new art journal...

just started a new art journal last week... i am going through some kind of season of change in my life... needed to do something to get all the emotions out. love these journals. they are such good therapy! :) elsie

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!! so i had a really great day with my family but i totally missed elsie, as she is in Oklahoma visiting TJ's family...oh well. my parents and my brother and i all went to go see "The Fountain" which i didnt really like. in fact i thought it was pretty bad. but if you liked "What Dreams May Come" then you may like it :) and i realized Hugh Jackman is in three films that are in theatres right now (even though one is an animated movie) what a busy man! well im off to finish writing the first of three papers i have to complete before school comes around agian on monday!

Happiest of Birthdays to Elsie!!!

In honor of long distance friendship birthdays and cupcake memories! We love you and miss you! Happy Birthday.
R, B, & S

Elsie and Emma

What special traditions did you guys have over the holidays growing up? Every Christmas, minus two freaky weather years, my whole family has been together in Oklahoma for a week to catch up on life together. This year looked like we weren't going to have a 'normal' Christmas, or Thanksgiving for that matter, since we were in Seattle with little money for plane fares and I was trying to think of all of the ways we'd be able to start our own traditions with Sebastian. But really I was so sad that we'd be spending it by ourselves. So, in the midst of having to leave the city we've grown to love, I'm holding on to the notion of Christmas with my family and a week in Oklahoma, thanks to the most generous of grandparents. This is my favorite time of the year!

So, how does everyone else celebrate? What puts you in the mood for Christmas/Hannukah/Winter Solstice, etc.?

NO!!!!!!

I just found out the Urban Craft Uprising show in Seattle is Dec. 2&3 at the Seattle Center. This, my friends, is about 1/2 mile away from my doorstep. Oh, yah, and I leave on the 24th of Nov. to move back to Fresno while Brett stays here to finish his last class and leave on Dec. 1st. How mad does that make me? Well, I'm sitting here trying to read about it and every time Brett asks me a question I give him the, 'don't you know I'm busy reading about something really important here!' look and then curtly answer. So, if you live in or near enough to attend this event, please go and tell me how amazing it was and that we need to move back SOOOOO bad. I'm going to pout in the corner.
Rachel

p.s. Oh, and Sebastian rolled over today and I missed it.

making stuff...

it's my favorite thing in the whole world... it's what initially attracted me to my husband and all my best friends... the passion for making and enjoying art! :) makes me so happy. i think it is the best remedy for a sad or cold or stressful day. just making something fun and pretty.. hanging it on the wall, giving it to a friend or even just trashing it and starting over... as long as i am making something, i will be a happy girl.

what are you making right now?

Elsie
ps. this is a necklace i made a while back... love this random/kitsch style! :)

Yummy!

These days:
~iced tall egg nog chai lattes from the ever growing chain where we get 30% off our drinks and affordable health insurance...(any guesses?)
~flannel sheets
~Maple trees
~low sunlight in the sky that falls between the slats in my blinds
~scrambled eggs and toast
~packages from home
~blogging
~Mates of State
~flickr.com
~muted yellow, burnt orange, apple green
~the first smile from Sebastian after a long nap
~fireplaces inside coffee houses
~walking to the video store
~old houses
~homemade cheesecake
~the water on a grey day
~Taize songs
~brown boots
~long hair
~leaning into Brett

Rachel

getting paint on my hands

Today I decided to make a three piece art installment for our traveling home. I'm waiting for the base coat to dry and changing my mind every three seconds about what needs to happen next. I have all of my supplies in the living room floor around my coffee table with Sebastian sleeping in his swing and Sufjan Stevens on the ipod. Sometimes you have to just move forward to draw out something beautiful from the pieces of ideas that present themselves. Sometimes I'm afraid of making something lame so I don't make anything at all. I've decided this is stupid. I will enjoy the process of creating as much as the end product.

Here are some pages from an art journal that came out of a teaching week that Elsie and I did two summers ago. I have a list of 50 things I want to do before I'm too old to do them. I've been able to check a few of these off this year! Thanks for looking.

Newest Quilt

Seattle is rainy and gray today. Its time to settle in for a long wet season for the rest of the city. We're outta here in four weeks and trying to figure out how to get rid of everything in our home that won't fit in our family sized Nissan or a few boxes to be shipped second class. Craigslist.org is resourceful in Seattle so I hope we can work that system. I'm going to keep almost all of my fabric and art supplies but the kitchen table and our fabulous free finds are getting the boot.
I've been working on a few new quilts that will go up on my Etsy.com store once I have enough to make a good opening. Stay posted.
Sebastian is four months old tomorrow! He has been waking up every two hours at night needing to eat this week. We bought him some rice cereal to help him stay asleep longer but he has yet to see the value of solids!
This time of year always makes me feel crafty. Can't wait to hear what everyone is working on right now...
Rachel