Still alive...

For the past week, I've been battling a really nasty cold. Thankfully, I'm getting better. Yesterday and today, I didn't cough at all though I'm still a bit stuffed up.

My only creations lately are for challenges and swaps. No "free" creation. It's not that I don't want to create. It's just that lately, I've been overwhelmed by the amount of stuff in my living room. I'm trying to get rid of some of it, little by little but it's not easy. A lifetime of accumulating stuff can't be undone in a few days.

Trying something different

A few months ago I decided to try and make my own plushie. I cut into a red skirt I had, made of felt-ish material, which didn't fit anymore. I didn't mean to make it look devilish but that's sort of what happened. To fill it I used stuffing from a pillow that was coming apart. I liked the final result but didn't do another one...

...until tonight. The bunny is made out of craft felt, purple on the front, pink on the back. I didn't have any stuffing for this one (threw away the pillow a while back) so I used plastic bags. It's not the best way to stuff a plushie but it still works and it's recycling at its best! I used buttons from my stash for the eyes and a heart charm as decoration. It was done in less than 2 hours and I'm satisfied with the result. It's not perfect but it's made by me.

Art soothes my soul

I. am. an. artist.

I make art. Art is me. No matter how big or small. I have to have art. I have to make art. It is a part of me. of my life. It _is_ my life. The rest is extra. Or is it?

I finished reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. And while reading it, I've realized how aware I really am of living NOW. Sure I get lost in my thoughts, in my dreams like most people. But I also often get these moments where my thoughts are completely still and I can just appreciate Being. Here. Now.

It's powerful stuff.

Artwork is a page from my journal for Emily Falconbridge's challenge.

Listening to the muse

I've been trying different things with my art. Playing differently with my supplies. Experimenting. And I'm not done yet. Not even close. But I'm enjoying it. Every second of it.

I had a craft play day with CeeCee and Mom last Friday. For once we were able to do it during the day instead of in the evening. I made some more paper spool collages. Most of the times, when we're all three together, that's all I seem to do.

It's odd. Sometimes, I seem to have no inspiration at all even though I'm creating every single day. I guess sometimes, I'm creating more out of habit than anything else. What does that mean? I wonder... Anyway, just wanted to show I'm still alive and kicking.

Going on a break

I'll be back to blogging in a few days. I just need some time for other things.

I'm fine. My back feels normal again. So no need to worry...

Peace.

Off days

Sometimes, no matter how much you want to create something, it just won't come out the way you envisioned it. It will come out as something else. So just let it go, accept it for what it is and move on.

Synchronicity and Serendipity

I actually started typing Sunchronicity. I like that! I may start using that word now. You know, when the sun comes out exactly when you need a little encouragement or something similar. "I was feeling sad this morning when I woke up. And then I started thinking about you and the sun came out right at that moment. Man, that was some good Sunchronicity!" Yep, I like it!


Anyway, I wasn't going to post tonight because I just wasn't feeling it. But then I made my DAC (Daily Art Card), which is NOT the one posted above but similar to it. Inspired by Zentangles. I've read about them on many blogs and forums and finally caved in to see what the fuss was all about. Well, I have to say, it's nothing new to me. I've been doing these kinds of drawings since I was a kid but we just call them doodles or Dessin Sans Dessein which basically means a Drawing without Intention (or without Design.) A drawing that hasn't been thought out prior to being put on paper and which does not represent anything in particular. So anyway, like I said, I've been doing these since I was a kid but hadn't done any in a couple of years. So I decided to draw them again and to use them as a sort of meditation (speaking of which, I've given up meditating on a daily basis; I really don't enjoy it all that much... so I'm doing other things instead like Zentangles-type drawings and knitting.) So expect to see a few more of these drawings.

One of the reasons I wanted to write about synchronicity tonight is that for the past 2 weeks, I've been getting messages from here and there about a singer/songwriter I greatly admire: Leonard Cohen. He's a Montreal native and for as long as I can remember, I've loved his music. But I hadn't taken the time to listen to it for a while now. So a few days ago, I put on the only CD of his I own, Cohen Live, and rediscovered some of my all-time favourites. And I think it was the next day that I heard he was being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and that he will be in concert in Montreal for the Jazz Festival. I would so love to see him in concert but at the moment, I can't afford it. Maybe one day soon.

My thoughts are getting scattered again. I've had back pain for a couple of days now and the pills I took are not helping (nor did rubbing and putting heat and/or cold on it...) So I'm going to bed in hopes of waking up in better shape tomorrow. Goodnight.

How do you like your coffee?

I've signed up for an ATC swap which has a coffee theme. So I've been creating coffee themed things. And being inspired by this painting. So I decided to try something new. Painting with coffee. Yup, you read me right. Dipping my paintbrush into a cup of coffee. I love it! It makes for lovely shades of beige and brown. And it smells yummy too!

Have tried something new lately? Something different? Are you pushing your limits? Give it a try and let me know how it goes!

Once in a lifetime

Going back to work after more than a week of vacation isn't as easy as it sounds! But I'm not complaining.

Outside my apartment building, the path that leads from the street to our door is full of snow. Thigh high. I kid you not. In the school yard, some kids could easily sit on the fence in some places (we didn't let them of course!)

I'm not feeling chatty tonight. Maybe I'll actually go to bed early for once...

Routines

It's amazing how much we take little things for granted. I was so thankful last night to be able to sleep in my own bed, to take up all the room I wanted in it and to have my darling Diesel purring away next to me.

I've gotten so used to doing my Daily Art Cards, my Morning Pages and writing in my "Every day brings something new" journal that when I went to bed at my parents' on Saturday, I felt like I was missing or forgetting something. And same thing when I woke up on Sunday morning. My routine was all out of whack!


I'm a routine person. There are certain things that I do at certain times and in certain ways. If I can't, for some reason, do one of my routine things, I feel almost incomplete, like something is missing. I shouldn't let those little things (or lack of things in this case) bother me, I know but I suppose it's part of who I am.

Okay. So I haven't been able to NOT buy stuff for the past two months. I'm thinking that maybe taking on a challenge to not buy anything new for a year was a bit much. So I need a different approach. I need to go about it on a smaller scale. Let's say one week at a time. If I don't buy anything (other than groceries of course) in the next 7 days, I'll be that much closer to my goal. I'm still planning on using up all that stuff I have for my art, scrapbooking and other creations... you know, all the little things we keep saving for that "special project" that actually never comes along...

Vacation is over now. Tomorrow is back to work. Which is a good thing for someone who needs her routines!

Mother Nature's Mood Swings

We did indeed get that storm. And because of it, my brother and I both spent the night at my parents' after having dinner with them. There was no way either one of us would drive in that mess. Snow, ice, rain and a mix of some and all of these with crazy winds. At some point, you couldn't even see on the other side of the street!

And I just learned that schools are closed tomorrow! So an extra vacation day... woohoo!

So with all this, I forgot to do my daily card yesterday. But that's okay. I'll do 2 tonight instead. And this morning, I didn't do my morning pages. Oh well.

If there hadn't been so much snow everywhere, today would've been a perfect day to go out for a walk. But since the street were cleaned just enough for cars and buses and no sidewalks were cleaned, I stayed in with mom and did some cleaning. We'll see what tomorrow brings...

Altered photo and a mandala

Ok. So it had to be expected. We're supposed to get yet another snow storm starting tonight and going well into the weekend. I'm trying not to complain. Really, I'm trying.

So on to something else then. The image you see to the left (I feel like a tour guide or something) was done using some of the techniques from the book I bought this week. I chose a blurry photograph from my trip to the UK back in 2001 (which wasn't all that hard since more than half the pics came out blurry... the joys of pre-digital photography!) I sanded the edges and liked the colour that came out of that so I continued sanding the building in the foreground. Then I used a piercing tool to scratch lines all around the clouds. And then I sanded and scratched some more and finally added a bit of watercolour in the sky and on the horizon. Voilà! I really like the final result. Really!

Next, my very first mandala made with Outlines stamps. My mom has been doing mandalas for a while now. I love the way they come out but until last night, I wasn't tempted to try my hand at them. You can't see it much in this picture but parts of it are 3D, raised with dimensional foam squares. Now, I haven't decided what I'll do with my mandala meaning, will I do a second one and attach them back to back so it can hang from the ceiling? Or do I want to frame it as is? I'm not sure. But I do love the way it came out. The image was heat embossed and coloured with various markers and Glaze pens.



And finally, here is the OWOH prize I received from Vallen over at Queenly Things. This is beautiful! And I might just have to find the perfect hat to attach that beautiful "S" pin she sent me too!

An update on my 21 days challenge. So far, I've taken the time to meditate every night even if it's just 5 minutes. The first 3 days were hard: I kept fidgeting, trying to find the perfect position, my cat coming in to get some attention, etc. But now, it's already a bit easier. I'm keeping a journal for this but it's mostly journaling and the quotes provided by Rhonna so not much to see visually.

My spiral bound journal is full. I finished it today. I already had another one started which is smaller and I kept it for more messy pages but now I'll just fill it with whatever I feel like putting in there. And when that one is full, we'll see which of my many blank journals I'll pick.

Well, that's it for tonight. I have some more ATCs to make for a swap.

Early "Spring" Cleaning

This week, I've taken on a big task. Cleaning up the files on my computer. All the pictures I have since December 2005 are being renamed, refiled and saved on CDs. It's a big job even though I don't have as many photos as a lot of people I know. But still, it's something that needs to be done and sooner rather than later. All my 2005 and 2006 folders are done. 2007 will take a bit longer but I'll work on it Friday. And as for 2008, I already have probably as many photos as the whole year of 2006! Of course, having been on 3 photographic adventures with my brother has greatly helped this!

Like a lot of people, I'm getting tired of this harsh winter. Snow storm after icy rain after icy snow... I mean, come on! Enough already! I had to shovel my car out of the snow to move it on Sunday because they were going to plow the snow that night. And again today! Sheesh! I've got biceps again! Which I suppose is a good thing. But still, I can't wait til Spring when I can walk by the waterside and plant some herbs and flowers in my outdoor pots. Soon...

Before I forget, Lisa Vollrath is having a St.Patty/Easter countdown soon. Check it out!

Quick post

A quick post tonight.

Today, I had lunch with Catherine. It felt great to be out and about in the middle of a week day! After our meal, we went to Chapters and I ended up buying on book: The Complete Guide to Altered Imagery by Karen Michel. I had been wanting to look at it for a while and today was the day. I really like some of her ideas so I treated myself. One book isn't so bad. It used to be that whenever I walked into a bookstore, I'd end up leaving with at least 3 books and or magazines. Even though I'm still buying stuff, I'm at least thinking about the pros and cons before buying said stuff. Heck, after 5 years of living on my own, 2 years of scrapbooking and altered arts, I finally bought an embossing gun! Used to be I would only heat emboss when I was crafting with mom.

Anyway, I'm off to bed soon so I leave you with the 4 paper spool collages I made for a swap.

A productive day

Today's eye candy are my latest Daily Art Cards. The first one you see is #60 and the last of the 4" x 4" I made. For March, I decided to try a new format: 4" x 6". It gives me a bit more room to play with but sometimes, less is more.

Disturbing dreams last night. It had been a while. I woke up in tears twice during the night. I kept dreaming that someone close to me was dead. I know it doesn't mean this person will die soon. One thing that was weird in the dream though is that I found an old foreign newspaper. Probably from Asia (I saw characters that looked Asian instead of our alphabet.)

I've had a productive day. I have one painting in the works, made 4 ATCs for a swap, made 4 paper spool collages for another swap, made a card for the Deck of Me challenge, finished last week's page for the Art Journal Challenge and made my Daily Art Card. Plus, I went grocery shopping and washed some dishes. And I always do my Morning Pages (between 15 and 30 minutes every morning.)



For the 21 Days Challenge, I've picked a small journal. I'm mostly using the quotes provided by Rhonna and journaling about meditation. So far, for my first 2 days, I've only done 5 minutes, focusing on the flame of a candle in the dark, before going to bed. Tonight, I want to do 5 minutes without the candle. We'll see if it works.

Tomorrow I'm meeting up with Catherine. That's always something to look forward to. We have so much fun together. Now I'll just go relax in front of the television.

I see a red door...

But unlike Mick Jagger, I don't want it painted black.

I attended a photo shoot today with my brother in an industrial building that is usually used for Paintball and Airsoft games. My brother and his friends are Airsoft players and some of them who were present were all dressed up with their paraphernalia. It was really cold though since the building isn't heated and I didn't shoot many pictures but it was still good practice and I liked watching my brother and his friends setup for some shots and try different things. We definitely want to repeat the experience when it's warmer.

And speaking of warm and red... guess what I did yesterday!

At first I was thinking of maybe a few red highlights but then we went for a lot more. My hairdresser is really great and doesn't push products or cuts or colours on us. She lightened about 1/4 of my hair for the colour to really show and have depth and volume. I've been wanting red hair for about 15 years now and I finally did it. I love it!

This week is March Break. I already have at least 2 days booked (but with fun stuff and with my favourite people.) Hopefully I'll be able to get some rest too.

Another present from OWOH arrived Friday. I'll show it this week. Cheers!