Comes a time...

I used the wise words that one of my blog friends wrote to another. I wanted to whine and have a pity party, but now that I painted a spread in my journal I don't feel that bad any more. Art really is therapy! I need to force myself to use the time that I have and start painting every day again...

Looking for something...

Not everyone can wear a skirt...

Thankful

As we express our gratitude,
we must never forget that
the highest appreciation
is not to utter words,
but to live by them.
~J. F. Kennedy

What a wonderful day! This year my birthday joined Thanksgiving in a perfect display of cooking, smiling, hugging, loving... I wouldn't mind spending each day like this.
Some of you may remember that my mom had surgery in September... For my birthday present, she made a couple of painful steps without a cane or walker... And I could see it (thanks to Skype - free video phone).
So, today (and every day) I'm thankful for so many things... high on the long list are my blogging friends, my network of support and inspiration. Hope you had a great day too!
P.S. I REALLY don't like one of the eyes on the above journal page... I noticed that it is wrong only when I scanned it. How could I miss it while I was painting?

Today

Today I watched Suziblu's videos and was inspired to play in my journal:

I baked an apple pie, made sauerkraut, walked on the beach, looked at the sky through the most beautiful leaves, enjoyed my family, listened to this song many times and bought a new shampoo...

How was your day?

My notebook once again

Thank you for all the lovely comments about my notebook... it really feels great to read them! I just finished the back side. It needed a little bird friend to help me when I get confused with all the new information I'm trying to store in my old brain... I think I'm happy with it now.

My notebook

Allow me to introduce my notebook:

Could it be any plainer? I guess it could... the orange makes it "pop". Not enough...
I've been carrying this thing around the whole last week. Taking notes at work, taking notes at home while studying... all the time being bothered by the lack of anything that would interest me on the outside.
I guess I was channeling my inner Norah when I decided to attack my notebook. Sharon is always generous in sharing her techniques, but she overdid herself with the last journal. I felt like I was reading a great "Cloth, Paper, Scissors" tutorial.
I didn't want to imitate her completely (well, I did want to... but it wouldn't feel right), so I found a picture of another scroll on the web and freehanded it. I then realized that I used the wrong scroll, the wrong colors and that my notebook is even uglier than when I started.
There is only one thing to do when things don't look the way you want them - paint some more. I continued, allowed myself to try something that's different than I envisioned and this is what came out:
I think it is more interesting than the craft paper cover I started with... and I think that I'll enjoy writing notes in it more. Having said that - it's time that I jump to lynda.com and learn more about digital prepress secrets. Have a wonderful week!
Thank you Sharon for the inspiration!

A little bit of everything...

Going back to work after seven years means that you (I) need some time to adjust, regroup, refocus... I'm a bit 'rusty' and need to work on my skills, learn a ton of new stuff and make my fingers dance again on the keypad. It takes time... which means that I don't have time to play with paper and color... I know I will (very soon), but right now I can't.

The only thing I 'created' last week is too ridiculus to even show, but I will anyway. I had some spare time in my car (came way too early to work, afraid that the traffic would be horrible, but it wasn't). I pulled out a moleskin that I always carry with me and tried to doodle an abstract shape. Did you see the beautiful drawings that Janet calls doodles?Needless to say, I can't do anything similar... I started with the part above (yuk), accepted that I can't do it and continued to draw a face.Then I saw that Janet drew a face too... So, I guess this post is about me whining how I lost my art time and how Janet creates lovely drawings. :-)
After you checked her blog, visit this blog to read an interview with Sharon.
And visit Rebecca's blog to sign up for a giveaway and to wish her a happy birthday.
It's raining here (after a really long time with no rain). My beach is closed because of a horrible oil spill. It makes me sad. And angry.

Don't worry...

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow,
it only saps today of its joy.
Leo Buscaglia

It seems like a dark page, but it's not because I'm in a dark mood. Hana has a love affair with payne's grey. She used it for some paintings, but she left tons of it unused... I told her to paint a background in my journal and that I will work on the page later. This is the background she painted:
Of course I can't paint over that... She calls it 'scribbles' - I see a story. Anyway, there was still more paint so I did the 'worry' page. Long explanation for a simple page...

I made the best green smoothie ever! A couple of months ago my children called any green thing the 'swamp' drink, now they got used to the color and even ask for it. If you haven't tried it, I encourage you to be brave and give it a shot. It is really extra tasty and the fact that it's healthy just adds to it. This particular smoothie is a mixture of frozen banana and mango pieces, chopped fuji apple and huge handful of kale. Blend it with a little water (I add a teaspoon of lecithin) and let me know if you liked it. Close your eyes if you can't stand the color...
You never know when inspiration will hit you.... Yesterday Hana came from school all happy, full of stories and funny tales. While she snacked on something and talked about her day I couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looks... and I had to try and capture it. Because it is my journal I wasn't worried how it will look, I planned to gesso over it in case it turned out horrible. It didn't. It doesn't look like her, but it captured a moment that I will treasure forever.

List Fairy

I never make lists.... but Norah did last week and for some reason I had to do it too... so I did. I must say that it was motivational... I enjoyed crossing things from it and was happy when everything was done. Including a trip to the gym! It was like the list fairy visited me... and that's why I made this silly journal page.
Well, I finished the page yesterday, the list two days ago... Today I have some other news to share but I didn't have time to journal about them yet, so it will have to wait. xo

A mindless journal entry

Art journals are a great thing! I sat last night with wise words I snatched from Rebecca's blog, paints, paper scraps and just mindlessly painted and played. It started as a yellow background and grew into this chaos of color. I listened and watched a bit of this wonderful DVD and just relaxed without thinking about the final thing. The little creature on the left side is a doodle I did (also mindlessly) while talking to someone... I saw it, thought it was cute and just slapped it on my page. That's why I think art journals are great... you get to play, relax, reflect and not care about the output.
Let me just add that Rebecca has wonderful thoughts daily on her blog... many times it is just what I need to hear.