Where The Wild Things Are & Maurice Sendak

Yesterday when I heard the news about Maurice Sendak's death I thought about "Where the Wild Things Are" and how much I just LOVED the illustrations! I would stare at the drawings for ever when I was young, trying to figure out how they were created. I played with ink and watercolor for hours trying to get the look Maurice was so brilliant at creating! The colors, the patterns, the wonderful monster faces! The book really resonated with me, as it did for so many around the world!
Rest in Peace Maurice Sendak and "let the wild rumpus start"!!

(My "Bernard the bull" plush animal has always been proudly displayed in my studio along with the book)

The Avengers movie & Superhero Art

 Aaron Christensen's Superhero collection

Yesterday we saw the widely anticipated movie "The Avengers". For my hubby Scott, its a little trip down memory lane when he was a boy. Now with Connor who is 12, they both know all the characters, stories and merchandise.
We really enjoyed the movie! Especially Mark Ruffalo, who plays The Hulk! Lots of action and humor! A must see for sure, especially if you have young boys. My very very creative & talented artist friend Aaron Christensen has the best Super Hero Canvas wall decor in I have ever seen! Unique & colorful with a vintage flair! It's just plain "awesomeness"!
Check out Aaron's ideas for a Superhero Boys Rooms with real class! I love it!!

Oprah's Lifeclass in Toronto - A day we will never forget!

Monday, April 16th 2012 - a day my sister Alison and I will never forget. A day we had on our vision boards for years, a day we knew would arrive, somehow, some way! The day when we would be in Oprah's presence and see her live. What better way, then a Lifeclass! WOW!

Joy was most certainly RISING!

When Oprah walks onto the stage, its like "lightning" has struck us all. Everyone is so overjoyed and excited just to see her. Why? Because for years she gave us all something that no one else was doing on television. She gave us hope, encouragement, truth, enlightenment, courage and love!

Oprah was so beautiful in a bright orange-red dress. She spoke to the crowd of 8500 during the entire taping, even during the commercial breaks. She would say "I see you, I hear YOU, I feel your love". She continued to thank all of us for our time, knowing what we all had done to get to this day, this moment!

Not only were we blessed to see Oprah, but this show of GRATITUDE included Iyanla Vanzant,

Deepak Chopra, Tony Robbins and Bishop T.D Jakes! WOW!

Each of them spoke separately prior to the taping of the show. We filled our journals with inspiring words, changing our lives forever!

At noon, the show went live online and continued until 2:30pm.

During a break Oprah walked through the crowd of nearly 9000 people. As excited as we all were, thinking about just getting near her, this was a moment I had a hard time with. She was surrounded by bodyguards, but clearly not enough. The crowd closed in on her and I felt panic for her safety. I just wanted them to get her back on stage.....so with nothing but grace and calmness Oprah spoke to the crowd just lovingly asking them to let her walk through and do the show. She held out her hands as people just wanted to touch her, hug her or share their stories! I was amazed at how she handled this situation. She clearly knows that people just want to THANK her! Thank her for giving them the tools to find their journey through life!

As she got closer to our aisle, my sister Al said Oprah's name and she turned to give her a smile. I was standing on a chair and captured this moment on my Ipad. Its a little blurry, but its a moment, a fraction of a second, a quick blip in time...but it meant the world to us!

Al and I were sitting roughly in the middle of the room. A big jumbo tron screen was right in front of us. We felt so much GRATITUDE just being there. By just having a ticket. I know everyone wants to be in the front row...but honestly the energy and love fills the entire room. It doesn't matter where you sit.....we were in the moment and soaking it all in!

Yes, 2 tickets, 2 sisters and a day that will remain in our hearts forever! What do I know for sure? I know that we are all connected, we are all here for a reason, that each one of us plays an important role on this planet. We must embrace our problems and challenges without fear and see each obstacle as a learning experience, so we can grow! Change is inevitable, we must "keep moving forward". Our possibilities are endless!

I'm here, I matter, I am worthy!

Girl's Creative Weekend

Looking forward to a fun weekend with my girls, Paula Joerling and Lori Siebert. Can't wait to

do a little shopping, drink a little wine, share stories and create!! Yipeeeeeee!!!

A Special Gift for a Special Boy!!!

Today is Connor's 12th Birthday! Many of you will probably agree with me, that as our kids get older, its harder to pick "just the right gift". Connor didn't really have much on his "gift list" so I decided to create an art piece just for him.

Using some wonderful scrapbook papers from Tim Holtz collection I created a distressed background which was perfect for a tin robot. I had an image in my head that I knew Connor would love.

Using a variety of vintage rusty items and some special pieces my hubby and I had, my robot came together. I added 3 letter "C's" and the number 12 to celebrate today!

Connor was so excited to open this present...his reaction proved that nothing could ever make a stamp on your child's heart like a gift made with LOVE!

Happy Birthday Connor!!! Love Mommy and Daddy!! oxoxo

The DUCKS have arrived!

Bucka Bucka Bucka,,,Miller's holding a DUCK!!

Connor's buddy Lewis!

Connor holding his favorite little duck!

The Ducks have officially arrived and as you can tell, we are having a ton of fun with them! More photos coming soon!

Our ducks are hatching!!

Our friend Andy has a beautiful country property with a pond. A little over a month ago the ducks started laying eggs. Since winter was still upon us, we decided to help. We have a large commercial incubator so we loaded up the duck eggs. Sure enough most were fertile.

Last night the little ducks started to hatch. The first one is on its way out right now.

STAY TUNED!! I'll post more pictures as they arrive!

Going to see OPRAH!!!

Trying to find the words....today I got tickets to Oprah's Lifeclass being filmed in Toronto, Canada in April. I honestly can't tell you what this means to me! I'm going to share this once in a lifetime experience with my beautiful sister Al!

Al and I have followed Oprah during her 25 years and now we are huge OWN followers, in particular Oprah's Masterclass and Lifeclass!

This lifeclass will include Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra, Iyanla Vanzant and Bishop T.D. Jakes!

Feeling nothing but blessings and GRATITUDE!

Connor's donation to Locks of Love

Three years ago my son Connor decided he wanted to grow his hair and donate it to "Locks of Love".

Locks of Love is a program where you can donate your hair towards wigs for children that are in Cancer treatment. It can take 18 ponytails to make 1 child's wig, so donations are desperately needed!

This week Connor decided it was time to make the appointment and yesterday, with Jessica's help Connor had his locks chopped. We found the experience an emotional one! Connor said he'll miss his long hair but he felt so good inside being able to help another child with a wig. He's even expressed doing it again in the future!

Boy, our children really do teach us....as much as we do our best to guide them through their journeys....they sure enrich and guide us as parents! Connor has taught Scott and I so much about life, laughter and most importantly LOVE!!

Atlanta Scrapbook!

Click on Scrapbook to enlarge!

My signing schedule for America's Mart Atlanta 2012

I'd love to sign a special gift piece just for YOU!

Gingerbread Houses

Connor and his buddy Miller decorating Gingerbread Houses!!

Miller sure loves his smarties!! LOL!

I love this tradition!

Our 8 foot Reindeer!

This year we found the Grand Daddy of Reindeer to put in our front garden. We had to hook up the trailer to bring him home. We just love it!! I put fresh greenery around his neck with a giant bow! At night a large spot light shines on him...now if we could get a little snow??

They used to call Canada "the great white north"?

Winter Wonderland Cottage

A 1920's farm equipment used on the gravel road.

My sweet son - I love our time together!!

A view of the cottage from the lake.

The sun peaking through the trees.

Our "nature" snowman

A beautiful weekend at The Atherley cottage! We were outside Saturday & Sunday playing in the snow! A true winter wonderland! This is what Christmas feels like...spending time with family and friends in a beautiful setting with snow glistening everywhere.