things that are made out of awesome #2

fridays.

bosses who leave you in peace for 3 hours once a month in order to get their hair done.

uncommon goods.

the ZACBrowser.

and....everything that is tim holtz, check out the new stuff:

I've been Tagged...#1

If you aren't familiar with blog tagging, it's pretty simple....other blog friends "tag" you to do something on your blog, answer questions, etc, and then you get to tag some more bloggers to do the same.

I've been tagged by Kristina, who was first tagged by Christine, to post the 6th photo from the 6th folder of my pictures. So here goes...folder 6, photo 6 is:

I took this photo in an itsy bitsy teeny weeny town at the edge of Colorado a couple of summers ago on our road trip back to California...I couldn't resist "zero road, de_d end..." This town, I forget the name, was nearly deserted, and I am convinced that it really IS a dead end. Nonetheless, we needed gas, so it was take our chances on Zero Road or see how far into Utah we could make it on fumes...so we stopped at a tiny little station that was really antiquated and kind of cute. No credit/debit, no muss, no fuss, no soda, no nothing....just cash and old-fashioned pumps...

A town straight out of a horror movie...but great for picture taking....

I have another photo somewhere of the glamorous, bustling "hotel circle" in this bizarre little place - let me see if I can find it:

So there you have it....one photo brought back some fun memories of road-trippin' and the unusual beauty of the midwestern non-town. Sometimes it's pretty great to go off the beaten-path and have a look.

Okay, so now I'm gonna tag.....

Kim

Danielle

Jenny

Shan

and Adrienne

Let's see some photo action, girls!

Mini Album Kits!

as soon as i saw those cute felt coasters at michael's, i thought: "mini album covers!" and thus, the "summer lovin' kit" was born. i also decided to create some coordinating embellishments to go with the kit, what fun! making one for myself as soon as i can find my beach photos from last year.....want to make one, too? you can get the whole kit & caboodle by clicking HERE. thanks for looking, and happy scrapping! more mini kits on the way soon, so stay tuned...

(summer lovin' mini scrapbook album kit, available in my etsy shop.)

this little beauty below is a recycled starbucks coffee sleeve that i decided to make into a mini-album kit called "sweet nothings." cute huh? i knew i was saving those cool coffee sleeves for something...i am obsessed with corrugated cardboard, i love the look and feel of it! :) i also added some cute embellishments and papers for this little kit, and it's up in the old etsy shop, too. so much fun to make!

(sweet nothings mini scrapbook album kit, available in my etsy shop.)

just......no.

if you've made new year's resolutions for a healthier you in 2009...., stay away from this place:


Watch CBS Videos Online

b is for because

Continuing the ABC's of me journey, we are on "B" - using the prompt "because" and writing our excuses for not doing art, then covering them up and journaling about why we ARE going to do art/creative things. Here's my take on the prompt:


I wrote my excuses, painted gesso over them, used watercolor pencils and crayons over that, stamped w/ink, used rub-ons, used dictionary page scraps, more pencil, more stamping...all of my supplies were invited to the party...i think the journaling is legible...

Thanks for stopping by....and if you haven't joined in yet, it really is worth a try - click HERE to visit the "Year in the Life of an Art Journal" blog and see for yourself!

Buh. Bye.

Let's send W back to the great plains of TX with a little review, shall we?

"First of all, I don't see America having problems." --George W. Bush

- Umm. Clue #1 that we were in for it.

"You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror." --interview with CBS News' Katie Couric, Sept. 6, 2006

- I actually agree with him on this one! I am still struggling to find that connection.

"This foreign policy stuff is a little frustrating." --as quoted by the New York Daily News, April 23, 2002

- Poor fella. Nobody told him he'd have to talk to anyone outside of Texas.

"They misunderestimated me." --Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000

- Well, actually, no...no we didn't.

"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." --Washington, D.C., Dec. 19, 2000

- Dude. Seriously? Come on.

"I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe -- I believe what I believe is right." --Rome, Italy, July 22, 2001

- What the...?

"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him." --Washington, D.C., Sept. 13, 2001

- Oh good. There's an idea we can all get behind.

"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." --Washington, D.C., March 13, 2002

- Wait. What? You mean, you're resting now?

"Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere!" --joking about his administration's failure to find WMDs in Iraq as he narrated a comic slideshow during the Radio & TV Correspondents' Association dinner, Washington, D.C., March 24, 2004

- No comment.

"I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 12, 2008

- Don't count on it. That smart person? He's moving in today.

"One of the things important about history is to remember the true history." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 6, 2008

- No worries, G. We won't soon forget your contributions, we have no choice.

"Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter." --George W. Bush

- Don't let the door hit you on your way out!

I could not be more ready to send this guy to the archives! It's 2009, I'm feeling hopeful, my faith in humanity nearly restored, my body free of aspartame, my country free from the ridiculous antics of this guy.

Goodbye Dubya, Hello Obama!

things that are made out of awesome

...methinks "things that are made out of awesome" may become a regular 2009 feature here at heidiology...you never know, i'm kind of crazy in the coconut that way...got something you think fits the theme? let me know!

they say it takes 21 days...

...to form a habit, right? then i'm more than halfway there. :) yes folks, we're on day 11 going on 12 of NO DIET SODA. no soda, period. no aspartame. and i feel great! headaches...yes. cravings....yep. certain foods and snacks not the same without it....yeah. but it's worth it.

here are a few reasons why.

on the creativity front, i have been able to add things to my daily journal, but not every day. this is why i set goals versus make resolutions. i haven't "broken" a resolution...i have just "made progress" toward a goal. :) i like that a lot better.

how are your goals and resolutions coming as we head into the 2nd week of the year? can you believe it'll be the 12th already? funny how time flies when you'd kill for a diet coke.

a is for action

the first prompt for A Year in the Life of an Art Journal is up and ready, just waiting for you to play along!

A = action. do with it what you will.

here's what i did:



i read the prompt this morning, then had to quickly forget about it because a few crises took center stage at work.

this evening, i got a chai tea soy latte from starbucks.
(i got an abundance of starbucks gift cards this christmas. decaf tea w/soy milk is quickly becoming a nice replacement for the lack of diet soda in my life....well, almost, but that's a whole other thing.)

the point is, on the coffee sleeve, it said "your next action item: do as little as possible." i was handed something with the word ACTION on it? and it just clicked with how i was feeling at that moment - a little tired (it was after 11 pm at the moment), already overwhelmed with my first day back at work, to-do's popping in and out of my brain...

i have been spending a lot of time setting goals, getting organized at work, starting the year with a plethora of ideas and energy. this is all good, and i want to remember to stay balanced with some down time, so those carefully chosen goals don't go down the toilet along with the chai tea soy lattes. :) so, peace, breathing, quietness in the midst of activity, that is what my journal card is about for A.

i won't go so far as to say starbucks = enlightenment, but that little saying was just the right thing to get me going w/the art journal prompts. plus it was made out of cool eco-friendly cardboard goodness that was just begging me to cut it up and glue it to something.

i hope some of you decide to participate in the art journal prompts with me! take a look and see what some of the other participants are doing. it's just for you. you don't have to be an artist, or think of yourself as creative, or have anything special to say. come join the fun!

gifts for great gals

...these are little "new year kits" for the girls i supervise. social work in foster care is demanding, stressful, and never ends...so i want to welcome the gals back with some fun goodies to help them get their year off to a great start at work.



i altered the little calendars (found at michael's dollar bins) to personalize them for each lady, and tied those on the front of the kit.

inside the cans are paper clips, rubber bands, cute clips, a set of highlighters, a new (nice) pen, some everyday pens, hand-sanitizer (working with kids involves germs aplenty!), lotion, chapstick. oh, and chocolate. no new year's survival kit would be complete without chocolate at our office! :)

i'm thankful to work with such dedicated social workers. they make my job easier. so here's a shout out to my team - thanks for all you do each day! i'm looking foward to working with you in 2009.

my list of goals this year includes doing something creative every day. i want to balance my main daily activities (social work, which requires me to be logical, organized, rational, decisive, fast-paced, multi-tasking, and extroverted) by nurturing my creative side, the "right side" of my brain, so to speak. merriam-webster defines "right brain" this way:

Main Entry: right brain

Function: noun

Date: 1970

: the right cerebral hemisphere of the human brain especially when viewed in terms of its predominant thought processes (as creativity and intuitive thinking)

— right–brained\ˈrīt-ˈbrānd\ adjective

so, to document my progress toward this goal, i have altered a simple notebook i found in the dollar bin at michaels (see below) to fit my needs.i took it apart, took out the thin lined pages, replaced them with 26 pieces of cardstock from my scrap stash cut to size, covered the binding holes on the front cover and punched 3 holes for binding rings instead, then went nuts with the altering. i ended up with this. i love it!i then numbered each page 1-7, for 52 weeks worth of creative actions. i will be writing just a few words each day to document what i did.


i am not pressuring myself to do huge things every single day, but rather, to make art/creativity part of my daily life. it might be something as simple as taking a photo, writing a little story in my journal, framing some artwork for the wall, arranging some flowers, or adding some accessories to our decor at home. i am also beginning with the intention of developing more skills that incorporate paper arts, mixed media, video editing, photo editing, maybe even knitting/sewing!

i believe i will find that there are many things i already do on a regular basis that are creative - such as making a flyer at work, setting up a festive table, creating a logo for a new training, putting up a collage of photos on my wall, re-arranging our furniture, etc.

this type of journal would be easily adapted to other daily goal projects - like - cutting out diet soda, perhaps?! (going on day 4 and it's not too bad, but the headaches might kill me)

how about writing a little something you're thankful for each day? or tracking an exercise regimen? what you ate each day? books you're reading? i can see loads of possibilities. the project took me less than 1 hour total...and was very inexpensive. if you decide on a daily goal, and implementing this type of journal, i'd love to hear about it! :)

...in with the new

...hello 2009. hello clean slate. hello fresh start. hello resolutions?

well, not this year. goodbye resolutions...hello "goals." you know, they're actually more like guidelines. :)

so if i'm not making resolutions, what AM i doing to start writing on this bright white new year? everybody hates a blank page staring back at you, so how to add some color?

here are a few of my "goals" for 2009. more visuals to come.

1. cut out diet soda entirely by the end of december, 2009. yes, the survey results are in, and save a few nutcases who are just as addicted as i am, my blog fans have spoken, and you've confirmed what i already knew. moderation is key, staying away from the stuff altogether is golden.this is the commemorative photo of the last official pop of the can. for 2008, that is.

i want to cut it out of my habits entirely, but not cold turkey, no balls to the wall hardcore resolutions here. those never work for me, so i will be just slowly weaning.

2. CREATE. every day, in 2009. this might sound like a pretty badass lofty goal, but really, i am talking about anything creative. taking a photo, arranging a vase of flowers, doing a scrapbook layout, rearranging furniture, painting something, writing a little rhyme for kirk or a coworker, baking something, creating a flyer at work, just SOMETHING that gets me to use the right side of my brain each day.

i have made myself a little bitty simple journal to document my creative year, photo to come.

3. participate actively in the art journal/deck of me, which i posted about HERE. details and prompts can be found HERE.

4. move my bones for 20 minutes, 4 times a week. dance in the living room, walk up mt rubidoux, go up and down the stairs at work, do a yoga tape, swim, whatever. with kirk, without kirk. with friends, without friends. if it leads to more ambitious fitness-y things, fine. if it doesn't, fine.

5. go to the doctor for a full physical. go to the dentist for a full exam.

there. not too lofty, not to shabby. we'll see how we go, ey?

what are YOUR goals for 2009?