Friiiiidaaaaay!

Another butterfly wall sculpture, with a Van Gogh inspired sky.
I'm almost done with the butterfly series for this week.
Have an awesome weekend!

A use for butterfly wings

Wall sculpture! Polymer clay, mirror, glass, paint. 7"x8"
More to come....

Wednesday sketchbook

I learned how to make polymer clay butterfly wing canes!
Now I have a surplus of butterfly wings. I am exploring some ideas to put them to use.

This week...

It's spring break! For the kids, not for me (obviously). It was glorious to get up without an alarm clock this morning, slightly less glorious to realize that my ear hurts because I was doing that teeth-clenchy thing I do when I sleep. I was dreaming that our cat was stuck in a vending machine and I couldn't get him out. It was oddly stressful.
ANYWAY, the quote for this week comes to us from Arthur Ashe--an amazing man who left this life a wee bit too early. His legacy is in education and self-awareness.

This is my go-to quote whenever I am feeling overwhelmed. 

Happy Monday!

Happy Spring!

Hidee! I have a tutorial up over here on how to make the upcyled paper nest you see above.

I decided a while back that Fridays would be Photo Fridays and I got this amazing new camera for Christmas (thanks, Mom and Dad!) and I have found myself too intimidated by the camera to use it every day. And that's ridiculous, right? It's a tool. It's made to be used. 

Next week, the kids are on spring break, and I am going to get out that camera and use it. I'm going to spend a whole DAY taking photos at one hour intervals. I'm going to use ALL the settings and try adjusting manually the shutter speed and aperture. I'm going to use that camera and I'm going to get over my trepidations. 

Also, I'm going to work on some projects and meet some deadlines and see about getting a part-time gig for a regular cash flow. 

Art!

I'm trying to get into art journaling. It's a lot more difficult than I anticipated. I think I've worked so long with the goal of making a finished, stand-alone piece that the concept of putting all that time and energy into a page that will be hidden away seems foreign.
But I thought it would be a good place to record some of my travel experiences. So I'm going to keep at it.

Spring Diorama Tutorial

Spring is nearly here, and I am ready. To celebrate the new season, we made Spring diorama globes. We used our glass globes, birds, and rabbits from the Winter Dioramas.

Supplies

Glass globes (I got mine from the dollar store--they're supposed to be candle holders)

small animals 

reindeer moss

plastic flowers

scissors 

small wooden trees

Put reindeer moss in the globe. 

Put a tree in the moss

Take your fake flowers and snip them off them stem. 

Tuck them in the moss.

Put a bunny in there and ta-daah. 

Or larger fake flowers and a pair of birds.

We have a table in our living room that changes with the seasons. It's the perfect place to put the dioramas.

(Do you know how hard it is to type coherently when you are being talked at by small children? I apologize if this post makes no sense at all)

Happy Friday!

Hi there!
I've got a tutorial up on the Pagan Village; it's Crafting a Dream Journal. I find dreams to be inspiring--it's a place where logic and rules are set aside and any combination of things can come together. Maybe that's why I like children's artwork so much; they aren't bound by what's "right"--they are just in the process of creation.

My mom is in town for the weekend--yay! So I will be spending my weekend enjoying her company. I hope that you get to spend some time in the company of people you love. 

March!

Throw your
Dreams into space
Like a kite,
And you do not
Know what it
Will bring back,
A new life,
A new friend,
A new love,
A new country.
--Anaïs Nin

I'm working. And recovering from what turned out to be a TMJ disorder. Apparently clenching your teeth is really bad for your jaw-joint. One side of my face was swollen--which left me feeling like a lop-sided hamster--and incredibly sore. It was decidedly unfun, and I don't think I will try it again.
I'm working on a painting inspired by Anaïs Nin (and after stumbling across a few more quotes of hers I would really like to read a biography); as well as my articles for this month at the Pagan Village, preparations for my mom's visit, crafting more items for consignment at locally owned shops, and learning about making herbal oils and incenses.
Today was a snow day for the kids--I have set a bowl out to catch as much as we can for the purposes of creating snow ice cream--and we spent the day in our PJs eating crêpes and getting ready for Grandma's visit. It was a pretty good way to spend the day. They got to go out and play in the snow for an hour before dinner, which worked out perfectly for everyone.

Happy Wednesday!