Sunday, March 30, 2008

Flower Girls.



Spring has sprung. You can tell I'm ready for the flowers to come!




Stars

I met a gal via the blogger world, who homeschools her children and is doing a Holocaust project with them. They are creating a memorial and asking people to donate stars to symbolize the Jews who lost their lives. Here are the stars I am sending them: If you are interested in participating, link to her site above and leave her a comment. (Her entry about their project is on 3/21/08) The stars can be made out of anything, and can be any size. (Mine are made from matboard, and are about 8 inches wide, 6 inches tall, so that they will fit into the manila envelopes I have laying around ; ) ) Notice the font? I created my own handwriting computer font using this website: http://www.fontifier.com/. How fun is that?!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Connie's new art

I can remember way back in 6th grade when I first heard the expression, "Home is where the heart is". I thought "Hmmmmmmm", and I thought and thought some more! I thought, "wow, what a deep thought to be thinking!" Truth is, it's pretty basic. And that's where we need to get back to - grounded in family values, grounded in truth. The basics of life we cherished back then need to be cherished today.
Joyce Meyer said it. I believe it, because I understand it now.

New Stuff.

" Let yourself go. You are bound to bloom."
Pretty little butterfly, taken by surprise with her transformation.
"Sometimes, the smallest things take up the most room in your heart." (Boy, those eggs had a long ways to drop!!)
This little girl has embraced her transformation...and is proud of it!!

Sunday, March 23, 2008

This Is How I Know What Love Is...

This is how I know what TRUE love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for me and he also did it for you. Happy Easter - may you also know what true love is all about.

He is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!!!!

I am Filled With an Inexpressible and Glorious Joy!



Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Lady Bird Brown

What is it about these bird ladies? Or should I say lady birds?
Are they birds trying to be human? Or women trying to spread their wings and fly? And perhaps the most puzzling question of all - What in the world was I thinking when I created them?

Before and After

Before...(dirty, moldy, stinky frames with random numbers - don't try to make sense of it.)
and after...(simply brilliant, if I do say so myself.) I'm a firm believer that one woman's trash is another woman's treasure.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Quit While You're A'head'

Here are a few new pieces. When I saw the shape of this plain brown varnished wood plaque at goodwill I immediately saw hair - and lots of it - and I just new I had to make it into a woman with a beehive-like 'do. So even though I am not the first to use this quote, the piece was pretty much screaming for it. I especially like her rosy cheeks, which gave me an excuse to try out my new box of pastels. Doesn't she just look like she's thinking heavenly thoughts?!I made this second piece from a sketch I did awhile back. I wanted the girl to look like she was half girl and half house. I don't know if I accomplished that or not. But the end result is ok anyway, although I'm not that happy with the bird in the heart. It was one of those deals where it didn't look quite finished because the heart was empty. So I thought to myself, well I'll just draw a little birdie in there. Then I drew it off center, so I tried to cover up the off centeredness by adding the stars for balance. And then that still didn't look right, so I contemplated what else I should do to liven it up, then realized maybe I'd better quit before it was totally ruined. Sometimes there's no turning back once you're committed. The key is knowing when to quit. Not sure if I quit at the right time or not. Oh well.

Soul Mates

Here's a new piece I finished for our upstairs bathroom. I needed something new to hang in there because a) I was getting tired of looking at the same ole stuff and b) the old picture fell off and broke. When I found this quote I thought to myself, this is me and my husband. Although we are very different, I feel like God made us for each other.


Celebrate Your Style!

My birthday was about a month ago and I wanted to show you what my very talented mom made me for a present. It is a box with a sliding lid, which so far has remained empty. (It was filled with funky socks when I got it!) For now it is enough to just look at it. I have it sitting in my work room where I can see it all the time.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Another Birthday Blog!

Here I am with my birthday crown on. It's from work today. At the preschool where I teach art the kids wear a birthday crown on their birthday, so they gave me one and the kids sat in a circle around me and sang Happy Birthday to me. The kids affectionately call me Grandma Berends. It was a sweet sweet time. In this photo I am holding my present from my hubby which my daughters are going to be jealous of, I'm sure. It's a new framing gun. They are constantly borrowing mine - it keeps circulating around the 3 of us - and when someone needs it, it's a game of seek and find. I am not sure if this one will go out on loan or not. ha! gotta think about it!!! aw, geez, ok, guess they know what's mine is theirs. I am so blessed, you might think this is not a very personal gift , but that guy has gotten to know me pretty good, and I appreciate him so much!!!