July 3, 2009

I will readily admit that I have NOT been doing my journal this past week.....Something came over me....something that caused me to step outside of myself...my inner-ness and connect more with others.....But I will say that I missed it....So today...I will once again let my true voice sing...bringing about messages to myself!! I am careful today to take small sips of reality...sometimes reality is not what it is cut out to be...sometimes you need to check reality at the door...sometimes you need a reality check...so I am finding that if I take reality in small doses it serves me better!! LOL.....I was hit by the quote from Buddha as one of the writing prompts and when I did it the sun was coming out after days of rain.....and I was doing my journal page...exposing myself once again to myself....As I write about my soul today....I am aware of the patchwork that makes it up....scar tissue...wounds healed...some fresh...but that the majority of it is made of HOPE and GRATITUDE! And that my friends....is a very good thing!!
Atfully Yours,
Pattie

PROUD!

I am extremely proud to have been selected to have a previously published article picked to be in this magazine. I am amongst some very fine artists! My heART t-shirts and the article that went with it is honored on two pages!
This is what the magazine has in store for those of you who purchase it next month:
HandCrafted is back with Volume 5 and is fresher than ever. The newest issue will showcase an array of Stampington & Company publications to bring you page after page filled with all your favorite crafting projects (along with instructions). Each article is hand selected by the editorial staff to bring you the best of mixed-media, wearable art, scrapbooking, and stamping projects. Highlights are included from Somerset Studio®, Belle Armoire®, Art Doll Quarterly™, The Stampers’ Sampler®, Somerset Memories™, as well as many of our special publications. Come revisit some of your old projects in hopes to revive that passion that has since been forgotten.
Click HERE to see my t-shirts....
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

June 15, 2009

I have been doing my pages every day...Some without color...perhaps I have only been seeing in black and white lately....but yesterday, I opened a little...the prompt about kites made me think of Mary Poppins....and then the song...LETS GO FLY A KITE...ran through my head for most of the day....and I thought about how I should continue to have my fist holding tight to the end of a kite!(not allowing the black and white to rob me of color and dreams)...How by seeing things that are right in front of me....I am more likely to see the color that surrounds me....So I toast to the day....to seeing different shapes....to taking a soul vitamin....in order to see the shapes...sizes and colors that surround me...and I venture....I step outside of the black and white that I have been in lately...
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

June 5, 2009

Today is a day of toasting myself with a big cup of LOVE...self love! How by dipping into the soul vitamin of my creativity daily I can see a better picture...or paint a pretty picture!! I have been working in the yard...getting ready to trim some bushes and I discovered not 1 but 3 birds nests in those bushes that line my yard....So the trimming will have to wait for another month while the families that live there hatch and nurture their new little ones....I eyed these beautiful nests...these found objects of art...bits of paper and string...old plastic...dirt and leaves...all lovingly gathered to make a warm nest to rest and raise a little one or two....I saw these nests with new eyes today....the beautiful work of a busy bird going about its day with a song...and I am reminded to be more like the bird and be a little more comfortable in my own nest...and use my wings a little more....and sing a song that will make the art more beautiful....
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

June 4, 2009

Here's to a cool refreshing drink when you get hot...hot under the collar...to hot for comfort...HOT...HOT...HOT... You know those days when everything just gets to you....So I remember to take my vitamin C today....COOL....CALM...COLLECTIVE! And remind my self how perfectly imperfect I am!....And how I can swing to the left...swing to the right....stand up...
sit down...FIGHT...FIGHT...FIGHT!!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

June 3, 2009

Now, I readily admit that I am not one who remembers my dreams as a rule of thumb...but after being outside all day yesterday I remember dreaming of beautiful gardens...where I could rest peacefully....So, I toast today with that thought....I take a soul vitamin and let the night time magic reappear with the smell and vision of that dream....and the lesson that I learned this morning....To do something every day to help your own growth and to nurture your soul....I myself have been in the paint since 5! LOL....NURTURING!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

June 2, 2009

Today, I got up early once again....I like getting up early in the morning when the weather is nice...birds are singing and the smell of the morning is uninterrupted and I am alone with my thoughts....So today...I toast to opening up the day with a cheery HELLO to myself....I recognize ME...and I remember that Soul Vitamins come in all shapes and sizes and colors...it could be digging in the earth that touches me...finishing a project...the smell of freshly brewed coffee...all I have to do is remember to be aware of them.....I wrote the prompt INNER SKY....and how I have been feeling as of late....and how I am beginning to move past and out of the rain...and back to myself...my art...my writing...the ME that I love....and I am reminded today....that ART HEALS!! and I need to be aware of that more often when my inner sky breaks loose and the rain comes....
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

June 1, 2009

The beginning of a new month....and changing my attitude...adjusting it...popping the cork and taking a long tall cleansing breath.....toasting to the fact that things could be worse...that things are worse for others and looking to the positive side of life.....I did my journal page EARLY....I am posting it LATE as the day got by me.....this morning I was up at 5:30...way to early for the amount of time I did not sleep and I was not very happy about it at first...but then as I settled into the studio with coffee in hand....quietly I listened to the sounds around me....and for a moment or two I was in the woods...smelling the dew...listening to the birds....and my attitude changed...
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

May 31, 2009

It has been several weeks since I last did a journal page....Life sometimes just has a way with getting in the way!! LOL.....and although doing the journal page probably would of allowed some insight into what I could be doing...should be doing...would be doing instead of being in the middle of twists and turns....I tried to work things out the best I could ... now realizing that perhaps if I had just journaled the path would of been shorter....So today, I got up early...the morning songs outside of the birds and sweetness of the day allowed me to change my attitude...along with paint and pens....allowed me to sip the sweetness as I carefully removed the spiked top of the soul vitamins of that sweetness....Sometimes, you just have to be aware of the goodness despite the chaos....sometimes you just have to allow the bubbles of joy to float and burst around you...sometimes it is just the singing of the birds...the freshness of the air....the opening of the paint that can change your attitude from failure to success....Leaning a lesson today as this month comes to a close...
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

Fast Forward...7%

I usually delete FW's that come to my mailbox....mostly because my good husband has so many bells and whistles on this machine that nothing opens up.....BUT....this one came through from 4 different people yesterday....I had to sit up and notice the subject matter 7%...but alas, I am still not one to FW to others....so I post it here....You can copy and send as you choose or just enjoy the words written by this 90 year old....wisdom comes whenever we choose to let it!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio "To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written." My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more: 1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good. 2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. 3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. 4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch. 5. Pay off your credit cards every month. 6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. 7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone. 8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it. 9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck. 10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile. 11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present. 12. It's OK to let your children see you cry. 13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it. 15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks. 16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind. 17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful. 18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger. 19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else. 20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer. 21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special. 22. Over prepare, then go with the flow. 23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple. 24. The most important sex organ is the brain. 25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you. 26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?' 27. Always choose life. 28. Forgive everyone everything. 29. What other people think of you is none of your business. 30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time. 31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. 32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. 33. Believe in miracles. 34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do. 35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now. 36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young. 37. Your children get only one childhood. 38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved. 39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere. 40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back. 41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. 42. The best is yet to come. 43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. 44. Yield. 45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Its estimated 93% won't forward this. If you are one of the 7% who will, forward this with the title '7%'.

I'm in the 7%.

Remember that I will always share my spoon with you!

Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves.

For The Women in my Circle...

When I was little, I used to believe in the concept of one best friend, And then I started to become a woman. And then I found out that if you allow your heart to open up, God would show you the best in many friends.

One friend is needed when you're going through things with your man. Another friend is needed when you're going through things with your mom. Another will sit beside you in the bleachers as you delight in your children and their activities. Another when you want to shop, share, heal, hurt, joke, or just be. One friend will say, 'Let's cry together,' Another , 'Let's fight together,' Another , 'Let's walk away together.'

One friend will meet your spiritual need, Another your shoe fetish, Another your love for movies, Another will be with you in your season of confusion, Another will be your clarifier, Another the wind beneath your wings.

But whatever their assignment in your life, On whatever the occasion, On whatever the day, Or wherever you need them to meet you with their gym shoes on and hair pulled back, Or to hold you back from making a complete fool of yourself .... Those are your best friends.

It may all be wrapped up in one woman, But for many, it's wrapped up in several... One from 7th grade, One from high school, Several from the college years, A couple from old jobs, On some days your mother, On some days your neighbor, On others, your sisters, And on some days, your daughters.

Thanks for being in my circle.

Sunday Coffee Talk....

I got up early...really early...to be alone for a moment or two with a "POT" of coffee!! (it is one of those mornings where a cup just won't do!!) and I sat down to read A Hand Made Life Zine that came in the mail yesterday, that I have the great pleasure of having an article in.....This Zine is put out by the lovely Robin Olson Mayberry, whom I have been in several swaps with and was blessed when she asked me to write for her zine.....Amazing to me that there are so many wonderfully creatives out there and someone is drawn enough to me and my work that they would single me out to do something like this....It is the sweetest Zine....filled with wonderful articles by different artist....Jim Dubois...Amanda Jolley....Dawn Rice...and of course Robin Olson Mayberry...
A Handmade Life...Issue 4: Creative Community is affordable and filled with inspiration plus!! Give yourself a treat....to order the Zine visit Robin at her etsy site Alchemy studios ...when it arrives pour yourself a cup of....and ENJOY! I have this morning....and it has been wonderful! Thank you Robin...for all your hard work and loving heart!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

May 14, 2009

After taking time off to enjoy a VACATION....I fast forward to today....I readily admit, that I did not do my journal while away! Sometimes you just REALLY have to take time off for good behavior...but I am trying to get back into the swing of things today...I toast today to the REAL...real coffee...real paint...real pens...REALITY! And I sip the soul vitamin of safe travels down a U-TURN that I have been thrown...bursting the bubbles of FEAR from that turn one at a time....One of the prompts today talked about trash....but I did not do that one the way it was written, instead I was focused on how much trash people just left lying around at the vacation spot...thinking well, I suppose they hire someone to pick it up...but it was senseless trash...gum stuck under tables (I hate that especially if it is fresh gum that gets stuck to my clothes...when a napkin is readily available) and speaking of napkins...why let them fall on the ground and leave them there...pick the darn things up and throw them away....senseless trash...soda and beer cans left on the side of bushes...why? Lazy? Thoughtless?....I always have a small plastic bag in my purse for just such things if a trash can is not close....SIMPLE! OK...OFF my soap box!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

May 3, 2009

As usual I have been keeping up with my journal pages...HOWEVER...I have been watching my little love for several days and he keeps me SO BUSY!! PLUS....I am getting ready to take a trip to Disney World with the husband and the little love....Today, as I did my page I was drinking out of my favorite cup...A cup that was purchased at Starbucks one Christmas...with the words LOVE...LIVE...WISH written all over it....and so I toasted the day with that cup....Taking this vacation is going to be wonderful...but it has been a long time since I traveled with a 4 year old...So I will take a little sip of the NO FEAR each day!!...I have been alone in the studio for at least 1/2 of the day today.....and realize the difference between being alone and being lonely....and I find solitude in the silence...and what it brings to me....
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

PS: SEE YOU IN 10 DAYS!!

April 27, 2009

what beautiful weather we are having here in upstate...uncommonly good weather....and I am so in my element and finding it difficult to stay inside in the studio....but I did manage to get my mandala done this morning...and my journal page....So here is to the cherry at the bottom of the glass!! Today, I got to enjoy so much...so many dreams appeared before me...spending time with those I love enjoying the perfect weather....So I did the prompt about phones....I phoned in my dream of being surrounded by my family to ground me....And I continue to strive to listen to the whispers of other dreams that float before me...
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

Coffee Talk....

I use to make these cups...filled with little inspirational notes, but I can no longer find the cute little terra cotta plant holders that I altered.... I ran across this photo of them today...and the message it brought to me....dream BIG ...There are lots of things that I dream of....lots of things that I still have on my WISH list...I long to go to retreats....creative retreats and spiritual retreats....
I dream BIG...of attending Bliss Bootcamp!!! A retreat that is small enough to allow me to feel a comfort...large enough to bring me new joys...and affordable enough because it is all inclusive...
A retreat where I will be able to recharge my creative batteries...where a connection can be made not only with my muse, but with others....where the idea of creating 24 hours a day is alive with giggles and energy...where one bubble forms another...forms another...forms another with inspiration...kindred spirits...new friendships...laughter...sharing...nournishment for the creative soul...with talent...vision...and a deep sense of self...
This morning, while sipping my coffee...I dream BIG of a retreat....and this is the one I am dreaming of.....
BLISS BOOTCAMP!!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

PS: Are you dreaming too? There are still some spaces left! Contact the head counselor and bring your tiara....I know we are in for a magnificent ride!

Enjoy the Ride...

Press the link below....and ENJOY the RIDE!

http://www.lshs64.com/enjoytheride.html

The author of this powerful video is unknown. However, a large majority of its content is from a newsletter authored by Jon Gordon, which can be accessed at

http://www.jongordon.com/newsletter-010708-20tipsforapositivenewyear.html

Artfully Yours,

Pattie

April 21, 2009

It has been awhile since I posted a journal page...although I have been doing them...some with color...some without....but my mind has been occupied with many other things...Today...I toast to staying in the moment.....of taking a soul vitamin to make me feel taller (instead of the small child I have been feeling like lately) The rain stopped this morning....it was warm with just a hint of a breeze so being outside was enjoyable....and I bore witness to all the new growth around me....reawakening my senses.....I did the prompt about BREAKHEART PASS.....A vision of my heart wrapped in barbwire appeared when I first read those words....and it caused me to look within and see that the barbwire is of my own making...not others!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

INTERVIEW with BRENDA (BLISS BOOTCAMP)

It's a beautiful morning....sun is shining and I am so happy to be interviewing Brenda today!
We have our tiaras on...sitting sipping tea and joyous to be in each others company. LIFE IS GOOD as they say on the t-shirts! Without further ado....I am happy to introduce you to Brenda, head counselor and founder of BLISS BOOTCAMP!

ME: What is the dream that you are bringing to realization in your life?

BRENDA: I have been dreaming for years of hosting art retreats where the artists are interacting the whole time with the students....where life long friendships are made and where, when an artist leaves, she/he says to themselves... "These few days changed my life!"

ME: How did you get yourself PAST the fear to put one foot in front of the other to do this?

BRENDA: I don't know if I am past the fear yet or not :) I am 50 years old and I could have waited, and waited and waited some more...and then it could have been too late, So I just put on my big girl panties and started planning! And support from Team Bliss didn't hurt!

ME: What do you hope these retreats will provide for the person who attends? And what can they expect to learn at them?

BRENDA: I want artists to be able to get away from it all and just enjoy the moment and create. When artists gather, they blossom! It gets creative juices flowing and an energy like no other spills out. We will all learn new wonderful techniques and uncover unknown talent. And we will all learn to Love ourselves just a little bit more!

ME: Why do you think attending a retreat is important for everyone who is on a quest to reach their potential important?

BRENDA: Retreats are a special place where one doesn't have to deal with everyday garbage. Where you are surrounded by your tribe. Wisdom is all around. Amazing things happen when a group of artists join together. It's like a bowl of popcorn...a bunch of little kernels, all in their own little hard shelled world, until you put them all together, add a bit of heat and POOF-- they open and expand and change shape and have so much more to offer the world!

ME: Besides retreats I know you make wonderful healing jewelry and talisman....are you going to be sharing with others your talent also?

BRENDA: Thank you Pattie! Maybe after I get a few Bliss Bootcamps under my belt---we shall see...I would love to teach someday.

Special Bonus Question of the Day...

ME: What is the one thing that just lights up your inspiration and creativity to help you move forward toward your dream?

BRENDA: There are many wonderful retreats out there that I have attended and memories from them all help drive me onward. Many artists are out there just waiting to be given the chance to teach and I want to be able to offer them that opportunity. I also have started the Bliss Bucket--a place where people can donate money-and the Bliss Bootcamp will match those dollars and offer scholarships to artists who otherwise wouldn't be able to attend a retreat.

Thanks for sharing yourself Brenda....I hope that it gives others the inspiration to follow their dreams...to step out on that branch and leap...to fly! I am wishing you much success on this new adventure....and want to let everyone who wants to have an experience that will change their life to sign up for the bliss bootcamp experience....your southern warmth and love...not to mention the tiara makes ME extremely happy and I am SO looking forward to this retreat!
Can we go and play in the studio now???!!!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

PS: Click ANY of the words: bliss bootcamp and they will take you directly to the camps home page...where you will learn MORE about this exciting weekend!

FOLLOW YOUR BLISS!!!

I want to take this moment to let you know that I will be interviewing the fabulous, Brenda Bliss,
on Sunday, April the 19th!! I met Brenda in 2005 when I attended a retreat that she also attended! Brenda began having a dream after that retreat for herself.....for others...about connecting....about art.....And she is taking a BIG STEP to manifest that dream into reality....
Check it out!!!! BLISS BOOT CAMP!! I can't think of anyone I would rather have a PJ party with!
Can't wait to interview her!!!!! Make sure you come back on Sunday....and GRAB one of the seats at the retreat before they are all gone!!! I certainly am!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie
PS: I had the honor of designing this logo for Miss Brenda Bliss....to add to the dream...