Published for the first time!

Somerset Studio - July / August 2010

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams"

- Eleanor Roosevelt

Monday's Child

Image provided by Monday's Child

Little Bobby Bunny. That's what they used to call me. Little Bobby Bunny. Or Bunny Boy or, in the unfortunate Winter of my 13th year (and for reasons I'd rather not divulge), The Flopster.

Truth be told, I never really liked the name. Before that day. That sweet and sticky Summer day. I remember it well: the air smelled of fresh dirt and candied carrots and the garden was heaving with a new crop of buttered lettuce. I was in the middle of surveying my culinary options when I became distracted by the dance of a butterfly. And that is when I first saw her.

Bow in her hair as soft and pink as a sow's ear and lashes that went on for days. She seemed to notice something too. She sat straight up, tilted her head to the side and, in a voice as welcome as the dinner bell, she spoke: "Is it you? Little Bobby Bunny? Is it you?. . .  I've been waiting."

I felt a rush of excitement and an unfamiliar fluttering in my tummy. "Yes, it's me" I stammered in response. "Come then" she whispered as she hopped closer, "Our Story is about to begin."

And here I am: several Summers later, gathering my childhood friends by the Wishing Tree. Callie Crow spoke first. "Well . . . " she snapped expectantly. "Well . . . " I smiled. A proud, new smile. Full of hope and the promise of a new day.

"He's here." I announced as I tried to hold back a single happy tear. "He's here." And with that, Mrs. B hopped carefully towards us, our little bundle wrapped tightly in her arms. "Meet my boy, friends. Meet my boy." 

I glanced towards my love and she back at me, a wisdom in her eyes as she bent down to soothe the coos of new life. We will call him Little Bobby Bunny. Junior.

- KVV

The above story was written for Monday's Child, a new challenge site which asks those who are interested to write a short story or children's verse in response to an image provided. This is the first prompt, which I discovered by reading the very talented Julia Christie's blog.  

Kristin xo

MMM: Something New

"Blue Bird"

6 x 8 Canvas Panel

This week's Mixed Media Monday prompt, Something New, gave me a great excuse to use a new roll of decorative packing tape that I just picked up. I wanted to try a packing tape transfer with it and hoped that the green flourish would provide a unique result. The piece evolved into "Blue Bird" . . .  

The 6 x 8 canvas panel was created with a wash of lavender and white acrylic on which I roughly drew a bird cadge. The packing tape transfer (from vintage sheet music) was placed on the bottom of the cage and the door is made from the following text: "blue bird hovers / sweetly shy, / a song as sweet / as an angel's voice." The figure of the boy is vintage Mother Goose. Final touches are colored pencils, white China Marker, charcoal and glitter.

Thank you for looking: I'm eager to see what everyone does with their Something New . . .

Kristin xo 

So They Will Always Remember

Hurst Castle, CA

 Please feel free to use this image for your artwork

I wanted to share a very special blog with you. My friend of over 15 years, Nina, recently began a beautiful journal, So They Will Always Remember, in which she shares her childhood memories and family stories. Her original intention was to keep it private, but I'm so glad that she decided to allow us all a peek into her world. She writes like she speaks (very down-to-earth and funny) and has started from the beginning. I hope you'll treat yourself and check it out . . .

Kristin xo

Expect A Miracle

Please feel free to use this image for your artwork

"Miracles cannot be summoned or demanded, 

but they can be invited and encouraged."

- Mary Augustine

MMM: Something Old

"Mother's Work"

Altered pay roll card

This week's Mixed Media Monday prompt, Something Old, was a wonderful excuse to use one of the vintage Pay Roll cards that I found at a garage sale while on vacation. Although "Mother's Work" seems somewhat inappropriate to post on a day celebrating Fathers, the ideas that came from a time sheet with day work, night work and extras written on the front, just seemed to form themselves . . . sorry, but you know when a piece has a mind of it's own . . . 

The above was made using one of the dirtiest time cards I had in the box. I gave it a wash of Gesso and a splash of watered-down brown paint for extra distressing. I even placed a mug in the "coffee" in order to create a "stain" on the top left. The image is vintage Mother Goose and the poem of the same name (Mother's Work, worth enlarging if you are interested in reading it) is also from a vintage book of poems. Other touches include acrylic stamping, stamping, a white China Marker to highlight the text and colored pencils to emphasise the children in the foreground. I also added some dots of silver glitter. Lastly, the time card was placed on top of some torn and painted cardboard before being hung from a satin ribbon with a dangling clock and a single Swarovski crystal.

Thank you for looking and a very special HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Diane, our Mixed Media Monday Hostess with the Mostest. May your year be full of happiness and love.

Kristin xo

Happy Father's Day!

Kendra Ann, 4

Painting for her Grandpa Bob

Happy Father's Day!

Where Bloggers Create II

I'm so excited to be participating in Karen Valentine's Where Bloggers Create  2nd Annual Blog Party this year . . . I discovered her blog, My Desert Cottage, while reading the latest issue of Somerset Studio's Where Women Create and knew that I wanted to play along and peek into the spaces you create in . . .

I actually took over our guest room about 9 months ago, shortly after I started my blog (they seemed to want each other). I found that my art supplies out numbered my guests, and since I really did need a place to organise all the things I was hoarding, the supplies won . . . So, I exchanged the bed and B & W french-inspired decor for a pull out couch (sorry, friends) and walls of soft pink with grey swirls. It's girly I know, but although our four year-old calls it her "studio," (and you will often find tiny dinosaurs lurking around), it really does seem to represent me and the things I love.

So welcome to our studio . . .

 A peek through the mirror

 

(All pictures below show the room from left to right)

Family secretary that houses glass urns filled with supplies

 

 This jar's more decorative:

it holds a collection of Kendra's old pacifiers

 Altered books and journals are stacked on top of a

small craft cabinet in the corner

 

The inside of my Hobby Hideaway, which is usually not this neat

 A favorite postcard lives in a plexiglas drawer on the left

The right door showcases some birthday invitations and a gift

(the fish with the crown) from a class I took with Misty Mawn 

 The way out.

The shelf to the left often holds a variety of art pieces 

 Kendra's corner.

Especially funny if you knew how much of a tomboy she is! 

French doors and a hanging basket with an old chandelier crystal 

A favorite necklace hangs from an empty picture frame

Magazine rack (yes, I am Somerset obsessed)

and stacked boxes for supplies

 

 These boxes house patterns, ledgers, vintage children's illustrations,

 feathers and rub-ons

 

 A recent addition to the room: my vision statement banner from 

The Artistic Mother's Group

Now that you have seen our studio, I will show you where, despite the best of intentions with the room above, I really create . . . sigh . . .

 

 Our kitchen counter!

Thank you for your visit (and I didn't even make you sleep on a pull-out). I look forward to seeing all of your places and creative spaces . . . 

Kristin xo

And the winner is . . .

100th Post Giveaway

Thank you all for your kind comments and well wishes for my 100th post! 

With the help of a Random Number Generator, I'm happy to announce that above collection of vintage time cards, jewelry, maps, travel empheria and more will be making it's way to . . . You!

Thank you to all who participated and please be on the lookout for my next big giveaway in celebration of my baby blog's first birthday this August . . .

With love,

Kristin xo

Snapshots of our Vacation II

Leaving Yosemite

Snow on the Tioga Pass

Renaissance Fair

South Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe

Jelly Belly Factory

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Seahorse

Jellyfish

Big Sur Campground

Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle

Solvang

LA Museum of Natural History

Dinosaur Dig

Homeward Bound (new Dino comes with)

Home after 2 weeks on the road. . . The shots above represent the rest of our RV trip through California. It was more difficult than I thought to stay in touch while traveling, so please forgive the heavy hand with pictures (hey, it's better than showing the 750 that I actually took)!

Happy to be home and back to routine . . . except for all the laundry that goes with it . . . sigh . . .

I'm looking forward to catching up with all your beautiful blogs,

Kristin xo

100th Post & Giveaway! CLOSED

100th Post Giveaway

(You may click to enlarge)

Although I'm still on the road, I wanted to do something special for my 100th post. So . . . I decided to share with you some of the little things I've been collecting as we make our way through California. . .

The above include what I think is one of the coolest things I've found (in all my flee market and yard sale searches) to create with: vintage Time Cards. I've never personally seen art created with this type of empheria and I'm so excited to play with them upon my return. You will receive a good share of what I found; a book of 8 vintage Time Tickets, 5 vintage Time Cards (with green M - Sunday print on side one and red overtime notations on side two) and 5 vintage Daily Cost Cards (with green time clock records on side one and red pay roll notations on side two).  You will also get a Northern CA camping map, a CA state series map (all AAA), one vintage amber-colored crystal earring, a few pieces of travel empheria (new, from my own collection) and a new Club Scrap destination stamp. And last (but not least, aren't all the coolest things the ones you don't want to give away?) a bone pin of Alice In Wonderland that I picked up a few days ago at a Renaissance fair.

I will choose one winner that will be selected by a random number generator one week from today. And, although I would love it if you want to share this giveaway with others, you need not be a follower or name your first child after me to be considered. Just leave a comment on this post and cross your fingers.  .  .

With much gratitude and love,
Kristin xo

Snapshots of our Vacation

Sequoia RV Ranch

The view

Fruit stand on the way to Yosemite

1 pound tomato

Yosemite Pines RV Park

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite 

Amazing sights (mouth full included)

On the way back to camp

Columbia Diggins Tent Town Event

Panning for gold

First star I see tonight

Leaving tomorrow for Lake Tahoe . . . more pictures to come . . .

Note: please forgive me if I'm a bad blogger while on vacation as Internet reception has been hard to come by.  I look forward to catching up on your blogs upon our return.

BTW: This is my 99th post! Although I'm away,  I still have something special in the works for my next one . . . hunting and gathering as we travel California. . . stay tuned . . .

Kristin xo