Self Portrait Challenge

My be brave challenge for today is to take a self portrait. I bought this camera so I could do some portraits like others do for the self portrait challenge. I have the same camera as Misty Mawn and she takes wonderful pictures. I think its time to start exploring what I can do with it. This weeks theme is clothing. I decided to take a shot of myself in my new pajamas. It is very foggy out so I tried to capture some of that. The pj's are a very soft cozy type of flannel. When I touch the fabric I am given instant comfort. I like it when clothes can do that. It looks like I got more of my head than the pajamas but thats the way it goes. To see more self portraits go here














This will be my last Be brave challenge. I did it for the whole month of October and really learned a lot. I accomplished so many things that are really amazing. I won't stop doing scary things but my focus will be elsewhere. The 100 day reality challenge is bravery enough for quite awhile. Plus I am doing NaNoWriMo again and that starts tomorrow. This was a great experience, I really suggest you all try it

Happy Halloween

Believe it or not I do know its Halloween, Everyone else does such a good job with things on their blog today than me. I have been so busy that I have not gotten around to it. So I hope you can get around to other blogs to see all the fun. I did manage to doodle this little witch last night. She has her broom and is ready to travel. Have a great night.

A shrine for my Dad

For my Be Brave item yesterday I tackled the printer scanner copier that we bought some time ago. I have never been able to get the scanner to work. It would copy and print fine but scanning to a file was non-existent. Part of the problem was Vista but that seemed fixed when I downloaded a new driver. Still my only option was to scan to wordpad and when I tried that I got garbage. I wanted to be able to scan to a pdf like my old scanner had. I have half of my grandparents letters scanned that way so to start over would be daunting. I spent many hours on the help files at Hewlett Packard and still no luck and then tonight I thought I would try again. It works fantastic now, when I look back on this their documentation is horrendous. The only way I got this to work is by my persistence. I am so happy to have figured this out.














After going to the Day of the Dead service and adding my mom's shrine to the altar it occurred to me that I should make one for my dad too. This is the front, it is the oldest picture I could find.














On the inside I have 2 pics from later in life and words representing things he liked like making cheesecake, having a garden, playing cards etc. These little shrines are fun to make. For some reason the paint keeps coming off this one and I don't know why as I made it the same way I did the other one. Oh well thats the way it works sometimes.

Art Backgrounds

Here is a little art video, I hope you like it.

A favorite quote

This has always been a favorite of mine. I studied the Course in Miracles for years and always loved Marianne Williamson's work. The The Bold Soul had it on her blog this morning so I felt inclined to share. Today she has a wonderful post about being in love.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” - Marianne Williamson

Look What I Got in the Mail

My Be brave challenge for yesterday was to make this video for the 100 day reality challenge. It is very personal and I really had to tell the truth about some issues in my life. It was scary to say it on tape but even more scary to upload it and now to see what kind of reaction I will get. Here is the link if you are at all interested. Excuse the bad hair day, I swear I did my hair and makeup but I look like a ghost or something. Maybe its a Halloween trick.


















Here is my latest pencil drawing. I did this while watching Heroes.


















Mahala sent me this piece of Art for my book that JudiRedhead sent me awhile ago, some of the glitter sisters have been making pages for it.


















and this one too! I now have pages from Judi and Pam and Ninnie, now how cool is that!














Here is an ATC she did of me, what a cool idea.

Monday Ramblings

I made this little drawing yesterday. The second crow in a series. I think I will keep doing these until I end up with something I really like. I think when I have a whole bunch of
drawings done and then place them side by side I will actually be able to see some
progress. I did not reduce the bird enough to really fit on this page, either that or I should use larger paper.

My Be brave challenge for yesterday was a simple one I just needed to send an email and ask for something. Not much of a fear but I have been avoiding so I believe it counts just as well. This morning I got a return email with a positive response. I do not know why I waited this long. Fear is such a silly thing.

Last night I tried drawing a person again. I am not happy with this one but its all a process. My friend Julie says that we all draw people who look like us. When I started thinking about this and looking at other artists I find that its true. Misty's paintings are all flowy and wispy and that is what she is like. Violette are fun and funky and that is what she is too. I think Suziblue's girls look like her too. Lisa O, your new girls have a round face like you and a cute outlook on life. Its looks like we are really putting what is in our soul on the page. I guess mine has been angry a lot lately. She looks a little stern.

I am in this round robin book swap and its due Nov 1 but I wanted to have it done before NaNoWriMo starts. I took the 2 covers which are chipboard and put gesso on them and then I put them in a safe place, you guessed I can not find them anywhere. I feel like I have looked everywhere in my studio but still can't find them. I hate when I do things like this.

A Sunday in October

We are continuing to have a beautiful Indian Summer. I took Flynn down to the river this afternoon and it really was nice. One of the things that I like to do is walk on crunchy leaves. I love the sound them make. The water looked just like glass, it was so serene, I was really glad we went.















Church service covered Samhain, Halloween and Day of the Dead. Here is the altar that was set up. It was huge, I put the shrine I had made for my mom on it. It was a really fun service with lots of shenanigans pulled off my our minister Lyn.














Look at these flowers, they were some of the most gorgeous roses I have ever seen, The pictures do not do them justice.














I made up goody bags for my Nanowrimo write ins. I hope this makes attendance a little better. I have assorted things inside like word count sheets, a paper thermometer to track progress, stickers, candy. I included crayons in some to color their way out of any blocks and little composition notebooks to used to write down ideas when you are away from your computer. The candy I chose is significant, dots (otherwise known as periods), butterfingers(you don't want real butterfingers or you won't be able to type), and snickers (hopefully you won't be snickering to yourself about how your writing is going). I know this are silly and speaking of silly I have silly putty and a candle to help burn that midnight oil in novel writing. I know what you are thinking but a girl does have to have a little fun.

A little drawing at 3 am

Forgot to mention my Be brave project for yesterday. It was facing a fear by bringing up a subject with Dave that I didn't want to. The conversation did not go well so which is probably why I did not want to do it. I am glad I did though because it is forcing me to look at things differently. My friend Julie really had some great advice which was basically it isn't all or nothing, there are a lot of steps in between. I think todays project is going to be to look deeper at this and decide what it is I really want from a relationship. What are the non-negotiable things and what are the things that I can get somewhere else. I hadn't thought of it in those terms before so it'll be one of those soul searching weekends coming up. I wish I had a cabin somewhere where I could just go to be alone.

I drew this about 3 am last night. The picture I was drawing was all black so I was just guessing on where the feathers should be and so forth. What can I say it was 3 am after all. I do want to draw some crows so I need to look for some better pictures to work from.

My Nanowrimo meeting was a bust as no one showed up. This being an ML is not what I thought it would be. I thought I would just set up some write ins and some people would come and some couldn't. I didn't know I would end up with a group of complainers. One wants it a kids playland another wants it in their town, another complains about the time, cripes. I did this because I thought it would be fun but I was sure wrong. I am thinking of going back to my original plan of just pick of few times at a coffee house and if people come fine, if they don't fine. I don't need the stress.

How can it be Friday already

Somehow it is Friday already, I wonder how that happened. I am a movie making machine today. I have recorded 3 movies. All related to the 100 day challenge. One is a video response and the others are part of my process for the 100 day reality challenge. I have made major changes to my intentions.

Here is a link to the first one. I'll add the others later today as soon as they are posted. Sometimes it takes forever to upload videos.

Changing my Intentions Part 1

Changing my Intentions part 2


I am the municipal liaison or ML for the Nanowrimo group in Idaho Falls. This means I plan the parties and organize write ins. We are having a kickoff party tonight. Its a small group but I am hoping someone will end up coming. This is turning out to be harder then I imagined but a good learning experience for me.

For those of you on the Write the Novel blog, don't forget to come by and introduce yourself.

Insomnia strikes again

I have been having insomnia really bad so I slept most of yesterday to catch up. My insurance company refused to pay for my acid reflux meds so I have been doing with out it. That just means I have not been feeling too well. I finally got the insurance company to pay for it. So now it may take another few days to feel good but at least that is a start. I am going to try meditating and doing some reiki on myself before I go to sleep. I am hoping that will help.

A little bit of Art


















I did these pages the last couple nights when I couldn't sleep. This first one I hat painted a face and disliked it so that I threw gesso over it and made a collage.


















This one I just played with papers and decided to journal on the rest of the page. I really like the shade of green in the paper. It is so soothing.

For my Be Brave challenge I started a little watercolor painting yesterday. It needs more work so I will post that another day. Today I had a healing with my friend Kay and we worked on body issues. I faced those fears and was able to talk to Kay about some deeply buried things from my childhood. I think that will qualify for todays bravery.

Dave and I signed up to take a Swing Dancing class. Our first class was last night. We took a class 20n years ago and unfortunately we don not remember a thing. The problem is he does not know how to lead. I danced with the instructor and its amazing how different it is when your partner know what they are doing.

Signs of Life

I walked outside this afternoon and amidst all the leaves I found these. They don't want winter to come. What a nice surprise to still see some signs of life in the garden.














For the Be Brave challenge I tried to make a video with my digital camera. I put it on a little tripod and then just talk away. It seems to be working ok. These videos are challenging to make and then so scary to post them. To think that 50 people have watched my first video is amazing to me. I made a new video for the 100 day challenge, but I have been trying to upload it for hours. Either my computer times out or Utube hangs or something. I am getting a little frustrated with it.















I got this in the mail today. I ordered it last week when Violette told me about it. At first I tried putting everything in ziploc bags but the bags are too wide and it limits the amount you can store. Then I tried cutting down the bags and taping the ends shut. I did a few of those but thought I'd see how they held up before I did more. I had some cellophane bags but they tend to rip easily. Then I came across a better idea. Sheet Protectors. I even had some so I have been filling them up and they work great. I am going to love this gizmo as soon as I get it all organized. Its is actually called the Clip It and is available here

Here is my next video in the 100 day challenge.

Learning about blogger features

My be brave challenge yesterday was to figure some things out on my digital camera. Mainly how to film a movie and play it back. I managed that just fine. Today I tackled the blog once more. I decided that I need to update my template and tackle he arduous chore of adding everything back in. It took awhile but I think it was worth it. Then I tried adding a banner picture, this is just a view of the Tetons. I will come up with something artsy later. I seem to have lost the automatic save function by changing templates. Does anyone know how to get it back?















I had to pick up Amy at the airport and she brought this home for me. Beautiful yarn, she said the store had made it into gloves and they were gorgeous. I don't know what I will make but it is nice yarn and a pleasant surprise.

I have been cleaning up the studio...again so I have not gotten any Art done. I need to get back to some journal pages or something. I miss it.

100 Day Challenge

My be brave challenge is to figure out how to make movies. I found out I have a movie editing program on my computer. So I have made several short things with my webcam and then put them together. I managed to finish the video and upload it to utube, you can see it here if you like.

100 Day Challenge.

I am joining the 100 day challenge. This challenge takes the principles of the Secret and Law of attraction and says, lets put these to work and see what happens. I'll be taking this 100 day challenge and doing a video blog on Utube. This idea is the brainchild of three amazing women. Their site Co Creating Reality is the place to start.

I know a lot of us have used some of the principles of the secret but here is an opportunity to take it one step further and see some results. If you think you'd like to take this challenge I recommend looking at their site and some of the videos from the group These are just regular people like you and me trying to create better lives. This link will give you information on getting started.

I Did It

I did it! I am so excited to finally get it to work. I have this link on my sidebar to find out more information on the book I am writing about my Grandparents. I have worked hours trying to get it to work and have been extremely frustrated. I finally figured out what to do and it was so easy that I am amazed. Now I can try the banner and video and see if I can get them working. I have confidence now and that is just so exciting to me.

Winning Prizes

Today I stopped at Roberts a craft store they had 50% off coupons and specials all day and I won this. The top red item is a 6 x6 Scrapbook and the bottom is basically a box or storage item. They had this drawing every 1/2 hours you had to go stand on a square and then they picked 3 numbers and if they called your number you won a prize. I was right near where the prizes were so I got to pick what I wanted and this was the nicest gift. I figure if I decide not to use I have a nice gift for someone else.



















Then I went to B&N and bought this today. Everyone has been saying what a good book this is. I am need of something to get lost in.


















I also found this it is such a fun funky set of writing prompts I am really going to enjoy doing them.

My be brave challenge for today was to start doing some research on the net concerning the book about my grandparents. So i began that by looking for some sites in the locations I need to travel to and Historical Societies where I hope get some funding or a grant. This is a really long process and I have been avoiding it, so now at least I have taken the first steps. I am on day 18 if this challenge and a=have slowly been going through my list. Unfortunetly some of these task take much longer than a day so I need to revisit them.

Beads

I decided to put the beads away for awhile. I want to try dipping them in a melting pot but I think I better have a heat proof craft sheet first. Michaels carries them but they are out of stock. If they don't get them soon I will just have to mail order one. That always means I spend more money than I intend to so I am putting that off for now. I did learn one thing to pass on. In Kelli's article she mentioned using Top Boss to coat the bead before putting in the UTEE, I thought an embossing pad might be easier and it was. I just rolled it on the pad to coat it good and then put it in the embossing powder and added heat. It worked great.

Writing Laini

My Be brave challenge for today was to write Laini Taylor, many of you know her from Sunday Scribblings or her blog Grow Wings or have a Laini's Ladies. One thing I have a problem is keeping focus on both writing and art. I have been wanting to write her and ask her how she manages to do both. Not only does she do Laini's ladies but she just had a book published and is writing another. i don't know why I was scared to write her but I was, but now it is done... Yippee. Its great to have that done, I have been meaning to do it for months.














I painted a few more sheets of Tyvek to do some paper beads. They actually look better than the picture shows. I found the problem with using tyvek, you can melt the paper if you are not careful. Plus you need to be careful or you will blow embossing powder everywhere. I find the Pearl x hard to use, I need to come up with a better way top add it. I used some foil on one of the beads and that turned out great.














I have a tool that is for holding things basically it a clip on a paintbrush, this made it easy to dip the beads in all the powders and to hold while I added the heat. I can see I have a lot more experimenting to do, but tomorrow is another day.

A Drawing

For my Be brave challenge today I tried to draw a face from a photograph. This is a picture of Manami, she was our Japanese exchange student back in 2005, so I affectionately call her my Japanese daughter. I know you can't really tell she is Japanese by my drawing but I am working on it. The drawing has some problems but its a first try and I am bound to get better so I am happy with it




















I sat this afternoon and made Halloween cards, they were really fun. Now I need to find my envelopes and get them addressed and mailed out. I didn't do anything else artistically. I had cleaned up my studio last night and now its a mess again. I can not believe how that happens so quickly.

I want to make some of these crows from Kelli Perkins I went out and got some felt today, I also want to do some of the fancy techniques she used on beads so I got some of the clear Ultra Thick Embossing powder. It took me 2 stores to find it, Hopefully I will get to do that tomorrow.

A new Baby in the Neighborhood

My neighbor Phebe came over to tell me that her pony had a filly. This was a total surprise as they had no idea she was pregnant.















I think she is just the cutest thing. I have never been this close to a filly before so it was quite the treat for me. She has the softest hair and a cute disposition.



















I finished up the journal pages. My idea was to take an old book and cut out the book and use the covers for this journal. I got the book apart just fine but I made a major error. The depth of pages fit the spine just fine, but I forgot about the width. The pages will stick out of the book about an inch. So now I need to go get another book the right size.






















































I am continuing with the challenge of changing some things on my blog. I tried getting the blogger file link to work again today. I tried a whole new way but it still does not work. Are there any html/blogger experts out there?
I intended to try drawing from a photograph, picked a picture, printed it out but then I never got the time to do it so I will tackle that tomorrow.














Tonight I was cleaning up my art room and found some Tyvek and thought I would paint on it. I used Golden fluid acrylics and a credit card. That was fun.










Now I am making beads out of the paper. Its pretty late so I will play with these tomorrow, maybe add some wrapping or some of the other fun stuff that Kelli Perkins did in Cloth Paper Scissors

Being Brave leads to Linda Darnell

For the Be brave challenge yesterday I took the day off. My stomach was bothering me all day and I just did not have it in me to blog or do anything scary.

Linda Darnell

Now today I went to my friend Kay's house and she did a quantum touch healing on me. She is a new practitioners and needs 60 hours under her belt so I gladly volunteer to be a test subject. Well I have this rash on my foot which is most likely psoriasis and while she worked on me I saw the connection between it and my father. When he was alive he had psoriasis really bad. So it is like this is a message from him. We have a lot of unresolved issues.

This led to a lot of soul searching and to Linda Darnell. Now my dad used to say I looked like her, it was embarrassing every time he said it. Well I never even saw her in a movie and I have no idea what she looked like. Its just one of those childhood things that we like to forget. So my challenge today was to do a search on Linda and find out who she was and so forth. She was an actress in the 40's and 50's and died in 1965. As you can tell she was one gorgeous actress so it feels weird to be compared to her. I think this is probably something I needed to do to forgive my dad and move on.

This be brave challenge is taking me places I never thought of going.

More pages

I did several pages over the weekend. First I did this woman, I had not intended her to come out Polynesian but that seem to be what she became. I am finding the surface of this paper hard to draw on. SO I moved on to collage. I have been doing the drawings with Prismacolor colored pencils and Faber Castell Pitt Artist pens.



















These are pages I started a couple posts ago, I really like how they look now. I guess they needed to evolve into what they wanted to be.


















The page on Whoopi evolved because she looked so great on this background color. I really admire her for being her own person. This page represents that part of me I want to cultivate.




















This woman I put on the page, at first she seemed to be just contemplating and then it turned into a page on depression. The flower represent a technique I use. When things are so bad if you can just think of an image of a flower and drawn that beauty to you it helps, you slowly can build on that image and expand it and help yourself out of the murky depths you sunken into.





































This page evolved almost effortlessly. First I had the woman and then the scene and the words seemed perfect, I planned to add the flower to another page but once I placed it on the page it was as thought it belonged there. Such synchronicity with this page. It really seems to evoke a sense of calm to me.



















This page just became a collage of color and pattern, it seemed to evoke the Endless Possibilities that are out there.


















Violette did this great video on how she creates a page and I thought I would try one aka her style mixed with my own.