treasure hunt: springtime beauties

Springtime Beauties Treasury on Etsy

Spring is on the way! Here to share some handmade springtime beauties.

lentil stew

I haven't posted a Meatless Mondays recipe in awhile because I haven't made anything new, until now.  I made my first stew ever, Lentil Stew!  I love lentils but have only ordered them when out, I never cooked them myself. I am reading Alicia Silverston's cookbook The Kind Diet and adapted this recipe from her book. This stew is hearty, healthy and so yummy! I have to admit neither my husband or I missed the meat. You'll see below I was out of a few ingredients. I didn't let that stop me from trying it though, it still turned out delicious.

Lentil Stew
Serves 6
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika (I was out of paprika so I omitted this)
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 large onions, cut into chunks
2 celery stalks, diced (I was out of celery so I omitted this too)
1 carrot, sliced
1 potato, cut into chunks (I substituted 3 red potatoes)
1/4 cup shoyu (soy sauce)
5 cups vegetable broth
3 tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks (I was out of tomatoes so I omitted these)
1 1/2 cups brown lentils

Combine the garlic powder, paprika, salt, cumin, oregano and basil in a small bowl. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat, and add the garlic, onion, celery, carrot and potato. Stir in half the seasoning mix and the shoyu (soy sauce). Cook stirring frequently for 7 minutes.

Add 5 cups of water, the broth, tomatoes and lentils. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer with the lid askew for 30 minutes. Add the remaining seasoning mix and cook for 20 minutes longer or until the lentils are soft.

march biz goals

My, my, my ... it's March. After a little goal setting breather, I'm ready to get back on track, reconnect myself to this wonderful goal sharing community and if nothing else sum up where I've been and where I'm going with Creative Stash.

This year begun quietly in my studio and here on my blog I felt mute. But my mind was not dormant, I was busy observing, gathering and cultivating where I head next. I wasn't busy externally as it was a time for an internal shift and although I don't have all the answers, I'm ready to start moving forward.

March Goals

• credible nutrition postcard design
• east valley artisans postcard and banner design
• move creative stash website to my blog
• begin new wedding invitation design
  
• custom painting
• custom coasters
• get involved with this month's creative every day theme
  
• family art play time
• try meal planning
• gym: monday, wednesday, thursday and saturday

Looking back on last year, I have learned a few things about myself and the work I want to do.  I have been a full time graphic designer for 11 years and have freelanced for almost as long.  I am finally beginning to realize that some jobs just aren't for me and that's okay.

One thing I learned is that teaching kids at local elementary schools wasn't for me.  Although rewarding, the responsibility of being in the school system and teaching kids who had no desire to learn drawing combined with my anxiety about being prepared and ready for class took more energy from me and my family then I had to give.  I am also stepping away from working on websites for a little while.  They are long and often tedious projects, it is what I do all day as a web designer and taking them on for freelance when my schedule is already jam packed has not been fair for me or my clients. So for now, I am opting out of designing websites.

Now that I got the things that haven't been working out of the way you may be thinking what am I excited about?  Oh lots!  I'm excited about designing my friends wedding invitation suite this month and the possibility of more invite designing in the future.  I am excited about continuing to offer small business design services and marketing myself for those services better this year.  I am excited about expanding my etsy shop with new offerings in jewelry, paper goods, recycled/upcycled gifts, and finally offering art prints of my original paintings and of course more painting.

I may not know which direction to go today, but everyday I will learn and grow within myself allowing my business to naturally grow along with me.  

If you would like to join in the Meetup biz goals fun, head on over to Athena Dreams to read more about what we do and how to join in.

CHA booth eye candy

I wrote about my first trip to CHA and the trade show booths that wowed over at Soft Flex Company's blog today. Click here to read my guest blog post.

art masterpiece: magritte

The Return by Rene Magritte, 1940

A couple of Friday's ago we discussed The Return by Rene Magritte in my sons 1st grade class. This was another fun artist to talk about! Here is my presentation.

The Return by Rene Magritte

About the Artist
This artist was born in Belgium (I showed them where that was on the map), his name is Rene Magritte (ma-greet). He began art lessons at age 10. He was interested geometric shapes, technology and dreams. The name of this painting is The Return.

There is a lot of symbolism in the art Magritte created.  That means the artist used obvious things to represent something else.  He does this to provoke thoughts and feelings.

What are the obvious things we see in this artwork? The kids came up with the words on the left and we discussed what each represents.
Dove = Peace
Nest = Safe Habitat
Eggs = Birth, Hope, Future
Shadow = Fear
Clouds = Foggy, Unclear 

Magritte’s work is of the unconscious mind like in dreams. This is called Surreal or super real. It’s like a dream put on canvas. The bird, eggs, nest and clouds are real things shown in an unreal way.

He became famous for his surreal artwork and it hangs in many world famous art museums today.  

What feeling do you get when you look at it?  Many kids again said weird, haha. I think they are at an age where anything out of the ordinary is considered weird.

Thank you for reading along with me today.  I hope you liked learning more about Rene Magritte. This painting was created during WWII. I didn't go into how the symbolism of his work ties in with the war but, I thought that was interesting and wanted to acknowledge that tidbit for you here.

repurposing old sandals

At the end of the summer I went through my sandals and these 2 pairs where headed for the trash.  I knew they were too worn out to be donated but, dumping them in the trash didn't feel right. I stop and think about what I throw away more then ever and these sandals had something that got me thinking ... maybe they can be re-purposed somehow.  I didn't know how at the time but, I have kept them around in my "to make things with" stash.  Using my new nifty sewing scissors (which cut through the leather like butter!) I cut up these sandals once and for all. 

I am pretty excited about the "new" components I made from my old sandals. Not sure what the final creation will be yet but, I see so much potential in something I was about to just throw away.

Have you made a surprising discovery on how to reuse something destined for the trash? Tell me about it, that kind of stuff makes my day.

more canvas earrings in my shop

Over the past week I have added a few new canvas painted earrings to my Etsy shop. I get compliments every time I wear my canvas earrings out and about (I really need to start carrying biz cards!) These fun, funky and super lightweight earrings are hand-cut from an abstract acrylic painting. Earrings are double sided and range in length from 1-3 inches.

♥ Like these? See my Etsy shop for more!

treasure hunt: under the willow tree

Under the Willow Tree Treasury on Etsy

 I have fond memories of the weeping willow tree in my grandparents backyard. I enjoyed a walk down memory lane with these beautiful handmade willow items ... I hope you enjoy it too.

painting in progress, weeping willow

This is where I left off on my weeping willow painting in June of 2009.  I have had this hanging in my kitchen along with my dandelion and fireflies paintings but, it never felt finished.  Now that my shiny new studio space is back in action I revisited this piece.  Here is where I am at now...

I think the lack of flora bugged me so I took inspiration from my 4 yo son.  On a walk around our block recently he said "those flowers look like popcorn!" - I loved it so much I knew popcorn flowers would end up somewhere in my artwork.   Kids say the cutest things!

making space to create

I have been in a place where I have unable to act on my creative ideas. After a couple of weeks of being stuck in state of inaction it dawned on me what a complete mess my creative space had become.  It was surely causing a big mental block in my creativity.  Stuff was piled up everywhere and our garage storage had spilled into my studio space, no wonder I haven't been able to do anything.

After 3 hours of cleaning, organizing and purging this weekend, my studio space is back and I am able to breath again. I made space to create literally and figuratively and it feels so good! 

P.S.  See the little red house painting above my desk?  My 6 year old created that.  He's been on a house painting kick and that one is my favorite!