Summer's End

Hello friends! Well, summer vacation has come to a screeching halt officially yesterday. The kids are back in school....and that is always bittersweet for me. Of course, it's another clear reminder of the fast paced passing of time. And it's the beginning of checking in with them every evening to make sure papers are done, homework is completed, books are read, activities are attended. That can be exhausting at times. But they are both growing into fine little human beings...and I'm proud of how far they've come...even just over summer vacation. Also, I kind of like the routine of the school year. My favorite part of the day is that little window of time that I have between dropping them off at school, and needing to be at work. The house is all mine (and Luke's) and it's a chance to get a few things done. Or nothing, if I'm lucky enough to have nothing that needs to be done. (ha, yeah right!)

The landscape has changed quite a bit in the shop/studio too. All that wonderful help I had all summer....those girls had to go back to school too, darn it. They were SO great....and they are missed! They prepped so many pieces for me.....I have a mountain of work to do that will keep me busy into the holidays! Thank you, Nicki, Lacey, Emily and Emma!!! Angie and I miss you!!!

We are enjoying LOVELY weather here....temps in the 70's during the day, and nice, chilly nights. Hallelujah! Enjoy your day!!!

Happy Chairs Up For Adoption!

Howdy! Thought you might like to see my latest project....completed, finally!!! Do you love these crazy, wacky, Mad-Hatterish chairs? There are four total...one of them with arms, three without....I found them at a thrift shop a while back. Loved their shape, (see how the back supports are wavy? Love that!) so snapped them up, and I've had so much fun working on them!!! All four are now available in the store, so come in and adopt one!

Makin' it on Friday the 13th

Hi there! Another journal page completed....and some quotes to share on this Friday the 13th....hope you all survive it just fine!!!

"Instead of working for the survival of the fittest, we should be working for the survival of the wittiest - then we can all die laughing." -Lily Tomlin

"Humor can be one of our best survival tools." - Allen Klein

"Life comes from physical survival, but the good life comes from what we care about." - Rollo May

Check out the latest Hoopla!

Hello!!! Good Lord...it's HOT out there! My sunglasses fog up when I step outside and it's maddening. Weatherman Joe says it will cool off by Sunday though.....I hope he's right!!! In the mean time, pour yourself a cold lemonade, put your feet up, and enjoy the latest "Made In Iowa" article in Hoopla! You'll see lil' ol' me! Click HERE to check it out!!! A big thank you to everyone at Hoopla for including me!!! Ta ta for now!

Check out my latest journal pages, and watch for me in Hoopla!

Good morning! I had fun playing in my art journal/altered book this weekend. (big contented sigh) I've got a few new pages to show you!!! Yippee! But first, I've got some fun news....I'm going to be featured in this week's issue of Hoopla! There's a fun little section called "Made in Iowa," where I discuss how I got started, where I find my inspiration, and more! This Thursday, you'll find it at all of the usual spots. Hoopla is a great resource for staying in touch with what's going on in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City corridor, covering lots of events, people and more. And it's FREE! So check it out!!!

Now, on to the pages......this is my often neglected altered book...very old.....see how it's barely holding together at the seams? It's still fun to work in though.

And this is another page in the old book....I ended up just covering a page that wasn't working out. I finally used these hand painted papers that I made forever ago. I love looking at them all together...there will be room for journaling here later.

These pages are from my newer, larger art journal. I found this woman's picture in O magazine, and was so intrigued by her, that I cut out her picture and saved it for a while. I later learned that her name is Lynn Yaeger, a renowned fashion reporter. She's a woman who definitely moves to the beat of her own drum. You know how you just have a feeling that you would probably really like someone if you were to meet them in person? That's the hunch I get about her. The quote on the page is from her...it's a little hard to read, but it says, "Early on, I decided to ignore the fashion industry's dictates and make my own rules."

And my final page was just a random play with all kinds of images I had lying around, looking for a home. I found myself fretting about giving this page some sort of theme or cohesive-ness. But sometimes definite themes don't come, and you have to learn to just enjoy the movement of painting and gluing and doodling. So that's what I did, and that's how I ended up with my little "note to self" in the middle. "Enjoy the Ride.

Hope that's what you're doing! Wishing you all a fab-u-lous day!!!

My Cool Neighbors and Their Cow

Hello friends! I'm back...running on all eight (eight?) cylinders, and ever so thankful for that! It was a great weekend!!! I've got lots of things to share...so here we go!

May I share some highlights from the past few days?

1) A sweet little boy visited our open studio on Thursday with his parents. He was mesmerized by Luke, who was passing through for a sip from his water dish. He reached out and loved all over him, which never bothers Luke one bit. Later that day, we discovered that Luke's tail looked like it was dipped in baby pink and apple green paint. It's still there...we like it.

2) Friday night, I hosted little Paige's art party in the studio. Her older brother, out of the blue, asked me, "Dori, what continent would you like to visit?" A delightful discussion of travel and landmarks followed, which was a complete joy. I love random questions from smart kids.

3) Saturday morning, walking through the Farmer's Market with Lovin' Man. I found my favorite vendor...a little old lady who makes awesome chocolate zucchini bread. I'm tellin' ya, it's awesome. I need to ask her name....she's so sweet.

4) Saturday night, we were treated to wine and yummy treats at Dave and Beth's house...neighbors down the street. They shared their gorgeous patio with us, and it was so relaxing. And fun! Such a cool couple. We thought they were cool when we left on Saturday night....but then they sealed the deal on Sunday morning....read on....

5) Dave and Beth brought home a gigantic paper mache cow, strapped to their car. Look at that glorious thing!!! We were out working in our yard when they pulled up to show us their prize. Apparantly the drama dept at our high school cleaned out their props room, and this guy was in the dumpster......

They said they just couldn't leave it there...and I agree. The legs in the air are a hoot! Can't wait to hear what they do with it. I think I heard the word "pranking" a few times. Heh. Yep, we've got the coolest neighbors.


Have you ever gone dumpster diving? What's the greatest/weirdest thing you've ever found? I think my best find was a mannequin, several years ago. She was scruffy, but I did a mosaic on her body. I wish I still had her!! I'd love to hear your dumpster diving treasures and disasters. Do tell!!! More to come soon...time to eat dinner for now! xoxo

Maturity

"Sometimes when I get up in the morning, I feel very peculiar. I feel like I've just got to bite a cat! I feel like if I don't bite a cat before sundown, I'll go crazy! But then I just take a deep breath and forget about it. That's what is known as real maturity. "

-Snoopy from The Peanuts

Another Giveaway over at Sara's!!!

Hey, hey! Here I am again! I'm not gonna lie...it's been a challenging few days here in Dreaming Bear land. I've had some health issues, and it hasn't been much fun, but I think we are getting them sorted out, and I should be back to my crazy self very soon! In the meantime, you need to meet my new bloggy friend, SARA from Sara's Art House.

(photos from Sara's Art House)

(some of Sara's whimsical artwork)

This girl is FUN with a capital "F." Her house is fabulous!!! And so is her blog, so that's why I jumped on the chance to be a sponsor of her lovely space in the blogosphere. Run, don't walk, over to her blog right now....to enter a chance to win our Dreaming Bear giveaway!!! Click HERE!

Cheers to you all!!!

Linky Love and a Giveaway!

Hi there! It's me again! Just wanted to send a gigantic, juicy THANK YOU to the following cool babes for their shout outs to me! Go to their blogs, listen to their stories, spend a little time with them.......they are amazing, sassy and creative gals!

1) Check in with Michelle, the Mosaic Queen. (many of you have seen her sweet lil' cupcakes in our store.) She is sharing the story of how art saved her, HERE, on Jenny Doh's CRESCENDOH blog.

2) I've made a new bloggy friend in a super fun gal named Sara...check out her delightful blog called Sara's Art House. It's a fun time! Sara and I will be getting together soon for some shenanigans.....soon....very soon.

3) I'm now a proud sponsor of the lovely Alma Stoller's blog. She is a wonderful artist, designer, teacher and producer of some wonderful zines, which are available in her Etsy shop.

We are doing a super fun giveaway to celebrate.....so head on over to her blog right away, and leave a comment to be entered!!!!

Join The Sketchbook Project With Me!

Happy Thursday to you! Okay, so after lots of deliberating, & hemming and hawing, as of just a few minutes ago, I am now a proud participant in The Sketchbook Project! Yippee! This idea has been nagging at me for several weeks, and I see so many of you out there having a blast with it......and I do hate being left out of a good time, so here we go! It's weird to say, but the underlying nervousness about the challenge of doing this project is a real motivator for me. I purposefully chose a more challenging theme, so I can really stretch my creativity in this notebook.

What is The Sketchbook Project, you ask? As they mention on their website, "It's like a concert tour, but with sketchbooks." Hundreds of sketchbooks are being handed out to artists all over the world, to fill up with their artwork. These sketchbooks will be coded and archived, and then travel around in an exhibition that includes such cities as Brooklyn, Austin, Chicago and more. Thinking of joining in the fun? It's not too late! Hop over HERE to get started!!!

A Very Good Day Indeed.

(My new ferris wheel collage, available in the store. Call me if you must have it! :-)

Hello friends! How have you been? Whew! Here in Dreaming Bear land, we've been busy, making, creating, travelling, exploring, and enjoying! Lovin' Man and I spent a couple of days in Chicago, visiting the Gift Market to do some buying for the store, and then we visited the CHA show on Tuesday, seeking out jazzy new craft items for the studio! Oh my, what fun! We did a LOT of walking, but found so many goodies. I promise to share these things with you soon. I just need some time to sort through my catalogs, order forms, etc. I am not a very good picture taker on trips like this, because I'm so focused on covering as much ground as possible.

But here are some highlights from the trip:

1) Lovin' Man does all the driving for me. He is an excellent navigator, and he doesn't complain that I nap off and on through the whole drive. He just wakes me when we need to pay a toll. Heh.

2) Dinner at Big Bowl. YUM. Pomegranate sangria. Enough said?

3) Meeting Suede from Project Runway at the CHA show. He was very sweet and friendly, and he was showing off some dresses that he designed completely out of paper. Cool. And by the way, the new season starts tomorrow. My girlie and I will be watching! Yay!

4) Finding fun new products for the store and studio really gets my juices flowing again! Can't wait to share and I can't wait for things to start arriving!

5) Found tasty, enormous cherries at Whole Foods on the way home. Mmm.

After work today, Little Man and I headed to the pool....nothing better on a steamy day like today! Hope you are all having a great week...more news tomorrow!!!
Cheers!


"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about. -Charles Kingsley

Collage Houses Under Construction

Howdy!!! I've been working on more collage houses. Some of these will end up in the store...and some of them will be shipping out to other stores. The only thing they need before they are sent out into the world are words. Cuz, you know, that's how we roll around here. Words on everything. (smile)

Girls on Wheels with Pink Hair

Hello earthlings! How are you this morning? I can already tell this is going to be a two cup sort of morning. Know what I mean? Now, this is pretty nerdy....but I'm not a coffee drinker. Lovin' Man, he's an avid and educated coffee drinker. Me? Can't stand it...except maybe a teeny drop mixed in with cocoa. I think it's the after taste that bugs me the most.But my life changed when we discovered Swiss Miss Pick Me Ups. A full cup of caffeine in a cup of cocoa. I know, I know....it's July....but it's what I've got to work with for now. Well, anywho....here are the most recent pages in my altered book....

I LOVE these girls. LOVE 'em.

Earlier this year, I did a series of canvases with robots (did I forget to share those here? I think I did...sorry) Well, some of those robots told me they wanted wheels so they could jet around with speed and ease....and they turned out to be so fun! So now, we have pink haired girls with wheels.

Makes me want to strap on some roller skates....want to join me?

The Happiness Project - A Fun Read

I'm currently reading this book, and am really enjoying it. It's a light hearted, joyful description of one woman's journey towards more happiness in various aspects of her life. And in turn, she brings more happiness to those around her. I think the saying really is true: "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." Ha!

Gretchen Rubin's website is HERE, and you can learn more, and purchase it HERE.