gone so long

I am so sorry I have been absent so long...first came our California trip and then came the flu from heck!  I worked through the first week of this awful stuff and now on week two I feel like poo.  I have found that the worse part is that I have a hard time seeing to type when my eyes are watering like a flood!  Enough of my woes and on to more fun stuff...

 

Kathee Clark came by the shop with her old dictionary and I got to take photos for the blog and facebook.  WoW!  She is so organized and her work is wonderful...First off I want to tell you about her organizational skills....

 

She has a little pocket calendar she keeps with her and each day she writes in the calendar what word she worked on for that day.  CRIKEYS!  I not only do not have a pocket calendar, even if I did I would have lost it by now!

Then in her Dictionary she dates each word! Who would have thought!

 

So for your enjoyment I am featuring Kathee's work.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

tools

 

tool:

An instrument used or worked by hand

 

This week is becoming more busy by the moment...I have so much to do and yet I have things I really want to do that have nothing to do with my "to do" list.

 

So instead of checking off things to do on my list I am taking the next 20 minutes to talk about tools.

Each of us are going to use different tools, whatever is available and so on to create the kind of  "dictionary" we want to keep.

Sarah Williams isn't using a dictionary because she likes a more lumpy bumpy interactive result.

Pat Gomm's tool is her camera and with it she captures the words she is illustrating.

I like pens and color and all kinds of mixed media so I use anything I can get my hands on

Some of us are going to like pencils

Some will want all black and white

Some will add bits and pieces of fabric, book pages, music and more.

 

There is no right or wrong in this challenge.

There is no grade.

I have no expectations other than we will support each other and give freely of our talents

 

I have been asked the "bleed" question.  I have found one black pen that is not bleeding at all in my pages

here is the link to this pen...you're welcome

http://www.scarletlime.com/store/proddetail.php?prod=penSL

 

There are other black pens I use in various line weights. In no particular order they are:

PITT - all widths

millennium

zig liner

uniball signo in black and white

sharpie - all widths

papermate flair (an oldie that is still a fav)

 

I don't limit myself to any one pen because different pens are more suitable for different projects.

It is up to you to find the one you like best.

 

Other bleeding things:

Stains bleed

watercolors bleed

copics bleed

zig bleed

sharpies and bic bleed

pencils don't bleed unless you add water

 

 

I really don't mind any colors or images bleeding through to the other side of my page.  If you are not comfortable with this stick with colored pencils

 

 

My other tools include

copics

distress markers (watercolor)

stardust gel pens

my originals - zig scroll and brush & writers

colored pencils

Tim Holtz distress stains

old school bics and sharpies.

 

I use a glue pen when I am adding elements to my page

 

I use notebook paper, old book pages, and music pages to my dictionary.  I also use stamp pads and stamps.  I have also used chalkboard paint, chalk and white pens.  Keep looking for ways to expand your art and your pallet.

 

Challenge:

Try something you haven't tried before

Promise:

even if it is a disaster it will still have value because you will have learned!

 

always,

michele

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

rise

 

I took a much needed day off from blogging and even from my word of the day challenge.  I was feeling so tired I couldn't even pick up a pen.

That said today is another day!

I had wonderful visits from two of our girlfriends who are participating in the 1 little word challenge.

 

Both Kathy Clark and Abbie Campbell both stopped by and both are creating amazing things in this challenge. 

 

 Kathy is doing amazing things with her beautifully worn dictionary!  I love her words, I love her art and I love her!  Kathy is far more organized than I am and she is doing some great stuff and keeping track of which word she does on which day in her pocket calendar...I am so impressed and you can bet I will be dating my words from here on.

 

Abbie is my fragile, funny, lovely friend who never leaves me without leaving a part of herself behind.  Just listening to her story and her challenges was heart wrenching but the most perfect part is that she won't allow those things to stop her and her wide open heart is filled with great joy and love..  She willingly shares that love and always leaves me feeling so much better.

 

If the only thing I ever got from this challenge is that I am connecting with friends old and new it is the best thing that could ever happen.  It is so humbling to me to be part of this adventure.  I am humbled by the amazing women and girls sharing the journey .

 

Today I chose the word rise.

I choose to rise above my challenges like Abbie does every day.

I choose happy like my friend Heidi Swapp

I choose to be organized like Kathy.

I choose to reclaim my life like Lisa.

 

I am rising...I will fly....I will choose to soar!

 

Challenge:

find the qualities you want to incorporate into your life and let them become your words

 

Promise:

you will change lives with your efforts to rise.

 

Please welcome Diane Bye and our youngest artist Anna!  I am so happy you are joining us!  If you haven't joined the facebook group 1 little word please do....That is where I get to see all your beautiful work.

one little word

 

always,

michele

sundays off....

 

When I began this journey I did it with a couple of absolutes...the first one was that I would take Sundays off.  I have made a commitment to myself to become consistent in my church attendance.  For me that means I will not be working on Sunday and that I will be keeping the Sabbath holy.

What I found on this the first Sunday of 2014 is that this challenge is not work.  It is much more.  It is a journal for me, it is a time to reflect.  It can be a welcome respite from my responsibilities.  So today I chose the word draw...I find that I am drawing from the best places in my challenge.  In coming days I will be adding quotes from good books, from Pinterest, from the messages in church and from my own journals.

I am still trying not to blog on Sunday but that is to keep this my day of rest...my day to read and study and reflect.

 

So I drew some little framed thoughts today.

I like frames...they are just waiting to be filled and I like filling them.

 

I also love to doodle and today I felt like filling a frame with flowers and then a little reminder to me to do all things with love.

 

 

I finished off the frames with two quotes... just words that mean something to me.

 

Challenge:

Take a little time away from the challenge to keep you in balance

Promise:

You will find the time to do as much or as little as you want

 

always,

Michele

 

p.s.

we now have a little facebook group to go with this blog...it is

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1395164947399764/

 

also known as 1 little word

art

 

I am blessed with "artsy" sisters, children, spouse, bonus son, grandchildren, cousins and friends.

 

I am blessed with many "artsy" friends.

 

Today Sherri Timmons came to spend the day getting scrappy with us at the shop and she brought me something extraordinary.  Something that stopped me in my tracks.  She brought me my pallet.  She brought me Peerless Transparent Watercolors

 

Peerless Transparent Watercolors were developed in 1885 by Charles F. Nicholson. After many years of "revolutionary" chemical research, he developed the self blending line of Peerless Transparent Watercolors in sheet form. His unwavering ideal was to create an original form of presentation for watercolors.
After many years of perserverance, he successfully developed Color Film, or paper leaflet paint as many used to call them. Watercolors had never been offered in dry form and the novelty of the idea seemed to shock the artistic sense of the professional colorist. Even after 122 years, the self blending Peerless Transparent Watercolors still shock the amateur as well as the professional colorist!

(from the Peerless website)

I was so excited I created a very portable watercolor pallet that I can take with me right in my dictionary. in fact I made it out of the back inside cover of my dictionary.  I trimmed a small piece of the watercolors off the paper and glued the strips to the paper creating a pallet.  Now only have to carry my dictionary, my Scarlet Lime black pen, a water pen (thanks Tim Holtz) and a pencil to create on the go!  Thanks Sherri for making my day!

Now for the surprise...when Dennis and I were first married I used to do his retouching.

He had a very fine (a single hair) brush and these little cards that I would wet and the blacks, whites and sepias would load onto the brush....after looking at the website I realized I had used the photographic set of peerless transparent watercolor in my retouching so many years before!  What comes around goes around and if you have an artsy friend like Sherri who shares freely her time, talent, and treasures it comes around in a most wonderful way!

 

Because I was given this amazing gift my word for the day changed...it became art.

I came right home from work and sat down at my desk to play!

Two things I realized right away...I really need to practice with my watercolors and I am going to have a blast with these!

 

I doodled the frames  and each frame I listed some of the art forms I have tried in my life.  Some of these things are not what would considered traditional art forms but I think they qualify so I included them. 

I feel as if every part of life can be art and although I am not proficient in most of those things I have tried....and tried....and tried.

 

CHALLENGE:

try something new!

PROMISE:

everything you try opens you up to new experiences and adventures...one thing leads to another.

 

Thank you each for taking the time to follow along with this challenge.  Everyday one of you posts a comment or your challenge art or something encouraging that helps me to keep going.

Today I want to introduce you to  Janna Mauldin Heiner. 

Jenna is a self taught artist....like me...and she chose the word mercies as her first entry.  I love the word and have added it to my list as a reminder of how very blessed I am.

 

Enjoy Janna's beautiful art work and typography...I did.

 

 

always,

michele

 

pencils

I asked a question about a pencil earlier this week.

Which end is most important?

I just love pencils!  I have cups filled with them displayed on my counter, I have a string of metal bucket filled with them hanging on the wall and I almost always have a couple setting on my desk.  I find the prettiest ones at a large craft store close by (Michaels $1+ section) and there are always great pencils at gift shops and junk stores.

 

I don't just love pencils...I use them.  It is so much easier to change my mind in pencil!  Which brings me back to the original question...which end is most important?

 

A pencil is a useful tool.  We can record thoughts, histories, stories and more with a pencil...it is a chew toy when we are in school and nervously taking a test...it is perfect for creating music, poetry and art.  There are two ends to every pencil.  The other end has only one use...to erase.

Now which end is most important?

I believe both ends are equally important....one who creates must also have the ability to erase.

 

I have a favorite novel...it is old and relevant even today.  You may have seen the old movies or the musical based on this book...Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.  It is a story of two men.  One cannot forgive anyone not even himself the other man can forgive anyone except himself.  I know other people have taken other messages from the story of Les Miserable but for me it is always a story of forgiveness.  From the priest who give Jean Valjean the silver from his theft to the death of Javert as he confronts his own lack of humanity and finally to Jean Valjean's lonely death as he abandons all those he loves because he cannot forgive himself for his past mistakes.

 

As a young girl I gave my little sister a haircut one day.  I "trimmed" her bangs about a 1/2" long and all the way back to the middle of her head.  My mom was furious and my dad laughed.  His comment has stuck with me all these years, "the only difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut is about two weeks".

 

The thread that connects all these things is forgiveness. 

for me self-forgiveness is the hardest thing I will ever do.  I can forgive just about anyone for their mistakes. Neighbors, children, husband, friends, even strangers...I can easily forgive them.

But when it comes to forgiving myself it is a different story.  I seem to be more critical and unforgiving of myself than anyone else.

I am over weight - I can't forgive myself and I am occasionally unkind to myself with my self-talk and by pointing out my problem in unflattering ways.  I feel like I embarrass my friends and family so I stay home or try to be invisible in public settings.  This weight issue is one I will work on all of my life and it is the one thing I most want to change about myself.  What I have just recently come to understand is that until I forgive myself for being over weight I will never be able to change it.

 

I am forgetful - I obsess over my forgetfulness and call myself dumb. It is human but I feel like I should be better than that.

 

I am unorganized - I remind myself of how I don't measure up. I keep most people at arms length so they cannot witness the disorganization in my home and in my life.

 

So today my word is forgive...I begin today to forgive myself for not always being enough...for not being as perfect as I think I should be...as the world says I should be.

 

And that my friends is the answer of which end is most important...it depends on which one we are using at the moment, and today it is the eraser because I am learning to forgive.

 

Challenge:

Choose a word that can change your reality

Promise:

It will be hard but change can come.

 

 

My friend Abbie has taken this challenge and she started out with a huge bang!  She is confronting her demons and letting them go...they will have no power over her!

I love you Abbie!

 

always,

michele

 

time?

I found this on Pinterest and it seemed to be perfect for this blog and this challenge

I want each of the six or seven of you who are following this and I want my children who do not even know about this blog, to know what I know.  Words, our words, create an environment.

Words create a breeding ground for thought and conversation.

When I respond thoughtlessly to anyone, when I speak carelessly, I create a wall to communication.

"Words become the house you live in"

What kind of house do you live in?  What kind of environment do you want to create?

 

 

The question has come up one more time about how much time this will take?

It will take what ever you give to it.

Let's consider time for a moment.

Time is a commodity just like money.  It is spent or wasted according to our habits, our instincts, our choices and our lack of discretion.

Consider this...every day you are awarded 24 hours.  No one on this planet gets any more or any less than you.  Now you have this amazing fund to spend.  24 hours, 1440 minutes to spend every day.

Now let's make a budget for your time.  You must include the following in your budget.

Sleep

Food

Chores

personal hygiene

service to family and others

free time

That is your budget.

How much time you spend for each part of your budget with determine the balance* of your day and in turn your life.

 

How much time you spend on this project/challenge is entirely up to you. 

If you journal you may add one word and it's definition and your thoughts on that word to your daily journal.

If you facebook you can post your one word however often on your page with the definition and your thoughts on that word.

If you have a blog...blog it

and if you have time

draw, doodle and create in a dictionary.

 

 

Tonight I chose the word time because you have questions and I have found what I think might help you. 

 

TODAY'S CHALLENGE:

Consider time and what you have to spend on this project

 

TODAY'S PROMISE:

You will find the time to do whatever you choose to do and what you cannot find time for is really not as important as you may think it is.

 

A little creative tip:

I added a little journal page to collect and organize my thoughts on time.  I simply glued it between two pages and it fit perfectly. I will be using this more often because it allows me to expound upon my thoughts as I become more entrenched in this challenge.

one more tip:

washi tape (be still my heart) works perfectly in my dictionary and I think it will work perfectly in yours as well.

 

always,

michele

 

p.s. I found tomorrow's word as I was writing this post which again proves to me that the words are speaking to me! (*balance)

 

home...

It is only my 2nd day on this challenge and I can already see that I am kicking my own backside!  I told you about the dream I had regarding my one little word...now comes the time when I begin making lists.

word lists.

the next of my words is

home.

I chose this word for a couple of reasons

1. I like to doodle and this is a word I can doodle the heck out of.

2. I want you to doodle and I know you can do something wonderful with the word home

3. home is not by definition what I thought it should be so I am enlarging upon the dictionary.

 

I think as I go through this challenge I may find on more than one occasion a word will by definition not come up to the feelings and expectations I have for it.

 

I started this word like I expect to start every word...I looked it up in the dictionary.

home: a family's place of residence:  DOMICILE

house

the social unit formed by a family living together

a congenial environment

 

there was more but not what home means to me...I mean to say home is all those things but so much more to me.

 

I took a marker and highlighted the word in blue.

I then doodled what home is in my world...

in my world home is a sanctuary.

it is safe.

it is warm (except during a heat wave then it should be cool)

it is peaceful (again some stipulations apply)

it is filled with memories and laughter and joy

it is a place where a scent can send you reeling to a time and place long gone

home is heaven on earth

it is sacred

it is holy

it is a privilege

it is what we make it.

 

None of that is in the definition...but this is my word and I have the obligation to tell anyone what I believe home to be so I doodled it.

 

then I colored it

and when I had done those things I linked it to what I hoped would clarify my definition...

note: can you see that not every entry has to be so fancy...some entries are more simple and to the point. 

 

as I told you I didn't like the definition in my dictionary so I decided to add my own. 

first

I read the words on the opposite page to make sure I didn't mind covering them up.

next

I added white paint to the page

next

I smoothed it out with a brush

then I wrote my definition...what I think of when I hear the word home

 

I was just about to close the book on this entry when something rather remarkable happened.  I spied with my little eye a word

holy spirit

I had already doodled on it so I took this little gift and rewrote the definition above the page...

"the active presence of God in human life"

So you see there are hidden messages and reminders all over your dictionary if you will just see them.

 

today's challenge:

doodle a word...any word

today's promise

your definition of any word is the right definition if it speaks to your heart

 

if it feel right to you link your word to another word...this is how words explode before you.  One leads to another and another and.....

 

always,

Michele