The Monthly Word -- January

If you want to find out the meaning behind this pretty page of Fuschia's that I drew and painted take a minute and CLICK on over to The Monthly Word to see what my thoughts were on this for January!

THANKS for stopping by -- have a great day -- I hope to see you back here tomorrow for some more art journal painting!

Above the Earth

Last weekend -- Friday really -- there was the most bright and beautiful full moon in the sky. I was amazed really at just how big it looked. Much bigger than these photos show.

I first noticed it on the highway but couldn't get a good picture of it until I got to my bridge. And, I might add -- it only showed up on my pictures when I used either the hipstamatic app or the standard camera on my phone. The two photos below have been Instagrammed from my Photo Album.

But that doesn't make them any LESS cool. I really felt like I could reach out and touch the moon -- grab it right out of the sky and put it close to my heart - I am a moon child after all AND it felt like it was that BIG and CLOSE. 

As I was working on some other projects for consignment this month, you remember the little stamped and painted sculpey shapes from this Looking Back post -- right?? -- well I made some more but turned them into hearts instead of circles --  I couldn't stop thinking about that moon as I worked on those hearts. I kept thinking about how I wanted to keep it close to my heart. I kept looking to the sky for it. Every time I went outside I looked up to locate and orient myself to it. 

All weekend. 

It was bright at night -- keeping me awake a little. 

But it was there during the day.

Comforting me with its existence.

Anywho -- as I was working on my hearts I found some little words in an old hymnal and glued them on to my polka dot cheese heart and Voila - I'll turn my Moon Heart into a magnet and see it everyday -- and always remember to keep that big, bright beautiful moon close to my heart.  Being a moon child and all. 

PS. This is not to be confused with my other moon.

Well that is all for today. Quite enough I might add. Please stay tuned for tomorrow --  I'll be sharing my TMW page and reflections on what it meant to me through out the month over on http://themonthlyword.blogspot.com/. 

Feel free to join in if you want.  We'd love to have you.

Oh and let me know -- did you see that HUGE moon last week?

Forget Me Not!!

Just a little pretty -- and sneak peak of a Valentine Card and Video I made. Will share the details on when you can see it as soon as I KNOW!! Have a great weekend and thank you so much for stopping by!

Craft + Hobby Association -- behind the scenes

While you would never have known I was away last week because my blog was updated -- I was happy to find myself in Anaheim California for the Craft + Hobby Association meeting. It's a show where manufacturer's, buyers, educators,  and designers come together to see and play with new products.

Designers like me often venture out there to look for new work or demo the new and exciting products. Or -- to network and take the cool workshops offered. It's a great opportunity to meet new people that share the same love art and craft supplies. 

I went looking for some new opportunities. And to learn some new techniques. And MAN was it exactly what I needed. I can't wait to share -- I've got some pretty exciting news coming -- just not sure when I'll be able to tell....sooner -- later -- only time will tell ;-D

When I left Maine it was quite cool -- but arriving in  CA I kinda felt like I was home. It was cool -- no really cold to many -- but the sun was shining, plants were green and there were pretty flowers so that wonderful. It felt more like a warm Maine Spring day where you go without your coat and maybe have a chill here and there but it feels amazing to shed the heavy winter coat.  

Our early morning walk over to the convention center. Love the long shadows of my roommates and I. 

I was really excited to see the new products being introduced by Spellbinders -- Ice Resin, Bezels and a NEW machine. AMAZING products and I can't wait to share a little how-to in a few days or so. 

My friend Martha taking a funny picture of me -- but look at her phone case -- it's one of mine she bought from my Zazzle shop!  

 

Cool Geode ring that Suzan Lenart Kazmer was wearing. I LOVE LOVE LOVED it! 

One of my bezels in the Ice Resin class....I still need to pour the resin!

 My little birdies from the last Spellbinders Workshop....so cute and fun to work with.
 

A not so healthy snack, I tried to eat right it's just so hard when you are traveling and the options are not that great to start with.

My blurry picture of my art in the Tattered Angels/Canvas Corp. Booth. It looked great. I've got a how to coming up on that one too!

The pretty fountain outside the convention center. It looked really cool, sadly I missed the Philharmonic playing at the dedication that day.

I did spend a little time chitty chatting with my sweet boy -- he missed his Mom and thankfully we were able to text back and forth -- but because of the 3 hour time difference either he was sleeping or I was sleeping it was a little tougher to manage.

Pretty leaves on a not-so pretty looking piece of meat. Not sure what this was -- it was Martha's dinner on the last nightbut I loved the way the cilantro looked on the melted cheese.

Well that's it.....I'm finally rested and ready to tackle everything on my to-do list! Phew -- hope I can manage it all! Thanks for stopping by -- hope you have a GREAT day!  

One Puffy Heart two Puffy Ideas

sharing a fun project I created with a paper-mache puffy heart and a china doll head. this was a fun project and pretty easy to make. 

isn't she sweet tucked inside that heart?

perfect for Valentine's Day!

I was inspired by a quote on a Tim Holtz metal charm to make this tag. I wanted to use the charm but it didn't fit where I wanted it so I made my own version out of paper.

 

 i sent one to my friend Martha in the fall and look at what she created for Tattered Angels!!

Isn't it awesome??

Have a great day, thanks for stopping by!

Are you LOOKING?

Just checking to see....

have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

random journaling

just pictures today -- oh and this fun quote I found in the spine of an old agriculture book for the state of maine.

I was as a
gem concealed, me.
my burning ray revealed.

makes me think of a sunflower!

hidden journaling. i made the image below into my business card. love it.

Have a great day, thanks for stopping by.

Click on Over

Just popping in to share the link to the Crafts n' Things Newsletter where you can find more images, step-by step instructions and a complete supply list to make this pretty winter card.

I love these stamps from Impression Obsession and have quite a few from this artist -- he is an amazing illustrator -- I can't wait to get my hands on some of the sweet ones he released at CHA last week!! 

If you like the look of watercolor painting on your stamped images you should check out In + Out Watercolor Painting for Stampers and Card Makers at My Creative Classroom!!  It's a new class I'm offering and it starts on Monday, January 21.

That's all for today -- thanks for stopping by have a wonderful day and if it's snowing in your neck of the woods like it is here -- drive safely -- it's slippery out on the roads! 

 You can also find me here: 

My blog: http://cmscanlon.blogspot.com Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/cmscanlon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/cm_scanlon

the Whatevers -- a Catch Up Post

Last June two GREAT friends and I started a year-long project called the Whatevers. We each chose 4 vintage images, scanned them and committed to telling a story around these vintage pictures each month. Since we are HALF-WAY through our challenge I thought I would do a quick re-cap for January -- re-post all the images in case you want to join in, the rules and links to where you can find more about the Whatevers Project! And anything else you may (or may not) want to know about this fun and creative project.

The cover of my book -- a little teaser posted before our project started! 

In June I introduced Winston and Newton, the two main characters in my story.

July, meet Mother -- Cordelia Marie Faber-Whatever. She's got some crazy hair and eyes!

 August Mother, Winston and Newton travel to the beach to vacation with the evil cousins!
 

In September the focus is off Winnie and Newt and I've introduced Elizabeth, Art and Frida. Oh, and the Countess. 

In October the story is about Winnie and Newt's father, Winston Newton Whatever.

In November the story comes back to the US and what the evil cousins Boots and Hermione and their mother Elldridge are up to as they wonder about what is happening in Germany.  

 In December Newton and his Grandfather go out into the country and cut down a Christmas tree for the castle.

So many twists and turns -- wonder what's going to happen next month??

________________________

Want to play along?? We have just a few things to let you know about: 

• Vicki, Nat and I have made a one-year commitment to each other and picked twelve photos with Whatevers whom we will give a story.
• Every month – if possible always on the 15th –  each of us will do a post with an individual story that goes along for us with the same photo.
• If you want you can play along and we will have the photo for you – just right click on it to safe it to download and show us your version of The Whatevers.
• There are no rules to the story itself- it can be funny, sad, uplifting, breathtaking- WHATEVER
• There are no rules on the length or the form of the story- it can be a short sentence, an essay, a poem or a soap opera – WHATEVER
• There are no rules on the art form you choose – it can be a scrapbook layout, an altered art project, an art journal page – WHATEVER
• Here is a rule though: if you take the photo you have to link back to us and show us your story.
• These pictures are from our personal stash and are for personal use for you only! If you want to use them for a publication whether a book or magazine in print or digital form please ask for permission!
• If you want to participate we’ll have a linky list for each Whatever Post.
• You can also join our The Whatevers -Facebook Page 

And here are all the images for you: 

 

June 

July

August

September

October

November

December

See you back here next month for the next chapter in my story! 

learning to see...

it's hard to train yourself to see.
I mean REALLY see and take in your surroundings.
breathe them in like a breath of fresh clean air.

into your heart.
mind.
body.

for me it's one of those things that comes naturally. maybe i've done it so long that it's just a part of who i am. maybe i was born with it. i don't know.

for instance. what do you see in the first photo? i see a line going down the center of me - splitting me in half. reminding me that i often feel torn between doing what i love 24/7 and taking care of my family.

in this photo. i don't really see myself. i see the beautiful trail in the background and the shadows of the trees that fall across the trail where i just came from. i do see that my hair is the same color as the trees, and i wish it was not so grey.

in this picture i see my brand new christmas cross country ski's and the unbroken trail in front of them. i see the beautiful blue from the natural light and the lens on my phone. i see the shadows of the beautiful shrubs falling over the tips of my ski's creating fingers reaching out to me. I see cute little curvy tips creating a nice little serif on the ends of my ski's. i see peacefulness and also feel peaceful when i see this. i love this picture.

i see the wind blowing the snow off the trees creating a tiny temporary blizzard. i see the snow stuck to the sides of the trees -- and the huge widow makers falling over the trail where i need to go. i hope they don't fall on me as i ski under them.

in this photo i see a heart made of freshly fallen snow encased in a prison of branches.

 

this photo makes me think of the 4th of july and the beautiful fire-works that a local community has.

what did you see today that was out of the ordinary or maybe not so that inspired you to take a picture and remember it for all your days?

THANKS for stopping by -- have a inspired and creative day!