We will be making an altered canvas board using a ton of fun textures and mediums... I have been working with Lorraine and customizing an over the top... AMAZING kit that will be full of fun and product. We will be using some great products from a few companies that I love... Kaiser Craft, Clear Snap, Unity Stamp Company, Bazzill, Graphic 45 and of course SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L. We will be having fun, getting messy (a good kind of messy of course!) and creating unique art... needless to say it will be a weekend of FUN!
Check out the details here. They have extended an AMAZING payment plan that extends through February 2011... YES YOU CAN EVEN PAY AFTER THE EVENT HAS PASSED!!!... that makes attending so easy.
This event will benefit an amazing organization.. if you check out their website you can see just how awesome Scrapbook Royalty works through the scrapbook industry to provide charities the opportunity to spread awareness and raise funds. There truly is nothing like this and I am so grateful to be a part of it!
Thanks for peeking today and I hope to see you by the sea!
I know that it is tough to see the light when you have someone tell you "When one door closes... another one opens" especially when you know that the door is closing for good. I have heard this time and time again... and I have to tell you that this past month it has never rang so true.
When I gave my notice at Tattered Angels I had no idea what I would do professionally beyond that. I just knew that I needed a change. I knew that at some point I would have to find something else to generate an income and with all three of my kids attending school, it left some time available for me to explore options. I truly had no idea where to start looking and truly felt I would just take some time to discover what it was that I wanted to put into this industry and go from there. I treasure the opportunity to gather myself, bring it all back to the basics and slowly find that new path. I think we all owe it to ourselves to take an opportunity to evaluate where you are in life... and adjust accordingly. It was time for an adjustment... and I can not express just how grateful I am for the support of friends and family through this transition. Words can not describe the outpouring of calls, emails and Facebook messages that have comforted me... protected me and lifted me through this transition. I am so grateful for good friends and the amazing relationships that I have made through our move to Colorado and through working in the scrapbook and craft industry.
Through some amazing friends have come some amazing opportunities. I am taking my time... working through some details, but am so grateful for the wonderful things to come and the beautiful people that I get to work with.
First off... most have wondered just what I will be doing now that I am not an employee of Tattered Angels. Well... I am going to do some independent contract work with various craft manufacturers. I want to help companies develop their education, social media and product development/performance. To start, I have been offered a wonderful opportunity to work part time from home for SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L and have gladly accepted.
I officially started October 1st, but will hit the ground running November 1st with the aid of our new Global Marketing Coordinator. I will be their Creative Director and handle media and manufacturer relations, social media, design team maintenance and coordinating the creative aspects of CHA. I am so grateful to work for such a wonderful company. I was able to tour the facility while I was in Europe earlier this month and I am so impressed with the precision of their operations. I want to take my time, do things right and go from there... I love what I am able to do and give into this industry. I am grateful for wonderful friends that I have made that continue to bless and protect me and for the opportunities that I have been blessed with. It reminds and confirms to me that the scrapbook and craft industry is a wonderful thing to be a part of, and I am so grateful to be a part of it.
So this is the beginning... of new adventures... I am so grateful for this opportunity and look forward to what the future brings.
Sorry for the delay in my art journal blog post. It has been one of those weeks, nothing exactly traumatic has happened... just preparing for our trip next week and adjusting to working at home.
So this week, it was my turn to choose a prompt...
prompt: "What excites you?" product: thread
I guess bottom line is that I just wanted to know what excites people right now. What gets your blood pumping, makes you happy... makes you smile?
For me... It is simple.. LOVE
I love these videos from Liberty Mutual showing how everyday people and the little things we do each day pay forward respect, responsibility and love. Love is not just something you keep for your family and friends, it is an outward expression that you are allowed to share openly in everything you do. It is sharing a mutual respect and compassion for this world onto mankind.
Imagine just little things that we do each day that impact the world in a positive way. Things you may not even know that you do, give into this world in a positive way... and that is a beautiful thing :)
Now I know this risks sounding mushy and sappy and well it is not intended that way... my only intention is to remind each of us (myself included) that although the day may be rough.. the road bumpy and the destination far... each day whether we like it or not... we chose to get up, go about our day and at some point in that day we impact the world in a good way. If it is a small service like opening a door for someone, smiling, or even just hitting a deadline... we all have small opportunities to be blessings on to someone.
This little mermaid is juggling her heart, fish and stars... and making magic of it all :)
Here is a close up of the fish stars and hearts. with the threaded background.
And here is the beautiful glittery goodness I created by mixing Smooch Spritz, Smooch Paint and Glitter (a pretty awesome combo if I do say so myself!)
Here is a close up of the mermaid... this is a hand drawing by Suzi that was made into a stamp By Unity Stamp Co. and this is one of my favorites!!!!!
And of course, here is my separate journal page... I added glitter and paint over writing. and created some journal lines to write on.
And the bottom line is that Love is the whole point.
One thing that I have held close to my heart through thick and thin (and I am constantly reminded of) is one of my favorite bible passages. It is a response that Jesus gave when asked what is the greatest commandment.
29Jesus answered, "The most important one says: `People of Israel, you have only one Lord and God. 30You must love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.' 31The second most important commandment says: `Love others as much as you love yourself.' No other commandment is more important than these."
Some translations even state that the second and just as important is to love others.
So between the liberty mutual commercials... this beautiful stamp... and well just some deep down feelings of what it truly is all about... I came up with this. It is simple and I hope to look back at this in years to come and remind myself that at the end of the day... it is about being a blessing into this world... not a burden.
I hope that this makes you smile... I think even the glitter alone is enough to make any crafter smile :)
Next weeks prompt will be:
Prompt: "What Encourages You" Product: Paint
I do hope you will join us... and have some fun getting your hands full of paint... Just let us know you are playing along, we will be posting our pages next week.
Again and big THANKS to Rebecca Gawryl for joining me on this artisticallly Journaling adventure... Check out what she post this week... last weeks can be found here... and I have to say I just love her birdies and beautiful approach to journaling.
I will never forget being a little girl and just loving Pippi Longstocking...
While I was in Denmark earlier this month, I was informed that the airport I was at was only about an hour and a half away from Villa Villekula, Pippi Longstocking's house...It may be the fact that my kids now have been watching Pippi... but I couldn't help but feel the need to visit this colorful house. Unfortunately I wasn't able to... but what an experience that would have been, a true childhood dream come true :)
I like to think that her independent nature, has stuck with me through the years... I mean who didn't want to be Pippi Longstocking? Owner of not only a horse, but ALSO a monkey... no parents to tell her what to do, and unlimited gold coins to buy all the candy and toys you ever wanted???
Yup... you can see I had big dreams when I was little :)
I still like to think that the independent little girl that admired Pippi so many years ago still resides inside of me :)
I am sure she is still there, perhaps I think she could do with out the monkey though :)
For what ever reason, this caught my eye today... and I am so grateful that it did. I can still remember getting lost in these movies when I was 4 or 5 years old on my grandmothers couch. I know get to watch them with my children, see their independent nature grow through the same movies I watched.
So this weeks prompt for our Art Journals is from Rebecca. As I told you last week, we are taking one page a week and creating in our art journals. We would love for you to follow along, but if it helps you more just to read along.. that is fine too!
Rebecca's prompt for this week was:
What bugs you?
The item to use was Stamped image or words
Now I looked at this prompt and thought what at this momentjust doesn't sit well with me. And well the answer was easy... Lack of authenticity.
I look at this world and see so many beautiful opportunities for friendships to grow, people to thrive relationships to flourish and what truly keeps them from advancing is the lack of vulnerability and security to be truthful and authentic in front of others. There is nothing wrong with the way you were meant to be... We all grow, we ALL make mistakes... the beauty of it is just how you react to the mistakes you make. Do you embrace them or hide them? How can anyone else learn from your mistakes unless you share them with others who just might be going through the same exact things that you have gone through. Imperfections are meant to be shared... if even for the single reason that they show people you are human... and that is OK...
Each of us was created uniquely and perfectly in the way that only we could impact this world... and it is such a shame when we take the burden of someone else's judgment and allow it to position the direction of our passions and paths.
So here is my page... I like to create one artsy page and one journal page on the back so I can just have fun on the artsy page... Although if I can think of a creative way of adding my journal... I will add it to my artsy page, but for this... I thought it would be discreet to just show the bones of my project.
Here is my artsy page...
Close up of the flower... I used vintage dictionary pages and sparkly glitter tulle. To color the leaves I used Clear Snap Smooch, Spritz and of course around the edges I used sparkly thread.
The background.... The background was created with Turquoise craft paint and white Chalkboard Paint by Folkart (Plaid). The edge was colored with Smooch Spritz. And of course... sparkly thread (Sulky or Gutermann). I painted the lace on with the chalkboard paint.
This was some left over fabric from a Little Mermaid costume I made my daughter a few years back... just it into a stem and leaves with of course... sparkly thread. ♥ The title is a classic set of Prima Times new Roman letters... I love these letters :) i stamped the word TRUTH on the letter... the stamp I used is one of Melody's that she created for Unity Stamp Co. And of course... sewed down with silver sparkly thread :)
And here is the journal page...
The album was created by sticking pages of an old magazine circulation together to create thicker pages (something I learned at Brave Girls Camp)
I plan on using the journal page to write down what I am feeling at this moment about this topic. I truly believe that being purely who you are and who you were meant to be is a good thing... and we all are guilty of adapting to situations... the goal is to not lose yourself in transition and always remember who you are deep down inside and what it is you want to shine into this world!
There are so many things to be grateful for. I am forever reminded of this and how easy it is to take for granted. Not every day do we get an opportunity to see clearly our blessings, and not always are our blessings delivered with a big red bow on top. Regardless they are there...
This weekend one of these blessing popped right up and hit me on the head, and I am so grateful for it. I am hoping that it will bless you too!
Here it is:
So this past Saturday I just happened to be on facebook and saw that Rebecca Gawryl had a new sketch book :)
This quickly prompted a discussion on art journaling and we decided within minutes that we would get together each week and work on some art journaling together. There is something about creating art that just heals the soul. What ever the day may bring, I know that I can find a little peace with a little paint and canvas. It is a beautiful thing to put into art, the desires of your heart and find a safe place to express your true inner feelings. Now THAT is a true blessing.
Here is a little sneak as to what I have been up to... If you would like to join us, we are starting this Sunday.
So if you want to be a part of our therapeutic creating here is what we are doing this week.
Words: “What bugs you?” Medium: Use at least one stamped image or word on your page
We are taking these simple prompts and working them into our pages. I am curious to see what we all come up with and the very different perspectives we all have.
Let us know if you want to participate... no pressure, just friends supporting friends to heal through creativity... and that is a beautiful thing!
It has been almost 2 months since I last blogged... believe me, I would much rather have been here typing... but life had other ideas for me.
This past two months has been a whirlwind... although I would not give them up, I would not want to re-live some moments.
So where do I start?
I guess I start exactly where most of have asked me to start.
My last post was one of my favorites.. I was asked how it was to work with my husband. This was a tough post because the next day I had planned to turn in my notice at Tattered Angels which meant that we would no longer be working together. I loved working with my husband, he was the highlight of my day, and although I hope to work with him again someday, I knew deep in my heart that what I was doing was the right move for me and for my role in our family. James still works at Tattered Angels and I support all of his efforts. I just knew that as much as I loved what I did for Tattered Angels, that the direction that the company was going was different than that I was originally hired for. That is not a bad thing, I wish them success... I just felt in my heart of hearts that the best thing for me was to part and explore other opportunities.
My last day in the office was Tuesday September 14th, although my official last day with Tattered Angels was September 19th, which I helped assist them with Scrapfest for Archiver's.
On my last day a majority of the staff came to say their farewells with cupcakes... wouldn't be a party without cupcakes (courtesy of Butter Cream Cup Cakery) ♥
The staff on my last day
Some of my favorite peeps
Laycie
Andy
I have made some great friends working in the Tattered Angels office. With our move from California only one short year ago... we are so blessed to call so many of these people friends.
I have to admit that it was a bit scary leaving a full time job not knowing exactly what I was going to do. With the economy still being a little shaky... Some would call it crazy... but as scary as it was... deep down inside I had peace and that is a beautiful thing.
So where does this leave know you ask?
Well as for work... I am excited to explore some other opportunities... work with new companies and some that I have worked with in the past. I hope to do some more marketing, product development and of course... education ♥
As for creativity... NOTHING can stop me :) I still get my hands full of paint... they still sparkle... I just use ALL art mediums now... This has brought a whole new artistic freedom to my life ♥ and I love it. I don't know where I will go from here, I do know that I will have beautifully painted hands though... and that makes me happy. I had anticipated still being a part of the Tattered Angels education team after my departure, but unfortunately... that isn't the case. And that is OK... I enjoy the opportunity to explore art mediums freely :)
So... this brings me to a new stage in my life and career. I am grateful for some amazing things that have happened this last month regardless of the trials and bumpy road to get there. I am excited to see where my new road takes me... I hope and pray that the bumps are behind me and that the future hold the freedom that I long for.
Thank you all for being a part of this journey with me... I do have so much to catch up on and to share... I still want to chat about our move, new home, BRAVE GIRLS, Scrapfest and my recent trip to Norway....
Eventually I will get through it all... I am going to take my time... heal... restore my soul...create art... and share my heart... I couldn't ask for anything more :)
We will be making an altered canvas board using a ton of fun textures and mediums... I have been working with Lorraine and customizing an over the top... AMAZING kit that will be full of fun and product. We will be using some great products from a few companies that I love... Kaiser Craft, Clear Snap, Unity Stamp Company, Bazzill, Graphic 45 and of course SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L. We will be having fun, getting messy (a good kind of messy of course!) and creating unique art... needless to say it will be a weekend of FUN!
