365 days of Creative Expression!

so, i really need to work on this blog and figure out just what i am doing wrong in uploading the photos of cards.  You can visit my facebook page "365 Days of Creative Expression" by following the link to the left!  i am actually better at posting to that page then the blog, plus, i have to admit, the frustrations of uploading here is driving me nuts!!. . .so thanks for the support!

Cards Number 10, 11, 12 and 13

 i am having some issues uploading these cards in the correct direction!! - i am going to have to work on this! - so for now . . .please forgive me. . .but you can visit me on facebook also!
This is card Number 10
Two shots - the little envelope will hold the setiments of the sender!

 This is card number 11!

This is card Number 12 and;

. . .this is card Number 13!!

Card Number 9

 Card Number 9!


i took two photos of this one to really show what i had used.  i found these cute little squares in a craft store and saw some of the cute things they did with them. . .then i spotted the stamp of this little guy on skis and had to put the two together! (any excuse to buy stamps!)

This is a really simple but CUTE card!! - Enjoy

365 days of Creative Expressions - Week One

Well. . .i must say that i am proud to have the first week down.  Don't get me wrong, i enjoy the creative process.  i have been making cards for a few years now and it is a challenge to come up with all NEW ones.  If you were to see my space, you would see the many cards that i have already made up all over the place to serve me with ongoing inspiration.  My friends also provide plenty of inspiration with what they create and of course what we create together!  Doing a "card a day" i believe, will start to push me in my creativity and make me think outside of my "comfortable" box.  It is also forcing me to use some of the stamps that are not really my "style" that are in my collection.  I hope you have enjoyed my cards thus far and thank you for sharing in my journey!

. . .a few more cards! - 4, 5 6 7 and 8 in order!

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Card Number 2 and 3

Card Number 2
This is a photo that i took and then switched to black and white.  I then took the photo and colored just the inside of the petals of the flower.  I DID use a stamp for this card so that is in keeping with using ALL my stamps!

 This is Card Number 3

i have no idea why i have not used this stamp. . .it is so cool!.  i love the saying also: "Where words fail, music speaks." ~Hans Christian Anderson.
Truer words! - i myself can get lost within my music because the music often expresses what i can not!

Peace

Snow and Ice

Living in New England we are blessed with the uncertain weather all the time. . .which means that there are winters when we don't see any snow or there are winters, like this one, where all we have seen is snow and more snow and more snow and ice!  Choosing to live in New England means you have to be able to go with the flow of the weather and also have the ability to enjoy the many different things we are lucky to see.  i love the look of the snow in the trees - especially when the sun comes through and hits it in just the right way. . .beautiful! (i actually need to get out and capture that on film!)  Right now i have these enormous icicles forming all around my house and i think the formations are great. . .no two are the same.  Each have it's own beauty, not to be taken from the next. . .makes you think. . .  aren't we all different creations?. . .each of us having our own beauty?

That being said. . .i sure am done with the shoveling part of this winter, but i am enjoying the show that mother nature has graced us with!
Peace and Enjoy!
(p.s. i am working on Card number 2 to be uploaded later)

Card Number 1

Well - here it is - Card Number 1 - (of 365 days of Creativity!)  I actually got the idea from a magazine that i have had for a long time now and then went through my stamps to find some cute small ones to use.  So - for this card i used three stamps (two i have not used before!) - Enjoy!

365 days of Creativity

Here it is. . .my inspiration for the upcoming year! - 365 - A Daily Creativity Journal - Make something every day and change your life!!  Kind of exciting isn't it!? - and you have to love the only rule that the author gives as a guide. . ."THERE ARE NO RULES"  - one does not have to read this book from cover to cover or in order as the pages are placed. . .that in and of itself is very freeing.  Of course comes the task of coming up with a "project" - something that can be created everyday for a year.  The author's project was a skull a day. . .(for which he has become famous for!) where he created a skull out of different mediums. . .and he came up with some really neat creations!!  One suggestion that he has is to journal or "blog" each daily creation to share with others - allowing for encouragement, inspiration and accountability.  How excited was i when i read that - "i already have a blog - and it is named 'Expressions of Creativity'"  So now comes the task of choosing a project and although the author has informed me to take it easy and not stress. . . i am somehow finding that hard.  I have a couple of ideas that i am tossing around. . .since i already love to make cards. . .maybe a card a day - but utilizing all the stamps that i currently own as a starting off point.  Another idea, following my love photography is to take a photo a day - making me keep my camera on me at all times (which i have always said i SHOULD do!).  It could be at a certain time of day or at intervals (i.e. 8am one day, 9am the next and so on).  i can use this blog as my documentation of my progress and this could be the start. . .looking for thoughts and ideas of anyone who reads this.  i am hoping to gain some insight into myself doing this project as part of my journey towards inward love and peace. . .so look for the next installment of WENDY's 365 Days of Creativity!

Much Peace!

(by the way. . .you can follow the author on Facebook. . .and on his blog at: http://www.makesomething365.com/)

Sand and Stone

Two friends were walking through the desert.
During some point of the journey, they had an
argument; and one friend slapped the other one
in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without
saying anything, wrote in the sand,

“Today My Best Friend
Slapped Me In The Face”

They kept on walking, until they found an oasis,
where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been
slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning,
but the friend saved him.

After he recovered from the near drowning,
he wrote on a stone:

“Today My Best Friend
Saved My Life”

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend
asked him, 'After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now,
you write on a stone, Why?'

The friend replied
'When someone hurts us we should write it down
in sand, where winds of forgiveness can erase it away.

But, when someone does something good for us,
we must engrave it in stone where no wind
can ever erase it'

Learn to write your hurts in
the sand and to carve your benefits in stone.

~ unknown

This was sent to me via an email from a friend and i right a way connected to the idea of it. I thought that it was worth sharing with everyone while having a reminder to myself to be forgiving and to carve all the joys in my life in stone

Peace.

The life lesson. . .

There are so many ways to express yourself. . . your thoughts, your opinions, your feelings. . . that i am constantly amazed that learning how to communicate those thoughts, opinions and feelings is one of those life lessons that i continue to learn as i go through life. Just when i think that i have learned it, WHAM – it hits me again in a slightly different way. . . the same lesson with a different twist to it. i tend to be very passionate and intense about things (anyone who knows me is thinking ‘you got that right’) and my need to communicate and connect with others is enormous. Learning to not only watch what i say, but how i say it, is a lesson that seems to keep finding its way back into my life as the years pass.

When i was younger, i would say ANYTHING to ANYONE at ANYTIME because it was on my mind and i believed it needed to be heard. i did not realize that there was a time for everything, even when i thought that there was some grave injustice being done. My thought was that if something was wrong it needed to be addressed immediately to whatever audience was available. Most of the time, it was the wrong audience at the wrong time. i believe i learned the lesson that ranting and raving to someone who can do absolutely nothing to solve the problem at hand is pointless and that there are proper times and proper channels to go through. i still voice my opinion if i feel there is injustice because i believe that one should stand up for the ideals and beliefs that are important. . .it just has to be done in a more diplomatic way! (and when i say i have “learned” this lesson, i by no means assert that i have perfected it!!)

i also, as most young people do, fell into the “gossip” trap. i learned two things from that: one, gossip is truth stretching at its best. . .ok, most of the time, it is LYING at its best. . .as a way to somehow make yourself feel better about who you are and to somehow feel superior in some way. That feeling of “being better” is artificial because you end walking away knowing that you are a fraud. The second thing i learned is that people with whom you gossip WITH will also gossip about YOU which means that there are rumors being said about you. (additionally, who will trust you if they know you gossip?) Now, that not only hurts others, it eventually hurts you. That is the quick road to loneliness. i quickly learned to stop that and found when you don’t engage in it, gossip does not find you.

As i get older, i have continued to remind myself that not every thought that crosses my mind needs to be shared, no matter what the thought may happen to be. It is hard because I DO tend to be very passionate and intense about things and so many times that intensity or passion can be construed as antagonistic. Part of this ongoing lesson is that i have to learn that everyone interprets things differently and that meanings can be misinterpreted and distorted. Additionally, if someone misunderstands and then REPEATS what has been said, the distortion gets even worse. Unfortunately, people love to repeat things, another lesson that continues to hit me over the head; so putting voice to my thoughts becomes even trickier. What should i say? When should i say it? With whom should i share it? i wish that this one life lesson could be mastered easily. Learning how to communicate is huge part of this lesson. . . the expression of thoughts and feelings without offending and hurting others.

i have struggled my whole life with my own inner demons and the last thing i want to do in my life now is to offend and hurt others. i try to embrace those who support and love me (despite my numerous flaws!) and try to keep those who don’t at a distance. But as any human does, i have opinions, thoughts and emotions. i try to speak things as i see them and if you ask me, i will tell you. i feel that if someone takes the time to get know me and the path i have traveled thus far in life, my ramblings are a bit more understandable and can be seen as coming from the heart. Still though, i need to continually remember that everyone INTERPRETS things differently and that what they HEARD may not have been what i meant. Additionally, people love to talk and knowing who to trust with my opinions, thoughts and emotions may be the hardest lesson yet.

Blessings to all as we continue to travel this journey we call “life”.

No "I" in Team!

I have been thinking lately about karate and how it is a team sport. . .now you may think to yourself that it is not like other typical team sports that we think about such as softball, basketball, football and even bowling. . .but think about this for a moment. . . . joining karate was a tough decision for me but having done so has really added something to my life.  I have met some wonderful people through karate and one in particular who started just about the same time as I did.  Somehow, we have stuck together through classes and our belt promotions and when I thanked him. . .he said “there is no I in TEAM”. . .and that is when I started looking at karate as a “TEAM” sport.  It is the encouragement to continue. . .to persevere through those days that are tough. . .the push to go forward towards the goal.  Without that, I am not sure I would have continued and I have become most thankful to my team members – especially Steve – who has really shown me the true meaning of “there is no I in TEAM”  Thanks – and onward and upward towards our goal of Black Belt!

Alex

Took this picture of Alex at one of her softball games. . .i just found it as i was looking for a picture to put on the Christmas cards i plan on making. . .i did not choose this one (although i really love it) i decided on one of her in the snow!  she has the most amazing eyes and i love any opportunity to try and capture them!

Beach Time

Getting back to my photography. . .we went to the beach one afternoon to have dinner on the beach.  Of course, i jumped at the chance to pull out my camera and take some photos!  i love being able to take many many pictures even if it only produces one or two that i like.  There are so many angles to look at something and many different lighting situations.   i also just enjoy being at the beach and listening to the sounds of the ocean as each wave crashes on to the shore - only to be followed by another one. . .the sound of the seagulls as they fly overhead and even the many smells of being at the beach.  It is the one of the most relaxing places to be.  Being from Colorado originally, i do miss the sight of the majestic mountains but there is something to be said for the sounds of the ocean!

I saw this piece of wood that had washed ashore and i was caught by the tiny shells that attached themselves to it.  It just struck me as interesting - so - of course - i needed to capture that on film!  (how funny that i say "film" when in reality, there really isn't much film anymore.  It is the world of digital images!  it makes me miss the days of the dark room and spending hours perfecting a picture. . .that to me was really being creative. . .taking a picture and changing it through light filters and shading and developing.

of course what photo shoot would be compete without a couple of shots of my beautiful daughter!  One of my favorite subjects!

The Mayonnaise Jar and Two Cups of Coffee

I found this story today in file on my computer that the previous woman at my job had used and i loved it.  i thought that i would share it with you all as a thought for the day.
Enjoy and Peace!!

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar… and the coffee…
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous “yes.”
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, ” I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things – your God, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else – the small stuff.”
“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.
The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”