December Art Journaling

Since I devoted the first 25 days of the month of December to daily Advent art journaling posts, I thought I would share the other projects I tried to fit in. Since I had started my Advent art pages in October in preparation for guest posts and daily December posting, by mid-month I was able to add some other projects into my art time.

I really wanted to do the December 30 Days of Lists challenge since I love making lists. But that project did prove to be more than I could handle early in the month alongside Advent prep for my blog and for the blog at church. The pages I did complete were a lot of fun!

I'm not totally ruling out that I may do more of the list prompts in the month ahead. Since I am so driven by the calendar and deadlines for my job, I have made a rule of giving myself permission to be more free-flowing with my art time and projects. I do strive to finish the projects I start, but the higher value for me is simply practicing creativity and enjoying the energy and refreshment it provides.

Caylee Greyvenstein from the Get Messy Art Journal community had a class that began on December 16. The start of this class coincided perfectly with school beginning its Christmas break on December 15, and my schedule slowing down. So, I jumped right into it! I am taking my time working through the project and enjoying the tips and techniques that Caylee and the other artists provide. I used an old cardboard photo folder from my dad's hometown as my journal cover. I then  added sewn in pages from a variety of materials, such as watercolor paper, vintage map pages, end-papers from old books, etc.

I have one more project that I'll save for my next post.

Advent Day 5 & Some December Lists

For Advent this year I have been following along in Kris Camealy's new Advent book Come, Lord Jesus: The Weight of Waiting. Kris' daily devotions follow the December calendar, December 1-25, rather than the Advent calendar. I have also been a part of the team at our church who have been writing devotionals and have created weekly Advent guides. Links to all of these resources are below.

Today's reading was a reminder that Advent itself is a reminder to us, that while we live life in a broken and sin-filled world, we wait for a day when God will heal all things.

"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God." Isaiah 40:1

"The ripples of life leave us stumbling, exhausted, weary and defeated. But this is not how it will always be.

"Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain." (Isaiah 40:4)

One day, God will grab hold of the edges of the earth and straighten forever the wrinkles that sin has gathered in its fists. Things now are not as they will be. Isaiah tells us that this leveling out will reveal the glory of God (Isaiah 40:5)....The things of this earth will fade, but in God's perfect, appointed season, He will mend what sin has broken. We will celebrate for eternity, a perpetual Christmas, in the very presence of Jesus." ~Kris Camealy, p24-25.

I am also participating in the 30 Days of Lists December project. I enjoy these daily list-making projects because they provide a quick, simple way to make a little art. And the December project is another way to connect with the season, plus look back a bit over the past year. Here are my lists for Days 1-4:

I have even crossed off one of the items on my "things to try this season" list! November and December are busy times in my job overseeing community outreach at my church. For the past few years I haven't set up our Christmas tree. I think part of the reason I stopped decorating for Christmas was in reaction to the 20+ years I worked in hospitality and retail - those industries just sucked the holiday spirit right out of me! I have written in the past about how participating in Advent has restored the spirit of this season in me and I think simplifying holiday decorating pairs with that well. So this year a small tabletop tree, a wreath on the door and a centerpiece on the dining room table bring some Christmas sparkle to the house without the exhaustion!

Resources:
Come, Lord Jesus: The Weight of Waiting by Kris Camealy. Available at Amazon.
Come, Lord Jesus Advent Book Club at Creative and Free.
Visit my church's website where we are offering a weekly Advent theme devotion and resources on our blog: Grace Church 

30 Days of Lists December

September Projects

In yesterday's post, Blog Hop With a Difference, I wrote about some of the projects I am participating in this month. Here are my art journal pages from those projects:
*Warning: I haven't posted much this month so there are a lot of photos in this post.

30 Days of Lists

The Documented Life Project

DLP Challenge 38: Use a feather

Made Course 2014

That's all for me today, Don't forget to stop back on Thursday ~ I have something to celebrate!

Blog Hop With a Difference

A few weeks ago my friend, Bernice, invited me to participate in a blog hop that is a bit different than a traditional blog hop. Each person participating is asked four questions about their creative life and then introduces their readers to a few other bloggers they follow and are inspired by.

Q1: What am I working on?

As usual, I have a number of projects I am participating in and September seems especially busy on the art journaling front. 

30 Days of Lists September 2014 - I wasn't going to join this time around, due to the other projects, but I'm a sucker for a list, so I caved in at the last minute. The cover of my journal is actually the back of a book but it has my initials on it so I made it the cover!

I wrote about the Made Course 2014 in my last post which you can see HERE.

Kingdom Come is a free online class offered by art by Shonna Bucaroff. Shonna is a new friend, who I was introduced to by Bernice, and participating in her class was a way for me to get to know her better. My first project from her class is still in process. Her class just started last week so it's not too late for you to join in!

I continue to participate in The Documented Life Project and, seriously, I'm so amazed I have kept up for almost nine months! Pretty good for one who loves to start projects but doesn't always finish them!

Q2: How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My "genre" is art journaling which includes so many genres: mixed media art, lettering, paint, collage, etc. Through art journaling I learned to make my own journals, and more specifically, altered book journals, and that led to the start of my Etsy shop {found on brighton}. I don't know how my work really differs from other art journalers, but at the heart of my art journaling is my faith. Art journaling is, for me, another way to express my journey with God.

Q3: Why do I create what I do?

In regards to art journaling, I create what I do because it is a way to recharge my emotional, mental and spiritual energy. I am an introvert who works in ministry full time. I work with people, meet with people, serve people, and help people all day long. Art journaling helps restore my energy, helps me sort out my thoughts and emotions, and helps me visualize and "incarnate" my spiritual journey. It is also a great creative outlet for me. I love doing anything with color and texture and I must use up the creative energy that is usually bouncing around in my head!

Q4: How does my creative process work?

Much of my creative process begins with my morning habit of prayer, Bible study, writing in my journal, and reading. This morning habit is often the kick starter to my pages. Fridays are my day off and the day I protect as a "Sabbath" day. Fridays offer me a day to extend my morning habit without time limitations and then I will spend a few hours recharging with art. I will often simply make background pages with paint and collage. This process requires no thought and I can get lost in it! It also sparks so much creativity. I will jot down and sketch my ideas for art journal pages while I "play". Then, throughout the week on my work days, I will spend time in the evenings making my pages - anywhere from 15 minutes squeezed in to an hour or so. A little bit each day, no matter how little, is so healthy for me!

Well, that gives you a little more insight into my creative life. Now let me introduce you to a few of the bloggers I follow. They will each post their Blog Hop With a Difference stories next Monday.

Felicia Aaron blogs about her art and her faith at her blog There's More To Me Than You See. I actually met Felicia through my blog and through comments she has left. On her blog you will see her art journaling, stamping, Zentangle, and water color painting.

Leigh Ann Lukens blogs at His Artist. Leigh Ann has great posts on her blog about Faith Art Journaling. I stumbled on Leigh Ann's blog and found a kindred spirit! Leigh Ann's combination of Bible study and art journaling drew me to following her right away!

I hope you will enjoy getting to know these two women of faith and creativity!

Come back and visit on Thursday ~ I have something to celebrate and share with you!

A Few Things

Today's post is going to serve as a few things all rolled up into one blog post. How's that for multitasking!

First, I finally decided to participate in the September 30 Days of Lists. I've hesitated because I have a tendency to involve myself in too many things. But I was looking through my previous 30 Days of Lists journals the other day, looking for a particular page, and that stirred up a desire to join in again. And let's face it, I just love making lists! So today they are doing a blog hop to get the challenge going.

We were challenged to go back to the March 2011 list and select a prompt, make a list, share it on our blog and then link up with other bloggers doing the same thing. I chose prompt #1 "A few things about yourself"...although I have a "few" more than a "few" things! (Ironically I labeled this post without even thinking about the title of the prompt!)

I actually just finished this page last night and loved how it fit with the list prompt. It is actually a page I made for a prompt I did with my art group. As I mentioned in my post last week (Read it here), In August a few ladies from my church got together with me and we formed an art group. One of the ideas I had with this group was to use ancient art forms and re-purpose them using paper and mixed media. Our prompt was to make a list of things about yourself starting with "I am" and/or "I am a/an". Then we made mosaics out of paper and put our lists on them. So the above page is the result of that prompt for me. All of my mosaic pieces were cut from magazine pages. Here are some details before and after I added the words:

I love it when I can kill two birds with one stone without even realizing it! If you are interested in participating in the September 2014 30 Days of Lists challenge you can learn more about it here. It's a fun challenge, especially if you love making lists! Even if you don't it helps you be present to things in your everyday life. There is also a Facebook page for today's blog post where you can view other bloggers lists  #30listsbloghop.

If you feel inspired you can make your own magazine mosaic and include a list of things about you. Don't forget to share it with me!