Confessions of a Right-Brained Artist/Mom

God has been speaking "Freedom" to my heart recently. He's been showing me how my weaknesses are a part of my strengths---two sides of the same coin. And that is a good thing. I'm a creative. I'm an artist. Therefore, I WILL loose my keys regularly. I call people I've known for months by the wrong name and that's okay. It doesn't mean I love them less.

So, in the name of freedom, here are a few more confessions:

- I let my kids eat off the floor. I believe in the "15-second rule".
- I stayed up late trying to meet a deadline. I didn't meet it. I feel asleep in my skirt. I am still wearing said skirt and it is very wrinkled.
- Jude's nose is always runny.
- I'm not sure where my keys are.
- My five year old still needs pull-ups when he sleeps and my (just turned) 2-year-old uses a pacifier at night. And I'm cool with that.
- I think we're going to send Hudson to a public kindergarten in the fall. It's not even a very good one. I don't think we're going to go the home school or private school route like most of our friends. And all our kids are still going to turn out great.
- I like, no, love these chocolate donuts. They are best when dipped in red wine.



We're off to go make some messes. And we probably won't clean them up right away.

Arian : )

This Old House

The journey of settling in and making our place home continues. I've been playing around with this little corner of our bedroom. It's been such a winter wonderland outside for the past couple weeks and the colors in our room seem so wintery and cool. So I brought a few elements from outside in to create this little homage to winter.

The "a" is from this post.

Snowy terrariums made with vintage jars, a few found objects, and polyfill.
A garland of pictures Granny took through out her winters in Kentucky.
Pine cones with glitter and more "fluffy snow".

I'm trying hard to wrap up big projects this week so I can finally move on to some new things!! Among the new things--- a blog overhaul, a few new paintings, a couple tattoo designs (for other people, not me....though I'm not against the idea ; ) , and some more free downloads for you folks. Good stuff!

Have a good one!!
Arian

Book Preview!

Here's a little preview of a project from the book! It's a trick I learned in college working on props for one of the musicals. A dozen galvanized steel buckets were to be used in a dance number with lots of tossing and spinning . . . and the possibility of clanging, denting, crashing in mid-air—not to mention possible concussions.

So we snagged a bunch of Kentucky Fried Chicken buckets and followed the following steps to turn them into galvanized steel-looking pails. This works on cardboard, foam core, or heavy paper. I just made this big "a" out of foam core for above the mantle in our bedroom.





You’ll need:

- black acrylic paint
- paint brush
- natural sea sponge (natural is more expensive than plastic or foam, but
there’s a world of difference in the final effect. They’re available at craft, art, or hardware stores)
- oil-based silver enamel metallic paint
- paint thinner
- cleaning rags
- newspaper.

How To:
Do a test piece first. Paint with black acrylic. Let dry. Dip the sponge into the silver paint and work it into the sponge a bit. Dab the piece completely.

Enamel takes a while to dry and is more trouble than water-based, but the finish lasts longer and is generally shinier. Clean out the sponge with paint thinner after every use. Natural sponges—like good brushes—can be used for years if thoroughly cleaned.

When the first coat is dry, sponge on another coat. Step back and compare your work with the actual look you want to achieve. Continue adding layers until the black is covered.

..........................

Have fun! And make sure to send me a link if you try this project for yourself!

Arian : )

ARMSTRONGS BRING HOME THE GOLD!!!

(here!)

Woohoo!!!! Thanks, everyone, for your votes of support! We're super pumped!! The trip, of course, will be awesome. But I think we're equally excited that our first attempt at doing a project like this together was so well-received. And we're hoping this opens the doors to lots of opportunities to partner our art and animating skills with the work of amazing musicians. So thanks, Owl City! We're excited to come see you!

Arian & Daniel

Snow Day!! Snow Date!!

Like lots of you guys, we got buried with snow today!! Super pillowy and fluffy and falling faster than the snow plows could handle. (Don't worry, I was in the passenger seat when I snapped this pic)
I looked back at the boys as we drove through the snow to see them doing this... Love. It.
Then tonight Daniel and I got bundled up and traveled on foot in search of a place to spend our date night.
Love the lights.
Love the snow.
Love the guy.

Arian : )

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

I love coffee shops.

I love the smell, the lights, the ambiance, the comfy couches, live music, local art, scones, and the "stay as long as you want" vibe.

Friday night I got to combine some of my very favorite things: the coffee shop, friends, family, my man, soy lattes, acoustic guitar, social justice, my sketchbook, my camera, freedom, and creative collaboration.
Ryan Adcock-- singer/songwriter/photographer/freedom fighter-- raising money for his trip to South Africa. Go Ryan!
Working on an illustration project.

My favorite dude and 2 other pretty favorite dudes.


And HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Miss Ruby!!! Thanks for inviting us to your rad party!

You're so cute it hurts!
p.s.-- do you know if your skirt comes in adult sizes??

Well, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY to you all! Hope it's full of love and dark chocolate!

Arian : )

p.p.s.-- no word yet on the results of the Owl City video contest. I confess I was eagerly waiting by my computer at midnight on Friday night when voting ended, hoping the results would be posted at 12:01. After hitting "refresh" about 25 times, I finally just went to bed. I actually have no idea when they will post the winners. The rules are unclear on that. (Wait, let me go hit refresh again....nope, still nothing) Guess we'll find out when we find out! : )

Peeking Out

It's been an eventful week! All the emails, comments, facebook messages, etc that have been coming in from friends, friends of friends, and friends of friends of friends telling us they voted in the Owl City fan video contest has been super encouraging. If we loose, it WON'T be for lack of support from friends and family, that's for sure! So aside from sending lots of "thanks for your support!" emails, we've been keeping busy with lots of projects and indoor activities!

Like enjoying new books under our newly-strung reading lights...


crafting...
visiting family and admiring our new nephew (surely my boys were never that tiny!)...

and making good use of our imaginations.

The snow is beautiful but I am longing for spring! I'm not a huge winter sports person (unless you count drinking hot chocolate and napping as winter sports) so I tend to admire the snow from inside our warm apartment. I think if I had some cute boots I'd be more likely to get out in the snow. Hmmm.... : )

Hope you're enjoying the weather in your neck of the woods!

Arian : )