New Art Challenge

My attempt at EDM Challenge #1 (click on photo to learn more)

If you've browsed my blog then you know that I love art: looking at it, making it, talking about it, etc! I've gotten a lot of art inspiration from Danny Gregory since I read his book, "The Creative License". There are very active groups on Facebook, Flickr, and Yahoo that have been inspired by his book, "Everyday Matters" which I haven't read yet. Also as a result of this book, there was an Everyday Matters Challenge that was started several years ago by artist Karen Winters. 

Basically, the EDM Challenge is a list of random things (currently 328 things) that could be drawn on a daily basis to help artists to get in the habit of daily drawing. You can start the list with item #1 and go in order or you can skip around. EDM challenge drawings can be shared with the groups I mentioned earlier for constructive feedback and I've discovered that its a very friendly little community!

So, I'm going to take the challenge! My plan is to go in order through the list because I'm a little OCD like that. ;) My goal is to sketch one challenge everyday but I'm not sure how realistic that will be...the most important thing is to keep going even if I miss a day! So, we'll see how it goes. I'll share my results here either as a post or on the artwork page of my blog. You can also see all of my sketches on my Flickr photo stream. 

What's your favorite pair of shoes? Has your taste in shoes changed since you were younger?

Keep it Simple,

- Jamie

Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop

No words, just images. A look at the world through my eyes. 

Click on the photo to learn more about it!

I would love it if you would join me for Wordless Wednesdays! Add your link below by midnight on Tuesday, July 31st to participate in the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop! Be sure to visit the participating blogs and give them lots of love! 


P.S. - Grab the Wordless Wednesday Blog Button from the sidebar to let others know that you participate!


Keep it Simple,


- Jamie

Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop (Better Late Than Never!)

No words, just images. A look at the world through my eyes.

I would love it if you would join me for Wordless Wednesdays! Add your link below by midnight on Tuesday, July 24th to participate in the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop! Be sure to visit the participating blogs and give them lots of love! 


P.S. - Grab the Wordless Wednesday Blog Button from the sidebar to let others know that you participate!


Keep it Simple,


- Jamie

How To Tuesday

How to...dice an onion! (The quick, easy, & hopefully tear free way!)

Step #1:

Step #2:

Hopefully this is pretty self explanatory, but let me know if you have questions! I also have to give credit to my husband for showing me this trick!

So, I know what you're thinking...this post seems way too simple for a how-to post (even despite the name of my blog)! But, who said a how-to post has to be super long and complicated? Joy, over at the blog Joy the Baker, shared her insight on making simple how-to posts in her post about blog post ideas. Its a great post that would be helpful for any blogger! (I think I just exceeded my daily quota for using the word "post"...sorry for the annoying repetition)...

Keep it Simple,

- Jamie

Weekly Inspiration

Here are a few things that inspired me lately. Enjoy!

Have you discovered Spoonflower yet? Its a really cool website where you can make your own original fabric designs! On the Spoonflower blog guest author Emma Jeffery from the Hello Beautiful blog shared how to turn handwritten recipes into tea towels. Read the post here. I would love to do this with some of our family recipes that have been passed down through the generations.

Brooklyn artist Shantell Martin illustrated her entire bedroom! How cool is that?! I have a feeling that my husband wouldn't be too keen on this style of home decor. ;) Read the article from The New York Times here.

I absolutely love reading! As a teacher, sometimes its a struggle to find time during the school year for leisure reading so I usually try to make up for it in the summer. Its been a little while since I've gotten immersed in a really good book but I've had a hard time putting this one down! You might recognize the title from the movie version that came out in 2009. This book really is excellent! Great plot told from an unusual viewpoint, great characters, and great life lessons. It has also given me a new perspective about my dad who I miss so much as he watches over me from heaven. 

Did you come across something that inspired you this week? Share in the comments below!

Keep it Simple,

- Jamie

Fresh Food Friday: Shrimp & Herb Penne

I'm going to start devoting Friday posts to topics related to fresh food (recipes for home cooked meals, nutritional tips, farmer's market finds, etc). So, this week I decided to share a recipe for Shrimp & Herb Penne that we enjoyed for dinner recently. 

I illustrated the recipe!

This recipe is super simple! Just follow the directions in my illustrated recipe above. The only thing I forgot to mention is that I also tossed the cooked penne in olive oil. After reading this post on the blog "100 Days of Real Food", we try to buy block cheese and grate it ourselves whenever possible.

Saute the shrimp, onions, and herbs in olive oil.

Mmmmmm!

Let me know if you try this recipe and if you like it!

Keep it Simple,

- Jamie

Garden Update

Look what we found in the garden after returning from vacation!

Its hard to tell in this photo, but this summer squash is actually about 15 inches long and has about a 10 inch circumference! Hmmm...I wonder if they're supposed to get this big before you pick them?

The garden has definitely been a challenge so far! Needless to say the weeds are atrocious and have become too overwhelming for us to manage with our busy schedules. However, there is still quite a bit of produce growing well despite the harsh conditions! 

Do you have any gardening updates to share?

Keep it Simple,

- Jamie