The Art of Wild Abandonment

Welcome Blog Hop participants and Friends!

I am wicked excited to have you visit and see one of my Junelle Jacobsen inspired projects.  For my faithful friends, you've just gotta continue on the journey of this blog hop as there are some amazing talent in these women.  For my Art of Wild Abandonment alumni, you have inspired me, taught the joys of friendship, understanding and unconditional encouragement.

If you are following along the blog hop, you should have just visited Rebekah Farr.  Or if you are just joining in on the fun, and would like to start from the beginning, the first blogger is Claire Smillie.

Junelle described a time in her life when "truth filled" words washed over her as she spoke them and helped to heal her wounds.  Here is my little journal with just a few of those words that speak to me and wash over me in times of trouble. 

A small 6x7 cardboard album filled with love.

be happy

discover life

embrace

be authentic

i am brave

my healing words.

Thank you for visiting

Your next blog along this journey is the amazingly talented Joanne Freeman.

Enjoy the hop and let your creative soul be inspired!

Happy

Over the past couple days I've been working on a mini album I title "This Makes Me Happy".  I started it months ago but put it aside because my happiness was lost.  Slowly, it started creeping toward the front of my desk this past week so I decided it was time to finish it up.  I LOVE the concept!  The colors were a really big stretch for me but I think it worked out for the intended purpose.

Basically, I thought of all the things that make me happy.  My favorite things, things that make me smile...the sky is the limit and there are no rules!  When I decided to really sit down and write all these happys out...wow, I was totally blown away and oh so very happy!  

I used Maya Roads 4x8 Binder Album with Kraft Envelops for this which is totally perfect because I can add to my happy list as I think of them.  I just cut up a bunch of the scraps and put them in the back envelop for later use. 

 

Here's my list:

Gumball Machines

Driving with the windows down and the music loud, singing my heart out

Seeing a field of wildflowers

Hearing the people I love belly laugh

Seeing things that remind me of my childhood

Big tall sunflowers

Ben & Jerry’s Maple Blondie Ice Cream

Twizzlers

Hotdogs burnt over an open campfire

Snuggling with my dog

The smell of my dog’s feet and ears

Cuddling on a cold winter’s night

The feel of sand between my toes

Splashing along the beach

The taste of salt from the ocean air

City lights at night

My Nana’s hugs

My son’s smile

Opening a new book for the first time

Driving for hours with no destination

Listening to a song that speaks to me

Coasting on a bicycle down a big hill

Twirling in a chair

Listening to oldies

Wearing bandanas

The smell of lily of the valley

Watching the first snowfall

Nana’s Applepie

Mom’s macaroni salad

Friday night pizza with the people I love the most

Kisses on the forehead

Being woken up with soft touches

Petting my dog’s ears

Seeing a beautiful sunrise

Listening to the rain in a tent

Creating art

Little surprises that make me smile

Feeling loved

Slipping into a bed with crisp clean sheets

Being silly with my boyfriend

Warm Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Charlie Brown Christmas Trees

Reconnecting with family and friends

Seeing the sun dance on the lake

Catching fireflies

The sound of a horse and rider

My studio

My condo cleaned and all laundry put away

Daydreaming

Swinging on a tire swing

Finding treasures

Colorful paper/fabric

When my dog grins

Running through a pile of leaves

Blowing a dandelion and making a wish

Checking to see if I like butter with a buttercup

Lick the frosting off a cupcake

Do you have any happys?  Have you ever really even thought about your happys?  I knew there were things in my life that made me happy but I think I needed to really concentrate and actually write them down.  I'm sure that I'll be adding to my happy book for many years to come.

I hope I was able to inspire your creative soul with happiness today!

Recipe:

Maya Road 4x8 Binder Album with Kraft Envelops

Bo Bunny Sophie Collection

May Arts Ribbon

Maya Road Trims

Tim Holtz Game Spinner

Bazzil Cardstock

Ranger Ink Van Dyke Brown

Vintage Ephemera

Buttons, Fibers, Fabric from my stash

Listen with your Heart

So, I've been super busy!  Creating, being inspired and organizing.  YIKES!!!!  

So, my rubber stamps have been an issue for me for quite some time.  Actually, forever.  So I decided to take the plunge and set up an excel database for them.  I'm still in the process of doing it but so far.......(drum roll please)........479 stamps are cataloged.  I still have all of my wood mounted stamps and all my acrylic but the red rubber unmounted are done.  LOL  Once I get it all done, I'll be sure to show off my organization skills.  

Now, for the being inspired part....I am LOVING blurfing!  Yes, you guessed it!  Surfting blogs!  I have been following some amazing creative people.  I end up starting to read one and then I just get lost in about 20 and then before I know it, I've got so many windows up, I can't see the names.  But the ideas and inspiration abound.  So if you are reading this, thank you for your inspiration.  

The creativity...well, here it is: 

 

All the flowers were handmade by ME!!!  I am having so much fun again.  I can't believe I stopped playing for almost 2 years.  How silly of me...sighs....oh well, can't go back.  I can only move forward.  And that I am!  I hope I was able to inspire just a little bit of your creative soul today.  

Happy Wednesday!

This was a real fun mini book using all the colors I absolutely LOVE.  Of course My Mind's Eye paper and diecut sheets are always one of my favorites to use.  I needed a planner of some sort but because it's the middle of the year, I thought maybe I would figure something out that would actually last.  Then I decided I wanted a planner that would last a couple years.  The concept of a perpetual calendar will last until time ends so that's what I decided.  Here you go:

 

As you can see from the photo above, there are little brown frames that create the particular month.  They are movable so I can make this planner into next year's planner!  Sometimes I'm a smart girlie!  I also added tags in the pockets for special dates.  Behind that is another tag for notes I want to remember.  The pocket can also hold receipts I need to save, appointment cards or anything else my lil heart desires!  After I had this all made, of course I thought of all sorts of other ideas to add but for now, this will do the trick and keep me somewhat on schedule.   

One thing I learned from uploading photos I rotated in an editing program is that if blogger doesn't like your photo, it will rotate it back.  However, if I resize the photo, it takes the rotation and allows me to post the photo the correct way.  (btw...I was just going to leave the photo sideways so you could just tilt your head and make this entry interesting)

Hopefully, this perpetual calendar was able to inspire your creative soul.  The colors are oh so very soothing!  Enjoy your day.

Done!

So happy today!  I enjoyed the sunshine and finished this project I've been working on for a few days now.  I'm still wondering about my style.  I'll have to work on it as my projects progress.  Again, I took some pictures but they really don't seem to show the actual colors.  Here's a couple pages of my Happy Thoughts Mini Book for you to enjoy.

Throughout the book I used Tattered Angels , Ranger Inks, Art Glitter, gold metallic paint and of course, do-dads and fun flowers. 

Today I had the privilege of going on my first blog hop.  WOW....there were 25 blogs I visited and so many amazingly talented papercrafters!  There is still time to check it out if you haven't already.  It starts HERE and continues on from there.  Your creative soul may even be inspired!

Sneak Peek

So here's a little sneak peek of my current project.  My inspiration came from Cari Fennell I know the picture is rather dark but it's part of the intrigue.  :)  Once I have the project complete, I'll post all the colors and products I used. 

It seems many stores around me don't have much in the way of Prima flowers so I had to dye my own and make them work for me.  I still have a bunch more to do on this project but I need to keep a schedule and post every day.

Enjoy and be sure to check out Cari's site.  She is very talented and may even inspire your creative soul today!