i <3 your heart

normal smile
ummm i don't know
i REALLY don't know...

Things i heart at the moment...

chiquita banana stickers. music. taking pictures. laughing out loud. singing in the shower. leaving hope notes (hoperevo.com). blogging. coffeehouses with wifi. blogging at coffeehouses with wifi. God. writing letters. quote books. elvis presley sunglasses. night walks. deep talks. moleskine journals. sunshine. potbelly. splatter paintings. scrapbooking/paper blogs. family. friends that are there for you. change.

shutterfly, self portraits, and andy warhol

i made this little guy after being inspired by the andy warhol exhibit at the brooks museum in memphis. i took the self portrait and then manipulated it with shutterfly photo software that you can download for FREE here. to get the effect i used the graphic poster option and chose different colors for each pic. the entire thing was printed onto white muslin with an ink jet printer. then i cut a backing and batting and quilted around the edges multiple times to get a sketched look. my mom sewed the binding for me...i do not have the patience to hand sew something that boring. thanks mom.

i think i may head over to the art fair in town this afternoon with my dad. inspiration anyone?

kodak moment

This is not the most perfect picture, but to me it is more than perfect. It captures the moments of laughter that my friends and I share when we travel for our "other" lives. I see this picture and I can't help but smile and thank God for giving me such wonderful friends that I truly love and care about, friends that I know care about me.

We have a group of ten of us and the last night at dinner we talked about our future...finishing high school, going to college, and getting married. We hoped that we would stay close friends during college and then we thought about going to each others weddings. It was borderline a very deep conversation, but then when we went for ice cream (above) it was nice to just live in the now and joke and laugh and just be teenagers without a care in the world. I love not knowing what the future will bring, but I also love hoping for what will come as we get older and grow together.

Do you have a photo that just makes you smile? Post a link if you like...I would love to see it.

on the iPod: Colbie Caillat

spread the love...smile

(quote postcard)

:::lovely lyrics:::

don't stop, don't change, stay beautiful.

--the last goodnight: stay beautiful

FYI...

if i ever refer to my "other" life, i am talking about my life as a tennis player. i have played tennis since i was four and i train and travel for tournaments across the US year round. tennis consumes much of my time...that and school, so art is my secret life, my "therapy", and relaxation time.

i usually don't have time to sit down daily and actually create something so i try to LIVE creatively by taking pictures and finding inspiration in every day life.

so yeah...just a little fyi.

happy monday! : )

get some love in your life : )

loving...

my new andy warhol bag,

pictures taken accidentally that turn out awesome,

touring graceland with my dad.

also loving...

matt costa, a fine frenzy, and coldplay on the iPod.

summer birthday quilties for my buddies

(for cooper: front)
(back)
(for kels: front)
(back w/ one of her infamous sayings)

(for griff)

list of things to possibly do this summer

I made this list in June and it is fun to see how much of it I have actually done! I keep adding to it, so the list seems to be never-ending. There are a bunch of silly ones, but it has motivated me to live creatively and to be more spontaneous. I also get a sense of accomplishment whenever I am able to cross off a number...an added bonus! After awhile I realized that there are a lot of tasks related to eating a certain food, but hey we are all growing children here!! Right?

Example: #11 buy lemonade from a lemonade stand (let the kids keep the change) : )
Now whenever I am driving along and see one...I always stop to have an ice cold lemonade. delish...

check out this blog for a similar idea.

...the first post

(a little quiltie i made for a friend: front)


(back)

So...I have been wanting to start a blog for awhile now and today I did it. I hope to use this as a creative outlet for my art and my thoughts. Art is my double life as a teen and it is something I don't really share with other people my age. I am constantly reading blogs and find most of my inspiration there. Thanks for peeking! This is super exciting!!!