illustrations

We watched this movie very late last night. It is the most artistic movie I've seen in a very long time... or maybe ever. The gorgeous expressions have had me dreaming all day about some of my favorite works of art. Here are a few other illustrations that get my wheels turning when inspiration (or motivation) is lacking...

Gustavo Aimar...

Mary Blair...

Creative Thursday...

Working on a huge painting today for a gift. Can't wait to show pictures! Oh, and don't forget about the quilt... the precious, happy quilt. I better get to work while all the kids are asleep! What inspires you today?

okay crochet

It's an event called Create :: Art. It's once a month on Friday. Ladies come and work on crafty, artsy projects that they don't have time to do on a normal day. It's really beautiful watching art happen and listening to the laughter that gets louder as the night wears on. A precious, patient soul agreed to teach me how to crochet, and well... let's just say... how could I let hot pink yarn and a tiny hook get the best of me? I'll keep practicing... like I don't have anything else to do with my time. I did manage to throw some chaotic scrapbook pages together thanks to my gals J and S. O.k. happy Saturday! I'm off to swim half a mile at the gym. Do something hard today!

quilt... day 7

o.k. i started sewing the star shaped thingys (by hand) onto a full size white sheet. It takes me an hour to get two completely attached, and since i only have one hour each day to give the quilt... this is what we have so far. I cut more squares and triangles and am strongly considering machine sewing them onto the sheet... for time and sanity's sake. I hope to have all the star shaped thingy's attached by next weekend. Once that is finished, I'll pick some fabric for the back and purchase batting for the middle layer. Strangely, this is looking exactly like it did in my head before I started. Bright, scattered, and surprising... just like my life lately.

P.S. the green squares smell like my MeeMaw's house. She gave me some old fabric that had been lying around her house for years. It's one of my favorite smells... makes me smile.

out with the old

Bring on the happiness...

style

Millie G. She's my middle child who came downstairs at 7am this morning fully clothed (complete with bow, inside out & backwards shirt and little Dean's armband). I was so impressed that she put this ensemble together that I ran to get the camera. As I was snapping the picture she was informing me that she ate a whole pack of pink PEZ candy before coming downstairs for breakfast. She's a busy woman.

The quilt is coming along hideously. Can't wait to show you pictures sometime later this week! I was literally laughing out loud at myself sewing yesterday. I could just hear my mom's voice saying, "SLOW DOWN! You're like a bull in a china shop!" Happy Monday to everyone! Be inspired!

quilt... day 2

I want to see how many days it will take me to make a quilt. Sound like fun? I always go to old lady's houses and see unfinished quilts sprawled out across the dining table or the bed in the guest room... all with the same story. "I've been workin' on that thing for seven years. Started it for my grandkids and never got around to finishing." Soooo, with hopes that I won't become one of "those" ladies, I'm starting my first quilt. Here's the most fun of all the fun parts... you can make one with me! That's right blog world (whoever you are... probably just my mom and sisters) I'm only on day 2 so you have plenty of time to catch up. Last night I cut fabric scraps into squares and triangles for about an hour.

And today I spent 45 minutes sewing the triangles into these star shaped thingys. I am doing this without any resemblance of a pattern (my mother will die) or exact measurements. So I guess perfectionists and experienced sewers are out. o.k. so get started and I will report back next Saturday with my progress. About an hour a day should be plenty of time to get a lot done. Can't wait to see responses! Have a good weekend!

hello gelato

Family outing to our local gelato shop on a cloudy Friday evening? Yes please! The kids were beside themselves with excitement. They are so adorable deciding which flavor to choose... which is usually "brown" or "white" or "pink." I like the small tables at the shop, and the yellow walls, and O MY GOSH the coffee gelato. O.K. time to start a movie and make a quilt. Happy Friday night!

order

Trainer at the gym: "100 Jumping Jacks... ready, go..."

Me: (after 5 jumping jacks) "But I had 3 babies and I don't have much bladder control"

Trainer at the gym: "I don't want your dirty secrets, I want your jumping jacks"

Me: (laughing)

Trainer at the gym: (not laughing)

I love this picture. I snapped it in Mexico. It's a wall of the Pastor's office in the church where we were working. I fell in love with this wall as soon as I saw it. I like the way it makes me feel... like if i pull one book off, the whole thing will come crashing down. Or like the shelves could collapse at any moment. I also like the years of study and passion that all these books represent. I want to have a wall like this one day. 

mexico mexico mexico

And we're home from Mexico. It was a long, hot, wonderful, fulfilling, miserable, hilarious, nauseating, amazing, eye-opening trip. Just under 400 children learned about Jesus because of the money, talents, broken spanish and gallons of sweat offered by 50 willing hearts. If it hadn't been for the goodness of our Creator, and sleeping on the roof of our "hotel" for fresh air, and a tiny Starbucks we found tucked away in the corner of the city, and the gorgeous artists market, and the little brown faces saying my name so excitedly... i would not have survived. 

thou shalt be flexible

Generally, it's a good rule of thumb to be prepared for life's little inconveniences. For example... let's say that two of your three children were born in the beautiful state of Tennessee. Let's also say that the beautiful state of Tennessee issues "birth certificates" to you a month or so after those sparkly little children are born. O.K. still with me? Now let's pretend (just for fun) that it is 3 or 4 years after the "birth certificates" were issued and you need to obtain a U.S. Passport so that your children can accompany you on a trip to Mexico. However, much to your dismay, you discover that the "birth certificates" issued to you so timely by the beautiful state of Tennessee are not actually birth certificates. They are temporary ones that you keep "for the scrapbook" (as the nice lady told me on the phone). The real ones cost $80 each plus shipping and handling and will take up to a week to arrive at your home. So... little Dean will be spending the week camping with his friend Nathan and his wonderful, generous parents. Millie g. and Stella Belle are with my parents in Mississippi. We will be departing at 5am tomorrow for Mexico... just us. Happy family mission trip!  It is actually a little bit exciting. Thank you, God, for working this out in a way that we could have never planned. You are good. Dear Tennessee, you messed up our trip. Don't be so sneaky. Love, Me.