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No spider webs,
No black lights,
No spooky sounds...
just two uncarved pumpkins...
which also covers my Thanksgiving decor as well!
Yes, we hand out candy as soon as the sun goes down, but our porch light goes out by 7:00 (hey, it is dark by 6!) I think we might be Halloween Grinch's and really, the only Halloween stuff I love is the Charlie Brown special.
Now tomorrow,
is another other story.
Nov. 1st means I can kick off the holidays!
Happy Falloween!
..to Martha & Tony for having me come teach at Scrapbook Daises as I kicked off a new creative journey..
getting back to teaching with a purpose to "Teach & Inspire", being a positive creative influence and of course, to create a beautiful mess wherever the path leads.
Things like this make me happy and confirm to me that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing...Happy, smiling, non-stressed, creative inspired souls doing just that...
smiling
creating
enjoying each others company
and getting the "thumbs up" stamp of approval (no pun intended)
Proof of a wildly creative and productive day filled with Heart...no pun intended!
I am packed, re-packed, over packed and ready to hit the 405 to teach 2 classes at Scrapbook Daises in Long Beach...and speaking of "long" it has been a long time since I have taught.
...and as I was packing, re-packing, unpacking and getting supplies ready for class, I was a little giddy, which is not normal for me..
Usually I am nervous, unsure, second guessing...
I mean, I am nervous, but over-riding the nervousness and anxiety today is excitment to get out there and create with others because I know it is a part of my purpose...To teach & remind myself and others to look beyond the ordinary things, like manila tags and old books, red rubber unmounted stamp, bottles of colors, brand new paint brushes...
to get to the nitty-gritty of creating extraordinary homemade art from ordinary things.
I betcha God feels the same way when HE sees us apply ourselves to what HE created us to be.
I did not know her personally, but I know her now.
She stood behind me once in Micheal's and she was holding a whole bunch of things...I bet she was getting supplies for the first Joy Jars...
I wish I would have known what she was doing...
But I know now, and when you know better...you do better.
One night, in our jammies, my friend & I "Ding Dong Ditched" Jessie and left a big glass Joy Jar of love, prayers and wishes from many women to bless her with some JOY like she was doing for so many others. They did not know us...They did not have to know us...but I believe they knew....and when they knew better...they did better...and are now doing
AMAZING THINGS...life changing..history making...heart strengthening things.
Again, you know when you just "know"
I never got to experience Jessie's silly side, but I know that she would have made me laugh and I know that we would have made her laugh at how silly we were and how much fun we had to bless her with a little something..at night..in our jammies!I did not know her before she went to be with Jesus, but I know her now.
You know when you just know...
I know.
I know what kinda of girl she was and what am impact she has made on my life...more like a footprint, a constant reminder to NEVER EVER GIVE UP.
It is so similar to faith...
You just know.
So what is one to do, when there are SO..MANY..LITTLE...KIDS with cancer? No, not just little kids, big kids, too....
Reach out, share, inspire, remind and enfluence others to spread Joy.
To do better...
To make a difference....
This morning on FB, Jessie's daddy posted that a donor has offered to give The Jessie Rees Foundation $25,000 on December 25th if her FB page gets to 250,000 likes!
and I immedialty, like many many others said, BRING IT ON...we can do this...and then I knew.
I remembered that I have something very special that my mother-in-law made me to auction off in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which reminded me of this..
Cancer is cancer, yound or old..and it SUCKS.
so here is the challenge for you...and your friends (because you need to share this with everyone!) I have this beautiful 52" x 67 1/2" handmadewith LOVE brown, pink & turquoise quilt that is covered in butterflys, flowers and words of hope & strength.
and I am willing to give it to one of you, my blog and Facebook friends...(and your FB and Blog friends that you share this with)
All you need to do is go to Jessie's FB page here:
https://www.facebook.com/JessieReesFoundation
and click "LIKE"
Then come back here and leave me a comment including YOUR NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS.
On December 1st, I will throw all of the names in a BIG HUGE BOX (because I know you will all do this) and I will ask Jessie's Daddy to draw a name and this beauty will be yours:
We are better together...
Let's do this !!!
I now know why I have spent many an hour at the local skate parks and why I know where all of the local skate shops are...So that I would know what to do should a roll of grip tape fall into my lap.
When my husband found a roll of clear grip tape from a job site, he knew. He did not know what I would do with it, he just knew that I would do something.
Cut a piece, remover the backing and fold it together so that you have one piece that has grip tape on both sides.
Insert Big Shot...
Die cut snowflakes. Notice that I missed a few of the edges? It is okay because I trimmed this one into a smaller snow flake, duh.
Then, using Tim Holtz Picket Fence Crackle Paint, I swiped the brush back and forth until I got enough paint on the flake..
Then I grabbed my BRAND NEW JAR OF DRY STICKLE ROCK CANDY GLITTER...and I dropped it. So, instead of FREAKING OUT...I drew a heart in it, swept it up
and poured in all back in the jar...including the dust.
Then I sprinkled just a little onto my snowflake, dried it, punched a hole into the top, added a string and smiled.
Now, I am not real sure that you will run out to a skate shop and buy some grip tape, but you can do the same thing I did and use cardboard or sandpaper!
Happy Holidays!
Homecoming dances are not the way they used to be when I was in High School. (and yes, I did go to HS even though my kids often tell me "I don't get it" or "I do not understand")
It is quite a production which starts with boy asking girl in a creative way. Some boys dress up and stand on the corner of the school with a sign waiting for the girl to arrive and say yes...
Some boys ask using school marquees...
Some boys nail 10 signs to 10 different trees leading up to girls house with a word on each sign...
Some boys put 10000 post its on girls car with phrases like "homecoming" "go with me" etc.
the idea is...Boy asks girl in a creative way and let me tell you how that is right up my alley...(as if you had not figured that out) so when my boy wanted to ask his girl...I suggested this:
On his birthday cake, at his birthday party was written the invitation to go with him to homecoming (good thing I know the baker!)
so on with the planning...and have you ever tried to get details out of a 16 and 17 year old?
Dinner...no dinner?..and where do you want to go for dinner....?
Group going...no group going?....who is going with you?
How are you getting there...wait...who is driving...who is picking up???
Flowers, what about flowers...and what color flowers??
What are you wearing..what is she wearing??? wait, what color is she wearing? what about shoes?
Tickets..did you get your tickets...(ut umm...today is the LAST day to get tickets so please get your tickets..)
stuff like that...and then the answers.
No "out to dinner" just a picnic for two.
No fancy, just them..bow ties, suspenders, a cute dress and chucks
and a pre-dance photo destination that stopped grandma's heart. All I think I remember saying is OH MY GOSH!!!!!
because why would you go to the lake, or the park or to someones house when you can trespass in the canyon and use a broken down, graffiti strewn, trailer with a super super gross mattress and a tire swing as a backdrop...Creative genes run in our and her family....
and this is true happiness:
why I did not get a picture with these two as the police car rolled up on us is beyond me because it would have made another awesome backdrop...DANG IT!!! but all was good and the officers kinda giggled (no, they were confused) on the attire and the photo location and even said..."what kinda dance is it? and "I have never seen kids dress like this for a dance..kinda nice"
oh, did I mention is was raining? well not "rain" but a really good drizzle and had been all day long...and our girl loved it because she got to put a flannel on over her dress !!Happily ever after..They were back at our house by 9:30!
I love manila tags so I was off to a good start but I did not have a plan, no theme..just quiet, rain, coffee and time. As I worked away I recognized during the creative process, the thing I love to do is always add heart, not just with paper and adhesive, but really with heart.
I also recognized the things I don't like, embraced the huge mess I made and made mental notes of the 100 steps, give or take, I took to get the tag done and to the point where I loved it. That is when I realized that it would not look like it does without going through each step to get there...and that is when I thought,
"hmmm...The same goes with life..."
I would not be who I am right now without going through the things I have gone through, good, bad and ugly. Learn as I go, learn from my mistakes, learn to leave well enough alone, learn to listen more and speak slower..remember to try new things, learn to let it go, to look for the beauty in the everyday...
and the same goes for my little manila tag.
Sprayed it and dried it :
Tore out a heart, adhered it and added a little shadow using the black Distress Marker:
Added a tag sticker and trimmed off the edge..
and then tore off the tag sticker, added some torn book paper and stamped an image in black onto the black background...
then I decided to cover the heart with Picket Fence Crackle and dry it...
and when I used my finger to touch it to see if it was dry, the ink that was on my finger rubbed onto the heart, which really defined the crackle, so I used a baby wipe that had ink on it and wiped it all over the heart
..
then I added some Rock Candy Crackle to the paper pieces I had added on after I ripped of the sticker tag and I dried that...
decided to add a little Walnut around the edges, here and there..
wrapped a few strands of string around it and hung it up to dry completely..
and then I took a second look.
At the point I even said out-loud.."Leave it alone"
but I couldn't.
it just was not me so I took it down and added a little Broken China Distress ink to the paper pieces:
then decided my heart needed something, so I shook up my Distress Ink in Silver and added some of that..even sprinkled a little Dry Stickle Glitter...dried it, looked at it and...
wiped it all off.
yep.
and then...I tore off the paper pieces that had the Rock Candy Crackle on it...You know, the paper that I added after I tore off the sticker tag....
When I tore off the paper, it left the original manila exposed, which I liked and wanted more of, so I sprayed a little water onto the tag and started rubbing. I dried it, stamped a little on the exposed areas and ink'd the edges...
then I grabbed some scraps of burlap...
trimmed a little, frayed it a little and adhered it on with Glue-N-Seal...
I added some "chit-chat" stickers here and there that read " living with everyday imperfection...takes courage"
and then I knew I was done.
The end.
Here is what I used:
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I will throw myself under the bus (and you can do it in the privacy of your own home) that when Fall arrives, the air gets colder, the leaves turn colors, there is a fire in the fire place and the holidays displays go up in the stores, there seems to be a shift in my heart for the warm and cozy feelings that come with the Christmas season.
Thing is, it should be something we should all strive for everyday...not just at Christmas.
Joy, peace and love should be an everyday choice and if we would all just focus on those three words, I do believe the world would spin a little smoother.
Today (well, and everyday after) I challenge you (and myself) to choose Joy, seek Peace and spread Love. If I do it, I am going to reflect it onto another and if they do it, they too will reflect it...and so on and so on.
It really is pretty easy, we just complicate it with worldly bothers like traffic, gas prices, politics, homework, laundry, etc. We should be grateful for what we have and better yet, grateful that we have a choice.
Thank you..this concludes my public service announcement.
xoxo
S.