My Summer List

Last week I saw the 'Summer Manifesto' post on Ali Edward's blog and got all inspired to create my own Summer List.

I love making lists- to do lists, shopping lists, book lists... At the end of each month, I flip through my daily journal and list down all that I had done on that month. I feel happy to see the amount of things I have achieved, feel more confident about myself and promise myself to do even better the next month. 

These lists make my days look more meaningful,and I feel grateful to know how well I have utilized my time each day.

       Here goes my Summer List

1. Drink lots and lots of water. Make sure that the kids drink plenty too.

2. Eat more fruits.

3. Let the kids be out everyday at least for an hour.

4. Plan a family outing every weekend. (So far the last two weekends had been good- a trip to the beach and to the aquarium. The kids had so much fun)

5. Enroll my 5 year old with the Library's Summer Reading Program. (Last year we read tons of books and the little prizes that they offer are a sure incentive for him)

6. Enroll him for the second swimming session at the Y. My eldest has always been scared of water but last month he surprised us by saying that he was ready to take swimming lessons. He is taking his first session of classes now and eagerly waits for Saturdays. I am so thankful that he loves it now.

7. Read at least a book a week.(This was part of my New Year List but couldn't keep up with it the last couple months.

8.  Take photos daily and find time to document them.

9. Laugh more and take things as they come. (Life can be very unpredictable)  

10. Be more kind and patient with everyone even when the heat is too much for you to handle.(I tend to  flare up when the temperature rises:-)  

Thanks
Susan

Floral Inspiration

Last year I had signed up for Alisa Burke's Watercolor Bliss. That class has encouraged me so much to look around the everyday objects in my life for inspiration. This watercolor paintings were inspired by the online class I mentioned above and also by the beautiful floral prints that I saw on my bedsheet. 

These paintings took me only one hour to complete. For all the three I have used basically the same three colors, except for the blue on the last one. I didn't want to keep any leftovers-:)

Thank you
SusaN

Love Begins...

My Art Journal is almost full. It is so bulky that the back cover came off. So now I am doing my art on Canson Mix media paper. 

I have fallen in love with this week's page  as the colors are so vibrant. It includes my favorite pieces: flowers, hearts,and birds (well, no butterflies on this one).

 The flowers have been done using one of my own hand made stamps-:)

 I love to have a meaningful quote for my pages. The bird, the nest in making and the hearts reminded me of this quote by Mother Theresa:

"Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do...but how much love we put in that action." 

 

   

Ilove to create using available materials that can be recycled. I also try to include the left over art materials of previous projects. The hearts were made from transparent cereal covers, the threads are all the left overs from my book binding and the lovely bird is from a pattern paper that I used for one of my books. For me  this results in a much happier and satisfying creative process. 

Thank you for visiting.Have a great weekend everyone.

SusaN

Handmade...

Do you try to stick on to one kind of art? I am just not able to pursue a single one. It varies according to my changing moods. Last week I was totally into making books and I made these three.

This one is made of recycled cardboard and sketchpaper. It has three signatures with a total of thirty pages.

This one also has three signatures made with white and black cardstock.

 

This book has pattern paper and sketch paper. All the covers' spines have been done using strong thick tape. 

I need more practice with sewing and making the covers. I am planning to do more of these in the coming weeks. I am also making some books using binding rings. Once I complete them I will post them here-:)

During the weekend I got busy with something else. I tried out some handmade stamps. Will showcase them here soon.

Thank you so much for all your encouraging comments. It means a lot to me.
SusaN

Circles

I did this page as part of the Second Floor Challenge. If you want to know more about it go here:  http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/balzer_designs/2012/05/second-floor-challenge-4-circles.html

I have never used so many circles on one page before. Did layers and layers of circles with book pages, paint, water color pencil and punchinella. Love the result. I am all set to experiment more with circles.

 Stage-1

Stage-2

Stage-3

Thank you for visiting
SusaN