I Need a Little Magic

"There are moments when you absolutely need someone to show up like magic, not because you need something nice, but because you need your world view transformed.  You need hope to be born in you.  You need to know in one moment that someone believes in you.  You need a kindness midwife to hold the space so you can show like magic for someone else the next time around..."
--Jen Lemen (Quote is from Creative is a Verb by Patti Digh; pg. 91)


Isn't this quote the absolute truth?  I need someone to show up like magic for me right now - desperately.  One day until my big day, and all I can think about is creating a new life with meaning.  It's the question shaping my life right now - the one I'm driven to answer.  I wonder...what's the question shaping your life right now?  Where do you need a little magic?  I wish I could be that for someone - that someone could be that for me.  Here's to finding a little magic today.  Have a wonderful Tuesday!  Until then...

P.S. The photo is from morguefile.com with a little texture magic.

The Daily Practice of Being Creative - Part One

I'm really into daily practices right now.  At the present time - I have exactly zero daily practices (which is a little hysterical).  Despite my lack of anything approaching a daily practice (taking my daily meds is a struggle), I'm ready to start something - to break up the monotony of this present day life.  It's not easy to identify a daily practice when your days consist of surviving your daily struggles and stresses.  I do know one thing for sure - I want my daily practice to be about creativity and being present.  So with my 34th birthday looming in just a few days - I'm ready to start taking the steps to living a more creative life.  The most important part of this shift for me is looking at creativity in a broader way.  I use to think living a creative life was about making things (preferably high art).  Now I know art has a variety of forms including craft - a place I know well.  Anyhoo - in honor of my starting a daily practice in my 35th year of life - I'm bringing to you some of the creative books that have shaped my life and ideas of creativity.

My first book on creativity.  I love it so much.  It's definitely got an artistic perspective - but totally usable for those of us who identify ourselves as crafters.  Love Rice Freeman Zachary.  To hear more of her creative goodness check out her podcast "Notes from the Voodoo Lounge."

Twyla Tharp is highly respected in the modern dance community.  Don't let this scare you off from this book.  Her thoughts on creativity can be applied to any creative practice.

I just can't say enough about Kelly Rae Roberts.  She is a true inspiration.  We have similar job backgrounds and I would love to push my limits and dive into art with the gusto and fearlessness characteristic of her creative life.

This is a pretty big book and I'm half way through.  I'm not sitting down and reading it cover to cover.  I pick it up when I need some inspiration and want ideas for shifting my perspective to more creative pursuits.

Jo Packham is a genius at showing craft spaces while paying credence to women's creative lives.  She's also the creator of Where Women Create and Where Women Cook.  Need I say more?

I am currently reading this cover to cover and am totally in love.  I love Patti Digh.  Her writing style is amazing and speaks to a part of me I don't usually make time for.  I know some of her tasks will become part of a ever changing daily practice for me.  I already have a great idea!  I'm thinking about coloring/doodling/stamping a 1" square for my 35th year.  Still percolating on whether this is the project I want to start.

So there you have it.  My favorite books on creativity.  I'll have more books to share later this week.  I'll continue to keep you posted on my daily practice.  I hope everyone has a nice Monday.  I woke up with GERD throat at 2:00 in the morning - hence the early post time.  Hoping the day starts to look up.  Until then...

P.S. If anyone knows when to use who or whom, I could really use a lesson. :)

Finding Your Way

I signed up for two of Karen Grunberg's classes in the first part of this year - Embrace Imperfection and Finding Your Way.  Embrace Imperfection was a two week, free class from Big Picture Classes.  Finding Your Way is a four week class and we're a little more than half-way through.  As any reader of this blog knows - my crafting cycles pretty hard.  And I've been in the rut of all ruts for going on 9 months.  That's not to say I haven't crafted here and there, but I haven't had the feeling of being in the zone in ages.  Let me tell you it blows hard.  I was hoping Finding Your Way would be the jumpstart I've needed and in some ways it has - I've made seven layouts since February 24th - but I'm still struggling.  Scrapbooking seems forced and it's really starting the piss me the eff off.  So - I'm going to share a few of my new layouts.  These are the few I'm crazy about. Sorry for the lousy pictures - they're from my iPhone.  Can't find my friggin digital camera battery charger.

These first two layouts are a bit of a departure from me.  I usually don't "do" multiple photos on a one page layout.  Nevertheless, I love the way these two layouts turned out.  I love the layering of patterned paper.  I love the use of a paper grid as the foundation.  I love the embellishments put into a visual triangle.  I love love love these layouts!

The last layout has me written all over it.  It's a pretty typical layout for me nowadays.  One picture, patterned paper, flowers, and buttons.  I love the grid background (more on that later) and the egg drop soup paper from jillibean soup.  I would eat that paper up if I could.  This color scheme is also one of my favorites.  I've really been embracing the gray lately.

So here's the big question - am I really finding my way?  Part of finding your way is defining your scrapbooking voice.  But...despite lots of time thinking about my voice (see this post from last summer) - I'm not sure I'm actually finding my way.  I have a lot of pictures from Christmas and plenty of stories to tell - but when I sit down at that table I feel...nothing.  Not sure where to go from here.  I do know a few things for sure:

*I love one photo layouts - but feel comfortable putting more than one photo on the page when it's a portrait orientation.
*I love using grids as a foundation.  I prefer it over cardstock or other types of patterned paper.
*I gravitate towards clean lines but will rock the tilt in a pinch (and love it).
*I love flowers, buttons, and brads.  I also love flair buttons.  I need more embellishments that I like!
*I'm a story-based scrapbooker.  Event scrapbooking scares me to my core - can't seem to do it.
*I like clean journaling - grid foundations facilitate this in a big way.
*I like using bold letters (especially American Crafts Thickers as titles).
*I'm also learning to love longer titles.  Need more letters to continue this practice.

Where does this leave me - almost in a good place (I think).  It's given me a little more clarity and hope.  I'm going to totally focus my crafting energy on kicking this latest "hiatus" in the junk.  I know I can push through this.  I miss my crafty life.  I miss my blogging life.  I miss so much.  And I'm just done waiting for it to come back.  I'm just done.

Give Me Some of that Old CHA Madness - Patterned Paper Style!

I have a intense love of all things pattern.  Despite being in the creative rut of all ruts - I still can appreciate the number one product I love.  For me, the world looks better when you have a beautiful pattern in your hand, eye sight, etc.  I love everything about patterns.  It's probably the thing that attracts me most to scrapbooking - the beautiful paper.  So without further ado - here are my top 10 picks for patterned paper from the winter CHA show..

10. Sunny Day by SEI

9.  Corrine by SEI.

8.  It's the Little Things by Fancy Pants (the birds are so stinking cute!).

7.  Countryside by Studio Calico - definitely check out the link - I've chosen some of my favorite papers as a representative of the collection.  So much good stuff at Studio Calico right now.  I could live in this color scheme.

6. Cute as a Button by Crate Paper.  I absolutely love what they do with paper.

5.  Salt Air by Cosmo Cricket - I also love the butterflies and doilies.  So yummy.

4.  Emma's Shoppe by Crate Paper

3.  Upcycle by Cosmo Cricket

2.  Portrait by Crate Paper

and a drum roll please...

1.  Social Club by Cosmo Cricket

Hope some of these items make you happy.  I know they give me a little bit of joy on this blustering Tuesday morning.  Can't wait to have some of these pretties in my stash.  I hope everyone is doing well. If you're weather is cold right now - bundle  up and stay warm.  If you're in a warm climate, lucky!  I hope this Tuesday finds you in the place you were meant to be.  Until then...

Self Portrait a Day

I've been searching for a project or challenge to ground me this year.  I have an ongoing list to choose from and I'm happy to announce I've made at least one decision.  I want to do a self-portrait a day photo challenge.  These are two pictures from today.  I recently got the iPhone 4 and am loving everything about it.  I have a lightroom app on the phone that is absolutely outstanding.  I've been playing with a lot of the settings.  I love the effects of both of these pictures - love the emotion they convey.  Today wasn't a stellar day - if you couldn't tell - and this is one way of documenting that.  I feel like the paper part of crafting life is failing me right now - or I'm failing it.  In any case, this is one more way to be creative.  I'm excited to think of different ways to document me.  I have so more ideas to expand the challenge - I'll keep you posted as those come along.  I've been gone so long - I'm not really sure if anyone is reading this right now.  If you are and have some ideas for innovative ways to take a self-portrait - please let me know.  I'm going to need a lot of different ideas.  So that's my only update for now.  I hope everyone had a nice day.  Until then...

I'm Back and Ready for Business...At Least I Think I Am?

Hello!  It's been such long time.  There have been so many changes in the last three months.  I'd love to give a full update - but I think that would take forever.  Let me give you a quick rundown.

*I was diagnosed with GERD - no more coffee, no caffeinated tea, chocolate, tomatoes, onions, garlic, citrus, cola sodas, and unfortunately the will to live.  Don't get me started on how crazy this food life of mine is right now.

*I made a few scrapbook pages and two mini-books.

*I've stopped making cards - tired of my mass of stamps.  New things don't seem to help.

*I went home and realized I need to be closer - like right now.

*I've continued to stalk my favorite blogs.

*I've enrolled in three more online classes.

*I got an iPhone and Barnes & Noble Nook Color.  Santa was very good to me!

*I've fallen in love with a number of iPhone apps.

*I got a flat screen TV and thought about killing a cat.

*I've missed this blog terribly.

So...now I'm back and a little worse for wear - but happy to be here.  I have some plans in the works for the blog and can't wait to tell you about my big plans for 2011...coming soon.  I hope everyone is having a wonderful new year.  Until then...

Sad

I just want to start by saying I never intended for things to go down this way.  I did not plan on abandoning my blog for almost two months.  A funny thing happened over the summer - I absolutely loved being on this blog.  I loved doing all of the researching and finding fun products - but something inside me changed too.  I want to be able to give that level of intensity every day.  I want to be able to spend the same amount of time to make this meaningful to me.  And I just don't have the stamina right now or the know-how to work and do this well.  As soon as I do - I'll be back.  So - this is the deal, I will keep the blog up until further notice.   However, I will not be updating the blog for some time.  If you want to be notified when I start up again - send me an email!  I'd love to hear from you.  Until then...

Taking a Break

Good morning!  I thought I'd take this insomnia opportunity to let everyone know I will be taking a break until the 1st of September.  With school starting, this is a very hectic time and I'm afraid I won't be able to commit my full attention to getting the job done.  Look for a new look and focus on September 1st!  I hope everyone has a lovely rest of the month.  Until then...Happy Crafting, Reading, Relaxing, and the list goes on. :)