Weekend Journal

I've spent a lot of time working on challenges, working in my travel journal and working on canvases for an upcoming show.  I realized I hadn't been journaling for ME, and I definitely needed to just go inside and let the art happen.

I always rely on intuitive journaling when I feel out of touch with myself.  I find that after practicing this method of creating for so long, my interpretation of what has been created is often apparent to what's going on in my life.

Perhaps a much needed reminder to watch my tongue and be careful of the words I speak, or perhaps a reminder to be still and to listen to what my heart is telling me.

Sometimes I see "The Ancients", and I'm reminded to "Know Thyself" and to remember that all knowledge is already contained within.

I felt the need to play, to experiment, to ask myself, "what if?".  I played with acrylics and alcohol.  I played with my new alcohol inks.

I asked myself, " What if I took an old pen and a Styrofoam meat tray and tried to make stamps that way?  Will it work?"  I think it did! 

I played with my new stamps on my background pages.  I used the iridescent copper tube acrylic that I recently rediscovered.

And I used a more subtle color to add my number stamp to this page.  I haven't finished with this page yet, so maybe I'll highlight a few of the numbers as part of the final design.

 I continued playing with the first background I created, and before I knew it, the page took on the familiar "life of it's own".    I felt it needed a quote, and I found one that fit both the page and my current celebration of October.

"I have been younger in October than in all the months of spring." W.S. Merwin

And having said that, I'm off with my happy self to join my hubby for an autumn walk in the woods.  Have a wonderful weekend!

CELEBRATE * LOVE * CREATE

Monday's Musings

Welcome October!

October is my favorite month of the year.  I love everything about it; the crisp, clean air, the dramatic skies, the smell of homemade baked goods fresh out of the oven.  October means it's time for sweaters, dark evenings spent snuggling or putting puzzles together, and drives into the country to admire autumn's lovely colors.  Summer's hectic pace slows down and BBQs rapidly become apple shopping and costume parties.  Welcome October!

GLITTER AND A MOVIE

Shorter October days also mean longer evening hours and more time to watch movies!  A Little Shop Around the Corner  is hosting  "Glitter and a Movie", a movie-themed creative challenge.  This month's movie challenge is "When Harry Met Sally".  The challenge is this:  Create a work of art inspired by the movie.  I'm in!  Artwork for this challenge is due October 12, 2012.  Click on the challenge button to learn more about participating.

My Travel Journal Continued

I'm making progress on my travel journal each day.  I really like the way my typed descriptions are tying everything together, but it is a time consuming process.  I'm "roughing in" all of the pages for now, and when my book is complete, I'll go back and add some artistic details.  

DAY 5

A Day to just hang out, only leaving the house for meals.  I'll add  darker paint and stars around the dome , and other details from our night tour of Mizzou campus.

I've attached the entire Andy's carry-out menu and added a photo of the sundae I got.

I didn't take photos of our lunch at Tony's Pizza Palace (I was SO hungry!), but I was able to  pull images from the Internet.

 DAY 6

It's STILL smoldering outside, but not so hot we stay at home today!  Five Guys for lunch,  Hobby Lobby for the afternoon, and an evening of music with Johnnie.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries has paper and crayons on hand for leaving messages on their bulletin board.  Here's a photo of my masterpiece..."Cleveland Rocks" on top, and "Greetings From Ohio" written on the bottom.  I've printed out my photo and applied it to a tag - tucked into a Five Guys' envelope for gift cards.

I bought my first alcohol inks (and I'm having fun with them!)  I applied each color to a tag and attached the tag to the page.  I'll go back later and label the name of each color.

I found these great ribbons (also on sale!) at Hobby lobby.  I cut a section of each ribbon and  glued them to the edge of the page as tabs.

 DAY 7

Our trip to St. Charles and overnight stay in a hotel near the airport (since we had to be there by 4am!!!) We arrived at the hotel before check-in, but the very gracious staff served us coffee in the beautiful lobby.  The mosaic tiled fireplace was gorgeous.  I'm not sure what I'll do with all the blank space on this page....

A welcome brochure is a great place to add a photo from the lobby and embellish with other  items.

Inside the brochure, I've attached a photo of our very nice  and cool room.  I'll write more notes about our stay on the piece of hotel stationary I have.

I still have room on the other side of the brochure for a couple photos and additional thoughts.  I also have  a menu from R.T. Weiler's where we finally had some BBQ.  I've incorporated photos from St. Charles and a coaster from the restaurant.

NEXT STOP:

A couple pages for our flights to Houston International Airport and on to LAX...

And finally.....our first trip to California!  I'll post these updated pages next week.  My hope is to do a video journal flip when my travel journal is completed - if my computer cooperates!

Have a great Monday and a great week, and I hope your autumn is colorful, spectacular, and filled with celebration, creativity and love!

CELEBRATE * LOVE * CREATE

Wake Me Up When September Ends . . .

Because right now I feel like I could sleep until October.  I'm exhausted.  Not so much physically, but mentally.  What usually takes me an hour took a couple hours today.  Maybe it's the change in weather that's plunged us back into summer with a temperature of 88 degrees forecast for tomorrow. . .

Or maybe my ruby slippers have lost their power.  All I know is I'm too tired to think straight.  So let me sleep until October, or at least until tomorrow.  I'll fill the well and recharge the battery.  Pleasant dreams to you.  There are lots of good things coming in October that are sure to fill you with "Happy Creating!"