A few days ago, our eldest once again amazed us with his own particular brand of art. He has single-handedly redefined the term "napkin sketch". In all honesty, he was just fooling around with a spare napkin and some permanent markers. He gave it to me and I really thought it was sorta funky and fun.
Being that it was done on a very cheap, thin napkin and that the texture was totally part of it's charm, I didn't know how to keep it safe until I spied my totally new bottle of Mod Podge.
I snagged an old, commercial piece of art that was sitting in my discard pile, covered it in white cotton and "Podged" it. I then trimmed and mounted the napkin and repeated the M.P. routine. After letting it dry I realized I was thrilled with the outcome. The "Podge" made the marker bleed just a bit, but it only added to the charm.
So, here is my latest art aquisition. Kinda intense, huh? 'Groovy' is the only word that comes to my mind. It is going to get a very special spot on my studio wall.
Several days ago, the rain came down. And when I say, it came down, I mean it came down until the cumulative nature of it led to a minor lake right here in our front yard. The kind of lake that a little boy just can't resist plunging one or more gangly limbs into.
He snagged my rubber boots and tromped about it it with his plastic boat. It was cold and still raining, but I don't think he cared one bit.
Found this book in the clearance bin of our local grocery store for, get this, three_dollars. Um, so yeah I bought it even though I have been trying so hard not to buy anything. I opened it and saw page after page of amazing recipes and gorgeous photos, I simply could not put it down.
So, I suppose this is my bloggy confession.
Whew, I feel better.
::The cards in the two pictures immediately above were set up by Josh, my 8 yr. old. He designed and made them all, set them up and then told me to come take a picture of them. Aren’t they just great? Very quilt inspired I would say. Not your typical valentines, but then he isn’t your typical boy.
We are trying to be committed to a low-budget year. It hasn’t been easy, but there have been some rewards. Namely more in the bank and less to step over here at home.
With Valentine’s Day coming up it has been sooooo tempting to go out and buy a bunch of pretties and gifts and what-nots to hand out to all my lovelies. But I didn’t. I dug around here and found some old scrapbook paper that was printed from vintage textiles, which I absolutely loved. The kiddos totally had to have the glue and glitter thing going on, so I let them (glitter is now everywhere…but on the other hand, now everything sparkles).
All in all, it has been a wonderful everyday-making-valentines kind of week.
Last week I believe it was, I was awarded an honor. The lovely writer of the blog, Circle Everything gave me the Lemonade Award. Seeing as I adore anything to do with lemons or lemonade it was an especially special prize. So, thanks so much Patti for making my whole year.
If you haven't ever been over to her blog, check it out. There is always something pretty to look at or something inspiring to read.
Part of the deal of being awarded this way is the delight of being able to pass it on to other blogs. I may be breaking the rules by not including as many blogs as others do, I will make it up with quality. The following blogs inspire me, make me think, and sometimes make me laugh. So I'm passing this award on to them to let them know they brighten my blog reading. And just in time for Valentine's Day. So, I suppose this is a sort of bloggy Valentine.
(It seems the cool, little picture of the lemonade stand is refusing to load, so for now we'll have to do without…I'll keep trying but it's being stubborn. Bummer.)
Here they are:
I know. It seems like such a small list considering the sheer number of blogs out there. But these are special for the simple reason that I feel they are very personal, honest, and heartfelt, and they never fail to leave me in a thoughtful, uplifted mood.
Well, I need to get back to making the actual, real-life, paper valentines for all my sweethearts. Maybe I'll even post a couple of pics tomorrow to share the joy. I don't pretend to be a brilliant designer or artist, but I do love glitter and I adore letting people know I love them, so it's all good.
How about you? What are your Valentine's Day traditions?
