Hello again

Well hello... I know.. it's been forever.
I was almost afraid to post thinking, what will people think of me, that was until I started a new ecourse with Brene Brown these past two weeks. Not sure if you have heard about it , the course is following Brene's book "The Gifts Of Imperfection" , "Let go of who you think your supposed to be and embrace who you are."
Even the first two weeks have been powerful for me. To put it all in a nutshell , I am learning to stop worrying about what people think of me, and be authentic. Its not easy for me, but I am trying :)

This may be a long post , but you don't "have to read it" *giggle. I will show you the only art I have done all summer , and tell you first some news.
One of my whimsical little Christmas crafts has been published in a Better Homes and Garden magazine. I have been holding on to this news for months , so here you have it. Of all the things I have created, this has to be the most simple. Those of you have been following me for years will probably remember them shown in my Christmas Gift Bag tutorial.

This is the magazine cover if you want to go find it, not sure if its too late or not but there are some really nice craft projects in this edition, I love this little snowman.

Thank you to the BHG staff for choosing my little craft project to go in your magazine. I am really touched :) I love crafting before the holidays don't you? I am ready now to start on some Christmas goodies , and will be back to share with you.

It's been a busy year for me, as most of you know. Finally have mom and dad settled in a nice bungalow and even though I am the one who drives them everywhere I still have a lot of free time which I am grateful for. My sister is now going through her radiation treatments after having her lymph nodes removed and she tells me its a breeze compared to the chemotherapy.

My art work has taken on a whole new direction, I am into more colour now, and I have really been enjoying the Dylusion Ink Sprays so much, using my own carved stamps and making inspiring words or affirmations on ATC sized blocks. Here are some examples ......

This all started when I took Kate Krane's class as mentioned in some previous posts and I have just been using her shared techniques with a touch of my own. I have started some Squash books with this technique , and will be back to share them with you very soon. I did the Squash books with my nieces on an art day this summer and I would love to show you their take on it.

Have a happy and safe Halloween , I am not really into it all but I do give out candy tonight to the kiddos, just hope the rain stops so they can have some fun.

Handmade Christmas Week 1

I have this crazy idea that I want to decorate two Christmas trees this year. It's our first Christmas in our new home and I want to go all out, so I have decided to make as many ornaments as I can to fill up a second tree using bits and pieces from my stash.

I hope to share something new each week this month :)

For my first set of ornaments I decided on a cute elf shaped stocking and used some left over fabric I used on some chairs, which is a light upholstery fabric.

I have embellished them with bits of lace and old earrings etc I have collected in the past.

Everything is from my stash of supplies, and what a good feeling to actually use some of it.

I think I have a dozen of these now, and am thinking I will make some doves or some type of bird this week and see how they turn out.

My theme for the new tree is a Shabby Chic style in off whites and with a touch of red or burgundy here and there.

How about you? Are you making anything this year for Christmas? I would love to hear about it , and if you post it on your blog let me know.

Thanks for dropping by,
Lynn