Starting some overalls

Getting in the Christmas Spirit!

A Little Piece of Heaven!

Life grabs you and pulls you in crazy directions sometimes. I was busy raising babies, and lacking time and inspiration. Now, years later, I find myself in Washington state and it is BEAUTIFUL. Mount Rainier, for instance, is overwhelming- my eyes actually hurt taking it all in because I knew to really understand something that amazing would be just plain impossible. I mean, look at this!

Inspiration is everywhere here! There are so many ideas that never made it out of my head because I've been so busy just enjoying being outside! What a treat!

I miss painting and sculpting though and want to learn more, improve, take some art classes too! So I pushed myself to enter into a Christmas bazaar on December 6th. Nothing big, just painting jeans, but I will be posting about it here. I like the way the paint pops on the dark background and has a chalky appearance. Hopefully this will help me get back in the swing of things!

Bring Out Your Rags!

My Dad sometimes tells me what life was like for him as a child- I love it when he does that. They were simpler times -milk men coming to the door, magnifying glasses on the television screen (if you were lucky enough to have one) and the rag man walking down the street yelling, "Bring out your rags!"

He was born from a generation that had everything, lost it, and made use of every last bit of what was left. Like that storybook where the man's coat went through several stages of life before becoming a tie. In my father's time, flour sacks became dresses. Dresses became purses. Purses became quilts. You used what you had.

I have always been so drawn to that- that one old thing can become a new one. That's why my supplies look like they came more from the recycling bin than from an art supply store. That's also why my husband gets in trouble for throwing it out by mistake! lol

One of my favorite projects from my father's time are rag rugs. My grandmother used to make them for her kitchen. Can't make one though! It always curves up like a bowl and doesn't want to lay flat. I will master it one day! In the meantime, I'm enjoying all the ragballs I've been making. They would wind these up until they had enough for a rug. The Edgar set has found a new home so now these are on my kitchen table:

(Click on photo for listing and more photos)

I quilted the embellishments using free motion embroidery. So much fun!

I couldn't help but think that the message to fly, tweet, and soar is one that I want to instill in my girls. Just as long as those tweets are positive ones and not them squawking at each other like they have been lately! Good grief!

So, here's to simpler times and enjoying every bit of what we are given!

What's your favorite simple moment? I hope you make time for it today!

:D

Little by little...

Oh the cobwebs around here sure have built up! Sure has been quiet too. I've made up for all that silence at my house. Baby cries, giggles, and yes, even some words! Allie Beth turned one just a couple weeks ago and she is such a joy. See?

Growing ever so slowly more independent from her mother, I have been able to squeeze a couple hours here or there and make something. My nights are once again becoming my own and I'm trying to balance them so that I can create, but also have enough energy during the day.

I was in an local art show at the Sundust Gallery in July- first time ever for something like that. It was one of those "time to push myself" moments so that I could have the experience. It was great seeing my paintings on a gallery wall. My girls told me that my art was in a museum. lol One painting sold and I am still waiting to get paid. haha I saw it sitting in the office waiting to be packed up and I wanted so badly to know who bought it, where it was going to go, etc. That's one of the advantages to selling online. Sometimes I even get pictures of them on display- more fun that way!

I have a few things that are practically finished and a couple that actually are! lol In an effort to address my fabric stash (exact size unknown as it is hidden all over the house!), I made this themed rag ball set just in time for Halloween.

You can click on the picture to go to the listing. More pictures too.

Thanks for sticking around and waiting for my little Allie to not need me so much. She's my last baby, and along with juggling my 2 redhead beauties, the break from art was just what we all needed. <3

What I Did Over My Summer Vacation...

May I introduce to you my favorite art project of the year?

I worked very hard on this little art doll!

Hours and hours of late nights and no sleep.

I carried her everywhere to keep her safe.

We seeked the advice of several experts to make sure she turned out just right.

And she did. You won't see her listed anywhere, we're keeping this one.

She's priceless.

Allison Elizabeth

September 8, 2010

12:19 pm

We are settled in- she is a very good baby- so much so that my little kitchen studio is busy again! Expect to see some Jack-o-lanterns glowing on these pages soon!

Hope you are enjoying these nice fall days! :)

P.S. She showers us in smiles now too! :)

Rock a Bye Baby on the Tree Top...

This is the cradle that Dave made for Madeline Mae. She has a Wizard of Oz room and for Christmas she asked for a cradle to rock her baby dolls in.
My hubby can do amazing things with wood! I'm very lucky that I can draw him something and he can make it. This design, however, was all his! We have this arrangement where he builds and I finish it. Something to do with almost passing out in the garage while tediously finishing our 400 piece armoire when I was pregnant with Lil. lol


I've been trying to convince him to sell on Etsy. I think I'm making progress! Most of the pieces he makes are very large- furniture, storage units, princess headboards. Lillian sleeps in the cap of a toadstool every night in her fairy bedroom...I'll have to show you pictures of that sometime! He's been brainstorming on some items that are smaller and more reasonable to ship.


So anyway, the idea here is that one of the nice apple trees in the Land of Oz is rocking the baby dolls away to some sweet dreams of their own. A castle and unicorn at Madeline's request...

And Auntie Em's farm on the other side, because we all know there is no place like home.
That's all for now, except for that tonight, I wish you all a very sweet...

Garden Delights

Hello! I've posted two paintings for this challenge! It was really fun and in a totally unintentional way. When I wrote down the theme, I accidentally left out the "de" in delights. I kind of liked that...without light, sunlight anyway. :)

So I have some bugs getting their groove on at a twilight garden party and a garden statue angel hit by moonlight. Moonlight is one of my favorite things. I used to love going to sleep at night as a kid just watching the moon shine it's light through my window. :)

I managed to put three other ones up too...trying to catch up. :) You can find them here. Do a search for PWGL and you will find more.

Goodnight all! Hope you are lucky enough to get a glimpse of that moonlight!

A Little Treasury Told Me...

So here I was trying to think of a witty way to tell you the results of my latest ultrasound, when I got an email saying I had been included in an Etsy Treasury! The title? LOL No joke- "A Boy or a Girl?" Click here to check it out. :)

The answer to that question? A GIRL!!! How cute is that? It will be fun when they are all grown up, in each other's weddings, being wonderful aunts to each other's babies! We are looking forward to meeting her! So far she seems to be wanting a gymnastics career and is tumbling around like crazy!

I'm thinking of starting an all girl band...possible names...Lillian and the Shortcakes or the Strawberry Shortcake Trio...this one is bound to be a redhead too, right? :)

In other news, I've spent the ENTIRE day making a video for a family member...I don't know how that happens...I TRY to do it quickly, but it takes forever! Anyone know of a great editing program? So far, Windows Movie Maker and FlipShare are about the same speed. Or maybe it's just me. :o

I hope you all have a day that is full of sugar and spice, and everything nice! I know we will! :)

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day!
-To my Mom, who's also my best friend! Thank you for the daily talks, wisdom and insights, and even the wake up calls that help me improve my own parenting skills. :) Thank you for always giving me a creative outlet...right from the start. For showing me that it is not scary to paint or create, but fun!

-To my Mother-In-Law, for always being so nice and a special friend! I am very lucky to have a MIL like you!

-To Dave's Grandmother and Aunt, for being so sweet and encouraging to all the Wright girls! :)

-To my fabulous Sister-In-Law...you know you rock! And not just because you bring me the BEST apple bread when I'm pregnant! ;) You are such a source of joy for my two little redhead beauties! They have the best aunt ever and they know it!

-To my blog friends, local friends and friends far away...Happy Mother's Day to you too! Even if you are not a Mom, you can still make a difference in a child's life...and that is worth celebrating too!

Six Months Ago...

I decided to take a leap... a risk...just for the sake of taking advantage of every little moment...



Well, that leap led to a big surprise and my face pretty much looked like this for the rest of the day! There was also lots of screaming and grabbing my head in disbelief!

I was told it would be a while before anything would actually happen. All the while I kept wondering, "Was it real, or just a dream?" as well as the imfamous, "Are they going to come to their senses and change their mind?"

Until one day, after opening the mailbox, I felt like this...

Now, I just can't help but smile when I think of it...

So what's the fuss all about?!

My Alice doll is one of the features in the latest Art Doll Quarterly!!!
The whole experience was just so much fun, from the beginning to the end. Making her, lol, make that figuring OUT how to make her, selling her, meeting Suzan and corresponding with her while we repaired her from her fall. From being nervous about sending my submission off and feeling like I won the lottery when Jana told me they wanted an article about her, writing my first ever article outside of school, to having her show up in the mail, glossy photos and all, it has been a blast! :)

I hope you get a chance to pick up a copy- there are some crazy cool dolls in there- including art dolls that move!

Can you believe it?! I'm still wrapping my head around it! Thank you for giving me such happy moments! Your visits mean the world to me! It also wouldn't have happened without the lovely and helpful editor of ADQ, Jana Holstein, and Suzan, Alice's sweet and VERY funny owner, who actually drove Alice over to Stampington herself and gave her up for several months just so she could have her photo shoot!

If you are visiting me for the first time, WELCOME!! Be sure to check out Alice's original post, the one about her latest fall down the rabbit hole, and the cream pie fight, I mean video I made about my adventures in Wonderland!

Hugs to all...I'm off to my next adventure! In celebration, nothing but painting, smushing clay, and playing for the rest of the week! Woohoo!

With gratitude,

Let Spring Break Begin!!!

YAY!!!!

It is spring break here at the Victorian Lady's house and we are all very excited! I am now out of my first trimester (double yay!), morning sickness along with all others, have subsided and the majority of the work is done. I tried to clear this week up so that the girls and I can just play, and paint, and create together...something that has been LONG overdue for all of us!

In the meantime, I do have some past events to share with you that you haven't seen yet. Are you ready? :D

First up is a long promised photo of the fair I did with my friend. The abstracts belong to her, as well as the cute little fairies-quinns. The look of the booth kept changing, things were going and we kept adding to it. It was fun, and I learned a lot. I might do more next year, but not one that requires me to work the register for 12 hours. I slept very little working to fill the booth, so much so that I got sick and then had to work the fair too. Then I would go home and paint until 2 am! Overall, though, total success! :)

Madeline discovered that she loves to decorate trees, and then undecorate them, and then decorate them again. She had a white snowman topped tree that she could do whatever she wanted with. See that look of satisfaction on her face when I gave her a whole box of candy canes to hang?

Ahh...sisters. :) Lillian is so sweet to Madeline and you can see how Maddie feels in this hug. That is how it is supposed to be.

Some sweetness by the Christmas tree. Lillian had a very special date for Valentines at the Daddy Daughter Dance. They both came back all light up, and then Dave collapsed on the couch! He said the DJ put them through quite a workout!

I was going to show you what we made Madeline for Christmas, but the pictures aren't that great. I'll take some new ones and make them their own post. To make up for it, here's a laugh for you!

Before I go, I wanted to thank you all for the sweet comments from my last post. I appreciate it!

Hugs to you all!!

P.S. What are YOUR plans for spring break? :)

My Latest WIP

!!!!! Surprise! Now you know why I've been away for so long! Morning sickness and fatigue are NOT my friends! It really has been overwhelming, more than my other two pregnancies. I haven't been able to do much...too dizzy. I miss you all, and haven't made anything in a while. I am not the kind that could lay in bed all day, especially with my family and art waiting. It's been very depressing.

I am trying to stay positive though- We planned this pregnancy and even though I've been stuck in bed, I haven't had a single migraine. I consider myself very lucky for that! With Lil and Maddie I had them the whole first trimester. I am 10 weeks along, so I hope to be myself again once everything settles down. :)

There is another part to this story. My ultrasound at 6 weeks showed 2 sacs- twins! We were so shocked! It was a good and scary thing at the same time. Good because it was another life, a blessing. Scary because it was two times everything! We were given books with great tips about how to manuever twins- thanks Holly! Lots of family members eagerly volunteered to help us get through the first few tricky months. We could do this.

In that 2 weeks, I heard a lot of great stories about twins. Even though they are twice as much work, they are twice as much of a blessing too. Twice as many coos, etc. And any parents of twins should get a medal... I mean it!

Then, at my 8 week ultrasound, we were told that one twin had vanished. We were aware that this could happen, especially with such an early ultrasound...turns out it is more common than people think. Toss in some pregnancy hormones and I was quite a mess. Even though I knew it could happen. Even though I knew that the remaining baby had a much better chance at avoiding premature birth and tons of other complications. Even though my fears of not being able to give each child enough attention were gone.

While I understood these things, I still was sad for the loss of whoever that was. Not in the same way as someone that was actually born and lived a life here on earth, but still sad. I got used to the idea of twins, I accepted it, and was even looking forward to it. It wasn't a great day.

Things are better now.

It just wasn't in the cards for me, and that's okay. I did nothing extra to have twins, and there was nothing I could do to stop one from vanishing. And I'm STILL blessed when it comes to children. I have my 2 little redhead beauties, and 1 healthy baby growing in my belly. We are talking STRONG heartbeat people! :) So please, no pity parties for me...it's all good! :)

I painted this before all the pregnancy fun set in...I knew what it meant then, but it is much more significant to me now.

It's a reminder to put your heart into what you do in life. Make it the best it can be. Then send it off, let it go, with no regrets and no worries about how things work out. Because you did all you could.

My Peppermint Girl

This folk art doll sculpture was made for a PWGL challenge entitled "Enchanted Christmas." However, so many hours went into her that I missed the entry date completely. Like, swoosh, completely flew over my head!

She has just come back from the factory, conveniently located in the North Pole, because really, that's where all the enchanted Christmas people live right?

After spending her day making sweet confections, she's getting to do what she's been thinking about all day- decorating for Christmas! See that pinkalicious garland? It's about to go on her fireplace! Right next to her tree of ooey gooey gumdrops!

This challenge really was a challenge for me...just not used to making such a whimsical face. I debated a lot with myself, but figured it would be more fun to eat a peppermint if someone like this actually made them!

She's on ebay now until Thanksgiving night. If she doesn't sell, I'll be taking her over to Briar Patch on Friday.

It does make me curious though, what is your favorite Christmas candy? Without a doubt, mine is peppermint bark...YUM! :)

Best of luck to you all as you get ready for Thanksgiving!! :)