What a weekend!

Never mind, what a week!
It started with me flying off my bicycle on my way to work  -same route I've been using everyday - I got caught between streetcar tracks and by the time I realized what was happening, I was already on the ground.  Thankfully I got away with some serious bruisings and one wonky wrist and nothing was broken.
Over the weekend - my friends and I decided to take a short trip for a nice picnic and light hiking - which turned into some serious hiking and climbing down rocks to get to the bottom of a water fall. The next day I biked across town with an avid cyclist and I can't believe I made it alive.

These things made me realize what I was taking for granted - good working limbs and general good health and luck - that I avoided some serious set backs. Thank myself for always keeping active in case I have to climb down rocks at least few feet to get to the bottom of a refreshing waterfall.
It reminded me that I had good friends that I could have fun with - and good company makes all the difference in the world. Life was not still going the sour route, as the days like to let us think that it is.
I just needed to be more patient with myself, as I am with so many others.

I really wanted to write some of this down and I was so glad that I had started a Book of days where some journaling can be incorporated.
This page in particular, I am super happy with.
I did some collaging, some doodling and journaling - all three things I always  want to incorporate in a spread. I love the colors and the imagery- I really felt like I was springly and limber - and that I could do anything with the people I was with. I appreciated being alive and well enough mind and body, that I could enjoy such moments.

I hope more of these moments happen....

Hope you liked,

Love always,
Shines

Good things happen....

It feels like forever and a third since I've done anything in my art journals and nothing feels more creative to me then smashing some junk, paint and making something nice to look at.
I have a few projects in mind as you may know if you've been reading my previous ramblings - but I had to put them aside for a second (which is really hard for me to do because I'm very much about finishing what I started before moving onto new projects -but I'm getting better) and let some creative juice OUT.

Unlike most other times I had an idea of what I wanted to incorporate - I wanted to colour someone's lineart and incorporate it somehow. Drawing is not my strongest suite but I have a GREAT collection of line art by others who generously share their talents on my Pinterest page and in my DeviantArt folder (I have hoarding issues but that's another story)....another element that I wanted to have FOR SURE was some doodling. I really miss marking random shapes on paper that look good together.

I had a quote in mind but I didn't know what image I wanted to use; I wanted to use an empowering image JadeDragonne called Vail for this quote:

for this quote as it's something I strongly believe in even though life has tried to prove otherwise to me.  I chose this lineart by

Good things come to those who wait... or those willing to get up and get shit done!

For a long time, I was part of the group believing that good things come to those who wait and while I waited nothing happened but good things were happening to those getting out there and trying something.  So went and tried a few things and while it got me somewhere it didn't get me anywhere quick.  

It finally dawned on my infinite wisdom that, maybe good things happen to those who are willing to put in some work-and have the patience to wait for that perfect opportunity.  You have to be in practice of willing to work otherwise the opportunity will pass to another who is; and if you are willing to work, even if the opportunity you wanted doesn't happen, another will knock and you have to be ready to work for it.   Everything, I tell you EVERYTHING is an excuse; time is something we can all manage, its a man-made concept and the will of a human being is stronger than anything. When and if you really wanted to do something, you will find time in all sorts of places to get it in your schedule. Just change in perspective and mindset.  All this really were in my head as a jumble but the doodling I got done made it into a communicatable sentence.

What you see in the picture BTW, is a tissue paper with this beautiful doodle that I've been hanging onto for quite some time now -it had fallen apart so I am glad it found itself a good home and it certainly kick started my doodling.


Life, God, Divine Force or The Universe - whatever it is that you believe in - truly works in mysterious ways.... in my case so many have passed by that I could have taken advantage of but I wasn't really willing to work and I was to scared to try.  I went through a hiatus where I was sick of what I was doing to make a living and jumped into something utterly different - and came up top - but that probably only happened because I was willing to try something and put forth an effort.  Still, there are some  things I did right and now that I am ready to finally put forth some effort, things are rolling along rather well * knock on wood*.

Hope you liked my bit of wisdom-sharing there, LOL

Love Always,

Shines.

Travelbook update with tiny haul from a stationary store.

This took so much longer than I thought it would to put together.
As you know my first book binding experience using thread wasn't very good - it's now being held together by tape that I had placed on the spines to prevent bleeding and by the layers over the tape. Either way it's being held together, so I am not complaining.

Originally, I had started working on some covers because I felt that there was a real possibly that I will be making a book with hard cover for the trip, and of course to house all my little booklets that's now lost a home :(  While I am still going to make a home for all my lovely booklets that were once signatures - I have also decided to make another booklet for the trip using the pages I glued together, rather than a book on its own. I think what I will end up is a large fat book that will house all my little booklets from year 2014.  I figured a cereal box would be perfect for this but I digress.

So here is what the little booklet for the Nova Scotia trip turned out to look like.
I threw in almost EVERYTHING I had collected while there like the paper gift bags and snack holder I got on flight and of course the plane tickets. I forgot to show it in the video but every other page is only glued around the edges so that it makes a pocket for all the post cards I got, where a bit of journaling can live. Then I threw in a couple of envelopes that came in the mail as well just in case.
This book was bound using Saddle Stitch tutorial from Sea Lemon ,who really does short and to the point tutorials.

This sounds kinda crazy but instead of covering up theses ads and bits that's exclusive to Nova Scotia, I am thinking of just leaving the background as it is - I guess its more of a smash journal then an art journal.  I'm waiting for my pictures to "develop" so hopefully next week I can get an AFTER video here for ya.

In other news, I bumped into this super adorable stationary store while grocery shopping in Koreatown called MR. PEN.









 It's fairly new, but it was buzzing with people looking and omg there is a whole TABLE dedicated to writing tools -pens, pencils, mechanical pens and pencils... my jaw reached the ground and rolled away from me like they would in a cartoon show!!!


while browsing , I realized they also sold little glass charms for your phones, which glow in the dark so you can find your phone anywhere!! I had received one as a gift and left it in Nova Scotia, which was sad because I didn't know where it came from, but now I can replace it!!!

Of course I had to get a few pens too - and because retail therapy is awesome, I decided to buy a few pens and charms for my coworkers who had made my stay at my new gig incredibly enjoyable,so much so that Iit doesn't feel like a job.  I love these pens - they're so cute and funny :D

That's all today.

Hope you like,

Love Always,
Shines.