Post Christmas...

I guess I should say "since I last wrote," because the first photos are actually Christmas...

I laughed when I first saw this photo of me talking to Gabriele because of the look on Amy's face.
She almost looks mad that she isn't part of the conversation. When in reality she is looking beyond us and probably reacting to what is going on there.
Stocking time~looks like Gabriele likes how we altered the dollar store stockings.
My dad looks pleased with his anti-stress doll. Not that he has stress in his life but we thought he would enjoy the eyes, nose and ear things popping out when you squeezed it.
This gift is in route from China so I got a photo of it. The cutest necklace with an owl charm.
Nick and Gabriele wrapped up all the special clothes I had saved from when Nick was little and added a few new items for Amy and Karl to use with "peanut".
Laughing at how short the legs are in proportion to the big butt area~
Nick gave Gary tickets to go see Sherlock Holmes in the living room theaters.
Karl got a baby barbell rattle...can't start them too early I guess.
Nick and Gabriele have there own "you are special" plate...the tradition continues...
Two Francine Rivers books for Gabriele to read during her break.
Daisy liked her new catnip toy...for about 5 minutes and then she ignored it!

*****

After Christmas we got together with a group of friends for dinner here at the house and then went to the Eisinger's house for dessert and games. I loved the Barbie trees she had done. The big tree was white, pink and black with her vintage type Barbie ornaments...
The second tree was pink and full of the accessories she has collected.
We played a rousing game of Catch Phrase too. And took the name literally as we didn't want to get caught with a buzzing game piece!

I have done a bit of thrifting too~as always...found this little piece for Amy's nursery.
Got together with my Brave Girls to share December Daily albums...
and this weekend baked 8 dozen cupcakes for the Magenta Theater's annual awards program.
Oh my did I enjoy tasting these for quality control. Yes, I only tasted them but I wanted to eat at least one of each...
which brings us to the latest...which is an update of "the bump"...
only 14 weeks to go~isn't she cute?!

I bought this book and hope to read it soon-
and this class begins in a few days...I have grand hopes to finally come to terms and peace with the body I have and myself in the process.
Until next time...ttfn-K

New workbook

My Brave Girl group has decided to work through this book next. We did the first chapters over the last few weeks.
"This book will guide you through the expressions of photography, poetry/journaling and mixed-media as they pertain to exploring how we not only currently see ourselves, but how we can learn to see new things hiding below the surface. Each of these sub-topics features a different contributing artist (or the author) and includes tips, prompts, meditations and other exercises, along with plenty of full color inspiration. "

It has been interesting to work in a different format and to take purposeful photos. The exercise that surprised me the most was the middle one of the lesson. We were told to pick a random book/magazine and write down words that jumped out at us. Juicy words. I didn't know what that meant, and I thought about it for a few days. Then I picked up a book and started writing down words. They seemed to be following a theme-weird....

Then you were to take those words and write a poem with them. That seemed daunting. I hadn't written poems since high school, and we all know that was a while ago!! But I started and it just seemed to flow out of the pen onto the paper. It was amazing. I loved the poem and it spoke to just where I am now.

The next step was to make a type of art piece using the poem and photos. Again, I thought about it for about a week, trying to envision what it would look like. I printed the poem out a couple of ways and then I just went for it. It was interesting how bits and pieces found their way onto my collage. And here it is-
I had to put it in the scanner since all my photos end up blurry due to a shaky hand problem. This is how the poem reads:

I stand still and listen,

waiting for the opportunity

to develop.

I hear the

whispering wind tell me,

remember the desperate,

tremulous moments

that a simple prayer interrupted

and whispered to me.

The journey to freedom,

awakens the mesmerizing promise

of patience and confidence.

As gentle as the

wings of a dove,

I am arriving at the place

I belong.

My heart has opened,

like a present,

to the promise of hope.

Karin Canazzi 2011

I'll post more after each lesson-

Some crafting fun...

Did I mention that I am doing another Brave Girl session? This one is all about taking the steps to achieve the life you want to live. One of the projects is to make a booklet with your rules about how to make decisions. Things to ask yourself as you process whether you should do something or not.

I made mine from an old child's board book that I picked up at a thrift store. First I sanded it a bit, then covered with gesso. Next came paints and papers to jazz it up and then I added my "rules".

The cover

Just looking at it makes me happy...now for an application....

These next photos are from a baby shower that I helped a friend throw. I made breakfast jummies and cupcakes.
I made her a wall canvas and a crochet blanket. Here is a close up of the canvas...
and the two together before I wrapped them...

This week-

Well if you count from Friday to Friday...because this photo of my dear friend Teri was taken last Friday! I forgot to ask if I could post it but I assume she knows every photo I take is fair game to go on my blog....

I took this after our Brave girl meeting. We have been having our get togethers in her cozy new living room. And she always has yummy treats that are mostly good for us. She always dresses so fashionably-I take notes!
I had a fun little excursion yesterday. Lovely June was not able to join us at my pj birthday party, so she promised me that she would take me out for a treat. Well I got two- one was spending time with her and the other was some yummy ice cream. We met up at the Ice Cream Renaissance in downtown Vancouver.
Oh me- oh my! Was it ever a wonderful thing!!

This is June with her little plate of samplers and a cookie. She got a latte too and said the coffee was really good.
Me-I never go out for ice cream so I went with the Peanut butter ice cream on a brownie. Oh and a scoop of coffee ice cream so we could try it. I did ask for a tiny scoop like June had but I guess the lady didn't understand me. Oh and the whipped cream just made it look like so much more. It took awhile to eat what with all the gabbing!
Go there...it is a must!

Spent today in the craft cottage and then did some watching of Brave Girl videos. I am loving this class too. It will give me skills to use for some time.

Thanks for popping in...see ya.

I forgot....

I forgot this photo because it was in my phone-this is what 2 days worth of cardmaking produces around here.
Today I did a bit of thrift shopping and was excited to find this bag. Amy is going to tease me now because I am always getting new bags....
This was just too cute though and my favorite colors. It holds my Soul Restoration stuff perfectly too. Guess how much it cost....
it's a blurry image but you can totally tell I got an amazing deal!
ta-ta

a Soul Restoration recap

If you have followed my posts at all you have read about the class I took online and about the projects I did. But I know I haven't completely outlined what I learned or how it changed me.
The gals at Brave Girls are having a little contest for those of us who went through the first online class. We are to write about our experience and then post links on their facebook page. If you are interested in reading the posts or even just helping me win...go read the posts and "like" those who inspire you...like me...
This first photo is of my clean new journal before class started. Just a spiral notebook from Michael's...the band is important as you will see...
yep-that is what it looks like now, full of fun artwork, my favorite papers and my soul poured out upon the pages. Here is another look to show you just how full it is and why I needed that band!

Oh look, there are more pages to do there at the bottom of the stack.

The first lesson I learned was what Peace would look like to me- silencing my inner critic, covering lies that Satan wants me to believe with God's truths. One of the great ways I do this is by putting my truth cards right on my dresser so I can pick one each day and then focus on those thoughts. (You can see some of the examples in my Soul Restoration catagory) I also so
appreciate the daily notes the the group sends. They are always life affirming and challenge me to look at things differently.

Looking through my life's timeline also showed me that some of the things I think of and about myself, crept in years before I thought they had. So I try to remember the little girl in me when I get to thinking about acting differently than my authentic self. I realize that the little girl had to grow up too fast and so taking things slowly and making time for play is really important to my soul.
I love the thought of authentic self. You sift things through what you know of life-but being authentic to me means being able to not have to change who I am for each person I encounter. Not having to reign in enthusiasm if that is what I am feeling. Not feeling guilty if what I feel like doing is just sitting and not thinking about anything in particular. How amazing would it be if we all felt the freedom to be real in each circumstance we encounter. Not having to worry about how to say something in such a way that nobody will be offended or challenged. It would be life changing for sure.

Some of the pages in my journal also hold the words to songs that I find especially meaningful like you're beautiful, you are more, what love really means, voice of truth. The songs that when they come on I crank on high and sing right along. Surrounding myself with life affirmation music changes the way I feel, as much as working on crafts or my journal does. The journal was an interesting project to get into. I have a girlfriend who for years has been doing art journaling. She has created amazing books that I love to go through and just relish the creativity. I always looked at journaling as a thing people did daily. Well I don't like the idea of "having" to do things and so I dabbled in journaling from time to time but the whole commitment thing blew me away. Besides each time I journaled I was dealing with the same problems. This time though I gave myself the freedom to journal as the feeling came to me. Having the prompts that went with the class helped me zero in on the issues I have dealt with for years. It enabled me to look at things differently and gently allow myself to feel again. I must say it is way easier to write my soul down on a pretty piece of art than on a big white page of blue lines.

I also liked the lesson where we explored "doing it anyway". By looking at each obstacle or situation I encounter which could have the potential to derail me and start me back into a spiral down and realizing that by looking at it differently, I could continue down my healthier path. I could essentially face the situation and "do it anyway" and still be able to go onto the next thing.

I think my favorite part of the whole process was when we wrote out our "instruction manual."
By writing down the things I do when I am on track or off track, etc. I have a tangible place that I can go to with concrete things to do to keep on the path to a completely restored soul.

Finally, today I made my promise book. This was the last project and I had to go and review the video to see what it was supposed to be like. I had done another book that was focused on God's promises to me. This was supposed to be my promises to myself. I had this little book in my stash from a thrifting trip. Since it was 2 ringed I was able to add an envelope, a photo card as well as other items from my inventory to create a unique book. I was amazed at how quickly I was able to fill it with promises. Things I came across during the class that remind me that I am a prize. A prize not only to God but to myself and those around me.
It has truly been an amazing experience and I am looking forward to part II coming in a few months.

Getting things done

A few weeks back I did a post where I showed my travel journal I was putting together for our anniversary trip. Well I got it all put together and thought you might like to see a bit more. I have photos, journaling, bags, notes, business cards, postcards, maps...all sorts of stuff tucked in.
It is a bit loose and floppy but that makes it more interesting. I keep a bit of ribbon around it to store.

I even put in the lists I made for packing. And also one of the pages from when we played pictionary with all the kids.
Amy came over on Sunday like always. Even though I was still a bit loopy from the meds we still did some crafting. I made this for the kitchen with bits of this and that. The class we took had us not put faces on the ladies but I don't know if I like that on this one. I even added a pearl necklace, just what the 50's house wife always wore. Well at least on TV.

Today I finished up the last project for my "Soul Restoration" class. It was supposed to be a promises book. That has been stumping me for weeks. I finally decided that a book full of some
relevant scripture verses would remind me of the promises that God has made to me and that I have made to him. The class stuff had sent this embossed book and Amy added some paint and today I finished it off with glitter glue...just love that stuff!
some pages with random items from my stash of supplies-




I put ribbons and things sticking out the top and sides for interest-
It feels so great to get some items finished.

I signed up for a class called Be gentle, be love.
They send wise words and prompts for projects, journaling or blog posts.
You'll probably hear more from me on that soon...