Wednesday, May 21, 2008

CED 2008 ~ Creative Thoughts...

I haven't made it back out to my studio to begin designing anything for the Row House Swap but lately it has been on my mind nearly every waking moment. I've been doing some online research, pouring over past issues of my Somerset Studios magazines, and I'm truly beginning to feel inspired. I know that I'm desiring to begin working on these early, so that I can sort of allow things to evolve as I work on them and I have an idea in mind that I need to get sketched before I lose that inspiration.

The past several days, my thoughts have been on creating those, finishing up the studio cleaning, and then moving on to re-organizing some of the items in my studio that I know I need to begin tackling --- before they get any further out of hand. I've been seriously considering creating another altered book for some time. I've always admired Nina Bagley's altered books and if there was ever anyone who I would desire to take a class with, Nina would be at the top of the list! I simply love her eclectic style. So, I'll be hunting for a book to begin altering soon and I'm certain that I have a few in my stash of supplies. I'm thinking this will be a wonderful long-term project that will allow time to focus on the other areas of my life that need and require my attention.

Besides thinking about ART and the studio, Saturday found me spending the day with Amber and Alexxis. We had a wonderful time shopping for clothes, eating a nice lunch out, before we returned to Amber's to put the little one down for her mid-afternoon nap. While Alexxis napped, Amber and I watched a movie together before turning our attention to cooking dinner on the grill. Don worked all day but was able to join us afterwards and we all had a wonderful dinner together.

On Sunday, Don and I took a trip to Columbus. It is the first road trip that we've taken in awhile, so it felt wonderful to get out! With the rising cost of gasoline, we've been attempting to stay closer to home and shop locally. After shopping for clothes, we browsed through TJ Maxx's home decor items and I saw some items that I now wish I'd purchased for the studio, but knowing my budget was tight {Thanks to paying so much for groceries and gasoline recently}, I opted to wait for awhile to see if my income tax return comes back soon. I'm hoping to get lucky and a few of the items I saw will still be available.

Yesterday, I had a good day with Alexxis. She's such a good kid, even if "the terrible two's" are beginning to rear their heads in her personality. While cooking us breakfast yesterday, she became a little upset with me when I refused to pick her up so she could see what was going on on the countertop and the stove, and I firmly told her she needed to push the kitchen chair back over to the table after she attempted to bring it over and climb up on it so she could see what was going on. She wasn't liking that answer and decided she'd try throwing a little temper tantrum. I wish you could have seen the look on her face when I told her "those ARE NOT ALLOWED at Grandma's house." LOL! The tantrum came to a complete stop and with a bewildered look in her eyes, out came the pout-y lower lip. I was able to distract her by handing her plate and silverware so she could set the table and calm quickly returned to our home. I try to involve her in our everyday lives as much as possible, but her little two year old mind doesn't comprehend that some things just aren't safe for her to be doing. Needless to say, I felt a little bit guilty afterwards for having to be a bit firm with her, so we made up a batch of blueberry muffins after breakfast was eaten. She didn't even mind helping washing and rinsing the dishes! Amber laughed when I told her what I had done and believes she's going to try the "those are not allowed" at home. I certainly wish her the best with that one, LOL!

Well, I'm going to scan a few more images for sharing, then head out to continue cleaning the studio. I'm looking forward to start working on the Row House swap soon...

1 comment:

Lisa Renéa said...

Cathy, the row house has been on my mind, too. Thank you so much for sharing the photos!