ArtsyMama

Visiting santa...

2009-12-16T12:00:00.002-06:00

I was working on my December daily pages with photos of the kids with santa from this weekend and remembered that I wanted to share with you some fun retro graphics from a little booklet I found at an estate sale. They were given out at Dayton's departments stores years and years ago. Aren't they fun! Perfect for cards, memory books or mixed media projects. Enjoy!

Wishes do come true...

2009-12-15T11:07:00.009-06:00

I was so honored when Mindy from wishstudio blog asked me at the beginning of this year to write a piece about creativity and motherhood. This is a topic I feel very passionate about. When I sat down to write, I found that I had a lot to say and I couldn't stop writing. I feel that I'm at a very joyful time in my life and I am so pleased to be able to share my story. So click on over to the wishstudio blog for my piece if you'd like to read more about how artsymama came to be. Hope you enjoy it!
We had a wonderful snowy weekend here, filled with sledding, baking cookies and santa.
Doesn't get much better than that!

A few days in December...

2009-12-12T19:00:00.007-06:00

How are your holiday plans coming along? It's hard to believe that December is almost half over! I thought I'd share some pages in my December daily album to show you what I've been up to. I'm having fun with the album, sometimes I follow prompts, other times I just go with what we were doing on that day. It's nice to sit down each night to reflect and take a bit of time to create something.

Chloe and I got creative with our gift wrapping, using vintage reflectors and some goodies that I stashed from Silver Bella. We thought they looked festive! Hope you're having a merry weekend! Lovin' these felt coasters from Anthropologie.

Over the top...

2009-12-09T17:02:00.017-06:00

Keeping with my kitschy holiday theme, after reading Danielle's post on blowmold decorations (never knew they were called that) and other vintage outdoor decor, I decided to go looking for some of my own. I knew I had seen it around. Once I knew what I was looking for, I found a treasure trove in an older suburb of Minneapolis. Boy were they fun to photograph in their snowy glory the morning after our big storm. Can't wait to go back and see them at night!
I have never owned one of these creatures and never plan to, but there is something to be said for a slew of them in mass quantity and how tacky it looks. It's just plain fun! I cannot imagine how long it took for one person to collect all of those snowmen!!

My life in red....

2009-12-07T17:53:00.009-06:00

We are now into the last month over on A Year of Color blog. The theme for December is RED. I have mixed feelings as this year-long project comes to an end. It's been a very challenging project in so many ways, and also so fun to have a team of wonderfully creative people involved. I am pleased that such a wonderful community developed that contributed and inspired one another. It's also hard to see it come to an end. I know I will always be inspired by color and will look at it in new ways since experiencing it in such a fun way this year. Needless to say, I have lots of red around my home right now and wanted to share some fun vintage kitchy holiday treasures that are putting a smile on my face. Oh my...have you seen this extraordinary wish list?
Here's to all your holiday wishes come true!

Five senses friday: early december edition

2009-12-04T14:17:00.018-06:00

I love following along with abby when she does five senses friday. It's a great way to recap what I've been up to. Seeing: Holiday lights and wonderful vintage colors inside and outside the house. Love that there is now a dusting of snow on everything to make it look that much more magical.
The kids had fun doing their own candy themed tree.
Hearing: The squirt of the paint tube as Chloe gets down and dirty painting. I love watching her creativity blossom!
Tasting and smelling: I went to Trader Joe's for the first time this past week. The Candy Cane Joe Joe's are the best!! I love the smell of peppermint as I down these.

Loving: One of my favorite estate sale finds ever was found this week. These three earthenware vintage French mushroom jars. Need I say more?!

Working on: A page a day in December for my holiday journal.

Some secret crafty fun!

Have a wonderful weekend!

It's all about the sugar cookie...

2009-12-03T01:00:00.004-06:00

I'm participating in Scrappy Jessi's cookie exchange today. I cannot wait to see all the yummy posts!! In my mind you cannot beat a holiday sugar cookie. It's absolute perfection. It combines several of my favorite things: family tradition, baking, decoration and sugar. You really can't beat it!I made them with my sister and my parents every Christmas my entire life and now my kids and my sisters kids share in that tradition and we make them together. Priceless.The kids like to really load them up!Here is the recipe that we've always used...

Sugar Cookies

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. shortening

1 c. white sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 - 3 c. sifted white flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Mix the butter, shortening and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Slowly add mixed dry ingredients.
Cover, and chill dough for at least two hours (or overnight).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Decorate!!
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Some cookie inspiration from flickr.

1. Christmas cookies, 2. Decorated Snowflake Cookies, 3. Pink and Green Christmas Cookies, 4. 2007 ornament cookies, 5. Christmas Cookies, 6. Cookies, 7. christmas cookies, 8. CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIES, 9. christmas cookies 041

Can't wait to see what you've all been baking.

Thanks for stopping by!

Four years in the making...

2009-11-28T16:39:00.038-06:00

My blog birthday post is always one of my favorites to compile. I love looking through the blog posts from the last year and re-living the highlights. This blog is truly a creative diary for me. Looking back at the last four years gives me so much joy. To have this format to share my life with so many others and find so many like-minded people never ceases to amaze me! If you'd like to get all caught up, see my first birthday post, my second, my third and now here is my fourth! What a fun ride it's been. Thank you to all my blog reader's. You inspire me and motivate me to keep sharing myself authentically in this little corner of blogland. I'd love to hear about what have been some of your favorite things about visiting this blog. It's also become my tradition to share photos of my favorite local inspiration spot Nature's Harvest in my birthday post. All photos are from their marvelous store. There are also lots of links embedded to link you over to my other posts over the last year. Enjoy!

This year I created one of my favorite scrapbooks ever. I printed out over a hundred pictures of my favorite estate sale finds and compiled them all together along with a bit of journaling about where I found the item or what it's significance is. I love how it turned out!

I shared 16 random things about myself here.

My big project for the year was my Year of Color blog. It was a lot of work and a ton of fun. I hope that those of you that have been involved enjoyed it. I look forward to a new project next year!

I hosted several swaps: All the I Love, May Basket, Sweet and Sinister and more!

Started a style journal and became journal buddies with Hope. Am looking forward to continuing to work on the concept of style in this class next year.

Traveled to ArtNest in Utah and hung out with some of my favorite people and made the most amazing projects! It was a wonderful retreat.

Discovered my style statement after working through the book in my own journal. Then attended a firestarter session this summer with Danielle LaPorte.

I was honored to be published this year, here and here and here. I hosted a huge online book release party for Blogging for Bliss by Tara Frey. I hope to self-publish another book this coming year.

Journaled about where I'm at in my life right now.

Attended some amazing estate sales and a few that were truly memorable.

Interviewed Anita Kaushal. Her books are so inspiring!

ArtsyMama.com, the web site was born! Thanks to Hope, after her wonderful visit here this summer.

Took a birthday challenge. Have to admit, it's definitely been a challenge and I've caved at times. However, I'm keeping my head up and am going to keep striving!Attended the Junk Bonanza for the fourth year and Silver Bella for the third year. I cannot wait for next years junking event. It's going to be bigger and better than ever. Can't wait to tell you more!!

Thanks again for being here, it means the world to me!

Giving thanks...

2009-11-24T18:24:00.015-06:00

My four year blog anniversary is coming up in just a few days. I will do a separate post about it on the 29th. I love the tradition at this time of year to count your blessings and feel grateful about so many wonderful things in our lives. I wanted to make sure to thank all of you, my lovely blog readers. Some of you have been reading this for all four years and others just found me recently. I read and appreciate every single comment that is left and am so delighted with the relationships and support I have been given through this little space of mine in blogland. Thank you! As I finish my early prepping for the big day tomorrow, I am thankful for a warm cozy home with the scent of pumpkin bread freshly baked and gingerbread cookies in the oven. I am thankful to have parents that live so close that we can spend the day together and so many other days of my children's lives are spent with their grandparents. I am thankful for a husband and children that I cherish beyond words and need to tell them that more often. Thankful for my sister and her delightful family, who will be coming home for the holiday's oh so soon! I am so delighted to have friends and relatives near and far that we can share our daily ramblings and keep connected online. I am thankful for the opportunities I have each year to meet up with the most creative and inspiring bunch of blogging artists that I can imagine. Thank you all for filling my well!
With love and gratitude, Happy Thanksgiving!

Today's the day...

2009-11-21T19:16:00.008-06:00

Today is our 11 year wedding anniversary. It was such a beautiful day, this is how Joe got to spend the afternoon. Lucky guy! Ever since seeing the neighbors holiday lights, Chloe has been in awe of lights on houses, so we decided this year we'd give it a go.

The kids enjoyed watching daddy climb around on the roof.

Ta da!!!

I love you Joe. xoxo.

Happy Anniversary!

Five senses: bella style

2009-11-16T10:24:00.028-06:00

I'm back from silver bella and having a hard time deciding how to post about this amazing weekend. I thought I'd throw a bunch of amazing eye candy at ya and share the event five senses style since I missed last weeks installment from abby. Getting back to "real life" here I realize how stimulating an event like silver bella truly is. My senses were piqued for days.

See: Of course an event like silver bella is a visual feast. So many amazing projects were made with the most stunning stashes of supplies. Vendor night was a smorgasboard of outstanding art and supplies. It's a whole lot to take in at once!

Touch: Jennifer Murphy's classes challenged my fingers and allowed me to work with some lovely materials. Loved all the textures!

Hear: It was so great to meet Kaari Meng. We were having so much fun with the fact that our names have the same pronunciation, which is one that you don't hear very often. Every time someone would say her name trying to get her attention, I would turn around. Also hearing Jo Packham speak was wonderful and moving. She really is so authentic!

Taste: Lots of yummy food was consumed, mostly late at night after the last class was over with this lovely lady, or in our room in the form of coconut rum with my roomie Michelle.

Smell: Bellas smell good! The sweet sweet smell of creativity was in the air all weekend long.

The event was wonderful, as you can see. Loved meeting so many bloggers for the first time, giggling and catching up with old friends and generally filling up the well in every way possible.

Hop around blogland for other posts about the event beginning to pop up...here, here, here and here is a good start!

Looking up...

2009-11-10T13:50:00.011-06:00

Watched the movie UP today with the kids. What a cute show. The kids are feeling better now. Horray! I'm taking off tomorrow to Omaha for Silver Bella. I thought it would be fun to have a little blast from the past, bella style. I missed it last year due to our amazing 10 year anniversary trip to New York City. Attending Silver Bella the two years before was so much fun! Here are my past posts about this marvelous event.

My first year:

I had no idea what to expect, it was such a small event!

My second year:

Looking forward to all the new memories this year! I promise lots of pics when I return.

Have a great week!

Getting ready for the bellas....

2009-11-06T13:06:00.013-06:00

Well, I guess one advantage of having sick kids at home and now a car in the shop is I have more time for collecting, gathering and putting little packages together for the bellas! Silver Bella is next weekend!! I can hardly wait to see so many of you.The apron has arrived.My journal is ready. Some crafty projects are finished.

I'll see (many of you) in a few days in Omaha!
Have a great weekend!

Dark November...

2009-11-03T17:40:00.012-06:00

Not much light here today. November is definitely upon us. I'm trying to think of it as a time of cocooning and great productivity. Lots of inside time to get crafty, right?! I added some post-Halloween autumn inspiration to my wall. This little autumn cutie is from Melissa McCobb Hubbell as part of the art exchange that's going around the blog-o-sphere lately...
...and this tag.Paged through some lovely autumn images in these magazines.

And baked up some yummy treats. These apple cookies from naptime chef are delicious...and not too sweet!

November begins...

2009-11-02T12:45:00.006-06:00

with some exciting news! It's always such a thrill to be published in a magazine. Thanks to Christine at Stampington for asking me to write an article for Artful Blogging magazine about my year long Year of Color blog that will come to an end at the end of 2009.

Our November guest designer on A Year of Color is Jeska Hearne. I have adored her blog Lobster and Swan for a long time. She's the perfect guide for inspiration and beauty for this month's theme of brown and sepia tones. She encourages us to move into a season of warmth and calm with cozy accents before the holiday rush. Her tone is perfect! Please join us in these last few months of the blog. All the archives are available, so you can catch up on the whole year. I won't be doing another like it next year, so now is your last chance.

Happy November!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T21:37:00.012-05:00

Hope you're having a wonderfully spooky Halloween eve.
Costumes and jack-o-lanterns are definitely may favorite part.

The almost full moon drifting in and out of the clouds sets the perfect stage for this All Hallow's Eve.

Getting close....

2009-10-29T12:55:00.004-05:00

We are now in final preparations for the big day.

Witchy night...

2009-10-28T18:19:00.012-05:00

Getting ready to host my annual "witch's brew" gathering for some girlfriends tonight.No, this 15 ft. witch is not in my yard, I spotted her (how could you miss it!) on the way to school today. Isn't she amazing!! Reminds me of this old photo which I've always found incredibly creepy. They are similar in size. Look at her teeth. Yikes!What about this guy!?! creepy...

If you like creepy decor, I posted a bunch more of this yard (I do not know the creator) on my flickr.

Suspended...

2009-10-27T14:57:00.020-05:00

This time of year, I feel like I'm suspended in time between autumn and the coming of winter. There is a very brief period of time here in Minnesota that is gorgeous almost beyond the imagination. The trees are ablaze, the blue sky goes on forever. It is truly a remarkable time. So today on a picture perfect fall day, I took a long walk. As I was walking along, there would be a gust of wind that would send thousands of leaves dancing, twirling through the air. Swirling about a slowly settling to the ground. I noticed that many of them didn't quite make it to the ground, but would get caught in a branch or a plant and would be there suspended for who knows how long, on display for all to see...or for those that noticed.
We seem to be getting a second "peak" this year with leaf color. For this last hurrah of fall, the oaks are brilliant orange and red. They made my heart sing today.Soon all the leaves will lay to rest on the ground to be covered under a blanket of snow, tucked in for a long winter.

Last Sunday of October...

2009-10-25T19:30:00.010-05:00

Can you believe it!? Only one more week of October...yikes! I'm still hanging on to every dazzling leaf on the trees and enjoying every bit of dry weather we have (it's been so cool and rainy). I dug through my bins of Halloween decor one last time. I figure I better put it out now, or it will be another year before I see it again. So with less than a week to go, what are your Halloween plans? I'm hosting my annual spooky mom's night out this Wednesday and then there are class parties and festivities galore once we hit the end of the week. This is such a wonderful time of year! I am torn a bit between holiday's. I purposely didn't sign up for any of the Silver Bella swaps and couldn't even begin to start thinking about gathering supplies until now. I just am not in the mood for Christmas one bit...yet. I'm not a total party pooper, I will be more than game once the bella festivities are in full swing. However, this is going to help a little in the meantime. The theme for vendor night is aprons and the lovely miss Tif (aka dottie angel) made this custom artsymama apron for me to wear. Isn't it just beyond amazing?!! I certainly think so.
Now I just need to find a cute little outfit to wear with it like she has on here:) Thanks a million, tif!
So slowly I will gather holiday supplies to bring with for the amazing projects that we'll be making. But not until I carve another pumpkin or two!

five senses friday: estate sale version

2009-10-23T14:17:00.018-05:00

I was so pleased to see that abby posted a five senses Friday on her blog today. After going to a most unusual estate sale this morning, I definitely wanted to play along.I headed to a 1920's estate this morning to find out that it was that of Chet Noice, the creator of the original dough boy story, which he sold to Pillsbury and it later became their mascot, the Poppin' fresh doughboy. The home is going to be demolished and turned into a subdivison. How sad.

The house was filled with wonderful antiques and gorgeous light fixtures.

Of course several poppin' fresh boys were strewn about.

I was enchanted by a little play room in the "maid's quarters", as they told me.

Feel: walking up to the house I felt the cold, wet sleet coming down. Inside the house was big and open. You could feel the history in its bones.

Sight: so many neat old things, but realized that I certainly don't have an "eye" for antiques. Some things I was amazed at the price and others (some that I collect) were practically free. I know what I like and I'm not getting it for it's re-sale value, that's for sure.

Hear: people talking, wanting to find out stories about the man, the objects in his home. I couldn't help but keep hearing the little giggle of the dough boy as his tummy is poked in the Pillsbury commercials.

Smell: the smell of accumulated belongings that have lived in the house over many, many years. Some would call this musty, I prefer calling it the smell of aged collections.

Taste: the sugary doughnuts and coffee they were giving out

Inspiration...

2009-10-22T00:01:00.004-05:00

Above is a spread from my inspiration journal. I missed Vanessa's Halloween bash the other day, but each year I like to show you a lovely store here in the twin cities where I find the most unusual Halloween decor. Remember last year, and the year before? Here's Nature's Harvest all decked out for Halloween this year. Enjoy! I love this wonderful table setting. I'm seeing these pumpkins all over blogland now and love how they were used here.

Then we enter the domain of the skeletons.

Creepy crawlers all over the place. Eeeeek!
These face glasses are fantastic.

In other news, I was excited to be interviewed by Handmade News and I'm featured today.

Bitter sweet....

2009-10-19T15:34:00.023-05:00

This weekend was the perfect weather for getting started on carving our pumpkins. We carved up the two largest ones and will savor the experience and do a few at a time over the next several weeks. Nothing says fall to me more than the smell of fresh cut pumpkin goo.
Then we took our final trip to the apple orchard. With snow and freezing temperatures last week, this is the end of the harvest. That means great deals for us, $1 a lb. when you pick your own!
The leaves on the apple trees had turned brown and the apples were deep red. It was a beautifully muted atmosphere.

Perfection.Bittersweet, indeed.

Wild things...

2009-10-17T21:02:00.017-05:00

As Bethany says in her review here, .."my thoughts on Where The Wild Things Are tinkle in my head like a distant wind-chime. Hard to pin down exactly where the noises come from, but I do believe that’s part of the magic." I wasn't absolutely crazy about the movie when I saw it, but I just can't seem to get it out of my head. First off, you've got to see this heartwarming video about the actor Max Records, the 12 year old that carries the movie. He does an incredible job! Bethany's review of the movie pretty much sums it up for me. There's a lot there emotionally and it is absolutely beautiful. edit: I also agree with a lot of what this review says, including ""[They] took this book about imagination and escape and turned it into an hour and a half of Muppet therapy," he said. "There were obvious themes of working on divorce pains, but Max was the king of all wild things, not a family therapist. The kid uses his imagination to work through all of his issues, but that's something that you do when you're 22 and in college, not something you do when you get in your boat and sail off to where the wild things are."
But, said reviewer Avant, someone Griffioen's age is probably a better audience for the film.
"It's definitely aimed at adults," Avant said. "I wouldn't necessarily call it a kid movie, but rather a movie about being a kid."
Couldn't resist a walk in the woods today, inspired by the lovely scenery seen throughout the show. Also because it warmed up to 50 degrees and the sun came out again. YahOOOoooooooooooo...as Max would say!

Has anyone else seen it? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

The clock is ticking...

2009-10-16T07:24:00.015-05:00

Thanks so much for your wonderful comments about my photos in the last post. Capturing the season with my camera brings me such joy. Speaking of the current season, are you counting down the days yet until the 31st? It's coming up quick! It's been extremely cool and rainy here these last few days, so I've had to stay inside. I wanted to share the lovely packages I received from my sweet and sinister partners. I've been using the wonderful mug below from Melissa Heid every day for my morning coffee.

Below is the rest of the black and white goodies that Melissa gave me. The box was packed and actually included more than what's pictured, including some wonderful houndstooth magnets, a "c" necklace for Chloe, and a extra large lolly, but the kids got their hands on some of the goodies and are enjoying them as much as I am. You can see all the fun stuff she makes in her etsy shop. Thanks, Melissa!

My other partner was the fun and oh-so-creative Holly Hanks. She put together a wonderful package of vintage and handmade Halloween goodness. Perfect. Thanks, Holly!

Holly posted a much better photo of these beauties she created on her blog. Love them!
Hop on over to the flickr pool for the sweet and sinister swap, it is dripping with amazing inspiration. This years group has really gone above and beyond.

Have a great weekend!