signs of spring ...

This was our rainy day project yesterday. Aidan has been begging and begging for me to teach him how to sew. He wanted to sew a pillow for Teddy. I was so proud of him for wanting to try something new. He was frustrated at first, deciding that it was boring and not fun at all. I made him finish the project and by the time he was done he decided it was fun after all, but didn't want to ever do it again. :o) I'm okay with that. At least he tried and finished it. The temperatures are chilly here this week, so with today's overcast but dry sky we were determined to get a walk in today. Aidan desperately wanted to take Teddy for a walk in the buggy someone gave us last summer, so we wrapped him (Teddy) in a blanket (because apparently he was not feeling well) laid him on his newly sewn pillow and off we went. Both of us with camera in hand to capture signs of spring.


Here is a sample of a picture Aidan took. It happens to be my favorite. It's so funny, to me it shows his perspective of the world. Most of his pictures were of the school, houses he liked, and shots down the street of a tree somewhere in the distance. He would say "Oh!" stop in his tracks and compose his shot. My heart swelled with joy to watch him excited about using the camera and having the freedom to take pictures of whatever interested him.
What a nice way to start the morning.

inspired

I've been inspired. I read a book recently (from the library) called The Creative Family. It's so cute. I love the author's philosophy. She has a similar heart to mine as far as the desire to not see the art of "Art" die or be undervalued. I want to nurture creativity in my children. I want them to appreciate the joy of creating and the honor of receiving a handmade gift. I believe all children are creative ... then they lose it growing up to the world that requires so much of them and undervalues the value of making time to be creative. Creativity gets a back seat unless we're intentional to make the time ... as if it's just as important as a business meeting. (Perhaps the time would be more productive than a business meeting!!) :o) So, I'd like to make this summer our family's most creative filled summer yet. Both boys have an interest in artsy things so I have a willing bunch. There are also two girls in the neighborhood who have a clear gift and appreciation for art. One of them is going to be a my mother's helper in exchange for art lessons. The other is a kindergartner who's mom asked me if I would give her daughter drawing lessons. So, I think I'm going to do a little art camp here this summer once a week. I'm excited! And scared!

The other little thing I've been inspired by is the "buy used" philosophy on this blog. She's a little more extreme that I am on many levels, but I like her challenge to buy used. I too get frustrated by consumerism and would like to take on the challenge to buy used. Ebay, Craigslist, garage sales, thrift stores, flea markets, garbage picking (yes! I do!), Etsy, turning trash into treasure, hand-me-downs ... all these resources are great! I would like to try to commit to pursue those outlets first before heading to Walmart or Target for the things I think I need. Maybe I'll realize after not finding what I thought I needed that I don't need it after all. I just want to live simpler and lighter - having stuff is so stressful I think. The more I get rid of stuff the better I feel.

So ... buy used and encourage creativity as a family. I'm excited to see what the year brings with these two desires in mind. I believe there will be rewards for the extra work that it's going to take. I think I'm up for it.

On that note. Here's a picture of God's creativity in the form of beautiful red curls and a practically new hand-me-down hoodie!

photo shoot

Our family has a tradition of having family movie night on a Friday or Saturday night where we convert the couch into a bed and hang out as a family to watch whatever movie we've picked out from the library. Rather than watch the movie, Kiana loves to roll around on the bed, peek over the edge and otherwise climb the cushions. The golden evening sun was streaming through our windows so I decided to follow her around the bed and see what we could get. These are my favorites. I'm not sure why this one got so foggy, but I like it!


I've been wanting to introduce the boys to photography without having to pay for film ... so I told the boys they could share my "old" Kodak digital as long as they show they can be responsible with it. Responsible use = privilege of using a real camera. Irresponsibility = loss of said privilege. Last night I was teaching Hunter how to "fill the frame" when he's composing a shot. Aidan seems to have a natural eye for it. Sadly the battery died today ... they are going to have to contribute to a battery fund for this thing if their interest continues to be as zealous as it seems ... we'll see if the interest continues or the novelty of using a real camera wears off. Time will tell. I'm excited to open up a new world for them and with them though, even if the interest is higher at times. I figure one of them might have a real knack for it ... how will I ever know if I don't give them the tools to find out!

am i complaining too much?

"If you don't like something change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." Maya Angelou

I'm getting the feeling that I've been complaining a lot lately, not necessarily on the blog, but in real life. That's the beauty of a blog. You can express the attitudes you want to, and hide the yucky parts of your day. Well, here I am confessing, I need an attitude change. I saw this quote on my friend's blog and said ... that's for me today! I must change my attitude ... because I can't change the fact that my daughter is a BUSY toddler and my son is a preschooler - two very difficult ages for me to deal with right now. I am not a very patient person.

So ... right now, we're going to plant seeds. The boys and I have big plans for our large garden area this summer. It's too big an area for me to manage alone. Baby girl is sleeping and I'm going to spend some quality time teaching my boys the joys of breaking down a big project into little projects. We'll start with planting the seeds of their choice ... planning the layout of the clubhouse and surrounding garden. Cleaning up the weed and branch ridden area that will eventually become a clubhouse and three little garden spots ... one for each kid to plant, care for, and enjoy. I can't wait to do this project with them. They are actually enthusiastic about it!!! Pictures to come. They are calling me ... must run and play outside and change my attitude in the sunshine with my kids by my side. I WILL enjoy them this summer and not be frustrated - I hate living with a bad attitude.

Edited to add pictures: It's amazing what a little time outside enjoying my kids does for the attitude.

BEFORE ... this used to be full of perennials and vegetables. Last year it got so overwhelming to maintain - I couldn't do a thing with it because of the exhaustion of having an infant around. No time to garden at all. My dear husband tried to kill the weeds with weed killer and it killed everything. A sad sad sight. But a good opportunity to make something new out of it. I can't wait for the transformation and I love the fact that the kids are big enough now to get in on the planning, the work and reward of it! Can't wait to see the little seedlings sprout in these. The boys each have their own. I have a very vague idea of what I planted in the rest because we had some little visitors from down the street who wanted to "help."

So I told them, if they want to do the fun part of planting seeds, they have to help weed too!
Haley was so cute, she told the boys, "Hey guys, would you please leave me alone! I'm trying to do some serious work here!" She was very focused. I was telling them all at one point, "Make sure you get the roots out, don't let me down guys!" Haley said, "Mrs. Kittredge, I won't let you down." Cute.
They worked so hard. Here the boys are working on some left over Iris's- I think I may try to save those.
Part of changing my attitude. Photo shoots of my beautiful daughter. She refuses to look at the camera though ... makes for some great non-posed shots ... not so great when it's always the top or back of her head though. :o)

Ahhhh ... that was fun. I'm feeling better. Just need a good night sleep now.

My new baby

Introducing Canon XT. :o) Bigger than my first digital camera, but more flexible in personality! The new addition is healthy and kicking!!! I'm so happy - it's wonderful wonderful wonderful. Got the lens and memory card yesterday ... the box arrived just as I was leaving to pick up my preschooler - torture I tell you, to have to leave the box at home unopened. Upon returning I photographed happily in the backyard with the kids, installed the software last night, and we're off and running!!! Yeah! Here are some samples of my new creative outlet - it has so much creative power it's overwhelming. LOVE it.

Love the blurred backgrounds with my new 50 mm f/1.8 lens. You can't see all the busyness behind Kiana - school just got out and there were cars and people everywhere! The focus is so clearly on the lovely dancing Kiana and not on the busyness of what's going on behind her ... I LOVE it. If I wanted the background to be more clear I would set the f/stop at a higher number which would allow the camera to focus on both the foreground and the background! See ... now I'm the boss and not the camera. I LOVE it.



This one is an example of the super fast shutter speed. No more delay between when I want to take the picture and when the camera responds. I'm so happy! My point and shoot camera would have taken a picture that showed a blur of a ball ... if any ball at all! The moment would have been long gone ...
Lastly, the stuffing-the-face-with-fishies shot. You can see here where the sidewalk met my daughter. It actually looks much better than it did on Monday. I love how her face is in total focus but the blur even begins on her shirt and not just the background. I LOVE this camera!! I can't wait to learn more. Much of my research for this camera and the lens was done between Karen Russell's blog and ... darn, I can't find the site anywhere in my history or searches ... but it was a site that walked you through what camera is right for you and you could answer questions to find what lens is right for you too. If I come across it I'll let you know. I spent a LOT of time on there ... I can't believe I didn't bookmark it! (Edit: I found it! It's the Digital SLR Guide.) I chose the 50mm f/1.8 lens because it was the most affordable option for me to get the very blurred background effect that I love. It will also allow me to take pictures in very low light without a flash (the f/stop is what affects this) so the lower the f/stop number I could get the better. I try to avoid the flash as much as possible. With my point and shoot I was very limited in being able to choose flash or no flash. I also learned that the 50mm lens takes great portrait shots, gives good skin tones, great clarity, etc. My personal favorite thing to photograph are kids and people in general so after much research, this is what I've decided on. I sacrifice the zoom for the low f/stop, but down the road when the kids are in sports or performing or whatever, I'll invest in a great telephoto. Until then, I play and play with what I've got ... and I'm thrilled!! I LOVE it!

girlie girl

A few things have happened since my daughter came along ...
~I bought my first dress in like a million years for my first mother's-day-with-a-daughter Mother's Day 2007. I'm a slacks type of girl - maybe a jean skirt now and then ...
~I actually can't get enough of pink ... for her ... not me ... before she was born I was known for my disdain of pink.
~I love a great manicure or pedicure and can't wait to paint Kiana's toes ...





okay ... so I didn't wait! Aren't these the cutest toes you've ever seen? They were a nightmare to paint ... it will be a long time before I try it again ...

art journal - "alive"

Another journal page! Wish I had had more time to think about this one .. I don't have the time to think about dinner let alone think deep thoughts these days. My daughter is psycho. She had an incident with the sidewalk yesterday. Kiana vs. the sidewalk - the sidewalk won. Poor baby - I have a feeling most of her summer will be full of scrapes and accidents. She's so carefree and seriously lacks in the fear department. She fears nothing. At 14 months she's climbing everything the boys climb, I hope I don't die of a heart attack at my youthful age of 35. She's a tough cookie though so most tumbles she handles like a trouper. Anyway ... there's nothing more alive than my daughter these days.

My journal page is simple it sort-of speaks for itself. Color makes me feel alive - I feel most alive when I'm with people - being an extrovert I need people. I also need to maintain my joy of life. I think life is tough, but if I were to ever loose the joy of being alive, my soul would shrivel up. Be alive today.



Here's something to give you a laugh if you need help feeling alive today. My son wanted this little comic book (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) from his school book fair so badly that I let him get it with his own money ... it's a little rough around the edges (very very boy humor), which is why I wouldn't buy it for him. But if you can get past it ... it's quite funny. In the book, the kid journals about his life and decides he wants to draw comics. Here's the little comic that we couldn't stop laughing about this weekend. Please forgive me if you think this is offensive. I think it's hilarious.


The boy goes to the doctor's office and has this conversation.
Creighton: "Doctor, can I have a new butt? Mine has a crack in it."
Doctor: "Creighton, I've told you a million times everyone's butt has a crack in it!"
Creighton: "Oh yeah, I forgot."


One reason I think it's so funny is because when Hunter was about 3, he discovered something new about himself in the mirror and was dancing around singing, "I have a cut butt, I have a cut butt!" He'll never live that down. Family joke - we still laugh about it. So ... hope that brings a little life into your day if you needed it ... maybe it even reminded you of some silly little thing in your own life that you can't help but smile about when you remember it. I really hope no one is offended. This is the reality of my life - boys, butts, farts, burps, boogers, and conversation about such preferably not at the dinner table. My boys help me to not take life too seriously - so every so often I embrace the joy of talking about simple things like these - sometimes I even instigate it - otherwise I risk taking life too seriously.

show & tell

Hunter brought "Toadie" to show and tell today. His teacher was so great. She said he could keep him at school all day rather than have me bring him in for the special moment. (I had to do that last February when he wanted to bring Kiana in for show and tell - obviously she couldn't stay for the day!!) This was last February ... one week after her birthday!

Cute. He was so proud of her.

Today was Toadie's day. Hunter was so nervous and excited to bring Toadie in. I frankly can't stand Toadie. Kenny (my animal lover husband) rescued Toadie 6 years ago just before he ran him over with a lawn mower (he was a landscaper at the time). Yes ... this toad has lasted much longer than I thought he would when I said we could keep him. Along those lines, Kenny also adopted our mean water turtle "Cute" which has also lasted 5 years longer than I thought he would. I am not an animal person, can you tell? The kids and Kenny love them though ... that is the only reason why they stay... in cages I might add. Here's Hunter and his sweet teacher with Toadie first thing this morning.
This evening, Kenny thought it would be a great idea to let Toadie stretch his legs in the backyard before returning him to the safety of his cage ... Hunter was Toadie's fierce protector from the curious fingers of his little sister and the prowl of our 3rd and final pet Zoe.
I just don't know what these boys see in this warty, fat, toad. It's something in the blood that I just don't have. They really truly love him!
I guess while on the topic of pets I have to mention Zoe ... another adopted pet. She's been here for 2 1/2 years. She's a Shitzu-Poodle mix and turns 4 in May. So this time, I was the sucker that wanted my boys to have a dog growing up and in the process learn to love and take care of animals. I also knew it would be the gift of the century for my dog loving husband. Oh the sacrifices mom makes for the men in her family. It's a good thing she's cute.

new stuff in the shop

I've listed a couple of my handmade handbags in my etsy shop. Honestly, I've been hanging onto these thinking I would use them - I love them and don't want to let them go, but how many bags does a girl need?! I need space and cash more than I need to keep these beautiful bags. I'd love for them to go to a special home with some artsy girl who will appreciate them! Check them out!

Edit: My artsy Brooklyn friend snatched these first two beauties right up! She's got great taste! :o) If anyone wants to see more of these down the road, let me know ...



p.s. Got my camera body yesterday!! Whoo hoo! I attached my old film SLR lens and have been playing with the features, but I don't have a memory card yet so the camera doesn't save any of the pictures I'm taking. The lens and memory card are supposed to mail tomorrow so ... still waiting!! Next week I should have some shots to show off my new creative features! Can't wait ... but still waiting!

waiting ...

I can hardly stand it. Waiting. We received our state refund this weekend. I don't know about you, but I have a tendency to have a list of things I'd love to do with that refund before it even arrives. So, of course, I have all kinds of plans for our federal refund, but I forgot about our state refund! What a lovely surprise! I immediately thought of my beloved camera I'm saving for. I hesitantly asked my dear husband if I could supplement what I had saved up with some of our state refund, which I had conveniently forgotten about. I want so badly to be a good steward of our resources, which often translates into holding back on the fun stuff because there's always a more practical (albeit boring) option. His response was so unexpected and interesting! He said that being a good steward is not always financial. We have to be good stewards of our gifts as well. He sees this artistic gift in me and the long standing desire for a better camera with more creative features. (Blurred background, clear detailed close-ups, immediate shutter response, an ability for me to tell the camera what I want it to do rather than the camera telling me all about it's limitations! Really. My camera practically yells it's limitations to me). He's also recently developed an appreciation for art in general and keeping it alive (don't know where that came from - he just suddenly in the last few months gets it)! So he supported my getting the camera now! Isn't he wonderful?! After much research, I decided to just get the Canon XT body (no kit lens and I don't need the extra megapixles that the XTi offers) and I decided on an affordable Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens. Amazon has the best prices and free shipping on most items! I feel like I got a real bargain - that's how I was a good steward financially. I can hardly stand to wait. I'm expecting it this week. With some practice... who knows... maybe I'll call myself an artist and a photographer!! That makes me giddy.

a need for freedom

I get so frustrated ... I put gates up to keep Kiana in the living room when I go back to the bedrooms to get ready for the day or ... truthfully... to escape being needed for one second. I raised the gates because she started climbing them. Recently... she's discovered how to go under them ... lovely. There's no escaping now. Ugh.

Okay, it's about attitude right? I'm so glad she's so smart. She's precocious, independent, and a great problem solver! Just what I was hoping for. Smarty pants.

happy birthday mom!

I know this is your number one favorite thing in the whole wide world.

Having everyone together ~ xoxo we all love you mom!!

art journal - "life"

Life. Everyone's reality of life is different. I would love for my life to be one of celebration regardless of my circumstances. There is always something to celebrate no matter how small and insignificant. Life is to be celebrated. God created life. Life is good. I love the following quote about life.

Attitude

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company ... a church ... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past ... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude ... I'm convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it." ~by Charles Swindoll

Ditto. My opinion exactly. If only I could be consistent in living it.

So, this is the journal page I started yesterday, threw in the garbage, then rescued and finished. Boy did I need an attitude change while I was doing this one!
When I'm able to embrace this philosophy, it's usually because I've chosen to focus on today and not tomorrow or next week. Celebrate one day at a time, one moment at a time. Pursue an attitude of joy without denying the reality of life's difficult moments. Here's to an attitude change today.

overheard

Since I finally had a chance to sit down and be creative today ... what would you know I have creative block. Dang. So ... I'm sharing a funny thing I overheard yesterday. It's a sign of the times ... I car pool with another mom so, on the way home from preschool yesterday, this is the conversation I heard ...

Rachel: "Since you don't have a movie screen in your car, what do you do when you go on long trips?"

Aidan: "What?"

Rachel: "Since you don't have a movie screen in your van, (waving toward the front center interior of our older-style-before-built-in-dvd-players-became-popular-which-I'm-fine-with mini van) what do you do when you go on long trips?"

Aidan: "I would take a nap or something."

Gave me a chuckle. He's such a simple boy.

some answers to questions...

Art journal:

My art journal word prompts come from this artist's blog: Emily Falconbridge. There's also a flickr group where many artists who are participating in the art journal prompts post their pages, click here to see them. I'm amazed at how endless the interpretations are for each word prompt.

Studios magazine:

Order your issue of Studio's magazine here. It has great storage solutions, both beautiful and unaffordable as well as thrifty yet beautiful and budget wise. I'm still not done reading it cover to cover. It's a special one-time issue that I found out about through my subscription to Cloth Paper Scissors.

Personal storage solutions:

One of my budget storage solutions is when my daughter was still on formula I saved several of her formula cans and painted over the label ... (they are still obviously not finished) but it's a project in progress. I have them organized by type: brushes, markers, paint pens, cords for downloads (camera), misc. (pens, exacto knife, etc.). When I was pregnant with my daughter I had to seriously condense and find storage solutions for my creative stash because she took over my craft room! Can you imagine a whole room of stuff condensed to about 5 shelves? I purged and purged. Here are a few of my storage solutions for very small spaces & on a budget.

Stamp storage. Includes stamps and stamp pads, I just pull it out, open it on my bed behind me and I've extended my studio space by a few feet! Several of these stack nicely on a shelf. I have one for sewing supplies too.

A similar box for my embellishments. The only difference is I can adjust the dividers to create compartments as big or as small as I need them to be!
Ribbon storage. (And some misc. tools in the top drawer). I could probably condense this ribbon collection ... these happen to be under my work table. I really love ribbon.
Trusty paper storage. One holds patterned paper (I wish I could say by color, that was the original intent - maybe in six years when all my kids are in school full time) and the second is solids by color (obviously). Everything else is in plastic shoe boxes. Labeled and organized by type: adhesives, tape & velcro, foam stamps, tools (like wire cutter, hole punches, etc.), fabric puffy paint, collage, whatever goes together finds a shoe box and if it doesn't fit then I don't need it. I have no more room (or money) for stuff so I do my very very best to use what I have. This system works for me because I can see it. If I can't see it, I don't know that I have it, therefore I don't use it and it's a total waste!

Sort of boring pictures but maybe they'll help someone else who is organizing a studio/work space and needs some budget wise solutions! Save your coupon's and get the discounts!

crabby baby

This is what I'm dealing with today. Ugh. The nap was too short, the snack options aren't right, mommy's arms won't do ... not even kisses or tickles ... they just make her more mad.
My solution: put baby back in bed.
Result: at first, more screaming ... now she's talking to herself and banging her crib against the wall. Lovely. At least she's not screaming.

will

This is my latest portrait adventure. My brother-in-law asked me to do this as a surprise for my sister. He's so good to her, it's not even her birthday, mother's day, or anything! He saw my earlier post regarding needing help to save up for my new camera and he wanted to contribute to my efforts. He's good to me too. :o) Here's my cutie pie nephew ... we call him "little Will." Love him!

The other day my sister was visiting and we were asking Kiana to say "Hi Will!" She doesn't really talk yet, so when she said, "HiiiWiieeee!" We were shocked and when asked to say, "Hi Will" again she said, "HiiiWiiieee!" Again! It was hilarious. ...I guess you had to be there.

it's not just me!

Someone else thinks I'm an artist too! I received the most unexpected surprise in the mail late yesterday afternoon. A package appeared on my doorstep containing four 12 x 12 canvases from an anonymous gifter saying I am invited to participate in the square foot show at the Galaxie Chicago this summer! Wow!! Me?! Produce Art for show?! I'm so humbled and flattered and shocked and excited! Now what to do on these blank canvases?

The sky is the limit. I feel like I have the whole world ahead of me and God is opening doors for my creative side to blossom and flourish. Thank you, whoever you are, who believes I have something to offer - I'm so grateful for the opportunity to take on the challenge. I hope you get to see this gift in person. May you be blessed beyond measure. I know I am.

studios

Getting the mail today threw my whole afternoon. Arriving today is the much anticipated issue of "studios." Ahh ... I spent about one second considering what I had intended to do while the boys were at school and the baby napped ... fold laundry, organize "studio" space, work on project that has a self induced deadline of Saturday, tidy kitchen .... okay, read "studios" knowing that if I don't drink it in now, it will be many days before I'm able to crack open the pages and ooze over each studio description. It's was bliss. There were organization tips, descriptions and pictures of different sized studios from huge and spacious, to 4 ft x 4 ft closets, to a giant tote bag (busy mom!). Inspiring.
I love looking at other artists studios, hearing their tips and tricks, and just getting a peek into their creative space. Love it.
Here is my humble 4 x 4 space. :o) I have many happy evenings here. Often wishing I had more time. And oh how I long for a room with a big work table or two all my very own. At least I'm not having to work out of a tote bag. The tidying of the work space will have to wait another day.
I'll leave you with a quote from the magazine. They asked artists what their favorite excuse was for spending time in their studio. Here's my favorite quote ... I actually laughed out loud ... "I have no sense of direction. I simply got lost and couldn't find my way out." Good one.

I'm known to say, "I'll be right back" and then take much longer than the "be right back" time allotment ...

**Edit: if you're interested in ordering this special issue for yourself - it's a great reference. Go here to order it!