Options

Options

Back in the day, my family used to watch TV shows together.  Especially the prime time shows…Three’s Company, Wonder Woman, The Jeffersons, Love Boat, Seinfeld, Friends.  All five of us, parents and three girls would gather around the sofa and laugh and laugh.  Even my super serious and super cranky Dad!  Saturday mornings were sacred for us kids.  We watched shows like the Justice League, Buck Rogers, Scooby Doo…on Saturday mornings eating our Cocoa Puffs.

Nowadays, my kids watch YouTube, DVR TV shows and binge watch Netflix.  It is such a different world.  They are in constant virtual contact with their friends via group texts, FaceTime and social media.  Everything they watch is ready and available and they don’t need to wait.  I used to program our VCR for my favorite shows and MTV video premieres.  I get it.  But there are so many shows out there, that it is impossible to keep up with all of them.  Some of my friends are addicted to Bravo, some to HBO and others to Netflix.

Luckily for us, my kids both recently discovered Stranger Things and The Office.  So now, all four of us have a show that we can watch together (we fast forward the inappropriate teenager parts for my 10 yr old with Stranger Things).  There is common ground and content that can work for the whole family.  It takes a little bit of research and a lot of patience.

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Trying It

Trying It

When was the last time you tried something new?  Something you never imagined you would do or even like?  The last new thing for me was becoming a vegan three years ago.  So, it had been a long since I did something new until a few months ago.  My husband kept bugging me to try art classes at the Art Museum.  My response to him was “Meh…”  I thumbed my nose at the idea.  I liked my comfort zone and didn’t want to leave.  Then he left the colorful brochure from the museum on my desk.  I was signing up the kids for art classes and ended up reading about the adult classes.  I  signed up for a paper art class.  I am an artist and illustrator.  I knew nothing about paper art.  In this class, we had to use four pieces of card stock to make a three dimensional scene.  We used X-acto knives to cut designs into the paper.  It was really cool and really fun.

I didn’t think much about the class after taking it.  But slowly I started noticing paper.  There are so many cool things made with paper.   Cardboard, fast food packaging, various food product packaging, electronics packaging (iPhone boxes), gift boxes and greeting cards.  Paper is such a beautiful material.  There are so many types of paper from shimmery card stock, plain white watercolor paper to stiff solid colored card stock.  I got a variety of these papers, an X-acto knife and a paper trimmer and I have been having a lot of fun since.  Paper art is not the same as illustrating, painting or digital art.  The art class made me think of designs in a whole new and different way.

 

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My First Paper Project

I have included some cards that I have made further in the post.  My cards are for sale at my Etsy shop (My Etsy Shop).  I encourage you to try something new.  Get out of your safe zone and just do it!  You never know what you might like, what might inspire you and where it will take you.

 

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Gray Lotus

 

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Dandelion

 

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Pineapple

 

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Home Sweet Home
Family Fun?

Family Fun?

I cannot believe that I forgot hand sanitizer for our plane ride to Chicago!  I managed not to freak out for the hour and forty-five minute flight.  I have really mellowed as a mom and as a person.  My two kids and I love going to Chicago.  Both my two younger sisters and my parents live here.  The tall buildings, parks, museums and restaurants are always fun in the summer.

It has become complicated over the years however.  I think we are all getting set in our ways.  All three of us sisters were close growing up.  We still fight about what’s cool and where to eat and who’s at fault.  There was always competition between both my younger sisters.  The youngest trying to boss the middle.  That dynamic still remains today.   I am the oldest.  Two years older than my middle sister and almost six years older than my youngest.  Nowadays, the youngest tries to boss all of us around!   One sister was annoyingly sensitive, the other was super bossy.  I was their fearless leader because I was the eldest and the tallest and sometimes, the meanest.


These days the schedule revolves around our kids. I have two and my middle sister has two around the same age.  The interesting thing is that the younger generation also has a heirarchy just like we did.  It’s very entertaining to watch all four cousins interact.  There’s the sensitive one, the bossy one, the crier, and the leader…

Spring Time

Spring Time

Jodes…

I love drawing pictures of Jodes.  She’s a fancy, sylish and single girl in the city.  These illustrations chronicle her life at the moment.  She’s fun to get to know and there’s no one like her.  Stay tuned for more…