Show and Tell Saturday for Week 2

A lot of my Portfolio Project/Camp Magic Beans efforts were behind the scenes this week. First off, I secured the services of the lovely and talented Helen to create a desperately needed banner for this blog as well as banners and avatars for my Etsy shop. She was super fast, super affordable, and an all-around joy to work with ... I will gladly call upon her again for support.


I colorfully completed the mandala above. Yay me! I hadn't drawn one of these from scratch since last May. It was a bit awkward at first, but once I got going I felt my confidence grow. Now I just need to stick with it and keep 'em coming. I just love how the colors look like I used pastels. I hope to move onto bigger mandalas, eventually, but I'm fine with taking this facet one small step at a time.


Ah, these wooden letters have sat behind the workshop sink for at least a year and I'd be willing to bet closer to two. I sat myself down and more or less forced myself to decoupage them this week. Okay, not so much tradition decoupage as "jakkoupage," my own style, which I hadn't done on anything since about the time I bought those wooden letters. Anyway, this project turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. It moved me through and beyond my resistance and I'm pleased with how they turned out. I think I'm ready to start a creation box next week.

I've now got two I-AMulets posted to Etsy. I'm taking new pictures and it's taking awhile. I keep telling myself that there is no huge rush. But it kind of feels like a big, burdensome job right now.

I haven't wrapped anything new. That seems to be my biggest block. I think I need to just sit down and give myself permission to wrap badly. Except that sterling silver isn't cheap and so there's this pressure to make good use of my supplies. Round and round and round I go.

Last but not least, yesterday's post came to me in minutes. It was the end of a long work day. I was tired and just thinking about the stories that I tell myself, day-in and day-out, about what's not working. Still not working. And the words to the poemy pep-talk just flowed. To me. To you. To whomever else needed to hear it. But this was truly the "fast and dirty" creating, in this case writing, that is the essence behind the Portfolio Project. Just do it. Just get it down. Just get it out. I got it. And I plan to play with it some more.

Enjoy your weekend, friends. And should you care to show and tell on your blog, leave a comment and let me know.