November Challenge Wrap Up

NaBloPoMo: Missed a few days and contributed very few meaningful posts. I think after that first day of missing i lost the thrill of the challenge to keep a perfect record.

Art Every Day Month: I did not by any means fulfill my desire to post at least one picture/project a day. I do regret not putting more effort into this monthly project.

National Reading Novel Month: I only posted about the book once. Frankly, i think the second section of the book was rather boring. I only have a few chapters left to finish. Over all i'm not exactly sure what makes this book so amazing except for shock value of the unashamed honest portrayal of a mans obsession with little girls.

I'm not sure what i did in November but it obviously wasn't contributing a great amount of time to all the challenges i signed up for.

Holiday Stamps 1964

A little inspiration for my Christmas cards. When we were at the coast this weekend we did a little antique shopping. Found a stash of old letters with these great holiday themed stamps. I have the wood type letters of JOY that i'm going to combine with a block print based on one of the stamps. I'm thinking of doing the holly. I've never done a two color print so i'm thinking i'll do two carvings, one for the leaves and another for the berries.

Going to the art store friday to pick up blocks and paper. There is also this gel that can be mixed with the ink to make it transparent, the more added the more transparent. I'm wanting to pick up a little to experiment with.

Months ago i picked up some velvet felt powder that i thought about using on my cards... maybe the holly will be dusted with snow... i'll have to try it.

Zine Pages

I participate in a group zine every 3 months. The premise of the zine is to have a theme, produce as many pages as players {for example 12 people sign up, i need to create 12 identical pages}. Then i mail the pages to one designated woman who binds them together {with help} and then mails them back to the players. So in the end i have a book of 12 pages, 1 page designed by each person playing. It's a lot of fun and i've been doing it for 4 years... wow, can't believe it's been four years! I missed the first book but i've been in the other 13 books {14 total, there has been fluctuation on how many were made per year}.

I always have fun making the pages. The 14th edition had the theme of Positive/Negative. I had help from my husband with the idea. I had the idea of using film negative but then i couldn't figure out a positive {course now i thought of an actual photo of the other sides negative would have worked but i'm just as excited about this concept}. Then he suggested the use of x-rays, i knew i married him for a reason.

A note on construction:
- Printed the x-ray images {after a little color correction} on transparency paper
- Masking tape to tape the corners
- Office file labels for the titles
- Hand stamped each letter {figured out late but for the positive side i had the bright idea of stamping "positive" all down the sticker sheet before adhering it to the page, i got a lot clearer looking labels for the positive side}

Day 2

Day 2 and i'm already lacking things to report about. I've been working on my zine pages - they're turning out excellent. Post them when i'm finished.

Here's a photo for AEDM. A few months ago my husband and i went out for dinner and i ordered pomegranate lemonade. It was pretty good. Even though it's old i only just got to edit it.

A Good Start

November is off to a good start.

I've picked up my copy of Lolita and i'll be starting it this weekend. The reading syllabus won't be available until Monday but i figure i can't go wrong reading the first few chapters.

Started on that mission statement. It's going a little slow. I let my self be distracted by looking for a new place to live - even though we won't be moving until the end of March. There is this perfect little house near my work but i don't think it'll be available when we're ready. Maybe something exactly like it will be available.

For AEDM I've uploaded a little video of a tree that lives outside our apartment building. It had AWESOME color this fall. This is straight from the camera {cannon A630} the thing is, the quality is crap and i'm not really sure what to do about it. Probably access to a video editor that could compress it correctly for the web would probably be good. If anyone has any thoughts, let me know!

Almost November

which means it's almost time for 2 3 annual challenges!

National Blog Posting Month {nablopomo.org}
Posting everyday for the whole 30 days of November.

&

National Novel Reading Month {NaNoReMo} hosted by Defective Yeti
That's right read a whole novel and discuss it for the month of November. The novel picking is running a touch late, he's still taking recommendations and votes. {almost forgot about this one}

And the novel winner is: Lolita - i'll be buying a copy since the library is completely out

&

Art Every Day Month hosted by Leah at CreativeEveryday.com
The rules on this one is very relaxed. You can do something every day, week, one big project for the month...possibilities abound {go read the page she describes it better}.

I plan on using this challenge to get some of my photos posted. Yes, i hear you, i did sign up months ago for her Creative Every Day in 2008 challenge, no, no i haven't been very good about keeping up with it but i'm ok with that. November is going to be about posting my photos, photos of my finished projects, and at the very least one line about something inspiring from the day. I AM GOING TO DO THIS! I readily admit, i struggle with the leap between good idea/goal to actually sticking with the discipline needed to finish something. Last year i posted all 30 days so i'm not so worried about that but my goal is a little more lofty in the creative department.

Let me know if you've signed up for any or all and i'll make it a point to come visit and leave a comment to cheer you on because I bet you love comments just as much as I love comments. {I don't struggle with reading other people's blogs}