So… in my moodiness this week, I’ve been extra inspired to design… it is actually a really odd phenomenon… I feel totally absolutely un-invested in just about everything, I’m worn down and tired an moody and just plain out of it… but for some reason I can’t seem to stop myself from making things.  I’m drawing, writing, designing like mad, I am even scrapping!

I wonder if maybe in all reality I really am one of those crazy artist types that sink into these deep depressions only to lock themselves away with a canvas and some paints… hmmm… canvas and paints…. maybe that’s my next project….

Anyways, since I finished four new element packs for release in the shoppe tomorrow I thought I’d post a little sneak peek for you here on my bloggy:

So there are 2 pastel packs, some assorted brightly colored hearts (which I am loving) and then a package of pastel buttons for all us button lovers.  I thought this was a fun twist on your regular button options.  I really did draw this stuff on my notepad and then scanned and cropped/cleaned them up in photoshop.  It was really fun! (and FYI, no, buttons and hearts were not what I drew for my therapy earlier this week… lol that would have been a sign that I’ve really gone over the edge!)

I also made two more acrylic packs to coordinate with my For Reals Acrylic Alpha.  There is a set of frames and overlays, and then a set of really fun swirls.

Oh, and I scrapped too! with my new goodies and some other oldies but goodies that I have in my stash:

(in addition to my new pastel hearts and acrylic swirls, paint ribbons papers and swirl brushes are all from lauren grier. glitter splats are michelin martin, stitches are traci reed, date tag is from my its a date collection)

So…. that’s I’ll have got for you today, now I have to go figure out how to motivate myself to do something that is actually not art related… wish me luck with that one!

Don’t miss the new releases tomorrow at SSD, there are some really awesome things in addition to my goodies, so you’ll wanna check it out!

I’m a girl of few words today, pretty over whelmed with the everyday, with a sick family last week, some house issues going on… and feeling incredibly worn down…. but I was uploading my photos of the day and was really proud of this one, both the photography and the journaling. So I wanted to share it here.

Jan25th, 2009: Art Therapy, originally uploaded by MyLittleScraps.

Struggling a bit today, sometimes life just weighs heavier on me than normal…. the goal switches from: “be better, do more, try harder” to simply: “be. make it through, keep on going”…

In my emotional low, I decided to pick up my long abandoned pastels, a way to let it out of my head. Just the feel of the pastel rubbing into the paper was soothing. I mucked up the page until I made something that meant something to me, and I think it actually helped.

At the end of the day: I met my goal. I will keep on, I’ll make it through.

Today marks a new chapter in the history of our nation… and regardless of your politics or what way you voted, today is evidence of our democracy at work.

Now, I pretty much never ever blog politics here, and I am certainly not of the "thank goodness Bush is gone" camp… nevertheless, I just couldn’t let today pass with out a post that says, "I’m proud to be part of this day in history."  I’m proud of this day when race isn’t a limit on ones future.  I’m proud to be part of this nation where we choose freely our leaders, and we celebrate genuinely as our leader takes office.

I listened carefully to the presidential inauguration on the radio this morning as I drove Gareth to school and ran a few errands around town.  When I heard that the inaugural committee had asked citizens to take a photograph of how we experienced this historic inauguration I was excited about the opportunity to capture this moment for myself! I grabbed my camera out of my purse and snapped this shot at my very next stop (photo 365, check!) .

I was moved as I heard the opening prayer, as I listened to the performances,  and as I witnessed our new leaders pledge their service to our nation.  I was so touched as I heard our new president speak of the parts we all play ("…but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate." hehehe thats me!), I felt part of a whole nation, and I was moved.  So moved in fact that I think the girl at the Starbucks drive through was worried for me!  These things always make me cry!

I did vote Obama, and today reminded me again why.  He is a person who speaks to me, he isn’t so out of touch with my generation that I end up with no voice in the government.  One huge example, he believes in and use the Internet (and you know what, so do I!),  the white house now even has a blog! Times are changing, they have been for quite sometime, and I think it is a good thing to have a president that understands those changes… and he is definitely something new, and I think that is good for our nation as a whole.

I know I sound a bit idealistic here, but I do realize that really every leader we have and ever will have, is just a human being, just one person that really can’t do much with out the other arms of the government.  Probably why I don’t have a lot of negative feelings for any of our previous presidents, and also why I don’t think that the whole world is going to change tomorrow just because our nation has a new leader.  But I guess what today reminded me, is that I do believe that it is an amazing thing to be part of democracy where we choose our leaders, and we are free to celebrate (or mourn if you chose) a new leader genuinely. 

I’m excited about the future, a new chapter begins, and I for one am proud.

One thing I’ve really loved about this whole photo a day thing, is that I’ve been really taking some cool pictures everyday.  I mean I love to take pictures, and easily took 100 pics a month before, but lots of times it was all in like 3 or 4 sittings, and not necessarily with the same focus or creativity as I have now.  Now, I see something that inspires me or moves me, and I pick up the camera and I try to get the best picture I can of one particular thing. I take my shots more consciously so that I end up with exactly what I want.  I’ve been having fun looking at it artistically and also sentimentally – who says the two can’t mix?

Anyways, today I wanted to capture a picture of Gareth because I was just so struck by how grown up he was looking.  We got out the camera, and I’m just so proud of the pictures I got.

You can see the one I finally chose for 365 HERE, because I think it represented him getting older so perfectly.  But I got another shot I just absolutely fell in love with, so I decided I’d share it here:

Is he just absolutely wonderful or what?

Also, in this whole pursuit of the perfect picture I’ve been trying to learn new tricks, and finding new ways to play in Photoshop.  So just yesterday I found a to these Totally Rad Actions.  And um WOW, I looove them!  Well I’m sure I WOULD love them if I had several extra hundred dollars laying around!  But they do offer a small sample for free, and let me tell you, I am hooked!  I used a few of them for the above photo, but I messed with the layers quite a bit so I don’t even remember exactly which ones I used, but it was the perfect combo in my humble opinion, because I think he looks so stunning!

Just for fun I thought I’d show you some more examples of the actions at work.  All of these are just with a click of a button…. I just LOVE these, I very well may be saving my pennies for the full set, and that says a LOT because I’m very very frugal when it comes to these things!

Hehehe, isn’t my son a cutie!?   Anyways, I’m probably the last person on the face of the planet who hasn’t heard of these actions but just incase you haven’t I thought you might want to check them out too!  All you need is Photoshop (I think cs2 or higher? check for sure on the site) and you can play too!

Did you notice a new little addition to my side bar?? ————————————>

This year at SSD several of them are participating in the Project 365 photo-a-day challenge. The basic idea is to take a picture a day, and make a little caption for each days picture, with something you learned, something that happened, or just anything that you feel is significant.  Ideally at the end of the year you’ll have a years worth of pictures and stories to look back on.  I love this idea, since like I’ve expressed recently, I’ve really been wanting to capture the moments better…. so I’m really going to try to pull this puppy off!!!

In true Shawna style, right before the clock struck 12 on the night of January 1st here, I took my first picture   Since then I’ve done pretty well, I’ve only had to "fudge" one photo, and you’ll never know which one!  I did my very best to make sure to capture something that really signified the day before, so now I am up to 12 pictures, each with a little bit of a story behind it.  Already I’m having fun look back through them, and I’m totally excited about having a years worth of memories when this is all said and done!!!

After weighing my options, I decided Flickr was my best choice for setting up a gallery for this, because I can really quickly and easily upload and type up a little story… I figure knowing me, the easier it is to do, the more likely I am to keep it up!  But, I went searching online, and was able to find a plugin for my blog, that puts my pictures over there in my side bar, so that when ever you come to my bloggy you can see what I’ve added recently to my flickr 365 album. Also! if any of them look intriguing to you, all you have to do is click the thumbnail and it will take you right to the photo and journaling so you can see what was going on in my little head when I took the pic.

Sometimes I’ll share a photo here just because I adore it so much, but definitely keep an eye up there in the top left of my blog for more!

I thought for now, I’d share my picture and story from yesterday – it’s a cute one!

January 12, 2009:

Here’s another adorably cute picture from our night:

Keep an eye out for more 365 highlights!  Oh and if you haven’t done this yet, I whole heartedly recommend it!  I’m having so much fun, and hey no one said you have to start at the very very beginning of the year to do it, just start taking pictures and chronicling your memories!  You won’t regret it!