Behind the Art with Melissa

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Today I'm sharing with you more about this page...

Last week I shared a page with a similar take on Forward. And while they are definitely similar, I want to point out how they differ, as far as where my mind and emotions were at, at the time of creating.

While both are capturing a "full steam ahead". This one is more contemplative. Have you ever watched a movie when the character is driving away from a location and they look in the rearview mirror of their car? Then, tears begin to stream down their face as they gain composure and face forward. That is kind of where I was at, at the time of creating this. I didn't journal about my thoughts (the glancing in the rearview mirror part...) for a reason. 

I am determined to face forward. I know there is something on the horizon and every time I let my mind and heart FEEL that anticipation, I get excited. I love the possibilities that the future holds. And, in this exact moment, that is what I wanted to cling to. I didn't want to think about what I could have done differently in the past. 

How about you? Have you decided to let the past be the past, face forward and face your future with excitement and anticipation? I'd love to hear about it!

Behind the Art with Melissa {Plus Giveaway WINNER announced}

Happy Tuesday everyone!

To get things started I'm going to announce the winner from my birthday giveaway last week.

Congratulations Heather!
Will you please email me at melissasftio [at] gmail [dot] com by Thursday, January 15th to claim your awesome prize?

Now onto the page I'm sharing with you all today, using the January kit FORWARD.

I did a couple of pages about looking forward to the coming year but, each have their own little differences in the thoughts I was wanting to capture.

At the time of creating this page, I was in a moment of pure joy. It was at that moment I realized how amazingly awesome life is for me right now and it feels like it's a result of years of patience, pain, growth, frustration, joy, tears and laughter. While I tend to fall back on my knee-jerk reactions like... "life just isn't fair!" or "this isn't going my way" and... "wah wah wah"... I have, lately and quickly, snapped out of that silly emotional ditch and reminded myself that HEY... look around you woman! Look at the things you're doing. Ponder what you've been through and how that has prepared for right now. Ya ain't got nothin' to complain about sister!

And it makes me SO excited about the future. This year is going to be UH-mazing.

It's full steam ahead for this chica... 

I don't have time to worry or fret. I don't want to waste my time with jealousy or greediness. 

I look at my life now... and notice a whole bunch of goodness has come to fruition and I'm going to keep on moving forward with what I've been called to do with JOY and THANKFULNESS!

Because life is good right now. And I need to bask in that and let my soul rest in that. As we all know, life isn't easy. It's got it's road blocks, valleys and the like... so when those moments come up again, I want to know that I truly did enjoy this awesome moment I'm experiencing.

How about you? Go creatively journal about it and hang it on your wall! Celebrate with me!

Behind the Art with Melissa {PLUS a GIVEAWAY!}

Happy Birthday!!!

Wait.

What?

Yes, you read that right. Happy Birthday to ME! I love celebrating my birthdays. I've reached a point where I'm trying not to get wrapped up in the number but, instead, celebrate the year previous and anticipate the goodness that is to come. Count my blessings and move forward in life. I think you could do the same! Right?

Sure you can!

Well, I'm not only here to share more about one of my pages BUT, I am sneaking in a GIVEAWAY! I like to give away things on my birthday. :)

Stay tuned at the bottom of this page for more about the giveaway. In the meantime, let's take a closer look at this page I made, using the January kit FORWARD.

When I think about Forward, I think about movement. Keepin' on keepin' on.

But... I think that it is okay to ponder the past too. For example, my page is documenting the thought of everything I have been through this past year - the good and the bad. The exciting and the painful. And I look at it all with optimistic eyes. Each moment of this past year was a learning opportunity. I grew, I was molded and can see the better within as I type this.

Some of the kit contents I pulled for this page were quite intentional. I used the paper that looks like darts because I like the idea of having a bullseye... a target for my future. Something to work towards this coming year and using what I have learned from the previous.

The wood because it reminds me of being raw and real. When you chop down a tree, the inside of the log reveals the trees age. I like the thought of wood symbolizing me revealing what is going on inside my head and heart. 

The mask because of the words. That's pretty literal.

And a heart because, honestly, we have to love ourselves in order to truly take care of ourselves. 

I'm so excited for this coming year! I'm excited to recall events, thoughts and feelings from 2014 and see how they relate to what is coming up. 

And with all this birthday excitement, I want to give you a gift.

The AUTHENTIC kit...

If you are not a subscriber yet nor someone who has checked out our kits, I want you to experience the amazing and liberating feeling that comes with creating from the inside out! 

This lovely gift will go to one lucky commenter who will celebrate my birthday with me! 

How to be eligible? 

I'm going to make it simple for you...

Simply leave a comment telling me one thing you are looking forward to this year. It can be anything. Make it short and sweet or tell me a story. Make sure to leave me a way to contact you (email) should you be the winner!

Bonus points for sharing this giveaway OR our current kit FORWARD on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or Twitter. Just let me know in the comments that you did that and I'll add another little notch next to your name. 

The giveaway will close on Monday, January 12th, 9 p.m. PST, and the winner will be announced with my next Behind the Art post on Tuesday, January 13th.