Day 16 & 17

Crafting every day is proving to be quite a goal.  Luckily, I have a standing craft night with some girlfriends of mine every Tuesday night.  Unlucky is when you can't think of a single project to work on for that night.  I grabbed a couple of things to take with me, but I ended up just doodling and copying pictures while we all watched one of the girls play with her new wood-burning tool.

Yesterday, though, I managed to do some actual projects. I worked on my vision board (painting the outside rim of the cork squares with glue so they don't flake all over the place). I made a little pendant brooch thingy out of some beads and hot glue. But the thing I'm most proud of from yesterday is my sculpting! I've made a few little clay figures before for Jeremy (a little "Lost" island and a mini Frodo), but those were just molding the positive space of the figures and sticking everything together. Yesterday I carved out the negative space for the first time! I really didn't think I could do it at first.  It seemed so daunting! But I actually managed to copy a mask, and then freehand his partner.

My Copy of the Mask

Freehand of his partner

Yay me!

Day 13-15

Well, I actually managed to get in some creative things done this weekend.  On Saturday, I was able to squeeze into the busy day a post on my other blog (about my Golden Globe predictions and hopes).  Then on Sunday, I had a full day of game playing.  Not just any game...role-playing.

It's my first role playing game ever.  Jeremy introduced me to it and included me in his new session.  We've been playing since October (twice a month), and I'm still learning, but I think I'm doing a pretty good job so far...I hope.  It definitely keeps your imagination on its toes.  Yesterday, we escaped tree prisons, a nasty storm at sea, and a huge dragon turtle that almost killed me!

So, for today, I'm working on writing down the story so far for the others.  We don't really have a running upkeep of the events that passed, and because of the holidays, it had been at least a month since we played last. It's something I've been meaning to get to for a while now, and I'm finally getting to it.

Day 12: The Excuses

Ok, forgive me.  This whole blog is definitely an experiment in the making.  To write a post each day is proving to be quite a task.  I mean, for one thing, my life really isn't that interesting.  You know what I managed to do yesterday?  Nothing.  I have tons of excuses for my nothingness yesterday, but the cold fact is that I made no progress toward anything.  No inspiration progress, no financial progress, no health progress, nothing.  The only big thing I accomplished yesterday was sending out some emails for my wedding, which took me probably about 30 minutes total.

So what do we do with all those excuses?  How do we train our brain to stop making these "buts" and "what ifs" and "I can'ts"?  A friend of mine started this meditation routine recently, and he swears it started changing the energy around him within a day.  People stopped him and told him he was looking exceptionally nice, people who usually never said a word to him.  I am a believer in good and bad energy, so I can imagine what he told me was true.  But I still have that nagging voice in the back of my head saying "You can never get rid of me!  I'm too powerful now!  I have taken over your life, and I'm not letting go!  Ahahaha!"  How I would like to grab that little voice by the throat and squeeze it until its little eyes pop out!

All this is, of course, easier said than done, because "done" starts with "do."  I have to get off my ass and actually do those things I keep saying and wanting and needing.  It's proving a harder task than I thought after so many years of letting that little voice talk instead.

Day 10 & 11

My craft area looks like a tornado picked it all up and plopped it back down.  It's due to both the holidays (as a craft everyone's presents, which in turn they will probably never use, but oh well...) and moving last year.  Trying to discover my true skills with this giant task staring me in the face first...well, that's a blocker if I've ever seen one.  So yesterday and today, I have finally been putting it in order, and all I can say is...boy, do I have a lot of crap!

Day 9

Today, I didn't make much progress in my creative endeavors.  I didn't make much progress in anything thanks to the nasty cold that kept me wishing I was asleep in bed all day.  But mainly, I had a difficult time figuring out what really makes me happy these days.

Jeremy and I have both been trying hard to make vision boards lately.  You know, the things "The Secret" talked about.  Basically, they are boards filled with images and words that represent goals for your future.  You put it up somewhere you will see it everyday, and your subconscious helps keep those goals active in your brain.  Therefore, you are more likely to put the energy into achieving those goals than before.

Of course, figuring out those goals can be a challenge.  It definitely is for me.  What are my goals for the future?  What means something to me?  What do I want to look at every single day?  These are the questions that kept plaguing my thoughts all day long, and I have yet to find the answers.  I hope I do soon, though, cause these questions are driving me crazy.

Day 8

Yesterday, I got to work on several things in my search of...me.  One of them was finishing up our weekend wedding project with Jeremy.  I think we're pretty much finished, and it looks great.

Another task was searching the net for creative jobs.  I tried googling "Craft jobs LA" which mainly turned up craft services jobs.  I tried "Artist Jobs LA" and it came up with too wide a variety.  I did google "Props Jobs LA" which came up with some Art Department ads, but I don't know how confident I am in that yet.  Other than acting and college, I've never really put any of my art out there.  I need to boost my skills (and esteem) before I can seriously consider that, I think.

So finally, I decided to turn my cat into a cartoon.  Meet the mighty Zeus.

This project of finding myself has a loooooong way to go.

Day 6 & 7

Over the weekend, Jeremy and I finally got to work on one of the bigger projects for our wedding (one that didn't included just hiring vendors).  We spent the entire Saturday out and about working hard on it.  My feet are proof.  Then Sunday was all about putting it together.

It was a creative project both of us really were looking forward to.  It's been years since either of us have truly worked in this arena.  We were a bit rusty, yes, but we had a great time.  It was a very nice feeling to have again.

Yes, the final project will probably make people say more, "They are just too cute" (in a good or bad sense), but we love it and can't wait to share it with the people we cherish.