Purpose

Purpose has been coming up quite a bit lately. What am I doing and why? Today I read in Calm My Anxious Heart, "Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least. If we haven't chosen what we are living for, we're living life by default, acting out the scripts handed to us by family, other people's agendas, and the pressures of circumstances. This is not living as a woman who knows the meaning and purpose of life. "Knowing our purpose can be difficult but then keeping focused on that amidst all that life throws at us can be almost impossible. I have written a couple of purpose statements over the years and even though the core of those statements stays the same I have to tweak them with each new stage in life. I am feeling like I'm at a crossroads again and things are about to change. Nothing specific but a sense that God is working. I am thinking it is time to re-write that old purpose statement and be open to new doors. I feel a need to lighten the load in preparation for the new. Of course, that could be more difficult than I think. We shall see.

Passport arrived!

YEAH! My passport arrived yesterday afternoon. I can take a sigh of relief and start planning for my trip. I still can't believe this is happening. Lots of happy squeals around here these days.

We went to the Chris Tomlin concert last night and it was amazing. Israel and New Breed started the night out and then Chris came on. They were both so good and alongside Chris was Christy Nockles. It was such a great evening. Everyone was standing most of the time and I made the mistake of wearing high heels but I didn't care, the lack of space to dance was more of an issue. Chris Tomlin is such an amazing worship leader and writes incredible songs. I hadn't heard of Christy before but she had a beautiful voice and there is a free download of the song she sang on her website so you should check it out.

We got home around Midnight and had to move the clocks ahead. Not so good for someone who needs 9 hours of sleep a night. Then very early this morning my daughter wakes me up saying she locked her keys in the car and needs to get to work immediately. I was so tired I could hardly move but I managed to drag myself out of bed and get her to work and me to church on time. Then when I got home I wanted to take a nap but had agreed to watch my grandbaby. He was so sweet. There is nothing in the world better than being a grandma.

He was very serious about balancing the toy on top of his head, then he would laugh when it fell off. It is so fun watching him. I'm still looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow though. Hopefully no one needs me bright and early.

Travel Pack finished

It came together rather quickly considering I didn't have a pattern and winging it. I love the fabric and cute little crocheted flower. I hope it works and is useful. I I made pockets on the inside for a signature, pens and water color pencils. I think I am going to add a tape runner too.

I added a flap at the top so that the items won't slip out. It sounded like a good idea but I will see if it does it's job.
I am so glad I finished it today because I am really busy the rest of the day and tomorrow and I don't think I could have waited two days to get back to it. Sometimes I can be so impatient. OK now I am off to go to the Chris Tomlin concert with friends. What a great day!

Travel Pack idea

I came up with my version of a travel kit to take to Paris with me. I will make up some signatures ahead of time and carry them with me. When I fill up one signature I will put it in my suitcase and get the next one out so that I'm not carrying around a big journal as I sight see. When I get home I will bind the signatures into a journal. I am so excited about this. My niece guarantees me that I will find lots vintage ephemera at the flea markets and vintage shops we will be going to. No t-shirts for me. I will spending my money on old books and newspapers, and anything else I can find written in French. OH, the excitement is going to kill me before I even get there. Well, gotta go work on that travel pack. Sorry no pictures today, I am heading to my studio to work but I will show you what I come up with hopefully tomorrow. Have a great creative day! Oh I almost forgot, here is where I got the idea for the travel pack, check it out here.

Paris or bust!

Can you tell where I am going to be in three weeks? I can hardly breathe I am so excited and panicked that my passport won't be here in time.

I got a call from my lovely niece about a week ago asking if I wanted to hang out with her in Paris for a week. Well, let's see, YES, definitely YES. My ticket is booked and I can't believe I am going to Paris. Me, little ol' me. For those of you who are praying folk, start now. Things tend to go awry when I go away. But I won't worry about that now, I have lots to do to be ready in three weeks. YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blogaversary

I just realized something, yesterday was my blogaversary. It flew by without me realizing it. One year ago I took the plunge to start a blog. I remember how nervous I was and that I didn't know what I was doing in setting up a blog. I also didn't know that I would meet some really nice women and artists through my blog either. Some of my friends have asked me why I started a blog and I honestly don't know. I wasn't really even reading other people's blogs at that time. I just remember being on-line one day and thinking, "I can do that so why not just do it?" I was not finding a lot of artists in my area and really wanted to connect with some in any way possible and this seemed like a good way. Wow, I am blown away that it has been a year already. If you want to see my first blog post you can see it here. It just goes to show how one year can fly by and that a simple decision to start a blog can change your life. Thank you to all of you who have stopped by. It's so much more fun taking this journey with you all and a special hug to those who leave comments on my posts. Your words have been such an encouragement to me. I have many happy memories here and hope that in the next year we will get to know each other even better and make more new friends too. Blog love to you all!

The Weekend

My niece and I went to the beach for some time away. We always have such a great time of watching movies, eating and creating. This time my goal was to get my new fabric journal assembled. I ended up making 9 signatures but only 7 fit in the journal when I was done. I tried to get all the pages prepped for journaling but I think that was a bit adventurous especially since I ended up with a sore throat and didn't feel like doing a whole lot. I did get around 50 pages with something on them.

This journal is different than all my other journals because I have added fabric, ribbon, trim and lots of patterned paper, patterned tape and netting. I have also added stitching by hand and stitching with my sewing machine. So far it has been a lot of fun.

I definitely can see me making another one of these in the future. I loved painting on the fabric and the feel and look of the cover is amazing to me.

Here is one prepped page ready to go. My niece came with a packet of goodies for me and I used quite a few of the images in this journal. They were all black and white. How did she know? We think a lot alike so it is not surprising. Thanks Janene, I was blessed by your company!

Here is one finished page that I worked on. I wanted to remind myself of all the fun I am having and to not loose the joy as I progress in my art journey. I really like doodling and had some fun this weekend watching Felicity (Freshman year) and playing with my pens.