One World One Heart 2011

WELCOME!

The Amazing Lisa Swifka is our wonderful hostess.  Please visit her blog to say thanks for all the hard work she has put into this event & to visit new blogs & make friends.  This has been a spectacular event for the last four years, so come join in on the fun (click the link or the picture below to be taken to the list of participants)

If you are a first time visitor, welcome to my blog Creative Musings.  My name is Nerissa Alford & I am a jewelry artist, mixed media artist & photographer (I can't just pick one medium).  I am an American ex-pat currently living in Kuwait with my family. This is the 5th Year I have participated & the first that I am in the same location as the previous year. We move around quite a bit!

Camel Prints Card: taken during my first camping excursion

Up Close & Personal Card: Another camping excursion

This year I am giving away a little package of things that remind me of Kuwait.  The first items in my Kuwait care package are the photographs.  I have taken all these photos here & turned into 5x7 greeting cards.  You can send them with a sentiment & they are suitable for framing when it's done with it's job as a card.

Camel Silhouette: Ditto - you'd think I was a camping fiend, but really my first camping experiences came right here in Kuwait.

Kuwait Skyline Card: from a Dhow cruise

Kuwait Towers Detail Card: This is a landmark that Kuwait is known for

The second item is a woven ring band.  You'll have to send me your ring size & favorite color.  I have been so fortunate to find a bead store right here in Kuwait & take classes from the talented owners.  I would be so delighted to make you a ring from the techniques I learned from them. 

Woven Ring Bands: I took the class here in Kuwait

The last of the items will be some mystery items from Kuwait.  Here are some clues:

1. Since Arabic is read from right to left, all the journals & notebooks here open backwards, although they would argue that my journals open backwards.
2. Sweets are a big deal here & since it's not so hot, I don't have to worry about them melting.
3. Some of the food items here are totally cool!!

If you are interested in more of my posts of Kuwait, just type in Kuwait on the search bar on the side or click on the Kuwait label at the end of the post.

To be eligible you must comment on this blog post.  You must be an active blogger & leave an email or link back to your blog so I can contact you if you are the winner.  It is open to all bloggers world wide.

I hope you enjoy the last year of this event.  I am so blessed to have been a part of it & meet so many new bloggers - that is what this is about :)  A million thank you's to Lisa!  We cannot thank you enough for what you have done for us!

RECLAIM...

WIP: Reclaim collage oval 15" x 19"

my energy

my body

my health

my art

my creative space

my couple time
my loves

my life

My theme for 2011: Reclaim

I've just about completed by Blast Off class with Alyson Stanfield.  In the less than 30 days I have:

• cleaned, arranged & decorated my studio space
• scheduled & currently prepping for my first open house for the year
• made a business plan for the year & committed to it
• wrote realistic goals for myself, my business & my art
• found daily gratitudes in little & big things
• planned my waking hours daily & showed up
• finally started up a FB page for my business (it's still in process, so stay tuned)
• signed up for the Biggest Loser with our embassy community
• consistently worked out (running & weight training) most of my planned 6 days a week
• planned healthy dinners on a weekly basis
• blogged (this is post 10 of the month - I'm almost up to 20% of the total number of posts I did last year & it's only January!)

This has been a whirlwind of a class.  It's been a (mostly) great 7 weeks for me, when my new year resolutions began.  I hope to continue moving in the direction I'm going.

On the Work Table

And the love affair with peyote continues.  I experimented & used some 8/0 Czech seed beads instead of Japanese seed beads.  I didn't know if I could handle the irregular sizes of Czech beads but it's such a pretty mix of colors.  How could I say no?  I'm a sucker for Czech mixes & these have a Bronze Aurora Borealis finish.  Again, I played a bit & used a very sweet resin flower with a tiny fire polish bead in the middle. 

♥ Yep, love ♥

I also got some new cabochons.  Lots of pretty colors & shapes to play with.  Not enough hours in the day :)  I miss the days of staying up all hours of the night crafting, every night.  But it's part of being a responsible adult, part of scheduling things I've committed to: working out, running, dates with the hubby.  I'll make time to play with the new goodies & make more rings.

Camping Part 3

My Self Portrait - unfortunately, there was not much sun so I didn't get the traditional shadow picture.

It's amazing what living in Kuwait has done for me.  I have checked so many things off my to do list that were never there.  I constantly think about how lucky we are to be here & the things we experience as a family.

The area we stopped to camp in was full of rocks & pebbles.  More than I normally see.  It made the scenery quite beautiful.  There were lots of dunes around.  I didn't get any camels this time.  There were some on our way in, but they were in their pen & it was fully dark when we left.  I also missed out on sunset shots since there was no sun.

This was supposed to be the first time I went camping - overnight & in a tent - but it was not to be.  The weather was not on our side with strong winds & expected rain the next day.  We stayed for the afternoon & packed up to go home in the evening.

One of my guys enjoying marshmallows by the fire.

This trip had a bit of excitement at the end.  There were a few cars that got stuck in the sand.  Luckily we had tow straps & several SUV's.  I, of course, had to document this.  After the first few tries didn't work I put the camera down to help dig out sand & push the car.  Oh, the things I get to do!

It's a Winner!

So I took my jewelry class for a Peyote Ring & I think it's love.  I selected the kit that was the same as the sample.  I finished my project today & completed another one. 

My ring, almost done.  The band is "zipped" & I'm adding the crystal embellishments.

It's done & she's a beauty  (I love the pic from my new lens, too)

I'm so excited to play with different colors & sizes.  The second one ended up being skinnier & had less crystals.  As a matter of fact, I'm wearing it right now!

On to ring number 2.

The finished one ended up a bit different than planned.  I tried to use drops but they didn't work so I went back to bicone crystals. 

Thank you LB J'azz!  This was the second class I took with them & I'm ready to take more.

My Work Table This Week

Actually the work table is a bit crowded to work on.  I should probably put that at the top of my list to clean off.  I just got back into the flow of jewelry making.  I took some time off following the holiday bazaars & just enjoyed time with the family - and the new camera lens.

I started my first project this year.  This kit was on my Christmas list & I received it thanks to my mother & father in law.  It was a first for me to just buy a kit & try it out.  The first 2 rows were difficult.  It took about 20 minutes to get it sorted out.  I had the hardest time keeping track of whether I added a new bead, passed through or skipped.  Once I got going it was relaxing but I kept thinking to myself, "I'm going to make an entire bracelet from this?  Thank goodness my wrist is small."  It's a great prep for this class on Tuesday:

Peyote Ring Squared

I can't wait to take my second class with the LB o J'azz ladies.  If you're local & want to come, click on the class name for the link.  Picture courtesy of LB o J'azz.

I'm a serious ring junkie & I think this will be fun.  Think of all the fun colors :)  The class comes with a kit they've put together & they never disappoint with the color choices.

The rest of these projects are hold overs from last year.  I don't know how I start or ever finish projects.  I am all over the place.  When the inspiration hits, I go with it, hence I start a bajillion projects.  The last picture is some new crystals in a marea finish, which is a favorite of mine at the moment, paired with some seed beads I already had in my stash.

This post is a result of the Blog Triage Class & one of my goals to blog more frequently in the upcoming year.  My list is here.  Lots of good stuff to blog about!

Affirmations

I am working on lesson 3 of the Blast Off class.  The last 2 lessons dealt with Vision & Affirmations.  Here are mine.

French Labels & Stars - Thank you House of 3

I created the cards digitally in PSE.  I plan on cutting these out & adding them to my Vision Board.  I made one of these a few years ago & it's about time to make a new one. 
I love where I am going with this class!

Grateful

I don't make New Year's Resolutions, but I use the new year to reflect on accomplishments from the past year & developing points for the upcoming year.  So far this year has started well.  I jumped in running with the head start I got in December.  I vowed to do a few things:

• Schedule my time.  I've got all sorts of little pieces that are supposed to fit into the puzzle.  I wasn't doing a good job of getting them to all fit.  I've learned to say no a bit more.  I've blocked off the time I can't control; work, kid's homework, dinner, etc.  And filled in what I can; workouts, weekly dates with the hubby & time to work on updating the shop.  I've got to say, I feel good!

• I've taken control of our dinner menu.  We were tired of just having whatever & not whatever was healthy.  I'm planning dinner & the shopping list on a weekly basis.

My Grateful Journal - A new daily exercise.  Just fun pens in a fun journal.  I don't want to complicate it quite yet & make it an art journaling project. 

• I am getting the jewelry business up off the ground.  I have been stuck behind the hump the last few years & am determined to make it work.  (I love you Tim Gunn!)   I get some great news & some momentum, but I can't continue riding the wave.  I'd like to become more disciplined & focused with my work.  I'm taking another class with Alyson Stanfield, Blast Off, & I've been reading her book when ever I have a spare second - I don't read books unless they are craft books or magazines - & I can't put it down.

What are your plans for the year?  I don't even have all my goals written yet - it's still a work in progress - but the past 4 weeks have been full of accomplishments for myself & my family.  Here's to a productive January 2011.