Oh my gosh!!!  I just realized that I can wear a tiara for real!!!  I am sooo getting me one of these!  I have been looking at wedding dresses for months online but today I am going to try some on.   I have an idea of the style I want.    Strapless seems to be the current style and I dont’ like that look on me.  But I think most bridal stores will alter, so if I find one I like I might can get lace straps added.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

From time to time we all hit a lag in our creativity.  If you need something to get your creative juices flowing, try a few of these tips.

1.  Look at the web sites of artists who work in a different medium than you.  It’s awe-inspiring and will inspire you to learn more in your own media.

2.  Rearrange   your studio or work area.  Put up the things you usually reach for.   Bring out something you don’t normally use.  Seeing it every day will inspire you to use different things in your art.

3.  Find trade magazines (discontinued ones at the library are cheap) for graphic designers or illustrators.  They have inspiration for color combinations, layout and lettering.

4.  Look through a magazine upside down so you can see the patterns and shapes without being distracted by the messages.  This gives you practice in seeing things from an artist’s perspective.

5.  Start looking at everything as a canvas.  As you drive, imagine what sort of design would look good on a car beside you;  when visiting someone create a design in your mind that would fit on their kitchen cabinets;  visually determine a way to recover a lamp shade in the doctor’s waiting room.

6.  Paint something that society says shouldn’t be painted.  For example, paint your cell phone, your computer’s mouse, your refrigerator or your shoes.

7.  Pick one thing and incorporate it into every piece of art you do for a month.  It can be a symbol such as a heart or spiral; it can be an animal or insect; it can be just a stripe of color; or it can be as obvious as a series of artwork on one subject.

8.  Go to an art supply store and find something you’ve never used before.  It doesn’t matter if you know how it’s normally used or not.  Just play with it and see what you create.

9.  Do the opposite.  If you usually create when you have a large span of time, run in and do what you can in 15 mins.  If you normally have a quiet atmosphere to create in, put on some loud rock music.   Try something totally different because it will engage an area of your brain that you don’t normally use.

10.  Use crayolas.  The smell alone will take you back to when you were 5 and didn’t care what anyone thought of your creation.  Scribble and use all the colors in the box.  Then hang it on your fridge!

Mister got me the coolest tool! It’s a tiny miter box.  It is just the right size for sawing small things.  It fits in the bench vise he got me.  I was cutting pencils to little short ones to use as charms on a necklace, and this is just perfect for that!

Sorry about the flash, but hopefully you can tell that this is the little miter box in the vise.

This is a shot from the top, with me sawing a pencil.  The little pegs are used to hold in place whatever you are sawing.  There are several angles marked on it so you make precise cuts.  Even though the little saw looks like a knife it is a very precise saw.  It only takes 2 or 3 saws and the pencil is cut, very cleanly.

I am so blessed to have a guy that knows how to find such cool tools and buys them for me!!!

I have a big project I want to share with you.  Mister has a two story house and he doesn’t use any of the three upstairs rooms.  So, naturally I have plans to make use of all that space!  My first will be to create a studio in one bedroom.  I have some pictures so you can see the “before” and follow along as I create my studio.

This is looking in to the room from the door.  That bookcase will be used for some of my supplies.  I’m going to paint the walls yellow.  I’m thinking of painting the trim lime green.

This is a closet in the room that’s the width of a whole wall.  But we are going to remove the walls so it’s open.  Look at the little door that goes into an attic closet.  Don’t you love that little door?  I’m thinking of painting Alice, bending over because she’s too tall, on that door!

When I finish this room, I’m going to create a dressing room in a small room upstairs.  I’ll share pics of it when I start that project.

I am so excited about having a real studio!!!

I had a wonderful, wonderful trip!  I posted my pics on a page you can see here.  I spend three days in Dallas with my son Lanny and his family.  The kids are growing and it was really nice to get to spend time with them.

Then I rode from Dallas to Midland with Laddan’s friend Bonner who had been in the Dallas area at a rodeo.  It was a really nice drive.  I met his new girlfreind and they made me feel welcome to ride with them.

My week in Midland was fun-filled with girly time which I needed.  It went so fast but I got to spend a lot of time with Laddan and his girlfriend, Paige and my friend Paula and her daughter, Mandy.

They took me to some stores that were so cool and of course I bought all kinds of cool stuff.  We hit a couple of consignment stores and I got some amazing deals.  Got a pair of Miss Me pants for $25  and a gogeous leather jacket for $21.

Laddan’s friend Brody and his wife own a neat store and there I got some knock-off ugg boots on sale for $25.  They are so cute.  Later in the week I’ll take pics of all my new stuff.  But on the page of pics I do have a picture of all the flip flops I got

It was like a blood transfusion to be with the girls and see all the new trends and talk about fashion and hair styles and new mascaras.  I love all this stuff and it’s been a while since I have hung out with girls and done this type of thing.

Another thing that got started by talking to the girls was an idea for creating my studio at Mister’s house.  I picked out paint colors and got a real good idea of how I want to create it.  When I got back yesterday I came to Mister’s house and last night we figured out how to make a few minor changes so that one of the upstairs bedrooms can be changed into a studio.  It’s going to be awesome!!!  I’ll take pics along the way.

Another room upstairs is this small almsot hidden room.  I”m going to make it into a dressing room.  I’m going to install a bar across the room where I’ll hang my clothes.  And in a recess I’ll have a place to organize my shoes and purses.  I have a white wicker dresser and stool, so I’ll put it in there.  I picked out Laura Ashley pink and mauve paint colors for that room.  I”m going to start all this redecorating next week.

On Sat, Paula and I presented a workshop on Self Discovery Through Collage.  It was small but very effective.  The women who participated were very involved in the process and learned a lot about themselves.  Paula is going to do another workshop on creating Dreamboards.  I think she’s going to be very successful in Midland, and I”m so proud of her!!!!

Laddan’s puppy got Parvovirus while I was there.   The vet wanted $600 to treat him so we decided we could do it ourselves.  Laddan had to leave town for a rodeo so Paige and I  forced pedialyte down him for about 36 hours and he made a miraculous recovery.  We were pretty proud of ourselves!

I have never had the experience of missing a man the way I missed Mister while I was gone.  It was a strange sensation to be so happy where I was and yet to long to be home with him at the same time.  We talked several times a day every day and it was good to know someone was waiting for me at home who missed me and awaiting my return.   We had a wonderful evening last night sharing about our week apart from each other and appreciating being back together.  Love is good

My photo for today is of the mess I’ve created trying to pack for my trip.  I’m leaving tomorrow to go to Texas.  I’m flying to Dallas to see my older son and his family.  It’s been a while since I’ve seen my grandkids and I’m really looking forward to spending time with them.  On Sunday I will drive from Dallas to Midland where my younger son and his girlfriend live.  I’ll be there a week.  My dear friend, Paula, has moved back to Midland from AZ and we are going to do a workshop so I’m excited about that for sure!

I probably won’t have a chance to post while I’m gone, but when I get back I’ll have lots of photos to share.

In my fun journaling group today we were discussing what types of journals we prefer and how many different journals we each keep.  Some of my journals are still packed away, but what I have with me you can see in this photo.

The colored ones on the left are from a time when I was searching for the kind of journal I liked.  None of them are completely filled.  Then I found sketch books.  I love that sketch books are cheap, spiral bound and a nice big size.  I completely filled several of them.  Those were the first ones I ever filled before changing to something different.  But, as I’ve expanded the art techniques I use in my journals, I’ve found that the paper in the sketch books just can’t hold up to the abuse.  So now I prefer watercolor paper.  I have a few that are just watercolor paper pads.  But most recently I have bound my own books with watercolor paper.

I like at least an 8 x 10 in size.  Any smaller and I feel confined.  I combine art and writing on most of my pages so I like lots of room!

What type of journal do you use?  Do you use just one, or do you keep different journals for different purposes?

P.S.  I’ve fallen down on taking a photo every day.  So, I’m counting this as my photo today