Artistic Creations With Trudy

Baby Samantha Has Made Her Entrance into the World

2011-09-06T07:00:00.002-05:00

My precious baby has been born. She is now five weeks old. For more pictures and the full story please go to my other blog as that is where I am now doing the bulk of my posting. If you want to keep up with my life and creative pursuits, please sign up there as a follower and put that blog on your blog roll. Hope to see you there.

I Will Be Posting at My Sewing Blog

2011-06-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

Please visit me at my sewing blog, Sewing With Trudy. I am posting my sewing and art projects there.

I just wanted you all to know just how much I appreciate all of your comments. They mean so much to me. I'm sorry I haven't gotten back with you lately. I haven't forgotten you. I plan to make some time to do some visiting soon. I am now 28 weeks along in my pregnancy. Our little Samantha will be here soon.

I have been so busy trying to prepare for her arrival; so unfortunately, I haven't gotten a whole lot done on the art and sewing front lately. I am looking forward to getting back into a groove soon and carving out time for creating on a regular basis. I have a post coming out soon on my sewing blog on how to turn a regular skirt into a maternity skirt. And currently, I have a post up of our Memorial Day. And I have recently done a post with pics from my birthday including plenty of belly shots.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about having these two blogs. It is difficult to keep up with posting on both. I have been doing more posting and updating on my pregnancy over at my sewing blog. I've been pondering the idea of posting both my art and sewing projects there and not having to double post. I hope you will consider following and visiting me there. Please let me know what you think and if you are okay with that. Thank you for your continued support and feedback. Hope to hear from you.

Baby Ultrasound! Boy or Girl?

2011-04-20T07:00:00.001-05:00

We had the ultrasound Monday. We were supposed to go in on the 25th, but we had to come in a week early because the doctor is going out of the country, to Greece. We brought our children with us. It is our tradition for the whole family to go to the ultrasound that will reveal the baby's gender. I'm so excited to share with you our wonderful news. You'll have to watch the video to find out. It isn't very long. My 17 year old daughter edited it down for us and added a little background music. It is very sweet, especially hearing the chatter of the children and their responses.

Baby Bump Week 16

2011-03-28T07:20:00.002-05:00

These shots are from Week 16. I am actually on Week 18 now. They were taken at a park 30 minutes from our home. We were there for the 18th birthday celebration of our second oldest's daughter's girlfriend. It was a gorgeous day. The kids played on the playground, skateboarded, Matthew, our three year old, rode his scooter and there was ultimate frisbee.

We find out the sex of the baby April 25th. I can hardly wait. I went to the doctor This Friday; and he mentioned doing an ulstrasound, which would reveal the sex of the baby. It was very tempting, but it is our tradition to have my husband and the kids there with me when we find out so I asked if we could do that next visit.

I am feeling a lot of movement, which is always a highlight of my day. When I pick up my little three year old, I quite often get a swift kick, like, "Hey, what's going on? Who's encroaching on my space?"

Baby Bump Week 14 and My Thoughts on Being Pregnant at 46

2011-03-21T07:00:00.007-05:00

I am now 17 weeks along in my pregnancy. These photos are from my 14th week. I'll probably share some photos with you next Monday of my 16th week. This was such a gorgeous day with the temperatures in the 70s F and a nice little breeze, a perfect day for wearing this flowing dress with my cowgirl boots. We were invited to dine for lunch at the home of a sweet family from our church along with some other families. Afterwards the adults sat around and talked while the children played basketball and other fun things. They have the loveliest front porch which I thought would be perfect for snapping a few quick shots. A big thanks to my always-willing husband for obliging me.

Everything is going well in my pregnancy. I feel great and have plenty of energy. This is an awesome time in my life as a woman. I have the privilege of housing and growing a new life, a life that will not only be born into this world, but an eternal soul that will live forever. I never dreamed or envisioned that I would still be having babies at this age, 46 next Saturday. It wasn't part of my plan, but I am trusting in God's plan. I know that He has special plans for this baby. I am in awe that He wants to use me to be a part of that, that He has chosen to trust me for this special task. I know He will give me the strength and wisdom to raise this baby up for Him and His purposes and that He will guide me, along with my husband, along the way, as well as provide for us financially. The whole thing is such a miracle, a life forming inside of my body. I am amazed by the whole process, the forming of each little part, a soul, little fingers and toes, sweet cheeks and sparkling eyes, chubby little hands that will bring me flowers, precious lips that will form the sweetest of smiles, arms that will wrap around me for hugs and security, the whole helpless form of this baby who will look to me for sustenance, nursing for nourishment. This will be such a sweet, precious time to be treasured in our memories forever. This baby will be such a precious gift to our family.

I feel that motherhood is my highest calling and the highest career in the nation. Carrying and/or caring for a child is one of the greatest joys of womanhood. I gave up a successful career as a court stenographer to be a full-time mom. It is such a privilege and joy, and I take my job very seriously. I embrace the role of motherhood with all my heart. I pour into my children each and every day and love, nurture and guide them with all of the ability that God gives me, looking to Him each day for wisdom.

For those of you who do not know me as well, This will be our sixth blessing. Our oldest will be 23 soon after the baby is born. She will be graduating from college this May. The other children are ages 18 in May, 10, 8 and 3. The three oldest are girls, and the two youngest are boys. We are a homeschooling family. I have been teaching the children from home for 18 years now. Our oldest received a full scholarship to college after being homeschooled all 13 years.

At this point we do not know the sex of the baby. We will most likely find out towards the end of April. I will let you know as soon as I can after I find out. Emily, 10, is hoping for a girl; and Martin, 8, is hoping for a boy. I'm sure you're not surprised.

We have some possible names picked out: Sean if it's a boy and Natalie Marie if it's a girl. Any name suggestions? These aren't totally set in stone yet.

Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit. I appreciate so much every one of you and the comments you leave. They mean so much to me. I am so thankful for the friends I have made here. Thank you for sharing with me in the excitement of my pregnancy. I will try to update you as much as possible and share pictures of my growing belly. I will also try to get myself in gear and organized to share with you soon my canvas art piece from Week 8 of The Artistic Mother Project. I hope you have a wonderful week.

I Am Having a Baby at 46

2011-02-14T07:00:00.001-06:00

I am so excited to share with you our wonderful news. We are having a baby!!! I am currently 12 weeks along. I'm feeling great. No problems. I've been hula hooping my way through, and I'll continue to do so throughout the pregnancy. It is very safe. I made myself a pregnancy hoop. It is bigger and a little lighter in weight. First picture is of my blood being drawn for the lab work. Second one is an ultrasound picture of our baby. And then there is a video we made of the ultrasound. I'll share some baby bump pictures with you as soon as I can. So stay tuned.

Artistic Mother Altered Story Book, Week Seven

2010-11-29T07:00:00.019-06:00

I made the altered story book from Week 7 of The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole using a baby board book, gesso, stamps, oil pastels and photographs. The book features my two year old son Matthew. I chose pictures of him doing his favorite activities and used fun little stamps of animals and other things I thought he would enjoy. I will be giving him this book as a Christmas gift. I'm sure he will be so excited to have a book all about himself.

The next project we will be doing in The Artistic Mother Art Group is canvas art from Week 8 of The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole. It is similar to a scrapbook page but for the wall. I am looking forward to this project. It will be very pretty. We will be using painted papers, fibers, a portrait of our child and attaching decorative beads to the sides of the canvas.

The thing I love about the projects from this book is not only am I learning the discipline of adding art to my daily routine and learning new techniques, but they are keepsakes and precious reminders of my greatest treasures, my children. Each piece I make celebrates their life. The focus is on motherhood, which is the stage of life I am in currently. So while I am working, I am also reflecting on my mothering and the uniqueness of each of my children, their special talents and abilities and how much I appreciate them. I also think a lot about how I can better be there for them and guide through their journey through life. It helps me to keep a better balance, to grow as a person and mother and to do something each day for myself as well as for my family. I also enjoy the fact that I am tapping into my creative side and that my life is not just about the mundane everyday tasks of errands and household chores.

My next task will be to paint more background papers and choose the child's photo I will be using for this next project.

I took photos of each page of this sweet little book. I hope you enjoy them and the little story that goes along with it. And be sure and let me know when you post your Artistic Mother art projects so that I can come by and take a look.

Click on the picture to enlarge it if you would like a close-up view.

Artistic Mother - Tip For Drilling Holes in Balsa Wood for The Butterfly Reminder, Week 5

2010-10-14T10:37:00.004-05:00

I have heard from several participants of The Artistic Mother Art Group that they were hesitant to move forward with the Butterfly Reminder project from Week 5 of The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole because they were concerned that the balsa wood would crack when they drilled their holes, and that is a possibility. To avoid that from happening, what you can do is make a starter hole with a smaller drill bit, then proceed with the 1/8" (ISO 3.2mm) drill bit that the book recommends. Just take it easy going in a little at a time. I would suggest practicing this method with a scrap piece of balsa wood before attempting to make the holes on your butterfly. I hope this helps. I didn't have any problems doing it this way; so you should be fine.

Please let me know if there are any other concerns or questions with any of the other projects that I might possibly be able to help you with.

Artistic Mother Name Plate Week 6

2010-10-04T07:00:00.001-05:00

Well, here it is, my name plate from Week 6 of The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole. I decided that since I have several children and I didn't want to choose one over the other that I would modify it a bit and use a picture of my four children remaining at home - I didn't have a group picture of everyone together - and put their names at the bottom. I may go back and do individual name plates and possibly do another group one when I can get all of the children together in one shot, not an easy task when one is off at college and doesn't have much time for visits.

And now to start working on Week 7, the altered storybook. This should be fun. My subject will be my 2 year old. He will be so tickled to have a book about himself.

Artistic Mother Butterfly Reminder Week 5 - Done!!

2010-10-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here is my butterfly Reminder From Week 5 of The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole. I used a picture of me when I was 17 with my dad. I have it hanging in a prominent place to help me remember to work on my poetry since writing poetry is a fairly new thing for me. On Monday I will post my Name Plate from Week 6.

The Artistic Mother - Video

2010-09-30T13:50:00.001-05:00

Hello, Artistic Mothers. Well, I've had kind of a lazy summer just hanging out with my children at the pool. But it's now time for me to get back on a schedule and start back to fitting art into my life a little each day. I have been dabbling in a little art. The children and I made my husband some artsy gifts for his 50th birthday. I will post those in the next week or so. I have finished my Butterfly Reminder for Week 5 of The Artistic Mother book. And I am halfway through with The Name Plate from Week 6. I will post The Butterfly Reminder on Saturday and the Name Plate on Monday. So I am now at the halfway mark of the projects in The Artistic Mother book. My goal is to complete them all before Thanksgiving. I feel it's important I give myself a goal and a deadline to work toward so that I will take it seriously and accomplish what I have started. The reason I am going through these projects is to establish the habit of fitting a little bit of art into my daily life. This has been so good for me, and I am learning so much. I have enjoyed going through these projects with you and getting to know several of you. When we are done, I hope to continue on with our friendship and continue to visit one another's blogs.

My husband took me on a date to the Cheesecake Factory, Yumm. I wanted to go to Barnes & Noble to see if Shona's book was there. And sure enough it was; so I did a video. So if you want to hear my voice for about 50 seconds talking about Shona's book, then click on the play arrow.

I would love to hear about your summer and what you are currently working on and where you are at with the projects.

So let's get excited again and geared up to move forward. Are you with me?

You are Special

2010-08-29T07:00:00.002-05:00

I would like to remind you all just how special you are to God. Your worth is not based on your accomplishments or mistakes you may have made. God loves you just the way you are. He wants a relationship with you, just because He made you and you are His. Think about how you feel about your own children. You love them no matter what. Your love for them is not based on their performance, and you are always ready to forgive them. I think we judge ourselves too harshly, and we can't forgive ourselves. I think that hurts God because He wants so much for you to know how much you mean to Him. So I encourage you to gather up all of your hurts and past regrets and put them in a bag and give them over to God and never take the bag back again. It is a burden you were not meant to carry. Let God carry that burden for you. That is one of the reasons Jesus went through what He did on that cross, to release you from all burden and sin, to take that upon Himself. And He would have done it if you were the only one on this earth. Now that's powerful. Be free and soar. Be who you were meant to be.

“What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. Luke 12:6-7

Tribute to an Amazing Woman

2010-08-17T10:19:00.003-05:00

I would like to honor my mother, Jonel, today. She is an amazing woman. She reared her three children as a single mother and did an amazing job. Times were tough. We didn't have much financially, but she never gave up. Somehow she saw us through.

We never worried about where our next meal would come from or whether there would always be a roof over our heads, even though she did; she didn't let us know how much of a struggle it was to provide. We were oblivious. Kind of nice not to have that stress as a child. Life was hard enough as it was without adding more to it. I was made fun of in school for not having nice clothes. I was not in the popular crowd. I think it's all made me a more compassionate and loving person instead of one who thinks she is better than others.

She taught us to be strong and to have a good work ethic. She supported us in whatever we chose to do in life. Even though we were poor, that didn't mean that we were less than others. We were to care about the way we carried ourselves. She expected us to have good manners, speak properly with good grammar, to stand tall with good posture, to chose quality friends.

Because she couldn't give us everything she would have liked, it made us stronger because we had to work for whatever it was that we wanted or needed. I bought my own car, paid for my own car repairs and gas, bought my own clothes, movie tickets, etc.

My mother is also a breast cancer survivor. She didn't think she would live long enough to rear her children. She handled the situation so well. We were never afraid or thought our mother would die because she didn't share the scary details or possibilities with us. She kept them to herself. We didn't even know she was in pain or having reactions. We didn't know when she went to appointments. We didn't know she had lost her hair. She didn't talk about it. She wore a wig and went to the effort to still look gorgeous. She didn't go around feeling sorry for herself. She continued to go to work day after day in spite of the horrible reactions from the chemo. She never complained, although her pain was great. So we were able to enjoy our childhoods without a worry in the world. I am so thankful for that. Now she is a wonderful grandmother. She is so artistically creative and has an engineering mind. She can figure out pretty much how to rig or make anything. She used those skills in a decorating business where she and her husband, whom she married when I was almost grown, would decorate the malls for the holidays. And now she uses them to help the grandchildren with their school projects.

Thanks mom for hanging in there and not giving up, for the example you've been, for all you have done and are doing. I dedicate this video to you.

Newest Members of The Artistic Mother's Art Group - Added in July

2010-08-04T08:00:00.001-05:00

I would like to introduce you to our newest members of The Artistic Mother's Art Group. All these joined in the month of July. I hope you will add them to your list on your blog if you are keeping one and pay them a visit and help them to feel welcome.

I have all participants listed in a blog list just for the group near the top of my sidebar. Those who have posted most recently move to the top of the list. It shows five at a time; so click "show all" to see the whole list. You can come to my blog daily to see who has posted most recently so that you can visit around for inspiration as well as just encouraging one another. Thank you so much for everyone's participation. You are a great group!

97. Deanna of A Crafty Mom's Life
98. Cindi aka Ericksoc of So, That's Why!
99. Jade Erin Scarlett of Jade Erin Scarlett OSCI
100 Kristen of Acorn Hill Studios

***If you are new here, I am hosting an online art group where we are working through the 12 -project workshop in Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother, together and blogging about our progress and visiting and encouraging one another. The purpose of this group is to learn how to balance our time between family, life's responsibilities and creative time for ourselves; to learn how to fit a little creativity into each day; to nurture our own souls so that we can be better moms and wives and to prevent burnout and depression. Please click here to read all of the details and leave a comment there if you would like to join us. In my sidebar, you will see a blog roll for the participants of this group if you would like to visit around. There is also a Flickr Group for The Artistic Mother if you would like to see the projects we have been doing in this group. The book can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Borders and other bookstores as well as Amazon. You may also visit the author at her blog, An Artful Life.

Artistic Mother Group, How to Get Others to Read Your Posts

2010-07-12T07:45:00.003-05:00

Good morning, beautiful ladies of The Artistic Mother Group. I want to make sure that as much as possible that everyone else in the group is aware of when you post something for our group so that you will receive visits. We now have 99 participants. That is so great! Because we are so large, it is not possible to visit each and every post that every member puts up; so when you post something related to The Artistic Mother's Art group, I would suggest that you start your title off with "Artistic Mother" to maximize your chances of others from the group paying you a visit. I look at the blog roll for our group every day; and when I see those words, I automatically know that this is a post that I don't want to miss. Please continue to check the blog roll on my blog for Artistic Mother Group related posts on a regular basis so that we can continue to encourage one another in our efforts to do a little something creative each day. Only five show at a time. Just click "Show All" to see all of the blogs. Also, keep in mind that if you are leaving encouraging comments, that will ensure that you will receive some back yourself.

Another thing you can do to help you remember to check my blog often to see if I have posted or check the blog roll to see if others have posted is you can put my blog on your blog roll and/or in your reader so you'll easily see when I've posted and you don't have to try to remember on your own.

Love you, Guys. Thanks for being such a great group.

I'm half way done with my butterfly reminder. Hope to have it posted in a couple of days.

Have a great day.

Blogger Buddy Meetup

2010-07-08T08:00:00.006-05:00

Tuesday I had the great privilege and pleasure of meeting one of my blogging friends Rayanne of A Lovely Thought...Living Artistically at Home. I had wanted to meet her in person for such a long time. She is such an inspiration. She invited me to her home for tea, a special treat to eat and a nice chat, just the two of us. We talked about life, God, family and blogging and just loved on each other. It was a wonderful visit. She was everything I thought she would be, everything I had ever envisioned about her. She is so beautiful inside and out. She is so loving. Her words so full of wisdom. Her home is a beautiful sanctuary. Her loving touch and care for her family is evident on everything in her home. I felt such peace and tranquility coming from both she and her home. I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity to get together with this precious woman. I can honestly say that she is my friend and mentor. Thank you, Rayanne, for being such a good friend and taking time out of your day for me.

Artistic Mother Butterfly Reminder, Week 5, in Progress

2010-07-07T11:23:00.004-05:00

After taking a much needed break to get some things in order and taking time to reflect on my goals, priorities and how I should be spending my time, I have started working on the Butterfly Reminder from Week 5 of The Artistic Mother. I will do a little each day until it is complete. There are a lot of little steps; so I don't want to put pressure on myself to do too much in one day. That is part of the message of this book, though, isn't it, to do a little art each day? So what are you working on right now? Are you finding time to do a little art each day, or are you in a period of extreme busyness or time of reflection? I would love to hear from you to know how you are doing, what's going on in your life, and if there is anything I can do for you, even if it is just to pray for you. I think of you all often and am so glad that you are a part of this group, The Artistic Mother's Art Group, and that we are doing this together. You are an encouragement to me and have made my life richer. If you are reading this and have not joined us, I welcome you to consider doing so.

Newest Members of The Artistic Mother's Art Group - Added in June

2010-07-01T08:00:00.001-05:00

I would like to introduce you to our newest members of The Artistic Mother's Art Group. All these joined in the month of June. I hope you will add them to your list on your blog if you are keeping one and pay them a visit and help them to feel welcome.

I have all participants listed in a blog list just for the group near the top of my sidebar. Those who have posted most recently move to the top of the list. It shows five at a time; so click "show all" to see the whole list. You can come to my blog daily to see who has posted most recently so that you can visit around for inspiration as well as just encouraging one another. Thank you so much for everyone's participation. You are a great group!

93. Deb of Hand Stitched
94. Leslie of Words of Me Project
95. Jodi of Opened Door
96. Kelly of Artful Happiness, News & Notes From The Happy Shack
***If you are new here, I am hosting an online art group where we are working through the 12 -project workshop in Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother, together and blogging about our progress and visiting and encouraging one another. The purpose of this group is to learn how to balance our time between family, life's responsibilities and creative time for ourselves; to learn how to fit a little creativity into each day; to nurture our own souls so that we can be better moms and wives and to prevent burnout and depression. Please click here to read all of the details and leave a comment there if you would like to join us. In my sidebar, you will see a blog roll for the participants of this group if you would like to visit around. There is also a Flickr Group for The Artistic Mother if you would like to see the projects we have been doing in this group. The book can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Borders and other bookstores as well as Amazon. You may also visit the author at her blog, An Artful Life.

A Fun and Interesting Post

2010-06-24T08:00:00.005-05:00

To Learn more about me, please go to my sewing blog and read this post. I have written a fun and interesting post. Hope to see you there.

Photos From 2010 Trip to Israel

2010-06-21T08:00:00.013-05:00

Here are few of the photos from our oldest daughter Sarah's two-week trip to Israel. Click on the photo to enlarge.

The ruins of Masada. It gets as hot as 125 degrees F there.

The Wailing Wall.

The Dome of the Rock. Only Muslims are allowed inside.

A suspicious looking cafe in Bethlehem.

This is a gate at Tel Dan that Abraham probably walked through.

The entrance to Armageddon or Tel Megiddo, a city mentioned in the Bible.

This is the room where they grew the pillars at the Roman city of Caesarea Philippi. Just kidding. It's really the ruins of a bath house. These pillars held up a floor and warm air would circulate between the pillars to keep the water heated.

The theater at Caesarea Philippi. The city was destroyed in an earthquake almost 2000 years ago. Only 25 percent of it has been excavated so far. They're saving the remaining 75 percent for future archaeologists with better techniques and technology.

Winnie The Pooh's tree at Tel Dan!

Jerusalem

Beautiful flower in Israel.

Market Street in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Via Dolorosa. Notice the bread at the KFC stand.

Garden of Gethsemane.

You can see here the Jewish custom of leaving a stone at grave sites and memorials. This is a memorial at Yad Vashem, Israel's largest Holocaust museum.

Remains of an ancient swimming pool at Caesarea Maritima.

Speaks for itself.

Sitting at the Seat of Judgement at the city gates at Tel Dan.

Caesarea Philippi.

View of the Mediterranean Sea from Sarah's hotel room in Netanya.

Ruins of a Crusader Fortress at Caesarea Maritima.

Sarah at Masada.

So sorry I have been out of pocket as of late, but I have been very busy these past few weeks going through my mother-in-law's things since she has passed away. I am hoping to get back into a routine real soon and get back to working on my projects in The Artistic Mother's Art Group. Thank you for your patience.

I have found some vintage treasures amongst her belongings. If you are interested in taking a look, you may head over to my sewing blog, Sewing With Trudy.

What are the Ingredients of an Amazing Father?

2010-06-19T14:19:00.001-05:00

Lots of T- I-M-E and L-O-V-E.

Happy Father's Day to the best dad in the whole world!

Come back on Monday for an awesome post. Have a wonderful Father's Day and hope to see you soon.

I'm Still Here - Great Post Planned For Monday

2010-06-18T11:27:00.002-05:00

Hey, Everyone. I'm still alive. So sorry it's been so quiet around here in my little corner of blog land. My mother-in-law passed away Mother's Day weekend. Since then, along with going through the process of grieving, I have been very busy going through her things. It has been taking so much time. We have a lot of home projects we need to do in the coming year as well that includes decluttering, moving furniture around, fixing things, painting, etc. So my goal is to figure out a good system for continuing on with my art and sewing projects and blogs along with these added things in my schedule. I am committed to The Artistic Mother's Group as well all of my readers on both of my blogs. Thank you for your patience and understanding. I welcome any suggestions you may have to help me accomplish this.

I do have an exciting post for you on Monday; so please come on by. The photo I have used in this post is a little teaser of what my post on Monday will be about.

Through My Camera Lens

2010-06-05T08:00:00.001-05:00

Daddy & Kimberly, Age 17

Newest Members of The Artistic Mother's Art Group - Added in May

2010-06-03T08:00:00.001-05:00

I would like to introduce you to our newest members of The Artistic Mother's Art Group. All these joined in the month of May. I hope you will add them to your list on your blog if you are keeping one and pay them a visit and help them to feel welcome.

I have all participants listed in a blog list just for the group near the top of my sidebar. Those who have posted most recently move to the top of the list. It shows five at a time; so click "show all" to see the whole list. You can come to my blog daily to see who has posted most recently so that you can visit around for inspiration as well as just encouraging one another. Thank you so much for everyone's participation. You are a great group!

89. Emily of Super Stitches
90. Johwey of Johwey Redington
91. Esther of Emakesart
92. Tonya of Plain and Joyful Living

***If you are new here, I am hosting an online art group where we are working through the 12 -project workshop in Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother, together and blogging about our progress and visiting and encouraging one another. The purpose of this group is to learn how to balance our time between family, life's responsibilities and creative time for ourselves; to learn how to fit a little creativity into each day; to nurture our own souls so that we can be better moms and wives and to prevent burnout and depression. Please click here to read all of the details and leave a comment there if you would like to join us. In my sidebar, you will see a blog roll for the participants of this group if you would like to visit around. There is also a Flickr Group for The Artistic Mother if you would like to see the projects we have been doing in this group. The book can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Borders and other bookstores as well as Amazon. You may also visit the author at her blog, An Artful Life.

My Other Side/And you thought you knew me!

2010-06-01T08:00:00.002-05:00

You thought you knew me pretty well by now, didn't you? Well, maybe some of you do. Did you know that I have another blog? I have this secret life. I've decided to come out of the closet. Okay. Here goes: (Taking a deep breath) I'm not just an artist. I'm, I'm, I'm a seamstress. Okay. I said it. Now you know. I hope you'll still like me. But that's not all of it. I also do crazy things. I do these crazy "What I'm Wearing" fashion posts. The two pictures above are just one example. There are actually six other pictures on my other blog, Sewing With Trudy, that go along with those. But there have been other "What I'm Wearing" posts, too. And then there are the things I've sewn. I like old things; so sometimes I sew vintage clothes, like a dress from the 1970s and one from a 1940s pattern. I know. I know. It's just shameful. You'll have to go have a look around and see if you still want to be my friend. Here is the link for my recent "What I'm Wearing" post and here is the one for the post about my favorites of the things that I've sewn. Please don't be too rough on me.

Our Newest Family Picture

2010-05-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

Here is our recent family picture with everyone. Our oldest daughter was home from college. So now you get to meet the whole Callan bunch.

Through My Camera Lens

2010-05-26T08:00:00.002-05:00

Matthew, Age 2

Shona Cole, Author of The Artistic Mother Interviewed on Diva Craft Lounge

2010-05-24T08:00:00.019-05:00

Shona Cole was a guest on Diva Craft Lounge. She was interviewed by Danielle and Rayme about her book, The Artistic Mother, a Practical Guide for Fitting Creativity into Your Life. Their show is 30 minutes long in all and is posted on their site once a week. You can watch the show she was on or listen to the podcast on iTunes. She comes on at about the seven-minute mark. If you watch the show you can see them flicking through her book and holding up the pages they are talking about.

They talked about lots of things concerning her book: how she chose to write about motherhood and art, about the contributors to the book, her favorite project in the book and more. She also mentioned The Artistic Mother Art Group I am hosting here on my blog and how awesome it is to see a group of women doing the book's workshop and keeping each other accountable and posting their art.

To hear/see the show she is on go here. You can listen to past shows and interviews in their archive.

She has also written a great post over at The Wish Studio titled The Artistic Mother: Living With Vision. It's an awesome read.

***If you are new here, I am hosting an online art group where we are working through the 12 -project workshop in Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother, together and blogging about our progress and visiting and encouraging one another. The purpose of this group is to learn how to balance our time between family, life's responsibilities and creative time for ourselves; to learn how to fit a little creativity into each day; to nurture our own souls so that we can be better moms and wives and to prevent burnout and depression. Please click here to read all of the details and leave a comment there if you would like to join us. In my sidebar, you will see a blog roll for the participants of this group if you would like to visit around. There is also a Flickr Group for The Artistic Mother if you would like to see the projects we have been doing in this group. The book can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Borders and other bookstores as well as Amazon. You may also visit the author at her blog, An Artful Life.

Happy Birthday to my Big Princess

2010-05-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday to my beautiful daughter Kimberly. She is now 17. She is a sweet, loving girl, a blessing to her family. She is a wonderful daughter always willing to lend a helping hand. She's my personal trainer and my personal fashion consultant, all for the price of room and board. Pretty good deal for me I would say. She's loves her siblings and loves hanging out with them. I know her many friends love her, too. You can wish Kimberly a happy birthday on her blog, What To Wear, if you like. I know that would be a nice surprise for her

Welcome to Our Newest Artistic Mother Member & her Latest Project - Phenomenal!!!

2010-05-17T08:00:00.004-05:00

Please join me in welcoming Emily of Super Stitches. She is 9 years old. She has a blog where she blogs about her art, craft and sewing projects; and she also happens to my daughter. She has been doing these projects right along with me and asked if she could join our group. I thought: Why not? I hope you will help her feel welcome and visit her when she posts her Artistic Mother projects and any other time it strikes your fancy, too. Below are photos of her vision banner. Lovely. Isn't it? I'm not sure which day Emily will be posting her vision banner because she will be doing a giveaway on her blog starting on Monday. You can keep an eye out for her posts on my blog roll for The Artistic Mother's Art Group in my sidebar. She'll move to the top when she posts something.

***If you are new here, I am hosting an online art group where we are working through the 12 -project workshop in Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother, together and blogging about our progress and visiting and encouraging one another. The purpose of this group is to learn how to balance our time between family, life's responsibilities and creative time for ourselves; to learn how to fit a little creativity into each day; to nurture our own souls so that we can be better moms and wives and to prevent burnout and depression. Please click here to read all of the details and leave a comment there if you would like to join us. In my sidebar, you will see a blog roll for the participants of this group if you would like to visit around. There is also a Flickr Group for The Artistic Mother if you would like to see the projects we have been doing in this group. The book can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Borders and other bookstores as well as Amazon. You may also visit the author at her blog, An Artful Life.

Thank You for the Condolences

2010-05-15T08:00:00.001-05:00

Sorry it's been so quiet around here, but I haven't really felt like blogging or creating this week since I've just lost my mother-in-law. We've been crying buckets of tears, had the memorial service and going through photographs and her things. Because of my commitment to you, regardless of how I feel, I plan to start getting back into the swing of things next week. I would like to thank each person who left a sweet comment either here, in an email or on Facebook. It's nice to know you care, and I could feel your love and support. It's been very difficult to lose my mother-in-law as you can well imagine, especially for our children. Grandmothers are very special.

I have a very special post planned for Monday. I will be introducing you to one of our newest members and one of the projects she has made. Prepare to be amazed.

Have a lovely weekend. See you on Monday.

We are Grieving the Loss of My Mother-In-Law

2010-05-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

My mother-in-law has lost her fight to live. She had spent one month and one week in ICU. It was up and down. She had a very difficult time of it. It has been a very difficult time for our family; so hard to watch her suffer. But it is over now. Out of pain. Gone to be with Jesus. She will be sorely missed. It's hard to imagine that she will no longer be in our lives. There is now a big hole in our hearts. My poor husband. My poor children. What a loss. I would like to say thank you to all of you who had lifted her up in prayer.

Vision Statement Banner, Week 4 of The Artistic Mother

2010-05-04T09:36:00.002-05:00

Here is my Vision Statement Banner as part of Week 4, Page 83, of The Artistic Mother Workshop we are working through together.

I really enjoyed making this. I will hang it on the wall next to my computer where I can see it each day. It will be a huge help in keeping me focused on my goals and vision so that I don't get sidetracked.

In place of the ribbon to be tied to the dowel and the fibers above the group photo, I gathered strips of cotton fabric and zigzagged down center to ensure that the gathers would not come out and to add a decorative touch.

Here is my Artistic Vision Statement typed up for you for easier reading:

I am a creative wife, momma, homemaker and daughter of The King of Kings, The Holy God.

I do not live by my emotions. I spend time each day doing something creative regardless of how I feel.

Through daily sewing; mixed media, collage and crafting; photography; poetry and music, I express myself as well as strengthen and nourish my inner self, bless my family and pass on the gift of creativity to my children.

Through practicing my art, I will find the balance I so desperately long for.

I will seek God daily for wisdom and guidance and allow Him to work through my hands to create beautiful works of art that will bless myself and others and allow me to live a full, rich and abundant life. And as I do this, I am strengthening my connection with God as I allow Him to come alongside me in this creative journey.

The two photos below show my artistic goals. As you can see, I got a little carried away, and ended up making a long list. It is a picture of the lifestyle I wish to live with my family. I truly want this creative life to permeate every aspect of my family's being.

The photo above is of my now 16, about to be 17, year old daughter when she was 2. She is the oldest one in the group shot. Our oldest daughter, who is not pictured, is off at college. She is in her third year of college. She was home schooled all the way through and received a full scholarship. (Sorry for the bit of bragging, but you can imagine our excitement)

Below: Now don't laugh at me. I know you must think I'm silly wanting to make You Tube videos and play guitar and sing at functions. One can dream, right? I'm still young at heart, and I'm a bit of a ham if you haven't noticed yet. Just look through my sewing blog a bit, and you'll see what I mean. I love the camera. I listed that here because I view music as being artistic as well. And I want to keep that goal before me. I would like to go ahead and learn guitar now, but I am already sewing, doing art, homeschooling four out of my five children and running after a toddler; so I better pace myself and save it for sometime down the road, hopefully not too many years away. I must learn patience. It's hard when you have so many things you want to learn; but fun, too.

Now we move on to Week 5, Page 87 of The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole. We'll be making a butterfly reminder. We will spend two weeks on it to give everyone as much time as possible allowing for life's interruptions. And don't forget the workshop is not just about the projects, there are also poetry and photography assignments in each chapter as well. You will be using the photographs and poetry from these assignments in your future projects. Just do a little each day and don't try to cram at the last minute. Because the whole point of this book is to make creativity a part of our lifestyles, where we do a little each day. Think of all you can accomplish with even 15 minutes a day.

Don't worry if you are just starting or are still working on the earlier projects. Don't stress or rush. You may go at your own pace. Just try to do a little each day, not too much in one day.

When we get to Week 6, I will have a big surprise announcement!!!

Go here if you would like to see an alternative way to make the vision statement banner. You can get creative with these projects and come up with your own version on each of the projects. You are not limited to just doing it the way it is in the book.

***If you are new here, I am hosting an online art group where we are working through the 12 -project workshop in Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother, together and blogging about our progress and visiting and encouraging one another. The purpose of this group is to learn how to balance our time between family, life's responsibilities and creative time for ourselves; to learn how to fit a little creativity into each day; to nurture our own souls so that we can be better moms and wives and to prevent burnout and depression. Please click here to read all of the details and leave a comment there if you would like to join us. In my sidebar, you will see a blog roll for the participants of this group if you would like to visit around. There is also a Flickr Group for The Artistic Mother if you would like to see the projects we have been doing in this group. The book can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Borders and other bookstores as well as Amazon. You may also visit the author at her blog, An Artful Life.

Hey, Artistic Mothers, would You Like to be my Fan on my New Fan Page on Facebook?

2010-04-27T06:00:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to let you know that I started an Artistic Creations With Trudy Fan Page on Facebook. If you would like to be one of my fans, you can find my badge in the right-hand column.

Have a beautiful day.

Alternative Version of the Vision Statement Banner/Artistic Mother- Week 4

2010-04-26T07:00:00.002-05:00

Shona Cole, author of The Artistic Mother, has done an alternative version of The Vision Statement Banner from Week 4 on her blog.

And go here to learn about and sign up to be in The Artistic Mother's Art Group.

Artistic Mother - Looking for the Missing Piece of Who You Were Created to be? (and a Giveaway of The Artistic Mother book)

2010-04-25T06:00:00.004-05:00

So many of us struggle to complete the

image of who we were created

to be.

There are so many different pieces

to the puzzle,

wife, mother, sister,

caretaker, provider.

We try to say yes to each

request, each demanding a part

of us.

Some of us even try to fit in

pieces that don't really fit,

they are not meant to be part

of our puzzle.

God created, us each in His image,

to fulfill a part of His plan.

If we make God a part

of our decisions we are

less apt to try and fit

in the ill fitting pieces that

don't belong.

Put God first and the rest

of the puzzle will fall into place.

To visit other posts for Spiritual Sundays please

go to http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com/

The artwork and text above is the work of Diva's Musings. Posted with permission.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DIVA!!!

***********

The first Sunday of every month Donna Rodgers of Comin' Home is having a Followers are Special Giveaway. This month She is giving away two books, The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole and The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches by Jeff Yeager. She is having a giveaway today which runs through May 1st for a signed copy of both books; so go check it out, and good luck.

Poetry Tote From Week 3 of The Artistic Mother Workshop

2010-04-19T07:00:00.003-05:00

Well, I have finally completed my poetry tote to carry my poetry journal in from Week 3 of The Artistic Mother Workshop that we are doing as part of The Artistic Mother Online Art Group I am hosting here on my blog. The photo I used is of myself when I was around 17 with my dad. Look how nicely the journal and tote coordinate. I even used a piece of fabric from one of my fabric squares in my journal.

Next is Emily's. Age 9. I had enough fabric left over for Emily to make a tote to go with her journal as well. I guided her as to the steps to take, but she did all of the sewing and ironing herself.

In this next photo you can see mine and Emily's totes side by side.

And then we have Martin's, Age 7. He did all of his own sewing, too. This was his first time to use the sewing machine; so we kept it simple. But he really wants to do the patchwork tote; so he'll be doing one soon.

And here is the other side.

And now we are moving on to Week 4, which is on Page 83 of The Artistic Mother. Our project for Week 4 is the vision statement banner. We will spend two weeks on Week 4.

Don't worry if you are just starting or are still working on the earlier projects. Don't stress or rush. You may go at your own pace. Just try to do a little each day, not too much in one day.

Artistic Mother, Finding Time for Creativity & Family

2010-04-18T07:00:00.010-05:00

I read this post that really spoke to me over at Life and Love in the Country called Giving Common Sense a Try.

She goes on to explain that we try to be super woman/super mom. We make these long to-do lists. We never complete the list, but run around trying to get as much done as possible on the list. But while we are doing so, we become stressed and short-tempered. We say to ourselves, "When I get these things done, then I will make time for my husband, my kids my art, etc." But the list is never done. Therefore the children and husband don't get as much of our attention as they deserve and desire, and we don't have any time for ourselves to take care of ourselves (sleep/exercise), relax or do something creative. This continues day after day, a never-ending cycle. Well, I don't want to live that way anymore! How about you?

The concept of the common sense approach is simple: Make a list of 3 to 5 things, instead of 20, that must be done each day. Don't strive for perfection. Quality of life is more important than a perfect home. Keep the housework simple. Just tackle one room each day, one load of laundry each day, etc. You can work through the list pretty quickly, feel like you've accomplished something and have time for yourself and your family. Your family deserves time with you. You deserve time for yourself and your family. Taking care of yourself and not running yourself into the ground means that you can be a better wife and mom.

What do you say? Will you join me in this endeavor? I'd love to know what you think about this, if you have anything to add, any tips, etc., that may be of benefit to others. Also, if you give this a try, I'd love to know how it turns out. So come back and leave a comment on how it's going. I think we can all benefit from the shared experiences on this mission to improve our lives and our families.

WHAT YOU ARE SAYING: (Thank you so much, Ladies. I learn so much from you!!!)

Donna said...Trudy, I love this idea which is why I put it on my Top Ten Best Posts yesterday at Comin' Home. Joy is right, we can only get so much done in a day. For me, the critical thing is to decide what the 2 or 3 truly important 'must do's are and then focus on those. I know that if I will focus on the BIG job for the day, then the little jobs will all fall into place around it. For instance, I'm working on re-covering THIRTEEN couch cushion covers! This is a huge task and part of me just wants to give up in despair! But I decided yesterday morning to do at least ONE. I got THREE done plus a myriad of other small tasks. I didn't bother to put the other tasks on the list..just that ONE biggy! And that gave me time to go on a date with hubby last night too. Great post! I'm so glad you highlighted it today!

Joy should know, she has more challenges to face at home than most of us do. She's an amazing mother!

Sunday, April 18, 2010
Carin said..Great post and one I wholly agree with. I was forced into this kind of thinking kicking and screaming a some years ago now, and it has turned into one of the greatest blessings I could have ever received. Having a loose daily schedule has helped me a lot. Knowing what you have to do on a certain day makes it easier to fit in the unplanned stuff that you want or need to do.Sunday, April 18, 2010
Diva Kreszl said..great advice, wish I had learned it sooner! the to do list is never ending so we simply must shorten the list if we are to find creative time :)Sunday, April 18, 2010

Lorraine said...what a great photo. My list has about 6 things on it and I split the hours up approx in the day so an hour to clean the house, an hour or two to exercise, an hour or two for arty stuff. then its time to pick the kids up and then its their time..thanks very much for your kind comment on my first poem.Sunday, April 18, 2010

ELK said...

for something a bit different sometimes try making a
"TA DA" list..
keep paper and pen handy and throughout the day jot down small or large things that you complete...IE: unloaded dishwasher ...worked on tying shoes with Laura ... cleaned of the counter ...etc. then at the end of the day stand back and look at the list and say with a big flourish "TA DA!!!!"

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Amie aka MammaLoves said...

I have always imagined my life at a very old age--near the end--and when I envision myself, I am surrounded by loved ones. It's their faces I see, not the clean house or the piles of money socked away.

There are many days I lament the state of my house, but my boys will grow up and move out before I know it and I want to make sure I squeeze in as much time and as many hugs as I can right now.

So I wholeheartedly stand behind you on this. My challenge is not beating myself up for the decisions I've made about my time.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Jen said...

Thank you for sharing this, Trudy. I've been trying to do this lately by doing little things like just one load of laundry a day (rather than trying to do all at once) and better menu planning for the week, etc. So far this has helped me steal back some time for my family and for being creative. I've also enjoyed how Shona Cole's book breaks down creative projects into small, bite size pieces, too.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Artistic Mother, Make Something Lovely and Creative Each Day

2010-04-15T09:00:00.002-05:00

I know that life gets busy and that it's all you can do sometimes just to do the daily grind: laundry, meals, errands, homework, baths, changing diapers, etc. But no matter how wild and crazy it gets, I want you to really try and take time out for you, even if it's only for 15 minutes, some "me time," "mother culture," and make something lovely and creative each day. It is so important that you do this. It will nurture your soul. I do not want you to run yourself into the ground and to only view yourself as a slave to others. When you take the time to take care of yourself, then you will have more to give to your loved ones; and you will prevent burnout at the same time. That is one of the beautiful things about being involved in The Artistic Mother's Art Group. This group helps us to learn how we can balance our life, motherhood and being artistic.

If you have not joined our group yet, we would love to have you. Go here to read all about it, and leave a comment there to join in the fun.

Dear Artistic Mother, Please Do Not Compare

2010-04-14T09:00:00.005-05:00

I would like to encourage all of you beautiful ladies in The Artistic Mother's Art Group not to compare your work to that of others. Please do not look at what others have made and get discouraged. Just do the best that you can do. This is not a competition. And we will all improve with time. The whole point of doing these projects is to build the habit of doing something creative each day and to look to one another for encouragement and inspiration. So please go easy on yourself. I love all of your work. Each of you are so unique and what you create is so unique that no one else can replicate it. It's all beautiful. Keep creating.

SIDENOTE: Today is Shona Cole's birthday, the author of The Artistic Mother. You can wish her a happy birthday on her blog.

Newest Members of The Artistic Mother's Art Group

2010-04-13T09:00:00.008-05:00

I would like to introduce you to our newest members of The Artistic Mother's Art Group. I hope you will add them to your list on your blog if you are keeping one and pay them a visit and help them to feel welcome.

I have all participants listed in a blog list just for the group near the top of my sidebar. Those who have posted most recently move to the top of the list. It shows five at a time; so click "show all" to see the whole list. You can come to my blog daily to see who has posted most recently so that you can visit around for inspiration as well as just encouraging one another. Thank you so much for everyone's participation. You are a great group!
77. Rani of Scrap Yoga
78. Andrea of Vintage Bella Studio
79. Heather of My Everyday Graces
80. Bertie of Life at Wildberry Cottage
81. Beverley of Bunny's Girl
82. Rebecca of My Momentary Lapses of Reason
83. Lorraine of Love of Collage
84. Jen of By Jen - My Creative Adventure and Inspiration
85. Carin of Created With Love
86. Robinsunne
87. Sassy of Keep Me In Your Heart
88. Express of Express & Create Imagery

No Sew Poetry Tote for Week 3 of The Artistic Mother Workshop

2010-04-12T10:31:00.009-05:00

Guess what? You don't have to sew your poetry totes! There is another option. Hallelujah! Shona has done it again. In her post today she has a tutorial on how we can alter an existing canvas bag or how you can take fabric and staple and glue it together. Now who would have thought you could use staples and glue? We just have to learn to think outside the box. There is always more than one way to do something. The project instructions in this book are just a guide. They are not a prescription. So if you were dreading the sewing portion of this workshop, just head on over to An Artful Life and get some other ideas. And sign up for her giveaway of art supplies that you can use for the projects in this workshop in a previous post while you're there. Then head on over to the Arts & Healing Network to read a book review they have done on Shona's book, The Aritistic Mother.

Now I have to decide if I am going to sew mine or alter a canvas bag. The photo above shows my poetry journal from Week 2, a canvas bag I could use and fabric quarters I have already purchased to sew my tote. So we'll see. I look forward to seeing what you come up with. And don't forget to load your completed projects on to The Artistic Mother Flickr Group when you are done. The link is in my sidebar.

And if you would like to join The Artistic Mother's Art Group or find out more information, follow the link I have in the upper right-hand corner of my sidebar to the post I've done about this group and leave a comment there.

Have a great day!

What I Did Today

2010-04-11T20:43:00.003-05:00

Today I thought about what a blessing my children are.
Emily reading to Matthew.

Waited anxiously by the phone to hear word of how my mother-in-law was doing after surgery. See my sewing blog to read about that situation.

Prayed and meditated on God's word. Sending up prayers for healing for my mother-in-law and praising Him that she is still here.

Folded and Hung laundry.

Worked on the tax return and paid some bills.

Met some friends at the park with my kids and did some hooping, for over two hours. Whew! What a workout!

The Kids' Poetry Journals

2010-04-10T09:00:00.002-05:00

My kids have really been getting into poetry since I started The Artistic Mother Art Group. They loved my poetry journal from Week Two of The Artistic Mother Workshop and wanted to make one of their own. They used the 5 3/4 X 2 3/4- inch little memo spiral notebooks because they want to be able to stick them in their back pockets and have it with them no matter where they are when inspiration strikes. They decorated them with their background papers.

The first one is Emily's, Age 9.

And this is Martin's, Age 7.

See my sidebar for information on how to join The Artistic Mother's Art Group and/or order the book, The Artistic Mother.

And head on over to the author's blog, An Artful Life, to win art supplies to use for the projects in her book, The Artistic Mother, this Saturday and every Saturday in the month of April.

Artistic Mother Articles and Interviews With Shona Cole, Author of The Artistic Mother

2010-04-07T13:07:00.004-05:00

Shona Cole, the Author of The Artistic Mother, has written some great articles and given some awesome interviews recently that I know you will find so encouraging as you go along this journey of doing something creative each day. I hope you will take the time to read them. You will be so inspired by this incredible woman. We are all so fortunate that Shona has taken the time to write this book and share with us her story and how she fits creativity into her busy life and how we can, too. She also has an amazing blog, An Artful Life. She shares about her creative days with her children, poetry she has written, tutorials on how to make some awesome creations, alternatives for doing the projects in her book and giveaways.

For the whole month of April, every Saturday, she is having a giveaway for an art supply starter kit for doing the projects in her book.

Her book can be ordered on Amazon as well as Barnes & Noble and other book stores. The link for Amazon is in my sidebar.

Also, if you are new to my blog, I am hosting The Artistic Mother's Art Group where we are going through the projects in her book together online and blogging about about our progress. I have a list of participants in my sidebar if you would like to visit around. Click here for more information about this awesome group of ladies. Leave me a comment there is you would like to join in the fun.

And now here are the links for the articles and interviews with Shona: Enjoy!

The Artistic Mother: Art Makes Us Better Moms at The Wish Studio.

Art Saves article on Crescendoh. My Artistic Heart as a Mother

The Art of Motherhood over at Shutter Sisters

Conversations With Shona Cole over at Persisting Stars

And an interview With Shona Cole over at Visionary Mom

You Are Not Behind - For The Artistic Mother's Art Group Participants

2010-04-06T08:30:00.000-05:00

HOPE YOU HAD AN AWESOME EASTER!! HERE ARE SOME PHOTOS OF OUR DAY.

AND BELOW THE PHOTOS, IS AN ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE ARTISTIC MOTHER'S ART GROUP PARTICIPANTS.

We are now starting Week 3 of The Artistic Mother Workshop. We will be making a poetry tote. If you are just now getting started or if you are still working on your background papers or your poetry journal, please do not despair. We don't have to all be at the same place at the same time. Feel free to work at your own pace. The important thing is to not get discouraged and give up because then you will miss out on the benefit. Remind yourself why you have chosen to be a part of The Artistic Mother Art Group in the first place. It was to build the habit of fitting creativity into your daily life. So just try to do a little each day. I encourage you not to cram and do too much in one day because you run the risk of burning out. If life gets in the way on some days or weeks and you can't do it, just jump back in as soon as you can. Be patient with yourself. You can do this. Step by step, little by little.

Poetry Journal From Week Two of The Artistic Mother

2010-04-01T08:45:00.005-05:00

Here is my poetry journal from Week Two of The Artistic Mother, Page 73. I chose a photo of me when I was 17 with my dad, early 80s. My dad still had the 70s look. I hope to do another one later with one of me around the age of 3 or 5. I used five of my background papers along with a couple of other papers. The flower in the top left-hand corner is a piece of fabric, which I will also be using in my tote. I'll also be choosing other fabrics that coordinate with the colors in my journal.

See bottom of this post to see how you can win a copy of The Artistic Mother & art supplies to do the projects in the book!!!!

The photo below shows that I have covered the inside of the front cover with one of my background papers.

The next picture shows the inside of the back cover covered with one of my background papers.

And this last picture is the back cover covered with one of my background papers.

Now I am excited about getting started soon on my poetry tote in Week Three on Page 77 of The Artistic Mother. We will be officially starting Week Three after the weekend. But don't worry if you are not there yet. Just keep doing a little each day, going at your own pace, building that habit of making creativity a regular part of your life.

If you are new to my blog, over 70 other women and I are going through the 12-Project Workshop together in the Artistic Mother, A Practical Guide for Fitting Creativity Back Into Your Life by Shona Cole, and blogging about our progress and visiting one another and offering encouragement, support and accountability. Please see the note in the upper right-hand corner of my sidebar where it talks about the Artistic Mother Art Group; then click on the "here" for more information. Leave me a comment if you would like to join in the fun.

Also in my sidebar is a picture of The Artistic Mother book. Click on that, and it will take you to Amazon where you can read the reviews as well as order a copy for yourself.

SIDENOTE: Shona of An Artful Life and author of The Artistic Mother is giving away collage starter kits on her blog starting this Saturday and every Saturday for the month of April. She has four to giveaway. So this Saturday go over there and leave a comment to be entered in the drawing. In her post today she has a list of what supplies are in the kits. They are things that will help you do the projects in the workshop of her book. Good luck. Hope one of you wins. Let us know if you do.

WIN A COPY OF THE ARTISTIC MOTHER AT CRESCENDO TODAY AND TOMORROW!!!

HAPPY EASTER, EVERYONE!!!

More Background Papers & ATC's

2010-03-30T11:34:00.009-05:00

I have made even MORE background papers and ATC's, artist trading cards. It's so much fun and so addicting. I could do this part of the workshop, Week One, from The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole forever. It's great preparation for the poetry journals in Week Two as well as larger collage projects. The more practice the better. Right? This time the children joined me. Kids are just amazing. They are so free to create. In their minds there are no boundaries. We really enjoyed doing this together. We did the ATC's on my birthday. As you will see, they are budding artists.

Here's my new set of background papers. Some different and lighter colors. The red is my favorite. I went crazy with the stamping. I didn't worry about how the stamps looked or placement. I just let loose and stamped almost all over the pages with various stamps and ink colors. I used Staz On permanent ink pads. They come in many different colors. I also rubbed a different oil pastel color along each edge. I didn't try to match the colors. I just grabbed a different color each time. Very random. It didn't really matter if they looked good or not; they're going to be torn up anyway. You can make a lot of papers very quickly this way.

Here are my 16 year old daughter Kimberly of What to Wear's papers.

Here is another paper Kimberly did. This one she is framing for her room.

Here are the papers of my 9 year old daughter Emily of Super Stitches.

And these are my 7 year old son Martin's papers.

And here are all of our beautiful papers torn to bits as we work on our ATC's. Did you stop breathing? How could we do that to our beautiful papers? Right? But one must do what one must do. These papers are fulfilling their destiny. They were not meant to be works of art in and of themselves. They were meant to be a part of something bigger. And joining together with other materials, they can be even greater than they ever could have been on their own. Something really beautiful and meaningful, a true masterpiece. And the same goes with our lives. We can do so much more when we join our giftings with those of others' and work together. And we can be used to encourage and lift others up along the way. We were not meant to stay independent and isolated. We were meant to make a difference and an investment in the lives of others. We all have so much to offer. And that's what this group, The Artistic Mother's Art Group, is all about. Isn't it.

Now for the ATC's:

I made two more cards and another ATC.

Here is my ATC.

And here are my cards. On one of the cards, I pasted the hearts on upside down. Oops. And it could have been such a nice card. It had so much potential. Oh well. That's all right. That's why we practice. We learn from our mistakes. I'll make sure to pay better attention next time. Won't I?

Here is Kimberly's ATC.

Here are Emily's ATC's. She did six! She plans to do a whole deck of playing cards. She's going to collage the backside because she still wants to be able to play with the cards. Practical art. Isn't she clever? Which of Emily's is your favorite? I would love to know. Do tell.

And here is Martin's ATC.

Aren't they all so sweet? This was such fun. I highly recommend having an art day as part of your or your children's birthday celebration.

And then after all of that hard work, we went for a nice stroll around the neighborhood as the sun was starting to go down, waved down the ice cream truck, then went inside to have apple pie and cheese cake. What a great ending to a great day. You couldn't ask for a better birthday, just hanging out and enjoying time with the ones you love.

And now I must start working on my poetry journal using what's left of my background papers. Wish me luck. I'll show you what I come up with tomorrow or the next day. See you then. Happy creating. Trudy

And The Winner of My Birthday Giveaway is.... & What I did on my Birthday

2010-03-29T11:16:00.010-05:00

And the winner, chosen by Random Number Generator, of these beautiful cards I made using my background papers from Week One of The Artistic Mother workshop for my birthday giveaway is Mandy of Eight is Enough. She is one of the participants of The Artistic Mother Art Group I am hosting here on my blog where we are going through the 12 projects in The Artistic Mother workshop together, blogging about it and encouraging one another. (And we are still accepting participants if you would like to join in the fun.) She is a homeschooling mother of 8. Fun and encouraging person. She also does beautiful layouts for her scrapbook pages. Congratulations, Mandy.

I would also like to say a big thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. And what did I do for my birthday weekend? The children and I did art most of the day. We made more ATC's, artist trading cards, and greeting cards from our background papers from Week One. Just more practice for making the poetry journal, our project for Week Two.

And on Sunday after church, our neighborhood was having a block party. We all met at the park at the back of the neighborhood. There were blowup slides and jumping things for the kids, hot dogs, music, frisbee, riding scooters and skateboards and face painting, etc. Another mom from the neighborhood who I haven't seen in a while brought several hula hoops, and I hula hooped. It was so much fun. I'm hooked. It's something I can do with the kids while getting in shape at the same time. I hadn't done this since I was a kid. So I was surprised when I was able to do it. The reason I was able to was because the hoops were of better quality than the ones you buy for the kids. They are bigger around in diameter. It makes a huge difference. So trust me, if you had one of these hoops, you could do it, too. She also showed me a few tricks. And she told about this website where you can take online hooping classes. Looks interesting. They have a section, I think under FAQ's, where they show you how to make your own hoops.

And here is a picture of my 9 year old daughter, Emily of Super Stitches, hula hooping with several at the same time. This was her first time she was successful with hula hooping. I told you, it's the hoop you use that makes all the difference. Emily has an awesome blog; so check it out.

I would also like to share with you that my 16 year old daughter has a blog as well called What To Wear. It's cute and fun.

And also for those of you who may not be aware, I also having sewing, fashion and style blog. So please look around and see what you think. Click here.

My Birthday & A Giveaway For You!

2010-03-26T10:33:00.004-05:00

Hey, Everybody! Today is my birthday! I'm a young 45! I'm celebrating by giving you the present! I made two cards just this morning using my background papers from Week One of The Artistic Mother Workshop we are all going through together. I applied the technique for making mini-collages by making ATC's, artist trading cards, just a bit bigger. that I mentioned in my previous post. I made a view finder the size of my cards. These cards can be given away or can actually be used as part of another project, for example, a wall hanging. Use your imagination.

This giveaway is open to my followers only. So if you would like to be included, please sign up as a follower and then leave a comment letting me know that you are a follower. I will use Random Generator to choose a winner from those followers who leave me a comment. Please make sure that I have a way to get ahold of you. You will have one week from the time I have announced the winner to contact me to claim your prize.

So sign up as a follower and leave your comments now! You have until Sunday evening to leave your comments.

Mini-Collage Practice as a Warmup for Poetry Journal

2010-03-25T10:32:00.002-05:00

Here are my versions of practicing doing mini-collages as a warmup before doing the poetry journal, Week Two's project in The Artistic Mother workshop. Shona of An Artful Life and author of The Artistic Mother has done a post about this with a tutorial. I really suggest you take a look at it because she goes into detail breaking it down into steps showing how to make and use a view finder in order to help you make the proper combinations. It's a very easy method and can be used on many projects.

I used my background papers from Week One to make these. The first two were made by tearing and cutting up strips of my papers and glueing them onto a playing card. The last photo is a greeting card. The same process was used. The papers were glued onto some card stock that was folded in half to make a card instead of onto a playing card.

Art Action Plan Sheet

2010-03-24T08:30:00.005-05:00

I painted a couple of other sheets of paper with lighter colors and decided to use this one for my Art Action Plan sheets from Week One of The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole. I didn't stamp it or do the edges with the oil pastels, although it probably would have been a nice touch. Just good old paint over gessoed paper. I used the monoprinting techniques mentioned on Page 61 where you apply a couple of drops of paint, two different colors, on one half of the paper and spread it around with a rag or a brush, lay the other half of the paper over it, rub it, then open, then add a second color to the unpainted parts and blend. I love the way it turned out.

I then scanned it into the computer for future use as recommended on Page 71, Step 4. I also scanned in one of my other sheets to use for stationery. I'm hooked now. I don't think I can ever buy store bought stationery or To Do List sheets at the store again. I love making my own. This is very addicting.

I am so loving going through the projects in this book The Artistic Mother with all of you. There are so many great project ideas within the 12-week step-by-step workshop course and the book's message of how to bring creativity back into our lives, the weekly action plan to help us make the best use of our time and the tips on creating time and space in our lives for our art. I am getting so much out this book along with the support of this group being hosted on my blog, The Artistic Mother Art Group. You are all so encouraging, and I am really enjoying getting to know you and making new friends. Thank you for all of the wonderful comments on my previous post about my background papers that I painted.

If you are new to my blog and would like to learn more about this art group, please read my post about it here.

My Background Papers for the Artistic Mother Art Group are Done

2010-03-22T10:03:00.005-05:00

Drum roll, please. My background papers for Week One of The Artistic Mother Workshop are done! Yea. It was fun. Wasn't it? The last picture shows my papers before they were stamped and the edges rubbed with oil pastels. Amazing what a different the stamping makes. Isn't it? I wasn't especially fond of my papers at first. But then after I had stamped them, I fell in love with them. I plan to make more papers with lighter colors. I have a few but not enough. But this will get me started. It's so nice having a stash of papers just ready to go for the future projects and not have to stop to make them later.

I still have to make my Art Action Plan Sheets, but that won't take too long. I'll just choose one of these pretty little papers to print them on.

Now on to Week Two, the poetry journal. I am so excited about this. It will make writing my own poetic words so much more fun. And we get to use bits of our papers. And after the poetry journal, we'll be making the poetry tote to carry our journal in. There will be coordinating elements within each; so they will match. What joy! What joy! Aren't you excited, too?

I need to go and read the Suggested Art Action Plan on Page 73 now so I can make sure that I'm also doing the other parts of the workshop because it's not just about doing the projects. The projects are provided to help us put into practice the concept of doing a little bit of art each day and making time for it in the midst of our busy lives. The poetry and photography assignments will be used in our future projects. So I need to make sure I'm doing those, too, so when I get to those projects, I have everything I need for them. I don't want the stress of having to rush around at the last minute trying to get it done, kind of like cramming for a test. Yuck! Who wants that stress? I want to enjoy this journey as much as possible. I think if I do a little each day in each area, I will get there in the end.

I hope you are all having fun, too. I've seen many of your papers, and they are just totally gorgeous. Remember, don't compare your papers to anyone else's and remember, too, that they are not meant to be works of art in and of themselves. We will be tearing them up and using them for our projects. So we are not going for perfection here.

For those of you who haven't done your papers yet or if you are just joining our group, don't fret. You still have time to do them. We are just now getting into Week 2, and we will spend two weeks on it so that everyone has a chance to catch up. I know that everyone's lives are extremely busy and that you-all have so much going on; that's why we are spending two weeks on each project, even though the book would have us do them in one. Because we will all have sick days, out-of-town company, vacations, holidays, other projects we would like to do in between these projects and just life, errands, laundry, cooking, etc., etc. So this workshop is totally doable for everyone. And it will teach us how to balance our lives and manage our time; so we need it. I know I do!

Are you taking photos of your kids, reading a little poetry each day? Week 2 will have us doing a little writing, not poetry, but words. They are short assignments. But each week's assignments will build upon the previous week's. It will take just a few minutes each day. It's really quite fun. I find that it is stretching me in a way that I haven't been stretched before and causing me to look at my world and my family in a more appreciative way. And in the end I will have made some precious keepsakes that will hold my memories.

Let me know how you're doing. How is it going for you? Are you having fun? What are you learning and getting out of The Artistic Mother's Art Group? Have you made any new friends? I know I have. You all have been great, and I feel that I am becoming friends with several of you all ready. You have been such a support to me. And that's what this group is all about, being a community and supporting and encouraging one another. A big thank you to all of you who have been visiting around. It makes such a difference. We don't want anyone to feel isolated. We are in this together.

And please note that several have joined us and I have several more that are about to be added since you've started. I keep my list updated here as well as The Artistic Mother's Art Group Blog List in my sidebar. Whoever has posted most recently moves to the top. To see all of the participants, just click the "show all." If you have made your own list of participants on your blog, please either update yours with the new participants or come and check out my blog list each day for those who have recently posted because we want everyone to get visits. It's so important that we are here for one another. Thank you so much. I am so glad that I am doing this workshop with you and not alone. You are all amazing!

Also, Shona Cole, author of The Artistic Mother, has just done an awesome post that will be a big help to us as move into Week Two. She suggests making mini collages on playing cards to practice using our background papers before we start making our journals to train our eye to see both bad and good composition and color choices. View it as a little warmup before diving into the journal project. I am definitely going to do this. It looks like fun. She's done an excellent tutorial showing a step-by-step. I'll show you mine in a couple of days when I get it done; then I'll start working on my journal.

The Kids' Painted Papers & My Gessoed Papers

2010-03-18T08:30:00.004-05:00

The kids have been so inspired by my being involved in The Artistic Mother's Art Group that they painted for hours a couple of days ago. They were also inspired by the work of Lance Cross, Abstract by Lance. You can see some of his work on the post I did about him. They were calling their paintings, Abstract by Martin and Abstract by Emily. It was so cute.

The first two photos are Emily's, and the next two are Martin's. The next four photos show me putting the gesso on my papers. I gessoed colored card stock, white computer paper, junk mail, worksheets from an old Latin workbook, and some music sheets, which are not pictured.

The last photo is a picture frame that Emily decorated with buttons. She has posted about this on her blog. She has a really cute blog with lots of fun things going on.

Also, Shona Cole of An Artful Life and Author of The Artistic Mother did a post on the rubber stamps that she uses and where she purchased them. I thought I would let you know in case you weren't sure what type of stamps to use when stamping your background papers. You can use any kind you like. This will just give you some ideas if you need them. She is also doing a giveaway on her blog. She is giving away a copy of the magazine Studios by Cloth Paper Scissors. Good luck. I hope one of you win it.

I finished painting my papers last night, and I'll be stamping them today. I'll probably show you the pictures of them tomorrow.

Motherhood Article & Artistic Mother Art Group Mentioned at Shutter Sisters

2010-03-17T12:43:00.001-05:00

Shona Cole has written a beautiful article about the art of motherhood and also talks about The Artistic Mother's Art Group over at Shutter Sisters. She also mentions that she would love to see pictures of your precious children and requests that you leave a link for her to go and take a look. You will love her article. It is very inspirational and will bless your day. I encourage you to go and read it.

I am hoping to paint my papers today! They are already gessoed. After seeing all of your beautiful papers, I'm getting excited that maybe I can do this. I sure hope mine look half as good as yours. Oh, and my children already did their papers. They beat me to it. I'll try to get a picture to show you soon. The creative bug has really bitten them since I started this group. Hope everyone is having fun. I know I am. You guys make it all worth it. I've been really enjoying reading your blogs and following your progress. I'm learning so much from you!

Above picture: My two girls having a bad hair day.

Show & Tell Fridays, Calling All Artistic Mother's Art Group Participants, and Everyone Else, Too

2010-03-16T08:30:00.006-05:00

Donna Rodgers from Comin' Home is an avid quilter, seamstress, and crafter. She is hosting a weekly Show & Tell on her blog that includes anything you are working on in any medium: sewing, painting, cooking, photography, altered art, scrapbooking, etc. She wants to encourage everyone in their creative pursuits. Just send a picture of your latest endeavor, finished or in progress, a little blurb about your submission, and a link back to your website or blog. She will post it on the very next Friday. You can send one every week if you like. She has a Show & Tell and an I Was Featured button that you can grab and put on your sidebar if you like.

She said that she would really love to have submissions of people from the Artistic Mother's Art Group's progress. So if you want to show off your work, contact Donna. This show and tell is for everyone not just participants of The Artistic Mother's Art Group.

Also, don't forget that there is The Artistic Mother on Flickr that you can post your book-related work on if you like. The Flickr group is for anyone going through Shona's book, The Artistic Mother, not just participants of The Artistic Mother Art Group. The button is in my sidebar.

(The above photo is of my teenage daughter, on the right, with her cousin having fun. Sorry it's so blurry but I loved it so much I had to share it anyway. I currently have an inexpensive point-and-shoot camera. We're hoping to get a better one some day Hope you enjoy it anyway.)

A Must Read for Artsy Moms

2010-03-15T08:30:00.002-05:00

Donna of Comin' Home has done an awesome post about the creative home. She shares about her childhood growing up with artist parents and how she has raised her own children in an artistic environment and how she has accomplished this. She shows us how we too can have creative homes, how our children and husbands can join us in our creativity, how we can put it into action. Very easy, practical, common sense advice. Living the artistic life for this family just comes naturally. It's not something they have to think about. It's just what they do, how they live. It's as natural as breathing and eating. It's a part of the everyday routine.

This is one of the most amazing posts I think I have ever read on the subject, and Donna is an amazing person. If you have not met her yet, I encourage you to look around her blog. It is by far my favorite homemaking blog. She is a wife, mother, homemaker, sewer, artist, song writer, home educator and more and probably one of the sweetest women you will ever know. I am so excited about what she shares in her post, and I can't wait to put it into practice. I want what they have for my family.

The post is rather long; so make sure you have five minutes to read it when you go. But it is worth every minute. I encourage you to read it all the way through. I truly believe that it will make a difference in your life and that of your family and help you along this journey that we are all taking together of learning how find the time for our art and making it our lifestyle, daily. I'd love to know what you think of her post after you've read it.

And hope you enjoy the above photos of my family having fun together playing frisbee in the backyard. We cherish our family time, and I love to share some of our special moments with you. They are what make my life worthwhile.

Encouragement for The Artistic Mother Art Group

2010-03-13T08:30:00.001-06:00

I would like to encourage everyone to visit around the other participants' blogs and leave encouraging comments and really support one another as we go along on this journey together. I know many of you are doing this already, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You've already been such an encouragement to me. It's so easy to get discouraged from time to time and to feel like we aren't doing a good job. I would like for us to be a community of women who are there for one another, keeping the lines of communication flowing, and lifting one another up, since we will all get down from time to time.

If any of you are feeling discouraged at this time or struggling with being too critical of your work, Shona has done a wonderful post called "A Word to the Discouraged."

Also, so that I have a way to reach everyone if I have an important message to send you, if you haven't already sent me your email address, please do so at sewingwithtrudy at yahoo dot com.

Speaking of being able to reach everyone, I have not been able to reach Dani of A Sprinkle of Fairy Dust. Dani, if you are reading this, I don't have your email address; and I've tried to leave comments on your blog, but the comment box will not open when I click on "comments." So you may wish to look into that. I hope you will also send me an email.

Anyway, thanks again everyone for your participation in The Artistic Mother Art Group. I know we are all going to grow so much and develop the habit of doing a little art each day and figure out how to balance our family and our art, while at the same time, not neglecting our families or other responsibilities.

SpringFest Art Festival, Texas Wine & Art

2010-03-12T10:11:00.012-06:00

(I would like to thank Lance Cross for providing and allowing me to use the photos of his work.)

This past weekend my husband and I got away for a few hours, just the two of us, and went to the SpringFest, Texas Wine and Art, in Old Town Spring. We had a lovely time holding hands and walking around looking at all of the art booths. There were only two that captured our attention. We saw the coolest carved cacti. I am sorry, but I didn't think to get the name of the creator of these. But they were very fascinating; so I wanted to share a few pictures of them for your enjoyment.

Then we saw the art of Lance Cross of Abstract by Lance. Oh my! You must see these in person to really appreciate their beauty. The texture and depth of each piece is extraordinary. He mixes things like sawdust and wood shavings in the paint to obtain the textures. Then he uses a method that he developed that he calls tuck and flow, a term which he coined. He uses acrylic paints on canvas with a high gloss enamel finish and makes his own frames. He is a fairly new artist and completely self-taught. His work comes from within and is divinely inspired. He is always coming up with new techniques and trying new things. He said that if someone says that something can't be done, he tries it; and quite often proves them otherwise. He is always on the look out for new materials to use for texture. So he is the one to bookmark and watch because I think his work is going to get better and better. I am very impressed, to say the least. The pictures on his website are a bit small, but he has them on Flickr as well, which is a little easier to see. He was so popular that he always had a crowd around him. He sold 15 of his pantings that weekend. I hope to have one of his masterpieces hanging in my home. So if you want to be inspired and amazed, pay Lance a visit. Click on my photos to enlarge them so you can see the textures and colors better.

If you are here in Texas and would like to see Lance's work in person, he will be at The Market Street Art Show in The Woodlands April 24th.

How to Keep Your Gessoed Papers From Curling

2010-03-11T10:04:00.008-06:00

Thanks, Shona, for the photo above.

Below is from an email I received from Shona Cole, author of The Artistic Mother. A couple of people have asked her about their paper curling as they gesso to prime. She wanted me to share her response with The Artistic Mother Art Group so that everyone can benefit from the information.

1) THE PAPER WILL CURL UP A LITTLE AT THE SIDES THAT IS NORMAL...WHEN DRY, WHICH IS A SHORT TIME, I PUT THE STACK UNDER A BIG BOOK OVER NIGHT.

2) A LOT OF CURLING (IE. CURLING UP ON ITSELF LIKE A SWEDISH FISH IN LOVE) MAY BE BECAUSE YOU ARE USING TOO MUCH WATER...I USE ONLY A DAMP BRUSH AND VERY LITTLE WATER TO SPREAD THE GESSO. (IF YOU ARE GESSOING OVER WORDS ON JUNK MAIL AND YOU WANT THEM TO SHOW THROUGH, YOU WILL USE MORE WATER, BUT STILL NOT THAT MUCH... YOU WILL HAVE TO FIND THAT BALACE BY PRACTICE.)

3) USE A WHOLE LOT OF GESSO. SPREAD THE GESSO ON THICK. IT IS NOT A WASH WHEN YOU ARE PREPARING PAPERS. YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE ANY PLAIN PAPER WHEN DONE (THE COLORED PAPER WILL TINT THE GESSO A LITTLE, BUT IT IS A SUBTLE EFFECT.)

4) HUMIDITY CAN ALSO BE A FACTOR. IF IT IS HUMID AND YOUR PAPERS ARE CURLING, JUST STICK THE PAPERS UNDER A BOOK OVER NIGHT!

5) THE TYPE OF PAPER SHOULDN'T MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE, BUT THE LIGHTER THE PAPER WEIGHT THE MORE CURLING YOU SHOULD EXPECT.

6) DON'T WORRY TOO MUCH. A LITTLE CURLING AND BUMPING IS NOT A PROBLEM. THE PROJECTS YOU WILL BE DOING ALL REQUIRE SMALL PIECES OF PAPER; SO YOU WILL BE CUTTING AND TEARING THESE SHEETS AND GLUING THEM TO THINGS. THEN THEY WILL BE FLAT!

Photo Taking Tips for the Artistic Mother Art Group

2010-03-10T09:50:00.003-06:00

A big thank you to my husband, Marty Callan, for taking the above photo.

Presentation is everything! You've worked so hard to make your beautiful works of art; so you'll want to take some great photos to best show it off. Disney of Ruffles and Stuff has done an excellent tutorial on how to take the best photos of your work. She has examples of how your subject will look in different lighting and with different backgrounds. I recommend you pop on over and read all about it. Below I have done a quick summary of her photography tips. But if you're visual like me, you'll want to see her examples. When you go to her site, look in the archives for her post. It was done on March 2nd, 2010. For some reason I wasn't able to get the link to go directly there. Sorry.

1: Always take photos in outdoor lighting! A cloudy day is best, to avoid shadows, or look for some shade.

2: Use a good background! Use a large white mat board or a white sheet, pretty papers, or nature, so long as you can see your subject clearly.

3: Get creative with your photo. You don't want your subject to always be centered! Play around with different angles, fun backgrounds Look for interesting backgrounds.

4: Photo-editing programs. So important. You can use iPhoto and Photoshop for cropping, adjusting the exposure, and color temperature, and if you don't have access to those, try using Picnik, which is a free online photo-editing site.

Sidenote: Now check out my nine year old daughter Emily's blog. She has done a post about things she and her brother Martin made with paper mache. This post is sure to be an inspiration for your kids. Then click on "home" and "older posts" to see all of her posts and look around. She's an incredible kid.

Poetry Recommendations for The Artistic Mother Art Group

2010-03-09T09:23:00.008-06:00

A big thank you to my husband, Marty Callan, for taking the above photo.

As part of The Artistic Mother workshop, we are encouraged to read poetry each day. See Pages 48 through 51. Much poetry is just so deep and vague that you have to really try to figure out what the meaning was behind it. As a busy momma, I don't have time to sit around thinking that hard. I need something that is easily accessible for my mind to digest, that I can still be reflecting upon as I go about my day. I want poetry that will lift my thoughts to a higher plane, that will give me beautiful thoughts to think. If our minds are filled with lovely things, they will not be as likely to wander to the negative. I want poetry that will make me smile and cause me to reflect on my life around me, that will lead me to appreciate my world a little more.
This is the list recommended by Shona Cole of An Artful Life on her blog. I have her permission to share this with you. She also has more recommendations for poetry in the index of her book The Artistic Mother on Pages 126 and 127.

1) Late Wife by Claudia Emersen – This is about a woman’s experience of a divorce. Powerful, brilliant, moving. Brilliant metaphors at every turn.

2) Mean Time by Carol Ann Duffy

3) The World Doesn’t End by Charles Simic – this is a brilliant, surreal, fun, devastating look at the absurd

4) The Trouble with Poetry by Billy Collins – funny, insightful, cuts through, holds up and describes the oddest things.

5) Delights & Shadows by Ted Kooser – what a lovely world this poet lives in, concrete, real, he studies those around him and reflects their mundane lives with dignity

6) North by Seamus Heaney – This is a little dense, but the words are layered and lovely and earthy.

7) Anne Stevenson selected poems – a delight, she is that wise older woman who is gentle and insightful. Her poems are real and well ‘seen’.

8) The Art of The Lathe by B.H. Fairchild – This poet is a MASTER of the English language. He writes about subject matter in such a way that makes the reader compelled, riveted, amazed!

9) Good Poems complied by Garrison Keillor – this is the perfect starter poetry book, he has complied a complete, easy to read, diverse look at modern poetry.

10) Small Knots by Kelli Russell Agodon, She has insights and sensitive observations on life as a woman, daughter and a cancer survivor. Reading this book is like being touched by a light breeze ~ gentle and feminine, but sure.

If you have any poetry books that you recommend, please share.

*** Disclaimer – Some of these books are like watching movies that have been awarded an R rating. I would not recommend them for children ;) ***

For poetry for children that they would love and would cause them to love poetry, I highly recommend the works of Shel Silverstein. He has writen Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic.
IF YOU HAVEN'T JOINED US YET AND WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE in The Artistic Mother Art Group, LEAVE ME A COMMENT. I'M STILL ACCEPTING NEW MEMBERS.

The Artistic Mother on Flickr

2010-03-08T10:12:00.006-06:00

Anyone going through the projects found in Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother, is welcome to post photos of their work on The Artistic Mother on Flickr, even if they are not participating in The Artistic Mother Art Group. The Flickr group is separate and not connected with The Artistic Mother Art Group. It is for everyone.

Shona Cole has started The Artistic Mother Group on Flickr. We can inspire one another as we post our artwork based on the projects in her book, The Artistic Mother. Whether you are a mother or not, you are welcome to post so long as the work is book-inspired art based on Shona's book. When you upload your photo, please add a title or description that mentions which week's project the piece was inspired by. This will help others who are looking for inspiration for a specific project.

I look forward to seeing all of your creations on your blogs as well as all in one place on this Flickr group. Go here to get started posting.

IF YOU HAVEN'T JOINED US YET AND WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE, LEAVE ME A COMMENT. I'M STILL ACCEPTING NEW MEMBERS.

URGENT MESSAGE!! I received this from Jeannie. If you have a blog list for The Artistic Mother Art Group on your sidebar, please remove her blog from your blog list and add her new one so no one gets this virus. Thanks so much!

The Gambill Circle said...

Hi Trudy,
It seems that my blog takingthebackroad.blogspot.com
has been hit by some sort of malware. I've talked to several of my family members who follow and it is being blocked. I am working on getting a new site up this week as it seems removing the problem is more complicated than starting over.

Can I please sign up again for the Artistic Mother Group under the new URL? It would probably be a good idea to take the old address off the list if you can in case the malware is transferable.

So sorry for the inconvenience!

New blog & URL
taking the backroad: a family's adventure
backroadfamilyadventure.blogspot. com

Thanks! Jeannie

Button for the Artistic Mother's Art Group & Other News

2010-03-07T06:57:00.008-06:00

There have been a couple of changes in the instructions I sent you. To make things easier for everyone since our group has grown so much, instead of having to put all of the links in each post or on your sidebar, I have made a button for the group. Just grab my button and put that in your sidebar.

The other change is that instead of having to post at the end of each week, you may post about your progress any time of the week that is best for you; but do try to post weekly. When posting your progress each week, if you could mention the group and a link to my blog in your posts, that would be great. That way people can go to my blog and see the list of the other participants and click around to see their progress as well.

Please check my blog often for tips, notes of encouragement and exciting news. Coming soon will be a post about a Flickr group for our Mothers' art group and also a giveaway.

And if you could you please send me your email address to sewingwithtrudy at yahoo dot com so that if I want to do a group email, I'll have everyone's address? Thanks so much.

IF YOU HAVEN'T JOINED US YET AND WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE, LEAVE ME A COMMENT. I'M STILL ACCEPTING NEW MEMBERS.

Trudy

Tips on Background Paper Decorating

2010-03-06T10:37:00.001-06:00

Thank you, Shona, for the above photo.

Shona's post today is about making the background papers for using with the different projects in The Artistic Mother's workshop in Shona's book, The Artistic Mother. So just hop on over to read all about it. She has some great photos with the step-step-step instructions.

Getting Started on The Artistic Mother Workshop

2010-03-05T09:50:00.003-06:00

This post is for those who are doing or would like to do the 12-week workshop laid out in Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother, A Practical Guide to Fitting Creativity into Your LIfe.

IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO JOIN IN THE FUN!! I AM ACCEPTING LATE REGISTRATIONS. THE MORE THE MERRIER. JUST LEAVE ME A COMMENT.

Below is a message from Shona herself:

"One of the primary goals of my book is to give Moms, like me, like you a method of organization (time, space and mind) so that we can make space for art in our busy days.

In section one I lay out how important it is to create a vision statement, long term goals, short term goals and then a weekly schedule. In the workshop the weekly art schedule is made for you. But before you get there you need to take the time to create your vision statement (this is essential for project #4 anyhow), and to list your big and smaller art goals. These will help fuel your passion and resolve to keep at it.

So when you get the book, I recommend you read the first section thoroughly and take the time to do the mental preparation.

Next comes the physical preparation – getting your space and habits in order. Without some attention to these you may find it difficult to get going or keep it going over the course of the workshop.

You also have to start gathering the necessary supplies. I tried to use as few tools as possible in the projects, now is the time to see what you need to buy or borrow. One of the most important parts of creating the projects is having a large supply of papers, images and fabrics available to choose from as you create. So take some time to be a gatherer of stuff! I give you lots of ‘stuff’ ideas in the book.

The point is not to rush on and get the projects done, but to practice the process of slowing down, doing a little art a day and not becoming burnt out or stressed about it. Slow and steady, like the tortoise.

While I designed the workshop to be 12 weeks, in reality each ‘day’ could be 2 days or a week's work, whatever your circumstances calls for. The more realistic you are the more likely you are to stick with it.

The secondary focus of the book is to turn your artistic eye home, to your family, your kids. So be prepared to take photos and write about your world. Even if you don’t have kids, each of the projects could easily be adapted to be non-kid focused. You could focus on your spouse, parents, nieces and nephews, pets, friends, your personal items and so on, so don’t feel left out if you don’t have kids!!!

Check in tomorrow as I will be posting some recent photos of me making the background pages (Week 1) in the Artistic Mother workshop."

New Artistic Mother's Group Forming; I Invite You to Join Us

2010-02-24T14:55:00.134-06:00

UPDATE: MAY 17TH, 2011. THIS GROUP IS NOW CLOSED TO NEW PARTICIPANTS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST.

I have this deep desire in me to create; but as a busy momma, it is so difficult to find the time; but yet so needed. I do not wish to wait until my children are grown. I would like to live the life of an artistic mother before my children and in turn spark their creativity as well.

Being creative helps me to slow down and bring a sense of wonder to my life and that of my family. I feel that motherhood and art go hand in hand. As Donna Rodgers of Homemaking Made Easy so wisely states, "Art and homemaking are inseparable, and I want moms to know that they can do both. It's my personal vision that our homes and mothering are the place where we are destined and designed by nature to express our art." And to quote Shannon Mucha of Blu-Bambu "Art as life; life as art."

I started this group because I have a hard time balancing doing art every day along with carrying on with my every day life. I figured that other women might struggle with this as well. I thought it would be nice if we all came together as an accountability group to encourage one another, find inspiration from one another and build the habit of doing something artistic each day, even if only for 15 minutes, as we go through the 12 projects in Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother. I have already read the book. It's fantastic. Even though she has the workshop where she takes you step by step through the projects, it really isn't a project or technique book. It is more of a conceptual book where she is sharing her vision for making art something you do each day. She shares why it is so vital. She says that as moms we should not deny that inner need to create because then we risk depression. When moms are unhappy, they yell at their kids. Then we have unhappy families, and the family is seen as not such a nice place to be. When moms are happy, she is nice to her children; and they grow up to be happy people. Also, when mom is doing art, she is passing that creativity on to her children as well. She is making her home a more beautiful place and therefore the world a more beautiful place. Everyone benefits. It's important for you to be happy, Mom, for so many reasons.

She helps also the reader to make a vision statement, set goals, set up an art area, to prioritize and suggests ways to get rid of distractions that keep you from your art. She suggest ways to fit in doing art while running a busy household. I am getting so much out of it. I think it will help me as well as other women if we can do this together. Her book also spotlights seven working artists.

So we will spend two weeks on each project instead of the recommended one since I know that life happens to give everyone a chance to keep up. But if anyone gets behind, that's okay. It's a no-pressure group. We will blog about our progress at the end of each week and share the links of the other participants so that everyone can click around and keep up with the others.

Some of our participants include one of the women who participated in the Round Robin Collaboration on Page 22, Cindy Mayfield of Yapping Cat Studio; Audrey Hernandez of Small Creations, one of the guest artists, on Page 124; Shannon Mucha of Blu-Bamboo, another guest artist in the book on Page 16; the designer of the book, Marissa Bowers, Vanessa Spencer, the shoppe manager for Stampington & Company and many working artists who do art shows but find they need this because although they do their art on a pretty regular basis they find themselves working like crazy when getting ready for a show, letting the house fall apart; and then when the show is over, they get out of the habit of doing a little art each day. This will help them find that balance that they need. So this group offers something for everyone. So far we have an amazing group of women who have signed up. The list is at the bottom of my post if you want to click around to see who is doing this. I update it daily. I feel so honored to be a part of this with them. I started the group just a few days ago, and it is already growing so quickly. We could possibly have hundreds join us. Another benefit is that we will find other great blogs and others will find us because we are all linking to each other. If the list is too long for everyone to put the links on their posts each week when they do their end-of-the-week progress post, they could just put the link to my blog stating that I have the master list so that everyone can visit around and keep up with everyone. Or they could put the list with links in their sidebar even. Whatever they want to do. Our launch date is Saturday, March 6th. But anyone can jump in at any time if they can't start at the beginning.

Going through Shona's book has given me just the right inspiration to help me build the habit of doing something artistic each day. Shona Cole of An Artful Life, a young mother of five, ages 1 to 10, has found a way to integrate motherhood and art instead of waiting till the children are older to focus on her artistic side. She is offering a free copy of her book. Go here to find out how you can get one.

As Shona says, "There are so many distractions in life, we need to write down our vision and goals, print them out, read and re-read them every day. And what also helps to keep us on track is having blogger accountability." That is what is so great about this project.

For more reading about how to fit art into your life and more information about this incredible book, you can also read my post titled "How I get It All Done." It is on my sewing blog. Click here if interested.

And for a blog that inspires children to be creative, I would like to recommend my 9 year old daughter's blog, Emily of Super Stitches. She crafts and sews.

Catch the vision. Join us today. The more the merrier. I would also like to invite grandmothers to join us because you spend time with your grandchildren and finding time for you to nurture your creative side can be a challenge as well. Let me know if you'd like to join us, and I'll add your name to the list.

If you are joining us, you will need to get the book as soon as possible from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or some other bookstore so that you have time to gather your supplies and start collecting a stash of papers, newspapers, magazines, ticket stubs, scrap booking stickers, etc. The first project of the book will have us starting out making our background papers.

And please do a blog post about it and invite others to join. Please give a link to my blog for those who may wish to join so they can come here and get the details and sign in. I am keeping a master list of all participants.

Each week do a post of your progress as you go through the book. Please include a mention of our group and link to my blog. I am keeping a master of all participants in my sidebar. That way everyone can click around and see the other participants' progress as well.

To make things easier for everyone since our group has grown so much,instead of having to put all of the links in each post or on your sidebar, I have made a button for the group. Just grab my button and put that in your sidebar.

Please check my blog often for tips, notes of encouragement and exciting news. Coming soon will be a post about a Flickr group for our Mothers' art group and also a giveaway

Thanks and have fun!

List of participants so far. Is your name on this list?

1. Trudy Callan of Artistic Creations With Trudy, group organizer
2. Linn of Peace Living
3. Jenny of All Roads Lead Home
4. Nicole Austin of Life is Beautiful
5. Shannon of Blu-Bambu. Shannon is one of the guest artists in the book on Page 16.
6. *Cindy Mayfield of Yapping Cat Studio is mentioned in the book on Page 22 as part of the Round Robin Collaboration. Good going, Cindy.
7. Deb Robertson of Works in Progress
8.* Lindsay of Banter
9. Debra of Florentine Lily
10. Joyce of Nanas Little Hobby
11. Stampelot Sue of Stamp Art-o-Rama
12. Marissa Bowers of Art * Design * Photo. Marissa is the book's designer! Didn't she do a beautiful job?
13. Dani of And a Sprinkle of Fairy Dust
14. Kathryn of Flexie Smit
15. Crafter of Creatively Chaotic Days
16. Kathy Smith of Laughable Life
17. Mandy of Eight Is Enough
18. Jennifer of Coplings Hobbit Hole
19. *Angelique of An Artistic Mother's Exploration
20. Lynn Toomey of Let's Gogh Art.
21. Kathryn of KV Creative Designs.
22. bitowhimsey of The Road to Whimsey.blogspot.com
23. *Beth of Acorn Pies
24. Diva Kreszl of Diva's Musings
25. Nicks of Nicks Arty Stuff
26. Jeannie of Backroad Family Adventure
27. Bethany Kartchner of Creative Ruminations
28. Holly of Dreams on the Horizon.
29. Kristi of Lived In Life.
30. *Lucy Edson of Lucy's Crafty Life.
31. Audrey of Small Creations.. Audrey is one of the guest artists in the book on Page 124.
32. Melinda of Melinda's Fabric Fancie's
33. Francesca of Ode To Posterity
34. Jenny of Jenny Powers Art
35. Shelly of Green Chic
36. Rebeccakes of Perpetual Backburner
37. Kristin of Twinkle Twinkle
38. Jen of Mysteries of the Juniper
39. Dana of School For Us
40. Ellen of Shimmer & Tulle
41. Vicki of TX Scrap Addict
42. Java Venus of Java's Whimsy
43. Alena of Serinissima
44. Tracee of Vintage Lilliput
45. *Mama Magpie of Midwest Magpies
46. Becky of Create-ive Space
47. Susanne of Zueeuz
48. Jennifer of Art Bliss
49. Lisa of Life Unity
50. *Kim of Whimsy and the Word
51. Shawna of Why Not Both
52. Grace of A Lovely Thought......An Artsy Side of Life
53. Sharon Manning of Sharon Manning Photography
54. Vanessa Spencer of My Art, My Life.... and shoppe manager for Stampington & Company
55. Lissy of Memories Contained
56. Colette of Tea Rose
57. Contessa Kris of Collage Contessa
58. Anita of Creative Space
59. Colleen Blake of Main Street Memories
60. Latisha of Handmaiden Voyage
61. Mamma of Mamma Loves
62. Vickie of Art-A-Mama
63. Lis of Dandelion Seeds & Dreams
64. Tina of The New England Cupboard
65. Amelia of Notes From the Edge
66. Julie of Julie Jordan Scott
67. Laura of An Artful Passage
68. Melody of The Demanding Doll
69. Suzette of Shabbie Skraps
70. Laurie of A Million Bushels
71. Adrienne of A Soul Journal
72. Eden of Artful Fairy Tales
73. * Monica of Bohemian Shadows
74. Thien-Kim aka Kim of Cup of Creativi-Tea
75. Over Yonder of Who's Learning? Who's Teaching?
76. Imene of A Journey to a Simple Happy Life
77. Rani of Scrap Yoga
78. Andrea of Vintage Bella Studio
79. Heather of My Everyday Graces
80. Bertie of Life at Wildberry Cottage
81. Beverley of Bunny's Girl
82. Rebecca of My Momentary Lapses of Reason
83. Lorraine of Love of Collage
84. Jen of By Jen - My Creative Adventure and Inspiration
85. Carin of Created With Love
86. Robinsunne
87. Sassy of Keep Me In Your Heart
88. Express of Express & Create Imagery
89. Emily of Super Stitches
90. Johwey of Johwey Redington
91. Esther of Emakesart
92. Tonya of Plain and Joyful Living
93. Deb of Hand Stitched
94. Leslie of Words of Me Project
95. Jodi of Opened Door
96. *Kelly of Artful Happiness, News & Notes From The Happy Shack
97. Deanna of A Crafty Mom's Life
98. Cindi aka Ericksoc of So, That's Why!
99. Jade Erin Scarlett of Jade Erin Scarlett OSCI
100 Kristen of Acorn Hill Studios
101 Lisa of All Things Wonderful
102.Sonya of Sonya Mac Designs
103.Dawn of Life Lines Journaling
104.Tiffani of Breakfast at Tiffani's (& Lunch & Dinner &...)
105: Jess of The Rented Cottage Life
Now we just need you!

Note: Due to copyright laws, we are not allowed to do tutorials or step-by-step photos of the projects on our blogs or take photos of the pages in the book and post them. You may post a photo of your version of the project and talk about your experiences and feelings relating to it.

Also, if you are doing this project with a friend, each person must have their book unless you are doing it together under the same roof. No photocopying of the book, please.

A Weed or a Flower?

2010-02-23T11:53:00.006-06:00

Weeds upon my windowsill?

I should say not!

When presented by sweet little hands
and beaming faces,

but the most beautiful of bouquets.

"For you, Mommy."

Dollies for Haiti Orphans

2010-02-17T07:00:00.001-06:00

Thank you, Sarah, for the above photo.

Sarah Hanson, the founder of Dolly Donations, providing dollies for orphans around the world, is currently doing an active dolly drive for The Abundant Ground Foundation - Haiti Orphanage.

The Abundant Ground Foundation is a wonderful organization that has an orphanage in Haiti housing 181 children between the ages of birth to 12. They also provide food and necessary items to displaced families through their Abundant Ground in Haiti program.

They would love to be able to give Dolly Donation Dollies to all of their orphans and will ship them to Haiti on 31st of March, 2010.

They need 103 Girl Dollies and 78 Boy Dollies
Yup, that’s a Total 181 Dollies by March 31st.

Sarah is asking for anyone that can to help by making a dolly or two and also asking anyone that will to spread the word by doing a blog post about the drive.

If we are lucky enough to make more than the 181 goal, Stephanie Victor, the President of The Abundant Ground Foundation, said they will be gratefully appreciated, shipped and distributed to the children of the surrounding area that have nothing to call their own.

Please send your Dollies to:

The Abundant Ground Foundation
96 East Raymond Avenue
Roosevelt, New York 11575.

By March 31st….. Remember the shipment leaves the US bound for Haiti ON the 31st of March!!!

Don't forget to pop a piece of paper in with your Dollies stating they are from the Dolly Donations Drive so we can get a tally of how many Dolls are turning up. Also, Sarah would love it if you would let her know how many you've sent.

Please let Sarah know if you would like to take part in this Dolly Drive by leaving a comment on her blog, and don't forget to send her your finished Dolly photos, or join the Dolly Donations Flickr Group and share them with everyone!

She has made a simple Free Rag Dolly pattern, all the steps photographed, and a couple of video tutorials also. It’s made to use up your left over material from past projects and easy enough so that parents can do it with their children. Please use a brown fabric skin tone.

One World One Heart Giveaway Winner

2010-02-15T12:02:00.003-06:00

Congratulations, Fran. You are my One World One Heart Giveaway Winner. Congratulations. Please email your address to me. And thank you to all who entered.

Hanging Heart Bag With Tutorial and Book Giveaway Offer

2010-02-13T07:20:00.002-06:00

In the latest issue of Stampington's Green Craft Vol. 2 is a heart bag by Becky Shander made out of brown paper grocery bags!

Our family's versions:

Mommy's

Emily's

Martin's

INSTRUCTIONS: For your heart bag, sketch a heart shape onto one side of a bag. With the bag flat,cut out the heart shape so that you have two pieces. Machine sew the heart edges together, leaving the top part open. We used red thread. Then lightly color your bag with pastels and blend. We used oil pastels. Becky used decorator chalk. Glue or paste pretty papers, buttons, ribbon, lace etc onto the front of the bag. Punch two holes at the top and put wire, ribbon or braided twine through the holes for handles. You may add some beads and ribbon or lace to the handle as well.

Becky's Version:

Shona Cole's version. Shona is the one who originally told me about Becky's hanging heart bag in the Green Craft magazine. She has done a post about it on her blog as well with a great picture tutorial.

Shona has written a fantastic book called The Artistic Mother. This book shows you, Mom, how you can fit creativity into your life. Go here to see how you can win a free copy of her book.

Finding Time For Your Art

2010-02-11T10:30:00.011-06:00

"Hi there

I have been reading your blog for quite some time now. How on earth do you do it all?

I studied fashion design. Got married. Had 2 children. Start working from home (making matricdresses, wedding dresses etc.) Then about 2 years ago I took my children out of school and started to homeschool. I really have a problem getting to everything. I must say I do believe the devil is stealing our time so that we do not have time to spend with. Maybe you can give me some advice on how you get to everything.

On a different note. Here in South Africa we get cases that hold all your bobbins. They are see through so that you can see the colour on them. Maybe someone already told you about them. I did not read the comments on your post yet.

Regards
Trolene E."

******

This is an email I received from one of my readers. I thought that I would answer it here as others may benefit.

MY ANSWER:

Well, actually I don't; but I'm getting there. I am juggling a lot of balls being a homeschooling mother of five, the youngest about to turn two. And you know how busy the two's are. I am also a home seamstress and an artist. Something has to give; and for me, that would be the housework. My home is far from perfect. The basics get done. But I have decided that that is good enough if I want to spend time with my family and work on my creative pursuits as well. I would rather spend time with my family and have some me time than have a home that is a show place. Serving my family is more important to me than trying to impress others. It's all about deciding what is most important, prioritizing and not worrying about the rest.

There are several things I do to maximize my time to make sure I have time to do what is important to me. First of all, I have a very supportive husband. He is willing to do most of the grocery shopping on his way home from work. That saves me several hours each week. I don't plan too many activities outside the home. When I run errands, I run the ones that are close in proximity in the same day. I don't watch TV. I don't spend a lot of time talking on the phone. I don't mindlessly surf the internet. I go to sites I need to go to and then get off.

My children help with the housework. I plan simple meals and use the crockpot often. That way I can throw the ingredients in in the morning and forget about it. I follow as many of Fly Lady's routines as possible. That would include doing one load of laundry each day, sometimes a little more. Each morning I follow a quick routine of wiping down the bathroom sink and counter, swishing the toilet, making the bed, emptying the dishwasher, throwing in a load of laundry, and 15 minutes of decluttering.

Then we start our day with devotions and school.

We do a quick pickup of the main rooms before dinner or bed, depending on which works best that day.

Now you ask: When do you sew or work on your art? I try to get up an hour or two before the kiddos so that I can have that time. I do my Bible reading and prayer time first, then work on my art or sewing. I do the morning routine when they are up. Now some moms fit their personal creative time in at night after everyone else has gone to bed. The time you choose will depend on if you work best in the mornings or at night. Yes. Some sleep is sacrificed, but it's worth it. If you have older children, you may be able to do your creative arts during the day. It's just more challenging when you have small children.
One thing I would like to point out is that as moms we usually do the housecleaning when the little ones are napping, but I am suggesting that we do our art and sewing time when they are napping and clean when they are up. Nap time because "me time." It's good for children to see us cleaning and even to pitch in. Sometimes I do my projects when the children are up, and I'll set things out for them, crayons, paints, play doh, fabric, etc.; and we create together. They will often want to do the same thing I am doing; so I will help them with theirs while doing my own. It takes a little longer, but it's fun. We are building memories, and they are learning to be creative, too, and to appreciate the process. So there are many ways to fit it in. Just takes a little thought and flexibility.

Everything doesn't always go as planned, and I don't always get to do everything on my list. But this is what I aim for. But even if I only get to sew or paint for 15 to 30 minutes each day, think about all that can be accomplished at the end of a month?

I think it's very important that we make this time for ourselves and do a little something each day no matter how busy we are.
I find that I am a better mom when I take a little time to invest in myself. I have more to give. It really helps to prevent burnout, even just doing a little something each day, even if only for 15 minutes.

You are probably still saying, "I just don't know how I can do it. You don't understand. There is no time. My life is too busy." I hear you. My friend Shona Cole of An Artful LIfe has been such a help to me and she has been helping me to work through this. She has taught me many of the things I have shared with you that I do. She has helped me to learn how to make time to create. She is a homeschooling mother of five small children, the youngest being a newborn. She is a photographer and an Artist On Call for Stampington & Co. Her mixed media collage work has appeared in many of their publications since 2005.

She has found a way to work on her art every day while still keeping the family life ticking. She has written a book that covers all of this called The Artistic Mother - A Practical Guide to Fitting Creativity into Your Busy Day, published by North Light Books, which is now available for sale at Amazon and bookstores across the nation on March 8, 2010.

I have just finished reading this book, and it is incredible. There are even more ideas for making your art a part of your every day life a reality than what I have shared with you in her book. She actually has figured out how to get it all done, including keeping the house up. And she shares all of this in her book. I am in process of implementing what I have learned from her book.

Shona starts off getting the reader thinking about her vision, setting goals, breaking them down into steps, setting up a dedicated space for doing art. The instructions and photos are very clear and easy to understand. If you are a beginning artist, Shona points out that it is very important to follow step-by-step instructions of other artists at first; and then you'll be able to branch off on your own with your own ideas. And I love the short essays of the artist moms that are spread through the book.

The book is broken down into three major sections:

The first section has lots of photos and mixed media collages scattered throughout. Here Shona discusses things like the nature of creativity and some practical, common sense, ideas to becoming motivated to do art on those days when you are too tired or unmotivated by the intensity of motherhood.

The second section is a very brief how-to guide for taking decent photos, writing basic poems and doing collage.

The third section is a 12-week workshop and a day-by-day action plan to guide you through making 12 different projects. The first week is more of a prep week. The daily art challenges can be spread over days. The goal is to get you creating, daily, not just to get the projects done.

Spread throughout the book are short essays and art by momma artists. They will inspire you with their creative vision and lives.

If you are already an artistic mother creating daily while raising your children, then this book will be an affirmation of your lifestyle and an encouragement to keep on keeping on. But if you are someone who is not living that life consistently and would like to be, then this book will teach you what you need to know to get there.

The principles taught in this book will help you no matter what your creative outlet is, not just mixed media art, but sewing as well. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Order the book through Amazon by clicking here.

To win a free copy of the book, go here.

When you go there, you can also sign up as a follower to be a part of the every Saturday giveaway for followers.

I would love to hear your time management tips. What does your schedule look like? How do you work it all in?

UPDATE: I received this follow-up email from Trolene.

Hi there
Thank you again. I must say I learned a lot from reading your post. About 2 weeks ago me and two friends were just talking about that if you make time for God first all the other things get done. Talking about practise what you preach. I think the first thing I will do is to only put my computer on once a day and just do what is necessary. Secondly I think I will go to bed earlier and then to get up earlier. I always get much more done early in the morning. At night I'm just not that focused anymore. And lastly but not the least I'm going to buy your friends book. That sounds like a good idea.The only thing I struggle with is the house. Sometimes I see a lot of people at my house who comes for fittings and I am forever making excuses for the mess (in my eyes). One of the ladies husbands once told me to never make excuses, because its my house and I should live as I see fit. Thats so difficult also because I sometimes find it difficult to be creative in chaos.One of my good friends told me the other day that I must remember all artists work in a mess. I must say I also have a very supportive husband. When things go crazy he will cook, but he's not very big on cleaning:)

Regards
Trolene

Enter My One World One Heart Giveaway Now Through February 15th

2010-01-25T01:48:00.005-06:00

Welcome to my One World One Heart Giveaway.

This giveaway is for bloggers all over the world.

A little bit about me: I am a homeschooling mom of five ages 23 months to 21 years. I love to sew, paint and collage. I hope you'll take the time to look around a bit.

To enter the drawing, please leave a comment in this post between now and February 15th. The winner will be chosen by random drawing. Please leave your contact information, for example, a blog or email address, so that I can contact you if you win. You must have an active blog to be eligible to win as this is a blog event bringing together blogs from all over the world.

And for an extra entry, sign up as a follower!

And for a third entry, add my blog to your blog list.

For each entry, please leave a separate comment along with your blog address for verification purposes.

I am looking so forward to getting to know new bloggers and their blogs. This will be fun.

Leave a comment today for your chance to win!

And good luck!

THE GIVEAWAY PRIZE:

The giveaway prize is a $23 value Show Horse Corral needlepoint kit by Dimensions. If needlepoint is not your thing, this would make a great gift for someone special or to use as a giveaway on your blog.

Button Flower Bouquets

2010-01-23T10:37:00.019-06:00

The children and I made these beautiful flower bouquets with buttons. I have one of the bouquets sitting in my sewing room, of course.

Here's how:

All need are buttons, wire, and floral tape.

Decide how long you want your flower stem to be, then cut the wire double that length. Place one button on top of the other and put the two ends of wire through the holes, each end in a different hole.

Now wrap the floral tape around the stem tightly, pulling just a tad and pressing the tape snugly onto the wire as you go.

Let me know if you make one. I'd be happy to post pictures of your bouquets on my blog with a link to your blog if you email them to me.

Happy creating!

Trudy

SIDENOTE: DON'T FORGET. MY GIVEAWAY STARTS TOMORROW.

Cord Sandwiched Between Rice Papers Tutorial

2010-01-18T00:18:00.016-06:00

Here is a demonstration of how to sandwich cord between two layers of rice paper.

First of all tape white plastic trash bags with no print to your art table. Place a sheet of rice paper on top of the plastic. Then place strips of cotton cording vertically and then horizontally on the sheet of rice paper.

Or you could lay your string on the paper in any design you like.

Then place another sheet of rice paper on top of the string.

Now spritz with water till it is nice and damp but not drenched.

Now pour some matte medium on top of that. When it dries, it will have somewhat of a milky look to it. If you would prefer more of a transparent look, use gel medium. I would suggest trying it both ways to see which look you like best. I'll be doing the gel next time myself.

Very gently spread it around with a damp paint brush to cover the entire surface. If you get a little tear in the rice paper, not to worry; it will just give it an interesting look.

Let it dry completely before removing it from the plastic. When it is dry, just peel it off. You could then use it the way it is in whatever project you need it for, or you could paint it.

I left one unpainted and I painted the other with several different colors so that I would be able to just use bits and pieces for collages and have a variety of colors available to choose from.