Anti-Journal Week 3

((I typed out an entire blog post and this stupid f'n site DELETED the entire thing. GRRRR!))

It was difficult for me to decide what to post tonight because I have about 4 blog posts that I need to type out and get on here. I decided to start with what is relatively the beginning and get that out of the way. LOL (And, yes, I am just as bad at journaling with pen and paper as I am at this. I can just type way faster than I can write so this is actually easier.)

First of all, Kids Clothes Week was an EPIC fail for me. I was not feeling well for most of the week, so I managed to get a grand total of 1 thing finished. I am, however, currently participating in the Stash Game over at Sewing Mamas and am working my way toward my goal of 200 yards of fabric GONE by the end of this year. But more on that later. :D

Week 3's Anti-Journal was difficult for me. Sarah, the Wonderous Wonderstrumpet of Wonderstrange, posted a Master List of prompts for us to choose from and anyone that really knows me knows that A) I am not super great at choosing for myself and 2) I do not respond to change well. However, in the spirit of this year of Adventures, I decided to embrace it and just go for it. Sarah's Chronicles journal spread for Week 3 is awesome. And she posted a video about making journals that's worth a watch. ;)

Week 3's Anti-Journal


I really like creating these multiple page journal spreads. It lets me to include more that what the normal 2 facing pages would allow for.


Inside that envelope is ephemera from the trip to Tennessee that the girls and I took last year on Spring Break.


Two more drawings from the 100 Things to Draw When You're Bored 2014 list. #15 Ninja Banana and #61 A Shark Ate My Homework. And a cute little smiley moon guy :D


For my artwork this week, I chose to create some Found Poetry. I used to do this kind of thing all the time. In fact, it's probably my favorite thing that I create. It's always dark, usually twisted, and soul cleansing.
The poem reads:

They call him Candyman murdering eater of souls
unwavering dead eyes and black gloved hand
slab of onyx on porcelain

white angel screaming
dancing through veins like a real ballerina
breathing with a hatchet blade stuck in the throat

tender white neck
lightly kissed on the forehead
agonizing sighs but I love you would shatter his skull

up all night
hearing bones crack screams peeling wallpaper
cry cry cry gushing tears bloodred on the carpet

Don't make me go back there
sit right here in the dark
spinning my broken shame in the moonlight



And I tried to take a picture of this cute Jane Austen card that I put in here, but it turned out all blurry. LOL

So, that's my week 3, and I'm really pretty pleased with it. As usual, following thru and just going with things in the spirit of adventure has taught me a lot this week. About myself and what I can accomplish when I follow thru. :D

((The first f'n post was better. I HATE this thing right now.))

HeART Swap for Valentine's Day: An Artist Collaboration on MotherHenna

At the beginning of the month, I signed up for a swap that I found out about on Facebook. You can read about the details on the MotherHenna blog. I've participated in this kind of swap before and I have always been pleased with the results. Admittedly, it has been a long time since I have been able to join in on one of these (I always seem to just miss out on the sign ups). But I am super excited about the returns on this one. It's an amazing group of artists and I just know that I will be pleased with what I receive. Anything created from the heart is always wonderful.

Originally, I had intended to write a blog post illustrating how I went from

this:


to this:


However, I managed to forget to take photos of the steps as I went along. So, all I have are the photos of the finished project. LOL

Each one is a mixed media masterpiece featuring watercolor and acrylic painting, text elements, lots of sparkle, and loads of added texture. I really love these a lot and I'm hoping that the other 19 artists are pleased with them as well. I know they will be because these were created with HeART. Which was the whole point of the project. :D

Aren't they pretty. Yes, I do believe they are.


There are 19 other artists that have signed up for the exchange. If you want to check out the MotherHenna blog and see some of the other artists' work, you can click to see the blog and then scroll down and you will see each artist listed with their blogs if available.

Kids Clothing Week starts next week and so I'm busy pulling patterns and fabrics for sewing up some great stuff for the girls. I also have the 2nd canvas for my 50 Canvases almost finished and plans for the 3rd one. Just wait and see. :D

Patience Grasshopper

Oddly enough, I have actually been doing stuff. In fact, I have been really busy. I've been making plans and working on projects and getting things started.
So why does it feel like I am not accomplishing much of anything?

I think that everyone feels this way at some point in time. I have this huge list of things that I have planned out for my year, some projects will literally take the entire year to adventure thru, and I am working on several different things as we speak. I want to see the results of my planning and my working, but they are just not there yet. I am finding that sometimes adventuring requires patience. LOL

One of the year long projects I'm working on that I'm pretty dang excited about is 50 Canvases in 2014 For those of you that suck at math (like me :D) it breaks down to roughly 1 complete painting per week. Which is a fairly big deal for me 'cuz I haven't really painted a whole lot in the past several years and I have serious issues with commitment, so we'll see how it goes.
Also, because I totally love the women of Wonderstrange, I am going to attempt The Anti-Journal with Sarah. Again, not being a commitment oriented kind of person, I'm a little apprehensive about it. I am, however, totally committed to throwing myself into it 1000% and crashing and burning if that is what occurs. Hurray for the adventure!
I thought I might join in on the 100 Things to Draw When You're Bored 2014 edition but I'm not really talented in the drawing department. Perhaps if I am either really bored or really desperate I might start. Rest assured that, if I do officially add that to my plate, I will not be subjecting anyone's eyes to the trauma of viewing my doodles. LOL
I'm also signed up for a heART swap for Valentines over at MotherHenna. I've participated in artist collaborations over there before and they are so much fun. I actually have my 20 cards nearly finished and will be blogging about them shortly. I am super excited to see what the other participants have come up with. I really miss exchanging art with others, and it has been really fun to create something with heART.

On the non-art side of things (well, I guess it's still art, just a different type LOL), I am participating in Kids Clothes Week Jan 27th thru Feb 3rd. I know that it is supposed to be for the Winter session, but the girlchildren are not in need of any Winter clothing at this time. So, I'm going to sew for Spring/Summer because that is what they need. The youngest girlchild will likely end up with the majority of the items because she is the one that needs the most. The oldest will get some stuff, but not nearly as much because her closet is cram packed already.
I've also set myself up with the goal of sewing thru (or selling/giving away) a minimum of 200 yards of fabric this year. While it may seem like a ridiculously astronomical amount of fabric, I can assure you that I have plenty in my stash to complete that goal (and then some.) Every year I say that I want to sew more and I want to get my fabric under control (I'll post a picture of my stash later for reference). But I never manage to actually do it. I sew and I sew and I sew, but I also buy and I buy and I buy. So, less buying, more sewing (not no buying because that would just be too much to deal with. LOL)
There is also an 'UpCycle' contest over at SewingMamas that I have tentatively signed up for. I have no idea what I will be making for that, but it is due the 29th. I need to figure it out quickly so I can get started and finished and submitted. Especially with everything else that I'm already doing.

Then there's the list of books I want to read and recipes I want to try and a couple of other things that I am still fleshing out.

So, I have been busy. I'm not getting much completed, but I am working my ass off. And it actually feels pretty good. I think I kinda like it. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I do.