Textured Truth

Maybe you read about it over at Leanne's place.  But I wanted to post here.  Since the Cellar Chicks decided on their One Little Word for 2012, Leanne had this vision.  And we all know that when that chick has a vision, beautiful things result. 

So this is the artwork she created for my word, Truth.  Such lovely texture, and a story behind the creation. 

It's a treat to run your hand over it, feeling all the different textures on one piece.  She posted the "recipe" on her blog and it is inspiring me to make a piece with my previous years' words.  Not that I can match her talent, but I'm loving the inspiration!!

Wouldn't it be nice if some of this showed up in her Etsy shoppe??

I think I'm going to spend part of the day creating.  Something.  Just don't know what yet.  But I scored some sheet music yesterday (Thanks, CE) and it's calling to me!!

Have a great Sunday!

A Night in the Cellar

I know I've talked about this before, so my long time followers will understand.  I'm so excited!!  Tonight, I'm spending it in the cellar.  No, not a wine cellar.  The Scrapbook Cellar, silly!! 

My friend Laura graciously offers her basement/cellar/converted craft room for our monthly (roughly) getaway to help us explore our creativity.  It's there that I join her, her sister Leanne, and Cindi E in an evening of inspired creativity, snacking (with chocolate as a staple), kvetching (yes, even crafty, upbeat people have issues), and laughter (at times, side-aching laughter).  I have to say, spending time with these very talented ladies is truly one of the most enjoyably creative evenings I've ever had.  I am so incredibly grateful for all they do for me. 

And one more thing...Laura's husband, CT is just about the best hubby around for putting up with this invasion each month.  He helps us by hauling our bags (those of you who scrap know perfectly well that scrapbookers rarely travel light) down and back up the stairs, running out for our lunch or dinner, and delivering any packages that just might arrive during our session.  He's just a good guy.  We love ya, CT!! 

So tonight, I think I will draw some inspiration and maybe try to venture out into a new area.  Inspired by Leslie's 31 Day Challenge, I might try to paint some background paper.  I'll see how I'm feeling at the time.  If anything wonderful comes from it, I'll post it tomorrow!

And one thing I really need to do is get my head around doing some heritage pages.  I've got a promise with another scrapping friend to get together to work on heritage pages, now that she knows she doesn't need to do them "in order". 

What's not to love about Fridays?!?!  And what are your plans for the weekend???

I Create...Therefore, I Am!

Today, I begin a 31 Day adventure proposed by Leslie at Words of Me Project.  Leslie is inspiring her blog friends to join her in a journey to find their creative side.  All I need to do is spend at least 5 minutes each day in a creative frame of mind.  Whether it's writing, scrapbooking, cardmaking, or painting....er...strke that painting suggestion.  Not sure that'll do it for me.
The point is, when you spend a little time each day creating, it makes it easier for you to tackle the things in your life you find less "creative".  Y'know...like laundry.  Or dishwashing.  Or dusting.  You get the idea. 
So I think tonight I'm going to review some recent pictures I've taken and see if I can create!
If I come up with something, I'll come back and post it here. 

Feel free to join us in this little journey.  Just stop by Leslie's place for a prompt!   It'll be fun to see what others are doing.

Celebrating Our Pet

Saturday, I celebrated National Scrapbooking Day by getting together with some of my most inspirirng "sisters" in the Scrap Cellar.  Always a good time, usually involving chocolate!

I've been working on a scrapbook about our buddy, Barney.  Barney is about 15 years old, starting to move a little slower, makes a bit more noise when climbing the stairs, but I gotta tell ya, not a day goes by that this little fella doesn't show us he loves us. 

When I recently found a class at Big Picture Scrapbooking that celebrates your pets, I decided to sign up for it.  SO, so glad I did.  The class encourages you and gives you prompts to develop pages on what your dog has taught you.  Here are some pages:

And a couple more:

We are so incredibly lucky to have Barney in our lives. 

Do you have a pet that brightens your view of the world?? I'd love to hear your story!

What's the Word, Hummingbird???

2010 is fast approaching and as many of us do, we reflect on:

• where the heck did the year go?? (yes, Virginia, it does speed up as you get older)
• what did I accomplish this year (besides getting up in the morning and making a cup of tea)?
• did I make it a good year?
• what are my goals (a.k.a. resolutions) for the coming year?

Adding to that, might I humbly suggest you consider finding your word for 2010?

Early in my blogging career (y'like that??), I posted my thoughts about my 2009 word (which came about through my friend, Leanne).  She got the idea of the word for the year from a blog post by Ali Edwards (a.k.a. scrapbooker extraordinaire). Ali says, "a single word can be a powerful thing. It can be a ripple in a pond that changes everything. It can be sharp and biting or rich and soft and slow." Take a minute to think about that statement alone. Have you ever heard a word, a single word that has an immediate effect on you? Either good or bad?? If so, you understand the power of a single word. I say, why not let the power of a single word work to your advantage? Why not let that single word have the power to focus you on what's most important to you in 2010?

This, my dear friends, is not an impossible mission. This, my dear friends, can actually have a cleansing effect.

So your mission, should you decide to accept it, would be to think of words that express what you want in or out of your life in 2010. But before you decide on THE word, sit on it for a day or two. As Ali says, "let it percolate a bit". Even if the words that pop into your head make no sense at the moment, don't toss them out right away. Write them down and ask yourself what they might mean to you. (You gotta give your subconsciousness some play time, y'know!!)

Need more inspiration? Visit Ali's blog post that lists links to all her previous Word of the Year posts.

My word??? I'll let you know tomorrow!  I've been blabbering on too much already.  Until then...enjoy your brainstorming.

Friends and Inspiration...From a Cellar

Ahhhhh..... I spent last Saturday in the cellar, and I feel refreshed, inspired and incredibly grateful for very talented friends!!  The cellar is what we have affectionately labeled my girlfriend's basement.  The formal name is "Scrapbook Cellar".  We try to meet there once every 4-6 weeks to scrap for the day, without having to pay the fees they want in all day scraps at stores (where you always spend more money).  The nice thing is we inspire and energize each other.  This time, I learned how to quickly scrapbook 30 random pictures.  It's like a lightbulb went off in my head!!  A real "duh" moment....why hadn't I thought of that sooner!!

Robert Louis Stevenson said "A friend is a present you give yourself."  I hope you have friends in your life who listen to you, advise you, inspire you, laugh with you, act as your cheerleaders when you aren't quite sure, and let you know they are there when you need them most. I'm so grateful that I do. (And grateful to certain spouses who do lunch runs!! - Thanks, CT).

Bucket Lists

I haven't seen the movie "The Bucket List" yet, but I'm intrigued by the idea of having a bucket list. Whether it's called bucket list, dreams & aspirations, or a to-do list (not to be confused with a "honey-do" list), it seems to me that everyone needs to have something to look forward to, plan for, dream about. Isn't that part of being human?

This blog is one of the items on my bucket list. I'm having so much fun with it (although I'd love to see more comments!!!!). I will admit I suffer from writer's block sometimes. That, to me, is weird. Anyone who knows me knows that I rarely suffer from a lack of opinion on things. So I probably need to explore some things that inspire me.

A friend asked me the other day what was next for me, creatively. At first, I didn't have an answer. Then I realized (after adding up all the conversations I'd had with people that week) that my next journey will be to learn to take better photos. I have two great digital cameras and I just don't seem to take the kind of pictures that WOW me. After speaking with an incredibly talented photographer within the family, I'm now inspired to spend more time at this. I shall keep you posted on my journey, usually by posting pics I think are worthy!!

So that's the next item on my bucket list. What's on yours?? (Photo taken in my garden-2008)

Living the Life of your Dreams

I received an email from www.tut.com (daily inspirations in their "Notes from the Universe") with a really neat analogy about living the life of your dreams. It's..."a lot like sailing. You pick your destination, hoist your sail, make minor adjustments while the journey is underway, and let the wind do all the hard work." Many who have known me a while know that I always use the phrase, "Think, Feel, Be". If you think about what you want in life, imagine (feel) what the end result will be, and move toward it, making any adjustments as you go, you'll get there. It's not that you can imagine it and POOF, it happens. You still have to work toward your goal. And yes, some days the waters will be rough, or you won't have wind for the sails. But that doesn't mean the journey was a mistake. It just means you have to wait for the waters to calm or the wind to pick up. Don't try to control the "how" it happens. Just focus on the end result and you'll get there. And remember what Thomas Edison said. "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." How's that for a positive spin on "Keep on keepin' on"?