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

 

fancy letters and big bold words

I did not anticipate making a second post on this the first day of January 2014...I didn't anticipate anyone would even look at this blog on this the first day of January 2014.

 

 

There is some concern that some of you can't (gee I don't like that word...I will add it to our list) letter the way I do.  I have an answer to that...neither could I before I tried.

 

this is so much more than the lettering.  This is about a journey through words. Why some words so profoundly speak to us. Why some words comfort and others do not. It is about the art of words and words as art. Don't worry and don't hold back because of what you don't have. Join me with what you have and grow

 

no one can tell you to change your handwriting because it isn't right for any project...NO ONE! your handwriting your lettering is unique to you and that is what makes it perfect for your dictionary.

 

what I can tell you and teach you to some degree is how to get pleasing results with your handwriting.

 

 

grab a pencil and a piece of paper and make a letter...I chose v but you can choose any letter...let's make it a capital.

now let's curve it and add a little loop on the bottom.

remember you are still using a pencil...so forgiving.

 

and speaking of pencils...which end is more important?

 

now let's add a little weight to our letter.  still using that pencil go over your letter making it wider in some places and adding a more solid beginning and end to the letter. can you see my mistakes...they are ok...they are part of the letter just like I am the result of every mistake and success in my life.

 

 

now let's add a little flourish.  it is just a circle that never gets to know it's other end.  give it some weight.  still using that pencil? have you figured out which end is most important?

 

 

 

add more if you want to then go over your pencil with a black pen.

 

fill in the weight lines

shade, shadow, color?  all up to you.  now you have practiced...you can always practice more if you want to. 

 

create your first little word...in your dictionary

 

my friend pat asked me to do the word virtue....did you know virtue means moral excellence and celestial strength.  I didn't.  it means a lot of other things as well but those two stuck out to me. 

here are some tips:

don't worry it to death

...notice the smudge at the bottom of the tag I drew...oh well.  also my tag is not perfect...oh well.

I colored this page with distress inks and a blending tool.  we have these at Girlfriends but you can find them in your area if you are not from Twin.

 

shade and shadow

I used a platinum brush pen to shade and shadow the word.

 

outline

I outlined the letters here and there to give them a bolder look.

 

repeat yourself

to make your letters bolder the easiest thing to do is to go over them several times.

 

Search pinterest for lettering tutorials if you want to...there are lots there. you can also follow my 1 little word board there.

(http://www.pinterest.com/mamachele/1-little-word/)

 

there are actually two pens I am using for this project.  we carry the uniball signo in black at the shop or if you are an online kinda girl go to scarlet lime and get this pen:

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

 

never limit yourself...read the other words on the page....look what I would have missed if I hadn't been paying attention!

 

if you can't have fun with this you are simply not trying hard enough!  you are the master of this project...you determine what you will do and how much you will do.  Enjoy the journey!

 

One more thing...I will add to this blog as often as possible but it won't be every day...even an old war horse like me needs a day of rest...so while I will do my very best to blog at least five days a week I won't blog on Sundays for sure and probably not on my days off.  I will also have to be offline while Lisa and I are at CHA...one can only do so much. what I hope is that when I am not here you will be to inspire me to go on.!

 

it is as always a challenge with a promise...

always,

michele

 

btw...did you figure out the pencil thing?  I will save it for next time, ok?