Artists in the making...

One day, I was working in my studio...then I heard lil' pitter, patter of feets and pushing +shoving a lil' white desk up against my desk...ok, how cute are they...

creative lil' ones...
making something sweet with what we have...
designing, creating...
such amazing lil' minds + hands...
patiently
working
to create beauty...
ahh...the fruits of our labours...love these lil' munchkins...
(Reya, see the lil' white desk/chair you gave us...this goes everywhere with these two lil' munchkins! Thanks for such a great workspace for the lil' ones!)
Bonne Nuit!
xoxo jo ;)

First day of school...

had a chance to finally download some pics still in my camera...

i know, seems like it was just yesterday...
here's some of Ian + Shioban on their 1st day of school...

some of their bffs
Mrs. S...really strict but a sweetheart underneath...

anticipation...

1st day of school...1st grade...
what a super day!

Kiddy Land...

Oh, to be a kid again...

these shots were taken a couple of days before school... we went with our very dear + best friends to Kiddy Land...

this was Ian + my buggy...

totally had a blast...kids thoroughly enjoyed!
ian had a bloody nose...but y'know what...it didn't stop him from having a great time!
he needs to wear his 'eye-patch' to help his right eye become strong...the brain is shutting down the right eye...so we've 'patched' it up the left so the right one can become stronger...

This is Shioban's bestest friend, Sarah! They truly wish they could be together-ALL the TIME...
how adorable are these lil' princesses?!
This was Shioban's favoritest ride of all!

The boats were awesome...except, Shioban + Me...we didn't dig the log ride...kinda scary and that ride was very steep! yikers...

Ian was so funny trying to drive this buggy...total concentration on my lil' trooper...it was funny when we almost crashed into some trees..but Ian kept it under control...He so wants to drive his own car/truck...oh, Ian...maybe when you're 18-hee-hee.

choo-choo...here comes the A-train! Here's Tim, Ian, Linda, Dan + Zachy...our dearest friends, whom we LOVE very much!!! Sarah + Shioban were at the end of the caboose...they wanted their PRIVACY...ok, how old are they?! oh, yes...just 6 years old...whew...not looking forward to the tweenies...augh!

This was one of Ian's favorite ride...went really fast and furious...
Pretty lil' Shioban...it was getting late in Kiddy Land...they close at 9:00 pm sharp! So, Shioban had this boat ride, ALL TO HERSELF! I couldn't believe it...Kiddo's loved every minute!
Just makes you wish you could be a kid allover again...that was a very sweet night...thank you Linda, Dan, Sarah + Zachy for such a wonderful adventure!!! Can't wait for our next one...I think it's going to be apple-picking...

Bonne Nuit...

xoxo jo ;)

Smile...

Itty Bitty Vintage Halloween

Itty Bitty Vintage Halloween, originally uploaded by 3littlemiracles.

Yay..finally finished Terrie Ruiz's (chocolate_isthe_best_medicine) Vintage Halloween Itty Bitty pages...made 28 lil' pages...such a cute theme...went for black+white again...sorta a Frenchy feel to it...to be a lil' kid again...what a cute lil' witchy...love her mary jane shoes... enjoy pics of this sweet project...

Have a sweet day...xoxo jo ;)

14 years of loving...

To my Tim...I love my life with you...Happy 14 years of loving me, our life and our family...I love you and our sweet family for ETERNITY...praying for more years together in LOVE!

Mahalkita...

xoxo jo ;)

I Put a Spell on You...Fantasmagorique Halloween Swap 2008

Perfect song for my French Creation...thank you Nina Simone...souleful + inspirational. See below post for more info on this FANTABULOUS Halloween Swap hosted by Rachel Whetzel and Chris Breecher of TallyScrapper

Enjoy!
xoxo jo ;)

Avertissement: Peut mettre un charme sur vous!

Remember my sweet French Sister, Rhonda , whispered into my ears about this fabulous Halloween Swap in blogland? You make 20 (in my case 17) lil' Halloween creation + goody. Then send it off to the host and she'll send back 20 (in my case 17) different lil' Halloween creation + goody...it's like trick o' treatin' around the world...I LOVE this idea!

Well, I finally finished my Frenchy Halloween Creation for Rachel Whetzel's (creator of TallyScrapper.com) Fantasmagorique Halloween Swap 2008. Because this Swap is very popular, Chris Breecher of TallyScrapper

created Group 2 and I was very fortunate to make it into this group. (Boo-hoo, I won't be in the one with my sweet French sista, Rhonda...but we'll be together for the Vintage Christmas Stocking Swap -yayyyy!!!)

But, I've been feverishly working to complete this project for a week now. Saw at the Dollar Tree some neat blackbird crows...my lil' noggin's wheels started to grind... I started thinking about a mask, some crow feet, black+white and then I gathered all the materials several weeks ago to start creating...

...see what can happen from one lil' idea:

My version of a French Crow awaiting Hallow's Eve.
You see, it's called, "Ye Olde Crow Feet...Nutritional Snack...
Avertissement: Puet mettre un charme sur vous!"
(Translation: Warning: Can Put a Spell on You!)

I was lucky to find these cute blackbird crows at the Dollar Tree. I then found a pack of mason jars...bunches of black ribbon, white crepe paper, toothpicks, cocktail umbrellas (I spray painted black), silver pipe cleaners, white, black, silver glitter and white cardstock paper. And Viola...

Inside I packed in these goodies:

white + black jelly beans (crow's eyes)
black licorice (crow's feet) and
white chocolate covered pretzels (crow's heart)

I handmade the labels from the computer and cut it into this adorable rectangular shape:

now it's flying off to the East coast and hopefully it'll get to Chris' hands by Tuesday...all in one piece!
I LOVED creating this Halloween Treat and can't wait for the Special Delivery coming to my mailbox soon...Thank you Rachel and Chris for hosting such a FANTASMAGORIQUE Swap!!! (Looking forward to seeing what other art challenges you'll be posting in your group!)
Thank you, Rhonda, for being a sweet lil' birdie whispering sweet French 'good things' into my ears...

Je'taime xoxo jo ;)

We Will Never Forget...

(photo found on internet image by www.legallyarmed.com)

(photo found on internet )

(photo found on internet image by coffin- www.flickr.com/photos/coffin911/2172917610/)

9.11.01

To all those soules who have left this earth,
who lent a hand,
a kind heart,
warm words,
a hug,
a smile
or
even a thought
on 9.11.01
via the attacks in NYC, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. ...
you are ALL our HEROS...
we will NEVER FORGET.

9.11.01
will always be a day we will NEVER FORGET
and will forever always be in our heart + soule.

xoxo jo ;)

She's the fairest in the Land...

hmmm...guess we're not talking about me...

Confidence surely boosts security...

Will work at it...

hmmm...that bed surely... looks mighty comfortable and relaxing...

bonne nuit

xoxo jo ;)

Bonne Anniversaire...

To my dearest, Sis, Mary Ann and her wonderful hubby, Joe:

Bonne Anniversaire!

09.07.08 To my dearest lil' sis, Gail and her new hubby & love, Allan

CONGRATULATIONS!

07.19.08

Wedding Reception
09.06.08

May you continue your blissful journey
today and ALWAYS!!!

xoxo jo ;)

Indian Summer + catch up...

Wow...where has the time gone?! September already? I am truly sorry for not keeping up with this sweet blog and all of you...the last couple of months have been busy but believe it or not, I've been trying to create in the midst of such chaos. Here's a recap of what I've missed in Creating in the Midst:

Week 3: Embrace You Now
Been busy connecting with the creative side of myself while raising a young family. Went on vacation to Door County with my family and connected with my inner self through meditation, walks along the shores/forests, participating in an art seminar and meeting more kindred spirits. Accomplishing one of my longtime goals, was a sure treat when I created a dress form journal with new found objects like wire, fabrics, steel etc. at the Assemblage Studio. (will post pics of this amazing project soon)

Discovered so many new + interesting things: Absolutely charming and breathtaking French bakery shoppe called La Patisserie. Met a sweet + creative soule, Joni Stock (General Manager), while tasting delectable French pastries that even a Queen like Marie Antoinette would've loved...also listened to soothing French love songs in their lil' outside garden while dreaming of Paris, which I will have to post pics soon...you truly can sense the loveliness in this classy, sophisticated yet cozy and charming lil' bakery...je'taime!

Saw so many creative and artful spirits in Door County. Met a vivacious and sweet shopowner, Angie McMahon of Viva La Cottage. Another magical French-inspired oasis filled with ultimate luxury, charm and sweetness anyone can imagine. (Her shoppe is exquisite and will post pictures soon). Angie spoke of so many topics and shared her wisdom of being a female entrepreneur and the success + hardships of owning your own business. More tales to be told at a later time...
Enjoyed a fun-filled week with my children, sister and mom. Laughed, cried, ate, discovered new + exciting things, saw beauty together and enjoyed even the simplest things life has to offer. To me, this was an important time in our lives...creating memories , making everlasting connections and enhancing our love for one another.

Week 3 touched quite a few nerves...family, children, creative expressions, friends and dreams...still working on self, body, values, partner, co-workers, finances and career...will work on them to try to answer them one day at a time...

Week 4: Collect your Joy and Week 5: Hone your Vision
These past few months I've been trying to awaken the creative passion in me. I've been participating in quite a few swaps and art challenges. Creating my blog has truly helped me discover so many interests that have been buried way deep down in the pit of my belly. I was reading a magazine one day, and it stated something to this effect: 'to be fully happy, you must not ignore yourself, your own interest...you must do what makes you happy...you must find other things of interests' All these years, I've been pleasing so many people and somehow neglected myself...this journey with Creating in the Midst and writing an on-line journal is helping me find passions that I've had and had to put on hold to raise a family. So week 4 comes at a good time...I've been so busy creating pages for lil' itty bitty book swaps that I've been participating in. My collection of these lil' books are growing...so it is just fitting that I've made this lil' house my lil' box of joy.

For now, this is where my collection of joy is...full of inspiration, love, dreams and hope for a brighter future...this is where I go to remind myself that success is nearby...to never give up. Books filled by creative artists from around the world...this is what keeps me going when there might be a lil' sadness or doubt......well, this is a full house...and if I'm lucky to see tomorrow it'll be a brand new day...and a new box of joy...to house more of the things I love and make me happy...aren't we lucky to experience this life?!



Week 6 Declare your Values
This week is a hard one because there's so many values+virtues known to man. We're only supposed to declare 10 of our values...this is tough.

For now these are what I value the most:
1. God
2. Family
3. Honesty
4. Kindness
5. Positiveness
6. Appreciation
7. Love
8. Accomplishments
9. Simplicity
10. Time

What I'm not being aligned with: positiveness, appreciation, accomplishments, simplicity and time. Because of time...I'll have to clarify what I mean about this week...really...this is a very difficult one to discuss...somehow, I'll find a way to communicate what I'm feeling..xoxo Jo ;)

Week 7 Count your Blessings

Why do I love life?

...Ian, Tim, Shioban

and one very special sweet Angel Sinead...

Thank you, God.

I count my blessings that I was chosen...
One day, we'll all be together...

but for now...
we continue to find beauty in all things...

right here and right now.

Week 8 Intend your Moments
This past Spring, I participated in writing in my niece's 'around the world journal'...I wish I copied those pages I created for her...to help her + guide her through this world. I wish I had an Aunt that took me aside and guided me. This is what I think Creating in the Midst is for me...that Aunt (or someone) to truly guide me to find my passions... I truly believe all of the 13 wonderful contributing artists in the 'around the world journal' gave my niece a little bit of insight to what she can do with this world. That's is what I hope my pages can do for her. I really wish I kept copies because it sorta had a floor plan to what I'd like to do in the near future for myself. If I get my hands on it, I'll have to make copies...y'know writing it down cements your dreams...
The only thing I kept were the following words of wisdom...can you guess who said this?...I really do take it to HEART:

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

Life is beauty, admire it.

Life is bliss, taste it.

Life is a dream, realize it.

Life is a challenge, meet it.

Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is a game, play it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

Life is sorrow, overcome it.

Life is a song, sing it.

Life is a struggle, accept it.

Life is a tragedy, confront it.

Life is an adventure, dare it.

Life is luck, make it.

Life is too precious, do not destroy it.

Life is Life, FIGHT FOR it.

~Mother Teresa~

Week 9 Explore your path
Whew...I'm almost caught up to this week's exercise...

Share your focus...to confidently catpure timeless beauty, simply+organized and to share it with others via some sort of media publication.

share a symbol of your focus...my camera

I want to move towards...being more confident in my creative thinking and processing.

Well...today was totally devoted to catching up with Creating in the Midst...now off to work on the ten trillion wips waiting for me, yikes...

Have a Beautiful Thursday! xoxo Jo ;)