Weekly Challenge: Celebrate!

 

 

 

 

 

This week's challenge is to Celebrate! 

This weekend is my birthday. I love to celebrate my birthday. I have always enjoyed a good party. From the moment my sweet great aunt "Auntie" gave me my first taste of champagne on my 16th birthday, My dad serenaded me on his harmonica  and my great uncle Buster gave me my first string of pearls...I have loved the celebration associated with my birthday. There is something magical about marking a new year and celebrating with friends and family. In recent years retailers have gotten in the spirit, so a month before my birthday I get cards and coupons from my favorite stores. It's turning into a national holiday for MEEEEE! 

In recent years I have made my birthday a weekend event.  I enjoy every minute with as many  friends as possible. I accept invitations to celebrate and let my birthday unfold. Its always fun that way.

This week I invite you to celebrate with me.  You guys have no idea how much I enjoy hearing how you are including creative play in your lives and how that is impacting your lives. It keeps me going and inspires me in so many ways. So thank you for sharing your journey and joining me from time to time in our creative journaling workshops. Thanks most of all for keeping me up to date on what is happening in your lives and how creativity is shaping your experience. 

Lets celebrate this week together...share your photos, stories and other goodies in the comments below or on our Facebook page. Celebrate and share the JOY!

Flea Market Finds

I've taught all the classes I will teach for the year and its time for me to dream up next years group of classes and revamp some of the one's I taught this year adding a bit more flare and expanding the size of my classes. To get inspiration I love taking little trips to search for items that I can use in my journals. Its amazing what you can find at a flea market.


Last weekend I went with a group of ladies from A Work of Heart to a local flea market. I found some great items...vintage stamps, music paper, canvas bags, letters and really old books. It was so much fun to get up early in the morning and search through so many wonderful things.

At the flea market, we ran in to serveral people who have attended our classes.in the past. Its so wonderful to meet and re-meet people out and about who have changed aspects of their lives just by connecting more with their creativity. I love seeing the transformational power of creative expression.

So in the next few months you should start to see some of the items in my journals in next years classes and on the site. I'll spend some time playing and allowing the creative process to guide me.

If you are working on something fun please share in your comments or drop me an email. I love hearing what you all are creating.

I Write Like...

I love to write and my writing style has developed over the years. Years ago I would agonize over my writing style. Afraid it wasn't proper or creative or descriptive enough. I wanted it to be flowering and magical. But I soon learned that's not my style.  At some point I accepted that my writing style is my own and its perfect the way it is. I write like I talk and some people like it and others don't. That's OK.  When I write from my heart its the most freeing thing for me to experience. So one day I stopped trying to get it right and decided to just share. I started to share from my heart in my writing...no matter how it came out. There was a freedom. I accepted that my writing is more like a written conversation with my reader and not a proper written document. I have found peace with it all...even my hand writing. (I write like I talk too. :) )

Today I came across a site that allows you to cut and paste your writing in a box and they quickly analyze your writing. The result is that they tell you when your writing style is similar to a famous authors writing style. Its pretty cool. I'm not sure how accurate it is...but its fun to know that my writing in all of my perceived reservations about it is similar to several famous writers. I feel like I am in good company and it inspires me to write even more.

To learn more visit

I Write Like

An icon: Julia Cameron shares her tools to develop Spirituality & Creativity

People's Choice Willow Glen Awards: A Work of Heart

The San Jose Mercury News is running their 2010
People's Choice Willow Glen Awards. 

If you love A Work of Heart Studio (where I teach classes) then please vote for the studio as your favorite Willow Glen business under the following
categories:

#45 Place to discover your inner child

#73 Place for kids to get creative. 

This will help us get the word out there about the studio and allow us to offer more amazing workshops for you.

The deadline for voting is July 23rd 2010. 

Vote by clicking this link:

http://www.mercurynews.com/willow-glen/ci_15497941

Vision Boards - Sunday, July 18 2010

I'm getting ready to lead the Vision Boards Workshops on Sunday. I always try to finish my own Vision Board before I lead a workshop. It makes leading a lot more fun because I have some excitement around what I'm creating in my life and that seems to get the fires going in everyone. So if you are joining us on Sunday I'll show you where I am.


You might be asking yourself..."Your leading and you don't have a completed Vision Board?" The answer is ... I don't always have an active vision board going at all times. There are times when things are moving in all the magical ways I like and I am crystal clear from a previous board or journalling what I am focused on and excited about. Then there are times when I'm ready for a little boost and a fresh look from a new point of view.

I always start the process by pulling images. Lots and lots of images. I've been pulling pages from magazines on and off for the last month and setting them in a big pile in my studio. I almost have enough to begin to layout the images on my board.

In the vision board class i teach this weekend,  I will have tons of images that you can dig through until you have what you need for your boards. You can also pull images from your magazines at home and bring them with you to class. Some of you may find everything you need and be ready to assemble the board. Some of you will use the full time to collect images and may decide to assemble at home. What ever your process, it all works. I give you all the tools to create your vision board and complete it (in class or at home). I also give you some suggestions for things to do to keep your vision alive in the days and weeks after you complete your board.  At the end of class, you'll have everything you need to create a vision board and much more.

If you're have not registered for the class and you'd like to join us, you can register on the following page...

http://www.thereddragonfly.com/workshops_ca.htm

See you there!

Julie

New Workshop On the Calendar!

Vision Board Workshop
Sunday, July 18, 2010
10:30 - 1:00pm
A Work of Heart, San Jose, CA 95125

Create a visual vision for your future. Explore the power and magic of vision boards and idea journaling to support you in creating your best year!

> More..

Where I create!

 

I am always on a quest to create the perfect home studio space.  In the last few months I have organized and tossed out old brushes, dry paint, and put like things together. It's beautiful...I can finally find what I'm looking for when I need it. The process has made it super easy to create at home when the creative muse strikes.   

I have to tell you about my metal room divider... I had a metal room divider that separates my studio from the rest of my living space. One day it started making me feel cramped and closed in...so I moved it in front of the big wooden table where I journal and create. Ahhhh! The room opened up and the creativity began to flow. 

The metal made it easy to display my art and I found strong magnetic hooks to hang a few of my paintings and other inspirational objects. The other day I found some magnetic plastic shelves at the dollar store. I spray painted them a metallic color to match the room divider and presto...I now have a perfect place to store my stamps. I am so proud I had to share.