Ok, so I STILL haven't done anyting with this blog, for that matter I haven't done anything much with my quilting or beads on quilting, or anything else creative. It's ridiculous.
Yet, my family and I were on the mother of all trips (5,000 miles!), and I got to thinking, I could use one of the landscapes to begin the Bead Journal Project. I had a great time collecting embellishments--sea shells, rocks, postcards (actually they are inspiration not embellishments). With each phase of our trip--beach, mountains, Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, storms, family--I would daydream about ideas for representing these things on a journal page.
My husband and I even discussed size and orientation for this project. Something small and manageable, something one could combine several pages into one big piece, or something a little pushy to challenge one's sense of composition, or something just easy and accessible. (He's decided to conduct his own journal project this year in printmaking.)
Next week my "summer" schedule begins, and I think I can just make Monday my sewing day. I have a new job, but Mondays are off and hubby works that day. The kids would love a "day off" from chores, etc. So I began to see, through endless miles of the western USA, that finally I might be able to carve out both time and space to make things, to sew, and to explore my own ideas instead of only making things for OTHERS.
We returned home after 17 days on the road (yes, I know, too long for sanity). I looked up the Bead Journal Project to verify the rules--aw, man! It doesn't start until September this year! Talk about disappointed.
HOWEVER, I have decided to start this month anyway. AND, my husband and I have decided to open Etsy shops. So Monday I start to sew a journal page and a set of postcards. Other days I am developing a plan to open my shop within 4 weeks, building inventory and working on photos, etc. Really, just exploring Etsy and accompanying blogs has been so inspiring. These places are just so inviting and joyful! I realize that I am part of a tradition of women making things of beauty and sometimes function--really this is a place where I belong.
Grace--KQ
