Changes...

So many things going on since my last post! Lots of changes...

I finally opened up an etsy shop and actually listed some items ~ Yikes!  This is really nervewracking for me, but I am excited at the same time! (link is at the top of this page on the right)

I'm off this fall to study ART at Western Washington University!  Aside from the fact that EVERYONE I came across while registering for classes thought I was a students' parent (lol!) the whole process of going back to school has been super smooth!  I am very very excited about going back to school!

My little men are also going back to school and we are thinking they will be going to the Waldorf School right by my University this year.  Part of putting my art in the etsy shop is in an effort to fund all this schooling, so fingers crossed it will take off and I will sell some more art :)

We have had a busy busy summer, and I am now in 'frantically get ready for the return to school' mode. There is even more to do since I am getting ready for school too.  Seems like the days are just flying by and I'm not sure how we will get everything ready in time, but things are flowing and that feels great!

 

My new backpack - Bright Orange of course! :)  And I got a rain shield too as it rains most of the school year here!

 

 

I'm still sewing for my little men and have just completed these cute waistcoats ~

 

Liam is turning into such a little Mister ~ I Love his new cap with his new waistcoat.  He is losing teeth, reading like crazy, and just growing into such a sweet young man. 6 years old here.

Eamonn proud as punch in his new waistcoat!  Love the shorts with the shirt :)  Eamonn continues to be our highwire act, jumping off any and everything!  He is very agile, but boy does he scare me sometimes!  He is almost 5!  My how they are growing!

 

Today I will be starting on the pyjamas for them that I need to get done before I start school. 

I will post pics of them as soon as they are done!

 

And had to post this years trip to the woods to gather some wood for this winter.  We went up to the state park where my sister is a ranger again.  Laraby state park.  The arborist crew had just gone through and downed several dangerous or diseased trees, so we were able to swoop in and saw them into rounds, roll them into the box van, and take them home...

 

Lumberjack!

Amira worked really hard and practiced her deep lunge kicks at the same time!

Rayne was feeling under the weather so she did a lot of directing. 

 

Eamonn and I pushing a big round up the ramp into the truck!  Notice the earplugs sticking out of his ears ~ we all wore them as the saw was LOUD!

Liam and Mama working together.

Dal Dal working it :)      The boys on the stump goofing off :)

 

Tired Mama!  We worked so hard!

 

Young woodsman Vidal 'Dal dal'

 

Papa really worked that chainsaw!  Whew! But we have wood for at least this year and most likely into the following year as well! Yeah!

 

Life is as ever busy, and changing.  Change is good, but scary sometimes.  I am  embracing and celebrating all the great things coming our way.

 

Wishing you all a peaceful end to your summers ~ I hope yours have been filled with lots of adventures and great family memories as well.  Grab those moments as you find them ~ these little ones grow soooo fast!

 

Smiles and hugs

xo

 

Julia

 

Playing with paint :)

I'm playing around with metallic and glitter paints- fun!!!



I think this lovely has turned out to be a mermaid although I'm not sure that's what I was thinking when I started her- still lots of fun playing with different paints - trying to paint a face instead of draw it with my pencils is very challenging!
I can see I need lots of practice!



Still I am having fun and that's what making art is all about~

Hope you are all well and enjoying your summer! Here are a few snaps from ours:0



We woke up a couple of days ago to these two beauties just hanging out in the front yard!


We had twins born in our yard a couple years ago and we all wondered if these two young bucks were those twins returning...


Enjoying snuggles in mama and papa's bed early in the morning- Liam and eamonn are best buds:)


And these are a couple of pieces of art the boys and I did for Father's Day using Liam's hand and eamonns feet ~ I love how they turned out!


It's time! Fresh raspberry scones are rolling out of the oven a couple times a week:) YUM!!!

May you all be happy and well.
Summer smiles,
Julia Christie

Enchanted...

'Enchanted'
3'x4'
sold!

So much time has passed since my last post and a friend reminded me that there are some folks that may wonder where exactly I went when I dropped of the face of the earth.  :0)
Do any of you ever just need to take a break from social media?

I do it pretty regularly, take a break and recharge, focusing on my family and local friendships and all the many demands of life here. 

So what's been going on with me?  I sold this piece above to a friend of mine.  If you've followed my blog for any time you will remember how many MONTHS it took me to finish this piece.  The original mediums were colored pencils and ink.  I then had it printed on a canvas and spent many more HOURS painting and embellishing it.  It's a pretty massive piece.  I wish you could see the canvas with all the painted background details and tons of painting on the flowers in the tree.  It really turned out so wonderfully. 
So I hung it on my wall and enjoyed it for the winter and then my friend has decided she would like it for her own.

I took it over to her house and installed it and it just was supposed to be there!  Now that is the most wonderful thing to see a piece of art that you have literally poured your whole artistic self into over such a long time find the home it was meant for.  I just feel so good about it!

How do all of you artists feel about it when your creations find a good home?  Isn't it so satisfying and special?

Other than that, I have been just enjoying my family and working like crazy on the business we own as we stretch our wings a tiny bit and expand.  That part is fun.
I'm itching to get back to writing so I may have something new to share of that nature soon too.

I hope you all are enjoying a sweet start to 2013.  Spring was here in full force today and it was so lovely to see the sun and all of the flowers and leaves on the trees.  Still pretty chilly here, but oh the light - I love the light!

Smiles to you all

xxoo
Julia

Another Sewing project complete!

Aren't these lovely!  I just finished these pretty pjs for a friend as a surprise!

I'm afraid these will be my last pair for a bit as I knuckle under and finishe the two other sewing projects I've undertaken, a quilt and some curtains,

 but I had to get these done to send off to my friend!

 

Thank you 'sew' much to Kelli at Fabrics Plus here in town for helping me pick out this sweet trim!  Totally made these just that much prettier.

 

My art, these days, seems to be in the form of fabric, and I think that may continue for a good bit longer....Ah well, the creative juices are flowing and I am happy and enjoying myself!  Isn't that what it's all about?! :-)

 

Wishing you all the best that Autumn has to offer and may you be enjoying this special season with those you love!

 

Smiles!

 

Julia

Fall Baking and punkin' ramblings...

It is most definitely Autumn here and I am enjoying the crisp air and cosy evenings with the family.  I have been simply taken over with the 'homemaking' bug and have been sewing and baking to beat the band!  This lovely dish is an apple dumpling that I made for the family's dessert last night.  I am pretty proud of my skills baking apple pies, but thought I'd try these since I hadn't baked them for years and years...Oh my did they turn out delicious!  Served with Vanilla bean ice cream there was a lot of ooohs and ahhhs at our dinner table last night.  My how I love to bake!!

I Love the weather this time of year.  We started the morning dark and cloudy and now we are being treated to the most beautiful sunbursts and warm balmy weather. 

 I picked up these absolutely stunning flowers yesterday when we were at the local punkin' farm picking up the boys punkins and going on a hayride.  They got to wade out into the field and pick their own punkin' out!  This is a tradition in our home and they look forward to it every year.  Tomorrow we have a big group coming over to carve punkins so that should be fun!

Little Buddies, measuring themselves to see how much they've grown since last year!

Eamonn, who just turned 4, pleased as punch with his punkin'!

Silly Boys...

Liam, now 5, happy with his pick too!

 

Hope you are all enjoying this wonderful time of year! 

 

Happy Autumn :-)

 

Smiles

Julia

Playing around with art and water colors...

 

A little picture I painted today for a young friend of mine - I'm playing around with water colors again and that is unfamiliar territory for me.

 

Still I love the message here and it was relaxing to paint this evening while sipping a cuppa tea and enjoying a nice art break...

Smiles to you all and may it rain love where ever you are!

 

 

 

Hello my lovely blogger friends...if you still remember me!

 

Yes it has been an eternity since I have posted here!!!

 

Our family spent a wonderfully busy summer and now that we are headed into fall I am sewing and getting ready for my favorite time of year, Autumn.

 

These are some pyjamas I just finished for my sister and me.  I love how they turned out!  Super cosy flannel and since I'm always cold, these are the ticket!

 

I am itching to get back at my art table too and have a new sketchbook all ready and dusted off, if I could just get on top of all the sewing projects I've undertaken!

 

This is a quilt I finished this summer, and it turned out so beautifully!  I'm very happy with it, because it's the first one I've made that I am actually going to keep :-)

 

I tend to give them all away!  This is the top before

 I sent it out to be quilted and ready for me to bind. 

 

 

 

And Yeah!!! Baking season is back and I am right at it!  I made two of these last night, one for our family and one for our neighbor, an elderly gentleman who is on his own and likes baked goods.  It was so fun to deliver it to him as apple pie is his favorite!

Tonite I will try my hand at a lemon meringue pie, something I

haven't made since I was a young girl.  I love lemon desserts!

 

 

Life is good and busy.  I hope you are all doing wonderfully well and enjoying Autumn's colorful display!  My it is so beautiful here!  The trees are turning and its cold outside and cosy inside :-)

 

 

Smiles to you all and hope to get around soon to see what you have been up to!

 

Julia

 

Woodgetting

Had to share some pics of our trip yesterday to gather wood...

We spent all day Sunday woodgetting...

 Craig ran the big chainsaw and I moved as many of the rounds as I could...We had to move many of them together as they were too big and heavy to get into the truck with one person.  I ran the small chainsaw for just a little bit cutting up tootsie rolls - small limbs - but when it cut out for the second time I decided to leave it to the expert! :-)

Lumberjack!  I love this picture!

 My sissy who is a state park ranger and Liam - We got a woodcutting permit for the state park my sissy works at and were able to cut up some trees that had come down in a storm.  Isn't liam cute - he worked soooo hard!

                               Liam making it happen!                                                              
                                                                                                 Eamonn, 3-1/2 yrs old - So cute                                                           

Little worker bees asleep on the ride home from the park :-)

Working together to gather wood for next winter is one of my favorite things to do - We learn so much about each other as a family when we go out each year and team up to provide for our family.  I think there are few things as truly satisfying as working hard and then sitting back and enjoying the fruits of your labor...

We just missed the rain too!  It started back up early last night just after we were finished.

We were all tuckered out by the time it got dark, so we did the only reasonable thing...

Snuggled up next to a cosy fire!