painting and luggage

i had the time of my life last friday night! my friend jenni horne opened up her basement and began her "paint something" workshops in the luxury of her own home. i packed up my decorative paper, a snack to share and lots of excitement and headed over.

i have always shied away from painting because i just thought i couldn't do it. plus, i didn't want to open myself up to another money sucking hobby :)

but something about the way jenni teaches did the trick. she explained all the steps really clearly and i only felt overwhelmed putting the first spot of color onto the board, but after that, it was smooth sailing!

i painted a pic taken on my trip to london a few years back of a bunch of suitcases stacked outside a trinket shop. my partner in crime, joy, painted right next to me - she chose a pic of jane austen's house taken on the same trip.

that's me and jenni - you always have to have a cheesy pic of you and your art instructor! the only thing i left for the next day was adding the text you can see in the first pic. i was way to tired when i got to that part and didn't want to risk spelling something wrong. it reads "to follow your dreams, you have to pack first". it's the gentle reminder that you can't reach your dreams by sitting on your behind - you actually have to do some work to get where you want to go :)

so that's it - my first painting class under my belt and i have the stains to prove it!