[.more.about.journaling.]

This should have been posted right after my earlier post about end-of-year journaling, while also working on the graphics, I have always found that journaling is just so much fun. It’s like getting to know yourself in the journey, know what inspires you in the daily life, and since I incorporate creative journaling I’m sometimes amazed by the hidden talents I discovered along the way… talk about self esteem!

My journaling style, like everybody else’s I guess, continues to evolve day by day. Somehow, I have the tendency to repeat patterns, recreate pages and rewrite words that I like from previous journals. They make me feel good! So I have certainly the excuse for that :-)

So, when it comes to physical journals (with notebooks and collages inside), I would tear the pages I love from old journals and I would with no doubt destroy the remaining old stories. Ha! I confessed some old journals were filled with not-so-feel-good words, they were from the days I haven’t been yet aware of good-vibe creative journaling.



Now, I promised myself to, in daily basis:

- gather inspiration, notice good signs and coincidences and fascinating things around me ‘right now’ – and indeed, life is so fascinating. and be grateful.

This one is very interesting. and I think I will take the word ‘fascination’ as my theme for 2010. It occurred to me when one day I happened to be irritated by a situation, and instead of complaining, suddenly I just said to my friend that the situation was ‘fascinating’. As a consequence, my brain kind of automatically worked on some ways to find reasons why that particular situation was fascinating. It felt almost instantly lightened rather than stressful. So I know it works, hopefully I will be able to remember that all the time :-)

- write only ‘positive talk’ in my journal. this may mean writing one positive affirmation or interesting quote a day. with collage, cutouts of images from magazines, newspapers, or printouts from the internet. being grateful is the most positive talk of all!

- monitor the state of my spirit. list what happened before during the day / night and check those that boost my spirit and find a way to tweak the other situations. Pray-raining is currently my favorite that I learned from Jeannette Maw. It’s an enjoyable exercise to tell good stories, thus keeping your spirit high! be grateful.

- keep track of how I nourish and take care of my body. you are what you eat, they say. and I noticed I feel good when I eat well. I walk at least 1 hour a day (favorite exercise!), and while walking, listen to favorite pieces of music, walking meditation or audiobooks.

- write down my purchases, giveaways and things I receive during the day. they are signs of abundance. the very thing to be grateful for. so be grateful for them.

- find a unique theme, such as write one recipe a day, etc. I collect one or two leaves I found on the street a day (inspired by Linnaeus!). be grateful for each find.

- practice writing by re-writing interesting articles from magazine or lines from books. I’ve learned that my brain learns the fastest when my other senses take simultaneous supporting actions. I opt for articles from travel magazines. be grateful for finding this excellent way to learn.

- what else…oh yes, note the progress of a project. I think it’s a very famous advice to break down any big goal into small bits and take one step a day to tackle it. celebrate any progress, however small, with gratitude.

- remind myself that ‘when in doubt, just do it! we’ll learn along the way’ – and believe there’s always support from God, the Universe, you name it. be grateful.

Wow, isn’t journaling fascinating? And now I know I’m a big fan of creative, multi-media journaling too. I’m grateful for all those creative spirits who invented ways to teach us to live this fascinating life. We’re all fascinating work in progress. For that I’m grateful :-)



Favorite advice on journaling:

By Jill Badonsky the author of Awe-Manac, The Daily Dose of Wonder: "Love is a many splendored thing but, as your spell-check will tell you, “splendored” is not a word. And YOU can make up words too. Coffee is a many caffeinated thing, naps are a many enjoyabled thing, dark chocolate is a many essentialled thing, whatever. Moreover, also, and besides optional grammar is elective during the initial creative of processes."

[.new.year.and.29-day.gifts.challenge.]

Hello friends!

Happy belated new year...owww, I should have posted something on new year's eve or new year day! It was so strange that I still had something to work on, but I did have a great time, when the digital clock on my mobile phone turned 00:00, and the date to 01 January 2010...fireworks in the whole Jakarta sky. It was fantastic!

And now a week has passed and it's Thursday! Ha! What's so interesting about Thursday, you might wonder? The answer is simple: I was born on Thursday, and as I grew up loving this life I become so fond of Thursdays ;-) And therefore, it seems so right for me to start something on Thursday, no?

Here I'm today on the first Thursday in the year 2010, and it just occured to me an idea (for my journal - see my previous post), that it would probably be interesting to note something like "do something new" or "start one new thing" every Thursday during the whole year. Oh dear, I thought, I just challenged myself. But then, why not? Sounds like a very very nice idea, of course! Well, hello, don't you think one needs exciting challenges to stay motivated? So what will be my first "new thing" to start with on this first Thursday of the year, so I thought.

As luck would have it, my mind was thinking and thinking about it when I was at the right place: bookstore (yes earlier this evening I went to a bookstore after work while waiting for the rain to subside). I stumbled upon the book "29 gifts" by Cami Walker and I recalled I read about it somewhere in Jeannette Maw's Good Vibe Blog.



Oh my, then I knew instantly what I would do!! Yew I'll join this site, I decided. And so I went home and signed-up to 29 gifts. I felt wonderful!! Will this work? Oh, this question of mine. It's the main reason why after signing up I decided to write it on this blog :-D I need help. Your help, dear readers. For my participation in the 29-day Giving Challenge, I plan to post for this cycle of giveaway one freebie per day, for 29 days, starting tomorrow. I wrote now in my journal - since now I already moved to a new place only about 35 minutes walk from work, I should be able to plan and manage my after-work time in the evening and set aside an hour or so to create something for the giveaway. You know what, it will be a practice of self-discipline, hopefully :-D Amretasgraphics has been in hiatus for a few months now and I really really need to get my 'high-vibe' and 'creative habit' back. By making this plan "public" - in theory I will be forced to be on track as so many of you would hopefully watch my progress, and in one month, the habit of drawing graphics in the evening after work will be natural again.

So, would you help me? ;-) Thanks a bunch in advance...Happy 2010 my friends!!!

{project thursday: fabric and floral}

Fabric covered boxes

Country Living is unarguably one of my favorite places to hunt for crafty ideas. Just like today, and I am very very happy to find some fresh, bright, and doable projects - exactly what I had been thinking for today's Project Thursday: I have a stack of boxes, pinboard, journals with tattered covers, and guess what, a collection of vintage fabric I haven't used! Sounds perfect. The instructions are clear and simple, too. All these pictures in this entry are from Country Living and each linked to its original page (some are with intructions). I selected those who are doable for me today, with the exception of the peony wreath...I just love it very much, so even if I won't make one today, I label it as 'bright idea', I keep it in mind :-)


Colored pencil vase


Fabric covered journals


Bandana table runner


Message board


Peony wreath

{retro finds}

Gradually cleaning the space in my server today, I was fascinated by how much files I have accumulated over the past few years in my computer. Many of them, of course, were stored as inspiration, ideas, eye candies ... phewww! And while archiving the snapshots from my camera's memory card, I found these pictures I took of old Burda magazines from the 60s...oh yes now I remember digging my mother's collection of fashion magazines the last time I went home a few months ago. Somehow I was amused to find how interesting and hip their style is, so much in line with the current trend plus such an unarguable character. Adding a bit of tweaking and adjustment I dream of recreating the dresses and the coats. And look at the patterns, and the colors. I'm so glad mom still keeps those old magazines :-) Here they are a few little collages I put together from the snapshots.

{envie: Cordelia de Castellane}

This article about Cordelia de Castellane 's Paris appartment in April '09 edition of Elle Decor really stole my heart. There's no way of denying how i love de Castellane's style...and her home. I think, there's something about colorful details against neutral background. Oh yes, just what Elle Decor's written on the title of the article: "delightful" and "eye catching". No wonder it's the cheeriest spot in town.

{envie: kim parker's home}

Honestly. I have some kind of serious obsession and envie about living in a home like Kim Parker's: tastefully colourful and where every corner is decorated with her own artwork. As quoted from her website: "a designer with an exuberant style, Parker combines her own fantastic floral prints with unconventional flea market finds, fashionable antiques, and unique modern pieces to create a vibrant, colorful look."

Now, that's what I call "personal style" :-)





Pictures courtesy of Kim Parker HOME

{love, calligraphy}

i've been pretty quiet for sometime, no? :o) yes i was busy spring cleaning, yes i was busy reading interesting books, yes i was busy at work. but yes, one more confession: i'm in love with lettering, and quietly spent a lot of time scouting calligraphy blogs and websites such as Cystal Kluge's (also her blog Tart Workshop), and my newly found love: Oh So Beautiful Paper blog. Nole is such a wonderful blogger, and her blog, like it's name, is oh so beautiful...i'm smitten, really :o)

{Cystal Kluge}

{Tart Workshop}

{Oh So Beautiful Paper}

{yellow deco: happy home}

I love colors, everywhere, yes, but today while looking at the rain, suddenly flashed in my head that some sparks of yellow in the house might turn the mood from grey to cheery. Oh, would you imagine how nice a yellow wall would be. Yellow furniture would look...just cute! And those yellow details? Flowers, napkins, frock, table lamp...what a happy home!












All inspiring pictures above from Country Living.

{yellow deco: a dash of pink}

A dash of pink somewhere in a yellow-toned room. When I stumbled upon these pictures of Jennifer and Dick Lanne's farmhouse in the New York countryside on Country Living, all I wanted was picturing myself one lovely afternoon having a cup (or many) of tea, drawing graphics in this room. Yellow is a very happy color, and even the tiniest dash of deep pink will make it even happier. Don’t you agree?

{rosy notes: rosy shop}

There are times I play with my own imagination. In that very personal space of mine, I have a shop, or a coffee shop, and regardless of what it is, how the store looks is quite certain: roses in the front, at the entrance. How wonderful, (always in my imagination) that my customers, before entering the shop, would take time to stop and smell the roses... :-)

{picture of au nom de la rose, courtesy of zenog}

{words}

“If I had a rose for every time I thought of you, I'd be picking roses for a lifetime.” - Swedish proverb