Cute Story

I don't know why, but I never thought that kids really had imaginary friends. I don't remember ever having one and I didn't know anyone that had one, so I thought that it was a fictitious idea that people used to tell stories. Well...... I was wrong. :-) My 3 1/2 year old son has an imaginary friend that he likes to call, Monkey. Judging by the way my son carries him around, Monkey is quite small, maybe the size of a quarter? He is very friendly, likes to listen to stories and loves to play with Hot Wheels. I thought that this was the CUTEST thing ever and I can't seem to grasp that my 3 year old son already has the imagination to create his own little "person"! So I asked him some questions about Monkey's appearance and I decided to make him a little stuffed monkey so that his Monkey could be just a little more real. I put aside the projects that I was working on, grabbed some leftover fabric that I had laying around and in 1 day made his friend, Monkey, come to life. He's a little funny looking and is definitely homemade.... but my son really likes him. The stuffed Monkey's body is about 7" tall with the legs adding another 4" and the only complaint I received was that this monkey wasn't as small as his 'real' Monkey. :-)

Commitment

Main Entry: com·mit·ment Pronunciation: \kə-ˈmit-mənt\
Function: noun
Date: 1603
1 a: an act of committing to a charge or trust: as (1): a consignment to a penal or mental institution (2): an act of referring a matter to a legislative committee b: mittimus

2 a: an agreement or pledge to do something in the future ; especially : an engagement to assume a financial obligation at a future date b: something pledged c: the state or an instance of being obligated or emotionally impelled (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary)

This is what I lack.... the stick-to-it-iveness to get things done. I have good ideas, but for many reasons, most of them don't come to fruition. Whether I get bored, or burnt out, or I realize that the idea that I once thought was good... now doesn't sound so great; most of my projects just don't get done. In my personal life, I am the poster child for commitment.... but when it comes to my artwork/craftwork, I can't seem to stick with it. So, like every year for the last several years, I have made it my New Year's resolution to have more commitment with my work, to be more thoughtful and less compulsive when it comes to my ideas and to use my time more wisely. With a toddler and an infant, there doesn't seem to be as many hours in the day and the free time that I have is very valuable and I have to learn to use it wisely.

With that said, I have decided to finish up a few of my ongoing projects. The first one that I want to complete is my lip gloss shelf.

I was making this shelf in sections, which will be assembled together to make one large shelf. I have 3 sections completed and I have about 4-5 left to make.

Usually, I don't even attempt long term projects because I know that I will inevitably put it down and fail to ever pick it back up and get it done. With that in mind, I started the lip gloss shelf knowing that it would be ongoing and that it would most likely never be done since I will continue to add to the collection. But I figured I would work on it a little here and a little there and what ended up happening was that (surprise, surprise) I put it down and haven't worked on it in 3 years. So I am determined to get it done, of course we will soon find out HOW determined I am and if it ends up getting done. When I worked on it before I would purchase/cut the wood as I went, this time I am buying and cutting all the wood at one time so that I don't have an excuse to not work on it. I hope that will make a difference since now I don't have an excuse not to work on it.

The second project that I want to complete is a painting of my uncle that I have been working on in some form or another for the past 5 years. I have one SMALL section left to paint, there is another small section that I would like to change and I am debating on if I am going to finish it with a varnish or not. And even thought that might sound like a lot, it really isn't and then the painting is done.... I just need to do it.

Once those two things are done, I have decided to start making some linoleum block prints that I am going to try and sell on Etsy. I have some sketches started and I am coming up with more and more ideas for the prints. The first set will most likely have an "A is for..., B is for...." type theme. And since art imitates life, it shouldn't be surprising that mine is staring to look like a baby's nursery or a pre-school lesson :-)

Hopefully soon I will have a little more to post in regards to those prints. But I am at this moment determined to conquer the world... we will see if I feel the same tomorrow :-)