Balance

I have started on multiple posts, but keep getting pulled away by various things, well I guess I shouldn't call my children things. I have been trying to achieve some balance in my life. I'm not even close to getting there, but I am working on it. The main basic areas that I am trying to find some balance with are: my children, my creative time, housekeeping(bleh), my husband, my spiritual well being, and my physical well being.

My little darlings only have a few basic needs: food every couple hours or so (nursing baby requires even more sometimes), diaper changes, baths, spill wiping, clothes washing, hand cleansing, more spill wiping, book reading, spelling correcting, horsey-back rides, hair doing, nose wiping (bleh), dish washing, prayer listening, song singing, apple cutting, banana peeling, snuggling, blankie finding, bug catching, okay, okay, so pretty much all my attention while they are awake! I love being a mom, really, and I wish that I could absorb myself completely in my role as mother, but I love those moments that I have to draw, paint, sew, and such. Sadly, these are things that I find difficult to do while my 2 youngest kids are awake. My 7 year old would love to create all day with me if she could, I hope the other 2 grow to be the same.

My creative time: The scale is definitely tipping in this direction lately, thus the desperate need to find balance. Some days it is just a countdown until bedtime so I can work on my newest idea, isn't that terrible. I seriously have 100's of ideas a day, I sure wish I could plug a flash drive into my ear so I could remember them all. I try to focus on other things, but it is so hard, I just want to do "my stuff". I am still waiting for my birthday present, all I asked for was a whole day (except for small nursing breaks) to work on my projects, I hope that day is soon!

Housekeeping - this has got to be my weakest area! It seems that the vacuuming can always wait another day, and what's the point of making a bed when you will just be messing it up in a few more hours? Clean laundry mountains are fun to jump in and make tunnels through, if I folded them too soon, what fun would that be? And there is always the fridge mystery game, how long has that been there, and what do you think it once was? It doesn't help that I am a pack rat with a kagillion hobbies!

My husband - Poor dear, he is very sweet and uncomplaining most of the time. I think he is just grateful that he is not the mom. I really need to work on making him feel more loved and spending more quality time with him.

My spiritual well being - Another area that needs improvement, there are lots of things I know I need to make more time for. How does anyone do it all? Are there people who do it all?

My physical well being - Aackk! I have some very sporty friends who are as fit as fiddles, and they haven't rubbed off on me yet. Since baby #3 I find that my metabolism has slowed down considerably, and my love for all things sweet has not slowed one bit! I am mentally gearing up for some major steps in the physical area of my life, but I lack the motivation and time of course.

Does anyone else find it hard to have balance in their life?
Am I the only one trying to hold my self-esteem together while seeing all the areas that I am lacking in? I hope I am not alone. I think we all have strengths in different areas so that we are forced to be dependant upon each other and help one another.

Please give me ideas on how to find more balance in my life, and feel free to come help me clean my house, I'll trade for artsy fartsy parties!

Well, it took me all day to finish this post working on it a minute here and there, and I still need to set aside some time to list some of my creations in my shop. I have quite the accumulation to list! I am working on some commissioned projects as well, but I will be updating the shop as time allows tonight and tomorrow so check back soon.

I suppose I should post a picture.
We have been obsessed with baby animals lately. Here is my baby giraffe watercolor, and if you look at my recent puppet post, you can see who he is patterned after. I thought he would look so cute is a baby nursery. I have a whole pile of baby animal sketches that I did a couple months ago that I am finally adding color to and getting ready for the shop. Have a happy day! Star

Whooo is having a great week?

A self portrait, painted upon himself.
Sophia and her friends played in the tree house all day yesterday. I think she forgot it was there because the trees and bushes have really grown all around it. They hauled a whole picnic and art studio up there. I tried to tell them that everything they hauled up they had to haul back down, boring old practical mom remark. Have I become one of those?

I have been developing some softie patterns, and here is one of my favorites.

I named him Oliver. He is made of cotton fabric and wool felt.

I think he needs some brothers and sisters, don't you.
I will list him in the shop when he has some buddies to join him.

Have a good evening.

And the winner is...

...All of you!!! Okay, I would love to give each of you sweet lovelies who commented on my post the print of your choice. This is how it is going to work. Comment on this post which print you want and what background you want, then I am going to list a custom listing on etsy for you with your name on it. If you don't have an etsy account yet, it is quick and easy to set one up.
Then go through the purchase process, and select "money order" as you payment method, but don't send me one, cause it's a giveaway you silly. Make sure your correct address is on your etsy account, and I will send your print on it's way to you!
Now don't argue with me on this, I won't be doing this on all my giveaways, I just loved all your comments, and loved hearing about your favorite things.
One of my favorite things are good friends who are sweet, kind, and supportive like all of you.
Hurry and make your print choices, I can't wait to send them!

My Favorite Things ~ And a Giveaway!!!

Hello friends! I have been working on a set of prints that I am so excited to show you.

Sophia and I love to watch The Sound of Music, and we drive the rest of the family crazy as we sing the songs over and over. We were talking about how many of Maria's favorite things are our favorite things, so I started a-sketchin'. Here are the first 5 in the set of, I think 15 I am working on. The image is 8x10 with a white border.
My giveaway this weekend is the winner's choice of one of my new "My Favorite Things" prints.

The winner will have their choice of background colors, cream, tan or white.

The watermark will not appear on your print.

All you have to do to enter is place a comment on this post telling me one of your favorite things. Then on Tuesday the 15th, the Random Number Generator will choose a winner. They will also be available in my shop very soon.

Raindrops on Roses

Whiskers on Kittens
Bright Copper Kettles
Warm Woolen Mittens
Brown Paper Packages Tied Up with Strings

These are a few of my favorite things!!! (Yea, I'm singing it)

Here are the different background colors.

As I sit here singing, I am reminded of a multi-family camping trip we went on a few years ago(Woohoo, Detroit!) where I fashioned lederhosen out of plastic tablecloths and duct tape for the whole family. Why, you ask? We were the evening entertainment one night, so we composed and sang Sound of Music spoofs, complete with killer dance moves. What a show!!! We called ourselves The Voncrap Family Singers, but edited it to Voncamp.

My brother, Mindy-in-law, and Sophia.

Sorry to inflict our silliness upon you.
I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Babies on the brain, and Happy 4th!

It has been a busy 4th of July weekend, but I am back with some more creations. I was put in charge of our town baby contest, in which every single baby was a winner. They were all so stinkin' cute, how could anyone narrow it down to one? I drummed up a pile of prizes including some my tiny star creations. I think everyone had a fun time. We had a great 4th, filled with the typical days events: parades, games, entertainment, yummy food, and fireworks.

With babies on the brain, I developed this pattern last night.

It is a cute and cuddly baby elephant softie with a rattle inside.

I also got my new tags the other day. I like that they are simple and sweet. Here is a framed print of my Elephant Rider.

I always dreamed of riding my own pet elephant.

One of these prints was a prize at the baby contest.

And finally, my new jackpot. A friend brought me a pile of vintage quilt squares that had belonged to her grandmother. There are some wonderful prints, already sewn together and pressed. I have lots of ideas of what to do with these, but I would love more suggestions.

Maybe an idea for a future giveaway!

Have a lovely week!