Serendipity Sunday

Ah, Serendipity Sunday!!  My favorite thing to write about!

I love looking for that one moment that is unexpected and just makes me feel so blessed.

Sweet Charcoal sitting at my feet...

I have found that I usually find more than one…funny how that happens, huh?!

Do you ever wonder if what you do makes a difference in the world?

Do you ever wonder why you even try…

Do you just want to throw up your hands and give up because you don’t think anyone is paying attention, and believe me, I get it!

Ah, don't they look sweet.  These two would NEVER get into any trouble!!

We are so busy trying to do our own thing, that we don’t take time to see what others are doing.  We want people to SEE what I DID, and HEAR what I say, and LOOK what I am doing, and HERE, take my idea and make it yours, oh, and look what I am eating at this fancy smansy restaurant…ROFL

We ALL do it, and NOBODY throws a better pity party than me...I even provide refreshments and decorations!!

Chester!!  What are you doing??

I had decided a few years ago, that I was ONLY going to do my own thing. No longer would I buy someone elses pattern or paint the work of someone else...Baby, it is gonna just be ME and ME!

Chester...WHAT did you do to my sign??

Oh, you silly, silly girl...You NEVER for one moment considered WHAT you would be missing...the lessons you would not learn, the JOY you would miss in sharing with others, the FUN in painting something that your friend designed...

I can STILL see you, even with your eyes covered...Don't look surprised...Charlie KNOWS you did it, TOO!

Well, I got over that really fast.  I have probably learned more in the last three years that I have in a long time.  It has felt so good, and NOW, I also have gotten to know the blissful feeling of having someone to paint something that I designed...I have found that it is I that has gotten the most out of this by seeing my vision through the eyes of someone else.  Again, it has taught me that WE have so much to offer each other, and TOGETHER, we are unstoppable!!

The other night, a friend shared one of my blog ideas with me on fb...I cannot begin to really TELL you how happy it made me, and this is not the first time!

This is one of the cutest things I have ever seen!!  Oh my...What an imagination...

To see those little lightening bugs appear on a cookie, moved the corners of my mouth all the way up to my eyeballs!

Little Cookies by Cheryl Jones....oh, so yummy, too!

BUT then, there was more.

I received a message telling me to get to the Postie on Friday...HEY, you don't have to tell me more than two or three or four times!! (cause I forget...)

I DID not hide your sign...quit telling people that...I was Asleep...See me guarding it for YOU?!

I also re-found a gift that another friend had sent me, that got brought into the house, and promptly, he-who-shall-remain-nameless, pushed it under the couch~~out of sight, out of mind!

I love my snowman sign from Crystal...it really does pay to be up early, sometimes.  Charcoal gave his lick and sniff of approval!

On top of all of this, my elves were all acting like BOYS...mischief and mayhem all around...

I KNOW, some think that I am only bragging, and YES, well, I AM...

It finally dawned on me that receiving the many gifts I get from friends, literally, all over the world, has never been because of something I have done...

Um, Chester, I don't think that is the kind of umbrella one puts in their drinks...Another goodie from Cheryl

OH, NO...it is BECAUSE of WHO these people are...They are kind, thoughtful, loving, generous, talented and WELL, I am honored to call them friends...

So, Today, I thank Cheryl of Under the Lemon Tree and Crystal of Backwoods Artists.  You both have brought me more "warm fuzzies" than you will ever know.  Thank you, for well, being YOU!

Cheryl never forgets Charcoal, either...She is a good Auntie...

Please, everybody, go SUPPORT YOUR FRIENDS...buy their products...buy their patterns...give them encouragement...Love them...share them...it is NOT about any of us, individually, but about us collectively...we NEED each other.

AND, by all means, ALWAYS pay it Forward and BLOOM!

I LOVE my new sign made by Cheryl and the awesome jar and candy!!

I am simply blessed to create...and I am blessed to feel the love of so many of you...THANK YOU, Thank you, Thank you~~charlotte♡

Tutorial Thursday

The elves have been at it again…

I just looked and saw Charlie inside the printer and Chester was sitting on top, grinning his silly grin.  Again, the green power light is ON.

WHAT are these guys up to?

Oh, look…Charlie was scanning his face so you could have a free line drawing!!

The original size is 4.5 inches wide and about 5.25 inches tall.  To get this drawing, right click on your computer and SAVE to your computer.  You can then print it and resize it as you wish.

AWWWWWW…so sweet!

Sometimes, it is tough to know what to do with a line drawing without having instructions.

Thinking outside of the box is tough for lots of us.  I shake my head at what I do NOT think about.  Once someone posted a piece of wood turned another way than I envisioned.  It didn’t dawn on me to turn the piece of wood that way…WHY would I not see that? 

I keep telling you~~the whiter my hair gets the more Lucy moments I have!

SO now, when I pick up a surface, I turn it different ways to see if it will inspire me.

I cut my own wood, and love to design easy cut outs…it never dawned on me that some people don’t have someone to cut wood for them, so I have started using surfaces that can easily be bought.

IF you cannot cut wood, then paint the design onto a surface~~a plate, teapots, coffee pots, old trays, recycled wood.

Also, you can paint simple designs onto cardstock.  Seal it with DecouPage (Mod Podge) or DecoArt All Purpose Sealer and paint it.

Mixed Media Paper is even better to paint on than cardstock, or watercolor paper~~you can usually purchase these at Walmart, but most definitely at craft/art stores.  Give them more body by painting them with Gesso, paint as you normally would, and seal with several coats of varnish.  Just a note~~it is easier to cut them out AFTER you paint them.

If you don’t paint, there are so many markers, colored pencils and crayons out there…

You can even stich the designs~~a simple running stitch would be a great way to teach the young ones how to sew.

I believe in getting children involved in the arts and it doesn’t have to be painting and sketching~~acting, music, writing~~just make sure they have good teachers so they can develop good habits.

This would make an adorable tag for your Christmas Gifts, and then can be used to hang on the tree~~two purposes! 

SO, I hope this will help to get those creative juices flowing…If you make one, please share it with me.  I would love to see it!

We will be watching YOU…

Create with a Happy heart~~I am simply blessed to create~charlotte♡

 Click here for the link to purchase the Painted Clipboard from yesterday...This is for the finished product

Click here for the link to purchase the PAINTING PATTERN from yesterday 

Whacky Wednesday

Two of my special friends appeared this week...it has been a long time since they stopped by to say HEY to all of you.  

Some of you have NO IDEA who they are, so let me introduce you to them...

The larger guy is named Prince Charlie, the fairest in all the land...

The little guy is Chester the Jester Elf...

They are funny...

I guess I need to also give a little bit of history on them.

One of my favorite FB people, Lynn, had an elf that another FB friend, Miss Brenda, had made.  Lynn has put some of the cutest posts with her elf and it is always fun to see him make an appearance.  

Lynn's first elf perished in a fire at her house, but soon, she got another one....Let me be clear, you can NEVER replace someone that you loved, but sometimes, we just have to go on, and go on, she has...

Before too long, most all of my friends had gotten an elf.  OF COURSE, I was not going to miss out, either.  We have had lots of fun sharing our elf capades,  and it is time to start sharing again.

My two little mischief-makers probably took a vacation when the big dinosaur appeared (Charcoal)...

BUT, the other night, I went to the computer to type a pattern, and WHO was sitting above it, starring a hole through me...

Then, the next night, Chester was on my computer...

To the left, Prince Charlie, was sitting on top of the printer with the green light beaming...

WELL, I got them away from the computer, but when I opened the lap top, a line drawing appeared!!

I did ONLY what I knew what to do, I decided to paint it!...

NOW, to find a surface... 

 

 I have to admit, when I see these clipboards, I have mixed feelings.  Maybe that is why I haven’t painted them very much.  I know, it is silly, but that is what feelings do~~confuse you!   

I was in the Dollar Tree, buying several of these.  It was the winter, around Christmas.  The line was long, but that was ok, because it usually goes quickly.  Behind me was a man and his son, or grandson~~it is hard to tell with a man~~ROFL…Anyway, he was loud, and yes, I am loud, so I am not being mean.  

 Somehow, this loud man said to me something about me having so many of the clipboards.  I think I had about 8 or 10. I  told him I was an ARTIST and was going to paint them.

Let me tell you, I have been practicing being PROUD when I say I am an artist, because EVERYBODY has an opinion about WHO is an Artist and what kind of ART is called ART and not a craft…sigh…Gosh, we all want the world to see EVERYTHING though our eyes, don’t we…

Ok, sorry, I got distracted.  In my telling the man that I was an Artist, he said, “You sure aren’t a STARVING ARTIST.”  

 My entire soul wanted to cry.  The man was proud of his humor in front of the young man and the group of people and smiled and laughed, while I simply wanted to cry.   

Let’s be clear~~I KNOW I am FAT…I have a mirror and I have done this to my body and no one else is to blame for what I have done to me, but I feel like my life STILL has worth, just as much as anyone else’s life.   

I WISH I could have, at that moment, come up with one of my witty sayings, but I honestly wanted to crawl under something BIG to cover my BIG body.  I said, not out of love, “I KNOW I am fat, but at least I don’t say mean things to people out loud in public in front of a young man and show him how NOT to act…at least I TRY to be a good example.”  

The rest of the night is a blur…I went home feeling really crappy….

SO, I have decided to start painting HAPPY things on these clipboards, and This "found line drawing" is being called: 
                                 I LOVE ME…

IF I don’t learn to love ME, then why should anyone else?  I hope it will make YOU smile…it did me!  Hey, just in case somebody hasn’t told YOU, You are pretty AWESOME!  AND YOU ARE LOVED.

Being Kind sure is hard sometimes, BUT it is so important.  Always remember how you felt when someone was unkind to you, and try your best to NOT spread that feeling to anyone else.  We never know the pain that someone hides behind their smiles.

 Of Course, this was painted with my favorite paints~~

DecoArt Americana Acrylics

I KNOW, you will all be knocking yourselves over trying to get to etsy to buy this pattern...ROFL...I am being silly, but IF you are interested, this is the link to the pattern in my etsy shop.

OR if you would like to purchase the original clipboard, click here to go to my etsy shop where you can purchase this!

OR, if you would like to see what patterns and finished products I have available, click here to go to my etsy shop.

 

Have a wonderful day, and take every chance you get to SMILE and LAUGH...spread sunshine and find all those blessings that are around, just for you~~I am simply blessed to create~~charlotte ♡

Change...ugh!...Sunday, February 2, 2014

CHANGE…ugh…How can 5 different letters from the alphabet SCARE so many of us so much!  oh, great, I just had to change that to 6 different letters...heavy sigh...

Change happens every day, but if people don’t point it out, we don’t seem to notice it UNTIL…

We look in the mirror, or try to put on clothes that USED to fit, or…(you fill in the blank)...sigh…

I’m in two groups of sellers on etsy.  One of the leaders is doing her best to LEAD us…BWAH…

No, seriously she has been sharing things in our group of ways for us to improve our pages to help make us more visible and to help our pages to grow…She has shared some VERY helpful ideas and oddly enough, they are some of the same things that I have shared with my friends when they start their own page.

I HOPE that all of you are sitting down right now for this NEXT statement…(I’m whistling the song: Whistle, While you Work as I am waiting for everyone to get situated)…OK, ready…I have DISCOVERED that I am NOT always RIGHT…again…take some time among yourselves to compose yourself after THAT shocking statement!  (again, whistling the same song…)

What I LOVE about people is that we ALL are different.  Thank goodness for that…NOW, again, I hope you are STILL sitting down, you might want to LIE down for this next thought….CAN you IMAGINE more than ONE of me…(ok…I will whistle as you recover from the HORROR of THAT thought…)

I LOVE what we bring to this game called LIFE…we have different gifts, like different things, have different skill levels, KNOW different information, eat different foods, do things in different ways…ON and ON, but I’m sure you get it…WE ARE DIFFERENT!  JUST because something works for ONE person, is NOT a guarantee that it will work for someone else!  WHY?  BECAUSE we are DIFFERENT…

The ONE thing of which I am certain is:  WE NEED EACH OTHER!

I am AMAZED at the creativity of people.  JUST think of the WONDERFUL inventions that have been made that make our lives easier and that BRINGS us together…ALL because ONE person had a thought and acted on it… AND often, ANOTHER PERSON (or people) helped to make it better…you know, NEW and IMPROVED…which, brings to mind the question:  AT WHAT POINT does something STOP being NEW AND IMPROVED?!  ;)

Now, again, another shocking statement is about to leave my fingers:  Sometimes, we all need to CHANGE…We need to let go of “that’s the way we ALWAYS did it” because SOME of the things we are doing in life are JUST NOT WORKING for us.  Sometimes we need to let go of the anger…the guilt…the pride…the selfishness…the UGLY THINGS that are keeping us tethered to our “past” and we need to SOAR on new wings that are no longer broken to SEE all the GREAT Possibilities that LIFE holds for us when we learn to FORGIVE...or FORGET…

I KNOW it sure is easier for ME to type than for me to DO…but I am Trying (STOP IT…STOP saying that you KNOW I am “trying”…sigh)!  Each day I TRY to do better…Some days I win, some days I’m thankful to be able to start again!

Oddly enough, I can’t wait to see the changes Miss Brenda suggests for us, because I’m having FUN trying to improve my page…No, I probably won’t make ALL the suggested changes, BUT I KNOW that some will be JUST what I need to do and I look forward to learning…

TODAY I am THANKFUL for HOPE…This has been the word that I continue to use as my focus…I HOPE things get better for ALL of us…I BELIEVE in HOPE because without it, I have NO CLUE how to make it through some days without it…SOMETIMES that is WHAT keeps me going…

I HOPE that you EACH have a WONDERFUL day…Reflect on some of the areas of YOUR life that you think MIGHT need some change, BUT PLEASE embrace the GOOD things in your life…This challenge does NOT give YOU permission to find every little flaw that you have and if you do, WELL, that is the FIRST change I encourage you to MAKE…I HOPE you KNOW that YOU are a CHILD of GOD and that YOU have WONDERFUL things to offer as we journey down this path together…THANKS for being YOU (for who ELSE would you be!) and for joining me in my little corner of the world…Blessings to YOU…~charlotte♥

Charlie and I read that Jesus said "IF you LOVE HIM, then FEED My Sheep"...my sweet little elf didn't QUITE get it right, but he sure is trying!  I hope something that I share will feed YOUR soul...I'm so Proud of Charlie for Loving Jesus and TRYING to "feed" his sheep...=)