Oh the Inspiration...........

Sometimes you just need images to remind you of why you are passionate about something.

I studied art at the U. of U. and just assumed that it would always be a huge part of my life.

Almost took the desire, inspiration, energy to make art for granted.

Got married.....still made art.

Had my first kid.....made a little less art.

Had my second kid.....threw away my oil paints and anything else that could be toxic. Still did some water coloring and scrap booking.

Had my third kid.....not so much making art, but hey any cards for the teachers at school were still hand made and very crafty.

Had my fourth kid.....and my inspiration has been reduced to drawing a picture on my 5 year olds lunch bag every day.

Discovered this magazine. (Many of you probably already know all about this WONDERFUL magazine.) I seem to sort of be the last one to know about things,... functioning in my own little parallel universe as I do. But for any of you who haven't discovered 'Cloth Paper Scissors' it is worth flipping through, reading, obsessing with, and or dueling over an issue. It has so many remarkable, creative, and inspiring ideas. Collages. Mixed media. Paintings. Cloth art. Everything!! It is so fascinating to catch a glimpse into the minds of many creative thinkers. It has made me really want to get paint under my fingernails again. Hopefully that desire will stay, but for the present moment I am going to hunt down some back issues and really get my head spinning!! :)

Gettin my frugal craft on...........

It is Frugal Friday over at the Shabby Nest,...so I decided that it was time to get crafty. This is just another take on a cloth covered journal, but they are very inexpensive and make such cute little girlie gifts that I decided to have a few on hand.

I purchased a little diary from the dollar section at Target, and rounded up everything else around my house. My favorite part,...vintage shell buttons that I scavenged off of my mom years ago.

Cloth covered the journal good old elementary school style. Finished the inside off with some classy paper.

Glued a grosgrain ribbon in the middle all of the way around so that the book can be tied shut. Gives you that oh so satisfying false sense of security.:)

And finished it off with lots of little buttons. Just craft glued them right on there. I like her,...she's fancy. Kind of has that 'sitting on a side table in an old french cottage' sort of feel.

12 inches later................

Somebody remind me why I did this.!?.

It was for a good cause, right??

Although I think that she looks adorable with short hair,........she looks older. And lets face it,........they already grow up too fast. sigh. So doing something on purpose that makes them look older is........

well..........

a little silly. (In my opinion.)

She's still my little girl. Only 5 years old.

Now lets focus on how much EASIER it is to get ready in the mornings. Plus, she loves her new do and is very excited that her old tresses are all packaged up and ready to mail to locks of love.

We are proud of you Chloe!!

Rapunzel............

She's mine, so I am a little biased,...but I think that she's beautiful.

We are about to cut off all of these wavy red tresses to donate to locks of love.

I admit that I will cry when they are gone,... but lets face it,...she is 5 years old and this is A LOT of hair to contend with in the mornings before school. Mornings have become quite the dismal occurrence around here and it has MUCH to do with the hair.

Before I could let this unbelievable hair be cut off I needed some pictures.

Nice pictures,...

good pictures,...

real pictures.

Not the kind of blurry snap shots I take, but the kind of artistic, classic pictures that my friend Jen takes. As luck would have it she is enrolled in a photography class right now, and she needed more pictures for her final presentation. So as you can see,...this relieved my guilt at using and abusing her,...

because really I was doing her a favor,...you know letting her take pictures of my kid,...right?

Didn't she do an amazing job? I think that she is ready to go out there and employ herself. (hint hint :))

She took so many fantastic ones and I only posted a few that really showed 'the hair.' It was hard not to post ALL of them.

Jen, Thank You soooo much!!!!!!!!!! Now I feel like I can cut off all of this gorgeous copper with a few less tears.

It's for a good cause...............

When I am finished crying I will post the "after" pictures. :):)

Ahhh,...much better.......

Amazing what a few sympathy cards,

late night movie with a friend,

hot fudge sundaes,

amazing home made chocolates (thanks Jen!),

kind words,

and focusing on happy memories can do to help put the mind and heart at ease. :):)

Thank you all for your heartfelt comments!! They were sooo appreciated.

I am off to Utah to attend my brothers funeral, and celebrate the amazing life that he lived. See some of my very favorite people. Make more wonderful memories,...and heal.

xoxox -Holls

At a loss........

I sit here and don't know which keys to press.

My older brother passed away yesterday.

It was unexpected.

It was a shock.

I know that i need to celebrate his life,

but i can't help but mourn his death.

I love him................

I can't seem to gather my thoughts,...so I will use his.

Pain

Why must there be pain?

For some of us, we are sharing a small slice of what one might call Heaven.

As others experience what could be known as hell.

For life is what we make it as we live each day.

For some may nourish from a douse of spiritual medicine on a cheery Sunday morning

as others feel discomfort in their souls.

We need to ask ourselves a question.

Without ugliness would we know beauty?

Without sorrow could one truly be happy?

Without the blessings of the higher powers spirit invested in ones soul

would we truly know the difference between right and wrong?

As we live and learn each of lives many questions, the pain will subside,

providing that our repentance be whole hearted and true,

as there may be some of us that have to learn lives lessons many times over.

A place without pain?

How beautiful Heaven must truly be.

-With love to the world

Warren White (Mott)

I have often times felt like I must have a guardian angel. Now I know that I do.

xoxox -Holls

Must try this at home.................

It was just too easy. I crushed old dried rose petals. Drew a heart in good old Elmer's glue onto a paper tag. Sprinkled the rose petals generously onto the glue, and shook off the excess. (Just like you would do with glitter.) Decided it needed a little something-something more so I mounted it on some pages from an old book. What a super simple Valentine decoration.

Looks really classic framed as well.

So my friends,...Go Be Crafty!! :)

xoxox -Holls