Good morning!

I have so much to share with you from the class I hosted this weekend.

It was such a beautiful day watching Katie Kendrick create and I was amazed at all of the art the women created.

Come back later this week to see photos of the weekend.

Today I wanted to give you some sneaks into the brand new Creatively Made Home Summer Series.

This is a series with mini courses throughout the summer.

Short courses packed with the best information!

Summer can be busier but you still want to learn, connect and create.

I have chosen some of your favorite bloggers to be guests in the series and their mini courses will truly transform your creativity this summer.

This summer you can:

*Take your photography to the next level

*Learn beauty and fashion tips that will help you dress for your age and body type

*Decorate your home for summer and create your own DYI projects

*Learn how to make jewelry and incorporate vintage treasures into those pieces

*The basics of beekeeping

*Learn to use those power tools you have been eying to create beautiful signs and frames

*Get those paint brushes out as you explore the beginning techniques for watercolor painting

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I love that each of these mini courses will only be a few hours long but full of content.

You will get supply lists, PDFS and step by step instructions and the best part…

Each mini course is only $10!

I have chosen women that will offer you courses I would want to take!!!

These are also courses that you can do with friends and your children this summer.

Let me introduce the talented women that will be teaching the courses…

Cathy Walters.

Cathy is our family photographer and my photographer for all head shots for my business.

Her talent runs deep and she has a wicked sense of humor.

Here is a description of her mini course.

The mini course will be available on June 17th.

The Art of Seeing

I am passionate about being present in the day….seeing what is really there…being in the moment and embracing everything that makes daily life.

That’s where the magic is.

I want to help you see your life.

One way to do this is through a lens.

You will not need a ginormous camera or a ten pound lens to do this class. Any camera will do.

I will show you:

1. how to pay attention, set an intention for the summer, and avoid the traps that trip us up in the process

2. my favorite apps, supplies, gear, software, and online stores that I use on a daily ?basis.

3. basic DSLR info and ways to get out of the dreaded auto mode

4. portrait tips and guidelines

5. a few photo projects that can really help document who YOU are, and ideas for what ?to do with your images when you are done.

6. a very long inspiration list of photo ops to get the creative juices flowing

To register go to my creative network and register (this part is free).

You will find the mini course along the left hand side of the site under COURSES.

Click on the course “The Art of Seeing” and register.

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Paige Knudsen

I have known Paige since I first started blogging.

I love this girl!

She has such a sweet faith, so funny and her style is amazing.

Here is a description of her mini course.

We have been gluten free in our home for over two years now.

Our tummies feel so much better but we feel the best when we also eat paleo.

You can easily eat gluten free pancakes but they are not good for you.

They may be gluten free but they are also health free.

You may find yourself eating more potatoes and white rice which = sugar!

Read your labels carefully and make your foods from scratch as much as possible.

I know it is hard at first ( I KNOW) but it gets easier, you will know exactly what is in your food and you will feel so much better.

I really try to rotate our breakfasts throughout the week.

This pancake recipe has been on our regular rotation for the past few years and we all love it!

Easy, easy, easy and the leftovers make a great late afternoon snack.

Gluten Free Pancakes

(This is for one serving.  Multiply for the number of people you are cooking for)

*One egg

*One ripe banana

*One heaping tablespoon of almond butter

With a potato masher mash everything together.

I like to keep it pretty lumpy:-)

That is it.

FOR REAL!

I melt some coconut oil on the griddle and get cookin’.

At this point you just cook like regular pancakes.  Make sure the underside is nice and golden brown before you flip.

We top the pancakes with fresh fruit, fresh jam or organic maple syrup.

I hope you love them as much as we do!

Please note that all of the wonderful details of a painting do not always show online, colors may different based upon your monitor etc.

I have included the piece, name, size and cost (and story if there is one).

ALL PRICES INCLUDE SHIPPING.

Please email me at jeanneoli@hotmail.com if you are interested in a painting.  Please include your name, email to receive an invoice and the name of the painting you are interested in.

Thank you and I hope they all find good homes!

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“Bird of Truth”

Bird of Truth was painted during a difficult time when my family was so thankful for the truth being revealed.

Even though we were thankful for the truth..the truth was hard.

Written across the painting is ,”whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—think about such things”.

The painting is on a stretched canvas and framed with a barn wood frame (without glass).

The mediums used on this piece are acrylics, vintage papers, modeling paste, marks all pencils, charcoals, pastels.

The painting measures 16″ x 20″.  Framed it measures 22 3/4″ x 18 3/4″.

Professionally framed.

$390

SOLD

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“The Reader”

The Reader was painted during my course for The Journey of Letting Go {creating beauty from ashes}.

This piece is painted on a vintage cabinet door panel.

This piece was painted using acrylic paints.

It measures 22″ x 9 3/4″.

$325.00

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“Sweet Song”

Sweet Song was painted during my course for Creatively Made {rediscovering the beauty of your gifts}.

This piece is painted on stretched canvas.

This piece was painted using acrylic paints, modeling paste, charcoals, pastels.

It measures 8″ x 16″.

$235.00

SOLD

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“She Was Learning”

She Was Learning was painted in the winter of 2011.

It was inspired by a friend going through a hard time.

This piece is painted on stretched canvas with acrylics, pastels, modeling paste, charcoals, marks all pencils.

It comes professionally framed in a barn wood frame.

The piece measures “18 x 24″ and framed it measures 21 1/4″ x 27″.

It measures 11 1/2″ x 9″.

$325

SOLD

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“Emma”

Emma was painted during my course The Journey of Letting Go {creating beauty from ashes}.

This piece is painted on a birch panel with acrylics, pastels, oil paint sticks, modeling paste and vintage papers.

It measures 12″ x 16″.

$290.00

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“The Dancer”

The Dancer was painted during my course The Journey of Letting Go {creating beauty from ashes}.

This piece is painted on stretched canvas with acrylics and oil paint sticks..

It measures 20″ x 20″.

390.00

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“Branches”

Branches was created with a vintage piece of architectural salvage.

The piece is created with solid wood architectural salvage, vintage papers, rotary tool and paint.

It measures 8″ x 34″.

$220.00

SOLD

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“Letting Go”

Letting Go was created during a time when I wanted to release my dreams to become more.

I know that if I was holding tight to them than nothing would come of them.

In “letting go” I was opening up to all of the possibilities.

This collage piece is on stretched canvas.

It was created with vintage and new papers.

It measures 16″ x 20″.

$190.00

SOLD

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“Seeker of Truth”

Seeker of Truth was created on watercolor paper.

It was created using vintage papers, charcoal, marks all, sewing machine and acrylics.

The piece measures 8 1/2″ x 11″.

$175

SOLD

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“It Is Time”

It is Time was created during a time when I was pushing myself to create on a daily basis.

I had to “show up” and not just talk about creating etc.

This piece was created on watercolor paper using vintage papers, acrylic paint, charcoal and marks all pencils.

This measures 8 1/2″ x 11 1/2″.

$190.00

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“Lovely To Be”

Lovely To Be was created on watercolor paper using vintage papers, acrylics, pastels and marks all pencils.

This piece measures 10 3/4″ x 15″.

$190.00

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“Hiding”

Hiding was created on a semi-circle board using acrylic paints.

The piece measures 4 1/2″ x 9″ x 3/4″.

$175.00

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That took me longer than expected.

Thank you for your patience.

If you are interested in any of the originals please email me at jeanneoli@hotmail.com with your name, email to be sent an invoice and the painting you are interested in.

Please note that all prices include shipping.

All of these painting will be added to my website later this week.

]]> http://jeanneoliverdesigns.com/blog/2013/05/13/original-paintings-for-sale/feed/ 18 http://jeanneoliverdesigns.com/blog/2013/05/10/creating-your-own-outdoor-movie-night-summer-is-coming/ http://jeanneoliverdesigns.com/blog/2013/05/10/creating-your-own-outdoor-movie-night-summer-is-coming/#comments Fri, 10 May 2013 23:23:33 +0000 jeanne http://jeanneoliverdesigns.com/blog/?p=6115

Summer is right around the corner and my mind is going crazy thinking of all the fun things I want to do with my family and children this year.

Summer is the perfect time for casual parties, afternoons with backyard water slides, water balloons and homemade popsicles.

When the weather starts to warm up I am more likely to invite friends over for a backyard BBQ or an afternoon coffee date while the children play.

I think I come out of hibernation in every way.

One of our favorite family end of summer traditions is our annual outdoor movie night party.

{we have also held a chili dinner before the movie}

It is so fun for us to put it on and I know that the families that come love it as much as we do.

We wait until late summer for the movie night so the little kids don’t have to stay up so late.

You could do it in the middle of summer just remember that the sun doesn’t go down until 9pm.

The day of the movie night we prepare the yard and start setting up.

Here is a quick list of how we prepare:

*We use our picnic table for the popcorn and large boxes of movie candy.

I buy all of the candy at Walgreens and we order the popcorn from our Subway in Wal-mart (weird but true).

I have a large metal bin that I use for the candy and I put all of the popcorn in popcorn boxes from Cost Plus World Market.

We open up the umbrella and we hang white lights so even when the movie is playing people can come and get refills of popcorn and candy.

*We use old laundry tubs (in the summer we use them for our herb garden) to hold all of our sodas.

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*We have a smaller table against the house that holds the coffee pot and the crock pot of hot chocolate.

I like to have a ton of whip cream available for the kids (who am I kidding…for me).

I also bring out my reproduction drying rack full of all my different mugs to use for the coffee and hot chocolate (the little kids use paper cups).

I try to have cream, sugar etc. on the table too.  We also have another crock pot full of hot cider.

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*I have a large basket set on the patio full of blankets and quilts if people get cold.

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*Kelly always makes sure to get hundreds of glow sticks and glow necklaces/bracelets.  The kids are usually full of them before the movie starts.

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*Our Maddy is a performer at heart and for a few years now there is a “pre-show” that includes the neighborhood girls singing for everyone.

A few boys get up there too.

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* You can rent an outdoor movie screen that blows up but we made our own.

We have a pergola in our yard that Kelly built.

Kelly made our own screen using PVC piping to wrap a kings size sheet at the top and bottom.

He also used PVC piping to create holders on our pergola so we could attach the “screen” to our pergola.

It works perfectly for us because our pergola is a little higher than the rest of the yard.

*We use self powered speakers or PA speakers.  We place the speakers to the left and right of the screen.

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*We use a projector. You can use a LCD or PLP projector.  We project the image from behind the screen but you can also project from the front.

We do it this way so the equipment is out of the way and no one trips on the cords or knocks over the projector on accident.

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* Check your sound before everyone arrives.  You will need your sound to be louder than you may think.

With all of the children, adults, candy wrappers etc. you want the sound to be clear.

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* We love this kind of party because we get to cuddle up with  100 people in our backyard:-)  Everyone shows up with their own blankets/folding chairs and we supply all of the snacks.

This is such an easy party to set up and it is so affordable when you think of how many people we get to invite.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask!

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If you are looking for a last minute Mother’s Day gift for your favorite mom:-) or a treat for yourself, sister or best friend…

Jennifer Rizzo has an amazing new Santos Cage Doll e-course that will launch May 27th!

Click HERE for the details.

You can register directly on my creative network HERE.

If you would like to gift this course please email me at jeanneoliverdesigns@gmail.com and we will help you give the class.

]]> http://jeanneoliverdesigns.com/blog/2013/05/10/creating-your-own-outdoor-movie-night-summer-is-coming/feed/ 18 http://jeanneoliverdesigns.com/blog/2013/05/07/wrinkles-and-grey-hair-along-for-the-ride/ http://jeanneoliverdesigns.com/blog/2013/05/07/wrinkles-and-grey-hair-along-for-the-ride/#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 22:58:03 +0000 jeanne http://jeanneoliverdesigns.com/blog/?p=6069

This past Sunday I turned 41.

Everyone makes such a big deal about 40 that when it comes and goes you have to wonder what the big deal was all about.

4o was no big deal for me.

I didn’t feel like I was supposed to reach certain mile stones by then, make a list etc.

40 was good.

41 I realized I was on my way to 50.

50

What?

A few months ago I noticed some grey hairs.

I get facials once a month and my 20 something gal thinks my skin is great, “for being 40″.

Thanks.

Everything is starting to dry up.

My hair.

My skin.

I have to listen to the TV louder than my husband because I have a little hearing loss in my left ear.

Are you flippin’ kidding me??

Skin spots are alive and well on my face.

I notice how much I talk about the foods I stay away from because I get stomach aches etc.

What the flippity flop??!!

I am one breath away from talking about the weather and my cat.

I see photos of my friends from high school and college and I think they are starting to look older.

Then I realize that they must think the same thing of me.

Do you mean I am not the 26 year old I feel like in my heart and head?

Don’t even answer that.

I see ladies all of the time with weird looking faces, large lips and obvious work done.

I don’t care what others do but I don’t want to look like that.

I want to grow older gracefully.

I know that I have choices each day about how I care for myself and I want to make sure I am making good ones.

I love seeing an older woman that still takes care of herself.

Guess what…she has wrinkles, sun spots and grey hair.

I guess I will wear mine long and wavy.

So wrinkles and grey hair…I am along for the ride.

This body of mine….I promise to do right by you.

Thank you for carrying my babies, holding onto the ones I love, carrying me up mountains (physically and emotionally) and allowing me to create.

50, I am not ready for you quite yet but it will be OK when we meet.

{Yes, all of the photos have nothing to do with this post but I just love ranunculus}