The Abandoned Art Project has been up and running for two full weeks at Graham's 318, and I am so excited to see that the display board is starting to change! (I have invited the community to take the tags and leave them for someone to find, and after they do that, they can come back and pin up a piece of paper with a note where they left it.  Hopefully the board will be full of notes, not tags, at the end of the month!)

If you follow me on Instagram (it's a new thing for me! my tag is 27boxwoodlane), you know that I was doing some old school paper crafting to make some signs for my upcoming classes.  

The classes are less of class and more of an open house style learning experience.  And they are free.  FREE!!! Come on over to 318 anytime during one of the "classes", and hang out with me for a bit!  I will be there, and I would love it if you would stop by!

Have a great day!  Enjoy the Son!

For the last few months, I have been working on a project that I have come to call the Abandoned Art Project.  The idea is simple, and while the name is my own making, the concept is not original. For centuries, artists have been leaving behind works of art to be discovered, simply to make someone smile.  

I like to make a tiny piece of art on a shipping tag.  I put a word or phrase on each tag.  The words are either something to be claimed in your life like “blessed” or “forgiven” or “loved”, or a simple command like “dream” or “trust” or “hope”.  As I make each tag, I pray that whoever finds the tag will connect with it’s message.  And the last thing I do with each tag is write a little inscription on the back.  It reads, “you are so very loved”.  Because you are.  Truly, so very, very loved.

Once the tag is complete, I “abandon” it for someone to find.  Sometimes I leave the tag on a grocery store shelf or in a cart.  Sometimes I leave it in the folder with my check at a restaurant.  Sometimes I leave it on a car windshield.  Wherever they are left, I am sure that the tags bring a smile to the finder.

For the month of April, I will be the Artist of the Month at Graham’s 318, and my current collection of Abandoned Art tags will be on display and available for you to get in on the project. Graham’s will also be hosting a number of drop-in art classes, where I will be teaching anyone who attends exactly how they can make these tags.  Stay tuned for more info. 

Have a lovely week, and enjoy the Son!

Seriously.  

You.GUYS!!!!!!!!!

So much has happened in the almost TWO YEARS since my last blog post!  I don't even know where I would begin, so I'm just not going to try today.  What I AM going to share, is that change has taken place in my heart and in my life, and change is coming to this blog.  

I am not really sure how (or even why?! ;) so many of you are still out there, checking out this little, creative space, but I am so very thankful for those of you that have hung on.  I have much to share.

Change is coming, and I'll share more as I am able.  For now, I hope you enjoy this sweet, little, teaser of a pic from my own living room/dining room makeover last summer.  

And I hope you enjoy the Son.

Here is a list of my supplies. I had most of them on hand, but I had previously purchased all of them at Hobby Lobby for 50% off, so the price listed is the sale price.  If you need to purchase all of the items, it will cost between $10-$20.

wire wreath form - $1.50

two rolls of burlap - $5.99

one bunch of fake flowers (totally optional!) $2.50

Honestly, my tutorial is less of a "tutorial" and more of a "this is how I do it" kinda post.  Good luck.

I start by folding one end of the burlap roll and weaving it into the wreath form.

I did not use hot glue or stitch the burlap or knot it.  I just twisted it through the wire and called it good.  Then I just started pulling and twisting small sections through the wire, and I "poofed" them up as I went along. Very technical.  Keep up if you can.  

I prefer to feed the burlap through the bottom of the wreath, but you can do whatever works best.  My method really ISN'T a method.  It's just manipulating the burlap as I go along.  It took about 10 minutes to fill half the wreath.

I started the second roll right where I left off, using the same weaving technique from the beginning. Obviously, I used a touch more burlap for the second half of the wreath.  

Oops!  Fortunately, I stock up on the burlap rolls whenever they are on sale, so I just grabbed a bit more from my stash!

When I made one of these for my Christmas mantle, I used a pick with some pearl "berries" to dress up the wreath a bit. I liked it so much, I kept it up for January! I think the wreath looks great just plain.  I also have seen it look really sweet with a bow or some flowers.  Since it is spring (although it is FREEZING today and there is SNOW in the forecast!), I wanted to put just a "sprig" of flowers on the wreath.  I love this time of year when everything is waking up and blooming!

I cut apart the bunch of flowers I had, and I just used a small part of them for this wreath.

 Then I tied a piece of twine to the wreath form and hung it on the front of the house.

The total time for this project, including gathering the supplies and clean up, was under 30 minutes.  My kinda project! ;)

I hope that wherever you are today you take a moment to enjoy the Son! 

Our tulips have finally bloomed!

The usually bloom around April 23 (is it weird that I know that?), but due to the cold temps this year, they finally bloomed yesterday. And we are so happy!

Morgan and I planted more bulbs last October, and she truly prayed for them almost every night this winter--especially on the bitterly cold nights.  "Dear God, please keep our tulips safe and help them to grow." SO SWEET!

Over the weekend, my husband ran the Great Western Half Marathon, and I am SO PROUD of him!  Quinn ran the last mile with him, and Mo ran the last quarter mile.  They loved cheering their daddy on, and I loved seeing my whole family running together!

I have been working away in the master bedroom.  It rained every.single.day. last week, so I could focus on the bedroom and just ignore the yard for the time being.  I have removed all of the wall paper, and as soon as I post this, I will continue to sand and clean the walls.  I was hopeful to have paint on the walls by Friday, but that is looking less likely, considering that it is already Wednesday and I am still cleaning the walls! ;) Also, I discovered an unfortunate fact: the entire south wall is bowed.

That is not an optical illusion.

Ugh.  It appears that the drywall was nailed to the studs (40 some years ago), and the nails have come loose. I can push the entire wall into the studs with no resistance, so I am hopeful that I can just locate the studs and screw the drywall in.  I am very aware that the wall could buckle or crack, and the entire wall might need to be replaced.  However, I will not worry about that right now, because I won't know until I try! I'll keep you updated on my progress!

Now, onto the jeans.  I REALLY like the look of boyfriend jeans.  They seem relaxed, yet slightly fitted, and they look very comfortable.  For this mom on the go, comfort is a huge factor in my clothing selection process. Another factor is price.  I really do not mind paying $100+ for a pair of jeans that I know I will get a lot of use out of.  If I were to buy a pair of jeans today, though, I would NOT get a lot of use out of them.  Why? Because I am still carrying extra pounds from knee injury, PLUS the pounds I gained over the very, very, VERY long winter.  And I know I am not alone in that! ;) While the boyfriend jeans LOOK very comfortable, I can never get a pair to fit as comfortably as they look.  Boyfriend jeans seem to be cut straighter through the hips, lower around the waist, and ultimately lower on my butt.  This doesn't work well for me because my hips are curvy, my backside is round, and the fun roll across my tummy shows that I have been having a bit too much fun this winter.  

So, the first thing I decided was that I was not going to pay $100+ for a pair of boyfriend jeans that aren't even comfortable.  Actually, that was the second thing I decided.  The first/second/second-first/who-cares-what-order thing I decided was that I need to take better care of this body.  I recently joined Curves and started a c25k (couch to 5k).  In the first two weeks, I dropped 5lbs and gained a healthier perspective--along with a lot more energy! No magic diets or tricks, just a mindset that I am going to be strong and healthy, and I am going to work hard at it.

What about the jeans? The jeans? Oh yes, the jeans! I went to GoodWill and purchased a pair of jeans that were a bit big (I'd like to say they were several sizes too large, but that would be a blatant lie!), and they were also a bit short.  Take a look.

Not a good look.  That was okay though.  I was looking for three things in a pair of jeans:

1) That they had a higher rise.  

2) That they were baggy not skin tight.

3)  That they had plain pockets in the back.

This particular pair of jeans met all three criteria, and they cost me a whopping $2.50! Crazy!

I took them home and cut a couple of inches off the bottom.

Then I did something I have wanted to do since the 6th grade.  Wait for it...I tight rolled my jeans! Sounds crazy? But look how cute they are! And they are sooooooo comfortable!

Here is a close up of the tight roll.  

Now, I know they are not as stylish as "true" boyfriend jeans, but I really like them.  Mainly because they are ridiculously comfortable.  I mean, they are just a pair of baggy jeans, so what could be uncomfortable about that? Plus, I saved more than $100.  MORE THAN $100!!! Sorry.  I didn't mean to yell.  I just get excited about a good deal!

Well, it is time for me to go clean the walls.  I hope you have a great afternoon!

Enjoy the Son!