A Time To Create...

I want to share something I'm super excited about that I have COMMITted to this year:

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

While visiting ARTSYMAMA's blog, I learned of EMILY who is "hosting" a challenge for an ART JOURNAL for 2008. She is posting a word at the beginning of the week for inspiration. The rest is up to the artist!!! I loved the idea but honestly, this last year was a year of "creativity on hold" in the art department. Our stuff is just too un-accessible for it to be enjoyable! So I didn't think I would commit to it. But something happened yesterday! :) I had the thought planted in my mind and when the opportunity siezed itself upon me...my creativity that has been welled up {and from all the creative blogs I've been observing}...I plunged in head first to begin the journey of AN ART JOURNAL.

I am SO excited & I don't think I will be able to turn back. Don't know if I'll be able to keep at it every week; but it was like therapy sitting and creating.

{page #1}

{this page has very humble beginnings!! I grabbed my sea sponge, pop-up sponge, used my son's box of crayola's, Elmer's glue, and added some of my fun glitter, circle punch, bird punch, scraps of paper & left over paint chips. Oh, and a wooden skewer for odds & ends painting & texturing.}

{details}

{circle-cut piece of corrugated cardboard & painted it green for the tree*LOVE my plethera of MS glitter I got on SUPER clearance at Michaels*the trunk is cut from a paint chip}

{Bird punch is from Martha Stewart's collection. I LOVE IT!! Got it at Michaels on Christmas clearance*Brown vintage ribbon was part grossgrain, part velour. So I cut it in half* The paper behind the bird is left over from the roll of ribbon}

{Painted dried fern leaves for the 2008}

{This surprised me. I started by rubbing the minty green paper with my son's white crayon. It gave a nice texture. Until I started lettering with a marker. I thought it was going to be disasterous...but the marker dried fine and it left a cool texture*The scroll is copied from my favorite homemade Christmas card I received this year}

{I used scraps from a real birds nest a neighborhood kid gave my son this summer}

{I am excited to use up so many of the little things I have on hand! I am going to try to create everything with stuff I already own! So...any of you out there up for the challenge??? It could be ANY kind of journal, scrapbook, etc. using the key word for the week!}

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

So, I know that everyone has a different "artistic" avenue.

I know my mom's is in the garden. Their yard is perfect and always plush and the landscaping & flowers look straight from a magazine! My dad's canvas started at the chalkboard. He is a master teacher and by the end of any given class his board could display Napolean's dynamic invasions with complete illustrations (the ever humble stick-man never looked better). And my husband, well, he is just a fabulous artist so everything he puts his hand to comes out phenomenal!

SO...I'D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOUR ARTISTIC AVENUE IS; AND WHAT INSPIRES YOU!!!????

{my 'weaknesses' are magazines & artistic blogs---tons of visual inspiration}