studio friday [playtime]

it's playtime at studio friday today....i have been
playing with atc's! this is my maiden voyage.
i have to get them sent off to colleen for the trade...yikes!
to take a peek inside some other playful studios....check them
out here!

girlies

this is heather and myself in about 1998.
heathers hair is longer, mine is shorter.
and if she ever wanted to wear that outfit
again i would scream..."what not to wear,
what not to wear!"
we have been pals for a very long time.
since 1998 she has finished law school, had a baby
and passed the bar.
i have finished school, fell in love, married bryce
and changed jobs 3 times.
we have watched 3 of our kids graduate
high school and her two step kids are now engaged.
she and tom were with bryce and i the night we
got engaged in front the the perry's motel on
the beach [daytona]. they were waiting for us with
a bottle of bad champagne at the sea wall.
we have been known to shop with walkie talkies.
we have shown our tattoos off in the silver dollar
sometimes a pez dispenser is referred to when describing
our laugh, blow horns also come to mind.
she can sing a mean coppacabana [watch out manilow]
they celebrated our wedding by traveling back to daytona
with us for our honeymoon. [separate rooms of course]
i was in the delivery room when she and tom welcomed
matthew paul into our big extended family.
i have saved her from heel munching jean seams
she has saved me from taking myself too seriously.
she is a law-yer, i am a designer.
she has issues with control, i have issues with balancing
a checkbook.
she has to wear professional wear, thank you lord i get
to wear jeans and a t-shirt daily.
she is a big fat giggle in my life.
we lean on each other daily.
lucky...

gavinleo

gavinleo
Originally uploaded by indigochickie.

gavin leo

it was sad this past weekend. i have finally
had to make a very hard decision about what
to do with our pup - gavin leo. we have had
him for 5 years this february. he came home
with us all the way from atlanta, georgia - he
was only 7 weeks old. he is a yorkie and so
adorable. but he was the runt and is a very
hi-strung pup. our house is filled with kids,
walkers go past daily and in all honesty, he
has been on sensory overload. he has bit
3 people since summer - never breaking the
skin thankfully. but bit a friend of mine and
left a bad mark. thankfully i know her well and
she loves animals and was very understanding.

so i had to sit the kids down and tell them that
we would have to look for a new home for him.
2 weeks ago my sister, erin, called to say she
knew a lady who would love to have gavin. she
is a widow and has a 10 year old yorkie, tucker.
so i called and we went over all the details and
agreed that she would take him for 7 days to see
how gavin and tucker would get along. i also
made sure that i explained all his bad habits, so that
she knew what she was getting into.

saturday, i packed up his most prized possessions
and i drove him to brownsburg to meet his new
family. as heather and i pulled into the drive, we
saw a sign on the door that said "welcome gavin"
it even had streamers. as the opened the door
her daugther was video taping gavin's grand entry.
to my amazement, tucker and gavin look like twins!
donna has a yorkie bathroom that is filled with pictures
of tucker. i knew that he would be happy there.
but i did cry myself to sleep saturday nite. and i
the last two morning i have looked in clancy's room
to see if he is in his usual napping spot, on her bed.
its funny how you have such habits.

i will take the kids this weekend to say goodbye if
they choose to keep him. gabe and clancy are sad
but they know we will get a new puppy that is a better
fit with such an active household.

so baby gavin, that is what they call him, is at his new
house and i am amazed at how quiet the house has
been. i do miss him and it has been a very hard decision.
but such is life and i know he will be much happier with
tucker to play with everyday, and a more peaceful
environment to live.

{give thanks for unknown blessings already on there way}
~native american saying

studio friday [practice makes perfect}

hmmm.....practice makes perfect. oh if only
i let this be true. wow this is a really hard
thing for me. you see, i am one of those people
who watch from afar and only wish and dream
that my life was like someone else's, my art
was as good as others, i was a thin as such
and such. so i tend to sabotage myself before
i even get started. i really do!

but i am learning. i laugh at myself alot. take
for instance to self portrait above. i am constantly
using my digital to get a good shot of myself. i
have probably taken over 100 pics of me! i have
saved 5! oh do i laugh at those pictures. oh the
faces i make. do i really look like that? is that
how people see me? ughhh. but i keep pluggin
away.

my art....boy, i really am searching for my style.
i have one. but i just have to start puttin g it
on canvas. i have tons of sketches, doodles, ideas
written out. but i am so afraid to produce. you can
see some of my attempts and next to them are my
mati prints i just got in the mail! i can't wait to get
them framed and hung. check out her stuff here....
they are even better in person! and on my big envelope
she drew one of her flowers with MY company name -
oh so sweet! so i guess what i am saying is - one day
if i practice - maybe i will be the artist that mati is.
[*oops the artist that kelly will be!]

practice makes perfect [at least that's what mama used to say]

something

yesterday, i had nothing. but
thanks to some very sweet chickies....
i sat myself down, wiped away the self
sabotaging thoughts and went to work.
now this is just my start, but with that
came a series that i am going to work on.
i would like to get started with maybe
5 pieces. i also brought out an old
idea for another series. my goal is to
enter our art exhibition in the fall.

so you heard it here people....kelly
is going to stop the self loathing, she
is going to stop sabotaging her chances
to get out there and produce -

the girl is born!

{if you follow your bliss, doors will open
for you that wouldn't have opened for
anyone else ~ joseph campbell}

got nothing

wow...i am finding it really hard
to come up with anything to share.

things are busy at home, shuffling
kids here and there. finishing up
a few jobs and of course, plenty
of work around the house. but
that is all i have at the moment.
i continue to tell myself that i am
going to start painting again, i have
some ideas for necklaces and bracelets
that i want to try, but i just can't seem
to kick it in gear.

i do continue to read my daily blogs
and i love the inspiration and talent that
i find, but just can't seem to apply that
to my creative self. but the week is
young...we'll see what happens

friday

a bird does not sing because it has an
answer...it sings because it has a song.
{proverb

happy friday everyone...capture your weekend!

finding the peace

superhero - andrea scher says that
we need to do inventory to put the past
year to rest. not just making new resolutions,
but understanding what we did the past year.
we have to complete and find peace with) what
came before....ughhhh - who wants to drudge up
the past? well if she says we must - then i will!

here goes...

the good
1. resigning my full-time position to freelance
from home
2. spending more time with my kids
3. meeting new creatives through the internet
4. paying off all of our debt - the envelope system
works...thanks dave
5. weight watchers

the bad
1. lack of organization
2. billing/invoicing system
3. drinking more water than pop
4. exercising 4x a week
5. painting/creating more

the ugly
1. not getting our vacation
2. losing out on a big job - annual report
3. still not being able to take art classes

the oh-so happy
1. finding a whole slew of creative sistas
2. watching cheri grow and enter her 2nd
year of college
3. entering my 5th year of marriage
4. seeing tom fall in love
5. seeing gabe find his spot
6. painting my dining room orange
7. getting to meet miz penelope and
purchasing her art

the suckie
1. my mood swings
2. my weight gain
3. having to deal with small town mentality

finding the peace in 2006
1. take 2 art classes
2. work on a tighter schedule
3. exercise/lose 10lbs
4. smile more
5. subscribe to 2-3 creative publications
6. buy some clothes
7. launch my website
8. read read read
9. crochet something other than a scarf
10. save money
11. be a better mom/wife
12. create create create
13. enjoy my artists communities...
studio fridays, artists way, 52 figments
14. thank you to michelle, melanie, violette
heather, and raquelle...oh and enid! for
opening my eyes and taking me away from
this small town
15. ACCEPT ME! [this is a huge, big, whooping
undertaking for this girl who struggles so, with
low self-esteem. but hell i am 41 i need to start
sometime!]

sweet theme for 06...the year of accepting me!

looking for a re-SOLUTION!

once again....it has been forever since
i have posted. i just haven't had the
energy. i have continued to check out
all my favorite sistas, and i have made
a comment here and there. but i
just can't seem to find the energy to
post. most everyone is talking about
resolutions for this new year. me, i
don't have any. i never stick to them.
i have only completed several items on
my 41st list. and they are small things.
i continue to see the sweet projects that
everyone seems to be completing and
i get down, knowing that i am not creative
at the moment. i guess i am just on sensory
overload.

yesterday we put away all the decorations -
but when i got up this a.m., i realized i hadn't
taken down the wreath on my front door...teehee
so i will just leave it up a bit longer. cheri' moved
some furniture around in the living room - wow!
what a difference it makes to shuffle it around.
we were lumps after that. we watched hgtv and
uh-ed and ah-ed with all the homes.

so on this new monday morn.....

happy new years to each of you! i wish you and
yours much happiness and prosperity in this
new year. thank you for blessing me in 2005.