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making friends

As I pondered my life this morning, my Mother in the hospital, cherished friends in far distant lands, others busy with their lives I reflected on the current project I’m working on.

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This is another of the books I collected out of the throw away box.  It was published under the direction of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland, The church of England, The church of Scotland,  the  list goes on.  It has maps and plans inside, along with the text of course.  The cover was rather battered, especially I don’t know how long it had been exposed to the elements or where it had been prior to being thrown away.

I’ve used masking tape to protect the center of the cover and I’m working at giving the rest of the cover some strength and I hope character back.

Our lives are lived pretty much like this book.  We are conceived, given birth to, presented to the world, and then……………  who knows where we will go or end up.  Each one of us  has our own  path, destination/goal, and how we achieve or get there.. is our own personal journey.

Facing the possibilities of my Mother’s journey, gives me plenty of time to reflect on my own journey.  Which brings me back to friendships.  Some friends you have known, have carved a place in your heart that will last forever, yet you may never see them again, for their paths have gone in different directions.  Or… the value of the friendship was not balanced, that happens too.

The one person, that is the most important person of all, is yourself.    When I’m working doing art projects, or creating, I’m allowing my self-expression to be seen or heard.  I may be the only one who sees it, but the act of BEING is…. in fact.. making friends with mySELF.

PL Precept #11  Always be with God.

PL Precept # 15   All is a Mirror

GOD is the constant in our lives.  When we are quiet, silent, STILL, we feel and hear from within, not the external machines and noises around us.

PL Precept 20  Live Maintaining Equilibrium between mind and matter

(Vivez en harmonie materielle et spirituelle)    this is so important for us to work towards achieving.

PL Precept #1   Life is ART

Oyashikiri

Thanksgiving Service tonight at 7 pm.  See you then =^_^=

“Art” books

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Good morning everyone. these are a few of the books I’m recycling. A few have been worked on more that others.  At this stage, they are really being prepped, or prepared for their days of adventure ahead

Some get collage, on half a page, some a full page, this is a start to revamping them into a collection of ideas, and possibilities.  Each page is a new canvas.  To work on the pages  they have to prepared.  By working this way, one gets to see how the media works on the different qualities of paper used by the book maker.

For example, glossy papers are not handled in the same way as pages from a dictionary or an older book that may have faded yellowed pages, that you want to keep, the page still needs to be prepped but you require a product that enhance and preserve the parts of the page you want to keep.

It took me awhile to begin working with recycled books, I was always taught to treasure a book.  When I saw so many that were simply discarded, slowly my thinking changed.  One of the books in the little grouping was an old library book with the little piece of paper in the back where it would have been stamped in and out by the library staff, and a small pocket for what used to hold the library card info.

The content pages of the book were all detached from the binding, some pages so faded and old they couldn’t be read or handled that much.  When asked what would be done with the book, I was told it would be junked (garbage)  It was a copy of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Black Arrow.  It had been published in London,W1 by Bancroft Classics, original sale price $1.25

Sorry friends, I bought it and came home with my prize.  I’ve put aside the original text from the books, and reused the cover and spine, adding different card stocks and Kraft papers to build a new body for it.  Not sure yet what I will do with the text pages, but I can use them .. and eventually I will.

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When I am working on these books, I get to read the pages, and see where the book falls open to.. meaning the previous owner had looked at these pages often, and by the highlighting, they wanted to retain, and learn the lessons, this book provided them.

That quote by Thomas Paine is “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting it.

The Sophocles quote  ” One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: that word is Love”

Life is for living, sharing and enjoying. Where a discard book is recycled, it once more shares “itself” with the world.

Oyashikiri

PL Precept #1   Life is Art

 

 

journals -discovery

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After a meeting at the church, a friend and I went out to lunch, after all Chinese New Year is happening, and the Mandarin on Hunt Club was having a special Chinese New Year Buffet, offering dim sum, and other special dishes. for the celebration.  Having indulged ourselves in the many dishes, and the array of desserts offered, we headed back to the church so my friend could get her car.

A stop along the way, was for me a small bonanza of free books.  Now that I’m happily working on recycling books, into my own personal versions of “junk journals” I picked out books by size and age. I was not interested in the content but rather the size .. quality of paper was also important but I was going to be using gesso or acrylic paints to change them anyway.

I was particularly drawn to this little 4x 6 book, it was nicely bound and had enough pages for me to get “junk” look to go with my other projects.  I had no intention of doing any work on the books when I got home, I planned on just putting them aside for another day.

PL Precept #7     Everything exists in Relativity

PL Precept #15    All is a Mirror

When I got in, the little book fell to the floor, I bent down to retrieve it and saw handwriting in it.  I glanced at  the writing and realized that it was someone’s journal.  The pages were highlighted, small pencil notations were on almost every second page.  Someone had read and re read the book from cover to cover.  In the back I saw that this particular book was one obtained at a conference on the theme of the book.  There was a page with the 12 steps (12 step program) and a few other pages, with goals and objectives etc.

Needless to say, it was like looking into someone’s private, very private thoughts. The person had even identified the book, in case of loss, name and address labels were prominent on both back and front covers.  The book was not current.  I wondered how it had come to be in a pile of books being given away, left out as garbage at a thrift shop.

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Without further thought, I found myself searching for papers, cuttings and colours to depersonalize the book, I removed the labels and then began to paint and glue.

Pl Precept # 19   Begin Once you Perceive

The transformation will not happen overnight, these journals take sometimes years to complete.  IF EVER….. that is just the nature of the journals. Unless you are doing a particular theme for a give away, or to share .. They are ongoing projects, and become part of your “personal” inventory of treasures

When I told my friend about the find, she asked if the person had achieved their goal..  I didn’t have the answer, it would have meant that I would have  had to read her/his thoughts and try to know his/her mind.  Some artistic expressions are to share, others… are for one’s own pleasure.

There are printed pages of the book, that I will leave as is, there are thoughts in there that I can reflect on when I visit the journal from time to time.  Like sharing with a friend.

I love sharing with a friend, and today I made a new one.  how beautiful is that.

Oyashikiri

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lazy day

There is something to be said about a cold sunny day, when you can see the shimmering bling of the icicles as they hang from the roof edge.  I have been trying to listen to the good advice from friends, “stay in, stay out of the cold, REST”, I think I’m soon going to be able to say, its been 4 weeks now! cough, cough, splutter, sneeze, wheeze and darn I’m tired.

windows-iceThis is a much better shot of the beautiful sculptured ice.  The sky was the beckoning blue that makes me want to be outside.  I don’t care it is cold, I’m happy outside, I layer up and I’m toasty warm.. the air is so fresh, crisp and deliciously brisk.

Thanks for the great feedback on the Sludge project, thought I’d show you a sneak peek.

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This is a piece of a cover that I was very taken with.  I liked it so much I kept the magazine for ages.  Doing these “Art” journals has given me a new way to display and keep the pictures I like, without keeping a whole magazine.  Eventually some time in the future, I will add to the pages.. this is the fun of it all.. there is no rush, no deadlines, just a great way to have quality time with myself doing “stuff” I like.

PL Precept #1   Life is Art

PL Precept # 18  Each Moment is a Turning Point

Make each moment count, enjoy being alive, be grateful, and appreciate that God is in your life…

PL Precept #11   Always be with God

When we live with love in our hearts…it is so much easier to express ourselves.

PL Precept #2   To live is to Express One’s Self.

Oyashikiri

what I learned today

black-gesso-1Black gesso is messy.

Black gesso really works, and using the brand that works for you,  helps a lot.

When working with black gesso.. wear gloves, it really is black

practice, practice, practice…..

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So far I’ve tried it on different papers, waiting for it to dry, then I’ll press the papers over night.  I had tried using white gesso with a black paint, but the results were not the same.

Learning to work with a new product, and to get results that please you, for your own personal style of expression, takes patience and the willingness to experiment. Taking chances, it is through mistakes that we learn, what we want.

This philosophy applies to our experiences in life. Sometimes we have to try something a few times, in a number of different ways to get what we “think” we want at the time.  Each new steps, leads us to further discoveries.  We need only be open to “change”

Oyashikiri

stuck in traffic

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it happens, you are trying to get somewhere and up ahead, the flashing lights and sirens give advance warning, that just ahead, someone is having not so good a day.  I knew I had to have the truck home in time for Hubby to get to the vet… I checked the dashboard, and saw if the delay wasn’t too long, I’d make it on time.

Turning on the radio, I was immediately surrounded with the drive home news, the traffic delays and the accidents, roads to avoid etc.  Didn’t seem to matter which station, they were all about the snarled traffic, and the bumper to bumper drive home for those stuck on what is supposed to be a freeway. Even the express lanes it seems were not moving, except at a snails pace.

Other cars, and a big school bus were trying to maneuver their vehicles to take side streets. With cars/trucks  at a standstill, and no where to move to it made their task very difficult.  Fortunately for me I had my ice coffee to sip on, and enough for a second refill in my extra container. I decided to turn off the busy nattering, and just sit in the truck pondering the days events.

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I had actually had a wonderful visit with a dear friend who  after almost 10 years of visiting back and forth via the internet, had met over lunch a couple of months back.  She is like a breath of fresh air, we share a lot of interests, so we had a show and tell luncheon, and I admit to being rather chuffed about it. To share with someone else who knows the excitement of a “blank page” or what one can do with a rubber stamp or wafer thin die, is rather exhilarating. I had even taken my experiments (work in progress) to show her.  How cool is that…. To be able to present your “babies” and bask in the glow of having another “artist/crafter” understand why you think a typeset page, turned into a blank page with bumps and creases is so great.  It had been a fantastic lunch… so being stuck in traffic was not going to spoil my mood.

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There are choices we make in life, we can grumble and complain about a negative inconvenience that we have no control over, or we can dwell on a positive.  I always lean towards the positive.  I find it so much more productive for me, and time passes, and I get to appreciate, all the more, the experience of sharing with a friend.

PL Precept #4   Being Annoyed Limits Your Expression

PL Principle # 5  I will not get angry at anyone or anything.

This Wednesday, December 21st. is when the church of Perfect Liberty, celebrates Thanksgiving,  Service is at 7 PM.  Being stuck in the traffic gave me much time to reflect on the many blessings in my life.  Someone else (the reason for the flashing lights) was not as blessed. While I give thanks for my day, I pray that something positive will balance out the negative that happened to someone else.

Oyashikiri

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creativity –

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Hand made and on display at MultiCrafts Retail and Clearance Center  Right now there is a huge sale going on in the Clearance Center, Liz maybe knocked her head on an overhead pallet, whatever the reason, she has decided to put out many of the Xmas making supplies needed to create unique and wonderful winter displays at a greatly reduced price.

Yes there is a catch, the clearance center is only open (and this is temporarily) Wednesday through Saturday, from  10 – 3 pm so that crafters can get to work on their pieces.  Main store hours are from Monday through Saturday, nothing changes there.

Remembrance Day, Friday Nov. 11. both shops will open only at noon.

Cash or Debit only, and you need to bring your own bags.  spend a certain amount and you get a free door prize.  what can I say… take it while you can. (note, the retail store takes cash,debit and credit)

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How about cooking making supply kits, and other baking supplies that until now were not available at MultiCrafts. They too are in the Clearance Center.  You will find storage tins, tissue and wrapping paper,they got it all.

The Retail Outlet not to be out done this week-end for the next three days will have ALL their stamps on sale 25% off.  I’ve already been in to check out what I’m going back for.

While I was there, Kim was sorting through a new order of Forever in Time, Art Therapy Stickers..  Talk about being current, there was a very popular crafting tutor, doing a video on a similar produce just a week or so ago… you colour, ink, peel off and use these great sticker designs anyway you want.

Kim was working on a display for you, see what it is all about, the sell a package of 4 sheets for under $3.00.  I couldn’t resist, I got the butterfly and flowers.

Your colouring options running low, not to worry, Liz ordered in Gel pen sets, there are a variety and also well priced.  Kim was drooling over the bling ones when I left.  She was trying to decide between, bold or pastels till she saw the glitter gels.  LOL, play tine!!!

Why .. why have I blogged Multicraft Warehouse.. good question.. probably because I really believe that creativity is an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Should Crafting, scrapbooking or baking fall into one of your happy zones… This place is a go to place, not only because they have supplies that you won’t find in the big box stores, they have staff who are informed about the products, and are crafters themselves.

Multicrafts & Gifts Store   and the Warehouse Clearance Center – are side by side, there is a big parking lot.. so lots of place to park.

2210 Thurston Drive. Ottawa, Ontario….  1500 sq.ft. of merchandise

Ottawa and area    613- 739-7415

Be a pal to all your creative friends, and pass this along to them, share your passion.. let’s do it, let’s make this the best Daffy Crafty Holiday of the year.

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