Turquoise Favorites , originally uploaded by byjen . Red has been my favorite color for years, but lately I have been gravitating towards turquoise. It's such a vibrant color. It just makes me happy. So I was inspired to collect a little bit of happy on flickr with this mosaic. It was a lot of fun to find all these photos. The center photo is one from my friend Kenna . And the adorable camper is from a t-shirt made by Peculiar Momma whom I met through Flying Lessons . And of course there's a little Kelly Rae Roberts . I would have added Donna Downey if she was on flickr, too. She uses a lot of turquoise in her work. I found a lot of fun pictures. Like the converse and the glasses--both are very "me." What color is inspiring you lately?

I have been wanting to make a "Taking Flight" piece for quite a long time now. And here it is! I just love how it turned out. I haven't decided its fate though. "Taking Flight" is of course inspired by Kelly Rae Roberts , her book , and now her e-course . I was first introduced to Kelly Rae Roberts by way of the first Word Art I sold on E tsy in March last year. When I saw her art, it was love at first sight. And when I saw she had written a book, I rushed out to get it and I adored that, too. So I wanted to make a piece that I could somehow share with Kelly Rae Roberts to thank her for her inspiration. I did get sidetracked, but now with the e-course the need to make it reemerged. Last year I started making these words for friends and family. The first few were reminders of our word for the year (inspired by Ali Edwards ). Then a few baby gifts, then a few to sell and so on. I made them using craft supplies I had piling up, since I seemed to like to coll...

My creation , originally uploaded by byjen . This past Monday night I had the pleasure of getting crafty with a small group of friends. We've been meeting once a month for a couple months now, and this month it was my month to come up with a project. So I thought it would be fun to share the process of my word art. Everyone did really great and we all had a good time. For so long I have longed for crafty friends, so its nice to have found a group of women interested in making things and learning new techniques. I look forward to seeing what we make next month. (And I look forward to seeing Paula finish her "Embrace" tomorrow when we get together for even more crafty fun this week). And speaking of crafty fun, don't forget to enter the Freedom Word Art Giveaway ! I'll announce the winner Saturday!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have recently been inspired by fellow bloggers,  Christi  and  Jen .  I'm hosting a giveaway! One lucky reader will win my Freedom Word Art. Not only does Freedom represent the the spirit of summer, patriotism, and the 4th of July, but it's also a good reminder to give yourself the freedom to dream, create and be inspired by life. And the winner is Lorrie ! Congratulations!!!

Tonight I got a strong urge to put on my Nikes and go for a walk after the girls went to bed. So I did! Not something I normally do. Something I should be doing, but not something I am doing. Well, all good things have to start somewhere. I am lucky enough to have a community lake to walk around and it was perfect. The weather was perfect, the setting was perfect, and I had the perfect music--Dave Matthews Band! It felt really good to get my body moving and to be outside. And it was also nice to be alone with my thoughts. I definitely need to do this more! And speaking of things I don't normally do, did you see I have now posted 3 days in a row this week? Wow! Kelly Rae's class has been quite the inspiration for trying new things. Stay tuned, I should be posting again this week thanks to inspiration from Jen and Cristi . And before I go, I should mention that today I did give my dad his canvas as you see it in the previous post . It was finished and has been finished fo...

So here's what I have been working on for my dad. It is huge (30" x 40"). For months, the white canvas just stayed wrapped up in the plastic, because I didn't know how to handle it. But I finally found the courage to bust open the plastic and add a little paint and paper. I really like how it has turned out, but I'm not sure whether it's finished. I was working on a large B&W print of my girls to hang in the top 3rd, but now I'm not liking how the photo turned out. The color isn't quite right and the words I've added don't have the same effect I was going for in my head. So now it's back to the drawing board. Or maybe it is finished. Maybe it has been finished. By adding a picture over top, my girls were going to become the art and my artwork was going to fade into the background. But by leaving it as is, I feel a bit exposed, like "Here I am. Here's my art." Hmm....

Camp site , originally uploaded by byjen . This past weekend was quite the whirlwind. 1. Daniel and I had a date night and went to my friend Kenna's nature photography exhibit . Kenna and I met at my very first craft show and have been cheering each other on ever since. I am very excited and inspired by her successes! 2. My mom and I tackled the growing mess in my bedroom. I have been aching for a peaceful escape and my bedroom has not been fitting the need. I wouldn't win the messiest house award, but I am a bit of a collector/hoarder. It's amazing what we got accomplished in a few short hours. 3. I took both girls to Costco by myself and got through a fairly long list. I gave them a little scavenger hunt to work on from the shopping basket while I shopped. Rebecca did the reading and Katherine held the stickers to mark what they found. It was a great success! 4. We set up a camp site in our living room, complete with campfire and fish-filled lake. The girls are l...

Today is my oldest daughter Rebecca's last day of kindergarten. Crazy! Where did the school year go? And where did the 5-1/2 years go from when we brought our new baby home? Time sure does fly...

Just before Memorial Day Weekend I had a few extra days off (due to a change in plans, but that's a whole different story). Now, on those couple days, I actually had some time at home alone. And this never really happens, I mean NEVER. I usually always have one or two little girls running around if I am at home. But somehow I had scored some time at home with not even my husband, so I got to create and relax while the sun was up. One of the things I found myself doing was watching a bit of grown-up TV (no Dora or Diego, etc..). And while flipping through the channels I noticed HSN was having a crafting hour (what are the odds on a day I was actually home and watching). So I checked it out and I found a new toy. I know I shouldn't have, but it just seemed like such a good match for me. I bought a Chip Art Starter Kit designed by Melody Ross , made by GCD studios . I will be able to "deboss" different shapes and words into chipboard, and I love using chipboard letter...

I've been tinkering a bit with my blog tonight and I'm not sure what to think. It took me quite a few tries to get a 3 column layout out of blogger, but I did with the help of a google search. But now I'm missing the extra width I had (seems like flickr is missing the extra width, too, because now my landscape photos from flickr are getting chopped off). I do like have the extra column to add links and buttons. And it's fun to try on different backgrounds. Hmmm. I've also realized that my header needs some updating, too. The logo I came up with for myself last year is more my crafty side, yet my heart seems to be pulling me into a more artistic realm. What is the difference between craft and art anyway? It seems like it should be a simple question but its not. Last year I would never have considered myself an artist. But now...

Xmas Believe Word Art , originally uploaded by byjen . I've been meaning to post on my blog, but once again life has my head spinning. I'd have to say the spinning isn't such a bad thing right now. I just have a lot to take in; a lot of food for thought. While still trying to follow along with the Artistic Mother book, I just started taking Kelly Rae Robert's e-course. It's only Week 1 and I can't believe all the content there is to absorb and all the connections there are to be made. I've been hopping all over the internet, learning about fellow artists (notice I used the word "fellow") and being reminded about the power of dreams and dreaming. I don't consider myself much of a writer, but journaling is recommended with Kelly Rae's course. It's easy for me to think about everything, but hard for me to get it down on paper (or computer). I need to find a way to get it all out so there's room in my thoughts for other things, too. I ...