The Crafter's Devotional - 365 Days of Tips, Tricks, and Techniques for Unlocking Your Creative Spirit by Barbara R. Call

When I saw this book at Chapter's book store, I knew it was for me and just had to have it.
I have never been very disiplined when it came to my creative side. I spend more time reading and researching than doing.
I thought this book would be a great inspiration for me to set some goals and then achieve them.

For 365 Days of the year you do something creative. Every day of the week has a different category:

Monday is Journaling 
Tuesday is recycle, reuse, or revive  
Wednesday is collection, stash, and materials  
Thursday is personal history  
Friday is noncraft inspiration   
Saturday and Sunday is collaborate, gather, and experiment

You can make it as complicated or as simple as you want.  I am looking forward to the committment and challenge.

Today is Monday and the first day for journaling.
I'll keep you posted on my progress.........

Happy New Year to you All!!!!!!

January 1, 2011, here we go................


Good news is always a sign of wonderful things to come. That is how my year has started, along with knowledge of how precious life can be and that we only have one of them to live. 

It's interesting how differently one looks at their life when it suddenly becomes a game of  "russian roulette". Over the last couple of months, I have had the opportunity to look at my life through this perspective and what a different perspective it has been from any other way I have seen my life and what I want to do with it. The best we can learn from this is to embrace those changes you want to make, achieve those goals you've dreamed of and to pay attention and respect the life you have. 

This is how I am going to start my year and I am genuinely looking forward to it.

Hello and Welcome 2011!!

from my journal pages

Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky ........... by Rabindranath Tagore

This weekend I have looked back and contemplated the paths in my life, namely those of which have been difficult for me and my family.
My conclusion is, from that hardship there has come betterment and wisdom in our lives.
I see growth and strength....I see compassion and compromise.....I see patience and tolerance.....and I see a love that has flourished and a family coalesced.

Yes, my sunset is colourful .... I am grateful and blessed.

Joyous and Triumphant

Me and my stuff

The craft fair was a success. I had a wonderful time and the atmosphere was a sweet familiar encounter.

Everything went smoothly...lots of room for set up...wonderful fellow crafters surrounding me....and best of all , my lovely daughter Ali by my side. Things would not have gone as smoothly without her. Her grace and calmness set the tone right from the start.

Arriving at 8:00 a.m. with our Starbucks coffee we found our table..we promptly put on table cloths and assembled displays and structures.

I hung my first decoration with shaky hands and suddenly that familiar feeling of "flight or fight" came upon me. I whispered to Alicia "I don't think I'm going to be able to be ready". She just looked at me calmly and said "It's OK Mom, you hang your decorations and I'll do the rest. We have lots of time."

And that's all it took. Her confidence was enough for the both of us. When it was all set up, it was great. Better than I had imagined.

The whole day was perfect. People were so complimentary and appreciative.

Yes, I must say it was an incredible day and I loved every minute of it.

A few pics of my menagerie of handmade eclectic paraphernalia...:)

To Market, To Market.......

To Market......To Market

One more sleep till the Craft Fair. I did it! I’m ready! It has been a wonderful adventure. I have loved every minute of it.....stressful and serene.

I also forgot how incredible it is to do things you truely love to do. It’s hard to believe the last time I did something like this was 9 years ago. Things have changed so much in the crafting world since then.....web sites, blogging and on-line communities, internet exposure for instant knowledge, crafting magazines to keep you up to the latest styles and techniques, ETSY...wow...(that’s my next move)....Yes, so much has changed since I did my last craft show. Back then, for me, it was a very solitude venture.  I’m so glad for the change.

Set up is at 4:00 to 8:00 this afternoon and I have those wonderful, little familiar butterflies in my stomache. 

Thank you all for staying by myside and offering your support this trip around.

                                   It was so nice to have the company.

xox carol

Time to go girls......

Harmonious Momentum

First off, I just wanted to thank all you wonderful ladies for stopping by my blog and tweeking my confidence just at the time when the "What the Heck am I doing" monster was starting to show it's face a little more often than I was comfortable with. Thx, thx, thx.......xo

After a few distractions and getting a little lost from the creative kingdom, I am back on the right track. It's amazing how much you can get done when you just start and move forward  (there's that mantra again, gotta love it).

Having a family pitch in with their support is such an inspiration in itself. Sometimes it's not as obvious as you would like it to be, but if you look at the big picture, it's always there. I had to step back and look at that BIG picture, and what a difference it made (thanks to a big sister that pointed it out for me when I was feeling a little blue and all alone)
How blessed I am...............

I thought I'd give you a look at where I am in my artist ventures.  I still have twenty days left. Two weeks to craft and the rest to do the final preps. Yeh!

....and to all who support me and for the many others you support in your ordinary days.....thank you a million trillion pounds!

craft show here I come............

this is where it all started

loved making these....

I purchased the images on the necklaces from ARTchix Studio
An on-line shop full of amazing art images

I'm almost there!