WOYWW

So it's Wednesday. And that means it is what's on your workspace Wednesday time. Thank you Julia, for hosting it (http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/).  This week I have a new set of watercolor paints and a blank page on my workspace. What could be more inspiring than that? During my visit to Little Rock Arkansas, I visited Art Outfitters. Beth talked me into grabbing some more watercolor paints. She recommended a brand I haven't before (Daniel Smith Extra Fine), so I'm really excited to give them a shot.  

 

 

Something new to my craft room is this China cabinet. I inherited this China cabinet from my grandmother.  It features a lot of my teacup collection. It also features some hand-painted china painted by my great-grandmother.  Both the China cabinet and the hand-painted pieces are treasures to me :)

 

Of course no blog post would be complete without one of my pets, and here's Ruby. She's right in front of a statue that my brother got me for Christmas a couple years ago.

 

And just because you were probably curious, here's what's inside the wardrobe.   A couple of months ago, my mom visited and helped me organize everything in here. The neat little labels help me find art supplies, and make it easier to work :). 

Well thanks for dropping by.  For Valentine's Day Chase purchased a gift certificate for a massage. After I get that massage today maybe I'll come back and do some painting.  :)

Peace and love y'all!

At 4 pm today: 

WOYWW - Morning of art

Here's my workspace today.   I'm hoping to do some watercolor this morning....or maybe make some Moos (once I figure out what they are and what  I want to do).  Also sort on my workspace (the red couch) is a green book I'm working on.   When I've been playing with the Gelli plate, I "clean" the plate and my brayer in/on the book. 

 One of my favorite gelli prints is on the portable desk.   I don't really own a lot of stencils and stamps, but now that I've found a fun reason to own them... maybe i should go shopping.   What are your favorite sources for stamps and stencils? 

 Also on there is the wii remote (for Netflix), 2 prang sets, some source photos for painting, my cup of coffee, and some brushes.  A little list of swaps I want to make cards for is sitting off to the side.  LOL, i'll probably just blog hop all morning and not paint anything.  My poor little dog is on the floor.  She refused to go outside this morning because it was raining.   She keeps running over to the window and peering out.  She's a smart little thing...she'll probably let me know when she deems its safe to go out. 


Thank you, Julia, for hosting this fun little snoop!

Taking Inventory: Watercolors

 

What's on your Workspace (ie...spread all over your house) Wednesday

So this Wednesday, I'll admit....I've made a right mess of the entire house.  There are cards on the kitchen table with my paper cutter, scraps on the kitchen floor, cards on my husband's desk, cards  on the coffee table....and on my desk is well...more cards and my water colors. Here are close ups of the art that is scattered about the cards I've been making.  I'm hoping to sell some of the cards at craft fairs and at work and what not. 

Play along with WOYWW over at Julia's blog http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/






Light house watercolors...

 

This is a portrait of John Wayne I did for my boss for her birthday.  I hope she likes him. I had a hard time getting the weathered look of his skin, and my hubby says I made his nose too straight.  Oh well!

Here are all the greeting cards I've made. 


Peace and love!  Thanks for popping by!

Sunday Sketches

This morning, my husband and I slept in...accidentally slept right through church.  So we stayed home and listened to the recording of the sermon while I sketched and painted.

I'm so ready for spring...the warm sunshine, the beautiful flowers, planting my veggie garden.  I've got my seeds all picked out!  I just have to wait to plant them... Since I can't plant my garden yet, I painted flowers that remind me of spring...daffodils and tulips. 
 

These are the latest 2 loaves of bread I made.  This is from the batch I intially forgot to add salt to...so after the first flavorless loaf was baked, I threw in a bit of salt and kneaded the dough.  These turned out much better than the previous loaf, but the crumb turned out just a bit to moist for my taste :)  Oh well!  Lessons are learned everyday!

Here's my desk this morning... I just love the new Ott light I got for Christmas.  How did I work without it?  Well I'm off to refill that coffee cup.  It's a rainy, lazy Sunday today.

Peace and Love, y'all.

Play along with Sunday Sketches here:  http://www.bluechairdiaryillustrations.com/2013/01/sunday-sketches_26.html

Last Art of 2012 - Fostering Home Interview #1

 

 

Here are my last watercolor paintings of 2012.  They were for a 4x4" swap with the theme of winter landscapes.  This is with my Sakura Koi travel watercolors on that nifty handmade paper...the paper you have to practically beat the paint into.



So...if you've been reading my blog or following me on Facebook, you might be wondering how the first in-home interview went.  Well, I'd say it went well. We met with our Licensing and Placement specialist in our home, and she asked us some pretty basic questions. Why do we want to foster children?  Are we physically able to have our own children?  What sort of childhood did we have?  What sort of discipline will we use? Do you understand that the goal of fostering is reunification after the parents get (or don't get) their act together?

We discussed what foster parenting means legally, what forms of discipline are acceptable, what rights we'll have as children's foster parents...She made sure we understand that the goal of foster parenting is reunification...and you may not always want that, but you have to stick with the care-plan.

We were given a lot more paper work to do...

• application to have fingerprints checked
• references from our work
•  physical exam documentation of vaccination history
• worker registration
• Notification of safe sleep practices
• financial worksheet
• Home Escape plan
• discipline agreement
• 15 pages of very personal questions in the "Home Study Questionnaire" 

We were given some tips on making our house more foster-kid friendly

• knives and chemicals should be placed in a high cabinet with a lock
• critter cages should be given locks 
• we should consider adding a keyed lock to the pantry and maybe our bedroom
• consider putting twin beds in the guest rooms :) 
• purchase a lockable medicine cabinet 
• when we have a placement, remove all sentimental items or other items you would miss if broken from the bedrooms.  You know... in case time out didn't go well.

 What comes next?  Well over the next few weeks, we'll finish up the paperwork.  At the end of January we'll start taking the required class - 3 hours a week for 9 weeks.  During that time there will be 3 more home visits and interviews.  This is a ton of paper work and hassle, but we're determined to proceed.  God has placed this in our hearts.  Please pray for us as we prepare to accept children into our home.

 

“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”  Mark 9:37

Peace and Love, y'all!