The Library

I. Love. This. Room.

This is the third and smallest upstairs bedroom. Mom came up with the genius idea to turn it into a library. She was so excited by the idea that she came over and painted the walls a yummy dark green. And then it was fall and I was too busy to do anything more. But now I've painted the ceiling white (it was peach, of course) and polished the floor and moved some stuff in. And suddenly I have this warm cozy space where I could just sit all day, with or without a book. It's just dreamy.

Go read this.

My excellent cousin Nathan has started a blog, Nathan Explains Science. You should go read it. Really.

See, Nathan is a scientist and he's a really great writer. He makes things you've never heard of interesting and understandable and cool. AND he's also a political scientist (in addition to being a former astrophysicist) so he writes a lot of very cool stuff about why people act (and vote!) the way they do.

Have I ever told you how creative scientists are? Nathan and his brother Marcus (a physicist) are two of my favorite people to talk to. And it never ceases to amaze me how many parallels there are between the way they approach their work and the way I approach making art. At some level it's really all about exploration and curiosity.

So go check it out!

P.S. Pistol wanted to say: relvv xzaa
He just typed that.

How To Be Alone

I love this video. Tanya speaks the truth.

The Perfect Protest

Brene Brown is hosting The Perfect Protest this week in honor of her new book: The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are.

Doesn't the title just say it all?

Really, it's such a relief to just relax into yourself. I've spent years planning how great things will be when I finally get it all together. Problem is, I'd always rather have fun than do all the yucky work that I think I need to do to get it all together. Endless yucky work that can never all be done. So I'm finally learning that if I let go of the idea that I am something less until that mythical day when I get it all together, I can have the fun without the icky anxiety that I should be working harder to get it all together. I am enough. I really don't care if I have messy hair and a messy house. I am enough. Such a powerful message.

I am enough.
And so are you.

And on a very thrilling side note, I have a dishwasher!!
An adorable little miniature dishwasher!
I think I actually jumped up and down when I got home today and walked into my kitchen and saw this. It was the only thing on my "must have" list that my house didn't already have. And now it's here and I'm so happy! Now if only I hadn't washed all the dishes by hand last night to make room for the handyman to work - I don't have any dirty dishes to put in it!

Blessings

I'm counting my blessings today. Here's a few:

Warm, soft cozy bed with a pretty reminder from a dear friend.

Window I can look out of into a big tree while lying in the bed.

Lovely sturdy house with pink and aqua walls that is ALL mine. The whole thing!

Sweet funny cat friend who wakes me up at 5 am because he wants to cuddle.

Family who are fun to hang out with.

Warm, smart, funny, supportive friends.

Garbage service.

Lawn service.

$$ to buy art supplies.

Sunshine!

What blessings are you counting today?

Ohmigosh!

I'm tired. I have an ear infection. I'm living on iced white mochas and delivery pizza. And my heart is full to bursting with happiness and excitement over my new home.
No, I'm not moved in, I'm not even done painting. But I'm starting to get glimpses of what it will be. It's even better than I imagined. Pistol and I will sleep there tonight and tomorrow we'll just hang out and rest and get used to the new place. Lovely!

Art Journal LOVE

I'm indulging in some delicious art journal LOVE with the excellent Connie over at Dirty Footprints Studio.
Check out her 30 Journals 30 Days project!
Here's my contribution for the 31st day:

• How long have you been Art Journaling?

I started art journaling after my first trip to ArtFest 2.5 years ago. It seemed like EVERYONE had journals at ArtFest and they were all so AMAZING! I wanted to get in on the fun.

• How has Art Journaling impacted, changed, or enhanced your life?

Art journaling has really freed me up creatively. I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist and a lot of a procrastinator. With art journaling, all the things that were holding me back just don't exist. My journal is a place where I'm just goofing off so it doesn't matter if I mess up or hate a page. That freedom to experiment and play is contagious and spills over into my other artwork.

My art journal is also my ambassador in my regular, everyday world. I carry it everywhere and show it to anyone who's interested. It explains the art that I make and my creative nature much better than words ever could.

• What are a few of your favorite Art Journaling materials?

Cheap acrylic paints, my brayer, mod podge, chisel and brush tip pens, sharpie poster paint pens

• Who are some of your favorite Art Journalers?

Pam Garrison, Judy Wise, Teesha Moore

• What kind words of encouragement would you say to an Art Journal newbie?

You can do whatever you want in your journal! And there are no mistakes!

• Where can we contact you...give us some link LOVE!!

www.artquiltplay.blogspot.com

• Short Bio.

I am a mixed media artist in LOVE with color, texture, words, sunshine, flowers, books, fabric, embroidery, embellishment, raspberries, my cat Pistol, art journaling, creating, cool grass between my toes, tank tops, pizza and tons of other things.

Paint Party!

Saturday was a beautiful day for painting. Painting my house, that is. No more peach! I was up early taping all that lovely white trim that I wanted to keep.

This hallway has 8 freakin' doors!!

Girlfriends absolutely ROCK! Bridget, Kathy and Maureen worked so hard and had so much fun!

The peach was quite determined and required a coat of primer before we got to the lovely blue.

The color is weathered glass and it's everything I wanted. Lots more to do, but thanks to my amazing friends, the bulk of the painting is done!
I need to finish painting, do some heavy cleaning on the floors, get a dishwasher installed and install the new sink/vanity in the bathroom. In the meantime, carloads of stuff are going over every day. I'm hoping to actually start living there the first week of August!