Artist Trading Cards

I have been thinking of trying this project for a while, but much more so lately.
I have been in a bit of a creative rut lately. Working and cleaning the house, all of the school is almost out kind of stuff such as concerts and graduations, so forth.

I ordered a book yesterday that I am excited to get called the Artist’s Way. I have heard wonderful things about it and I need some inspiration.

I would love to know if anyone is interested in this project? Do you make them? Do you trade them? I think it would be wonderful to send and receive trading cards from all over the place.

If you make these and trade them or are interested let me know. I would love to know more about them.

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Two people in love

 

This is a picture I took of two people walking hand in hand and very much in love. Yes, it’s two women. So what? This is the first time in my life I have seen my aunt happy, in love and feeling free enough to walk down the street holding her lovers hand. What an amazing thing this is. Everyone one should have the right to be this happy. If you are in love, man and women, women and women, man and man, we all have the right to be happy and not be afraid to shout it out to the world. I am so happy for them! I have known my aunt my entire life (she is 10 years older than myself) and last week was the first time I have ever seen her this happy. 

This is one of those pictures that make me smile. 

Walking Man

Last week I went on a very long trip. I started off from home in Waco, Texas, flew to Boise, Idaho. I visited with family for 3 days and then, I hopped into the car with my aunt and drove half way across the country to Minneapolis, Minnesota. I saw many interesting things along the way, and one of which I want to discuss today. 

My aunt and her fiance took me to the Sculpture Garden in which I found this amazing statue. They had many wonderful and interesting works of art, but this one struck me. I would like to tell you why. When I first walked by this statue, I didn’t think much of it until I noticed something. It is a statue of a man walking. The details in it is what made me stop to really get a good look. His face was one of board-em, but he was in motion, however his eyes were closed and that is what made me stop to think.

He looks as if he is walking to work, or possibly home from work, he is not happy or sad or angry, in fact there is no emotion at all really. In my head I saw him as walking a path he walks everyday, so much that there is no reason to open his eyes. How often does he walk this same path? He is not alive, he is just doing what he does. 

You might be wondering why I thought this was so interesting. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I wanted to take this trip. Over the last two years I have become very comfortable and safe living in my little home, going to Walmart once a week for grocery shopping and the occasional trip to school to drop kids off or pick them up when they missed their bus. I had a great deal of anxiety before my vacation. It meant I would leave the comfort of my home and husband, my kids and my dogs and doing something new, something even a bit dangerous. Flying ( I actually had 5 flights to catch in all) and a 3 day road trip. Anything could have happened, my flight could have crashed ( it has been 10 years since my last flight), I could get stuck somewhere like Denver, we could get into a car crash and die. The possibility seemed endless of all the things that could go wrong and the closer the trip the more frightened i became. 

I am very glad I did go ( glad to be home safe and sound however). I did something, saw things that I never dreamed I would see such as Mount Rushmore. I got to visit with my dad whom I have not seen in 3 years, and my grandparents and my aunts and uncle. 

For the last two years I HAVE been this man, doing the same thing over and over, day after day, not really living, just going threw the motions. I decided after looking at this beautiful statue, that I want to start living again. I want to see the colors in the world, I want to feel the sun and the wind on my skin again. I want to open my eyes as I walk along this road in life and start seeing the world around me. 

Thank you Walking Man for showing me that my eyes were closed and for giving me the courage to open them again. 

 

Here is what I have been doing

I haven’t been here for a while which is really bad. Bad Amy, Bad! Slap on the wrist. I have been searching online on different ways to make money from home. You see, I went a little overboard last Christmas and my regulare job, well, my at home on the phone job, hours are becoming harder to find. So, I have been searching every lead, trying a variety of different things. Some are working out, but the money is very low and it takes a very long time to make anything.

Here is a list of some of the ones that seem to be working.

Chatabout is my favorite. You earn points just for chatting. It’s easy, it’s fun and I love it. I am almost up to my $50 payout but it’s taken me two months to get here. But you can get a variety of things, gift cards and small trinkets.

Amazon Mechanical Turk is excellent for taking surveys. There are hundreds of surveys and they tell you what they are looking for if they are looking for something special. They don’t pay that great, however you have a lot of choices, you won’t get rejected or get the message “you don’t qualify”.

Bubblews is great, it’s just a blogging sight that you get paid in cash for points and you get points from each like and comment you receive on your posts.

Postloops is another great one but it’s hard to find forums to comment on that match your interest.

Those are some of my favorites and I do at least a little each day. Swagbucks is a popular one however I haven’t quite figured it out yet, but still working on it.

 

Anyway, there are these little creatures that I have been working on also, my kids just seem to love them. They are simple to make and fun and the kids can help out with them. This is a picture of my two favorite ones. I just finished them today and they are ready and waiting for when the kids get home. I hope you like them!

 

Also, I joined a site that I get freebies for and my first mission is for these wonderful vitamins that taste amazing. It’s a 30 day challenge so I will let you know how it goes. Feel free to check it out at this link…

http://smiley360.com/2919214.cfm

Or if you want to find out how you can get in on this, check out this link…

http://smiley360.com/2831582.cfm

For the first mission, they send me much more than what I was expecting actually and I do highly recommend it.

Happy at Last!

This is Sam. Two days ago she was telling me how sad she was because she wasn’t pretty enough. Well, I have been talking to her and we went on a long walk through the forest and we talked. She had never been in the forest before and it made her so happy! She forgot all about trying to be someone she isn’t and found something that makes her happy, NATURE! She found a leaf with a lady bug on it and an acorn. They are her treasures and she loves them so much! She just doesn’t care about trying look like a girl, just call her Sam. She loves to be outside all the time looking for new treasures. She will be on Etsy within a few minutes.

Please meet Sam

Meet Sam, soon she will be my newest addition on my Etsy shop. She is still missing something but I am not sure exactly what yet, but I know she needs something feminine. She was born with dark blue gingham skin and and feels like she looks like a boy. I added outstretched arms because she really needs a hug to feel pretty. She prefers to be called Samantha, however everyone just calls her Sam whether she likes it or not. She really wants to be pretty but she whispered to me that she feels very plain and ordinary. I of course told her she was beautiful just the way she is but it just doesn’t seem to help her. She does not want to be put on ETSY until she looks more like a girl, so I promised her I would find just the perfect thing for her. Look for her soon at

https://www.etsy.com/shop/BadStitches

I am back to creating “stuff N things”

This is my new art doll I am working on.

My new sewing machine is so wonderful! I started making a doll, but suddenly got a the urge to make curtains and pillows for my living room so now that I have finished with that. I started back on the doll again. It is so much fun just being able to let go and be “weird” once in a while and make weird stuff.

I haven’t named her yet, but her personality is starting to come out to me a little at a time and I think I am learning her “back story” with each stitch. I can’t wait to share all of her with you, but here is what a picture of her so far. I am working on her hair today and will start on her dress. Then, will I get to be really unique and creative with her, once I get the basics all on.

Finally sewing again

My sewing machine has been out of commission for a while, well it still worked but , only if I spent 20 minutes adjusting it to ever 1 minute of sewing time. Anyway, I got my new sewing machine and I finally got to start using it. I could not be happier with it! I made curtains for my living room windows! I am so happy about it. We have had bare windows for a while now,
It’s a long story, but we have had bare windows in the living room since we moved in. I honestly did not think we would be here more than 6 months, but now it’s been 2 years. I finally made curtains! What do you think?

A New Doll

My new sewing machine is working like a dream! For a few days I spent working on my doll. I have tried one of these dolls a couple of years ago and I just couldn’t get her to look right, but this time I know a little bit more about sewing and how things go together. I really think she is coming along really well so far. I am very excited to watch her come together. 

I decided to take a break and today I made a curtain for my window. It’s not all the way finished, and I still have another one to make for the living room but once I get them both up and hanging, I will show you what they look like. 

I am so excited for my doll to come together. My sewing machine is really doing great and I have yet had to re-thread it because it breaks or knots up! Woo-hoo! D