My heart goes out

My heart goes out to and my prayers go up for all those affected by the recent storms and tornadoes. May God bless and heal you and your communities/neighborhoods in the days to come as you begin to rebuild. The losses (homes and lives) are devastating numbers. You will remain in the thoughts and prayers of my family daily.

I'll be back soon...

...but until then, I'll leave you with this file folder book/journal that I made a few months back after seeing one and getting the idea from a Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine. Just the base, not sure what I am going to do with the inside pages yet...but, when it hits me, I'll dive right on in.
I have taken a little time off lately to enjoy some reading, The Purpose-Driven Life, along with some of my Somerset books that I have not finished entirely. You know the saying (I have a coffee mug with it on it) "So many books...so little time"...well, I am making/taking the time to read them. The Purpose-Driven Life is helping me prioritize, and sacrifice a few things (w/o guilt) in order to have more time, and to allow "less of me and more of Him. Guess what?!! It's working!!! God is so good!

Sunday Service

Received such a blessing today at church. A very touching sermon, inspirational music, exceptionally nice people, as always. Family w/ me (one son, the other out of town and hubby missed due to outages caused by the strong winds), and a special friend came today. A lot of people think its not necessary to attend church....but there is such a "missed blessing" when you don't. I have both "attended" and "missed" and I have to tell you, when I miss it's like eating the cake w/o the icing, or like someone putting art materials in front of me but not letting me play with them. I don't want to miss any blessings! It jumpstarts my week, and usually by the end of the week, I need another dose. Looking forward to this coming week and in celebrating Easter and the meaning of Easter....He is risen!!!

Exhausted

After a long day in the studio, Bis and Sadie need a nap! They are so sweet and doing so well....they are always right there with me , creating 'til the end! (sometimes 2:00 am).

Bless 'em.

My New Comfy Shoes

A great find, comfy and cute as can be....looked very "artsy" to me. Comfort is my number one concern though and I give them a 10 in that category.

Beautiful Spring At My House

"This world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever."--1 John 2:17 (NLT)

Life on earth is just the dress rehearsal before the real production....It is the practice workout before the actual game; the warm-up lap before the race begins. This life is preparation for the next. You will spend far more time on the other side of death--in eternity-- than you will here. ------Rick Warren, The Purpose-Driven Life

Choco's Idea of a Bath

My First

My first "fling" with encaustics. This encaustic collage was soooo much fun. A word of advise...wear summer clothes! Standing over a griddle is, uh, VERY warm indeed. Was very proud that I didn't burn myself. I learned a lot and have a lot to learn... but for my first...I thought I did pretty good. The main thing for me is that it was fun. Excited about "dipping"in again very soon.

Beautiful Evening Sun

I like to call it SONshine!

Angry Sky

Captured this shot of an angry sky just before the bad storms the other night. Choco came inside for the night, Bis slept in the closet and Sadie slept on top of me...all night long. Many, many power outages. Needless to say, I was a" Power Company" widow for a few days/nights. Hubby is now back home, safe and sound...and all have power! Thanking God for safety.

Finding My Purpose In Life...

I have "started over" reading and studying "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren. I am sooo bad, I purchased it a year ago, and am just now settling into it. Too many "other things" have taken precedence over it in the past year. And already in the first day's reading I am understanding how to " do less" in life by focusing on what is most important. And, as a result, everything else is falling right in line as it should. How many times have I heard this? All through my childhood, growing up in church, throughout Sunday School, sermons, etc. It is sooo true. So many times I find myself trying to fit everything in, take care of everybody (and I mean everybody), people I don't even know. And that has been the whole problem.."myself". It is not about me. God created me and had a purpose and plan for me even before I was conceived. I can choose my career, my spouse, my hobbies and other parts of my life, but not my purpose. I am His "invention" and since He is my "inventor" I must go to Him to find my purpose. This 40 day study is so perfect for me at this point in my life. Kids are grown, the world seems so chaotic, what used to be wrong is now somehow considered to be right and "okay", so much going on, etc. What a "breather" this book gives. And ths significance of this study's "40 days" is in itself amazing. You will have to dig in yourself to find out why if you don't already know. And I encourage you to join me in doing just that. Have a blessed weekend!!!

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)

My gallery (continued)

Gallery of some of my layout creations

"Collage Unleashed"....

This book that I created came from a book that I am soooo enjoying called "Collage Unleashed" by Traci Bautista. It is a latch hook spine bound book that I have entitled " "Play". I am using it to play around with techniques of Traci's that are in the book as well as a few other techniques I have picked up here and there. I created the covers using a variety of paints, Golden, (acrylic, metallics,irredescents, glazes) and incorporated some stamping and "rubs" and some Ranger Distress Embossing Powders, as well as some Ranger Crackle Paints. The spine is made of latch hook rug canvas filled with ribbons, fibers and fabric along with a few beads and buttons. "Collage Unleashed" is one of the most fun and playful books I have purchased...so much inside , and every page and every technique gets more and more exciting.

Glad To Be Back...

Glad to be back to my blog, between the busy winter months at work and my family of let's see now, 7...I have been unable to get on my blog lately. I have been working on a few new and fun projects, one of which has been completed (will post pic next). However, I am still working on my "Penny Rug" which has been a blast, as well as dabbling in to some encaustic painting. I went to a siminar/class last Saturday on Encaustic Painting and was absolutely captured. Anyway, look at my 3 (one is lying in the daffodils, Choco, my choc lab) darlings! It has grown from "Me and Bis" to "Me and Bis and Choco and Sadie". I guess I should change the name of my blog to "Me and All Three! Thank you to all that have been following my blog and thanks for your comments. Hope to be better at keeping up now that spring is here and my schedule will slow down. I will be adding more fun"stuff" that I am creating as I create. Have a blessed day everyone!!!