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 - 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 - 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

A to Z Theme Reveal for 2019

Tomorrow is the deadline for the A to Z April Challenge. I have seesawed back and forth this past month about whether I’d participate or not.

I have taken part for three years and have enjoyed the process. I have done both writing and creating quote cards.

I finally decided to participate again last night, after revisiting Linda Gardiner’s blog “Pulp. Paper, & Pigment”. She is calling herself a Curious Creative – a perfect description of exploring what inspires her.

My Theme Reveal:

I too plan to be inspired each day to create. There are so many arts and crafts I am interested in and want to try, so why not explore these in April? I am looking forward to this challenge.

Here is a link to the A to Z Challenge. 

C is for Circles

Day 3 of the A to Z April Blogging Challenge.
I am creating art tags, using stamps I have carved.

C is for Circles

Creating the Stamp

Created Tag

B is for Book

Day 2 of the A to Z April Blogging Challenge.
I am creating art tags, using stamps that I have carved.

B is for Book

Creating the stamp

I ended up carving 2 stamps - the first one on the right which just did not look right.
Then I created the one in the top left - it was closer to what I wanted.

The created tag:

A for ART

Today begins the A to Z April Blogging Challenge.
I will be creating art tags, using stamps that I have carved.

A is for ART

Creating the stamp:

The created tag:

A to Z Theme Reveal

Monday was the A to Z theme reveal for the April challenge. Over a thousand people take part in this yearly, daily challenge.
I
 have participated in the challenge several times now, with both writing and art themes. I had almost decided not to participate this year , but then today I got reminded at just how much I love carving stamps and thought it was time to return to it.


So-----   drumroll please:
 this round in April, I will be carving stamps and creating tags with them. I may include inspiring words - it will depend on the stamp. I just want to have fun with the creating and not feel too much pressure.


The A to Z Challenge takes place in April and is a daily challenge (except for Sundays), requiring one to create a post a day for each letter, moving through the alphabet.

The challenge begins Sunday April 1. (there's still time to sign up).
Looking forward to a fun month of creating and meeting new bloggers.

A to Z Reflection

It's been over a week since the A to Z April Challenge ended. And yes - I completed it. Some days I was rushing at midnight to complete a post, but I did one for every letter. Yeah!!!! It was  a challenge yes, but a most enjoyable one. Here's my reflection for the challenge.

My major learning ~ be sure you post your correct blog address when you sign up - or in my case - use the blog you used to post to sign up! You may get more visitors!
The challenge allowed me to be creative artistically every day and I now have over 40 quote cards to refer to for inspiration.

What was Great:
Setting a goal and completing it
Creating daily
Meeting others through their blogs
Learning from others

What was Not so Great:
Not receiving too many visitors
Not being able to visit as many as I would have liked (hope to remedy that this month)
Not being as organized beforehand or posting as early as I would have liked

In the end ~ it was  positive experience and I would definitely do it again. I would also recommend that others try it next year.

Thanks to the A to Z team for another wonderful experience!

A to Z April Challenge - X, Y and Z

Today is the last post for the A to Z April Challenge and I am closing with
X, Y and Z.

X is for (e)xplore - x is a definite challenge, so felt that when we explore, x often marks the spot where we end up.

Quotes:

Y is for YES 

Quotes:

and Z is for Zest

Quotes

The challenge is done and I completed well over 40 art tags for it. It has been fun and at times challenging to complete the cards each day.

Here are all the cards I created, stored now on rings.

A to Z April Challenge - W

Today for the A to Z April Challenge, W gets the nod.

W is for Wonder

and two art tags that seem opposites, but really mean that we need to be filled with wonder in all we do.

As I was creating these cards, the words of the old hymn "I Wonder as I Wander" played in my head.
As we wander, let us remember to wonder at all we see.

A to Z April Challenge - U and V

U is the letter for Mon. April 25th - for the A to Z April Challenge.

U is for  Use

Quotes:

V is the letter for Tues. April 26th

V is for Visualize

Quotes:

A to Z April Challenge - T

Today at A to Z April Challenge, T is the letter of the day.

T is for Transform

To  transform ourselves and the world ...

A to Z April Challenge - S

Today for the A to Z April Challenge - S is the focus.

S is for SHINE

Shine is my OLW - here is the canvas I created to remind me this year of what I need to do.

And what we all must do:

Here are two tags with quotes:

A to Z April Challenge - R

R is the focus for the day at A to Z April Challenge.

With Earth Day so close, R has to be for the 3 Rs - reduce, reuse, recycle.

.

Check here for some green energy saving tips.


But these aren't the only Rs. The Dalai Lama shares these: