33 things: 1st thing - 33 choses: 1ère chose

Remember my mini-book entitled "33 things to do at 33"?

Vous souvenez-vous de mon mini-livre titré "33 choses à faire à 33"?

One of the things on my list was to attend a Nanowrimo write-in. A write-in is a gathering of people participating in Nanowrimo at a specified place where they can eat, drink and, most importantly, write. This year, for the first time, I attended a write-in in my area. In fact, I attended 5 write-ins as well as the pre-Nano meetup and the "Thank God It's Over" meetup. And I am glad I did. I saved a coffee cup sleeve from the latter on which I wrote my beverage of choice (earl grey.) I still plan to add something to the page, maybe a photo of my Nanowrimo sticker or certificate. I'll show it when it's completed.

Une des choses sur ma liste était de participer à une rencontre d'écriture pour Nanowrimo. Une rencontre d'écriture a généralement lieu dans un endroit spécifique où les gens participant à Nanowrimo peuvent se réunir pour manger, boire et, surtout, écrire. Cette année, pour la première fois, j'ai participé à une de ces rencontres dans mon coin. En fait, j'ai participé à 5 rencontres d'écriture en plus de la rencontre pre-Nano et de la soirée "Dieu Merci C'est Fini." Et je suis contente de l'avoir fait. J'ai gardé une gaine de tasse a café de la dernière rencontre sur laquelle j'ai écrit mon breuvage favori (earl grey.) J'ai l'intention de rajouter quelque chose sur la page, peut-être une photo de mon collant Nanowrimo ou de mon certificat. Je vous montrerai le tout complété.

One thing down, 32 to go!

Une chose de faite, 32 à suivre!

I'm back - Je suis de retour

30 days

50,000 words

I did it!

I wrote a novel and now I can move one... until next year!

So I am back to blogging. Although, with the craziness of the holidays fast approaching, I don't think I will keep a strict schedule like I had been doing for the past 6 months or so. Here's the plan:

I will be blogging from Monday to Friday, showing mostly my creations but sometimes giving you links to posts/photos from others that I find inspiring.

I'll be back tomorrow!

30 jours.

50,000 mots.

J'ai réussi!

J'ai écrit un roman et maintenant je peux passer à autre chose... jusqu'à l'an prochain!

Alors me revoici à bloguer. Cependant, avec la folie du temps des fêtes qui approche vite, je ne pense pas maintenir un horaire aussi stricte que pour les dernies 6 mois (environ.) Voici mon plan:

Je bloguerai du Lundi au Vendredi, vous montrant principalement mes créations mais aussi partageant avec vous des liens vers des articles/photos d'autre personnes que je trouve inspirants.

Je serai de retour demain!

Mandala Aztek

This one was inspired by Tammy's Origami Mandala over at Daisy Yellow. No curved. It was an interesting exercise. I realized I really like drawing curvy lines! But I do like the result here.

Have you challenged yourself to try something different lately?

Celui-ci est inspiré par le Mandala Origami de Tammy chez Daisy Yellow. Aucune courbes. Ce fut un exercice intéressant. Je me suis rendu compte que j'aime beaucoup dessiner des lignes courbées! Mais j'aime beaucoup le résultat ici.

 

Vous êtes-vous poussées à essayer quelque chose de différent dernièrement?

Nanowrimo update: 15,447 words as of last night. 15,477 mots en date d'hier soir.

Experiments and NaNoJouMo - Expérimentations et NaNoJouMo

 I have 3 photos for you today. The first and second one were done for an experiment for Daisy Yellow.

J'ai 3 photos pour vous aujourd'hui. Les première et deuxième ont été faites pour une expérimentation pour Daisy Yellow.

I first drew squares with Neocolor II crayons then covered everything with a layer of white gesso.

J'ai d'abord dessiné des carrés avec mes Neocolor II puis j'ai recouvert le tout d'une couche de gesso.

 

This third photo is of a spread I made to answer 2 challenges: NaNoJouMo and The Queen of Creativity Castle's Creative Challenge.

Cette troisième photo est d'une mise en page que j'ai fait pour répondre à 2 défis: NaNoJouMo et le "Creative Challenge" de The Queen of Creativity Castle.

NaNoWriMo is going steady. I'm sure I'll get to 50,000 words by the end of the month. I'm not sure, though, that I'll have a novel worthy of that name!

NaNoWriMo se poursuit. Je suis certaine d'atteindre les 50,000 mots à la fin du mois. Je ne suis pas certaine, par contre, d'avoir un roman digne de ce nom!

Music scrapbook pages - Pages scrapbooking de musique

November is here. Which means I will be spending the better part of my waking hours attempting to write a novel. I'm still planning to create and post here every weekday. But I will keep most of my written words for my novel instead of my blog.

Le mois de Novembre est ici. Ce qui veut dire que je passerai la majeure partie des mes heures éveillées à essayer d'écrire un roman. J'ai tout de même l'intention de créer et d'afficher ici chaque jour de semaine. Mais je garderai mes mots écrits pour mon roman plutôt que mon blogue.

Stringy mandala - Mandala filamenteux

Something simple today.

I signed up for Nanowrimo again this year. And tonight, I will be attending my first Nanowrimo meet-up. I have a very faint idea for my novel so I'm hoping to find inspiration by talking with fellow Wrimos. If you signed up for Nanowrimo, feel free to add me as a writing buddy.

My friend Kate has created her very own Ning network, The Queen of Creativity Castle. We're already 24 members and it's the second day so don't be shy to take a look and join in the fun. Creative challenges, discussions, videos and soon, classes... It'll be fun!

Quelque chose de simple aujourd'hui.

Je me suis réinscrite à Nanowrimo cette année. Et ce soir, je vais à une rencontre pour Nanowrimo pour la première fois. J'ai une poussière d'idée pour mon roman alors j'espère trouvé un peu d'inspiration en parlant avec d'autres Wrimos. Si vous êtes inscrites à Nanowrimo, n'hésitez pas à m'ajouter à votre liste d'amis.

Mon amie Kate a créé son propre réseau Ning, The Queen of Creativity Castle. Nous sommes déjà 24 membres et c'est la troisième journée alors n'ayez pas peur de venir faire un tour et de vous joindre au groupe. Des défis créatifs, discussions, vidéos et bientôt, des cours... Ce sera amusant!

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.

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.

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!

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

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?) ;-)

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!)

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!!!

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!