Aqua

Breakfast at Tiffany’s blue. My current favorite. It defines summer. {Ren Reiske © All Rights Reserved}

R is for renew

Our traditional door wreath has weathered years of winter, apparent in the angel’s faces which have turned a shade of chartreuse. It was time for change, a renewal.

After

Before

I wanted a fresh, modern look and picked up pink and silver ornaments for accents. Armed with silver and green wire, and a good wire cutter, I was ready to renew.

Voila! {see wreath above, After}

{Ren Reiske © All Rights Reserved}

Sinful

{Ren Reiske © All Rights Reserved}
Ahhh marketing. Love the name and price {$1.99}. Found my midnight blue … perfect for the holidays.

Fall

Life starts all over again

When it gets crisp

in the fall.

— The Great Gatsby

{Ren Reiske © All Rights Reserved}

How To Be An Artist #12

{flickr}

Be free. There are so many ways I can do this. I may have to post this # more than once. My thoughts immediately went to the summer when we took a family trip to Colorado. Hiking, horse-back-riding, biking, canoeing, floating … and the craziest thing {crazy because I allowed my very young children to do this after our guides assured us it was safe} jumping off a very steep cliff into the cold Colorado River. Jordan, who was 7 at the time, went first. I remember him having all the gusto and lack of fear, running and jumping. Me, panicking. I was waiting in the water and when he surfaced, blood was running from his nose and screaming ensued. From me. The impact caused the nose bleed but Jordan was fine – all smiles and ready to go again. This was FREEDOM and madness. Crazy as it was, we all tried it once, just for the taste of freedom.

{Ren Reiske © All Rights Reserved}

Express yourself. I’ve been making these cute Chevron bracelets. Not only does it take me back to my youth, but there’s something very relaxing about making them. Like knitting, it takes patience and a bit of methodical thinking. When you’re done, there’s that satisfaction of creating something out of simple, colored threads. I hope to improve and move on to more complicated pieces like this bracelet. Loving the lucky elephant motif.

Freedom is…

fun thong cookies made with a heart-shaped cookie cutter…

a beautiful, bare back…

visuals that get to the point. :) Stay free.
It started here.

How To Be An Artist #8

This makes me smile.
My first friendship bracelet came from Stephen, back when I was in college {yeah, I was late in the game}. I never took it off and wore it until it practically shredded off. Now, when I see them {on teens and adults alike}, it reminds me of when Beau was a little girl and I would show her how to easily make them.
This past weekend, I decided to dig out my craft box and create new memories. I made my first Chevron friendship bracelet following instructions here {these take awhile, so be patient}. 

{Ren Reiske © All Rights Reserved} 
Another plus: they accent a summer tan … color me happy!

An Affair to Remember

Veer has some of my favorite fonts, including this one, Affair. It was perfect for the design I created for an upcoming 25th anniversary conference. The silver metallic ink was wonderful to work with (thanks to the good folks at Modern Litho Printing) – keeping the art from looking flat and grey.