Camera

My husband bought me a new camera for my birthday! It is the real deal people. It is a Nikon and I am a little intimidated by all of the buttons. I have been playing around with it a little and just figured out how to get the pictures uploaded into iPhoto. There is much to learn! I'm hoping to find a class once school starts. All of these pics were taken by me using my big girl camera!

Maxim decided to smile for me tonight! Check out his teeth. March will be 4 years ago that we
saved him from life in a puppy mill. Max is the BEST boy!!!!

New journal page using some images from my workshop with Ingrid Dijkers. Even when I try to
do grunge, the bright colors still appear!

I loved this octopus and the pipes from the workshop. A little more grungy here I think.

I love how this page turned out! I did so many layers and got some textured circles with gesso and an empty pill bottle. I really enjoyed collaging the zebra's body with images I found in a magazine. I finger painted cream craft paint over and around the zebra to mute the colors. I haven't yet figured out what else I will do here. Maybe nothing! Maybe some doodling!

Speaking of doodles.......... here is my Oodles of Doodles journal. I am taking an online visual journal workshop with Dawn DeVries Sokol. I'm loving this workshop and feel my doodling mojo coming back. I LOVED making the journal out of a Snackwell's box, various paper and tape. Check out the Hello Kitty duct tape I found at Target!

Here are some of my doodles. I am behind schedule! Life just keeps getting in the way.

Dawn provides great prompts and examples. This class is fun! Can't wait to make more journals. So easy and I love repurposing the boxes. My daughter is dying to make one too!

Back cover. I also want to get some of the new Kraft Brown paper by Stonehenge. I think I like working on that color. Anyone used it yet?

Long time

It has been ridiculously long since my last post. I have been up north so my kids could go to day camp. They had THE BEST time ever and the temporary relocation was definitely worth it. I got the chance to spend lots of time with my girlfriends I had to leave when we moved out here. It made me miss them terribly! As great as it is to go away, it is always nice to come home. I missed my bed, my house, my new friends and my stuff. I didn't bring anything with me. It was just too difficult. So I haven't gotten a chance to play in forever!

Before I left, I signed up for MaryAnn Moss's Full Tilt Boogie class. She seriously is full of major creativity, inspiration and helps you look at things differently. If you are looking for a fun class that teaches bookmaking and visual journaling, check it out! I definitely recommend it. Here are 2 practice books I stitched together. I love the stitch and the fact the stitches are exposed. My daughter and her girlfriend took them as their new journals. My daughter already decorated her covers!

When we got home last week, I had some time to play and this is what I created. It's ok. I really want to buy a Japanese Screw Punch as I'm not loving how the awl pokes the holes. They just aren't real smooth. I've heard the Screw Punch is a million times better. I'm also not in love with the covers. Just a little boring for me, so I think I will leave it until I figure out what to do with them. Like usual, I love the process of making my own book. More are to come!!

Summer art wardrobe

My kids finished school last week. I now have a 4th grader and a 2nd grader which I find to be crazy! Last Wed. we were at the pool sweating and having fun in the 100 degree heat. By Thurs. the temperature dropped 50 degrees! Only in the midwest does this happen.

I have been wanting to play in my art room with my new paints and papers, but I haven't had any time or sparks of creativity lately. I feel torn! To try to get inspiration, I have been looking through blogs and every now and then I check out Michelle Ward's GPP Street Team. I love her Crusades and have wanted to participate. I took the challenge as this one, No. 52, spoke to me.
I looked through some of my journals to see if I change my summer art wardrobe. Interesting thought! What is in my head rarely comes out on my pages. You see, I LOVE the dingy and distressed look of old. I love the pale colors that remind me of time gone by. The softness grabs me and I think how soft and how much history must be there! But, then I get going and what shows up?

Almost all of my pages are filled with bright color! I enjoy the combinations I come up with and believe it or not, there are times when something more dark emerges. I usually end up continuing with the layers because in my head, I think it looks like mud. See what I mean here?? It's too dark and dingy for me.

I didn't Gesso over this page. I worked with it, incorporating a dog and some other images from a collage sheet from Teesha Moore. I will admit it. I don't really like the page. I think it all works well together, it just is lacking some ooomph for me!

These are representative what seems to just seep out naturally!

I find it a little more challenging to create in the summer because after so many LOOOOOOOONG months of cold and snow, I feel I need to be outside every chance I get. I don't really enjoy lugging everything I want to use up from the basement and outside. It is crazy windy here in the plains. It's super hot as we don't have any shade in our backyard. Then I have to lug everything back down to my room and put it all away. It's just too much effort when I really want to be outside enjoying the sun, my kids and the pool. On top of it, my daughter insists my markers are better than hers and she just HAS to use mine! I know how to share, but sometimes I just want to be selfish with my stuff and enjoy my hoard! Is that bad?!?!?!?

40 and summertime!

Here are some recent journal pages and as you can tell, I was influenced by Ingrid Dijkers in my writing. I like drawing lines of varying thicknesses and filling the words in. I also like filling in the circles of the letters with marker. It's very relaxing!

I graduated from PT on Friday which was the day before my birthday! I have started Pilates and am loving the fact that I can do something again. It is hard, but it feels so good! Now, if the fat would just start to melt away........

I created this page after a party. I needed to get my annoyances out of my head and it really helped! I really feel this way and would much rather spend my time with people who are truly interested in an authentic friendship where there is a give and take.

As I mentioned, I had a birthday over the weekend. My birthday was Saturday, June 4 and it was a big one. I turned 40! I still can't believe I have been alive for 40 years. It's kind of crazy. My kids have 1 hour of school tomorrow and I will then have a 4th and 2nd grader! How? When did this happen? I had a great birthday with my family during the day and then a party with my friends at night. My husband cooked everything and nothing was left. In fact, I didn't even get to try any of what he made. It was all gobbled up, which is of no surprise to me as he is an excellent cook. Good food, drinks and time with friends from near and far who came to help welcome me into the club. I was the last one to join it seems and now my membership is authentic!

We only got a few pictures from the party, but this one is my favorite. I miss my girlfriend Lisa and her husband Jeremy. They walked in the door and were headed to the kitchen trying to find my chocolate chip cookies they knew I had made. It's been that way for the 10 yrs. we've been friends. The first thing they eat are my cookies, but I hid them. When we lived in the city, we had dinner together every week. I miss them too!

Whispering Woodlands

This past Sunday, I drove out to Verona, WI all by my self. I went to Whispering Woodlands for the Twirly Swirly Journal workshop with Ingrid Dijkers. It only took me two and a half hours to get there and I didn't get lost!

I met some great women and had a wonderful day playing and creating. It was very scenic and tranquil out in Verona, and Jackie's place was really cool!

Jackie's house is a dome and the entire lower level is dedicated to Whispering Woodlands. She has different instructors scheduled throughout the year to teach various mediums.

The class was small and I enjoyed the intimacy. I really loved talking with Ingrid about how she binds her books and the materials she uses. She demonstrated her process of putting a page together, and I find it interesting how we all attack a blank page differently.

This is the journal I put together. I'm really loving the construction of the book and I really want to bind more. We used a dremel to make the holes and I liked this WAAAAYYY better than using an awl.

See the elephants on the front cover? I bought an entire piece of scrapbooking paper just because I liked the image of the elephants! Crazy??? Ingrid and Jackie validated my purchase which led me to go back the other day and buy 4 more sheets of the same paper for when I want it again! The day definitely inspired me and I bought some of Ingrid's cool collage sheets! I'm not sure what I will do with the Steampunk images, but I'm sure something will emerge.

Next Saturday is my BIG, BIG, BIG Birthday! I can't believe it. Every day it seems as if time is just zooming by. My husband has insisted on having a party for all of our friends to celebrate this milestone. I'll keep you posted!

One month out

I can't believe it's already been 1 month since my surgery! Every day I am feeling better and PT is going well. My therapist kicks my ass 2x a week, but my goal is to be able to start working out again by June. I can already bend 10 degrees back. When I started 3 weeks ago, I couldn't bend at all! When I started, I could bend 30 degrees forward and now I can bend 70! Such excitement.

I was just given permission to start driving again - but only short jaunts! At least I'm not a prisoner anymore. My friends were fantastic, but I like having my independence without relying on anyone. I'm not good at asking for help.

Life has been busy even though I was out of commission for what seems like forever. My son turned 9, my husband also had a birthday and my daughter woke up last Saturday and decided she would finally learn to ride her bike without training wheels. Guess what? She did it! It just goes to show that when they are ready to do something, they will. Her older friend spent some time teaching her what to do and it was amazing to see! I am so proud of both girls.

Now that I can sit a little longer, I have been playing a little. I'm still feeling blocked but I know I have to keep plugging away to break through.

I'm thinking of adopting another Havanese! I have a call in to the rescue organization. We found a little girl that is so cute and I think it is important for Max to have a sibling since we don't know how much longer Flash will be with us.

One week post-op

I can't believe my surgery was already one week ago! I've been stuck in the house all week and I think I'm over the worst. Lots of bruising, pain and waiting for stitches to dissolve. I ended up bringing some supplies up to bed so I could try to journal a little. Yesterday I took Max (my Havanese love) for a walk around the block. It took me a long time, but I did it and know I am recovering and on the road to being better than before. I realize now I underestimated the pain and difficulty I was going to experience. I am to start PT this week, but was told I am not allowed to drive for the next 5-6 weeks. I will remain prisoner but at least the pain isn't excruciating anymore. Just tired and I keep stuffing my face to occupy myself. I mean really, how much daytime TV can one person watch?

While I was stuck in bed, I did some online shopping and bought supplies for stamp carving. Remember I said I was watching how to videos? Well, I carved 2 stamps the other day and am pretty happy with how they came out. I want to go to the dollar store to find kids' erasers to carve and anything else I might find. I can't believe we don't have any of those erasers in the house!? Traci Bunkers' book PRINT & STAMP LAB came the other day and I read the entire thing at once. Hope to find the motivation and ability to get into the groove again soon. Just SO tired & unmotivated. I need to snap out of it!!!!!

I carved the spiral and circular stamps!

Finally finished this page while I was stuck in bed. Lots of doodling! Different for me b/c I made this journal small - - - about 5 x 5 - - as a demo for a class I taught. I like it!