karenika

Weekly Art Journaling – Looking Back

Even though I didn’t journal as much as I did in 2011, I still created quite a few art journaling pages this year. Here are some of my favorites:

The ones I love the most have happy colors and/or sentiments that really speak to me. I am always extra delighted by the ones I drew just because it’s a skill I am working on.

I’ve enjoyed looking at others’ art and trying to recreate it, too. Just to show myself I can do it. I just need to try. Sometimes it’s hard but it’s always fun.

I plan to continue the Art Journaling journey in 2013. It’s one of my most cherished ways to spend time. I have to make a good list of ideas but I am not ready to leave it behind yet. I am so grateful I stuck with Art Journaling enough to find my own voice and my own way of truly enjoying the process.

Here’s to a 2013 full of art!

Profuse Apologies

If you’re getting emails from me by subscription, you might have just gotten 52 new ones from me cause I was trying to remove a category. I apologize profusely and it will never happen again. I am so deeply sorry for the annoyance.

The Savor Project – Looking Back

The Savor Project was my version of Project Life. I had an old Project 365 set left over from 2009 and decided it would be fun to do mini scrapbook pages and use it to tell our stories. I figured it would allow me to savor each of my moments that much more.

And it totally did.

As I look back on the project, here’s what I loved:

Doing the mini-scrappy pages instead of full-pocket photos
Telling the stories and not worrying about having enough or too much one week
Not using any dates anywhere
Including photos of my art
Not worrying about all the details, and just focusing on telling the stories
Getting to add ephemera

And here’s what I didn’t like so much:

The 12×24 layout is really hard to photograph for my lens
I really disliked having more than one album for the year and how bulky it got

So as I plan 2013, I know I want to continue this project because there was so much I did love about it and it feeds my scrappy soul without the larger commitment. To make up for the parts I didn’t like, I have some other plans. I don’t know if they will work but the only way I’ll know is by experimenting so here we go.

We’ll see if it works!

A Book a Week – Ender’s Game

I’ve wanted to read Ender’s Game for some time. I had heard about it a long time ago and it was on my list of books to read to David some time in the future. But before I read it to him, I wanted to read it for myself.

It gets mixed reviews on Amazon but most of the negative reviews are about the author and not the book. So I dove into it anyway.

And I loved it.

There are so many interesting bits to this book and if you’re into the science part of science fiction, I highly recommend it.

I’ve heard the second book is almost as good, if not better, and I’ve added it to my queue too. And when David is older, I will definitely read it to him.

Daily Sketching – Looking back

One of my major goals for 2012 was to continue sketching regularly and find my own sketching voice. I am grateful to say that I think I managed to make a lot of headway in that goal. I have a consistent style now and even though I liked some of my sketches more than others, I definitely can see a unique voice.

Since I made over 300 sketches this year, narrowing down to my favorites was hard work.

As I look at them, I notice that I like the ones that are more colorful than others.

The ones that have more detail and shading than not.

I like the birds-eye-view.

I like drawing cups, bottles, tea, and water.

I like drawing food and daily life things.

As I look toward 2013, I know that I want to continue sketching. I love the joy it gives me. However, I’ve been struggling with picking topics and having ideas on what to draw. My hope is to make it easier on myself next year but I am not exactly sure how just yet.

All ideas are welcome, of course 🙂

December Daily 2012 – Day Twenty-Three

Today’s about the boys playing with and around the tree.

left side:

right side:

and here it is with before:

and after:

that’s it. more tomorrow.

Scrapbooking – Looking Back

2012 wasn’t an excellent scrapping year, especially when compared to 2010 and 2011. But I still managed to create quite a few layouts between my work for My Mind’s Eye and Maya Road. I love both companies and their products so I feel privileged to get to design for them.

Of the layouts I made in 2012, here are a few of my favorites:

As I look toward 2013, I am not sure how I feel about scrapbooking. I still love telling stories, capturing my family’s moments, and playing with the supplies. I do get a lot of joy doing the Savor Project which is sort of like mini-scrapping. I plan to continue that, albeit in a slightly different format, and I will likely continue to do some more traditional scrapbook pages, too. Fewer, likely.

Maybe I can combine it with The Savor Project…