Succulents

Did you know that they bloom?  It's a stupid question, because I never even thought about it until one of mine did.  Okay, maybe the question isn't stupid, but I definitely suffer lapses in thought.

They are a huge trend in home decorating and I have never seen one in bloom.  I just kind thought they grew slowly like cactus and didn't really do a whole lot.  They are quite beautiful all on their own. 

One of mine went completely wild and crazy and I just let it go to see what it would do.  It grew a tentacle about 12 inches, long and bloomed! 

He wrapped himself all the way around Prince Charming (a party lite candle holder) and produced some pretty cool flowers.

The kids have also taken a liking to sticking found feathers from the yard in where some of the succulents died off. 

Shout Out for Katie Wilson

Katie Wilson is my amazingly talented cousin.  She is a singer and songwriter, absolutely gorgeous and one of the nicest people you could ever meet.  I am so jealous of her voice, I can't sing to save my life.  I am happy to say that she has lots going for her and momentum is just picking up.  If you life country music, take a listen and maybe download a song or two of hers.

Here are links to her Facebook, Website and iTunes. Check her out and let me know what you think!

Build Me Up

Being skilled in many different mediums sometimes leaves me feeling fractured at times.  It's hard to know what to do and what to further pursue.  I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out how I can combine many of my talents and passions.

Woodworking and watercolor painting are my two biggest creative passions.  I did this as an homage to them.  I am currently working on expanding and playing more with the pyrography (wood burning) and painting on wood with wood dyes.  I also need to build a frame for my blue jay feather.  I plan on dying the frame as well.  

Once I have honed this skill a bit, I will give some insight on the process.  Since I am still learning and playing with it, I need to figure out what works and what doesn't.  I am currently in the process of doing a butterfly.  I need to get rid of this cold before I can continue on it since I need to sand it down and I don't want to do that when I can barely breathe. 

August Best

Summer came to a very abrupt end and not too many photos were taken.  I am happy for the ones that I did take, but need to be better about capturing the moments now that school has started and I will be left with less time.  I need to make sure it is more quality time.

Top: (left) Maben's 1st day of school (center) Blue morpho butterfly (right) Sea lion
Bottom: (left) The kids on the sea lion statue at the zoo (center) A duck I saw at the zoo (right) Colton at a Lowe's build and grow event

Smart Phone, Markers and First Day of School

*All links that direct you to amazon are affiliate links and I make a small percentage on any purchase you make through amazon.

My handsome little one started preschool last week.  He was hamming it up for the camera, and not just the DSLR, but my new Samsung Galaxy S4.  I made the plunge and got a smart phone and a month later am still trying to figure it all out. 

I have downloaded and started playing with Pixlr-o-matic.  The above photo was edited with it.  I love old photos and emulsion transfers and this just made me happy because it kinda looks like both.

So, I have to ask what other apps should I be downloading for my phone that are photo related?  Do I even dare figure out Instagram? 

Are there any good apps that build collages like the one below?  (which was done in photoshop)

Colton is shamelessly showing off his school backpack which I decorated with angry birds.  Since it was rip stop nylon, there wasn't much I could do as far as sewing on it and definitely couldn't iron anything on.  I chose to paint on it with some new markers.  Montana acrylic water based markers are what I used for the first time and they are amazing!!!  They coverage is opaque and permanent.  I did such a great job that my husband thought I figured out a way to iron a patch on.

I did take a few photos of Colton with my DSLR and he really shined for me.  Oh how I love this boy, words just cannot describe.

I am happy to report that he loves school so far and the worse thing that happened to him his first week was he didn't finish all his juice at lunch and had to throw a whole sip away.  How I wish that was the biggest problem I would face all week.

So, here is hoping that my beautiful brown-eyed Colton has a wonderful school year and I figure out how to use my phone to it's fullest.

Sawdust Girl

Hey everyone!  I am very excited to show off my newest project over on Sawdust Girl. 

Head over over by clicking the link above or picture to learn how to make this super easy Leather Project Journal.

Project Gallery Is Live!

I have been working pretty hard behind the scenes here trying to figure out how to build a project gallery.   After combing the internet and many blogs, I finally found a tutorial that was very user friendly and I was successful at using.  Tuula over at The Thrifty Rebel has the one that I used.  Check it out if you are interested in building a project gallery on Blogger and show her some love.

Now my project gallery is still a work in progress as I go through 3 years of consistent blogging and locating everything I have done.  I will be updating it frequently and hope to keep it updated as I go once I am all caught up. 

I would love it if you go check it out and let me know what you think!