What's Visual DNA?

I received this link in my email the other day from my sister in law and thought it was fun. Choose the picture that best suites you and it will give your visual DNA. If you have a minute try it.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Studio

My little studio is complete. It is so great to finally have one place for all my supplies. It was very kind of my fella to give me what was supposed to be his work shed. I hope to give it some personal touches next week when I start teaching art lessons. It's missing students work!

King Tut

Philadelphia was great. The King Tut exhibit was very interesting. They had over 130 pieces from the time of Tutankhamun along with some things found in his burial chamber. They did not have any of the actual burial masks or the coffins but a very cool computer generated image of the burial chamber. My older girl had a great time. I hope it is something she will remember. My parents took me as a child to see the Ramses exhibit and I have great memories of that trip. I remember getting those headphones and feeling so grown up. I remember the feeling of being near items made thousands of years ago. I still like to walk up to pieces close my eyes and imagine the items being made by artisans, the scene plays in my mind. Makes it fun.

I love the picture with younger daughter who would not sit by us. I think she was afraid we would take a drink.

Raggedy Ann Portraits

I thought it might be fun to share some art lessons. When flipping though the old filing cabinet I ran across this little portrait lesson for kindergarten. When I started my student teaching I thought kinder would be super easy. I couldn't have been more wrong. The little darlings are great but they can finish a project so quickly it's amazing. You start something new and then before you know it you hear little voices saying, "I'm finished! Now what?" This lesson was great because we all worked together. We took it step by step. Usually I think this kind of instruction is limiting but it works well for this lesson. It's a great introduction to Portraits. I began the lesson by showing students art reproductions of different portraits and discussing the purpose and uses of portraits. I used a Raggedy Ann doll for observation and off we went. Step by step. The kids loved it. Try it with your little kindergartner.

We are off to Philadelphia to see the King Tut exhibit it will be there until September. My older daughter loves all thing Egyptian so it will be a great experience.

Kathe Kollwitz Outbreak

My heart aches for the Men and Women who have died fighting for our country. Today I remember them and pray for their families.

I would dress in this everyday.

I have found the perfect summer dress. It's from the etsy shop Pretty Me. I ordered one a couple of weeks ago for my youngest. I realized that I must order another and Angie was kind enough to create a custom shirt to match for my older girl. I think they are adorable!

Sweet shoes, wish they were my shoes.

You know when you see something and it makes you think,"Man, I wish I had thought of that!" ? (I actually have that moment quiet often) I had that moment this morning when I saw these shoes! They are from two straight lines and it's a blog going on my crafty link list!

Cool Paper

I was checking out the Paper Forest and saw a great envelope template that you can download and use with all kinds of paper. The template can be downloaded from How about Orange. What a neat idea! I am developing a real love of pretty paper and this may give me an excuse to buy more.

Percy the Parakeet

This is the newest member of our family. He's Percy the Parakeet. He is shy because we just brought him home, hopefully I'll have some new pics to share when he is coming out of his cage. I think he is lovely.

Happy Birthday!

Allison's 2!

Allison 1 year ago.

Allison 2 years ago.

Happy Birthday Baby! We love you!

Caterpillar Greeting

My little one had her first experience with a caterpillar today. We found one while we where walking and I was so excited because I use to play with this type of caterpillar when I was little. I loved them, they are fuzzy and would tickle as they climbed up my arm. I looked up what type of caterpillar we have here, turns out it's a tent caterpillar and they are a bit of a nuisance.

Look where that landed!

Dropped Cone, 2001Stainless and galvanized steels, fiber-reinforced plastic, balsawood; painted with polyester gelcoat39 ft. 10 in. (12.1 m) high x 19 ft. (5.8 m) diameterheight above building: 32 ft. 10 in. (10 m)Neumarkt Galerie, Cologne, Germany

I've been going through some old art school stuff and stumbled upon some pics of my favorite works. I am going to be creating a link list to see the works of my favorite artist. One such artist is Claus Oldenburg. He is a pop artist who creates sculpture that will change that way you will look at everyday items.

I am drawn to art that kids like. And kids like Oldenburg. They enjoy his vinyl toilet sculpture or his giant animal print fur Popsicles. But what really gets them going are his large scale sculptures. If you have a minute check out this link. It will make the kid inside you smile. I would love to know which one you like!

http://www.oldenburgvanbruggen.com/lsp.htm

Monkey Bread

I had a friend over this morning and I made monkey bread. It's super easy to make and turns out great. It reminds me of the Ladies Auxiliary meetings at church when I was a youngin. Thought I would share. You will need...

3 cans refrigerator biscuits
1 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1 cup white sugar
1 stick margarine
1 cup brown sugar

Mix the Cinnamon and white sugar in bowl. Roll the biscuits in the sugar mixture then quarter the biscuits. ( I use kitchen scissors, makes it very easy) Throw all the sugary biscuits in a greased bunt pan and then melt the margarine. Mix the margarine with the brown sugar and pour the mixture over the biscuits. I usually roll the pan around a bit to get the mixture in all the nooks and crannies. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Take out of the oven and let it set for about 5 minutes, then turn on to a plate. This is a great recipe for kids learning to cook.

Sometimes I will sprinkle some pecans in the pan before I put the quartered biscuits in.

This stuff is super addicting! And I know it's not the healthiest morning option, but when you are having a friend over for coffee or you need something to take to a meeting it easy and fast

Chicks Man Chicks

My daughter is fostering little chicks for a girl scouts project. We will have them three weeks. They are very cute. I am treating them as pets, which may make my next chicken dinner a bit hard to swallow.