100th post means a giveaway

Yes! This is my 100th post. I started this blog a little less than a year ago and I managed to make it to post number 100. Woohoo! So, to celebrate I'm doing a giveaway! This is what you could win:

This is an altered canvas measuring 4" x 5". My latest creation. I really love how it came out and will probably be doing more of these in different sizes. But since this is a special occasion and I am learning to let go of my art, I'm giving this like creation away. Just comment on this post and I'll pick a winner on Friday evening. Good luck to everyone.

And Happy New Year!!!!!

Art Journal Pages

Remember this sketch?











Here's the final product:



Mostly coloured pencil, paints (acrylic and watercolour), crayons and ink. Masking tape (to cover a ripped part and to add texture) and DIMO tape.










This one was done after watching the Lemony Snicket movie. I thought the black and white drawing was missing something so I added a watercolour wash on the wall. I really like this drawing.
















And finally, my Christmas page! It's slightly brighter than that in real life but not much. Lots of layers on this one. Drawing + journaling + wax crayons + ink wash + light gesso on top of all that + drawing again + journaling again + oil pastels + watercolour wash + glitter glue.

Christmas eve was very quiet: dinner with my family and gift exchanges. Received a violin, 2 PJs, a beautiful necklace, a tripod and remote controller for my camera amongst other things.

Christmas day with my mother's side of the family was nice. The only one who wasn't there was my brother. Even my cousin, whom we don't see very often, was there. All in all a nice holiday.

Watch this space for the next post and a surprise...

Christmas Eve

Tonight I'm having dinner with my parents and my brother and as is our tradition, we are opening gifts together. Tomorrow, I'm going with my parents to celebrate with my mom's side of the family. My brother isn't going with us because he is working.

These small packages will be sent after Christmas. I stamped on the envelops with stamps from the Carte Postale set from Stampin' Up! I love the bird and the fleur-de-lys. They are just perfect!

Merry Christmas... and watch this space in 2 posts (hopefully before the new year!)

Happy Holidays

As promised, here is a photograph of the stripped present. It's one of the presents for my mother (her name is Angelle.)

The second photograph is of another present, wrapped in that dollar store handmade paper. The "R" was done with white acrylic paint sponged over a handmade stencil (I really love how it came out!) and highlighted with some silver glitter glue. The tag that adorns it is from Botanical Paperworks and is a planteable tag. Flower seeds are embedded in the paper so you can plant it and it will produce beautiful wild flowers. Fun, huh?

Following in Angie's footsteps, I decided that for 2008 (and maybe beyond... or as long as I can do it) I will NOT buy stuff. Check out the Story of Stuff. You might be surprised... So what does this mean? Well, it means I will not buy something unless I absolutely positively NEED it and that includes art supplies. So, no new clothes. No more scrapbooking papers and supplies. No more paints (I can make my own with powdered pigments I have left from art classes at University.) No CDs. No books.

This should be interesting. Also, with this personal challenge, I want to add another one: Get rid of useless stuff! I have some things laying around that haven't been used in a year, two years, five years... Some that have NEVER been used. Time to get rid of it. Books that I don't read anymore and don't plan on reading in the future will be donated or bookcrossed. CDs that I don't listen to will be copied onto my computer and then sold or donated to Village des Valeurs. Other things, like clothes, will be reused, re-purposed, transformed... I have way too much stuff and it's taking too much space. Also, I've read in a book that if your space is cluttered with useless stuff, it drains your energy. I believe it. By getting rid of stuff, I will be making room in my life for other things (like love and friendship.) It's a big challenge but I feel ready to face it.

On that note, I hope everyone will be spending the next few days with loved ones, in peace, harmony, love and happiness. Merry Christmas and all that stuff!!!

Recycle wrapping

This year, I decided to use whatever I have on hand to wrap Christmas presents. On this photo is a gift, wrapped in red-dyed "handmade" paper bought at the dollar store more than a year ago. The ribbon and bow/flower are made out of strips of paper cut in a gift-idea junk mail pamphlet. I got the idea for the flower from Hanna a while back. This particular pamphlet produced two bow/flowers for two different gifts. I loved the results and so did the recipient (one was for a gift exchange at work and the other for CeeCee last Friday.)

The other presents I wrapped this week for my parents and my brother are all in recycled paper whether it be old wrapping paper or scrapbook paper. One gift is even in a box of cereal that I gessoed and then made red and green stripes with electrical tape! I love how it came out. I'll try to post a picture of it tomorrow.

Now... tomorrow is the last day of work before the holidays. Huge sighs of relief will be heard throughout the school tomorrow. As a treat for the kids, my colleague, Anik, and I are providing a special snack in the afternoon. The kids get to decorate their own Christmas cookie and then eat it. (Found kits at Costco that are great!) Even though it's not always easy working with them, they still deserve a little reward.

Last weekend, I got Diesel to sit still long enough with my Christmas hat on to take this picture. Isn't she cute???

Paper spool collages

As promised in my previous post, here is some art. These are my latest paper spool collages. As always I used ArtChixStudio products to do them. All buttons are from my personal stash. I need to get more buttons, preferably vintage ones. Maybe I'll raid my mom's stash!

Some of these beauties will be going in the mail soon with ATCs (but I'm not seeing when or where!)

To make these, I prefer paper spools to plastic ones. I sand them a bit to get the sheen off and then I dirty them up with my trusty Van Dyke Brown ink.

After that is done, I tear a piece of text (these are from pages of an Italian encyclopedia) which I also dirty up with the ink. I wrap the paper around the middle of the spool and glue it in place (the ends are on the back.) Next step is to wrap a bit of embroidery floss or waxed tread (whatever I have on hand really) and secure the ends on the back with either a glue dot or a bit of clear liquid glue such as Glossy Accents. When that is done (and the glue is dry) it's time to look through the images I have. I use mostly images from the Mini Chix Collage or Mini Mix Collage. This, to me, is the hardest part: deciding which images to use and then which embellishments to add.

All for of these have German Paper Borders but I don't always use them. Sometimes I add a flower or a little piece of glitter. I always add a button and I try to find the one that best suits the collage. I like to thread a bit of embroidery floss through the buttons for that used/reused/vintage look. The final touch is adding a lengths of twine that has been inked a bit so it matches the whole collage. And of course, I sign on the back.



I really enjoy making these little works of art and I hope that my step by step explanation helps some (or all) of you to create your own. It's not always easy working on such a small canvas but the result is oh so worth it. Don't you think? If you have any questions about these or anything else I make, feel free to ask in the comment section or email me.


My new glasses have been ordered and should arrive next week. They are similar to the ones I had but then again, it was the first pair I really really loved!

Snow day is over. I shoveled my car out of the close-to-two-feet snow dump. And while shoveling and sweating and looking as awful as anyone can in these conditions, the landlord from across the street from me was flirting with me and actually asked me for my phone number. It was just too weird. And he's not my type so I said, "Sorry, I don't think so" in the most polite tone I could muster. Hopefully that's the end of that! And on that note, I bid you Goodnight!

A day for changes

Contrary to a lot of people I know, I like wearing glasses. Even when they fog up in winter, even if they get full of snow and rain. I like my face with glasses. Two years ago, I had found the perfect glasses. Dark red plastic that made my blue eyes shine. A funky design (the lenses finish straight yet the rim rounds up at the ends.) I loved my glasses. I just came back from shoveling snow and I had left my glasses in my breast pocket of my coat. When I came in, my glasses were broken in half! Nooo!!! I can't drive without them. Everything is fuzzy and I'm not 100% confident. I need my glasses. Luckily, my mom has pretty much the same prescription as I do and she still has some old glasses that are in okay shape. So I called her and she's on her away here with a pair of glasses I can wear for a few days. As soon as I'll put them on, I'm getting in my car and going to Costco for a new pair! Hopefully it won't take too long to get them.

Until I come back with a more artsy post, click on this link to view a cute video.
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=epUk3T2Kfno

Now that's what I call love!

ATCs

One week left before the holidays. I still have some shopping to do but will definitely manage to finish before next weekend.

Friday night was the Christmas Crop with CeeCee. It was just the two of us and we had a great time. We never see the hours go by and always seem to have something to talk about. I had decided to bring all my ArtChixStudio supplies and to get some mini paper spools collages done and other stuff. These are 3 ATCs that I did and decided to use a Christmas theme. Looking through all my supplies and showing what I had to CeeCee, I felt renewed interest and decided to keep working with those things for the holidays. I did do a few spool collages which still need the finishing touch and then they'll be in the mail for some friends.

Last night I made some Christmas cards for my mother using some stamps we had bought a couple of months ago. I made two cards using new techniques I had seen and wanted to try. They turned out very well and I'll post pictures another time (if I remember to scan or photograph them!)

I decided to do some cleaning and sorting today. It's snowing and very windy outside so it's a good day to stay in. For the first time in maybe a year, I can actually see the top of my computer desk! I had some frames laying around with nothing in them (gifts from kids at school last year) so I decided to print some photos (they turned out better on cardstock than on photo paper... odd...) and now I have pretty pictures of my beautiful cat in pretty frames on my desk!

Well, I'm off to do more cleaning. If you haven't done so yet, please click on the Free Donations - Make a difference link in my link's list. It costs nothing other than a few minutes of your time and you can make a difference in the world. Or visit The Hunger Site and sites affiliated with it to help others.

Love art Love yourself

This page is just a mess of crayons and acrylic paint. I didn't know what I was going for. Started to draw with my new Crayola crayons which I love. Then I painted over everything with some leftover paint and wiped some of it away while it was still wet. After that I stuck on 3 pieces of string that I dipped in the same colour paint (no glue used here, only the paint holding the strings down.) I stamped the "LOVE ART" and the script pattern with StazOn ink and did the squiggle/doodle with my white acrylic ink. That was Saturday. Today, I took the round red stickers and stuck them wherever. Found a photocopy of a picture that a friend took of me 6-7 years ago and glued it on. Attached the frame transparency with brads. Sanded over the red stickers before rubbing a brown ink pad over them. Went around the frame with watercolour crayons. Added some more colour with Crayola crayons after stamping a little flower over and over. Tried to add gold to the strings with my gold leafing pen (it's not working properly) and finally, scribbled on and around the heart with my new Faber-Castell permanent marker. And I think I'm done with the page.

Someone asked me how I work on my pages. Most of the times, I work intuitively. Meaning that I don't have an exact idea of what I'm doing. Sometimes I'll just start adding colour to a page and see where it takes me after that. Other times, I have at least a theme in mind and try to work around it. When I draw an image or a character, it's usually because it "pops" in my head. I'm a visual person. I like to see something to understand it better. Also, I can visualize many things in my mind. When I read a book, I see exactly what is described, like I'm there. When a character pops up in my mind, it's as if it becomes alive and speaks to me. Don't worry, it doesn't tell me to do dangerous things! :-p

So, basically, what I'm trying to say is this: I don't have one particular method that I follow every time I am working on a page or on any kind of art. I just put things next to one another or on top of one another until I find just the right composition. It's a sort of "trial and error" process. I hope this helps you understand my process. Or maybe I'm just making things more confusing, I don't know! See, this is why I am not a teacher!

Thank you to everyone who stops by and to those who leave comments. It always makes my day a little brighter when I get friendly comments.

Time flies and a sneak peek

Wow, time really flies by. In two weeks, it'll already be the holidays. So that means 10 days of work and then I'm off for 2 weeks! In the past years I started counting the days a month or so before Christmas. But this year, I'm having so much fun at my job and creating and I've been so busy with Nanowrimo that I haven't stopped to think about it. I can hardly believe the holidays are so close!

Talking about creating... This is a sneak peek of a painting I'm working on. I can't show much or say much about it right now. I haven't painted on a canvas since at least summer and I gotta say, it feels good! I think I'm going to do more paintings during the holidays as well as work in my art journals.

Back in October, my brother had given me, for my birthday, a gift card from my favourite art supply store. I hadn't had a chance to use it since so today I decided to treat myself to a few new goodies. I found some small alphabet rubber stamps that were exactly what I was looking for for my journals. I also bought some real crayons (you know, Crayola wax crayons... I love the smell!), some new pens and white acrylic ink (everyone's talking about it on Samantha Kira's mailing list so I thought I'd get in on the action!) Found some cute rubber stamps (a kit of flowers, leaves, stems and vases... ) As if I really needed all of it. But you know what? I've been doing SO good with food lately that I decided to reward myself and that was just what I needed.

On that note, I bid you good evening/good night and hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

A picture and a sketch

This is my mother's dog Magy (pronounced Magie as in Magie Noire ie Black Magic.) He is such a peculiar dog. Sometimes, he acts more like a cat than dog. So we started calling him Minou (which means Kitty.) He loves boxes and baskets. He's so photogenic, don't you think?


A few days ago, Violette wrote on her blog: Whenever i visit a blog and there's no visual the only thing that will keep me there is compelling copy. Usually i say to myself "What the heck? NO visual? I'm outta here!"

This has inspired me to always find a picture or work of art to show in my posts. I know what she means by it. I too find that if there's no visual, it's harder to stick around.




So in that state of mind, I give you a sketch, made in my spiral bound journal. I started with the eyes and the rest just seemed to draw itself from there. I know it's not proportioned but I don't mind. I'm not good at "realistic" drawings or paintings.

So anyway, this might turn into something completely different while I work on it. So here is the before picture... And maybe soon you'll have the after picture. (Notice the paint from the previous page that overflowed onto this one?)



I've had a few new visitors on my blog and on my Flickr account. I'm always excited when I get new comments and even more when it's from people who have never commented before! It doesn't take much to make me happy! I've been sharing my good mood by commenting all over my favourite blogs for the past three hours or so. I feel good. I hope I brought at least a bit of happiness to those that received my comments. And even if I didn't, I still feel good!

I hope everyone has a lovely evening. Goodnight!

Snow Day

One of the perks of working in a school is that when there is a snow storm and all the kids get to stay at home, I also get to stay at home. And I still get paid!

So here is my wreath, hanging on my bedroom door. My ornaments are either gifts from kids at the other school where I used to work or bought at the fair trade store. I also hung the little gift I received from Mahala and an ornament I made in a class (the big purple and green one on the left) a couple of years ago.

In my five years living alone, this is the first time that I've decided to decorate for the holidays. It's not much but it's enough for me.

Now, I'm going to enjoy the rest of this snow day by working in my journal and reading.

PS There's still one spot in my Pay it Forward post if anyone is interested. Or you can visit Candace or Mahala to sign up there. Spread the word!

Open Yourself to New Possibilities

This is a page from my spiral bound journal that I had sketched a few weeks ago. I did do anything to it until tonight. I just didn't know what I wanted to do with it. I'm not quite satisfied with the final result and might end up working on it some more. But even if I don't continue it, it's good enough as it is.

Used pieces of newspaper collaged all around the "frame". The rest is all paints and markers: acrylic, watercolour crayons, white out pen, permanent markers and Sharpie Poster Paint marker.

Oops, didn't sign it so I better do that now!

I hope everyone is having a good beginning to December. I'm trying to get into the spirit of the season. Even put up a (fake) wreath on my bedroom door with all my Christmas decorations. Will post a picture of it tomorrow. Goodnight!

Free images

Visit this website if you like vintage images:

http://countdown.tentwostudios.com/

If you want to download her images, post a link to the countdown on your blog or on a message board.

Tada!

I made it! I wrote a novel of 50, 000 some odd words in less than 30 days! It's an amazing feeling. It's a relief and at the same time, I'm kind of sad that it's over. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me and who supported me throughout this whole adventure. And it was quite an adventure. Now I'm gonna go read a book _I_ did not write and then sleep, sleep, sleep.

Pay it Forward

I saw this on Angela's blog and I want to do it. I don't know if I really was one of the first three to comment on her post but even if I wasn't, I find that it is a wonderful idea. Here goes:

PAY IT FORWARD : handcrafted gifts :) I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this Pay it forward exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. So basically, if you comment, I’ll send you something crafty that I’ll make! Once you sign up, copy and paste the above paragraph on your blog, and three other lucky people will be recipients of your handmade work.


Any takers?

More Christmas Cards

Here are four more Christmas cards that I made. Friday was a ped day at school so I was working different hours. I finished at 2pm and had arranged to meet with Catherine for some good company, good food and maybe good creations. I decided that this was a good time to do some christmas cards so I brought all my stuff to her house (she has a fun studio/office and room to work!)



I realized, while working on these, that I have a hard time doing simple things. Meaning that I usually put more than is necessary when scrapbooking or making cards. With all of these, I felt that there was something missing but eventually let them be. And I am very pleased with the results. I used supplies I already had on hand, mostly scrapbook papers from last year and Christmas themed chipboards. This year, I'm trying to use stuff that I have and to NOT buy more unless I make a big dent in my stash. So far so good.

Catherine and I spent 9 hours talking, creating, eating. It certainly didn't feel like that much time had passed when I left. It's great having a friend with whom I can talk about anything, practice and share my favourite hobbies (crafts), try new things. We are not the same age but most of the times, the age difference does not matter or even show. We get along great.


Now, about my Nanowrimo novel. I'm so caught up in the back story of one of my characters that I seem to have completely forgotten to continue the plot. I reached 40,000 words just before writing this post and am confident that I will add at least another 1000 before going to bed tonight. I am almost done with the back story and will be able to go back to the main story probably tomorrow or tuesday. Luckily, I can link everything together and it will make sense. I can already see the Nanowrimo finish line! I will definitely make it thanks to a lot of encouraging people.

Now I should go buy some food if I don't want to starve this week. Even authors have to eat some time!
PS there is another card to be shown but I thought it might be a bit messy for my scanner so as soon as I manage to take a picture of it, I'll post it here. Don't hold your breath though!

Impossible Love... and giving thanks

Remember this page? Here is the final result. I wrote a little text, in french, then distressed it a bit with sandpaper and then smeared pastels on top so the white wouldn't look so white. I'm not sure that it is totally finished but I can't see what it needs so I'm leaving like this. It looks good enough but you never know...

These two characters, Alice and K-52, have made a short appearance in my Nanowrimo novel. The novel itself is going well. I'm right on schedule with my word count. I will actually make it to 50 000 words before December 1st! Woohoo! I really love writing this novel but at the same time, I'll be happy when I'm done with it. It's keeping me busy and taking more time out of my days than I thought which means I don't have as much time to create other things. I think that December will be my "create everyday" month. Or maybe not. I don't know. I like the idea of tackling one big project for a precise period of time like Nano in November. When there is a deadline, I give myself the much needed push to do some things I would not otherwise take the time to do.

This week, I've been looking at my bank account and trying to figure out how much money I will have left before the next paycheck in two weeks. I have four bills due before the end of next week and rent on the 1st. I realized that with today's paycheck added to my balance, I would still have a bit more than what I originally thought. Cool. I did not panic (even though my account will be at its lowest since it was first opened) and you know what? Well, the Universe, seeing that I was not panicking and stressing over the amount decided to make it still more than what I had calculated. Not much but still. Anything is better than nothing. I received a small pay increase AND got 10$ in the mail today for having answered a survey a couple months ago. See, 10$ will eventually turn into 100$ which will in turn become 1000$ and so on until I finally have my dream house! Isn't it gorgeous? That house is SO going to be mine one day! And it's just one street east of where I am right now (so still very close to work.)

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States. Here in Canada, it was in October. Still, today I am grateful for all the wonderful friends I have made online and for all the wonderful artists and bloggers who allow me to get a peek into their lives, the artistic parts and the "boring" parts. I say "boring" because some people might find what they do boring while another person would find it interesting and a source of inspiration. If you haven't done so yet, click on some of the links on my sidebar. You'll find some amazing creative souls amongst them.

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends. And to everyone, have a wonderful day/afternoon/evening/night. Look for something that will make you smile and lift your spirit. There's always something. No matter how small.

Tag, I'm it!

I've been tagged by Lisa and this how it goes:

1. Link to the person’s blog who tagged you.
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself.
4. Tag seven random [?] people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog.

Here are 7 random and/or weird (I'll let you be the judge) things about me:

1. I have 6 tattoos (had the first one done at 16 and the last at 26)
2. I was allergic to cats but still wanted one so badly that I endured one week of being really sick just to have my beautiful Diesel. I'm no longer allergic to cats!
3. I once auditioned for Canadian Idol (but did not make it very far)
4. I love bats
5. I don't have a favourite colour
6. I've fallen down stairs too many times yet never broke a bone
7. I love to smell things

I'm not going to tag anyone specific. If you're reading this and you want to do this little list, consider yourself tagged!

A card and Nanowrimo update

So this is the card that I made for my mom's birthday last week. I used my new favourite techniques: painting, collage, drawing and oil pastels. Since this was a card and not something in a journal or to be framed, I attached a piece of vellum on top of it. I only had printed vellum so I found a piece that was not too obstructive. I really like how everything turned out. Mom loved the card. Now she has a one-of-a-kind collage card signed SoFy (that is how I sign my name on my art, be it visual art or literary works.




Speaking of literary works. In the past week, I had a hard time working on my novel for Nanowrimo. I know I wasn't the only one but still I felt a little sorry for myself AND for my characters. After all, I created them out of thin air. Their lives depend on me! I was getting behind even when I was writing. I wasn't adding enough to my daily word count. Well, this afternoon, I sat down to write. I think I hit a wall even before I could start. I had gone grocery shopping in the morning so that meant I had food. Okay, I had a little something to eat. But then, still nothing. I read the forums on Nano, looking for inspiration. I listened to different kinds of music. Nothing. I washed some dishes to clear my mind. I don't particularly love washing dishes but I find that once I'm doing it, my mind often wanders off and I stop thinking about the little annoying things. I guess it is a way to meditate for me. So after having cleaned some of those dishes (I kept some for tomorrow, just in case!) I sat down again to write. I put on the same music I've been listening to for the past week (a mix of songs that soothe my soul) and I started writing. I told myself that I would not look at anyone's blog until I reached at least 28000 words. And it worked. After that, my goal was today's word count of 30000. And I made it! Yes! I'm back on track! So in the past 24 hours, I wrote a total of 5500 words! Woot! I'm impressed with myself!

Now it's late but I'm not tired. By body has gotten used to the late nights of writing so I think that for now, I will reward myself with some art. The colours are calling my name!

The lines of miscommunications...

... are now closed! Yes, instead, I'm opening up my lines of communications. Let me explain.

This week, I stumbled across this test and one of the result was that my throat chakra is over-active. It said that with an over-active throat chakra you tend to speak too much, usually to domineer and keep people at a distance. You're a bad listener if this is the case.

I always thought I was a good listener so I ignored that last part. I shouldn't have. Tonight I realized that this week, I did not take the time to really read (ie listen) to a friend's email and I made a bit of a fool of myself. It was nothing serious but still, this is an eye opener. The Universe is telling me to slow down and pay attention, to listen, really listen, to the world around me, to the people around me. So now, I will be more careful and more open, more aware and more understanding.

Maybe I should start getting into meditation to realign my chakras and to open the closed ones and re-balance the over active ones. In the meantime, I'll go journal a bit.

Preview

A sneak peek at a card I made with my collage/mixed media techniques. I attached a piece of printed vellum on top of it so as not to get the oil pastels from the card on the envelop and on the hands of the recipient.

Yesterday, I didn't write. Again. Today, I managed to write 2000 words so far. I still need about 1200 to be at today's goal. I'm finding it increasingly hard to continue with my story. I still don't know where it's going. It's a little bit frustrating. And so far, I haven't found the perfect music to write to. I'm not ready to give up though. I'll keep writing even if my story doesn't make sense and sucks. I keep telling myself that it's not the story that matters but the fact that I am writing it. Yeah, try telling THAT to my characters! :-P

Christmas card

Here's a Christmas card I had started to work on at Catherine's Halloween Crop. I just finished it. Well, actually, I'm not sure it's quite finished but at least it's mounted and I would not be ashamed to give it to someone.

I didn't write today. Didn't feel like it. I'll catch up tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow night is mom's birthday supper.

A birthday

This my Mom! It's her birthday today. She is my best friend.

Bonne Fête Maman!

Je t'aime!

10k and still going strong

Yes! I crossed the 10 000 words mark tonight! It feels amazing! My story isn't going anywhere but I don't care! I'm still typing and exploring. Ideas keep popping up and I'm taking notes. I now know that one of my characters, which I thought would be there until the end, must die but fortunately it's natural causes.

I received this colourful card and magnet from Violette yesterday. Thank you so much! I love them. (Note to self: I have to find better ways to take pictures of artwork and gifts and I have to learn how to use my new camera.)

I'm feeling much better than yesterday. My stomach isn't making as much noise as it did the past few days. My head doesn't hurt anymore and I have less sinus pressure. Hooray for that! I hope everyone had a nice day and that my Nano buddies are doing great! Keep at it girls! Together, we can make it to the finish line!

Of writing and receiving surprises

Fifth day of Nanowrimo. I haven't given up yet! My word count is a little below what it should be (about 700 words less than what I expected to be at) but considering I haven't been feeling well yesterday and today it's pretty darn good. My characters are talking to me and my story is going to take a twist I never saw coming til today. I took notes because that's not where I'm at right now in the story. I think that having told people about doing Nanowrimo and having friends to encourage me through blogging and comments and such is really helping me to do this and see it through to the end.

Violette sent me a cute card and a magnet that she made. I love getting mail especially when I don't expect anything! I ordered a few things from Botanical Paperworks and they shipped it this morning so I should probably receive it sometime next week. It's plantable paper! Cool, huh? You give a card to someone and instead of throwing it away, storing it in a box where they'll never see it or recycle it, they can just plant it and they'll have beautiful flowers! I think this is amazing. I'll take a picture when my order gets here.

I'm feeling a bit better. No longer have nausea which is a good thing. I still have sinus pressure headache and now my stomach is making these monstrous sounds (worse than that night at your house Catherine!) Now I'm off to bed. Working early tomorrow morning, filling in for one of my coworkers. Extra money is always welcome! (Hear that Universe?) ;-)

Feeling under the weather

I don't know where the day went. I didn't sleep well last night. I woke up with a massive headache, sinus pressure and nausea. Even herbal tea was tough to ingest. So I didn't do much all day. I did have to get some groceries and sinus medication though. But other than that, I just stayed on the couch in front of the television. I took a nap but it didn't make me feel better. I ate a little bit. I don't know if I'll be up to writing much tonight but I will certainly try.

Star of the Show

This one just came to me tonight while watching television. Absolutely nothing planned. I had no idea what I was doing, I just went with the flow. I LOVE this page.

She's in my spiral journal. I used a piece of wrapping paper (the tarot cards on the left), a page from a children's book, a piece of ruled paper, acrylics, watercolour crayons and pencils, crayons, Glaze pens, Sharpie PosterPaint Markers and Micron pens. Oh and a small paper flower with a brad.

I'm too tired to continue my book tonight. I'll have plenty of time tomorrow. Besides, the word count came easier than I had expected. So off to bed I am.

My new mug

Two weeks ago, mom and I went to paint another piece of ceramic. This time, I decided to go for a huge mug (for cafe au lait) and painted it with fun colours. Mom painted a cute little piggy bank. She picked up the finished pieces this week and I was able to finally use my mug this morning. What great timing! Making a huge mug of cafe au lait while getting started on my novel!

That's right! NaNoWriMo has started. I stayed up late last night so I could get started at 12:01 precisely. And I did start then.

So far, I wrote 1941 words which is pretty good for my first day. I might continue tonight after watching CSI and Grey's Anatomy. I'm telling the story from the point of view of a bird. And so far, it's about a girl named Miss T (or Misty but I wanted her name to count for at least two words!) She understands the language of animals and insects. Plenty of possibilities can arise from that! I'm excited. I'm tired but pumped at the same time.

Now I should eat lunch before going to work. It's a ped day (no classes, just daycare program) and I'm working a bit more hours. I was supposed to work 12:55 to 5:30 but I was asked if I could come in this morning from 8:00 to 9:00 which I did (AND I'm getting paid an extra 15 minutes because I agreed to do it!) I swear to everything holy, I am loving LOVING my job at this school. So different from the last one. So much better. And Anik and I get along so well working together. It's wonderful.

Now, if only the Universe could send me that wonderful, loving man I asked for! :-D

Oh yeah! I'm getting a Nikon D40x tomorrow! My brother bought a better model and is selling me this one for less. Woohoo! (One more answer from the Universe!)

Happy Halloween

The beauty of working with kids is that I get to celebrate Halloween with them. I can dress up and be anybody. I love it. Didn't have time to take a picture yet but you'll see my disguise later tonight or tomorrow. I only used things I already had at home (regular clothes and accessories.)

Have a fun day!


Edit: here's the picture! I kinda look like my brother!

It's 11pm and I'm getting ready for NaNoWriMo. I'm excited!

PS to Violette: See the 2 orbs? One below my left hand and the other above the toaster oven. All day I've been feeling a presence...

Of friends, cards and a boy

Last night, my mother and I went to my friend Catherine's place for a Halloween themed evening. We're scrapbookers and cardmakers so we like to meet for a crop night and work on projects. I had no idea what to work on so after drinks, chatting, showing my art journal to Steph, Catherine's daughter, mounting new rubber stamps, I finally made this Christmas card. It's very simple and very anti-christmas colours but I like it. I started another card but still need to finish it before I can post a picture.

Remember my Super Ordinary Boy? Steph and her friend said last night that if I made a book about this little guy, they'd buy it and would tell all their friends to buy it. Well it got me thinking and all of a sudden, S.O.B. (as he will now be referred to) started appearing with my main character for Nanowrimo. I think I might have a twinkling of an idea for my story! Woohoo!

Rainy day. I slept in late and have been feeling kind of yucky all day. Chicken broth didn't seem to help so it's not a cold. Maybe my body's telling me something... I'll go work on my triptych for a shrine I'm making (from Violette's e-class at Go-Make-Art.)

A bit of panic

Nanowrimo is one week away!!! Yikes!!!

Works In Progress

This is a page in my spiral journal that I started last night. I had a dream the night before about a small girl who falls in love with a giant half-human/half-robot. I love the way my drawing came out. What I've done so far on the page is Gesso, make a masking tape border all around, add a piece of scrapbook paper, paint, gesso some more, gold ink (from an ink pad), smudge oil pastels, colour the drawing with gel pens, watercolour pencils and a leafing pen and finally white acrylic paint on top of the oil pastels so I can doodle and journal. I'm getting better at doing layers.








This is the third (and final) mixed media painting in my Citrus serie. I already did Lemon and Lime and this is going to be Orange. It still needs a lot of work.

Tonight I'm taking a Christmas Card class at Catherine's with mom. Can't wait!

Art Journal Pages and Birthday!

Just a little post. Here are 2 more pages in my smaller Art Journal. You can't see it from the scan but the backgrounds are done with Metallic Watercolours (found at a dollar store!) so there's a bit of a shimmer there. I didn't want anything complicated on the curtain page so I did some drawing and doodling with a fine marker. Filled in the curtains with a Sharpie PosterPaint Marker. Wrote the line with a permanent marker and then put some pink crayon over the "stage" background. I like it like that.

The second page also started with the Metallic Watercolours. Then I covered it with crayons. Then with acrylic paint mixed with a tiny bit of gesso. Then I put a heart shaped PostIt and crayoned over it. It looked like a lion's mane so I went with that. Finished the drawing with permanent markers and Signo pen. The tab is a piece of scrapbook paper covered with masking tape that was then doodled over with permanent markers. So far this is my favourite page in this journal.

In a few hours (6:28am EST to be exact,) I'm turning 30. Yep, I'm THAT young! Most people I know were scared by that number. Not me, no sirry bob! I'm embrassing this new number, this new decade. I've been through some rough patches in the past and I figure that it's time I had fun and a great life. I love my job and I mean LOVE my job. I have a wonderful family who support and encourage me. I have few but VERY IMPORTANT friends (well I'm finding more and more friends thanks to blogland and the magic of the internet.) I'm planning a great trip for next summer. Things are going my way and I want more more MORE!

Happy Birthday to me. And you know what? Happy UNbirthday to all of you! We should celebrate each and everyday because life is a gift in itself. Now I'm off to bed. Goodnight, sweet dreams...

NaNoWriMo

Yep, that's right! I'm going to try writing a novel during the month of November. I have no idea what I'll write. I have no plot. No characters. Nothing. Hmm, quite a challenge. If I write between 1500 and 2000 words per day, I should be able to make it. 50 000 words in 30 days. Maybe I'm crazy. At least I'm trying something new!

What to Write in My Journal?

http://www.creativity-portal.com/cca/quinn-mcdonald/write-in-journal.html

I particularly like the phrase: "[journals] are the GPS system to your spirit." Especially since I'm a proud member of the Glitter Power Sisters.

Self Portrait

I'm an artist who likes to experiment with different techniques and different medium. I do acrylic painting, watercolour, mixed media. I collage and make assemblage. I dwell in scrapbooking and cardmaking. I write. I sing. I'll do pretty much anything as long as it's creative and artistic in some way. I love textures and colours and smells. I always smell my paints when I open the tubes or pots or what-have-you. And I always touch and smell my papers. I love to run a brand new paintbrush on the back of my hand and on my neck. Some people say I'm crazy, weird, eccentric. I say THANK YOU! and so be it!

I like art, artists, painting, cats, crows, squirrels, animals in general, playing guitar, creating, dreaming, day-dreaming, wearing colourful clothes, Halloween, making my own things, movies, music, writing, nature, paint on my face, paint on my hands, apple-picking, petting my cat, playing, reading, singing, sleeping, talking to animals, the smell of flowers, the smell of food, walking by the lake, watching sappy love movies and bad teenage dramas, working (told you i'm crazy!) and so much more!!!

Inspiration and life

If you haven't yet, go visit SuziBlu's blog and YouTube page. She rocks. Watching her Vlogs makes me want to buy a digital video cam and shoot my own mini videos or my art and Diesel.

Since I started putting her on a leash and taking her out on the balcony, Diesel has been meowing and crying every morning and after lunch to go out. She doesn't mind the leash at all. I'll have to bring her on the grass before we get snow. Soon.

Once upon a time, I wanted to be a vegetarian. I even wanted to be vegan. You know what made me change my mind? I love LOVE love milk and cheese, well dairies in general. And I LOVE my father's roast beef. So as much as I love animals and want them to be safe and happy and such, I can't be a vegetarian.


Now I'll go create in my journal before watching a bit of television. Heroes is on tonight. I'm addicted.

It's all just a dream

A page from my 9" x 11" journal. Done this week. I really love how it came out. Used gesso, acrylics, handmade stamp, image from National Geographic, pieces of graffiti background, satin-like butterflies and flowers, self-adhesive ribbon, drawing ink and various crayons, pens and markers.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in Canada. Lots of relaxing planned. And maybe a bit of cooking.

Of Mermaids and Halloween

Finally, I can show the mermaids I made for the swap on Violette's message board. These were sent to Sioux. The first one is an altered playing card doll. The picture didn't come out well but I can tell you there's glitter on her tail!








The second one is a paper spool collage. Of course, I used an image from ArtChixStudio on it.

The third one is a little watercolour painting with glitter added on the tail.





I've been wanting to do little banners like these and last night (seeing as I couldn't fall asleep even though I had to wake up earlier than usual this morning) seemed as good a time as any to start. I've been very inspired by all the Halloween art I've seen out there in blogland and in magazines so that's the theme I used. So the black and white one was done last night with finishing touches added this morning. The purple one I started this morning and finished this afternoon. The beauty of working small shifts in the day (lunchtime and after-school) is that it gives me time to create stuff and then walk away for a few hours before going back to it and seeing it in a different light (literally!)