Reading Journal

I love books…holding them, collecting them, and reading them; pretty much everything about them.  I love how you can get lost in a story and be transported to another time and place with just words. An avid reader from the time I learned how, I got my first library card when I was 4 years old and I’ve had one ever since. Over the years, I’ve had reading slumps where I didn’t read a lot but I still almost always had a book going. 

Having read a lot of books over the years, there have been many times when I know I’ve read a book but can’t remember much about it. Or can’t remember why I loved it or hated it. When I was doing a little Christmas shopping, I came across a Book Journal at a local store and was intrigued by it. I almost bought it but then decided that I wouldn’t use it so put it back.  Over the holidays, I picked up a book that I’ve had on my list for a while and when I was done with it, I wished I had that journal to write some things down about it. I ran back by the store the other day but it was gone. Of course it was, they only had the one! I got to thinking about it and decided that I didn’t need to buy one because I have so.many.blank.notebooks already. I could use one of them. But, me being me, I decided it needed to be dolled up a little bit. 

I’ve been doing some lettering with Lindsay Olstrom, lettering extraordinaire, on Facebook for the last few weeks and having SO much fun! She does a FB live every morning doodling and lettering from a prompt and let me tell you, she’s amazing at what she does! Using some of what I’ve learned from her, I did the lettering for the cover. I really like the whimsical feel of the different colors and letters. If I were to do it again, there’s some things I’d do different but for a first try, I’m okay with it. The books are a stamp set, Chapter One, from Unity Stamp Company. (And it’s on sale right now!) I stamped and colored it up and then fussy cut it and glued it on. 

I pondered what I’d like to put in it about each book I read and decided to keep it pretty basic. Each page will have a place for the Title, Author, Date Finished, Rating, and whether it was recommended to me and by whom at the top.  Then the rest of the page will be for my thoughts on the book. I went ahead and got the first few pages done and ready for me to enter my first book of 2021!

Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are. Mason Cooley

Calendar Catch Up…July and August

Today I’m going to finish getting my calendars caught up! But first, I want to announce the winners from my Growing In Unity Week. They are Nikki Kittrell and Amy Williams. Congratulations!! They are the lucky winners of a grab bag of 25 Unity stamps for commenting on my posts last week.

Now, for the calendars…July was done by one of my dearest friends and just happens to be the one that organizes the calendar swap. It is a fabulous celebration of the holiday that July is known for…the 4th of July! Don’t you love that skyline and those fireworks?!

For August, it’s a simple topper with a quote that really spoke to me. “Set sail in the direction of your dreams”. I’m working chasing some dreams this year and I just love that quote! It was very timely for me. A friend in Boston made this one and one of the things that is so amazing to me about it? She underwent a heart transplant two years ago and has faced a lot of challenges and issues due to it in the time since. Yet, she managed to participate in the exchange last year and did an marvelous job!

Although each month is unique and the styles and techniques are different, I love every one of the pages. They make me smile and think of the person that made them every time I see them.

Time moves slowly but passes quickly. 

How I Got Into Making Cards

I have always loved to create. From the time I was a little girl, I’ve always had some creative hobby. Usually more than one at a time. But, for the last several years, I’ve had one hobby that has consumed me and every spare minute I can manufacture.

I fell into the rabbit hole of card making about three years ago. I attended a scrapbook retreat and participated in something called a shoebox card swap.  Even though I wasn’t a card maker and hadn’t planned to be a part of it, all of the people participating had made extra card kits so I was invited to play along.  To be honest, I really just did it because the cards were all so pretty and I was going to walk out of there with a bunch of cards that looked great and were easy to put together. It was not something I intended to ever do again after the retreat because I had tried stamping years ago and didn’t really enjoy it. Mostly because it was very frustrating to me and I wasn’t good at it. I could never get a clear image stamped. It was virtually impossible to get enough ink on a stamp to where I could only stamp it once and it be good enough to use. I would then have to re-stamp it and to be able to line it up perfectly a second time…well, it just wouldn’t happen for me.  But this time, there was something new in the mix. It’s called a MISTI.

The MISTI is a stamping platform that allows you to position your stamp and paper so that you can stamp the image over and over until you’ve gotten the complete image you want. Complete and total game changer for someone like me that had always struggled with this issue! It didn’t take me long to know that I had found a new craft and I was in trouble. LOL I jumped in with both feet and started to swim like crazy.

Card making has released a creativity in me that I honestly didn’t know I had. It has made me so much more aware of color and composition and how to create and balance them. It has led me to try things I never had the confidence to try before.  Watercolors, ink blending, art journaling, mixed media…these are just a few of the things I’ve discovered in the last few years. 

One of the biggest things it’s done for me, confidence wise, is being willing to share what I make. I actually send the cards I make to people! And I will share them on social media and in card making groups where some of the people there are AMAZING artists. But, one of the things I’ve also discovered about this community is that everyone is so encouraging and helpful. No matter how bad what you’ve made is, they are right there to give you advice on how to improve it and words to encourage and uplift you without being critical. There is always someone there to answer your questions and never make you feel stupid for asking something that has been asked a dozen times.

I will say this…it makes me happy and relaxes me to get in my little closet and play with stamps and ink, paper and markers, and paints and brushes. I make things I like. I make things that make me happy and, hopefully, when they land in someone else’s hands, make them smile. My goal is, and always will be, to bring a little sunshine to someone’s mail box.  Learning some art skills and discovering new techniques and mediums along the way is a bonus.  

This week, starting Monday, I will be really stepping out of my comfort zone by being a Growing In Unity (GIU) girl. Unity Stamp Company is one of my absolute favorite stamp companies. They have a wonderful program where you put your name in and they randomly draw out names-one for every week of the year-and then invite those drawn to showcase your creations for a week.  I entered last year and was so excited to have my name drawn. My week is next week-August 10-15. I’m so excited but also nervous. I know I’ve come a long way since I first started making cards but I’m no where near where I want to be.  I feel that it is truly an honor to be a GIU girl and I hope I can do their stamps justice. So, if you’re interested in seeing some awesome stamps or what I’ve made with them, check in every day this week and have a look! 

The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul.  Elder Uchtdorf

April Calendar

This month’s calendar is another one that I made.  I think I mentioned in a previous post that I did two calendars this year and ended up keeping both of them.  The second one was for a friend and I ended up giving her something else. Anyway, I get a choice between which one I want to put out every month. Since I made this one-and I love it because it makes me smile-I  chose it this month.

Isn’t that little duck in galoshes and stomping in puddles just adorable? So far, we haven’t had too many rainy days in April but the month isn’t over yet!

Doodling with Watercolors

Last weekend I sat in on a FB live with Ann Corbiere, an artist and stamp designer that I’ve been following for a while. She had a free ‘class’ on a doodling watercolor and I was so excited to be able to join in. I love watercolors but it is not my first choice of a medium because I’m really not very good at them. Honestly, I’ve never tried it much because it’s easier and quicker for me to use my Copic markers or my colored pencils.  I keep saying that I’m going to practice and get better but I never do, so I was happy for the opportunity to play with them some. The more you practice the better you get at anything so I guess it’s like anything else…I just need to practice, practice, practice!!

We did a Stay Home collage since we’re all practicing social distancing and staying home these days. It was a fun piece to do and while she had an example for us to look at, she left it totally up to us as to draw what we wanted. I pretty much followed her example! I  am pretty good at copying things but I’m not very creative when it comes to coming up with stuff on my own. Once I had it drawn, I started painting it but color choices are something I usually  struggle with so it took me a few days to get it finished. I finally got it done last night. I’m pretty happy with it for a first piece. I made mistakes and learned a lot and already have some ideas for a second one!