Finding Inspiration from 2008

Another review of years past. Today I went through 2008. Going through my old blogposts and finding some inspiration and lessons learned.

OK, inspiration #1- I want to go back to someplace in Europe. Here's a few pages from my Dublin/Ireland travel journal. As you can see we went in 2007 but I was working on the journal during 08.



This page I just love the lace, flower and little stamped pink birdies. Plus the picture is unique and she's a cutie.

Another page-I love that I found this giant beer sticker, and snapped this photo from a bus window and then cut out the words from a brochure.

Love this painted and stamped fabric book -this is what I am thinking about doing now...bright colors and design.

Made these cloth hearts and love the layered background.

An atc swap I was in-love the layering here. It is so tradition Valentine's Day.

I took this FANTASTIC mosaic class. This is a close up of my still most favorite polymer tile mosaic I have made.

A fun ATC-I like the rainshowers.

A make me happy collage page from my travel journal for in Feb or 2008 I went to London with my family for a few days. I used lots of newspaper cut outs and some stamps from Blade and some buttons....

I love this page because of how much I hated this page when I made it-I still remember that dislike.  Now I actually like it.

I like this card because its quirky...all the carrots-so different for me.

Took this Alice in Wonderland book class and I like how I took just a so-so book I did in class and came home and really jazzed it up...well, enough to make it a book I now really like.

Another London journal page...a tea page since we were in London afterall. Like the fun background I stamped, like how there's no photo, like how I used assorted stamped items...

This page is strictly an art journal page from Greenwich, England.  I like how it looks rich, the background has some depth, the big gold chipboard key....

Love how I played a bit differently with a photo of fish and chips. The fish, the waves, and Big Ben clock tower...

I love the circle journalling tag , the post makrs and I love the 3 birds I stamped.

I love the paint, even if it did get a bit pink and I love the Churchill postcard. Perfect for the Cabinet War Rooms but not too obvious.

Love how I cut out the photo and the grunge little tag I made.

Page from a holiday book. I like the different textures...gems, paper leaves, stamping, coloring...

I love this flip book I made...that it flips.

Fun page...How adding the little bird imade really makes the saying stamp so much more fun.

So how am I inspired?

Well, like the review of 2007, I definbately need to try some more and various art forms and styles.

And I need to travel more....

I need to be me and stop trying to follow the trends....it's not bad...

And I like adding some different and fun items-like the pink birdies above and the little red bird right here on the holiday book.

Make it fun!!!

10 things Friday

1-This week has FLOWN!  It is Friday already and it is already past the middle of January.

2-Exams start for me today. Just 1 more day on Monday (and the kids get out at 11:30 because of exams) and this quarter at school is over and we're officially into the second half of the school year.
I however am SICK of grading. Next quarter, gonna cut back on the grading.

3-Had a fun shopping trip with Katie this week-went to IKEA and a Vera Bradley outlet in MA. Probably shouldn't have spent the cash, not that I spent much, but got some good deals on a few things. I love a good road trip and I love some good shopping and some good deals.

3-Katie goes back to school on Sunday to start her second semester of her sophomore year.

4-When we went to IKEA I looked at flooring. This summer I want to rip out the 35ish year old carpet in my bedroom-(IT IS SO YUK!) and put in a laminate floor. I am ready to fix up my bedroom since most of the house is how I love it but how I want to fix up  my bedroom has taken forever to come to me. But we've been here for 23 years this May so I'd say it is about time to fix up this room.

5-This weekend I don't care if I go anyplace. I want to organize my ribbon stash, finish cleaning the studio and finally finish the holiday journal-which is right now like 97% finished. Just a couple more photos to deal with. I also need to do some of those usual weekend chores. Then we have Maine playing BC in hockey on NESN at four tomorrow so Dave and I want to watch that plus UNH is playing Merrimac on tv at 7 and Katie wants to see that-and we'll watch it too..and Sunday we have the Pats playing football for the AFC championship at 3. Sounds to me like a good weekend to hang home and do these things. They're also saying maybe some snow on Saturday too. Another reason to hang out in my sweats and a fleece and enjoy some home time.
6- Man, it has been cold the last couple of days (need to pre-start my car) and I am still in my sleeping-in mode. (Oh to sleep in every day until like 9!) BUT I will say that it is not completely dark at 5:15 in the afternoon...I am definately noticing the difference in the length of day, ever so slightly. That is encouraging.
7- I am still reading my Darwin book-haven't had any time to read this week since Monday. Not happy about that since I wanted to make more time to read. I did do some bit reading of my mitten book from the other day and I did read parts of a book on National Parks. Of course I have also been reading my honors ecology classes book papers...and catching up on last minute paperwork...so after reading papers I come home and don't really want to read right away and then with the dark and cold I get tired...no excuses...
8-Some light snow this morning...a little more light snow tomorrow. We're white, but not really white-and its crunchy icey snow.
9-Been thinking about doing some fabric art- sewing and painting some muslin. Now just to make my thinking a reality. And I bought some cheapo frames at IKEA to play around with some mosaics-trying to make some mosaic frames. Oh how I wish I had more TIME!!!!!!!! How I wish I could play 8 hours a day. I am in an arty mode and not a teachy mode.
10- I wish I could be going to CHA when it happens in a week or 2. Just to walk around and see all the new goodies before most of the rest of the craft world. It was be a fun adventure, don't you think?

And here's a few fun photos taken in the last week:

One of my favorite road trip and shopping buddies- my daughter Katie. (We're having lunch at IKEA)

At the hockey game we went to last Saturday night-Maine playing Merrimac College-can't get over this arena...I mean rink...it is so small compared to what we're used to.

It was raining too hard to stand in front of this sign on Tuesday and get a good photo so I snapped this from the side. This is in my town here in New Hampshire-the front of a local hairdresser next to the post office. The sign says you don't have to be perfect to be awesome. Hopefully I'll get back to get a photo of the sign another day before they change it.

2009 Inspiration

More blog review...trying to really get me inspired for a fantastic art year 2012. Here's my 2009 year...I am still amazed how many things I tried and did...which I don't seem to do now.

Starting with some London  journals from our 2008 trip. Above, I love the big bold font stamping....(Technique Tuesday)

here's I lvoe the stamping collage

Again, more great font stamping and the gears are great!

I like the creativeness of using a bag from the Cathedral as my paper. It's a great bag and really makes the bag.

A page for a place I loved but couldn't do photos. Like the tag arrangement.

Love the pop up photo-I took him and cut him out of the background and how it overlaps the palace photo. Love the stamped image I made on acetate with the Vacation words (Hero Arts) and love the little raindrops to show the weather.

Big bold photo-which I love. The background is bold too but not over-powering.

Feels retro, nice overlap with repeating images.

Just like the way the birds pop out.

Great collage tag.

With all 3 of these Paris tags I love how I used various stamps and images and they all work together- though not from the same sets.

Some great album covers for my London journals.

This stamp looks like an old photo, especially how I colored it.

Love these images and love the old browning newspaper.

It is a sweet page and I used this fabric on the background...nice overall texture

Maybe a bit busy but I just love it.

Nice grungy background and nice arrangement of tags and items.

Love the grungy background here too and the postcard and other ephemera on this page.

Love the card....playing with color and a little bit of lace effects

a fun cloth book...love the sewn letters and the the BIG rose...great colors...

took a fun class making marbled paper...

a fun board book...I love the look of the diamonds...

This card is one of my playing with stamping with paint on the background. Like the tiny splash of color...and the black.

More polymer mosaic tile work. I love the ocean and the addtion of the seaglass

The shapes great and I love the green antiqued looking like old aged stone-well maybe stone....this is one I sold at my craft fair adventure last December

Here's 2 examples playing with Adobe elements to have some digital art using some photos I took as the base.

A vampire....from a non-vampire girl stamp. I love this stamp and sing the die cut paper on the background.

Love anything tea...and love the ghosties falling out of the teapot and into the cup. Love the glittery green Halloween tea.

Great layering and adding on stamps...one of my favs.

Don't show knitting often-but I love to knit.

And here's a Christmas card a la Versailles. I used some cool star paper and some acetate-I also love the bow as a trim across the page.

And still realizing the best thing is to spread the wings as much as possible...take chances and its good to go back and visit the old to inspire the new.