Expanding My Business (with shaky hands)

You may dream of finding your products in a store. (Not in a thrift store). And when several businesses asked me 1). to create journals for them and then, 2). have another ask me about my art the fear began to melt.

canvas by Artful Rising (Erika)

I signed up yesterday to rent out a space in a shop.

Me. And my wares.

Well, okay, I won't be on sale but the things I create and place in my space will be for sale. For many people to touch and potentially walk up to the counter and purchase.

Sigh.

Some of you may not know that I have been working with tools since I was a little girl. My dad builds furniture, rooms, and anything he feels like for fun and I paid attention. So now, I am using my teensy skills to rework furniture and build signs and what ever floats my boat.

All because I opened an etsy shop and took a chance way back when.

Funny how little things begin to grow.

QUESTION: What little thing will you work on today?

Love Matters Most

I put my vulnerability out in a gift shop. I took a step this week when I dropped off my creations that I knew would not be everyone's cup of tea. It is different than selling online because your friends, family, and coworkers get to see in person, up close and personal, a part of you that may come out during the creative process. And they can't hide their feelings on your work.

part of an art piece I created

Yesterday, a friend said that three to four of the items I created were sold.

It was a reminder that it is important to love ourselves and to believe in our dreams. Even when others may not get it.

Love yourself.

QUESTION: How have you stepped out and taken a chance?

A Child's Idea of a Taco

My four year old fancies himself to be a "cooker". He takes this role seriously. One day, he explained that he had a new way of making a taco.

a 4yro's idea of a taco

He used a slice of deli colby jack cheese, pieces of steak, lettuce, and cherry tomatoes and topped them with a dollup of ranch dressing.

It is not the way I choose to eat steak but his hit flew right into his picky mouth;)

QUESTION: What is your favorite food?

Back to School Monthly Challenge

The BBA Monthly Challenge is all about Back to School  for August. Since I have been creating and organizing my new office (went back to work after six years!) I decided to use those for my challenge entry.

A new bulletin board... the one I inherited was black and white zebra print and it was hard for my eyes to focus on the forms I needed to read when answering parent/customer questions. I created the banner and the note holder first, then decided on the background fabric. It looks wrinkled in the photo but it looks better hanging up now.

on the ground waiting to be put up...

 Trying to get a photo in the office....For some reason this wants to upload sideways in blogger.

The banner/bunting was shared in this previous post. I cut out different papers and adhered various embellishments and formed the word LOVE.

love bunting

I wanted a way to manage the bits of notes that I needed to remember without stockpiling paper scraps all over my desk. I thought this was a pretty way to stay organized.

used: adhesive, glittered chipboard letters, baker's twine, and decorative tape

use the clip to keep track of bits of paper and receipts

fun polka dot tape

life is good reminder

 Anyone else notice what my husband did and I did not? With the bunting and the tags I created a board that says "love note."
QUESTION: What do you remember about those first days of school?

First Days

Today marks the first week of the new school year for my kids. The youngest loves his teacher and the class and actually cries a bit when he has to leave. His teacher.

ready for the new year

 I love it.

The older one (by 12 months) is ready to take charge and get her little brother to where he needs to be. She also promptly asks him for his homework when they get in the car after school. She is such a mother hen.

ready to begin

 He loves it.

I organized a backpack ministry for a few local kids whose families needed help buying school supplies. Folks really stepped up; the administrator and others got teary when they saw the monogrammed backpacks. Can you imagine that some of these kids have never had their name on anything like this before?

my kids helping take everything inside

I also enjoy my new job but am still trying to manage the new schedule. It has not been consistent yet since we are gearing up for the new year and getting the school cleaned before the teachers return next week. But I have been working on sprucing up my space as well as a bit of organization. Here is a sneak peak.

my bulletin board makeover

QUESTION: What are some of your firsts?

Mixed Media Memories

I have two kids -- a five and four year old. The oldest asked if she could have an 'art book' like mine. How can I resist?

one of my journals

She knows how to use an old gift card to spread paint.

a new use for an old card

She likes to use markers and watercolors.

two watercolor pages waiting...

She demonstrated to me yesterday that she knows how to use a brayer to adhere paper.

She specifically asked if she could use the umbrella from a snow cone for her artwork. She added the letters after she saw me writing on my journal art pages.

one of my favorite pages she created

I told her that after she creates more pages that we will add the holes and put it all together. It makes me so happy to see her wanting to do 'artwork' like momma and seeing her pieces next to mine. What great memories.

QUESTION: What is your favorite creative medium?

Linking up to Jenny Matlock for the letter M.

Love Bunting

Excited to be starting a new job after six years as a stay at home mom, I quickly created a bunting for the bulletin board above my desk. The office is narrow with one wall of cabinets that have been painted in a zoo animal theme so I wanted my wall space to be calm(er), pink, and less juvenile (I work at a preschool).

Since I actually have two roles at our large church, one as the women's ministry coordinator and the other as the interim assistant director of the school, I wanted to reflect my values and just have fun!

I used chipboard pennants as the backing and simply cut out the different papers. I adhered ribbons, crepe paper, and other embellishments with a bit of bling for needed sparkle.

A girl needs a bit of SHINE in her life.

Since the bulletin board was previously covered in a black and white zebra print (to match the cabinets) I will have to share the other things I created to help me stay organized in  a later post. After I recover the bulletin board--you would not believe how many people told me to keep it:)

QUESTION: What would your bunting say?

Running to Dreams

Yesterday, I admitted to a group of people that following a dream is not easy. The road is bumpy with cracks and sometimes the path curves around bends where you can't determine where you are going. I am not as interested in following a dream if it is not my calling. And when you have questions it is easy to give up.

Then, I found a photo of my daughter running at the zoo and was inspired.

I painted a canvas, glued a copy of the picture, recycled a dryer sheet by gluing it down for texture (and to simulate the tough going of following a dream), and stamped the letters.

QUESTION: Are you running to or from a dream?

Imagination in Paint

I pulled out the paints yesterday. My kids, 4 and 5 years old, showed me their skills.

If you use a toilet paper roll you can lift up the upper layer and reveal what's underneath.

You then can use that roll to decorate Momma's page.

And to save a shoe that a 4 year old believed could be saved by scotch tape (not), he opted to paint it instead.

turning trash to treasure! See the blue sticking out? It is a dryer sheet painted and added to the shoe.

I think his turned out the best!

I am linking up with Jenny Matlock for alphabet I.

I am so Clever

"I am so clever that sometimes I do not understand a single word of what I am saying." ~ Oscar Wilde

I actually tend to think I am so absent minded that I forget what I am saying. Have you ever been in a conversation and just stopped because you could not remember what you were going to say? How does that happen--I was talking about "it"and suddenly it just disappeared from the cerebral cortex within the brain (or where ever it processes)?

I took on an art journal challenge to use only black, white, and one accent color which had to be droopy in nature, and I had to use patterns in an inch like form. I must have been in quite a mood because I wrote some interesting things around my journal page. Now, I appreciate how I chose to use the dog and cat images with that mood;)

The challenge called for us to either to use zentangles or patterns. I don't particularly like zentangles because I keep thinking it is all about rules, and doodling should just be...doodling. To help me along, I used stamps and then added lines, squiggles, and dots to connect everything together. The blue accent is watercolor that I blew across the page to capture the droopy paint part of the challenge.

I also created a journal for the Artful Rising shop with Oscar's quote. This would be fun to fill with stories of personal adventures and anecdotes or just rantings (my favorite way to process).

Artful Rising journal

 QUESTION: Do you ever feel as if you don't understand yourself?

Capturing Memories

I created a frame with a sea theme for the BBA's Monthly Challenge. I had the kids help me which meant that when we were done I realized that we decorated the front of the frame upside down from how the back of the frame is meant to stand.

I will figure out that hiccup later.

And I cannot find the word I wanted to add to the top of the frame. It is probably in one of their rooms...

My parents live by the water so the kids already have memories involving water, bathing suits, and the sun. Now, I just have to add the photo. And maybe find that word.

QUESTION: What is one of your childhood memories?

Great Artists Start Ugly

Whether you are pulling out needles, yarn, paintbrushes, or beads, remember to make it ugly first.

That's right. Make it ugly.

If you allow yourself the freedom of making a disaster then you give yourself the gift of letting go and freeing the creative juices wanting (waiting) to burst forth.

Michelangelo did not create a masterpiece on his first try at stone. And neither will you.

So make the decision to make something or put up the supplies and make nothing.

If you spend all the time daydreaming about what you will create then you leave no room for actually creating your dreams. And that is the beautiful part about getting creative;

♥You actually create something.

♥And learn what works and what doesn't.

Grab that blank paper and write. Paint on that canvas sitting there for months (I have this problem). Cut out that pattern already.

Lynette's Art

And come back and tell us what you made.

QUESTION: What is something you have hesitated making because of the learning curve involved?

And don't forget to share at least 1-2 sentences of how you make difference for a chance to win! Someone said they don't like to toot their own horn but celebrating our journey is more like it! Enter HERE.