New Hearts from Northern California

Wanted to quickly post these hearts we found while on vacation in Calaveras Big Trees State Park last week. 

Carved heart in felled giant redwood.

Bugs eat heart-shape into leaves on a tree in the South Grove of the Park.

Scrambled egg heart on Paige's breakfast plate. She's great at finding hearts for me.

Fun @ the Fair

Yesterday found us at the Orange County Fair having a wonderful time on a beautiful summer afternoon. The weather was mild, not the blazing heat of the blacktop I usually dread, and a slight ocean breeze. The crowd was small when we first arrived, so Scott and Paige ran from ride to ride enjoying spin after spin after spin. They even resembled a loving brother and sister on this day...it was such a treat. I loved watching them enjoy each ride, especially the fun houses.

We took a break from rides to watch the adorable All-Alaskan Pig Racing and wander around the farm animal area. As night fell, we grabbed a few delicious bites of nourishing food and sweet treats. And when you forget to bring jackets, you scour the fairgrounds looking for affordable warmth. So we now sport wearable OC Fair souvenirs. I scored with a cute, green fuzzy jacket, but the kids were happy with theirs OC Fair jackets since that was all we could find.

It was a delightful day!

Brownies Earn Patches

Paige, Makena and Whitney displaying their new art journals.

Paige and her friends got together this summer to earn a few extra Brownie Try-It patches. At my house we worked on art related projects. The girls are displaying the art journals we made with a yarn art cover and tag inspired by Kelly Rae Roberts book "Taking Flight. " Most of the elements in this project cover the Stitch It Together Patch, but somehow we turned it into art. We used the sewing machine to stitch the patchwork pieces together and we sewed a button onto our painted patchwork tag. We roughly stitched the journal together with yarn and the yarn art cover goes with the Color and Shape Try-It patch. We have a few more projects to add to the inside of our journals to complete the other patches. I had lots of fun making these journals with the girls, I think they did too!

Sample journal I made for myself. Can't wait to add stuff to the inside.

We also made paper plate color wheels.

"Firework" Painting

On the third day of Total Alignment Connie asked us to paint to a song that makes us move and gives us energy. I love the song "Firework" by Katy Perry for it's energy and lyrics. I played it over and over and listened to every word. This painting session was so much fun. For the background I was painting with my hands and globing paint right on the paper, smearing it and spraying it with water and letting it drip...I had a blast. But best of all, I was all alone with no one barking at me (literally or needing my attention) so it felt really good! I have included the lyrics for "Firework" below and I urge you to read them. They harmonize perfectly with what Connie has been talking about in her messages about Total Alignment. Enjoy!

Firework
by Katy Perry

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag,
drifting through the wind
wanting to start again?
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
like a house of cards,
one blow from caving in?

Do you ever feel already buried deep?
6 feet under screams but no one seems to hear a thing
Do you know that there's still a chance for you
'Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite, the light, and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe your reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow
And when it's time, you'll know

You just gotta ignite, the light, and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, Oh, Oh"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through-ough-ough

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, Oh, Oh"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, Oh, Oh"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

Painting "FREE" & "FEARLESS

Exercise #1 from Connie Hozvicka's Free Workshop
"Total Alignment::Opening the Heart Center"

"Don't analyze" she said, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't just paint, especially with kids talking to me and dog barking in the same room. I should have painted right when I got up. I don't think it would have made any difference. I still can't paint FREE or FEARLESS. I painted my heart as instructed and then didn't have a clue what to do. I knew I was suppose to just paint...but what? So I started putting random colors down and watched the way they mixed with the color next to it. I set the timer for 30 minutes and tried to just cover the paper (18 x 24 inches). I'm supposed to paint like a 5 year old and she had mentioned lines, so I painted some squiggly lines. I still had 10 minutes left and the paper was covered, so I started on the next layer. Thought I would paint a black frame around it since I hadn't used black in the background. Then boxes just came to mind, kinda like my heart (where I'm supposed to be painting from) is boxed in. Now the right side looks kind of bare so I thought for a minute, which I'm not supposed to do, about what to add, flowers! Added a few swirly flowers. Even though the painting isn't supposed to have meaning and I'm only to focus on the process, I can't help but interpret the painting to mean "Rosy on the outside, blocked on the inside." Who knew painting from the heart could be so hard. My mind tells me I need a direction and a plan, my heart is blank! Click the button on the right to check out Connie's Blog. Total Alignment started today and will run all week, but the workshop will remain on her blog for future reference. Let me know if you check it out...she is too darn adorable. I'm sure you will love it.

30 Minute Painting Exercise
from Wyanne's "Paint Free" e-course

This painting is from Wyanne's E-course "Paint Free" and this is a 30 minute painting exercise. I was to paint something from my childhood that I loved and I choose candy...I know, weird huh? Well, big surprise...didn't know what to paint. So without a lot of explanation, this is what came out! Not too happy with it, but I'm focusing on the process...right?

Second part of 30 Minute Painting Exercise
"Candy 2"



Yikes...I know! I don't know where this came from or what happened. It looks like a scary Picasso self portrait or something. This is totally not something I would ever paint. The is the second part of the painting above. Needed to paint for another 30 minutes and this is what I ended up with. I laugh every time I look at it! I guess this is happy me after eating candy!

I'm happy I made time to paint lately, even if I'm not so happy with the results. I know all this playing like a 5 year old will help my heart and hands become one...eventually!