WASSIMA Art Deck - Week 7!

OK - I haven't put mine together yet....but I have the PROMPT*!

Woke up EARLY (6:30 am) because I couldn't wait to get back to reading "Breaking Dawn" - (seriously, ladies - if you haven't started this series--what are you waiting for?) And I was pleasantly surprised to see the SUN had returned (after a dreary overcast day yesterday)...and I had just enough French Vanilla Creamer to make an iced coffee in my new Starbucks cup....and at 1pm little miss will be arriving and I cannot wait to try the new outfit on her from the O'Tooles (thanks! pics asap!) and I had plenty of time to scrap a few more pages in Sirryha's book, plan the shopping bag scrapbook for Mikayla, and there you have it---a perfect day and today's prompt!

*Week 7 Prompt: A Perfect Day. What would yours be? Mine always involves a NONWORK day, reading and/or some sort of creative endeavor, and/or family fun time. If I were a hockey player, I think I would have just experienced a HAT TRICK! If i were a baseball player - I'd have racked up a triple play? (Am I getting ANY of these sports analogies right? Have no idea where they came from, as I don't BEND let alone engage in strenuous exercise.)

On other happy notes:

• Shouting out CONGRATS to two creative inspirations who are EXPECTING BABIES!! First - Karalenn (Penelope Crackers!) - oh Karalenn please join our art deck journal again!! I miss your enchanting paintings!! And second- Ali Edwards! This news makes me so happy...feeling the baby love mojo so strongly these days.
• Speaking of baby love.... Sirryha is STARTING TO WALK! Took a few steps for her daddy for the first time on Friday - and I witnessed it too, yesterday. WOW. Time is FLYING by. How can she be ONE already?
• Big CONGRATS to Amy for her entry into the publishing world with her Somerset acceptance for her fairy house!! So excited and happy for you. So, so, so love your VISUALIZATION practices! Cynthia....I am continuing my visualization for good health for your mom....thanks, Amy, for the idea! It reminded me of the visualization Gildna Radner recounted in her book about her ovarian cancer. You can read it described here (sorry, couldn't find a direct link to the book passage)...this idea has always stayed with me in the back of my mind (and I read the book over ten years ago)...thanks, again, Amy for reminding me to pull this out and bring it back into my life!

I could go on, for some reason today! Feeling much love and gratitude to my family and INSPIRED PEEPS for sharing all their artistic gifts and nurturing me along the way...you are all a blessing to me!

Swirls!

~Sooz

One Word. Year Two.

Loving Ali Edwards' Weekend Creative challenge idea, tied in with the One Little Word. I've been mulling over my WORD choice....which is "BREATHE." Something especially pertinent today as I am fighting off a cold/stuffy nose/chest congestion (ew). Something that reminds me to stop, think, TAKE A BREATH before acting, reacting, or speaking. (A lesson I have yet to master. Is this all sounding familiar? Didn't we go through this with the word GRACE last year at this time? uh-huh.)

So....I am off to get some FRESH AIR. And BREATHE a little....(taking a break from a dreaded work report that is due Monday.) I will take my camera along and try to capture some images of my word....just LOVE Ali's idea there....

And I will consider how to keep this word in front of me more consistantly this year...

I'm a posting MANIAC today!

Got the scanner working again - so I scanned in all the "daily something" entries I did before we went away. This one is my current favorite : ) The Flicker photostream on the right houses the rest of mine. Again-- inspired by Ali - the OPRAH of the scrapbooking/life artist world!

I loves me a bargain!

Remember the "All About Me" scrapbook Kit for a Cause from last year? (Can't believe it was OCTOBER when I did that!)...of course I MAJORLY scraplifted off Ali's version....and I remember loving the glittered "A" she used on the cover. Well who'd expect that a year later, I'd come across this bargain?? Look what I found in the dollar aisle at Jo-Ann Fabric today!

So as soon as I got home and unpacked my bags from my spree (LSS and J0Ann's. Yummy) - I pulled out my book and adhered my sparkly "S" to the cover. (Also read through the book....still love it. : ) Ali's style really is timeless.)

more daily something.......

I love love love this "daily something" flicker group Ali Edwards started. I am completely enamored with this idea for turning junk mail evelopes INSIDE OUT...thanks, again and again, Ali for the inspiration and inviting us to play along!

I am dying to get my hands on a BIND IT machine...so I am holding off binding these til I just cave and buy it! In the meantime...I am REPURPOSING (love that word) the junk mail envelopes that overflow our mailbox each day (of course...now that I WANT them...there will be less and less of them!)

For the past few days---I've been playing with my daily stories and ephermera and I am happy with the three I finished so far. I've promised myself I'd continue with this daily until we leave for our vacation on the 20th....should be easy since I just love this idea so ridiculously much : )

Inspired by Ali Edwards' "Daily Something"

In addition to all the artful blogging going on today, Ali Edwards' AEzine arrived, and as always, was full of inspiration. LOVE her "daily something" idea...love the idea of scheduling time EVERY DAY for creative pursuits. Last night I was all over the place -painting more pages in my art journal, creating a mini purse from a Cocoa Daisey kit from earlier this year, and working on some gift projects. Quite a while ago, I had pasted this picture into my journal, from an old magazine - the floor-to-ceiling windows reminded me of a shore house my sister rented a few summers ago, with a heavenly "sleeping porch" -- ever since I have dreamed of having a lovely summer cottage, by the shore, with a sleeping porch. Heaven. I finally just stamped in the words the photo evokes in my mind.....and I think I will just leave it at that. Thanks, Ali, for reminding us to capture the moments, the stories, the memories, the dreams, and most importantly, enjoying the process along the way.

Week 27 - Ali Edwards' Prompt - for Emily's Art Journal

The prompt for this week was from ALI EDWARDS (sitting in for Emily)...and it was "Junk Mail." Of course, I love Ali's interpretation. How does she do it so effortlessly? In her hands, a piece of junk mail and some paint (I am guessing that is yellow paint?) and a pen and it becomes a work of art. Love her style. So...I set out this week to find something useful among the STACKS of junk mail that enter our home each day. How can there be NOTHING I can use??? Finally settled on the DELL catalog...the paper isn't the best quality for this project...but the colors were fun. What is it about the NAMES of colors that are so interesting to me? I think that would be the most fun job. Sitting around NAMING colors of products....appliances, fabrics, car paint, nail polish (the OPI colors?! YUM), crayons, paints, EYE SHADOW, LIPSTICK.....how fun. Who has these jobs and where do I apply??

Ali Edwards eZine challenge...one little word

Ali Edwards' eZine challenge this week is to choose "one little word" to serve as a mantra of sorts for the year. Ali started this last year (I believe her word for 2006 was Play) and used her word as a focal point, something to meditate on and reflect upon as she went through her days...what a perfect tradition to start.

And so, I, too, am accepting the challenge. It wasn't hard to decide on a word, as it is one I have tried to keep in mind for quite some time.

My word is Grace.

I want this in my life, I need this in my life, and I want it to be something that is integral to who I am....when I am long gone, I would love for this to be one of the words used to describe me. Having said that...I know it is a lofty goal - as it isn't exactly my nature to be full of Grace (or graceful....but that's a whole other story!)...but I am working on that!

This stone in the photo is etched with the word Grace and sits atop my jewel chest...right where I will see it every morning as I get dressed. I put it there long ago to remind me that I need to focus on this word to make it part of me. More often than not, it is buried under the"stuff" that accumulates on my jewelry box...but then I unearth it again and dust it off and place it back where I will see it again each day. It strays from my mind most days almost immediately....but I am working on that.

And so....thank you, Ali, for inspiring us to play, and create, and ponder, and think for ourselves, and tell our stories, and to live with intention and Grace.

Peace & Grace.

Inspired by Ali Edwards

Up and out of the house EARLY today for some errands...and now time to scrap the night away. yippiee! Some shares: TOTALLY SCRAPLIFTED (like a stalker, am I!) ALI EDWARDS' Thanksgiving journal--bought the kit from Cocoa Daisey (so yum) and loved the papers so much I made a second mini version for my sister, Niki, who came out to spend Thanksgiving with us for the first time. Perfect weekend!

EDIT: Inspired by Ali to create this collage of Christmas bits , too...just need to add some glitter to my snowflake and frame it...ho ho ho!