give a girl a paintbrush...

Yet another moment in parenting where I am learning to 'let it go' and foster our kid's creative expression.  Because yes, yes our five year old did just paint her wall.

Mama drew the outlines... and then she slap-happily brushed the paint on (while I 'touched up' the final bits... because I just can't fully 'let it go').

This project was the result of her declaring that her side of the room should be her favourite colours - pink/purple.  Her brother could keep all this delightful 'boyish' green on his side.

Sensing and impasse I used the age-old trick of distraction, and offered her the option of just painting some flowers, or swirls... or birds.

Birds, of course!

Our house is filled with them, and trees (and bunting) all throughout our nest.

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It's funny, this was another moment when I looked back with gratitude for how my folks raised me.  Some parents would have likely balked at letting their kids assert their creative fingerprint on their home decor.. my parents embraced it.  I think that was very empowering for my individual expression and confidence as I grew up.  They didn't bat an eyelash (at least outwardly) when I wanted to do all sorts of craziness to my room.  Or, when I wanted to shave half my head.  Or, when I wanted to wear a tux to my grade 8 grad... etc.

As I grow in this parenting thing, I'm learning (even from my own parents) to not sweat the small things - and to recognize what the small things are! 

It's a beautiful thing to see their creativity take flight.

Mel ;o)

 

creARTures great and small:

 There is something so wonderful about a shared delight.

I love painting.

The kids love painting.

We all feast together in this creative communion.

Maybe this is how the techy parent feels when they see their kids hack a computer.  Maybe this is why the sporty parent delights to see their child thrive at the game.  Maybe we all just love to see our kids embracing something of our own heart.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm forcing them to like what I enjoy... or trying to live vicariously through them. It just brings such a deep joy that's hard to really describe, when I see those small hands pick up a paintbrush and so confidently swirl and splatter out their unique souls on to the canvas.

Then, I stop and wonder.. maybe this is just a hint of what God must feel about his kids.

When we have that shared delight.

The Creator and his created who love to create.

I feel his pleasure when I paint.

Just saw this quote today.. and it's fitting:
“All my life nature and art have been reminding me of something I’ve never seen.” (C.S. Lewis)

creatively yours,
Mel ;o)
 

fresh start, open heart:

gift for a friend

Happy New Year out there friends,

Today I thought I'd share with you a few Scriptural scribbles, some divine doodles... I've been putting on paper and pressing in my heart.

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So I've been wondering if this would be the year to stop blogging (gasp).

Years ago I started it to showcase my creative productions and pursuits.

It was a place to connect with others (as a new mama) and know I wasn't alone in motherhood.

It keep me creative, like an accountability diary for the world... hehe.

As I'm growing older (and hopefully a smidgen wiser) I'm reassessing this space.

It's always been written from where my heart is at (another reason I never pursued advertising, for fear of writing what *they* wanted me to write).

Thankfully my heart is growing much fonder of Christ than clutter lately.

If I blog it will be much more about those delights, than other distractions.

I still love/need to create... but not in order to blog about it!

So, this new years focus:

FAITH

FAMILY

RELATIONSHIPS

READING

CREATING

COMICS

If you like that kind of stuff.. stick around.

Thanks for being a sweet part of this space, friends.

Mel ;o)

a walk. a wreath.

:another family tradition:

The annual hike to collect cedar and nature's supplies to create a rustic wreath together.

 A beauty-full weekend indeed!

Mel ;o)

 

just.one.more.ornament...

 There are days I just want to turn our living room in to an arts/craft studio.

Most days it looks like one regardless.

Paints, glue, fabrics, sewing, markers, paper... helter skelter.

We kind of love it. (Right, husband.. right??)

So lately it's been crafting mini angel ornaments out of found supplies.

Painting landscapes across canvases.

Colouring paper wreaths.. and of course.. more ornaments (our Christmas tree is going to be the weirdest mash up of curious scribbles this year).

And.. more ornaments.

Yep, as I am prone to suffer from the 'bite-off-more-than-you-can-chew' style.. I thought I would just simply 'whip' up these new ornaments from the Jesse Tree breakdown in Ann Voskamp's newly released book for this Christmas season.

I only have a few left to finish... only a few left... breathe.

For those of you wondering who/what the heck this 'Jesse tree' talk is all about: each ornament covers a specific story from the Bible (Old Testament) and shows how they all point to the coming of Christ... a 25 day countdown to Christmas!

Now you know,

keep it creative friends,

Mel ;o)

 

crafty Christmas creativity:

It's always at this time of year, usually after the first real snow fall, that I start hatching way too many projects in my head.

They flutter about, distracting my thoughts, until I sew/sketch/sort them out!

If you're feeling the bug, too, I thought today I would post some links to projects (D.I.Y's) I've done in the past for young and old(er).  In case you wanted some inspiration for your own creative moment!

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You can click here for 10 different kid's craft/gift ideas.

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Or, click here for some more adult sized cozy creations and decor to make.

Happy Crafting friends!

Mel ;o)

my art. her art:

 
My recent paintings.

8"x8" mini landscapes.

Her recent paintings.

A new 'gallery wall' to brighten up our living room/kids creative corner.

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Art is like exhaling.

We love creating in our nest here!

Mel ;o)

All things pink and purdy:

 The nest is filled with pink, tacky, girly-girl overboard vibes today.

A certain lil' princess is turning 5... five!!

The tom-boy in me is fighting a gag reflux at all this decor, but it makes her little heart happy, so that's good enough medicine for this mama.

 Annnnd, check out my first attempt at making a fun cake... ok, stop laughing!

We usually just opt for cupcakes each year, but this year it's cake.  I stared at a rectangle pan and wondered what to do (much like starting at a scrap of fabric envisioning a pattern to sew) when I realised I could just cut the bottom corners off and put them up top as kitty ears!

She also loves kittys.

Pink, kittys, princesses.

Need I say more?

 Another sweet moment: this morning she said "Baby Talia is my BEST gift ever!!  You know why?  Because she's SOOO cute!"  end quote.

Happy Birthday to our dear Azriel!

She's full of creativity, energy, spunk, imagination, sensitivity, faces, emotions, and sweetness!

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Stay tuned for the surprise post in a day or two.

Sorry for the delay, we've been in a never-ending, gauntlet of sleepless nights, fevers and all around exhaustion here lately.... wheeeeee!

Mel ;o)

In print! The making of our book:

 So excited!!

Here's where my creative energies have been focused for the past while, friends.

I've been illustrating the story my husband wrote to propose to me with!

13 watercolour illustrations.

Adding the text he had written years ago.

Formatting the book and ordering from an online photo book company (Picaboo).

It arrived so quickly!

Finally, a late anniversary gift for my husband, and a delightful storybook to now read to the three bunnies in our nest.

Here's a couple sneak peeks:

That sweet man nervously read me this story almost 7 years ago, over a plate of sushi.

I didn't even clue in until the final paragraph that he was using the story of two bunnies who fell in love in the woods to propose to me.  It's a tear jerker!

So, next time you come over for tea, I'll read it to you.

*P.S: the illustration on the back cover is the exact depiction of our wedding cake too.

Now I've got the bug to want to team up with him and make children's books! 

Mel ;o)

confessions (of an artist/mama)...

I used to define myself as an artist.

Then I had kids.

So, 'Mama-stay-at-home-artist-on-the-side'... was a bit of a mouthful.

I soon found that both these passions were rather all-consuming feeling.  I felt torn between both worlds that I wanted to play in... all the while resenting the other voices calling for my attention.

Maybe you know this feeling?

Maybe you've discovered, as I have, that these kids are the masterpieces requiring my attention.

Canvas, colours and creating can wait.  These growing creations cannot.  I will not have my children look back on their lives and wish their mama was more present to play than practising her paint strokes.

But, for now, I take any creative outlet as a perk.  Because I know I still need the outlet.  I feel my blood pressure drop when I create.  It's good for the kids to see mama still doing her passions too... but even better, alongside them!

That means, when the kids are painting... I love to sit and paint with them.

When the crayons are smudging, my fingers are in it too.

Then, during naps or bedtime.... I sneak a few more moments to paint.

How do you find your outlets for creativity?

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Post Script:  My apologies for not having the COMICS here lately... a few projects of late are channelling all my extra time (eager to show in the future!).

Creatively yours,

Mel ;o) 

 

cartoons + caricatures:

Hello friends!

For those of you stopping in for the weekend COMICs served up here often.. sorry, I just did not get time this week.  But, one morning while colouring with our big 'school girl' here... I whipped up this quick caricature of her with some markers.  It turned out cuter than expected.

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What's more adorable, Azriel is whipping up her own cute drawings.  Often bringing us home some hilarious sketches from school now.

A recent favourite.

"Dad... with hair":

Nailed it.

Happy weekend'ing friends,

Mel ;o)

 

D.I.Y - simple sailboat.

A simple little driftwood + lace sail boat.

Thanks to friends who know me.. and often 'link' a picture to me on facebook/e-mails, I get inspired to whip these simple projects up.

(When I google searched the idea afterwards it looks like a lot of people have made similar).

This project just required a chunk of driftwood.  A drill to make the right sized hole for the dowel.  Lace and embroidery thread (and hot glue) to attach the sail.

A sweet tiny bit of decor for a sail-boat loving family and their freshly turned #1 daughter!

Creatively yours,

Mel 

 

the making of Marigold:

It was a perfectly drizzly gray morning to whip up a sewing project today.

While the boys were out, and the babe slept... Azriel and I dove into my sewing corner and made this fun dolly.

The perks of being a 'craft hoarder' is that all you need is at your fingertips!

After a very fast sketch of what she wanted her doll to look like, I let her pick through my fabrics to decide which would *match* her drawing.

Obviously I did not have purple yarn on hand.. so she's an orange head. 

We've decided to call her Marigold.

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Sewing with kids is really frantic fun.  You can talk to them about the importance of "patience" and "hard work" to get a good result.  The joys of creating instead of buying toys.

You just need to let go of the quality control in favour of quality time with your kiddo.

I think she turned out pretty sweet for a couple hours of cutting/stuffing/sewing/painting.  It was getting tough to do the final stitches when Azriel just kept hugging me and squealing "Oh mama, she's just SOOOOOO beautiful!!!"

win. win. 

(And yes, I totally was thinking of this website while we brought her drawing to life!)

Have a creative day friends,

Mel ;o)