Pay It Forward, with art!

Erin from art-is-try has started a fun project that will allow participants to both give and receive handmade gifts, spreading the love across Blogland by threes.

I found out about Erin's project from Roni, of Bad Jones Rising, and immediately wanted "in."  (Roni's post about the project is here.)

If you would care to join me, here's how it works:

1. If you would like to participate, please leave a comment on this post. The first three people to commit to the project will receive a handmade gift from me!
2. Post this project on your own blog—feel free to cut n’ paste. Gather three new participants and be willing / prepared to follow through with the “Pay It Forward” part!!! Please link back to this original post, and I, in turn, will include a link to your post so that we can follow the project from its origin.
3. E-mail me (aleakaskey@yahoo.com) with your full name and address, and I will send a small, simple, heartfelt, handmade gift.  In turn, you will give small, simple, heartfelt, handmade gifts to your participants. Let the joy grow exponentially! 
4. If you are interested in participating but are not one of the first three to comment on this post, come back after I have listed my three participants here, click on one of their links and sign up under them (or if they are full, click on their links etc etc etc until you find one)!

*NOTE*-any and all handmade gifts are okay! We are trying to keep them small, and heartfelt. A small painting, poem, collage, etc, but with a touch of your own personal heart and creative side! I also haven’t put a time limit on my post, but I would hope they would all be made/given in a timely matter. As long as you make some kind of agreement with your gift-receivers, your deadline should be up to you…

So, to help clarify, here is an example to follow:  I commented on Roni's blog, so Roni will send me a gift.  I am posting the project on my blog so I am waiting for 3 comments. When I get them, I will send 3 gifts. Those people will post to their blogs, and send out 3 gifts of their own! I hope that makes sense, but if not, feel free to email me (aleakaskey@yahoo.com) with any questions, or visit Erin at her blog.

We hope you are encouraged and motivated to participate.

_________________________________________________________

My participants and their “Pay It Forward” blog links:

1. April Cole, of April Cole's Studio
2.  Laurie, of Lone Black Bird
3.  Jo Murray, of Jo Murray--Art

Letter Loving!

I am participating in Joanne Sharpe's online class entitled Letter Love 101.  She has set up a private blog for class participants, and posts a new lesson every day for the month of February.  She combines videos, blog post notes, PDFs, and even some of her own original art to inspire us.

Even before the class began, I ordered some new black markers that Joanne recommended for lettering on her blog.  I now have (what I consider to be) an impressive collection of black markers, and from our Yahoo group exchanges, I know that I am far from alone!

All black ink pens!!

Our "workbook" for class is a plain ol' black and white marbled composition books, which we have "dressed up" with duct tape and other embellishments.  For the first few days, I was less than pleased with my notebook, and even considered scrapping it and starting all over in a new one.  Today, though, I buckled down and "made it mine":

I even took a stab at "fancy lettering" for my Letter Love title, and was finally pleased with the results.

Back cover, featuring a gift of art from Joanne to keep us inspired

Inside front cover and first page

In the first lesson, we were invited to simply "play" with our markers, and create various alphabets in our notebooks.  In keeping with my "less than pleased with my work" mood those first few days, I had a slight inferiority complex over my alphabets.  After all, I am taking this e-course because I don't like my lettering/handwriting all that well! 

To show you how crippling a dose of "perfectionism" can be, I will confess that I thought about creating a "rough draft" composition notebook (to keep all my "ugly work" hidden at all costs), along with a "final copy" composition notebook (with work that I would think is "good enough" to share on my blog).

Seriously?

I got over myself, so you will see the good, the bad, and the ugly as I proceed through the class!

Joanne showed us how to create an inspirational sign for ourselves, which I chose to include in the notebook itself so it can go with me wherever I am doing my lettering. 

I had so much fun making it, that I made a second one!

It was fun to break out the colored markers after all of those black and white pages!

One of the perks of this class, by the way, is that I find it remarkably portable:  so far, I can take my notebook and zipper case of pens with me, and "letter away" wherever I choose!

Next, we played around with the word "art" in 20 different fonts.  I copied Joanne's interpretations of the font names, and then went back through and created interpretations of my own. 

I have to say that this exercise today really won me over completely to the class.  I could really see the possibilities for interesting lettering by playing in 20 different typefaces at the same time. 

I will continue to share updates on my progress through Joanne's class, but I highly recommend that you sign up for yourself (on her web site).  It's such an affordable class, with such broad applications, at such a "do-able" pace.  Once you purchase access, you can access it "forever". 

Love it!

Four Things: Truly a Miscellany

1.  Earth 911

Earth 911 recently used a photo from my blog to illustrate one of the pages of their story, "7 Reuse Ideas for Old Jeans"!  If you would like to read my original blog post, which included other crafts I made in addition to the pocket magnets they are highlighting, you will find it by clicking here. 

2.  Pinterest Question

It is always fun to have people find their way to my blog from other web sites.  Lately, I've seen from my "stats" tab that some folks have come here via Pinterest.  Does anyone know how to find out what photos have been "pinned" by someone on Pinterest?  I am just curious to know what is "out there."

3.  Paper Swap!

I participated in LaWendula's January paper swap, and had the good fortune to be paired with Orit of Israel.  There was a "Mother Goose" theme, so I sent her several illustrations from rhyme books I have for my paper crafting, along with child-themed papers and pictures.  My girls were enchanted by the idea of "Miss Orit" in Israel, and contributed various pictures they drew specifically for her. 

In return, I received an envelope full of paper goodies.  Here they are all spread out on the breakfast table:

I'll take you on a little visual tour of all that is here.  It's amazing how exotic and interesting regular things like food packaging, advertisements, and receipts seem to be when they are printed in another language!

I am especially intrigued by the Hebrew Scrabble-style tiles:

She included lots of other favorites, including postage stamps, a vintage photo, and an air mail envelope:

And I love these detailed notes on a subject that I clearly never studied when I was in school:

My girls are still asking if they can send things to "Miss Orit," so I think they will now want to participate in all future swaps I tell them about!

If you are interested in doing a paper swap like this, check out LaWendula's paper swap site and let her know you want to get involved!

4.  Spring Craft Show

I am excited to announce that I have a spot at an upcoming craft show in my area!  It will be my second time to sell my paper crafts and other handmade goods to the general public; you can see the results of my first effort last November in this blog post.  I will keep you posted on what will be coming out of Studio 791 as the event comes closer!