Wading Bird Rookery...
Saturday, May 12, 2012 at 12:00PM St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Wading Bird Rookery - St. Augustine, Florida
Native herons, egrets, ibis, spoonbills and wood storks seek the security of our Alligator Swamp to roost and raise their young. With hundreds of alligators swimming beneath the oak branches, the birds know their young are safe from tree-climbing predators.
Friday Fill-Ins...
Friday, May 11, 2012 at 12:00AM 
And...here we go!
1. What a beautiful day it is when I don't feel so anxious!
2. Hummingbirds are sweet, right?
3. It's no surprise that when trust is lost it is hard to get it back.
4. Paying my way through college wasn't easy, but it was worth it.
5. I like to try ethnic foods of many types.
6. SHINE by Salvador is one of my most favorite songs!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to some quiet time, tomorrow my plans include catching up on work and Sunday, I want to go to workship and catch up on my painting class!
Friday Fill-ins in friday fill-ins 
If it is important...
Saturday, May 5, 2012 at 12:00PM 
Credits: Art Bits by Samantha Kira Harding and Roben-Marie Smith. Font: JWPennedScribblyCAPS
Friday Fill-Ins...
Friday, May 4, 2012 at 12:00AM 
And...here we go!
1. After a while, I am ready for football season to start.
2. I am more organized and focused these days at least.
3. Well, anyway, I heard something about a super moon on Cinco de Mayo.
4. The sound of my box fan is calming to me.
5. I always sleep with Burt's Bees Lip Balm under my pillow.
6. Hope keeps me going.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hanging with my sister, tomorrow my plans include taking my sister to the airport and Sunday, I want to rest after worship!
A Review of the Chunky Idea Keeper...
Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at 1:00PM A Review of the Chunky Idea Keeper with guest blogger Sandi Keene.
I recently created a Travel Art Kit using Rae Missigman's new online workshop called "The Chunky Idea Keeper." 
If you are not familiar with Rae, she is a repurposing expert. She makes the most gorgeous bags, jewelry, home decor and art using common everyday items. She has an eye that sees the possibility in things in a way that amazes me. Give Rae a coffee filter, a paper bag, a scrap of muslin or a bauble and she will think of the most amazing uses for it. My two favorite questions with Rae are:
What is that made from?
Can I buy that? Please?!
Rae's repurposed goodies can be found in Stampington Magazines, her Etsy Shop and in funky little boutiques in the south.
This chunky keeper is perfect to pack up my must have art supplies for an upcoming trip to the Smoky Mountains. It was simple to make following Rae's instructions even though my sewing skills are limited to paper. My sewing machine doesn't even know what fabric is! Rae takes you step by step (in video for all of us visual learners!) creating this workhorse so no fears for those of us who are sewing beginners. In a few hours from start to finish, I had the Keeper completed, embellished and filled! 
I gathered up my favorite pens, pencils and markers for doodling. It's my latest passion and I love doodling anytime I have a few minutes so that could be anywhere. Now I am ready with paper and pens.
I love that Rae included a "pinning page." I use it for inspiring things I print off my pinterest board or rip out of a magazine. I am ready to try that new flower or pattern whenever I want because I have it with me at all times.
This may be my favorite part of all. 
Not only does it hold a supply of watercolor paper but the pocket on the back cover is big enough to hold my Koi watercolor field set.
Perfect!
My Chunky Travel Art Kit is ready to grab and go. At just $14.95, this workshop is a steal!
Want to see more?
Find Rae on Facebook and her Blog!
Faces and backgrounds...
Monday, April 30, 2012 at 12:00PM I am taking Mindy Lacefield's workshop called Paint Your Story and finally got brave enough to begin sketching out the faces. They are quirky and fun and I like that they don't have to be perfect!
Have a blessed day!
...and some painted and scribbled backgrounds!
Creating with stencils...
Saturday, April 28, 2012 at 11:21AM Daisy Cocoa's annual Spring Crop runs this weekend. I was asked to be a part of the Designer's Challenge. I was free to create anything I wanted with The Crafter's Workshop Blazonry Stencil which is part of their May kit. Check out the Gallery showcasing all of the Designer's work.
I decided to create a small paper bag gift bag. I used the stencil to trim out paper pieces and then I stitched them onto the bag front, stitched another bag to the back and added some inky fabric to create the handles.
Have a blessed day!
The Crafter's Workshop Blazonry 6 x 6 Stencil by Julie Fe Fan Balzer
Check out the 12 x 12 stencil HERE!
Friday Fill-Ins...
Friday, April 27, 2012 at 12:01AM 
And...here we go!
1. Ah, me...I am craving a bowl of Pirates Coffee icecream.
2. My upcoming mission trip to Romania is what's on my mind most lately.
3. When I talk to my best friend, he often tells me he loves me.
4. Eating more protein is what's working for me lately.
5. I recently saw The Lucky One and was surprised that I actually liked it.
6. The kindess of others fills me with joy!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to doodling, painting and sketching, tomorrow my plans include picking my sister up from the airport and Sunday, I want to go to the beach!
Blog Rewind - A Journaling Assignment...
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 10:16AM Originally posted on December 18, 2006
I found this great book titled How You Do Anything is How You Do Everything and it has provided some great thought-provoking exercises when I have needed some for my journal writing. This page reflects one that I used recently. I have listed the questions below so you can answer these and use it in your journal.
Answer these quickly without "thinking."
1. I'm happiest when...
2. Someday I'm going to...
3. When I'm really down, what I want to do is...
4. I feel anxious when...
5. I'm afraid that...
6. I like people who...
7. All it takes to make me happy is...
8. What I really want to do is...
9. I wish that...
10. I don't like people who...
11. A person really should...
12. I just hate it that...
13. I have everything I need, however...
14. If I could do whatever I wanted, I would...
Have a blessed day!
Art journal love...
Monday, April 23, 2012 at 1:41PM There is something very freeing in making marks and scribbles with pencils and crayons. I just started Mindy Lacefield's Paint Your Story workshop and look forward to tapping into my inner child while I work. While piddling around in the studio this weekend, I decided to work in my journal without much thought to the outcome. Here is another page with some funky flowers. Seems they keep making an appearance in my work. :)
Have a blessed day!
LITTLE art journal page - 9 x 12
art journaling in art journals 
