Sketchbook Project Fun Journal: Spread 26 and a Special Hello

At long last, here's the final page in my drawn out Sketchbook Project Fun Journal!  I finished this page in late November but just got around to sharing it. The center of this was actually a waste print (proving there is no such thing as a waste print).  I had stenciled the angel wings on another page and then just turned the stencil over onto a random sheet of deli paper to transfer the extra ink.  I liked the way it looked so I set it aside to dry, rediscovered it weeks later and added a bit more to it.  I've art-ed up the covers of this journal as well and will photograph that on a sunnier day to share with you.

This journal has definitely been a learning process.  I can look back to the very first pages (when I actually thought I was going to do a page a day and finish this thing in a month in order to actually send it off to the Sketchbook Project....ha!), and see that I have made tremendous learning gains. It's fun for me to see the progression and how I've definitely loosened up.  The book spans two years, so I hope I would show some growth in two years!  You can go to this Flickr set to see all the pages. 

I wanted to send out a special hello and a thank you today.  The girls and I popped into Zaxby's today for lunch while out running some errands.  A lovely woman named Britta asked me, "Aren't you Kelly from Happy Shack Designs?" When I answered yes, she said, "I read your blog!  I love it!"  Britta, you truly made my day!  Thank you so much!   

Sweet Little Book with a Little Help from Sweet Lori Vliegen

Are you familiar with Lori Vliegen?  If not, you should be!  Her blog is a wealth of inspiration, and she teaches wonderful online courses, which you can find on her blog.  And to top it off, she's one of the sweetest ladies I've ever met!  I signed up for Lori's coptic journal class and, with a lot of help and patience from Lori, completed my first four-needle coptic stitch book.  Yep, that four needle thing had me paralyzed with fear when I first watched the videos, but with a little help from Lori, once I got the hang of it, it seems like it's actually easier than a one-needle coptic stitch.  Not that I'm an expert at that either!

I gave this book to a friend to continue her art journaling journey.  The covers are from some of my spray paint and stenciling adventures.  Now I'm ready to make more and have been thinking of ways I can use some of my cereal box stash...Hmmmm...

This past week, we've been installing hardwood floors on our third floor (two bedrooms and an office loft), so our world has been in a bit of chaos! Hopefully by the end of this week, we'll be back to normal craziness around here.

Furry Face of the Week: Meet Hanna!

I spent yesterday morning at the shelter photographing sweet furry faces.  This is Hanna.  What a sweet, sweet girl!  She loves to play ball, and not only will she fetch, she'll also bring the ball back to you and drop it at your feet to throw again.  I often wonder how dogs like Hanna end up at the shelter. She's a great looking dog, great temperment, and obviously someone took some time to train her.  I'm not sure if she was an owner surrender or a stray, but she's a wonderful dog. 

Since I love my weekly visits to the shelter so much, I decided to see if I could get more involved in Friends of Jacksonville Animals.  FOJA is the fundraising group that supports Animal Care & Protective Services. Since ACPS is run by the city, they often don't have the budget for heartworm treatments or any surgeries the animals may need other than spaying or neutering.  FOJA raises funds to make sure the animals have what they need.  I reached out to FOJA'a president, the lovely Jill Mero, and I'm now the official FOJA Photo Advisor!  I'll be trying to recruit new volunteer photographers and orienting them to photographing the animals.  I'm looking forward to my new role! 

Sketchbook Project Fun Journal: Spread 25...Spreading a Little Sunshine!

I've actually finally finished up this journal but still have a few more spreads to share with you! I did this spread back in October. I collaged the background first with various origami papers. That circular piece is an inked and stenciled coffee filter!  I played around with it a while before I decided to turn it into a sun.  The writing around the rim of the circle says "bright sunshiny day."  The blue paint is true to form finger painting.  I'm definitely more of a paint with my hands and fingers than a brush kind of girl.  The black accents were done with a Sharpie paint pen.  Looking forward to sharing the last page and a review of the whole book with you soon!

On a side note, I started teaching my ENC 1102 class tonight.  I'm hoping I haven't scared them all away!  We are writing blogs as part of the class!  Hopefully they will stick with me.  I think once we get into our groove we'll have a fun with it, but I can understand how writing a blog for an English class can be a bit terrifying at first!  Off to write them a "please don't panic" post on Blackboard! 

January Free Bling!

Time for my monthly Free Bling Friday giveaway! Random.org picked comment number 12 as the winner of my December Free Bling, so congratulations to Kris from Louisville, Kentucky!

For January, here is my "Breathe" photo as a 1" glass tile pendant.  To be eligible to win, simply visit either of my Etsy shops (here for jewelry and here for photography) and leave a comment in the comment box below with the link to your favorite piece, your location, and a way to reach you by midnight February 7. Want more entries? Tweet, blog or Facebook this giveaway and leave another comment with the link. The next winner will be drawn via random.org Friday, February 8.

Don't want to miss a single Free Bling Friday? Click here to sign up for free weekly email updates or subscribe in the reader of your choice over there in the right column. And be sure to like my Facebook page for specials. Thanks for stopping in! Giveaway open to US and Canadian residents only.

**Note...Free Bling Friday is taking a break for a few months.