Recent photo shoot

About a week ago, I did my first photoshoot with a person. My friend Sarah wanted me take pictures of her in her tutu. We ventured out to bethlehem had brunch at the Blue Sky Cafe (which was incredible) got to see tara who I haven't seen in ages, and then ventured over to Eskandalo (my fav shop in bethlehem) and I introduced sarah to Alison, I waited while sarah got changed and we went out the back and danced up to lehigh. Now Sarah who is incredibly beautiful, and extremly photogenic was a ton of fun to photograph and here are some of my favorite shots!

Def Click on the pictures so they open up in a new window full size!!

My tomato basil soup...

I will graciously share the most amazing soup recipe in the known universe...

click the comment bubble in the lower left corner of the slideshow for the recipe.

look i made a lamp! Woo hoo

Muraling with kids...

Today marks year two of creating art with the kids at the Fine Arts Festival in Bethlehem. CAN communityartistsnetwork does an annual mural with the kids, last year I did it by myself, this year Ben and I are doing it together, two days two different murals, This is from todays...
we had so much fun with the kids, and my friend Silagh came by with her twins bridget and steven and they are two really fantastic children!!
Ben and I got good and dirty, laughed a lot, and had a lot of fun making art with the kids, it was a good day and tomorrow we get to make our second mural! We're working right next to hotel bethlehem at the end of Main St, stop out and enjoy the Art Festival and say hi!
Love Laughter and Peace,

This is a truly beautiful poem by one of my favorite authors

Kahlil Gibran on Love

When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams
as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God."
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

The right light the right angle

 

Yesterday at sunset I was waiting in our church parking lot before choir, parked under a tree reading my new craft book called "Big-Ass Book of Crafts" and let me tell you the title lives up to it's content, it's full of really awesome craft projects. My new friend Sarah came over today and while we were supposed to go on a photo shoot, we got rained out so instead we got materials for one of the projects in my book, grabbed lunch and chilled out for a few hours. I started my switchplate tonight and while I still have to add a few layers of gloss to finish it, John is diggin it! Check it out :)

Sound Sleeping and house progress

Men at work I'll post a picture when they're done :)

I am a SOUND sleeper... We had a new roof put on our house last week and it looks incredible, but they still had to come back to put the finish trim up, there's a fancy word for "trim work" that I can't come up with right now and so we'll stick with that! Anyway, I woke up late and realized they were outside working away laughing yelling to each other over the roof, and playing thier music, sawing and hammering away. I'm upstairs sound asleep like twenty feet away without a clue! There is something kind of unsettling about being able to sleep like that! Oh well, I got dressed put some coffee on and went out to say hello and take them some coffee. I can not wait to see the final product!! Again, I know it's boring to most people but I'm very excited to see our house slowly become what my minds eye has seen all along! I can not wait to create my outdoor patio getaway! Here's a pic of the progress on the roof so far!

the trees are already fading

All the wonderful bright buds on the dogwoods, and cherry blossom trees are already dying, makes me sad it's my favorite part of spring! here are more yard trees! I love our neighborhood it's so pretty!

Finding the beauty in every day places

This morning I woke early and decided to get outside, take a walk and snap some pictures, I have discovered a real joy in finding the right angle, and objects to photograph, while I am admittedly new at photography the past few days have really sparked a sincere interest in photography that I want to explore this summer. Just over the last few days my pictures have improved. Here are some that I took today.

Thank you Mrs Robin for waiting so patiently for me to get a nice picture of you! Please double click on the photo's to see them with more detail!

Isn't this tree fabulous?! Such weird looking leaves, I laid on the ground underneath the tree to snap this pic, I think the people reading their books outside in the sunshine across from me were wondering what I was doing.... little do they know what a great picture I captured! I love this one.

Uniqueness found in a tree

I remember quite a few years back while a student at Valley Forge I wondered out of my dorm with a blanket yearning for some fresh air, and solitude. I found a wonderfully aged maple tree and threw my blanket down under the spray of it's bright green branches. As I laid there I was impressed with the thought of how each leaf was unique and different from the other, no two leaves were the same. If God cares enough to make each leaf unique, how much more does he care about us? Each of us is a specific unique design, molded thoughtfully and purposefully by God. I don't know about you but I find that to be quite exciting! I'm at a turning point in my life, one where I'm realizing that there was a time where I was hungry and thirsty for all there was in life, where I was full of love for life, for people I encountered whether they were friend, or stranger, where I looked for beauty in the places that other people so easily overlooked. There was , an undeniable peace that was deep within and I'm coming back to that. It's so easy to get wrapped up in life, to over extend yourself, and go to bed at night with a sigh thinking... where has the day gone? I've decided to make it a priority, to take time to slow down, find the beauty in the little things we so easily pass everyday, to look people in the eye and hold a door open for someone, to spend time with my Creator and enjoy the life that God designed for me to enjoy!

The above Dogwood tree sits in our backyard, it's a favorite spot, and yes at 31 i still very much enjoy sitting in trees and staring at the clouds in the sky! Please click on the actual photo's they'll open in a new window and show their true detail.

Love Laughter and Peace

~C

So many things I want to make!

I am so excited for spring! It's the time of year that births creativity and ideas. Last year about this time I discovered the joy of painting outdoors. I decided I wanted to start painting again and so I went to Barnes and Nobles, looked at a few art magazines and found some inspiration, walked a few doors down to Michael's Craft Store and bought new brushes, canvas, and paints oils, and acrylics. After spending a LOT more money than I planned I came home and grabbed an old comforter threw it out in the yard laid out my paints, blended my acrylics, got a mason jar with some water and started painting. I also discovered a "technique" if you will. Painting with your hands is kinda cool, it feels cool, and it actually looks awesome. This abstract flower painting I made, was done mostly with my hands, and by dripping or splatting the paint covered brush at the parts of the canvas i wanted to add texture to. It is probably the first painting that I made that I am genuinely proud of. It's pretty big about 3x5 feet and it's going above our bed.

Now that it's getting warmer out I'm gather up ideas, and cutting pictures and making a list of the projects I want to make this spring which include more paintings, finding a picnic table and some mis matched wooden chairs that I can paint different colors for our patio, and some wooden crates for tables, I want to make a stained glass panel for our kitchen window, and I'd like to make an "outdoor" painting on some plywood, something I can use outside on the patio. FUN FUN FUN!!!! Where's the sun? I have things to create!

Sunshine on Main

Sunshine on Main

Is the saying a day late and a dollar short, or is it a day early and dollar you have but shouldn't spend? There is this really amazing little boutique on Main St in Bethlehem where I work a few hours a month. It's the sort of shop that men despise because their wives get lost in a sea of colorful, vintage, and uber feminine clothes, jewelry, purses, scarfs and home interior items. It's a place where every nook and cranny is filled with something fabulous that makes you say " ooooh, I love this!" and when you look behind the counter there's a little sign that says "you're husband called, he said to buy anything you like!" Needless to say the money I make there, stays there.

This morning I woke up thinking I was supposed to meet the shop owner Norene at quarter of nine to open up and drag everything outside for the sidewalk sales, so I woke up late, rushed to get dressed, grabbed breakfast to go making sure to count my points since I'm doing weight watchers, and grabbed what I needed, locked the door and immediately realized that I forgot John had asked me give a check to our roofer today. I turned around unlocked the door called John grabbed the check grabbed my stuff and juggled everything I needed again while locking the door, gave the check to one of the guys and finally, running late I got in the car and drove to the north side, parked and scurried up the alley to Main St and upon arriving I realized I was an hour early!!

Having some time to spare I went across the street to the Wired Cafe for some strong organic coffee and cranberry muffin, and decided to pull out my camera and take some impromptu pictures. I remembered that as I was scurrying through the alley to Main St the sun was shinning and illuminating the alley where a man was sitting along the side of the walk way reading a book in the morning sun. I walked back through the alley and asked if he'd mind me taking a few pictures to which he said no. Now I don't claim to be any kind of photographer amateur or otherwise but I did enjoy my coffee and morning photography... and while working today I found a great little I love Lucy looking dress for Loly and Colin's wedding this June! And picked up a few more hours to pay for it!!

Such a boring thing to be so excited about...

While I will admit that I am in no way shape or form a morning person, this week I've been getting up fairly early. Mind you fairly early in my book is 8am and I could very easily sleep till 11:30 but this week I'm waking to the sounds of men walking above me, saws buzzing and things being slammed and pulled around. John and I are having a new roof put on the house, patio and garage. I know it's a boring thing to be so excited about but as we under take these home renovations step by step it's exciting to see our house become the home we have envisioned! I don't mind at all waking to men playing WZZO, and stomping around above my head if in the end they make my house pretty! I'm such a nerd too, out there taking pictures and tracking the progress... the funny thing is that two of the workers are brothers and every time I go outside they're like little birds fluffing their feathers and teasing each other in front of me.