Artistic Mother Altered Story Book, Week Seven

I made the altered story book from Week 7 of The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole using a baby board book, gesso, stamps, oil pastels and photographs. The book features my two year old son Matthew. I chose pictures of him doing his favorite activities and used fun little stamps of animals and other things I thought he would enjoy. I will be giving him this book as a Christmas gift. I'm sure he will be so excited to have a book all about himself.

The next project we will be doing in The Artistic Mother Art Group is canvas art from Week 8 of The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole. It is similar to a scrapbook page but for the wall. I am looking forward to this project. It will be very pretty. We will be using painted papers, fibers, a portrait of our child and attaching decorative beads to the sides of the canvas.

The thing I love about the projects from this book is not only am I learning the discipline of adding art to my daily routine and learning new techniques, but they are keepsakes and precious reminders of my greatest treasures, my children. Each piece I make celebrates their life. The focus is on motherhood, which is the stage of life I am in currently. So while I am working, I am also reflecting on my mothering and the uniqueness of each of my children, their special talents and abilities and how much I appreciate them. I also think a lot about how I can better be there for them and guide through their journey through life. It helps me to keep a better balance, to grow as a person and mother and to do something each day for myself as well as for my family. I also enjoy the fact that I am tapping into my creative side and that my life is not just about the mundane everyday tasks of errands and household chores.

My next task will be to paint more background papers and choose the child's photo I will be using for this next project.

I took photos of each page of this sweet little book. I hope you enjoy them and the little story that goes along with it. And be sure and let me know when you post your Artistic Mother art projects so that I can come by and take a look.

Click on the picture to enlarge it if you would like a close-up view.

Artistic Mother - Tip For Drilling Holes in Balsa Wood for The Butterfly Reminder, Week 5

I have heard from several participants of The Artistic Mother Art Group that they were hesitant to move forward with the Butterfly Reminder project from Week 5 of The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole because they were concerned that the balsa wood would crack when they drilled their holes, and that is a possibility. To avoid that from happening, what you can do is make a starter hole with a smaller drill bit, then proceed with the 1/8" (ISO 3.2mm) drill bit that the book recommends. Just take it easy going in a little at a time. I would suggest practicing this method with a scrap piece of balsa wood before attempting to make the holes on your butterfly. I hope this helps. I didn't have any problems doing it this way; so you should be fine.

Please let me know if there are any other concerns or questions with any of the other projects that I might possibly be able to help you with.

Artistic Mother Name Plate Week 6

Well, here it is, my name plate from Week 6 of The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole. I decided that since I have several children and I didn't want to choose one over the other that I would modify it a bit and use a picture of my four children remaining at home - I didn't have a group picture of everyone together - and put their names at the bottom. I may go back and do individual name plates and possibly do another group one when I can get all of the children together in one shot, not an easy task when one is off at college and doesn't have much time for visits.

And now to start working on Week 7, the altered storybook. This should be fun. My subject will be my 2 year old. He will be so tickled to have a book about himself.

Artistic Mother Butterfly Reminder Week 5 - Done!!

Here is my butterfly Reminder From Week 5 of The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole. I used a picture of me when I was 17 with my dad. I have it hanging in a prominent place to help me remember to work on my poetry since writing poetry is a fairly new thing for me. On Monday I will post my Name Plate from Week 6.

The Artistic Mother - Video

Hello, Artistic Mothers. Well, I've had kind of a lazy summer just hanging out with my children at the pool. But it's now time for me to get back on a schedule and start back to fitting art into my life a little each day. I have been dabbling in a little art. The children and I made my husband some artsy gifts for his 50th birthday. I will post those in the next week or so. I have finished my Butterfly Reminder for Week 5 of The Artistic Mother book. And I am halfway through with The Name Plate from Week 6. I will post The Butterfly Reminder on Saturday and the Name Plate on Monday. So I am now at the halfway mark of the projects in The Artistic Mother book. My goal is to complete them all before Thanksgiving. I feel it's important I give myself a goal and a deadline to work toward so that I will take it seriously and accomplish what I have started. The reason I am going through these projects is to establish the habit of fitting a little bit of art into my daily life. This has been so good for me, and I am learning so much. I have enjoyed going through these projects with you and getting to know several of you. When we are done, I hope to continue on with our friendship and continue to visit one another's blogs.

My husband took me on a date to the Cheesecake Factory, Yumm. I wanted to go to Barnes & Noble to see if Shona's book was there. And sure enough it was; so I did a video. So if you want to hear my voice for about 50 seconds talking about Shona's book, then click on the play arrow.

I would love to hear about your summer and what you are currently working on and where you are at with the projects.

So let's get excited again and geared up to move forward. Are you with me?

Newest Members of The Artistic Mother's Art Group - Added in July

I would like to introduce you to our newest members of The Artistic Mother's Art Group. All these joined in the month of July. I hope you will add them to your list on your blog if you are keeping one and pay them a visit and help them to feel welcome.

I have all participants listed in a blog list just for the group near the top of my sidebar. Those who have posted most recently move to the top of the list. It shows five at a time; so click "show all" to see the whole list. You can come to my blog daily to see who has posted most recently so that you can visit around for inspiration as well as just encouraging one another. Thank you so much for everyone's participation. You are a great group!


97.  Deanna of A Crafty Mom's Life
98.  Cindi aka Ericksoc of So, That's Why!
99.  Jade Erin Scarlett of Jade Erin Scarlett OSCI
100 Kristen of Acorn Hill Studios

***If you are new here, I am hosting an online art group where we are working through the 12 -project workshop in Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother, together and blogging about our progress and visiting and encouraging one another. The purpose of this group is to learn how to balance our time between family, life's responsibilities and creative time for ourselves; to learn how to fit a little creativity into each day; to nurture our own souls so that we can be better moms and wives and to prevent burnout and depression. Please click here to read all of the details and leave a comment there if you would like to join us. In my sidebar, you will see a blog roll for the participants of this group if you would like to visit around. There is also a Flickr Group for The Artistic Mother if you would like to see the projects we have been doing in this group. The book can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Borders and other bookstores as well as Amazon. You may also visit the author at her blog, An Artful Life.

Artistic Mother Group, How to Get Others to Read Your Posts

Good morning, beautiful ladies of The Artistic Mother Group. I want to make sure that as much as possible that everyone else in the group is aware of when you post something for our group so that you will receive visits. We now have 99 participants. That is so great! Because we are so large, it is not possible to visit each and every post that every member puts up; so when you post something related to The Artistic Mother's Art group, I would suggest that you start your title off with "Artistic Mother" to maximize your chances of others from the group paying you a visit. I look at the blog roll for our group every day; and when I see those words, I automatically know that this is a post that I don't want to miss. Please continue to check the blog roll on my blog for Artistic Mother Group related posts on a regular basis so that we can continue to encourage one another in our efforts to do a little something creative each day. Only five show at a time. Just click "Show All" to see all of the blogs. Also, keep in mind that if you are leaving encouraging comments, that will ensure that you will receive some back yourself.

Another thing you can do to help you remember to check my blog often to see if I have posted or check the blog roll to see if others have posted is you can put my blog on your blog roll and/or in your reader so you'll easily see when I've posted and you don't have to try to remember on your own.

Love you, Guys. Thanks for being such a great group.

I'm half way done with my butterfly reminder. Hope to have it posted in a couple of days.

Have a great day.

Artistic Mother Butterfly Reminder, Week 5, in Progress

After taking a much needed break to get some things in order and taking time to reflect on my goals, priorities and how I should be spending my time, I have started working on the Butterfly Reminder from Week 5 of The Artistic Mother. I will do a little each day until it is complete. There are a lot of little steps; so I don't want to put pressure on myself to do too much in one day. That is part of the message of this book, though, isn't it, to do a little art each day? So what are you working on right now? Are you finding time to do a little art each day, or are you in a period of extreme busyness or time of reflection? I would love to hear from you to know how you are doing, what's going on in your life, and if there is anything I can do for you, even if it is just to pray for you. I think of you all often and am so glad that you are a part of this group, The Artistic Mother's Art Group, and that we are doing this together. You are an encouragement to me and have made my life richer. If you are reading this and have not joined us, I welcome you to consider doing so.

Newest Members of The Artistic Mother's Art Group - Added in June

I would like to introduce you to our newest members of The Artistic Mother's Art Group. All these joined in the month of June. I hope you will add them to your list on your blog if you are keeping one and pay them a visit and help them to feel welcome.

I have all participants listed in a blog list just for the group near the top of my sidebar. Those who have posted most recently move to the top of the list. It shows five at a time; so click "show all" to see the whole list. You can come to my blog daily to see who has posted most recently so that you can visit around for inspiration as well as just encouraging one another. Thank you so much for everyone's participation. You are a great group!

93.  Deb of Hand Stitched
94.  Leslie of Words of Me Project
95.  Jodi of Opened Door
96.  Kelly of Artful Happiness, News & Notes From The Happy Shack
***If you are new here, I am hosting an online art group where we are working through the 12 -project workshop in Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother, together and blogging about our progress and visiting and encouraging one another. The purpose of this group is to learn how to balance our time between family, life's responsibilities and creative time for ourselves; to learn how to fit a little creativity into each day; to nurture our own souls so that we can be better moms and wives and to prevent burnout and depression. Please click here to read all of the details and leave a comment there if you would like to join us. In my sidebar, you will see a blog roll for the participants of this group if you would like to visit around. There is also a Flickr Group for The Artistic Mother if you would like to see the projects we have been doing in this group. The book can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Borders and other bookstores as well as Amazon. You may also visit the author at her blog, An Artful Life.

I'm Still Here - Great Post Planned For Monday

Hey, Everyone. I'm still alive. So sorry it's been so quiet around here in my little corner of blog land. My mother-in-law passed away Mother's Day weekend. Since then, along with going through the process of grieving, I have been very busy going through her things. It has been taking so much time. We have a lot of home projects we need to do in the coming year as well that includes decluttering, moving furniture around, fixing things, painting, etc. So my goal is to figure out a good system for continuing on with my art and sewing projects and blogs along with these added things in my schedule. I am committed to The Artistic Mother's Group as well all of my readers on both of my blogs. Thank you for your patience and understanding. I welcome any suggestions you may have to help me accomplish this.

I do have an exciting post for you on Monday; so please come on by. The photo I have used in this post is a little teaser of what my post on Monday will be about.

Newest Members of The Artistic Mother's Art Group - Added in May

I would like to introduce you to our newest members of The Artistic Mother's Art Group. All these joined in the month of May. I hope you will add them to your list on your blog if you are keeping one and pay them a visit and help them to feel welcome.

I have all participants listed in a blog list just for the group near the top of my sidebar. Those who have posted most recently move to the top of the list. It shows five at a time; so click "show all" to see the whole list. You can come to my blog daily to see who has posted most recently so that you can visit around for inspiration as well as just encouraging one another. Thank you so much for everyone's participation. You are a great group!


89.  Emily of Super Stitches
90.  Johwey of Johwey Redington
91.  Esther of Emakesart
92.  Tonya of Plain and Joyful Living


***If you are new here, I am hosting an online art group where we are working through the 12 -project workshop in Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother, together and blogging about our progress and visiting and encouraging one another. The purpose of this group is to learn how to balance our time between family, life's responsibilities and creative time for ourselves; to learn how to fit a little creativity into each day; to nurture our own souls so that we can be better moms and wives and to prevent burnout and depression. Please click here to read all of the details and leave a comment there if you would like to join us. In my sidebar, you will see a blog roll for the participants of this group if you would like to visit around. There is also a Flickr Group for The Artistic Mother if you would like to see the projects we have been doing in this group. The book can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Borders and other bookstores as well as Amazon. You may also visit the author at her blog, An Artful Life.

Shona Cole, Author of The Artistic Mother Interviewed on Diva Craft Lounge

Shona Cole was a guest on Diva Craft Lounge. She was interviewed by Danielle and Rayme about her book, The Artistic Mother, a Practical Guide for Fitting Creativity into Your Life.  Their show is 30 minutes long in all and is posted on their site once a week. You can watch the show she was on or listen to the podcast on iTunes. She comes on at about the seven-minute mark. If you watch the show you can see them flicking through her book and holding up the pages they are talking about.

They talked about lots of things concerning her book:  how she chose to write about motherhood and art, about the contributors to the book, her favorite project in the book and more. She also mentioned The Artistic Mother Art Group I am hosting here on my blog and how awesome it is to see a group of women doing the book's workshop and keeping each other accountable and posting their art.

To hear/see the show  she is on go here. You can listen to past shows and interviews in their archive.


She has also written a great post over at The Wish Studio titled The Artistic Mother: Living With Vision. It's an awesome read.


***If you are new here, I am hosting an online art group where we are working through the 12 -project workshop in Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother, together and blogging about our progress and visiting and encouraging one another. The purpose of this group is to learn how to balance our time between family, life's responsibilities and creative time for ourselves; to learn how to fit a little creativity into each day; to nurture our own souls so that we can be better moms and wives and to prevent burnout and depression. Please click here to read all of the details and leave a comment there if you would like to join us. In my sidebar, you will see a blog roll for the participants of this group if you would like to visit around. There is also a Flickr Group for The Artistic Mother if you would like to see the projects we have been doing in this group. The book can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Borders and other bookstores as well as Amazon. You may also visit the author at her blog, An Artful Life.

Welcome to Our Newest Artistic Mother Member & her Latest Project - Phenomenal!!!

Please join me in welcoming Emily of Super Stitches. She is 9 years old. She has a blog where she blogs about her art, craft and sewing projects; and she also happens to my daughter. She has been doing these projects right along with me and asked if she could join our group. I thought: Why not? I hope you will help her feel welcome and visit her when she posts her Artistic Mother projects and any other time it strikes your fancy, too. Below are photos of her vision banner. Lovely. Isn't it? I'm not sure which day Emily will be posting her vision banner because she will be doing a giveaway on her blog starting on Monday. You can keep an eye out for her posts on my blog roll for The Artistic Mother's Art Group in my sidebar. She'll move to the top when she posts something.

***If you are new here, I am hosting an online art group where we are working through the 12 -project workshop in Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother, together and blogging about our progress and visiting and encouraging one another. The purpose of this group is to learn how to balance our time between family, life's responsibilities and creative time for ourselves; to learn how to fit a little creativity into each day; to nurture our own souls so that we can be better moms and wives and to prevent burnout and depression. Please click here to read all of the details and leave a comment there if you would like to join us. In my sidebar, you will see a blog roll for the participants of this group if you would like to visit around. There is also a Flickr Group for The Artistic Mother if you would like to see the projects we have been doing in this group. The book can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Borders and other bookstores as well as Amazon. You may also visit the author at her blog, An Artful Life.

Thank You for the Condolences

Sorry it's been so quiet around here, but I haven't really felt like blogging or creating this week since I've just lost my mother-in-law. We've been crying buckets of tears, had the memorial service and going through photographs and her things. Because of my commitment to you, regardless of how I feel, I plan to start getting back into the swing of things next week. I would like to thank each person who left a sweet comment either here, in an email or on Facebook. It's nice to know you care, and I could feel your love and support. It's been very difficult to lose my mother-in-law as you can well imagine, especially for our children. Grandmothers are very special.

I have a very special post planned for Monday. I will be introducing you to one of our newest members and one of the projects she has made. Prepare to be amazed.

Have a lovely weekend. See you on Monday.

Vision Statement Banner, Week 4 of The Artistic Mother

Here is my Vision Statement Banner as part of Week 4, Page 83, of The Artistic Mother Workshop we are working through together.

I really enjoyed making this. I will hang it on the wall next to my computer where I can see it each day. It will be a huge help in keeping me focused on my goals and vision so that I don't get sidetracked.

In place of the ribbon to be tied to the dowel and the fibers above the group photo, I gathered strips of cotton fabric and zigzagged down center to ensure that the gathers would not come out and to add a decorative touch.

Here is my Artistic Vision Statement typed up for you for easier reading:

I am a creative wife, momma, homemaker and daughter of The King of Kings, The Holy God.

I do not live by my emotions. I spend time each day doing something creative regardless of how I feel.

Through daily sewing; mixed media, collage and crafting; photography; poetry and music, I express myself as well as strengthen and nourish my inner self, bless my family and pass on the gift of creativity to my children.

Through practicing my art, I will find the balance I so desperately long for. 

I will seek God daily for wisdom and guidance and allow Him to work through my hands to create beautiful works of art that will bless myself and others and allow me to live a full, rich and abundant life. And as I do this, I am strengthening my connection with God as I allow Him to come alongside me in this creative journey.

The two photos below show my artistic goals. As you can see, I got a little carried away, and ended up making a long list. It is a picture of the lifestyle I wish to live with my family. I truly want this creative life to permeate every aspect of my family's being.

The photo above is of my now 16, about to be 17, year old daughter when she was 2. She is the oldest one in the group shot. Our oldest daughter, who is not pictured, is off at college. She is in her third year of college. She was home schooled all the way through and received a full scholarship. (Sorry for the bit of bragging, but you can imagine our excitement)

Below: Now don't laugh at me. I know you must think I'm silly wanting to make You Tube videos and play guitar and sing at functions. One can dream, right? I'm still young at heart, and I'm a bit of a ham if you haven't noticed yet. Just look through my sewing blog a bit, and you'll see what I mean. I love the camera. I listed that here because I view music as being artistic as well. And I want to keep that goal before me. I would like to go ahead and learn guitar now, but I am already sewing, doing art, homeschooling four out of my five children and running after a toddler; so I better pace myself and save it for sometime down the road, hopefully not too many years away. I must learn patience. It's hard when you have so many things you want to learn; but fun, too.

Now we move  on to Week 5, Page 87 of The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole. We'll be making a butterfly reminder. We will spend two weeks on it to give everyone as much time as possible allowing for life's interruptions. And don't forget the workshop is not just about the projects, there are also poetry and photography assignments in each chapter as well. You will be using the photographs and poetry from these assignments in your future projects. Just do a little each day and don't try to cram at the last minute. Because the whole point of this book is to make creativity a part of our lifestyles, where we do a little each day. Think of all you can accomplish with even 15 minutes a day.

Don't worry if you are just starting or are still working on the earlier projects. Don't stress or rush. You may go at your own pace. Just try to do a little each day, not too much in one day.


When we get to Week 6, I will have a big surprise announcement!!!


Go here if you would like to see an alternative way to make the vision statement banner. You can get creative with these projects and come up with your own version on each of the projects. You are not limited to just doing it the way it is in the book.


***If you are new here, I am hosting an online art group where we are working through the 12 -project workshop in Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother, together and blogging about our progress and visiting and encouraging one another. The purpose of this group is to learn how to balance our time between family, life's responsibilities and creative time for ourselves; to learn how to fit a little creativity into each day; to nurture our own souls so that we can be better moms and wives and to prevent burnout and depression. Please click here to read all of the details and leave a comment there if you would like to join us. In my sidebar, you will see a blog roll for the participants of this group if you would like to visit around. There is also a Flickr Group for The Artistic Mother if you would like to see the projects we have been doing in this group. The book can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Borders and other bookstores as well as Amazon. You may also visit the author at her blog, An Artful Life.

Alternative Version of the Vision Statement Banner/Artistic Mother- Week 4

Shona Cole, author of The Artistic Mother, has done an alternative version of The Vision Statement Banner from Week 4 on her blog.

And go here to learn about and sign up to be in The Artistic Mother's Art Group.

Artistic Mother - Looking for the Missing Piece of Who You Were Created to be? (and a Giveaway of The Artistic Mother book)

So many of us struggle to complete the

image of who we were created

to be.

There are so many different pieces

to the puzzle,

wife, mother, sister,

caretaker, provider.

We try to say yes to each

request, each demanding a part

of us.

Some of us even try to fit in

pieces that don't really fit,

they are not meant to be part

of our puzzle.

God created, us each in His image,

to fulfill a part of His plan.

If we make God a part

of our decisions we are

less apt to try and fit

in the ill fitting pieces that

don't belong.

Put God first and the rest

of the puzzle will fall into place.

To visit other posts for Spiritual Sundays please

go to http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com/

The artwork and text above is the work of Diva's Musings. Posted with permission.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DIVA!!!


***********

The first Sunday of every month Donna Rodgers of Comin' Home is having a Followers are Special Giveaway. This month She is giving away two books, The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole and The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches by Jeff Yeager. She is having a giveaway today which runs through May 1st for a signed copy of both books; so go check it out, and good luck.

Poetry Tote From Week 3 of The Artistic Mother Workshop

Well, I have finally completed my poetry tote to carry my poetry journal in from Week 3 of The Artistic Mother Workshop that we are doing as part of The Artistic Mother Online Art Group I am hosting here on my blog. The photo I used is of myself when I was around 17 with my dad. Look how nicely the journal and tote coordinate. I even used a piece of fabric from one of my fabric squares in my journal.

Next is Emily's. Age 9. I had enough fabric left over for Emily to make a tote to go with her journal as well. I guided her as to the steps to take, but she did all of the sewing and ironing herself.

In this next photo you can see mine and Emily's totes side by side.

And then we have Martin's, Age 7. He did all of his own sewing, too. This was his first time to use the sewing machine; so we kept it simple. But he really wants to do the patchwork tote; so he'll be doing one soon.

And here is the other side.

And now we are moving on to Week 4, which is on Page 83 of The Artistic Mother. Our project for Week 4 is the vision statement banner. We will spend two weeks on Week 4.

Don't worry if you are just starting or are still working on the earlier projects. Don't stress or rush. You may go at your own pace. Just try to do a little each day, not too much in one day.

Artistic Mother, Finding Time for Creativity & Family

I read this post that really spoke to me over at Life and Love in the Country called Giving Common Sense a Try.

She goes on to explain that we try to be super woman/super mom. We make these long to-do lists. We never complete the list, but run around trying to get as much done as possible on the list. But while we are doing so, we become stressed and short-tempered. We say to ourselves, "When I get these things done, then I will make time for my husband, my kids my art, etc." But the list is never done. Therefore the children and husband don't get as much of our attention as they deserve and desire, and we don't have any time for ourselves to take care of ourselves (sleep/exercise), relax or do something creative. This continues day after day, a never-ending cycle. Well, I don't want to live that way anymore! How about you?

The concept of the common sense approach is simple: Make a list of 3 to 5 things, instead of 20, that must be done each day.  Don't strive for perfection. Quality of life is more important than a perfect home. Keep the housework simple. Just tackle one room each day, one load of laundry each day, etc. You can work through the list pretty quickly, feel like you've accomplished something and have time for yourself and your family. Your family deserves time with you. You deserve time for yourself and your family. Taking care of yourself and not running yourself into the ground means that you can be a better wife and mom.

What do you say? Will you join me in this endeavor? I'd love to know what you think about this, if you have anything to add, any tips, etc., that may be of benefit to others. Also, if you give this a try, I'd love to know how it turns out. So come back and leave a comment on how it's going. I think we can all benefit from the shared experiences on this mission to improve our lives and our families.

WHAT YOU ARE SAYING: (Thank you so much, Ladies. I learn so much from you!!!)

Donna said...Trudy, I love this idea which is why I put it on my Top Ten Best Posts yesterday at Comin' Home. Joy is right, we can only get so much done in a day. For me, the critical thing is to decide what the 2 or 3 truly important 'must do's are and then focus on those. I know that if I will focus on the BIG job for the day, then the little jobs will all fall into place around it. For instance, I'm working on re-covering THIRTEEN couch cushion covers! This is a huge task and part of me just wants to give up in despair! But I decided yesterday morning to do at least ONE. I got THREE done plus a myriad of other small tasks. I didn't bother to put the other tasks on the list..just that ONE biggy! And that gave me time to go on a date with hubby last night too. Great post! I'm so glad you highlighted it today!

Joy should know, she has more challenges to face at home than most of us do. She's an amazing mother!

Sunday, April 18, 2010
Carin said..Great post and one I wholly agree with. I was forced into this kind of thinking kicking and screaming a some years ago now, and it has turned into one of the greatest blessings I could have ever received. Having a loose daily schedule has helped me a lot. Knowing what you have to do on a certain day makes it easier to fit in the unplanned stuff that you want or need to do.Sunday, April 18, 2010 
Diva Kreszl said..great advice, wish I had learned it sooner! the to do list is never ending so we simply must shorten the list if we are to find creative time :)Sunday, April 18, 2010

Lorraine said...what a great photo. My list has about 6 things on it and I split the hours up approx in the day so an hour to clean the house, an hour or two to exercise, an hour or two for arty stuff. then its time to pick the kids up and then its their time..thanks very much for your kind comment on my first poem.Sunday, April 18, 2010 

ELK said...

for something a bit different sometimes try making a
"TA DA" list..
keep paper and pen handy and throughout the day jot down small or large things that you complete...IE: unloaded dishwasher ...worked on tying shoes with Laura ... cleaned of the counter ...etc. then at the end of the day stand back and look at the list and say with a big flourish "TA DA!!!!"

Sunday, April 18, 2010 

Amie aka MammaLoves said...

I have always imagined my life at a very old age--near the end--and when I envision myself, I am surrounded by loved ones. It's their faces I see, not the clean house or the piles of money socked away.

There are many days I lament the state of my house, but my boys will grow up and move out before I know it and I want to make sure I squeeze in as much time and as many hugs as I can right now.

So I wholeheartedly stand behind you on this. My challenge is not beating myself up for the decisions I've made about my time.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Jen said...

Thank you for sharing this, Trudy. I've been trying to do this lately by doing little things like just one load of laundry a day (rather than trying to do all at once) and better menu planning for the week, etc. So far this has helped me steal back some time for my family and for being creative. I've also enjoyed how Shona Cole's book breaks down creative projects into small, bite size pieces, too.

Sunday, April 18, 2010 

***If you are new here, I am hosting an online art group where we are working through the 12 -project workshop in Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother, together and blogging about our progress and visiting and encouraging one another. The purpose of this group is to learn how to balance our time between family, life's responsibilities and creative time for ourselves; to learn how to fit a little creativity into each day; to nurture our own souls so that we can be better moms and wives and to prevent burnout and depression. Please click here to read all of the details and leave a comment there if you would like to join us. In my sidebar, you will see a blog roll for the participants of this group if you would like to visit around. There is also a Flickr Group for The Artistic Mother if you would like to see the projects we have been doing in this group. The book can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Borders and other bookstores as well as Amazon. You may also visit the author at her amazing blog. She is having a giveaway for the art supplies needed to do the project in her book.