:) My Mama

October 22, 1925- August 12, 2015

My heart aches, but what a legacy you left behind...

I love my job.

Teachers work really hard the week before school starts.
Kids will show up next Monday morning, and we'll keep working.
Why do we do that?

I found this book on my door step when I arrived home this evening....



I recognized the author...
Then I opened to the dedication page...




Ahhh... yes... This is why...







My heart overflows with gratitude...

What a perfect reminder of how much I love my job...

I get to read and write with 10-year olds all day...

I am so blessed...

DIY - Tee Shirt Backpacks

 
My family spends 3 days together at Lake Ouachita each summer.  We've done this for the last 26 summers.







We have lots... LOTS... of great-grandchildren in our family, and I love seeing them all run all over the place together.

Just look at all those precious little ones! And each one needed something to carry around all their treasures. So Aunt Helen, that's me, takes care of that.  made backpacks... 29 of them!  Whew!

These count as paintings since I did technically paint on each tee shirt backpack. 
They were easy, adorable, and practically free to make. 
There was a lot of trial and error, but here's how I did it.


1st - Rescued my son's old tee shirts from a garage sale pile.

2nd -Followed the directions on the Rit dye bottle to make even the white ones fun-colored.





3rd - Cut rectangles from the bottom of the tee shirts. (The size varied.  I made them for kids ages 2 through 8.)

4th - Fold top couple of inches from each side in so that the edges won't be exposed where the string comes in and goes out. Fold the top edge down and under big enough for the straps to go through. Sew along the bottom of the fold.

5th - If you don't have ribbon for the straps, make it.  Cut strips of cloth and sew down the length of the edge.

6th -  Put a safety pen on one end and push it through to turn it inside out.

7th - Iron those pretty strips.  Then you have your ribbon.




8th - Using the safety pin, push the ribbon through the tube you made at the top.

9th - With right sides together, push the other ribbon through in the opposite direction.  It makes a circle so the drawstrings work.


10th - Give the draw strings a pull.  

11th -  With right sides still together, tuck the straps inside.  Pin them out of the way so that they don't get in the seam. 

12th - Let the bottom ends stick out near the bottom. 



13th - Stitch from the top (Right below the drawstring), down across the ends, around the bottom, across those ends which will also be sticking out, and back up the other side.

14th - Turn it right side out.
15th - Shake it out.
16th - Paint a picture or name on it.
17th - Smile.

:) Strawberry Girls Meets Strawberry Girl

Oh!!!! My heart!

"IT'S ME!!  I'M THE STRAWBERRY GIRL!!!"

Now "Strawberry Girl" is in her forever home 

with her sister "A,B,C,D...E!" and her brother "Storytime."

My Cup Runneth Over

We want to be with those who fill us up. 

I just returned from spending 24 hours with my mentor, and my cup runneth over. 

Cheri is a master artist... and... she's my friend.

     I am filled with awe by her talent and skill...

     I am filled with gratitude for her hospitality...

     I am filled with the blessing of our friendship...

     I am filled with laughter from our shared secrets...

     I am filled with compassion for our stories of heart...

     I am filled with a plethora of artistic lessons which I must sort through in my mind.

I've told this story before, but I'll tell it again.  On February 22, 2007, I went to a painting class that she'd offered at our church. After that 6-week class was over, I continued to paint with her and learn from her every Monday night for 4 years... lucky me...

Now she and her husband (who I also adore) live 4 hours away in the middle Oklahoma on a great big farm that's close to... well... nothing... It's close to more big farms.  Their home... oh, my... She calls it their little farmhouse, but it's really a haven.  Her paintings are on the walls, and her artistic touch is everywhere. And, there's a feeling of peace and belonging that permeate the atmosphere.

For the selfie (above) I wanted to stand in front of her drying wall.  Wow... How appropriate that the word "inspire" is on the wall.

I hadn't seen her in two years, so I invited myself for a visit.  It was part slumber party, part reunion retreat, and part painting workshop.

I learn so much when I watch her paint and listen to what she's doing and why she's doing it.  I'm not sure she knew she was in for it, but I showed up with a plan.  Part of that plan was for her to give me a lesson. I brought "Strawberry Girl" because I wasn't satisfied with it and knew she could help.  Ha ha ha... oh, how I've missed learning from the best!  We worked that little painting over top to bottom!  In the picture (right) Cheri is probably saying something encouraging, sandwiching in the lesson on what she's doing, then finishing it off with another word of praise for what she sees that I've done.  (It's that middle part... the lesson that I need so much... well, along with the encouragement...) Let's see... we worked on the cheek, the chin, the neck, the nose, the forehead, the hair, the dress, the flowers, the strawberry, the hand, the background... yep... pretty much every bit of it... Now, I have a little homework to finish her... again. :)

Painting a human is just plain hard... wait... Painting a human WELL is just plain hard. :)

Until we we paint again, Cheri! 

Strawberry Girl

Sometimes you just KNOW you're cute!

You can tell that this little sweetie feels like a fairy in her big, fluffy dress!

Mmmm... She is beautiful, isn't she.  

Harper, I hope you always know that you that you are lovely. :)

And, because it's fun to see the process...

 

 

 

Epilogues

I LOVE it when a book has an epilogue.  It's my favorite part... finding out what happens after the end of the story.  

... In Harry Potter we find out what happens with Harry & Hermione and their kids...

... In Tuck Everlasting we see Mae and Tuck revisit Tree Gap decades later...

... In Ella Enchanted we read about Ella and Char and their children in happily ever after...

As an artist, the end of the story for me is when I put the painting in the mail or hand it to the buyer.  Often I get a thank you note, positive feedback in my Etsy shop, or maybe a photo of the painting hanging in its new home.  I love that!  But, that's usually the end.  

Every once in a while, though, I get an "epilogue" opportunity.  I've gone to a home of someone who has a painting and seen it hanging on the wall... noticed a painting in the background of a blog-friend's photo post... been sent a video of a painting being opened as a birthday gift... I love when that happens!

This week, I got a painting "epilogue" on a painting I did three years ago called "Dictys' Devotion."  I was tagged in a Facebook post with this photo. I have to admit that it took me a minute to understand why.

Oh... My... Goodness!!!  Right there in the middle of this proposal!!!  Do you see it?!!  That's my painting!!!  Yay!!!  And, yes, I also saw photos of the hand and the ring... so she said YES! 

Ahhhh.... what a pleasure.

(Along these lines... May I ask a favor... if you ever go to a flea market or yard sale and see one of my paintings for sale for $3.00, would you please just buy it and don't tell me.)