A New Beginning!

I’m back. I know it’s been a very long time and I’m sorry for those of you that were following me. My life got pretty messy for a while and it still is a bit but I’m in a much better place. I deleted many of my previous posts that shared my personal journey before I stopped blogging. I debated on what I should share, if anything but decided I can’t just pick up where I left off and not fill in a few gaps. Life happens… My life is quite different now. It’s evolving, changing, improving.

 July 15, 2011, my 40^th birthday…I pictured things way different than how they turned out. That ended up being the day I asked for a divorce. I knew I wanted it, from the tips of my toes straight through my heart. I knew. It was long overdue but sometimes you hope, and you plead, and you try again and again until one day you realize that you are the key. You need to make the change, decide what is right for you. I decided I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life like I spent the last 20 years.

Things got tough, hurtful, scary. I had to set aside my business, my art, and find a full time job. My daughters and I both suffered for that. For 15 months, I was not there enough. I tried. I cried. I took as much time off as I could to take small trips with them, even just day trippin’ and yes, we had some great times but I was missing them and my true passion for art and design grew. I ached to return to it.

This past January, I took a giant leap of faith. I quit my job. I decided to give myself this year to make my dream a reality. I am in the process of transitioning my sole proprietorship to an LLC. I am expanding my services beyond painting to include many ways to make a house a HOME, to make it unique and beautiful and everything you want it to be.  I am bound and determined to make this all work. And for those of you that really know me, you know I’m one determined woman.

Yes, I’m still scared some days and I worry about more things than I should on most. But I’m a survivor. Beyond my divorce, I’ve taken some pretty hard emotional hits in the last 2 years. Maybe I’ll share sometime…

For now, thanks for listening. It’s good to be back! ♥ 

I’ll leave off tonight with a recent drawing of an exceptional horse named Bravo

Newest Belly Cast

Here is my latest belly cast:

Blue & Bronze Metallic Belly Cast

Blue & Bronze Metallic Belly Cast

I was asked to bring in a photo album and business cards to Destination Maternity where the cast was made so I’m hoping it will bring a little more business my way ~ fingers crossed.

Tips for saving money & ideas to update your home with paint

Well, here are my latest articles. I have an artist profile I need to finish and publish also but I’ve been SO busy!

Save money on art, crafts, and home improvement materials Great resources here. Some are new to me such as Habitat for Humanity Restore ~ I think that may be a great one for after our move!

10 ways to improve your home with paint Some ideas to spruce up your home using the ever versatile material ~ PAINT!

Faux finished accent wall

Oh, I’ve also added more items to my Bonanza shop: Renaissance Home’s Booth

This and That

Here are my articles from the last week and a half:

Young Rembrandts: Children’s art classes ~ This is the company I teach my art classes for!

West Valley artist profile: Edward Dennis ~ Another great West Valley artist!

…And I finished the lower cabinets in the kitchen and I’m ready to start on the top. Here’s a pic:

My Kitchen Cabinets

 

This weeks articles…and a very cool face cast!

Here are this week articles:

West Valley places to see: Glendale ~ Glendale has SO many great places to see year round. I took my daughters to the Bead Museum last week. It was very cool.

West Valley artist profile: Jim Bryant ~ Self-taught illustrator with a long, successful career!

Belly and body casting: a new design trend ~ The belly casts are always cool but other cast options are also available. Here’s one of a little boys face: