:: OLW March Blog Hop ::

Hello! Welcome to the March 1st One Little Word Blog Hop! 

Did you come from Jackie's place?  You are in the right place! Thank you for viewing my part of the world for a bit! 
Feel free to look around -- but orange colored glasses are required! If you enjoy your stay, feel free to click the "follow button on the sidebar to the right!  I would love to have you visit my part of the blogosphere again!
A complete list of participating blogs are listed at the bottom of this post. 

Let's get to the photo:

Favorite Part ::  the process and the tree.
confession #1 :: I wouldn't have finished this project (by March) if it weren't for the blog hop!
confession #2 :: I didn't really finish it in February (as I type this it is nearly 1:00 AM on March 1.
confession #3 :: It's still wet!!

I used an 8.5x11 piece of chipboard (I think??) that came as packaging or something!  I keep things, I find things, I use things, I don't always know what they are.  :-)  I black gesso-ed (that's a word, right?) over the whole thing as my base, then while it was still wet I painted over it with teal -- this way some of the black is still visible. That was my base, then I just started adding stuff!

Over the last month I have been on the look out for items in magazines to use for this project. Then over the last week or so, I've been ripping them out. Although I would say I am a visual person, everything that spoke to me, that seemed to want to be used, happened to be words! Well, almost everything. I think that's part of why I put off this project a bit. I was certain it wasn't going to be all that interesting. Although, I'm still not sure it's interesting, the process was fun. My hands (and craft mat) got dirty and it was just overall enjoyable.

confession #4 ::  I love my craft mat

Since it was words and phrases that stood out to me, I decided to just go with it. I ended up ripping out a bunch of paragraphs (more words) that have no particular meaning, just to use as background.  Then I put all the meaningful stuff over it.  :-)

confession #5 :: The tree came in the mail today. (Well, technically yesterday, either way just hours ago)!

After I was finished gluing everything down with matte medium, I put a layer over the top to seal it all together.  Then, I added a little orange (everything is better with a little orange, no?). I used this cool roller that I got in my February Scrapbook Circle kit, painted it with orange, and applied!  Fun!

Still to come:: I haven't decided what I'm going to do with the other side of the page.  If you remember from my first post I decided I needed a title page, so I'm not exactly following what Ali is doing, so I need to fill the pockets on the left side of the page (not shown).  I think I will put some fun paper there, and maybe some quotes that I've collected that fit my word (present). Or, who knows, I might even just go for one big photo like I did for my title page!  Nothing is speaking to me at this time, so I'll just have to wait until I know!

Next stop, Paige's place!  Thanks for stopping by!

P.S. Today is also the first reveal over at Scrap Your Story Challenges (of which I just happen to be a member of the Design Team).  My post for that will go live at around 8 a.m. (CST).  Please come back and check it out!

Lee

Cheri

Lisa
Michelle
Julie
Kara
Margareta
Tricia
Karen
Nikki
Melanie
Angela
Kathryn
Jackie
Dona <----- That's me!
Paige
Ruth
Kathleen

Missus Wookie:

Naomi

:: goals and my olw ::

Most people post goals on their blogs at the beginning of the year, month, week.  Nope.  I'm posting in the middle of the week toward the end of the month, and twenty three days into the year; I'm fun like that, yo!

I decided that I cannot do a post about my word for this year, without also sharing some goals I set for myself.  I also couldn't share my goals without my one little word.  They are so connected.

If you are a friend, or happen to have followed my blog over the last year or so, you will know that 2012 was a rough year, a rough year that actually started October of 2011.  :-)  Our miscarriage, my oldest daughter's marriage dissolving, adjusting to her and nearly two-year-old Mikaela moving in (but I was glad they were with us), Mikaela's accident and death, and several other deaths in our family, to name the biggies.  Ugh.  I'm am glad that is over!  There were positives to last year too, and I have NOT forgotten them.  My mother, who lost a daughter to a car accident many years ago, said something quite wise to me during all of this, "There will always be a hole, but I don't have to live in it."  I am happy to say that she is completely right (as usual) and that I haven't been living in it, but I'm keenly aware that it's there!  :-)

What a powerful quote this has been for me!  I am happy to say that my oldest daughter is participating in Ali Edwards' One Little Word class with me.  I am so excited about that!  Her word is strength. What a wonderful word for anyone, and perfect for her.  I contemplated that word myself, but another one just kept coming at me.

Be Present. If I've learned anything over this past year or more I've learned that nothing is permanent, and that it is important to embrace the present...and be present for yourself and for those around you.  So present it is.  I need to remember to live in the present, not worry obsess about what the future brings  (at least not too much) because it 'empties today of it's strength'.  And today is so strong.  Completely connected to that, my word is also about being present for my family. Listening to my Soul Mate completely; noticing, appreciating and loving him as he deserves. Three year olds, work and life can make that seem impossible sometimes, but it's so important, and so possible.  Computers, blogs, and memory keeping also get in the way, if you let it.  My goal with this word is not to let it. And work, let's not forget work -- it can so easily engulf you me if allowed to, and I must not allow it.  Being present is about being present in both body and mind. So, my focus with this word is also related to choosing to be physically present at those things that are important to me, namely with family & friends.

I will continue to share my adventures with this word in future posts.  As I finish Ali's first prompt (which has been amazing to work through) I will also post pictures of my product, and more about my focus and experiences with this word. What a fun journey this word will bring me.

Goals.  In addition to Ali's class I am also participating in another self-paced class at Big Picture Classes.  This one is with my other mentor, Elise Blaha Cripe, called I Choose, and it's all about goal setting.  It seems so funny to call Elise (who is more than ten years younger than me), a "mentor", but I cannot think of a more perfect word to describe it.  I would love to be more like her when I grow up -- she starts and finishes things!  LOL. The class has helped me to look at goal setting a bit differently, and likely more manageable.  I'm looking forward to getting 'er done.  I think this has been a perfect match with OLW for me this year.  Many of my goals are silly and fun, and others are more serious and connected with keeping my word close to me.  My plan is to "share as I go" with this one.  I thought about following Elise's lead and sharing a list at the beginning of the month and then checking them off as I go, but I think I'm going to let these goals seep into my blog as we go, if that makes sense.

Seep. If you follow my instagram feed or flickr, you may have already caught a glimpse of one of my goals. Do you pin stuff on Pinterest and then never do anything about it?  One of my goals is to do something with all of these lovely pins; do a project, use a sketch, scraplift a layout, make a recipe, transform my house, etc.  At least one per month.  At least that's how I'm looking at it now. So, by the end of the year, I will have done at minimum twelve projects that I've pinned.  Not too lofty, but still progress compared to pretty much nothing.  ;-)  I have a feeling that I will end up surpassing this goal, and I may even beef the goal up more as the year progresses.  Either way, this is one that I hope to share here, and I'm calling it my Pinterest Challenge.  If you want to play along, I would love to hear about what you are doing, please share!  I have met this goal for January and will share soon.  There have already been sneaks, so it may not really be a secret.  ;-)

More information about One Little Word with Ali Edwards can be found here (and the class is still open).  More information about Elise Cripe's I Choose class is here (and it's a self-paced class, that is also open)!  Also there are links on my sidebar!

Peace, love and understanding to ya!
:-) o.g.