heART Coaching Fun

Saturday was our heART Coaching class, and boy, did we dig in and learn and have fun!

prepping for the class at my house.

We met new friends, 

learned about living BIG and facing fears,

Valerie contemplating a technique.

to watch our body language and be able to loosen up a little.

Our gals dug in and tried new techniques and braved putting colors on a blank white page.

So much fun watching others create after one small demo with the Dylusion Ink Sprays!

After some time free-writing in our journals, we explored ways to embellish those words and pages. It's an amazing process to teach and watch unfold.

"You want me to circle words?"

"Why?"

"I can't choose three colors. What if I don't like them?"

Our fears come up in many different forms.

What a privilege to watch a participant try something new and realize it IS possible to do. 

The fears that sit in darkness are lit up like fireworks on the Fourth and takes that darkness away. 

Crazy good.

There is something magical that happens when you talk about fear, write it out and then add color.

Sue giving suggestions for some powerful ways to move towards our destinies.

Your imagination is stretched.

Participants begin looking around and seeing that what others are doing looks like fun and maybe they should try it, too! 

When they start-look out.

Boldness steps in.

Courage takes over.

Laughter starts.

It's stunning to watch the transformation when people play.

We always worry if we are "doing it right" or what others will think of our creations.

But every time I teach this class, I learn as well.

Not one page looked like the page I demonstrated for them. 

It was so cool!

Each one was unique to the person who created it.

Soft colors, bold colors. Tiny words, big, sweeping words.

Kind words tucked within to remind ourselves of what we are capable of.

I've always said a dirty child is a happy child. It means they have played and played, and PLAYED.

I think the same applies to adults around an art table.

A big mess means F.U.N.

Dye on your hands for the rest of the day just reminds you of time well spent.

THANK YOU to the women who came and braved those blank pages, who were courageous enough to share with others, and who were so enjoyable to learn from.

We can't wait to do it again.

Friday Ramblings

As I write this, we are three and one-half days into the school year.

I'm pretty sure it's time for Thanksgiving Break.

Could I maybe talk about overwhelm for a little bit?

I think we can all relate in one form or another regarding this topic, and while I risk feeling whiney and like I'm complaining, it really helps to write it out.

So, I'm sorting and wrestling with myself. Not whining. 

Cause Lord knows we all have things we are facing down right now.

Sometimes I wonder if the truly exhausting part of our lives is the radical switching of gears. -Brene Brown

I read this in Brene's Blog this evening and it HIT HOME.

Nail.On.The.Head.

I wish I had read this about 15 years ago. But it's here now and I'm rejoicing that someone GETS IT!

I have always dreaded the beginning of school for normal reasons. I don't like having my summer, lazy, going to the beach and pool days taken hostage by get up, get out the door, do homework days.

When you add a child with special needs, it kinda ups the ante. It's funny, but it's gotten worse as Brenna has gotten older. I seem caught in a fifth dimension. Toward the end of summer, the days are hard because we navigate B's social activities. We navigate ALL her activities, because if we didn't, she would default to sitting all day in front of 

the t.v. for eight hours. I dread school because the activities are ramped up, the learning curve gets steeper and time seems even shorter during the day. 

Here comes the I'm not whining part, but really sorting and wrestling.

all photos courtesy of Brenna this week.

Brenna adores school. She especially adores it this year as she is a Senior and has full reign in the Senior Hallway. She is "manager" for the tennis team. She is taking speech, art, Bible and T.A's in the front office. Plus, there is a whole new group of exchange students from China for her to fall in love with.

So, SO cool.

The minute details to manage this are what get me waving the white flag and make me think I'm slowly loosing my mind. Because, if it's so stinking cool, why am I not writing this post like life is all sunshine and flowers? 

I have tossed two posts so far after this point. I have written out all the minute details of what is involved managing her school and extra curricular activities. I will also spare you the griping, caustic post about quizzes that need to be modified or just tossed out.

But here's the deal.

I can't do it alone. 

Ha.

This is something I hit all the time. It's this big brick wall that leaves me with a huge knot on my head every stinking time, because I keep coming back to it and banging my head on it and seeing if it helps. 

(It doesn't.)

At least by now I'm coming to a little sooner and I don't hit my head quite so many times before I realize what I'm doing.

I have been a little more gentle with myself.

I changed my alarm clock.

I am adding nothing else to this week.

I played in my art room.

One day I ate lunch and watched an episode of Malcom In The Middle and laughed so hard I almost spit out what I was eating.

I've enjoyed these things and when it's time to get Brenna, I focus on that and how we can enjoy the rest of the day together.

I've spent more time remembering to pray throughout the day-"beggy prayers" as Anne Lamott calls them. The kind that are said in the bathroom stall.

It seriously is a daily, minute by minute process to let go of what I cannot do/control/manage/figure out. To turn myself to an "open-hand" mindset is very difficult. It is difficult to even write that sentence. It makes me somewhat nauseated to think I can't figure everything out regarding my child. I've been given this responsibility, so it stands to reason I need to know how to deal with it all.

(enter panic)

Oh, wait. 

Asking for help is good.

Remembering that I don't know everything is even better.

I'm not still in a family that keeps secrets.

I'm not less-than when I ask/let others in to help me.

Old habits die hard.

I can't say I have any great epiphany to leave with you this Friday.

Just the simple stuff.

You are loved.

You have done far more than you think you have.

Journaling helps and Beggy prayers go a long, long way.

And, thank you.

 For listening.

I Know There Is A Desk In Here.

This is where my creative mojo has gone over the last few days.

I think it had something to do with the state of my desk and art room:

Horrific, yes?

It gets worse.....

I will confess that it took the better part of three days to do this.

But, I also took apart two bulletin boards and hung two items on the walls. 

Whatever.

I'm just trying to make this process look good.

that long white panel leaning up against the drawers? found it at Goodwill and I'm going to repurpose it!

I had been sharing this process via texting with my friend, Amy, and her best response was, "OH! I can see the table!" That made it all worthwhile. No, really, it did! I loooove being told I did a good job.

By today, after organizing so much and getting everything ready for Brenna's first day of school, I thought I would go nuts if I didn't create just SOMETHING. 

Plus, my table was too clean.

I was in a snarky mood to boot, so I groused the whole time I began this little class project that I am taking from Rachelle over at http://www.arteyecandy.com/ and wouldn't you know it? 

The snarkiness began to lift, and I began getting ideas, and getting excited, and thinking..and...

then I had to go get a cavity filled.

sigh.

ten dollar "Candy Bites" class

But my new birdie makes me smile.

The ideas are still in my head, and tomorrow is another day.

New day. New mercies.

Thank goodness.

Friday Ramblings

I am officially in mourning.

It's the last day of summer vacation and school begins on Monday.

Someone please tell me who the knucklehead is that decided on the theme of school beginning in  summer?

What happened to starting after Labor Day?

By September, everyone in our house is good and ready for school. 

August, not so much.

It's the summer mornings I will miss.

Quiet, slow and peaceful. 

A second cup of coffee, pajamas til ten (or so). 

Time to think and reflect.

I'll come around to school days. I always do. One doesn't really have a choice, do they?

But, this year, I would like to do it gracefully.

I would like to take more time to be listening to my heart.

To not feel like I'm being shot out of a cannon every morning.

I'll make little changes.

Set my alarm a little earlier...maybe get a new alarm that plays music instead of the harsh beeping sound. Man, I hate that sound.

Set my coffee the night before.

Before I even get OUT of bed, I'll lay there and give thanks instead of instantly going over the day's to-do list. 

It might be like trying to bend an iron bar, but I'm gonna give it a try.

So, thank you, summer. 

Thank you for the long days, the gentleness of how time flows during your days.

Thank you for the break from schedules, from busyness. 

I'll see you next year.

Mid Week Check In....

Thank you all so, SO much for the birthday wishes for Brenna. We all had a blast celebrating her this weekend. The big sister came down with her room mate for the event, and we made a weekend out of it. I loved every minute.

My desk is still a mess, which I am taking as a good sign. Otherwise, it would be clean and that means no fun is being created. All though, it has been very slow for me art-wise.

I would, however, love to introduce you to our new video that showcases the heART Coaching Class that I am doing with my friend, Sue.

Drum roll, please........

Here is our new video, courtesy of the highly talented Andrew Norbeck, for our heART Coaching Class.

It's a doozy and we are so proud of it!!!

Take a minute to watch:

heART Coaching

We are officially on Face Book...click HERE to like us and leave a comment! We will have different journal prompts to work on and various art journaling ideas. 

Man, I wish I could travel to each one of you and do classes in your area. What a blast we would have.

We could do fun stuff like this together:

 Until that dream happens, we are hosting them here, actually at my house. Come join us, or spread the word!

Friday Ramblings

Today, I'd like to invite you to celebrate with me.

It's someone's birthday around here....

Not mine.

Nope.

Someone very, very special.

NO. NOT THE DOG.

It's this cutie-pie's 19th birthday:

Yep. Miss Brenna will officially be 19 as of Sunday.

August 11....what a day in the history of my/our life.

It rocked my world. Turned me upside down. Left me hanging in doubt and fear, angry as all get out with God. Not just angry, but hurt and feeling utterly alone and abandoned.

What a fool I was.

I weep as I write this, looking at her face. I am astounded at the depth of life I have experienced since she came into our world.

I wasn't abandoned. I was wrapped up in loving-kindness that day. I just couldn't see it. Thank God my eyes have been opened every single day since then. 

Every day, whether they are hard or fabulous.

I won't lie-it's been a helluva road for our family.

This particular road has knitted us together in ways we never would imagined. This road has caused us to trust. To laugh. To see joy that not everyone sees. 

There have been stops for weeping, for crying out in prayer, for huge frustrations, counseling, banging our heads against the wall, and begging for understanding.

I liken these to rest stops. 

Ultimately, rest stops are necessary. 

Especially if you need to stop and change a tire.

 Or a life perspective.

Afterwards, it's easier to continue traveling down the road.

I begin to enjoy the ride and realize the beauty that's going by my window:

Unconditional love.

Simplicity.

JOY.

Stretching myself for the good.

Seeing others how they really are.

Acceptance.

Taking time to treasure these moments is something I want to work on all of my life.

To work on giving thanks.

 Every day.

It's not something to be taken lightly, the lessons my daughter (oh, the joy I take in saying this...my daughter!) has taught me. No, huh-uh. I am humbled at the thought of learning from her.

I hope I do her justice.

Happy Birthday, sweetest girl.

Thank you for giving us all an amazing reason to celebrate life.

On My Desk. Which is a mess.

Ah, yes. 

My desk.

My messy, messy, wonderful desk.

Here is my take on the Versa-Tool and cutting my own stencils.

This baby heats up really, really fast. It also has a temperature regulator which is also good, as it gets just a little bit hot where you hold it.

The temperature regulator, however makes the whole thing top heavy and it falls off it's little stand, so taping it down is necessary.

It also comes with lots of cool tips. 

One other recommendation. Don't use any of this to carve a stamp out of a rubber eraser. Not really a good idea.

My friend, Lori, recommended I use a sheet of glass under the Quilter's Template Plastic-genius!

I had an old frame and I used the glass from that.

You build it like a sandwich:

I also used a piece of wood on top of my table, as I didn't want to burn through anything. Just in case.

So:

Wood, on top of the wood, your design.

On top of your design, the piece of glass.

On top of the glass, the Quilter's Plastic.

You are ready to create. 

Easy Peasy.

I used one of Brenna's sheets that she colors.

I love the repetitive patterns.

Using this, I realized that really fine lines are hard to do. Not impossible, but you really need to be able to settle down and just let everything go out of your mind to concentrate.

You also need to not be tired, because your eyes will fall out of your head after ten minutes.

Just saying.

The most important part I learned (besides not using it to carve rubber erasers), is that slooooooow and steady is key. Otherwise, your tool will skitter across the plastic and not cut in. I found this tool helpful in the area of getting myself to focus. I wonder if they also market it as a yoga tool or something?

I played around with different shapes, finding that the wider the shape, the better it will take spray.

Otherwise, paint on a dry paint brush works well.

You can see that it's not the cleanest line, the plastic tends to melt and ball up. I'm not sure how to get rid of this, but it didn't seem to interfere with the paint process.

Any tips on this?

 The chevron pattern I cut out with an exact-o knife, the anchor was done with the Versa-tool.

I also can use the cut out piece of anchor...kind of a plus!

Here's a page I did with the arrows, I used paint for this- the spray didn't quite work as the lines were a little too thin. (see photo above.)

I will definitely be trying more shapes and styles!

How about you? Have you tried the Versa-tool?