Last week’s inspiration prompt for Inspire Me Thursday was “Positivity”.  I had made my daily to-do list and wrote on the last 2, dream and breath.   My husband stated that I should make a list of all the things I want to do on a daily basis, but sometimes am to busy, stressed or tired to think about.  So this is what I came up with.

* Read a good story.  I love reading and if I can do just a little everyday, it makes me feel good, helps my brain to stretch.

* Focus on the positive.  This is a big one for me when I’m stressed and at work.  I must remember this always.

* Take deep breaths - We breath all day, sure, but do we deep breath? Deep breathing relaxes and calms and gives you much needed oxygen to energize the body.

* Dance a little- I can be so uptight sometimes, and dancing helps me to let go a bit. If a little music is playing, I almost can’t resist.

* Laugh a lot - Laughing (and smiling) is contagious! My husband is the best at getting me to really laugh. It sure can turn a bad mood around instantly.

* Sing, hum, whistle – My grandma used to sing, hum or whistle when she was doing stuff around the house.  It always made me smile. How could you not be happy while whistling a tune?

* Go for a walk – Get fresh air, listen to the birds, smell the flowers and take a good look around at all the beautiful trees, colors, etc..

* make something ~ Be creative.  This is something I HAVE to do everyday or I get grumpy!  Even if it is doodling on paper at work, it gets my right brain functioning and happy.

* Dream Big -  Anatole France once said, “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only
plan, but also believe.”  I love that!!

* Be Happy – Because you have a choice. Everyone does.

I’m making little 5 x 7 inch prints out of this to put in my shop, just in case you would like a little reminder.  They are perfect for putting up on your inspiration board, inspiration wire or in a small frame.  OR, make up your own list yourself and hang it somewhere you can see everyday.  Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to have little reminders.

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is really big here in Tucson.  Officially, the celebration is Nov 1st and 2nd. Here is a great video to explain its meaning.

I really believe it is a healthy and comforting way to bring back the memory of those who have passed and celebrate the life they lived. It also helps to connect generations, heritage and tradition.

A couple of months ago I was asked about whether this piece(above) was for sale.  I couldn’t find the original, so I re-did it with a few little changes:

I sold it and was happily inspired today, to create another…

Today is a good friend’s birthday (he even wrote an article on the Day of the Dead), so we will be celebrating with Mexican food and margaritas tonight!

I’ve decided to combine my Illustration Friday and Inspire Me Thursday this week. My youngest sister is soon to be married in August and also a cousin next month. Since wedding cheer is in the air, I was inspired to create a wedding cake coupled with a lovely poem by Emily Dickinson. All this wedding talk brings me back to my wedding day almost 13 years ago. One of the most wonderful days of my life. My groom & I walked on clouds the whole day!

Watecolor & ink. Words applied digitally.

It’s all I have to bring today,
This, and my heart beside,
This and my heart and all the fields,
And all the meadows wide.
Be sure you count- should I forget,
Someone the sum could tell.
This and my heart and all the bees,
Which in the clover dwell.

~Emily Dickinson

Theme for this week: Abstract

This is about as abstract as I can go. I enjoy all forms of art, but actually doing abstract art left me on the verge of being very uncomfortable. But, I’m actually very pleased with this trio. They are 7 x 7 acrylic on canvas. I went around the art shops looking for square canvases and could not believe how expensive they are!! So home I went to rummage through the garage and our wood stash. I found a 72 inch 1×2 strip of wood that Ry-daddy cut up for me into pieces and I found some canvas in my fabric stash. Add a little gesso, some paint and there you have it. An abstract dragonfly trio.

I made them to go horizontally, but found an empty place in my hallway and hung them vertically instead. They still look great together. I’d take a picture but the lighting is horrible in my hallway right now. Dragonflies symbolize good fortune. Hopefully some home buyers will feel the good fortune of our house and want to buy it. Lowering the price 10 grand otta help too! Everyone keep your fingers crossed!

Here is my Inspire Me Thursday for last week’s challenge. Very very late. I had started it earlier in the week but never had the time to finish it. The challenge was to take yourself to a faraway place. My place would be Italy. I have dreams of going there with my hubby someday (there are tons of other places too). We have not been on a vacation alone together in a long, long time. It’s just part of having little ones (and a tight budget). We will catch up on our traveling plans sooner or later.

Part of my Mother’s Day gift from my husband was for me to have some free time to paint today. He took off with the kids for a few hours to run errands while I painted away. One of the paintings I did I will share tomorrow.

Here is my Every Day in May art # 9, #10, #11 and above is #12

I’d much rather stick to my paint and brushes when it comes to art, but I actually really enjoyed doing this week’s challenge. How could I not love this piece. My 3 favorite subjects are involved as well as my favorite teacup. I don’t have photoshop so I used my Microsoft(R) Picture It program. It did, exactly what I needed it to. I’m pretty pleased with the end product. Do you like my little grumpy guy on the left? He has that little scowl on whenever we are out in public. I’ve seen many a stranger do some wacko stuff just to get him to smile- He won’t. You’ve got to work long and hard to earn a smile from him. Of course he smiles to me whenever I ask. My other guy, he’s Mr. Friendly. He’ll talk to ANYONE and I’m not kidding!

On a different note: I tried to do a little thrift shopping today. Not too much luck. The thrift shops in the phone book end up being non-existent, too far or they are dollar shops. I want old stuff, not new junk. I did find a Good Will, but as I said, not much luck. My kids weren’t up for going to another store so I’ll head to the craft store later this week (I’m waiting for a coupon in the mail). I should wait till this weekend- it’s yard sale season (oh my heart just quickened!).

Happy MAY DAY!!!

“This week, let’s take a moment to slow our pace and really take notice of the common, everyday objects found in our daily life. What ordinary things can you find to make extrordinary art? Look for things you can use in your art. Or items that can be used as a tool to create art. Or perhaps an object that simply inspires you to create. This week, your challenge is to find the art in the everyday.”

I’ve been walking around the house all week trying to look at my everyday stuff as art. One thing that I look at and use every single day are my spoons, forks and knifes (everyone has to eat of course). But I couldn’t think of what to do with them. It was in the middle of the night that it hit me(my little one is sick and I was up for most of the night). I have some old forks, spoons and knives that are old and not part of my everyday set- perfect for hammering, drilling and bending. So today, with my husband’s help, he bent (with his massive muscles) and I drilled and hammered to make this fun little wind chime. It also gave me a reason to pull out my bead collection. Not only was this a really fun project, but now I have a new wind chime for my back yard tree!! Now I’m going to go take a nap! Have a great day!!

Please check out my Notecard Swap. Sign up! It’ll be lots of fun!

Here is my piece for last week’s challenge. Barely getting it in under the wire. This series is painted on 10 x 10 inch wood mirrors. I had bought several (20 to be exact) before Christmas with thoughts of painting them and giving them as gifts. Well, only one was completed and now I have a pile of mirrors. I had been thinking that these mirrors would make good groupings because they are so small. Putting four of them together gave me a much bigger surface to work with and I love how it all worked out. Now, I am looking at my pile of little mirrors much differently. A series of three horizontally, or vertically would be cool. The posibilities are endless.