Restoring my Soul

Today marks the halfway point of the 6-week Soul Restoration class I'm taking. It's been pretty awesome so far. I don't want to share too much detail, first because it's quite personal, but also I don't want to spoil the fun for anyone who wants to take this class. I thought I'd blog a bit about the class and my thoughts about it.

I totally love the process that Melody has put together for the class. So far things have seemed to right in the order they're supposed to go in. It's much like major housecleaning, except for the soul. The "therapy" includes a lot of mixed media art, but don't be afraid if you're not an artist. Collage work is naturally imperfect, and it can be as simple or as complex as you want.

I've uncovered some great things about myself so far, particularly during Week 3, and the class has helped me to remember a lot of the good things in my life that I had forgotten about. The journaling prompts have been fabulous, and I've been having a ton of fun just writing.

They will be having another session of Soul Restoration starting in April and a follow-on course for graduates in June. For more information on these classes, check out the Brave Girls website.

Real Housewives + Scrapbooking = Who Does That Crop

My friend Carol over at the Boston Area Scrap Fanatics is throwing one heck of a crop concept, check this out if you're interested:

From joke, to dare, to REALITY

BostonAreaScrapFanatics brings you one of the most unique and exciting scrapping adventures of our time!

A weekend-long even centered around those "fab-u-lous" Real Housewives of New Jersey and our passion for scrapbooking.

You've seen it on the screen, now experience it in 'reality.'

Our adventure begins with a day-long crop in the elegant ballroom of "The Brownstone" and it continues with an additional 24 hour crop at the Totowa Holiday Inn, complete with late-night pizza from Joe and Teresa's pizzeria!

That's a total of 35 non-stop cropping hours with food, games, prizes, make and takes and on-site vendors. What's so special you ask? We've lined up Posche Boutique, The Chateau Salon, and The Skinny Italian just for you.

"Who does that"? We do!

For more information and to register go to: www.bostonscrapfanatics.com and click on "Who Does That Crop" at the top of the page.

Happy New Year 2011!

It's a new year once again, and of course it's that time of hope and planning and resolutions. I hate resolutions because I am terrible at keeping them. I do of course have some resolutions in mind, but I'm thinking of ways to make them stick, mostly by treating them as measurable goals and breaking them into manageable chunks.

One thing I really want to do more of this year is scrap. This was sort of an off-crafting year for me, and while I did get some things done, I think it's important to me to scrap more regularly. As I posted last week, I'm taking the Soul Restoration class starting in a couple of weeks and that should be a great kick in the crafty pants. The boys got me some school-themed embellishments and stamps so I can get to work on the stack of school stuff I want to scrap. And one of my goals for this year is to clear out my bin of unfinished scrap projects. I'll either finish them or toss them. I have some non-scrap related crafting projects on my radar as well: finish the dress that I cut all the pieces for months ago, make the laptop case I bought the materials for months ago, etc. I also have personal goals and business goals that I want to achieve too.

So I wish you a happy and productive new year too!

Thank you Ms. Mailman!

I got a fun package in the mail today, my class kit for the Soul Restoration class that starts in January. This class is being put on by the fun ladies at the Brave Girls Club; Melody Ross and her sister Kathy. The tag line for the class is really what got me: The Original YOU is Still in There Somewhere! I feel this way so much, that there are all these layers holding me back; physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

I came across the Brave Girls Club website by accident, but I know I was meant to find it. They host in-person retreats in Idaho that sound fabulous, but may be cost-prohibitive to many. The Soul Restoration class is an online version of some of the activities that go on at the retreat, but are spread out over a couple of months with everything done online. I signed up for this class right away, not like me! But I'm getting excited about it. I'll try to keep the blog updated with some of the activities.

Crafting, crafting, crafting

I'm going to be selling some of my crafty wares at the Christmas Extravaganza Craft Fair at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Shirley, MA. The fair will be held November 27, 2010 from 9AM to 2PM. To prepare, I've been working on a ton of new items. I've added some of the items to my Etsy site, and you can check them out there. Some cards, some Christmas decor, and some gifts as well.

Gifts for Scrapbookers?

I saw my friend Beverly wrote an article on Holiday Gift Ideas for Kayak and Canoe Enthusiasts, and I think I'm going to piggy back on that concept and create an article on gift ideas for scrapbookers and paper crafters. Now, I've got some ideas on where to begin, but I'm a particular type of crafter, and I'd love to get suggestions from other crafters. Ideas???

UFO Update

I've given up on the pillow for now. I'm too stressed about it. I think too much about my arm and how I'm sleeping, my upper back gets stiff, and I really want to get some sleep. So I went back to my contoured foam pillow. E has to kick me every so often, and I still don't think I'm getting a good night sleep, but at least I'm sleeping.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check out my previous post on this topic.

My three days of kid free crafting bliss...

Going up to Ogunquit, Maine for the regularly scheduled Scrapbooker Online fall retreat. I need this so badly. Three days of awesome friends, scrapping all day and all night, Friday night dinner at the Lobster barn, drinks under the table, and laughing all weekend. I've been to all but one of the SBO retreats, and they are always awesome.

Philosophical Ramblings 1

I feel like that at some point in my life, I fell to pieces. I put the pieces back together, but like when you're assembling something and not following the directions, I ended up with some leftover pieces and I don't know what they're for or where they go. Because of this, I don't feel whole in the way I did before.

This isn't something new, I've been this way for many years. Every so often I get some insight into myself and maybe figure out where one of those pieces go. It's been so long since I've been "whole" that I'm not sure I remember what it was like. Every day I pray for wisdom, strength, understanding, and faith.

Christmas is a-Coming

I've been working on a variety of items to sell at a local craft fair coming up at the end of November. I've been working on a variety of Christmas card designs, and one particular one was so simple that I decided to make and post a tutorial. You can check out the tutorial here: Quick and Simple Homemade Christmas Cards.

Alternatively, if you'd rather buy your cards than make them, I have a few for sale at my Etsy shop: Cygnus Artworks.

UFO* - Day 3

*UFO = unidentified fluffy object.

I have had issues sleeping for a while now, and part of the problem is that I snore, much to my husband's chagrin. I have been looking up non-medical methods to try to alleviate my snoring and potentially sleep better. One of the best things is to sleep on your side. That's fine, I have to be on my side to go to sleep. Problem is I roll onto my back after I'm asleep and that's when the chainsaw starts. When I take a nap on the couch, I am forced to stay on my side, and I actually wake up pretty rested. I even thought about getting one of those old fashioned kid swimmy bubbles that you strap to your back so that I couldn't roll over.

So, when I was at BJ's last week, I saw this pillow made by Sona.



I did think twice about buying a $60 pillow, so I went home and read up a bit on it. Decided to buy it, went back and picked it up. My husband says it's "aerodynamic", and asked if it can fly. (ha.) The pillow is supposed to keep you in a side sleeping position by having you sleep on one of the wings and have your arm underneath.

Okay, so Night 1 of the Unidentified Fluffy Object. I set myself up in the proper position, and I am completely aware of my arm. I am not used to sleeping with my arm under the pillow, and rather than relax, I keep focusing on my arm. And what to do with my arm, and how to lay/prop my arm, and if my arm is hanging off the bed, etc. It takes me forever to fall asleep. I decide to keep my arm down and see how it works. My husband kicks me twice during the night, each time I realize I'm on my back snoring with my head on the lump in the middle. Nice. Halfway through the night I switch back to my old pillow.

Night 2 of the UFO. I decide that I really need to have my arm under the pillow for it to work. Takes me forever to fall asleep because I can hear the fibers in the pillow crinkling, at least I think that's what the noise was. I ask my husband in the AM if I snored, he says he didn't think so, but at 3:14 AM I woke him up by pulling the entire covers onto my side of the bed. (He remembered the time because it was pi o'clock.)

Night 3 of the UFO. Still took me a while to fall asleep. I could hear my pulse in my ear. Spent time wondering if that happened with my other pillow. Otherwise slept okay, no snoring that my husband noticed.

I think the key is getting over the novelty of the pillow at this point. I have major issues sleeping at other places when I have to use a different pillow, so this wasn't unexpected. Sona states that you should try it out for 30 days before forming an opinion, so I'm 10% through my trial period. We shall see.

Humidity is not cool.

I hate humid weather. I would melt if I ever had to spend any extended time south of the Mason Dixon line, that's for sure. Today, in late October in Massachusetts, it's 70F, and it's raining, which means that I'm sweating. Fall is supposed to be crisp and dry, not soggy, and this weather makes me want to drape myself over an air conditioning vent, although the New Englander in me says there's no way in heck I'm turning on the AC in late October.

Last Saturday I took the "Configurations of Your Imagination" class at Absolutely Everything in Topsfield, taught by the fabulous Tim Holtz. I consider myself a technique junkie, and anything that involves Tim Holtz/Ranger products is always a draw for me. But despite all of my past creative explorations, I still managed to learn NEW THINGS. While Tim's classes are always fun, whether on person or tutorials through his blog, he always manages to show me, the technique junkie, something new and amazing, or a new use for an old item, or how to transform something into something else.

Sunday

This afternoon I'll be driving up to Absolutely Everything in Topsfield to take a class from the wicked awesome Tim Holtz. I haven't taken one of his classes in person since CKU Boston in 2006. I'm taking the Christmas Alterations class, and I know it will rock.

Gah.

*Insert yet another bad blogger statement here.*

Yeah, it's been almost a year. I am feeling the itch to write, but I'm not sure if it's a procrastination mechanism because I have a hella-ton of things to do. In fact, as I write this, I am procrastinating on writing my to-do list for the day. I am win.

Stuff on my plate right now:
-9 proposals due the first week in Dec (yes, I am freaking nuts)
-General housework (laundry, dishes, clutter, yadda yadda yadda)
-Sorting through the chaos of the dining room remodel
-Dealing with a half day of school today
-Cub scouts
-Thinking about a craft fair I'm going to do at the end of November
-Prepping for the historic house tour this weekend that I'm volunteering at
-Stressing about my hair and how I do nothing with it
-Reading The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse (Nobel laureate author, great story, challenging read)
-Ongoing spiritual reading, research, and growth

On a saner note, I'll be going to a Tim Holtz class at Absolutely Everything in Topsfield this weekend.

Surprise!

Well, E surprised me this year for Christmas by getting me a Cricut Expression! He was originally turned off by it because it wasn't able to cut shapes and fonts that were not on a Cricut cartridge. However, he found a program that allows the Cricut to cut TrueType fonts, Illustrator files, and other custom graphics, so he got over that initial misgiving. When I was at the SBO retreat back in November, there were 12 ladies there and 5 Cricuts!

It's very easy to use, I got it working right out of the box. I'll have to experiment a bit with cutting depths and pressure, etc., and I definitely need to get the deep cut blade to cut chipboard.

Ready for Holidays (in Hand)

I've prepped my album for the Holidays in Hand class that Jessica Sprague ran over the last two weeks. I printed my daily prompts on regular paper and stacked them up on an altered mini clipboard that was hanging around my stash. I don't plan on keeping these prompt sheets after the project is done, so I'm not concerned about the quality of the paper or if I scribble all over them.

I'm using an old Bazzill 6" x 12" album that I won back at CKU Boston in 2006, and never figured out what to use it for. I've pre-cut all of my layout base papers to 6x12, and I'm using plain cardstock and sheets from a My Mind's Eye stack that I bought at Michael's. I printed out the number text that Jessica provided and mounted them onto strips of green cardstock so I can just snip them to length when I'm ready.

Because I'm not using a square album, I can't really use the templates that Jessica provided, so I'm working on my own template. It will be simple so that I can put the pages together fast. I will likely use office tags as my journaling spots and handwrite my notes.

Holidays in Hand

Okay, so I'm a little behind on this, but I intend to see it through, so here I am! :) I'm taking Jessica Sprague's Holidays in Hand class, which guides you through the process of creating an album during the month of December. You get all the prep done ahead of time, then spend a bit of time each day during December building each page.

One of the exercises is to state your holiday values. These are the things that mean the most to you and your family during the December holidays. We celebrate Christmas, so obviously our values focus on that holiday.

Our major values are family gathering, food, music, traditions, and decorations.

Some actions I'd like to take during the holiday season include:

• We'll make Christmas cookies together with the kids
• We'll teach at least 5 Christmas songs to the kids
• I'll take pictures while we decorate the house for Christmas
• I'll commit to 20 minutes of journaling/creating/photo-taking/scrapbooking each day during December.

My next step is to print out the daily prompts for December. I'm printing them on regular paper, and I'll probably mount them on cardstock and link them up with binder rings. I haven't decided exactly how I'll display them, maybe an easel style.

Don't Forget Your Teachers!

Only two more months until Christmas! Are you making any handmade gifts for anyone on your list this year? Handmade items make great gifts for teachers, particularly if you create items that teachers can use in the classroom. Here's a few of my resources and articles for handmade and semi-handmade gifts that teachers will love:

Teacher Gift Ideas
Ideas for Handmade Christmas Gifts
My altered notepad holders and other gifts at Etsy.com

Dress it Up

I'm adding some embellishment packs to my Etsy store. I had put these packages together for the craft fair I worked at this past spring. These packs are great because I hate buying a whole package of chipboard or embellishments when I only want one or two of something. I put up chipboard packs today, and I have small and large embellishment packs by color that I'll be putting up later.

Check out my Etsy store HERE!

Edit: fixed the link. I didn't realize I pasted a Lowe's page in there instead!

Oh it feels so good...

...to be creating again. I finished a layout last night, and I'm currently working on altering a binder album that will hold my Travel layouts. I'm going to an altered book workshop on Monday that my friend Christine is hosting, and I've got ideas percolating in my head. My creative juices have been dormant for a while, so this is a great feeling. Here's a Halloween card I did for the Examiner Scrap Challenge; a simple yet cute card using scrap papers.