Art Deck - Week 5

Week of February 4 - prompt was to use a bit of epherma on our card. I had just returned from a road trip with my sister and niece, so there were plenty of scraps to chose from! We stopped at the outlets on the way home for a quick shopping spree. J Crew was having a terrific sale...picked up some great buys for hubby (hence the JCrew price tag on my card)...and our stop in Target yielded some Valentine's Day candies--Harry & David's Chocoloate Covered Bing Cherries. Yum-O! A bit of red ribbon and some journaling on the back..and voila! Card 5 complete!

By the way--anyone out there a member of the Epherma Society of America? Who knew?

Week 4 - Art Deck

This week's prompt was to journal about a symbol that you love.

How simple for me. My favorite symbol is a heart. One of the things I most often doodle....always added after my signature when I sign cards or letters to friends and family...part of my "hallmark" on the back of handmade creations...they represent VALENTINE'S DAY...and they are the one thing Rob and I collect together. All my favorite things. I love hearts.

Week 3 - Art Journal - "I am..."

This week's prompt was "I am..." Oh dear. Not my forte--declarative statements about me. I am all over the place. I am at loose ends. I am behind in my "to do" lists. I am not feeling as creative as I'd like to be lately. I am worried about my mom's health. I am happy Rob is excited about his new job. I am learning to live my life as a statement, not a question. I believe I am a late bloomer. I am a work in progress. Yeah, I think "I am a work in progress" pretty much covers it all.

Week 2 - of Art Journal Journey

Posting my first two cards together...sorry the scan is a bit "light" - the colors are much more vibrant than this pic shows.... ANYWAY... the first prompt was "what are you proud of" - I listed a few things I accomplished the first week of this new year....getting involved in new art challenges among them!

This week's prompt is "what is powerful to you?" I immediately thought of a scrapbook LO I saw recently, with words listed - positive ones, and negative ones with a red strikethru....a visual reminder about the strength of words....and it has stayed with me.

My journaling on the back of the card reads:

"What is powerful to you?

WORDS. They have the power to heal or hurt...

to lift up or to tear down...

to embrace or to divide...

to teach or to torment.

Words are powerful.

Use them wisely."

It's a lesson I have yet to master---this prompt will help me be mindful of its importance to me.

EDIT: retitling this for you Aimee, sorry I confused you! Swirls!

Chicks Rule!

How cute is this site? (Aimee...thanks...found this on your blog!).... www.blessthischick.com

Fun!

A NEW CHALLENGE!!!!!!

Oh I am so excited for this one!! Niki and Aimee---you gotta play along with me! Check out this challenge....
http://embers.typepad.com/e/2007/01/join_me_on_an_a.html

Off to TARGET to find a cool deck of cards.....love this idea!!

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.

Crazy Cool

How amazing is this?

Came across a reference to this in the current issue of Legacy...

New York artist John Evans created a collage EVERY DAY from 1964 through 2000.

(and I stalled on my Christmas Journal after about 20 days!)

more on the book of his works at this link: (also available on Amazon) http://www.quantucklanepress.com/catalog/book.php?bkID=64

One moment please...

Playing around with the blog....

want something fresh for the new year.....

In the meantime...enjoy a cup of tea on me.

Happy New Year!

GOOD NEWS!! CATHY Z IS BACK TO BLOGGING!! YEAHHH - I have missed her.... (http://cathyzielske.typepad.com/)

And once again I am BEHIND in my Shimelle journal.....somehow my email was not receiving my daily prompts....fixed that and now I have to catch up!!

And I MISSED OUT ON ORDERING THE JANUARY COCOA DAISY kit! sold out!! dang it! Hoping the reorder is QUICK.

Trying to figure out the new BLOGGER....wish I had an IT guru to make my blog all snazzy....in my next life I want to be a SCRAP CELEB! Speaking of which...what happened to Elsie and the CK magazine? and where is her new PRODUCT????????

Signed...still impatient.

What kind of Christmas Tree are You?

You Are a Cranberry and Popcorn Strung Tree

Christmas is all about showcasing your creative talents. From cookies to nicely wrapped presents, your unique creations impress everyone.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

Oh Christmas Tree!

This turned out differently than I had planned..but I think I like it. Been wanting to use these HEIDI SWAPP letters - but the blue never quite fit...maybe I should have painted over them....then I messed up my OBSERVATIONS circle stamp in the bottom right corner (which I am doing on each page)....so I tore it away and used the next page for the day (11) and stamp, and journaling....worked out nicely! My drawing skills are negligible... but I always like to draw TREES....especially Christmas trees. This was a fun page to journal.

Day 10 - lovin' this PAPER!

Giddy over my OLD NAVY paper...lovin' this pattern...wish I had a big ballgown ala Doris Day made out of some sumptious rustle-y fabric in this pattern! I would wear it every day til NEW YEAR's!!

Sorry the pic doesn't live up to the HYPE....

Days 8 & 9!

OK...I realize this is defeating the purpose of living in the moment and enjoying the days as we get closer and closer to Christmas....but I was behind and determined to catch up this weekend (and I did! Took me til THREE AM SUNDAY NIGHT...but I am CAUGHT UP!)....but I really really wanted to do PROMPT 10 -- so I kind of neglected Days 8 and 9 to get to my FABULOUS WRAPPING PAPER THAT I AM SO IN LOVE WITH! Silly I know. But I just am ridiculously charmed by this OLD NAVY PATTERN! (bought the notebook for my car, the wrapping paper and the flannel jammy pants to wear on Christmas!).....now I've overhyped it. Day 10 was fun for me...tho' it doesn't photograph well (whatever did I do to this dang camera?? It's all jacked and I don't know how to "reset it to the default!")

OK....enough rambling....off to make my TREE PAGE!!!!!!!

Days 5,6 and 7!

A few more pages.....up to page 8 now....enjoying the process....how do the rest of you post photos? Do you scan your pages? My photos of my pages are crummy (even using MACRO setting)....

Day 4 (yes I know I am still behind!)

Day 4 - My immediate thought of "dreams of Christmas" was that I miss the annual cookie bake-off day my sister and I used to have each year...now that we live 4 hours away from each other, we don't get to bake together at Christmastime...and I miss it.

**EDIT** - To those who asked about the Christmas letter cookies - the photo is from a Mary Engelbreit Home Companion magazine....(wish I could take credit for them!)

A few more pages done!

Working to get caught up...so loving seeing the different interpretations of each day's prompt....but also interesting to notice the number of the things I recognize from my own stash of supplies. Great inspiration, ladies!

Happy with my CARDS Day 3 page....

DAYS 1 & 2

I am still behind...but had a glitch and had to start over my MANIFESTO page....I had started clean and simple...then decided it had too much white space...and so I tried to brush on a paint border in red...which looked like BLOOD...so then I brushed some luminere over it....and it looked ORANGE....oh dear. Into the trash went THAT page....and so I started again...(and by now I barely had enough of the TARGET CATTY to cut up for my background....but I did my best.)

Decided I'd try to add some BLING (rhinestones) to each page...loving the sparkle...

Swirls!

Edited: Cover and Page One added....I think I have my BLOGGER working again...though my photos are not the best...can't figure out why they are rotating! I really should read the manual on this new digital camera, right? Sure...who has time for that?

CHRISTMAS ART JOURNAL

Is there anything more exciting (and/or intimidating!) than a blank page? I so want to be an artist...but I know myself to be a "crafter" - great at producing and imitating -- but sadly, not an original. And I have gone astray from my daily journaling...gotta get that habit back!

So...Treated myself to Shimelle's Christmas Art Journal class today (www.shimelle.com)...even tho it started Dec 1---I plan to get "caught up" before retiring for the night.

This is incentive to discipline myself to JOURNAL more....

I hereby declare, along with Shimmelle and the others, my MANIFESTO:

I will keep a Christmas journal.

In it, I will write something every day to reflext on the holidays of my past, enjoy the holidays of the present and dream about the holidays of my future. To some, this will be a stack of papers and trivial scribbles, but not to me. I am taking back my Christmas. I am letting it be something I relish and, most importantly, I am giving at least fifteen minutes every day to myself no matter how crazy this season becomes. I hope you will share, encourage and understand as I make something with my own hands, my own words, and my own memories.

So..thanks to Shimelle and all the others who have posted their pages thus far...you inspire me and I am excited to create and share the holiday spirit with you.

Off to CREATE I go!

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!