This is what brings me JOY! I love creating mixed media art pieces for friends and family. Recently I did several pieces for my nieces and nephews with their name, the meaning of their names, and their Bible verse dedicated to them. I had so much fun putting them together for them for Christmas.

I love getting my hands messy and playing and seeing what comes together, especially adding something meaningful to it.

I created this piece for a friend of mine, Amie. She actually won it in my Origami Owl jewelry party last month. I was to make an art piece using her favorite colors. She told me they were turquoise, navy and yellow.

I seriously LOVE how it turned out. I believe that this is her year to SHINE so I just thought that wood veneer piece was the perfect addition and something I wanted to remind her of every time she sees it.

I'm really excited to share this finished wall art with you. Do you remember the Earth Day freebie? Well, this is the finished project that came from creating those journal cards.

Yesterday I taught our homeschool coop group. I had so much fun with the kids. We did lots of art projects, handwriting, baking, reading, running around outside. The weather was perfect. 

GOD'S PLANS AREN'T ALWAYS MY PLANS

I was actually supposed to teach last week, during Holy Week, but came down with a fever the night before. Last week was supposed to be our "spring break" too, but we were all sick and vegged out in the house all week. I ate lots and lots of hot and sour soup almost every day. 

I was bummed that I had all these Easter activities planned out for the kids and we would be doing it after Easter instead of before. The best part was that God was totally in that situation the whole time and knew it was exactly what the kids needed TODAY, NOT last week. They had lots of fun and it was such a joy to see them remember Christ's love for them.



I really wanted to share this project with you. Our memory verse for today was John 3:16. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

I'm so very excited to share this tutorial with you. It's one of my favorite things to do with Faber-Castell Mix & Match Gelatos and stencils. The finish is so pretty and lots of fun especially with a textured background like I used.

Seriously, there are so many things you can do with Faber-Castell Mix & Match Gelatos . I can't even begin to tell you all the fun stuff you can do. This little tutorial is the easiest and so fun and messy. I LOVE it!

This is similar to last week's tutorial, but instead of painting it on like watercolors with a water brush. We're just going to draw with them like you would crayons.

This one also had to do with the blog and why I'm feeling called to a blogging ministry. It's been a ton of fun working on it and getting all my ideas down and writing. I've always had really low self-esteem when it comes to my art. I often question God a lot when I feel a calling from him. It sometimes takes years to take away the fear and anxiety of doing what he wants me to do. I remember asking God why he called us to homeschool. It took me 5 years to finally figure out why. For years I've had a love of helping my peers see things in a different light. I remember getting in trouble in math class when I would help my friends do a problem differently than what was instructed in the class. Of course, I was a goody two shoes kinda girl and started crying every time I got in trouble and then I'd get in more trouble. Again, another way of God preparing me to teach my own kids.

I will admit this page is totally about this blog. For quite awhile I'd been feeling like God was telling me he wanted me to do something with sharing my art and my passion for art journaling and how important I think it is for me. I used to fight it, but a dear friend had always told me to just write... just start writing. So I did, I started pouring my heart out onto my scrapbook pages. I started doing more than just a small note saying what I could clearly see was happening in the photo(s). I started really telling stories and writing letters to my children. This is when I started exploring art journaling. I found such freedom and joy in it. Sometimes it was to "let go" of bad feelings, and sometimes it was a pep talk to myself. Sometimes it's a prayer and a crying out to God. Sometimes it turns into worshiping God.

I will admit that the perfectionist in me and the mama who already has a mess to clean up after the kids tear the house apart, would rather sit down at my computer and play with digital art journaling. I do love the physical messy stuff too, don't get me wrong. Maybe it's because I feel like Rachel's always in my head when she designs something and it just becomes so easy to say what I need to say and her designs inspire me so much. I don't know, but I'm so blessed to be a part of her team and to call her "friend". I often think she's my twin sister from another mother. She just "gets" me. I love her dearly and wish we didn't live so far apart.

Surprise! I told you the next digital art journal page wasn't going to be using "focus", my One Little Word. I've been harboring some sad feelings lately. I'm sure I'm over-reacting but I was having some issues with comparison and disappointment. I had my small group pray for me and it really helped. It also helped to do this page. I should really print it up and add the words "LET GOD" to it and hang it up in my house. It's the perfect colors for my house and I really need the constant reminder to just lay it all on the alter and give it all to God. That's the only way I'm going to be free of all these icky feelings.