Lee's Da Man!

He did it! Our very own local guy, Lee DeWyze is the newest American Idol! How exciting to watch this talented guy blossom week after week and then win it all in the end. And a BIG shout-out goes to Crystal Bowersox as well - she absolutely rocks and is going to be a huge success too with her distinctive vocal styling. I think this has been the best season of all time on AI. Now back to our regularly scheduled art blog. . . .

I just wanted to send HUGS out to all of you who visited our Joli Paquet blog this season. We had so much fun sharing all our kits and tutorials with you and are ever so grateful for all of your support. We're taking a break for the summer but be sure to check back with us in the fall for an all new season of exciting creative projects.

A Couple of Things. . . .

This limited edition collection of Spring Flower Tags is available on Rebecca Sower's Haiti By Hand Etsy shop. There are 15 of these wonderful tags in the set, each one created by a different artist, including me!

You still have a few hours to enter my giveaway over at Joli Paquet for the goodies pictured above. I'll be drawing the winning name at 5:00 pm CST tomorrow (Tuesday, 5/25) so click here and leave a comment for a chance to win.

UPDATE: GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!

Congratulations to Carol Mae!

Spring Giveaway!

I'm hosting a little giveaway over on Joli Paquet today. You can click here to enter.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments regarding my Art Saves story on Crescendoh. My Guest Curator piece runs all week and the photo links for each artist shown here change each day, so be sure to check back throughout the week for more inspiration.

Art Saves!

Today (and all week) I am sharing my Art Saves story here as a Guest Curator for Jenny Doh's Crescendoh website. How exciting is that? The story I wrote is rather ironic since shortly after submitting it, I suddenly was thrust into a similar event that has become another huge test of my faith and all the beliefs I wrote about for Art Saves.

I am trying my best to apply what I learned 34 years ago to this new situation.

I've been journaling like crazy, completing several pages each day.

Some are still in the "work in progress" stage like the one pictured below.

And some are complete pages on mundane topics such as Sleep,

or doodling,

or a favorite flower.

But most of all it helps to keep busy and submerge yourself in something that you love. Something that will help to clear your mind and allow life's lessons and gifts to emerge, helping you to make some sense of all that is happening around you. In my case that "something" is art.

And for me, Art Saves!

Flowers, Flowers, Everywhere!

We've received such beautiful flowers at the house since my DH came home from the hospital. The arrangement shown above is one example - a huge basket filled with exotic flowers in a gorgeous rich color palette. It's so wonderful to be surrounded by all the beauty of nature when you are recuperating. Thanks to all for your wonderful gifts of love and caring.

A Teeny Tiny Brush With Fame

I am a huge American Idol fan this season. And Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox were my two favorites from the very beginning. Lee is from a suburban town just up the street from where I live, which was probably my initial reason rooting for him at the start.

Chicago Tribune Photo by Phil Velasquez

As some of you know my DH was in the hospital last month and I noticed that all the nurses were wearing buttons which said, "I voted for Lee DeWyze." Of course that was an immediate conversation starter and I found out that Lee's mom Kathy works at the hospital and the buttons were being sold to raise money for her to fly out to California every week for his performances on the show. I also learned that Crystal is a distant relative of Dr. Keith Bowersox, who happens to be on staff at the same hospital. Small world, huh?

The morning of my husband's surgery, one of the nurses came in to do an EEG scan (sort of like an EKG for your brain) in which my husband was told to lie completely still and not talk or make any facial movements. As he was lying there having the test done, the nurse and I started talking about American Idol and we went on and on about it. I couldn't believe that my husband could keep a straight face during our silly conversation. But eventually he did succumb and cracked a little smile, which the nurse saw and had to make a notation on the scan so the doctors would know it was his smile, and not his brain, making the test go hay-wire.

If you don't watch American Idol and don't know who Lee and Crystal are, click on the video below to hear a duet the two of them sang on Tuesday night.

Next Tuesday will be the the show where they film the contestants going back to visit their home town. All the nurses at the hospital are hoping AI will do a segment at the hospital.

The Girls

Here's a collage I made a little while ago which was inspired by my mother and her two sisters. I remember my grandpa always saying he was so fortunate to have three beautiful girls. Most men want to have a son to carry on the family name. Come to think of it, years ago when we were expecting our only child, my husband told me he was secretly hoping we would have a girl. And lucky for us that's exactly what we had! {Vintage image from Lisa's Altered Art and some of the background papers are from Cathe Holden.}

Happy Mother's Day

Today is the day we celebrate our mothers, grandmothers, aunties, and other maternal figures who have nurtured and cared for us over the years. This year I miss my mother more than ever. I miss her wisdom to know what to do in difficult situations, her comforting hugs which made my tears disappear when I was sad or hurt, her reassuring words that would make me feel safe at all times, her encouragement which made me feel I could conquer the world and most of all, her unconditional love - no matter what. I've been looking through old photo albums trying to channel these attributes of hers ~ now when I need them the most. But I know she is with me all the time, like an angel watching over me. Happy Mother's Day to you Mama!

Dress Tag

~ Photo courtesy of Cindy Gilstrap ~

Isn't this the cutest thing? My friend Cindy made this darling tag and she shows us how she did it right here.

Look for the Gifts