1 Timothy 3:5

For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?

For you shall eat [the fruit] of the labor of your hands; happy (blessed, fortunate, enviable) shall you be, and it shall be well with you.  PSALM 128:2

excerpt from Joyce Meyer

Is it obvious that we are to work more than we rest? Some people wonder why their lives are such a wreck, once rested we are supposed to get up and work.

You can not take authority over your life if you don’t have authority over a sink full of dirty dishes or a messy garage. If you want to grow, the Word says you must get your own house in order first. Win the battle of getting your life in order before tackling the whole world.

And let the beauty and delightfulness and favor of the Lord our God be upon us; confirm and establish the work of our hands - yes, the work of our hands, confirm and establish it.  PSALM 90:17

Sometimes we may just need to clear away clutter so you can clearly see what is worthwhile. Don’t keep more than you can take care of. If you have so much stuff in your home that it takes you hours to dust it, get rid of something.

Find a big box and make it a “Blessing Box”, start putting things into it until cleaning is more manageable. Then find someone who does not have much and bless them.

NEW WORKS at LANGSTON UNIVERSITY OKC URBAN CAMPUS

Here are some of my new pieces that are on display at Langston University OKC Campus.

“Lavender Relax”, 16X20    “Wabi Sabi- Calligraphy”, 18X24

  “Untitled Monotype”, 10X14     “Celebrate”,- 16X20

“Celebrate”, was inspired by a classmate who is getting married. Barbara Sowah, is from Ghana, West Africa and she is so in love with color. We were with friends one afternoon and she was talking about her upcoming nuptials, she wants a traditional Ghanaian wedding garment and they are full of color, her fiancé however would like it toned down. Anyways while I was doing this piece, she was popping into the art work, she is a fun and lively woman and this captures her celebration.
“Wabi Sabi Calligraphy”, includes poems, simple word calligraphy and lots of precious metal colors. This is one of my mothers favorites.
“Lavender Relax”, was so fun to do, I did a lot of underpainting on this piece. I included one of my collagraph monotypes on this canvas.
The “Untitled Monotype”, is a chine collagraph print, these are always fun to do, I usually don’t know what to expect when all is done. Freedom!
Enjoy the exhibition at Langston, it’s up until the end of November.

Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition: Encouraging Creativity & Voice: Amena Butler

Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition: Encouraging Creativity & Voice: Amena Butler: Guest Author: Cayla Lewis AMENA BUTLER Professional Grant: Spring Elements Amena Butler, Ball Day, collage on canvas, 2012 ...

Honey Please

Honeybees just might be nature’s best cosmetologists. They produce beeswax and honey, some of the most valuable natural beauty ingredients—and ones that we have not been able to duplicate in the laboratory. Both are key skin- and hair-care ingredients that have been used since ancient times. Today, the use of bee-based ingredients is more popular than ever—they can be found in every major cosmetic company’s line of products, from soaps to facial moisturizers.

Pure, natural honey and beeswax are produced by hardworking bees. Honey contains potassium, phosphorus and zinc, and there are more than 300 varieties produced worldwide. Bees may travel more than 55,000 miles and visit 2 million flowers to produce a single pound of honey. Bees also are natural environmental filters—they die if they come into contact with toxins, so pollutants don’t make it into their hives. Toxins such as industrial emissions, car exhaust and agricultural chemicals all pose a threat to honeybee populations today. It is important for us to provide safe, healthy gardens and environments for bees to thrive and multiply in.

Honey is a natural humectant. A humectant has the ability to attract and retain moisture. This is important for healthy skin and hair because it helps maintain softness and flexibility. It also is a powerful antioxidant; the darker the shade of honey, the more antioxidant potential. Antioxidants play a role in protecting the skin from damage. Soothe cuts, scrapes and burns by dabbing a bit of honey directly onto your skin. It is a good choice for those with troubled or acne-prone skin because it helps heal your complexion and, because it also has antimicrobial properties, helps kill the growth of certain bacteria on the skin’s surface.

Blemish Soother

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pure honey

1. Mix together warm water and salt and stir well until salt dissolves. Apply a cotton ball soaked in the solution directly to blemish and maintain pressure with cotton ball for several minutes.

2. To use: Use a cotton swab to dab pure honey on blemish. Leave honey on for 10 minutes and rinse well with warm water. Honey also makes an excellent weekly facial mask; simply spread on your face and leave on for 20 minutes.

Read more: http://www.herbcompanion.com/body-care/body-and-soul-get-gorgeous-skin-with-honey.aspx?page=2#ixzz21lzKEzxn

Lavender

Benefits of Lavender

• The scent of lavender helps prepare you for a restful night’s sleep and lifts your mood when you are feeling low. It also reduces symptoms from PMS, anxiety, and vertigo.
• In bath products, lavender eases tension, stress, pain and inflammation.
• The scent of lavender repels mosquitoes and other insects.
• Lavender acts as a natural antiseptic and disinfectant. It can also be used as a natural mouth rinse and breath freshener.
• Lavender oil helps heal cuts, scrapes, burns and insect bites. Add a few stems to your centerpiece when dining outdoors.
• As a moisturizer lavender is hydrating and healing especially well suited for troubled skin.
• Keep a small bottle of essential oil of lavender in your purse as a natural cure for headaches and jet lag.
• Lavender is edible and can easily be used to enhance and create spa style refreshments. Add a fresh sprig to a glass of mineral water or sprinkle fresh flowers over a salad for a healthy garnish.

Read more: http://www.herbcompanion.com/body-care/body-soul-make-lavender-spa-products.aspx?page=2#ixzz1yxYxOzRy

Print Subjects

I recently completed a Printmakers class at Metro Tech with Suzanne Randall. Here are a few of my pieces.

 

“Keep the Faith”, Monotype, Collagraph with Chine Colle, 4x6

 

  “Keep it Real”, Monotype, Collagraph with Chine Colle, 4x6

 

  “Sino American”, Monotype, 4x8

 

  “Name It”, Monotype, 4x4

New Art Work

Here are two of my most recent completed pieces. So much fun!

  “Lime Green”, Collagraph Collage, on canvas 6x6

  “Ball Day”, Collagraph Collage, on canvas 6x6

Salt for Beauty

Salt was money before money came into existence. The building block of human civilization when we talk about salt—a substance entwined with ancient practices; salt was so valuable it is believed to have been part of a Roman soldier’s wages, and ancient governments controlled its movement. France only ended its unpopular salt tax, which begun in 1286, and 500 years later, yep table salt.

It has been used for centuries to cleanse, soften and treat the skin and hair. The Egyptians and Romans made salt rubs by massaging a mixture of salt, herbs and natural oils into the body to cleanse and refresh. Hippocrates was one of the first to promote the use of salt in the bath to heal and soothe the body.

In the bath, salt is soothing to sore muscles, helps boost circulation and draws toxins from the body. Coarse salt is mixed with light oils and other aromatic ingredients and massaged into damp skin to help remove dead skin cells and other surface impurities, leaving your skin sparkling clean.

When shopping for salt, you will find many different kinds, from common kitchen salt to the more exotic sea salts that come from all over the world. These range in color from bright white to pink and even black. You will also find salt in several different sizes or grains, from fine to large rocks. Depending on how you are using the salt, you can choose your grain size. Finer grains mix and dissolve very easily in recipes such as bath soaks; larger, coarse grains have more scrubbing power and are used for cleansing tough skin spots such as heels and elbows.

Soothing Muscle Soak: 1 cup salt, 1 cup baking soda, 1 cup Epsom salts; To use: Fill your tub with warm water and pour 1 to 2 cups of the bath salt mixture under the running water. Soak for 15 to 20 minutes

Cleansing Bath: 1/4 cup selected dried herbs, 2 cups coarse sea salt or kosher salt; Mix together the herbs and salt and stir well. Pour into a clean container with a tight-fitting lid. To use: Fill your tub with warm water and pour 1/2 to 1 cup of the bath salts under the running water. Soak for 15 to 20 minutes.

Herbal Bath Salts: Bath Salt Blends

Stimulating:
rosemary, lavender, peppermint

Relaxing:
chamomile, elderflower, angelica

Refreshing:
basil, mint, lemon balm

Invigorating:
raspberry leaves, bay leaves, mugwort

Exfoliating Treatment: 2 cups kosher salt, 1 cup almond oil; mix. To use: Stand in the shower or tub, take a handful of the rub and massage it into your skin, starting with your feet. Massage the Sea Salt Body Scrub all over your body. When you’ve finished and your body is covered, rinse well with warm water. Don’t use soap, or you’ll remove the oil and its benefits. Also use caution when in the shower, as the oil will make things a bit slippery.

Emergency blemish treatment: Soak a cotton ball in warm salt water solution and press on top of a breakout or blemish for 3 minutes to help dissolve the top and disinfect the area. Dab a bit of honey on the spot and let sit for another 10 to 15 minutes, then rinse with warm water.

Read more: http://www.herbcompanion.com/heal/body-care/health-benefits-of-salt-zmrz12jjzdeb.aspx#ixzz1wdOC6yqe

Disinfect your Home Naturally with Lavender Essential Oil

The essential oil of this fragrant plant has disinfectant properties, and its cleaning powers have long been known. Even before the antimicrobial properties of lavender were discovered, it was used for cleaning purposes. The word lavender itself comes from lavare, meaning “to wash.” Try cleaning with lavender by adding a few drops of essential oil to any cleaning products you already make, such as vinegar diluted in water for cleaning floors.

• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon borax
• Distilled or purified water
• 1/4 cup lavender liquid castile soap
• 10 drops lavender essential oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

1. Mix vinegar and borax in a 16-ounce bottle. Fill the bottle 3/4 full with hot water. Shake until borax is dissolved.

2. Add the soap, essential oil and lemon juice. Shake well.

Read more: http://www.herbcompanion.com/heal/health/homemade-all-purpose-cleaner-zmrz12jjzdeb.aspx#ixzz1wdLPIKdx

Essential Oil Blends

Aromatherapists believe that the inhalation of different fragrances produce different effects. They can facilitate a change in our mood when used in meditation, or prayer; for example, they recommend scenting the air with Rosemary oil to bring clarity to the mind. For purification, Rose oil, it purifies the heart. To help with grieving or the recognition of pain and help to release it, choose Petitgrain (the essential oil from the leaves of bitter ­orange), which also encourages transformation.

Plants connect us to nature, remind us we are part of something greater, and can serve as a catalyst for the transformation of our mind, body and soul. A change in the atmosphere, can bring about change in our behavior.

For that Special Night:

• 6 drops Jasmine oil
• 12 drops Sandalwood oil
• 6 drops Neroli oil
• 3 drops Rose oil
• 3 drops Vetiver oil

To Relax, Renew & Refresh:

•12 drops Lavender oil
• 6 drops Marjoram oil
• 6 drops Clary Sage oil
• 3 drops Bergamot oil

To Uplift or Rejuvenate your Mood:

• 6 drops Lemon oil
• 6 drops Geranium oil
• 3 drops Rosemary oil
• 3 drops Peppermint oil
• 3 drops Juniper oil

 

Life Changes:

• 12 drops Sandalwood oil
• 9 drops Petitgrain oil
• 6 drops Rose oil
• 3 drops Ylang Ylang oil
• 3 drops Cypress oil

 

In Need of Extra Support:

• 12 drops Lavender oil
• 6 drops Carrot Seed oil
• 3 drops Black Pepper oil
• 3 drops Angelica oil
• 3 drops Myrrh oil
• 2 drops Sage oil

 

Read more: http://www.herbcompanion.com/body-care/make-fragrant-essential-oils-warriors-spirit.aspx#ixzz1n62X7iXs