I love polka dots and tortellini with meatball soup

How can you not just love polka dots :o). When they are red or turquoise I just smile. Too bad the husband is not too into the idea of having the whole house decorated polka dot style. I just have to keep my polka dots here on my blog and see if I can't one day find out how to put polka dots in the background and make my banner filled with polka dots and some of my ART. How hard can it be right...just some of that Html and other language I so don't know anything about.

Hope your Saturday is wonderful! I just came back from a nice long walk looking at all the "spring". Magnolia trees in full bloom, birds singing and close to 68 degrees. Now I want to eat some of that wonderful tortellini and meatball soup I made and head up into my studio to rip some paper or sew some stitches on my fabric banners.

Tortellini Soup Recipe altered by me:

2 cans of vegetable broth+ 1 can water
1 small leek sliced fine
3 big carrots chopped in small pieces
3 tbsp olive oil
simmer for 4 min.
add broth and water to simmer for another 4 min.
add 2 c. tortellini (I bought the frozen kind) and just stuck it in the micro for 1 min. before adding to the soup
3 cloves chopped garlic
a bunch of homemade meatballs (cooked)
Italian spices
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to tase
simmer for 10 min.
ENJOY...
I am

Art lesson for 4th grade

This is a really wonderful art lesson I tried out on my 4th grade students a few months ago. The lesson is all about VALUE. We practice the value scale on some scrap paper before we get started with some black water color and water. The kids love to make the different shades.

Second we draw a face on white paper and "chop" it into different pieces making sure we draw lines all the way to the end of the paper.

Third we colored everything in with different values.... by now the kids know all about it. We matted our work on black paper and enjoyed some nice comments from other teachers, parents and students about our ART work.

I wish the pictures where better (taken with my iphone) but wanted to share the lesson since it was such a hit. Remember that VALUE is one of the elements of ART and very important for our kids to learn.

It is spring in California

I went for a walk late morning yesterday and since it has been a while since I went for a walk or even spend any time outdoors I realized it truly is spring in California!

Walking around the neighborhood I ran into this truck and could not believe my eyes...it really was the "milk man" or should I say the "milk girl"? I just stood there, totally surprised when I saw this young lady step out of the truck with bottles of milk to deliver to the door. Truly a rare moment or did I miss something? Do people get milk delivered to their door these days??? Cute truck though.

Sharing some brand NEW Art

I have been working with some fabric lately and it is so much FUN. Dusted off the sewing machine and had the best of times....

It has been a while since I created any ATC's...here is one...

Cardboard is wonderful to work with. Here I added some collage work on top of cardboard in the shape of a house. I have this thing with houses lately (and polka dots).

Here I used some canvas paper for the background and added some water color, images and paper. The "sun" is chipboard, one of my latest finds at Michaels. I try to NOT to visit Michaels every week but it is hard. They send you that darn coupon and you think you HAVE TO GO shopping. Don't get me wrong, that 40% off is a good deal but.... I end up buying so many outher wonderful items that the 40% off really does me no good ;o)

Second grade Art Lesson "Picnic"

It has been a few days since my last blog. Suffering from migraines more often that usual lately has put me "behind" a few days. Don't get me wrong, I am fighting my migraines this year...they are NOT taking over my life. Migraine warrior princess :)

Anyways...here is a wonderful Art Lesson that I would love to share. You can use this for your kids at home or if you teach ART like me or...if you have a whole classroom of kids and need some new ideas. ENJOY!!!

This was such a fun lesson for my 2nd graders last week. The only directions I gave them where to draw the horizon line first, draw something you can eat, table and background. Is it a picnic inside or outside? The kids took it from there and the ART came out lovely.

Seems like ice cream cones are popular and I think most of all they are so much fun to draw and color. Even the youngest Kindergartner can draw a cone with ice cream :o). A bowl of mac'n'cheese of course... I told the kids the food does NOT need to be healthy since we are not really going to eat it.

Love the tall glass with whipped cream and a cherry on top!!! The checkered table cloth and the blue sky. This is an outdoor picnic for sure. We used some different media... crayons and colored pencils, large white card stock and lots of imagination. I also showed them some food pictures by Wayne Thiebaud. They just love his art (just like me :).

Happy Birthday to ME

I Love my Birthday and look.... someone special send me tulips. They just stood there outside my front door when I came home from work today and they made me smile. I knew who send them before I looked at the card :) THANK YOU guys... Tusen Tack och kramar till er alla :)

I have not opened all the cards that came in the mail, that is a treat I will save for later tonight. They will all end up in my art journal, ripped and torn with legs and wings... My 11 year old daughter drew me a picture...
I had a non fat latte with my husband downtown in the afternoon and a trip to my favorite local ART supply store. Found the 10x30 canvas I have been looking for...have 2 upcoming ART SHOWS and I have something fun in mind.
Tonight my husband is making dinner, the kids cleaned up and my favorite little niece is coming over with her Mom and Dad. She is 3 months old and perfect. In laws and my son with girlfriend, cake and dinner.... all you need on your special day. Some time later for ART JOURNALING ...browsing through all the ART magazines my husband gave me this morning...
Birthday cards from my oldest daughter... these will for sure end up in my ART... Will miss her and her husband tonight but know we will see them soon.

Tulips!!!

I just love tulips and always know that when they show up it is time for my birthday. Tomorrow is the big day and I just saw some tulips blooming while on a walk the other day. They can also be bought in the store and that is how the traditions started for me as a young girl. In Sweden we do NOT have blooming tulips in our backyards in February but they can be bought in the store :). My Mother always bought tulips for my birthday and it was always so nice in the dark winter to see the beautiful colors and something growing, even though it was out of a pot. Tomorrow I am hoping for tulips and if no one remembers to get me tulips I will get my own. I saw some in Safeway the other day :). Just a few hours now and I am a year older.... (shivers)....

Anyone else teaching ART to kids???

I teach ART at a local Elementary School grades 1,2,4 and 5. I also teach a special needs class with kids in K/1. I would love to come in contact with other bloggers to share lessons and ideas. It is hard to stay motivated and come up with new lessons every day and it would be fantastic to have some support. I create all my ART lessons and have some wonderful results from the kids, they are so amazing when it comes to creating ART. Even if you don't teach ART in a classroom but teach your own kids ART everyday let me know how you are doing, what you are doing and I can help you with some cool and fun projects.

The pictures above is ART made by some students in a 3rd grade class. We where talking about Georgia O'Keeffe and I was showing them some of her work, including some of the bleached skulls she loved to paint. We used bleach on q tips painting on brown construction paper....the result was magical.

Ebay or Etsy?

I am planning on selling my art again. I had a store on Ebay for a few years and did really well but am intrigued by Etsy and might have a go. Anyone that can tell me the differense between the two?

Artist Trading Cards (ATC's) are so much fun to create....especially for me with no patience and a million ideas of what I want to create. I am thinking of finally joining some sort of group here online to swap ATC's, anyone out there with some good suggestions?

Valentines Day came and went, the long weekend is almost over but we do have 2 more days off. Tomorrow I am spending the day in my studio. What am I going to do? Hm.... I have about 10 different things I want to try. If you are like me and love the Sumerset magazines the ideas are endless. You will never have artists block reading those magazines.

Where Women Create....

If you have read the brand new "Where Women Create" magazine (published by Stampington & Company's Somerset Studio) you might have the same "fever" as I do today!!! WOW....you should see the amazing places where women create. From art studios to bakeries, small little corners above milk barns to huge Art Galleries. This is a MUST read.

The motivation is here for sure....so I took some pictures of my studio...hm. That big fan standing in the middle of the lover picture I have never seen before looking at the picture. I must trip over that thing all day long, don't use it in February...have no clue what it is doing there. It is now standing on the top of the stairs waiting for the husband to find a new home for it in the garage. He will just love that :). I look at these pictures and wonder, how the heck am I ever going to get this room organized? but then I look in the magazine and see these amazing art studios (some smaller than mine) and I feel that motivation again.

Hopefully next time I post a picture of my art studio it will be published in the next copy of Where Women Create (in my dreams).

Love is in the AIR

This is a page from my Art Journal.

It is almost time for Valentines Day...I love Valentines Day and the whole week before. Of all the strange American Holidays this one is my favorite (Thanksgiving the second). On Valentines Day you get to love on all sorts of people, eat chocolate and make Valentines!!! What more can I say.

IKEA

You just have to love IKEA!!! Today I woke up with the best idea....to put a bar table and two bar stools in the family room. Now I have a place to sit and tap away on my laptop or read a book, have a nice romantic dinner with the husband or a super homework spot for the kids. LOVE IT... came out so nice. I have 3 bookshelves right behind me with hundreds of books....and best of all...the table is so small you can't have a mess on it or your laptop will not fit. I just love IKEA, not just because I am Swedish but because they always seem to have what I need, at a low price and the stuff lasts forever. When I am there I shop for Swedish chocolate, crisp bread and Swedish soda as well, a soft serve for a buck and my husbands belly full of meatballs....the trip there today was perfect.

Lots of NEW ART :)

Fridays are my days off!!! The day I am supposed to do some lesson planning, chores around the house and recharge for the following week. Teaching over 300 kids (age 6-11) a week takes it toll. On Fridays I do whatever I want to do.... usually turns out to be staying in my PJs all day creating ART. The laundry is still in piles miles high and all other chores I am "supposed" to do on Fridays never get done. So what!!! I get loads of ART done and that makes me happy. For now I love these collage ladies....doing silly things...like ME. Have a super weekend, I am.

Migraine is a pain in the neck....

For those of you that suffer from migraines this one is for you. For those of you that think you suffer from migraines and more likely don't this one is for you. For those of you that think you understand what a person suffering migraines feels like this one is for you.

This is not an ART blog...not a blog to make anyone feel bad or inadequate in any way when it comes to migraines but to help you. For those of you out there there that suffer from migraines or have a family member or close friend or co worker that suffer...SUFFER...SUFFER...

Migraines are NOT headaches!!!!!!!!!!! and those of you that suffer from migraines will nod right now knowing what I mean. A headache can be really bad while a migraine will put you on your knees begging for relief. A migraine can start in many different ways...some of you sufferers knows what triggers them (I don't), some of you have auras, some of you have strange food cravings (I do) and feel completely exhausted the day before a major attack (I do). The one thing we all have in common is the GUILT! The feeling you have when you can't go to work, can't open your eyes or talk. You then can NOT be a Mother, which includes using your eye sight and talking. After a few years of this your family begin to catch on and begin to worry about the next attack. I know my family are all so supportive helping with the kids and chores. At work they know as well and always wish me a feel better soon when I call in sick. This is when the GUILT comes in.... when your kids look at your really close knowing another attack is close by and you are trying your best to hide it....so good you might fool yourself. Those times when you are on vacation or have a fun event coming up and everyone worries....will Mom get a migraine?

I am the master of trying to hide the attacks but all it does is making me wait too long before I take my medication (because I know it will knock me out) and that in turn will make the migraine last longer and the medication less effective. I don't want pity and I don't want to ruin the day for everyone around me...I don't want to suffer from MIGRAINES...

I am a migraine sufferer and have to face the facts... I will do better this year....read up on the latest research, try new herbal remedies, NOT eat chocolate (or less), try my very best to NOT start the anti seizure meds the doctor prescribed last...and be HAPPY and celebrate when the migraine does NOT strike ones a week.

Remember that a MIGRAINE is NOT a headache...you can't take some aspirin and it goes away or go to the gym and sweat it out. Please be patient with us who suffer....let us explain that we are sick and tired or ruining our loved ones day or calling in sick worried that you will not understand....understand that you are not home from work because you have a lousy headache.

I say a prayer to all of you who suffer and hopes that your next attack will not be so bad. Make sure you see your doctor often since research is done all the time and new "ideas" for you how to make life a little bit easier.

I feel better after a day in bed medicated to the brink of unconsciousness, called in sick at work and my in laws helping with getting my youngest to school...picking her up and my 18 yr old fixing dinner... I am trying NOT to feel guilty... trying really hard but I know I now have to call the in laws to say thank you, go to work tomorrow and explain to all the kids and co workers why I was not at work yesterday and try to avoid the worried look on my kids faces when they ask if I am alright. Just another day in a migraine sufferers life.

February

I LOVE the month of February!!! not just because it is my birthday this month but because it is February. Art is fun this month.... the kids will make beautiful Valentines with all sorts of media in all grades :) If you live in California you know that SPRING is around the corner or if you where born and raised in Sweden like me you feel that spring is here right now. I have seen daffodils in the front yard, some trees are in full pink bloom and the sun feels nice and warm.

I found some nice vintage Valentines on my pc!!! and so many other vintage images that I just have to do something with.... oh, I also want to sew a handbag with some quilting and applique... I know exactly what I want it to look like..

Super Bowl Sunday

Some days I feel almost homesick, even though I have spend 20 years in the US this year. Sweden is still a part of my everyday life...family, friends in the US and in Sweden, cooking and language. Today is NOT one of those days....today I feel lucky to be living in this wonderful country where we can spend a whole day eating in front of the TV with the best commercials, football teams and friends. ART sort of did not happen at all today but I did look through the whole Somerset Studio Magazine this morning over coffee and WOW...