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.

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!!!

Before and After

You know how you get so used to looking at something, that you don't really even see it anymore? Well that's what happened here. Then one day I really started looking at it again. Afterall, it is hanging smack dab in the middle of my living room and it is over 3 feet wide. It's bound to catch my attention sooner or later. I think I first began to take notice the day that the bottom right daisy fell off. And when I took a good look at everything, I was more than a little embarassed. So embarassed that I almost couldn't bring myself to show you the before shots. But I'm all about keeping it real and you all need to know that I'm not as perfect as I may appear. :) So I swallowed my pride and gave you two lovely before shots. After I first took my blinders off, I'd stand in front of it almost every day and sigh, thinking to myself that the frame was definitely reusable, but that the rest HAD TO GO. I mean really, what had I been thinking in the first place?! Ah, I was young and naive (artistic skill-wise anyways.) Two months (ok, three months) later I was finally ready to take the plunge. (And yes, it hung daisy-less for that long.) Here is the final result:

My life is now complete.

(I was kidding about the being perfect thing.)

Youngest Thing with Wings

I am hereby officially asking Emily to contribute to this blog. She is the youngest of our family of women and God has made her a creative being as well. I know she is a "thing with wings"!!! Let's hear from you, EmmySue Francy Girl!

Hopes and Dreams

When I saw this metal thing at a second-hand houseware store, I immediately saw this:

Yes, this fish has legs, (or at least dreams that she does.) And no, I do not believe in Darwin's bogus theory of evolution.

Remember These Frames?

Remember these frames that I showed you awhile back?

Here's what they transformed into:

This one is my favorite:
Amazing what a little paint can do.

Some new "creative works."

duh . . . . huh?

HELP!!!! LAURA!!!!! JILL!!!!! EMILY - if you weren't so darn far away, it would be YOU!!!!
I am a hopeless helpless dimwit. (although I may not be bad looking and I am funny as all get out) . . . . . .
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

I Know I said No More Birds, But...

green, blue, (Laura????)

It must be colored finger day. Mine is blue and it's my index finger. mostly. Art's happening! YES! Check this blog again VERY soon!

I've Developed a Green Thumb!

See this dirty green thumb? This thumb that has actually just been washed, believe it or not? Do you know what it means?!

Do you understand how beautiful it is in all its painty goodness?

First off, let me reassure you folks, it is still very much attached to its owner, despite what the picture may suggest. There haven't been any cooking knife catastrophes around here (lately.)

And no, it does not mean I've started my first garden - which would be a mighty feat considering all the snow we have. It's not that kind of green thumb.

Nor have I contracted any kind of fungus, thank goodness.

What this thumb means is that I'm actually working on some art today - pieces that have been in the works for weeks. These same pieces that I go downstairs and stare at almost daily when I have a free moment, then turn my back on, in favor of computer time. Yes, I've been neglectful - they know it and I know it, but I'm back now to finish them up soon. Well, that's my plan today, anyway.

I've been in this shlump for weeks - probably due to the interrupted sleep that's become a nightly routine - where I don't know whether to give it a break, or push through and do something creative anyways, even though I don't feel like it. Well today I'm pushing through, baby, and mommy likey!

Does this mean that I've awakened from my creative coma? Oh, most certainly not. I'm sure I'll be going back to my ho-hums tomorrow, in fact I hear a baby waking up on the monitor right now. But for today, I'll go with it.

By the way, if your thumb doesn't look like this after you're done makin' stuff, then ya must not be doin' it right.

Moms And Their Babies.

These ladies are very proud of their eggs. They've got hopes and dreams bundled up in that little shell. God made them each very special. What will they look like? Will they have their father's beak? They're mom's pretty pink feathers? The quotes on two of the pieces say, "Every child is a gift of God...an everfresh and radiant possibility". The other two say, "Sometimes the smallest thing takes up the most room in your heart." Awwww....
(Can you tell I'm ready for Spring? Darn that groundhog. He should have just stayed in his hole.)

A "Tower O' Birds", if you will.

FLY

When my friend Linda was here from Orlando we went shopping at good old Hobby Lobby and we both bought a pair of these wings on a pedestal for 90% off! What a deal! They were what I would call "boring bronze" in color - I am sure hers still are. But mine have now had a facelift. Of course. stripes, polka dots, and funky ribbons. paints and stains. They've been "creative works-ed" over!