A  few of you have seen my art calendars for 2012, a few of you have snagged some at previous sales. And some of you have been asking about them.  So here is a peek and an update.  Note that there are 2 styles and both are printed professionally on 100% recycled paper.  This makes them eco-friendly gifts that support a local artist and a local printshop — and more importantly, I think they will make you (and your giftees) SMILE!

I am definitely going to order some more Year at a Glance 2012 Poster Calendars ($12 each, the one with the oystercatcher in the hot air balloon, 12 x 18 inches).  I might order more of the 13-month Art Calendars ($22 each), but ONLY IF I get at least 15 pre-orders secured.    Please let me know by Wednesday November 23^rd if you are interested in ordering either calendar (so I can get them to you before Christmas).  I will let you know as soon as possible if I have enough orders for the 13-month calendar to go ahead.

Thanks for looking.  No matter what calendars help you organize the coming year, I have a feeling it is going to be amazing!

Despite my love for Autumn, it would seem that Summer found its way back into my studio this week. And I am so glad it did! Here’s a peek at the juicy commission I did for an incredible young woman in honour of her Sweet Sixteen.  The colours are her favourite, the smile is hers, the photo was edited and jazzed up by her own computering and it all came together to make magic. I am really happy with how this piece evolved. Sometimes I start a commission from scratch, but in this case the painting started well before the commission.  It had a life of its own, starting with colours and vintage book pages that called to me. As it progressed over the late summer, I knew it was holding space for a photograph and I was hoping to snap one of my daughter in an inner tube.  That never happened, but the thoughts of sea and mermaid girls and happy floating must have been powerful since my friend who needed a birthday gift for her daughter just happened to have the perfect photo to finish it off.  There really is so much serendipity in this painting. I love it!

I leave you with one more photo to show you that I have been following my own advice from the last post.  I love painting in pyjamas! What a perfect way to start (or end) the day.

As the weather turns cool and wet, we are more often looking for ways to enjoy being indoors, close to the cozy fire.  With Halloween and the end of October birthday my daughters share, there have been so many exciting places to direct the crafting buzz around here.  And now we move right into list making and project planning for all the holiday crafting we’d like to get started on.  It seems the perfect time to share some of the creations we have been working on……

First and most exciting is the birthday sewing that I completed! I am not sure what I am more proud of – the Hillary Lang sleepover pal dolls I finally finished (yes, I had actually started them for the girls’ 2010 birthday gift) or the wool felt crowns I have dreamed of making ever since I first spotted them in Soulemama Amanda Blake Soule’s The Creative Family book.

One advantage to having waited so long is that the girls were old enough to help with the crowns.  The night before their birthday (two days after the wool felt arrived in the mail), they chose the colours for the felt and decided on a basic shape for the crowns. As they drifted off to sleep (for the last time as 4 and 7 year olds) I snuck in and tested my paper templates on their heads for size (Raena half awoke with such a happy knowing smile). On their birthday morning (after a celebratory breakfast tea complete with candles and wishes) they helped me with the finishing touches.  Alex carefully drew a curly “A” for me to embroider and Raena drew and sewed her own initial with her floss of choice.  They both got just excited as I did when we uncovered some vintage daisy trim that had been waiting for a special project — my lack of vintage ribbons now seems a blessing, oh I so love how these birthday crowns turned out, don’t you?

And how about the craft brainwave that only a time-starved, disorganized mama must search for (yes, the night before our little friends’ birthday party, we remembered that we live on a small island and the grocery store doesn’t really have very exciting gifts for seven year olds).  Lucky for me, the party had a theme – cats. Also luckily, we happen to have a special stash of favourite second-hand books just waiting to be passed along. Lucky too we have a girl that loves to braid and some left-over yarn from the Pippi Longstocking wig we made for Raena’s Halloween costume (that is a whole other last minute crafting story waiting to be told).  Et voila, I introduce you to our exciting new CAT BOOKMARK!

Let me tell you, those braided tails can get pretty long….perfect for settling a girl before dinner AND for marking the pages of your favourite book. I think there will be more of these being made for the holidays — they will pop quite easily in an envelope along with a festive handmade card.  I am imagining all sorts of creatures with tails and long necks will be similarly transformed into reading buddies!

I hope this crafting show n’ tell  has made you smile and perhaps inspired you to try something new.  I would love it if you would share some of your current or planned craft ideas.  I seem to thrive on having a sketchbook FULL of ideas (even if only a small portion ever make it to the creation stage).

I finish this post wishing you HAPPY CRAFTING and reminding you that it is always best to paint in your pyjamas!

These golden leaved, sunny, blue skied days lift my heart and I am breathing in so much inspiration from it all. I want to paint, photograph and see all that autumn has to offer us. And yet, like you, I am busy doing other things. Working, driving kids to and from activities, cleaning, cooking, laundry, homeschooling, and a bit of crafting (most recently for my daughters’ shared birthday).  But somehow, that is all ok. For just outside my window, the leaves swirl and the magic continues. And this feeds my soul. And between the busy moments I catch a glimpse of golden leaves and I feel connected with it all. When the clouds break and the sun bursts into the day, I often grab my coat and scarf and head out for a walk….with the kids, with the dog, and sometimes with just myself. I stop along the way, arms outstretched and eyes closed, soaking up the sun — recharging.  Gathering inspiration for the cold and wet days of winter that will come, days when I will be busy by the fire crafting with my girls or tucked away under the night sky painting in my third floor studio.

But for now, I am going to savour every last moment of these glorious fall days. Days when the sun warms my girls enough that they shed most of their layers and wade in the ocean, days when we gather the maple leaves and leap into the piles over and over again, days when we are so inspired by it all that we create poems as we walk along, days when helping friends harvest their apples becomes a celebration of chickens and paint, days when we delight in finding one more acorn for our nature table, days when we run after the falling leaves and laugh together — oh how I love these magic autumn days!

How does autumn inspire you my friends?

I am so excited to see my first blog/website go LIVE…to be opening the virtual windows to my art studio…to say hello to all of YOU.  ”Hello World!”  I hope my art will make you smile and that the stories of my creative journey will inspire you to follow your own dreams.

A huge thank you to everyone who shared valuable feedback about blogs and websites with me over the past few weeks. More thanks to my hubby for his endless patience and tireless technical support. I could not have made it here without all of you!