Words and stuff

Hi everyone!

So today I was all about words and stuff (and more words, etc...thank you, Matt, for putting this phrase in my mind!).  Words belonged on my study in texture piece, but I somehow needed to get the words in my mind onto the piece itself.  I had found a template (thank you eBay!) for the font I wanted to use for the words, but was way nervous about trying to letter the words myself (I couldn't use the template on such a bumpy surface, as I wouldn't get enough coverage with paint [or any other medium for that matter] through the template to make the words look right).  Here's the template:

So today I said "what the heck" (well, sort of...this is a "G" rated blog after all :-) ) and just put my marker on the piece and lettered away.  I would eyeball each letter on the template and just copy it to the best of my ability onto the surface.  I used a black marker that has a paint brush-type end on it so it allowed for some flexibility in trying to get the letters written on the bumpy surface.  Here are the results:

While the words are far from perfect, they don't look too bad.  I'm just proud of the fact that I just did it without thinking too much about it.  Yay me!

Now I need to determine how I want to finish this off.  I'm not what I am going to do, but that's okay.  I'll figure it out!

Now I'm off to have some fun words and stuff with my husband to prepare for the week ahead!  Until next time, think about your words and stuff and make them as gentle as possible!

Treasures from the deep

Hi everyone!

It has been a busy couple of months for me.  I have been to visit my parents with Joe, put in many hours at my "day job," gotten married, and taken a lovely honeymoon with my husband (seems weird to call Joe my husband now...I love the fact that we are married, but the titles "husband" and "wife" don't seem natural yet).  All of this has left little time for me to be in my studio.

However, my studio has not been far from my mind.  I have just spent a couple of hours putting away the goodies I have acquired over the past couple of months (yes, there is always time to go to the craft stores!).  I also spent quite a few hours cleaning one of the greatest treasures I brought home from our honeymoon (besides my wonderful husband!)...shells!

Joe and I visited Sanibel Island on our honeymoon.  In case you don't know, Sanibel Island is known as the seashell capital of the world.  And there is good reason for the title...it seemed like there were more shells on the beach than sand!  I brought home six gallon-sized baggies full of them!  So much fun to collect, but a lot of work to clean them.  Here they are all laid out to dry:

That part of our sidewalk is about 6-7 feet long...that's a lot of shells!

I want to incorporate these somehow into the art I make, so I am going to have to think about how I want to do that.  Meanwhile, these treasures from the deep made me think about another treasure from a different deep...how I want to express myself and create art.  I've lost a little focus over the last few months, so I want to dig deep and find that girl who feels comfortable creating and expressing what she really needs and wants to, all despite what anyone else might say.  I am ever hopeful of being able to do this (as I am an ever-hopeful kind of girl :-) ).  Perhaps that treasure from the deep will be as beautiful as these shells are.  I think it can be.

Until next time, be sure to listen to what your heart tells you so you can let your inner treasures shine, too!