I told you...

that my best friend could paint. We are the proud owners of two of her paintings. Here is the one that hangs in our bedroom, along with our other China decor.

Egg Carton Flowers

When I buy eggs they usually come in a styrofoam container. I would really love to get the paper ones but our grocery store doesn't really carry them. Why does it matter you ask? It would be nicer on the environment if we bought paper and the paper ones make better craft projects! So while the kids and I were on a really long walk the other day I happened to see a paper egg carton on the sidewalk, so I picked it up. Gross? Not really it was just a container for cascarones. I have no idea if I spelled that right but cascarones are these little confetti filled eggs that they sell around Fiesta time. I knew what I wanted to do with the paper egg container and once we got home we started on the project.

Naomi and I painted the container and then after letting it dry during nap time we made the container into little flowers. She really liked putting the pipe cleaners through the leaves and the bottom of the flowers. I asked her what she wanted to do with the flowers and she basically told me that she wanted to keep them for herself. So, I encouraged her to think about others and give them to the staff at church. So a couple days later we went to church to give out the flowers and to teach Naomi about giving and sharing our gifts with others. We also gave one to Anna because she watched Micah so that Naomi and I could give out the flowers and go grocery shopping. Thanks Anna.

Micah enjoyed a little coloring...till I had to take the crayons away because he was eating them.

Painting and a rambling of sorts

I love to paint. I love the colors, the mess, the freedom.

I'm not particularly good at painting but I just love to paint.

My best friend is an amazing artist and she can paint like no one I've ever met in person. She paints from photographs and with her own style and twist makes that photograph come to life.

I studied art in college for two years.

I was a graphic design major. My college did not offer a photography degree otherwise I would have majored in photography. So I went with the "next best thing" as my advisor told me to.

Being an art major had its perks. I got to paint. I got to sculpt. I got to throw pottery (on the wheel of course). I got to try my hand at printmaking. I made a stained glass window that still hangs in the halls of my alma mater. My tests were easy and papers were almost non-existant.

I loved everything about my art classes...until I really started the graphic design classes. I took a few classes and liked them enough but there was just something that was holding me back. My skills were not on par with my classmates. My desire to work as a graphic designer was changing.

In the middle of the first semester of my junior year of college I changed my major. I was always one of those kids who said, I'll never change my major, I know what I want to be when I grow up. Well, I shouldn't have said that. Come on, who really knows what they want to be when they grow up, when they are only 19 years old? Okay, some people do. Well, I guess I never really wanted to be a graphic designer in the first place, just a photographer so it was only time till I faced the facts, right? I guess I did know what I wanted to be when I grew up when I was 19 years old. I just went to the wrong college to make that dream a reality. But college was free so I wasn't about to pass that up (by dad is a prof).

Eventually when all was said and done I graduated from college with a Major in Theology. I had minors in Lay Ministry, Youth Ministry and you guessed it, Art! All those art classes my first two years made my art minor a given. I was going to be a youth minister and I was excited. I had no idea what the future held for me but I was a fresh graduate and a new Mrs. so I was ready to face the world.

I worked as a youth director for two years while my husband went to the Seminary. I was his sugar mama. I loved working with the youth. I had a blast creating retreats, programs, Bible studies and just hanging out and getting to know who they were and what they struggled with. It was an incredible time in my life. I was very happy with where I was at in life. I used my graphic design background to help create eye catching flyers and postcards for the kids. I designed many t-shirts and posters. I had just enough knowledge about graphic design to make me dangerous.

My love for art has never left me. It has changed. My appreciation for different mediums has grown over the years. I don't have a complete knowledge of the subject because really, 8am is not a great time for art history class and a dark room with the soothing voice of the professor narrating the slides just isn't very condusive to my learning style. But I slept great!

I taught myself how to cross-stitch after seeing my aunts do that for many years. I asked my mom for a sewing machine for Christmas when I was 25 even though I didn't grow up with one in the house. I taught myself how to sew...and I had lots of help from two wonderful women! I have dabbled in just about every craft medium there is. That is why my husband says that I have a new hobby every week. That is why my shelves are full of supplies. I may need them again. I have a hard time parting with art supplies. I think I need to see someone about this. I need to get my new craft space organized and whittled down.

I am itching to get creative again. To throw caution to the wind and just paint whatever I want. To sew a closet of dresses for my little girl, because she wants to wear a "pretty dress" everyday. I am so wanting to make my own embroidery designs. I want to start the t-shirt quilt for Micah's bed that is waiting. I really just want to have a crafting day where all I do is craft to my hearts content. No worrying about the mess or the diapers, or dinner. Just being creative. Moving from one project to the next even before the first one is finished if that's where the creativity is leading me. Ah. It sounds so nice. But it doesn't sound realistic. I guess I just need to manage my time better and try and get something created in the hour I may get during the day and the few I have at night.

All this to say, I love watching Naomi paint and experience some of these crafts for the first time. I have to make myself just sit back and watch and not tell her how it's supposed to be done because I'm not inside her mind and I'm not sure how she wants it to be done. She seems to like painting and creating as much as I do...but not quite as much :). It makes me so happy to paint with her and see how her creative mind works. These things make me happy.Then you may also understand why these things (below) make me sad. Micah was trying to eat the paint so I told him no, rather loudly so as to startle him and make him stop what he was doing and he just cried and cried. I think I scared him for life. I hope he doesn't give up on trying to paint and do other creative things. Oh and he was tired, really tired, and a little hungry. Probably not a good time for his first painting experience. We'll try again another day.

This is the stained glass window that two of my classmates and I made, and it is still hanging proudly in the art hallway!I love all the creative inspiration that is around me. Lots of blogs and websites. Lots of great stuff in magazines and books. And just from life happening around me. People tell me, "you're so creative, Jamie" and I just have to laugh because if they only knew that 90% of my creativity is stolen from other peoples ideas they probably wouldn't say that. ha!

Sorry to keep you so long. It was fun to reminice and trace my steps of creativity. This is not what I intended to post about tonight when I sat down at the computer but it's just as well. Have a great night! Go create something!

Simply Me

I am me. There is no one else on the earth who is me. I have many wants and desires that are similar to others but I am still the only me.

I want to home school my kids, I think...my daughter turns two tomorrow so it's not like I have to decide today.

I want to create more things using my sewing machine.

I want to paint more often.

I want to cook more often and healthier.

I want to be creative again.

I want to write again.

I want to dream more.

I want to live simply.

This is my attempt at doing just that. I hope to post about new projects that are going on, they could be meals I've cooked, cakes I've baked, skirts or other clothes I've sewn, paintings I've done, felt boards I've created. A little bit of everything that I love.

I want to have a place where I can let it all out and JUST BE ME.

Simply.

Me.