Patty Rose Design

One Little Word 2011

via aliedwards.com

How very exciting to be a part of this adventure!  Enrollment remains open, share the adventure here. It is truly amazing where one little word will take you.  I am sharing this adventure with a close friend and I am certain that we will learn even more about each other along the way, I can't wait. 

Searching for the various items required in the project, I have discovered some very interesting sychronicities.  A dear friend of mine, who is now on the other side, always said there are no coincidences.  She was a wonderful teacher and taught me to look closely when anything appeared as a coincidence.  She said if you looked closely, you would see the magic.   

After much searching, I finally found a quote that uses the word "verve":

"a flying open of doors, convergence of magic objects into feathered hands and crested heads, a prospect of winter verve, a build up to abundance" ~Denise Levertov

Is it a coincidence that it refers to feathers?  I doubt it.  Feathers, wings and birds hold special meaning for me.  I have not yet delved into the context of this quote, but simply removing it from its original context and reading it word for word, applying it to my life, it could not be more appropriate.  Is it a concidence that it refers to magic and abundance?  Nope.  These are also words I considered.

This quote now serves as the mantra for my 2011.

I find it also intriging that one of the synonyms for the word is the name of the street where I lived with my beloved grandmother.  The Universe talks to us in every sight, every sound, every smell and provides constant reassurance that we are not alone, if only we are open to receive.  Synchronicity? Coincidence?  Nope.  Magic.

Here are the finished pieces for the first two prompts:

Every little bit and bauble, the patterns and chosen colors, every little word holds special meaning to me. 

And the second prompt, a photo of me, right now, in January, 2011, the beginning of a brand new year and the beginning of this adventure.  I am ready.

It's Been Too Long

Where does the time go?  It's been months since I've written.  Not that things aren't happening...there's a lot going on, as always.  The bulk of my time has been spent working, working on the house and working on myself.  No matter what I acheive, I never feel like I've "made it".  I always feel like the "big thing" is still around the corner.  I've signed up for a personal workshop that I'm hoping will help quiet me down a bit.  Additionally, I started taking a yoga class during the very long months of winter.  There's something big lurking close by, if only I could see it.  Check out my instructor's blog...maybe she has answers for you too.  Powerful and Happy   I'll keep you posted of course.

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010

Every year it's the same resolution. I always want to spend more time creating.  And as always, life gets busy and nibbles up all of my "me" time. Going back over the year and what I've done, I think I might have achieved my resolution after all. I accomplished far more than I ever realized last year. So a little collage of some of my favorite projects from 2009 and a little quote for you from Tim Holtz's stamp collection. I must have this stamp!  This is my motto for 2010!

Happy Spring!

It's finally here, the season that I dream of in the heart of winter.  My garden magazines are stacked all around.  I'm planning big changes outside this year and can't wait for the warmth and sunshine to finally take hold.  New this year are two custom window flower boxes, some new trim work to add more detail to the house and a special mosaic art piece I'm planning to create to hang on the house just above the cutting garden.  I'm also planning a new herb garden, one climbing yellow rose for the entry way and hopefully two new, very large virburnums for the each side of the house.  More color and more flowers, of course!  Please hurry spring, its been a long winter and my head is full of ideas that I need to get started on.

Mother of Invention

I came upon this quote this afternoon and love it.  I thought it was appropriate for my mindset today.  One of my New Year's resolutions is always to spend less and to reuse, recycle and repurpose. I always feel like I need to detox from shopping after the holidays. There's no way that we need all this STUFF that seems to collect. The old adage of "haste makes waste" is so true in the sense that we are always so extremely busy going to and fro that just picking something up at the store is faster than making something or finding something in the mountain of stuff we've collected from the last million times we were too busy. Enough already! I have enough art and craft supplies to make every gift I could possibly give over the next decade. Not to mention paint and fabric for any feasible decorating endeavor. And to go with all of that, a list of unfinished projects to keep me busy using all of it. So again this year, less consuming and more creating. If necessity if the mother of invention, then I'm proposing that limits are the mother of creativity and I'm vowing to test the premise. Again.  And in my "pile of rocks" I am looking for my next creative project.