A Fun Treat!

An interesting fact:  Richmond is the #2 highest city in the U.S. with personalized license plates.  Well, maybe not so interesting.  But what a change for us from having moved from New England where personalized plates are just about nonexistent.  We've had some fun figuring out what each plate is meant to convey - some are very apparent and others, quite cryptic. 

As luck would have it, a few weeks ago, our state registration was due for both of our cars.  Chris has a pretty Chesapeake Bay plate and mine is the standard issue.  Just for fun, I asked Chris how much a personalized plate would cost.  We did some quick calculations and realized it's super reasonable and a snap decision later, my new plates were ordered.  What do you think?

It's not so much a statement as to who I am.  Rather, it's a reminder to me of who I want to be and what 2013 represents to me.

My one little word (courtesy of Ali Edwards  http://aliedwards.com/blog/one-little-word) is Grow.  Brave Girl/Brave Girls Club is helping me to achieve that day by day, minute by minute.  It gives me the courage to be fully present, the courage to persevere and the courage to move forward on my journey.

Have you chosen a word or inspiration for 2013?  Please share it and tell me how you remind yourself to work on or towards it.

Sending hugs and loves!!

New Life for a Tired Canvas...

How exciting!!  I've been waiting and waiting for a quiet moment to breathe new life into the canvas I had previously posted about (you know, the many-layered, many-loved one).  And a She-Art girl emerged!!  I made her for my chum, Donna, who needs to know how I see her. 

So happy to see her done and incredibly happy that I didn't toss the canvas!!

Hugs and loves on this chilly day!!

New Beginnings...

Happiest of Mondays! 

Just a quick update:  my second son, Zach, is working hard on a new website to house my blog and it'll contain links to Facebook, Etsy as well as Twitter.  Now that I've said that, I need to figure out how to tweet!! 

Zach has gallantly offered to listen to my crazy requests (plus lots of technical jargon such as thingy-doo, doo-hickey, buttony...) and do his level best to make these dreams into a reality!  And believe me, I could have no one better at the helm than Mr. Zach!!  He's our resident computer guru and owner, CEO of Drucker Media (http://www.druckermedia.com/).  A true creative spirit. 

You'll see more about him later in a feature story when we ask him about his creative process and where he draws inspiration from.

And before I dash out the door, I'm going to direct you to Kelly Rae Robert's website and blog where she's hard at work on the Possibilitarian Project. http://kellyraeroberts.com/  If you're searching to belong to a tribe, particularly a creative tribe, where there are no boundaries to what we can achieve, then look no more!   Join our tribe and let's support one another on our journeys!

I also have a lengthy listing of others who have signed on to the Project -- if you'd like a copy of the list, please feel free to email me at soulfulheartmixedmedia@gmail.com.

Sending you loves and hugs today!!

My Talented Friends!!

Dear Bloggy Friend...I have so many things to share, but I'm going one post at a time.  Today I wanted to show an amazing gift I received in the mail from Dr. Bettina, bestest chum from high school.  In addition to being a beautiful soul, Dr. B is also crazy talented and creates amazing, unique, detailed crafts...and she's the founder of Project Gogo (http://www.facebook.com/pages/project-gogo/319158542533?ref=ts&fref=ts), a homegrown business to benefit animals.  Go visit her facebook page to see her lovelies!  But before you run over there, feast your eyes on this:

Gorgeous, isn't it?  Pinch me, 'cause I'm the lucky recipient!  I can't wait to wear it once the warmer weather starts.

Stay tuned, because I'm doing a special feature later on with Dr. Bettina so we can learn more about her tricks of the trade as well as where she draws her inspiration from.  And don't forget to visit Project Gogo!

Hugs and loves!

What Inspires You?

Dinner is cooking away in the crockpot and I've got a few precious moments in the studio.  I'm off to blogland to visit you, dear readers!

I've had a dreadful cold the past few days and have spent much time sneezing into tissues and brewing hot tea.  My gran always recommended hot tea, lemon and a drop of honey for a cure.  I would love to have tried it, but alas, when the cold strikes, I NEVER have lemon or honey in my cupboards. 

So as much as I'd like to tell you that I've been productive over the last few days, I have not!  I'm just lacking the proper energy.  But I have been searching all over for inspiration.  Where do you find inspiration, friend?

I turn to magazines, online artists and fellow bloggers.  A few of my favorite mags are from Stampington, the Somerset magazines, http://www.stampington.com/magazines/index.php.  Oh, and not to forget my beloved Victoria magazine, http://www.victoriamag.com/.  (I'm working on links, I promise).  And a few favorite mixed media artists:  Melody Ross, Donna Downey, Christy Tomlinson, Alisa Burke, Tim Holtz, Nathalie Kalbach, Anna Dabrowska and many others.  And a few specials blogs that I love to follow for more wonderful art prompts:  http://margieromney-aslett.typepad.com, http://rhonnadesigns.blogspot.com, http://justsomethingimade.com, http://www.heidiswapp.com.  The talent just boggles my mind!

Share some of your best inspiration sources! 

Once I've got an idea in my head, generally, I either jot it down or make a quick sketch in my inspiration book.  I love that book so much.  It doesn't just contain my ideas, though.  I find that lots of things make it into The Book.  Grocery lists, to-do lists, inspirational quotes and generally, anything that needs to be emptied from my head.  I may have just heard a collective gasp from you sketch-book puritans.  So sorry to offend, but the only piece(s) of paper that I haven't managed to lose is this lovely book!!

Where do you keep your ideas?

And before I go down and start serving dinner, I'd love to share my fortune cookie message:

Choose Your Own Path.

I'm taping it into my sketch book...

Loves and hugs!! 

Things to do...

Happiest of Mondays!!  I'm at home, my Mr. is at home and the kids are in school.  Mondays are my most favorite day of the week...it feels like anything is possible:  an adventure, a new friend to be made, a blank canvas or art project...and a quiet house.  Typically just me and the baby.  And who is the baby, you ask?  Here he is:

Meet Niko (pronounced neekoh).  He's my l'il pocket sized parrot - 7 inches of love and naughtiness.  Mr. Niko is a white bellied caique parrot - we rescued him 2 years ago.  I was actually looking for a lutino male cockatiel and having no luck for a year.  And then a chance trip to a pet store and guess who stole my heart!  We had no information on him aside from his birthdate, he was sick and desperately in need of a forever family.  Within 24 hours, he got that forever home.  And I got a loving, steady daytime companion.  We won't mention his rascally streak...you can ask oldest son, Ethan, who is now missing the right arrow key on his laptop.  Our wonderful vet added, "at least it wasn't a vowel!" 

Who is your companion at home?  Do you craft in the quiet hours of the morning or night?  Do you listen to the radio, cd's or a movie? 

In the meantime, I've got a bird that's clanging his ankle band on his perch, demanding a cuddle. 

Hugs and loves!

Well, hello!

At long last, something pretty is starting to happen on your new face!!  I can't wait to see where you're going and what your beautiful message will be!  I'm feeling a butterfly perhaps?  Let's see where your journey takes us...

When inspiration eludes you...

What do you do when inspiration just won't strike?  I've got a lovely 11x14" canvas...and she's on her 3rd transformation!  Or perhaps the 4th?  I lost count!  I was disappointed in image #1.  I left her on my desk thinking perhaps I'd made a mistake.  Maybe she was a masterpiece and I would wake up one morning and see the loveliness and sheer genius and fall madly in love with her and decide that I wouldn't even list her in my etsy shop because I couldn't bear to part with her!  Alas, after pondering the aforementioned image, I just couldn't embrace her.  That's okay, right?  I then decided to cover right over the image with some fabulous heavy textured painted fabric.  Clearly that'll do the job.  But it didn't!!  And it was right about here that I decided that this particular canvas was jinxed!!  Yes!!  She should be put out with the rest of the rubbish.  But some tiny part of me felt sorry for her.  And felt that she could still have life breathed into her.  And thus began the 3rd resurrection.  And as you know, that didn't work out either.

I began to worry that I was experiencing a painting/writer's block.  But I was able to paint other canvases...just not on top of that particular canvas.  She got relegated to a corner in my closet for a few months after I ripped her wording and 3D embellishments off of her face.  And yet that tiny part of me still feels an attachment to her.  I'm invested in her somehow, poor thing. 

Tonight I gesso-ed another base coat on her face again.  And I'm going to take my own advice:  be gentle.  She deserves another makeover.  I'll turn her sideways and wait for inspiration.

Dear reader, share with me what you do when inspiration evades you on one particular project?

I LOVE Mondays!

Happy, happy Monday, dear blog readers!  After an almost year-long absence, I'm back on the blog.  My post last year was created from a challenge by my chum, Dawn, during one of our business-meeting-Fridays.  I'm a techno-phobe.  There.  I've said it.  I didn't do Facebook, blogging, texting or Twitter.  Yes, I know!!  In this day and age!  If I was absolutely pressed, I'd just hand the device over to one of my many clever teenagers and beg them to help the old girl out.  So last year I was stepping out of my comfort zone and giving some things a try.  Well, after sweating/slaving over the construction of the blog, I decided to leave well enough alone and let it sit there for awhile.  And sit.  And sit.  

And now I've decided that it's time.  It's time to enter the world of social media and reach out to friends of old and friends-to-be.  And I'm pretty excited about it!!  I've actually been on my Facebook page, created an etsy shop AND signed up for Twitter.  I have so much to learn -- try to be patient with me as I navigate my way through this technical/left-brain thinking world.  Who knows -- I may even figure out how to use my cell phone properly too!  

But onward we go.  Today I wanted to give you peek at a project that I'd seen on one of Margie Romney-Aslett's seasonal video classes.  If you haven't been to visit her blog, give it a try: http://margieromney-aslett.typepad.com/im_just_a_girl/  Margie is wonderfully talented and an icon in the papercrafting world.  So here is before:

And here is after:

I know, right about now you're thinking that I should abandon the social media stuff and work on my photography skills.  Apologies!  It does really look lovely and shabby hanging in the corner of my studio!  And it's hard to see, but the side not facing you, gentle reader, has a great "junque" bow on it.  More about junque bows later...

What is on your table today, calling out for a makeover?  I'd love to hear from you!!

Hugs and loves!!