Messes

A month ago, I read Thrashing About With God by Mandy Steward.  That led me down a rabbit trail of her blog and that led me down a very long, very exciting rabbit trail of art journalers.

So I went hunting for the Prismacolor pencils I once bought in an I'll-be-an-artist spurt that ended with my first bad drawing and and pulled out this journal I've scribbled in before, but always felt inadequate for and said FORGET IT.  I'm going to start scribbling with a few pencils.

Then I stumbled across this darling e-course called Art, Heart, and Healing, and so I got a five-dollar set of watercolor cakes at a local craft store and once again said FORGET IT and took on week one's lessons (shared here).

And now I've pastel-ed and watercolored something almost every day for a week.  My kitchen table is a mess and so is my desk in the little upstairs room that's become my creative haven and I love all the mess.  I love the bright paints and the white pages ready for ink splatters.  I love the words on the pages and the way I'm embracing the imperfections there because the messy makes the whole a little more tangible.  I love that I'm not a capital-A Artist, but I am an artist because I am getting something down each day.

And I've started Instagramming constantly. Sorry about that (but not really sorry).  It's like a log-book of all the things that are art in the everyday.  Sure, it doesn't reveal my messy kitchen sink or the fridge I really need to clean out or anything like that, but that's not the point.  It's more like a scrapbook, holding bits of each day and a few too many pictures of my dog.

I wrote awhile ago that I was on a journey this summer to find my voice, and I think I've found a snippet of it.  I have to share it a little, too--sharing it is an essential part, in fact.  and I'm thankful for this little blog and its tiny audience, because it creates a safe sharing space.

It Will Find Me Working

Not much today, just a new adventure that begins tomorrow and these words from Mandy Steward:

"I am all for synchronicity making its grand debut, but when it does, it’ll find me working. And then I’ll gladly hike my skirt up and throw my foot overtop of it and ride that lucky dragon bareback in the direction of home."

I'm not a classroom teacher, not yet, but I have a school year in the classroom beginning tomorrow, and I'm so, so excited for it.  I've found the perfect place to begin...

Write Rapha: A One-Year Project

Dear friends,

I've started a new project--writing letters to the girls and women of Rapha House, a multifaceted mission to rescue abused, trafficked, and exploited persons.  I've also started a secondary blog to record the process.  Won't you follow along?  A snapshot of each letter will be posted here regularly and the full content will be shared on Write Rapha.

When I have time to sort it all out in my mind--or rather, when I make the time to go through it bit by bit--I'll tell you more about how this project came to be.

For now, learn more or even join in with me as I Write Rapha.

22 + 23

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[projects guided/inspired by Moorea Seal and Amanda Wright, respectively]

All the Stars

I cannot stop making origami stars whenever I have scrap paper.  I've made a dozen butterflies, too, and seven cranes.  On Monday, when I was sick and on cold medicine and couldn't concentrate on reading anything, I watched Doctor Who and Bones Netflix and folding up square and strips of an Anthropologie catalogue all day.

What should I do with the butterflies and cranes?  We live in eight hundred square feet.  I am thinking about finding floral wire somewhere in my craft bin, then making an arrangement and hanging it on the wall.  Up high.  Before the dog steals (and swallows) any more.

As for the stars, I plan to string them on some button thread and...well, I don't know.  Hang them in the window?  Along the wall?  In the doorway?

Anyway, I was actually able to successfully follow these tutorials:
Mini Origami Stars from the Minna May blog
Origami Crane from origami-fun
Origami Butterflies from a website that's not in English

No. 64

I might've gone a little Christmas crazy yesterday.  

I started making paper snowflakes out of a grocery bag and then I saw a piece that looked like it could be a manger and next thing I knew, I was cutting out sort-of-human looking shapes and taping a nativity to the wall in the living room.  I wasn't brave enough to try horses or cattle or anything else that you'd find in a traditional nativity, and I wasn't brave enough to imagine what might've actually been in that stable in Bethlehem, depending on exactly what history you read, but I really did have fun.

Is it cute, or just messy?  I don't know.  But I am still feeling crafty.  

Want to see my Christmas crafting adventures and disasters?  Follow me on instagram!  I'm @liltoiloflove.  Be forewarned: I post far too many pictures of my far too adorable dog.  

No. 38

Flowers are a little like poetry: swift, slight, beautiful, packed with life.

These arrangements by Dietland Wolf in the latest issue of Sweet Paul are visual poetry.  I love everything about the arrangement of the flowers, the styling, the colors, and the inspiration--vintage finds at a flea market in Belgium.

You can (and should!) see the rest of the article and the entire gorgeous issue here.

Images by Dietland Wolf in Sweet Paul Summer 2012

No. 34

The inspiration: his and hers pillow cases by Kinsey, featured on A Beautiful Mess

My to-make list is now one item shorter.  I learned a little along the way.

1. Don't forget your camera when you go out of town.  Will you forgive me for the funky lighting in the pictures?
2. Iron on transfers would've been much easier and neater than fabric markers, and I could've printed a tidier decorative font than the one I managed.
3. Adorable decorative stitches don't show up in photos when you take them with your cellphone.
4. Finish stitching everything on when you're at home with your sewing machine to save an hour and a half, rather than hand-stitching at your in-laws' house right before the rehearsal.

These look so much cuter in person, with lavender fabric on cream pillowcases, a star-shaped stitch (used here, actually) but they got boxed up in a wedding gift and given to some friends this weekend on their happy occasion, so I'm afraid these sad photos are all you'll see.