Here is a 5 x 7 wooden frame I painted recently. I gave it as a gift to my best friend's daughter, Mya, tonight at her birthday party.
P.S. Please check out my latest article on Hubpages. To see them all, go HERE. :)
I have some new paintings to post soon that I'm so excited about! (two are almost finished and the other is a gift, so I can't show you just yet!)
I'm really loving this & have so many ideas with where I want & need to go with it.
I think this is what I love most about creating. The rush of ideas and excitment that pours out of you that makes your head spin with the possibilites.
What makes you feel like that?
I decided to practice my new hobby of painting by making a birthday gift. Sydney is my good friend Heather's daughter. Mason and I went to her birthday party last Sat. (& had a great time! I forgot my camera though) She's redoing her bedroom in these bright colors with a tropical theme. I'm happy with how it turned out, especially for it being my 3rd painting. I know I'll improve the more I practice & it's pretty fun to do. I also used a staple gun for the first time! (to attach the ribbon) I used acrylics on an 11x14 canvas.
P.S. She loved it!
(The above picture is from the website)
I love the free printables on dailynoggin.com & nickjr.com! I print coloring pages for Mason quite frequently, in all his favorite characters nd while searching for those, I found this cute Spring mobile (available in a Dora or a Backyardigans version) Mason & I made the Backyardigans one together this week.
Ok, I totally lied. I made it while trying to keep Mason from tearing it up. But doesn't it sound better the other way? As if we participated in a fun mother-son learning activity?
Anyway, I got a branch from the yard, printed & cut out the pictures, attached them to yarn, and Presto! Cute mobile. We didn't have any little bells to put at the bottom of the yarn like they suggested, but oh well. I think I might hang it in Mason's room, but for now, it's propped up on his shelf:
You can find the directions to make one for yourself (or your child, haha) HERE.
If you are easily offended, don't go here:
subversive cross stitch
Love the one about cancer!
I have finally started painting! I've been eager to paint for a while now and I'm so excited to get started. I'm learning as I go, as with anything. I plan to paint whimsical/children's art and who knows what else. It's all uphill from here!
Here's a sneak peek: 
I know I mention the wonderful Ali Edwards every other post, but she is simply amazing! This is from her post today on photography. It perfectly explains how I, myself, have tried to evolve my photography skills over the last year. Although this is her post, I feel like I could have written this about myself. The only exception is that I'm not as "ruthless" in deleting some shots like I need to be. I think this is great advice for anyone, even non-scrapbookers.(yummy strawberries I ate last night!)
What do I think about when taking photos?
I look for emotion. I look for life. I look for connections between people, places, and things. I look for things that will support stories I currently want to tell and others that will spur me on to telling new ones.
I take a ton of photos and then a ton more. I am not overwhelmed by them because I am ruthless in winnowing them down to the best five or less in a series of shots on the same subject. I don't need 50 photos of Simon playing Star Wars because it is entirely possible that I will take 50 more shots tomorrow. Read more about being ruthless below.
I am conscious of light (the lack of or the excess amounts) but will take the shot even if it doesn't seem like it will come out because interesting "accidents" occur all the time.
I am conscious of wanting to "be in the moment" as well as "capture the moment."
I like photographing objects in my environment. I also like the way things connect with one another - the place where the sidewalk meets the grass, etc. Today I will be heading over to our local farmer's market for my first time this spring and plan to take a bunch of photos.
I am often thinking of the story I may be able to tell with these photos as I am taking them. This often leads me to take different photos than I may have anticipated in the beginning as I allow myself to follow the story.
I move around with the camera. I get close and I move father away. I will walk to one side and then another. Moving around makes it more likely that I will get a shot that will speak to me emotionally.
I am completely happy to not have my subjects looking at the camera. I don't always need to have them looking straight into the camera to tell a story. My goal is not to invade the environment with my camera but rather to blend right in in the most unobtrusive way possible.
