Scenes from Christmas...

Me, Eamonn, (my youngest) and Santa who we found just waiting for us at our favorite breakfast spot!

Beautiful Amira with Santa

Santa, Eamonn, Papa and pretty Rayne

The living room decorated for a festive holiday!

Can you tell I love RED!!!

...and I love to bake...These are Lemon Poppyseed Muffins with lemon glaze...Yum!

Several batches of these delicious holiday sugar cookies were baked up by the kids.  I think they did an amazing job too!

My oldest daughter, Brittany, (above) and the two little boys and I made this fun gingerbread house.  I got it from Costco and LOVED it as the house was already constructed, something I have such a hard time doing!  We just had to decorate it, and that is the fun part!

What a wonderful holiday this was for my family. We feel so very blessed! I hope you all enjoyed a relaxing, love-filled holiday with your family. I looked out at these seven children as they tear into their gifts Christmas morning, and I realize there is no comparison to the joy my family brings me. Craig and I are so rich in this regard. No matter what happens, my children soothe me, challenge me, feed my soul, and inspire me on a daily basis to be a better person and a better Mother.

Wishing you all a wonderful New Year! 

Smiles,

Julia

Amira and Rayne - and Happy Christmas (and Sunday Sketches)

I did not find time (again!) to sketch something specifically for Sunday Sketches over at Sophia's place.  So I decided to share this piece that I finished this past week. 

If you haven't had a chance to visit all of the other talented artists that participate, head over to visit, or better yet, just link up, and share a sketch with us!

Happy Christmas Everyone!

Had to share this picture I just finished for my daughters Amira and Rayne!  It is totally copied / inspired from the lovely work of Lisa Lectura, and if you haven't had a chance to see her gorgeous big-eyed girls do stop over and look at them soon.  This picture is a combination of two of hers named 'A New Dawn' and

'Mother Earth'.  Look for them on her sidebar and you'll see the similarities right away. 

I wanted to do a mixed media painting for the girls room, and was looking for ideas. 

I certainly found it at Lisa's!

This is one of my favorite things about art blogs.  I have a really difficult time coming up with poses for some of my work, and I am continually inspired by the artists I find through blogging. 

So I have to say thank you to Lisa for this inspiration! This will hang in the girls room for a long time hopefully!  And thank you so much to all of the incredible people I have met this year through blogging.  I learn something about life, love, friendship, art, struggling, coping, soaring...you name it, every time I visit you all.  And each comment you leave is like a visit from a good friend, treasured, savored, really appreciated!

Hugs to you all, and I just wish you such a Merry Christmas! 

New zen doodle portrait - 'Eliza' and Sunday Sketch

Update:  I posted this earlier thinking I would have time to come up with something else to share for Sunday Sketches, but this is going to have to be what I share for this week. 

Not really a sketch, but I'm eager to hear what you all think anyway.

If you want to join all the fabulous artists, just head over to Sophia's place and link up!  It's lots of fun to see all the great art out there!

Hello my dear friends - I feel like I never get to come see you all lately, just so darn busy still adjusting to the new house and Christmas and five kids at home and you name it!  I miss you all and really look forward to visiting whenever I have a few spare moments.

This is a zen portrait I am working on for a friend's daughter.  I just do these for fun, and as you can see I couldn't get the whole picture in the scan cause the paper is too darn big!  I try to capture the image of the child and do a long interview to find out what things are important to him or her at this specific age.  Then I add those things in text at the bottom of the portrait. (you can see that image below)

These scans are really crummy, but you can at least get the idea.

I continue to find these to be very absorbing, and I can lose myself for a couple hours or more at a time!

What do you think?  Do you think she'll like it?

I would be really remiss if I did not mention that the real pro at these portraits is Rebecca Anthony, an amazing artist that inspires me every time I visit.  She actually offers her portraits on a custom basis, and it's pretty wonderful what she does!  If you haven't visited her, do take the time to stop over and say hello and check out her inspiring work.

Sunday Sketch

Happy Sunday Everyone!


This is a little doodle done tonight after decorating our Christmas tree with the kids - relaxing and you all know how I love my 'Smile Campaign'!

Hugs to all my blogger friends and wishing you a wonderful holiday season!

You can find more great sketches over at Sophia's place.  And feel free to join us - it's tons of fun!



oh...and of course...SMILES :-)

Here is the finished version of this lovely lady...I posted her beginning a while ago and wanted to share how she turned out.

Hope you are all enjoying this holiday season!

Hugs