Summer is here, and creativity is a flowin'

I cannot believe that I have been so bad about blogging for SO long...
However, I am going to make a conscious effort to do better.  This wave of an effort may last about a week but I am going to try. 

After a long pause, I am heading to a retreat in the fall in Omaha.  I am excited to say I signed up for Handmade U.  You can read more about it here. 

It will be so good to get to see my friends Michelle and Hope again as well as others I have missed over the last couple of years.  I will also get to work with a new artist I have never met, Liesel Lund.  Should be a treat! 

We all need to do something we love, something that brings inner calm and nurtures our soul, something that allows us to embrace our bliss.  The hardest part of it is, making the time to do it. 

~hugs

seventeen years ago, tonight...

Today is our REAL Valentine's Day here at the Grable home. 

Seventeen years ago tonight, my fella asked me to marry him. 

We were babies.

What a great memory, what a perfect choice.

Happy Valentine's Day Sweetheart!

~xo

goodmorning valentine!

Just a quick hello and a happy valentine's day to you!

(breakfast on Sunday... because Tuesday is just too crazy)
~xo

Round Robin

Oh my... here we go.

I am in a round robin book swap and this week I am shipping my book off to the first of 10 other girls (not including myself) who will create pages in my book based on the theme I chose. 

There are so many ideas swimming around in my head, but I have gone with a very general theme. 

This book is all about "happiness"

I began creating it under the tutelage of Pam Garrison at my very first art retreat ever.  It was held in Ashland, Oregon, where I actually met some of the girls in the RR for the first time and it will forever be a memory of a very happy time in my life… up there with some of the happiest.  I was with like-minded girls, all come together for the simple pleasure of creating.  I never even knew such things existed.  Now with this, I finally have a great use for my budding art journal.  Since that time in Aug 2008, it has been waiting for the perfect inspiration to fill it, and I am honored to be in such a group of girls who will help make that happen. 

The girls will focus on the simple things that make them happy.  It could be dedicated to just one thing, or a whole list of things.  They may even just capitalize on a quote about happiness.  I want their creations to make them happy.  After all, it is about the journey, right?

happy creating!

~xo

Perspective...

This past week I was a guest curator for CRESCENDOh. 
Here is my personal story about how I feel art saves
and all the wonderful links that I shared throughout the week:

Perspective

I used to think being an artist meant that you had to produce work that people paid top dollar for. 

I used to think that in order to be an artist, you had to isolate yourself only to, and for, art, excluding all other factors of life (like family, career, and anything that pulled you in another direction.)

I used to think that certain people had it in them to be artists while the rest of us had to sit by and watch it being created, longing for that same talent and skill. 

I was always creative… but an “artist?”

After much searching, I have learned.

Now I know that we are all artists with grand ideas waiting to be discovered within. 

Now I see that I can have a life outside my art and still make time for my creativity to flow (although it isn’t always easy.) 

Now I see that we all have it in us and it only takes time, patience and practice to bring forth great work.

I cannot say that I was “saved” by art, but if I didn’t have it, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.  It brings me an inner calm, joy, and peace that nothing else can.  And when I am able to step back and look at a completed work, no matter if it is a simple collage or journal page, I feel a sense of satisfaction and happiness because I have brought something into the world that no one else has.  And to me, that small piece of work makes my world a brighter place.  I hope you too can find that inner artist, love your work and find true joy in creating it.

I also want to thank all of the artists who allowed me to showcase their art on Jenny's blog.  Although they were only up for one day, they are all so awesome, I have relisted them here for you to see:

‘tis the season of giving all year…

http://kaseybuick.com/2010/12/the-perspective-project/

because some of us need a little prompting…

http://embers.typepad.com/e/52q/page/6/

I hope to be like hope… one of my greatest inspirations… (*caution, you may be here awhile…)

http://besottment.com/besottment/2011/12/december-daily-reverb11-hybrid-journal-days-16-17-18-19.html

Winter stitching tutorial...

 http://www.feelingstitchy.com/2011/12/cute-ice-skater-embroidery-tutorial.html?m=1 

art journaling is such fun...

http://michellegeller.typepad.com/michelle_geller_weblog/2011/11/the-love-of-journaling.html

going to start early on my Christmas gifts for next year…

http://www.2gypsygirls.com/2011/12/day-7-oh-christmas-tree.html

What happens when art comes from YOU... 

http://www.inspireco.blogspot.com/2011/09/happy-family.html

going green can be fun…

http://www.littlelucylu.com/2011/05/from-pallet-to-bookshelves.html

humble artists make the greatest art…

http://glitterdusteddaydreams.blogspot.com/2011/04/gratitude.html 

something yummy to make on a cold day… 

http://stamps4fun.blogspot.com/2011/10/traditions.html

Because limited lighting choices are no fun…

http://pursewna-pursewna.blogspot.com/2011/07/baby-girl-2s-room-broken-down-lamp.html?showComment=1312337253617#c4095102593449937699

art is everywhere… 

http://www.logolalia.com/alteredbooks/

a small work per week (this is from a long time ago but is still fun and each time you do it, it is reinvented and fresh):

 http://embers.typepad.com/e/2007/01/join_me_on_an_a.html

something fun to get us ready for warmer weather…

http://bluemossgirls.blogspot.com/2011/04/hello-spring.html

pure inspiration…

http://pamgarrison.typepad.com/pamgarrison/2010/01/working-on-my-inspired-project.html

Have an inspired week! 
~xo

art saves

Oh my,
be sure to look at crescendoh.com this week for some pure inspiration! 

Jenny Doh asked me to be a guest curator on her site and I was nothing short of honored.
 
See it all here.  And for a little eye candy... here is a little note Jenny wrote in my art journal last summer when I was so lucky to get to take a class in her very home.

I love what she continues to do to promote art in us all,
to bring out of us something great,
something that many don't even realize is there. 

Go out today and be an artist,
make something out of nothing,
stand back and love what came from you.

~xo

the last touches of Christmas...

In keeping to my word, I have been creating every day.

My page for the Vintage Christmas ABC book page is complete. 

I was assigned the letter "H" and had no idea beyond
holiday,
holly
and
ho, ho, ho
what I would possibly come up with. 

I am happy to say that I stretched my creative wings and did something completely different that what I expected. 

Love it or hate it, here is the product:
(I couldn't resist the "hiney")

and because the group needed some more members, my little creative one signed up too. 

She is 11. 

You want to try something really hard sometime? 

Give an 11 year old a project, with a deadline, and sit back and let it happen. 

It is so hard for me to not intervene. 

However, she has been working hard on these little beauties and I believe that she is quite pleased with them.  She was assigned the letter L (again, very difficult to come up with many Ls for Christmas)  We had just watched "It's a Wonderful Life" and so she based her page on that fond memory.  Here is what she came up with:

She painted around each family photo and based it on the meaning behind the movie. 

Not bad for 11. 

I was just trying to remember what I was doing at 11 years old. 

I don't think it was as memorable as this...

~xo

simplification

Every year I look forward to receiving Christmas Cards.
 
Each one different and containing sweet notions from friends far and near.

I hang them all the way up our banister
and usually
have to use the other one as well. 

Even the letters!

At the end of the Christmas Season, I take them all down and my stairway becomes bare again. 

Then comes the "what to do with them now?" 

I have a hard time just tossing them in the trash, they are treasures and full of amazing photos. 

So this year, I have decided to put them on rings. 
I punched holes in them and put them all together like a little book. 
I will pack them away with our Christmas decorations and next year,
I will toss the little book on our coffee table for perusing. 
It doesn't take up much room
and it is full of every one's letters and well wishes. 

A simple little spot of joy.

~xo

Bonne Annee

This year while making resolutions,

several ideas came to mind.

I reflected on my year and thought about what worked and what didn't, things that made me feel good about life and being here on earth, and things that didn't contribute at all.

So after much deliberation, I finalized my list of the big ones.

1.  Create as often as possible (at least once a week)  It can be as simple as an art journal entry, but I find that in my most stressful times in life, I am not creating.  We all need balance, and this is one thing that brings me back to me.

2.  Continue to remove things from my home that I do not love or honor.  Stuff really messes with my "ch'i." It truly blocks my energy, concentration and ability to relax.  Less stuff = more time to breathe.

3.  Do something healthy every day.  It can be as simple as making sure I eat enough veggies, skip my favorite drive through, or go for a walk.  Health brings an inner peace and outer glow that no makeup or tanning bed can replicate.

4.  I want to learn how to crochet.  You can create such sweet things simply with yarn and a hook. 

5.  Judge less, love more. 

I hope you are able to create goals and resolutions that bring you and your little place on earth creativity and peace this wonderful new year.

Happy New Year to one and all!

~xo