week 45 - my planner

week 45 - how important are the opinions of others about you and/or your art?

it is so hard to let opinions and negative comments roll off my back.  i think personal remarks are the hardest to shake.  most things about ourselves are hard to change.  my gram use to always say, "you can't change the spots on a leopard".  it's true.

it is easier to let go of critics about my art, but not at first.  i remember one time i had a community art teacher tell me that my art was whimsical and i would never be able to sell my art.  i was crushed.  those words haunted me for a long time.  i eventually was able to let go of her opinion of my work.  i have come to the realization that my art is for me and if anyone else likes it then that is icing on the cake.

i had a revalation when i realized that everything is subjective.  depending on the time or circumstance every one's opinion would be different.  i can't please every one all of the time.  it's an impossible goal.  so i please myself.  it has been a pretty liberating concept for me. 

what about you - how important are other people's opinions of you?

the roc nicholas rubber stamp design team

artwork by cathy parmelee

today the roc nicholas rubber stamp design team piece is brought to you by cathy parmelee.  i love how cathy has used my stamps; the bunny, capture the magic, and the bird lady's body.  adorable!
cathy has been on my design for a long time and sadly, today is her last month with us.  she will be missed.  thanks for all you did cathy!

to see these rubber stamps, or my whole line of stamps sold through stampotique.com please click here.

week 44 - my planner

week 44 prompt - who is the real you?

for those of you who may not really know me you might be surprised to learn that i'm a little bit crazy.  but i am.  my life is sort of nothing short of an episode or ten of "i love lucy".  my husband is often found just shaking his head.  i'm always thinking.  i always have an idea.  you should see how pale my husband's face gets when he heres, "hey, i have an idea".  it is a real balancing act for me to stay present and focused.  i live with rose colored glasses in an idealistic world swirling with thoughts and ideas.  the truth is there aren't enough hours in the day to get a portion of them done. 

what about you - who is the real you?

the roc nicholas rubber stamp design team post

today the roc nicholas rubber stamp design team piece is brought to use by karen hayselden.  isn't this halloween piece "spook-tacular"?!?!!  karen used my screaming bunny to create this fabulous piece. to see more about this, or more of karen's work please head on over to her blog by clicking here.

to see my rubber stamps, sold through stampotique.com please click here.

a peek inside my planner

just a spread in my personal planner for this year.

if you build it they will come.....

 my husband is such a hard worker.  he was out building a little pond for us today. 

it is much smaller than our 10 x 20 foot pond we had when we lived in pennsylvania

but it does bring back wonderful memories of that pond.  we had so much nature

to watch at that pond.  i really did love it.  it took us 7 weeks to build that one but it was all dug by hand.  we really didn't have any idea what we were doing at the time,  but some how through our ignorance, the pond when finished, really looked like it had been there forever.  it was beautiful.

this pond took only an afternoon for todd to put in, and it is now ready to be filled 

with water.   we will be faced with a challenge of landscaping around it however,

because our water softener dumps into the ground there and it is very saline.

that is one reason we are putting in a little raised pond, because the plants keep

dying that we plant there.   we have three ledges inside the pond for pond plants so i think

those will be safe at least.  once the water stabilizes we will look for fish.   i am excited to see 

some little swimmers once again.

week 43 - my planner

week 43 prompt - what is your favorite hobby?

it should come as NO surprise that my favorite hobby is art.  i love art journaling -  everything about art journaling!  i think i love printing, fonting, making letters, what ever you want to call it.  when i first make a journal and start it i am always saying to myself, "geesh, that looks terrible!"  but in the end when it's all filled with photos, doodling, collage, and bits and bobs, i just love it.  it's all in the process from start to finish.  there is a lesson in there for me on so many levels.

so what about you - what's your favorite hobby?

making envelopes

i recently bought some notecards but they came with plain white envelopes.  i decided to jazz it up a bit and drew this bird.  maybe you will be the one who finds it in your mailbox.

the roc nicholas rubber stamp design team post

today the roc nicholas rubber stamp design team post is brought to you by samantha read.  she's created a "spooktacular" piece using my blessed skellie rubber stamp.  to see more about this piece of art, or more of sam's work, fly on over to her blog by clicking here.

to see my rubber stamp line sold through stampotique.com please click here.

tumble fish studio's new release

marsha, aka tumble fish studio, has a new release over at mischief circus.  this journal page was created using all imagery from this little moment digital sheets.  go check it out - you know you wanna!