My Apologies

I think that the stress of moving has caught up to me and isn't quite done yet. We leave this next Thursday so the worst isn't over yet. I don't know when I'll be able to post next or participate in the art challenge, but I'm determined to keep up or at least catch up and post when I get to a scanner. Things are just all boxed and crazy over here. :) So we'll see... sorry for now.

Deck of Me- Week 19: Surprise!

Emily's art journal challenge this week is "Surprise". It ended up being the perfect theme for me to make this be a journal as well. My Makenzie's birthday was 2 1/2 weeks ago and we threw her a surprise party at the park. Seth took her on a daddy-daughter date for her birthday while Kendyl and I set up the party. I've put some pictures below. One of them is of all the kids waiting to surprise her as we've just seen Kenzie and Seth pulling up (you'll notice that almost all of her friends are boys). It was so cute to see her expression as she walked up. She was utterly confused! We had been telling her for the last 6 months that every other year she got to have a big party with friends and on the odd years a family party with just us, so she was not expecting it in the least because she had a big party last year. Surprising her was the best part. :) The other picture is of me lighting her candles and the kids excitedly anticipating a bite. Yum... cake.

As far as my painting goes... it's of my Makenzie throwing my Kendyl a surprise tea party. They are always planning and putting together all sorts of parties each night in the backyard. They'll set up activities and food for us and make up games for us to do. Last week they had us doing a contest where we had to trace our hose with a stick and then run over to a bowl of water and marbles. Quick as we could we were suppose to pick up as many marbles as we could in 20 seconds with our toes. (Of course I won. I have Tarzan toes.) They are such fun little sisters always planning and making sweet little surprises for each other. I'm glad I'll remember how they play together through this little painting.

(Sooz asked a few days ago what size my paintings are. I'll just say it here in case anyone else was wondering... they are 4" by 6" watercolor post cards. So not quite as small as a regular playing deck, but still tiny for trying to put detail in.)

Deck of Me- Week 18: Nature

Well my Makenzie has been begging me to paint a picture of her as a small fairy in a flower or on some flowers. I love how she balances on everything that we walk past and so I pictured her balancing down a branch of blossoms for this weeks card about "Nature". I'm glad I actually got it done. I really didn't think I would with all the craziness of moving going on, but then I realized I just needed to do this to actually help me be more sane. :) And really it worked. I feel so happy to get some creative time in. Another lesson on trying to keep balance in my life. :)

I am so inspired by Margaret Tarrant who illustrated little fairies on flowers etc. for books of poems in the 1920's. I just love her art! She's one of those artists that have made an influence in my style.

GIRLS WEEKEND!

Last Friday was my first ever GIRL'S WEEKEND! This group of us (Me, Betsey, Kristen, Nanette, Hannah, Melissa, and Robin) all went to Stephenie Meyers' ECLIPSE Prom in Tempe, Arizona. And we went in style! :) Stephenie Meyers is the fabulous author of "Twilight" and "New Moon" and is about to release her third book "Eclipse". We left our husbands and kids at home and rented a van driving from Los Angeles to Scottsdale, AZ (near Pheonix). We stayed in a beautiful time share and had lots of fun going out to eat, shopping, hanging around and talking, but most of all getting ready for the book signing (prom) and going. Here's some pictures from the main event of the trip! (My friends took pictures of Stephenie Meyers signing my "Twilight" book that I'll have to post later when I get a copy of the pic). Enjoy the rest of the pictures though.

Before we left on the trip we planned out all of our outfits and helped each other make them. I sewed this dress for Halloween this year to be a vampire after I had read Stephenie's books. I left out the vampire teeth, wig, and vampire collar that I wore for Halloween. (I wanted to feel more pretty this time- hehe). Kristen sewed Nanette's amazing flapper dress and Hannah's super cute hippy dress.

Kristen and I sewed her black and white Jane Austen style dress dress. She looked so beautiful! There's a better picture of all of our dresses a little way down. We spent several hours getting ready and while Kristen did most everyone's hair, I did most everyone's make-up. (It's so fun being a girl!)

The back of my hair. :) I didn't know quite how my hair looked until I saw the pictures that my friends took and now I think I will do my hair like this everyday. :) (I was just guessing at where to put the curls and flowers.) I wore curlers the night before and we stopped at a resturaunt and got lots of funny looks and comments. Good fun.

Here we are walking on the way to the Prom. Melissa is the one that took the picture, so she's missing :( but the order from left to right is me, Betsey, Nanette, Kristen, Hannah, and Robin. We all have dresses from different eras. Melissa (who is not pictured is 70's). Robin is one hot momma in her taffeta pencil skirt and Betsey was a knockout in that lacy number!

This is a picture someone took of me on stage at the prom. I won the runner up for costume for the night. So fun! I twirled and posed up there for everyone to take pictures of me and felt fun and silly all at once. It was embarrassing and flattering to have people coming up to me all night long taking my picture. I felt like one of those people that I see all the time in Hollywood by Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Here is Melissa in her Gunny Sak dress that her grandma made for her mom's wedding reception 30 years ago. She looked so cute! Here she is posing with Edward Cullen and Jacob Black for those of you who have read the books :) Click on the link of her name (Melissa) highlighted above because she did such a wonderful job describing the night!

For the most part at the dance, the music wasn't very danceable. Then they played a great crazy dancing song that was from middle school- early high school for me. We screamed loudly cheering for old school and yelled for everyone to dance running out on to the floor. We made a big circle spinning and dancing and having a great time. The circle grew bigger and bigger and the next few songs were fun. I'm glad that at least we got in a little bit of dancing. I really wanted to shake it more, but am grateful for the few songs we got in. :) Maybe next time our group could plan the next one. hahaha

This is us out to eat afterwards at the Cheesecake Factory. Of course we caused a scene, but it was more fun than embarrassing (especially with 6 other girls dressed up too). fyi- it is not easy fitting/sitting at a table in a dress that has a hoop skirt and 36 yards of tulle underneath poking it out. :)

At the book signing (prom) Stephenie read the first chapter of Eclipse (book 3), but we missed it. She was selling a special version of "New Moon" (book 2) that had the first chapter in it to Eclipse and so on the way home, we stopped to read it. We actually tried to read it that night after getting back from the prom and Cheesecake Factory, but we were so exhausted that we decided to read on the way home. We found a fun little desert spot to read in and have a picnic. It was especially fun to read in the scenes that Stephenie describes about AZ in her books (most of the books take place near Seattle, but Bella is from Pheonix).

So I am showing that I am officially a nerd for all to see or else beyone cool. :) All I know is that I had the time of my life and love these girls! I will miss them SO SO SO SO SO SO much when we move in less than 3 weeks to Utah. :( I hope I can find super cool, nerdy girls to hang out with in Utah too. It was the best, fun trip ever and I want to do more like these in the future. I came back invigorated and full of gushiness for my family that I missed and gushiness for my friends.

I Should Be In A Painting :)

Who Should Paint Me? I took a quiz to see what artist should be the painter of a portrait for me.

Who Should Paint You: Tamara de Lempicka

You're universally attractive with a modern appeal A portrait of you would be both bewitching and approachable

What Artist Should Paint Your Portrait?

I like this painting that hangs in the Getty Museum here in LA. :) It's a Portrait of Leonilla, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn by Franz Xaver Winterhalter .
Although, I am also a huge fan of Edmund Blair Leighton or anything Art Nouveau.

Deck of Me- Week 17: My Bedroom

Big dilemma this week... make a painting of my room now or as a kid for Emily's Art Challenge? The reason I would want to paint it now is the ridiculously large pirate ship on our dresser that my husband put as a "decoration". I suppose it's to off-set my girly things in there. (I actually really like pirate stuff- but don't tell him that- he thinks he's getting away with something.) I even had a pirate ship on my list of what I wanted to paint at some point, so I thought it would be perfect. Then as I read about other people's bedrooms from their childhoods I had a new idea of what I wanted to paint equally as bad- a Strawberry Shortcake card!

Growing up, my room was completely Strawberry Shortcake. I had strawberry wallpaper, pink walls, bedspreads, toys, puffy sewn material cut out things of Strawberry Shortcake characters hanging on my wall, the list goes on and on. My mom sewed a life size Ragedy Anne doll in Strawberry Shortcakes dress and made me a matching dress to wear when ever I wanted. I use to wear that thing all the time. (I still have my doll and extra dress and it's been fun to dress my girls up in it). My doll, dress up clothes, and room were my pride and joy until I was about 7 years old. After that I began to shift to other interests.

Around 11 or 12 I began to beg my parents if I could re-wallpaper my walls and repaint them. They never let me. So I covered them in posters of 90210, New Kids on the Block, and Michael Jordan. My posters switched to other interests and increased throughout the years. By the time I left for college I don't think there was a spot on my wall that showed pink or strawberries. (funny enough- when ever I go back home for a visit, I still find it pink and strawberry filled). :)

So my solution to my dilemma of what I would paint you ask?... I sat down with my husband and we drew and painted side-by-side. I made a Strawberry Shortcake card and he made a pirate painting- ArrRRrrrr. It was a fun couple of hours.

Seth really only paints his drawings that he's scanned in the computer using Photoshop and Painter. It was wonderful to see him using my brushes and paints and coming up with something so beautiful and fun to me. I hope we do this more often. It was great fun. You may be wondering what the pirate in the crow's nest is searching for. Well I think I know exactly what he is searching for and it's not land!

This pirate ship on our dresser is so big that the long part that pokes out of the front of it (sorry I don't know the correct term) that usually holds a mermaid or a lady holds a skeleton body on ours. It juts out more than a half a foot and early in the morning I have to manuver my way around that without bumping into my bed. Well sometimes I'm a little more sleepy and tipsy when I first wake up and am trying to rush for my morning business. Several times a week I bump right into that stick part which is at the level of my chest if you know what I mean.

Seth has come up with a story that they look out for me and move the ship slightly to the left so they can poke my left breast as I walk past. Without fail whenever I bump into it (knocking the pirate figures over in the crows nest and hanging on the mast- how they keep getting back up there I don't know) Seth will shout out an, "Aaarrrgg, we got 'er men," in his pirate voice supposidly coming from the pirates and somehow I feel angry at those dirty pirates. hahahaha

You can check out his blog at http://www.flippinhippenstudios.blogspot.com . I recommend spending a chunk of time enjoying his stuff and especially during the end of August through October drawings. They are fun and Halloweenish. I just love those.

For kicks, here is a photo of me in Kindergarten on picture day. I insisted on wearing my Strawberry Shortcake dress my mom made. It's fun to see a little me and see that I still have those round circle cheeks.

Deck of Me- Week 16: Get Someone Else to Contribute

I joined two cards together to make them into an envelope for this week's art prompt. I wanted it to be able to hold memories of California since we are moving soon. So after I painted the front and back and cut it to make a flap, I crocheted it together and made a little handle. I also sewed little buttons on to be able to tie it shut. The front says, "Treasured Friends, Treasured Memories~" with a painting of two girls sharing a treasure box of stars. The back says, "We'll always remember you," with a happy little moon and twinkle stars. Here's a bit of detail of the front.

What I decided it could hold inside (along with photos) was going to be lightly painted simple cards that my friends here could choose from that would describe them to write their name and put their email addresses on. I sketched pictures and to be able to get someone else to contribute I asked my girls to paint the little cards. Some aren't painted as lightly as I had imagined so we could see names written all over them, but I love the way they turned out and am impressed with my kiddos.

These are Makenzie's cards. (She's 7 years old today- by the way!- Happy Birthday cutie-poo).

These are Kendyl's cards- lovely. :) She's 3 years old.

I'll just carry this around with me for the next few weeks and get my friend's information (even if I have many of their email addresses already- it will be for the sake of memory keeping).

New Family Portraits

Hooray! We got new family portraits thanks to Seth's younger sister, Hanna, who came into town last week with her little family. She took so many. It made it nice to find a few good ones. To see a few good ones you can look at our family blog here. I'm so happy to have pictures of us at the beach before me move away from this beautiful place to another beautiful place- just more cold... UTAH! Yup, that's right. Seth has accepted a fabulous job offer in Salt Lake City animating for Avalanche Studios owned by Disney. He had received a few really good offers which made the decision making process quite difficult, but we feel excited and peaceful about it even though it's going to be so very hard to leave our amazing friends here. So no London, but we can't wait to be around family again. We will be moving at the end of May and trying to pick the schools we want our girls to go to and buy a home before the end of summer! Hooray again for buying homes! Yeah- debt. Glorious debt. :)

Deck of Me- Week 15: Parents

For Emily's Challenge the theme this week is "Parents" and I made my first scrapbook card! I can't believe how quickly I got it done. My paintings usually take me anywhere from 3-10 hours. This was done in about 30 minutes! Woohoo. I might have to scrapbook more often. Plus it was so fun using a photograph of my parents. Someone snapped this of them smooching at my mom's door in college (at least that's what I remember). It's my most favorite picture of them in the world. I did a charcol of this for their 25th anniversary when I was in high school.

To me, my parents represent love and commitment. They have been through some very rough things and have grown together instead of apart. I'm so proud of them and love them. I'm thankful for their example. It has been such a blessing to me in my marraige.

A few months ago Seth leaned down to give me a kiss before we were leaving on a date and just before he did I saw our camera on the edge of the desk next to us. I quickly grabbed it and snapped this of us (lucky shot, we weren't cut off). I wanted to have a fun picture like my parents.

I beaded the little flower border and found an old broach and attached it to it. My mom loves old stuff and has a jewelry box filled with old costume jewelry I use to always play in. The little flower by my mom's ear is a left over from my wedding veil that my mom sewed.

Deck of Me- Week 14: Birds- Continued:)

Last week for the card art challenge the theme was "Birds". I chose to do a painting about 4 little curious finches, but deep down wanted to do a rooster as well. I began this drawing last night while I waited to find out what our next challenge was for this coming week (which I just saw is "Parents"- so that will have to get done a little later). I've used up all of my little sheets of 4 by 6 watercolor postcards that I've been using for this art challenge, but discovered a fun piece of dark cardboard at the back of them all. I almost threw it away, but thought how fun it would be to make a little rooster drawing on it with colored pencils.

I haven't played around with colored pencils for about 8 years. It was so fun and exciting to remember how much I like using that medium. You can really make things rich and bright and dark and pick up on lots of detail when you use them on a dark piece of cardstock (or in this case cardboard) that you just can't get with watercolor. It's fun to do both for their own unique attributes. :)

I wanted to draw a rooster for no particular reason. I just think they make fun decorations. As far as this week's challenge goes I might just try scrapbooking for the first time. I really don't have any supplies, but I'll see what I can do. I ordered more watercolor postcards and paints, etc. last week when I ran out. They wont be here for at least another week. I'm kind of excited and nervous to try this scrapbooking stuff out that you all do. It'll be interesting to say the least. :)

Deck of Me- Week 14: Birds

First of all I have to say that this is a true story! :) It happened to me last week. Next I want to say that everyone from now on should call me Mary Poppins. Okay with that said, here is my story...

When I do my dishes I love to prop open my window and rest sheet music or my hymn book there so I can learn the words to songs and hymns that I don't know very well. That way I can memorize songs and enjoy singing while I do that awful chore. (It's actually helped me like doing the dishes more). Anyway, it was a sunny afternoon and I was singing and washing as usual when I looked up and saw four finch birds sitting in a row along the fence near my kitchen window. (I know I didn't paint them sitting on a fence. Okay, so I don't have a vine growing up the side of my house or a flower window box either and also I should mention that I get to draw myself as pretty as I want. hahaha- most likely I was in a tshirt and jeans with no makeup on). They had stopped chirping and I swear one had his head cocked. I thought it was cute and kept singing to them and they just stayed on that fence smiling at me.

I turned the pages until I found another song I wanted to learn and realized that after I had stopped singing for a while all had flown away but one. When I began the next song the others came back after a few measures! The birds actually seemed to come back to listen to me! It was such a funny little thing to happen. I ran to grab my camera so I could post the picture to my blog, but they left and didn't come back. I even sang for about 5 more minutes, but I guess they didn't like the hymns I chose after that. :)

Anyway, I called Seth (my husband) at work right away to let him know that he was married to Mary Poppins and he was pretty happy about that.

I'm glad that Emily chose for the theme this week "birds" so I could post this story and make my little painting.

Deck of Me- Week 13: "What's On Your Mind"

I was happy to read that Emily's challenge this week is to make a card based around "What's On Your Mind" because the thing that's been on my mind would be so fun to paint... Me in the streets of London (walking a little dog humming my made up London song that I sing around the house). It was double fun to paint this because I've always loved Big Ben and had that old clock in my list of things I wanted to paint sometime. And there He is in the background. Hi Ben, you beautiful thing.

I've been day dreaming and skeaming about London since Christmas time when a company there told Seth they were interested in hiring him to animate on the next Chronicles of Narnia movie (Prince Caspian) beginning this summer and lasting a year. Can you imagine, a fun London experience for a year and then hop on back to the states, having your life that much more enriched? It's been so fun to day dream about. Every week I've been googling pictures of London, looking up rent prices for a two bedroom flat (you don't want to know), checking out their private schools (from what we can tell- you can't go to their public schools unless you are a citizen), etc.

About 3 weeks ago they made Seth an offer and unfortunetly it was too small to be able to have our little family of 4 live out there. Afterall, it is one of the most expensive cities in the WORLD. So Seth wrote them back a counter-offer. When I began this card at the beginning of the week, I was in more of a hopeful mood and wanted to project these good feelings out there and make it come true.

I think now as I post this, my card has become more of a sweet goodbye for now to the idea. It just seems like we would have heard back from them by now if Seth's counter-offer had been acceptable or if they were interested enough to make one last try at a counter-offer to his counter-offer. *sigh* Then again, they aren't hiring until July-ish so maybe they aren't rushed enough to reply yet.

...we'll see. Seth is going to contact them this week, so keep your fingers crossed. Whatever happens, happens. And life is good, and we experience all sorts of adventures where ever we are. We really feel we are being looked out for and the right job opportunity will come along to be able to get Seth off this project that he doesn't agree with. London may not be right for us right now and another great opportunity is around the corner. In the mean time, LA is grand and we could always take a vacation to London if saved for it. :0)

A Quilt of Cards

Just thought it would be fun to compile all my little paintings together again, now that we're a month further than the last time I bunched them all together. It kind of gives me a sense of accomplishment when they're all smooshed together like this. It looks like a little quilt. :) Which one is your favorite?

Change of Plans...

After the fun-ness of making my last post, I've decided to start a new blog of strictly family pictures, updates, videos, etc. http://thislittlefamily.blogspot.com

I went ahead and made the first post a copy of this last post of pictures, but added a couple more. I'll also put in a few of our videos that have have been on the girls' blogs on our family site. I'm excited to post family stuff again. It will probably be more active than this one since I only do a painting a week and this one I will keep as my personal blog for my paintings and projects.

Happy Pictures

I've been feeling very nostalgic since I tried on my old wedding dress for the fun of it, a week or two ago... It's got me thinking about how much has happened in my life and fun memories. So I've decided to post some of my favorite pictures from being a "grown up" and starting a family. :) Putting these all together has made me realize how much we need a professional family portrait again. We haven't had one since fall of 2003! All the rest have just been snaps friends have taken when we've been hanging out.

First: Seth and my engagement announcement photo. (We definitely have more wrinkles now than we did 8 years ago). :)

Our wedding day. June 3, 1999 Mount Timp. Temple






Kendyl(3 years old) with daddy. I just love this one!



Makenzie (4) and Kendyl (9 months) Kendyl looks like a little happy Buddah.





Newborn Kendyl (3 weeks). :) So little. That is all of our hands holding her up.



Family Christmas picture 2001. (Makenzie was 1.)

Silly Kenzie's two year old pictures.

More two year pictures. I love that sweet smile!

Family picture fall 2003. Man alive, do I remember those days when Kendyl (3 months) wouldn't stop crying with her colic and acid reflux promblems. (Makenzie 3 years).

Quick family snap shot 2004 a few months after we had first moved to Los Angeles for Seth's animation career in film. (Gotta love the girls downing gogurts- I think we had to bribe them with box to stay in one place for the picture. )

Kendyl (2- in purple) and friend Abby (just 3) enjoying ice cream straight from the box. Cute girls.

A quick snap from this last Christmas (2006) when we went to visit my parents on their mission in Salt Lake City doing the Family History Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Camping this last summer (2006). This was on our hike to find the waterfall. (We never found it) :)

Makenzie (6- dressed up in the Cinderella costume I sewed for her) making mud pies with her friend Kihara. YUM! Look at those beautiful blue eyes. Lucky girl- she gets them from her dad.

Makenzie (5) at her friend's dress up birthday party in Beverly Hills. woo woo

Speaking of dressing up... Our family Halloween picture for 2005. I made Seth's pirate costume. He better love me forever because that stinkin' thing took forever to sew. Makenzie (5) was the Corpse Bride- her choice I SWEAR (made that costume too). I was a spooky witch and Kendyl (2) was a little kitty. Cute girl.

Playing duck, duck, goose at an Easter Party last year. Kendyl is "it" and I'm next to her (just in case you can't tell who that big kid is in the red coat).

Makenzie's cute photo for the newspaper when she won the Elementary School City Wide Art Contest this last fall (2006). Way to go kiddo.

Sweet sisters sharing a bike! So cute. Makenzie (5) and Kendyl (2).

Smoooooch!

Cute star face Kendyl (1 year).

Silly girls. Me with my girls pulling faces.

Playing in the fountain down the street from us. In the summer we just walk down there in our swim suits every week to play in that fun thing. Scratch that- the girls wear their swim suits, I of course am fully dressed. :)

I love the excitement on Kendyl's face here. Perfect!