Day 12

Bridal show. Long day of standing, talking, smiling and not making any immediate sales. A little disappointed at the size of the crowd today, but heard from a few other vendors that this was a particularly small show. Two more to go. Meh.

But all hope is not lost! Feeling a little down and pretty spent after packing up the show, we picked up Chinese on our way back to the hotel and the fortune in my cookie made me smile:

I sure hope so.

Day 11

Traveling! An uneventful drive from Cinci to Chicago (Lisle). Got some finger food and settled into our room with a movie of Chanel and some gin and tonics. Now wiped out and ready to DO this show tomorrow!

So glad that my mom is one of my best friends!

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Day 10

Spent most of today getting packed and ready for a bridal show in Chicago this weekend. Making stuff, finalizing signage, finishing touches... Pretty much wiped out at this point and ready for bed.

Had a good mail day! My aunt sent me a gift card to Amazon for my birthday and all 4 books I ordered came in one big bulk. :0) A couple of books about paper sculpture/art, one about a prayerful life and a craft book by Amy Sedaris. (So funny!) I especially appreciated one project that used acorns to create little players on a dramatic stage. (Pictured here with many googly eyes.)

And Thomas... every time I turned around today- there he was, sitting and staring at me. I began to suspect that since I never saw him get up and move to a new spot, that he was simply teleporting behind my back.

Day 9 Part 2

Since I didn't get to post these last night, I wanted to share them this morning as part of Day 9.

Adam and I headed out to the Blessings, Fears and Secrets show at V&V. Each piece was accompanied by a short story, poem or explanation of the work, written by the artist. These narratives were a wonderful insight into the artist's thinking, and coupled with the theme of "blessings, fears and secrets" proved to be especially vulnerable and endearing.

As we walked around the studio, reading about the pieces and checking out the work spaces, I was getting trigger-happy with my camera.

Adam noted, "Oh, I suppose you'll be blogging about this."

"Well," I responded, "It is the most interesting thing that's happened today."

He then reminded me that he and his uncle had successfully stopped the leaking shower that day and it was definitely something to smile about.

"You're right, honey. Thank you," I smiled.

Oh and if I had $140 to spend, this piece by Diamond Snowden would be mine!

Day 9

Well, I have some great photos of the art show we went to this evening, but I probably won't get around to editing them tonight. In the meantime, enjoy this little peek into Date Night at the Wolf Den. Smiles!

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Day 8

Having a dear friend come over for a visit/meeting to talk about her wedding plans was reason enough to smile. Going to a comedy club this evening with another sweet friend provided plenty more smiles and laughs. But I think the thing that really made me smile all over happened this morning at the Post Office...

When I walked in with my armload of packages, I seemed to have stepped into the middle of a scene. A somewhat confused and frustrated older lady was asking many questions about something she had received in the mail. Both of the postal workers behind the counter were patiently answering her questions and giving advice. Sounded like she had received some checks from an insurance company and didn't know what to do. One of the postal workers (Rhonda) took all of the lady's information and called her bank for her. By the time Rhonda got off the phone, she had the name of a bank representative that was waiting for her and knew the situation. The woman had gone out on her errands on foot (with walker) and Rhonda was determined not to let this sweet lady walk all the way to the bank with this important paperwork in tow. By this time, another customer in line piped in, "I know that girl at the bank! I'll drive you over there." Rhonda helped the woman out to the curb and the customer drove her van up to the building to pick her up.

All of these people were perfect strangers to each other. How easy would it have been for the postal workers to say, "We don't cash checks here. Who's next in line?" How easy would it have been for them to let that woman walk out the door and no longer be their concern?

People sure can be beautiful. Love won today.

Day 7

What a day for creativity! Mary and I got a fantastic start on our sculpture this morning. (We're doing a little different take of another piece I had made for High Five Salon.) It's looking fabulous already.

After a nap and a little work, Adam and I headed out to Creative Team, where we got our teams brainstormin' and workin' on a new super-cool project for one of the Kids Club play rooms. I even got to do a bit of welding, and that always makes me smile.

Day 6

Even grey, rainy days have their own beauty. The combination of the rain and the holiday (ie; Post Offices are closed) gave a sleepy, mellow feel to the day. Not bad for a Monday. Pretty quiet, lots of work, plenty of Netflix.

Tomorrow Mary and I will start our sculpture. Today involved cutting hundreds of paper stars in preparation. Definitely a nice contrast to the grey outside!

Day 5

LeahDuncan

While the sun and warmth has been wonderful this last week, there was something comforting in the metallic ping of icey rain on the windows this morning. A grey Sunday seems to be perfect for comfort food, long naps and thrift stores.

My buddy in Kids Club made me smile by remembering the verse for today. We talked about trash vs. treasure, and made collages from magazine pictures of heavenly treasures. I think Molly picked out the best image; an illustration of a girl standing on a cloud, holding a drawing of a heart. We agreed she appeared to be filled with peace and love.

Day 4

I can't get over this weather! It was a beautiful day for a little hike and treasure hunting. It may not be as pretty as spring just yet, but just getting out in the fresh air and shaking out the winter cobwebs did a world of good.

Thank you, God, for the sunshine!

Day 3

Bang bang shrimp makes me smile. Breaded haddock with feta and artichoke makes me smile. A romantic dinner at Bonefish with my husband really makes me smile!
Thanks, honey, for taking me and my new haircut out for a great time!

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Day 2

Nothing can make a girl smile like having her hair cut by Sam. Feelin' all hip'n'trendy as I drove home near sunset.

Day 1

It was a beautiful day to have a birthday in the middle of February. Had a moment outside, standing still in the back yard with my eyes closed, face up toward the sun, soaking it in. (All the while, the sounds of Carthage drifting around the maple tree; the bumping and thumping bass in someone's rattling junker, roar of highway, wail of trains heading north/south, kids yelling, dogs barking.)

A morning latte at my favorite coffee shop with my sweet friend and her baby; thoughtful gifts, laughing conversation and aimless Target browsing. Adam (now beardless) cleaned house and made brownies. My folks brought dinner over to the house and we toasted wine over cheesecake dessert. (Followed by virtual bocce, disc golf and archery.)

During our coffee date, Arynn told me about the day she turned 30- that she awoke with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. She listed off several things she had/has to be thankful for and said, "What more could I need in life?"

I couldn't say it any better.

Birthday Eve

So this is my last day in my twenties. I could be sad about it, but today has been too beautiful for any moment of self-sorrow. (First of all, the sun is starting to get up before me, which is awesome!)

This afternoon I got to meet my collaboration artist, Mary Flinker, at the Visionaries &Voices studio in Northside. What a gem! Mary is very excited about our project together and we got some great ideas sketched out for our sculpture. (More details to come.) She's not only an actress and artist, but she's also a great teacher of origami! Near the end of our meeting she showed me how to create this fantastic paper star:

You'll also notice my new bling in this photo. Courtesy of another V&V artist named Brian, who came by to visit us often during our meeting. So many smiling faces stopped by to greet me, shake my hand or share a drawing. I can't believe that these beautiful people hang out at this studio just down the road from my house. I want to go there every day.

I. Love. Them.

If you want to come check out these fab folks and the wonderful space, there's an event next week called Blessings, Fears & Secrets, an art reception open to the public. You know I'll be there.

Tomorrow's the birthday. The big three-oh. My 365 days will "officially" start then, but today was too great to not mention!

The Plan...

Hello, hello!

So, um... The other day I spent my work day listening to the many speakers streaming live at Etsy's Symposium. Lots of inspiration there; plenty of ideas, challenges and things to add to my "to do" list... But one of the most inspiring bits was the talk by Noah Scalin, the creator of Skull-A-Day, where he committed to crafting a different skull every day for a year. (All completely different and all completely brilliant.) From this project, Make Something 365 was born. In this book and blog, Noah challenges everyone to create something every day for a year.

Of course, by the end of his talk, after browsing his blogs, clicking through each skull, reading about the projects of others, I was feeling the pull to attempt something like this. I decided to start it on my birthday, which will be next Wednesday, February 16th.

This will be a significant year for me, because I'm turning (baum-bau-baum!) 30.

*sigh*

Ok. So I've got the idea. I've got the date set. I've got the gumption. And with making this a published/public venture, I've got the accountability. Now... what to make?

what.to.make.what.to.make.what.to.make...

Acorns? Stars? Houses? Circles? Hearts? Birds? Trees? Cheeseburgers?

The thing is... I make stuff every day. Craft is my job. Making another thing every day might not be enough to keep me interested in continuing for an entire year. So... I've finally settled on an idea. Every day, for the next year, I am going to make a note of something that made me smile that day. (And like any good blog, this story will be told with many photographs.) Could be something as simple as seeing all three of my cats napping with my husband, to something as profound as hearing an insight from God.

In any case, I intend to illustrate each one with an image or two (mine or borrowed). My hope is to make myself intentionally aware of each day, and that these little tidbits might inspire some smiles in other folks.

A few more days before the launch... In the mean time, here's a little something that made me smile today:

Had a brief IM chat today with an artist I'll be collaborating with soon. I like the way she thinks.

how long you do your art?

I've been making art ever since I was little... Went to college for art and have been doing it since!

How about you?

i didn't go to school for art but i teach myself to draw and painting and building things others when i get my hands on. i starting art work when i was little kid

What are your favorite materials to work with?

papers, paints and they all my favorites it hard to pick

I know what you mean!

What do you think about working on a paper sculpture together?

that will great how big?

Depends on how much time we have! :0) I was thinking something about 5-6 feet long and 2 feet wide, like this: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=1386956074&aid=2105248

we could work on the top and work down to the half way the floor? I think

That sounds like a great plan. What kinds of shapes should we make?

The other one I made is all ovals, but we could do something different

we could making stars

Oooh! Yes! Awesome idea!

I'm getting excited to work on this!!

me too

we can making a mold of a stars and trace it onto the paper and cut it out than we go form there

I like the way you think, Mary. :0) It's going to be an awesome project!

we have to taking pictures and study it to make sure this is good we have unt'll april

Sounds good! I've got to get going, but I'll see you on Tuesday!

ok i see you there