Merry Christmas

May the Reason of the season fill you hearts and homes this Christmas.

May His peace and joy surround you and if you've lost someone dear... may the thought of them celebrating Christmas in heaven comfort your souls. (how amazing that would be)

Have a wonderful week everyone

More balloon fun

We found these see through balloons and just had to experiment! Semay put pompoms in hers and I put sparkles in mine. I love the results.

Now I just hope the sparkly one doesn't bust because what a glittery mess that will be...

Hope you find some inexpensive FUN today!

Wordy Wednesday: If the shoe fits...

One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art. ~Oscar Wilde

Glazing

I am learning how to glaze and oh it is so much fun - you just never know what you'll get. Here are a few paintings I've done with this technique. The result is amazing. Luminous and almost "stained glassy" colours. Hope you like it!

Missing solitude

As the holiday season is upon me I feel the crunch, the rush, the sugar high, the excess, the too much already!


And all I want is the quiet, the hush, the solitude, the paintbrush in my hand, the hum drum of daily living, the slow down and just sit and be feeling to return.


So with that I remember this day back in the fall, such a quiet day and I breathe deep and know that this amazing...glorious...magical Christmas season...will also pass... and I will sit yet again to enjoy the quieter seasons of the year.

May you find a moment of peace and quiet today

Balloon Painting

What can be easier and more fun than this. Blow up the balloons just a little bit, dab in paint and go for it ROLL, DAB, SPLATTER. The added bonus is beautiful balloons after the paint dries on them.

Happy crafting with your kiddies today!

Some little paintings I've been working on

Sick day

A sick day turning out to be a fantastic - cozy - homey day.

Staying in pajamies all day

Enjoying a nap from both kids at the same time ( did hell just freeze over?)

Playing old fashioned classic games

Poor Johnny wishing and hoping someone will take him for a walk ... sorry bud

And Etian... well Etian was finally not sick... and I got to enjoy a happy baby who managed to creep into my heart just a little bit more

What a blessed day!

Special guest of honour

At our house we are so blessed to be visited by not one, but many special guests at any given moment. These royal members of society will appear and change character in a flash with mom always ready to greet them, serve them and provide the appropriate music for their never ending ball dances.





That's right, Princesses, Fairies and the occasional Pirate has taken the place of our sweet little girl. So it is no surprise that this Halloween we will be taking a princess trick and treating







Her only request was that the dress touches the floor - just like the real princesses.





I hope she never outgrows this stage

Happy Halloween everyone!

Recycled Trucks

Here they are, my little vintage truck and delivery van. I had so much fun creating these. On Monday I explained the flash of inspiration for these, although I did not use that piece of tire...who knew you needed to be the Hulk to cut through one of those. Besides I like the leather better.
These will be available in my etsy shop and I hope to make many more

May your day be blessed with plenty of inspiration AND finished products!

Riddle

What do you get when you mix a soda can, scraps of leather and plenty of nails?.... Stay tuned for the big reveal tomorrow. For a hint read Monday's post

Wordy Wednesday 2

He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.

~Friedrich Nietzsche

There's a kind of hush....

This morning we were greeted with a beautiful surprise. A soft fluffy white blanket covering these weary stressed out souls. Hush is all I heard. Quiet... Rest. And this is so true in our current life. Stephen finished his last exam this weekend, Everyone kicked the flu and Etian stopped crying and started to sleep.

A new season in our lives on the inside reflected on the outside.






A hush... well for a brief moment at least until the excited squeels came from Semay when she saw the fresh snow. So we hurried outside and made our first snowballs, tasted it and marveled at one of God's best creations Have a wonderful cozy day everyone

Colic inspired

Coming back from the city Etian simply would not settle. Screaming at the top of his lungs I stopped the vehicle for the umpteenth time, took him out of his seat and started the bounce and sway - so familiar by now. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the cutest delivery truck, looking like something from busytown mysteries cartoon, and immediately a series of old fashioned lorries and trucks flashed in my mind. Perfect for a little boys room. But what to make the tires out of I thought as Etian screamed a little louder. And there it was - junk to most, gold to me- a shredded piece of a tire lying in the ditch. BINGO! Quickly I picked it up, threw it in the back, settled Etian back in his car seat and thanked God for colic and little boys.

Later this week I'll post the result
Have an inspired Monday

Etian's nursery

Since I found out I'm having a little boy I knew there will be vintage sailboats everywhere. Well lucky for me our hot water tank said it's goodbyes, I manage to convince hubby to safe me "pretty please" the perfect shaded blue lid. After finding remnants of antique linen, using scraps of wood and my oh so favourite material now - copper wiring I managed to steal away an hour from the kids. Here's the result:

Just a little sketch- Daddy and me

Craft cupboard

When Semay was little I decided that creativity and imagination are my top two skills I would like her to learn from me - along with a heavy dose of empathy and faith. So even though she was super small (some might think too small) we started doing art projects. Yes it was messy. Yes we had tons of accidents. Yes I would set it all up and she would only be interested for maybe 5 sec. But for me the not so white couch and stained kitchen table was worth those moments of sheer creative play. The giggles when paint smooshes through her toes as she dances in her paint. The surprise when she mixed red and white to discover her favourite colour pink. And now the reward of her never getting bored. At any time during the day she'll open the doors to her craft cupboard and be transported to a world of her own creation. The top moment came yesterday, when I asked her if she'd ever want to move to a different house. She smiled...paused...then replied: "Nope, because then I won't have my craft cupboard!" What a sweetie

Wordy Wednesday

Don't wait for your ship to come in -

swim out to it.

Author Unknown

What I did this weekend

• Sang every lullaby known to mankind

• Learned new dance steps while bouncing and hopping with the colicky babes

• Lost first 3lbs from this post partum body (probably all the bouncing)

• Changed the front door decor to Fall finery

• Bought a pumpkin (first year ever before they sold out)...now to learn how to carve them...

• Drove the country side in search for the magical "old red barn and old big farmhouse" combo

• Found 6 hanggliders in the sky 10 min from our house
  

• Watched Parent trap, Footloose and Cocktail on tv IN A ROW ( Mainly because I can't do much else while bouncing Etian)

• Ate a lot of turkey and stuffing and pie for Thanksgiving
• Probably gained back 3lbs after that meal...but so worth it
  

• Sketched this little moment

• But mostly enjoyed my family and kiddies alot while savouring the last bit of good weather fall is bringing our way

What were you up to this weekend?

Hipstamatic moments

So blessed

Today I'm 31...Oih!

I feel so old, even though I know I'm not.

It is just that I had all these dreams I thought I'd accomplish by 30, and they never happened - not yet anyways....

And so this morning I woke up feeling a bit down, a bit sorry for myself and oh so old when a huge surprise landed on my doorstep. In my bathrobe I opened the door and there they were.

My dad and beautiful step mom... Flowers in hand they surprised me, embracing me in hugs and love. They took the time to drive all the way out to the country (before heading to work) to wish me a happy birthday. The feeling of old quickly disappeared and I totally felt blessed.

So what! I didn't publish a book yet, I'm not living by the ocean, I don't have the perfect healthy body but I do have what matters. LOVE, CUDDLES, HUGS, KISSES, SMILES and so many kind hearted souls in my life. Never did I put "have loving people in my life"on my to do list, but God knew what I needed. He always does.

So I enter this day with a full heart and a giant smile that just doesn't want to go away. Thank you Lord!