JOURNALFEST and halloween and rainbows!

i can't believe journalfest and halloween have come and gone. but they were so much fun and a much needed break from the hum-drum of daily life. so, i'm much too tired to go into a detailed account, so i'll just post some photos and say that if you love journaling and/or making art in general, you've GOT to get up to the fort fort at least ONE of the 'fests that teesha and tracy put on every year. c'mon! what are you waiting for? or, if you live too far, check out if there are any local groups that get together for some kind of artsy gathering. and if not, start your own! :) (and be sure to let me know...i'll come and play!)

so journalfest...

this year i shared the cost of a rental car with some fellow journalfesters instead of riding the shuttle. it was cheaper AND we got to ride the ferry! i've never been on a ferry before. what a great way to start a magical journey.

bye, bye seattle!

i stayed in the officer's housing which is so different than the dorms. the houses are cozy and quaint and you really get to know your housemates. each night after classes and dinner, we'd gather in the dining room and spread out our projects and supplies and show and tell what we made that day and then continue making art late into the night.

house number 11. yes, it's as spooky as it looks! :)

view of the grassy field in front of our house.

i took classes with roxanne padgett, orly avineri and indgrid dijkers. i'll let the photos speak for themselves! it was tons of fun. i can't even begin to express how wonderful it is to make art all day, break for food and fun and then make more art into the wee hours of the night. it was so nice to have a break from, "mommy! i need this! i need that!" and just do art AAAALLLLL day.

colorful, messy table evidence of a fun class with roxanne padgett

a peek into one of indgrid dijkers' tunnel book journals

i barely had enough time to decompress from journalfest when i returned sunday afternoon because it was halloween! but it was fun. the kids dressed up, my gal pal and her little munchkin came over and we walked the little ones down the street for their first halloween as trick-or-treaters. i think they were still too little to really "get" what was going on, but it was still fun. sureya had the most fun giving out candy and knocking on doors (something she does anyway when we go out on walks around the neighborhood).

little strawberry princess all ready to go

climbing around outside, waiting for it to get dark

strawberry's friend, "chupi" dressed up as a cute little nerd!

mamas and their little "treats" on halloween

and i finally got around to photographing the lovely items i received from my swap partner, marilyn. such a gorgeous and eclectic array of goodies! you can view more of the rainbow goodies on our flickr group.

my favorite color, blue! this bag was packed full of goodies!

thank you marilyn! :) so i think i'm caught up for now! sorry for such a packed post...blogger is only letting me upload one photo at a time and now i've kind of lost steam. i still have so much more to say about journalfest and my new adventures in homeschooling my 8-year-old daughter. more on that later.

our days have been in the upper 80s, really unusual for autumn. glad i can still get a little more wear out of my summer skirts and flip flops, though. as much as i love the changing seasons, i really do love running around outdoors in the sunshine. more on that later, too!