SOL Tuesday

Today is Slice of Life Tuesday - the weekly writing challenge hosted at Two Writing Teachers"

In March i was consistent in the March SOL challenge. In April, I tried a couple of challenges but was not successful. One wss an art challenge (A to Z), the other NanoWriMo writing challenge.
I know I am capable of a daily challenge - it is finding the one that resonates with me.

I have decided to create my own.

I receive a weekly newsletter from Austin Kleon and have read several of his books. (Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work, Keep Going)

 As he says: "I’m a writer who draws. I make art with words and books with pictures."

I recently bought "The Steal Like an Artist Journal" , having read the original book and loved it. I really want to have fun with it.

So I plan to do a page a day and do something creative every day.
Some of his suggestions throughout the book sound like fun:
"Steal a title from a book you've never read and invent your own story"
"my top 10 guilty pleasures"
"Make a collage from items in your wastebasket."

I hope to post every day - and draw, write, collage in the journal - I plan to just have fun.
'Hope you'll join me.

A to Z Challenge - G

Today is Day 7 of the A to Z April Blogging Challenge.
I am creating 3X5" collage cards - with a focus word and quotes.

G is for Gratitude
We should all have an attitude of gratitude. It lightens the heart, makes us happier,  lessens stress, and improves our health. (check here for more benefits)

"A grateful heart is a magnet for miracles"

I don't have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness - it's right in front of me if I'm paying attention and practicing gratitude. 

Brene Brown

Never lose the childlike wonder. Show gratitude... Don't complain; just work harder... Never give up. 

Randy Pausch

Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you. 

Eileen Caddy

A to Z April Challenge

Today is Day 6 of the A to z April Blogging Challenge.
I am creating 3X5" collage cards - with a focus word and quotes for each letter.

F is for FOCUS

Focus is my OLW (One Little Word) - and I have written about it here

Here are some other pieces I created for focus.

A to Z April Challenge -E

Today is day 5 of the A to Z April Blogging Challenge
I am creating 3X5" collage cards - featuring a focus word and quotes.

E is for Explore
There is a whole world around us - we should explore, learn, discover, enjoy, experiment.

(map is of southern British Columbia - what a place to explore!

It's in our nature. We need to explore and find out what's going on outside of who we are.

 Billy Dee Williams

I  just like to explore all sorts of different forms - no, 'explore' is not even the word - enjoy. You don't want to limit yourself to a particular form.

Yoko Ono

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Mark Twain

A to Z April Challenge - D

Today is day 4 of the A to Z April blogging challenge.
I am creating 3X5" collage cards - with focus words and quotes.

D is for Dream
We all dream - some have bigger dreams than others, some work hard to make their dreams reality and still others don't believe enough in their dreams.


All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. 
Walt Disney


Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and, above all, don't let anyone limit your dreams. 
Donovan Bailey


Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.
 Harriet Tubman

A to Z April Challenge - C

Today is Day 3 of the "A to Z April Challenge".
I am creating 3X5" collage cards, with focus words and special quotes for each letter.

C is for Choose and choice 

Life is not a race to the finish line, but rather an amble along the path, taking time to smell the roses along the way and choosing wisely as you go along.

Pause and remember-- Every moment is a choice. Every thought, word and deed is creating your future. Choose wisely and positively!  

Jennifer Young

We all come into this world the same: naked, scared, and ignorant. After that grand entrance, the life we end up with is simply an accumulation of the choices we make.    Darren Hardy

Our lives are composed of a finite set of moments that we choose how to spend.   

John Green

Your choices decide your fate. Take the time to make the right ones. If you make a mistake, that's fine; learn from it & don't make it again.

Robert Kiyosaki

Our future experiences will be colored by the choices we make in the present.  

Noah Levine

This fork in the road happens over a hundred times a day, and it's the choices that you make that will determine the shape of your life.

Liz Murray

A to Z April Challenge - B

Today is Day 2 of the "A to Z April Challenge"
I am creating 35" collage cards, with focus words and special quotes for each letter.

 B is for Believe

We all should believe
 - in ourselves
-in the good of others
-in equality for all
- caring for the environment
- in love
- in helping the poor

As Nike says: "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything."

and

B is for Books

I cannot imagine a world without books. Books can take us to so many places and worlds.

Here are quotes about the value of books:

A room without books is like a body without a soul.
― Marcus Tullius Cicero

 Books are a uniquely portable magic.  Stephen King

No two persons ever read the same book.

–Edmund Wilson

We lose ourselves in books. We find ourselves there too.

–Anonymous

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.

–Dr. Seuss

Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.

–Frederick Douglas

A to Z April Challenge - A

Today begins the “A to Z April Challenge”

I have decided to focus on creating 3x5 collage cards, with focus words and special quotes for each letter.

This quote by Myrna Wacknow expresses exactly why I love to create:

Art is in the doing. It isn’t important how it turns out. The process is where the pleasure, the learning and the experience take place. A day without some sort of creative endeavor is a wasted day.

Here is my first collage card:  

A is for ART