January
a time to
nest and rest,
recharge and reinvent,
watch and listen,
contemplate and create.
January
a time to become.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Watercolor done on 300 lb cold press paper following a tutorial posted on ArtistNetwork (I truly have a long way to go with trees, but cherishing the time spent on the journey!)
Happy New Year friends, and thank you for being here with me this past year at lifeinbetween.me!
I had fun with one of my Christmas gifts from hubby – my new art easel – one day this week on my holiday break and spent a little time watercolor painting.
I thought it was a good time to design a holiday thank you note,
so I goofed around with a few loose pine tree designs that I can copy and create cards from.
Wishing you a happy new year filled with many moments to cherish! Take the time to notice them,
to appreciate them,
to truly cherish them –
for it is these moments
that create a lifetime.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
I love making and giving handmade DIY Christmas and holiday gifts, so when I saw a similar snowman project created from logs, I fell in love with the idea and convinced hubby we should make these.
He was a real trooper and really did the hard work. He gathered, cut, and sanded the logs, drilled holes and assembled them with dowel rods and glue.
I broke out the sewing machine and created little fleece hats and scarves.
And Voila!
Stinking cute primitive wooden log snowmen!
We were thrilled with how they turned out, made about 15 of them, and had so much fun giving them away.
Handmade with love from both of us and sharing a little piece of our woods.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches!
In beauty green will always grow
Through summer sun and winter snow.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches!
Are you singing with me?
Only a week until Christmas Day, but it’s time to begin celebrating already.
I think it’s more fun to spread the fun out over the next two weeks, so partying and gathering with friends and family is what we will be doing!
This is another of my little minimalist watercolor Christmas cards I was able to print and duplicate.
Just a simple little tree,
but filled with lots of joy and love and happy wishes.
Have a great Friday!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
In the meadow we can build a snowman…
and pretend that he’s a circus clown.
Or if there is no snow in the meadow,
we can paint on paper
as a playful caper
and be just as happy all around.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
(Are you singing with me?)
Another shooting…
this time at Inland Regional Center, a conference center in a community facility in San Bernandino, California that serves people with developmental disabilities.
Senseless.
Innocent lives lost to craziness and confusion and ugliness.
As I watched the non-stop coverage on the news – trying to understand – not allowing myself to become “desensitized” to the madness, I felt compelled to paint.
I wanted to just express my abstract thoughts and feelings in this concrete world.
Before I ever tried to paint, to watercolor, to create art,
I would look at abstract art and laugh, or dismiss, or discredit.
I thought to myself, and even said out loud, that anyone could “do THAT!”
It’s just paint splattered on paper.
But I’m drawn to abstract art now – like never before.
And I dare you to try it!
It is not as easy as it looks to the inexperienced critic.
It is actually much easier to paint and draw literally and concrete and exact.
But to paint abstract is to let the art speak your feelings, to let the paint “do it’s thing.”
So I brushed my paper with Prussian Blue and Permanent Rose and then a delicate mix of the two of them.
Then I splashed water on it all, expressing my confusion, my angst, my inability to understand our world’s inability for peace, for tolerance, for understanding, for love.
These two colors create such a beautiful tone when mixed together – like all of us.
But we can’t, won’t, don’t let it happen.
We fight it, we try to control it, we try to keep it separate, we try to make the rules, define the lines, keep it simple.
But life is not meant to be separated, defined by lines or be simple.
Life is about freedom… about being connected…
Life is complex.
But it is also loose and expressive and beautiful.
And so I created this abstract watercolor painting
that I have to admit I love,
and I am nervous to share for fear you will not – like – understand – feel – care – accept.
But I am being brave, and I am sharing.
It is my little expression of abstract thoughts in a concrete world.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
PS Thanks to Deb Riley, an amazing artist I adore and follow and would love to emulate. You have encouraged, enthused, and inspired me!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
PS Can you guess what I am taking to our Thanksgiving festivities?
Yep – You got it!
Wine and Pie!
“Soon will be Thanksgiving Day – Gobble Gobble Gobble!
Children run and laugh and play, but I think that I will stay,
and hide until the day is done – Gobble Gobble Gobble!”
This is a silly Turkey Song my kids and I sang when they were little (and I have to admit I still get it stuck in my head this time of year!) I sang it with my family as a little girl, so it is hard to think of Thanksgiving week without singing it!
This week is Sketch Challenge #272 at The Paper Players , and I had turkey on the brain for my Design Team inspiration card.
My turkey looks a bit concerned – doesn’t he?! I’m guessing turkeys are not so fond of Thanksgiving!
I had fun making this whimsical card and giving it to my sweet daughter-in-law with a few of those decadent Heavenly Hot Cocoa Brownies I made last week as a little surprise. She works really close to our house, and I practically pass her office to get to mine, so it is fun to drop by with a little surprise every once in a while. (And sweetheart that she is, sometimes I find little surprises in my mailbox from her too!) 🙂
For my stamping and papercrafting friends, below are the supplies and instructions. You can certainly improvise with colors and shapes and scissors and stamps, but I thought I would share what I used. There are lots of cute ideas on Pinterest to inspire you and which inspired me. I just made due with things I had on hand. Hope you will join us for this week’s Paper Players Sketch Challenge. So many fun things you can do with it and lots of other great inspiration from our creative design team.
Supplies & Instructions
Happy Thanksgiving Week! I sure am thankful for all of you!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Some of you may recall that Charlie mentioned yesterday how we saw Forsythia blooming right now in our little corner of the world….
in Mars, PA – where we are getting ready to transition from Fall to Winter in the next few weeks.
How could this be?
Forsythia blooms in the Spring!
It is one of the first signs of Spring.
Maybe we are skipping Winter this year…..
Wouldn’t that be a hoot!
Seems Mother Nature is very confused.
I do have to admit, it was quite exhilarating to see this unique and out-of-place pop of yellow Springyness amidst the stark brown Autumn branches.
So exhilarating that I felt compelled to do a little watercolor of them.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
So yesterday I spoke about learning
to wait for paint to dry.
While I was waiting (for the paint to dry)
on my “real” painting that I showed yesterday,
I quickly sketched this little bird
just dying to use more of my
“Professional Artist” Winsor & Newton
Prussian Bluuuuueeeee.
A simple, small, quick, pass-the-time, wait for paint to dry birdie
that I kinda fell in love with…
My Winsor & Newton Prussian Bluebird of Happiness!
Happy Friday!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
the creative life in between 