Wandering Wednesday (-:

Here I am going about the business of motherhood with the sweet company of my 14 month~old son (-: Playing, exploring outside, enjoying the watery comfort of a cool sink~bath on a too~hot day... The moments of childhood go by so alarmingly fast; I know this because I also have a 9~year old daughter...I try to really pay attention, to really feel their presence and look into their eyes when we speak, to memorize the wobbly baby steps and the goofy laughs and the quirky ways they manipulate the world around them because I know that this time will be forgotten, cast aside for bigger and better things on the pathway to maturity. It brings about a sadness in me, but I also acknowledge the great beauty and honour it is to raise a child. To create a new being who will inevitably change and shape this blessed earth. The most wonderful gift (-:

^__^

Embroidered works of art

I love to draw, and I also love to sew. I thought it would be really quite fun to incorporate them together and so I created these three prints. The first one, named 'Trees and a Basket' was drawn first with a thin drawing pen, coloured digitally, and then then I freeform embroidered the trees that you see in the background. They blend in so nicely that I think you might ~ (if you took a quick look at the print without studting it too intensely) ~ not even realize that they are, indeed, constructed of thread.

This sweet girl {Russian Teacup Girl} was painted first with black ink and a brush, coloured digitally, and then freeform embroidered. Four light pink flowers decorate the space around her and her teacup (-:

...And then there is this lovely lady ~ Pretty Bird on a Precarious Perch ~ I created her just like the other works. Her red cape has been embroidered you will see...

 

All are listed in my shop! (:  (:  (:

Oh, Wow!

Another one of my gnomes has been featured in an etsy treasury (-: Isn't that wonderful?! Click here to see!

What is even more awesome is this wonderful bed, included in the same treasury and made in Finland. I think it just may be the prettiest, most magical bed I have ever seen. I wish wish wish I could have it for my very own self (-:

Etsy treasury!

That's what this lovely little lady has been featured in (-: Yay! Check it out here!

Life's passings

Jason found this sweet baby mouse in the garage. More dead than alive, he brought it into the house to show Isabella, and she promptly created a soft nest~bed for it to lay in until its' passing from this life to the next. I don't find this morbid, I rather think it is beautiful; Especially Isabella's desire to make a comfortable death-bed for this sweet small creature, Her respect for life and it's passing.

Yesterday as we were spending time together on the front porch, Isabella spotted this huge, and very beautiful, dragonfly on the bottom step. Amarook the dog was snuffling all around it and so we did our best to zoom over and rescue it. It didn't die right away. Hours after Isabella and I created a soft grassy bed for it in a little plate and hid it from predators in a safe tree nook, it was still hanging on. We found that it had, indeed, died by the next morning but we're glad it was able to do so in peace.

Some people may think it is ridiculous to care for a small thing or to try and ease its passing; That nature deals with such things on it's own..But I think that if we care for all creatures of this beautiful planet and cultivate compassion and a genuine sense of caring, it makes a difference that is more immense than we can comprehend. I also think that sometimes wisdom can work through an animal as small as an insect or a baby mouse and create a situation where everyone involved can grow; Where knowledge and opening of the heart can transpire, and I think that it is important to 'look out' for these small gifts (which aren't really 'small' at all) because that's precisely why we're here on this planet, anyway. (-:

Keepers of the Forest!

Hello all! I have just added these sweet 'keepers of the forest', aka known as little gnome ladies, to my shop! I have been very influenced by nature lately, By trees and leaves, animals and the wind...my favourite things (-:

They are each quite lovely on their own, but they would also make an awesome set. I print my artwork onto heavy 'Arches' watercolour paper and the finished product is absolutely wondrous!

In this glorious time of autumn sneaking in from just around the corner, I am driven to consider even more 'Keepers of the land and forest'.. I do love gnomes (-: They are one of the things that truly warm my heart, along with that cup of Cream Earl Grey tea with rice milk and honey that I am going to brew for myself right now!

To scoot on over to my shop and see these lovely gnomies for yourself, click here (-:

Have a beautiful day! xo

creative happenings are afoot!

 

 

 

 

There have been various creative happenings taking place around our home as of late (-:

From the top:

1. weaving with sticks and yarn

2. the 'mailboxes' Isabella made for us (and of which she fills with special mail)

3. playdoh circle at a friends' home

4. Jason painting on the lawn

5. Mom stripping bark off of fresh branch cuttings

6. Jude and I, quilting (-:

There has also been drawing, letter-writing, card-making and photography (-: It makes me so happy to see creative projects scattered throughout the house and yard..all in progress, wonderful wonderful creativity! Most of all, I am blessed to live within a family of artists, where one's creative gifts are honoured. ^__^

Cameron Street Co-op

A couple days ago I was feeling pretty yucky. That sleep-deprived grouchy, sad kind of yucky. This doesn't happen quite so much these days. For the most part, I feel pretty good. But there it was..that yuckiness, and I couldn't stand being inside, but the day was dark and looked like it might rain at any moment so we jumped into the car and drove to the Cameron Street Co-op Cafe in Cannington (-:

I had been there just once before; nearly five years ago to see Rose Cousins perform live in an evening music show. It was magical. I brought Isabella, who was five years old at the time and she very much enjoyed the treats and entertainment.

^__^

Jude was especially delighted because it just so happened that one of his favourite things in the whole world was there, and he was allowed to play with it as long as he liked!

He shared my sandwich and played happily (and quietly, which is a rare treat, I assure you!). I LOVE child-friendly places. It doesn't take much; just an old phone and a booster chair on the floor and not a whole lot of grab-ables strewn throughout an establishment, but it is such a great and appreciated thing for those of us who have small children but yet wish to be present in the outside world (-:

^__^

my sky

The shows of the sunset hour have been absoutely breathtaking this past summer; so much so that I can hardly stand it. So beautiful! I have raced out across the yard to capture their magnificence more than once, but truly, no photograph can do them justice.

{{ this moment }}

^__^

~ inspired by soulemama ~

a quilt in the making

And what is life? A crazy quilt;

Sorrow and joy, and grace and guilt,

With here and there a square of blue

For some old happiness we knew;

And so the hand of time will take

The fragments of our lives and make,

Out of life's remnants, as they fall,

A thing of beauty, after all.

Excerpt from "A Crazy Quilt" by Douglas Malloch

I have been working on this quilt for a friend of mine (-:  It's actually a project that should have been finished years ago, but life (and..er, kids!) sort of got in the way and I tucked it aside ~ like so many creative endeavours...At any rate, I'm nearly done now, and that's a good thing (-: You see, a good friend of mine got married nearly 10 years ago now, and I thought it would be awesome to make her a 'marriage quilt', pieced together from fabric squares belonging to her friends and family. I got busy and wrote a lengthy letter explaining my plan and sent it to everyone on her wedding list, asking them to give me a piece of fabric that had some personal meaning to them, a sense of history, or something that linked it to my friend. I also asked that they include an explanation on a little card or such (-: And so, here I am, sewing away! I can't believe I let this much time go by..ten years! It's crazy, and yet with the presence of these two children of mine in my life, time just seems to blast by with unimaginable speed! I'm sure someone on that wedding list likely spilled the beans about my secret plan to my friend years ago, and there is also a good chance that she'll actually read this post..but I do not care. It feels good to follow through on this personal project and I just hope that she'll like the quilt (-:

My shop is re~opened!!!

Whew! After a crazy summer involving a big move from western USA to eastern Canada with four pets and two kids, lots and lots of change, adjustments, and finally a bit of settling, I am happy to announce that the PipoDoll shop on etsy is now OPEN!! I am happy (-: It's fairly sparse at this point but I will be adding to it bit by bit, so please do stop in for a visit when you get the chance (-:

pipodoll.etsy.com

sneaky peek!

I have been busy~busy lately, and this busy~ness happens to be of the creative variety (-: Soon...VERY soon, I will be adding a bunch of new works to my shop! It's about time, I know, and I am delighted (-:

^__^

another small list

things i liked on this day:

butter tarts
watching Jude play with a cup and a bucket of water
creative plans
the wind
cool shower
oolong tea

^__^

No time!

I thought I might jot down a couple random things I like...fun! (-: Writing a 'real' blog post is a rarity these days, as I customarily type with one hand while cradling Jude with the other. Like I'm doing right now..!

Ok, things I like right now:

Swedish Dala horses
the wind
sewing on paper
African market baskets
local produce
oolong tea
piles of fresh, clean, folded cloth diapers
Isabella's hilarious laughter
neatly made beds
blackbirds

^__^

an awesomely beautiful painting!

Jason created this painting this past week (-: Isn't it beautiful? I am always astounded by what happens when he goes off for a few hours with some brushes and oil paints...such a talent! This is actually a painting of Isabella, about three years old here...It is for sale at Jason's etsy shop, although I secretly hope we can keep it and hang it on our own wall ;-)

this moment

{{ this moment }}

wandering

~ Jude rather loves walking these days, and even took his own first, unsupported steps last week! Mostly though, he pleads with us to hold hands and walk outside, which is his absolute favourite place in the whole world (: He will wander outside for hours, poking at treasures in the grass, tracing with sticks in the dirt, being saucy and pretending to eat rocks because he knows he shouldn't, and of course playing in any little bit of water he can get his hands on ~

snippets of a Canadian summer..

1. my bike, with whom i am happily reunited
2. jason and jude strolling in heber downs conservation area
3. happy bella in the wind
4. grumpy, tired jude ready for his nap after oatmeal-eating
5. on the swing
6. and again!
7. spending time on the grass
8. lake ontario
9. jude enjoying canadian rocks for a change (-;
10. my beautiful children
11. full moon at dusk
12. we love rivers!
13. beautiful grandma-jude with her tea
14. grandma-jude, baby jude and amarook the husky-dog
15. kisses
16. we saw a beaver cutting down a tree! how awesome is that?
17. straw bales behind the house
18. bella and amarook
19. drinking from the wooden goblet
20. jude enjoying his time on top of a bale of hay
21. jude enjoying his time in a farmer's field (: