Soldering On...

For the One Heart One World post, click
HERE.



Soldering or Soldiering on?

A little of both.

I haven't given up on our words for the New Year.

Do you recall your word?

hope 

go  authentic (autentico)

renewal  shine  inspiring  focus 

patience    inquiry   compassion 

playfulness invest trust  wanting

I am making small reliquaries with our words in them.

So far they look like this:

I make a little, tiny collage and then make a box to go around it.

After that, I'll put some sheets of mica on the front and then solder the edges.

Here is the definition of reliquary:

A receptacle, such as a coffer or shrine, for keeping or displaying sacred relics.

I think our words are sacred in a way, and I would like them to be in a safe place to remind me of what we began our year with.

.

Do you see your word yet?

I found this quote and decided to put it in a reliquary of it's own:

It was fitting for my year of being Intentional with my art..

and how could I resist this face?

She is a great-Aunt of mine, my Grandfather's sister.

I do believe I can hear her saying, "Get your big girl panties on and be intentional!"

Have a great day!!

~Lynn

Til Monday

Hi Friends...

I am feeling a bit under the weather sinus wise and Colitis wise, so I'll be back by Monday.

Hopefully my fairy godmother will wave her magic wand and make it all better!

image courtesy of Graphics Fairy

One World, One Heart

"Let's get together, yeah, yeah, yeah!"

O.K.! A little late, but I'm in!!!

If you have found me at the end of the 1,000 people that entered the ONE WORLD ONE HEART postings, 

congratulations!!!!

I'm honored that you have persisted this far.

This is the first time I've participated in this wonderful adventure and, like many, sad it will be the last one. To read more about One World One Heart, please visit Lisa's blog here.

To view a list of participants, click here.

My name is Lynn and I live in Southern California, in what we like to refer to as the I.E. (Inland Empire), as compared to the O.C. (Orange County.)

Do not get these two mixed up. The O.C. gets a little ruffled if you do, and I can't say that I blame them.

I have a wonderful husband and a marriage built on faith over the last 25 years, and two of the best daughters anyone could ask for.

Add to the mix one slightly neurotic dog, and you have a whole lot of fun!

We love to be with friends and I will never pass up an opportunity for Starbucks.

Or the beach.

Never, never will I pass up an opportunity for the beach.

I have always had an artistic bent and have spent most of my life trying to see where it fits into my days. The last several years I have been diligently (intentionally) finding time to put art into my days and have fallen in love with:

collage

altering mah jong tiles,

dominoes,

I love photography and someday will take a class to learn more about my camera!

Cooking.

The best.

And this year, learning to solder.

"Learning to"...two of the best words in the English language and two words that get me into more fun and trouble!

Two of my favorite posts are

Why We Do What We Do pt. 2

and

Jack In The Boxes

Which I hope you enjoy.

Now for the most fun part- (besides meeting people all over the world)...

the give away!

Open to all active bloggers..... 

Please leave a comment on this post and a way to contact you, should you win.

I will pick a name by FEBRUARY 17 to win.....

This sweet soldered necklace!

(I confess, I almost offered up the neurotic dog as well, but I think shipping would be a bit of a problem.)

A sweet stamp of a bird and the littlest bit of an old hymnal, with just a bit of bling at the end soldered and put onto 16" drop necklace of ball chain.

Best of luck to all who enter and I look forward to meeting all of you!

Lynn

Tuesday Musings

Morning, friends!

I came to the realization yesterday that it was the third Monday in a row without my "non-negotiable studio time." Apparently driving to Los Angeles Int'l. Airport takes precedence. As does running around trying to find a wool coat in Southern California in January. As does spending every minute I could with my eldest before she left.

The fallout hit this Monday.

Seriously? I spent ALL DAY picking up, sorting, washing, putting away, etc., etc.

All. Day.

The good part is, I can think clearly (well. as clear as any 49 year old female can) and am  committed to getting back on track with the month of soldering. Even if that said month is gone.

The other good part is that instead of showing my stuff, I get to brag on my friend, Susan DeGeneres.

You will have to come check out her blog, and her newest endeavor,

The Daily Bird

It is a wonderful journey toward building our creative selves. This is a process I am craving right now! Susan expresses herself beautifully here.

The book she refers to, The Creative Entrepreneur, by Lisa Senora Beam, is one I actually have.

This made me laugh out loud. The creative mandala Susan set to work on and is making great progress on is something I have looked at in complete confusion in the book. I haven't gotten past the first chapter because of the mandala. But with Susan, it is beginning to sink in what the purpose of the mandala is and how it can be a useful tool. 

It baffles me that this mandala has me completely stymied. I mean, honestly! I can usually fake my way through a lot of things, but not this one....But with Susan, and how she breaks down each thought and process, I think I can break through the barrier and be honest with myself and learn quite a bit.

Won't you join us on this creative journey?

The other blog I would like to introduce you to is....

Avventura!!

It's a little bit close to my heart, as it is Lauren's blog. It is all about her adventures in Italy, which, by the way is so far so good!! We have gotten to speak to her twice by phone and it's like she is next door. Did you know that Lauren now has a Greek Aunt? My sweetest friend, Manya has made contact with her and has put my heart at ease knowing she is close to my girl and is there for her.

I think that's about it. 

Now I'm off to get caught up on all your posts and figure out what happened to my sweet birdie and signature at the end of my posts!!

much love

lynn

fun at night

Here's something fun to do in the middle of the night.

Find a comfy position early on in the evening.

Fall dead asleep.

Around 2:00 a.m., have your daughter come in and wake you out of dead sleep by announcing:

"MOM. I accidentally took out my rubber bands."

Get up and straggle to the bathroom. 

Make sure you do not run into the door.

Grab two miniscule rubber bands and try to put them on without your glasses and sleep in your eyes.

Pick pink because you can see them.

Put child back to bed.

Go back to bed your self.  Curl up, listen to your husband snore, and give yourself time to write this adventure into a blog post in your head, wondering all the while if you will ever fall back asleep.

Repeat at random times.

Really.

Tons 'o fun.

Have a fabulous day.

Lynn

Triumph

Ta-daaaa!

I only had to rip out 1/2 of my heart...

but it made me happy in the long run,

and there was very little blood this time.

AND...

I did manage to cut off the ribbon I LATER remembered to sew in,

but figured out a way to put it back on.

Does that mean I am "destined" to sew????

Well, I have to say it was an easier learning curve than the DVD of photos I promised for my husband for a dinner we are hosting. (more on that next week)

MUCH easier.

But I doubt there will be any king-size quilt coming out of my sewing machine any time soon.

come see all the beautiful hearts at Mosaic Magpie!

Linking to Inspiration Friday

Trying Something New...

I am intentionally waiting for more solder.

It's coming on Tuesday. 

Sigh.

In the mean time, I some how entered a "Heart From The Heart Swap".

You should go over to my friend, Debbie, and visit her wonderful blog, 

Mosaic Magpie.

Some of the hearts have started coming in. 

I'm beginning to sweat bullets.

Here are my sewing skills:

1) Eighth grade, Home Ec. I think I made a blouse. I know I cheated on the test for naming the parts of the sewing machine.

2) Some embroidery when I was a kid.

3) Sewing stuff on a paper lunch bag for Christmas this year.

Not bad...

HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!

Thank the Good Lord that Debbie put a TUTORIAL up for us.

Here is my first attempt.

Wow. I even used pins.

(I un-earthed these from a sewing basket that Lauren had in Junior High, when she too, thought about needlework.)

Wow.

Thank goodness this is the wrong side of the fabric. 

Thank goodness a sweet friend GAVE ME her sewing machine. 

Thank goodness I remembered something from cheating on that test back in Junior High, and I can thread the bobbin to the needle. Kinda. Well, after several tries and stabbing myself with the needle. Who knew those were so stinking sharp?

I can do some of the fun stitches on the machine, but I can't figure out how I know where I am on the stitches. So I just make sure I count up and back from straight to my favorite stitch. 

How many of you are on the floor right now?

Fine.

I am merrily reading Debbie's tutorial, thinking, "this is great. I learn so much better by seeing than just reading instructions. I can SO do this."

Ha.

What I can really do is improvise.

This is my interpretation of a seam ripper. It's supposed to be a tool to make holes in paper to put brads through. It lifts stitches out pretty well.

What  I really, really can do is NOT FOLLOW DIRECTIONS.

Uhhhhh....

Let's backtrack for a minute, here.

I put the cool little decoration on the back of the heart. Check.

I pretended it wasn't really material I was working with, but rather a paper lunch sack, and added the decoration to the front using a napkin and some wax paper.

Then we come to this:

Really. I thought the directions said to put both right sides together and sew. Well, that didn't make sense when I

a) sewed the whole thing shut and realized I couldn't stuff the heart. 

and

b) when I had to right- side it out

and 

c) when I didn't have an edge to fray.

This is what happens to your front decoration when you smoosh it  and pull it to right-side it out and you use wax paper....

The best part is knowing I am learning that practice is good. I have always thought that the first time out has to be the finished product. The more I do, the more I learn this is not true.

So I tell myself, "I think I can, I think I can." and live for the day that the solder comes in.

Have you tried anything new this year??