The Art of the Zentangle

I've really been wanting to step up my doodling skills.

Especially so after looking through all of the amazing work I've seen pinned on Pintrest.

Like this and this and this.

{really I could go on and on}

 

But man, that blank white page gets me every time.

I really needed something in my doodle arsenal that I could use as a jumpstart tool.

And then one day I came across this book-

One Zentangle a Day by Beckah Krahula.

 

For me, this has been a really good instructional book.

I've enjoyed learning the different tangles and patterns.

My favorites are the more organic ones.

I'm not a very geometric kinda girl.

 

The one thing about zentangling though,

and this is only my own perception on what I've read and seen,

is there seems to be a lot of rules.

And those rules must be followed in order to call what you have drawn an actual zentangle.

{of course, I could be completely wrong on this matter}

I don't follow rules well.

At least not when it comes to art.

 

Anyway, I've been having a good time going through the lessons in my practice journal

and then applying them elsewhere in my doodle journal.

 

Zentangles, doodles, pen & paper...

fun stuff.

 

Do you zentangle?

 

 

 

 

 



Inspiration {Betty In Paris}

I recently received this book as a gift,

so I've started planning of course.

Though I have no idea when we will get to Paris.

 

{Maybe the next time we go to Scotland.  Farmboy?

A week in Paris and a week on Mull?  Hello?  Farmboy?}

 

So until then, I'll continue my list of secret places to visit

and watch Paris through Betty's eyes.

 

Betty In Paris from Olive Us on Vimeo.

When I do get to Paris,
you can bet your britches
the first and last thing I will do
is ride that carousel.

Happy Friday!


 



Book Talk

I am a reader.

Unfortunately I don't make time for a lot of it.

I read, some nights, when I get into bed until I fall asleep.

Which is pretty quick.

 

I'm hoping to do more reading this year.

I already know I'm going to be nose to the grindstone-crazy busy this year.

But, I'm going to allow myself one day a month to just sit and read all day.

 

 

Right now I'm reading Beautiful Ruins.

{I picked it up because I liked the cover.  I do that often.}

I'm liking it.

I've also been listening to The Dark Tower series.

I'm ready to start book four, however, the final book in

The Wheel of Time series was released yesterday- I'll be listening to that first.

 

The Farmboy does a lot of driving, so we have become Audible.com users over the last several years.

This has worked out really well for a couple of reasons.

 

When I'm working on a piece that has requires a lot of handwork, listening to a book partners perfectly with it.

And if it's a collection of pieces with lots of handwork, a book series is even better.

 

The second reason this works for us, me, is I'm strange.

When I read or listen to a story I become completely submerged.

{I've even been known to pick up character traits- which is sometimes confusing- not just for me, but for my family as well ;)}

But really, I get in deep so I don't like anything that is going to depress me and bring me down for days.

{Which is interesting, because my all time favorite book since I was a young girl,

Little Women,

makes me sob soooo hard every time I read it, I can go through a whole box of tissue.}

And that is where the Farmboy comes in.

He'll listen to a book on his drives and tell me whether or not I will like it.

For example, I would really like to read Water for Elephants & A Tree Grows In Brooklyn.

But he told me no.

They are too, what I call, sooty.

So I end up usually sticking with light-hearted stuff and mysteries {which is my favorite} with a sprinkling of fantasy/scifi every once in a while.

I'm a happy ending kinda girl.

 

What about you?  Are you a reader?

What would you recommend?

 



I Begin

I begin to see the proof

with my eyes.

I am surprised to feel the fever

in my soul.

I stand at the stairway- it seems like hours.

I must choose.

The conversation between

head and heart.

My instincts emphatically

know the signs.

I see a woman.

The afternoon light her only ceremony.

Her hands outstretched-

carrying the years of the Earth.

A whispered "my dear."

I begin.

I am.

I stand.

I see a woman changed.

*********

Inner Excavat-Along with Liz Lamoreux

Chapter 1 Tasks:

Scenes From This Day + In A Series

Creating A Word Toolbox + Just Write



I Met Jenny Lawson and I Did Not Vomit on Her

Jenny Lawson.

The Bloggess.

Author of Let's Pretend This Never Happened.

Do you know of her?

If not go check her out.  Jenny is probably the funniest person I know.

{and I can say "know" {and call her Jenny} because she talked to me and now we're like BFFs}

{kind of}

Do be warned though, at some point you will probably be offended.

Last night Jenny came to my town for a book signing.

There were tons of people.

There was a lot of laughing and even some snorts.

There was a bar and some people may have had to be helped out of the building.

A story about diarrhea was related.

Social barriers were broken down with the repeated use of the word "vagina".

{which may or may not have been said by the Farmboy}

{all five times}
{plus the pretend vinyl scratching of the word}

Unfortunately there was some fainting.

Which resulted in some blood and the paramedics showing up.

But luckily no stabbings.

There were metal chickens- some holding twine.

There were sweaty palms.

{at least one pair that I know of}

{and maybe some nervous fidgeting of shaky fingers- which might or might not explain sweaty palms}
{plus the destruction of a wrist band}

{and maybe the wish for some Xanax}

There was a taxidermied weasel and a homicidal monkey present.

{and the verb "taxidermied" became a real word for some}

There was even the signing of a minor's boob.

And then there she was, sharpie in hand, and asking me "How are you?"

And all that I could squeakily whisper was, "I think my little, rat heart is going to pop."

But at least

I didn't vomit on her.

What Would Jane Think?

Scene:

It's the week after Christmas.

A Farmboy, a Graduate and a Girl walk into Barns & Noble.

The Farmboy veers right, towards the magazine racks, to look for Farmboy crack.

{i.e., European car magazines}

The Graduate and the Girl continue forward.

Once near the back of the store The Graduate and the Girl split off-

one goes to find ancient history and the other, books on painting.

Fifteen minutes later the Girl feels an arm land across her shoulders and a book on one of the Caesars is thrust into her face.

{she has told him she will buy him a book, since Santa forgot to do his job properly}

Suddenly her phone beeps at her.  A text.

"Donde estas?"

"Arte.  Estas tu in cafe?"

{obviously she has no idea how to speak Spanish regardless of the 8 years she sat in a Pre-K Spanish class 5 days out of every week}

Despite her terrible attempt to answer him in another language, he understands what she is asking.

However, he chooses to ignore her subtle plea for a latte.

As the Girl and The Graduate wander out from the mystery section five minutes later, they meet the Farmboy.

His hands are hidden behind his back.

A smile spreads across her face and she claps her hands like a happy little child. 

She thinks he has brought her the life juice of her people- coffee.

She is wrong, but not disappointed, because he has instead brought her this...

Jane Austen's Northanger Abby.

In comic book form.

She now giggles when she reads it and wonders what Jane would think.

My New Companion

Awhile back I found this book,

The Embroidery Stitch Bible.

I have purchased a handful of embroidery books.  Each time I have had high hopes that it would be THE book that I was looking for.

Although I really wasn't sure what THE book would really consist of.



Well, I have finally found it.

A simple, to the point, well illustrated, perfectly sized, no fluff or extra un-needed words stitching instruction book.

I've known how to create basic stitches for quite awhile now and was ready to move on to some more advanced and fun stitches.

Again, this is the book.

Something I've realized with this book is that most of those seemingly difficult looking stitches are based off regular basic stitches.

They really aren't as difficult as I once thought.

So now whenever I get a chance to pick up this piece I'm working on, this book is always within my reach.

PS.  The embroidery pattern I'm working on is by Pam Garrison.  It looks like she's sold out of them though.

Book Review (it's a long one)

Way back, at the beginning of the year,
I made a reading list.
I picked one book to read
for each month of the year.

Here is where I stand with it now.

The Friday Night Kitting Club
I read this book in January.
It started off alright. I could take it, but I couldn't quite leave it.
But then it surprised me and by the time I was half way though,
I realized how badly I really wanted to find out what happened with all of the characters.
Most of the time I only have a chance to pick up a book at night,
once I've climbed into bed, and then I read until my eyes shut.
Which is usually pretty quick.
However with this one, once I was hooked, I gave myself a whole day off just to finish it.
By the end, I was sobbing and I really loved it.

Sense and Sensibility
This was February's book.
I didn't read it.
(although I have read it before)
In fact, I didn't' pick up another book until the very end of March.

The Dubliners
I've read James Joyce, just not the Dubliners.
Til now.
Dark, sooty, oppressive.
I hated it, even though his words flow so well.

The Sugar Queen
I read this book in a day, just like I did with her first book.
And I hadn't intended to.
(I don't think the boys got fed that night)

A River in the Sky
This wasn't on my reading list.
But when Elizabeth Peters puts out a new Amelia Peabody book,
I snatch it up and inhale it.
There is just something about Amelia that I LOVE.

The Wednesday Sisters
I don't know why, but for some reason I didn't think I would like this book.
But I loved it!
And again... tears.

Little, Big
I've been trying to get to this book for years!
Once I started it, I realized I had actually already started it... I don't know how long ago.
This time I finished it.
I liked it, but it did take me three months to read.

Under the Tuscan Sun
I put this book on my list every year.
And every year, I don't read it.
I think I've finally figured out why though.
The movie is one of my favorite movies and I know that the book and the movie are nothing alike.
So I think that's why I won't read it.
But if you have and you think that I should, please tell me so.

The Russian Concubine
Just last week I got to chapter 10.
I gave up and put it back on the bookshelf.
It's killing me. I'm afraid I might be missing something great (although nothing much had happened by chapter 10), but I just couldn't do it any longer.

The Body in the Big Apple
I started it two nights ago and will have it finished by the end of the week at the latest.
I really like this series. Quick, easy, fun reading.
And I can't wait to try the pork recipe given in the back of the book.

So, there you have it.
If you've read any of these, I'd love to know your opinions of them.

Have a beautiful Monday!

P.S. Thank you all so much for the "re-opening" love. Y'all are the best!

Egads!

It's here!!!

And now the boys are wondering if they will be eating cereal for dinner until all of the project have been stitched.

Hmmm...
possibly.

Summer Reading

Here is my list.

Spanish Daggar by Susan Wittig Albert. This is a China Bayles mystery. I like this series. Easy reading with interesting herbal knowledge.

Three To Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich. A Stephanie Plum mystery. Another easy read series I love. Can be a bit crude at times, but I love a book that makes me bust out laughing.

The Body in the Bookcase by Katherine Hall Page. A Faith Fairchild mystery. Can you tell I like mysteries? This series shares some good recipes.

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. Classic. Love this book and it's been several years since I read it, so it's time again.

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall. This is a young reader book, but it's a "summer tale" and sounds nice.

A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle. I've been wanting to read this one for awhile now.

The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton. I picked this one up at Target the other day, on a whim. Sounds like it may be a bit Ya-Ya Sisterhoodish.

Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes. I've been trying to read this book for years now! I'm going to do it this summer!

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. What is a book list without some Austen in it, I ask?

Little, Big by John Crowley. I have owned this book for over 10 years now. Every time I purge the bookcase, I hang on to this one and say I'm going to read it and then promptly forget about it. I bought it when I was in the "fantasy" phase.

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen. I read her first book, Garden Spells, last summer. I read it in 10 hours. I really enjoyed it, obviously. I'm hoping this one is just as good.

Collaborative Art Journals by L.K. Ludwig. As soon as I heard this was out, I ran to B&N as fast as I could. Enough said.

So, there you have it. More than likely, I will "revamp" Twilight and New Moon too, since the movie is coming out in November.

If you have any books you think I should add to my list, please don't hesitate to leave the title!

And before I go, Thank You for all the well wishes. I woke up this morning and feel SO much better than I have the past few days!

Have a beautiful Sunday!

Three Things and a Photo

Two Giveaways.

My friend Julie over at Knitsational is having a giveaway! And it's all about the "Hearts". She'll be drawing a name on Monday, February the 2nd.

My friend Natalea of Kandeland is also having a giveaway... three to be exact. Hers is Valentine inspired too. You can find the first one here. But, you need to hurry this one ends tonight.

A Book.

This made me squeal with utter delight! In fact, just thinking about it now makes me squeal some more.

A Photo.


Just because.

Have a beautiful weekend. I'm off to make Red Velvet cupcakes.

My Weekend

In between time spent with my three boys, this is what I was able to do this weekend. How I managed this much, I'm really not sure.

ATC's for a swap I'm in.


Gathering books to repurpose.


Began a new art journal. Hopefully this one will NOT join the all of the other partially completed art journals I have started in the past. But if so, oh well.


Making a birthday present for a friend.


And some very inspiring reading.


Have a beautiful Monday!

A Happy Planning Me

I've been waiting for this, from PaPaYa!, to arrive and it finally did today! Thank goodness, because my last one, which was quite lovely itself, was out of days to plan! It ended right on the first day of 2009 and I've been having withdrawals.



I am a list maker. I make lists for EVERYTHING. I even make lists for lists. Balances out the constant chaos inside my head. ;) So weekly planners are a thing of love for me. I can write little mini lists everyday for every week for the things I need to do and places I need to go and I can do it all in one marvelous place.



And seriously! What a place this little planner is! It's gorgeous and functional.



It has this fantastic accordion file folder in the front. You can bet I'm gonna use that! And it is FULL of Anahata's amazing art work.



Inspiration with every turn of the page!

My Current Obsession

**Edit at the bottom of post**

Twilight.

This is my obsession at the moment.


We bought the book for Pretty Lady when it first came out and then the second one as well. She re-read them both and then we picked up the third book for her this past June. She devoured it no time (hehe... no pun intended)... she laughed, she cried, she forgot we existed. Anyway, she just kept going on and on about them afterwards and I thought, how nice... must be a good teenage-read.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine strongly suggested that I read them. She and I have very similar tastes and opinions on reading material, as well as other things, but I was a little unsure... aren't they books for young readers? Well yes, but so was Harry Potter... and everyone in my little family loved those books. She went on to tell me the effect it had on her, as well as, other grown women. There is a website called TwilightMoms.com just for Twilight obsessed women who are over 25 years of age, married, or have children! I know, right!? How crazy is that?! She told me it was about "first love/true love". Well, I am without a doubt, a hopeless romantic so the first book became a must-read at that point.

Pretty Lady had taken her books to her mom's house (to read over and over again, no doubt) so Friday I went and bought it. I read the whole thing Sunday. From that point on, it was over for me.

My Farmboy liked the effect the book had on me. In the eight years we have been together, our relationship has never wavered. It is still just as strong, but more mature now. I still get butterflies in my stomach when I think about him. Of course they came a little more frequently at the beginning of our relationship, but this book brought all of that sparkly newness back, just a strong as it had been in the beginning . So Monday he came home with the second book. I started it that afternoon and stayed up until 4am reading.


Obsessed.

I told myself I would wait at least a week before buying the third book so that I could attempt normal living again, at least for a while. I ended up picking up Twilight last night and read the whole book again. I am beside-myself-excited about the movie and have read every snippet and watched every bit of footage on the Internet regarding it. I've downloaded all the music from the movie and listen to it over and over again. It all fits so perfectly. I'm still going to give myself a little bit of time before I move on to Eclipse.

I just really should have known better. I don't read as much as I used to, because I do get so wrapped up in a good story. Especially a romance. Not Harlequin romances... I'm more of a Jane Austen romantic. *Sigh* Oh well, it's too late now. And yes, you all probably think I'm absolutely crazy. I've never been really normal anyway, so like I said, I really should have known better.

Ridiculously obsessed.

:) It's too late now though. Go Team Edward! :)


**It's absolutely no wonder now why I love these books so much. Here is a list of a few of Stephanie Meyer's favorite books. If I made a list, it would be almost identical to hers.**

Bellas, Books and Bottles

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm going to Silver Bella!!!! I'm just a little bit excited... you probably can't tell. Now for the BIG question, "what goodies do I pack?" I guess I have a few months to think about it.

I have some books to share. Well some are magazines, but I consider them books.


I'm wanting to start incorporating more hand stitching into my work, so not only am I'm really excited to be able to take a class from Rebecca Sower, but I picked up the new Sew Somerset as well. There is some fun stuff in here... can't wait to try. One of the goals I set for myself this year was to learn how to embroider... still working on that one. When it's decent enough, I'll share.


I have already devoured the new Somerset Life from cover to cover, but I keep going back to this article. Seriously, I think my new favorite color combo is aqua, taupe and peach. I know, peach... sounds crazy to me, but look.


That is to die for gorgeous!!! I am so making a book like this. Of course, it won't have some of the most gorgeous french vintage textiles and trims as this one has, because some farmboy I know has yet to take me to Paris to flea market, but I'm not complaining... all in do time. I am going to Silver Bella after all! Anyway, this is so right up my alley. Textiles make me happy.

I also picked up this book.

Karin suggested I go ahead and get it. I'm so glad I did. I really want to work on achieving more depth in my backgrounds and between this book and the class Carolyn Peeler is offering, I should learn a lot.

I finished this art journal layout over the weekend.

I used several of the techniques on this page that Teresa had provided for previous pages. I'm happy with how it turned out, I think it's fun.

Saturday evening was our towns annual Fourth of July celebration. Every year my sister and her family come over and eat and then we walk over to the park for the fireworks. Anyway, to make a long story short, while over, my BIL picked up an old vintage bottle off of one of my tables. Smiling, he nudged my sister and showed her. I thought that was an odd reaction until she told him, "go get them for her!" That made my ears perk up! From his car, he brought in these little beauties.

See, he's a foreman for a construction company and they are renovating an old school at the moment. I don't remember if he said the school was built on an old landfill site or what, but they have been digging all kinds of cool stuff up. Can't wait to clean these up and then dress them up.

Don't forget to put your name in for the giveaway in the post below!

Have a beautiful day!

Where did the time go?

Yesterday my sweet, little baby boy turned 16. They say it goes fast and they are right. One minute your heart belongs to a little, grubby, curly headed, Tasmanian devil that requires band-aids every few minutes when he plows into the sidewalk and a lullaby sung to him every night so he can sleep.

You smile at him, blink and then the next thing you know your heart belongs to a man, taller than yourself, who no longer cries when he plows into something and certainly doesn't require band-aids and lullabies. It seems all he needs from you are the car keys and for you to realize that you now have to share his time with another girl.

I love this kid with my entire being and I am so proud of him. Of who he has and is becoming, as well as all that he has accomplished in his 16 years. Happy birthday E... I love you!

************************************
Alright, you are probably done listening to the sappy stuff. Now on to the creative stuff.

I picked up this book yesterday at B&N.

I started reading it early this morning and so far I am happy with this purchase.

I finished my first entry for my Write Time, Write Place art journal.

The technique for this one was all about blending with colored pencils. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this. I read a blog post recently where the author commented on how satisfying sitting down and just coloring was, like when she was a little girl. (I'm sorry, I can't remember where I read that.) Holy Toledo, was she right! I got completely lost in it and really didn't want to stop.

I will be listing this "Love" canvas in the shoppe later today.


I'm off to start the day... and maybe whine just a little bit more about my baby. Have a beautiful day!

In the News Today...

IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE!
I cannot tell you how excited I was when I opened that box! Couldn't wait to get my little grubby hands on this and devour every word and picture.

Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to yet! But I will... I'll make sure of that.

Also, the new Bella Ezine began on Monday. I didn't participate in the last couple... just too busy. But this one really got my attention. Creating a Summer Art Journal. Art journals are something I start all of the time and never seem to get past the first couple of entries. So I'm really going to try hard on this one. Although *head hanging down kind of embarrassed like* I haven't even finished the first spread. But *head popping back up* I have started it!


And the ever busy Teresa McFayden has also posted the dates for this year's Silver Bella Event! I SO want to go to this! I have never been... just watched all of the fun from afar. But I think I'm going to start saving my pennies so I can. Is anyone else planning on going?

Rebecca Sower has a fun and creative activity going on over at her place right now. Handmade from Home it is called. I haven't done any of these, but they look fun.

Brandy over at Brandywine Boutique had a recent giveaway and guess what... I was a runner up! I know,I was just a surprised! I've never won anything before. Thank you SO much Brandy!!!

I've gotten a little bit closer to opening the new shoppe. The supplies I ordered from Paper Valise have arrived.


The Cottage Style Street Team is having their very first event. 18 talented members created and contributed original, handmade items for 10 "For the Bride" Gift Baskets.
(photo taken by Sadie Lou Who)
SadieLou and StarryDeborah put all of the baskets together beautifully and now they are available for purchase in the CSSTeam Shoppe!

And for those of you who asked, my dad is doing great now. The doctor said he could fly again and go home (a great relief to my sister... since Dad had starting acting like his normal self again.) ;)

The Neopolitan cupcakes I made were delish and I read this book in maybe 10hrs at the most. I would suggest it as a summer read. I couldn't put it down!

Whew... I kind of feel out of breath now! Have a beautiful Friday!