April Starr

What’s your creative style?

I tend to like quizzes and discussions that analyze your personality, so when I came across this quiz about your creative style linked on Mayi Carles’ Heartmade Blog, I just had to click! The quiz is from Psychologies Magazine, which I was not familiar with until coming across this quiz.

It was pretty much right on for me, saying that my creativity is a release, and that its a very basic part of who I am. One bit that I thought was especially fitting was that using my creativity in everyday aspects of my life whether going on a picnic, singing to the baby, or choosing what to wear is a big part of my creative style. Sooooo true! I love trying to take creative approaches in all sorts of everyday areas! This is exactly why I like to experiment in the kitchen!

Take the quiz here!
And then come back and tell me in the comments if the results were fitting for you or not! :)

Get Inspired: Look Through the Eyes of a Child

A Quarter to Fly by sunshineartdesign

Remember when you were a kid, and dandelions were begging to be blown, butterflies were fairies, and backyards were secret gardens? We were driving home today through a small stretch of road with tangled trees and underbrush, and my three year old exclaimed, “This is a jungle!”

Everything is amazing when you’re a kid.

Wonder Embroidery Art by Merriweather Council

And really, I think its good to not lose that sense of wonder. We live in an increasingly apathetic society where people are unimpressed and bored. No thank you!

Wonderland by Raceytay

Go for a walk. Try to see things in the same way you would have when you were small.

We live in a city, and our neighborhood probably doesn’t look very inspiring. However, my daughter and I went for a “nature exploration walk” the other day just around our neighborhood, and even the smallest things impressed her. We had fun exploring, and when we came home, we brought home a collection of all sorts of natural found objects. And then we had fun photographing them together! The results:

Don’t lose your sense of wonder! We live in a beautiful Creation, and I am thankful to God for it!
Go outside and look around the way a child would.
Lose yourself in a book the way a child would.
Care. Give someone you love a bear hug.
Catch a firefly, let it go.
Draw a picture without worrying if its perfect
Play with your food, run in the rain, blow some bubbles, pick some wild flowers.
Have some wholesome wonderful fun! Remember what it was like to be a kid and you will be inspired!

Little Miss Mia Journal by Mayi Carles

What are some things you remember being amazed by as a kid?
Do they still amaze you?
Tell me what you think in the comments!

I’m a happy customer – yay Gardenmis!

I’ve gotta share this with you all. I’ve enjoy being Etsy-friends with Priscilla, the lovely maker behind Gardenmis, and I decided to buy something from her shop. I got my package recently and ooooooooooh, I loved it!!

The sachet, with her own blend of lavender, rose and jasmine, was sooo lovely, and I just absolute loved the stamped “Dream, Inspire, Create” on the front!! The hair flower (which she was soooo sweet to send for my little girl!) was absolutely incredible. Her quality of product is truly remarkable. And my little girl LOVES it!

Plus I really loved her packaging. Sweet and breezy, just like her shop — go check out her work!
Shop: gardenmis.etsy.com
Twitter: twitter.com/gardenmis
Blog: www.gardenmis.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/gardenmis

Yay! So glad I ordered from her, and I plan to order more in the future. Thanks Priscilla!

Behind the scenes – take a tour of my space!

Me, in my creative space. Although most of the time, I’m not holding a frame.

(Just a quick note: It’s taking longer than I anticipated for Blogger to replace all the comments. They say they are working on it … *sigh* Hopefully I can announce the giveaway winner soon – I will as soon as all the entries are back! Now back to your regularly scheduled program!)

I think its so interesting to see how different artists use their space and where they work. Sooo, I thought I’d take you on a tour of my space, too! And throw in a few storage and organizational ideas along the way. So if you will, step right this way…

And, ahem, pardon my narrow shots – I don’t have a wide angle lens, so some of the pictures have overlap to get the full picture :)

I’m a big fan of these stacking wire storage units. You can build them to whatever shape and size you like! And then fill all the shelves with your boxes/tubs/containers. Oh, and you see that rockin awesome camera bag over there on the right? It’s from Porteen Gear, and my husband got it for me for Valentine’s Day. I highly recommend her shop for any photographer to get some gear!

See that photo on the wall? It’s one I took! And yes, it includes that same frame I’m holding my my photo. :)

So, I forgot to take a picture of this, but under that curtain on the front of my table is a seriously awesome organization idea my aunt gave to me! She took a drawer from an old unwanted dresser, painted it white and stenciled on the front to make it pretty, and put rollers on the bottom. Voila! A large, easy to roll out storage compartment, perfect to go under a bed or table. Love it!! :D

You know how in my shop I’m always talking about decorating with record albums? See, I do it too! I love this album cover from the Ink Spots. And in front is a goooorgeous print from Tahlia Day. Her artwork is absolutely stunning! Oh, and that is an ostrich egg on the left.

Keeping all your most essential go-to tools in one place makes life SO much easier as you don’t have to spend time hunting down what you need each time you get a chance to work on a project. This lovely basket (in my yellow no less!) was a gift from my husband’s grandmother. I love it so much! It’s quite spacious in the middle of the basket, and has all sorts of pockets on the outside, too!

An easy way to store my handmade jewelry!

Recognize that picture frame? Yeah, I pretty much love it.

My vintage sewing machine (still works, and is what I sew with!) and a cute hoop from Danielle over at the Merriweather Council, and a little bunting from Palimpsestic — both fabulous shops. (You may remember seeing those from an earlier post!)

This is one of the places my little girl likes to be creative! I snagged this vintage school desk recently, and she keeps some of her art supplies inside it. :)

A couple ideas from this shot – if, like me, you’re in an apartment where you can’t paint, you can still get some color on your walls but putting up a colorblock of fabric! Also? Pages from vintage atlases look fabulous framed.

Can you tell I love books? I stacked books alternating horizontal and vertical for added interest on this DVD rack.

This concludes our tour. Thank you for visiting .. my home!
Do you have any organizing or decorating tips to share?
Do you have any pictures of your space? Do share in the comments below!

Om nom nom: An under appreciated cooking staple

My “The Cook Gets to Lick the Spoon” Illustration

I knew someone once who said they liked their food bland. Um … that’s definitely NOT how I like my food. I like colorful spices, bold flavors, and bright flavors. I’m sure that each cook has their own set of flavors and spices that they consider staples – but one that I consider a staple that seems to be under appreciated in general: the lime.

Candied Lime Peel by HarmlessColor

Flavors that can be used in both sweet a savory cooking are some of my favorites. Cinnamon, mango, allspice … and of course, lime. Of course, we all know of key lime pie, and the occasional slices of lime as garnish, but how often do you cook with lime?

The first time I realized just how essential lime can be to a dish was when my Dad stopped at a tiny little Hispanic grocery/restaurant to try their tacos. It was just a corn tortilla with some shredded pork, maybe a little cilantro – and plenty of lime. And it was deeeeelicious.

Some are just a few ideas on ways to use lime…

Little Limes Fine Art Photograph by AmeliaKayPhotography

{ — Squeeze lime juice in with fresh diced onion, jalapeno, green pepper, tomato and cilantro for a refreshing salsa. }

{ — Sauté squash with lime juice, cumin, oregano, a little cayenne, add stewed tomatoes & serve over yellow rice. }

{ — Kaffir lime leaves are excellent in Thai curry. }

{ — Whisk a couple eggs with about ½ cup of sugar in a pan over low heat, add ¼ cup lime juice and a half stick of butter and cook about 10 minutes, stirring often. Chill for at least an hour. Makes a sweet delicious spread. }

{ — In a blender, add stewed tomatoes, fresh garlic cloves, and generous amounts of lime juice. Toss in a skillet with sautéed chicken and black beans. }

{ — Add lime zest to a basic sugar cookie recipe. }

{ — Add lime juice or lime slices to iced tea. }

Bright Lime and Yellow Pot Holders by xxxRedStitcHxxx

Do you use limes often in your cooking?
What are some of your flavor staples?
Tell me about it in the comments!

{ and don’t forget – today’s the last day to enter my vintage raincoat giveaway!! }

Get the creative gears turning- Be a local explorer!

Are you a local explorer? You’d love it!! Few things inspire me creatively more than this.
Not sure? Ok, I’ll give you some reasons – and then some helpful tips and tricks. :)

All of the photos in this post are from my local explorations here in Knoxville!

I’ve lived in several awesome places in the past — places that other people take trips to go visit. (Prague/Czech Republic, Gettysburg/PA, Tampa/FL..) But one thing that completely took me aback was how people who had lived there their whole lives had never taken the opportunity to go see the sights!

I mean, c’mon – someone else pays a lot of money to travel here, but you don’t ever take an afternoon to go check out your own backyard? It’s available right there, all the time!
(Actually, that’s one of the reasons why people don’t: its always there. You can do it next weekend, or next month. Maybe next year. But in the end, you never get around to it.)

It’s easy to get the point if its somewhere famous. But taking the time to play explorer in your own town, where ever it is, can really be a great way to get your creative gears turning. Consider…

1 – It gives your brain the chance to unwind.
You know the feeling: You’re trying really REALLY hard to remember the name of Rupert’s-great-grandmother’s-cat, but you just just can’t think of it. So you stop thinking about it — and a minute after you stop trying to remember it suddenly pops out – “OHHH! Mr. Mittens!!!” It can be the same way with your creative focus. If you’re thinking TOO hard about it all the time, give your brain some “time off”, and you’ll probably be surprised to find a little while later the ideas come spilling out.

2 – It’ll introduce you to new experiences and new inspirations.
If you’re stuck in a rut, stop and consider when was the last time you did something new? Introduced yourself to new tastes, new sights, new experiences – or even looked at something familiar with a whole new perspective? I like to imagine I have little creative monsters running around in my head, always giving me new and awesome ideas. But sometimes they get hungry for new materials. Give them something to play with!

An everyday sight, from a different perspective.

3 – It’s just plain fun.
Take your family. Take your friends. Have some fun. I mean, why not?!

4 – It’s free!
Going on vacation is fun, but can be expensive — and complicated. Arranging schedules, finding a place to stay, packing, etc, etc. Having a day trip in your own town avoids all this – its like a getaway without the stress.

Ok, ok, but I hear the gentle murmur of concern coming from you through my computer screen: “Sure, if you live in a vacation destination, that’s works. Here in Bland-ville there’s not much to do!”

So sure are you? I currently live in Knoxville. Have you ever gone to Knoxville on vacation? I kind of doubt it. When I first moved here I asked my husband if we could go exploring. He, having already lived here a couple years before we got married, seemed confused and said, “Well, there’s not really much to do!” And I’ve heard that from someone or other pretty much every where I lived: “Well, there’s not much to do here.” I took him exploring, and now he thinks very differently – and even takes other people exploring!

From a photo my husband’s sister took while visiting us and doing some local exploring! Her photography site

And really, when I’m talking about exploring, I’m not talking about amusement parks, resorts, or tourist traps. I’m talking about finding a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant that makes THE best hot and sour soup. I’m talking about discovering that little shop run by an old man who has all kinds of experiences to tell you about from WWII. I’m talking about visiting your local farmer’s market, riding the trolley, driving down a road you’ve never driven down before, taking a tour of a local farm, hiking in the state park, listening to a local band play at the park! Where ever you live, there are things to do, places to explore!

So here are some tips and tricks to find out about awesome things to do where you are, whether where you live, or somewhere very nearby:

1 – Google “the-name-of-your-town visitor’s information”
There’s a lot of info out there. Check out your city’s .gov website, look for a schedule of events, look at the list of attractions, historic sites, museums, etc. Find out if there are fairs, farmers markets, concerts, free events. For instance, the Tennessee Theater, an opulent art nouveau theater downtown, offers free “Mighty Musical Mondays” – you bring a sack lunch and listen to a free concert from local talent in gorgeous surroundings. And where do they put the information for this? Online! Find out what’s offered near you.

2 – Visit your local Visitor’s Center.
They’ll have information on all kinds of things going on. Talk to the people there – let them know what kinds of things you’re looking for. Find out if they host any events at the vistors center! Here in Knoxville the local bluegrass station, WDVX, hosts the “Blueplate Special” each day at noon – you can come to a live concert they are broadcasting onto the air! Go. Ask. Find out.

3 – Request a information pack from your state.
This is something people do when they’re planning to visit other states – why not find out what your own state has to offer? There are various places you can find this – here is one site that lists the information by state.

4 – Ask local friends for recommendations
… and don’t get discouraged if they say “There’s nothing to do”. Keep asking (and ask specific questions like, “what’s the best local restaurant?” or “when people come to town, what do you take them to go see?”, etc.) and you’ll find some good ideas. Then go back and take those people who thought “there’s nothing to do” exploring with you!!

5 – Follow local newspapers/radio stations/visitors centers/etc on Twitter.
I’ve found out about various awesome events in Knoxville from tweets!

6 – Find out if local businesses give tours.
I’ve seen how an antique letter press works, eaten potato chips while they’re still hot, found out the back story on a local seller’s coin collection, seen the amazing machinery in the back of a capitol’s post office – all from “tours” of businesses. Some in scheduled group tours, some just the owner showing you around. I LOVE IT!

7 – Just go do it!
Park the car somewhere, and get out and walk. See what you can find!!!

8 – Take your camera and sketchbook when you explore.
Snap a lot of pictures. Jot down places you want to remember, ideas you have, or events you hear about for later. Or sketch the sights you see! When you get back home, look though your photos, notes and ideas. What drew your eye? What did you end up taking lots of pictures of? (I’ve been amazed at how many of my pictures are of building/architecture/arched windows) What flavors made an impression on you? What do you want to find out more about? Let the ideas start flowing!

Are you a local explorer?
Do new experiences inspire you creatively?
What gets you out of a creative rut?
Tell me about it in the comments!

10 Reasons Why My Mom is the BEST!

My mom is the best mom, and I love and appreciate her SO much. These are 10 of the reasons I respect and admire her so much, listed in no particular order, except most important one last. Why 10? Because if I didn’t put a number limit on it, the list would be endless. :)

10. She is an encourager.
My mom taught me (and I appreciate that I am still learning from her!) many different things. Most importantly, moral aspects of life, and to focus on God. But even in the less important things, she was always encouraging and teaching. My Mom talks about how talented her kids are artistically and how we got that from my Dad because he is artistic. And while it is true that Dad is artistic, and he passed that down to us, I know that I wouldn’t have enjoyed or developed it as much if it hadn’t been for the way Mom always encouraged us. Whether it was an art project I did as a small child, or the sewing I did as a teenager, or my creative pursuits now, the way my Mom is always saying, “Wow, that’s SO neat! I love it! You should pursue that!” means everything in terms of helping someone to be artistic.

9. She’s always ready to try new things.
Whether its a new kind of food, or going somewhere new to explore, or moving across the country, or discovering new things, my Mom is up for it! I mean, how many American mothers of small children would move to Eastern Europe right after the Berlin Wall came down and life was less than smooth over there to help their husband as he taught the gospel? My mom did! And I don’t remember her complaining about it. I do remember her joy.

When we lived in Prague.

8. She stayed home with us to raise and care for us.
When I was small, I just took it as a given that of course Mom would stay home and take care of us. But as I grew older I began to realize how blessed our family really was because she chose to do this. The day in and day out molding of our characters, the constant love and correction, all the wonderful memories, the fact that she was always there when she needed us — because after all, kids spell love T-I-M-E. And we knew we were very loved. And on top of that, she even decided to homeschool us! I went to public school for several years as well, and while it wasn’t bad, homeschooling was SO much better — both in terms of education and in the opportunities it gave me to spend time learning and growing with my family. My mom put SO much work in this, as well as into all other aspects of raising us.

7. She’s a hard worker.
Raising 6 kids, homeschooling them, making home cooked meals every night, taking care of the house, helping others – its no small feat! My mom tackles it head on and definitely doesn’t “eat the bread of idleness”.

6. She is an awesome cook.
I’m talking omnom-licious here. One of many, many things I love about going home is that I get to have my mom’s home cooking. Yes, I enjoy cooking too, but I’d say my cooking style is somewhat different than Mom’s, and there’s some kind of super-loving-magic that my Mom throws in the pot that makes everything so delicious and wonderful. :)

5. She loves and is a helpmeet my Dad.
Both of my parents are amazing. And seeing their marriage growing up- how they work through tough times and how they shine in the good times- makes a profound impact on a child. I know my parents will be together no matter what. I know that they will work together to fix a problem no matter what. I know they love each other, and even more importantly, that they love God. Seeing my Mom fill her role as helpmeet to my Dad is a wonderful example to me. And all of this is such a comfort and encouragement to me – both when I was a child, and now as an adult.

4. She’s just plain fun.
How many of you can say that one of the first times you brought your future-husband home to get to know your family your Mom said, “Hey! Let’s all go outside and do a jig around a can of baked beans?” Anyone? No, I didn’t think so. Yeah, my mom rocks. :)

3. She gives of herself to others.
I don’t think I personally know anyone who is more self-sacrificing than my Mom. From the bigger/more obvious things like staying home with us, to all the little day to day decisions I’ve seen her make that often go unnoticed but where she is constantly thinking of what would be best for others. I need to be more like her in this (and in many ways!)

2. She’s a Proverbs 31 woman.
If you’re not sure what I mean by that, read this.
I rise up and call her blessed.

1. She loves God more than anything else.
… and she worked to instill that in us as well. Its the most valuable lesson she could teach us, because when you get this down, everything else falls into its proper place.

I love you Mom!! Happy Mother’s Day!!!!!

Getting lost in a good book… what are your favorites?

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”

I almost wish C. S. Lewis hadn’t said this, because its so true of me that I probably would have said it myself, and then everyone would be quoting me instead of him.

Well … ok, maybe not, but I do love this quote. :)

(In fact, I loved it so much, I embroidered it on this book tote I made! I call it a “quote tote” and I stitched my paper beads on it – WooT!
One of these days I should finish it so I can actually use it….)

Another book quote I love is from Kathleen Kelly in You’ve Got Mail and I think its sooo true of fiction…

“When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does.”

I’ve always loved reading, and then by extension, writing. I remember when I lived in Prague as a kid I wrote all the time, coming up with overly-fantasical and highly predictable stories. You know, the kind where any time there’s a problem, suddenly someone has the perfect little magical doodad to fix that exact problem. Not “the great American novel”, but I was just nine and it was so exhilarating to create my own little worlds on the beautiful blank notebook pages. And one of the best ways to learn to write (besides reading) is to just go ahead and start doing it.

Pencil by Elisa XyzMy love of writing grew so much that I decided to major in journalism in college. Journalism, as my professor always said, is just storytelling. True storytelling, of course, but the art is in the way you sculpt the information.

“A really bad storm came through town last night”
vs.
“This morning’s sunny sky seemed unfitting as Sarah Johnston found her missing roof scattered on the road in a tangle of branches and debris — evidence of the storm that swept over the city just the night before.”

But I know my love of writing really stems from my love of reading as a child. Recently, I was trying to come up with a top ten list of my favorite works of fiction, and I was amazed by how many of them were books I had read as a kid. So I gave up on a general top ten list, and instead, here are some of my favorite books from my childhood:

My I Love Books and Tea Illustration. See? I even draw about books.Loosely in reverse order…

10 – Little House on the Prairie Series, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
(Not exactly fiction, I suppose, but too classic to leave out!)

10.5 – The Little Britches Series, by Ralph Moody
(Weird numbering, I know, but its because its similar to the Little House books. Out west, based on a true story, but from a boy’s perspective. SUCH a touching story! My dad used to read this aloud to the family.)

9 – The Twits, by Roald Dahl
(I was pretty young when I read this, and I don’t remember a whole lot about the plot, just how much I loved reading it. Roald Dahl has such a contagiously fun style.)

8 – The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis
(The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is probably my favorite from the series.)

7 – An Old Fashioned Girl, by Louisa May Alcott
(It may seem odd, but I was never a big fan of “Little Women” – probably because I’m a lot like Jo, but I always preferred Laurie to that old professor. But “An Old Fashioned Girl” made me much happier!)

6 – The Green Door, by O Henry
(This one is just a short story, and I was a teenager when I read it, but it really resonated with me. I even memorized it and delivered it as a dramatic interp for a speech event.)

5 – Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson
(You know how when you’re a kid you find names you love in the books you read? My little daughter’s middle name is actually a version of one of the character’s names in this book.)

4 – The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
(I mean, come on, who wouldn’t want to discover a magical garden tucked away on the grounds of a mysterious mansion?!)

3 – Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll
(The hilarious poems were one of my favorite things about this book. I actually ended up putting on a theatrical version of this in high school.)

2 – Lorna Doone, by R. D. Blackmore
(I remember my grandmother recommending this book to me. One of my favorites of all time. Not a light read, but SO worth it.)

1 – Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery
(Anne, with an e, is perhaps the fictional character I identify with the most.)

I love books!So what about you?
Does reading make you want to write?
What were some of your favorite fiction books as a kid?
Tell me in the comments!

How to create stand alone pages on your blog

See that bar right above here where it says “Blog”, “About Me”, etc.? I had seen lots of blogs had these handy stand alone pages, and I knew I wanted them on my blog (this was back when I was on Blogger). After a little poking around I discovered how to do it – its extremely easy, but the starting link is just not in a very obvious place.

Apparently I am not the only one who initially didn’t find it straight-forward – yesterday there was a request to explain how I did this. So here you go, Blogger users:

Go to the “Posting” page where you typically write a new post. Now look just under the tabs and you’ll see three options – New Post, Edit Posts, Edit Pages.

Click on “Edit Pages”. This will take you to the space where you can create/edit/post your pages. You can have up to 10 stand-alone pages in Blogger.

Click on “New Page”. Now you just write up your new page the same way you would write up a new post – same formatting/text box and everything. So simple! Whatever you put in the title is what will show up as the page’s name on your blog’s main page.

When you add a page, it will generally automatically add the pages widget. If it doesn’t for some reason, you can go in and add this widget on your “Design” tab page.

You can also choose whether you want the pages to be displayed across the top (like I have on my blog), or as a list on the side of your blog. Just drag and drop to widget on your design page to whichever place you want it to be.

The pages will be listed on your blog in the order you publish them, but if you want to rearrange them, just go back to the design page and click on the edit button of your pages widget.

There you can move the order around, or change the name of the “home” tab – for instance, I changed mine to say “Blog”. Click save and you’re done!

Hope that was helpful!
Do you have any other blogging questions?
Or any helpful blogging tips?
Let me know in the comments! :)

Omnomnom: Grilling Onions

Some things just go together. Salt and pepper, Fred and Ginger, movies and popcorn, ninjas and pirates.
Ok, maybe that last one is more of a feud than a pairing.

But recently we discovered a food pairing so delicious, I don’t know why these two aren’t as inseparable as salt and pepper—- Steak and grilled onion.

Meet Tim: resident grilling expert and husband

Ohhhhhh, its SO good. I mean, at restaurants steak sauce is generally offered, but I really think there should always be grilled onion. Try it the next time you grill, and I think you’ll be hooked. Choose a very mild or sweet onion, like vidalias, and cut it in half, then quarter. Place right on the grill when you’re cooking the second side of the steak (or earlier, if its a thin cut – you want some nice charred edges and caramelization of the onion). Just be careful when you turn the onions over to not let the pieces slide though the grill into the fire.

If you cooked the onion long enough, it should be very mellow with just a little bite. Grab a big bite of the onion and the steak together.

Deeeeeeevooooooooooooour.

Ah, I love the grilling time of year.

Yep, Tim’s pointing at you. What are some of your favorite food pairings? Tell me about it in the comments! :)