Soul Humming

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Nature

 

Margo Polo

Today's creativity prompt is Nature and the wildest thing in our house is usually our little kitty, Margo Polo. When I first met her she was hanging out in a tiny hammock in a metal cage at our local rescue. I went up to her and she stretched her paw out through the bars to touch my face. That was it for me. We had no idea she would turn into a long haired beauty. Nor did we know anything about Maine Coons, which we learned she is a mix of. She loves to play in water, chase lights, and makes a noise more like a chirp then a meow.

Inspiration for the Year

 

Hands

The calendar turning to January seems to hold so much promise of commitment, creativity, and endless days of dreams.

Every year, about this time (mid-January) I always pull a Homer as I realize I wanted to start a cool year-long art project but didn't (again).

I always run across so many inspirational projects happening in January. You can do a 365 days photo challenge. Or, all kinds of 52 week photo challenges are out there. There are lots of challenges at Instagram, too. And some artists challenge themselves to create a doodle, a journal page, or a painting every single day.

I always have the best intentions. But not such excellent follow through. Excuses abound (kids, animals, dishes, blah, blah, blah) but in reality, I just don't do it.

So today as I was running across lots of online projects I thought, I'll make my own list. And it will start today, January 12. And I will follow along with my prompts and make them happen. Here it is...

Now, I might take a photo but I might paint something. I'm not going to tie myself down with rules. :) And, while I will do these things on the appointed day, I may not post them on that day. I will try to post them. 'Cause I'm the Baroness of Commitment like that.

If you want to use these same prompts and play along, that would be amazing! Seriously, I would Love it if you did. And if you do, give a holler and please leave a link to your image in the comment section so we can all check them out together. A bit of inspiration is fueling.

I made the list before I made today's photo. That's it up there at the top of this post. And, while the word is hands, I managed to create an image that is completely devoid of them. Sometimes, what we most desire is what we do not have. My hands are my most important tool. There have been several times in my adult life where I have been unable to use one or both hands. This little frozen Charlotte reminds me of those times when I was bound up and handless. I'm very, very grateful for the blessing of my hands.

Ok, your turn!

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Join in with Acts of Kindness for Newtown

 

 

If you would like to Do Something simple to show support to the children and people of Newtown, please join in with Leighanna Light as she gathers together prayer flags. Read on to see her message...

"On the news yesterday, I heard someone from Newtown say that she suspected life would go on & people would soon forget about them. That what happened at Sandy Hook would just become another news story. When I heard that, I immediately knew that I wanted to do something.

I’m not sure what I’m getting myself into, but here is my idea... I would like to get as many people as possible to make a prayer flag & send it to me by January 2nd. I will string them together & get the flags to Newtown by the time the kids return to school. Think about how easy this would be & what a wonderful way to let them know that we care & will never forget. For our strong art community here on FB this is a no brainer, we participate in swaps & trades all of the time. For those of you who claim not to be creative, this doesn’t have to be a masterpiece- just a quick easy thing that we can do to show that we care. It would require very little money, and maybe an hour of your time.
Tom said that he could get his English classes to participate- about 80 kids. I plan to go over to the high school today & see if I can get something going with them before school ends on Friday. This could really grow fast, with just a few schools and a few of you on Facebook.

Diana Trout first planted the idea of using prayer flags, and I have not been able to stop thinking about it all weekend. This was also a very selfish decision, I can’t seem to stop thinking (or reading) about it & this would be something constructive that I could do that would keep me focused on the positive & away from the computer!

If you would like to participate, here are the details...

-This is about hope & good wishes, not about any specific religion, or even praying if that is not a part of your life. It is about showing that we care. If you want to include a prayer, wonderful, but it is not required.

-Your flag can be made out of any cloth material... An old piece of clothing, an old sheet, canvas, - you don’t need to go out & buy anything.

THE SIZE OF EACH FLAG SHOULD BE 5” X 8”, so that the chain remains uniform in size.

- Please sew or glue the top of the flag over, leaving a one inch gap so that I can run a string through it.

-You can make it as simple or elaborate as you’d like. You can paint on it, write on it, sew on it, make a little heart in the center- anything goes EXCEPT please refrain from addressing the person who caused this or the names of the victims. This is about hope & I think it’s a good idea to keep it as positive as possible.

-Please make sure these get to me by January 2nd. If they do not arrive by then, they will not make it to the school, & probably won’t be mailed back to you.

-Mail them to:

Leighanna Light
PO Box 2861
Ranchos De Taos, New Mexico, 87557

if you have any questions you can also email me at [email protected]

FOR LOCALS IN THE TAOS AREA
I would love it if you could join us at the Taos Art Space on Friday at 5 PM to create a flag. Please bring your own materials, I will bring some paint & some art supplies to share.

I hope that you can join us!" - Leighanna

This is a great project that you can do with your children, Sunday School groups, neighbors, and families. It is a simple and kind way to offer love and support. I hope you will take part and spread the love of healing to Newtown.

Christmas Creatures - My Handmade Ornaments for 2012

Sheila

So this year we did not have a 12 Days of Christmas Exchange as in the past few years. Instead, I exchanged a few handmade pieces with a smaller group of friends.

 

My Christmas Creatures - 2012

 And these are all the girls I made. I wasn't sure exactly what I would be making until one day my friend, Deryn, posted a picture of her Welsh Terrier puppy.

 

I just wonder what she is thinking as she is giving that money such a look!

 

It seems that Maisey had made a snack of some ten dollar bills.

Lottie and Maisey

And then I decided to make this little imp named Lottie with her gilded golden ears and her pup, Maisey, who has the corners from a $20 flying around around. Lottie is supposed to help Maisey learn to be a good girl but I'm afraid she is a terrible influence. It was all her idea to eat the money.

Lottie before she got all dressed up

She is the biggest of the girls, coming in at about 9 inches long.

Soon other sisters followed, each with their own grand stories to whisper as they came into being. As a group they are called The Promise of Spring as they bring flowers to remind us that winter is not too long. Soon there will be sunny skies. And the little flowers were given to me years ago by my husband's Grandma Hope, who loved making beautiful miniature dolls.

Addie is ready for her first fancy dress party. She even oiled her freckles. She has to bring extra flowers for spring in case she needs a snack.

 

This is Clara and Bluebelle. Sometimes Clara keeps Bluebelle's egg nice and warm on the back her neck. Bluebelle is the True Bluebird of Happiness.

 

Leanora is the most shy. She comes from a very fine old family & once traveled across the land in a big, black car. She has a penchant for sundown and biscuits.

 

Lucy likes roses and the heat of summer best of everything. She is especially superstitious but feels safe when she is in Texas and if she has the proper number and size of Xs to wear.

 

Ella has an easy disposition. She loves to play jokes and is very fond of shiny things. She is prone to pinching gold objects and loud hammers. Compliment her on her horns and she will give them back in the night time.

 

 

Lastly, is Sheila. She comes from off the coast of Sydney. If you say her name very quietly it sounds like the waves of the sea. She is lonely and misses all her friends. I've promised her that I will make a school of mermaids for her before Christmas. Maybe there will be one extra for you.

 

 

Instagram

 

American Gothic Calavera Style

I've not been here much. I know, I know. As my kids are growing so are the ways in which I spend my time with them. I need to be more present as my oldest just became a teenager. The homework of middle school, the social scene, it is all different than when I was a kid. And my husband and I are working so hard at keeping up with all the technology he has at his disposal. We want both our boys to be men of strong character and there are lessons every day. So my painting/creative time has shifted. I'm doing more things that I can accomplish quickly like iphone photography on Instagram.

 

Remembering Who I Am

I like this sort of creative outlet because it is fun, fast, and deals immediate communication with an audience. I don't have to write a long post. I don't have to find my favorite paint brush. I can do it on the fly but it still feeds my creative hunger. I'm still working in portraits, lots of self-portraits as I'm always here when I need to be creative.

Found

Do you have an Instagram account? I'd love it if you would follow me there so I can keep up with my Soul Humming peeps! Click the button below to find me or look me up there where my user name is @soulhumming. Look forward to sharing photos with you all!

 

Girl with Red Hair - A Painting Challenge

 

I am stubborn (aka lazy and unorganized). So when the mood strikes me to paint, I will paint. Even if I only have 15 minutes, no water, one brush, a piece of an old Swedish hymnal (I always thought it was German until I tried to translate it via Google) as a substrate, and a couple of colors of paint. 

My goal was to keep it very loose. With no water and one brush it was fun to work super fast as I was in my garage (it is 90 degrees outside) and the paint was drying very quickly.

I feel like it was a boost to my creativity. I had already made seven pendants earlier today by the time I painted this. So I was feeling the mojo. It was good to hear those "painting voices" in my head turn on again. I love kicking the critic to the curb and enjoying the process intstead of judging it. In the end, it was lovely to get back to creating.

Making Unique and Easy Artist Gift Wrap

 

Funky wrapped gift for my friend's birthday

When I finally finish making something by hand for a friend, I dread having to wrap it. Usually, I hate wrapping gifts. All the work went into making the present so I just want to be done. But one day last week I needed to wrap something and found a small painting I had done on a very old page from a German hymnal.

 

Fun and funky, highly original gift wrap.

So I wrapped the handmade item in tissue, taped the painting to another hymnal page, tied it all up with kitchen twine along with a metal tag, and Voila! Here's what I did...

 

My main tool for these pages below were pastels. I used super cheap but boldly pigmented Porfolios (available at Staples) and more expensive and lovely Caran d'ache (available online or in art supply stores).

 

What to draw? My cat walked by so I quickly doodled hert on the page and colored it in with pastels.

Could not be easier!

 

You can draw stripes, hearts, or stars if you want a more simple design. It's up to you. You could also draw something specific to the gift recipient like robots for a little boy, an angel at Christmas, and so on.

 

And if your gift is handmade with love, you could trace your hand and make that the central image. Trace your kid's hand if the gift is for Grandma.

She would love that!

 

I added a metal tag to a couple of these gifts. I used sheet brass, cut it out with my shears, filed the edges and then used this awesome metal punch to make a hole in it to hang on the wrapped gift.

I love this little metal punch. You use it just like a regular hole punch that you use for paper. I've tried the metal punch that is a screw punch where you turn and turn that metal bar. Bleh. This one is so much faster! I got it at Amazon.com!

 

I cannot find my Letter V metal stamp so I was happy to use Letter U, upside down Letter A, and upside down Number 4 as stand-ins. Afterall, love doesn't care what it looks like.

You can get a great set of letter/number metal stamps at Harbor Freight for only $10.

 

"Love You Sweet Friend"

If you don't want to mess with metal, you can make a super cute little tag with an old photo. I have lots of old black and white photos from the flea market. I use them frequently on gifts and cards. First I wrote right on top of the picture with a white paint pen from Sharpie. Once dry I wrote on top of that with a pink Sharpie.

I think she is precious sitting there playing. Perfect for a birthday girl!

And if your photo is particulary special to you, make a photo copy and use that as your tag. If you have a photo of the person you are giving the gift to, make a copy of it and doll it up as the tag.

Aren't these pretty? Turquoise crosses with big, old rhinestone drops made for my friend. They are getting the fun wrap treatment.

I put these in bubble wrap, keeping them fairly flat, then taped the edges of the hymnal papers together.

Next up, I found a fun little necklace my kids got at a birthday party. It's a little plastic heart full of soap bubbles to blow. It will make a great bow!

 

Love, love, love YOU

Think outside the box and use what you have on hand. Turn something ordinary like old photos and book pages into your own one of a kind orginal wrap!

This is the perfect size to put in a bubble mailer and pop in the post. Wouldn't this be a fun package to get in your mail box?

Dog Days of Summer

 

 

Summer is in full swing here on the west coast.

 

So we are hitting the beach.

And spending five or six days a week with Swim Team.

I'm also taking time to smell the flowers wherever I find them.

While I am slowly finding tiny nuggets of time for creating jewelry/art, most of my artistic endeavors are happening with my iphone. If you want to keep up with my photography, please follow me at Instagram where my user name is soulhumming.

Last but not least, I have a cool give-away coming in the days ahead. So stay tuned!

 

FIVE year milestone

 

five flowers

lots of my friends know about my obsession with the number five. it's my favorite number and shows up in lots of ways throughout my art and life. but now i am loving it even more. five years ago, on my birthday, february 24th, i had a mastectomy. i didn't want to have the surgery, obviously, and especially not on my birthday. but when i was scheduling the appointment that was the first date available. and, at the time it was better to HAVE a birthday to celebrate for the next several years than to fret over that particular one. $%#* cancer.

the general angle

and each year on my birthday i remember that day. i remember that surgery. i remember the room i was in. the cold colors of the walls. the metal trolley holding my i.v. bag and its tube into my body. i remember wheeling it into the bathroom in the dark while loopy and talking to mija on the phone. that was one of the few moments when i didn't feel completely out of my body. i remember the doctors being unable to find a pain med that would work. nothing seemed to help and they kept calling late into the night to get him on the phone to try something else. i remember wishing i were anywhere but in that cold room.

i remember my amazing friends and family visiting me in the hospital. i remember them lined up at the foot of my bed like sweet surprises in a row. lisa brought me a birthday crown. i wear it around the house still. that was lovely to see them all through my post surgery haze.

forgotten

but, let me tell you, having a mastectomy on your birthday sucks. don't do it if you can help it. pick a different day. you will remember it when you would rather move on and forget it. and yet, you can never forget it. no amount of life is going to take the scars away,inside or out. SO - get your mammograms. don't put it off. do self-checks every month. be smart, people! ok, climbing off my pink beribboned soap box now.

escape

and, luckily, this year, tomorrow, on my birthday, i get to celebrate with enormous JOY being five years cancer free. that is huge to me. five years out is the first time the oncologist will consider me cancer free. so it is quite a succulent milestone. i've been waiting to exhale a little since that day i thwacked myself in the boob with a mop and found a lump. five years out from surgery feels like a wonderful, amazing, happy, magnificent relief. life is made up of so many moments all strung together like sparkling gems. tiny and shining. this one moment sums up so much happiness hanging off of worry, love, bravery, sadness, expectation, adjustment, fear, and on and on. right now five equals rocket to the moon happy. so...

take time to live your life in this moment. the little stuff truly isn't worth worrying about, well, not much is worth worrying about. don't be so serious. love big. laugh loud. and dance every chance you get. that's what i'm doing. mwah!