Afternoon Church

This is the main reason I like afternoon church more than the morning church schedule we had last year... I have time to play with their hair. :)

Treats for Teachers

I'm loving my PTO job of "Treats for Teachers"!  I'm not sure if there's ever been an assignment more suited to my personality.  lol  If you'd like to use the pdfs of the different designs I've done so far I'm embeding them below.  This is my first time trying this, so I guess we'll see how it goes!  :)  They would be so much more fun and beautiful in color, but I designed these to be able to print with only black ink in mass amounts.  It may bug me a little to have them be dull, but it would bug me more to pay for color prints for 105 teachers.  haha If you wanted to use these for friends, kids, co-workers, significant others, etc., you could adjust these designs in Photoshop to erase the "Love, The PTO" part or even just print off a sheet, white it out, write in what you'd like to, and then print more.

Here's the Hershey Kisses pdf  (I colored a blue highlighter around the circle and glue gunned the hugs and kisses to it.

HersheyKissesPTO.pdf

Here's another pdf I put together altering in Photoshop something that someone else had made to use Reeses Pieces with.  :)  I recommend using this near Halloween when they sell the huge bags of individual little bags of Reeses Pieces- otherwise the rest of the year you can only buy the regular big bags which costs a lot more.

Reeces PiecesPTO.pdf

I'll be putting together more of these and posting them so keep your eyes out!  ENJOY!

Turning Dreams to Plans~

I wonder why I convince myself that I'm not really an artist, that I'm fooling myself and everyone else, or why I forget that I need to draw to feel like ME and be happy... sometimes I forget for months at a time and feel terrified picking up a pen again.  Lately, I've been dreaming big again and it expresses itself through things I draw, songs I sing on my guitar, or things I sew.  I made this little doodle with my glitter gel pens in my black sketchbook last summer and this morning I added these words.  These are the words I've been repeating in my head over and over lately.  What's so scary about dreaming anyway?  What's so scary about trying?  What does it matter if I don't do as well I wish I could?  It's more awful to be numb and silence that bright little spirit in my struggling to be heard screaming who I am and what I can do or learn to do!  Here's to feeding that bright little spirit this morning!  :)  Have a beautiful day!

"In The Meadow"

We finished it! It was so fun thinking this up and designing it together. For Christmas Seth and I decided our gift for each other would be to collaborate on a piece of art. It's taken many hours and has been so much fun! We've named it, "In the Meadow" and the idea comes from the song "Winter Wonderland". There are 6 layers to this design within the shadow box frame. The side view picture below shows the layers a little better.  

Seth illustrated the couple and the Parson Brown snowman and I designed and made the snowflakes and snowflake border. I used some antique Victorian trim (on her bonnet) from the stashes my mom has sent me in the past.  I think my favorite part is how my husband was able to convey such tender emotion in their expressions. What a gift he's got! It was so much fun spending that time together collaborating. We decided to make a few more this week and have posted them on etsy for purchase. They are fairly time consuming so there's only a few for sale. Here's a link... 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/216883726/in-the-meadow
This has been so fun and we already have an idea for what the next layered piece of art we'll create will be.   I hope you had a very merry Christmas.

Zentangled MaryJanes

I drew on these newborn Mary-Janes last night for my friend's baby shower this week.  

I think I may have a new hobby. :) 

I've Been Cursed!

I woke up this morning to little fingers pressing on my forehead.  As I began to open my eyes I saw my Penelope looking down on  me with concern.  In her cute little deep voice she whispered, "Shhhh mommy. Sorry.  You now have a curse."  I guess KRS spells curse.  hahaha  Oh and yes, that is yesterday's makeup not washed off. :)

Our Thankful Tree

One morning, last week, I had this idea come to me and I decided to make this Thankful Tree in our downstairs entryway hallway.  For the month of November we are writing what we are thankful for on leaves (packages of 30 for a dollar at JoAnns) and attaching them to the tree and wall.  We've got a great start, but I have at least 300 more leaves we could write on.  I'm excited to see the progress.  Pip is learning to write and most of hers are hard to understand until you sound it out phonetically, but she spelled "foot" right!  I'm so happy she is thankful for her foot.  I wonder which one she is thankful for. :)

DR. WHO Themed Halloween

DON'T BLINK!

Here's the costumes we made and pulled together this year for Halloween.  Makenzie was the 10th Doctor, Kendyl was the TARDIS (she painted that herself), and Pip was a Weeping Angel of course.  :)  We hope you had a great Halloween too!

Happy Halloween!

These are the cards we sent out this year.  The photo is from last year's Halloween costumes.  We are having our big "Hippen House of Horrors Film Festival" tonight!  I'm so excited!  There are 15 entries- most from here in this town, but at least 5 from other places in the U.S. of friends that we've had as we've moved along the way with Seth's career.  People are coming for the film festival at 8, or they can come earlier and join us for trick-or-treating or dinner (I'm making a bunch of soups).  I love Halloween!  Did you know?  haha

My Number One Favorite Dress!

Do you see this adorable picture of my parents from the 70's?  I loved my mom's dress in it (she bought it to wear to her brother's wedding). My mom use to let me wear it in high school in the 90's.  Guess what she surprised us with in her luggage when they got here? That same dress as a gift for my girls!  My number one favorite dress!  I can't believe she still has it!  I cried seeing Kenzie try it on.  She's wearing it to church today.  I'm so happy!  :)

Why I Come Alive Every Autumn

I took these photos yesterday on my morning walk through my neighborhood with my walking buddies.  Believe it or not I did not use a filter or alter these photos in any way.  The sky was just beginning to burst with light through stormy morning clouds and it was breathtakingly beautiful!  These still couldn't capture how vibrant the colors are here!  This is why I come alive every autumn.  Every time I look out my window and see this beauty I know it's my Father's way of telling me he loves me.  <3 p="">

POLTERGEIST :)

I have a strange daughter... after watching "Poltergeist" with us a few weeks ago, Makenzie decided she wanted her closet to feel like the kids' closet in the movie and she put a soft box light in there so it would glow around the door edges. Haha. Seth posed fun for this pic. Coincidentally she hasn't slept in there since (sleeping in the guest room/art studio). She just wants us to have a haunted closet as every good Halloween home should. I'm a lame mom and don't let her run that expensive light through the night especially in a room that no one is using. Lol

Magic Only Pip Could Provide

My new favorite photo. Yesterday after church the woods behind the parking lot called to us for an adventure. Pip said that once we crossed the little stone wall we'd receive powers! ... So of course we had to cross even though she saw goblins and trolls guarding it and we had to duck twice and hide behind a tree once. There was a little break in the wall that we jumped and instantly grew powers. Pip could turn invisible and defeat any bad guy and she said I could fly and shoot fire balls. I snapped this picture of her when I sat down on a rock and she said there was a troll behind me that she needed to defeat.  When we crossed the wall again to go home we had to give up most of our powers, but the good news is that next time we go we'll get new powers of farming and raking leaves. Hahaha. I love her imagination!

Here's a photo of the rock wall.  You'd never know such magic lay just beyond, would you?  :)  I think I'll make my whole family jump over it the next time if it will give them all powers to rake leaves.  I love the beauty of all the trees around us, but raking is my personal dragon to slay every fall.  

After posting the little story and picture of Pip on my facebook page I had a relative send me this photo of her that he tweaked in Photoshop.  You should have seen how happy it made her when I showed her this.  It's just what she was picturing!  I actually took a picture of her seeing it.  I'll post that below.  

Her reaction to Kyle's special effects!  Completely priceless.  I love her magic!

Dr. Who in Washington DC

This last week the girls and I decided to make a quick trip to Washington DC to meet up with some old friends we knew would be visiting here. Old friends, as in we have been friends since college.  The husband was my old swing dance partner in college and his wife is from my hometown and one of the dearest relationships of my life.  Her dad and my dad had been old college pals as well.  She inspires me and brings out the best in me.  Our kids are the same ages and we've lived in several states at the same time creating many memories along the way.  They are like family.  We love them dearly!  Just before leaving DC I got down on my stomach in a field between the White House and the Washington Monument, put the little TARDIS thing my sister and I made close-ish to the camera and had Phillip and Makenzie pretend to be The Dr. and his companion running in a field far away to look like they were running for the TARDIS. He even had on a vest and bow tie! The little TARDIS is only 6 inches tall or so, but with how we lined them up I think it turned out perfect.  The very last thing we did before driving off was get out our guitars and sit on a monument and play and record us singing and playing like we always do.  I am so blessed to have friendships like these!  Here are a few more of my favorite pics from the trip....

My favorite quote of the trip was when we were sitting infront of the Lincoln Memorial. There was a noisy tour group passing by and I overheard Makenzie say to Phillip as he was telling her story, "Wait. Stop. I can't hear you above the sound of all this freedom."  'Merica!  :)  hahaha  What a funny kid.

Thinking of Nana

I've been thinking of my Nana (Great Grandma) a lot lately and the exquisite creations she could make through tatting.  I wanted to make a drawing that felt like tatted lace.  I wish I had a piece of something that she made, but my memories of her are infinitely more valuable.  Being able to grow up near my grandparents and great grandparents was such a blessing.  We can't always give everything we want to our kids- like how hard it is to be so far from our family.  I find peace and am thankful that families are forever!