Sassy Cheryl's Challenge # Anything but a Square!

PURE JOY

The challenge at Sassy Cheryl's is "Anything but  a Square".  I immediately decided to make a heart card as I want to get some Valentines made.  I cut the card on my Silhouette.  Then I used a die cut and embellished it with "pearls".  I colored this precious, joyful little girl with Copics and cut her out.  The hearts on strings were also cut on the Silhouette.  To show the card, I tacked some twine to my photo box and then hung the card with mini clothes pins :-)

...and this is the inside-sweet and simple! 

Other challenges I plan to enter with this card:

MarkerPOP Challenge - 2W, 2E, C10, must use Copic or ShinHan markers - DT CALL

Perfectly Rustics - 2W - (Week 1) Love

Baby B Paints...

My kids are all artists, all creative.  My youngest daughter majored in both painting and art education in college.  She's a Momma now to my one and only and oh, so incredibly special grand baby---Baby B!

  

Baby B is 19 months old now-nothing marks time like a baby!   So many changes, so fast---and of course, this Gram-E is gaga over this precious child.  My daughter is a wonderful Momma, but then, I always knew she would be.  Because of her background, I suppose, she frequently provides art opportunities for the baby.  This child learned to use a paint brush before she learned to use a spoon!  

 

This is what she's been working on this month!

Sassy Cheryl's Challenge # 200! Pearls

SMITTEN

PURE JOY

It's time for the latest Sassy Cheryl's Challenge---PEARLS!  Can you believe it, challenge #200!!!

I got out the paper-MME, got out the Copics, I printed some images and off I went!  If you read my "gone fishing" post you'll understand why I can't leave my materials out and about, and it's NOT because I am a neat freak!  Actually, when I create, things get pretty messy!  I decided to play with pencils on "Pure Joy"---yeah, I am a Copic girl...

Do join us this week for the latest challenge.  You could WIN!!!

HaPpY BiRthDay x 2= JOY!

Happy Birthday!  

EAT CAKE GRAPHICS

Webster's His Tilting Head

My youngest, my double dividend, the dynamic duo celebrate their birthday today!  They are my babies though they haven't been babies for quite some time, now!

Kate & Rachel

circa 1985-it wasn't that long ago.  Okay, it was---but, no, it can't be because then I'd be old, 

and I'm not old.  Really, I'm not!

Rachel & Kate

1987-their second birthday.  Can you tell which one is this cutie patootie's Momma?

So, while I had the paper, the Copics, and the stamps out, I decided to get inky and turn out a few more...  I love Eat Cake Graphic stamps.  They tell a story.  

I just placed an order the other day-no, I didn't need them---well, I kind of did.  I got an email saying they were having an anniversary sale, just what I needed!  I spend entirely too much time looking at these images and have quite a wish list so I checked off a few from my list!

In the meantime, I was inspired to pull out some of the stamps I do own...

Webster's Tilting His Head & Farley's a Big Dog

Eloise with her handbag

Sentiment from Eat Cake Graphics, too!

Challenges I plan to enter:

Challenges 4 Everybody - M, 3E - (3rd  Week) Challenge #37 Anything Goes.

Sentimental Sundays - W, must include a Sentiment - Challenge #190 More than 3 Layers.

Instagram this...

My daughters introduced me to Instagram---just seemed like too much.  Another password to remember, another way to connect (but not really)...  It seems more like a younger person's app.  But here I go, at least for a time #OLCBreneCourse.



I am taking Brene Brown's Course, The Gifts of Imperfection.  The format works for me-daily lessons or prompts.  This week, I've managed to stay on top of it in spite of the fact that I had to have dental survey yesterday that totally unglued me.  Actually, as unpleasant as the procedure was, I haven't been dreadfully uncomfortable.  Yesterday, we "connected" with classmates-kind of like I "connect" here which, again, really isn't connecting unless we begin a dialogue.  In any case, people share their journals via Instagram and Twitter (nope, no Twitter-never say never, but for now...)  Once the sharing started, my insecurities grabbed hold---AAAAHHH-NO, I am NOT enough.  I didn't do enough, dig deep enough, create well enough.  This, my friends, is the purpose of this course.  This was the intention of this week's lesson.  So while I created this page, I wrote the words, clearly I do not believe them yet...will I?  At the end of this course, will I decide I am enough?

Another assignment...a list of those you trust with your heart, those you can share with, confide in, feel perfectly safe with, those whose opinions DO matter.  It's intended to be a short, very private list, and it's unlikely that I will ever reveal the names of the folks on that list.  I wrote them down at the same time realizing that because their opinions DO matter to me, I am not likely to share ALL of my deepest darkest secrets.

Now, to dig deep.  I do not have an artsy-fartsy page to share here yet.  It was written while I was in a slight drug haze following the surgery.  Perhaps, not the best decision!  I'm not supposed to have my head down for any period of time so I haven't decorated the page-dressed it up, and the penmanship on this page is not something I'm particularly proud of.  I'm not "supposed" to tear out pages-so, how about I leave it and just do a new one right beside it?  ARGH.

I'm at the end of the first week.  This course is challenging me as it's goal is to literally change the way I function, the way I think about myself!  That's a mighty tall order!  I've held a list of beliefs about myself for a long, long, LONG time.  It has been a list that has at times paralyzed me, made me (and perhaps others) miserable, kept me from trying and/or doing things, stolen my joy.  Old habits, really old habits die hard assuming they can, in fact die.

This is me being courageous, sharing this less than extraordinary "work".  This is me trying desperately trying to let go of self deprecating remarks, and the feeling that I am not enough.  This is me faking it until I make it!

  

Gone Fishing...

What a lucky girl---I have my very own crafting space, my studio.  It's located upstairs, in the back of the house, behind my husband's office.  It's very private with lots of light and has what I imagine, are peel and stick tiles-not particularly attractive, but certainly not offensive and perfect for what goes on in here!  My studio is also home to my cat, Earl.  Earl is part of my inheritance-no, really.  My mother got him at the humane society about two years before she died.  He was truly a comfort to her.  After she died, he started to behave, um, rather badly so housing him in my studio seemed like a humane alternative.  He's quite happy in here and now has run of the office, too, as he seems to be behaving well, now.  He is a most affectionate, BIG boy-but only on his terms!

The studio is right over the master bedroom.  One can hear activity over head when in the bedroom which may have to do with the floors.  At night, we hear things drop to the floor, and then hear Earl batting them around.  He's a night time hockey player, and is quite skilled!

I have two large bookcases against one wall.  They have a slightly curved base, so small that I cannot get a Swiffer mop under them.  They are simply too big and too heavy for me to move.  The shelves are FULL housing books, scrapbooks, and all kinds of memorabilia.  

Last night, I realized my that several of my alphabet stamps had gone rouge.  Where could they be?  I was confident that they were in the studio somewhere.  It occurred to me that they were small enough to be batted under the book case, but only if Earl hit it dead center.  What to use?  A yardstick is a wonderful fishing rod for just such a task.  Now, I wish I had made a pile of all the items I retrieved from under those cases.  It was rather impressive and because of the tiny opening, it took my quite a long time to fish them out.  Earl watched-amused, I suppose.  He was quite happy to get his catnip toys returned.  I found glue sticks, glue pens, a Copic marker, pens, at least a dozen rubber stamps, cardboard tubes for pennies, paper clips...alas, I am still missing the letter "T".

So, I "caught" a bounty...ahh, but there is that one that got away!

Imperfect & Enough

A milestone birthday is creeping, no running, up on me!  It's a birthday, an age that once seemed oh, so distant, and oh, so very, very old.  Here's the thing, friends...it's a NUMBER.  The view from inside my head hasn't changed that much.  The shell, well, that's a different story.  When I pass a mirror, I see my mother-oops, no, that's me!  When I imagine how I look, I see my much younger self so the reflection always comes as somewhat of a shock.  I feel young---younger.  The running joke is that I'm 45.  45 is a good age-old enough yet young enough, right?  Honestly, I don't think I feel much different than I did  at 45.  My body, however, did not get the memo---sigh.

Another funny thing about getting older---I honestly thought that once I reached this golden age, the youth of my old age, I'd be sure of myself.  I thought I'd have it all figured out.  Um, no and no.  Apparently, I am a work in progress and will be until I am not.

When Oprah first teamed with Brene Brown to offer Brene's class, The Gifts of Imperfection, I was truly intrigued.  It seemed like a lot of money-correction it was/is a lot of money for me at this stage of the game.  An email came before Christmas-another chance to take the course.  This time, I decided to do it.  This class is a gift to myself, a way to ring in this monumental year.

Brene first came to my attention through Ali Edwards' blog, pre-Oprah.  Ali lead me to Brene's blog.  Her writing, her research resonates with me.  I bought her books; I shared her blog with family and friends.  When Oprah discovered Brene, I kind of felt like I had one up on Oprah-hah!

This week, I started the class, The Gifts of Imperfection.  We got off to a bit of a rough start as the website had technical difficulties, but the problem was corrected, the grand adventure started.

This is one of the first assignments.  Coincidently, my one word (Ali Edwards) for 2014 is the word 

ENOUGH...

I have enough.

I do enough.

I AM ENOUGH,

and more than enough.

Because I have enough, I do enough, and I am enough, I plan to spend time focusing on gifts, practicing gratitude thus proving I have enough and I am enough.  

There are challenges, for sure...obstacles.  I'll be attempting to break a lifetime of self-deprecating patterns.  Becoming who I am meant to be is tough.  Not worrying about what others think-geez, I'm not even sure I can do that.  Accepting and going with my imperfections, wow-hard.  Deciding I'm worthy-phew, how do you do that?  

The journey begins...

an art journal for The Gifts of Imperfection,

a scrapbook for one little word,

A Thousand Gifts Journal...

that's the plan!

Sassy Cheryl's Challenge #199 BLUE!

A FROSTY CUP OF COCOA

The holidays are behind us.  Back to business!  This week's Sassy Cheryl's challenge is called "Winter Blues"-so BLUE.  I pawed through my stash and found some odds and ends of this paper, did some cutting and stitching then colored up this snowman, cut him out, glued him down---there you have it!

I do hope you'll join us for this week's challenge.  There are some new images at the shop that are just oh, so cute-sure to chase away the winter blues.

After nearly a month away visiting family, I am back home getting up to speed on my life.  I LOVE spending time with my kids and grand baby.  As much as I miss them, it is good to be in my own home, enjoying time with friends, working in my studio, puttering about the house and town...

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and that this new year is full of possibility!

Other challenges I plan to enter:

• Bunny Zoe's Crafts - M, 1E - (January) Stitching
• Card Mania - 2W, 3E - (Week 1) Anything Goes
• Creative Creations Challenge Blog - 2W, E3, C10 - (Week 2) Anything Goes
• Make it Monday - W, papercrafts only - Always Anything Goes