big bugs at the desert botantical garden

 David Rogers’ Big Bugs

 It's no secret that the Desert Botanical Garden is one of my favorite places to visit. We were members last year and went pretty regularly. They have rotating garden exhibits and it's a beautiful place to stroll around and let the kids explore. Sadly our membership expired in August so, this year for National Free Museum Day we decided to use our free pass to visit the DBG and see the incredibly cool exhibit David Rogers’ Big Bugs.  There were 11 enormous, whimsical bugs crafted by sculptor David Rogers from fallen or found wood, cut saplings, twigs, raw branches, twine, bark and other natural materials.

Ethan loved using the garden map to find all the bugs - for him the hunt and the bug facts were super exciting. Hudson was more interested in the butterfly exhibit that was going on as well so, that was his highlight. I was smitten with the bug sculptures themselves. They are huge and magnificent and at first glance I thought they were made from metal but, it's wood - many glorious types of rich colored wood. The praying mantis and dragonfly were my two favorites but, all of them were beautiful really. If you are in the Phoenix area I definitely suggest checking it out.

sketching birch aspen trees

After driving past some beautiful birch aspen trees on our road trip through Flagstaff, Arizona last month I was inspired to sketch them. I had a little help on this sketch from a dreamy book I'm using as my watercolor muse right now titled Dreamscapes: Creating Magical Angel, Faery & Mermaid Worlds in Watercolor by Stephanie Pui-mun Law. Here is the photo I snapped while driving and my sketch.I decided to give the trees a bare winter feel with a monotone color palette. I let the paint do its own thing without trying to control it too much which resulted in a nice wispy feeling, I think.

october biz goals

September, you were lovely as always. You helped us celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary this month at the Grand Canyon and you welcomed my baby boy into the world 5 years ago. He was presented with the honor of Student of the Month in Kindergarten this month! I especially love the start of the fall season, the colors, the color temps and many park play dates are on the horizon. I hope to visit some areas in our state with changing leaves this year since we didn't really see too many last year. 

On the business end I have been working on a wonderful garden inspired wedding suite, just finishing up the ceremony card and favor tag. I sold two original paintings, created a painted set for a wedding gift and had a commission for a painting for a little girls room. I am really happy about more painting opportunities coming my way!

 September Goals

• creative every day challenge check in, theme this month is "history"- this theme didn't grab me too much so, I let it slip buy this month.
  
• play with new watercolor paints and paper - ooo I had a little fun and I realize I haven't blogged about it yet!
  
• work on this blog pages: design, invitation and praise - eek nothing new to report here.
  
• work on fine art america shop - I placed a few test orders but, none of my images where up to snuff. I took my first two paintings to be professionally scanned this month and need to make this a routine each time I finish a piece from here on out.
  
• create necklaces with art pendants I made a few months ago - nothing new to report here either, I am toying with the idea of posting the pendants for sale with out designing an entire necklace. we'll see ...
  
• outright accounting program - I had really hoped to work on this. I'm going to make it a priority for Oct.
  
• pick up on preparing for move - we found a place to live and the packing has been put in high gear! This month I mostly cleared out my craft stash, the hallway closet and laundry room closet. All those fun areas I stuff random things. Only 12 days until we move!
  
• make time to move - family walks, yoga and dance - a little yoga and a few morning/evening walks this month. Nothing too strenuous but definitely helped maintain my stress.
• others things i accomplished this month ... posted 6 new recycled bottlecap magnet sets in my shop, rephotographed all my necklaces for sale, sold the connected in love mandala painting and created a painting to compliment it for the same customer titled connected in truth mandala.

October Goals

• creative every day challenge check in, theme this month is "autumn"
• alphabet bunting painting for little girls room
• graphic design work for Olive
• work on outright accounting program
• follow along with esty's holiday boot camp and whip shop into shape
• add to shop: art pendants, bookmarks, greeting card sets
  
• blog about new watercolor sketches and scrabble artwork
• seasonal dream board - sounds interesting and I'm going to try and start with fall
  
• move into our new rental home and get settled!
  
• family walks, yoga and dance

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

one moment: new beginnings

Many moments this month have been about new beginnings, the start of my favorite season; fall, a baby shower for a good friend who is having twins (yay!), a wedding shower for someone I've been friends with for over a decade and our family embarked on the search for a new rental home. In the midst of all the moving talk my 7 year old son got himself hooked on the HGTV show House Hunters. He has been recording episodes like a mad man and was so excited last week when we started looking. He loved every house he saw and wanted to discuss all the options just like on the show. It's been pretty cute. We have even discussed careers building houses, designing houses and decorating houses. He says he would like to design houses and some buildings too but no bigger then 5 stories, because he doesn't heights.

Funny how house hunting goes, we saw an apartment and 3 houses the first day. We saw a really cute house in a nice neighborhood and we thought it was a great fit for us. After a day or two I started worrying about the size of the home and how we would fit everything. My need to explore as many options as I can kicked in and we were on the prowl driving around neighborhood to neighborhood and of course searching online. After seeing a number of different options we came right back to the first house we liked. We went back to see it a second time and this time I brought a tape measure, took down all the rooms measurements and created the little layouts above. Once I figured it all out I found that everything fit wonderfully. I totally should have done that the first time around and I could have saved us the wild goose chase - then again I probably would have done the exact same thing! We were approved for the house this week and will be moving 2 weeks from now. New beginnings are certainly a challenge but also a wild adventure full of unexpected surprises.

One Moment [OM] is a weekly meet up that promotes living in the moment.  Whether funny, sad, ridiculous, or banal, looking for these moments can promote balance in our lives. I decided to join in the fun. You may want to too – you can read more about it here.

showing off new photos of my shop's necklace lineup

I recently picked up a neck piece in an effort to show clearer pictures of the necklaces I have for sale in my shop. I have tried to draping them in creative ways and photographing myself wearing them but neither of those really worked out. So, for now, this is the best way I can think of to show how each necklace design drapes and fits. Do you think these photographs would help you as a customer visualize wearing the design?

Delicate Multi Strand Necklace - Dainty, bohemian, shabby chic.

 

Blue and White Necklace - Nautical, bold, beachy chic.

 

Vintage Inspired Crystal Brooch Necklace - Statement, sparkle, rocker glam.

 

Blue and White Braided Necklace - Fresh, delicate, beachy chic.

 

Red, Copper and Brass Braided Necklace - Earthy, delicate, bohemian chic.

 

 

Cream and Yellow Braided Topaz Crystal Necklace - Sparkly, romantic, casual chic.

 

Red and Brown Chevron Hand Painted Necklace - Earthy, rustic, bohemian chic.

potatoes and peas in red curry

This Meatless Monday post comes from a cookbook I am currently reading, Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Lynn Alley. I have made this recipes 3 times in the last 2 weeks because of how much my husband and I love it!

Potatoes and Peas in Red Curry

2 pounds small red potatoes, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 yellow onion, sliced vertically
1 can of coconut cream (I used 1 can coconut milk)
2-3 tablespoons red curry paste
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce (I omitted this)
1 large sweet potato, peeled can cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas
Salt to taste
1/2 cup dry roasted cashews (I omitted these)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Wash potatoes and add them with the onion into the slow cooker. Mix coconut cream (or milk), red curry paste, sugar and soy sauce together and pour over potatoes. Cover and cook on low for about 3 hours (potatoes should be a little tender when pierced with a fork).

Add sweet potato, cover and cook on low for about 2 1/2 hours or until all potatoes are tender. Add peas and salt to taste and cook uncovered for 15 minutes longer. Add cashews and cilantro to each serving. 

I serve it with rice but, you could also eat on its own. 

Learn about the Meatless Mondays Campaign

jewelry display ideas for your home or craft booth

 I found this idea over at Apartment Therapy.

I am sharing a mammoth roundup of simple and inspiring ideas for displaying your jewelry over at Soft Flex Company's blog today. There are many beautiful ideas for your home and with some of you gearing up for holiday craft shows I hope some of these ideas inspire you for your booth too!

you have my heart

Then, 2001

Bert and I have been married for 10 years today! We celebrated last week by spending the day driving north with stops at Sedona and Flagstaff along our way to the Grand Caynon. We had long walks, delicious quiet (kid-free) meals together, and a precious night of just the two of us. It was awesome.

Now, 2011

Today we celebrate all that we have been through together ... friendship, love, growth, adventure and of course our share of challenges. I am grateful that we have always worked through our challenges together. We truly adore each other. I can literally spend all day wasting my time with with my husband (and many days we do just that) without every tiring of his presence. I am grateful to have a constant source of love in my life and am so thankful for this man, our family and the life we have built together. 

Bert, you have my heart.

tukula head wraps

My package of head wraps from Tukula arrived! I have been pretty excited about these beauties. Just look at them, such wonderful patterns and colors! They come in a set of 3 random African prints, not knowing what would arrive was definitely part of the fun.

Tukula is a cause driven business dedicated to investing in Ugandan entrepreneurs. Artisans are paid an above average wage in return for quality handmade products which leads to healthier families, economic development, and responsible consumerism. Visit there website here and facebook page here.

I wore the orange pattern today, and in fact I still have it on! Sorry for the slightly creepy picture of me. I was trying to get a good angle of the head wrap, I usually squint in pictures and I am trying to work on that. haha.

I wear my hair up in a bun or pony most days so, having these bold and beautiful head wraps will make me look good and feel good with little effort, easy peasy. The one I'm wearing now has stayed put all day without the need for any bobby pins and it is so comfortable. Aren't new accessories fun?!

ced: history at the grand canyon

This month's creative every day theme is history, so, today I'll share with you some pictures from our trip to the grand canyon last week. The Grand Canyon reveals a beautiful sequence of rock layers that serve as windows into time.

From Wikipedia: The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of preservation of the Grand Canyon area, and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery. It is considered a Wonder of the Natural World.

The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,000 feet / 1,800 metres) Nearly two billion years of the Earth's geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted While the specific geologic processes and timing that formed the Grand Canyon are the subject of debate by geologists, recent evidence suggests the Colorado River established its course through the canyon at least 17 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River continued to erode and form the canyon to its present-day configuration.