I have some super exciting news to share today!!!
I'm joining the WishStudio family!

It's an exciting time in the WishStudio...
Mindy is launching the brand spankin' new site in April
and I am thrilled to be able to contribute to it.
I'll be sharing art, inspiration and loads of encouragement in my monthly column.

Pop over and check out all the juicy details of the new site!
There is truly something for everyone in the WishStudio!

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I am so inspired right now!

Leave me a little love note and tell me what you're wishing for today!

xo & belief in you (and your wishes!),

Carmen

Beginning today, I'm making a small resolution to make Mondays about Inspiration and Intention.  Tuesdays have long been my favorite day of the week and an easy day for me to get happy, but Mondays, not so much.  I often dread Mondays.  Mondays mark the beginning of a new work week for my day job and so I associate some negativity with Mondays. 

Having recently listened to the audio version of The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, the thought has been on my mind to do my own mini Happiness Project.  I'm not committed to dedicating a whole year to the project or even get really hyperfocused on it, but I love the idea of identifying little ways I can inject a little happy into my days. 

So I've decided that my blog is the perfect place for me to start.  Not only can I inject happiness into my life, I can share with you and I would love it if you would share back in the comments.  I always love it when I come across a blog that uses the comments section as a place for conversation and dialog.  It would rock my socks off if that were to happen here! 

My friend Kate has been asking the following every Monday: "Monday Focus: What would you like to get done this week? What's your focus? What would you give yourself permission to experience?"  

So on this Tuesday Eve, my focus is to start the week with Inspiration and Intention.  How about you?

More on my focus for the week and what I'm giving myself permission to experience in the comments section below...  (hint, big news!)

xo,

Carmen

Be sure to visit CRESCENDOh today where I'm sharing links to
a couple fantabulous art journaling resources!

xo & belief in you,

Carmen

I love signs of Spring and when I saw these tulips,
in all their orangey goodness
I had to have them!

A special treat... a little love note to me, from me.

Treat yourself to something that inspires you today!
If you need some ideas, start here. 

xo & belief in you,

Carmen

I love dreamers!  Seeing people follow their dreams rocks my world.  It's empowering and inspiring and makes me want to leap fearlessly towards mine.  

Last week marked the launch of CRESCENDOh, Jenny Doh's new creative endeavor.  Have you checked it out yet?  I'm super excited to be one of the guest curators this week!  Pop over there each day for new links to tutorials and creative projects.  You're sure to find something inspiring on every visit. 

What dreams are you ready to dive into? 

Let's hear it!

Believing in you,
Carmen 

watercolor Moleskine, watercolored page, random image added via gel medium transfer

Have a fantabulous weekend!
Look for me next week over at CRESCENDOh.

Mucho love,

Carmen

In the beginning,
I created a visual journal from
a watercolor Moleskine,
watercolored pages
& a few bits of collage.

For those of you that asked how I created the journal pages from Monday's post, this is how they started.

Then I've been adding images via collage and image transfers and randomly distressing, painting, stamping, scraping, sanding, scratching and anything else that feels right.  Total labor of love. 

Mucho love,

Carmen 

I love the idea of "sharing what inspires us" and connecting with other bloggers, so when I read the following on sfgirlbybay's blog about Blog it Forward, I was instantly intrigued and inspired:

we’re going to share a connected stream of blogger posts on ‘what inspires us the most’ on our individual blogs, but link back & forward to the other blogs participating, a bit like a chain letter (but, hopefully a lot less annoying!).

And so were 300 (!) other bloggers!  Talk about inspiration!!! 

I've been tagged by Carla Kay White, who blogs about her journey of jumpstarting her happiness through giving thanks and giving back.  ♥  And I get to tag Cartoules Letterpress whose antique Golding & Co. Pearl Letterpress, Margaritari, just celebrated her 123rd birthday.  How cool is that?! 

Here are a few places I'm finding inspiration lately!

• Elke Mae
• Karen Michels
• Oiseaux (especially her Collage A Day Gallery)
• Daily Poetics collages on Flickr
• Maine Momma's Little Big Things Flickr Set
• CRESCENDOh
• Swirly's 100 Books Project
• and the ladies of Spring Inspiration

Where are you finding Inspiration lately?
Feel free to use the comments as a place for inspiration sharing and conversation starting!

Mucho love and Happy Tuesday,

Carmen

Journal pages in progress. 

Major break though over here.  I've struggled with art journaling for a while.  I tried and tried, but couldn't find my groove.  While working on artwork for my book and spending a great deal of time thinking about signature style and the importance of working instinctively, I began to realize that I was trying to create a style instead of letting my style evolve and happen on it's own. 

I purchased a new Moleskine a week or so ago and decided to use it as a visual journal... a place to paint, play, plop images down with a glue stick, rip out fascinating pictures from old magazines to practice image transfers and other techniques with.  

I'm working on multiple pages at once, randomly painting pages and randomly matching colors with images and I'm feeling drawn into my studio to add bits and pieces here and there.  

I'm in Visual Journaling Heaven right now!  

Mucho love,

Carmen

I'm honored to be a small part of Swirly's 100 Books Project.  She, along with the help of book fairies world wide, is randomly leaving copies of her book, Ordinary Sparkling Moments, literally all over the world as a gift to a stranger, a random act of kindness if you will. 

I had planned to leave the book in an artsy area in Jensen Beach, but when we drove there on our way to the beach on Sunday, the street was packed with people and the timing just wasn't right.  So I decided to wait for a better day or time.  

When we got to Jensen Beach Park and walked down the little boardwalk through the sea-grapes, I spotted a lonely bench and thought it might be a good spot to leave the book.  I decided that if it still seemed like the perfect spot as we were leaving, I'd go for it.

And it was, so I did.