Whimsical Wednesday – new girl finally!

Well, it’s 11 pm and nearly Thursday, but the reality is that I haven’t had a chance to sit down to paint until tonight.  And, well, you’re getting 11pm lighting as well, so bear with me

“When your heart speaks, take good notes” – Judith Campbell

This is one of the girls I sketched out during my trip to Florida.  Having trouble with a name…any ideas?  (I like to end with “girl” – note-taking girl?  open heart girl?)

Thanks for checking out my latest piece.   Must paint more…brings much happiness.

Perhaps I should be listening to my heart more, eh?

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Tuesday Treasuries

Here are 5 treasuries (Etsy member-curated galleries) I was fortunate to be involved in this week…I sense Spring is on everyone’s mind…

Enjoy the handmade goodness and creative inspirations!

Nothing screams of spring like green!  This one is ALL eco-friendly

 

And birdhouses…those definitely ring in the season

 

This is a nice collection of pastel pieces and crafted goods, all focused on women’s issues

 

This is a LOVELY French inspired treasury; I love everything in it!

 

And finally, here’s another red, black and white treasury with some great messages

 

As always, thanks for supporting handmade!!

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Photo Monday: Moab, Utah

I had never heard of Moab until I moved to Colorado…then I learned it’s where all the outdoorsy folk took their vacations.  And with good reason.  It’s a stunning place full of red rocks (home to Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park) and snow-capped mountains.  We went there several years ago and are dying to go back.  Perhaps we need to do some rearranging of the budget so we can get there before it gets too hot (it is a desert after all!).

David with the pups

If ever you get the opportunity, it’s a place you should definitely check out.

Have a great week everyone!

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I ♥ Independent Coffee Shops

Spent the day with my girlfriends in Denver…we painted pottery, walked around in the cool but otherwise pleasant weather,  had a great lunch and wrapped up with coffee at a local coffee shop.  They know how to make a girl swoon (my friends and the coffee shop).  Batteries officially recharged.  I am a happy girl…

 

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(Belated) Eco-Thursday: When used is DEFINITELY better than new

I always say that vintage and antique items are the true eco-friendly options in our world of limited resources.  And sure, there are things that just don’t work as well when they’re old (i.e. technology), but other items are much more valuable, sturdy, or nostalgic when they’re old and worn.

Every time I would come across thrift stores, book stores or antique shops, I’d be on the hunt for old books in french to use in my artwork (for a romantic twist and also to pay homage to my ancestry).  But I was never successful.  Seems that I’m not the only one on the hunt.  I’ve scoured Ebay, but never found any that would work well or had enough pictures of the insides of the book.

Then I thought, “Gee, you operate on Etsy, why not check there?” since vintage/antique items are allowed on the site.  Sure enough I found a seller that had just what I was looking for and at a ridiculously cheap price of $5 for what looks like an ancient copy (couldn’t find any print dates inside, but it’s antique for sure).

And while at this particular vendor’s shop (which books are only about 1% of his total offerings, so I got lucky!), I spied a really fun, old-school kitchy cookbook from the 40′s.

What a gem.  This brings back memories of when I was a child and would go through my mother’s cookbooks oohing and ahhing over the variety of sweet confections.  My sweet tooth has always been my downfall…

This first chapter title made me giggle…

Alright wise ladies…gotchyer aprons on?

I’m already daydreaming about how I’m going to use in my artwork.

After I peruse for good recipes, that is…

Challenge yourself to think about using something old before defaulting to new next time you’re in need of something.  You might just be surprised what you find.

 

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Whimsical Wednesday

Although I have lots of girls sketched out and ready to paint, I’m enjoying altering things, like this cute birdhouse that I worked on last night.  Fun, fun, fun!

I’m hoping to get working on more girls later this week, if my schedule allows.  I’m also working on a fun upcycling project that utilizes regular items from the recycling bin.  Coming Soon.

Meanwhile, this birdhouse is available in my shop now.  Thanks for looking!

 

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Tuesday Treasuries

Wow, feels like life is going fast forward because it seems that every other day I’m doing a Treasury post even though it’s weekly!

My red vintage bicycle eco-cards made it on the front page again – two times in a week’s time is just crazy but I’ll happily take it.  I’ll share it here with some other cool gift guides, eco finds and other creative inspirations.  Amazing what people are making with their hands!  (Click on any image to see more)

 

Soothing colors, all eco-friendly and green; can’t go wrong!

 

I love the bumble-bee inspiration in this treasury!

 

This is the one that made it to the front page and for good reason – the reds are stunning!

 

Another soothing, eco-friendly treasury; are you surprised that I’m in love with that button headband?

 

This one is really cute and aptly named “On a Whimsy” – I seriously can’t stop laughing at that bearded lady print at the bottom!

 

And who doesn’t a cruiser/bike themed treasury…love, love, love it!

 

Cool stuff, right?  Have fun looking and as always, thanks for supporting handmade!  ♥

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Photo Monday: Did ya see it?

The Supermoon, that is?

We made the 1.5 hour roundtrip trek to Denver and perched on a perfect elevated location to capture the moon rising over the city, but no such luck.  It was exceptionally hazy and cloudy and I only managed to get a couple shots once it peaked through the clouds before it was enveloped in more haze.

So tonight I decided to check on the moon from home to see if it had cleared any.  I went out about 11:30 p.m. but it still hadn’t cleared the trees (as we are half-way down the mountain side).  But about 10 minutes later I was able to shoot.  I shot for about 5 minutes, came in to check on my pics, then went back out only to notice that the moon had once again found a thin layer of clouds giving it a halo effect.  Luckily, in that 5 minutes of shooting, I was able to capture this:

Am I the only one that looks at that and thinks “pregnant belly?”

Hope you were able to see the beautiful, spectacularly close moon.  And if you didn’t, there’s always tonight!

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Hungry Sunday: Healthier Turkey Tortellini Soup

Mmm…nothing like hot soup on a cool Sunday.

My mom used to make a version of this and I always looked forward to it as I’m a sucker for any cheese filled pasta and I love soup.  This recipe is a simple, lightened up version but really hits the spot.  This make for a big pot because we love leftovers, so feel free to cut in half.

Turkey Tortellini Soup

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 1/2 c. chopped carrots
• 1 1/2 c. chopped celery (*tip, chop up the leaves as well, they pack the most flavor of any part of the stalk!)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 12 c. veggie broth (or chicken/turkey if you prefer; I find veggie lends more flavor)
• 1 lb. turkey (or chicken), cooked and chopped
• 1 lb. frozen cheese tortellini
• 1/4 tsp. thyme
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt (more or less per your preference)

Saute veggies in olive oil over medium heat for 5 min.  Add broth and bring pot to a boil; then reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.  Add tortellini, cooked turkey and seasonings and let simmer for an additional 5 minutes (don’t want your tortellini to get too soggy!).  Easy Peasy.  Sit down and enjoy.

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Week in pictures

So nothing exciting happened this last week. I’ve been having normal work days – cranking out orders by day/crafting by night – and have been cooking some more this week (something that like artwork, comes in waves of inspiration).

I am a messy cook.  I fully admit it.  Things spill, items are flying, there’s usually a halo of flour on the floor if I’m baking (or veggies if I’m cooking).  And Zoe…well, she’s my “sous” chef in the kitchen.  My right-hand pug.  She hears a chop of a knife and she’s on my heels.

And whenever I cook meat, her canine instincts go into overdrive and she’s practically climbing on the cabinets trying to get in on the goods.  So it was no different this week when I cooked a turkey.

Ooh, that looks yummy!

So good you see the whites of my eyes!

*****

I can tell that Spring is around the corner because it’s been really windy here and that’s always a dreadful part of Spring up here.  And I’m not talking breezy, but rather uber windy, the kind that wakes you up at night and makes it unpleasant to go for walks in.  It is unrelenting and lasts for weeks, a particular worry up here in the mountains where we’ve had record low snowfall this winter.  People in the community are already talking about getting their emergency evacuation kits ready for fire season.

However, we did get a couple inches this week, which was a nice surprise to wake up to.

The first year we moved up here, it snowed 6 feet during a 3 week period over the holidays.  Then it snowed more throughout the entire season.  We were giddy.  This year I don’t think we’ve seen more than a foot all season long, however we typically receive 50% of our total snowfall for the year from March 1st – May 31st, so there’s still some hope (yep, it can snow all the way into June and start up in September).  That’s life at 8,300 feet in the Rockies.

*****

There’s lots of wildlife up here, though it’s been a little quiet lately.  But the deer are ever-present around here and still inspire awe whenever they trounce through our yard.  This week we spied 3 furry white butts through our front window…

…which quickly turned into 7 deer in our driveway plucking away at what little green had been poking through the rough, mountain grasses and brush.

Mule deer are quite cute…

*****

Sierra and David are doing well.  And Peanut?  Well, she’s still sleepy…

Hope your weekend’s off to a good start!

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