From Chaos Comes Happiness

Welcome dear loyal Crafty Schmafty Friends!!! Yes, yes, I skipped a week. I have no excuses - other than this thing called life that sometimes gets in the way of doing what I really want to do . . . and that is, of course, CREATING!!! So, please forgive me . . . and hold on tight . . . because this week we have a WONDERFUL project that is not only Crafty AND Schmafty, but LOADS OF FUN, too! Welcome to our 8TH INSTALLMENT of This weeks project comes directly from PINTEREST. Oh, I just ADORE Pinterest. Whenever I am feeling a void in the crafty department, I head over there for INSTANT inspiration, ideas and joy! If you aren't pinning . . . well, you should be. It really is the most user friendly way to catalog those online ideas, projects, products and things that make you happy. LOVE LOVE LOVE Pinterest. (Please note, I am not being reimbursed, in any way, for tooting my Pinterest horn. I just love it THAT much, that I have to share!) So, last week I wanted to do a projec...

I took the girls for Chinese food last Saturday. Phil Guy is a traveling fool these days (he's on week 4 of eight weeks of having some sort of business trip somewhere - but yes, we are blessed!)  When he is gone, I love to take the girls out for special dinners here or there. Chinese is one of them. We go to a nearby restaurant called "Mo's 3" (yes, it is the third one.) We have gotten to know the owner, Jess, and the minute we walk in - she treats us like queens. She brings the girls the same drink each and every time - a strawberry fruit smoothie - without even asking. And they use these awesome HUGE and bright colored straws that the girls LOVE. It's a special place for us. They do a wonderful take-out business, but the restaurant is often empty when we are there. It makes me worry for them, but I do enjoy having the place to ourselves. At the end of the meal, Jess brings me the bill on a tray, stacked with our fortune cookies. It's normal pra...

I've been waking up during the night lately. Quite often. It seems to happen around 3:30 am. It's happened about 10 out of the last 14 nights. This morning, I was deep in sleep when I swear I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. It was as real as could be. Tap. tap. tap. So real, that I quickly woke from my sleep and asked Phil if he was alright. He was just fine, because he was snoring. I repeated myself, "Honey, did you need me? You just woke me up." "No . . . I didn't. I'm sleeping," he said. "Oh, I'm sorry," I apologized. "Go back to bed." I turned over and looked at the clock on my night stand. It was 3:33 am. Whenever I wake in the middle of the night, thoughts always go to my father. During the last year of his life, I was awoken numerous times by that dreaded phone call during the night telling me something was wrong. I remember the day he passed away . . . a middle of the night phone call, telling us ...

  Greetings, dear Crafty Schmafty Friends! Today's Crafty Schamfty Friday post is a story of inspiration and art . . . and one that I can't wait to share with you. If you follow me on Facebook, you will have already seen this photo of a drawing Katie (my oldest daughter, 9 years of age) made for me last week. It was in her little sketch book that she handed to me when I put her to bed a few nights ago. "Mom," she said, "I have an idea for your next painting." My eyes filled with tears when she handed it to me  . . . because I realized, for the very first time, that she  gets it. I have always said that the art I make is truly a message to my daughters. I like to create inspiring pieces that will teach them to believe in themselves, to follow their dreams, to live their lives to the fullest, to live happy and joyful days. But sometimes, when I stop and think about it, I wonder if they really get it. This week, I saw with my own eyes that Katie ...

You know you are in some sort of heavenly state of creating, when your art table looks like this. When there isn't enough space to dry your painting in between layers, so you have to strategically stack them one on top of the other as they dry - until you can get your hands on them again. When you can't fall asleep at night because you know there is just one more thing that you could do down there. When you wake in the morning, and the first thing you want to do is head to that room where all the color and texture and magic happens. When you can't even stop to take photos of them and post them on you Etsy shop . . . because selling them isn't even on your mind right now.  Making them is the only thing you want to do. When you have no desire to hop in the shower, because you are afraid that you'll lose whatever creative ride you are on right now. When the pile of laundry is getting higher and higher, and you don't even care . . . because everyone...

I've been doing a lot of thinking . . . uh-oh . . . PG would be nervous. I know when ever the words "Honey? I've been thinking . . . " come from my mouth, I am sure he gets some sort of pit in his stomach. The "WHAT" that I have been thinking is never expected. It could be something random, like having pasta for dinner . . . to something as totally drastic, like going to buy a new car that day. (Seriously.) But when ever I am thinking , you can be certain of one thing . . . Change is a'coming. So, I've been . . . thinking. I've had my little "From Chaos Comes Happiness" home here for quite some time. Started wayyyyy backkkkkk  in 2009, actually, when I was a mother of a 6 and 2 year old, was an almost full-time health care worker, was not doing a single creative thing (other than scrapbooking), and was desperately trying to find  . . . me. I think I found her. Me, that is. In the past four years, I have grow...

Oh, my friends!!! HAPPY . . . I'm so glad to have you here! This week, we're going to jump right into our crafty schmafty goodie, because I been a painting fool and am just dying to share my latest piece with you!  I thought it would be fun to take you through the process of my painting, in case you ever wondered . . . "How does she do that?" It's a pretty simple thing . . . so let's begin! When those creative juices start flowing and I feel like painting, I usually start by looking through a couple of my sketch books for inspiration - just to see if anything is moving me.    Next, I grab a canvas . . . and start with something. This week I took some swirly stencils I had and applied gesso to them, to build up some cool texture to the canvas before even starting with the paint. It's all about building the texture up. I am ALL ABOUT texture! I mod podged a couple pieces of a doilie to the canvas, too. I love how they look once pa...

We went on a lovely walk in the nearby forest preserve over the weekend. The sun was shining so brightly, and the sky was bluer than blue. It was slushy and cold, and there was a thin layer of icy snow along the path . . . but it was wonderful. The quiet of the woods, the sound of the snow crushing below our feet. No iPods, no Wii games, no iPads . . . nothing. Just the four of us. Our little family. They are truly my favorite people in the whole wide world. I often wonder how I got so lucky - to have these three in my life. How blessed I am. We have a snow day today . . . Chicago is expecting 8-12 inches. Right now, PG is working on his laptop on the kitchen table, and the girls and I are in basement about to have some fun with pipe cleaners. I can't imagine a better day. Seriously. Wishing you all wonderful days with your favorite people, my friends. Much Peace!

I ran into my neighbor, Hollie, the other day. Hollie is a good egg. No, Hollie is a REALLY good egg. There is a difference, you know? Between "good eggs" and "really good eggs". I have a lot of "good eggs" in my life. Those people who you come across who you know are good people. Those who are pleasant, polite, kind hearted. My favorite barrista at Starbucks . .  she's a good egg. The butcher who reminds me of my Dad and always brings a smile to my face . . . he's a good egg. I like good eggs. I am happy when I see them, and am grateful for their presence in my life. Then, there are the " really good eggs." Those are the special ones. The ones who you keep safely tucked in the carton and the ones you don't like to share. You never take those out on Easter morning, because they are so special and precious - the thought of cracking them breaks your heart. The "really good eggs" are always there when you need the...

Oh, dear!!! What a week! I'm up to my eyeballs in restoring my soul, as I started Brave Girls Club "Soul Restoration" class this week. It's an awesome class . . . and I am learning a great deal about healing ME. Such a great experience. In the midst of all of that . . . came along our FRIDAY Crafty gathering! YAY!!! Here is a short and sweet one, friends. A little something I did a few weeks ago, and was just waiting to share with you. So let us begin, my loves. Welcome to this weeks . . .   This week, just a quick crafty idea when gift giving comes up in your life. As you may recall from earlier this year, I said I wanted to (very much) make gifts for loved ones this year. But sometimes . . . a money gift is called for. (Like, for my 18 year old nephew.) While I knew that I would be giving him money, I wanted to make sure I made some part of it. So, I gathered some cool vintage die cuts and paper, some washi tape, and the money   And instead of just ...