Just Bee 'n Me Girls Calendar - November

Here's Sadie, my November Just Bee 'n Me girl. She's a fabulous cook and is blessed with the gift of hospitality. She loves all things vintage and has a great set of vintage Pyrex serving pieces that she loves to use when serving her guests...  Pumpkin pie and hot coffee are ready and waiting!

This image is what the basic layout of the Just Bee 'n Me Girls calendar will look like...each month will feature one of the colorful, creative Just Bee 'n Me girls with a Scripture and encouraging words, plus coordinating "accessories" that reflect each girl's personality. 

Can't wait to get them all together so I can share them with you - still hoping/planning to have these ready by Christmas!!  I'll keep posting little sneak peeks as I get them ready...

Hugs to you my dear friends...thanks so much for stopping by!

Meet "Maggie"!

Meet "Maggie", my October Just Bee 'n Me calendar girl! I'm so happy to finally be moving forward on the Just Bee 'n Me Girls 2013 calendar! I have lots of fun creative girls waiting in the wings for their  calendar debut - I just have to get them from the sketchbook to the computer where they start to really take shape and develop their "personalities".

Maggie is herself quite a doodler, filling one art journal after another with her bright, colorful sketches and mixed media pages. Her personal style is a little bit Boho, a little bit Romantic. She loves to laugh and spread a little joy whenever, wherever she can...

Can't wait to introduce more girls to you soon!

You'll be seeing these girls make appearances in the new Etsy shop soon too...should be fun! 

(yikes, we're sold out in our shop right now but we are working hard to restock it with more Inspiration Kits by Wednesday evening 9/26!)

Talk to you soon - have a great week!

"Rednesday" - A Sweet Surprise

I wanted to say a BIG "Thank You" to sweet Sue at It's A Very Cherry World for her very kind shout out about my 2011 Calendars!! Sue is the hostess of the very fun, very red "Rednesday" weekly celebration of the color red. This week for Rednesday, she honored veterans for Veteran's Day in a lovely tribute, (plus the sweet mention of my Calendars). So, I decided to put on my best red shoes :o) and party along with the Linky fun and post a couple of my favorite photos/illustrations featuring the always endearing color red!!

Thanks again Sue for including me in your fun! I look forward to playing along with Rednesday in the future!!

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PS - I am all finished editing my many photos from the Winnie Flea Market - hope you'll check back tomorrow for all the details and to see how the weekend ended up...

Thanks friends, old and new, for stopping by and being so sweet...I love y'all!

No Tricks, Just Treats

I have a few treats to share with you, as well as the latest update on our preparations for the big Flea Market next week...

First off, if you need a little sweet treat of non-scary trick-or-treat graphics for last minute crafty projects, take a look at my "No Tricks, Just Treats" clipart kit...

For just $4.99, you get 30 cute sticker-doodle graphics...

...plus 5 background papers and a bonus mini-poster with Scripture...

...just perfect for embellishing goodie bags, creating cupcake toppers, or whatever your crafty mind can cook up!

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I have another "treat" available for you early this year so you can get a jump on your Christmas shopping. I've made my two original Scripture art calendars available for 2011 in my Cafe Press shop. I'm sure my friends and family are saying, "oh dear, THOSE again?" but there may be new readers who have not seen these yet...

This is the cover of the "My Cup Runneth Over" calendar...

(ignore the fact that the cover image says "2010" in the upper left corner - I still don't have my graphics computer back, so I don't have access to the updated 2011 cover image)

Click here to order "My Cup Runneth Over"

And here's the "Wisdom & Whimsy" calendar cover...

Click here to order "Wisdom & Whimsy"

If you follow the above links, you will be able to see all the designs for each calendar on the page. And as always, I have made all 24 designs from both calendars available on notecards which you can see here and here...

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Well, it's six day and counting until our debut at Larry's Old Time Trade Days in Winnie! Things are shaping up very well, but I always wish we had just a bit more time. I'm sorry I don 't have photos to share with you yet of the progress, but I had a SECOND computer go down sometime after I had loaded the latest photos (I deleted them from the camera's memory too). Fortunately, we were able to save the computer, but we had to reimage the whole thing to do it and we lost all the files on it. But, it's not as bad as it sounds - it is a fairly new computer and did not have much on it yet. But, the photos are gone forever...  But I have excellent news on my old workhorse art computer that went down a week or so ago - my brother says the data on the 2 hard drives is all in tact! (that's ALL my art files and photos to date...whew!) The problem turned out to be the power supply which he is replacing this weekend if possible. After final testing we will know for sure if the computer will be back 100%, but it's looking VERY good at this point! (Yay God!) What a relief!

I'll try to post an update before we start packing up the trailer on Wednesday, but if I don't, you'll know I'm just swamped with preparations. I plan to document the entire process of packing, setting up, displaying and working the Flea Market to share with you in case some of you are contemplating selling at such a market or show in the future. Maybe you'll be able to learn from what are sure to be our mistakes, as well as successes, along the way...

I hope you have a safe, fun weekend with your family and friends! Hugs, y'all!!

Hibernating in Summer

Formula for "Summer Hibernation":

99 degrees and 95% humidity

Yes, it is hot and humid here in the Houston area, and if you're like me, the relentless muggy heat drives you indoors for keeps, and like Winter in parts North, one turns to indoor activities to pass the days.

So, I've been snuggled up at the computer creating illustrations for my "Between us Bunnies" Calendar for 2011. The above design is for August, and is a tribute to my dear Colorado friend Sue C., who happens to be celebrating her 10th Wedding Anniversary today! Congratulations Sue & Bill!! Sue is one of the most hospitable, generous people I know. Our sweet friendship began over shared cups of coffee on Sue's deck after our morning workout at Curves, and grew into one of the most endearing and enduring friendships in my life! Love you and miss you Sue!! (wow is this a fitting Scripture for you!)

"The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed"

Proverbs 11:25

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With the AC cranked, and the three Summer months of designs completed, I decided to pretend it was cold and motivate myself to create the January bunny design....

This is a tribute to another dear Colorado friend of mine, Nancy M. Nancy is a real nature lover and is most at home hiking in the gorgeous Colorado wilderness, so she became the inspiration for this cozy Winter design. Girl, I wish I could lace on some hiking boots and hike with you up there in cool Colorado, but I'll have to settle for hiking to my mailbox in the heat right now :o)  But someday...someday...we'll head for the hills and enjoy God's glorious creation together! Meanwhile, this Scripture has "you" written all over it - you are the most tireless servant of God I know. You don't need the reminder- you already live it out every day! Bless God for you my dear friend!

"Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God."

Hebrews 13:16

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So, my blogging has been quite sluggish in the wake of this "frozen" Summer. I've been able to dedicate myself to the calendar illustrations, but not a whole lot else. In discussions with my ever-so-smart Texas friend Connie (who will be the inspiration for my next design for February), she gave me some great insight into my current state of molasses-speed activity - I'm in the process of "decompressing". With the exception of a short period of time in 1995, I have been working non-stop since I was 15. When I was outsourced from my full time job in early 2009, I kept busy remodeling our mobile home, then an intense time of illustration for Universal and Aimee Asher, then preparing and filling my studio, then preparing for opening a space at Whispering Willow, then working at the Willow and maintaining our large space...  and now, suddenly, with the Willow space closed, most all my external obligations are gone for this season. Thus, I am now apparently in decompression mode...it makes sense. I am unwinding after being wound pretty tight for the past 35 years...and I need it. I take naps, I read, I pray, I move slowly and if I manage to defeat the guilt I feel from "not doing anything", I actually enjoy myself...

 I know this slower pace will not last forever, but if I am wise, I will learn and take to heart the valuable lessons from this season of slow, and invest in guilt-free rest when I need it. It is as necessary as food and water and air... Even God Himself rested...and He not only invites us to rest, He commands it! With the busy back-to-school time upon us and the new projects ramping up for the Fall, I pray that you will find (and take) the rest you need when you need it...

"For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall."

Hebrews 4:10-11

Illustration Friday: Breakfast

(click to enlarge)

Food for thought...

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Well, it's been forever since I participated in Illustration Friday, and I'm slipping this one in with just a day to spare. When I saw the topic "Breakfast" for this week, I knew I wanted to play along, and I'm glad I was able to. I've been wanting to experiment with combining photography with my cartoon work for a while now, so this topic gave me the perfect opportunity to do just that. The yummy breakfast in the photo is the "small" one egg, one meat combo with a side of gravy from Kitty's Cafe in Magnolia Texas. I am a huge fan of breakfast - always have been, and Kitty's serves up some of the very best I've ever had. Hubby and I are there almost every Thursday morning enjoying the great homey ambience found in small town diners...and yes, enjoying the incredible food. (it's a nice break from my wheat toast and yogurt that I have every other day of the week) But don't worry about its effect on my 50 by Fifty diet - Hubby and I split everything, so it's not as bad as it may look :o) (I'm still as 'committed' to the diet as ever!)

So, are you a breakfast person? Do you frequent any local dives that dish up awesome early morning fare? I'd love to hear about it...

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It's so good to be blogging again - many thanks for not giving up on me :o)  I have some shopkeeping news to share very soon as well as the bunny calendar design for August, which I am coming close to finishing. Here's just a tiny preview of one element of the August design...

I hope you commit yourself to having a wonderful rest of the week and weekend! Many blessings for stopping by for a visit!

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"For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him."

2 Chronicles 16:9

2011 Bunny Calendar Sneak Peek & Giveaway Announcement

Hello friends!! I am so excited for so many reasons these days...but I'll share two reasons today. First of all, I am very happy to introduce to you my first bunny girl from my upcoming 2011 Scripture Calendar: "Between Us Bunnies" - Kathleen Grace for the month of July!! I approached the design of the new calendar by basing each month's bunny on a girlfriend or family member of mine. For July, I chose one of my dear blog buddies and sweet Sister in the Lord, Kathleen Grace (Kathy) of Kathy's Cottage. If you've never met Kathy, do yourself a favor and get acquainted with her - she is so very genuine, multi-talented, funny, smart, hard-working, and warm! We hit it off as blog pals a couple of years ago or so now and I have loved reading the tales from her journey, and seeing the beautiful works of art from her hands. Plus she was kind enough to custom make a heart pillow for my Mom on her 70th birthday a couple of years ago - it was a big hit! The inspiration for the images in the illustration is from her writings on her blog as well as actual sewing projects Kathy has made and shared on her blog or in her etsy shop, Hens in Daisies. I fell in love with this sweet birdie from her sold items gallery in her etsy shop...

(photo courtesy of Kathleen Miller)

...and did my little interpretation of it for the illustration...

...same goes for this adorable apron (available now when I last checked!!)...

(photo courtesy of Kathleen Miller)

From reading "Kathy's Cottage", I knew she has a soft spot for hollyhocks and cherries and LOVES the color red! The bunny herself was pretty easy to design once I decided that she would be sitting and stitching; from there, the porch swing was just a natural next step for the design and helped tie the visual concept together. But it was the Scripture that really made it all come together as an overall illustration - it even includes the word "Grace" which is Kathy's middle name...

"Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others. Be good servants of God's various gifts of grace."

1 Peter 4:10 (New Century Version)

Yep, that's Kathy all right! I do hope you'll stop by and say hello to my sweet friend!

In addition to the calendar, I will be making this artwork available as notecards in my CafePress store, plus I will be offering all of the elements and background patterns from the illustration as a new Summer digital clipart kit in my Aimee Asher digital boutique! I hope you'll stop back by and check those out when they are available - hopefully within the next week to 10 days!

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Secondly, I am thrilled to be able to announce a very special monthly giveaway that my dear friend Sue Cramer is having right now at her awesome blog "Praise and Coffee"! I am a proud "sponsor" of sorts for part of this giveaway as I have shared several sets of my "My Cup Runneth Over" notecards for Sue to give away this month and for several more upcoming months as well!! Sue is a wonderful sweet servant of the Lord, writing devotionals on her blog (like "Two Shall be as One Tuesday") as well as for Internet Cafe Devotions, and elsewhere. She is also the founder of Praise and Coffee Nights girlfriend gatherings that are springing up all over the country and the world!!

I hope you'll head over to Praise and Coffee right now and enter the awesome double-giveaway that also includes a music CD, coffee mug, and coffee of course! You'll be so blessed as I have to get to know Sue and share her heart for the Lord, for families, for marriages, and for the special bonds of girlfriends!!

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Thanks all for hanging in there with me as I work hard on the bunny calendar - I hope you'll keep stopping by for more calendar updates and previews as well as my other ongoing adventures here at Just Bee 'n Me! I treasure you and look forward to visiting you too!!

50 by Fifty: Busy Days

Yep, it's been a busy week to be sure...I blew right past 50 by Fifty "Friday", although, I am happy to report that I am back on track and have lost 2 more pounds this past week for a total of 9.1 pounds in 8 weeks! All I can attribute the loss to is simply sticking with writing down what I eat and staying within my points...period. I have not done an appreciable amount of exercise and I could still make better food choices, but overall I am happy to say that I can see some good habits slowly taking the place of bad habits, and in the long run, that is precisely what I need to happen...  

The reason it's been a busy week is primarily because I've been pretty single-mindedly focused on a project and I have not made time for much else besides some family time that was much needed. (I WILL share photos of the crawfish boil SOON...it was so fun!) I'm excited to share that the project I am working on is a brand new calendar for 2011!! It is all starting to click now as the concept finally came together and the sketches are more refined and focused...and typically, once I have that in place, I just put my head down and draw...which is precisely what I've been doing. I promise I will tell you more about it soon, and share sneak previews of it as I go, but for now I will simply provide a one word clue:  'Bunnies'! Lord willing, it is really going to be a fun, sweet, encouraging calendar...one that celebrates friendship and creativity...  If my blog postings become even a bit more sparse than normal, you'll know that it's likely because I'm drawing a bunny or bunny "accessories"  :o) 

But today is a workday at the shop, and tonight is the Dancing with the Stars finale, so the bunnies will have to wait until tomorrow...

Oh and if you're wondering "why bunnies?", here's a glimpse at just a few of the bunnies in my world...

I definitely have a thing for bunnies....they've been demanding their own calendar for a while now! :o)

I look forward to catching up will all of you soon and seeing what you're up to...until then, happy Monday and a blessed week to you all!!

"Mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance."

Jude 2

Happy, Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Friends!!

For faith,

family, 

friends,

and

freedom,

I am forever grateful...

I hope you all have a wonderful, peaceful, joyous Thanksgiving holiday!! May the love and grace of God fill your hearts and homes anew, and may gratitude freely flow!

Hey, it's May!

Just a quick hello to greet the month of May, 2009! Goodness gracious...2009 is almost half over! But what a year it's been so far!

The image above is the design for May from my 2009 Wisdom & Whimsy calendar...it was also the image I chose for the cover...I guess because it's about the most season-neutral of all the illustrations. Anyway, the image below is one I did with pen & ink, watercolor, and colored pencil several years ago...I did the current Calendar image as a digital makeover of the original design, with a few changes, including a different Scripture...just thought I'd put them out side by for comparison. There are things I like better about natural media and things I like better about digital, but the one thing you can't escape in either medium is composition. It'll make or break a design...

We have company coming today - our dear, dear friends, Connie and Buddy!! (We always stay at their gorgeous home on our way to Louisiana to see the kids) They are heading to this part of the Houston area to pick up a sweet new puppy (see below!), so they are spending the day with us...we're so excited!! It's always tons of fun when the four of us get together! And I'm sure Miss Maddie will have fun meeting this sweet little guy...

Hope your weekend is filled with family, friends, fun, and God's faithfulness!! Happy May everyone!!

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"Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning."
Lamentations 3:23

No Foolin' - It's Already April!

I am a terrible liar, therefore I am lousy at trying to pull off April Fools jokes or anything like that, so this will just be a quick hello to all of you on this first day of April 2009! I hope the first quarter of the year was a good one for you (yes, no joke, a quarter of the year is *poof*...gone) I hope you can "laugh at the days to come" as the Scripture says...firm in the belief that God is in control and knows what He is doing! The last three months have certainly been eventful here what with the remodel and the move and all. I'm hoping to really settle more into the illustration business now that so much of the busy work and heavy lifting is behind us...

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Meanwhile, here is a preview of what's coming up in the 2nd quarter of 2009 for me and Just Bee 'n Me (sorry to keep using the term 'quarter'...it's a throwback from my corporate days):

I will resume "Way Back When-sday" next week (Wednesday, April 8th) with a tribute to Easters past. Lallee and I hope that with a week's advance notice of the theme, perhaps some of you will be able to play along!! All you have to do is reminisce about the Easter holidays from your past...or your Mom's past, or whatever, on your blog, and maybe share a relevant photo or two or more from the past, and I will provide a Mr. Linky thingy for you to share your post with all of us. Come on...it'll be fun! I'd really love to hear about your traditions, funny stories, Easter bonnets, how you eat a chocolate bunny, etc!! Feel free to grab the Way Back When-sday banner above and play along!!

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I am *SO* excited to be bringing back Tea for Two-sday starting on Tuesday, April 14th! I love matching up a couple of sweet, creative souls who may otherwise never meet, and inviting them over for tea at Just Bee 'n Me! You never know who I'll pair up next...it just may be *you* and *you*!!

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I can guarantee there will be a steady stream of quick (and cheap) decorating ideas and makeovers to share as we continue to make our mobile home into a cozy cottage nest. Wherever possible I will be including step by step instructions and photos for projects that you might want to try! I will also keep you up to date on the steps I am following as I pursue my dream job as a freelance illustrator...

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I have a 30th High School Reunion, a trip to Colorado, my brothers' 40th and 50th birthdays, and many more fun happenings in the coming weeks and months, so LOTS of photos will be forthcoming!

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I sure hope you'll stop by and share my joys and challenges, my faith and family, my friends and fun...it means the world to me when you come by for a visit, hang out a while, and leave a comment - bless you!!
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"She is clothed with strength and dignity, she can laugh at the days to come."
Proverbs 31:25

March - are you kidding me?

Welcome March...and the Promise of Spring!

Hi y'all! I know I've been really busy and all, but seriously, has 1/6th of 2009 already gone by...? Wow! Well, I guess it's Happy March to all of you!!

I just wanted to post a really quick update on our renovation and move...

We are ALMOST all moved in - tomorrow we have a moving company coming in to pack and move our garage. We would have done it ourselves as we have the rest of the move, but we are just completely out of steam...oh so tired...

The renovations to the mobile home have turned out SO GREAT!! (though they are not all complete...it is still amazingly changed). I can't WAIT to share photos (what a transformation!!!!)...but that is going to take some time I'm afraid...thanks in advance for your patience. I am just buried under boxes - moving from app. 1500 sq. ft. (with TONS of closets and built in storage) into app. 1000 sq. ft. (with precious few closets and no built in storage) may not seem like a big change, but believe me, it is! But there is something very satisfying about downsizing, de-cluttering, and re-organizing as I unpack, and I am enjoying the work...but it will definitely take some time...

I am certainly enjoying not having to work at a job during all this, but the full effect of leaving my former career hasn't really sunk in yet. I'm sure it will soon. I can say that I KNOW it was the right decision and I am just brimming with hope and anticipation for what the Lord has planned for us in this new chapter!!

SO, as sure as the promise of Spring will indeed be rewarded with its glorious arrival, so will the promise of our new future be rewarded in due season with its glorious arrival! The time is coming "to sing..."

May the Lord richly bless you in this season of promise!!

"Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Hebrews 11:1

With Love on Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello to all my sweet friends on this lovely Valentine's Day! I just wanted you to know I was thinking of you, wishing I could give each of you a big hug and say...

Thank You!

thank you for sharing your life and loves,

your inspiration and creativity,

your ups and downs,

your sorrows and joys,

your encouragements and pet-peeves,

your family stories and thrifting adventures,

your sweet pets,

garden projects,

delicious recipes,

decorating tips,

crafting ideas,

business acumen,

silly goof-ups,

Spiritual insights,

and more...

In short - thank you for sharing...

YOU!

We are all the richer for it!

May God Bless each and every one of you!