Season's of life.............

I finally got outside yesterday, right there just waiting to be quietly admired was a fallen leaf from last fall. that had blown into my yard...It reminded me of how much I love fall and how it always brings us to this point in our winter. It was so beautiful resting on snow all by itself, I could also most smell the fall season. I decided to be grateful for this leaf and its important part it played in our days last year. What a wonderful last year!

This leaf, much like us is a single creation and can't be duplicated.

I plan to create today without reservations, without following ideas, but with passion for what I love. My time, my family, my loves.........

This quiet brown leaf inspires me to think simple and create simple. Simply capture life's moments and admire the time we have, for it always changes with the seasons of life. Cherish each of our days that have come and gone, and each that is to come... is the only one we get-- we only have one Jan. 31st, 2009..

Make it a great, simple, loved January 31,2009..........Admire it & Embrace it..............

-L.

hobbies hobbies hobbies......

Oh my, I am now taking on another hobby, I think I knit or at least something like that?

Awhile back my daughter decided she wanted to learn to sew with two "cool" sticks..

"Mommy, I know you know how, right?" "You can sew anything, because your kinda older like Grama" Does Grama know how to sew with two sticks, Auntie does.. I know Great Grama does cause she's a girl too.. Can you teach me or should one of them?

Well now, ( with a very deep sigh) I have been challenged by my very own girl. You may not see that as a challenge, but I definitely do. :) It would be the same as asking Daddy if he knows how to fish. Hello!

It has been 20 years since I picked up a pair of sticks and attempted to knit anything. Back when I of course was 3 and there was still Home Ec ( Thank you Mrs. Heldt). So the challenge is on. In a short few weeks I have added another hobby to the list. This is where I might add-- "Patterns who needs them?" I have just made up my own.

My wonderfully supportive hubby simply walks by and smiles. He so understands 'the challenge'. This became less of a mommy teach me and more of mommy let me watch you.

Ask me to knit straight and we're good. I have been able to create a number of scarves, thank goodness we live in the frozen tundra, otherwise I probably be knitting rugs or washcloths.

So let's talk about my daughters creation it will one day be adorable, if it ever leaves the sticks!!

Therefore I move on, knit-purl-knit-purl...........................................Yes, I can knit, just don't show it to Auntie. Auntie is the creator of all that is knitting she is an amazing talent.

So until tomorrow, or the next time I am challenged again, I have another hobby. I can not put it down..LOL

adorable or what?????

These are so adorable........I can hardly stand it!!!!!! I don't even know where but, I'll start to put them to very good use!!!!! Right now however, I'll just plain admire them.....

I am so lucky I have this very special, very creative, and very smart little bird. This little bird just knows what I love and can't imagine being without!!! :)

A very special thank you, for a very sweet yummmyyy.....I have a fantastic shopper, who has awesome taste and knows me to well....MY MOM!!!

She always finds the one of a kinds and the must haves.....She has an eye for the unique.....What makes it so fun is you just never know what she might come up with....

I come from a couple of fantastic collectors with many years of experience. The great thing is, I am always coming up with a lot of hair brain ideas for things... For example, these old pieces of junk in the field, to me made a great ceiling. They may just raise their eyebrows a little, but they are always open to my big ideas. They have never told me that I couldn't put a gas engine or an incubator in my house, because of course that is just crazy. Generally the response is okay.

I love to think of what it can do, not what it did......

So today I have warm and fun finds, from my little birds!!!

Amazing how something so little and leftover from another time, can make you so happy!!

Who's you little bird? Sorry no you can't have mine....

-L.

ducks in a row?

Duck Duck Duck....

Just in, a completed challenge for a fav' board..

I decided to try my hand at a couple of colors I always buy and then tend to save more than I use.

I combined bright lime green with a very dark orange. Complimentary colors are black and aqua.

I really loved the black!!! This took all of 20 minutes-took the chipboards longer to dry than it did anything else. I have been trying to jump back to the basics, sometimes simple is better and plain is good!!!

I challenge you to take 30 minutes and no more, grab two colors that don't usually leave the stash. Toss them together and watch them work. Do it yourself, don't shop around, cut the paper and make it come alive. You'll be amazed at how fantastic a layout looks when you put very "little into it....

Inspire yourself.................

"a bowl full spools.............."

"A bowl full spools makes a girl feel gooodddd" "A girl feel gooooddd" " A girl feel gooodd"

Ain't it cute??

I found this great piece of iron in one of my fav's and it was a must have...It used to be a water container for cows. No matter, I would just like to thank each and every cow for enjoying their fresh water and for all the wear and tear they have left just for me on the beautiful hunk of iron.

In case your wondering it is very, very heavy.. It has really great texture and in the store was full and under all this junk, and no tag--believe me it pays to look down and crouch for a good find, and it always pays to ask if it isn't marked. Nobody says you got to buy the thing. Besides the ladies in the shop look at me like I'm nuts and are always loving to "deal" to get rid of the stuff they think will never sell. It also helps when you know what it is and they don't.

Secretly I'm pretty sure they love to see me walk in to help clean house.

I haven't made a decision where this will end up but for today it works fantastic holding my other newbie.

I said out loud that I would love a few old wooden spools for something in the studio.. Thanks to MOM she appears with bags of them.. I have started to use them and I'll show you soon, how I put these sew sweet finds to use. They are perfect- thanks mom you always find the greatest things.

Got busy in the studio and pumped out awesome new designs and even completed 200 pages
of DD school albums. Yeah, really I am shocked when I did the math, of all the sheets sitting waiting for the finishing touches and a home. Feels good to move forward with some fun new projects.

What have you re-purposed today..

Thanks for stopping -L.

the sun shines......

Welcome the day.......

The sun shines here today. I like it. has been way to long since it has been this bright...

We need this day, we've earned this day...

The world around me has been to gloomy and it makes it hard to be creative, to get excited, to dream up something new and exciting.

I am pretty sure I am suffering from spring fever--it comes without expecting it and it stays for what seems like forever...

I find the wonderful sun to be deceiving, because tomorrow the world will become cold and hard again. Just in time for the weekend, I plan to push on and create what comes to me.

You know it is bad that All you think of is what to alter next or when your in the middle of a class and you need a pen and the back of your checkbook only to draw a new creation. I can't wait to work on those ideas we'll see soon.

Today I decided to take a little time off from creating and jump in tomorrow maybe. I lost a good friend in the scrapbook world today in an unexpected accident. I am lost for the words of sorrow I feel. She was a beautiful, creative artist who shared her love for life with everyone she would meet. She was a blessing to this world. I will miss her.

We spend time planning our next moments when the truth be told the plans are never really ours to make. Life makes our plan we are only lucky enough to ride along. It is our job to take care of what has been planned for us. In a moments notice life will change it's plan and then we have to stop and look at what we thought wasn't planned, and except it for what it is. I am not always happy with the plan that is here for me, but I do thank God for the things lifes plan leaves behind.

Today I am grateful....for alot of things including the sun shine..............-L. ( I am pretty sure it is part of the plan)

button button who's got the button?????

I am pretty sure I do..........

Well I got a bright idea and when that happens everything stops!!!

I decided to take inventory of the buttons in my stash, and my goodness.....I have a fair share of vintage big jars...which normally would be great.

However, as I began to sort I found that all I had were tons and gobbs of black and white ones.

I could start a black and white button store. In life we all need a little color....Although the sorting looks great and I am so happy to see all the wonderful little treasures in the studio, I will need to begin the hunt for brighter colors this spring. I love to add buttons to a fair share of my artwork, even if it is just one or two....there's something about them bringing to life and a texture that is simple and quiet.

It is amazing how something so inexpensive and small can bring such joy to you.. To think these were all leftovers from another time and it made me sad that they didn't have a few more bright ones. I can't help but wonder where they all have been and the things these buttons have seen. Their history must be amazing and where ever they have been, just think of the things they have held up to. The hard times and the good times. These buttons were a part of someones everyday life, simply working and going unnoticed.

In today's world when something doesn't fit or wears out we tend to toss it aside. I think the next time that I need to recycle something I'll stop and check for buttons and maybe the many ways we can reuse the things we already have...

I am certain that I'll be looking for a few brighter buttons and I am not going to let them go unnoticed. Because, the sorting took forever and with still more to go.... Today I will appreciate all the work the little things do for me to make my day or my art a little more beautiful..

So what have you buttoned today?

(tomorrow I think I'll look at my thread and zippers:)

-L.

loved

I had thought that I'd share a little something that I have been working on.....

My sweet Jorgeanna ("Georgie")....

My sweet love, I still have a difficult time as I look at her photos and each day that I think of her.

She was a true member of our family and passed to soon at 12 yrs old, this last summer...Her heart was so strong and had an enormous will to be alive, but her body just grew too old for her.

She taught me more than anyone ever could...

She taught me that it was OK to love with all my heart unconditionally. I am honored that she loved me and blessed that I was her human..

In our lives together she was our strength and our love throughout it all. I am so proud of her and I love her very much...

Every day I miss her and some day I hope to be able to dedicate an album to her and our time with our sweet one....

I am very excited how the layout turned out and I hope you also enjoy it..

May each of your days be filled with unconditional love of a pet............

-L.

Dreaming Layouts...

No kidding.....I have to ask do you dream layouts and embellishments?

I do and in the whee hours of the morning I have to write them down. Or a great title will come and alot of times, I have to get up and create. Usually it is 4:27 am, that's when some of my favorite things have come to me.

Well, I am sharing here's my 4 am design, I want to thank StudioCalico for the great Jan, kit that has inspired me to get moving on one of my 2007 vacations...

The wind is blowing and I can't shop so I will create, the studio is a mess and that's just how I love it. Today is a day that I hope no one stops by, cause everything else is left to the wayside and a once nice, neat and untouched studio is alive.

Create Create Create....be inspired and be good.........

Thanks for stopping by

-L.

the Snow family....

Just outside my window lives the Snow family.........

We created our Snow family with great joy and happiness. They were BIG- beautiful, white and round and full. They were so large that we could hardly lift the sections on top of one another. The snow was big fluffy and sticky...

Then the warm air came, the rain came, and the wind blew....

This poor family has been through so much weather this season, and now they are working hard to stand strong and hold their ground.

They stand there day in and day out...rock solid...and I am certain that they are watching me in every window. As I move around my house and glance out, there they are--freezing--I couldn't take it I finally had to go out in the night last night and I gave each of the Snow family a scarf. I then took a minute to apologize for the crummy weather.

I can say the at least no one has knocked them down like in years past and they are still white, no yellow decorations at the bottom.

I wouldn't blame them if they quietly moved away to a warmer climate, and you know that's bad if even the Snow family moves to warmer weather.

I am certain they are watching me with that chill in their eyes, and looking for moment the human isn't looking and BAM I'm going to get it....

Think spring or at least just a little warmer weather 10 degrees would be nice, at least we could get out and not have to wear all these bundles.

We could all learn at little from the Snow's--even if life throws you a snowball, and then freezes all your ideas. It can't stop your heart from moving forward. Stay standing and you too, will out last all the wicked winds and icy moments of life, eventually life will warm and things will be back on track...

be warm -L.

chilly chilly chilly chilly.......

We are

chilly whilly.....

today the high was still negative negative negative ------25 below zero,

We are moving slow in the frozen tundra...

It is sooooo cold that I haven't been able to enter a thing, it's like a brain freeze....

Our day was so cold that even the schools were closed.....for us that is cold.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Like everyone in life I too, have a routine--throughout my day things happen. I love to stay on schedule, have rhythm have a goal for the day in mind and I love to keep things moving along.

I'm a ten year planner, kinda. A least I use to be until I started a family.

For starters when it's cold, and the winter comes...the routine moves very slow and changes slowly.

I love to be outside, it is one of my first things I love to do each morning, but with the icy snow I have a few doors that don't even open!! Getting outside is sometimes impossible, so to live where we do can challenge the entire being outside thing. Some days it even defeats it. Because I am a baby when it comes to cold..

Alot of it is that I just don't have enough cute coats and scarves to match the days mood... ( oh you know a girls got to accessorize!!)

Two things I love to do is, to shovel snow and to mow (until it gets to cold or frankly to hot) then the fun is gone and the man in our house has to be the one.

During the winter months I love to be the first out the door to shovel the drive, really! I am the neighbor with a big snow blower ( it' cute too, a man thing) but I choose to shovel instead. I am the neighbor that shovels early in the morning in the dark (before 6 am), daylight hasn't even made to my side of the earth yet.

I can only think about the neighbors, who roll over and grumble the mornings they hear the shovel going, giving them all the wake up call that says " hey dude, guess what it snowed, she's out the again obsessing over every inch of the snow and your looking bad laying in the warm bed of yours."

I am sure they wonder, how come it is the the hubby is often still in bed when I get started. A few guys in the neighborhood have question him about it and the women raise their eyebrows. One neighbor gal told me once that I should know, "mowing is mans work and my doing it is crazy and looks bad". Men have tried to find out how he gets me to do this, but little do they know that he has little to say about it. It's just my thing.

Fact is I am a born and raised farm girl.

Now, I am in Mayberry with a driveway that I can actually see the end of , real grass not hay to mow, and neighbors I can see ( which still drives me crazy) The largest creature I have now is the dog, which I often to refer to him as a cow. I still feel the need to get the chores done, and like with most farmers the animals and chores came first before you anything. So, I guess I like to get to the driveway before any tires cross its path.. I like my driveway clean!!!

Clear and Clean... its a good thing, not a scrap of snow on a clean clean driveway!! I case your wondering I do sweep it when no one is looking ( just don't tell the neighbors). I have washed it in the summer months too, earth friendly dish soap works great!.....( that just sounds crazy to say out loud, but there could be worse).

However, back to the plan- this cold ain't part of it....

Each morning the drapes and blinds all come open and our windows go to work for me. The day rushes in to make itself part of our world. It's a wonderful feeling to be able to greet the day with a beautiful sunshine or even if it is a gloomy start it is still a new day . It is one of my silly favorite little things in my life to do each day.

Opening the windows makes our home part of the world, in alot of ways it gives me a chance to take a moment to be grateful. It's a moment to share the world without any interruptions, our spot, it is inspiration.

So on this day I have opened my big window the world which is cold and hard. Nothing is moving-- not a branch, a creature, or even a human. Among it all I am grateful for the warmth and safety that our home provides. Grateful for fun slippers and a hot cup of fresh ground coffee. I am grateful for the ability to breathe the cold air and be able to get out and shovel. Even when I choose not to. :)

I am inspired by the sun that shines across the drifts of snow and the shadows cast upon our snow family, as they soak up every moment of warmth they can get..Crazy to think they are cold too.

As I stood in the window I also noticed the beauty of the hard cold --our trees are a beautiful white, there are few big old icicles enjoying this world, and there is a solitude and peace.

Today it will be another cold day that I am grateful for, I give thanks for a special day, to spend with my daughter to read, snack, knit and play, whatever we wanted......thank you for a day out of the ordinary to enjoy the slow pace and quiet of the earth.

Be Warm and Safe.....

-L.

oh baby it's cold outside......

oh Baby it's cold outside.......................

how cold is it? today -30 to -40...this is not the coldest day even yet, we are working to get there.....

it is so cold that each time I have to go out my body inevitably begins to utter those words only your Dad said...when you hit him with the wrench (which was the wrong one!)but mostly it's like when the car didn't start because it was to darn flippin' cold.....funny how if you live in the frozen tundra you'll find many vehicles with the similar dent on the front hood. Which as you might have guessed is from pounding it to start darn it!! All of our vehicles have the dent don't yours???

It's so cold even the snow family have threaten to move....I am thinking this poor family looks a bit chilly and each time I look at them I feel the need to bring them in. I know that just doesn't make any sense. Well does living here? This poor family in our yard started out fat and beautiful, loved..then it came. The weather, it beat them up and left them little snowy shells. It melted, it blew, it snowed, and rained, snowed more---then it froze again and hard..... This years family is ready to be on their way and each day they stand looking at me like, "Look what you have done to us!, Thanks a million Human in a warm house..."

These are the days I wonder, why we are here. X marks our spot ( cold, icy wonder of our world)I am not sure which family member looked around this part of the world and thought this looked great!

I am pretty sure that branch in our family tree was slightly WEAK and has since snapped off!!!

Let's have something warm to change our minds and think spring.....

A warm fun creative layout--- Titled "forever true"-

I love chipboard and dimension in my layouts.

I created dimension just with the texture of the painting and glazing

the letters are stained, thin clear glaze, then painted with multiple layers of color. Finally a copper glazing with a dark inking and then blotted off slightly. I love how my patience paid off, I got a wonderfully warm, beautiful treasure..

Then entire layout is inked I even got out the sewing machine to do a little stitching. A little vintage added just warms my heart...

I love how the layers created balance and a wonderful texture just within the layers.

To take a look at the full page layout check out the gallery.

Be warm...-L.

I got 2 dogs..............

I got 2 dogs........

Everyday there's something new...

We'll start with the first adorable smooocher

Tobon (Toby), a 5 yr old Golden Retriever weighing in at a healthy 90-95 lbs on a lite day...

Then we have 1yr Oscar Clement De Man De La Hoya (the golden boy) , a Yorkie, who we like to say weighs 5lbs but, some days that's giving him a pound or two......

So, I got 2 dogs--

Toby is the sweetest dog you'll ever meet, love love love....when he wags his tail his whole body wiggles.. His is so giving and tender hearted, to say I adore him is just a small statement.

But, don't let that sentiment kid you, he is still all puppy at heart and mouth, and the stories I could tell you would bring you to tears of laughter and frustration. This dog ate the bumper off my hubby's truck, the mud flaps and the tires on that truck, the siding off the house, every rug I own is a chew toy, the dog kennel, part of the deck and that's just a start. He is a moose, period!

The "new" guy in the house is the Yorkie a sock warmer, a dog smaller than my hubby's boots. A dog that believes he is bigger than Toby. A timid little man with a gentle heart who loves to be loved. A true lap dog, he is so tiny that his collar, outside rope and many of his toys are cat ones. The dog ones are just too big!!! ( don't tell anyone I told you that they are "cat toys" it's too embarrassing) besides, I wouldn't want to give him a complex or anything...Cause he IS a dog..

OK well, here's the most recent moment where I have to say ,"you never know what life throws at you"

We live in the frozen tundra....true, we currently have a sheet of ice with 6 to 8 inches of new snow on top. Blizzard conditions and -20 to -40, not so bad you may say....

Back to the dogs, I got 2....

Toby might be all brute but he isn't a fan of weather (any kind of weather) so to get him to GO outside these days is a challenge... He would simply like to hold it until spring!! or at least until something greener comes along.

Frankly if he goes AT- ALL- ANYWHERE we are please as punch, because it's outside!! His leftovers are huge!!!

At about this time of the winter we don't always get the leftovers picked up right away. If you know what I mean(uggghhh) So when it gets above zero we'll scoop up the giant poopsicles, but in alot of cases with all the snow we're getting, the poopsicles are hidden before we can get to them. Imagine that..

We have a great "dog" backyard, lots of trees and buildings which are his domain to selectively place his leftovers properly in the back corners. Every dog needs a little privacy right?

Oscar Clement, on the other hand, tip toes his way out the front door on a properly sized, thin, long, catlike rope( 0f which I keep a good share of it in the house warm for him to tug). Mind you this rope with the snow tends to be a bit hard for him to manage...No kidding....So very often, this creature chooses to do his business on my front stoop. Saving himself the hard work of getting down 4 steps to a nicely shoveled area special for HIM....

Unfortunately this dog is a runner to the neighborhood hotties, so to clip him to the leash is the only option in the winter months. Cause I AM NOT CHASING HIM ANYWHERE....in below zero....

Finally did I mention I got 2 dogs......

The other afternoon it's like freezing, flippin' cold out and Oscar's got to go. Then in a moments notice, yep- he's done. Which was a little unusual because, that was fast and he usually doesn't ever bark ( for the first few months we didn't think he could) So here I am busy and I get "yip yip yip yipyipyipiypip yipyip"

He is caught just one step anyway from the door, ugggghhhh---So, I tiptoe on the snowy stoop to grab him quick, heaven knows he's going to fall all the way to the bottom...

He's stuck. He's stuck on something on the sidewalk, he is so darn tiny that now he is stuck on an icey mud chunk. How'd that get there?..

I give it a tug, no luck, man he's stuck hard! Jeez!!--did I mention my toes are freezing.... once again, I figure a tug and whip to the rope ought to do! Success!

The thin rope made its way to the stoop. In a spilt second I realize that so is the icey mud chunk he was stuck on!! But it is not an icey mud chunk it's Leftovers!!!!!

I however, duck just in time for the giant poopsicle that is hurdling right at me. At my head!! It is stuck on poop bigger than this dog!! The leftovers then are coming right at my head and it hits me square on the shoulder..only to bounce back and glide across a frozen front yard. Ouch that really hurt. Then it dawns on me....

Well, look who dropped a load on the front sidewalk. Score!!

At first I looked around to see who laughing at me and then realize it's me... I got 2 dogs and I just flung giant turds at myself!!

I think there's something to be said about this moment in the my life.

Maybe, I need to be careful what I tug for.. You never know what life will throw at you today... No matter what some days just add up to giant turds...

Morale of the story keep your eyes open you just might have to duck from what your loved ones leave behind. Always pick up your sh*#! Life's just better that way!!

Ohhhh, and did I mention I got 2 dogs....... -L.

I am thinking this ain't something for the scrapbook....................

what's in your mailbox???

Mine......Well mine might get a little something good if I'd think to put it outside rather than in the front room( as Grama would say) Ha---

We found this great mailbox in one of our favorite shops. I can't believe someone would get rid of their mailbox? Especially one that is as beat up as this one (which in other words looks-- awesome.)
My Favorite Hubby has a great eye for what turns my head. He just says " check this out, you should be able to find something to do with it ....what's your idea" Yeah! darn right, I can -nothing like putting me on the spot and when he does that it costs him....I planted this fantastic find right in the front room and stuck a Christmas tree in it and with the help of a little flannel and a crock or two, I was done. I didn't realize how flippin' big these boxes can get, I did the "It didn't look so big in the store" As always my eyes are bigger than my house. Well needless to say, we now have the best "junk", in my mailbox in a very long time. Back to its size who'd want that much mail?

So today my advice is simple if you don't like what's in your mailbox these days, think of how you can change it..

Change it and make it fit your life, just a little bit better....Because not every mailbox needs to have so much junk in to look good...sometimes it is just the KIND of junk you have let into your life that needs rearranging.... So for that I challenge everyone to get rid of at least one thing that doesn't make your mailbox so cute or fun to have open.

Make it a priority and just think how much better this year will be , you might even be able to decorate your box a little bit.. Like with a scrap kit or two... -L.

fill a treasure.....

I love my bowls.....you'll find it is one of my favorite things to collect.... A Bowl....a wonderful addition to any home...

Oh the things you can do with a bowl...hold delicious foods, beautiful treasures, or just adore and decorate and space you have..

I love to add them to my studio and fill them with embellies, chipboard, or tools while I working project...A bowl can be a wonderful partner in studio while your creating a lifelong treasure..

I thought I'd share this one today because this is a white stark frozen cold kinda day.......Simple cold, with no end to the cold weather insight......

I challenge you to create something warm, work on a warm vacation, or something springy,may do....either way find a warm cup of joe and cocoa. Stay in stay warm and enjoy the comfort of your home and all that Stash you have of supplies...........

Yesterday my favorite UPS man stopped by and delivered a fantastic little kit from StudioCalico... you got to check them out. LOVE IT LOVE IT.....can't wait to jump in the create away......First thing I did of course was drop my new little favorite accessories in a bowl and they are excitedly waiting to make something great....

Hey make it a great day---stay warm--be creative..................

-L.

appreciative.....

Today I thought I'd take a simple moment to appreciate where we live.........

Today we can go out and get BREAD without little worries.........it's Bread...I can't imagine that I'd have to get it today!!!

Only today...and today I can also find peace and just long enough bury the dead.... But only today...not tomorrow....today will be bread and burial day....imagine it..........

Today take a minute to be grateful for being able to sit a read, create, go outside or all the things YOU get to choose to do....be grateful for in the end of this everyone should have been able to get bread yesterday, today, or tommorrow.....it's simply Bread.........................................

Grateful............

Grateful....Forever Grateful.....for the light that shines in your eyes!!Your beautiful spirit......



This LO is one of my favs....a simple Layout that jumps out at me and hopefully you too...If you'd like to see the entire LO check it out on 2peas in my gallery....



I found a piece of box from the holidays and peeled away and found the look I needed!!! It gave a great texture and dimension to add to an already great photo. Lots of layers, a little vintage dictionary page is a must, and fantastic colors jump out of the page to me.... Often we do a million pages , then there is one that stops you and you appreciate your own talent, without anyone else, at that moment you know your pretty good at what you love ....and you are grateful for the ability to share, to treasure, and to mark the moments....

I have decided that not every page needs to "write home about" cause frankly not everything in life is to write home about :)..All we need to do is create a little something to reflect on life in our eyes..we all want to live forever, and with everything we do and create hopefully a part of our spirit, will......so think about sharing the good and not so good of our lives, we only get one..............-L.

Collect....

I say find what you love and collect it..... TO collect, gather, save, and treasure...For us to collect is all about the hunt and then the joy of being able to love and treasure for the time to come....

I love to find something and make a new purpose or renew a unique love , when people think "well now, there's a thought"

Have you thought about what our world might look and be like if we saved just a little more, reused it and threw away a little bit less..At the studio I love to create with what is no longer having purpose...

Be sure and check out the slideshow today I added to share, it is a fantastic little album from a vintage scrabble board. I cut the board down to 6 sections which worked to be 4 1/2 x 7... from there just let the imagine flow. I created with sanding, painting, inking (a fav), adding all the little goodies-most of which, are vintage. What's great about the project is it will stand as a great piece of art for us to admire and will be a forever treasure....With this project and with all your projects I encourage you to think outside the plan. Think outside the 12x12, 8x8, or just outside the embellishments!!

Never be afraid to create the idea on your own and not follow what the world is doing--there are many great ideas out there--don't be afraid to make your own.

Create & Collect like no one is looking and it will be treasured........................

a beautiful mess..........

So the time is here to clean up and pack away another holiday..It seems each year to take me a little longer to pack it up...We love the holidays and when the lights get piled up you know it is time to get a start of a new year..

So a bit sadness comes over me knowing that I have to "wrap" it up and get started. The great thing is it's a start towards Spring, man can you imagine if we had to end the holidays with just winter to look forward to. I realize, around here we kid ourselves into believing it is a move to spring when some of our hardest winter is yet to come....A girls gotta dream and believe in change..

I got to thinking today when I knew that the lights were the last to go..one would think that there would be a better way to the crazy light pile....when I seen them laying there waiting I had to stop and pay my last respects...to the lights that bought such beauty to a plain old tree...light to a holiday that goes just to fast...

Funny how we can never have enough lights on our tree, I look at this pile and say "What was I thinking, adding just a couple more strings?" One string really ought to do. It seems like it is the same with everything else in this world more, more, more is brighter and better. I can't help but wonder what the world would be like if we all added just one less string...Maybe even shared all those extras with someone else...

Be good -L.

toooo cold to create..............

Toooo cold to create....never!!!

A warm and cozy pic to just get my create thoughts a moving...

Yesterday it rained at 20 degrees--impossible you say, not where we are and to top it off this morning we are -5.8 and 2inches of ICE...

One might find this to be a bad thing I on the other hand find it to be the most creative of days!!!

Where we are all held up at home and just finding great ideas to work with....

Hopefully you are all lucky enough to be "no travel advised", sit down and create something good...re-purpose something with a little ink :)

"No travel advised" who makes this stuff up, ice and flipped over cars shouldn't stop you if you happen to run out of supplies.

I say today is an Oreo Dt Coke kinda day!!! Be good...

Believe in the impossible....

The start of a new year and with everything else we are going to try our hand at a little creative blogging.....Thanks for following the ride....

The studio comes up with many new and unique ideas.

We love to create, collect, and find new ways to combine the two and give "new" purpose to anything and everything..

I guess in alot of ways you could say we are the classic term "green".... but mostly we just love other peoples JUNK....

Vintage, collectibles....and lots of junk.....Love it!!!