Illustration Friday: Theater

It seems that the innocent, unassuming turtles aren't without their own dramatic flair. For instance, the Turtle Tenors here qualify as reptilian theater. I think the Can Can Turtles are equally as theatrical but I'll save them for another day. Can't you just hear the beautiful melody of the these little guys with their smart red bowties!

In other news, hop on over to Stamping Bella and check out the new turtle stamps just released! I hope everyone has a fabulous time making cards and scrapbooks with them! What fun! If you're a lover of all things stampy, check out the Stamping Bella blog and see all of the other new releases today. They are all so imaginative and adorable! What a great group of artists they have there in BellaLand. Happy Tuesday everyone!

Illustration Friday: Impossibility

After a bunch of ideas and sketches that didn't seem right, my brain stumbled upon this idea. My own version of "when pigs fly" which everyone knows is an impossibility. What do you think?! These are some resourceful and creative hogs.....I don't know where they're going, but they're determined to get there!

Interesting topic this week...it's easy for creative people to imagine all the beautiful, visual impossible scenarios they could illustrate. It's much harder to face all of the things in real life that seem impossible. My heart is often troubled by the impossible things that I want to see happen. A loving family for every child. An end to world hunger and violence. This week it ocurred to me, what if it's not impossible? What if I can do something and do it now? If I could come up with as much creativity and determination (coupled with God's direction) as these flying pigs, maybe seeming impossibilities could become possibilities.

"Everything is possible for him who believes." Mark 9:23

What up, my peeps!

Well, I've disappeared from blogging a little bit in the past few weeks. Had a great Easter Sunday with family and friends....might share some pictures of that soon. I have been working very hard on various things but still don't have much to show for it! Funny how that is. So here's an update on my endeavors.

• The first baby of a good friend means one must make artwork! Since she reads this blog, I'm not going to show you the finished art just yet, but here's a little hint....

• There's going to be a new release of more turtle stamps over at Stamping Bella on the 28th! Hooray! If you check out the blog, some creative ladies are doing some really cool stuff with the stamping challenges.
  
  
• I've started a little store over on Artfire (there's a linky on my sidebar). I'm new to Artfire but it looks fun and we'll see how it goes.




• Sold a couple of Turtle Tots with frames on Etsy to wonderful Alicia. Hooray! I've also added the Celebration Card pack to my Etsy store. I love the colors of those designs, so bright and cheery and fuschia!
  

• Hoping to make something impossible happen for Illustration Friday this week.

• Almost finished with two more jungle babies: Zeke the Zebra and Maya the Monkey, pictures coming soon!

• Trying to eat better as I've sort of been hooked on sugary things for too long now. (thanks to my benevolent co-workers....somebody's always giving me bad-for-you food)

Besides these things I'm looking forward to visiting in-laws in Massachusetts this weekend, starting a Pilates class and the warm weather that I'm sure is just around the corner. Wow, I guess life is always more full than you think!

In hopeful anticipation

Do you feel it? Do you get the sense that something good is coming? When I'm not focusing on all the mundane and trivial things of the here and now, I stop and I feel it. Good things are coming....the flowers are pushing their way up out of the soil, the air is getting a little warmer, new lives are being birthed all around us.

I'm thinking of my beautiful friend, Jill, and her girls. I remember at exactly this time 6 years ago, I was a senior in college, anticipating and eagerly working towards my Senior Art Exhibit and graduation. She was at the end of her third trimester, eagerly anticipating the birth of her first baby girl. We shared in each other's joy and accomplishment. We looked forward with expectancy and trepidation to how our lives would change in this new season. We had tremendous hope.

Now my wonderful friend Aimee is eagerly anticipating her first baby. A bouncing baby boy. As I gather a care package to send to her...I find myself excited. Eager. Hopeful. For a new little person to enter the world, bringing joy and blessing to his parents.

But even more than the weather and new life....I'm anticipating the Easter holiday. Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Resurrection/Easter Sunday....for some reason I look forward to the celebration more this year. Maybe it's because this year I've had my share of sorrow. Maybe it's because I've started looking forward to celebrations and remembrances. Maybe it's because my heart's cry is for more of Jesus. How I would have loved to be amongst the women that saw their glorified Savior. I can just imagine the tears, the fear, the excitement when I tried to tell the others of what I had seen and experienced. And how I would want to cling desperately to Him when said He was leaving....only to come back one day. I have experienced the resurrected presence of the living God. And I want more. If you ever see me crying, shaking, stumbling over myself trying to tell you about Him....it's because my words could never do justice to who He is and the love he has for us. But I desperately want you to know.

Most of the time you'll see me doing completely mundane things, going to work, cooking food, taking care of my home, doing laundry.....but I have a little secret. I know there's more! I have the complete assurance and utter HOPE of more! This isn't all there is for me....

What will we celebrate this spring? What will we fix our hopeful, tender hearts on?