percolating in my brainpans...

happy saturday am, my lovelies!  between trying to get everything planted in the garden, trying to get the blackberries and hydrangea under control and migrainlandia visits it's been too long since i was able to be here.

in all my little projects and my constant flitting around doing this and that, i found an old notebook i started back in july of 2020.  i remember thinking it was a great thing to do to get myself in a good headspace.  haha...well...

fast forward through 5 years and here we are.  i've picked it up again and am really enjoying myself. i thought i'd share a little about it with you today.

this is the cover (which will be painted or covered at some point to make it pretty):

have you ever done a vision board? i used to do them with my friends for each new year and sometimes for the month, etc. i would end up with these large pieces of cardboard/posterboard that i had nothing to do with.  i remember when i moved from the little cottage with the blue door that i had to toss a whole stack of them in the trash which made me sad but also a little relieved. 

anywho, i decided it made more sense for me to put it in a book so i pulled out a $store composition notebook and got to work.  like i said earlier, i started in 2020 so the first 4-5 pages are from then i think, maybe a few more.  the rest are recent.

if you haven't done a vision board before, basically you tear images and words from magazines, mail, newspapers and paste/glue them to your board.  each board should have a theme.  obviously, from the very first photo my theme is "dreaming to reality" which is making what i dream my life was like to making it real.  i have scads of old magazines that i have collected over the years and will go through them, every once in a while, and tear out images that strike me and words too. 

this project serves several purposes for me. one - is the vision board act of seeing what you are wanting to manifest. two - it helps me get rid of those old magazines.  once i've gone through them and torn out any words/images (and recipes) that i want to save, i can put them in recycle without feeling like i'm wasting something.  three - it is helping me to reduce the "clutter" in my home and in my mind. and four - it is a short creative act i can do every day if i want that makes me feel good.

anyhoo...that's it for today.  a little glimpse into one of my ways of creating in both a physical/mental way and a spiritual way.  to me these little boards are acts of magic. and i'm always up for making magic. :-)

i hope you are ok in your little corner of the interwebs.  i'll be back soon i hope with more garden updates and i have a few other ideas percolating in my brainpans.  

thanks for being here, 

love & kisses & magical wishes...

~*~

ps...forgot to add that all the images are from old issues of various magazines like victoria, country gardens, country living, better homes & gardens, southern living, etc.

 

creative a.d.d.

 

hello, i'm laura and i have creative a.d.d.

those photos are of aspects of six different projects i'm currently working on.

my creativity is constantly giving me ideas and inspiration and i have trouble saying not now.  i also have trouble with things i'm not used to doing (ie: learning new things) which is something i'm trying to change.

those six different projects, that's just the start.  there is also the gardening, the baking, the woodworking, the papier-mache, the clay sculpting, the sewing and more.

i know, if i could focus on just one thing at a time, i'd get a lot done.  these things were all started at various times, some as long as three years ago and the most recent was december 2019.

the photos above are all w.i.p.s. and i love them all.  i never know what i'm going to feel like working on or what my body/brain limits are going to be each day so it's good to have variety.  this week the sweater seems to have my attention, but while i'm knitting and purling there are all kinds of ideas stewing in my head about things i want to try.

i've been working my way through "The Artist's Way", a book about creative recovery by Julia Cameron.  one of the things i've found out about myself is that i'm terrified to try new things. so i set a goal for myself to try two new things (that i've never done/made/etc) each month.  last month was just one, i was more than halfway through the month when i set this goal, which was to learn to use my dehydrator.  i know, that doesn't seem like an art goal.  but for me it is, as it is trying something i was afraid to do.  (i don't know why i was afraid of my dehydrator, i'm also afraid to use my food processor, so...)

i had some moderate success with the dehydrator, and am ready to try again.

that's the point i'm trying to teach myself, to try...

so...creative a.d.d. and sometimes creative a.d.H.d. when an urge hits and i work on something non-stop until it is done.  it happens, occasionally.  

do you have any creative blocks? do you jump from thing to thing?  how do you approach trying something new?

thanks for stopping by for a read...

love & blessings

~*~

 

 

about that story...

When Magaly put out her invitation for this years Witches in Fiction posts I was intrigued.  I'd read previous years entries and enjoyed them but hadn't felt I was up to the challenge.  This year, I decided to give it a go.  I really loved the theme and felt drawn to participate.

I started thinking about it prior to my trip to Maryland and decided I would make a mixed media piece to share. I put it out of my mind during my trip and when I returned home, I dived in.  I started with a blank canvas (always intimidating) and began adding layers of paint and paper.  I spent my first day back working on this piece.  When I stopped for the day, I wasn't really happy with where it was heading, so decided to let it sit overnight and come back to it with fresh eyes the next morning.  

I worked at it for two and a half days before I accepted that things just weren't coming together.  Well, you know what that means.  Panic!

Yes, I started freaking out and almost backed out.  But...I kept thinking about all the times I've ever committed to something and then backed out at the last minute and I just couldn't do it.

Now we are up to Thursday evening (the day before it is due) and I got nothing.

I spent several hours working on my written submission.  I started letting the words come out (and not trying to make them fit, which is where I run into trouble).  After a while, I felt like I had something I could work with.  I went back over it, tweaking this and that.  Changing a few words and looking for things that would make it seem more cohesive (I think that is the word).  When I finally stopped, I was not happy.  I just didn't think it had the elements it needed.  But...I was exhausted and it was due in just a few hours.  

So I scheduled the time for it to publish, then went to bed.  I was kind of proud of myself for sticking to my commitment, but still worried that it wouldn't "measure up".  (Why do we do that to ourselves?)  

When I woke the next morning, I checked to make sure it had posted (and it hadn't, of course).  I hit the publish button and sent it out into the wide world of the internets.  After that the day was busy and I didn't back to my computer for a while. 

Saturday morning I was going through my blog feed to catch up on the blogs I'd missed while away for over a week.  I landed on Joanna Devoe's Weekly Witch Review and while clicking through her links received such a shock.  She had included my Witches in Fiction post as a link.  She said such wonderful things, I was so amazed.

Have you ever had one of those surreal moments that just takes your breath and stops time?  I swear, this was one of those moments for me.  I kept looking at it and then clicking the link thinking there was some sort of a mistake.  But...well...  

I have to thank you, my readers and visitors here, for all the encouraging and thoughtful comments that I received on that post.  I tried to reply to everyone and hope I didn't miss anyone.  But if I did, please accept my gratitude.  I can't tell you how all those comments lifted my heart.

It's kind of funny actually.  I don't believe in coincidence.  One of the things that I indulge in when I go on these trips, is a wonderful massage by the owner of the facility.  As we are finishing up each of these sessions, she always says, "you should write."  I always reply that I'm just not good at that.

See the thing is, I love to tell stories.  I have spent my life creating stories in my head.  I used to write them down, but a few times friends (or school bullies) found them and made fun of my writing and ideas, and I stopped.  I still create them, I just don't record them anywhere, except for a few that just demanded being recorded.  

So when I saw the reaction to the story I made up for Witches in Fiction.  I was really overwhelmed.  And really happy.  And really encouraged to maybe, start writing all those stories in my head down somewhere.  And that feeling, is all because of YOU!  So, thank you, again for giving me hope.

Okay, I'm feeling like this is scattered and really too long, so I'm going to wrap it up. I have some ideas for upcoming blog posts, so hopefully, I'll be here more often.  

Has anything amazing happened to you lately?  Something that just makes you feel really good?  I'd love to hear about it.

thanks for stopping by!
love & blessings
~*~

this and that...

I've really meant to post sooner than this, but life has been taking me for a spin and I'm just now feeling up to sitting down and typing.  Everything has felt so different for me, since I went to the Red Thread Retreat last month.  I am living so much, instead of just existing and I am so enjoying it.  

Since my last post, I've been to a local consignment shop hunt and found a wonderful piece for my studio.  On their FB page I'd seen a hutch that I thought would do nicely for my studio to house supplies and knickknack type things (of which I have many).  It was big, but seemed well made and very inexpensive and I thought I could slap some paint on it and it would be lovely.  When I arrived to the shop, it had already sold, but the lovely lady pointed me to another area in the shop and there it was!  This lovely old secretary was waiting just for me and was so much more "me" than the other piece.

Isn't she wonderful?!?  Behind the desk shelf is nine cubbyholes and three drawers.  I was able to get her home on Saturday and spent all day cleaning her up and letting her air out.  Sunday I put the shelves and drawers back in and started loading her up with things.  

My studio space at dusk.  I'm planning to add shelving in that corner over the workspace for more storage.  But now I have lots of play space on my table and still have my "toys" for inspiration.  :-)

When I went back Saturday to pick up the secretary I decided to treat myself to a new friend.  They were having a sale on all their Halloween items and I just couldn't resist!

Meet my new friend Eloisa!  I don't know what name her creator gave her, but we went through a list of names (old fashioned, as she doesn't seem too much of a modern girl to me) and we both thought Eloisa suited her. 

I met up with a friend from RTR (who lives close by) for lunch early this week.  It is so nice to make new friends.  I've never been very good at it, but maybe I'm just out of practice?  

This morning I met an old friend for coffee and a trip to the Farmer's Market.  I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year (first time ever! eek!) and I want to have as natural/healthy a meal as I can.  I ordered my turkey from a local farm and I won't mention how much this could end up costing.  Let's just say I could eat for maybe two weeks for the cost of this turkey.  Now I've to read up on how to brine the bird and such.  

That arctic cold front that is sweeping the country is headed our way in the next few days.  Today it was up to 73 degrees.  I'm personally looking forward to the cold.  I always prefer to be cool rather than hot.  

Last week we had a nice frosty morning and I was up early enough to get out and snap a few pictures. 

 

This one is my favorite.  A bit of water left in the birdbath overnight had frozen over and well...
I'm not sure if you can click on the picture to make it larger, but it looks even better that way.

We've had some marvelous sunsets lately.  

I've adopted this idea to try to find something beautiful in my life every single day and to take a picture of it.  I'd been posting a lot of my photos on FB.  My sweet friend Rachel from Blue Finch suggested I get on Instagram.  I'd been thinking about it for a while, but just hadn't done it.  But, now I have! I've added a button in the right hand sidebar if you wanna check it out.  I'm doing my #beautyeveryday pictures there as I know I just don't have it in me to blog every day.  Maybe at some point, I will but for now, I'm just getting back into this blogging thing, s l o w l y...

The paints, pens and such have been making an appearance lately.  I'm having so much fun making things and have SO MANY ideas.  I'm hoping to pull out some clay soon or maybe do some more paper-mache.   


I think I've rambled enough for today.  I hope you are having a wonderful week. 

What beauty did you find today?

blessings
~*~

weekend

Saying a prayer daily for assistance with my house sale, lighting candles as the sun sets, watching the moon rise behind the trees.  These things have been helping me retain the peace that I felt while I was in the mountains.  There have been a few bad days, health and family issues causing more chaos than I would like to deal with in my life.

Today I went back to making things.  I created seven mini spirit wreaths.  I hope to take them to a local shop this week to see if I can put them on consignment there.  If not, I'll probably try to set up an online store through Etsy or some other site.  I've been wanting to do just that for a while and may go ahead and do it. 

I also spent some time working on backgrounds.  I found one of my acrylic paints is close to drying out (another had dried out completely) so I wanted to use as much of it up as possible.  I painted several sheets of mixed media papers with it to start projects.  I have been playing with a canvas for a few days.  I find that I have an idea, sort of, then I start on it and it morphs to something else.  I have no idea what it will turn into, but I'm enjoying the process.

Here is wishing you a beautiful full moon and a lovely coming week. 
blessings
~*~

take a step, follow a thread

earlier today i took another tiny step toward reclaiming my life. actually, for me it was a giant leap to creating a life i want and can enjoy. i cannot express how happy i have been today. ever since i signed up early this afternoon, i have felt happier than i have in two or three years.

i bet you are wondering where the "thread" comes in, aren't you? well, this is the step that i took: The Red Thread Retreat

so you see, i'll be following a thread, to learn some new things, to explore the world around me, to meet new people and most importantly, to LIVE!

it has been a very good day in my world. not only am i one of the lucky 15, but winter has finally put in an appearance...we have snow!

blessings
~*~

Create

Hello Blog world...oh how I've missed you. It feels like ages since I've been here. I am so behind in all of my favorite reads, it might take days to catch up. I do have a good reason for not being here though. No, I didn't win the lottery and disappear to Tahiti. Though that would be fun.

I have become consumed with a project. It is something that I have always wanted to try my hand at, but had been unable to put it into action. Somehow, during my time off from work, that changed. Something changed, in me, something that has allowed a part of me to become more creative. I know, I'm not making any sense. But maybe, when the time is right, I'll be able to explain it more thoroughly. I am creating...and it feels wonderful!

Blessings,
~*~