Tree Of Life Painting

This weekend I was blessed to be contacted by a lady named Kris Downing in the U.S. requesting to use my painting "Tree of Life" for her Therapy Game called Sensation Game to help those individuals who have suffered from trauma. You can view all the details at her website at www.sensationgame.com .
She contacted me awhile back and now she has finished placing it all together for her therapy sessions. I have always wanted my art to help others in one way or another but especially help them to heal. Coming from a background where I have needed to heal it has always been my desire to help others. I pray that the Lord blesses this game and those who use it. "Lord let your healing rain come down!" Amen.
Thank you Kris Downing for choosing to use my "Tree of Life" painting. I am truly honored.

Happy Creating Everyone!

Almost Finished Flowers For Scarf

So here they are... the flowers for my flower scarf! I decided to choose a salmon pink middle to them and I really like the outcome! I can picture myself wearing this all winter to keep me thinking about sunshine and summer! Have you ever heard of a crochet pattern called the "magic circle"? It really is magic because when you are done with your stitches you pull a string and they 'magically' form into a tight circle! I must admit... I 'googled' the pattern! That just sounds funny to me.. ' I googled it! Hee-hee!
I am planning to make another scarf in a rich grey and smoky pink! Then maybe a sunshine yellow and lime green? That might be taking it a bit too far! LOL.
Enjoy your day and your weekend everyone. I pray for you all to be richly blessed with great peace, joy and love!
Hugs and Happy Creating!

Can You Guess What This Is?

Yesterday I was just getting ready to eat dinner when I happen to look outside our back window towards the park and I witnessed the most peculiar thing! I went upstairs to grab my camera, grabbed my sweater because the wind was blowing a slight chill in the air, and even placed my barefeet into my hubby's yard shoes to go investigate! It must have been something pretty spectacular for me to put my barefeet into his yucky yard shoes! LOL!
I walked to the chain link fence and set up my camera to capture wild mushrooms growing in an arched line! I had never seen this before EVER! I don't know if I'm just naive, or if I never paid attention before but it was the most beautiful artistic wild thing growing I have seen this year and so I took many pictures! The above picture is sure enough the underbelly of a wild mushroom. I had to take a photo of this magnificant pattern! Not only were the mushrooms growing in an arch artistic but this pattern was amazing too!



Look at this amazing arch they are growing in? I am so glad that it captured my attention lastnight. I needed a spark of inspiration and I got it!



They were huge too! I don't know what kind of mushrooms they were but I wouldn't chance eating them! I am extremely naive when it comes to plants and such so I wouldn't know a "magic" mushroom from an "edible" mushroom! LOL!

I hope you enjoyed my beautiful find. I think we can find beauty in every creation if we just look at it differently, don't you?

Hugs and happy creating everyone!

Can You Guess What I am Making?

I am so excited! No, it doesn't take a lot to excite me - lol! Can you guess what I am making? It is a little difficult to tell from my pictures but I am making my first ever flower scarf!!!!! Yay!
Thank you Carmelina over at Creative Carmelina has inspired me to learn how to crochet flowers! I have always wanted to learn because for the longest time I have had an idea of crocheting a flower scarf but the problem has been that I didn't think I could learn how do do anything other than a straight or zig zag line! However, after blog hopping and seeing Carmelina's beautiful crocheted florettes I knew I had to put my 'big girl' pants on and just learn how to do it already!!!! lol! So I opened up the internet and found a pattern and went for it! YAY! Eventually, once I have all the flowers sewn together it will magically become a flower scarf! I am not your ordinary fashionista... I like to do things differently so I love flowing blouses, long skirts and most always... flowers in my hair! I have so many flower head bands I have lost count! I love making my accessories so this flower scarf works perfectly for my purpose! Once I am finished making the white flowers I may add some color to them but I haven't decided yet.
Thank you Carmelina for inspiring me to learn how to make them!

I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend. Happy Creating and much love!

PS What do you think of my new background and banner? These were difficult to choose and find the right colors to represent me ~ I think I finally chose right though!

Happiness 101 Award

My dear friend Jo over at Tanglefrost has awarded me with the Happiness 101 Award and I am so very honored by her! Not only do her fairie crowns make me drool they are so lovely but she is an amazingly kind inspirational woman and I have so enjoyed getting to know her. Thank you Jo for honoring me with this.

So I believe what I am supposed to do now is share with you my list of things that make me truly happy and content with my life (as she shared hers on her blog and I could possibly have many of the same, if not all the same answers as she put... but let me think and see what I can come up with;



So first and foremost God is my complete happiness and contentment in life! It is because He is such a loving, merciful God that I have what I have and that I am who I am! He fills me with peace when I am hurting, joy when sadness tries to overtake me, unexplainable love and sense of self worth (read Psalm 139, or John 3:16 to truly know what I am talking about) and He is so good to me by giving me understanding to help me with life's many questions. He answers my smallest prayers when I least expect it and in unexpected ways. He lets me know that He is always with me by revealing Himself in all His creation. He is an amazing wonderful awesome God and I am so privileged and deeply honored to serve Him.



Secondly, my husband ~ my gift from the Lord! He came into my life when I least was looking for it and he has been such a rock to me ever since. God has used him to give me strength, help me to grow, bring me closer to Him and to become one with him. He is my best friend and I am so happy to be his wife. He is a crown on my head!



Thirdly, my boys! I never thought I would be a boy mom, but God had other plans and I am so glad He did! God has made me 'a girly-girl' into a boy mom and I love it! I don't know what I would do with girls! They bring me immense happiness and joy and I have enjoyed each and every stage that they have grown in and out of!



Fourth, my art! Wow... if I were to describe my art and its meaning to me I would use the following words; healing, creative, fun, a true blessing, love. I receive so much from my art and I have grown in many ways since I began. I have always loved art (since I was physically able to hold a crayon) and have held a facination with all things pretty! Starting out I was a bit of a perfectionist and I discovered this very pleasingly when I won a coloring contest in grade 3. I remember it so vividly because it was between this very elegant japanese girl (whose art I loved) and myself... the very intimidating 6ft Mr. Sharp held the prize behind his back as he walked between our two desks and ever so slowly placed the giant chocolate egg on MY DESK!!!! That right there settled it! I would forever harbor a deep love for art in many forms, but especially coloring inside the lines! lol.



Fifth; Aaaaahhhhh books! I must say that my bookshelves are overflowing with their loveliness! I have been a HUGE fan of reading all my life but have a real LOVE for fiction books in particular. Just the thought that a book can whisk you away to another world brings me much happiness indeed! I have been known to read up to five books in one week!



Sixth; And I can say the same love has passed it's way over to movies! I especially love old black and white (or redone in color) movies such as My Fair Lady, Gigi, or pretty much any old musical. I am particularily fond of 'Chick-flicks' too such as Ever After, or Sweet Home Alabama, Never Been Kissed... I could go on and on and my DVD shelves show it!



Seven; Arizona makes me REALLY happy! I haven't been to all the States in the U.S. but from what I have seen I love Arizona the best. It seriously feels like my second home! I love it particularily because I do not hurt there like I hurt in Calgary! I am soothed by the heat and bathed by the sunshine and I am completely content ~ now can someone please remind me why I live in Calgary, Alberta???? LOL



Eight; TREES! Yep, trees make me HAPPY and content! I don't know why but they tend to show up alot in my art work. Trees speak of God's creation and love to me!

Now I'm spreading the love around and would like to pass this lovely award onto the following recipients;
Martha at Art Du Jour
Jo at Tanglefrost I can't help it! She deserves it twice!
Rebecca at Daisydolls
Diana at ExPress-O
Suz over at Katsui Jewelry

Thank you again Jo for giving some blog love!
Hugs and happy creating!

Speaking of Color - How About Color Therapy?

Color... aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh! What would this world be like without color????
Would we be as artistic and creative if we could only see things as black and white? Hmmm.... I wonder? Take a rainbow for instance... if we could only see in black and white then we would only be able to perceive different shades and where's the excitement in that? Colors are vibrant, fun, juicy and eye catching but they can also be used to change moods, capture moods, bring on adrenaline, calm thoughts and promote earthly friendliness...
Colors have so many great purposes...
With the color red I think of love, hearts, blood pumping, kisses... but I also think of anger, holding tight, frustration and flames.
Funny thing: I have heard it said that when buying a car you do not want to choose the color red because you can't see red in your blind spot (I don't know if that is a fact or not ~ but it is interesting no?)
Red is a bright warm color but it can also be a cold color if mixed the right way.
I tend to choose the color red when I am angry, when I need to vent, or if I am feeling "in love" and mushy. I do not feel the emotion of anger too often but when I do it feels so good to use the color red!



Now blue is a very peaceful color... the color of the skies when the sun has burned through all the clouds. Blue is most often used to depict water however most water is clear looking to me, unless we're talking tropical. It is calming to use shades of blue and as I was doodling the above picture I did have a nice sense of calmness in me. I feel better when I see the blue sky and tropical blue water so I believe it is a definite mood enhancer! I personally do not veer too far off with blue as there are only a few shades that really tickle my fancy.

What have you experienced while using particular colors? Do you notice that some colors effect your mood more than others? What colors tickle your fancy?

As always, happy creating everyone!

Venting In Technicolor and The Cuteness!

I have always held back in my venting. I don't quite know exactly why, I can guess it's because I don't want to hurt anyone and feel kind of silly venting. HOwever, I have discovered the perfect way of venting so that no-one can read what I write. These yummy pages were done in such a simple simple manner that I can't believe I haven't done them before!!! Here's the process:
I vented by writing in red one way, then blue another way, then green another way, then finally black or some other color. By the time I was finished covering each color once I couldn't even read what I was writing! So it's a guarantee that no one else will be able to read what I have written! LOL! So I am VENTING AWAY!!!!
I also saw someone paint gesso overtop of the writing with sharpies and some of the colors come forward when the gesso dries. I may have to give this a try one day!



And this is "The Cuteness"! I took this picture after he got home from youth camp and passed out on the couch. He is thirteen and I don't think he will ever stop being so darn cute!

Well, Happy creating everyone! I hope you have enjoyed my mid-week blog!

Yay! I'm a Winner!

Is this not so beautiful?????

I was very pleased this afternoon when I clicked on Louise Gayle's blog and discovered that I am a winner of her most recent giveaway (First Friday Finds). This talented lady has some really beautfiful new paintings that I am sharing with you. Go to her blog to see more of her lovelies!

Thank you Louise Gale for your lovely generosity and inspiration.
Hugs and happy creating everyone!

Art Journaling Love

This has been an abundant weekend of art play for me. I was able to cut out some stencils and play around with some glimmermist spray to create this next journal spread. It is so easy to create stencils by simply drawing them out on 90lb cold pressed watercolor paper and cutting them out, I don't know why I have not done more! It does however take a lot of patience and a tremendous love of detail, I have always had a love of detail so this has never been a problem for me.
I hope you are enjoying your weekend!
Hugs, blessings and Happy Creating to all of you.

Shout it from the Rooftops Take2

With all my time alone this weekend I have managed to work on my pages. This one I particularily love "Shout it from the Rooftops!" I love the way the deep blues have worked out on the page and I am truly becoming quite fond of them.
I was inspired after reading a book called "A Voice In The Wind" by Francine Rivers. It was a fantastically well spinned novel of just over 500 pages about a young Jewish Christian who was in Jerusalem when the city was seiged by the Roman empire . She lost her entire family and was taken as a slave to Rome where she was placed in a Roman family of high standing. Her beliefs in God and Jesus Christ strengthened her as she was surrounded by the world of the Romans who clearly lived for self pleasure free to do whatever they wanted. She struggled daily with trying to muster up the courage to share her faith with the family she served.
This made me realize how I have held back the sharing of my faith. For the past few months I have taken every opportunity to tell people I am praying for them, strangers even. I am trying to make an effort and I pray that He will provide more opportunity for me to do so.
Well Happy Creating everyone!

From the Artist Blog Hop...

#69Janie, An Artist on Candy Mountain has posted a new painting that I would like to share with you. It is full of beautiful color and detail that just draws your eyes in. Go check out her blog if you get a chance.




#115 Sung-Hee is another artist I want to share with you. Her kind,kind heart shines forth in her art and every piece she produces holds such depth and meaning to her. I love how she expresses the meaning of each piece when she posts them. Take a look for yourself.



#399 Laurie Miller, a recent addition to the artist blog hop and she brings such beautiful color with her! Go take a look at her blog and you will see some of her beautiful pieces of art filled with amazing color!

Enjoy and happy creating everyone!

New Journal Pages and Playing Around

Hello everyone!~ I feel like I haven't posted in forever! I hope you are all having a wonderful week and are ready for a fabulous weekend. I myself am all geared up for a weekend alone while my boys and hubbub are off to Youth Camp for the weekend. I have loaded up on chick flick movies and puzzle books and am ready for some peace and quiet! I will miss my boys terribly however! I always tend to miss them after the first night, it's such a strange feeling knowing your family is out there in the world somewhere without you.
I was able to work on a few more pages in my Art Journal reference book. In them I have practiced with lettering, stenciling, borders, journaling circles and lines, shading etc. I was wide awake at 2am this morning due to some medicine I took yesterday interacting with my normal meds (I soooooo hate that when that happens!) I am enjoying working on the 6x8 size paper (which is 90lb cold pressed watercolor paper that I have cut down in size then hole punched appropriately). This size is much smaller than I am used to working with.



This is just me playing around with lettering AGAIN... I don't know what draws me to this but I just take such pleasure from this procedure. Here I play with shadows on the lettering!

Have an absolutely fabulous weekend! I might stop by again this weekend if I get a chance from all my hard work of blissfully doing nothing! lol! Hugs and Happy Creating!

Dancing with David Take 2

Okay... she didn't look finished to me. I figured out why... I didn't put enough of myself into the page. Lately I have been creating art that was very much 'on the surface' to what I really wanted to accomplish. I get like that sometimes. In the past I have dug so deep that I didn't think I would ever find my way out of myself, does that make sense? Well, now I am out of myself trying to get back in again! Life is a viscious cycle sometimes. I added shading to a lot of the page and in the middle I wrote out my true desires in regards to how the scripture made me feel.
Let me know what you think!

Hugs and blessings and as always Happy Creating!

Dance Like David and More Texturizing

Reading through 2 Samuel this week and I LOVE the verse where it says... "David, wearing a linen ephod danced before the Lord with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets." 2 Samuel 6: 13-15. I knew I had to journal about this verse. I went through in my mind the techniques that I knew how to do and determined that stenciling a background with someone dancing would do the trick. She reminds me of a ballet dancer though. I attached a decorative border to the side of the page too and I think it goes nicely.




This is the next texturizing page I have been playing with. This technique is extremely relaxing!

Hugs everyone and happy creating! Happy long weekend too!

Angelia's Art Journals Video Tutorial

Hi everyone and "Happy Thursday" to you! Today I am sharing a link from Angelia's Art Journals. She has posted her first ever video tutorial and guess what??? IT'S A WINNER!!!! A definite must see, it might even win an Oscar (if I were on the judging panel that is!lol)



Thank you Angelia for sharing your talent with all of us!
Enjoy it! Love it! and get ready for inspiration to come your way!
Hugs and Happy Creating everyone!

Practice With Texturizing

Hello my dearest blogging friends! It has been quite a week in our house... all the hustle and bustle that September always brings is among us. Tomorrow I have one son beginning grade 10 and another beginning grade 8! These years have gone by too quickly for my liking!
Today I am sharing with you my experiment with "texturizing". I have learned so many wonderful techniques from Rebecca over at Daisydolls Gypsy Caravan and her series of eight paintings. I purchased her postcards and have been studying her techniques because I have fallen head over heels in love with them!!!! So I have drawn my own drawings and have added texture to them ~ I am learning them so that I can eventually teach them! It is a lot like zentangling really, the same pattern over and over again. I love how it fills in the picture and makes it whole - if that makes sense at all?!? Enjoy. I will share another one hopefully tomorrow!
Have a wonderful week and as always Happy Creating!