I love the idea of wrapping presents in unique ways, of decorating them with beautiful bows and embellishments. This year, I was lucky to get them wrapped, period. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas was short and seemed even shorter.

Anywho, I was wrapping presents this week and scribbling names directly on the paper using a big, fat, silver Sharpie. Then, it hit me. What if I could make labels from my art work? I scanned through my photos, trying this one and then that, until I settled on my newsprint angel girl. 

I opened PicMonkey and clicked on the create a collage tab. I uploaded my girl, chose the two photo collage, and placed PicMonkey 'paper' on the right side. Then I clicked on 'edit' to add the snowflake embellishments and the text. It was super easy, and I love how they look when printed.

It's Christmas Eve. I'm playing around a bit because my daughter has been in bed with the flu. It's been quiet around here with her cooped up sick. I'm hoping she'll get up for a while and open her one Christmas Eve gift and maybe watch a Christmas movie with me. She's feeling better, which is a big relief, but she's just not back to normal yet.

I know not everyone enjoys the holiday, but I hope you can experience serenity and peace as well as fun, love, and laughter.

Merry Christmas!
 

I'm sitting in my studio office kind of hiding out. Hannah wanted to have a party for her 18th birthday.... Not a huge one, just a few friends and then some. I really have no idea who will show up; you know how word-of-mouth can make news of a party travel faster than you can say social media. But I'm thinking the turn-out will be okay because, face it, her parents are home.

Every party that teenagers her age have these days seem to take place in the absence of their parents. Hannah doesn't go to too many of them and has even driven up, parked, and after hearing from a friend came back home after hearing about the 'fun' they were having.

Funny girl, Hannah. She definitely takes after her dad's side of the family with her socializing. She enjoys her friends immensely. But at the same time, she takes after me a bit. She enjoys her friends in small numbers. She's already figured out that big parties don't always equate to big fun. 

So, anyway, here I sit on the night of her birth hidden away so-to-speak in my space. I have three hours to go until her official 'birthtime.' When she was little I would tell her all about the day she was born. We would read the diary entries I made during my pregnancy. For several years now, she's had friends over for the night, so the birth story hasn't been retold in a while. Maybe tomorrow night when we're settled in for the night. Yeah. That sounds like something worth doing again.

... in the time it's taken to create the collage, I've begun to hear chatter and laughter on the back deck. I think I'll go downstairs now.... :)

Happy 18th birthday to my girl! I hope this year brings much joy to your life.

 

Coming soon to a computer near you!

Can you tell that I'm pretty excited about launching my Etsy shop? Nervous, too. Really. I'm just a little bit worried about cards collecting dust.... That the money I spent getting real cards made may have been better spent on something else... like groceries :)

But I just felt that the time was right. I do a lot of dreaming when it comes to my art and photography, but I find that taking steps to actually DO something with my art and photography takes a little more effort. And commitment. And confidence. So, we'll see.

Opening date: January 1. You can mark that on your calendar!

Tomorrow is the last day of the semester at school. My students are finishing up benchmark exams, and I am ready to get to the whole holiday shabang-thing under way. I've ordered my Christmas cards (a bit late) and am getting the house finished up for Christmas AND for my daughter's 18th birthday. (Geez, when did that happen? 18?)

You should have heard me on my drive home today. I was singing  trying to sing along with Francesca Battistelli's "What Child is This?/First Noel." I can't even begin to tell you how many times I pushed the back button to hear it again. And again. Her voice is so pure... and the music in this, the drums, everything, is just beautiful. You can find more of her songs here, including her new release called "Strangely Dim." If you're like me with hundreds of plans and dreams swirling about, this song may be just what you need to hear right now.

P.S. Today is my sister, Traci's, birthday. She's pretty much my #1 fan (along with my other sister, Parris, and my sweet mother-in-law, Lurline) when it comes to my art and photography. Happy birthday, Traci!

4Square

That's what I'm calling these little cards I had printed, and I have to tell you that I was practically dancing around the house when I saw that package on the counter. Thirty-six cards all 4"x4" in size.... complete with little Kraft envelopes. And all for my Etsy shop! 

I still have some work to do before the grand opening, but it's close. It's really, really close.