RAW::As Easy As 1-2-3

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Soon the new year starts, so now's a great time to:

1. Wipe the slate clean.
2. Focus upon what you really want.
3. Chart your course.

Right?

Well... only if you want to risk having to repeat these steps for the same wishes next year! Maybe this is splitting hairs, but here's an adventurous alternative:

1. Give thanks that life is... just as it is (and that it's been... just as it's been). Because of it, you're now "READY."

2. Define what you want in terms of the end result. Don't worry about the hows, or even the course. KNOW that what you want is ALREADY yours in spirit, by divine LAW, just focus on the certainty of this ownership, understand it, claim it, and "it will be on earth, as it is in heaven (spirit)."

3. LET THE UNIVERSE show you the way via your impulses and instincts that appear as you take inspired action. Don't worry that your first steps seem silly or futile. And if you don't know what to do, do anything! Go! Get busy! Do not insist on intermediary successes, only upon the end result. 2011 is going to be your year (it already is),


The Universe


{giclee print from Nicole and Jimmy Chung, LoveSugar on Etsy
...such a cute shop! Check them out!}

Your turn...

What thanks are you giving at the close of this year and the start of the new?

What is the end result that you are defining for yourself? Write it down. Post it on the fridge or your bathroom mirror. Seeing it every day will help you achieve it.

Are you open to letting the Universe show you the way? Don't forget that you can be shown the way, but you still have to do the work to get there. It will be hard. There will be failures (when you fail, FAIL BIG!). But there will also be spectacular successes.

I have hopes that 2011 is going to be my year. (11 is my lucky number). What hopes do you have?

Do tell!
Enjoy the day!

Bead Star is Out of This World!

"The scientific theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn are composed entirely of lost airline luggage."

~Mark Russell


{me and Tiny Dancer, a.k.a. my inspiration}

 Back in January 2010, my daughter, Tiny Dancer had the third grade solar system project come home. There was a sheet suggesting that stryofoam balls can be painted to the exact likenesses of their heavenly counterparts. But my children have learned that when the project comes home with a suggested material, they cannot use that for their project. They need to do more.

When my son came home with his solar system project three years earlier, he groaned and pouted but ultimately came up with using polymer clay to make swirling replicas of the planet. His entire Universe is housed in a shoe box and is one that we will keep forever {or until we need some extra cash and can auction it off on eBay to the highest bidder ;-}.

Tiny Dancer remembered the fun of the polymer clay solar system project and thought that she would get to use that same material to make hers. Nope. You guessed it. Not only could she not use styrofoam balls but she could not use polymer clay either. {I know. I am the meanest mom on the block.} I sent her away to think about it and about 20 minutes later she came bounding back in the room announcing, "I know what we are going to do for my solar system project... we are going to make jewelry!"

That's my girl! ;-)

So we each sat down to sketch out our designs, keeping in mind all the impressive things that we had learned about each of the 8 planets and the sun in our time researching. From the colors to the size to the number of moons and the rings, there were so many fascinating things about the planets to explore. Then we brought those sketches together and chose the best parts of each to come up with some final designs. We went shopping at Michaels. {It is quite incredible that so many of the beads we found closely resembled the planets}. Then we set about to make an entire solar system into necklaces that we displayed on black busts in a circle surrounding the sun.

If you want to see the entire solar system project, you can go to this post to see the pictures of all nine necklaces we made for the display.



As we were arranging the circles in the most pleasing pattern and opening jump ring after jump ring for the Saturn themed necklace, I knew that this necklace was special. So I asked Tiny Dancer if we could enter it into the Bead Star contest. She said yes.



{Isn't this cover piece AWESOME? Made by my friend Erin Strother
and totally worthy of the grad prize win!
And by the way...so many great friends are in this issue
...with so many exceptional designs
...and so many new friends yet to be made!}



I challenged myself to enter all nine categories this year {more for the personal triumph than anything else}. I was inspired by my dear friend Denise Yezbak Moore and her quest to enter all nine categories. That made me want to see if I could do that myself. I was fortunate to have three of my entries selected among the top 20 in those categories (pearls, stones, under $25). But the one that I am most proud of is the one that took 1st Place in the Under $25 category:

Icy Rings

If you voted this year in the contest {whether you voted for me or not}, I thank you. The fact that this entry was one of 1,000 to catch the editor's eye and garnered the most votes out of over 80,000 cast is quite an honor to me. But just showing up to play is the best thing about entering contests like this.

I believe that this piece may have won because it looks so much more stunning than the under $25 price tag. It is a statement piece, one that gets noticed when you wear it. I think the key to entering something in that category is to make something look richer than it is. And no, we are not selling this one, nor any of the solar system. They are too precious.

On Tuesday the magazine finally arrived. We have been sitting on this for about 6 months. So hard to keep that secret. I think that Tiny Dancer may have forgotten all about it! So I waited to open this with her. Her smile lights up a room and the wattage on this one was particularly bright. She is so proud of this accomplishment. Although for legal reasons they couldn't list her as the creator (since she is under 18), the inspiration for this piece was all hers and I have to give big props to Melanie Stafford and the whole Interweave crew for acknowledging Tiny Dancer {a.k.a. Olivia} in the small write up. I cannot take full credit for this necklace. I simply was the conduit to make it happen.

Needless to say, Olivia aced the solar system project.



{We did modify this slightly... we removed one little brown swirly bead that was inside one of the rings representing Saturn because we didn't think that people would understand that in the contest.
Sorry for the cockeyed scanning. Best I could do.}

And she's pretty stoked to share the Bead Star winnings with me.

How about you?

Any plans to stretch your creative wings and enter the Bead Star contest for 2011?

Or what other ways can you challenge yourself to try new things in 2011?

Are you considering new materials, new techniques, new directions?

Do tell!

Enjoy the day!



My One Word::FOCUS

I have never been much for resolutions. Those sort of things never work out for me. They are too far-reaching with not enough roots to take hold. And who doesn't make pie-in-the-sky declarations for their year? They are just rarely attainable. And failure is no fun.

So when I read on Christine Kane's inspirational blog about how people were choosing words for the year to frame them and give them direction, I thought that sounded like something I could do.

I jumped right in and declared that my word for 2010 would be INSPIRE. And then I started reading about how people really spent time coming up with just the perfect word. I felt that I had jumped the gun. I mean, it is not any surprise that I seek to be inspired every day and I want to be an inspiration to others. And to recap my year, I think that I did just that:

• Initiated a monthly "Inspired by..." challenge from December 2009-May 2009
• Proposed my first ever gallery exhibit "Inspired by..." with the inspiration coming from the local artists at Gallery Q
• Opening of the "Inspired by..." exhibit August-September 2010
• Attended the Bead & Button show and took classes with Sherri Haab
• Tried new techniques, like etching and metal work and polymer clay, to help me grow my skills
• Sought out bead artisans to inspire me
• Started the groundwork for my first line of jewelry that will be unveiled in early 2011
• Wrote 158 blog posts and replied to hundreds of comments
• Doubled my followers to nearly 500

But I wanted more than that. So I thought about a new word and unveiled my second word for the year: UP.

This was a tad harder to achieve. But being that I am more of a glass is half full kind of person, it was within my grasp, but not altogether easy.

UP could be many things...
…looking up

…laugh it up
…stand up
…listen up
…step up
…step it up
…up and at ‘em
…make up
…make it up
…get up
…wake up
…rise up
…chin up
…stock up
…keep up
…keep it up
…grow up
…give it up
…live it up
…giddy up

I tried to live my life in a way that had me looking up rather than feeling down. Sometimes that was hard. There was discouragement and disappointment along the way. Not every piece I sent in to a magazine got published, but many of them did and that had me rising up. I didn't always find the situations I was involved in pleasant but that didn't stop me from laughing it up. There were times when I wasn't sure that I should keep doing this, but I kept it up and now I have a plan to hopefully propel me into the next phase, so giddy up might be very appropriate right now. This horse can't get me there fast enough.

In thinking about what I wanted to do this year, I have been re-reading all the great posts that people who read Christine Kane's blog have written. And along the way I found some tools that I thought would help me in choosing my word for 2011.

Christine Kane has a worksheet that you might want to download to guide you in selecting a word that works for you. We all know that writing things down is a sure way to get them done, so this worksheet might not be a bad idea. Click here to have Christine Kane's Word of the Year Discovery Tool sent to your email.

And I have also discovered a website called My One Word that can not only help you select a word, but lend you support throughout the year. I am not sure if they will continue this for 2011, but I found a lot of great support here and will go back and read some of the blog posts. The premise for My One Word is that resolutions don't work. They set you up as destined to fail because you focus on becoming a person you want to be rather than being open to the person that God wants you to be.

If you are interested in scrapbooking you might be persuaded to join Ali Edwards in her class One Little Word. I am considering it even though I am no scrapbooker (just a wannabe).

When you choose that one word, things start aligning right then and there. You will find that you have something guiding you. I have heard people who pick a word like FORGIVENESS and then find themselves faced with all manner of situations that warrant a true test to that word. It may seem like magic, but I am a believer that when you open yourself up to the Universe and ask for what you want, things start happening to bring that to you. However, you have to be open to the challenges you will receive with that, and it is not always going to be smooth sailing. It will be a test, but if you come prepared for that test and you persevere, you will succeed.

For me, my 2011 is all about breaking out of where I have been, but in order to do that I really need my one word: FOCUS.

I read somewhere that FOCUS = Follow One Course Until Successful. I really like that. I really need that. I don't know if I have expressed it here before, but I have a bad case of creative ADD. I cannot concentrate on one method, one material, one style. I feel like I am all over the map. I am not sure that I even have a style with my jewelry, or my clothes, or my horribly sparse lack of interior decorating. I have grandiose ideas and then get them half started or buy all the supplies and equipment to do them and then move on to the next thing.

This FOCUS will be a big challenge for me. Because this year I have cut back my daytime working hours to 4 days a week, so that I can FOCUS on growing my business in order to keep pulling back those daytime hours. But what I have found in this past month that was a dry run, is that I am not able to FOCUS and commit to those hours as sacred. I am hoping that if I can FOCUS, I will be able to bring my idea for my jewelry into clearer vision, pinpoint and agressively go after getting into several respected art shows and grow my online presence through a more directed action plan and enhanced emphasis on selling jewelry that people want online. I do already have a custom order pending for the dance studio for the spring and plans for a new streamlined booth display (hopefully the banners I ordered as the main draw will be in by Thursday which will give me one day to set them up and take a picture before the deadline for the first show I am attempting to get into). I am also trying to hone my skills and FOCUS on learning to draw with Jeannie's class starting soon (come on and join me!).

So that I can stay FOCUSed on this word, I decided that I would turn that word into art. I plan to make my word of the year into something that I can put up on my wall of my studio to inspire me to stay on track. In fact, I plan to add the words from 2010 up there as well. There could be ceramics or polymer clay or painting. Maybe paper mache or photography or mixed media collage. Wouldn't it be cool to look up on your wall and see a whole flock of words there to keep you motivated and to remind you of your past years' success? I think that will be a perfect inspiration for me.

Now let's just hope that I can FOCUS on one art medium so that I don't waste the whole year trying to find the 'perfect' one.

What is your word for the year ahead?
What one word is calling out to you, challenging you with a seed of truth that your life is lacking? 
Can you see that one word shimmering before you right now?
Will you invite that word into your heart to ripen fully inside of you this year?
Will  you be open to the ups and downs and ins and outs of where that word will lead you?
Do tell!

Enjoy the day!

Fa La La La La La La La La

Enjoy your Christmas Holiday!

30 Words::Small Price

{Letterpress card by enormouschampion on Etsy}

Dad’s surgery today.

Torn meniscus.

Playing the waiting game

pre-op

post-op

recovery

stale magazines 

lukewarm coffee

1,000 piece puzzles

Prognosis good.

Crutches for Christmas 

- a small price to pay.

Here's wishing those in hospitals a very Merry Christmas,

as well as the people who serve them and make them well.

Enjoy the day!

RAW::Masterpiece of Art

{artwork by Valentina Ramos on Etsy}

You are an artist of the spirit.
Find yourself and express yourself in your own particular way.
Express your love openly.
Life is nothing but a dream,
and if you create your life with love,

your dream becomes a masterpiece of art.



{artwork by Valentina Ramos on Etsy}



This Random Act of Wisdom is brought to you by Don Miguel Ruiz and the Daily Ruiz Inspiration. Sign up to get your inspiration delivered to your inbox. Artwork by Valentina Ramos on Etsy.

How is this wisdom speaking to you?
What big dreams do you have for 2011?
What is holding you back from believing that you can?

 

Enjoy the day!

Learning to Draw

"Life is
the art of drawing
without an eraser."

~John W. Gardner

I have never been a great artist. Okay. I have artistic tendencies. I see the world through the lens of an artist. But I am not a Master by any means. I have dabbled in all sorts of creative endeavors, but none of them have ever stuck with me. While I did take some art in high school {like photography when we actually developed our own film and calligraphy which I still do today} I don't recall a lot of formal training beyond grade school projects that all looked the same. I think that is why I have always had such a hard time when someone has called me an 'artist.' Since I didn't earn that moniker through intense study and practice, but merely live a creative life, that one has always been a hard pill for me to swallow.

I admire all types of art. I have tried oil painting and wheel thrown pottery. I love mixed media and poetry. I have sung on stage {and more regularly at church...where I am the 'Christmas Angel' next week ;-} and acted in community theater plays. But the one thing that I have never had any training in is learning to draw.

I see so much value in learning how to draw. It would help me with designing jewelry if I could sketch out ideas as they pop in my head. I could make a flip book of sketches for my designs. I would be able to capture the beautiful things that I see each day instead of filing them in my faulty memory. I would find a passtime that I can do anywhere with any materials for a lifetime.

So on my secret wishlist of skills I would like to hone is the ability to draw.

The Universe has a funny way of bringing to you exactly what you need. And that is when Jeannie Dukic contacted me recently. She asked for my opinion and help in formulating her thoughts on putting together a drawing lab that would run for the entire year of 2011. {Seriously, Jeannie...how did you know to ask me?}.

Now I am all about the quick fix. Duct tape and glue guns are my best friends. But I am not sure I could learn to draw successfully in a one day workshop {tried that} or by picking up a book and reading about it {I need real humans interacting with me and I am horrendous at following directions!}. Having the support of someone who has been there and is successfully evolving and learning more about technique as your cheerleader is huge.

I just signed up to take a 52 week Drawing Lab offered by Jeannie Dukic. I like the idea that there will be some silliness to the process and yet will give me a sensible direction. There will be weekly assignments sent via email and a Flickr group to share our progress. There will be the opportunity to win random drawings {if I do my assignments}, and the chance to participate in an Art Show Blog Hop quarterly {you know how I love blog hops!}. I love that I can put into it as much time as I can each week {since we all know that life has a funny way of making other plans}, and that I don't have to start with fancy equipment. Just a number 2 pencil, a pad of paper and the willingness to learn.

Similarly priced drawing labs cost well over $200 for a whole years' worth of activities. This cost is less than the price of a book on how to draw. Right now the introductory rate is just $30 (until December 26 - and increases to $35 after that - still a deal!). For 52 weeks!? Even if I can't participate in all the weeks that is still way less than $1 a week! I don't know anywhere that gives you that sort of value.

If drawing is something that you can see would have value in your life and would be fun to do, I would encourage you to join me on this journey. I will be sharing my experience with you here in 2011 and would love to have you sign up and join me. We could support each other in our quest to make time for art!



Join me in learning to draw with the Drawing Lab 2011!

What do you remember most from your art classes when you were young?
Have you ever wanted to draw, paint, sculpt, etc?
What is stopping you from trying?
What other art goals do you have for yourself for 2011?

Do tell!

Enjoy the day!