A couple months ago I tried the Northampton Arts Night Out with my family and few friends, but didn't find much going on. Esme and I went out last night and were very pleased to find LOTS of things happening! We started at the Smith College Art Museum. On second Fridays admission is free and they have lots of activities for families. Esme got to get her face painted, have some snacks, and do some beading. The best part was a coloring book with different images throughout the museum in it - she loved tracking each of the paintings down.


Next we headed over to Pinch, to see this show by one of my favorite local artists, Sarah Ahearn. I got to meet her at Paradise City last Fall and I love her collages/paintings. Her new work is wonderful and I was glad Esme and I got a chance to talk to her for a few minutes.

The last thing we did downtown was stop by A.P.E. Esme was fascinated because there was a man in the window doing a bit of a performance piece. He was painted himself and he would slowly move to pretend to be painting color onto a real flower. Esme has been to several animatronic science shows lately, and would not believe that the man was not a robot, no matter how many times I insisted otherwise. We went inside and watched for a bit, and even then back outside on the sidewalk it was hard to tear her away.

It was a very nice evening out with my baby! I love sharing these things with her!

Since her dad and I are both sick and have been laying around listlessly most of the day, Esme needed a little Mommy time. I decided to sit up for a while and scrap with her, and wanted to do a new layout of us together, just to remind her how much I love her. Some girls over from the peaboard have a new challenge blog, so I thought I would give their first one a go. Esme and I had a nice afternoon together and now I'm back to bed!

LYB True Love Album

Having a cold is decidedly uninspiring! I am extremely relieved that my daughter, Esme, has recovered from her pneumonia, but depressed that her dad and I now both have this awful cold. Since I've been under the weather I haven't felt like doing much, so I've taken the time to sort and organize my photos, as well as back them up on the terabyte drive I got last Christmas. In honor of Valentine's Day, I'd like to share an album that I made for Ethan last Christmas, all about romance. I hope everyone else is staying healthy and warm!

Another whimsical painting - I started this in an Estabrooks class and finished later at home. It started with oil pastels, then I collaged and added acrylic paint. Matted and framed and gave to my daughter, Esme, for Christmas, because she loves mermaids so much.

This is my new favorite personalized gift to give. I made my first magnet board a little over a year ago, but really stepped up production a couple weeks ago. I hate giving people (especially kids) the same kinds of gifts everyone else does. I made the first one for my bff's mom, who is very hard to shop for! Additionally, these are super inexpensive to make and don't take to long if you're in a pinch!

They start as pizza pans from the dollar store. The ones I buy are 12 inches, but this includes the lip on the edges. I start by using alcohol ink to color the lip. It is important to do this first as it can be messy otherwise. I made a template for the patterned paper by putting a piece of paper over the pan and rubbing around it with an embossing stylus. I trace around my template and then cut the circle out of a pieces of 12 by 12 scrapbooking paper. I use a heavy coat of Mod Podge all over the pan to adhere the paper, and smooth it out with a brayer and my fingers. A few little wrinkles are okay, but I don't like bubbles - it makes it harder for magnets to stick. I add a thin layer of Mod Podge on top of the patterned paper, and then a thick layer around the edges to adhere the buttons. I originally put the buttons on to hide the edge of the patterned paper and it's worked very well to help hide flaws as well. Other embellishments would work as well, like gems or maybe even Prima flowers. I've done names or words on these boards, and mostly used letter stickers with another layer of Mod Podge on top. You can see my first attempt here. I'm on the fence about whether I like the coordinating magnets made from page pebbles better or clip magnets, also from the dollar store. These two are for some little friends who are brother and sister, so I used coordinating papers that I thought they might like, and that would match their kitchen.

I have lots going on this week, but I have three more transparency, post-industrial scenes that I really want to finish and post!

One of the best things a scrapbooker can ever has is a crop group with members who really care about each other, and appreciate each other's artistic talents. I was very, very lucky to meet my friends Ellen and Stephanie this way. Even though our group disbanded, we have remained friends and just recently started scrapbooking together on a regular basis again. I am so happy to have this back in my life! We each have our own distinct style and I love how I could spot their pages in a crowd. I love how we're always ready to share with each other and introduce each other to new things. It's not easy to find good friends anyway, but to find friends who are also awesome scrappers is nearly a miracle! I love you guys!

I did this layout at Ellen's house last night - the first of many of Chloe's first Christmas!

I have three new paintings in progress this week. I loving working with these post-industrial landscapes - they are beautiful to me. I love to be outdoors in natural surroundings, but I find these scenes much more inspirational to me.

One day in November Ethan and I went for a walk with my camera and took a ton of shots down near the Parson's Paper fire site and in nearby neighborhoods. I use a Digital Canon Rebel. I've had it for about 5 years and it's pretty dinged up. It's been dropped, knocked over, parts have been replaced, but it has taken many thousands of photos and still works just fine. This was my first digital camera and I love the freedom.

This week I'm also excited about scrapbooking and doing more altered projects. My studio space has been super packed and disorganized for a long time, and I am finally finding my way back to the surface of my table. When I finally get it perfect, I am going to have an art party to celebrate.