December 2011

My Art Every Day Journal is complete for December 2011.  This came about from the onliine course I did with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer.

The journal starts with my December calendar.   This is for Kate Crane's 365 challenge.

My completed pages:

I'm hoping to be able to keep going through the year.

One Little Word

Today many people will be thinking about their New Year's Resolutions and wondering why they don't last past the 2nd week of January!

Other people will be thinking about their One Little Word.  This is one word to give focus to the year. 

If you google One Little Word you will find a variety of websites, including:
Two Writing Teachers

Ali Edwards

Diane Marra

My One Word

I have been taking part in Ali Edward's class OLW 2011 at BPS this year.  My word for 2011 has been RESTORE as in

Freshen    recharge    recreate    refresh      regenerate     rejuvenate        repair

Renew      resuscitate         revitalise           revive       reinstate          re-establish

 And my aim was to:

Rest ~ to improve my sleep patterns

Exercise ~ with my Rosemary Conley DVD that I have used in the past

 

Spirituality ~ to restore my lost relationship with God

Time ~ to get dressed at an appropriate time ~ not later & later!

Order ~ to find order & routine in each day

Restoration ~ to take part in the Brave Girl course: Soul Restoration

 

Equilibrium ~ to find balance in all areas of life

However although I took part in the class exercises and I kept the word in the forefront of my mind (but not as often as I would have liked) I don't feel that I achieved as much as I had hoped this time last year.

And now I want to choose a word for 2012.  I've signed up for OLW2012 which starts tomorrow and it would be helpful to know what word I am going with.

Initially I was going with FOCUS.  Focusing on Faith, Fitness, Fellowship, Fun and Photography.  Cheesey I know!

However the problem with Focus for me is that I could just focus my thinking but not actually do anything!  I need a more active verb. 

I was really interested in Karen's post on her blog as she has taken the priorities she has identified in her life and set goals for each area.  SMART goals at that!  More Thoughts and Plans

So, I know what I need to do ~ once I've chosen the word (or it chooses me!)
These are the front runners:
Wholehearted: enthusiastic, unreserved, sincere, heartfelt, unconditional, total, unqualified
Action: act, deed, exploit, achievement, accomplishment, feat, stroke, battle
Achieve: attain, get, realise, accomplish, reach, do, complete, pull off
Practise: do, put into practice, live out, carry out, perform, apply, follow, observe

And which ever word I choose will need to apply to various areas of my life: Health & fitness, Faith and relationships (fellowship), Fun and Finishing projects and courses  I start.

What shall I choose?  Your thoughts are welcome.

Did you have a word for 2011?  Are you choosing a word for 2012, and if so, what is it?

2011 ~ my year in art

I have taken several online courses and been to workshops this year.  I've practised known techniques and learned new ones.  Here's just a part of what I have done this year

January
The year began with a trip to the States.  I made this book before I went and journaled as I went along leaving spaces to add the photos when I got home.

February
In February I went to two workshops taught by Tim Holtz.  This is the configurations box I did at home after learning how to do one at the workshop.

March
All year I have belonged to an American kit Club, Scrapbooking From The Inside Out.  There is an online forum where challenges are set on a particular them each month.

April
During April a group of ladies on Facebook used the challenges from Creativity Bootcamp 2010 to make an art journal.

May
I went to Art From The Heart for a weekend workshop with Dina Wakley where we made 3 mini books.  Lovely!

June
She had 3 hearts was an online art journaling course with Christy Tomlinson.  We had to ask our friends and family for 3 words which described us and here is one of my pages.

July
This month saw me at a workshop with Anneliese Bates in Derbyshire.  This is an A5 book called 'The ABC of Me'.

August
Another online art course.  This time with Kirsty Wiseman.  My finished book is nothing like the instructions!

September
I made lots of mini books to take to the States to sell at a Ladies Evening.  Those that didn't sell are in my Etsy Shop (which needs restocking)

October
A new online course this month with Paulette Insall.  This was an exercise in painting with black and white on an A2 sheet of paper.  And then adding a small amount of colour.

November
This month I took part in the Art Every Day Challenge. And managed to complete 30 days.  It was great because each day I experimented with a technique to see which ones are really my style.

December
I started a course in November with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer called 30 days in Your Journal.  I used the techniques there and combined them with Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas to produce an art journal/diary.