hugs across the universe™

Thankful

I finished up my Thanksgiving Centerpiece~really liked the way it came out too.

And there's 24 more to come if I want! YOWZA! This one is in the shoppe as I type and I wonder if I'll make another one this year. It's hard for me to repeat--I like to keep exploring the possibilities--although I would certainly save time if I repeated. I already worked out all the details and that is part of what takes up so much time. Hmmmmmmmmmm...

There's one more fall thingie I want to make before I go full force into Christmas though. I hope to start it today but I have a little boy who is having a birthday party this weekend here at our house. I've got goodie bags to make as well as finish my favors. I'll show those later...like when I'm done with them!!!

Did I already tell you how much I'm having fun with all this? Feeling very thankful at the moment that things seem to be going in the right direction.

Happy Birthday to Me

Vintage birthday collection
Originally uploaded by artsymama

48 never felt better.
;-)
And I've got a date tonite!

backwards and forwards

The old studio/working on THE RUNAWAY VALENTINE back in 2000.

NIce to know I am still remembered. An old client from New York welcomed me back and said they'd find some educational work to send me. That sounds good! I feel like this creaky old wheel is finally moving forward! I also got a few names of other agents to try from my editor so I am feeling pretty positive that soon I'll be back in business. The only problem is I no longer have a fax machine or a huge scanner. That could be a bit of a problem. I think I'm going to have to reinvest in my business. My tiny scanner just isn't going to cut it; but I will worry about that problem when I get there.

Right now I've blown the dust off one of my old manuscripts that was almost "there" and am trying to get it ready for submission. It's an easter book--just the right size for slipping into an Easter Basket. My editor and I were working on it four years ago. Then I just abandoned it when Johnny died when it was almost ready to give it another try. I have no idea if it will still hold now but it's time to just plow through these old ideas and give it a "yay" or "nay" so I can move on to other things.

I'm starting to get a new idea for a character---Remember I always start with characters and let them tell me their story. I like the fact that now I can create whatever characters I come up with in mohair though, something I didn't have in my bag of tricks before-- I'm starting to get inspired again!

HURRAH!

New and Improved

Hello--sorry for the closed doors for a bit, but I needed to make some badly needed changes around here. Due to the rudeness of one bad apple, (but I must admit this is the second rotten to the core one I've experienced since I started blogging) we're going to be a bit more careful around here. This is the place for art and craft AND nothing else. Sorry people, but my life isn't up for comment anymore, not with the masses, the lurkers and especially not with people who aren't willing to share their own lives with me.

I've got another blog for that now thank you and it's by invitation only. So, if you want to know what really goes on in my head share some of yourself with me here and over time you might get the key to the kingdom--it's for trusted friends only.

It's the new me--and I'm loving her.

Where have I been to???

Something funny is happening over here...I'm digging through piles of my old stuff~preparing files for my website and I'm revisiting my old life. And I'm realizing it was a pretty good life. 

I'm starting to feel excited about going back to work. And I wondered for the longest time if I ever could do that or if I would ever want to.  I feel I am coming back to me, coming back into my old skin--oh, but so much wiser, so much more mature, so much more aware. I've been on a journey, you see---a long and hard and amazing journey and now I come back with so many more tools in my toolbox, so many more crayons in my crayon box, so many more words to describe what I want to write about.

I found this piece of art today in one of my old storage suitcases. I was working on a story for this guy before I crumpled up in a ball and screamed at the universe for all the trauma it brought my way. And when I opened my eyes again, it all seemed too frivolous--children's books especially. I wanted to do something meaningful and full of purpose with my life. I've been all about meaning and I've been way too serious these last few years. I used to be a person who laughed a lot. What happened to her? I miss her.

This picture is frivolous--this story was frivolous--simple and fun. That's it. Not much else going on, except I was interested in combining more fabric into my illustration work and this was a sample I made up. This picture today made me remember what feels good about being alive.
Because I took a long journey to find out the real secret to life.
And that is that there is no big secret.
Life was meant to be enjoyed.
fully. completely. joyfully. that's it. period. hurry up and do it before the bell rings and your time is up.

One year ago today...

...I was a featured blog on Typepad.

I
I don't normally keep track of these things, but I was going through all my photos and I just happened to notice--cause it's Memorial Day. I think blog revamping is a lot like spring cleaning. We just cleaned out the garage too this weekend, so I guess maybe I just cleaned the cobwebs off RPS and this is what was hiding underneath. Jeez, I wonder if I'll ever get discovered again. I hope so, the free t-shirt was too large.
;-)