Be brave. Own your story. Share your story.

I haven't blogged in awhile. A real long while to be more specific. Tides of change have been rolling in both personally and professionally. Over the last 3 years I've: changed careers (and jobs), said goodbye to three grandparents and my marriage. There hasn't been much free time for creative pursuits as my attention has been spent dismantling my old life, then imagining and assembling a new one. Right now, I'm nearly complete with the re-building phase. I'm transitioning into running forward to chase my dreams. (Today, I am sitting at my keyboard with a post-op knee after tearing my ACL while skiing about a month ago, so I may be hobbling after them for a bit, but eventually, I'll get to run again.)

Life has been changing and in the process challenging me to change too. I've spent the last year and half researching, working on redefining myself and my path forward under a new set of circumstances. Embracing the freedom of independence, practicing mindfulness and living purposefully. I'm re-examining and re-assessing and re-establishing who I am.  Over the course of the last year, I was blessed to have a pen pal and confidante who provided a safe place to write and ponder and query, who responded with kind and insightful feedback --a very valuable resource who has helped me move forward faster than I would have on my own. As the conversation flowed, I've often thought I should take time to document this process and it's dialog, even if for no other reason than to remind myself how far I've come on the days when I feel less than accomplished. Today, I came across a new collection from Simple Stories called, "I am" which should be perfect for that very task. Now I just need to get my hot little hands on some product. :)

Simple Stories I am Collection

Along with the launch of their line, Simple Stories is challenging people to make their own I am statements using a fun template they've designed. Take a second to make your own and share it on Facebook or Instagram with the hastag #‎SimpleStoriesIAM. (In case you need to be inspired, they've also posted a YouTube video.) Here's mine:

I am working on being brave, sharing my story, using art journaling and scrapbooking to document the process: the love lost and gained, the redirection, the plans and hope for the future. To help me grieve and heal, to reclaim my power and to be right with the world so that I can be awesome.. and amazing.. and all of the things I want to be. 

What's your story? What are the stories of your families and friends? Ask. Then, go document it.

March/April Issue of Creating Keepsakes available now

 

Hello bloggy friends. Just poppin' by on the blog today to let you know that the March/April issue of Creating Keepsakes is on newsstands now! (And if you're already a subscriber, you probably got your issue last week.)

I have a layout in this issue featuring my one of my favorite lines (Midway from October Afternoon) with one of my favorite artists, Toby Mac. Truth be told... 99% of the time I'm rockin' out to Toby Mac when I scrapbook.

My husband and I went to a Toby Mac + Jamie Grace + Tenth Avenue North concert at the Iowa State Fair this past summer for our 11th Anniversary. One of the songs, literally called "Favorite Song" (click the link to hear a sample of the song), is so happy and bouncy that I new that I just had to make a layout with vibrant color and washi tape to capture the energy of this song and the concert. Plus, the concert was at the state fair last summer so of course using Midway was a no-brainer!

 

As seen in the March/April 2013 of Creating Keepsakes magazine.
Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

The washi tape background was my creative representation of the movement of an equalizer for the music on the offbeat (the "oompah" rhythm).

Part way through the concert, Toby & the other performers moved up into the grandstand to perform and were about 9 rows in front of us. We filmed part of the concert using HD video on our cell phones, so I used Adobe Premiere to clip a few frames from that part of the performance and put those in the filmstrip on the page. I love how the October Afternoon washi tape provides the perfect place to put a few little journaling details.

 

 

I originally had the names of the bands on some label stickers from October Afternoon, but decided the right side of the page needed a little more, so I covered up the type with a word stickers and added a little arrow stamp to the image cluster. Using a first and second generation stamp image gives you a little extra variety without needing 2 different ink colors.

 

The little stars were created by placing a strip of washi tape on cardstock, and then punching out the star shapes with a small hand punch. Super cute!

Before

After

 

On newsstands Tuesday, February 26

 



I hope you've enjoyed this little "behind the scenes" look at how the page came together. Check out the Creating Keepsakes feature article, Accentuate the Negative, on page 71 to learn more about the other elements on this page. If you're getting snowed in today (like me) and can't get out to purchase a copy, here's a little sneak peek of the issue. Happy creating!