Painted: Word Cards

Over the weekend we had some fun "homework" for Stephanie Levy's Creative Courage class--to make some decorated cards with some meaningful text on them. Stephanie suggested quotes or perhaps a word or words for 2012, if we'd chosen any. I don't really collect quotes, and I hadn't chosen a word for 2012, but I decided to go through my wish/dream jar and choose a word (in one case, a two-word phrase) that represented the wishes. I had a pack of watercolor ATCs and a watercolor set that I've had for way too long, finally opening and playing with it earlier this week.* So I began there, experimenting with the paints to create backgrounds. Then I added my words.

Were all the backgrounds perfect? Nope. But I was playing around, so that's just fine. Perfection isn't necessary. I had some fun with bubble wrap, vegetable netting, and a wine cork, too, to add some different patterns. I think these words do a good job of representing what I'm hoping for. I think they will make appearances on this blog, too, as I work on one or the other. One word didn't come from the jar, though.

Focus. That's where I'm starting this year. I'm not making myself focus on one thing for the whole year or one big huge plan or anything like that, but I am trying to focus on one bigger project or idea at a time. I do have a tendency to start and stop and set things down and not get back to them...I don't think I'm an easily distractable person. I don't tend to have a large number of unfinished projects on hand; it's more that I try on different ideas. So I'm trying to focus a bit more and see what happens.

I punched a hole in the corner of each card, tied them together with ribbon, and hung them on the bulletin board in the kitchen--wishes, out of the jar and visible.

* I finally broke out the new paints to create my contribution to the Squam Love Banner, but I completely forgot about taking a picture of it before mailing it off. I'm blaming this on the lingering Lyme fatigue; I'm really not 100% in the afternoons, when the tiredness is at its worst. I'll try to remember to take a photo of it in June, hanging with all the other bits of love!

**update!** You can see a picture of my love banner contribution over at the squam blog today! Thank you, Elizabeth, for photographing it for me!