Homegrown Hospitality

A Break From Italy For Other Stuff

I am going to give you a break from my Italian Adventure to talk a little about a few others things in the next few days..lucky you!

Today I want to share with you about Documented Faith.  

First, I am BLOWN AWAY by how many people from all over the world are on this journey with me.  One of the most important things for me to remember and to remind others is that IT IS NOT ME. There is no way I could pull off this kind of thing on my own.  It is 100% God working through me.  I have caught myself a few times saying "Are you sure that you meant for me to lead this God??"  and I have to immediately sqaush the doubt away with the note to self that He knows what He is doing and I just take the lead from Him.

If you are a newer reader, you might be wondering "What the heck is she talking about?" or if you did not begin 2015 with Documented Faith, you may have questions.  

First and most important - Although most are working in a Moleskine Calendar/Planner, you can start right now with whatever you have.  Just because you did not start on January 1 does not mean a thing.  Start today.

In a nutshell, I am working in Moleskine 2015 Weekly Calendar, documenting my faith in several different ways. Sometimes with markers, sometimes with stickers or photos or memorabilia or Project Life cards or all of the above.  

There are no rules, just encouragement and inspiration and that I constantly promote using what you have (because we all have a lot of stuff!)

I usually coordinate my Documented Faith Planner with my Journaling Bible and the Illustrated Faith team and use the weekly verse as a prompt for the Bible.  
as well as my DLP (Documented Life Project) art journal  The key here for me (and for you) is to NOT PUT PRESSURE ON YOURSELF to feel like you have to do it all.  I make time first thing in the morning to work in my planner.  For me, I give God the first part of my time and He provides me time to get the rest done. Plain and simple fact right there.  If I don't, I am a whirling dervish and feel like a pinball bouncing around all day long.

Here is how it works (and it is very simple, we just individually complicate it in our own special way, self included)

At the beginning of each month, I send out a word to focus on and at the beginning of each week, I send out a verse that coordinates with that word.  What and how you create based on those two things is totally up to you.  The prompts and my "blah,blah,blah" each week are just little reminders and nudges for you (and for me!)

and it is free.  

We have an overflowing FB group called Documented Faith that you can request to join here, there is a Documented Faith Site and a Newsletter that goes out every week.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment on this post. Please note that if you have a gmail or hotmail email address, there have been several difficulties getting emails delivered so if you want to register for the weekly verse prompt, please consider using an alternate email address.  You can sign up here.

Lastly, I am excited to tell you that I am working on a brand new set of workshops that I will be teaching online and in store based on Documented Faith so be sure to watch for upcoming announcements.

Have a GREAT day!

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Week Eleven March 8 - 15

Week 14 March 29 - April 4

Week Ten March 1 - 7, 2015

Italy Again & What Fear Wanted Me To Miss

I am trying to not be the lady that wants to invite you over to show you all of the photos from her big trip. I am trying to space it all out, mostly because it has taken me just about two weeks to decompress. As I have been going through my thoughts and photos, I am starting to see the bigger picture which is AWESOME but truthfully, I could have used some of that awesomeness DURING the trip.

Here is more truth. I almost let FEAR derail me.

With past trips (near and far) I am mostly a fraddy cat BEFORE I leave, like the weeks and days before but this time, I thought I had it in the bag. (okay, maybe I was a little frantic the day before but not as bad as in the past)

NOPE. This time, good ol fear didn't show up until the countdown to blast off. Once I let go of this grip in the photo, I fell apart....

Fast forward a few days, where I was eating, sleeping, drinking wine and water and teaching. During my workshops, I was in my element. I was doing what I was there to do (in my mind) and it was easy for me to do what I am blessed to do.  In addition, I was able to sit and admire how each woman created differently and got to know each one of them (regardless of the language barrier.) THAT right there is most important and the reason why I like to keep my workshops small. As much as it was an experience in learning a entirely whole new way to create for them, I was also learning...it just took two weeks to be able to see it all clearer.

IF I would have let fear derail me (which in fears defense, put up a really good fight) I would have missed moments with real Italian beauties not afraid to get paint on their fingers ......having hot tea while sitting in front of the place where warm warm naturally rises up from the earth, right in the middle of a village 

and then trickles down the hill and has for 1000's of years. (Bagno Vignoni is an Italian village and hamlet of San Quirico d'Orcia, situated on a hill above the Val d'Orcia in Tuscany.)

Treasures found in inconspicuous places and constant reminders of where there is dark, there is light:  ...lovely people who love their beautiful Tuscan countryside, are the definition of hospitality and pull off the side of a winding road so that the American girl can take a photo of a little white Church  ...okay, and a selfie or two 

...and another example of treasures found.  A random daffodil amongst the weeds.  Things like this as well as the magnificent Cathedrals ..the detail and scale of things ...Piazza's , cobblestone roads, flower boxes, old wooden doors and shutters... the shutters!!! I wanted to bring home a 1000 shutters.  I caught myself taking pictures of flowers and shutters every five minutes...

There was beauty everywhere and I mentioned to Paolo and Franca that they were going to get tired of hearing me say "wow" and "so beautiful." Okay, I am being that lady with the pictures so I will stop.  

SO thankful that I fought fear by reciting Phil. 4:13 10,000 times...

We Speak Creative, Part Two

This is Cristina, my amazing translator and new friend.  She is calm, cool, collected and very easy to be around.  She, along with Paulo and Franca and a few other wild and crazy Italians made me feel very calm, safe and loved (especially when we were sitting in back of a car the size of a rollar skates going very fast on very small roads.) It was crazy how when I would teach, I would say just a few words (in my broken english) and Christina would talk for 15 minutes explaining what I was doing. Okay, maybe not 15 minutes, but you know what I mean.  The wonderful, most exciting thing is that "they got it." Once I was done showing them how to carve stamps with my hands and just a few words

the proof was on the table:Isn't that awesome?  

It is not my teaching but the fact that these women opened up their hearts and minds to learn something new and WAY OUTSIDE the box for them.  This was another one of those moments that I could feel my heart swell up.  I explained to Cristina what I was feeling and she shared it with them.  I am thinking I want to start teaching stamp carving again this year.  Even if you have taken a class before, there is always something new to see and learn and it is so rewarding. Here is a photo of all of my happy Italian stamp carvers! Thank you to each one of you who took the time to come out and create ( and eat..and drink..) with me.

More about Italy soon...

We Speak Creative

Never for a moment was I concerned about the language barrier even though I had an AWESOME translator for my classes. I do believe that we all speak creative.  By the end of the first full day in Italy, even before classes started, I began speaking (and texting home) in broken English.  I was okay with it because it helped me to S L O W down.  

Once I unpacked, had some good sleep and got settled, I was able to start to open up and allow myself to start absorbing what I was about to experience. Each morning I was greeted with a plate, a pear, and a cup of "Americano" coffee. Just typing this out and posting the photo makes me miss my mornings with Franca and Paolo. It may seem insignificant but for me, the photo says so much.  I am sure that some will understand that many times, it is the little things and this was one of those times.  It signifies to me that although I was very far away from home and missing my family terribly, at the very same exact time, a beautiful family had welcomed me into their country, their home and their lives and made me feel so loved, safe, comfortable and welcomed. I honestly believe that this is how GOD works and sometimes (most times) we are so preoccupied, tired, rushed, okay and homesick, that we miss it.

It was so refreshing to sit around the table every day at breakfast, lunch AND dinner and again, even though there was a little bit of a language barrier, they understood me (I think!) and I understood them. I don't want to sound kooky but several times during my trip. my heart swelled up because "we got each other" and it wasn't just about Distress paints, die cuts and rubber stamps.

This is one of those things I just can't put into words.

 

As the ladies began to arrive for the two full days of workshops, they all were happy, giddy and excited to greet one another.  They all arrived with arms full of cakes, bread, more cakes and cookies and more BREAD.  I realized that my cheeks were hurting because I was smiling so much.  The hospitality and the passion was overflowing. My heart was swelling again. 3/4 of the time I had NO IDEA what they were saying and it didn't matter. 

It is true about Italians.  They all talk at once to each other and the more they talk, the louder it gets. It is also all about the food and the wine and darn, was it good.  It was better than good and I think it was because I was staying "open" to the experience.  

NOTE: This is not something that I ever do.  When I am traveling and teaching, I go in, I teach and I go home (or back to my room.)  I  never take or even allow time to experience or absorb my surroundings whether I am 10 miles or 10,000 away from home. All of that has to do with being brave and I am not really brave. Trying to learn to be, but not there.

With the consistent positive pressure from my family via phone calls and texts to "relax and enjoy the experience" I was starting to do it.  I was in Italy, teaching and starting to absorb the blessings all around. 

Someone took this photo and I am so happy that they did because I really believe that this is what it looks like on the outside when your heart is overflowing on the inside.

to be continued...

Part Two Of Who Knows...

The seat belt light turned on and the VERY French pilot spoke in VERY BROKEN English. All I really heard was "we are going to TRY" and "probably going to Rome" 

Because my flight was a short one from Paris to Florence I decided to take a window seat which turned out to be a really great idea because it helped me stabilize myself.  With my left hand anchored onto the window, my right hand held that little white bag and as the pilot mentioned, we were "TRYING..."

Little did we know that the "wind" was more like a tornado in American terms and was very destructive to many miles of ground and beloved Cypress trees in and around Florence but dang it, the pilot went for it. Also little did we know that the flights BEFORE and AFTER us were either rerouted and cancelled...

not our plane...

Again, we were going for it.

I will be honest.  I was sobbing AND throwing up AND trying to hold on and I was so overly focussed on trying to hold onto the bag and not do anything outside the bag that my life DID NOT flash before my eyes but when I turned around to see the man holding the hand of his wife that was sitting in the row in front of us, I really sobbed.  People were crying, praying out loud and throwing up but dang it, we were the "Little Plane that Could" and FOR REALS I felt taken care of and not by the flight crew.  I now can look back and know that God was taking care of me while I was taking care of myself or rather while I was making sure not to make a disastrous mess for the flight crew to clean up.

Here is the ridiculous thing and maybe someone can enlighten me.

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THAT CUTE LITTLE BAG when you are finished with it?  Fold over the top, place a cute doily over the fold, punch a hole, tie a jute string through it and attach a little die cut tag from kraft paper and hand it to the flight attendant as you leave the plane?

If you want to know, I just folded the top down, straightened the edges out and placed it nicely on the floor in front of my seat. I got off the the plane with WEAK legs and proceeded to call John and tell him I wanted to come home....right then.

I was done with making crafts,

I was done with doodling,

I was done with Distress Paints, Die cuts and I never wanted to see another piece of kraft paper ever.

I wanted to go home BUT I knew that I couldn't because I had a job to do and it wasn't all about making things. 

More to come....

Part One of Many

The weeks and days leading up to leaving for Italy I was not excited in the way you would think of as if you were going on vacation and I was not necessarily worried to get on a plane by myself to fly around the world. I was not concerned about not knowing the wonderful people that had invited to come teach and I started to think that I was kicking the homesick/fraddy cat thing I have fought since I was, um...about 10.

I am so so so blessed to have a posse of friends and a very supportive family that "know" me and know what happens when I leave (whether I am flying one hour away or 24 hours away) so I was being prayed over and lifted up with supportive texts, talks and emails leading up to departure.

I have to say, I was feeling pretty good...

dare I say BRAVE?

That was until we pulled up to the curb at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. The moment the car was put into park something shifted and I started arm wrestling with the devil. he knows my weakness and that fuels him. (and yes, I know I should have used an upper case H at the beginning of that last sentence but I am not going to give the devil that.)

This may sound pathetic but I am just going to tell it like it is because I know that I am not the only one to go through junk like this and I want to give you the ups and downs because it helps me go through it, sort it all out and then I can look back at this to see the outcome.  If you want to skip through all this blah blah blah and look at the photos, no "probelmo" (that is me speaking Italian right there)

I will spare you the snotty details (thank goodness I had my little tissue cozy in my backpack) and tell you that once I got to my gate (two hours early) I managed to stop crying (sorta) and stayed tear free all the way to Paris.  11 hours without a tear and some pretty good sleep.  I was good to go. 

So I thought.

DANG IT! 

This should have been the point when I took myself into the bathroom, looked into the mirror and said STOP IT, but I didn't.  I did however continue to pray, pray again and pray more for strength, for focus, for more strength and also to stop crying because my eyes were ready to burn out of their sockets.  I just needed to get on a plane, get my seatbelt on and I would be better.  Short 2 hour flight to Firenze (that is Florence to us) and I would be ready to start this amazing adventure and opportunity of a lifetime.  

Little did I know that there was another battle on the horizon and let me tell you this in ALL HONESTY and with absolutely no exaggeration (Folks, I can't make this stuff up.) When I got on the plane that was going to take me from Paris to Florence, I sat down buckled myself in, took a deep breath, said another prayer and then looked at the super white Air France "bag" that was in the seat pocket and thought, I am going to doodle on that bag and put it in my planner.

NOPE.

to be continued....

Okay, one photo because I must introduce you to my amazing and wonderful new friends and hosts, Paolo and Franca.

 

A Closer Look - Journaling in the Margins

Whether you are journaling in a Bible like or similar to the one I use or you are using a blank journal and you are ready to do some hand work, I think I may have made it a little easier to take the plunge or continue practicing using your own writing.

I created a simple way for you to practice hand lettering in your margins.  Download Journaling Bible Margin Templates  print out, place underneath your margin, trace and create.

You can either print it out and trim into 2" wide patterns or just fold and place under the margin you are going to work on.  It really is that simple.  Because the Bible paper is so thin, it makes it very easy to trace.

 

Now, if you are working in a blank journal that might have thicker pages, just use a pencil and put some carbon down on the BACK of the download, place it ON TOP of your page and transfer the image.

If you place it under your margin, trace the image lightly with a pencil :and continue until you have the entire image traced  To see how I finish up, take a few minutes to watch this video.

Here is a closer look at some of my pages: Thanks for stopping by.  If you are inspired to create in your Bible, margins or in a journal, I would love to see what you create!

On Being Brave

I am leaving for Italy tomorrow.

YIKES you guys.  

This is crazy.

I am grateful and blessed and anxious and all I continue to do is take deep deep breaths.

I am ready for an adventure, open to what lies ahead and excited to take 100# of supplies and teach how to turn them into art. 

If you want to follow along on my journey I will be posting to Facebook and Instagram.

Taking deep,deep breathes as I type.

I have faith but dang do I arm wrestle the devil on being brave.

More deep breathing.

As I end this post and run around doing little last minute things, I am asking for you to keep me, John and the boys in your thoughts and prayers. I know that they will be fine, but my mom heart is beating out of my chest.  

 

A Closer Look - Bible Journaling

Today I have a process video posted up at the Illustrated Faith site
and I thought I would walk through another page over here as an additional sample.  

For this particular page, I had so much writing and doodles on the prior pages that I decided to add in a page to my bible.  I tore out a lined blank page from a Moleskine Planner, trimmed it down to size, grabbed a pencil and started putting down what I want my page to say.

Then I went over those lines with a Uniball Signo 207 Micro pen: Take your time.  This is not something you should rush through because as you re-write everything, you want to not only pay attention to what you are doing, you really want to pay attention to what you are writing. Once I had everything outlined, I gently erased my pencil lines and grabbed my Zig Writer Marker in Platinum to add in shadows.

To add in pages to your Bible, gently place 1/2 the width of Washi Tape along the edge that is going to be adhered into your Bible: Trim the edges and gently place into your bible: Thanks for stopping by today and a big thank you to Shanna at Illustrated Faith for featuring me today.

So What Is It That You Do??

With only a few day to go until I board a plane to Italy, the question has come up A LOT when people ask where I am going and whether or not it is a vacation, work and if I am excited.

"So, what do you do for a living?"

THAT question.

It is such a simple yet complicated answer and I feel like I go into a tap dance trying to explain what it is that I do.  My "go to" answer is that " I teach art" but recently when I really explained what that meant (as in, stitching, stamp carving, Mixed Media, etc.) then my answer was followed up with the question: "Well then, is that considered art?"

Honestly, I do not remember how I answered that because I was just baffled.  While it is not Leonardo Da Vinci or Van Gogh art, it is art.  I guest more like "Arts & Crafts" because in general, people think of what I do is make and teach crafts which most look at as a hobby.

Ut um...

I am going to be working on a good way to talk about what it is that I do while I am gone to Italy teaching how to make crafts (ok, I am being sassy) and what I am also going to do is take a photo of the over 100 lbs. of supplies that I am taking with me and then photos of what it all turns into.

Taking one thing (or a bunch of things) and creatively turning it into another is what I call teaching art and I am blessed, grateful and excited to travel near and far to do just that.