January 30, 2013

love your life

This week I started a new journal!

This one's a group effort. I found an old, half-used spiral notebook in the cupboard, decorated the front, put together a little bit of paper, and included some directions.

Now the only decision is who to send it to first. Watch your mail boxes....




January 28, 2013

Born lucky?

This week this kids and I had some discussions about opportunity, and whether some people are born lucky or if they make their own luck.

Funny that I had this quote and in my art stash waiting for the inspiration to use it. 


January 15, 2013

Back to it...

Well, it was back to our regular schedules after the holidays, and the week just flew by; meetings, family, neighbors, basketball, and coffee at the bus stop.

January 7, 2013

Positive-Negative

My middle daughter has been working on some art for our family room wall. It's not done yet, but I decided to hang it anyway!


January 6, 2013

Week one down. Fifty-one to go!

We spent the better part of the week watching Netflix:



January 4, 2013

We share

This morning my coworker and I were laughing because every day this week both of us have worn new scarves. She has a teenage daughter too, and we were talking about how we share accessories. In fact the one I wore today was my daughter's.

Fast forward to basketball tonight. As I walked in past the bleachers, the middle daughter said, "Mom, really." And some of her teammates started laughing. "What?" I said. "You're wearing Alison's scarf."

Hey, it was in my daughter's bedroom. Sorry, Alison....

January 3, 2013

Grab your glue sticks...

One of my goals this year is to journal regularly and celebrate more of the everyday things. Journal Cards are a great way to do this. Each week you decorate an new index card using paint, paper, stickers, and found items to create a piece of work that represents the week.

Why index cards? Index cards are:
  • small enough to fit in a wallet, planner, or back pocket
  • not intimidating on those "uninspired" days
  • large enough to capture a complete thought, moment, or idea
  • small enough to narrow the topic to the most important thing
  • blank on one side for decorating
  • lined on one side to make notes or write about the week

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Index cards are also a basic part of the "Getting Things Done" system that I have used to get through particularly chaotic times. It's a really good way of organizing the tasks, and figuring out what to do first. It's also a great strategy for long term planning.

Google it - the examples range from scribbles on a 3x5 to true works of art. If you are not familiar with the GTD method for organizing your life, I would highly recommend it!

So back to the art project... let's get some index cards and get going. If enough of you are up to the challenge, I'll pick a spot to share our work - shoot me a comment!

Need some inspiration?

Credit: Amoeba Handmade
  
Credit: Ordinary Normal













Credit: In My Head Studios
Credit: Sara Things














Family story-telling

I love this time of year for all the resolutions and fresh starts. Many people use this time to start a challenge or project. With the new year, some really fun ideas for documenting life have popped up on Pinterest and the blogs.

As a kid I kept diaries, and wrote poems. Now I use art to tell my family's story. Here are some of my favorites:

Project Life
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Perpetual Calendar
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A Month in Photos
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