we're all mad here!

Art Journaling Exposed

I'm on holiday with Jules & Mom in Paris, but wanted to take a quick minute to share some news about a new emag from Cloth Paper Scissors. I wrote an eyecandy bursting segment for them, and I couldn't be more pleased with the result. I took my Dye Works book from Mixed and Stitched and turned it into an incredible quote journal. You can get a detailed peek at ALL the pages inside along with my tips for adding embellishments to YOUR amazing art.

- here's a bit more from Jenn Mason -

Art Journaling Exposed Weekend Blog Hop!

Celebrate the launch of Art Journaling Exposed with us this weekend by following the blogs of its contributors and featured artists! These remarkable women will be giving you a closer look at the eMag-- the projects, articles, and videos--and offering you their first-hand reviews of this unique multimedia experience.

In alphabetical order:

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer
http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/
Traci Bautista
http://kollaj.typepad.com/
Jane Davenport
http://www.janedavenport.com/
Dea Fisher
http://thestarbook.wordpress.com/
Jacqueline Newbold
http://djnewbold.blogspot.com/
Joanne Sharpe
http://joannezsharpe.blogspot.com/
Melanie Testa
http://melanietesta.com/blog/
Diana Trout
http://dianatrout.blogspot.com/

Early reviews for Art Journaling Exposed have been phenomenal, and one reader wrote to us saying, “This was amazing!!!!! I have NEVER enjoyed a magazine like I enjoyed this one. Just do more! Don't stop with this one! PLEASE!!!!!”

We hope you enjoy learning more about the eMag straight from the mouths of some of the most influential instructors and designers in the art journaling world. We can’t wait to hear what YOU think!

To purchase the eMag for your desktop computer, visit InterweavStore.com: PC download or MAC download.

love train - a GIVE AWAY

I'm having one of those moments ... that feeling you've got something important to do. That KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!ing that makes your heart start to race a little bit. I'm getting one of those "feelings" I'm doing what I'm supposed to be right this very minute. Do you ever have that happen, and not act then wish you had? I don't want this feeling to turn into one of those, so I'm going to "act now while supplies last", and follow my gut.

Today started out pretty good, and has continued to get better and better as time ticks by. There's some mojo stirring itself up over here folks, and I REALLY want to share it and pass it on to YOU.

Yes, YOU!

You sitting right there hoping it's you, but maybe feeling too nervous or anxious or maybe even a little afraid that it is YOU to even try and join in. Are you ready to make a difference in someone else's day? Are you ready to get this love movin' all over the globe? Don't you dare tell me we can't cause I know better!

We're going to get a love train going my peeps, and see how far we can spread the love. Are you up for the adventure? Are you game? Here's all you have to do:

• give something away on your blog or flickr or tumblr or wherever ... whatever you use to share with your peeps

AND

• post a link to it right here on this very blog post
   

That's it :) I don't care what you give away - it can be art ... time ... product ... a service ... something sewn or handmade ... a polka dot elephant wearing tights - the what, my friends, is up to you.  The point is to take a moment to stop the talking, and take a smidgen of your precious time to do the walking. It's time to put all that lip service - all the "I wanna"s & the "I should just", and actually DO. My husband is a HUGE supporter of the "don't tell me - show me" way of living your life. The plain truth is that actions speak a million times louder than words. Always.

So, here's what I'm giving to one of you - my owls & fireflies pillowcase. It's 16 x 16 inches and has an apple green zipper in the bottom so you can take your pillow out and wash the case if it gets dirty. I've been deciding what to do with it for months, and I think this is exactly the right thing! It's quilted on both sides, and comes from a smoke free home :) I'll also throw in some extra goodies tailored just for you. I'm also going to pick one more person in private to pass something else on to that is more personal, because I've got the feeling I need/want/should do that, too because that is how it has been given to me all day.

Here's the fine print:

• I will choose the winner at random by using a number genorator
• You have between now and 3 pm EST on Friday to post the link to your Give Away.
• You do not need to live in the USA to win this Give Away or host your own
• You must send me your address by next Wednesday - 10/5 or I choose a new winner
  {I have a problem mailing things out & don't want to wait or forget.} 

One of the things I stumbled upon today, that I've talked about in the past is Tiny Buddha. Well, here is today's quote:

A hero is a man who does what he can.
+Romain Rolland+

So, let's all do what we can today, and be the hero in someone else's day! As my friend Melody likes to say, "You never know when you might be exactly what someone else needs at exactly the right moment!" and I agree wholeheartedly!

NOW GO PASS ON THE LOVE!

ring! ring!

I truly believe that when life rings you up, you need to wake up and take the call!

As you've heard me say before, I've been receiving Tiny Buddha newsletters in my inbox for awhile now. I go through little spurts where I will read them about once a weekish all the way to months of just deleting them without even a glance. It's kinda a mood thing I guess. Anyhoo, the last two weeks or so I've read three of them, and all three were things I REALLY needed to hear right now! Are you feelin' me? Ever have that happen ... where you're kinda floating through life when all of a sudden you hear this RING! RING! and realize it's life calling to tell you to listen up?

Well, these 3 tiny emails were things I had been struggling with lately ... one of them without even really realizing I was doing it until I read the message. Today's was kinda the icing on my listen up! cupcake:

Tiny Wisdom: Let Your Light Shine Bright

Sep 07, 2011 12:23 am | Lori Deschene

“As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” -Nelson Mandela

I've mentioned this already recently, but I've had this whispering worry about letting mine shine too bright in the past. I guess I worry it will seem too much like boasting or bragging, but there is also such a thing as not tooting your own horn loud enough. SO, I'm going to work on letting my light shine a little brighter, and not be so frightend of the commitments that MAY follow. I can always say no, can't I? {oh goodness ... something I'm terrible at}.

So, with that in mind, I'm tickled to announce that I made it to the 25 finalists {5 from each catagory} in Cloth Paper Scissors ARTISAN SEARCH 2012 in the Art Journaling & Bookmaking catagory!!! I really feel like once I get my journals into their hot little hands I stand a good chance of winning. 

Speaking of journaling here are 3 totally awesome things to journal about:

• What have you been holding back at in life?
• Are you letting your own light shine as bright as it can or are you hiding it under the proverbial bushel?
• What do you need to work on within yourself ... no finger pointing ... just admitting a need for work?

I love working through my dreams, goals, and personal areas of work in the pages of my journals. I use a lot of visual ques in my art journals, and don't do a whole lot of actual writing because I find I work and express myself better when I don't. My journal pages rely heavily on quotes, words, and my drawings. For a long time now they have been full of houses and homes because that's where I was feeling the need for the most focus and purging. My worries about all the trauma and chaos my family kept having to endure leaked out onto all the pages. There wasn't a lot of time or space to worry about anything else especially letting my light shine.

Another thing I love to include in my journals is lines and quotes from movies I'm watching while journaling. This is one of my favorites by far - it's delivered by Anthony Hopkins in Wolfman, to his son upon his untimely return to the family estate. It goes hand in hand with something my dad told me awhile back, "Don't ruin all your todays and tomorrows worrying about your yesterdays." That's not to say you shouldn't remember what you've done or even reflect on it now and again, but you can't stay mired there ... bogged down in the horribleness of the past. You can't change the past, you can only try to do better from today on. 1 single day at a time ... 1 single breath ... 1 single moment of loving someone special.

happy birthday Larry!
YOU are the icing on my cupcake of life :)

NOW GO MAKE ART!