Portraits and Rice Bags!

What do portraits and rice bags have in common?  Not a lot, usually, but this year they are the items I made as Christmas gifts for my family. 

I can finally show it off. The portrait of my lovely daughter, that is. 

Yes, I know the shadows and the mid-tones could have been better, not to mention the hair but I loved it and I think (I hope) she did too.

It was painted from this photo:

The portrait was started a while back and sat in my studio in various stages of completion for such a long time. It became a part of my day to walk in the studio, look at the picture and wonder what else I should do to it. I know this is going to sound crazy but I procrastinated finishing it because I knew it would be gone when it was done. It was comforting having it around. Having it in the studio was like having her there to keep me company while I worked on other projects.  Just in case you are wondering if I’ve gone off the deep end, No, i didn’t speak to it. Ha ha!!

But now I’m going to miss it too.

Best compliment ever - When I gave it to her, her husband said I captured “Milli” perfectly. That’s his pet name for her cute as a button nose. Awww!

Several years ago, I made a rice bag (i.e. heat therapy bag) for my husband because he suffered from migraines. He loved it. Since then I have made rice bags for other members of the family because almost everyone in his family has migraines.   This year, in addition to the painting, I made a few more. 

In case you are wondering what a rice bag is, it’s simply a small cotton fabric bag filled with rice and includes a washable flannel cover.  You put it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes and then place it where it hurts.  Because it’s filled with rice, not too tightly, it conforms to your face and feels good. The smell of the microwaved dry rice is comforting as well.  It’s a quick and easy gift that keeps on giving.

 

Do you make any gifts for your family?  If so, what were they? Please share.

My Fondest Wish

Is for you and your family to have the 

Merriest Christmas 

and

the very best New Year.

This is the Christmas card I made for my family and friends this year. I wanted to share it with you, my very dear blog friends.  Thank you all for coming to visit me.

See you when we return from our holiday trip.

I’ve been keeping a secret from you.

Yes, I’ve been keeping a secret from you.  Why? I was afraid that if I mentioned it, I would jinx it and it wouldn’t happen. Superstitious much? OK, what am I talking about?  This:

Last August I received an email from the editor of Art Journaling Magazine by Summerset Studio asking if I would like to submit my journal for consideration for publication in their magazine.  You can imagine just how fast I said ‘Yes, I’d love to’, packed up my Moleskine, and shipped it off. It’s been agonizing waiting to hear (or see) if it was going to be used in the Winter issue….. Yesterday I finally heard.

IT WAS!!!!  I’M PUBLISHED!!!

I got a copy of the magazine in the mail yesterday. Here is the cover:

and there, the Gallery, were my journal pages.

 

I have been floating on air since I saw it. My husband just giggles at my perpetual smile.

To see these journal pages close up:

Lower Left: Soul Journals
Top Middle: New Journal Pages
Lower right: Crossing Paths Again

Expressing feelings without words

I’m not big on words, never have been.  Probably never will be no matter how much I try. I internalize everything especially the bad.  But this page wasn’t about the bad, it was about how I have felt since learning about the new grandbaby. It’s about feeling light and airy and colorful inside. In other words…..Happy.

I bought a new journal recently because it has fabulous textured paper and it opens flat. But, sadly, it’s not meant with be used with wet media and I almost tore the paper several times just adding gesso to the page.

To create this page  I used water color crayons and Inktense pencils to limit the moisture on the page.  I actually like how the colors came out and the transparency in the flowers.

Things My Mother Said

This weeks theme, besides being late, is about things my mother said as I was growing up.  Some of those words were also repeated by me to my own daughter.

Some of the funny things my mother said were:

“It’s just as easy to marry a rich man as a poor man.” Said by the woman who married a poor man and didn’t know any rich men.

“Don’t drink coffee it will stunt your growth.” She was right about this one.  I used to dunk my ginger snaps in coffee served by my aunts and I’m only 5’2”. Damn that coffee.

“Money doesn’t grow on trees.”  How many times have you heard this? When my daughter was young she thought that money just magically appeared in your bank account. When I told her we didn’t have money for a certain toy she’d say “Well Duh, just go to the bank.” Ok she didn’t say “well duh”…she knew better…but it was implied.

“I hope when you grow up your kids are just like you.”  I think this one came true….and you know what? I’m more than ok with that.

“If you get hurt don’t come running to me.”  I never got this one, who exactly was I supposed to go running to if not my mother?  I always want my kid to come running to me when she needs me. That’s why I had kids. 

“You’d lose your head if it wasn’t attached.” Sadly, this one is still true.

“If I told you once I told you a thousand times.”  She probably did too.  do kids ever listen to their parents? 

“Just wait till your father gets home.” My mother used this one on me and it worked. However, when I tried this one with My Girl but it didn’t because her dad wasn’t as strict as I was.

 

What are the Momisms either told to you or those you have said to your own children?

Christmas Trees Everywhere You Look

I joined an ATC swap at ATCsforAll.com and the theme was Christmas trees.  Here is what I made for the swap. I hope they like them because I had fun with them.

 

 

Have you swapped any ATCs recently?  I hate that I don’t create and swap them more often.  They are so fun.