karenika

The Savor Project 2013 – Looking Back

Well Savor Project didn’t go marvelously in 2013.

It started out well enough and I will say that I liked the single-page, 9-pocket option much better than the double 12×12 I used last year. But I noticed that I journaled a lot less, the journaling wasn’t meaningful and it became this project of printing photos. I don’t usually feel a need to print photos so it felt more like a burden than joy. It felt frustrating and chore-ish. I switched to digital about halfway through the year and that was easier but I am not sure it was any more meaningful so I ended the year with mixed feelings.

And they are still with me.

I am still grateful to have done all that I did and I am not ready to give up on the project in any way. But I know that I will be changing it for next year.

Here’s what’s on my mind for now:

It will be fully digital
This will mean I have to find some solution for ephemera
I will journal more, and more meaningfully
I will have to figure out what made it burdensome (and not as meaningful) this year so I can not do it.
Whatever solution I have will not require that each week be present so there will be no pressure

I will sit on this a bit more and then share with you my plans for 2014. As with 2013, we’ll consider it an experiment and see if it works and adjust and alter accordingly.

If you’re doing Project Life and have some tips or ideas you want to share, I would love that.

December Daily 2013 – Day Twenty

Today is really simple. I had these photos of the boys playing together that I just loved so much. I printed them and then added a bit of journaling and a strip of washi to the bottom of each.

there we go. See you tomorrow.

December Daily 2013 – Day Nineteen

A little behind with my book, just felt like doing other things instead. This day is about being in Nathaniel’s classroom and “cooking” together. We made English muffin faces.

And then a little card from Nathaniel’s big buddy at school.

and the inside.

there we go. See you tomorrow.

Gratitude Postcards 2013 – Looking Back

2013 was my year of gratitude. I did two weekly projects that were to be focused on gratitude. However I will admit that most of these postcards did not end up getting sent. So maybe that can be my 2014 project. Sending them out, reaching out to people for whom I am thankful for and having an excuse to mail them. If there’s a card you’ve loved and you really want, let me know and I can try to mail it to you.

here are a few of my favorites:

I had mixed feelings about these little cards. I loved the idea of watercolor postcards and I loved working on them with David, too. We did actually send all of his.

But the paper was harder to work with than my watercolor Moleskine journals or the Arches paper I usually use for my projects. It was hard to use it with stencils and not have the paint seep under. I ended up using sponges a lot (which I don’t in my other paper).

All in all, I think this was a fun project and I’d recommend it.

Weekly Diary – December 21 2013

Here are some photos from this week:

Nathaniel entertaining himself while David is at school.

we took our yearly holiday train at Niles. I know this is not a great photo but I just can’t believe how old David looks.

the light was really tough but I wanted to capture my boys anyway.

the train had Santa, too.

and one more quick shot on the way back home. I love this train.

the next night was the Google holiday party.

a little rare moment where the boys are playing without fighting.

nathaniel looking at me so i can snap a shot.

but only for a moment.

I love the look in his face in this shot.

my two boys.

look how he’s looking up to his big brother.

Nathaniel’s fashion style is unparalleled.

we visited his classroom this week to do “cooking” which was really more like English muffins and decorating with fruits and veggies.

then we went to David’s class where he read the myth he made up. His was about how the black widow got its red mark and it was creative and well-written. I loved it.

then it was the holiday show for 3-5th graders. David’s class sang in hebrew and spanish and english and they played the recorder. It was wonderful.

after we got home, our doorbell rang and when I opened it, I found this on the ground. It was from David’s best friend and they left and dashed. It was delicious cookies.

and then it was photo time.

with tons of tickling, of course.

and here we go. so grateful for my life. i hope your week was lovely, too. Happy December!

Weekly Diary is a project for 2013. You can read more about it here.

Sketching in 2013 – Looking Back

I’ve now been sketching for a few years and I knew that even if I did it less often, I wanted to continue this project in 2013. Alas I went only about half a year before I needed a change, so I decided it was okay to let myself off the hook. I still ended up with over 90 sketches for this year which isn’t bad.

Here are some of my favorites:

and a few more:

I also did end up making a few zentangles and a bunch of portraits this year so as to not walk away from sketching altogether.

As I thought about 2014, I knew I wasn’t going to continue making these for a while. I ran out of ideas of things that interest me. I know that at some point, I will want to do it again and maybe do something different like landscapes or more involved sketches but for now I knew I needed a break from them but I also felt sad about giving up sketching completely so I decided to keep it around in a less involved way for 2014. We’ll see if it works.

And, if not, I might bring it back anyway. I know these little sketches make me happy.

Six by Six 2013 – Looking Back

My final project for 2013 was Six by Six. An excuse to continue to art journal and experiment with a different size and with selling.

I have mixed feelings about this project. In the end, I loved almost all the pages I made and I sold about half my art and I feel like it certainly motivated me to keep making art (which was really the main goal.) But knowing that I was planning on selling the art did add some undue pressure in some cases but I am still glad that I stretched and did something that’s uncomfortable for me.

Here are the ones that are still available:

some of these I love so much.

and others are less of my favorites. but more than anything i love the versatility even within a very specific style.

if you’d like any of these, you can scroll down here and look for them or you can message me and I’ll send you the link so you can purchase them.

If you’ve bought art from me this year, thank you for supporting me, it’s a magical feeling to have your art appreciated enough to want to hang it in your house and I cannot tell you how much joy that thought brings me.

I won’t continue this project for 2014. I might offer prints of some of these but, at this moment in time, that feels like a monumental project so I’d say it’s not likely.

December Daily 2013 – Day Eighteen

Today is just about our weekly family photo and a few thoughts. Light wasn’t accommodating when i took these shots.

in the journaling pocket, I put a bunch of sequins just for fun. For now I put some tape on top but once I do the other side, I will stitch the top of this pocket.

there we go. See you tomorrow.

Planning for 2014 and Making Three Lists

I know I’ve been really quiet lately (with the exception of the December Daily posts) and I’ve been thinking about writing a lot but not finding the energy to actually do it. I can whine a bunch but instead I am going to try to start writing and see where we get. I stumbled upon this post about making three lists today and thought it’s a great tool to use for 2014, too. Even if I don’t actually do all of the items on my list, having lists raises my awareness and gives me focus. Definitely doesn’t hurt.

I didn’t do this before on paper like I should have. I thought we’ll just do it here together.

So with that, here’s some brainstorming for 2014. I can then pare it down as needed so there might be one more follow-up post.

What do I want to learn?

Lettering
Using a wider range of art supplies with comfort (specifically oils, pastels, copics, paint and watercolor markers, etc.)
Drawing landscapes (and with watercolor)
Drawing faces and poses and expressions, people in general
Doodling
Drawing sayings/making signs
Some kind of collage – not sure exactly what yet
Possibly something large scale
A lot of different college-level courses
How to eat a diet of whole foods
Finding some exercise routine that works well for me (something in addition to the treadmill)
Self-kindness
Stitching
Painting my nails

What do I want to do more of?

Reading
Journaling
Taking more photos, capturing meaningful moments
Telling longer stories
Writing thoughts posts
Doing things that make me laugh with the kids
Hiking
Eating well
Reaching out to and keeping in touch with friends
Date nights
Hugging
Listening to music loudly
Learning new things
Camping
Self-care

What fulfills me (or honors a value I have)?

Volunteering (ideally with David, too.)
Gratitude
Time with my family
Being outdoors – water + trees especially
Being present/mindful
Listening
Being kind
Learning
Coaching
Journaling
Alone time
Time with friends
Setting intentions
Reflecting

So there we are. Some initial thoughts of what’s on my mind for 2014. How about you? What’s on your list?

Gratitude Journal – Week 48

Here’s this week’s gratitudes and celebrations (sorry for the delay, i thought i’d published this):

Before :

it says: kind, present, listen.

and here’s what the page looks like with all the gratitudes and celebrations:

Just another excuse to create art and remember the present that is my life.

This is the last page of my book, so last of these. I will have to figure out what to do for 2014 for gratitudes. I’ve loved this project.

Gratitude Journal is a weekly project for 2013. You can see a detailed post on my goal other details here.Gratitude Journal – Week 39

A Book a Week – The Woman Upstairs

The Woman Upstairs was another one of the Book of the Month recommendations from Amazon.

It was another interesting read. I am not sure I liked it. I didn’t dislike it. The main character was interesting and grumpy and even downright angry at times but she was three-dimensional. Interesting. Even if not likable. This novel got a bunch of press over the fact that the author created this “angry” woman.

In the end, I think I’d recommend it.