And now its today

Author: Marion | Category: Links of interest, Photography

Looking back on my past post I see I have moved forward incrementally. I finished Photoshop Artistry and am currently enrolled in AWAKE with Sebastian Michaels. I also started the 21 days of Creative Abundance yesterday so its going to be a busy month with photoshop. I am set up to do the next DD video later this week and ( #10) and I have been scanning and adding things to my digital stash like crazy. This winter I also went thru approx 300 mags cutting up sorting and filing. I upgraded to Creative Cloud and am learning Lightroom and enjoying the new photoshop. I havent done much in terms of physical creating and that is a goal to get back to as well. I did take a class in perspective this winter and am finishing up a sketching class as well. I want to get more used to drawing as well as digital work.

The only thing I am immediately behind on is my calendar and that is frustrating. I keep avoiding it….

Other than that busy busy busy!

Published: March 6, 2017

Now what?

Author: Marion | Category: ANXIETY, organzing, productivity

all those books Well it took a little more than a year but I finished my scrapbooks! And I was dragging butt by the end there….I cant beleive I actually finished I suppose thats what happens when one actually plans things out and then executes on the plan….go figure! However these have been on my radar for so long that I fear whats next. Dont get me wrong….I KNOW whats next but how do I get there? I finished the last of the scrapbooks in late August and except for some loose ends ( small and insignificant ones) I consider it a job well done. Here it is mid September and I feel like I am flailing. Its all so overwhelming what to do next and I am like a squirrel in the fall….running around from acorn to acorn deciding which I should actually pick up and take care of. I am really at a transition place in my life as a whole. Its like there is a giant crossroads sign hanging over my head. I couldnt miss it if I wanted to; namely my youngest is nearly 18 and I suddenly dont need to be THAT mom anymore. I cant even remember what its like not to be a mom 24/7. Anyhow so here I am with days free and I am really facing this list of semi finished tutorials, varied interests , projects never started and others never finished. I put virtually on hold for the scrapbooks.

Fortunately I am a organizational geek. If it has something to do with calendars, motivation, organization I have read about it, tried it or seen it. ( Hence the the sucess at finishing the scrapbooks….did I mention I finished them?) So I have been noodling on how and what to broach next and of course the eternal question of ….what do I want to do with my life. I really wish I was one of those people that just KNEW what they wanted. I fight the story, I am a complete loser and unfocused, in my head all the time. But thats not true….look at my scrapbooks. 😉

Here is a partial list of wants to do:

Finish my Donna Downey 48 weeks of art
Finish Sebastian Michaels Grunge Art class
Start Sebastian Michaels 21 days to creative abundance ( that one is intimidating)
Learn to create and carve out my own stamps
Get back to creating my own stencils
Get back to art journaling and collaging
Create another poster or two along with cards and such
learn to draw better
learn how to use my Big Shot ( I bought the Pro and am wondering if I bit off more than I can chew)
Maybe do Lifebook again ( I never finished it last time however but it had some great classes)

I also have a list of books to read but thats another list….

So….because of that I bought a 12 week planner. 12 weeks you say? Yes 12 weeks….a year is far too long to plan unless you have like 18 scrapbooks to do) But because I am kind of OCD you must know that September is the end of the 3rd quarter and The next quarter starts in October. SO I feel like I cant really start yet ( ya my mind really does think that….its pathetic) None the less I have been doing some random things. I have been busy creating calendars and plans and even doing some creating which feels really good.

Anyhow the plan is also to get back on here and start writing as well….I have all sorts of worries and celebrations to share….well one or two anyway.

Dwelling in Possibility

Published: September 21, 2016

This is where I have been

Author: Marion | Category: organzing, Scrapbooking

A LOT to scrapbook!

So I haven’t posted here in a long while and there is a good reason. I made a commitment to myself a year ago that I would finish once and for all the scrapbooks. I am not a fancy scrapper. I just want to record events in my kids lives. When my kids were young the scrapbook movement hadn’t really started and so my first couple of scrapbooks were lame. A hybrid of photo albums and school work hastily and not very well assembled. And then life happened and suddenly it was 15 years later.

My GOAL was to have yearly books for them through high school. Uh huh. AS I write this they are 23 and 17 ! Let me take stock of what I
had actually accomplished in those years: I had my oldest up to age 6 and my youngest only up to age 2. Ummm…yeah.

When I moved to my little island here in the PNW I decided I would MAKE the time and finish these. It took another year to settle in and one day it hit me…I had the time. Now I just needed to find the motivation. That came in the form of my eldest deciding to maybe move home and the fact that I had about 8 bins of school papers clogging the room that would be her bedroom.

So last May….I committed. Through the next two months I worked on my youngest books to get her caught up to her sister. There was so much paper and I was so overwhelmed but I quickly got a system started and by June the youngest was done until first grade ( only 11 yrs to go!) The oldest….moving home in about a year….she was more of a challenge. I knew summer would be busy and I stumbled across digital scrapbooking which I had heard of but never done. Since I was embarking on her high school years there are far few projects and many more pictures…..so I learned how to digitally scrapbook and by late fall I had managed, to my surprise, to digitally scrap 87 pages of her high school experience. Or rather my perception of her high school years.

Come the New year I was back to traditional albums and determined to finish in the year 2016. I bought a planner and mapped out my goals. 11 scrapbooks and 3 revamps ( early scrapbook hybrids that needed a facelift) in 11 months. If you want an awesome planner check out Passion Planner!

So here it is May 2 and we are about to head east to pick up my daughter. Her room is ready and considering it was crammed with paper and stickers, and machinery up until February it looks wonderful now. MY office is moved and functional and last night I finished a the 2nd of 4 revamps.

Long ways to go last year

Getting there!

In actual paper based scrapbooks I have 5 left. My youngest daughters 4- 8th grade. I will plan on a digital album for her high school years like her sister but since she is finishing up 11th grade its going to be last on my list. I also have 2 revamps left and I have gone from 8 bins to 2 bins of school papers. I am writing this because frankly I am just proud of myself and I don’t think anyone really cares except me and my kids…who are happy to have their books and memories. But I remember how I felt when I started this a year ago and I now I know I can do it.

Published: May 2, 2016

Betty Crocker or from scratch?

Author: Marion | Category: cards, paper

Princess Castle Box Card

My niece’s birthday is tomorrow. Can you imagine someone more passionate than a child born on the cusp of Scorpio and Sagittarius? Her parents have their hands full I assure you. Though she is turning 4 I have only met her once. But that is a story for another time and another forum. At any rate I am told by her grandmother that she is quite the Princess and will be having a princess birthday tomorrow. I wanted to make something special and of course the box card I made for my mom came to mind and so I did some research on Pinterest (where else?) and discovered the SVGcuts.com castle in a box card which when the template is purchased comes with about 5 other designs for box cards. I plunk down my paypal account and bought the set for a reasonable sum.

Because I have the tools and the know how I downloaded, converted, printed and cut the template out toot sweet as they say. ( Does anyone say that anymore?) The hardest part was finding the right size and color paper. Apparently I did not own 12×12 pink cardstock. So I had to go shopping ( awww…gosh I HATE shopping ). Anyhow once the particular shades of pink were purchased it all went along swimmingly. And so there it is put together, mailed along with the children’s book Twelve Dancing Princesses. I do hope she likes it or at least her parents do. Though I can never tell with them.

My dilemma with this is more cerebral. Bear says that its because I can’t except my own talent. I say its because I am trying to be honest when someone asks…..did you make that? My answer is usually along the lines of….well I put it together. It is a template. I have the tools to make it look easy. But I didnt design it. Admittedly I picked out the colors and patterns and accessorized it making it unique.

Bear says it is not necessary for me to explain about templates and that saying I DID make it is ok.

I guess its in my definition of “making”. To me making something means original work. Something I created from “scratch” I likened this to a Betty Crocker brownies. He disagreed.

In the end I doubt my niece ( or brother and sister in law) care. Its fun and cute and she will no doubt rip it apart in her glee. And thats ok. I made it and then I released its fate to be what it will.

But I am just not sure I actually made it so much as constructed it….followed directions and decorated.

Published: November 20, 2015

Dazed and amused

Author: Marion | Category: graphic design

I must share that I rarely do much “design” for profit. Most of my work is pro bono or as a favor. I make things for friends and family. Occasionally I do freelance stuff but not often. Its not that I wouldn’t like to do more but because I moved here before I could finish my bachelor/masters in design I kind of got stuck in limbo. I know enough to be dangerous and not enough to truly put myself out there.

Vintage style ferry poster

Anyhow….recently I had an idea. And I shared it with a friend and she insisted I should make it into a poster. She is very persistent and a great cheerleader. She wanted copies to sell at her little place that does vintage home accessories. So I sat myself down and eventually after numerous tweaks and adjustments came up with this:

The background is some vintage ferry schedules from over 50 years ago. At this point I have looked at it so often I am not sure what I see in it anymore. However every one of my friend who saw it loved it. And if you live on an island like I do….you can appreciate the sentiment. As a lark I posted it on a local Facebook sale site. I made 20 copies and figured I would maybe sell all 20 if I was lucky.

Well I did sell 20. In about 10 mins.

I was

ASTOUNDED

at the response. Astounded. Can I say As.toun.ded ???

Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to sell close to a hundred copies of this poster. I have been overwhelmed with compliments, and encouragement and well wishes. And I might add I have made some very handy cash for the holidays.

Wow. Who knew. I have had people at my door on and off for the last 3 days buying these things. I have a smile on my face. I am happy I could put a smile on theirs.

Published: November 18, 2015