A couple weeks ago I learned about One World, One Heart and thought it looked like lots of fun. One World, One Heart is described as "a GIGANTIC open house allowing you to travel without ever leaving your home........going from blog to blog(in various countries) seeing the wonder each one has created and meeting all the fabulous people behind those blogs." So here I am joining in the fun for this event's 5th and final year. Welcome OWOH ! My name is Jen . Like many, I wear many different hats on a daily basis: mother, wife, daughter, friend, optometrist, etc.. This is more than enough to keep me busy, but I still try to find the time to add "artist" to that list. I absolutely  love being creative and this is where I share my artistic passion and journey.  T his year seems to be taking me on an extra special journey thus far. Rather than resolutions, I chose one word "Clear" to inspire my year. And so far, as I've been clearing my household ...

So I had an "Aha!" moment the other day. As I've mentioned, one of the things that I am working on this year is clearing out our household clutter. So with this goal also comes the goal to make use of what I have, rather than buying more stuff. So I ran across this quote and thought it was fitting. I wrote it down and moved on. But then a couple days later, the light bulb turned on--This quote is about life. It's not just about material things, its about my life. I need to be happy with what I have, right now, because that is all I have. All we have is right now! Be happy. Make the most of it. Now I know this might be obvious to everyone else, but this wasn't so obvious to me. But it is now. As I process this more, I'm sure I'll have more to share, but I thought this was a good start! So here's to embracing my life right now, imperfections and all! 

January 2011 One Little Word Class Assignment Where to begin....I had a lovely weekend. I never used to be one to use the word lovely, but 1. My weekend was lovely, and 2. I just love how fellow Kelly Rae Flyer Jacqueline  uses it--its so happy. It gives me warm fuzzies. I had tons of fun while getting tons of things accomplished! We had a movie night with popcorn, Despicable Me  (cute movie), and good friends. I continued my quest for a clutter-free home and am enjoying the results (it's so much easier to keep things clean when there's a place for everything). I finished reading The Procrastinator's Handbook: Mastering the Art of Doing It Now  and I am so proud of myself. I'm notorious for starting books but not finishing them, but I felt that this one needed to be finished--it's just wrong to put a procrastinator's book off until later (Can you say "missing the point"?). It was a great book for me to read. It offered lots of suggestions for ge...

Earlier this week I was awarded a Stylish Blog Award from my friend Sylvia at Baxter's Mom and tagged by my friend Leslie at Words of Me Project . With Sylvia's award I am to share 7 things about myself that you don't know about me. With Leslie's post I am supposed to share the answers to 19 questions, so that you might also learn more about me. So I am being creative (or cheating) and answering 7 of the 19 questions: 1. If you have pets, do you see them as merely animals, or are they members of your family? We do have pets, several goldfish (which I see as pets) and Sprinkles (our almost 1 year old puppy). I do see Sprinkles as a member of the family (sorry goldfish). 4. What would you do with a billion dollars? Pay off all our debt, and the debt of family and friends for a fresh start. And have the money to send the girls to college. 5. What helps to pull you out of a bad mood? Music....I LOVE music! 8. If you are currently in a relationship, how did you meet y...

I am one lucky girl--I have another guest post today! This time I am visiting my good friend Sylvia of Baxter's Mom . I met Sylvia through Kelly Rae Roberts' Flying Lessons and have enjoyed a wonderfully inspiring friendship ever since. Like myself, Sylvia is discovering the artist within and she is amazing! For instance, she just recently made the most gorgeous set of hearts, which you should really go see in her shop . by Sylvia of Baxter's Mom Sylvia is also one of my greatest supporters, which I so greatly appreciate. Not only did she invite me to her blog for this guest post, but she's recently given me a blog award (which I still need to work on accepting and passing along). I can't thank Sylvia enough for all that she does. Like I said, I am one lucky girl! So be sure to visit Sylvia's blog today where you'll find me and a little bit about my Word Art.

Life here has been filled with friends, creating, and decluttering. And it was a perfect amount of each (because you wouldn't want too much decluttering--it's a lot of work). I had a chance to get into my studio and create on my own and with friends, which was great fun. I have some new pieces in the works and a couple new ones in my shop . I'm also excitedly getting ready for another guest post (Lucky me!). My good friend Sylvia of Baxter's Mom has asked me to talk more about my Word Art , so be sure to come visit on Wednesday to read more....

So today's the day! My very first guest post is up over at my best friend Sally's blog,  Are They Twins?  I'm so excited! This is the same Sally I just introduced you to this past Who Do You Follow Thursday . We've known each other for what's now been a very long time (since junior high) and together we've been through a lot of life's ups and downs. Through it all, with her support and encouragement, Sally has helped bring out my best, both as a person and as an artist. In fact, some of my best artwork has been made for her. I am really happy to see Sally getting back into blogging and I am honored that she asked me to write a guest post. I've shared a fun craft project using common household supplies (I dare say my first tutorial). So be sure to visit!

I did some more playing last night and finished my piece from the other night . I love it! It's such a great representation of who I am. Just about everything I do comes from the heart. It was so much fun to just start painting the other night, not knowing where I was going, and then end up here. Hooray for playtime! I actually like it so much that I have created a blog button for myself (now I can cross that off of my To Do List). Take a look:

This past Thursday my friend Leslie over at Words of Me Project (and Skinny Me , as if one blog wasn't enough to keep track of) started a linky party to share blogs that we love and follow, possibly blogs we've forgotten. What an awesome idea! There are so many great blogs out there, so much to share. I can't help but find tons of fun stuff when I start looking, hopping from blog to blog, hours flying by. So I've decided to join in the fun. Today the blog I'd like to share with you is my best friend Sally's blog, Are They Twins? I'm sure you're thinking "Of course you love and follow this blog, she's your best friend." But I am sharing her blog with you because I know you'll love her, too. Sally is a " mom, wife, teacher, compulsive movie-quoter, and lover of Diet Coke and Target. " Sally had been neglecting her blog for a while due to the craziness of all of the above, but now she's back and I couldn't be more ...

All your heart , originally uploaded by byjen . Tonight I did some playing in my studio. I had no real direction, in fact I'm not even done. But I thought I'd share.

Some of my favorite inspiration , originally uploaded by byjen . I thought I'd share a little bit of my favorite inspiration today. This is the display I have above the bed in our guest room/craft room. I recently added a few pieces this holiday season and I adore it! In fact, Rebecca commented that Grandma's room is the prettiest in the house (because when I say guest room, I really mean Grandma's room when she visits). I promise to share more of my crafting space. It is quite cluttered, but in a happy way. I just need to clear a bit of the excess clutter before I show you the whole room. But this is a peek. And if you're curious about the artwork, click on the photo to go to flickr where I've added some notes.

We are almost officially one week into the new year!  I am really enjoying my one little word, Clear, and all that it's been inspiring. I've been clearing out the clutter in my house like crazy. I haven't been able to keep up with A Bowl Full of Lemon's challenge like I had hoped but I certainly have been bitten by the organizing bug. I don't have photos to show, but you would have been amazed by the pile of clothes that Daniel and I cleared out of our closet and drawers. It felt so good to drop them off at Good Will this morning. I've been clearing out time for art and blogging and all things creative, and this makes me so happy. I still need to get going on my art journal , but I'll get there. I'm truly enjoying Ali Edwards' class and hope to have more to show for it in the next week or two. I've been good about buying less, which helps both in my goal to clear the clutter (bringing home less) and clear our debt (less money spent, more money...

"Slow and steady wins the race." -Aesop, The Hare and the Tortoise So here we are, fourth day of the year and the excitement of a fresh, clean start is already being replaced by the mental clutter of all I want to accomplish in this new year. But I need to remember slow and steady wins the race, right? Ali Edwards offered this gentle reminder to all of her One Little Word students over at BPS . Have I mentioned I am taking this class? I know,  I know...what am I thinking? I am supposed to be clearing stuff off my list, not adding more, right? Well I am so happy I decided to add this class to my To Do list. The class spans the entire year, at the end of which we'll have an album celebrating our word and the journey it takes us on. So far the class content and projects are simple, doable, and inspiring. And I love seeing all the other students' words and pages. It just feels good to get to know my word, embrace it's meaning, and be inspired to make art again (the...

In my attempt to clear out household clutter (which is going really well), I seem to have added quite a bit of clutter to my To Do list. I have such trouble gauging what I can truly get done in a day. Which means I never complete my daily To Do list. Part of this may be the unexpected interruptions of life, or the detours. For instance, this afternoon we visited my husband Daniel's work, so that Rebecca and Katherine could see their very own epithelial cells through a microscope (Daniel teaches Anatomy & Physiology at a local college and this really intrigues Rebecca). Scraping inside the cheek for cells Placing the cells on the slide Adding the dye Slide with cells Rebecca viewing her cells Katherine viewing her cells Simple Squamous Epithelial Cells from Katherine's cheek Now that wasn't on my To Do list when the day began, but it was an amazing experience to witness between father and daughters. And I did get a lot done today: laundry, taking th...

I have been inspired to jump into 2011 and clear out the clutter in our home. And this weekend has been amazing! Both my husband and I have been purging stuff left and right. Now we're no where near done, but we have been forced to slow down because our trash cans are overflowing. One of the many things I did was tackle the worst "junk" drawer in our house, my makeup drawer. This was the first assignment in A Bowl Full of Lemon's 21 Days to Getting Organized Challenge. I learned about the challenge from my BFF  and thought it would be a good jump start to clearing out clutter (well honestly, at first I thought 21 days was way too aggressive for my house, but then I decided I should at least give it a try). I have to say I am surprised at how much junk was in the drawer, how quickly the drawer was reorganized (just over 30 minutes) and how good it felt. Stay tuned to see if I can keep up......

I hope everyone enjoyed a safe and happy new year's eve. Now it's time for the fresh start of a new year. I have lots of goals for 2011, many of which look remarkably similar to years past. But this year I believe I have found one little word to help, a concept to help bring my goals together......... My one little word for 2011 is clear . I wasn't sure about it at first, but the more I thought and the more I explored, it fits perfectly. I plan on clearing clutter (both mental and material), debt (or at least work towards that), and excess weight (Zumba Wii here I come). I hope to gain focus and clarity in my mind as I clear out the excess. And I hope to clear the path to success this year (maybe then 2012's list of goals can be new and different). I am currently working on more concrete goals and breaking them down into bite size pieces. I'll make sure to share as I go along. What's your word and/or goals for 2011? And if anyone is interested in a re...