Moving and Shaking Going on Over Here!!

Hey guys! You know when you have been stuck in a bit of a rut and you just know it is time for a change? Well, I am there! It is time for me to change things around a bit and do some reorganizing. I have decided ( with a little helpful prodding from a friend) to build my own website! Have I built a website- no. Do I know how to- no. But now is the time and I am an eager learner and self starter! I want a place for me and Bird in a Tree. Everything in one place, streamlined. I am creating a site that will contain my blog, my shop and all things Bird in a Tree in one place. I am super excited and ready to take this new path. I'm letting you all know that I won't be blogging as much in the meantime. I am aiming to have it up and running by November 1st. This will be a challenge as I am also preparing for an art bazaar Dec 1st. I will let everyone know when my new home is ready. XOXO

Until next time- never stop growing, changing and evolving!

I Have been a Busy Beaver!

Missed a couple of days blogging! I have been hard at work! Making birds and ornaments- I love paperclay!!! So much fun!

Steampunk ornament! Going to make a set of  these!

Almost finished with this blue set.

Hanging out with my favorite girls!

Sharkey lounging!!

Back to work! I will keep you all updated on the ornaments.
Until next time- Love, Create and Love some more!!!

Birdies, Birdies and More Birdies!

If you told me a year ago that I would be making birds out of paper clay and loving it I would have said you were nuts!  Here I am- making birds and can't seem to make enough!!! If I had more time in my schedule I would have an aviary full of colorful, glittery, inspiring birdies! For now, I squeeze everything in, wherever and whenever possible! Here is a peek at some of my birdies that are almost finished and then will fly into my    shop!

These are the cute feet that I will paint for the birdie below.

Love this guy and his stick legs

This is my ladybug bird!

This little guy is drying upside down because I am decorating the bottom!

Until next time- Tweet, Tweet!!

Our Weekend With Isaac

This weekend we weathered Tropical storm Isaac. In fact as I write this we are still experiencing a lot of rain, flooding and of and on tornado warnings. We really lucked out and it is not too bad. The girls and I worked on a school project for Willow. She was given an outline of a girl that she was to decorate. We made a copy so that Wren could make one too!!

Willow and Wren working on their pictures

Willow's in progress

I am slowly adjusting to the new school schedule. After I drop Willow off I have a 2 hour window before I pick up Wren. This is the time where I squeeze in art! So that is where I am off to now!!!

Hope everybody has a fabulous day and I am sending good energy out to all the people that live where Isaac is headed!!

Until next time- stay dry, create your own life one day at a time and smile!!!!

Rebel Fairies

I am almost finished with my first piece in my Rebel Fairies series! Here is a sneak peak. Hope to finish her tonight and get started on a new one! She has a cute little stand that she is fixin' to go in!
Hope Monday is treating Y'all well!

Until next time-

Evolving

Today I did a craft show that I do every year, the only one I do. I would really like to concentrate more on making an online presence. I do this one with my my friend and my mom and we have a great time. It was even slower than last year! I did however sell a handful of items. The best parts of the show were the compliments people gave me on my paintings. I believe people will not go out of their way to give you a compliment unless they actually mean what they are saying. I also noticed that my paintings made a lot of people smile and that was awesome! Even though I did not sell any of my art work, the positive feedback was great confirmation that I am on the right path! The best comment of the day was when a woman came up that had bought some items from me last year and told me she loved my work and that I was totally evolving. It made me do a little "Evolving" happy dance. Tee hee he!
Here are a couple of pictures of my table.

paintings

soaps

paintings

My girlfriends total couture scarfs!!!

Until next time- Keep evolving!!!

Spreading Our Wings

I took the most amazing course this summer with Kelly Rae Roberts, Artist, Author and Possibilitarian. From this class I have connected with many creative, supportive, truly awesome women. There is really nothing better than having your own little cheering squad at your disposal! In a world where it sometimes seems that women try to sabotage other women (this sucks! WTF?!) it is fabulous to have all this support from smart, creative women! You ladies rock! We have decided to host a blog hop. This one right below!

Amaranthine Violet:  http://magic-gypsy.blogspot.com/

Amy Hillenbrand:  http://amyhillenbrand.blogspot.com

Beatriz Peñas B.:  http://beatrizbepe.blogspot.com/

Beth Cougler Blom:   http://sobliss.wordpress.com/

Carmen Patti:  http://carmenpattistudio.com/wordpress/

Carol Bray:  http://theredpaintedcottage.blogspot.com

Christina Fajardo:  http://christinafajardo.blogspot.com/

Cindy Jones Lantier:  http://www.lantier.org

Connie Rawlins :  http://www.dabblinginlife.blogspot.com/

Dana Brock: http://www.dzynbydana.blogspot.com

Deborah Velásquez : http://deborahvelasquez.blogspot.com

Elissa Brown:  http://thefreckledarmy.blogspot.com

Hillary Courson:  http://www.hillarycourson.com

Jacquie Williamson:  http://www.jacquiewilliamson.blogspot.com/

Jane Paynting: http://inkspiredwings.wordpress.com

Janet Forrest: http://tatterednworn.wordpress.com/

Jennifer DeVille:  http://jenniferdeville.com/blog/

Jill Lambert :  http://www.jill-lambert.blogspot.com/

Julie Hamilton:  http://spaark.wordpress.com

Kanchan Mahon:  http://Kanchan-Mahon.blogspot.com/

Karen Claverie:  http://giddyupletsride.blogspot.com

Kari DeSaulnier:  http://karidesi.blogspot.com/

Kathleen Conard : http://newfromoldcreations.blogspot.com/

Kathleen McKinnon:  http://harmonyschoolhouse.com/expressions-blog.html

Kathy May:  http://kathymaydesigns.org

Kelley Miller:  http://www.kelleymillerartworks.blogspot.com/

Kelly Corso:  http://birdinatreecreations.blogspot.com/

Kelly Hoernig:  http://www.kellyhoernig.blogspot.com/

Kim Hyer:  http://www.apaperaddict.com/

Kris Lanae Binsfeld:  http://cherishdesigns.wordpress.com

Lenore Angela:  http://www.lenoreangela.blogspot.com/

Linda Barutha:  http://lindabaruthadesigns.blogspot.com

Lisa Michele Products:
http://www.lisamicheleproducts.blogspot.com/

Liza Zeni Baker:  http://lizazeni.wordpress.com/

Lynn Richards:  http://alittlebluesky.blogspot.com

Lori Leissner:  http://leissnerart.blogspot.com

Lori Moon:  http://lorimoonstudio.blogspot.com

Mary Cottingham:   http://www.barnbugstudio.blogspot.com/

Mary Sterk:  http://justmarydesigns.wordpress.com

Megan Schmitt:  http://www.schmittenwithwords.blogspot.com/

Melanie Douthit:  www.douthitgallery.blogspot.com

Michelle Dwyer:  http://www.magnetisedbylife.com/

Michelle Reynolds:  http://shellsinthebush.blogspot.com/

Rachél Payne (Rae):  http://collectingyourself.wordpress.com/

Rain Hannah:  http://honeyandollie.com/

Rhiannon Connelly:  http://www.starrybluesky.wordpress.com

Ruth-Mary Smith:  http://patchworkfamilieshub.blogspot.com

Sherry Richert Belul:
http://simplycelebrate.net/cherry-blossom-soup

Shirley Ann:  http://leonardarenaissancewoman.blogspot.com/

Stacey Chadwick
Brown:  http://staceybrownarts.blogspot.com/

Susan M. Walls-Beverly:
http://www.susanscharmingtrinkets.blogspot.com

Teresa Cash-Czech: http://www.asmilemaker.com/

Tina Carlborg:  http://www.tinachicky.blogspot.com/

Tonya Love:  http://passport2creativity.com/

Ursula Smith:  http://www.EasyScraps.com/blog

Zulma Cadena:  http://edustory.wordpress.com/

Mary Cottingham  http://www.barnbugstudio.blogspot.com

We invite everyone to join in, feel the love and get inspired!!!
Here are the awesome women participating, check'em out!

Until next time- get inspired and make beauty where you can!!!

Monday Mosaic 10/03

Monday Mosaic time again and when I last checked we were up to 14 people particiating! Pretty Awesome peeps! Basically you make a mosaic of your weekend. If you would like to be a part of this head on over HERE! I always have pictures of skies because I am quite taken by them. I would take pictures of skies all day long if I could make it a living!I spent lots of time with my girls doing silly things, like seeing how many layers of clothes we could put on! I roasted garlic for the first time and used it to make homemad hummus. We did some snail wranglin' because my girls love snails. I also spent every night in my studio dreaming big and making art. What did you do this weekend?

Monday Mosaic 10/03, a photo by Bird in a tree creations on Flickr.

Until Next time- Dream Big!

Cute Birdie Christmas Ornaments

I am not one that gets sick often but on the first week of Willow's school career she brought home a nasty funk that had me sick as a dog for about 2 weeks. I was well for a couple of days then BAM! It is here again, although, not as bad as the first time. Needless to say I have not been in the studio for a bit. Tonight I am making cute little birdcage ornaments in all different colors and bling! Here are a couple of pics.

Until next time-

Monday Mosaic 2

Last week a girlfriend in the class I have been taking started Mosaic Monday. You do a mosaic of your weekend in pictures! I thought this was a super cool idea. Her name is Chelle and here is her blog.
I would love to see others weekends in photos, so if you would like to join in.... Head over here!!!

Monday Mosaic 2, a photo by Bird in a tree creations on Flickr.

This weekend I...
-made lot's of art
- took cool pics of mushrooms
- watched an awesome movie (which I will review later on this week
-Did a lot of organizing in my studio
- made lots of yummy fruit snacks
- and no weekend is complete without totally awesome sky pics!!!!
Until next time-

Belief Slays the Naysayer

My easel on the table because it takes up too much room when on the ground!

This week my husband surprised me with an easel which was super exciting. Then that feeling of excitement was hijacked by feelings of anxiety and inadequacy. That little naysayer in my head was telling me that only artists use easels- you just make stuff- you are not worthy of an easel.  I am taking a class right now with Kelly Rae Roberts called Flying Lessons and I decided to be bold and throw these feelings out there to see if others ever felt this way. I realized that all of have that pesky naysayers in our head trying to tell us we are not good enough, not pretty enough, not talented enough- all of these negatives. I came up with the conclusion that believing you are good enough, you are smart enough, you are talented enough is very powerful. BELIEF SLAYS THAT NAYSAYER! Kicks it to the curb where it belongs. As suggested by several of my classmates I decided that I needed to paint something and right away before that  little negator won!!!
What better thing to paint than the word BELIEVE.
What is your naysayer telling you?
What do you need to believe about yourself?
Feed your beliefs and not that wicked, sneaky little naysayer!!!!!!!

Until the next time- BELIEVE!

P.S. I am good enough for an easel! LOL

On Being Authentic

So, as previously mentioned, I am taking this most fabulous e-course from Kelly Rae Roberts and it has me delving into and peeling apart some of my layers. Being authentic is a really important action. I thought, " I am authentic, I am totally authentic, Right" hmmmm...
I go to look up the definition and this is what I find:

: not false or imitation : real, actual

: true to one's own personality, spirit, or character 

Ok, once again I assure myself that I am totally authentic. Here comes the funny part. I run into my neighbor later that day and we are talking about reading books. I say that I love books as well but I listen to them so that I can clean that house and do laundry while I am listening to my books.

WHAT!!! I had to laugh later because I don't clean while listening to books! Hell no! I listen to my book while I make art! I cut, paint, glue and glitter while the dishes sit in purgatory in the sink!  Did I want her to think that I was a good mom and great homemaker with a totally clean house? Does she really care? Totally not authentic!!!

I sometimes wait to do dishes until the next day, I walk over socks for days to see if anybody else will pick them up I once even wore dirty jeans that has underwear stuck in the leg that I didn't realize until I was in the middle of Walmart! I vacuum and dust around objects. I shove toys under my kids beds just so it looks cleaner- and I make art and I am happy! This is authentically me! My whole family is silly and stinkin' happy!

My husband and I being silly

My daughters being silly!

Until next time- 

Letting Go, and Letting it Flow

I have decided that I need to stop putting so much pressure on myself to "Produce or make" things. Every night when the girls go to bed, I am off to the studio with the thoughts that I must make, I must get something listed in my Artfire store, I must do now, get it done now! This enormous amount of pressure I put on myself it ridiculous and unnecessary! These thoughts were totally confirmed when I ran across, by accident, (although I believe there are no accidents!) This great website-by  kellyraeroberts. She was an instant inspiration to me! She had a guest post entitled- Breaking out of a creative rut By: Ali Edwards. You should definitely go check these out! It really spoke to me and told me that it's ok not to be that art/craft creating machine all the time. Part of being creative is also those times that you just don't feel that way and it is OK!
     I can only figure 2 reasons why I put so much pressure on myself. One is because I am a stay at home mom and do not contribute financially to the household. I have worked since I was 14 and always had a job. So it is very difficult (in my head) to not bring that dollar home. I am under no pressure from my husband and he never calls it his money or tells me how to spend it. He always stands behind me to follow my dreams and understands the level of difficulty being a stay at home mom entails! It is me and only me that puts this pressure on myself.
     The second reason I feel that I put so much pressure on myself is because I am a recovering alcoholic. I have almost 4 years clean and sober. I spent about 20 years being wasted. Sometimes I put the pressure on myself because I feel like I need to make up for lost time. I have pretty much let go of this idea! I know I can never make up for all that time and my life is here and now. This is truly the happiest I have ever been!

So, I highly suggest you check out- http://www.kellyraeroberts.blogspot.com/

and- Breaking out of a creative rut by: Ali Edwards

Until later I am going to flow like the river above with the full moon of possibilities shining above me!!!!