I'm glad He has plans for me!

Well Christmas is here and amidst all the craziness in this world, the holidays have seemed a little less joyful just recently.  I don't know what my Heavenly Father has planned for my life but I know I can trust Him.  He gives us all free will to make our own choices and I am choosing to listen and follow Him.  It seems so unfair that evil has to even exist in this world but it does and some use their free will for evil.  As the horror unfolded in CT and the fiscal cliff looms, this is what God has laid on my heart.  I created this piece out of trust and faith.  It felt good to be reminded that God is ever watching over us and if we will just trust Him and live within His will, we will be fine. I made it back right after Thanksgiving but decided that passing this message along to someone for Christmas would bring back some joy.  I hope you and your loved ones have a blessed Christmas and that God is who you turn to when times are hard.
Blessings,
Jana

I'm back!!!!

OK, so 5 months is ridiculous to be gone from blogging, I know, but friends, there has been some changing goin' on 'round here!!!  Life is good and God is good.  So if you remember, last time I was here I had started the Your Living Canvas Workshop with Christy Tomlinson and I told you it was quite the journey and it had spurred some changes in my life.  Well, good bye caterpillar, hello butterfly!  In the time since I last posted here is what has happened:
1. I still haven't finished the workshop - I stopped to begin implementing the change.
2. I quit my full time job to focus more on my family and on the things I feel are most important.
3. I began teaching again, part time for the local museum but out in the schools with 3rd and 4th graders.  I am teaching art and it is AWESOME!!!  I only teach about 5-6 days a month which leaves LOTS of time for family and fun.
4. We started on a new budget :/ that has been hard, fun and rewarding! (did I say fun???)
5. My daughter made the varsity volleyball team as a freshman and I made it to almost all of her games! (Of course, my gas bill for October was $600 but it was awesome to be able to be there for her)
6. I am putting my first bit of art "out there" for publishing.  I will be taking images of 4 pieces I created for friends for Christmas to the printer to create sets of Christmas cards!  I am SOOOO excited.

So, my goal for this project was to sell at least 10 sets so I could justify paying a printer to create the cards.  I was so worried no one would like them but I went for it anyway, with a lot of encouragement from my awesome husband.  I told my friends in our church choir and they told their friends and I posted it on Facebook today and I have sold 22 sets!!!!!  I am so excited about this I can hardly stand it.  So I will be ordering a few more.  Here is what each card looks like.  Details about the card sets follow the pics.

Each set comes with 12 - 5.5 x 4.25 cards that are blank inside.  There are 3 of each above design in each set.  The set is $15 plus shipping.  If you are interested in purchasing a set just email me at janambailey@wtconnect.com with your address and I will send you a Paypal invoice.

Hopefully someday soon I will be selling things through an Etsy shop and maybe even here on my blog.  Something I will be working on in the near future.

I will be posting more projects, artwork and such as I am on a bit of a creative binge for Christmas and I would love to share with you.  I hope you will visit again and tell your friends about Raining Grace because baby it's pouring right now!!!!
Blessings,
Jana

My Story Continued

So I promised to return soon to finish up week 1 of the Your Living Canvas Workshop journaling exercises with you.  Christy Tomlinson and Art McCracken have really helped all of us in the workshop dig deep into our past experiences to look at the events and people that make us who we are today.  Here are two more of my entries into my art journal from week one.  Let me know what you think. Check out my labels on the right, "art journal" and Living Canvas Workshop" to see previous entries into my journal.

 3.  Write down three accomplishments, moments of joy, or clarity that have happened in your life.  Well, I haven't written a best seller, won a major award, discovered or invented anything but I am proud of what I have achieved at this point in my life.  The main ones I chose to focus on with this entry were becoming a Christian, becoming a mother and getting my college degree.

 Getting my college degree is big for me because I was the first in my family to do so.  I've had cousins and such and my dad started college but entered the air force and never finished.  He is a brilliant man who followed his love and passion and worked in the air craft industry for over 40 years.  I have to admit though, my purpose in leaving home and going to college was more of an escape than a plan.  I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, I just didn't want to stay where I had made some major poor decisions and felt like I really didn't belong.  It's funny how God works~  I ended up at a Christian university on a volleyball scholarship which had a day-to-day routine much like high school, I got up, out of bed and to class and practice because if I didn't do those things, I didn't get to play in the game.  Then someone comes along and tells me I have to choose a major to study?  I had no idea what my talents were off the court but God led me into teaching and after many years, I realized that is the gift He gave me.

These fun flowers were made from modeling paste, stencils and wax paper.  I have been using them a lot, it's very cool to make your own embellishments. 

I struggle with doubt sometimes when I think about when I became a Christian.  Mainly because I was young and I have no recollection of the actual event.  How can that be!  Of course I have chosen to rededicate my life to Christ and I am a follower, believer and a servant but I am puzzled at why I can't remember what should have been one of the most important days of my life. :(  The good thing is, once forgiven, always forgiven.  I pray daily about my relationship with God, it brings me closer with each prayer to knowing what God's will is for my life.  I've learned one thing though, living OUT of God's will is no place to be!

 I looked up the definition of accomplished and I think there is a big difference in "completed; done" and being "highly skilled" in something.  I think it is so important to choose a field in which you have a passion and a gift.  It sure makes getting up and going to work each day a whole lot more fun!
I love that becoming a mother doesn't take any studying, per say.  God gives us that innate ability to love what He gives us.  My husband and I were married 8 years before we had a baby.  People had all but given up on us and we were in a bit of a routine so when our beautiful Kyrah came along, well, it kind of "upset our apple cart!"  We felt clueless and stayed exhausted but 15 years later, all the hard work has paid off.  She is a delightful and shameless child of God and her little sister Vanalice is as unique as they come and keeps our family laughing.  God is good!

 4.  Write down three relationships that have shifted your life in some way (Good or bad).  Well, I chose to stay with the good.  I used the "three experiences" prompt to address issues with a bad relationship and so now I am over it and ready to focus on the positive.  Of course the largest butterfly represents my relationship with my Heavenly Father.  He will always be there no matter what. I am working to become what He wants me to be.  I am a work in progress :)

 These butterflies are my daughters and my best friend Cindy.  Cindy has come along at a time in my life, about 5-6 years ago, when I felt like I didn't have much purpose in life.  It took a while for us to grow as close as we are but she reminds me on a regular basis how important friendship can be.  Growing up I could never nurture friendships enough to have more than one friend where ever I was at the time.  In Plainveiw in was Sharla, in Shallowater it was Denise, in Dalhart it was Stacy and in Pearland it was Shannon.  I can't say I had a bestie in college, my bridesmaids were great teammates but we didn't do much together beyond that and I don't see any of the people listed before aside from one or two that I have reconnected with on Facebook.  But the truth is, God put Cindy in my life at a time when I needed another woman to relate to and to spend time with that could help me see who I was again outside of being a wife and mother then helped me to understand the importance of all of the things we do fitting together to make us who we are and who God wants us to be.  We can be a wife, mother, artist, teacher, friend, daughter, etc.  But balance is tough, and we will get to that later in the workshop.

 This is Dixon's butterfly, my husband.  The man God chose, just for me.  When I met Dixon I was dating my high school sweetheart in a long distance relationship that had been on again and off again for years.  After meeting Dixon I broke up with this guy and he told me, "well, that's about your track record, a year on and a year off."  He wished me good riddance and never looked back.  He was married four months later and I had never even heard of this girl.  Oh well, God has another plan for me.  At the time I was living with some real party girls and chose to "partake" in the partying all too often for my own good and when Dixon came along, that desire to party soon faded and all I wanted to do was be with him.  He has shown kindness and understanding and tolerance that is beyond anyone I have ever met aside from my awesome parents.  Dixon got me out of that house with those roommates at the perfect time.  There is a song that says "God gave me you" and I truly believe that about him.  Now, 23 years later, we have yet to have a fight and we love each other more than ever.  And I was worried I wouldn't make it a year :)

 I know one thing for sure, the people on these pages love me with the love that only God can instill in a person.  We love Him because He first loved us.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my ramblings.  I don't have a prize for comments and I am not trying to sell you anything.  I simply enjoy the fellowship that this class and blogging about it brings.  I do enjoy your comments, they brighten my day and help me to feel I am making a small difference or maybe just touching someone a bit when I share.
Blessings,
Jana

Week One Done!!

Well, it only took me a month to finish week one of the Your Living Canvas Workshop!  Sheesh, I don't know what I was thinking starting something a week before school let out but I sure am glad I did!!!  This has really been a great time of reflection, introspection and fellowship with all the wonderful ladies participating in the workshop.  If you are interested in the workshop just check it out HERE, you will be glad you did, Christy Tonlinson and Art McCracken (fun name!) are awesome!
So a quick update on some of the accomplishments of week one in case you would like to journal along.  If you missed any of my previous posts and would like to catch up just click on "Living Canvas Workshop" or Art Journal" in the labels on the right sidebar.
There were four writing prompts, I will show you two tonight and be back with the other two soon. The theme for the week is butterflies, the symbol of change.

 1. Write down three trials, heartaches, or mistakes you have made in your life.  Well, I felt like the caterpillar was the one that had to experience the trials and heartaches in order to change into the butterfly so I created a caterpillar.  I chose words from my journaling to emphasize because my journaling itself was WAY too personal.  I guess I was still dealing with the weight of some of my mistakes so I wrote them down (for the first time ever) and then painted right over them!  I have to tell you it felt good to "get them out" even though no one can see them, God and I, know they are there and I know I have been forgiven as only He can forgive.

 2. Write down three experiences in your life that have brought change (good or bad).   After some rough experiences with a co-worker several years ago some one told me "Kindness is not weakness and rudeness is not strength," and that has really stuck with me especially when dealing with hard topics and confrontation (which I avoid like the plague!)  Some people are just rude by nature as a way of posturing their "so called" strength over you.  To me that is a true sign of weakness and self-doubt.  Hard lesson to learn though.  My journaling on these pages are behind the doors.  You know the saying, "when one door opens another closes," I thought it appropriate since one of the situations I wrote about was the end of a long time, stressful friendship.  It still haunts me a bit and I am working on forgiving myself for the situation.

 I made these fun butterflies with modeling paste and stencils on wax paper.  FUN!

There were two more journaling prompts for week one that I will share with you once I photograph my pages.  This has been a good thing, looking at different aspects of my life.  One reason it took me so long to finish week one was due to a revival at my church.  It was a truly amazing experience watching God work in my life and the lives of my family and friends.  Probably the most important thing I learned from the revival for me was that God truly provides for us when we need Him to most.  The preacher said, "Where God guides, He provides, where He leads, He feeds."  I believe it all!
Blessings,
Jana

Change is Good!

This weekend I was trying to finish up another of Christy Tomlinson's workshops, She Art 2 and created this canvas.  The Living Canvas workshop started today and we were to think about our lives up to this point.  Our story.  All of the circumstances and experiences that have made us who we are at this point in time.  I have had a blessed life, free of tragedy and really hard times but I have made some really bad decisions that still have led me to a great place.  I am truly, truly blessed right now but God has convicted me to change and to continue to strive to be better.  This workshop is helping me to drive in the right direction.

Sometimes we resist change.  I have always been FOR change, openly and with great enthusiasm.  This time is not different but I am nervous and anxious about failing.  Will I be able to manage the discipline needed to feed my family in a healthy way and change their way of eating? Will I be able to save money and resist temptation for the things I don't NEED but want?  Will I take time to be present as a mother and spend quality time with each of my girls?

The answer to those questions is yes.  With God's help, yes.  The Bible says we must die to ourselves daily to be a proper servant of the Lord.  If God wants me to be better, which I know He does, then I must embrace change.

The butterfly symbolizes change.  This butterfly started out kind of ugly but I worked and worked on it adding layers and layers of color and texture to create something I think is beautiful.  It takes work to change and be what God wants us to be and it isn't always what we want to be but it is necessary to follow His will in our lives.  God chose me to be the mother of two beautiful girls and I am making a change so that I can do a better job, for them and for Him. 

 I really am a selfish person.  I think inside we all are to some extent.  I marvel at the people that seem to NEVER think of themselves and always put others first and I see for the most part how happy those people are.  Don't misunderstand, I know there needs to be time carved out for me but the people I am talking about literally and instinctively think of others before themselves.  I am working on that one. A Lot!

I understand the need for change.  The need to have a healthy family, the need to have more financial security and the need to be a mother my girls can come to, for and about anything.  I understand, I'm just not real sure yet how to do it.  I am learning and working and thank goodness He is not finished with me yet.

Blessings,

Jana

Your Living Canvas Journaling and an announcement

The Living Canvas Workshop begins on Monday and I am just now posting my week 3 journal entry, which means I am 3 weeks behind but that's ok.  I want to take my time and make sure each one is well thought out.  This week Christy challenged us to choose 3 goals that we didn't have before and write them down.  Easy enough.  What I am worried about is that we will be held accountable for them!  haha!  These really are 3 things I am wanting to do better with on my journey.
Speaking of journey~I have a bit of news.  For those of you that know me well, you know that I am the Director of Education at our local museum, a job that I love and have been doing full time now for 4 years.  Prior to be a full time employee I was an art teacher there for a long time.  I have been thinking and praying about the stress the job puts me under that keeps me from being the best mom I can be and so after months of thought and prayer, I have decided to become part time at the museum.  The director and the staff have been totally supportive of me, what a blessings.  I will do this for June, July and August then the director will decide where to go from there with my position.  I might stay part time, I might just coordinate one program or I might become a full time stay at home mom, all of which I am ok with.  God has given me peace about the whole situation and I look forward to becoming more present as a mother.
I have always said that "change is good", well I am about to see first hand how much I believe that little saying. Another change will be the look of this blog.  i will still share paper crafting with you but as you may have already noticed, I am using it also for my art and my journey.  I hope you will travel this road with me, it's much more fun with friends and support.
Having said all of that...here is my journaling entry for week 3 of the Your Living Canvas Workshop hosted by Christy Tomlinson.

One of my goals is to save my money.  I will be making half the salary that I was making before so I need to be frugal and work on saving up for the things I want and to help build our savings.

 I can't pretend any of these goals will be easy.  I am quit nervous about reducing our income.  It will impact me the most because I have always seen my income as money to purchase things I want for my art, scrapbooking, crafting and also things for my girls like clothes, entertainment, camp tuition, etc.  There will be less money so less of those things.  It will be an adjustment that is necessary.

 One of the main reasons I chose to leave my full time job is that I realized one day that I spend more time working on developing wonderful programs for other people's children than I do learning to cook and eat healthy with my own.  My youngest daughter who is about to be 11 is overweight and very self-conscious about it and I feel to blame.  We are so busy and on the go that I don't take the time to plan our meals and shop so that we eat healthier.  WE also need to get back to sitting at the dinner table as a family.

More than the other two, which are certainly important, I need to be present for my family.  I work hard at everything I do, I have high expectations for my work ethic and want to do a good job at work which results in no energy left in the evenings for my girls or husband.  Hello!!! Talk about messed up priorities!  There are some women that do a great job of balancing everything, it can be done, I just feel like my balancing act made everything mediocre and that is not enough.  I need to scale down what I do and do those things much better and give my family what they deserve~a mother in the house.
I hope you take the time to think through what 3 goals you would like to set for yourself.  It's funny how often I have tried to re-prioritize my life to what I think God wants me to do only for Him to step in and say "Nice try, think again, this is not all about you!"  My new montra~"Be present, save wisely and eat healthy."  I can do it!
Blessings everyone,
Jana

Workshop Time

The time is almost here!  Time for the Living Canvas Workshop with Christy Tomlinson and Art McCracken.  If you have ever thought about learning the art of mixed media this is the best teacher to learn from.  Christy has done many wonderful workshops including the famous "She Art" workshops.  She is an amazing Christian woman, mother of 6 and artist-teacher.  The workshop starts Monday, May 21!!!!!!!!  I can't wait.  I have taken 2 of her workshops have never gotten to actually start one when the class officially started so I am excited to be in on this one from the start.  To read more about this wonderful workshop check out this link.  Living Canvas Workshop.  Join now and your name will be added for a chance to win prizes!!!

I hope you can join me and ladies from all over the world on this fun and inspiring journey into mixed media art and art journaling.

Blessings,

Jana

Let the Journaling Begin

Today I wanted to share with you the first few pages of my art journal.  Not so you could read the inner most workings of my heart (the pages aren't big enough for that!) but so you could see the end product and maybe be inspired to start your own art journal.  Frankly, I have no idea what I am doing as I begin each page, I just let my heart and God lead me.
I showed you the background of this one in my last post but I thought I would share with you what it looked like and the format I think I am adopting as I begin this journey.  Christy Tomlinson has been giving us journaling prompts to prepare us for the workshop before it begins. (This is the Living Canvas Workshop)  I thought I would share them with you as we go so you could think about who you are and where you are going in life.

I have decided that with each week's prompt, I will journal on the right and then create a mixed media piece on the left in response to the journal entry.  Here is week 1 prompt:

• Write down one moment of clarity or accomplishment that you are proud of that you remember.
• Write down one trial or heartache that shapes you in some way.
• How did this change your day to day way of doing things?
• How did it affect you?
• From these experiences, did you find motivation or a purpose to do better or be better?

Because my moment of clarity came when I was creating a piece of art inspired by Proverbs 31, I decided to put all of the things God says makes up a virtuous women on the page on the left.  I would encourage you to read Proverbs 31.  God puts these expectations in such a kind and loving way, how can I disappoint??

Now because I started out a little behind, I also have week two for you to see.  I had fun using a Tim Holtz mask on my journal page and then my spray inks.  It made for a quick and easy background.  This prompt forced us to think a bit about our strengths and weaknesses, which makes me realize although I have made some changes in my life to be more like what God wants me to be, I am forced to see that I still have a lot of work to do.  Here is week 2 prompt:

• The 6 F's and Balance in your life
• Faith, Family, Fun, Friends, Fitness and Finances
• Write about one that is going really well
• Write about one that is not going so well
• Think about the imbalance of the two and why you think its going the way it is.
• What do you want to do differently?
• What is your desire for the future?

I decided to write a little about all of them although I think the one I am the best at achieving is fitness and that is not saying much.  I work out 5 days a week but the imbalance comes in with food :(  Finance is probably my weakest area and as you will see in my next journal entry, probably next week, it is a goal to change that in the very near future.

For the art part of this prompt I was very led by the Spirit to create this girl.  A friend shared an inspiring verse with me a few days ago from Ephesians 1:17 or somewhere there very close.  It says that God gives us the power to overcome, the same power with which He raised Jesus from the dead!  WOW!!!  That gives a little more clarity to the verse, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  Eternal life in Heaven is not the only gift we receive as followers of Christ Jesus.

A little about my girl, I seriously think she is my favorite that I have made so far.  The colors were outside my usual palette and I think that pushed me to try new things on this one.  So, I subscribe to the Peachy Keen monthly stamp and kit clubs and that is where the paper, green flower, little button and butterfly came from.  CUTE!!!  I got the Christy Tomlinson rub-ons in the mail today and of course I had to use them immediately.  For this girl I decided not to paint her face because when I got her head glued down I realized that just by luck (which I don't believe in, God does those things we call "lucky") the words jewel and diamonds are right on the face.  It reminded me that in the Bible God says we are more precious than jewels or diamonds!  I love it when that happens!

I hope you decide to come on this journaling journey with me.  I could use the support :)  You can just use the prompts as I give them to you or you can sign up for Christy's workshop and join in the messy art fun too in the Living Canvas Workshop.  If you decide to do that, be sure to tell her I sent you.

Have a blessed day,

Jana

A New Journey

Hello all!

Today I begin a new journey. I am taking an online course from Christy Tomlinson called Your Living Canvas. Here is the short description from her website:

We all have a story to tell... one that we live and paint and breath everyday... through our heartaches and trials, joys and celebrations, insecurities and moments of clarity.  What story are we telling now and what story do we have yet to create? At the end of the day, it's our living canvas that will tell our story.

In this six week course we will help you discover that through art, techniques,journaling and soul searching exercises... that will help you create your canvas by design not by default. 

I would be lying if I said I thought this was going to be all about making fun art.  Christy and her friend Art McCracken (fun name lol) are helping us do some soul searching to discover more about ourselves.  I'm on a path to learn more about who God wants me to be.  If you read my post a few months ago about the 6x6 canvas I created for the 100 Women, 100 Words exhibition you will remember it really got me to thinking about Proverbs 31 and whether or not I was striving to be the virtuous women God wants me to be.  Very soon after I finished that piece I got an email from Christy's blog about this workshop and it made perfect sense to take it to help me along this journey.

It's not a cheap workshop, $104 to be exact and with me wanting to get my car paid off I didn't feel good about spending that so I went to work crocheting some purses thinking I might be able to sell them and lo and behold, I have sold 5! Here is what a few of them looked like.

The class doesn't even start until May but we have a private Facebook group where we are doing journaling exercises and other challenges to prepare us for the workshop.  So in order to really get into the journaling, which I have tried for years but never really followed through, I created a fun cover for mine and began with a few pages before my first journaling prompt.

Here is the cover:

This is the first page I am not finished with, but I was looking at one of my favorite artists websites, Junelle Jacobson and she had done a mixed media piece similar to this an it really spoke to me so I wanted to sketch it, then I wanted to paint it.

Below is the background for my first journaling prompt.  Not sure if I am going to share my actual entries yet though.  The prompt went something like this...for any of you that would like to play along:

Write down one moment of clarity or accomplishment that you are proud of that you remember and write one trial or heartache that shapes you in some way.  How did these things change your day to day way of doing things? from the experiences, did you find a purpose or motivation to do better or be better?

I have always wanted to do an art journal so here I go!

So that is what I have been up to and will be working on for a while.  I promise I will sprinkle in a few paper projects and some Pinterest playtime, so keep checking back.

Blessings,

Jana

Organizing Your Markers

Happy Sonday Everyone!
This is the day the Lord has made...(the crowd says)...let us rejoice and be glad in Him!  That is the way we started our church service today.  It makes me smile to hear so many people unashamed to proclaim the word of God.
Today is not Pinterest playtime but I had a few people ask me how I organize my markers, especially my Copic markers so I thought I would show you how I do mine.  Maybe it will spark a little idea for you.

For my Copic markers, I used the drawer organizers that are made to go inside the drawers for the cube storage systems.  It took two sets to do this for mine but you could do it with just one set.  Be sure to use your 50% off coupon from Michaels or Hobby Lobby so it is cheaper.  I had these in a few of my drawers and they were not being used so I took them out.

I slid the boards together like you are supposed to assemble them and then I used my hot glue bug and ran a bead along the seams so they would stay in place and not slide apart.  Then I set them on my shelf and the on the right side I actually ran a bead of hot glue under the 4 boards that touch the right wall so they would not sag and to also make it more stable.  

There is also hot glue on each side of the vertical boards where they meet the shelve.  This makes it semi-permanent.  You can always peel the hot glue off and remove the dividers easily.  This system works great for me and then when I am on the go I just put them in some snap lock containers and I am off!

Right next to my copics I have all my other markers like my Creative memory markers, gel pens, and even some of my tools.  These are in juice packet containers like the Crystal light but I bought the Great Value brand ones from Walmart that are rectangular instead of oval.  To make them nice and sturdy so they wouldn't slip apart I first ran some hot glue on the outside and stuck them together.  As soon as I got the glue cooled I then added a staple for good measure.

I did it row by row, gluing then stapling and then I actually put a little glue on the shelf and glued the set down so there wouldn't be any slipping and it works GREAT!
You can do this with the oval ones also you just have a tiny bit more storage space in these and less gaps in between.
I hope this is helpful to you.  I decided a while back that I wanted to help out with organizing ideas along with crafting ideas.  How do you store your markers??  I would love to hear, I am always up for improvements.
Thanks for stopping by and may your day be blessed with God's Grace,
Jana

Pinterest Playtime - Get Organized!

Hello all!
I have decided to start a new series here on my blog called "Pinterest Playtime."  I guess some one will let me know soon enough if I can't use the word Pinterest but until then, I am going for it :)

First a little news.  I am sad to say that I was not accepted for a new term as a design team member for Getting Cricky with K. Andrew.  It seems my life is too busy and I just could not post enough to be a consistent contributor to her team.  I am totally OK with that.  That really is fine.  I have to admit as I was awaiting the news to find out if I had made the team, I kept thinking to myself, "If I don't make it, that is ok, that will be less to have to get done with my already very busy life."  But to my surprise, when I got the dreaded "rejection" email, tears poured down my face and sadness really set in.  I had to really explore why I had taken the news so hard.  It was one more thing that had happened in recent weeks that took me to God to ask why?  I know it may not seem like a big deal to most people, and I thought it wouldn't be to me, but it was.  As I prayed over this and other issues I realized that feeding my creative soul is important.  Not just therapy but really important.  If feels good to create, even if under pressures of deadlines, it feels really, really good.  It's a big part of who I am and I NEED to be creative.  So when I lose the opportunity to share my passion and creativity, it hurt.  I loved the design team girls and Kristal.  They are simply wonderful, so...no more tears, I am over it and I will reapply again this summer.  Thanks Kristal for the opportunity you gave me to design for you.   Absolutely no hard feelings, I can't wait to see what the new DT creates :)

OK enough of that, I just had to share with you because I knew my blogger buddies would understand.  Well, so here I am.  Working to refocus on the important things, like being involved at church, being a good mother, a good wife and feeding my soul.  So look for some changes in my blog and I will share some big changes in my life, coming soon!

On to the fun stuff!  Pinterest Playtime.  This will be a segment to share with you the creations that I have made via inspiration or "pinspiration" that I have pinned from Pinterest.  In all cases I will make every effort to give credit to the originator of the project, not necessarily the pinner I pinned it from, although I am now making it a practice to visit the site the pin came from and pinning it from the original source. I am told that is good Pinterest etiquette.

I pinned this project onto my "Get Organized" board and finished the project in only an hour!!!
Stickles organization...I discovered in the project that I have 64 bottles.  Come on~enough already :)  Not really!!! One can never have enough Stickles, right?

Here is a first glance at it.

I purchased this sheet of metal from Hobby Lobby for 8.99.  The pinner suggested and showed a cookie sheet which would work fine but I like the way this is so flat and just looks like part of my shelving.

 Next I put that great red tape, and lots of it, on one side of the metal.  I wanted to make sure it would not come down.  I could have easily screwed some short screws through it but I didn't want to make holes just in case I decided to change it later.

 I bought these magnets from Hobby Lobby as well.  There are smaller and thinner ones but these held the best to the metal. They are 50magnets for $6.99.  BTW, this would be an even cheaper project using your 50% off coupons!!!  I used one on the metal, so this project was completed for less than $20.  I had to buy two packages of magnets but I have a LOT left over for future purchases.

 Next I used hot glue to glue the magnet to the bottom of the Stickles bottle.  I tried glue dots and pop dots but this worked the best and held the strongest.

I stuck the metal up onto the underside of one of the shelves, pressed it into place really well and then began placing the bottles.  I grouped my distressed, pearls, metals and such and then spaced them so that I could look to the side a bit and see all the colors.  If you put them too close together all you can see is the front row.  I had some space above my large format printer and since it doesn't open on top this was a great use of the space!  Tadaaaaaa!!!
Thanks you to http://wecanbeaoriginal.com/blog/ for posting this idea.  This link was also in the post but I never saw it on this blog but want to give credit any way.  http://smbogan.typepad.com/chickenscratch/

My plan is to later have Pinterest Playtime so that you can link up your projects and link back to mine and that way we all get more visitors to our blogs!  Sound like a good idea??  I would love to hear your input.  Next time I will show you how I organize my Copic Markers.
Blessings,
Jana