The last few days have been a rare treat as my parents have been visiting JP and myself, here in Colorado. Together, we have been sharing memories, laughing and bouncing creative ideas off of one another. With their pending visit in mind, I took some much needed time to clean up my workshop. Wow, what a mess it was! Fortunately, I was able to find my worktable underneath layers of stuff, and mom and I spent a few hours crafting. I was working on the base coats on a new Rhyme Time original piece, slated to sell this summer while mom brought a bag of woolen textiles to sew into keepsakes for her Kathy Parker Collection. It was fun, and it reminded me of the good 'ol days growing up and joining her at the kitchen counter to work on creative projects together. Of course, JP took the opportunity to catch us in the act, and soon we found ourselves elevating our level of silliness as the camera lens spied on our activities. Now, my parents have already left for home, and I'm sitting here enjoying the photos and wishing they lived closer. For now, I thought it would be a treat to share a few images from yesterday's fun in the workshop. Here's hoping that we will have more opportunities to craft together in the future.......

Best wishes,
~ Johanna

* After a few eye-watering moments of laughter, the two of us settled down for a sweet photo together...
(This one would have been perfect for my Mother's Day post!)

* Earlier, JP snapped a few funny overheads which made it difficult to concentrate on our work...

* Peek-a-boo!

* "Now get serious girls"..... I'm painting a one of a kind Halloween bulldog character, while mom works on a Valentine's keepsake. Clearly, we do not work with the current seasons.... haha!

* Mom joins me by my side for a closer look at my dry-brushing technique...

* Looks like we couldn't keep a straight face for too long :)

Never take for granted the hands that do our life's work.... It was past midnight last evening as JP snapped these candid photos of my busy fingers. Now that August is here, it's crunch time for me. So, I wheeled in a table of wire, pliers and glue and set out to make several sets of bat wings before I grew too sleepy to continue. (I know, talk about Saturday night fun!) I paid little attention to the experimental camera shots he was taking for I was deep in a crafting trance, counting out wires and forming them into sets. After I completed the steps, he shared the images he had taken - thank goodness not of me! But my hands, in artistic action, were the focus, and I was quite intrigued. I rarely grant these ten, long and skinny soldiers any credit for the work they do. But, without them, I would be lost.....

~ Johanna