Been a while

Boy it's been a little while since I've been on this. Long enough I couldn't even remember my password! Anywho, I was dealing with a number of health issues and thanks to a holistic practitioner am on my way back to wellness. During this time I have been making a lot of zentangles/zendoodles. It's amazing how it's meditative state can help you through the troubling times.

The first one on the left I titled Migraine. It was one of the worst headaches I've experienced for a while due to a pseudotumor cerebri.This one to the right is titled Relief. Notice how everything looks a little squished together. For those of you who don't know what a pseudotumor cerebri is, it's, as I like to say, you're brain being crushed by too much spinal fluid.

This one to the right is titled, Relief. Notice the "holes"? After finishing this one and looking at it from a distance the first thing that came to mind was "relief". Since this zentangle my headache kept disappearing.

This one to the left is Fire Within. This is so far my favorite zentangle that I have done. It was done a few days after starting a Gluten Free diet, which so far has been helping me tremendously. This represents my burning desire to become healthy and pain free.

Once again, to the right, is Misty Lace. I just finished this yesterday morning and am not sure the meaning behind it yet. I know in time it will reveal itself to me. Just like the SoulCollage (R) cards it may not have a meaning at this time, but it will eventually. Soon I hope to start combining the two, SoulCollage (R) and Zentangle (R) together. 

These are my two most recent Zentangle inspired drawings. These are for a postcard trade with the theme of summer.

Just a Ramble

Lately, all I have been doing is doing "Zentangles" or Zendoodles. They have become so addicting and I am also part of a wonderful Ning group called Zendoodles n' Art. I have become so addicted to this that while at work all I want to do is doodle, I can't wait to get home and grab my stuff.

Here is the latest doodle I have done. I have been challenging myself with using smaller paper (4x6).

Universal Angels

I have really been enjoying doing these drawing starting with a template (in this case the little angels) and then just going with the feeling from there. Guess I'm going to have to pry myself away long enough to make a Soul Collage card about this new passion.

More tangles

Here are 2 more zentangles. The one with the fish (on the top) was finished on 03/11/2010 and the other (on the bottom) I just finished minutes ago this morning. It's amazing how doodles and simple lines can appear so extravagant. This method has managed to teach me what my high school teachers never could - patience and time. I'm the type of person who always believed I had to do something on the first time and it had to be great/perfect and done quickly. I have been doing these 9 x 12's over the course of a few days, a few hours here and a few hours there. The only downside to the size is they don't fit on my scanner so some of the image is cut off. Do they make bigger scanners?



For those of you who do not understand what Zentangle is, I urge you to visit zentangle.com. I will admit I have not bought the kit that Rick and Maria sell (although I would love to) I have leanred about it through numerous other websites/blogs and have looked at many other beautiful and inspiring zentangles. I have also found free zentangle patterns on the web.

Zentangles

For the last few weeks, after much discussion with the husband that I'm addicted to FB, I have been turning to Zentangle. I find doing this about an hour before going to bed relaxes me enough to fall a sleep quickly - and I sleep well. When I brought this particular Zentangle into work everyone was amazed and some thought I was a gifted artist! I laughed and explained it's just doodling - anyone can do this!!!

This morning I sat outside enjoying the beautiful weather with my 9" x 12" water coloring paper and a few sharpies, pencil, eraser, and compass. Talk about relaxing, especially with the birds singing. Hope you enjoy this one.

Death of a Heart

Release your dreams

Haven't thought of a title for this one yet. Nothing came to mind after finishing it. On the other copy I have the quote Starlight, starbright, my dreams are caught in the stars tonight. Maybe the fairy is the children releasing their dreams to the stars?

Soul Collage Card - Masquerade

Here is my latest card I made. After I finished it and looked at it two titles actually came to me: the first being "Masquerade" and the second being Show Stopper. While I was looking through images on Polyvore the lady, the fan and the clock kept saying they "needed" to be put together. The rest were just random. I am excited to print this card out and work with I AM THE ONE WHO statements. Funny - I think the two titles I came up with sum it up - I am the one who puts on my mask and gives a performance of a life time. I live with chronic depression and people just can't believe it because I seem/act so happy and am always smiling. I think I will change its title to "The Masquerading Show Stopper."

Bracelet and Necklace

Just finished making this Bracelet and Necklace set. They are both made from paper beads, acrylic beads, and glass beads. After seeing the beautiful beads at True North Arts blog by Kathryn Antyr I got the itch to use some of the other beads I made in that same time period. She is hosting a bead swap and I'm so excited to be participating.

I love this picture of my grandfather that I made into a SC card. Whenever I look at it it brings a smile to my face. This picture truly shows what kind of person he was. He never lost touch with his inner child and enjoyed every moment of life.

Breast cancer aware

Here is the first result from the sketches I did based on the hair in the bathroom floor. Considering it's been many years, I am satisfied with how this came out. I would like to dedicate this first drawing to my grandmother who is a breast cancer survivor.

Body images

My creative juices finally kicked in and I'm almost on overload. I have always been one who loves to look at things and see what else I can see in it. Example: a tipped over Santa ornament from a distance. For the life of me I could not make out what this "thing" was. I grabbed my sketch book and drew what I thought I was seeing. The result ended up being "Quirkle". He was a cute little bugger/animal and would eventually earn me an "A" for one of my college biology projects.

I also enjoyed spending time in my parents bathroom. (lol) The floor was a pebbled laminate and when you would stare at it you would start seeing all these amazing images. Of course when I would grab a sketch book and sit in there I would never find the amazing things I previously saw.

A few weeks ago there was a partial imprint from the sole of one of my husband's boots on the bathroom floor. It had been snowing and he had tracked in salt and snow onto the horrendous pink tile. Looking at it I could see a gorgeous seahorse that would have been exquisite in batik.

All this leads me to today... These were what I saw from some strands of hair on the bathroom floor (why is it ideas always happen when you are in a bathroom!?)



The first one struck me as a woman's body; a woman who is proud and accepting of her body. The second one I see the beginnings of a horse; and on the bottom at quick glance a pregnant lady or a bumblebee flying straight up. I have all these ideas in my head as to how I would like to present these images. It will no doubt involve a collage form and I think it would be interesting to use magazine pieces for the outlines. Also can do some Zentangles with these forms, painting, adding more drawing to them... etc. etc. So glad I have the next 2 days off from work.

ATC 3 & 4

Last night and today I spent a few hours trying to create new ATC cards. I tried doing the Zentangle, but they seemed to have come out more forced than relaxed. Plus I can't find the pens I had for them previously! As you can see in ATC 3 I really enjoy drawing those tiny little circles. I even have large pages of designs with these little circles. For me I find them calming and almost mezmerising.


ATC Card 4 started off as an eye and seems to have turned into something cosmic in order to hide the smudges of the pen.


It's funny, when I was trying to do SoulCollage (R) cards on 5x7's I always wanted bigger. When I do bigger I can only find things for smaller sizes. Hence my struggle with ATC. I intend to start practicing my drawing again. It's been nearly 17 years since I've practiced. I always liked drawing small, so what better way to practice then with ATC;)

Where did it go?

Boy, last weekend I had tons of ideas and couldn't wait to get started on them. It was like I was on hyper drive. Then I got hit with the sinus infection that's been going around and that seems to have wiped me out. I forgot all of my ideas and it seems my creativity with it. I did finish making some beautiful paper beads this week that look like an exotic wood - it was from an ad with different shades of browns, blacks, and golds - and it was stone! It's amazing how cutting it up and rolling it made it look like something different. Once I get my energy back I will take pictures to post.

One of the things about being a pack rat is sometimes you have "too much" stuff and it bombards the mind. Everything I looked at last week and thought "Great I can use that!" Is now "what did I want to do with that again?" Solution: When I get on a rampage of creative flowing thoughts I'm going to start writing them down as they come to me and work on them after... lol.

Get to be creative today

I have a vacation day today which I know is going to be great. Once my errands are done this morning I would like to hit Barnes & Noble and Borders, Books, and Music and then come back home and be creative. I'm also kicking myself for donating about half of my craft supplies and craft books to a client who loves crafting. Of course now I can think of a thousand things I would like to use. At least they were given a good home. There are so many craft books I would like to buy today, but I will limit myself to just one for today. I will let everyone know what it is when I get back.

I'm back from running errands and did not find any of the books I was looking for. I did see some others that I will add to my never ending wish list. More time to play today.

Paper Insane

For those who know me, you know I love paper. When I was a kid I used to circle in my mother's calendars the "paper" anniversaries for married couples and I would dream about my anniversary - being showered with different papers. Sad, I know, but I'm a pack rat and "I just know eventually I will use it."

I tried my hand at scrapbooking when it first came out - gathered some beautiful papers (and do my best not to buy new ones) and got bored. I began SoulCollage(R) and thought, "Awesome! I can go through some of my hoarded magazines and use what I need and get rid of the rest." That would make hubby happy right:)? The problem was I went to libraries and got even more magazines and hoarded those as well. Hey, you never know, I may need them for something else!!! Now my SoulCollage(R) cards are done mostly in the computer. Once again I looked at all my beautiful magazines and decided it was time to part.

I work in an agency for mental health (how appropriate for me being a minor hoarder) and decided some of the magazines would be beautiful and calming for the waiting room. The rest I would recycle... After getting rid of bags of magazines wouldn't you know I stumbled across paper beading. What would have been more perfect than all of my Birds and Blooms Magazines or Gardening magazines. I did save a few for another project and found they made the most gorgeous beads. Let the tears flow... now. Yesterday I was curious as to what ATC's were exactly. Needless to say I fell in love with the idea of making mini-art (for me it will probably be collages) and again the tears start to flow... now. I made 2 last night with some old Christmas cards I had and some magazines I hadn't parted with yet, because they were hidden in the vast corners of my bedroom where hubby didn't have to look at them. These are my first 2 attempts:

2010 Phrase for the Year

Last year while making SoulCollage(R) Cards, I came up with a phrase for the year 2009 and made a card to go with it. This time I was getting nervous. I really like the idea and wanted to do it again. Here it was November and I hadn't thought of a phrase. I started to pay a little more attention to my thoughts and realized I kept playing over and over in my head, Clay Aiken's song Ashes. That song is always popping into my head. Alas my phrase for 2010 is going to be "I Will Rise Up From The Ashes."



I haven't discovered what I'm leaving behind in flames as of yet, but I have learned to be patient and know it will reveal itself to me when it's ready. In the mean time I can look forward to being renewed in some way. I wish everyone a safe and happy New Year and may bright blessing and smiles fill your days. Welcome 2010!

New to Blogging

I'm not even sure where to start with a blog! I chose the title Life's Little Ramblings because I have such a vast array of interest and I never know what will hold my attention from one project to the next.

Some of my interests are finding the little things in life that make a person smile (you just never know where you will find happiness); photography; knitting; SoulCollage(R); learning to make beaded jewelry now; puzzles; games; addicted to Facebook; crafts of all types; and many more that I'm currently drawing a blank on.

My goal for this blog is to meet new people from all over the world, learn about new crafts and other creative endeavors, and sharing many smiles. If any of these catch your interest please feel free to join me on my ride through Life's Little Ramblings. I look forward to meeting you :)