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Showing posts from January, 2012

Refueling and Reading

No art right now. Reading children's books. Thinking about all the tutorials I want to write: numbers, HEARTS OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES, monogram letters and so much more. I need this percolating time to figure out how to do everything and then BAM! It should come together quickish. I hope. Hang in there... more good stuff coming soon.

Smooth Moving

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I've been experimenting with making healthy smoothies for myself and my family. One of the things that's been keeping me busy is preparing tons of fresh vegetables for the freezer. I bought a huge bag of carrots and heard that you could grow the tops in water. So, I tried it! It works! I also tossed an avocado pit in there, just for good measure. Question for anyone who has done vegetable/fruit smoothies (no milk - lactose intolerant!): do you cook your vegetables first to make them easier on your digestive system?

Quiet Times

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Birthdays for a five-year old boy. Two weekends in a row with a 14-year old boy who nearly burned my house down because he kept trying to turn off the fire alarm instead of putting out the fire in the oven. Mothers-in-law going into the hospital and nearly dying. Work being difficult. Life being lively. My mind will be back on art soon. It just needs some time to rest...

Looking Forward

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I made these paper flowers for a friend at work and her wedding. They turned out well. "May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself." Neil Gaiman I posted this quote on Facebook today and was surprised by the quick responses of so many of my friends. I quickly commented back "We should come back in a year and tell each other what we did to surprise ourselves." Then it occurred to me that I have surprised myself this past year.  I'm reading Martha Stewart's The Martha Rules to learn her take on how to run a business. The first line of the book shocked/surprised me: "In 2004, I entered a federal prison camp in Alderson, West Virginia." Here was someone who acknowledged her faul

January Free Pattern- Little Houses

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Better late than never! This month I made a pattern for you who have my Basic Folded Book tutorial that works with last month's pattern , too.  Now you may make little houses to go with your pine trees. You are welcome. Just click on the below picture to enlarge and print out. Yes, it *is* hard to read those little tiny numbers on the grid! You are welcome again! (just kidding - sorry, still working out the bugs on this darn pattern-making thing). Again, if you have questions, let me know. BTW, I am really liking the suggestions some of you are having for future free patterns. Thanks!

Temporarily Out!

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This little critter and all his friends and relations were rampaging through my body the last couple of days. It was not my friend. It made me feel like I'd done 100000000000 situps and still didn't have a flat stomach. Jerk. Back VERY soon with this month's freebie tutorial - little houses!

2011 Reading List!

I did it again! For the second year in a row, I've accomplished my children's classic reading list. Yay me! Here's the quick summary of everything I read and what I thought about it. If you care about last year's list, you can read about it here . I read the last four in one week. It just goes to show what you can do when you panic. Kipling: Captains Courageous 12/11 Written in 1897 by Rudyard Kipling, this is the story of a spoiled 15-year old rich boy who falls overboard his ocean liner and is picked up by a passing fishing boat. The transformation his character makes over the next several months is wondrous - it's a typical do-good book from the 19th century - bad boy overcomes weaknesses to become a valuable man. Although Harvey Cheyne's transformation happened (in my mind) altogether too quickly and permanently, it was a relief to read a story about someone who makes GOOD choices and has consequences for his actions. Good book to recommend to boys, espe