"Carried"

This is how I've felt lately. I've been surrounded by so much love lately

that it has just come pouring out into this blog.

I have to tell you what I have been going through

 because my newest piece of art is what has come from this experience

 and my art is beginning to heal me.

I will begin with a journal entry that I wrote today as  I was starting to work.

I started thinking about this terrible, unexplainable, void

 that happens everyday to so many people.

This great sadness that is so very present in my life at this moment.

I had a miscarriage.

After we have been trying for over 3 years to get pregnant,

 I Did get pregnant!

Then the worst thing I could imagine happened.

 We lost the baby.

Now what do I do?

You see, I usually know how to feel and can slap a smile on my face

and "Scarlet O'Hara"

 (tomorrow is another day)

my way through almost anything

BUT

This time I just could not and still can not.

As I was sitting down to create and do something that makes me happy and actually "feel",

I hear that still small voice

That voice turned this horrible word that makes me tear up thinking it much less saying it. 

That voice turned it into something else.

"Miscarried" 

turned into just simply

 "Carried".

I was inspired!

(I had intended to do some jewlery making but you know how that goes with art.

 It never ends up how you set out for it to be. At least for me that's how it goes.)

I grabbed my supplies from my awesome Art closet

 Curtosy of my parents. 

(Don'tcha just love it when people are getting rid of things that you really need.)

 which of course included my love affair with MOD PODGE!

I found some beautiful chip art birds from my stash and knew they would be the star!

I Love adding a heart to these birds. It just fits!

I use my chip art tools to place the heart on the birds

and used the same tools for the word "Carried".

Love this picture! That's from spraying the water to do chip art.

I paint the birds "sky blue" and add a red heart.

I've tried other color combinations but I guess...

 I'm in a "blue period".

OK, I simply must show you a picture of Tigger.

He comes to check on me about every 15 minutes.

(I think most of the time it's just so he can look out of the window.)

I paint the canvas a copper color and find this cool paper

 that has crinkles all in it and another scrap that has gold flecks running through it.

Both are handmade and I've been carring them around with me

 through out my twenties and into my 30's where now at 36 I am FINALLY using it! 

Of course I Mod Podge it and start working on layout.

I add some more crinkled pieces of paper and make

a flower and branch which ends up being the stem of the flower.

I find another Chip art bird and add it to the piece.

Oooo!

And I use this cool textured paper

 that looks like bubbles or stones to paint over and stamp with.

I think it adds something cool to the piece. 

"Cool Textured Paper Painted"

(said in a robot voice.)

Now say it 3 times fast!

The top looked empty so I add paper clouds and paint them.

Here it is:

"Carried"

(took the pictures outside so there are shadows on the top)

Here's my Favorite picture of it outside!

(I may have to use "Outdoor Mod Podge" on it and leave it right there.)

Thank you for reading my little Blog.

 I do hope I haven't told you too much about my personal life.

I truly did not intend on it but I had to allow you to understand this piece.

 It is truly therapy for me and I am so grateful to have found it.

Thank you for supporting me and "Carrying me" for a little while.

Everything today was created with Love, Tears, a great big mess,

 a lot of inspiration and my own two hands 

and it was all Handmade by JillyG's.

I hope you enjoy it!







"Limitless Abundance"

This post is filled with 

(I have to admit that I have tried to post several times previous to now and found myself "uninspired".) Sometimes you just have to realize that you can't force creativity. So, I finally put down the sewing project I have been working on and photographing and decided to just simply do art today. What I found was a sense of relief and freedom that I had not been allowing myself to feel. Today I was able to fully "let go" and I am please by what resulted in this "letting go".

I have had a lot of sadness lately but today I came across a piece of paper that I had jotted down the words "Limitless Abundance" onto. I remembered that I was listening to Melody Ross teach a lesson from a course I was taking called "Soul Restoration" through the  Brave Girl's Club. She was talking about going out and really becoming who you are meant to be and she used the words

 "limitless abundance".

These simple words did it. In just a few seconds I was finally "inspired".

I quickly got out my supplies and a small flat art canvas and went to work.

I used a few pieces of Chip Art to add some dimension and painted the frame grey.
(I got all of my Chip Art supplies from http://www.melodyross.com/)

     I add white to sky blue and paint a chip art Bird.

Then it was time for MOD PODGE!!!!!

Next I get out my Chip Art tools to add the most important words

 "Limitless Abundance".

Note: It's hard to photograph yourself doing chip art but basically you chose your letter or shape and insert it into an extender and then use the mallet to bang onto the canvas really, really hard.

 (This is particularly useful on a day when you have  any pent-up frustration to deal with.)

 If you look hard you can see the impression of the letters on the canvas.

 You can also see that I got a little overzealous

with the "banging" while using the letter "T"!

                                                    

                         Next, I began to paint in the letters.

I add some more Mod Podge and the Bird

 and wait for it to dry...

                          I paint a border white and cut it to fit the canvas.

Slap on some more Mod Podge and wait again....

Guess I didn't wait long enough to press it down

because I pulled some of the paint off with my scrapper.

    OOPSIE!

I see it starting to take shape.

 My art is beginning to come alive.

 To have a voice.

What will it say?

I add a left over doiley from Valentine's Day. I cut it up to use throughout the piece.

 I like the texture, simplicity and the romance of it.

                                            

                    

   I use the heart from the center to fill in some space.

                                    

               I use the edge around the bird.

                                           

                     I cut out circles to add to the side space.

                                      

                            Then I add a good thick coat of Mod Podge to the whole piece.

  

                 After it dries, I decide it needs one more thing...BUTTONS!!

I have a collection of old and new white buttons I've inherited from Mother's, Grandmother's and Great Grandmother's button tins and they usually provide just the right touch in any piece of art or project.

               I added some finishing details and antiqued it

              in a couple of places to add a little "ommph".

Here it is: "Limitless Abundance"

            

I just think that the phrase is so beautiful and exactly what I needed today. I needed to remember that even though we have times in our lives filled with deep sadness we still have an Abundance of anything we need. Love, Friendship, Support, Hope, Peace, Prayer and Creativity are what I am seeking and I realized that it's all right there for me to have if I want it.

 Thank you to those of you that are reading this blog (mainly my family)

for you are the ones that are my

 "Limitless Abundance"

 and I Love you for it.

All of this was "Handmade by Jillyg's" with sweat, lots and lots of LOVE,

 inspired creativity, a couple of tears, much hope and my own two hands. 



I LOVE my new E-reader!

 So, I got a Kindle for my birthday this year from my parents and I am in

 L-O-V-E!

 (I need to preface this posting by saying that I am not a "techie". I do not have a Smart Phone or one of those new "Pad" things but what I do have is a Kindle. )

It is the Coolest thing I have and I love it! Anyway, today I was looking at my Kindle and thinking about how I should be taking better care of it seeing that I AM in Love with it and all.

Before you know it I am off to my sewing room to make a Kindle cover. I pick out some of my most favorite fabric that I use to make aprons out of and a few embelishments I think I might use. I even manage to print out an "e-how" on how to make a Kindle cover.  So with Items in hand I set out to accomplish my task.

Next, I read the "E-How" and then I decide I can do better than this one....

 I toss it in the trashcan because I am BRAVE!!!

So now, I am feeling so very BRAVE

 and Daring

 and quickly realize I have no idea what I am doing...

I pull out the measuring tape and begin to "figure" as my Grandmother calls it. 

I decide to use a 1/2 of a handtowel to make the cover and then cover the outside with cute fabric.

Next I sew it into a tube thinking I am going to insert some sort of hard board to make it more durable.

Quickly, I scrap this idea after deciding that I'd rather make it look cute and do some quilting. At least that's what I think you call it. (I've never done this before so I sort of work my way through it.)

So I SEW.

And I Sew

And I SEW...

BUT THEN!

My needle breaks!!

SIDEBAR:

(Now begins my adventure in replacing the needle. Mind you, I'm not a sewer. Not really. I've had one lesson from my Grandmother on "how-to" set up my sewing machine and make a blanket which consisted mostly of her doing it all and me watching because I was too chicken. 

Also, one lesson from my Mom when I wanted to make curtains which is another post in and of itself. I am basically self-taught. I don't use correct terminology, I don't know what the standard widths, and hems and even tools are. I just make it up as I go along. Most of the time thinking that there must be a better way than this.)

SO... I get the broken needle out and find a new one.

 Then the needle drops out of my fingers

and

 down into the bobbin part of the sewing machine.

 IT DROPS DOWN INTO A TINY HOLE! With only the tip peaking out...

DO you SEE that tiny Gold thing sticking out of the middle part of the picture?

That is the head of the needle!

I take a deap breath a try to remember that I wanted to do this.

I chose to do this and it is supposed to fun.

 So I look around.

I see small scissors. I think, "I'll use them like pliers..."

OMG!!!! They worked! I AM McGyver!!!

I compose myself and remember I have more to do.

But then,

I have an epiphany. I'll use the manual...



(Insert angel voices singing "AHHH")

AND it has pictures!

I get the needle aligned and inserted into the tiniest hole

 in the most akward position for my hand there could be

and then,

I stab myself three times...

Then I sew.

BUT

Then my needle breaks! Seriously, it breaks again.

I have another epiphany and realize that I must need a stronger needle...

(I know, I should've known this the 1st time it broke but like I said, I'm new at this.)



I finally get it finished and it's too short.

BUT

I'm part McGyver now so I grab some large Ric-rac and make it look like I meant for it to be like that.

I get it pinned all the way around the top and think I'm almost done and realize...That I can't use the sewing machine for this part.

(Now what McGyver?)

I dig in my other Grandmother's sewing basket and find Embroidery Floss!



So I stitch and I stitch and I stitch.

I add a cute Button and loop to keep my beloved Kindle from slipping out of it's case.

                                                         I do a few more minor things and

"Tah-Dah"

The Finished Product!

A Beautiful, Most Adorable, Quite A-Maz-ing Kindle Cover. 

 This project was made with Sweat, (a little bit of blood this time),

LOVE and my own two hands.

All of it was

Handmade by JillyG's.

Now I'm gonna go pass out...