inside my sketchbook- oregon beachcombing

Having been raised in a beach town and taught to appreciate the ocean, I've always been smitten with the sea- the smells, the colors, the treasures- there was even a short moment when I thought about giving up my dream of being an artist and wanted to be an oceanographer (until I found out how much math and science I needed!) These days my passion for the ocean is greater than ever. Because I am BEYOND blessed to live in a beach town in So. Cal. and have the ability to travel to my hometown beach in Oregon, I do not take a moment of it for granted. This last week at home in Oregon I used my camera to record my favorite findings, collected things to add to my collection and spent a great deal of time drawing and making notes about my findings in my sketchbook.

Here is a peek inside...

healthy banana bread

We love banana bread around our house and every few weeks (when there are leftover brown bananas that I don't want to waste) I make a batch of bread. It is easy to tweak a banana bread recipe and make it a little more healthy. This is a favorite that I have been making for a few years- it uses whole wheat flour, substitutes applesauce for oil and comes out delicious.

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• Start by mixing the dry ingredients together-

  2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour- I used whole wheat flour and since using it can produce a dense bread, sifting it a couple of times will let in more air and will help with the density.

  1 teaspoon baking soda

  1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  1 cup white sugar

Mix throughly.

Add two eggs,

1/3 cup of applesauce,

4 ripe bananas

Mash the bananas.

and mix with the rest of the ingredients.

optional- add raisins or nuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a loaf pan and pour batter into the pan.

Bake for 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Let cool,

slice up and serve.

home

peace. freedom. discovery. adventure. healing. hope for what is to come. inspiration. time. support. comfort. safety. promise. clarity. simplicity. truth. strength of family.

HOME.

remembering how to play

It is a happy talent to know how to play.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

hittin' the road again

Once again I am hittin' the road! I am headed home to Oregon for a long weekend to spend some much needed time with family. So I will be coming to you from the Oregon Coast the next few days. Stay tuned...

love note pillow tutorial

Before I moved from Oregon to San Diego to be near my boyfriend (my now husband) we maintained a long distance relationship. A big part of that relationship was writing letters, email and LOTS of little love notes sent back and forth. We both saved all those letters and notes and once in while we will pull them out, spend time shaking our heads and laughing while reading them- so naive and silly we were! These days (insert 10 years) we still write each other notes and letters. There is just something so wonderful about a hand written note.

For a while I've wanted to do something creative with some of those notes and came up with the most simple idea to make little love note pillows.

FYI- I am OBSESSED with pillows and believe that you can never have too many around the house (they are EVERYWHERE) so adding a few more to the collection is always a good thing.

I started by selecting a couple of notes and letters that I scanned.

Or they could be photographed

I pulled the documents over to Photoshop and adjusted the brightness and contrast- this could really be done in any photo editing program.

I added a warming filter for a subtle sepia look.

I enlarged the document so that I obscured entire sentences- for a little mystery :)

I then flipped it horizontal to prepare to print.

I used Tulip's photo transfer paper and loaded it into my ink jet printer.

I printed it out.

I then placed the transfer face down on unbleached muslin.

I covered it with a piece of scrap fabric and following the directions, ironed it down.

I let the transfer cool and I peeled off the top sheet to reveal my love note.

I used my craft iron to melt away any obvious edges that were showing.

Next I cut it out

and sewed it onto the surface of another piece of muslin that I had pre cut for my pillow.

I sewed the all of the sides together (with wrong sides facing).

and left a hole open to so I could stuff the pillow and then sew the hole up.