Art Institute in Chicago!! Spring Break 2010

American Gothic by Iowa artist Grant Wood! Being an Iowa girl myself I was so excited to see this right in front of my eyes! The placard off to the side read that Wood was trying to depict a farmer and his daughter and traditional values. I always thought it was supposed to represent a husband and wife. It said the gal was supposed to represent womanly duties such as cooking (the apron she is wearing) and home (houseplants on the porch). So amazing to see in person!

Do you love Van Gogh's The Bedroom? I did! Yep saw this too!

Can you believe how big Georges Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte is? Loved this one too!

I googled for the name of Picasso's sculpture and here is what was said about it. "Pablo Picasso's untitled sculpture was placed on Daley Plaza in 1967. While many Chicagoans initially scorned it as unintelligible modern art, it came to be a familiar icon of the city."

My family only spent an hour in this magnificent museum. I want to expose them to this but not bore them to tears. :) Anyway if you want to go inexpensively, go on Thursday evening. We all got in for FREE. The Art Institute has a sponsored evening by Target (love Target). The free hours are 5:00pm-8:00pm.

Happy Day everyone!

Heidi

Having fun with Decoupage!

Last night we went to Hobby Lobby and bought paper mache Easter eggs and Decoupage glue. My friend Ann showed me how to take napkins and glue them to eggs to get these cuties. We had such a nice time sitting around the table talking with our 7 year old twins. They loved this project! They didn't want to put the napkins on the eggs so they just painted their eggs.

These were the bigger sizes of eggs. I love the one on the left but I think they all turned out good.

Here are the napkins I bought. The two beverage size napkins were from the dollar store and the others were 40% off at JoAnn's.

More eggs! My Mom and Dad sat down and helped us so it was definitely a fun family project.

What Easter things do you like to do?

Happy Day to all!

What would you be?

If I were a month I’d be April

If I were a day I’d be Sunday

If I were a time of day I’d be morning

If I were a planet I’d be Earth

If I were a sea animal I’d be a dolphin

If I were a direction I’d be south

If I were a piece of furniture I’d be a outdoor lounger with comfy cushions

If I were a liquid I’d be green tea with pomegranate

If I were a gem I’d be a pearl

If I were a tree I’d be a lilac (I know this is a bush) ;)

If I were a tool I’d be a ion drill (these things are awesome!)

If I were a flower I’d be a day lily

If I were an element of weather I’d be sunshine

If I were a musical instrument I’d be a saxophone

If I were a color I'd be yellow

If I were an emotion I’d be happy

If I were a fruit I’d be a grapefruit

If I were a sound I’d be a happy tune

If I were an element I'd be water

If I were a car I’d be a Jaguar

If I were a food I’d be a cupcake

If I were a place I’d be an outdoor patio

If I were a material I'd be soft cotton

If I were a taste I’d be sweet

If I were a scent I’d be lavendar

If I were a body part I’d be hands

If I were a facial expression I'd be a smile

If I were a song I’d be jazzy

If I were a bird I'd be a bluebird

If I were a gift I'd be extravagant

If I were a street I'd be a street in St. Charles, Missouri

If I were a city I'd be Florence

If I were a door I'd be painted red

If I were a pair of shoes I’d be a pair of sandals

And what would you be?

(I found this here http://kingofmicestudios.blogspot.com/)

What I've been working on...

Inspiration hit me one morning. I bought a little pendant from the talented Danita of a mermaid and an octopus. What could be better than a friendly hug from an eight-armed creature? So I made this little cutie and wrote a little story about what it might be like to be a mermaid who finds herself making friends with an octopus. So if you could make friends with a creature what one would you choose?

What I want Today....

A walk in the park where I can see these beautiful flowers blooming...(not going to happen for a few months)
This book to read...(Border's paperback $14.99 Half.com hardback $6.09 includes shipping)
These adorable owl stamps...
The heart tree to stamp on the kids' valentines...
The Matroyshka doll stamps would be nice too...

Do you ever go window shopping with your camera? I do it all the time now. If I want to buy something I take a picture of it and if I still want it the next time I go shopping I buy it. It also helps if you want to try to find it cheaper online. This cuts down on the impulse shopping which leads to runs to the Goodwill and Salvation Army. What do you tell yourself when you are considering making a purchases? What do you want today?

Are you thinking ahead?

My friend called today to ask what I've been up to in the craft department. These are creations I made from wool sweaters that I felted. They are actually made with the scraps I had leftover from scarves. Here is the shop I saw on etsy that inspired me to make mine. Love the gray wool felt bowl with little felt hearts. The one with "LOVE" spelled out in beads also tops my list. Here is the link cosedolci.etsy.com .

I've been eyeing this sweet little couple now for quite some time. Most of you probably know this shop marmeecraft.etsy.com .

Today is my wonderful husband 's birthday. I wonder if he really knows how much I love him? He is so kind and generous to me everyday. I'm not talking diamond rings and Cadillacs generous but the kind that comes from something bigger than material goods.

Is there something you made that is Valentine's Day related? Do you have your eye on something?

Have a wonderful day!

~Heidi

My love for star shaped ornaments continues...

I found these in a shop in Iowa City, Iowa called Artisan Gallery. It is located downtown in the Old Capitol pedestrian mall. My parents and I went there last Tuesday to go out for a nice lunch to celebrate Dad's birthday. It was bone chilling cold but we really wanted to get out of the house. The stars and snowflake ornaments are two-sided and are so nicely done. they are made by Des Moines based business Sticks. This is a link to their website http://www.sticks.com/installations.html. If you go to their website and look at past work they installed in libraries, campuses, and hospitals you will be amazed at their wonderful creations!
I love this mirror! I unfortunately don't have the funds to buy it but I'll put it on my wish list. :)
What wonderful messages for all of us and I love the seemingly simple artwork.
And if you happen to go to Iowa City check out New Pioneer Coop. It has lots of organic foods and I loved their hot case. I didn't eat the maple pork loin because we were going out for lunch at a restaurant but I thought it looked delicious. I can testify that the Broccoli Swiss and Mushroom soups they let me sample were delicious! Next time I find myself in Iowa City on a warmer day, I'm going to grab a cup of soup, some of their freshly baked bread, have a little picnic and watch the world go by. You may wonder why I would take pictures of a hot case. My husband manages a deli style kitchen and I like to give him unsolicited advice. :)



Hope you are all staying warm!



~Heidi