New Projects, New Year...

 We are used to analyzing why we are unhappy, but taking the time to contemplate your happiness is important too.


Hello all!

It may not be the new year according to the calendar, but for me, creatively at least, it is. I have made all of the Christmas projects I am going to make this year, and I am already looking forward to 2011! I have started off the New Year, artistically speaking, with handmade bookmarks for my 7 year old granddaughter, Abbie.

I am making these bookmarks using Bic and Sharpie markers.  I know, the Kindle and the Nook are the "big thing" this year for Christmas gifts, but some of us have a real passion and love for old fashioned books, along with the wonderful smell of musty old paper along with the solid feel of a book in our hands! An elctronic gadget to read books with is truly a marvel, but I prefer a REAL book any day! I must be getting old...

I am deciding how I want these bookmarks to look as I go along, and the two that you see will probably not make the "final cut". It would make more sense to sketch out designs before I started making them, but I just don't wok that way all of the time. I think that my method of working creatively comes from all of the years I spent painting with oil paints. With oils,  I could always go back and change things if I needed to because they are much more forgiving, but with markers, I am "stuck" with whatever I produce at first. I DO think I will start sketching them out and that way I won't waste any more of my 140lb watercolor paper, which is what these are made from.

On the advice of Anita from "ASE Knits 'n' Crochets", I have been using clear contact paper to cover my bookmarks, so they will hold up to frequent use better. This is working out great, especially since I had a whole roll of contact paper that needed using. Anita has a great blog and you should check it out, especially if you enjoy "yarny" types of creating, as she likes to call it. I stick more to the paints and brushes, but admire anyone who can make the wonderful creations that she makes! I will be interviewing her later this month, and you can get to know her better! She also paints and draws, does art journaling and altered books, and anything else she can think of to keep her busy creating.

Anyway, if you find yourself with out a creative project and you are through recovering from your Christmas shopping and itching for something creative to do, check out Swap-bot.com, Atcsforall.com, postcrossing.com,, artfortytwo.org, or any of the other sites on the computer where you can always find an ongoing swap for something... ! You will find the links for these sights down at the bottom of my blog. So, until next time - Happy Creating!!