120 days of 365 revo’lution bits

365 revo’lution is still going strong— this project focused on my 2013 revo’lution intentions just passed the 4 month mark!  Woo hoo!

When reflecting on my daily practice for this month’s revo’lution bits, I continue to be grateful for the moments I am able to slow down to work on each piece and the perspective & awareness they teach me about the intentions simplicity, honor, stillness, light, service, and trust.  Each are precious gifts.  Simple, but 120 powerful lil’ memos to myself in this visual form.

Reaching 100 revo’lution bits during the month of April and my commitment to this practice was awesome!

Lots of thanks for the encouragement and support received for this effort- I believe sharing these daily intentions is an important part of the manifestation process…for what we all want to invite, have more of, and give in our life, daily practice, relationships, and well-being…

Previous months and 365 activity can be viewed here:

From My Smashbook: April Inspiration

Thanks to Artsyville’s Glue It Tuesday and the revival of a local Saturday art-making get together I enjoy attending, my smashbook has been filling up with lots of the things I love to stick, collage, and glue down during the month of April:

Here I’ve used magazine photo images sent by Lani in 2013′s Creative Pay It Forward, pages from a vintage Reader’s Digest book I discovered, dictionary pages, and other collage bits & pieces I’ve been collecting.  Looking for to this week’s Glue It Tuesday’s fun!

Inspiring, Artsy Link Love- Round Up #1

Not only did I discover Tammy’s awesome Link Love initiative last week, but that she also kindly included Creativity in Motion and my 365 Project on her list of five blogs in her recent post.  Thank you Tammy!   I want to contribute towards her search for fun this April and pay the shout out I received forward to other blogs I am inspired by… and you can too…. Read more about Tammy’s mission to share the link love here and how to get involved!

Every Monday for the rest of April (8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th), I’ll be posting five blogs to help spread some link love … Blogs that I hope inspire you as much as they inspire me!

Here’s my 5 for this week..Check them out:

Link Love for April 8

• {stargardener’s} right brain planner: I’m really drawn to Teresa Robinson’s creative mojo of art journaling, quotes, photo goodness and her doses of beautiful light… I smile when I see Teresa’s stuff pop up in my newsfeeds….

• art evolutions:  For more good vibes, I look forward to seeing posts from Lizzie Bellotto, whether this is her Inspiration Monday or Mid-Week Pondering updates.  I’ve also really enjoyed her recent work of mandalas!

• a big creative yes: I loooove Dan James’ inspirational writing and reflections… it’s one of the few blogs that I go back and re-read past posts from his archives.

• inner canvas: For the art therapist in me, reading Lisa Mitchell’s blog is super nuturing!

• positively creative:  Dale Anne Potter’s blog is a hopeful & lovely online space full of positivity, gratitude, and creativity.  Home of Positively Creative Journaling  and the weekly Gratitude Accordion Book.

Adventure Visioning: A Page From My Smashbook

“Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul.” ~W. Somerset Maugham

 I started to play with doing some visioning in my smashbook. Using magazine photo collage, drawing & inking, I began to visually organize content & happenings for the next few months ahead by converting my to-do post-it notes and lists into image form. Above is a page for April, May, June, and July, which includes inspiration about appointments, proposal deadlines, projects, brainstorming ideas, upcoming events, bits & pieces of fun stuff, & more.

On Day 68: In Art I Trust

On Day 68 of my 365 revo’lution art bit project:

“At the deepest level, the creative process and the healing process arise from a single source. When you are an artist, you are a healer; a wordless trust of the same mystery is the foundation of your work and its integrity.” ~Rachel Naomi Remen

59 Days o’ Revo’lution Art Bits

It’s Day 59 of my 365 revo’lution art bit project. 2 months of this practice & time of reflection on my core revo’lution intentions continues to unfold as an inspiring process of growth and awareness.

During the month of February, I upgraded to another metal binder ring, as finished revo’lution art bits were quickly outgrowing their space.  I hope that this larger ring will be able to accommodate all 365 very nicely and securely. I also received 3 more lil’ sketchbooks from Tracy (thank you again!) to add more paper to the original stash I was using for this project.  The support, feedback, and interest I’ve received for this adventure has been encouraging and super helpful!   Much gratitude!

 This month I was introduced to the write up, 15 Reasons Why Artists Keep Visual Journals, that I thought was an excellent summary of the benefits for art journaling. The information supported many aspects of this project as a safe holding place for expression, self-awareness, learning, and transformation.  On another resource related note, a HubPage article published by Art Therapist Carly Sullens this month, Writing in a Gratitude Journal to Manage Stress,  provided the idea of  adapting and creating “Gratitude Art Bits” inspired by this 365 project. Super nice!

Here is a collection of  revo’lution art bits completed this month for Days 32-59:

I am going to take some time later today to reflect & focus more on the themes and connections inspired by this month’s 365 activity.  I feel like each revo’lution bit I create  is an artful seed of effort to foster stillness, trust, service, simplicity, honor, and light into my actions and awareness, as well as into my life for growth, harvesting, and sharing with others.  

Onward to Day 60 and Month #3…. Stay tuned!

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January revo’lution art bits: Day 1-31

Creative Pay It Forward’s Paper Stash Surprise

I responded to Lani‘s Creative Pay It Forward request last month and as part of this fun mail art activity, I just received an inspiring paper stash surprise from her with these instructions on the package:

1. Spill Contents

2. Play with Glue and Scissors

3. Have Fun!

I did very well at accomplishing directive #1 which also already started to put accomplishing directive #3 in motion.  I sat with much wonder and excitement as I started to look through the spilled contents.  Some of what was included:  images of natural and neon light, calm landscape scenery, earthy & sacred objects,  modern & retro-esque print sheets, and… lots of  butterflies…which made me smile inside and out (lots!) when thinking about the future idea of using them in my collage work.

The contents of this Creative Pay It Forward delivery are all wonderful ingredients for more 2013 revo’lution making!  Many, many thanks Lani… So many possibilities here!

On to directive #2 and more of #3:  Time to play with scissors and glue!  I also need to start working on my second Create It Forward goodie to send out this month to someone on my list.

Inside & Out: Slide Mount Accordion Book [How to]

Slide Mount Accordion Book Cover

A year or two ago I remember seeing Quinn McDonald‘s awesome 35mm Slide Accordion Journal on her blog, as well as this mention about her slide mount journal being featured in the premiere issue of the Cloth Paper Scissors’ art journaling mag Pages.  Great idea! Making my own has been on my creative to-do list ever since and I finally spent some time creating one.  The process was lots of fun!  It’s also a great way to re-purpose any old, unused, and unwanted slide mounts into a miniature book!

Supplies to get started: Plastic slide covers & tape

Supplies I used to get started were some empty plastic slide mounts, paper tape (as well as masking tape), and a variety of miniature images, collages, and words to glue inside each mount.  Using some of my Lost and Found idea-o-logy paper stash came in handy for the background because each page is doubled sided and could be seen on the front and back in the mount’s center.

Attaching slides together with tape: Front and back

Using some paper tape on one side and masking tape on the other (just to experiment), I attached each individual mount together. The tape created a sturdy, flexible binding between each slide for the book’s accordion style.  I then used a variety of my favorite alcohol inks to add color to each slide.  The plastic, smooth texture of the mount’s surface made working with the alcohol inks super easy and left a nice look that dried really quick.  With some sandpaper and a sharp metal tool, I distressed some areas of the book after applying the alcohol ink.  I also accented the mount edges and in between each page with a gold paint pen.

Inside & Out: Slide Mount Accordion Book Finished

I think I’ve made my first Creative Pay It Forward gift to send to someone on my list in 2013! Yay! Thank you to Quinn for the inspiration to try this out. I look forward to making a few more!

Creative Goodness with Gluebooks: eBook [Free!]

Inspired by my 2012 6 Degrees of Creativity 2 e-workshop, Creative Goodness with Gluebooks, a mini eBook is now available to download!

Creative Goodness with Gluebooks invites you to learn about the possibilities and creativity of gluebooks! This free 6 page color PDF will introduce you to easy ideas that gluebooks can be created with repurposed and general art materials, as well as fun ways to develop, collect, and use your paper stash!

Contents:

• What is a Gluebook?
• Cultivating & Creating Your Paper Stash
• Paper Stash Ideas
• Material Ideas to Use with Gluebooking
• Gluebook Prompts
• Brown Paper Bag Gluebook How To
• File Folder Gluebook How To [VIDEO]
• SMASH books
• Inspiration, Resources, & Links

Once adding this eBook using the free checkout above and an e-mail address to send it to (for this purpose only), you will automatically receive a link to download the PDF file.

Happy Gluebooking!

 

twentytwelve revo’lution book reflection

In these last few days of 2012, I’ve been thinking more about this past year’s ready for revo’lution book and the intentions I identified: Authenticity, Creativity, Attention, Sincerity, Re-Connection, Kindness, Perspective, and Joy. I re-read my posts archived for this year’s revo’lution and also spent some reflection with the art. Each intention still resonates with the strong connection and positive energy the pages inspired during their creation last December, manifested in my 2012 life, and the important gifts they each continue to provide.

I hold such amazing appreciation for the places, people, moments, choices, and opportunities that nurtured these eight intentions throughout this year.

My process has come full circle:

Preparation:  [prep·a·ra·tion]

The action of making ready or being made ready for use.

Intention: [in·ten·tion]

A course of action that one intends to follow. An aim that guides action; an objective, purpose.

Creation: [cre·a·tion]

The action or process of bringing something into existence.

Transformation: [trans·for·ma·tion]

A marked or thorough change in form.

These intentions and the lighted path they have led me to has also created an important foundation of understanding for my next revo’lution dedicated to Stillness, Honor, Trust, Light, Simplicity, and Service in 2013.