Projects: Metalic Bow with Rhinestones

I think this is the bow I am going to recommend for Competitions.

It is Cardinal, Navy and SIlver Metalic ribbon with Rhinestones.

Project: Solid Black Rhinestone Buckle Hair Bow

Made using a Rhinestone buckle.

Project: Leopard Bow

Project: Navy with White Polka Dot Bow

Assessment by Ali Edwards

I shared some ideas for investigating your photo voice.  I also  wrote about documenting life while still living in the present moment. Both included the concept of reflection and assessment as an integral piece of my creative endeavors.

I'm a big believer in taking the time to evaluate before moving forward. Just as it can be easy to be stuck, it can also be easy to be in the habit of continually moving forward, switching gears, changing things up without actually taking the time to figure out what was right or what was wrong about your past creative adventures.

For me it's a matter of knowledge. I like to be aware of my strengths and weaknesses. I like to check-in with the emotional side of my creativity and see how it's doing. I like to make informed decisions as I make changes.

One of my favorite assessment projects I've embarked on in the past few years is going back through all my layouts (every single one). I learned a lot about what I like and don't like in my scrapbooks and I think it really made a difference for me in honing in on what I really want to include and what I could leave out. You can read more about that adventure here: part one, part two and part three.

Everyone will approach the process of assessment in their own unique way. For some it will need to be concrete (writing, typing, talking, etc) and others will be able to do it by just thinking about it. I do a combination of both thinking and writing and sometimes add in talking with others for an outside perspective.

Here's some things to think about before/as you ask yourself the five questions below:

• Some people read the word assessment and immediately have a negative reaction (how in the world can that lift me up?). Is that you? Maybe it's because you equate "assessment" with grades or job evaluations or critiques or issues with better than/less than. Consider using the word "reflect" instead of "assess." Reflecting can be just as powerful and just as active as an assessment.
• Remember that the process of assessment is a practice. And just like other tools in a tool box it needs to be used to be sharpened. Each person will have a different schedule for assessments. Once-a-year might not be just right for some, while weekly might be the right amount for others. Some people need to schedule it on their calendars just like any other appointment and others will occur more naturally within the context of their work and life.
• Avoid generalized negative judgments. Stay away from statements like, "I'm just not creative enough." or "I'm not successful." or "I'll never be such and such." As you'll read in #5 below, get as specific as possible with what you want to do different as you move forward. One of the most challenging pieces of assessment is not getting stuck in the negative. Investigating how you can improve your own work can be a trap for self-loathing. Stay out of that trap. That's not the point. The point is to use it as a tool for self-confidence and growth.
• Be honest. Honest with yourself about your work, your enthusiasm, your skills, etc. If you aren't honest you can't authentically move forward.

Assessment gives you the gift of perspective. Without it, we tend to just keep moving forward without the depth of understanding that comes from taking the time to ask a few simple questions.

Here's five questions to ask yourself to assess/reflect on your creative endeavors:

1. IS "IT" WORKING? "It" can be any number of things - your set-up (when and where you work - and sometimes who you work with), your tools (camera, paint, printer, cardstock), your method or approach, your style. If things aren't working, what do you need to do to initiate that change?
2. DO I LIKE IT? Is it something you want to continue doing or are you ready to branch out and try something new? Does it make you feel good? Is it life-affirming or is it taking something away instead? Remember that it's totally okay to stop and change directions. It's so easy to get stuck in what we are currently doing, and often we attach extra meaning.
3. IS IT INSPIRING OR AM I JUST GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS? I think this one's really important for a couple reasons. First, living an inspired life is (I believe) one of the keys to happiness. Because living a creative life is a choice, why would you choose to be involved in something that wasn't lifting you up? That said, sometimes just going through the motions is the best we can do. Sometimes going through the motions is simply part of the process. Just because you are in a period where you feel like you are "going through the motions" doesn't necessarily mean you throw that creative work out or dump it to move on to the next thing. Sometimes it's simply part of your overall creative journey. When you take time to assess and look at the overall picture these sorts of things become more clear.
4. WHAT IS AWESOME ABOUT IT? What's really great about your creative work? What do other people comment on or what just completely lifts you up each time you look at it? Remember that what's awesome to you might not be what's awesome to an outside observer. Be true to what you love.
5. WHAT COULD I DO DIFFERENT NEXT TIME? Without getting down on yourself, get real and be specific. What very specifically could be done differently next time to make that painting, that story, that photograph even better? Does it need more or less of something? Sometimes getting an outside perspective can give you ideas or help you see what you might try next time.

Assessing/reflecting isn't the answer to all your issues and won't solve all your creative stresses but it is a tool in developing a strong, active creative life. I've found that through assessing my current and previous paths I'm better equipped to make choices as they appear (rather than always being reactive or looking back and wishing I'd made a different choice).

Project: Pink Zebra Hair Bow

The Hot Pink Zebra Bows created this week, will be worn with

 a Black Skort and a White with Pink Zebra Print straps

during October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Project: Chevvon Sequined Hair Bow

I think by far this is my most favorite Hair Bow.

Kinda "POPs", don't you think?

Dozen Day: April

Photo Ideas:

1. Your Kitchen Sink
2. A mobile device
3. A flower
4. An appointment
5. A friend
6. A gift
7. A tool
8. Organization
9. Tired
10. Errands
11. Progress
12. Weather

Scrapbooking Layout Ideas

1.  You:  Scrapbook a personal mission statement or mantra that guides your life or actions
2. Holiday:  Scrapbook photos that you have not completed yet
3. Places:  A place where you eat.
4. Everyday Life:  How and when you clean and what products do you use.
5. Rituals:  A Spring time ritual or tradition.  Take a new photo and compare the two.
6. People:  a fictional or imaginary charcter
7. Inspiritation:  Use a paint strip or design color scheme for your pages.
8. Personality:  Scrapbook someone you love, doing something they love and sacrifice time for.
9. Things:  Scrapbook a book that you read over and over again
10. Family Stories:  How did you come to live in the State or City that you now live in.
11. Seasons:  A sporting season or event that you or a  family member participates in.
12. Fun:  Use a line from a song that makes you want to dance and incorporate it into your page.

Project: Hot Pink Zebra with Sequins Hair Bow

I am getting to the end of my list of possible bows to make for NHS Cheer and Poms.
 A few more samples and then we will begin the process of choosing and creating them by the dozens,

Project: Two Tone Hair Bow

Still working on bows, I will hopefully be off this craze in another week or two,

and onto something else, once the Team decides which bows they like.

This is my second version of a two tone bow.

 

Project: Hair Bow for Breast Cancer Walk

Today's bow is for a friend who is participating in the Breast Cancer Walk in June.

These are alot easier to make, then they look.

Five Inspiring Scrapbook Layouts by Ali Edwards

Scrapbook layouts have been on my mind a lot lately.

I want to make more.

I've been sketching them like crazy and generating new lists of stories I want to tell (making sure to jot down those ideas before they float off into the universe) and hoping to create some time for myself to make the actual pages happen.

This week I want to share five layouts I love from around the web and tell you precisely what was inspirational about each one and what I'd like to try. I'm collecting pages that inspire me all together on a Pinterest Board you can check out here: Memory Keeping.

Bring on the inspiration!


LAYOUT NUMBER ONE | Right Now by Kinsey
WHAT I LOVE | I love large type. For this page Kinsey "created a cut file using the Silhouette for the text mask on the left and then stamped the prompt words on the right and hand journaled my currents." I also love how she used the prompts.
TO TRY | Mist over a big section of type cut with a Silhouette. This would also totally work over letter stickers that you would then remove.


LAYOUT NUMBER TWO | 22 Hours In Manhattan by Alexandra
WHAT I LOVE | The flat background of photos with the dimensional pieces added on top.
TO TRY | Print a large collage of photos that aren't necessarily in an organized grid. Either use that as a background or cut around the edges of the images and adhere to cardstock. Stitch or adhere a transparent pocket on top. Flag for title.


LAYOUT NUMBER THREE | Count Your Blessings by Jill
WHAT I LOVE | The numbers. The theme. The white writing on the dark grey cardstock. I also love how this is a great way to use some of those little products I love.
TO TRY | Break out of my white cardstock tradition and mix it up. Also inspires me to go through and get these small embellishments in working order - right now there's just too much stuff on the floor of my office.


LAYOUT NUMBER FOUR | Plans by April
WHAT I LOVE | Those circles. A super happy collection of colorful circles. I also simply love that those circles make up one big circles and that some of them go off the page (I especially love that).
TO TRY | More circles. This is such an awesome way to use up scraps and buttons that I've accumulated and always forget to use. Time to dust off my circle punch.


LAYOUT NUMBER FIVE | Sweet Clara by Laura
WHAT I LOVE | I love Laura's ability to edit. No title, no excess embellishments. I love the full page photo and the long strip of real-life journaling.
TO TRY | I'd like to do some more layouts that include a full page photo (recently did just that here) and play with misting more.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS about this week's 52 Creative Lifts on my Facebook page.

PS | I'm doing Week In The Life again next week (April 23-29th) - you're invited. Grab your free Daily Sheets here.


NEW WORKSHOP AT BIG PICTURE CLASSES | 31 THINGS
Registration is now open for my newest online 4-week workshop called 31 Things. Class includes daily writing and photography prompts over the course of 31 days in May & June with the goal of "seeing into the life of things." Consider yourself invited. Learn more and register here.

Ali Edwards' passion resides in that special place where the images and stories of life intersect. Visit her online at www.aliedwards.com.

Project: Grizzlies Claw

This is what I have been working on today.

  Back of jacket design or maybe a polo.

Project: Polka Dot Fabric Bow

I used an orgami pattern to make this flower bow for my daughter's dance team.  

They will be wearing navy tank and skort with a white font with navy blue polka dots.  

Not to see if I can find the material in navy and white, instead of purple and white.

Project: T-shirt with Matching Bow

I have a friend, Heidi, whose daughter is just amazing.  Very self confident and let's you know exactly where she stands.   Here is my favorite recent story about Ava.

"Ava just yelled the following (in a very demanding scream) at Xander and his friend for riding off on their bikes without her....."When you guys get back you need to say something to me - Sorry for leaving me behind!!!!"     Thinking I need to take some lessons from my 4 year old on assertiveness :)"


 I made her this shirt in a class that I took at a local JoAnn's.  And of course, I had to make her a matching bow.

Momemtum by Cathy Zielske

This month I want to talk to you a little bit about the concept of momentum. The definition of momentum goes like this, “The quantity of motion of a moving body measured as a product of its mass and velocity.” What? Okay, I’m sorry, maybe that makes sense to you physicists in the class, but to me it’s a bit over my head. Any time the word mass and velocity…you know what, I’m sorry. I was a Liberal Arts major people, okay. My daughter who is 15 and is currently taking physics, I’m sure, could explain this to me in detail. When I think of momentum I think of the idea of gaining ground in some or any particular aspect of your life, especially as it relates to our goals in this class. Mass and velocity aside, when I start taking better care of myself I find it easier to continue doing so. I find it easier to make choices that I know will be healthier for my mind, body and soul. I find that when I drop a pound here, and pass on an Oreo there, I feel like the fitness express is building speed on the tracks and I’m able to ride it much easier than at other times possibly than before in my life. To me, once that train gets fired up to full speed then momentum is a very real side effect of this process. So my question to you as we start out April is: how is your momentum at the present moment in time?

Before we go any further and before I start to sound too Pollyanna-ish, I need to tell you a few stories about how my own momentum got completely stopped dead in its tracks! The train…the coal ran out people and the train wasn’t moving. The first story goes something like this. I threw my hands up in the air, I ate some Oreos, and I swear to you all of Hades broke loose. Now if you will permit a little whine here, and yes, it may involve some cheese as an accompaniment, I have had some really close encounters of the sugared kind in recent weeks. Now, some of it has been because of stress, and some of it has been because I’ve just been tired, and some of it has just been the result of poor planning, but whatever the case, I have been dabbling a little more heavily in crap food here and there. And guess what I keep finding out time and again, every single time I do it, every time I give in, I find that I just want more! Hi, I’m Cathy Z, and I’m a sugar addict. Okay, maybe I am being a bit cheesy here but I keep trying to figure out ways around this eating well thing and I keep getting the same results. Now if I were a scientist in a lab my results, my data thus far, would simply reinforce the idea that if I want to feel better and if I want to avoid the highs and the lows of the junk food, sugar-carb cravings, then I would need to stay the course for healthy eating. But every time I get a little of that sugar, bad things happen. By bad I don’t mean to be passing judgement, by bad I simply mean I go off my plan. My goal right now is to not do that, to not go off my plan. Much like many of you, my goal is to feed myself good and nutritious food and to keep an even blood sugar level that helps me to avoid those insidious cravings that can hit you very, very hard, but, because I am delightfully far from perfect, this doesn’t always go according to plan. The good news, I continue in this process to learn more about me and my reactions, both physical and mental, to sugar and crap food. Now the even better news, I don’t have to live a life of never eating sweet treats and the like, but I just have to understand and accept that when I do I need to get back on track quickly and remind myself there is a plan at work here and I am 99% committed to it most days.

Now I’ve got a question for you. If I told you that for me the moving more part was easy, would it make you want to just come and trip me up on the treadmill, just a little bit, maybe, stick your foot out while I’m no there, okay? It’s okay, you can admit it. Now, I’m not going to go as far as shouting from the rooftops for example, “I love exercise!”, but I will tell you this and I’ve said this before, moving more makes me feel better. I’ve talked about this from day one. Again, if I were a scientist analyzing the data, the notion of feeling physically and mentally better as a direct result from exercising would be a provable hypothesis. I have the data to back it up. But all this moving more is not necessarily making me a thinner person right now and I will be completely honest with you, sometimes I struggle with this. I think, hey, I ran 5 miles on Saturday morning, dang it, why can’t I eat three cinnamon rolls with zero consequences. But where I’m at in my life right now at the tender age of 46 with a metabolism that isn’t working as well as it could be, you know, 5 miles definitely makes me feel strong and it gives my lungs a great workout, but it’s not going to make those Lucky brand jeans hanging in my closet fit me any better. This is another part of the process that I’m learning right now, that you can reach a place in your journey where that scale just ain’t movin’ much, maybe not at all, even though it feels like you are literally working your “tushka” off. Of course, this is a very common place in the weight loss journey and we all know it commonly referred to as a plateau. The dreaded plateau!

Now you guys now I’m no professional, not a personal trainer, not a licensed nutritionist, but I’ve managed to piece together some basics about the phenomenon. Essentially, you’re going along, you’re gaining some momentum, you’ve lost a little weight, you’re moving more and things are rolling and then…BOOM! This wall appears out of nowhere and everybody just seems to stop and everything is just suspended in some sort of thick unmoving liquid. Nothing’s moving. Weight is not coming off and you start to get a little impatient. Now as you may or may not know, your body is an expert at maintaining a homeostatic environment. In other words, your body likes things the way they are, the weight, the movement, all of it. It takes a lot of effort to get your body to start to respond. So a plateau is really just nature’s way of saying - whoa there sporty girl, we’d like a chance to regroup here before you get rid of too many of our precious pounds. And that’s just part of the process. I feel like I’ve been in a plateau of sorts for a while. Either that or maybe I’ve really finally hit what my goal weight should be. Here I am in the mid 150’s and I feel like I look good and I feel good. Yes, I have loose rolls. Yes, I have cellulite. Yes, I have a ginormous muffin top for me. Maybe this is as good as it’s going to get from a size standpoint. Now I tell you this because one of the areas that I have been looking at and trying to evaluate for myself is, when is the loss of momentum a positive thing and is that even possible?

Well, have you ever heard of the broccoli effect? No. No, not a familiar term?. That would make sense because I only recently invented it. That’s right. I invented it people, trademark, The Broccoli Effect. The broccoli effect is something that I’ve experienced numerous times during my own journey, and here’s what it is. When I am eating well and avoiding junk and eating lean proteins and healthy carbs like fruits and vegetables, and eating healthy fats, fats that are actually good for my brain and my body, like olive oil, nuts and avocado, in other words, when I am eating in balance and avoiding junk food – I love broccoli. And not just broccoli, I love blueberries and mango and those little green beans, those haricots verts and roasted cauliflower with freshly grated Parmesan sprinkled on top right out of the oven, and green apples. In essence, the broccoli effect goes like this. When I eat well, I want to eat more good foods. I realize that, hey, sugar snap peas are a yummy snack treat, who knew? This my friends, is The Broccoli Effect in full swing, and it is the complete opposite of The Sugar Effect, which for me can take over within a matter of about five or six Oreos, trust me. I’ve been back and forth this spring and I’m kind of getting a little tired, a little tired of it. In fact, today as I speak to you I am trying to get through yet another post Oreo hangover. Thank goodness your fearless leader isn’t perfect, right? Absolutely!

So, where are you right now at this very moment, right here on April 1? Can you take stock of the changes that you have made? Are you feeling some momentum begin to build? Are you getting stronger every week or are you finding yourself looking down at that scale and thinking “Why I oughta….!” Thank you…that’s my old-time movie voice. Trust me, I won’t pull it out very often. Right now for me I think the scale can be a friend or a foe depending on how I look at it and what kind of mood I’m in when I step on. Remember though, numbers are information. If you look at them from a scientific standpoint they give you data. They are not who you are. They don’t say anything about what goes on in your heart and in your mind. They don’t define your soul, they are just information. If I never drop another pound but find a way to maintain where I am at today, eating well and moving more, you know I can see a day not too far away where the scale is not even a part of this equation.

When I’m doing what is right for my body, I am doing the most loving thing that I can do for myself which is to take care of “numero uno” to the best of my ability. That is actually my highest goal right now. So sometimes I like to joke about my scale being evil, but there has been a number of Saturdays that come and go and I do step on the scale on Saturday morning usually once a week, but there has been a number of them, two or three, that I’ve decided to just say pass. Now in the past I’ve said pass because I thought it was going to be brutal and I can’t deal with the brutality. Nope, not going to do it, not going to make myself feel bad about gaining weight. But lately in the past couple of months the days that I’ve skipped it’s kind of been more of a “I don’t want to mess with my attitude right now.” I feel strong. I know most of the time I’m making really good choices for my body so why do I want to step on to validate that in some way. Again, the scale is information, but it’s not the full story. And just like if you hit a plateau, you’re stuck there, that scale is not moving, you’re working really hard to take care of yourself, you’re going to probably get a little down. So I’m going to encourage a lot of you who might be in the place where you are experiencing the plateau sensation, you know, don’t be so hung up on the number at this time. If you feel that there is momentum in the process, it doesn’t always have to translate to that number on the scale, but if you feel momentum then just embrace that and keep doing what you’re doing.

And here, in this time of renewal, in spring, when the days are a bit longer and start to get warmer, maybe it’s also time that you can just renew your commitment to the process. This month one of your assignments is to revisit your statement of intention and then write down five reasons why you are still going to do this. Why this still matters. Why even when it’s hard and even when the results aren’t perfectly clear why you should continue to take care of yourself. Now I know this is hard. I know it is because it’s still hard for me. I will admit something to you that I hope isn’t something that you find disheartening, but I think this will always be hard for me. I think that I will always need to be vigilant. I will always need to consider making good choices. I will always need to actively pursue the process of self-care because for me this isn’t something that is generally just going to happen on its own. As much as I would like to just stay at this weight for the rest of my days, the only way that’s going to happen is if I am actively involved in this process. Now that’s a reality check. But there is an upside to this knowledge and that is, this is not a race. It’s a lifestyle and process change. Even I need to remind myself of this frequently. See, part of my problem in this process now is I think when I weigh, when I decide to step on that scale, I think, well if the students don’t see a change in my numbers, how am I going to inspire them to keep up the hard work. Then I remember to slow down and breathe and think of all those other positive things besides just the number on the scale. Also, if I lost a pound every week, eventually I would weight around 42 pounds. I joke, but it’s kind of a…yeah. I like to think of numbers that are awesome. This is kind of a fun thing to do. You can do this anytime that you are feeling a little “meh” about the process. Think of numbers that are awesome. Like for example, I’ll share some with you.

60. The number of minutes that I can swim nonstop in a pool unless my goggles fill with water or …

35. The number of minutes it takes me to run a 5-K distance or…

2. The number of amazing, beautiful children I have who don’t really care what size I am, but for whom I am still setting a positive example by getting out there and getting sweaty in the world and taking care of me.

When my head gets into that space, okay, I sure do like taking care of myself a whole lot better and I find that I view it in a very different light. So I encourage you to think about numbers other than your waist or the scale. Numbers that make you feel strong and powerful and beautiful and as if you are gaining a real sense of momentum.

I want you to take some time this week not just to think about renewing your commitment but to really think about the changes that you’ve made or if you are still struggling to get this ship out on the sea and floating, take a look at why that struggle still remains. Now being honest with ourselves is such a critical component of this process. For myself, I know there are times, and they probably come more frequently than I let on because you guys don’t talk to me every day, but there are times that come where I really feel like I am teetering on the “Oh, to heck with it”, that kind of attitude, just that I can’t do this every day of my life. I can’t eat perfectly and I can’t just maintain this ideal weight and I can’t live in this world that doesn’t allow me to do whatever I want when I want. That washes over me quite a bit, but if you notice everything about what I just said was framed with a very negative tone. I’m looking for the negative and, unfortunately, when we are looking for the negative, okay, it tends to multiply on itself. Let’s be scientists and see what happens. We know what happens if we eat like crap, we want more crap, and sometimes when we think like crap, guess what? It can be easy to get mired down in how hard the process can be. Again, there is truth in that. There is truth. Nobody does this with ease. Again, show me who that person is and I’ll give them a high-five and say I wish I were more like you, but I’m not more like you, I’m me, and for me it’s hard.

I just want you to know, well, you know this: it’s part of the process. I mean here I am each month trying to think of what can I say to you guys to make you feel inspired but also be in touch with reality, but also realize that this isn’t easy for anyone. I don’t have 50 or 75 pounds to lose, but I am still a person just like you and we are faced with some hard choices and it’s not easy. When we do gain a little momentum we need to take stock in that and we need to be proud of that. We need to celebrate that because you are doing something that a lot of people are choosing not to do, and for that give yourself a high-five.

Now if you can get out this week for a walk, do it. But here’s what I want you to do. Don’t take your iPod and don’t take your phone, just get out for a walk in nature, whatever nature looks like in your neighborhood, and think about what you’ve done and envision what you still want to do. You could even right about this after the fact for your monthly report, just to really clear your head and think about the most important person in this process and what that person wants and needs and, of course, that person is YOU. Maybe it’s time to make some above and beyond layouts about the process thus far. Maybe it’s time to create a scrapbook page about the change you have been making to your life this year and then tuck it into its own page protector and put it in your album.

There are definitely no rules to going above and beyond the monthly assignments for this class. I have made a number of scrapbook pages in the past couple of years that I have shared on my blog about running and about swimming and about how hard this is, you know. This is one of the ways we express ourselves, right, through our craft and through our hobby. Going a little further with it is a good idea, you know, because this is part of my story.

And you guys know, and you should know if you’ve read my blog over the years, I feel very strongly people need to make pages about themselves. It’s very important to telling the complete story of your life. Don’t get me wrong, I think people who have kids are great, I happen to have a couple of my own, and yes you can scrapbook about them and that’s fine, but I have always from the beginning since I started back in my olden days, 2002, I have made pages about myself in the beginning because part of scrapbooking for me has always been a Dear Diary sort of thing. That’s why when I started this process to lose weight and get in shape I thought of course I’m going to scrapbook about it, of course I’m going to take photos of the journey, of course I’m going to write about my feelings because, again, this process is hard. Things in life can be hard. Sometimes through the craft and process of creating, especially in scrapbooking, it helps us to understand the world, it helps us to understand our experience, so I would definitely encourage you this month if you haven’t been doing this already. Outside of the album, outside of documenting, because the documentation is key – I think it keeps you honest. The monthly report is great. It gives you a chance to talk about your feelings, but you know what, don’t stop there. Make a new page about anything you can think of above and beyond related to process. Tell your story, include that as part of your personal journey as you move more and eat well, and if you do, by all means post it in the gallery.

Last but not least for this month, the month of April, try something new. Ahh. I remember the day I took this photo above: my brand-spanking new super-hot fuchsia Newton running shoes. Oh, my gosh, the possibilities were endless – and they were just so pink. But as with any process, you need to shake things up. So this month, in the month of renewal, I challenge you to try something new. Me, I am going to take a class. I am a member at a club called LA Fitness and I go there for the pool and I haven’t taken any classes yet because I have class fear. I don’t know why because when I was a member at the Y I actually did take a few classes and thought they were pretty fun, but I’m going to try something new. I’m going to try to step out of my box of how I choose to move more and see what happens.

Now you don’t have to be a member of a health club to do this, you just have to try something new. Maybe just take a new route. How many of you get in a rut with the walking route. I know that I don’t vary my walk or run route hardly ever. I realized this when on the rare Sunday when my husband Dan and I go out for walks together he takes a different route every time, every time, and he doesn’t stay on the path…okay. He doesn’t stay on the paved path. Freaks me out, and it also makes my shins hurt more because he goes up hills and he’s pulling me along and I’m like, what are you doing? Then I realize after the fact that going a different way is kind of cool. Trying something new is not going to kill ya. So think about that. Maybe it’s finding a few new recipes. Find two or three things this month to cook. Make this month both about continuing to build upon your current momentum as well as shooting for or maybe trying something new, after all, spring is in the air.

We have a great quote this month that I found for the class quote and it reads, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Now I love this because it says to me that sometimes when it gets hard and when we are not seeing the results we’d really hoped for we can find ourselves wanting to not try, you know, to just toss in that towel and say, oh well, I give up. But this quote reminds me that sometimes even when faced with a plateau, even when faced with a slowing momentum, even when it seems like that light at the end of the tunnel is just too dang far away, that if we keep trying our best something positive is going to come. Success can be measured in so many ways in this process. Keep up the hard, hard work and look to this time of year with hope and renewal and stoke the fire of your own momentum in the process. I’m Cathy Zielske for Big Picture Classes signing off for April. Here is to moving more and eating well this month, and I’ll see you on the boards.

Project: Sequined Lettered Shirt for Poms Team

I am trying to think of inexpensive ways to create cute shirts for Poms Camp. 
I made this example for a friend, whose Daughter attends Frontier Academy Middle School.

Using my Cricut, I cut the letters out of heat and bond, attached it to the back of sequined material, then cut out the letters. 

Then a friend embrodieered the word "Wolverines" beneath.

THinking it might need some bling.

April is Here

One of the reasons that I love April the most is that when April comes, I know for sure I’ve survived another March.  Every year I am anxious for spring to arrive and every year I’m reminded that it does not arrive in March! So, I’m happy to welcome April and I am (with spring just around the corner) wondering how you are doing in your corner of the world?

What is new and full of potential?
What is catching your eye and your heart?
What milestones are you anticipating?
What simple moments will transpire to become treasured memories?
Which stories will you choose to tell?
I’ll be perusing our message board and galleries to discover your answers to these questions—I’m so anxious to stay connected …

 Remember that curiosity is the beginning of creative growth. Take a few minutes each day to think about and follow through with the daily email. I know that when you do, you will have the ideas and insights you need to proceed with inspired confidence.