Blooming Gorgeous!

It's blooming gorgeous in our neighborhood right now!

Pretty in pink...

pure and white...

lovely lavender...

oh so sweet pale pink...

and so much evidence of God's amazing talent in creating it all.

the details of His handiwork truly astound me...

new blooms and berries as far as the eye can see...

clusters of beauty

offer me so much inspiration 

in creating new art.

So I thank Him 

with gratitude and joy 

for the 

blooming gorgeous

we enjoy this time of year.

Is it all in bloom where you are?

xoxo,

C

A girl has got to travel in style, right?

woo-hoo! 

So excited to have found this great rolling briefcase 

for my upcoming NYC trip. 

It will be great as my carry-on 

and 

for going to and from Surtex each day. 

Cute, don't you think?

I even contacted the manufacturer 
"just in case" (no pun intended!)

to let them know 

I have many colorful patterns 

which would work just great 

on these rolling beauties!

It has so much room inside...

it will be perfect for this trip 

and for many more to come.

If you travel and want to travel in extra style 

check this out!
Not bad...67% off
(would never have paid the original price!)
and free shipping!

Any travel tips 
or luggage finds
you'd like to share?
xoxo,
C

Carolina Art Soiree this Thursday!

Oh my! I dropped off ten original art pieces this morning 

for the Carolina Art Soiree which will begin this Thursday night. 

If you are anywhere near Charlotte, you must attend!

Wow! The talent under that roof is amazing. 

I do not feel worthy to be a part of it!

Here is a sneak peek at just some of my pieces on exhibit:

TULIP (mixed media) 12x16x3

Caroline Simas© 2010

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT PEAR (mixed media) 12x16x3

Caroline Simas© 2010

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT FLOWER (mixed media) 8x16

Caroline Simas© 2010

SCATTER JOY (BIRDS) (framed mixed media) 8x10

Caroline Simas© 2010

BE JOYFUL FLOWER (mixed media) 8x10

Caroline Simas© 2010

Fruit of the Spirit Pear - framed acrylic on canvas 24x30

Caroline Simas© 2010

Please Join Us for the first annual Carolina Art Soirée an exhibition of local and regional artists to benefit GBS/CIDP Foundation International Thursday, April 29, 5:30-9 pm 721 Governor Morrison Street, Southpark (Morrison Development, at Sharon & Colony, above Swoozies) featuring live music from musician Grey Brewster and vocalist Christine Navarro and food and drink from Earthfare, Olde Mecklenburg Brewery and Delish Gourmet Cupcakes $20/couple donation suggested (at door) Dress: Sassy Casual. Participating artists include Wendy Bilas, Dianne Britton, Stuart Coleman Budd, Curt Butler,Shalimar Crosby, Christina Dowdy, Jenny Fuller, Lita Gatlin, Grace Howell, Chris Keogh, Esther Melton, Anne Neilson, Windy O'Connor, Laurie Richardson, Dillard Richardson, Kelley Sanford,Caroline Simas, Libby Smart, and Susan Trotter. The art show will also feature the work of homeless artists from Urban Ministry Center’s ArtWorks 945 program. The exhibition will continue on Friday, April 30, 11am–3pm, and Saturday, May 1 from 10am-12pm. More About Carolina Art Soiréehttp://carolinaartsoiree.squarespace.com Hannah Blanton, hblanton@me.com, 704-365-2422 More About GBS/CIDP: http://carolinaartsoiree.squarespace.com/about-gbs/

Time away...

What a weekend on Edsito Island...

The above sunrise shot was captured by my husband before his morning run. 

Amazing, simply amazing.

I do not think I have ever laughed so much with friends 

than I did this weekend. My face is sore from smiling, really!

It was a treat to be away with such fun folks.

We spend a lot of time here...

and here...

There was golf, biking, walking, beach time, nap time, 

cooking, eating out, cards, dancing and sleeping...

(I can't show you the dancing pictures...sorry!)

We returned just in time today for a special celebration at church.

William received his Bible along with the other 3rd graders.

It was wonderful occasion...

as we celebrated the planting of seeds of faith 

in these children's heads and hearts.

Have a wonderful start to your week!

xoxo,

C

Stop, Look, and...

So I was trying to think of a clever e-mail and postcard mailing 

to prospective manufacturers I want to meet with in NY at Surtex. 

A great idea came to me at a stop light a couple of weeks ago 

(you can only imagine how much I am in carpool lines 

and running kids to various sports and such). 

Many of you can relate! 

So the waiting at sooooo many stop lights 

actually produced a clever little idea...

And then I am developing art for license 

with a play on the words...

stop look love

and 

stop, look, love the earth

etc.

If you'd like to join in the fun

send me your clever suggestions 

for a "play on words" with this idea in mind...

thanks!

xoxo,

C

Craving Summer...

Craving summer already...
We're heading here this weekend
with three fun couples
but without the kids.
ahhhh....
thank you mom and dad!

woo-hoo! I love summer...

anyone with me?

xoxo,

C

P.S. Sweet Sharyn posted a nice entry about reaching higher

....and her artist friends, including me, 

who are taking that leap of faith and heading to Surtex.

Click here to read the post 

and also to see her amazing floral photos 

from her home in the pacific northwest.

What are you waiting for?

Taking leaps of faith...not always easy. 

Doubt and fear set in and those things 

often keep us from being and doing our best. 

The older I get and the farther I journey in my faith, 

the more I realize that taking leaps of faith are important. 

I believe they say to God...

I trust you. 

I know you have my back. 

I know you love me and want what's best for me. 

I know you'll take care of my worry and uneasiness. 

Help me.

So listen to one of my absolute favorite songs about taking leaps of faith...

Britt Nicole's song called Walk on Water
By the way, Britt is from right around the corner in Salisbury, NC!
To read more about her click here...
she is wise beyond her years!

What leaps of faith are you taking these days and are you trusting?
xoxo,
C

meeting Molly

I had the pleasure of having coffee a few months ago with sweet Molly Barker.
Surely you have heard of  Girls on the Run International.
I loved connecting with her and discussing
our shared passion for empowering young girls
to search early to find our what their passion might be in life. 

Molly is humble, sweet and kind, yet a strong visionary.
Her dream to empower young women became a reality
with much dedication and work.
Some history of how it all started here...
Today Girls on the Run can proudly say
that they have positively changed the lives
of hundreds and thousands of young girls.

Here are a just a few highlights of the program:

Mission

To educate and prepare girls for a life time of self-respect and healthy living.

---

About

Girls on the Run® is a life-changing, experiential learning programs for girls age eight to thirteen years old. The programs combine training for a 3.1 mile running event with self-esteem enhancing, uplifting workouts. The goals of the programs are to encourage positive emotional, social, mental, spiritual and physical development.

---

Objectives

The objective of Girls on the Run is to educate and empower girls at an early age in order to prevent the display of at-risk activities in the future. At risk activities include substance/alcohol use, eating disorders, early onset of sexual activity, sedentary lifestyle, depression, suicide attempts and confrontations with the juvenile justice system.

---

The Program
Girls on the Run® is a 501(c)3 positive youth development program which combines an interactive curriculum and running to inspire self-respect and healthy lifestyles in pre-teen girls. Our core curriculum addresses many aspects of girls’ development - their physical, emotional, mental and social well-being. Lessons provide girls with the tools to make positive decisions and to avoid risky adolescent behaviors

Cannot wait until our girls are old enough to participate! 

And yea for my sweet sister who told me today 

she has been training for her first road race!

Blessings,

Caroline

Laminin

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!
I flew to Kentucky for my sweet friend Susan's wedding
and it was an amazing time.
I was so honored to be a part of it...
helped with her dress, other last minute details
and read 1 Corinthians 13:4-13. 
Cannot wait to see her pictures.
I did not have the camera with me because my husband
had the girls for their Indian Princess overnight in the mountains
and was eager to capture those moments.
Pictures from this soon too!
Meanwhile, a full week ahead
of plugging away at more preparations for Surtex.
They added my art to their website rotation too
and also contacted me
about featuring me in their May newsletter issue called
On the Surface.

So today I want to tell you about Laminin.
I have known about Laminin for quite some time 

but felt sharing this just after Easter was most appropriate. 

If you have never heard of this, you will be blown away! Enjoy!

Sweet blessings,

Caroline
If you can't see the clip below just click here 

in the thick of thin things...

I needed to read this today...how about you?

One of these days you’ll explode and shout to all the kids,
“Why don’t you just grow up and act your age!”
And they will…

Or, “You guys get outside and find something to do –
without hurting each other.  And don’t slam the door!”
And they don’t.

You’ll straighten their bedrooms
until it’s all neat and tidy,
toys displayed on the shelf,
hangers in the closet, animals caged.
You’ll yell, “Now I want it to stay this way!”
And it will…

You will prepare a perfect dinner
with a salad that hasn’t had all the olives picked out
and a cake with no finger traces in the icing
and you’ll say, “Now this is a meal for company.”
And you will eat it alone…

You’ll yell, “I want complete privacy on the phone.
No screaming, Do you hear me?”
And no one will answer.

No more plastic tablecloths stained
No more dandelion bouquets.
No more iron-on patches.
No more wet, knotted shoelaces,
muddy boots or rubber bands for ponytails. 

Imagine…. a lipstick with a point,
no babysitters for New Years Eve,
washing clothes only once a week,
no PTA meetings or silly school plays where your child is a tree,
no car pools, blaring stereos or forgotten lunch money.

No more Christmas presents made of library paste and toothpicks,
no wet oatmeal kisses,
no more tooth fairy,
no more giggles in the dark,
scraped knees to kiss or sticky fingers to clean
Only a voice asking, “Why don’t you grow up?”
And the silence echoes: “I did.”

working on...

Working on Surtex preparations. 

So much to do...overwhelmed at times. 

But I am reminded and encouraged by family and friends 

that I have cheerful and inspirational art to offer, and lots of it.

So much new art and so many new collections to show....

I am giddy with excitement 

and pray that my unique style 

and passion for faith-based art will shine through.

BOOTH #455

The thrill of being back in NYC is just a few weeks away 

and Sharyn continues to be a blessing in helping me prepare. 

It was Magical!

Hi friends! Please forgive the long delay without postings...(although I pre-wrote 6 entries to be automatically sent while I was away and obviously they never sent.) Bummer...will have to check into that.

IT WAS MAGICAL! We just returned from our 7 night Western Caribbean Disney Cruise. So much to share, I do not even know where to begin. It was a mixture of amazing family time with Nan and Papa Joe, with and without the children, some individual time with each of the children, alone time with my husband, and alone time by myself. Ahhhh... The views were amazing and our excursions, unforgettable.

We took over 600 pictures but here are a few of my favorites (so hard to choose). If you're really interested or bored you can hop on over to my Flickr group HERE to see the many hundreds we captured.

happy girl on vacation

with Pluto on Castaway Cay (Disney's private island)

Minnie wanted to join in with a ballet twirl...

on the catamaran heading to snorkel in Cozumel, Mexico...

nice spot to relax on Cozumel...

Would this work in our back yard?

colorful hammocks...

Easter in Key West...

giant Rainbow flip flop 

near a store front in Key West...

our silly fisherman, William

the Grand Cayman pirate encounter excursion 

we took with just the boys 

we all, yes... all, even mommy, 

jumped off the lower plank and off the upper level rail of the ship!

I figured I needed to be brave. 

It's not every day one has the opportunity 

to jump off a pirate ship and swim in the Caribbean.

William kayaked with Papa Joe...

kindred spirits!

creative towel and blanket folding by our cool stateroom server...

stingray on the left, turkey on the right stuffed with chocolates

We also had a monkey, a bunny, an elephant, and others.

Loved coming in at night to see the turned down beds 

and these creative creatures!

Walker especially loved the basketball on Deck 10...

also ping pong tables everywhere and shuffleboard too.

the adult only pool...

I loved this spot!

coconut tree on Grand Cayman

Could not believe that we met Guy Harvey 

in his gallery and shop on Grand Cayman!

And I had just been jumping off that pirate ship, 

so no make-up and wet from head to toe.

Crazy story, but before we left for the trip I was tying up loose ends with the Tervis design for the tumbler and for some reason popped over to Guy Harvey's website. His marine life art is on many, many Tervis products and he has been licensing with Tervis for several years. I read on his about us page that he lives on Grand Cayman with his family. I actually sent an e-mail saying hello and telling him that we would be visiting Grand Cayman the next week and telling him I am thrilled to now design for Tervis too. Had no idea where the shop was on the island and never thought we would even be going there. It just wasn't on the agenda. When we finished the pirate excursion we headed to the island to grab some lunch. Walker was wearing his Guy Harvey t-shirt and saw a sign that said Guy Harvey shop this way. It was only a block or two away so we headed over to buy a shirt for William for being brave and jumping off the pirate ship. (I was the brave one!)

The shop was beautiful and we began chatting with the cashier who heard me say, "I am so excited to be here and see his products." She told us Guy was upstairs in his gallery painting and to go on up and meet him and he'd sign anything we planned to purchase. The boys were thrilled and so was I. And to boot, after we introduced ourselves, he said, "I got your e-mail!" We chatted about Tervis, his painting he was working on while we were there (you can see on the easel in the background), his growing up years, and his passion for marine conservation. It was a thrill and he could not have been nicer. If you want to see more about Guy, click here. He's quite an amazing fella.

Sarah Grace as a pirate!

Charlotte as a pirate!

and William as a pirate! 

They have Pirate Night on the cruise 

and everyone dresses up as pirates of the caribbean! 

It's hilarious!

The kid's club painted the kid's faces.

amazing meals...

desserts were unbelievable! 

My waist can assure you that I am correct about this!

David and I toured the kitchen 

and it is a stainless steel mega machine. 

It was meticulously clean and quite impressive.

Charlotte's hair braiding choice...

Sarah Grace's hair braiding choice...

It comes out tomorrow night!

one of my favorite shots on Castaway Cay...

the sky was as blue as a robin's egg

Walker and Nan embrace after wining 

the JACKPOT BINGO on the final day!

Yes, out of everyone on board, playing all week, 

these two lucky ducks 

walked in on the last day and won $5600!

They split the total 

and we are currently having discussions about 

wise spending choices, saving, and charity.

A total shock, unexpected win, and good lessons.

Beautiful Belle...

and of course Captain Mickey!

Soooooooo many more but that's a good overview!

I miss our sweet dinner servers Alicia and Alister and our stateroom keeper, Pe.

For some reason when I returned home my bed wasn't turned down with clean sheets and chocolates sticking out of a towel sting ray, and there happened to not be a 7 course dinner waiting to be served. But that's why they call it a vacation. And that it certainly was...no iphone or e-mail for 8 days straight. It's nice to disconnect from the world for a bit.

But no matter where we go, there's no place like home.

Even though I am on the 7th load of laundry...

Missed you all!

xoxo,

C