Gotta making habit to feed

Summer has been incredibly short and such a whirlwind! I have been working occasionally at the local Farmers Market peddling my wares and I love getting to see who is buying my stuff, and how happy it is making them.

As a child, I was THAT kid- asking teachers for more work, and always wanting to explore my talents. I played the flute, and through volunteering during a UIL crisis (I'll save that for another time)- ended up being a percussionist. Now I am devoting most of my time to writing and making stuff.


There is something satisfying to me about seeing something and thinking "Oh, I can make that!" The problem is the more I look at stuff the more I want to make. I guess that's not a bad thing. I mean, it could be worse. These things I see I would rather make because I know that as long as I keep my brain active and keep teaching it things I will be just fine. It does pose a problem in our tiny house, however.

I have supplies for sewing, and needlepoint, thanks to the pillow I made for our wedding; supplies for calligraphy and typing, thanks to my love for beautiful words; a bell set, mallets, drumsticks, electronic keyboard, a flute, guitar, violin, and this awesome victrola for my love of music...as well as craft supplies for scrapbooking, jewlery, and other things I am getting a bit overwhelmed just thinking about it. One of my biggest obstacles has been finsing the right storage for it all, so it is easy and accessible. If anybody has figured the magic solution out, please fill me in.

So, for now...I have everything portable. All my jewelry supplies fit in one bag, and I can take it to my parents studio, or tuck it away in our new cabinet that we got from Ikea. I usually love that place! <- There will be a link to that soon, as I have a funny story to tell. Later, when it is actually funny. Because right now it still is not too funny.

So, I thought this post would be a little of my creative process... Which I really should streamline because I get caught up in all the colors and fun part of creating that I don't make as much as I know I could be creating. But it's hard when you have to get reacquainted with all of your preciouses (I'm channeling Gollum there for a reason) each time you want to make something.


I go to this fun little bead shop in Austin, that really makes me realize just how dangerous this hobby can be. Everything there is so damn beautiful, and the price tag shows it. So I go to the bead soup, after pining over the vintage and antique beauties within the shop, and get a bag or two of surprises. Then the bag sits. Beckoning me to clean and play with all the treasures.

The latest bead soup-looks like a whole lotta nothing.
 But it sure looks pretty in that bowl my Dad made, doesn't it?

Sometimes I will pick out a few beads that I like and make something. Other times, I just pick some beads out to play with, and toss them back in. But the most successful times are those when I actually pick through the beads and they tell me exactly what to make. I am still waiting for that to happen, by the way...

These beads all have a destiny,
but I wasn't finished with my coffee yet, so they are still waiting...

As I was "playing" in my beads, I realized there are so many in the bead soup that I didn't realize were so great! I think the reason for this was that they were all jumbled in together, and we all know that saying about getting lost in a crowd...

Don't they just seem happier?

It was not too big of a chore; organize by color, and a few by type. Now they are all just begging to be made into things to be worn and enjoyed. And I still haven't made anything....yet.

What part of your creative process do you dwell on? For me, it's the organization. I feel as though, once everything has a place, it will all be easier to use.

Thanks for stopping by my little bloggie thingy-and feel free to comment or ask questions! I love feedback!

Living in the rhythm of love...share the bliss!

Summer Projects | Magical Messages

Where, oh where has the time flown!? 

We have had some major changes in our home- and with those changes has come less time for me to be doing what I love. I hope the adjustment time has passed and now we can focus on this strange new routine.

The beginning of summer meant Summer Camp with a new Boy Scout troop for our Shi guy, and then spending time away at the Grandparents. And now we are in the time of keeping ourselves busy on these hot summer afternoons when I need to be working on dinner and he needs to be entertained. 

Enter easy fun activity number one: Magical Messages!!!

This little project is great because all it takes is: A white crayon, lots and lots of paper (because if your kiddo loves painting as much as mine you won't have enough paper) and some paints you can water down for a watercolor-esque medium, as well as a large paint brush or sponge (a kitchen sponge would work for this!) Be creative! Use what you have!

Gather everything you need- and set up a space for getting a little messy. We have a great plexi-glass top on our coffee table so I don't worry about putting down a towel or anything. You'll need some paper towels for excess paint and some water to clean between colors. Nothing too special.

Draw a message, a joke or a picture in the white crayon. We started with some easy jokes and a few pictures. You can also use this for math problems or learning letters, shapes...the possibilities are endless!

You really have to look to see what you've written, and here I've taken a picture with the flash so you can see some of the image before adding the watercolor. But the white crayon is hard to see on this paper. 

Then paint over the images with the watercolor. And let the magic begin! 

Simple, and fun! With the watercolors remember less is more. Our images turned out better if we blotted the sponge.

I had made a few ahead of time, so he could have plenty to do.
Then he had fun making some of his own. This was my favorite he made!

A great activity for all ages! If I had known about this in college I would have totally still loved it! Haha!

Learning that less is more-can't see the message if there is too much paint!

So that was one of our fun activities! I'd love to see how your kids react to the project, as well as hear about what you come up with!

Thanks for reading and as always...leave a comment or question! I love getting feedback!

Living in the rhythm of love...share the bliss!

I am going to pay it forward this year!

An old friend of mine recently posted on her Facebook, a message that was one of those "you are supposed to copy and post, and then something will happen" ones that we are all coming to despise

I know what you might be thinking...oh no. One of those? Ugh. I know. I can't stand those either. If I don't do x, y and z, then something terrible will happen. So on and so forth. Why is she even going there?

This one was different. She is playing a new game. Here is the post:

To start this year off in a loving way I'm participating in this pay-it-forward initiative: the first 5 people who comment on this status with 'I'm in' will receive a surprise from me at some point in this calendar year - anything from a book, a ticket, a visit, something homegrown or made, a postcard, absolutely any surprise!
There will be no warning and it will happen when the mood comes over me and I find something that I believe would suit you and make you happy. These 5 people must make the same offer in their FB profile and distribute their own joy. Simply copy this text onto your profile, (don't share) so we can form a web of connection and kindness.
Let's do more nice and loving things for each other in 2014, without any reason other than to make each other smile and show that we think of each other. Here's to a more friendly and love filled year!!'

My response? I am so in! Not only do I want to do something nice for my friends, but also for people I might not have the pleasure of knowing, but know a little about me through my blog.

So if you are reading, and would like a token of my appreciation at some point this year please respond with your email address, or email me through my profile. 

Then please copy and paste the message to whatever social network you use, or email your friends and get this party started! Also, please tag me or link back to my blog if you participating. I would love to see who all gets involved!

As always, find your rhythm of love, and share your bliss! #stonegroundlove #payitforward!

Depending on the responses I get...I will try to give something to everyone that contacts me before midnight Valentine's Day. #sharethelove

***UPDATE*** A few emails have been trickling in! If you have trouble contacting me through my profile, leave a comment with a way to contact you, and I will get in touch! ***

What has been going on?

That is a loaded question. There has been a lot going on. The biggest thing? My computers out of commission. Unless I have my husbands power cord to use.

A couple years ago, his battery stopped holding charge, so we switched batteries. Yes we have the same laptops. But that is pure coincidence sine we both bought our laptops before we even knew each other! I know. We were cute before we met.

So my laptop has to be plugged in to be on. Kinda annoying, but I am grateful to have it. And just before we left for Christmas with the family, I was working on editing my novel from NANOWRIMO, and I smelled an electrical burn. 

At first I thought it was the stuff on the oven, I feel like I baked for days getting ready to go out of town, but nothing over there was burning. So when I got back to my computer I noticed smoke! It was coming from the power cord! I immediately unplugged it and went to inspect. 

It melted. Like, there was plastic on my couch. Melted. Luckily I had been putting the powerbox on a glass coaster, since it had been getting hot and I was worried about a fire. Guess I had reason to be worried. I think we would be out a couch if I hadn't trusted my instincts.

So that was fun. And now I am stuck with only intermittent opportunities to post from my computer, which means crappy phone pics and minimalist stuff for a while.

The silver lining? I have been working on making jewelry, and having quite a bit of fun with it. I am thinking there will be a giveaway in the near future, so if you are reading now would be a good time to comment and tell me what kind of stuff you would like to see. 

I have been doing some ceramic pieces as well as wire pieces. Stay tuned!

Living in the rhythm of love...share the bliss!