OLW Blog Hop

Welcome friends! I am so excited to be participating in this month's One Little World Blog Hop. There are 44, yep that's right, I said 44 participants. So be sure to check out all of these fabulous ladies' blogs. You will be amazed at the creativity, humor, sentimentality, depth and joy that shines through on every single page.

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To anyone unfamiliar with the concept,  One Little Word was first introduced to me by Ali Edwards. As she explains, "I am a fan of welcoming the new year with open arms. I love fresh starts, new opportunities, clean slates, possibilities. Back in January 2007, as a way to celebrate these beginnings, I started a public tradition of choosing a single word to focus on over the course of the year." 

I have been choosing my own word of the year since 2008, but have only been blogging about my word since last year. In 2010, I kept my focus on hope. And in 2011 my head and heart are filled with dreams. The greatest hurdle in this process for me was to make sure that I took the time to acknowledge my dreams every day. Not just opening up and admitting that I have dreams but really believing that I deserve for all of my dreams to become truth. I am taking a class taught by Ali through Big Picture Classes exploring and focusing on my One Little World dream.

Last month, we completed the title page of our album. You can see mine here. We also used divided page protectors to house a series of nine cards created with words, clip art, quotes, patterned paper and embellishments. These cards exemplified and symbolized our One Little Word in graphic detail. Again, you can see my collage here.

For February, we also created two projects. First,we collected nine photographs that spoke to us of our word, in my case my visual interpretations of my dreams. These will go into the reverse of the divided page protector used n January. I thought long and hard about which concepts, ideas, wishes, fears and emotions that I wanted my photos to convey. Here's what I cam up with:

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For my second project, I knew I wanted to incorporate a photo enlargement as contrast to the various smaller images. To help simplify the concept of dreams; to see a beautiful reminder of my capacity for dreaming; and to aid in instilling the belief in me that I have the power to turn my dreams into reality; I created this print:

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Thanks for stopping by Studio Jenn! Please drop me a comment or any questions that you might have. Next up in the OLW February Blog Hop is Kathryn Lowe. Here's the link to her blog Stamping With Kathryn Lowe. Have a wonderful Tuesday - now go & do something that you love!

        PS In case you've gotten lost, all of the OLW February Blog Hop participants are listed here on Margie's blog.  

One Little Word: Dream

My one word for 2011 is Dream.  

God, I love this word...so full of possibility. 

You might remember, in 2010 my word was Hope. My outlook at that time was much more thoughtful. And it was exactly where my focus needed to be as our family faced some challenges last year. I needed some serious reflection but it was essential to ground these deep thoughts in a positive, loving, hopeful way. Looking back, it is very clear that I *needed* hope, as much as hope as I could get.

And now, I am ready to move on...

I'm really looking forward to seeing where my dreams will take me this year. I am anticipating an adventure. I purposely chose a word that was not just a concept but also an action. This year I want to move forward. I am open to change. I will listen to my heart and soul. I will turn my dreams into realities.

I'm undertaking two specific activities to help me on my journey.

The first is an online workshop with the fabulous Melody Ross of the Brave Girls Club, aptly titled Soul Restoration. Soul Restoration started this week on the 12th - I'm totally loving it! Look for some more sharing on this tomorrow - and my first ever tutorial.

The second is a formal class (cleverly entitled) One Little Word taught by my favorite scrapper Ali Edwards. Ali describes the class like this:

For 2011, I want to do something even more tangible with my One Little Word. I've found that, just like a resolution, it's easy to lose sight of the things you set forward to embark on as regular life gets busy throughout the course of the year. To combat this I plan to bring my word into my life more consciously and concretely and make it more visible by creating an album to hold my thoughts, challenges and inspirations. 

 

You're invited to join me on this journey. 

Each month you'll receive an email and an invitation to visit the One Little Word classroom. Inside the classroom, you'll find a gentle reminder message, encouragement to refocus, and a simple creative project to complete related to your word. At the end of the year you'll have an album that celebrates and honors your word - making it that much more concrete and visible in your life. 

I think this is such a powerful idea. This month we worked on a title page for album, as well as a text-driven collage all about our One Little Words. I'll leave tonight by sharing my completed projects. 

PS Registration for Ali's One Little Word workshop is open all year long. Why not join us?

Hello December Daily and Reverb 10

Ok, don't hate me. I know, I know...my big return was supposed to be in September (ahem) but in my defense, I've had a whole lot of crazy going on in this life. However, let's not live in the past...

I am so excited to welcome December! This is always an amazing time for our family. Jim absolutely adores the Christmas season and not so long ago I felt, um, decidedly different. For  many years, the challenges of meeting the needs of parents, step-parents, extended family and my own little family to celebrate the holidays became overwhelming. Really, it just seemed like so much work.

Enter Jim. 

His enthusiasm  for Christmas is absolutely infections. And, he single-handedly turned this Scrooge into a holiday elf. So much so, that last year I instituted my very own tradition - creating a December Daily album, documenting each day of this magical season from the 1st through the 25th. The concept of this project was started by Ali Edwards, an amazing artist and one of my personal heroes. I was amazed by how much this album reinforced the joy of Christmas for me. It is truly one of my most favorite creations. I will be photographing last year's album and posting to my Flickr photostream this weekend. And I also plan on sharing my pages from this year's album as well. Right now, I am still constructing my base pages. But I started taking pictures and making notes about today's story. Look for a post this weekend sharing my base concept and my first few creations.

I am also adding a new twist on my blog this year. I am playing along with Reverb 10. Creator Gwen Bell has this to say about Reverb 10:

"It’s an open online initiative that encourages participants to reflect on this year and manifest what’s next. It’s an opportunity to retreat and consider the reverberations of your year past, and those that you’d like to create in the year ahead. We’re connected by the belief that sharing our stories has the power to change us."

I. Love. This. 

So today's prompt was to encapsulate 2010 in one word. This year my one little word was hope. 

So Proud of This Guy

Grand Master B has completed the residential portion of his treatment program and is coming home to stay this weekend! We are so excited and proud and happy and anxious and completely overjoyed... You get the picture. All of the sadness, all of the distance, all of the separation was worth it. I am convinced more than ever that hope is truly my little word for this year... Looking at him, knowing how hard he's worked, seeing all that he's accomplished just restores my belief in the power of hope.

It's All About Hope

This year I decided to focus celebrating the life I have been given. I feel that too often we focus on what is negative or lacking in our lives. We agonize over things that are going wrong, dissecting what we don't have or can't afford. And there is certainly something to be gained from honest assessment. But as with all things, if you focus on the negative then what you see first in any given situation is the negative.

And I just don't want to do that anymore.

So this year, I'm actively trying to see the positive in life. To really focus on all the gifts that are already present, the blessings already bestowed, the good stuff. But more than this, I want to know that more good stuff is out there. I want to take the time to appreciate the beauty that is in front of me everyday. I believe that I have the power to affect the course of my life. The trick is how...

For me, it all comes down to hope. It is the energy that fills my heart. It is foundation upon which I am building my future. It is the binding between me and my family. It is the language I speak in my innermost thoughts and dreams. It is my one little word.

I hope to grow in strength, love and trust in my husband. I hope to support my son and hold his hand in his journey toward wellness. I hope for peace in this family. I hope for excellence in my work. I hope for laughter and joy every day.

What do you hope for?