ATC Frenzy

After a little time feeling creatively uninspired and coming to accept that I am no great artist ... phew ... I have been on an ATC frenzy this last week and been really enjoying just playing again.

I had a little rant on ATCOZ about the use of stickers on ATC's as I personally don't feel that a sticker plonked in the middle of a card is art ... unless of course you are in primary school. This led to one member organising a sticker collage swap and I figured I'd better participate ... boy do I have a lot of stickers in my stash ... I hadn't realised how many until I was preparing for this swap. So all the ATC's in this group are made completely with stickers ....

This ATC was created for a pink themed swap. How could I go past using this beautiful photo of the singer Pink which I altered slightly and then printed on tissue paper. The lace was also painted using Twinking H2O's and the brads embossed with Opals.

Fianally I had fun making a paper ATC quilt for a patchwork themed swap ... so much easier than making a double bed sized quilt from fabric - can't imagine I will ever do that again!

Well that's it for now. I have to sort out my financial woes after watching Oprah today!

Pushup Princess

You could be forgiven for thinking that title refers to pushup bras! I must admit that I do love them considering the girls have been heading south for a very long time now and I prefer a bit of cleavage no matter how fake it is. Alas no ... it is not the over the shoulder boulder holder that I am learning to master but the real bum up face to the floor physical execise. Yes I have been doing pushups and I am so proud of myself! I started out doing one pushup and it was so painful I could have cried ... and I can't do the traditional "boy" pushup yet, maybe that will come when I am stronger. I am now up to five pushups a day and pushup one and two are fairly easy and by five my arms ache. That's right five! I suppose you thought with all my bragging that I was doing way more than that however I have learnt slow and steady wins the race.

Oh well now I'm off to the laundromat as my stupid washing machine is broken again!

Inspired by ... Connie

I participated in the 2008 Technique Fat Book on the "arttechniques" yahoo group and after receiving 120 technique pages I was looking for a way to store/display them. I was inspired by Connie who posted a way of binding them on her blog and here is what I came up with ...

This is the cover:

Inside the technique pages have been bound into four small books:

Each of these small books can be removed from the base of my 2008 Technique Fat Book for ease of use when referring to a particular technique. The back cover of each of the small books slides into a slot between the lining and base of my 2008 Technique Fat Book.

Thanks Connie for the inspiration.

Tagged by Lucy

Some time ago I was tagged by Lucy and I am now trying to remedy my slackness by addressing this. Problem is I can't think of six blogs to tag to so that may have to come later as Lucy has already tagged some of the blogs I would have tagged ... hmmmmm

The rules are:

1. Link to the person who tagged you (link above)
2. Mention the rules (well here they are!)
3. Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself (well that cuts out my lion story ... sigh)
4. Tag six other bloggers by linking to them (still to do)
5. Go to each person's blog and leave a comment that lets then know they've been tagged (obviously this is still to do)

Here are my six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about myself:

1. I don't have any pets
2. I'm into family history
3. I'm easily distracted
4. I don't like ice cream
5. I love sunday morning sleep-ins
6. I'm naturally very messy

Here are the six bloggers I'm tagging: (coming soonish)

Inspired by .... Laura Ryan

I love getting the Cloth Paper Scissors magazine as I find many of the projects inspiring. Here is one project I have actually finished. In Issue 16 Jan/Feb 2008 on page 28 Laura Ryan shows how she turned an old pair of overalls into an art apron name tag with heaps of pockets.

WOW I so wanted to do that! However I didn't have any overalls ... never fear we have plenty of op shops in town ... pity none of them had overalls. A few months later on another op shop foray I found a pair of maternity overall/shorts - perfect.

With scissors, sewing machine, brushes and bleach I was ready to go. Word of warning - use bleach in a very ventilated space AND bleach eats away at your brush bristles so use cheap brushes. Below is a picture of my art apron. I love the fact that I can add embellishments to it over time so it is an evolving object. It was far easier to make than I expected and I'm really happy with the result.

Happy New Year

Oh my it has been some time since my last update and here is another one with no pictures attached. I will remedy that in a few days and start providing some art updates ... a catch up on 2008 before I start creating in 2009.

What I really wanted to do here today is to list my goals for 2009 which is shaping up to be a very busy year for me so I am trying to keep these goals simple.

• Complete the Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Primary) at the University of Ballarat
• Grade to my green belt in karate
• Improve my flexibility and core strength
• Improve my contact with family and friends
• Create beautiful things
• Remain positive and happy

I wish everyone a safe and happy new year and am sending out cyber love and hugs to you all!

Living a positive life!

I have made a decision to actively live a positive life. I'm not particularly negative however I had a light bulb moment when it became clear to me that there is a difference between not being negative and actively living a positive life. I feel almost evangelical about it ... don't panic ... I'm still not a god botherer.

Has actively living a positive life changed things for me? Has my life improved? Am I happier? The answer to these questions is a resounding yes!

This is not an easy path I have chosen ... some days it is a real challenge to embrace a positive attitude ... but already I can see the improvements and these inspire me to continue on.

So what has changed? Basically the way I look at things has changed.

Take housework for example. For years I have resented being the only one attempting to clean so I just didn't do it and anyway cleaning always got in the way of the things I wanted to do. Over the last few years FlyLady has been teaching me to look at housework in a different light and not to think I could do it all at once however the lesson I could never grasp was that cleaning was a way of blessing my family. Now blessing sounds too much like god bothering to me and not a concept I felt comfortable with. Since leaving work I have daily been cleaning the house but only in the mornings and only in managable amounts, this way I don't get over tired, frustrated or negative about it. It took just over a week to clean the kitchen this way and the op shop received a vast array of kitchen things that were just cluttering up my house. My house is starting to sparkle ... my mum is impressed ... and I feel lighter with each area cleaned and decluttered. I no longer feel resentful and have come to understand that cleaning is a gift I am giving to myself and my family and I finally understand that is what FlyLady has been talking about with her blessings. Dear Hear and the Princess are happier and have actually started to help me with the cleaning without me having to nag or complain because the sparkle of the house is rubbing off on them too. So I have gone from a resentful cleaner to a happy, positive and joyous Domestic Goddess and it feels great!

Actively living a positive life has also made me happier in my relationship. I now focus on all the wonderful things that combine to make up my Dear Heart rather than getting bogged down in something that pisses me off. That is not to say I don't get pissed off rather it means that I can overcome those feelings quicker and don't hold on to them so that they can't continue to poison our relationship. Dear Heart is feeling the benefits of this and is responding in a likewise positive manner. The Princess is also blossoming with the increased calm and love flowing around here.

Actively living a positive life has meant my physical health is on the improve as well. I have taken up riding my deadly treadly again and I'm not struggling as badly and have learnt to embrace the burn in my thighs and the soreness in my bum.

When I started karate it was because we went as a family and I was really just trailing behind the other two. I didn't really take it seriously and I never expected to be any good. In the last few weeks I have become focused on what I want to achieve and have made an effort in each class to do my best and it is amazing the difference that makes. I'm hoping to grade to my next belt in November and have even set my sights on the belt beyond that. Now that is a definate change!

I have taken up belly dancing again and I love it sooooooo much. It makes me feel womanly and sensual. I am really happy when I dance. On Saturday night I went to a Belly Dance Bazaar with the Princess. We have both been inspired to practice hard so that we can perform next year. When I perform I expect you to come watch and support me and be blown away by just how gorgeous I am ... hahahahahahaha

Mentally I feel great. Relaxed. Young. I am sleeping better and wake up eager to start my day. I am going to continue this journey of actively living a positive life because the benefits are boundless. I'm off to stretch and work out what I need for my application to go back to uni next year. Ciao. Talk soon