Lovely Sarah - First Photo Shoot

It's been almost 2 years since I've had a camera in hand for a portrait...
I've missed it...and the peace it brings me. ~kmd

SUNDAY: After a wonderful lunch with her awesome family, Sarah volunteered to be the first portrait shoot with my new Nikon. I was a little nervous about the digi-cam, but being Sarah the teacher, she quickly put me at ease with her contageous laughter, silliness & endless patience. So we figured things out together (quite literally) & it all worked out great! Great friends are my diamond necklaces & their love my mansions. Enjoy!

I thank my sweet God for a spectacular day

& a gentle push into answered prayer.

New Stuff in my Life!

I had a really great weekend! I worked a little & played a little, so I'll be posting two blogs today. I know, weird - especially for me.

I made my first clothing project. Sleeper shorts! I'm not sure who is going to get these for Christmas, but I'm right proud of them. WOO HOO! Mom helped me about 100% with these babies. First she whipped out a homemade pattern on her kitchen table the last day of Thanksgiving vacation, then answered many maaaaany silly questions after I was back in Texas!

I picked out some fun, non-holiday fabric at Hobby Lobby





....and this panel



...became these sleepers!


I love them & I can't wait to make more!

What fun Holiday stuff are you guys making for your friends & family?
Please share! I love new ideas & seeing people's hearts at work!

O Happy Christmas to All!

Audrie came up with the idea our Bible study needs to make kids' Christmas shoe boxes to be donated! So she presented us with the challenge of filling a shoe box with items for a 14 year old girl. That got my brain workin' overtime. What do teens LIKE these days? Helloooooo all 14 year old girls are into make-up!

Being a former make-up artist & still loving the daily play in color, I figured every girl needs a roll n carry make-up case. It doesn't take too much room in the ol' messenger bag AND it's cute!

My sewing machine got a full length workout & my trusty seam ripper was ready!

I only had to pull out 1 or 2...

I found the perfect starter kit for a young girl who may not have the advantages we do in the U.S. It warmed my heart to be able to do something personal at Christmas!

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

What fun things are you making?

What ways do you share Christmas with others???

More Wild Curl news...

I'M GETTING MY DIGITAL CAMERA TODAY!!!!

I can't wait!!! UPS needs to hurry with my little one, so I can get movin' on this new adventure.

Home Makin' Stuff

The past few weeks have been very confusing for me. At first I was this: "whatever! It's gonna all be cool." Then the next week I was, "LAY ME OFF?! You'll see, New York, you'll need me!!" Then it was on to, "Oh my heavens, I really don't have a job." All the way to, "Okay! So let's start a business & make staying at home work for ME!!!" All stages have had plenty of laughing, crying, freakin' out & general peace. God knows what He's doing....so I may as well let Him do it without resisting. Instead, I'm going with the flow & seeing what's what.
"So what's she been really doing?" you ask.

WOO HOO!!!!

I'VE BEEN MAKIN' STUFF!!!

Sooooo many fabrics...what to do...what to do....?

So many rows & rows of clothes, pillows, purses & curtains waiting to be made! Wait....CURTAINS!!!

I need curtains in the kitchen where the back window has a little see-thru spot!

VOILA!!! Oh yes....I can make 1940's colors work with awesome paisley.

Note the wine bottles... OH YEAH!

I rocked some painting on glass.

I've found it takes something called "patience...?"

I dunno. 2 hours later, 1 was sorta finished.

Next on the Project Home: get Molly's art ON THE WALLS.

Small space, happy heart.

For the first time in a year....I'm happy with my kitchen!

Remember these little guys?

I painted them this summer & couldn't find the perfect frames!

Now they're up in my office! LOVE EM!

So, as you can see, being unemployed hasn't made me crazy, it's just makes me...sorta jobless.

I've been so blessed to begin taking contracts, but they aren't pouring in like crazy. It's good. I'm being given time to get things put together for a workable office. Re-cabling a home & finding ways to connect an ethernet across the house is ToTALLy NOT MY THING.

I thank God for making me an art girl. We have more fun!

Warm Holidays, Warm Cheeks

Soooooooooooooooooooo...... I've kinda been outta the loop due to the unfortunate passing of my dearly departed full-time employment. I'll miss ya ol' buddy. We were the best of friends & you made my life interesting. Welp, now that that's over n done, what have I been thinking about? Surely I am looking for a job... Well, it seems one found me! Wild Curl PhotoGraphics is about to be official. Yes, you read correctly. I am going at it on my own in graphic arts w. a little photography thrown in.

More on that in future posts. For now...it's a bit drizzly outside & very gray, so I want to talk about warm things like Holidays, cozy slippers, apple smelling things, combined with glowing candles and how about some mulled wine? I hadn't tasted this SCRUMDILLYUMPTEOUS treat until last year at a Swanson Christmas party. It is somethin' for sure and def something I want to share!


Thanks to the lovely folks at saveoncrafts (tempting site...sooooo tempting), I'm able to share a very simple, VERY yummy recipe with you, my Tribe. I hope you'll try it. Most of the alcohol simmers out for those Holiday parties (but still, don't take any chances) & you can use any red wine you really love! Here it is:

Ted's Mulled Wine
Pour two bottles of red wine into a saucepan. Slice two oranges and add to the saucepan, along with eight cloves, one cinnamon stick and 4 T. of brown sugar. Simmer at least 10 minutes making sure you do not boil the mixture. Sprinkle with nutmeg before serving.

And there you have it.

Serve warm w/ ginger snap cookies or some other crunchy fave for dipping! Yes, hard to believe, but it really is a treat for the Holiday blues upon realizing you have to wrap all those discounts you scored!

Enjoy! So happy to be back in action (and posting from home).

My love to all!!!! -Your Wild Curl

Summer Art!

This summer I've had the opportunity to do some different kinds of art, which I've really LOVED! In my graphic arts life/career, I've been given the rockin' job of helping kick off a new city entertainment guide: The Pulse. I was given the awesome job of designing its new logo:

Theeeen my friend Kelly asked me if I'd be willing to help out his FREAKY AWESOME band,

Blacklight Confession. So I designed 'em a poster or two, then went to a couple of shows! They are a crazy fantastic cover band! Come check 'em out this weekend at Hot Shots in d.t. Midland.

God's really been speaking to my heart about trying new things. So Mols lent me some brushes & gouache, then gave me a set of aqua-oils to play with (she's such an encourager of my heart).
So I prayed about what to paint. God told me of a new friend in need...who I've witnessed changing over the summer. So I painted "Freedom in Trust" to give to her. I was so happy what happened when I simply let go & let God show me the way...

*laffin* I had to post this next one 'cause I finally saved up the money to buy my own set of gouache. I went all out & bought a 24 color set which includes glittery silver & gold. I never knew watercolor could be glittery! So exciting for a girl like me! So this lame rendition of my logo was to try out all the colors and, of course, the glittery silver. Ha!

This is my most recent painting. Two Sundays ago, the God-inspired Patrick Payton asked the question of Stonegate Fellowship: "How willing are you to really be consumed by God's fire & meet the person you're supposed to be?" I want that so much! In fact, it's been a constant prayer all summer long & since beginning the TrueFaced Bible study with my wicked-awesome girl group! So I felt very called to paint just how consumed I want to be by Him....

Mols & I had a photo shoot last month...but you'll have to check that out on her blog in the new section "Coffee with Kate." In the meantime, check out her blog Specs & Wings. She's the most beautiful heart I've ever seen & inspires me every single day. I am proud to call her my little sister.

So! I've really loved this summer of art stuff! I have more to post & hopefully will have it more organized by week's end. I've really missed you all & hope to have internet at home soon!

Thanks for all the notes & encouragement I've received this summer. It's certainly been an...interesting one. *LOL*

lotsa love n hugs!

~Miz K

Lovin' Some Summer Art, Blogstyle!

Feelin the insane summer heat (we hit 106 yesterday) lead me to find some cool things
to spark the creative vibes! I hit paydirt with:

Dresses from fred flare

Outstanding, dreamy photography by Anna Aden

and the sizzlin', unique summer style

of the Red Velvet Art girlies!

featuring Elsie Flannigan & her new, limited edition "elsiecake girls" cards!

And we always need a summer drink:

Watermelon Margaritas by Domino Mag Online!
(before they shut down--breaks the heart!)

WATERMELON MARGARITAS
3 cups seedless-watermelon chunks

(about 1 lb. peeled watermelon)

1 1/2 cups fresh lime juice

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup tequila

1/2 cup Grand Marnier

Combine watermelon chunks, lime juice and sugar in a blender, and blend on high until completely liquid and frothy. Combine in a pitcher with tequila and Grand Marnier. Fill pitcher with ice, stir and serve.

(My girl pal, Auds, & I prefer them blended up rather than on the rox! Also a shortcut is to buy the premixed margaritas & just dump that in with watermelon, GM & ice, then blend awayyyyy for a summer cool-down!)

What gets your blood pumpin' for summer? What do you enjoy inside & out?

You Are Beautiful - No Matter What the World Says

Today I needed to feel different from all other days of recent.

I expressed such a need to my sweet little sister, Molly.

This is how she blessed me.

I cried....

Then I dared to believe....

.....how God sees me.

Miracle on Watson Street

Photo by Iman Sadeghi

"I listened carefully to His words. 'Son of man,' He said, 'I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a rebellious nation that rebelled against Me. They and their ancestors have been rebelling against Me to this very day. They are stubborn and hard-hearted people. But I am sending you to say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says!' "

How many of you have ever witnessed, first-hand, a miracle? Have you witnessed a baby being born? Have you been in the middle of a breathtaking lightning storm or seen a flower open unexpectedly? I would love to share what occurred in my kitchen on a lazy Sunday morning.

I was in the midst of having some quiet time with a journal, cup of coffee & open Bible. Of course, being Kate, I was distracted by something completely unrelated to the Word of God. In typical A.D.D. fashion, I found myself washing dishes & peering out the window at the gorgeous summer trees & green, green grass. As I scrubbed silverware (the worst part of dish-washing, in my opinion), I noticed 2-3 bouncy bubbles floating around my face. My mind wandered a bit & I found myself thinking, "Science didn't INVENT bubbles...it's merely discovered them. That's not quite as powerful, now, is it?" So I closed my eyes to thank God for inventing something as wonderfully happy & fun as BUBBLES!

When I opened my eyes, I defiantly squeezed the soap bottle, sending 5 or 6 fat bubbles into the air. Those glorious good girls of weightlessness danced in the steam rising from my sink! I started laughing to myself. They were so cute! So I closed my eyes again, waiting for one to softly hit my face. Nothing. I held my breath, to keep from disturbing the current path of another.... Again, nothing.

As I opened my eyes I saw something truly amazing & humbling. Hundreds of tiny bubbles floated down from my ceiling. They stirred all around me & began to fill my kitchen! As I slowly turned to make sure I wasn't on some soapy high, they lifted again & swirled to greet more friends. How it happened, I can't explain...but more bubble drifted ever quietly from some unknown place in my ceiling. Tears spilled over my eyelashes as I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in my kitchen. I heard a voice in my heart, "Now go tell the world what you've seen..." I was stunned. I didn't want the moment to end. God was in my kitchen.

This miraculous bubble-dance lasted a full 5 minutes. They swept up, danced around, met more friends & celebrated a simple, awesome moment with me. To Him, I am thankful for such an inspiring Sunday blessing to keep forever in a journal & my heart.

What miracles have you had in your life? Please come share them with me. I will be blessed to read every one.

~Miss Kate

P.s. Upon investigation, I can't find any soap bubble residue on any of my countertops or wine glasses....

I Am Back & Feeling Inspired by Life

I love this artist:

kelly rae roberts


&

I am dying to make a gift tag that looks like this:

&

Wear shoes that look like these:

&

make a collage with all the heart of this one:

&
Take photos for creations unique like THIS:

(check out the Life is Beautiful blog)

&

take self portraits as beautiful as these: