The Word is... RELEASE...

It's the 15th of the month again, which means it's time for the One Little Word challenge!  This month's word is...

RELEASE

"Release" was the perfect word for me, as I've been dealing with this transition into retirement.  It's so funny, cuz I thought that retirement would feel like one big Saturday; party time all the time, right?  Well, it's weird - it's like I had all these huge expectations for myself, and now I've been dealing with alot of (self-induced) guilt because I'm not "producing" as much as I thought I would be.  LOL.  I talked with a friend of mine who also recently retired, and she has had some of the same feelings; so maybe it's not that uncommon when you retire.  It's like, I've been working for so long that it feels somehow wrong to relax.  Aargh.

Anyhoo, it was therapeutic for me to work on this page...

How about you?  What does the word "Release" mean to you?  Come on over to the One Little Word challenge and  play along!  We'd love to have you!  Click here to go to the challenge!

Thanks so much for visiting today!  I appreciate you so much!

Artists Give Back Online Auction Starts Today!

Hi friends! I'm so excited to be a part of the Artists Give Back online auction, which starts today at 7am EST. 

All proceeds from this auction will be donated to http://www.pastoralist-child-foundation.org/, an organization devoted to educating and empowering girls to resist Female Genital Cutting and forced early marriages, and to adopt safe and peaceful Alternative Rites of Passage to womanhood.

I am donating this 9 x 12 handmade journal...

 Here's the description from the auction site:

The spiral binding on this unique journal is adorned with colorful fabric strips. Cover measures 9" x 12." Inside, it has 58 pages of all different sizes with stitching, paper piecing, multiple spots for journaling, doodling, and/or painting on each page.

The auction site only allows 4 photos, so I thought I would include a few more here...

The idea I had when I made this journal, was to have a place on each 2 page spread, for journaling a bit about your day, a spot for a small drawing or doodle, and plenty of space to paste ephemera or photos...

You could also just use the different papers as a first layer, and paint right over the top, for more of a mixed media look...

I am honored to be in the company of many amazing artists that are donating their work to this worthy cause. 

To view the auction items and/or place a bid, click here:  Artists Give Back Auction.

The auction site is open from today (December 8, through December 12th at noon, est.)

Thanks so much for visiting!  Have a great week!

Mixed Media Cards Monday...

Happy Calendar-changing Day everyone!  This month makes me extra happy because the first of the month comes on a Monday!  That's two fresh starts in one - a new month AND a new week!  Yeayyy!!!

A few years ago, I participated in an ATC swap with the theme of "Mixed Media Journal Prompts."  It was tons of fun, and I ended up with a full deck of beautiful cards.  I keep them in this special wood box...

 

See how perfectly they fit?

 

Last week I was feeling stuck, so I shuffled the deck and had Michael blindly pick three cards.  This is what he picked...

The prompts were:

1. Write a little song

2.  Make your journaling secret by writing without any spaces between the letters or lines

3.  Journal a lyric

So I got busy...

 It was the perfect chance to journal about something that had been bothering me. I love this technique cuz you can get it out, and not only does it stay private, but it creates a neat pattern.  I wrote with a permapaque marker over a teal acrylic/white gesso background...

Then I used my new Derwent Graphik marker to blow some splatters on top...

added some tissue paper, a magazine image, and some acrylic drips...

and finished the page by journaling a lyric by Matchbox 20 on top.  This lyric had been going thru my head all week and fit with the topic of my journaling perfectly.  I drew the words with my marker, then gessoed around them to obscure the background and make them stand out...

I love how my page turned out!  I'm thinking about making this a regular practice.  Like maybe once a month, or once every couple of weeks?  I haven't decided yet.

I love my deck of cards, and wish I had some more.  I'm thinking about hosting a swap in the new year.  Would anyone be interested in participating?  It would be an atc swap with the theme  of art journal prompts.  Let me know in the comments so I can gauge interest, okay?

I will leave you with the video for the Matchbox 20 song that my lyric came from.  It's one of my favorites...



Thanks so much for visiting and for your comments.  I appreciate them!  Have a great day!