I actually met Pam at a mixed media art retreat a year or so ago, and saw some of her art firsthand. It’s beautiful. Can’t wait to read this book she wrote!

iHanna wrote about the other day. It got me thinking that in the short time I’ve been experimenting with mixed media, I haven’t found my perfect pen.

missed day 8….

1) How cute is this stationary set? She made it from security envelopes!

2) I keep hearing about great cupcake places, but I have to say, the BEST cupcakes are lemon raspberry made by Mermaid Sweets. She isn’t taking orders at the moment, so I feel very lucky to know her personally & benefit from her baking skills now and then. Watch her blog, because if she does start taking cupcake orders, you want to know about it. Trust me.

I made myself a tiny little art kit that I can fit in my purse – so during those moments when my son is playing independently at the park and my daughter is napping in the stroller, I can work on projects. At the moment, I’m doing a lot of tiny art (jewelry scale) using a variety of materials. So my little art kit has some pre-cut shrink plastic film, a black ultra fine point sharpie, a mini notebook I made, a ball point pen, and a couple of colored pencils.

I use the sharpie to write or draw on the shrink plastic, and the ball point pen to write out ideas in the mini notebook. The whole kit fits in a plastic envelope with a snap closure that is about 4″ by 6″, and since I carry a mom bag these days, it’s no problem to fit it in my purse.

I’m totally setting this up when I get a dedicated studio space! I love pegboard because you can see everything, but it’s not all over your workspace, and having the pieces this way would allow me to maximize my space.

Love Jill Bliss’s craft space, especially that storage unit with all the drawers…I’m making something similar, but in extreme miniature, as part of that summer project I started a few months ago (but I’ve been distracted….I will get back to it, but might not finish while it’s still summer. And that’s okay — September & October feel like summer around here, sometimes even more than July — it’s currently cold and foggy.)

is the opposite of what I have right now. So many ideas I’m having a hard time finishing and focusing on any one thing!

Making lists so hopefully I don’t forget any of the good ones…

…don’t panic. Put the baby in a safe place, then wash your hair with whatever soap/shampoo/dish soap is closest. Then wash again. Rinse well. Take a short break to calm the baby, who is not happy about being temporarily on her own. Then comb conditioner through and make sure all the resin is really out.

Oh, and next time, don’t do resin stuff without safely securing hair in a ponytail.

Most people probably picture rolling hills covered with neat rows of grapevines when they think of Napa Valley. But the valley is also home to some gorgeous oak trees, and one of my favorite images of Napa is coming into town, where there is an old oak tree on top of a grapevine-covered hill.

That’s what my son told me while I was getting him ready to go to sleep last night.

“Mama?”

“Yes?”

“Happy Father’s Day Mama.”

“Thanks sweetie.”

“Mama, do you love Happy Father’s Day?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Me too Mama.”

I guess he missed all the 4th of July explanations this weekend? We’re back in June…