense of community as well as self expression...

Perhaps it is because this is all so new! It is completely uncharted territory for me as I have no idea how to make changes in the appearance of things here. My kids don't even know anything about this blogspace to help me learn! I am completely on my own!

Anyone out there who is friendly and willing to help out a newbie? I could sure use some coaching right about now! :)

YAAAAAY

I have a blogspot.

I am super excited to be here. I can't wait to get started keeping a new arty blog here.