august 10

Vacation Checklist: book, art supplies, cut off shorts, good coffee, sunscreen ...

beach toys:




napping spot:

(view from napping spot)

and lots & lots of ice cream:







CHECK! (yes, we are on Cape Cod.)

august 9

"break free" texture by Kim Klassen

The water is warm ...

The breezes cool ...

Life is good.

august 6 (and a retreat reflection)

If I can only do one thing right now, what would that be?

Paint!

That's my reflection and summation for this week.

Enough said ... back to my retreat ...

stage one of my painting for BIG: "How does it feel to be me?"

my goddess & i are resting ... waiting to see what happens next.

Oh, I did take a break to drive downtown to watch the Tibetan Monks of Gaden Shartse Monastery working on a colored sand mandala dedicated to Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.



Cowgirl enjoyed trying out the techniques herself.











Okay, seriously, all that color has me itching to paint (and to spurge on some new colors!)

What one thing do you want to do right now? Why aren't you doing it?

august 5

fantastic tutorial and texture by Kim Klassen for August Staycation

Dear Mom & Dad,

I am having a great time at camp! I am meeting lots of new friends, enjoying craft time and swimming and have made some cool presents for the family. (What size belt does dad wear?) The days just zip by! We even get ice cream every night!

Don't worry, I'm not homesick.

Love,

Lis

Painting with a Purpose: Xie Xie (thank you)

august break: august 4

The final winner of our Painting with a Purpose Inspiration Tiger is:






Congratulations Melissa! I will be contacting you about delivery. (I just remembered we are in the year of the Tiger and I am a Tiger, so this piece was a fitting conclusion to our project!)

To date, we have raise over $800 and while the give away portion of the campaign has ended, the pledge drive for Half the Sky Foundation continues until the end of August. So if you wanted to donate but didn't get a chance, you can still contribute by clicking on the Donate Now button located over to the right of this page. Right now, thanks to everyone's support, we will be sponsoring a baby or a preschooler for one year and we will all be one family!

Cowgirl and I are very excited to have received our first commission for an original work of art! We are thrilled and honored to have received such a request. We have asked our patron (I just had to write that!) to make a donation to charity as payment. If anyone is interested in a similar arrangement, we would love to talk to you!

We are truly overwhelmed and grateful for the love, support and shout outs we have received during the past month. You all have encouraged us to dream big and I cannot thank you enough for that. Word fail me, so here is a visual Thank You from the bottoms of both our hearts. (Best to view in expanded screen to read the text.) Enjoy.

august 3 (a new day & some belly love)

I love it when my days begin like this (and I have my camera with me!):





Auntie Em, this one's for you and the tribe ♥:






While on my self imposed Say Less, Create More retreat I hope to listen to my belly and follow my heart.


(To learn more about Belly Love, click here and welcome your whole self.)

Summer Camp (Say Less, Create More! & August Break)

visit Susannah Conway for details and a list of participants

Looks like all the campers are settled in with trunks unpacked and cameras ready for Susannah's August Break blogger camp. I am setting the intention for myself that this month be a time when I say less and create more. So while I may (note the use of the word may) be writing less, that does not mean I will not be sharing the fruits of my creative retreat with you here. In fact, Wednesday's post has a little treat I had a lot of fun creating, so be sure to check back. Do feel free to leave just a smiley face, heart or hi and let me know how you are enjoying the second half of the summer.

So here is my impression from day one at camp:

There is no secret ingredient,
you don't have to [add anything],
to make something special
you just have to believe it's special.

(A little wisdom from Kung Fu Panda ... Cowgirl was with me at work today and I was treated to multiple listenings.)

There is still room at camp ... want to join me? I would consider swapping bunks for a little chocolate.