Thursday, April 7, 2011
Hey! Yep! I am on the road again. Tomorrow I leave for Taylor, Texas and the Clarke Mansion. I have never been there before so I know I am in for a treat. I am hoping to see lots of beautiful blue bonnets (the Texas state flower) on the way. I will have my new camera in tow and will takes lots of fun pictures. We will be making two projects this weekend and hearing some fabulous stories and strategies from KC. I have spent the entire day printing pictures that I "may" use and pulling together items from my studio for the trip. Another great part of this trip is that my two sons live in Austin, which is very close to Taylor, Texas so I will trek over there after the retreat and collect some much needed hugs.
I did have a little time to play this week (not a whole lot, but a little) and I got one background done for the Towers and Turrets class. I will probably try my hand at a second one or a third :-) They are supposed to be fairly dark because we will be adding bright collage papers to the top. Most of this was done with a "scraper" (old credit card) or a pallette knife instead of a paint brush - it was a fun technique. Then, stencils were used to add and remove paint on top.
I recently found some really cool cotton/muslin stamped ribbon on the web at, Creations by Minda. Here is a snap of what I got (top pic). I tried my hand at making some with muslin that I coffee stained, then ironed and stamped. I hope to use some of it in my collage work this weekend. Minda has refined her technique and her ribbons are beautiful - it will take me a while for mine to look as lovely as hers! I didn't have a lot of time for experimentation so just did mine in black ink this time, but am anxious to give it a try with some colors in the future and some different types of fabric. I think it will be fun to use in wrapping gifts, collage, journals; all kinds of things.
I also wanted to show you my "new" Hearts and Hands for Sendai, Japan block. The first one had some issues and I started over. This is my pieced block and I will begin with the embellishment next week. I am thinking about possibly a second block and have a theme in mind - will share that later!
You guys will notice that I have a new button on the upper right; it is for Kelly Rae Roberts new E-book series, Flying Lessons. I have my copy and have only begun to dig in. It is filled with tons of information. It is a treasure trove of information on selling your art and just plain developing a confidence and joy in creating it! Check it out!
Glimmers of Faith
As Easter approaches, it is a time to reflect on the death and resurrection of Christ. God's thoughts and ways are far above ours and often it is really hard to truly understand His plans, His actions, His words. He is such a Holy God that He can not even look on sin, but He still loves us so much - each and every one of us. His plan of salvation was put forth to restore us with a blood covenant that would pay for our sins. Man can not change himself, so God offered His son as the necessary "pure" blood sacrifice. That is a love that is hard to grasp, isn't it? All we need do is believe - "amazing grace!" His generosity and ways are incomprehensible. I am so thankful that I am a child of the covenant and that He has forgiven my sins. Now and forever, God's unfailing love for His children will not be shaken. To reconcile with God, because we have been separated from Him by our sin, it requires His righteousness be established. How? Through faith in Jesus Christ, God declares His people righteous. With a humble and contrite heart, if we will call on the Lord, He is listening. All we need do is confess our sins and ask Him into our hearts. He will answer our call and bring unimaginable joy. "The Lord will become in you a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14
Till next time, happy trails!
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