Paper Sun is a collection of 11 songs written in my house on Water Street.  I called it Paper Sun because right before I released it, I moved into a different house, and left behind a cut-out piece of yellow paper that my daughter had taped to the ceiling one winter so she could pretend she was in Mexico. I meant to bring the paper sun with us when we moved, but I forgot it. It seemed appropriate to name this album after it since the songs mark a time when we lived in that house.

Most of the songs began as poems, and two of them are from a series of songs I’ve penned about what love letters between my grandmother and grandfather might have looked like during World War II; they’re based on the details I know about their life together, but are mostly fictional.

***win a copy of kim’s brand new CD by leaving a comment here.  the winner will be chosen randomly and will be announced here in this post next tuesday, march 16th.  read more about kim mcmechan’s creative life and her music here.

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and the WINNER is… brenda!  email me your snail-mail addy and your music will be on it’s way!

A giveaway for you ~ hand stamped with love, baby!

How is your 2012 unfolding for you so far? I know for me there is electric change manifesting, new pathways emerging and wild creativity brewing. When Mindy unveiled her new direction for this site, I felt such magic and fresh energy swirling, both for her and for the changes that 2012 represents for many of us.

Oftentimes change is met with resistance, but as we each already know with great risk comes even greater reward.

I took a bit of a risk myself early this year by offering my Bella Wish Guide to Hand Stamping. I started my business Bella Wish in late summer, 2008 and taught myself how to hand stamp on metal. There wasn’t a lot of information to be found back then and I spent countless hours teaching myself, mostly through trial and error, what to do… and more importantly what not to do. After receiving many inquiries about where I purchase supplies and how I create certain necklaces, I decided to put all of that information together in one place.

Thanks to Mindy, I am giving away one copy of my Bella Wish Guide to Hand Stamping here at Wish Studio.

Here is a sample of what some who have purchased this guide have shared with me so far:

* A heartfelt thank you… Today I watched your lovely video and when it finished, I felt so inspired with ideas calling out to me. Thank you for putting this out there, thank you for sharing your gift, your art with the world.

* This is a powerful tool for creating your own medicine and wearing your talismans with supreme consciousness.

* It feels as if I spent the day with you. The tutorial is truly fantastic. I love it, especially your casual, easy-going, imperfect style.

Your Bella Wish hand-stamping guide is amazing! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

To find out more about The Bella Wish Guide, click here. To read a more detailed post about why I created it, click here.

To be eligible for this giveaway, just leave a comment here (or ‘”like” the wishstudio facebook page!) sharing one creative wish you have for 2012.  a winner will be chosen randomly, and announced right here on monday feb. 20th!

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and the winner is…. stephanie perkinson!  thank you everyone for sharing your wishes…xo

by lisa occhipinti

{from The Repurposed Library} This clever storage box is an ideal way for sewers to stash away all their little tools.  Special compartments keep needles, spools, bobbins, seam rippers, and measuring tapes organized, and a built-in pincushion adds a plush touch. A book on the subject of sewing is ideal for this project, but any book will do. This box can be used to stash other crafting and stationery tools, as well—think about the tools you use regularly and customize the compartments to suit your needs.

Materials

Hardcover book (ring binder optional)
Note: If you would like to store spools of
thread, you’ll need a book at least 2″ thick.
A ring binder helps create extra compart‑
ments but is not necessary to complete the
project.

12″ x 12″ sheet of decorative paper, to line the
inside cover (optional)

4′ length of 2″‑ 6″ wide, ⅛”‑thick balsa wood

Acrylic paint (to coordinate with book)

An old sewing pattern, to line the compart‑
ments

⅛ yard cotton fabric (to coordinate with book)

Fiberfill

Tools

Craft knife

Cutting mat

White glue and glue brush

Pencil

Metal ruler

Glue gun and glue sticks

Toothpicks

Awl (for books with ring binder only)

Thin yarn and upholstery needle (for books
with ring binder only)

1. Remove Book Block: Using a craft knife and following the instructions on page 13, remove the book block and set aside.

2. Cover Inside of Book (Optional): I chose not to re‑cover the endpapers of the book shown here, as they featured a great photo. If you like, re‑cover your endpapers following the instructions on page 15.

3. Measure and Mark Compartments: On the inside back cover of the book, use a ruler and pencil to measure and mark ⅛” from all four edges. This rectangle will be the outer perimeter of the storage box.

Divide the height of the box into thirds and mark these measurements with pencil. Then divide the upper row and lower rows into thirds, again marking these with pencil (Figure A).

To determine the depth of the “walls,” measure the width of the book’s spine and subtract ⅛”.

4. Create Outer Box: With the craft knife and ruler, cut four strips of balsa: two strips measuring the height of the book by the depth of the “walls”; two strips measuring the width of the book by the depth of the “wall”. (Note: If your book has binder rings, extend the width of the walls past the rings to the inside of the spine, so that the rings are also encased within the balsa walls; see photo on page 23.)

Beginning with the left side wall (the one closest to and parallel to the spine), run hot glue along the bottom edge of the balsa strip and press along the pencil line. Hold in place while the glue sets.

Glue the other outer walls the same way (Figure B). If the wood fits together too snugly, trim the balsa to fit. To strengthen the corners, add a drop of hot glue and push it into the corners with a toothpick.

For books with binder rings only: Use an awl to pierce two holes in the wall closest to the binder rings, aligning the holes with the top ring and bottom ring. Thread an upholstery needle with yarn and draw the needle through a hole and around the binder ring three times. Knot the ends of the yarn on the outside of the compartments. Repeat at the other end of the spine. For extra strength, add a drop‑ let of hot glue over each knot.

5. Assemble Compartments: Measure across the box, from wall to wall. With the craft knife and ruler, cut two strips of balsa wood measuring the box width by the depth of the “walls” (Figure C). Hot glue the balsa strips into place along the pencil lines and allow to set.

Measure the distance between the top of the box and the dividing wall below it; then measure the distance between the bottom of the box and the dividing wall just above it (these should be the same measurement). With craft knife and ruler, cut four strips of balsa measuring the length of the compartment by the depth

6. Decorate Compartments: Paint the top edges of each compartment using acrylic paint and a small brush. Allow to  dry before closing the cover of the book.

Cut four pieces from the sewing pattern paper to cover the exterior walls of the box. Brush glue onto the exterior balsa wall and cover with a coordinating piece of pattern paper, smoothing into place with your fingers. Repeat for all 4 outer walls. Note: If you are using a book with binder rings, you will only cover the top, bottom, and outer walls.

7. Make Pincushion: Measure the dimensions of one of the inner compartments. Cut a square of cotton fabric 2 ½ times this size. Fold the fabric into quadrants. Then cut an arc along the two open sides. Open the fabric circle. Leaving a 3″ tail and beginning on the right side of the fabric, stitch around the circumference of the circle, about ¼” in from the edge and end at the right side of the fabric. Remove the needle from the thread and pull both thread tails to gather the fabric into a round pouch. Don’t cinch completely closed—through a small opening, stuff the pouch with fiberfill, being sure not to make it too dense. Pull the thread tails and knot the ends. Hot glue the cushion into its compartment with the knotted side down.

you may download the full instructions, including helpful project diagrams, right here!  to make this project even juicier, win a copy of The Repurposed Library and enjoy many other gorgeous and inspiring projects, all created from reclaimed books. to enter, leave a comment on this post and one random winner will be chosen on monday, september 5th.  thank you lisa, for this fabulous project and opportunity… good luck everyone!

Lisa Occhipinti is a painter, book artist and author based in Venice, CA. In addition to studio work, she teaches workshops, including an upcoming one with Ace Camps, and privately online. In addition to writing The Repurposed Library her work has also been included in Papercraft. Her work is in private and corporate collections worldwide and can also be found here. Her small wares can be browsed on her etsy store, ShopHouse. Feel free to say hello anytime: lisa.shophouse@gmail.com

To One Lucky WINNER…

one (1 ) piece 16” x 20” rolled canvas print

with 2-inch border or No border

from UPrinting.com

Cotton-blend Canvas: Thick, high quality artist canvas with a matte finish. Poly-cotton blend makes this canvas ultra durable.  1 day turnaround and free shipping.  (Restriction: Limited to *US residents 18+ years.  no previous UPrinting prize winners may win.)

*****

win this beautiful art canvas printed with your own photograph or art! (check out UPrinting.com’s  other great products as well)!  to enter, leave a comment on this post sharing one of your favorite memory making ideas or inspirations by monday, august 15th, and one winner will be chosen.  good luck!

***congrats, michelle c… you are the winner!  please email me your mailing addy to claim your prize!***

by rachel awes

winner #1… four days a week

winner #2… carissa paige

rachel graciously chose not 1, but 2 lucky winners… congratulations!  and thank you all for sharing your beautiful words.

by rachel awes

*a GIVEAWAY invitation*

rachel awes is a psychologist, art playgroundist, writer, wife, mother & friend,
who loves listening to the beauty in people.

find her words and work here:

Jennifer Lee is the author of The Right Brain Business Plan, the founder of Artizen Coaching, and a certified coach, artist, and yogini who believes in living life in full color.  her brand new book recently hit the shelves and here, she shares a bit if her inspiring book journey…


how and when did you know that the Right Brain Business Plan needed to become a book?

I had no idea when I created my first Right-Brain Business Plan on my kitchen table back in 2007 that it would turn into a book. I did know, though, that I wanted to write a book. In fact, I had a mini handmade book on my first RBBP to represent that very goal. And now that little book is on my book cover!

I had been working on a whole different book about creativity for about a year with my book coach. When I was getting ready to go the Book Expo America with my proposal in hand, my intuition told me, “Bring a sell sheet for Right-Brain Business Plan, too.” And so I did. As I talked with different publishers they consistently showed more interest in The Right-Brain Business Plan, and it was then I knew it was ready to born.

what was one challenge that you encountered but then overcame on you book journey?

Getting that first rejection letter was tough. I cried. I sulked. I worried that no one would ever offer me a contract. Of course other rejection letters came, as did signs of interest, too. What helped me through that painful waiting period was getting great guidance and support from my book coach, and leaning into my community of creative cohorts who kept cheering me on. Also, painting out my frustrations and worry was quite therapeutic!

what was one of your favorite moments in writing The Right Brain Business Plan?

The most memorable moment for me was holding my book in my hands for the first time. I remember thumbing through the pages and being so excited seeing all of the colorful photos of the featured plans. And I remember how much I loved the smell of my book!

did anything surprise you about this process, and what did you learn from the unexpected?

One of the most unexpected things about this whole process was realizing just how much the Right-Brain Business Plan concept resonates with people from around the world. When I hosted my Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit during my book launch, I was amazed that we had participants all the way from Barbados, South Africa, Iceland, Hong Kong, and Lebanon. It underscored for me how much creative souls are yearning to bring their gifts out to the world through business and how much they want to do it in a way that’s authentic to them.

what is next for you and the RBBP?

In terms of what next for me and the RBBP, I’m turning my e-Course into a home study version so that people can participate on their own time. I’m also going to launch a Right-Brain Business Plan® licensing program so that other coaches, creatives, and facilitators can lead in-person workshops and use the materials with their individual clients.

***giveaway*** Thanks for hosting me in the wishstudio, Mindy! I’d love to giveaway a Right-Brain Business Plan book/kit combo to a lucky member of the wishstudio community. So, please write a comment below about what you’re passionate about and we’ll pick a random winner on wednesday, july 13th.

***and the winner is… playcrane! (thanks for sharing your passions everyone ~ so very inspiiring ;)***

thanks, Jenn! i loved hearing these juicy details of your book writing process as the story behind a book always add to it’s meaning and life.  i know your words and work will continue to spark creative fires everywhere!

by kristin noelle

Making art and working with my hands have been lifelong loves and ones I’ve delighted in sharing with my kids (now 3 and 5). Peak in my windows almost any day and you’ll find one or more of us drawing, painting, building, taping, clipping, ripping, shaking, mixing, or baking.

The less obvious expressions of my creativity, however, have often been my lifelines in the challenges I face as a contemplative woman (read: person who thrives on quiet time alone), mothering two young, and appropriately active kids.

Here are four of my most treasured creative practices:

1. Nurturing wonder:

Like gratitude, wonder shifts my awareness away from the challenges that have accompanied life with young kids for me: fatigue, autopilot syndrome (the necessary repetitiveness of tasks sometimes turns this on in me), self pity.

I nurture wonder by trying to pay attention to both smaller and bigger details than I might otherwise see: the tenacity of the ants who search for food in our home; the way light streams through windows differently depending on the season and time of day; the colorations of flowers and leaves; the full orchestra of workers required to plan and build the house down our street.

When I look closely at any such thing, and consider the beauty or miracle inherent to it, I feel grateful and glad. I feel energized to create a life for myself and my kids where wonder is part of the air we all breathe. Is the ground by which we find ourselves supported.

2. Playing with answers:

Kids ask a lot of questions. And it’s a natural instinct to either give them an answer, to say, “I don’t know,” or to offer some version of, “Mommy needs a break from questions now, kay?”

I’ve discovered, however, that a little creativity in the midst of question-asking transforms my question fatigue into something more like wonder.

When my kids ask me a question, whether I have an answer or not, I often ask them if they have ideas about it. If they don’t, I prime the pump a little bit – either with a plausible answer, or with something that’s beyond the range of plausibility. “Do you have another idea?” I then say. We often launch into full-on brainstorm mode, where all three of us are coming up with numerous hypotheses for why there’s a dent in the car next to us, or a hole in the road, or a worker doing something with power lines overhead.

I leave sessions like this awe-struck by the human mind, and by the ways kids and adults can think creatively when pushed even gently to do so.

3. Tangibly valuing my work and self care

Young kids are appropriately needy, and I quickly and whole-heartedly…and at times with great overwhelm…accepted this reality.

Trial and error proved that complete neglect of MY needs, however, was bad for everyone involved. So I’ve made a practice of tangibly valuing my work and self care even in the midst of this intensely self-giving season.

For me, this has meant negotiating 20-30 minutes of solo meditation time in the morning while my husband watches the kids; a half hour of “room time” each afternoon for all of us, even when my kids were done needing to nap; two afternoons of babysitting so that I can write and make art not only when I’m tired in the evenings; saying “no” sometimes when an otherwise healthy, requested activity would take more from me than I feel I can freely or joyfully give.

These are all things that have taken creative thought to fit in and make habitual, and all things I consider integral to the health and happiness of me AND my kids.

4. Maintaining tension with my ego.

Sibling spats are one of my biggest triggers of anger. Recognizing my anger as an ego flare (i.e. I’m personally offended that you don’t have adult-level impulse control, kids! or Why are you making life so hard for me? or I feel so out of control of the situation when you fight like this – how dare you make me feel this way!) has led me to apply my creativity *often* to holding tension with my ego. Almost every day I’m trying to give nods of recognition to my ego in the face of sibling spats while simultaneously taking deep breaths, choosing a calm voice over the instinctual one of indignation, working to pull away from the situation in my mind and view it from the outside, at a much more cool distance.

My average of success at such things has room to improve (!), but I’m finding so much satisfaction in the efforts I expend to think creatively about how to avoid ego-traps, and how to get myself out of them once I’ve fallen in.

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I hope that in all the art we create together, all the art I sell and make a living from, my children learn alongside of me that creating a mindful, wonder-rich life, where respect of self and others are part of the very same whole, is one of the greatest beauties we could ever hope to know.

Kristin Noelle is a writer and illustrator. Her blog, Trust Tending, uses music, words, and art to nourish Life beyond fear. She lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband, young kids, and five chickens.

in the spirit of nurturing creative moms, we are giving away 1 Free Month’s Subscription to Care4Hire.com to help you find a fabulous caregiver to support your family’s needs!  finding help and unfettered time to lean into your creative life is invaluable.  to win, simply leave a comment on this post by sunday, june 26th and one winner will be announced on this post on 6/27… good luck!

jamie ridler has created something truly wonderful…  a way to infuse your life with an abundance of creativity in just 5 minutes a day! a host incredibly talented and creative souls will share with you wildly inspiring ideas and prompts to get your juices flowing, and i am honored to be among them!  to win a spot in Sparkles, simply leave a comment on this post and you’ll be entered to win, and  you can begin whenever you are ready add a colorful dose of creativity to your life!  all entries must be posted by wednesday, june 15th, and the winner will be announced right here on this post – embrace your creativity this summer!

*** and the winner is… beki!  congratulations! email me, and you can start sparkling ;) ***

What’s the next best thing to sitting side-by-side on a sofa with sips of something warm and a long stretch of time in which to speak of the ways we seek to hear ourselves and to be heard? Something written in my own hand and spoken with my own voice, ready to inhabit your kitchen, your car and that sacred place beside your bed. Something that arrives in your mailbox like a gift from me to you, sealed with a blessing.

What’s the most transformational way to interact with stories, to play with new ideas and step into new perspectives like look-out spots with a view you’ve never seen before? Going at your own pace makes a difference, getting words off the computer screen and into your physical life surely helps, and having the company of kindreds is priceless.

The first in a brand-new series, this resource brings material previously only available at in-person workshops and retreats right to your door. It arrives ready to enjoy a long life as a companion and guide–in your bag, on your kitchen table, working its magic through your hands into your heart.

This Multimedia Course includes:

An Audio Learning Program, recorded in a professional sound studio, including the stories and insights shared in my Finding Your Voice workshop (CD, 52 minutes)

An Interactive Workbook in a resilient 3-ring binder with a full-color cover and over 100 pages of course material, black and white photographs, and countless exercises to walk you through powerful shifts and breakthroughs. Blank pages in the back give you the freedom to create more room to write wherever you need it.

A Handwritten Blessing from me to you on the workbook’s front page.

Private Access to a course-specific discussion board on jenlee.net, where you can enjoy the company of friends who are on this journey with you.

***want to win your own Finding Your Voice multimedia package? here’s a wonderful opportunity especially from from jen: simply leave a comment on this post along with your email address, and you’ll be entered to win!  one random winner will be chosen and announced here on 4/21 ~ good luck.

and for more details, FAQ’s, and to purchase your own FYV package, please visit here.

***and the winner is… sheila, of tea and toast!!! please email me with your info to claim you prize!***