Pile on the glitter - Fashion Fridays

Last week I discovered that somewhere along the line I stopped wearing jewelry. What may have started as a decision not to wear jewelry that could be damaged when doing a messy project with students or when kneading dough or simply out of laziness, became a habit. It became my regular operating system. 

This week I rekindled my love of the glittery and found that it gave me a lift of my spirits. I somehow sat taller in my seat and am sure that there was a gleam in my eyes as I moved through the day. 

The photo below is a double exposure of several pieces of jewelry I love. I would never have realized it, but I have found that I love glass! Glass beads on my Troll Beads bracelet and this beautiful glass necklace made by a friend. 

What kinds of jewelry do you love? When you look at the jewelry you have, does any of it surprise you? What if you wore them in surprising combinations? 

Hope you have a sparkle-ful week. 

Duo Dynamic

Adding depth on the page and in the experience and breaking out of journaling solo today. My fellow journal artist enhanced this experience. Talking. Not talking. Seeing how the other used materials. Talking about life and letting some of it fly onto the page. Letting some of it go. Great for the spirit and for the page. Each step I take I love more. I have no idea where I am headed, but I see with each element I add the whole becomes more dynamic. Sometimes it takes two. The creator and the viewer. I'd like to join others in art journaling, but have no idea about how to find others who have this obsession. 

Adding Sparkle

Adding layers to my page seemed at once exciting and frightening. I like what I have so far, what if I mess it up?

That kind of thinking steals so much joy out of life, doesn't it? We never reach out for fear of making mistakes. We never take the trip, meet the friend, learn something new. What if we make mistakes? 

Also I was having a crisis of style and philosophy. I have watched a number of art journal ly videos and had come to feel I didn't want to use pre-made stencils and paper designs. I was more draw to the remix/remake/recycle vibe. But I did like the effect of stencils. I settled for using some basic geometric stencils from the craft store. Balance in all things. 

I added the stencil work and tried smudging the green into the background. Here I must admit to failure . The smudging was a clear fail...that is it is a fail if I plan to leave it as it is. So my current fail becomes tomorrow's opportunity. To remember that I added some pink paint spots and shook on purple glitter. It's time to shine.

Can't wait to see where I take it next.

A Love Letter to My Windows - My Happy List Tuesday

Being thankful for the every day things in my life is a practice I want to be more adept at doing, or should I say being?

This week I want to give a shout out to my windows. 

These windows are such a blessing. They bring the outside in and have been such a joy to look out in every season. The snow falling, the trees in bud, the blue summer sky, the colors of autumn - I experience all of these more fully because of the marvel of these windows. Birds fly by and stop to perch in the trees outside. During some seasons the birds feast on fermented berries of the cherry tree and then fly, drunken, into them. The wind moves things, the trees, scattering leaves and, sometimes, the birds themselves. 

But most of all it's the light that I revel in. The light that streams through them illuminating my world. Window sills seem a wonderful place to store glass. The light traveling through sends rays of lightness into the room. The reflections of cut glass dance merrily on the wall at certain times of day. You can't take these things for granted, but receive them as gifts when they come. I know they sometimes come when I am not there to receive them. Sometimes I unable to humor them. Mostly, though, I see them as reminders to accept joy and be aware of the moments of beauty. 

I am spoilt by these windows and their beauty. How I will ever bear to live anywhere else? For this season, these windows are my joy. I intend to soak in their light and the life they bring with them.  

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Post Tea Party Musings

A week ago Vanessa threw the 6th Mad Tea Party and I joined in. It was my first time to join this kind of event. It was so much fun to put together our own photo shoot and enjoy the tea. There was even more fun to enjoy in blog hopping and finding new sources of inspiration. Thanks to everyone who visited me and left comments. It was a great week.

Yet, all good things must yield to other things. The party must be cleaned up. The dishes washed and put away. Some of my tea things are hand wash and some can shower in the dishwasher.

Time for a Tea Party – a Mad Tea Party

Years ago I read about The Mad Tea Party blog event sponsored by Vannessa at  A FancifulTwist in Artful Blogging Magazine. I’ll admit, I was enchanted. The photos I saw were vibrant, creative, sparkling, entrancing. I was smitten.

When Google Reader retired and I switched over to DiggReader, I ended up catching up on some blog reading. There it was, The Mad TeaParty Invitation on Vannessa’s blog. And it was only one week away. With my already busy schedule would I be crazy to fit it in? Yes, well, maybe. Am I going to try? Of course! I may not come close to creating the kind of vision I saw others post in years past, but you have to start somewhere. So this is the year.

Saturday, look forward to a crazy tea filled post from me. 

Joy Still Coursing Through

I’m still joyfully coursing through Vivienne McMaster’s Be Your Own Beloved: Self Care through Self Portraiture course. The photo above was taken as part of an attempt at studying movement and stillness. I wasn’t at all sure how this was going to go….it has been some time since I stopped thinking of myself as being  skilled at movement. Thinking of capturing my movements in a photograph was a dubious task, or so I thought.

The results of the experiment thought otherwise. I came out with some very stunning specimens (if I do say so myself).

It reminds me to:

Keep moving

Keeping smiling

Keep chasing dreams

Reflections

I love reflections. I seek them out. I document them when I find them. So finding an opportunity to photograph my reflection seemed like a piece of cake.

It wasn’t. Reflections were elusive. The few that appeared remained impervious to attempts at photographing them. My daughter didn’t seem to have any trouble finding her shot.

What to do? It seemed like brass instruments would reflect strongly enough to capture in a photo. Our music teacher met my request with a smile. He handed me a trumpet, worn with years of student handling. Trumpets are a bevy of reflective surfaces. Some reflect images right side up and other parts upside down.

It felt at home in my hand, that trumpet. My grandfather was a trumpet player. When I was a kid and told my friends that my grandfather had run away and joined the circus I always hoped they wouldn’t ask what he did there. I had conjured up visions of clowns, trapeze artists or men in cannons in their minds. Playing the trumpet didn’t sound nearly as romantic. It was pointed out to me, however, that it was more romantic than shoveling up after the elephants. Even I had to admit that that red wool jacket with the gold braid did cut a dash.

He played with the Navy band and played with John Phillip Sousa. His trumpet saw some travel and a great deal of use. Having said that, I never heard him play his trumpet, nor did I ever see it. It belonged to his wild, traveling youth I suppose.

My father, he played the trombone. It was an instrument I saw and heard plenty of. My parents both played the piano. They enjoyed playing duets together. Sometimes Dad played his trombone, sometimes the lower notes of the piano. It was always a happy sound.  

Dad played in the marching band in high school. He is proud that his band was one of the first using lights on their hats to create lighted marching formations at football games. He remembers fondly shooting spitballs out of his trombone slide.

Family mythology states that my brother decided to take up the trombone, but was given five bucks to switch to the piano. You can’t trust family mythology, though. If you did, you’d believe that I showed up on the doorstep wrapped in newspaper, which I think would have been much more convenient to my mother than to have to go out into a terrible electrical storm for my delivery. Sisters can’t always be trusted with telling the facts.

I look at this picture of me reflected in the trumpet and I think of my family and how their love surrounds me just like the light that wraps around me. 

May You Always Sparkle

Why choose to sparkle?

Really, what's your alternative? 

Not sparkling? 

How attractive does that sound?

Choose sparkle.

Choose laughter. 

Choose caring.

Choose frivolity.

Choose hugs.

Choose relaxation.

Choose to connect.

Choose beauty.

Choose light.

Choose reflection.

Celebrate.

It’s not just the bling that makes you sing.

It's the heart that sets you apart. 

(But there's nothing wrong with bling!)

Don't forget to join my Sparkly Saturday Conspirators:

Emmy Blue : Children's entertainer and writer who tells her own magical tales and spreads sparkling enchantments all over the Pacific Northwest

Yota Schneider : Seasons of Change Master Coach * Writer * Speaker * Retreats Facilitator * Mindfulness Meditation Practitioner * Mom * Wife * Friend * Ever striving gardener and finder of beauty and peace in the little things

KatWB.com: This is An Online Holistic Arts Center created by Kat WB! Enjoy virtual classes, holistic coaching, a holistic blog, KatWB TV and resources for nutrition, sustainability & self-help.