Change Your Destiny

I was sitting in the movie theater today, minding my own business, (and Captain Kirks!), when all of the sudden three words came to me. “Change Your Destiny”. I was so surprised that I dug down into my purse ( the black hole), looking for my notebook so i might write them down.
Along with the words came a sudden rush of hope and direction for my future. Instead of watching the Star Trek movie, I began thinking of things I could turn around in my life that would mean a different future, even 3 months from now.

How many times in our lives do we stay the course because it is easy or familiar? What would happen if we chose three things in each day, and purposed in our hearts to do them differently? Perhaps that would mean venturing out to see a neighbor you hadn’t seen in a while? Or put down that cheese sandwich and opt for a salad? Why not carve out an hour of the day to work on your novel or write a letter to a relative? Maybe it’s time you tackle your To Do List?

I will think out loud here and list some different areas of interest to me.

God
Family
Friends
Job
Exercise
Diet
Home front
Hobbies
Inspiration
Gardening

Under each heading could be multiple topics.

Imagine if you took a new course of action for each heading, each day. How might that change your life by this time next year? Just think! You could come to the end of the year, a new person! Or perhaps you might become the person you were meant to be! What area might you work on this week?

Heaven! The final frontier! But what will you do before that??? I LOVE the thought of CHA CHA CHANGE!!!

Are you with me?

A Warm Heart

What warms your heart on a cold day?  What warms your heart when the tides of change come crashing in?  What warms your heart when the” no’s” become overwhelming? What warms your heart when the crowd scatters and you are “Home Alone”?

I have a whole list of favorite things I like to look at periodically.  These are things that Warm My Heart.   I found myself smiling and even laughing. They are things I feel that God has blessed me with.  When I look at them I see stories! I see people, I see events…  and more.  Life is so much more than what we see during our day.  Life is a tapestry of stories that intertwine and make memories for us.  Some are so real we can almost re-live them just recalling them to our memories.

Favorite Things

1. God my Father, Jesus my elder brother, the Holy Spirit my helper.
2. All my Family
3. Friends / art friends
4. People
5. Rosie and Violet
6. Coffee with cream
7. Purses
8. Odd things for the house
9. Floor Pillows
10. Blankies
11. Coffee Shops
12. Art galleries
13. Hankies
14. Sketch books
15. Lists
16. Personal chef
17. Trip to Maine and beyond
18. Jeep
19. Toys
20. Children’s books
21. Goat yogurt and blueberries
22. Zinnias
23. Colors : purply blue, raspberry, Yaya green
24. Good movies with popcorn
25. Breakfast in bed with a good magazine.
26. grandsons!
27. my SONS.
28. a zillion best friends!
29. colors
30. the valley between Kenosha and BaileY
31. the mountains
32. a crackling fire in the stove
33. falling snow
34. deep snow and 4wheel drive
35. My cozy studio
36. a good book
37. a comfy chair
38. writing a story
39. a bike ride . . …… and today…. Matthew!

Today’s Warm Fuzzy came from a friend.  She took this wonderful picture of her son sleeping with my Peepsqueak plush.  He is so cute!  Matthew is on my list!

What are your favorite things?  I am sure mine will grow!!

Designing With Color! Moving Past Boring

There is so much involved in designing.  One must be up on the trends for color and pattern and more. I always have my eyes open to finding things I love to look at!

Here are the Pantone color trends for 2013.

http://www.pantone.com/pages/fcr.aspx?pg=21005&ca=4

I had to take a close look at them. . . some of them bore me unless they are paired with an “eye-catching” color.  Color is so amazing!  It can make your day!  It can bring a smile to your face, and warm your heart.  It can also bring you down. Why else do people get depressed when they experience too many gray rainy days?  All that because of color? Yes!  Think of the feeling you get when you take a walk and come upon a beautiful scene.  Do you ever “OOOOoooh and Aaaaaahhhh?”  Do colors grab you?

Colors can calm the soul.  One of my favorite movies is Miss Potter.  I like her spunk, I LOVE that she talks to her cartoons,  and I also love the scenes of her beautiful English countryside.  The colors speak peace and tranquility.

One might want calm and peaceful and serene colors for the baby nursery.  So why did I decorate my first child’s nursery in bright sunshine yellow with brown and Kelly Green accents?  ha!  Because I crave bold colors!  All I could think of was that my baby would wake up and want to be inspired by what she saw.  The room had to be warm and happy and that it was!!

As the room progressed to fit two more daughters into it, we moved to pinks and browns. I loved it, but the girls were not really drawn to it.  Interesting.

In my house, you will find that colors change often.  If I could, I would paint my house every year!  My husband jokes about our bathroom being smaller because of the many times I have painted it!  I am thinking of a new color as I type!!!  I am leaning towards a beautiful blue with just the right amount of purple in it!  Baby blue is okay, but I always want something with a little PUNCH in it! I like to walk into a room and hear my heart sing! La la!  Wall colors can be muted but if that is the case, in my house, the paintings must sing!  Oh how I love a noisy house filled with color.

So what am I to do?  Follow the trends?  Or start my own trends?  Am I brave?  These are the questions every designer must face.  I always lean towards being a renegade trend setter!  ha!

Bear With Me

Peepsqueak LOVES BEARS!  …. and so do I!! I LOVE toys!  I love weird toys, stuff animals, special teddy bears, and more. Having three grandsons gives me a great excuse to buy MORE toys!  I took a trip to the thrift store just this week to look for action figures!  I ran them through the dishwasher and stowed in my big toy trunk.  Three more trucks are sitting near the book-case in the “YaYa” room.  Its great fun!  On Tuesday I played “Superhero”!  My youngest grandson loves the stuffies!  Including my own little Peeksqueak plush by Merry Makers.  If you want to order one, you can go to the website, or call them.

retail orders online at http://www.merrymakersinc.com and retail and/or wholesale orders at 888-989-0454 or via email at merrymakers@merrymakersinc.com

They are a great toy company.  I want ALL THEIR TOYS!  ha ha!

You can also find Peepsqueak on his Facebook page.  I am going to have another book Give-A-Way as soon as the new toy gets here!  Peepsqueak and I are so excited!  I may also put it on this Word Press site so stay posted!

The Master List!

Hooray for The Master List! There is nothing like getting all your thoughts on paper…. and yes, I said paper!  Sitting right in front of me where I can doodle on it, cross it off, highlight it etc. I have tried the electronic list making but nothing quite satisfies this artist.

All my ideas are added to my The Master List.  For a creative person, this list is quite freeing!  I can stop trying to shuffle all of this around in my head.  Yes, these items and more have been yelling at me from my head!  ha!  Everything was fighting for recognition… saying things like,  “Me first!”,  “NO! Me first!”

Now I can decide who is first!  Does this sound a little scary to you?  Leslie is hearing things?  I assure you, this is the world of many of us who are visual thinkers!  The world speaks to us! Being the cartoonist that I am, I can actually imagine people as cartoons.  Many of my Facebook friends can attest to that fact.  It’s quite fun!

Okay,  Now to the next step.  Working at crossing off all these things on the list!  I will keep you posted.

So what do you have on your list?

On Target? – What are you living for?

 

I have thought about how important it is to live a purposeful life each day!  I am always busy, but I want to be busy doing the right things each day.  I don’t want to waste a moment! Think of December.  Will you carry out any major goals before then?  Do you have a goal?  Your chances of accomplishing goals are better if you keep them in front of you! Write them down and then look at them each day. It’s okay to change your mind about a goal too.  We are complex beings. We can change our minds!  It only means we are growing!

Look at this website I found for girls in Dallas.

http://gllopinc.org/about_ourorg.html

Our Vision To empower girls from the inside-out. We envision girls celebrating their femininity. We envision girls at the conclusion of each program level possessing the understanding, wisdom and knowledge to live life on purpose. We envision girls better equipped to make good, sound decisions to do all that they purpose to do. We envision girls developing a plan and taking action, not allowing their race, gender, community, or financial status to limit their potential. Our Mission Our mission is to inspire girls from all walks of life to discover who they are, to connect with other like minded girls and to pursue their purpose with passion

After reading this I found myself wanting to attend!   We did not have anything like this when I was growing up.  Empowered with wisdom, knowledge and understanding, making sound decisions, taking actions, no limits due to race or finances. (those are excuses) inspired! discovered!

What are your first steps in the right direction this year?  Mine is to make the MASTER LIST!  Then I can fill in times and plans to carry out the things on my list! Perhaps I will even share my list with you in another blog.  For now, I leave you with this.

Ephesians 5:15

Amplified Bible (AMP)

¹⁵ Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people),

One Step at a Time!

Have you ever started a new chapter in your life?  Have you ever dared to do something you never did before?  Did you feel launched into it and found yourself in free fall? You are not alone. It happens all the time! Anyone who wants to do something worthwhile in life has to take risks and sometimes those risks lead to even more risks!

When my art career began, I was imagining all the possibilities. I dreamed of success. I created many fun little cartoons and talked about what I wanted to do with them.  Then one day, I ran into a friend who was DOING what I wanted to do.  She shook me!  She said, “Les, you have to go to the N.Y. Stationary Show and you have to go NOW!

I had heard of this show. I had many of my friends online talking about going.  This was back in the late 90′s.  There was something in her voice.  It was more like a command from heaven than a gentle nudging from a friend.  I made up my mind to go!

This was huge for me.  I had only been on an airplane once for a 45 minute flight. I practically sat on the lap of the man sitting next to me… asking him what this bump was and what THAT  bump was!    I decided I better pray about this trip.  I told the Lord that if HE wanted me to do this then he would have to make the way for me.   A few days later someone had put an envelope in my mailbox. It was  $300.00.  Enough for my flight!  It was not long until I was flying across America to New York City.  I met up with my girlfriend and stayed with her uncle and aunt. We took buses, rode trains and cabs.  Once at the show we had to pedal our portfolios. I am NOT a sales person. … but there I was asking people where their art director was and if I might have a minute with them.  Over and over.  Hmmm…. it became a little easier each time.

One last company sat down with me.  They looked through my whole portfolio and asked if I had anything more?  I pulled out one last picture of a little baby.  That was it!  That was the one the art director liked.  She asked me if I had any more and I told her I would email them to her when I got home. You better believe I was sketching babies on the airplane!

This was one of my first “be brave” moments. Over and over the good Lord has taken my by the hand and shown me what to do next.  Some would say, “you are weak if you need help for everything.”  But I say,  I am smart for asking.

I have a few more adventures I am yearning for.  There will come that day, when the dreaming is over, and the bags all packed and ready to GO!

What are you waiting for?  Be Brave!!!!!

Surviving Your Colonoscopy 101

Yep!  I did it!  I made it through another colonoscopy with flying colors!  I will let you in on a little survival secret.  How to drink the yucky liquid without tossing your cookies.

Try this method.  This is all you need:

1.  9 – 8 oz paper cups with straws

2.  “The drink”

3.  A timer

4.  A computer and the Pinterest website

My colonoscopy required me to drink 9 glasses of “the drink”.  One glass every 10 minutes!   EEeeeek!

Simply pour the liquid into the 9 cups. Next, go to the Pinterest website. Most of you who know Pinterest, know, that it is a great sucker of time. That is what you want,  you want to be taken away to Pinterest Land and lose track of what you are doing until the timer goes off! Soon you will be ready for cup #2, then #3 and on to # 9!   Viola!  You are done!  Thank you Pinterest!!!! …. and yes,  everything came out just fine!  haha!

Fresh Air!

It is a great joy to be an artist!  I rarely get tired of creating new things. When I am not creating, I am busy thinking about creating.

Occasionally I get stuck.  A design might not be working, a color might be off, a story might need more tweaking etc.  This is when its time to take a break!

Saturday was just such a day. The blue skies of Colorado were mesmerizing. The crisp clean air and the white, bright snow were a refreshing sight!  My husband and I walked along this lake soaking it all in.

Sure enough,  upon returning to my work, I could see what I could NOT see before, a new perspective!  So if you get stuck,  take a break!!  Get some fresh air!  Your work will be waiting for you only this time you might just find the solution you were looking for.

Good bye Summer Red Toes – Hello Sockies

Summer days bring flip-flops, sandals and bare feet.  What fun to get out the bright red nail polish too!    Color color color!

But, alas, as the summer days are waning, I am trading my colored toes for my warm fuzzy socks.  I can almost hear them in my drawer asking when they can come out to stay!

The wood stove is beckoning me too.  The nights are cool… our covers come up to our chins.

“Where are my scarves? Its cold outside!”

Oh the beauty and fun of Colorado!  Four definite seasons and I love them all.  …. BUT, my favorite is sock season!

But then you knew that didn’t you? I was thinking about starting a sock chain letter. …..

Coffee Shop Beginings

This morning I went for a nice walk.  I almost always end up in a coffee shop sometime during my walks.  Coffee shops draw me in. They are full of people and people are interesting!  Everyone of them has a story.  Sitting across from me was a man with shining white hair. He was bent over his newspaper and chasing down his seeded bagel with warm coffee.   I wondered what he did for a living when he was working.  Is he married? Is he widowed? What did he look like when he was a little boy?  Where did he live?   What is his story?

The man in front of me was graying, but not retired.  He had his work papers spread out before him and he looked entirely too serious for that time of the morning.  He had a real coffee cup, not a paper one. He had on a nice dress shirt, Dockers, matching socks and black dress shoes. He could be a lawyer or even a teacher.  I try to guess.

As I sipped my coffee I watched two girls behind the counter making a tall whip creamy chocolate drink for a young girl who looked to be a track star. Miss track star left and more customers poured in.  None of them stayed, all left for work or play.

There was one more man sitting on the couch.  His white curly beard was out of control. He had a vacant stare as he drank his coffee slowly. I wondered about him.  Another man sat down on the couch across from him and Mr. Vacant began talking to him. He chatted about the hot summer forecast.. The other man barely listened to him.  Mr. Vacant went back to his  vacant stare.  I felt sorry for him.  Did he have family?  Did anyone care about him?

That was my coffee shop morning.  It was full of stories. stories of people whose lives I peeked into as I sat drinking my coffee.

New York Fun – Surtex 2012

After months of prep work, Surtex 2012 is history.  It was a great time of meetings, and visiting with other artists.  It almost feels like a dream now that it is over.  I am filled with ideas and hope for the future!

Here is a picture of Margaret Anastas, my editor at Harper Collins, me, and Annie Stone, Margaret’s assistant.  It was so fun sitting at Harper C. and visiting with everyone who worked so hard on Peepsqueak and his promotion.  I do love my HC family.  They had a nice breakfast for me and we all met in the Harper Collins library. I wish I had a picture of Jeanne Hogle.  She was my graphic designer.  She escaped the room before I could snap her picture.

After our meeting, I packed up 30 books and headed to the Javitz Center in a doozy of a rainstorm!  I LOVED that cab driver for picking me up!!

Messing around with my friends Jane Shasky and Megan Halsey during my Peepsqueak book signing at Surtex. Everyone was in such a good mood!

Here is my teeny tiny room at the Best Western.  I was surprised at how small it was, but in the end, it was cozy and I was so glad I stayed there. It was a good retreat after a busy day.

Can’t forget my sweet agent Alicia Dauber. She had everything running smoothly!

Outside my window all the horse drawn carriages were lining up.  New York is so full of LIFE!

As amazing as the big city is, it is always nice to come HOME!   I had to get my zinnias planted!!  Now it is back to work for the next show!

History Lessons

We add to our history every day of our lives.  That history might not written on pages made of paper, but it can be found in our hearts.

Looking back on the events in our lives may help us to define who we are today or who we may become in the future. By tracking events, we may even see a pattern or a path.

Here is a picture of my 1 and only art gallery show at the Denver Children’s Museum. It did not draw big crowds, family members did not pour in to see it, but it was FUN!!!!  It drew in LITTLE crowds… tiny people.  All the art was about 18 inches above the ground!  It was all about “Fairy Tales”.  My painting was titled, “The Princess and the Pea”.  It is still one of my most favorite fairy tales.  This show was key in my journey to discover what I liked doing and that was illustrating for kids!

What history will you write on your heart today? Where is your path leading you?  Sometimes you have to rise above the mucky muck to find it.  The world is full of mucky muck, but there are always grand adventures around the corner!

“Let’s sit upon a cloud today or hop on a bird and fly away! “

 

 

 

 

My Grandkids liked it . . . .

When you write a children’s book and are trying to convince an editor of its great merits, a big no-no is to say, “…my children (or grandchildren) loved it!”.   I could certainly understand that one might not get an honest answer from letting their Aunt Elsie read the story, (she may not want to hurt your feelings) or your mother who thinks you can never go wrong, but children are without reserve. If they don’t like a story, they will tell you about it!

This past summer when Harper Collins mailed me the galley of my Peepsqueak book I read it to my grandsons. I did not even think twice about what their reactions would be. To my surprise, one of them laughed out LOUD!  This is when I realized that what little kids think is truly the best judge of whether or not a picture book is good. There is no convincing children.  They form their opinions early on, even before they can talk!

Many times we shudder at the books our kids want to read over and over! If you write for children, it is important that you find out why those little people feel so compelled as to memorize the pages. They will often times pipe up with, “Mommy, you missed a page!” and you must stop and go back.

My own kids loved a good story but they were also drawn into a book because of the illustrations.

It is my hope that children will see Peepsqueak and then be drawn into the story, rooting him on to full-fill his dream!

For now, I can tell you this, My grandsons liked it!!

CHECK IT OUT!

My Life Tapestry

“Peepsqueak and the Furry Friend” is well underway! I found out yesterday that the deadline for this 2nd book is November 15th!  

YIKES!  With the word DEADLINE,  I find myself wanting to go into hermit mode. Hermit mode is shutting myself up in the studio from early until late.  Life revolves around ART each day.  It is hectic and intense. Many times hermit mode chases all creativity right out of the studio!

NO!!  Not this time!  .

Life is not all about work.  It’s about many different activities and people working themselves into a beautiful tapestry called “Life“. I want My Life Tapestry to be colorful, fun and alive! I want to enjoy each part and every person!  I don’t want to look back on my life and remember faithless frustrating broken threads or the dark worrisome knotted areas with holes in them.  This is not to say that life does not have it’s dark moments. I believe that even in hard times some of our richest and deepest colors in our life tapestry are made. Through faith, God himself weaves in the most amazing threads of all.  Many times we cannot even see it until the times are past and we stand back and look.

My new book has woven itself into My Life Tapestry today. The sketches are finished, correction notes are in front of me. The characters are coming alive. In the days to come there will be crisp fall morning walks woven in and grandsons in their halloween costumes. There will be music playing and doggies sitting at my feet.  My husband will be starting up the wood stove, there will be soups cooking on the stove, books to read before bed, a house to clean, a wedding to go to, friends to visit.

This book deadline will come and go.  Before I know it, the book will be on its way to the printer and I will tie off that final color on My Life Tapestry and get ready to start a new colorful thread.

The Place In Between

In Blue Skye Studio, creativity seems to happen somewhere between MESSY and CLEAN!  If my studio is too messy I cannot work.  If my studio is too clean, I sit there frozen, unable to become inspired.  Soon the sketchbook comes out, the pencil is poised and the wonderful creative process begins!  Before long, ideas begin to flow…. and then, suddenly…..everything is  MESS again!  haha!

Hindsight

Noun

1.

hindsight- understanding the nature of an event after it has happened; “hindsight is always better than foresight”.Most all of us have had opportunities to look back on in our lives and see there was a path set before us to follow!  Whether or not we have pursued that path is up to us. As I look back, even my disappointments were part of my present. ********************************************************************** 1. My childhood was fertile ground for make-believe.  We had dress up clothes and plenty of games and things to keep us busy. I always LOVED dolls and I remember my imagination being so keen that I could believe my dolls were almost real. ********************************************************************** 2. In Jr. High school I met a friend name Ronnie Burton.  She made the most wonderful cartoons. I still remember how she drew the ears and the hair.  She amazed me! Soon I began drawing my own cartoons. Just a few weeks ago we met up at our high school reunion.  She is still my friend after all these years and she is still doing amazing art! ********************************************************************** 3. When my children were young I read them book after book. I loved reading them stories.  My favorite stories were the ones that made us laugh and laugh. Some of our favorites are Ruby the Copycat, Dabble Duck, But No Elephants, Patrick and Ted, Duncan and Dolores, Frog and Toad, Owl at Home and more.  Anyone ever read Julie Andrew’s book called Mandy?  I sat sobbing as I read that one. Even though I was an adult, my future was still being shaped and my desire to illustrate books for children grew. ********************************************************************** 4. When my youngest was ready for reading we ordered Ladybug magazine.  Since I was an artist and cartoonist I began entertaining the idea of illustrating for Ladybug.  I sent off some art and was quickly rejected. I attended a SCBWI conference and an editor from Ladybug was there.  She looked at my portfolio and hired me to illustrate the parent pages.  It was a dream come true! ********************************************************************** 5. Meeting my hero, Tomie dePoala was great fun!  He came all the way out West to meet ME! Ha!… Okay… so I never met him in person until this day, but he did write me a couple of times after I wrote to him. Yes, if you write an author or illustrator, they MAY just write you back!********************************************************************** 6. Another fun event in my life was when my painting of “The Princess and the Pea” was a part of the Colorado Children’s Museum’s art show on Fairy Tales. All the paintings were only about 3 feet off the ground. ********************************************************************** 7. When my agent hooked me up with Clothworks Textiles I had great fun designing quilting fabrics.  My daughter’s grandma-in law Bonnie began making me quilts with my fabrics.  We traded.  I give her a ton of fabric and she sews! ********************************************************************** 8. The Licensing Show in Las Vegas brought me to where I am today, working on my second book for Harper Collins. Book one comes out in early 2012 and book 2 in 2013. ********************************************************************** In looking back at my life, I see a series of doors I had to go through that have brought me to today!  Hindsight can be a good thing if you use it to propel yourself into your future!  We have to use the disappointing times as stepping stones!  All things are possible if you believe!!

The Singing Cousins

Aaahhhh childhood!  Tis a time of make believe, wonder and  fun!  My cousin just sent me this picture from many days gone by.  It made me laugh out loud!!!  It is with great thanks to my parents and grandparents that I was raised with music in the house.  My dad and uncle were barber shoppers but long before they started that up, we spend time together in the basement around the piano singing songs.  It was great fun! This shot was taken while visiting my cousin.  She is the little one on the left… sooo cute!  Every child should be given the opportunity to sing their head off!  It is good for the soul!!

Kiss Me Baby!

“LIPS” Bench at University of Denver

Have you ever thought about kisses?  I mean, really thought about them?  What a funny thing to do. Big smacker kisses!  So funny!  Human beings make me laugh sometimes.  A kiss can be simple and sweet or passionate.  A few weeks back we were in front of a bookstore. There in front of all the people walking by were two older people kissing like crazy.  It was so weird.  ha!

I suppose anything can become weird if you think about it long enough…. like… like…… sleeping! Every night you brush your teeth… climb into bed, turn off the lights… and sleep. You have to stop everything to do it.  I know one lady who could not sleep. She was so scared at night that she did not sleep for days.  Soon she started seeing things that weren’t there.  How funny that we have to recharge our human bodies with sleep.  …. just thinking….

Icky Food

“Clean your plate!”,  “Your mother took a lot of time making that dinner for you.”,  “There are plenty of kids in the world that would love to be eating that dinner of yours tonight”, “You are going to sit there until it is all gone!”.

And that is how it was growing up. We all laugh about it now. My mother always wanted to cave and let us get by.  She remembered well how she was not able to eat all foods, but our DAD was the boss!  I truly don’t think there was anything he would not eat. There was nothing we could hold against him!

When you get to be the parent you are free!!!  NO MORE GOOEY EGGS!  In fact, you don’t even let your kids know that they are even served up that way. ha!    Just when you think you have it all figured out, you find you have kids who don’t like meat, rice, spaghetti? What?  What do you mean you don’t like chili?  What’s a parent to do?  My own philosophy became this,  “You sit there till you finish”.  In my mind was the second half of that order. (…..unless you are gagging).  Well, it worked for me…. until my youngest was born. She was hard on me.  She could sit there for the longest time!  My oldest and middle daughter chomping away… under duress…. finishing their plates. Then I would look at the baby and say… (caving here).  “Well, just take two more bites”.     Boy, I did get a lot of grief for that.  Middle daughter announcing how it was not fair, how she had to gag it all down.  I cannot tell you how this effects my belief in my own cooking skills. ha!     Perhaps that is why I finally got free!  Yes,  I listened to a sermon once about finding your gifts that God has given you.  A light bulb went off in my head.  I do not have that gift!!  Of course!! I was FREE!!!

So, now I throw things into a pot… pull salads out of bags, open cans and crank up the stove… throw a little cheese on it and you’re good to go!