Memories

I created this piece for Illustration Friday's topic of the week: memories. It is a take off of what I did last week for "routine". The two topics seem connected as routine is a big part of what makes up memories: "the little things". I found this photo along with vintage unmarked children's workbooks at an estate sale (yes I was jumping for joy). The toys on the left of my piece are from one of those precious books.

I love that the photo here contains three different perspectives and thus three sets of memories. The baby looking up, the young boy looking down at the baby and the photographer looking down on both. A memory captured.

p.s. thanks to all of you who have stopped by here and a special thanks for comments left behind. I can't tell you how much your comments mean to me...I love hearing what you are thinking! Happy Labor Day weekend!

Chalk Up Another Year

Speaking of little things, here's another one that turned out to be a big thing. Last year in a burst of energy (which come upon every so often) I made a back-to-school pencil cake. This week was so busy I thought I'd skip the cake detail of welcoming in the new year. Just getting them off with their plastic, pocket, prong folders and no-perf, wide-ruled notebooks was challenge enough. However, it was asked more than once if there would be a cake waiting when they came home from the first day of school. Momguilt overcame me, as I threw this cake together moments before the returning back-to-schoolers. I have to say, I was amazed at how excited and thankful they were about a kind-of-looks-like-a-chalkboard cake. I guess we now have another sweet tradition.

Routine

I created this piece for Illustration Friday's topic of the week: routine. I've been thinking a lot about our family's routine lately as we get ready to shift from the laid back days of summer into the regimented school year schedule. Both seasons have their routines which I often catch myself feeling bored with. Sometimes the business of being a parent is less than jump-up-and-down-exciting with meals, laundry, cleaning, disciplining, etc. on the daily list. But there is a wistfulness to routine as the mundane is often what is remembered for a lifetime. Meals that a family repeats turn into cherished recipes years down the road. Gentle reminders to be thankful and use manners pay off in the long run. A familiar bed time routine that includes stories, hugs and prayers can create a sense of warmth and belonging. Day to day routine is something to be cherished. I am often guilty of discounting those little things, but atleast for today I have my eyes wide open as tomorrow starts yet another school year.

Oh Canada

One of our adventures this summer involved a trip to Niagara Falls on the Canadian side. I haven't been there since I was a wee one and wanted my three to have the experience of the Falls too. Every one's favorite Falls experience was Maid of the Mist. Above is a glimpse of another MOM boat taking the ride into the Falls underneath a perfect rainbow.

Here we are Journey-ing Behind the Falls. This is where you ride an elevator down very far into the ground and get dropped off at the tunnels underneath the falls. Here is one of the tunnel lookout points where we're watching the wall of water from behind. I found this a little freaky and the tunnels to be a bit too titanic-ish for my taste.

However, it totally amazes me in this world of barriers and gates that you can get this close to something so powerful.

Here Cara and I are standing on a floor of Canadian pennies. What of a cool idea for tiling and only 1 cent per square inch!

And finally (I've skipped the haunted houses, mini golf, fast food, fudge shops, wax museums and gobble-up-your-money-attractions, but they're all here too) the White Water Walk. While I was enjoying the rapids racing by, I think I was just as fascinated by how long the legs were getting on these three. Another school year right around the corner. I'll be spending today going over our school supply inventory and assessing what clothing those growing bodies can still fit into.

Summer murals

I illustrated the Noah's Ark mural above for an animal hospital several years ago. This summer I was asked back to add more paintings to the lobby area.

Using another verse from All Things Bright and Beautiful, I painted an arbor with teeny, hidden creatures. It's hard to show the area well in photographs, but here are a few shots to get a general idea of the space.

I love that people thought I was painting on the wood arbor. When in actuality, I painted the wood and then painted on top of the faux wood. Were you tricked?? : )

I hid little creatures all over the arbor and

...over here old fashioned coneflowers decorate a post. Standing on a really high ladder, I painted butterflies around the top of the room.

And in this corner a tree grew.

A squirrel lives in this tree by special request.

This was definitely the summer that I painted more flowers than I planted.

Spinning...

...on a summer wheel that has not stopped since June. Vacations, projects, design business, family and friend visiting, summer camps and a studio/office redo has made for a pretty lively and fast paced summer around here. And then there's that list of what didn't get done including a much needed web site revamp. Updates on what did happen coming soon...that is if I can find a wide ruled spiral bound 70 page school notebook without perfs and a plastic pocket folder with pockets and prongs.