Behind the Art with Felecia

I've been a headache sufferer for years...over 20.

I've always thought that they were my fault - the product of mis-managed stress, too little exercise, bad food. I was diagnosed years ago with severe stress headache...and I owned that diagnosis. 

But I made a promise to my husband this year to see a neurologist about my headaches...and she informed me that they were migraine. For some reason, this diagnosis was like a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders.

And in a world where much of my time is spent serving others - admittedly to very stressful levels - I felt like I finally didn't have to carve out more time (stress!) to figure out it all out (stress!) and schedule more things into my busy schedule to deal with it (stress!)

The blessing is mixed...it has meant a whole new set of medications that I've had to get used to and keeping daily track of where I'm at health wise...plus they are not all the way gone.

I was on the way "down" from a headache when I finished this project. It wasn't hard to make it look like I felt... 

Like I was surviving. Like things were very bright, but dark. Like some words seemed like YELLING and that my focus was off a bit.

I wanted very badly to give hi-light to the words of HOPE, the words that I feel like I speak out of my mouth all the time about migraines. You see, when you can't even see straight from the pain of a headache all you want is survival...You want to get THROUGH and move on without pain. THRIVING isn't even an option in this condition.

It seemed right that this thing that currently consumes me in the area of my health should be something I can put into a project. Its negative and painful and the polar opposite of thriving.

Ultimately, this will be something that I learn to manage, that I learn to prevent, that I conquer. Its an awesome feeling to have hope that at some point this will be a part of my past and will no longer stand in the way of my life. 

Peace, ya'll!

Behind the Art with Jen

 Hi everyone!  I have another of my pages to share.  This one is a journal page about not sweating the small stuff and not fearing mistakes.

 All my life, I have struggled to control things that are not mine to control... Once I let go of that control and try to just go with the flow.  Turning something disappointing into a positive is a skill that I have had to practice.  It's hard to not feel terrible when something goes wrong but dwelling on it is not productive.  I hate wasting time on things I can't control now.  So, this page is about being yourself and letting things roll off your back when you feel like obsessing.

  Dwelling makes you unhappy and I hate being unhappy.  I want to live in today and not worry about tomorrow!

Okay, so how did I make this page?   I used the floral paper as the background.  The leaf mask was used with Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Gesso. I did trace the leaf onto scrap paper and used it as a solid stencil.  Once dry, I drew on top of the areas with pen. 

 Watered down paint dripped down the page added some more color.  I also used Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Whipped Spackle through a dotted stencil for more texture.

What do you do to stay happy and not obsess about wrongs or bad things?   I think what we "feed" ourselves will be what thrives.

Behind the Art with Melissa

Happy Tuesday and second day of Fall (to those of us in the northern hemisphere...)

Today I'm sharing a layout dedicated to close friendships. Those friends who are like siblings... there is a tightness that is unbreakable. And if it ever did break... oooooh the heart ache.

It's those friendships that I KNOW help me thrive in life. I love how the cultivating goes both ways. A good friendship is one where each gives and takes. We both support one another and we both seek out advice, companionship, empathy, etc., etc., etc. A good friend knows when it's time to pour the wine bottle and when it is time to just sit. 

I am so thankful for the few friends I have in my life that have that "status". SO thankful. 

I did a lot of "seasoning" on this page. I wanted to sprinkle bright colors, happy faces and bold words to describe how I feel about these friendships. In my head, I think about seasonings used in cooking. Without them, the food is bland. So... you need some spice. And that's how I used the enamel dots and giant bling and smiley face. The seasoning.

I loved that I got the WOW clip in my bag. It fits perfect with this page because I truly do sit back and say "wow". I am blessed beyond measure by some amazing friendships in my life. 

More "seasoning" with a lovely transparency. Transparencies are such great symbolism to put on a page. Not only do they look great from a design point of view but, they also exude the act of being transparent. That's another quality in a great friendship. No masks. No fronts. It is what it is. The good, the bad and the ugly. 

And here is the whole page after all the close ups. That fab photo was taken the second day I moved back to my hometown.  It was a GREAT night of reminiscing and being at peace with the decision to come back. I did a grid style on the page because I also like the thought of a brick wall.

(Think the Three Little Pigs and the Bible story of the man who built his house upon the rock versus the man who built his house upon the sand.)

Brick is strong. Stable. Sturdy. It can stand the test of time. It will not crumble. It cannot be blown over by a mean old wolf. 

That's what I like to think about when it comes to my friendships.

Do you find that your friendships help you THRIVE in life? Do you feel uplifted? Have you grown as a person? It's a pretty cool feeling isn't it?

Thanks for swinging by today!

Behind the Art with Felecia

The more I worked through the ideas and concepts that came up with the word THRIVE, the more I had to ask myself if I really was, outside of my kids, really thriving. 

I decided NOT. 

Not to say that I don't have an amazing life - because I DO. Just that I seem to be running from task to task, checking things off the To Do list, existing rather than growing, learning changing.

I realize that change comes at a different pace for adults, but I still feel strongly that my life should perhaps have more of an impact and be less about the schedule and rules. 

Lots of circles on this one...It seems right, contained...like my day to day life really is. I wanted to investigate where my boundaries are, whether or not they are fuzzy, or hard, or too confining. Its sort of exciting to think about...

I wanted to make clear that I have a GOOD LIFE...by world standards, an EXCEPTIONAL life, but that the idea of THRIVING requires me to give more attention to what I'm doing, that I need to take myself off of autopilot. 

In retrospect, I know that we have seasons...this is something I had to keep in mind as I explored THRIVING. It may be that I"m in a season of rest...or that I've been complacent with my excellent life...or...that I simply needed somebody to get me to think about his word to begin again...

Peace, ya'll!

Behind the Art with Jen

 Hello friends!  Here's another one of my pages this month with the "Thrive" kit!  This one is a fun, high-contrast layout.  I recently went to the New York State Fair and visited the butterfly exhibit.  It was amazing!  They were everywhere and landed on me immediately.  It was so cool!  I could have stayed in there for the whole day.  In the middle of this crazy crowded fair, these little beauties were thriving and a little piece of calm.

 

This paper with all the words on a black background was screaming for me to use it but it was very bold and so I used a bit of gesso and some of the Distress Paint to tone it down a bit where the journaling and photos were to go.

 

 Lots of words and fun phrase stickers made this just so perfect for all my thoughts about this day. It was magical and oh so amazing!

 You can see the fun little sewn details I added with my machine.  I also love those stars, faces, and epoxy gems.  They add the perfect celebratory touch!

Throughout my visit to the butterfly exhibit I couldn't help but feel bad that they were enclosed in the space for our amusement and delight.  There was one butterfly that had a broken wing and was on the floor.  I thought it was dead but it moved.  I gently picked it up with the q-tip they gave us with nectar on it to attract the butterflies.  I place the butterfly on a plant and hoped it would get better but  I'm sure it had a limited time left.  Those beautiful creatures only stay with us for a short time. It was an honor to be landed on and enjoy their beauty for that short time.  They are meant to be free but it was so awesome to interact with them that day.

Behind the Art with Melissa

Hi everyone!

Do you have a special place that you feel ALIVE while there?

That's how I feel when I'm near the water. And I'm really picky as to what kind of water. 

You see, something I learned when I was living in Chicago, was that I really love ocean water. I feel like the air is fresh and the sky sparkles.

I know. It sounds crazy. But, if you ask anyone that lives on the west coast, they will tell you that the sky does, indeed, sparkle over the ocean water. It's quite lovely. 

It never fails on days that I'm feeling down, after a walk along the bay, my spirits are lifted. Water soothes me. It makes me feel invigorated. Alive. Refreshed. Renewed. Ready to sprout new leaves. 

The symbolism I pulled for this page is rather literal. From the smiley face, to the leaf stencil and bright colors, I wanted to exude that feeling of HAPPY and the THRIVING.

The orange in my photo was nicely complemented by the colors in this kit. 

And let me tell you, the colors in our THRIVE kit are BRIGHT. and HAPPY. And drip with all kinds of symbolism when it comes to thriving and growing and blooming. Such a positive kit! I love it!

Are you ready to join us? I think it's time. You can easily subscribe for our beautiful, life-changing kits HERE.

Join us on FACEBOOK for all the latest news and inspiration.

And feel free to share, right here, where your happy place is. I'd love to hear!

Behind the Art with Felecia.

THRIVE is a word they use all the time when assessing the health of children. 

I have two of them and they were born later in my life, so they are pretty much the lions-share of my life. 

I waited a long time to have kids, making certain for me that the things I wanted to do with life that couldn't easily accommodate kids were done.

But I discovered after having them that my years of discovering, experimenting, trying new things only began anew when they became part of our family. As I watched them learn to walk, talk, throw a baseball, write letters, try new foods - pretty much everything - it was as if I was learning these things for the first time too...

I'm totally in touch with the fact that I'm living some of my life vicariously through these two...that I get just as excited about a new movie or a cart-wheel accomplished as they do. 

So..as they TRIVE, so do I...

As with most of my layouts, I felt like the journaling was the most important part. But the colors in this kit are so amazing!!!  

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The idea of thriving through my very rambunctious boys is somewhat busy and full of color and life...so I tried to give my project movement and color, a sense of the chaotic business of boys without detracting from my story. 

Its no joke that I really do love the photo this points to...its one of my favorites. we were playing on the floor in the front hall of our home...just hanging out and being together...my husband snapped the picture at just the right moment, because I was tickling those kids...and it came out to be just the right thing at just the right time.

I don't know if thriving in and of itself is something we can set out to accomplish purposefully or if its more like taking small steps to appropriately care for something  or some one. Its about love and attention...or food and water and shelter and clothing...or practice, practice, practice...the small things add up to thriving. 

Whatever it is, for these little humans in my life, when they thrive, I do also, in the most amazing, vicarious way.

Behind the Art with Jen

Hi artsy friends!  I am finally back to share a page from my Thrive kit!  I LOVED working with this theme and the papers from the kit are amazing!  I chose to create this particular page around an accomplishment.  I ran my 3rd 5K but this one was an obstacle race.  It was challenging, scary, and fun!  I didn't think I could do it all but I did!  I have trained for 7 months and keep surprising myself. My running is thriving with friends.  I love to run with a group because it doesn't seem so hard or scary when you are with others. 

 

 The name of the race was "Vino and the Beasts" as it was run in a local vineyard.  We ran along the road, through the vines and even around the outside of the property.  It was so fun!  Some of the obstacles were to climb over high ramps or crawl through mud.  I never thought I'd do that!  At the end we were rewarded with free wine tastings!  That was one of the best parts... the reward!

 For this page, I used some of the distress paints that we have gotten in previous kits to add more color.  The Crafter's Workshop mask was so cute!  I used it in two ways... with paint over it and as a stamp.

 Embellishing with the stickers and tags were perfect.  I added those inspirational quotes and words to bring my experience together.  Lots of laughs and celebrations!

 I already registered and formed my team for next year's race!  I know it won't seem so scary or intimidating then.  I have come a long way!

What have you done that you never thought you could do?  Is there something you have grown from that has changed how you think of yourself in a good way?

Behind the Art with Felecia

The moment I heard the word "Thrive" I couldn't get the song Made to Thrive by Casting Crowns out of my head. It was one of those things where a song gets stuck rattling around in your brain and you find yourself singing it all the time, not being able to escape it.

Honestly, I didn't know all the lyrics to it, though I could easily come up with the chorus.

When I looked it up, I kept thinking, "yes! This is what I was made to do!" To be honest, the rest of my layouts poured out from this one...because I couldn't let go of the idea that I was "made to thrive." But he lyrics seemed like something I want to OWN, to adopt as my own theme. 

The amazing little happy faces in the kit were BEGGING to be used...and this line  - Shine like the sun, make darkness run and hide - I really want to live my life like this! Like a sun shining, like light, like warmth, life-giving. 

This amazing paper is DIRECTIONAL...it says "Go THIS way" I wanted the zig zags to travel across the page, to point forward and show the way.

As I was elevating and placing the strips of paper, it seemed like the layout needed a little sparkle, a little shiney. I broke out some jewels to give me my sparkle...

In retrospect, they are a perfect symbolism for the shining like a sun, for the projecting light into darkness...(though I'll admit it was not so purposeful in the outset).

This is a somewhat serendipitous example, though, of how we can get our creative process into a grove, wholly focused on making the project LOOK like what we FEEL and it really just happens when we are in that place of working out the theme. It ENDS right, fully expressing what we mean and how we feel.

Ready for a new month? It's time to look forward. 

September means back to school, and before life gets even more hectic with holiday madness, we thought you might need a reminder to take care of YOU.

So here it is:

The THRIVE Kit!

Check out a few sneaks of our DT's amazing inspirational work!

We've got everything you need to remember to live your best life and grab each moment.

And then grab yours here: READ MORE & BUY NOW

Patterned Paper:

Basic Grey Highline          Be yourself         

Basic Grey Highline          Happy days        

Basic Grey Highline          Beautiful             

Basic Grey Highline          Good times        

Basic Grey Highline          Awesome           

Heidi Swapp Favorite Things         Wordy  

Heidi Swapp Favorite Things         In bloom             

Heidi Swapp Favorite Things         Seeing stripes    

Heidi Swapp Favorite Things         Rainbow rounds

Heidi Swapp Favorite Things         Lovely lattice  

Embellishments:

American Crafts Amy Tangerine Plus One Match - Aqua Thickers   

Studio Calico Essentials Tiny Alpha Stickers - Yellow/Orange

Basic Grey Highline Title Stickers

Basic Grey Highline Snippets, ¼ package

Chic Tags Cloud 9 Clips, ½ package

Chic Tags Cloud 9 Mini Icons, ¼ package

Maya Road Transparencies framed sayings – white, ¼ package

Freckled Fawn Paper Clips, Wow, 1

Freckled Fawn Wood Chips Emoticons, ¼ package

Jillibean Wood Sprinkles Life ¼ package

Studio Calico Essentials   Chipboard Stars Yellow/Orange, ¼ package

Websters Pages Sprinkled with Love Paperclip Ampersand, 1

We R Memory Keepers Enamel Shapes Warm, ½ sheet

Cardstock:   

American Crafts white   

American Crafts white   

American Crafts black    

American Crafts black    

Technique:

The Crafter's Workshop  Balzer Bits Julie Balzer Doodle Leaf Bits   

Color:

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Paints Peacock Feathers