Sunday, January 31, 2010

Celebrate Life - Wheel of Fortunate

CELEBRATE LIFE



here is my 2-page layout for Choosing Gratitude, week 2 titled Thankful For. the requirements were it was to be a 2-page layout, to use the title Thankful For, pic 10 pics of same size to place on page and make a list of those 10 everyday things i am grateful for. no one said the pics had to be seen on the page all at one time.

this is canvas painted with watercolor paints. i added chip board letters and dots, paper flower and word "life" with a polka dot ribbon running across the page, attached to the ribbon my "celebrate" tag with the list handwritten on the back. my 10 pics are hidden on the proportion scale. each time you turn the wheel it reveals another gratitude pic. my list of 10: sunset, flower, animals, seeds, clothes, home, marriage, beach, water and clouds. i had always wanted to use the thumbnail prints from my Caribbean cruises and that is what my pics were selected from.

i thought my title letters were originally too big. But as i kept working i really felt impressed that gratitude was the focus of this page not the things i was grateful for. i am so grateful to God for so many things - His faithfulness, His mercy and His love. i realize i need to be thankful in all circumstances no matter what! that is why my pics are virtually hidden unless you rotate the wheel. isn't that how most of us are - our attitude of gratitude is hidden or non-existent? and the list is hidden bc quite honestly whatever we are thankful for changes so quickly. i hear it said abroad that we americans are whiners and ungrateful for all that we do have living in america.

i have a question for you - are your hands open to receive and let blessings flow through you to others or do you tend to close your hands rather quickly to try an hold on to everything?

this study is helping me to realize just how much my attitude can change bc of circumstances.
it ought not to be so - bc of what Jesus Christ did for all of us we should be a steady stream of giving bc our focus is not on us but on Him. let today be a day of giving and thanking Him for all things, all situations and all of life right where we are living. it was the best of times.....regardless

Saturday, January 30, 2010

White Fluff & Yuck

we have about 8" of snow right now and its still coming down steady.
i love snow, we just never get any.

wonder if i can do a bit of snow dyeing on fabric?!


blankets of white
blinded by the sight
it brings such delight
pouring with all its might.
snow
Gratitude
colleen helped me to see the yuck weighing me down today. so to visually recognize the burdens i decided to wear my ankle weights as a reminder to "let it go."
at the end of the day when i take them off i know i will feel so much lighter.
and
spiritually i will feel strengthened bc i gave it all to Jesus to carry.
thank you colleen.
i also wrote my yucks out and put them on paper, placed them in my prayer bucket
for Jesus to carry and answer however He wants.
then i placed my gratitude/blessings on papers and placed them
in the bucket. At an appointed time i will pull them out and see which ones
i have the most of. Either way i win - letting go, letting God.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Grow, Move Forward


Grow, move forward
i am delighted to say i sent a large box of cotton fabric to
an online seamstress who is making clothing for the
children in Haiti. Isn't it just like God to bring the
right people together to meet one another's needs.
and
this is another Birthday ATC going to Australia.
i forgot to mention i recycled - i had made a
postcard and never did anything with it so i
chopped it up into two ATCs.
repurposed, recycled, reinvent.
and
the box i sent the fabric in - recycled
from the lovely ladies that mailed me
my special quilt, pillow and Boobie doll in.
thank you so much UU and hammies.
NOthing gets wasted around my house.
except for what was in my storage area:
oh the weather was so great yesterday i decided to declutter my outside storage area.
i took a truck-load of junk to the landfill. i hated that i let clothing get mild-dewed so
they had to be trashed. does anyone know if there is something to get that out?

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Draw Quietly-Gracefully

is on its way to Australia.
two days of appointments has definitely kicked my buttocks.
i would love to take a nap but must go fix dinner.
and
then off to play in art studio - steampunk may get created after all.
My Oldest College Attending Son
is loving his Psychology class.
today
dealt with an atheistic belief about no God.
my son thrived on that one.
it was like God was just waiting for my son
to react to this one.
I love one thing he shared about our Heavenly Father
giving us choices like our earthly fathers
love us and let us make decisions, harmful as they may be;
but
there are some decisions a parent can not make for a child
no matter how badly we want to take over their lives at that moment.
it is not our life to make that decision
and
so we watch as they suffer bad choices
and
continue to love them through it.
sometimes the choices are far reaching, unchangeable,
filled with suffering, imprisonment, filled with sadness
and
yet we love.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Heart of the Matter

Heart of The Matter is having a great give-away with Rosetta Stone. oh how i would love to win this. i was at B&N looking at the Spanish tonight. hubby said it's not priority right now. To which i responded, "Maybe you need to write down all your goals and see what God does with them. Because for me this is a need." Besides with his job who is to say they wouldn't send him unexpectedly into a Spanish- speaking country to work".


Here is their promo: go check it out!!

Surround your family with language.
By taking them there!
Travel to Paris, Madrid and Barcelona with Homeschoolers
from all over the United States.
Join Rosetta Stone Homeschool,
on the inaugural Homeschool Language Learning
and Networking Trip August 2-11, 2010.
Become immersed in new lands, explore history, culture, art and community. And truly speak to the world. For more details visit www.RosettaStone.com/Homeschool/LanguageLearningTrip.
Hurry, registration for the trip ends February 15, 2010.
For your chance to win a Rosetta Stone language product, please visit Heart of the Matter. Entries are being accepted until February 1st.


Faded Flower Birthday ATC

this one is headed to Australia
i used a packing tape with a hint of tulips on it as the last layer
before adding the words.

Monday, January 25, 2010

St Thomas - Coral World


the color in this is true to life


what's lurking behind the walkway fence?
i find these creatures fascinating
i just developed some of my pics from the cruise, love the Coral World scenery.
hubby working on another cruise, hopefully in June - what can i say - he's addicted.