Dr. Schaefer calls this day the “Rampage of Appreciation”. What a marvelous concept! The idea, though it may seem obvious, is to bombard your brain with so many thoughts of what you appreciate in life that there is no room for negatives.  Here’s what Dr. Schaefer says:

Practicing this way of thinking squeezes out any space in your thoughts to be annoyed or irritated with anything in your life.

Well that is an easy order for sure! Instead of writing my ideas, however, I decided it would benefit me more to have pictures that have meaning, which for me would remind me of all that which I have to appreciate. So, below is my gallery of “pictorial appreciation”. Oh and of course don’t forget my daily laugh pick. “What old people do for fun” LOL It’ll tickle your funny bone for sure (but don’t let it give Continue reading My Thought Makeover – Day 2

So the message today, for Day 1 of my 37 day Thought Makeover, is plant happy thoughts around you. This may seem odd, but believe me the ideas are ingenious once you understand how it works.  Dr. Schaefer really seems to know how the mind works and adding this element of subliminal thoughts into the routine makes me trust in the effort even more.

First, find things from your past that help you remember happy times. For examples, if you have trophies from High School, ribbons, photographs of you with friends; all these things can help you “unconsciously remember” how it felt to be happy, feel connected, or being successful. Planting these items in an area of your home you see every day, or a corner of your office, can help you subconsciously to bring positive feelings and thoughts to your mind every day.

As much as I loved this suggestion, the next suggestion was even better! Schaefer next recommends that you scrounge your home for cleaning supplies and other household items with happy names, Continue reading My Thought Makeover – Day 1

Today I’m on a new journey. For the next 37 days I will be participating in an Extreme Thought Makeover (ETM)! Yes I know, it does sound wishy-washy and so dot-com-before-the-bubble-ish but I figure it can’t hurt anything!

Here is what this journey promises:

This is a 37 Day Interactive Multimedia Program that is experience based. It offers 37 Action Steps, each of which offer life experience. Even if just one of these activities really sinks in, it can be enough to make a permanent positive change in you, creating a real shift, and bringing a benefit you can only imagine.

This was just too wonderful to dismiss! Imagine, experiencing real positive change in my life in only 37 days!! I’ve always been an optimist, and handled life like the cat who always lands on their feet (even if someone threw them across the room) but I do have a tendency to focus on the Continue reading Thought Makeover – Day 0

These past couple of months I’ve been doing quite a lot of painting so I thought it would be fun to document the process for a small item like this wonderful Christmas tree greeting card. Although this couldn’t be considered a full tutorial, it does show enough of the process that hopefully it can help those brand new with some tips and tricks that I use.

I have been painting with acrylics ever since I can remember; my mother taught ceramics and had a full classroom with any number of colors, brushes and other tools at my disposal. Despite this early beginning, however, I didn’t pick up a paint brush seriously until recently, when my passion for art was revealed in full. Ever since, it has been nearly non-stop painting, and I’m having the time of my life!

Hopefully this demonstration gives you a glimpse of some of the process of going from paint and tools to finished product. If you should have any questions feel free to contact me and I’d be happy to help however I can!

Happy painting!
Roxanne

1) First, I started with a pattern from an old derivitive-friendly crafting book that I had and created a variation in Photoshop. To make sure I was happy with the colors I had in mind, and to decide on a background, I printed a copy of the Photoshop file and painted various colors I was planning to use. I also tried out some thoughts for the background. I finally decided on some simple spattering so the background wouldn’t overpower the colors in the tree and presents. This line drawing was then sketched onto the canvas paper with pencil. I always spray the canvas with a matte finish after I sketch so the graphite doesn’t smudge once I start painting. NOTE: All images are clickable for a closeup view.

2) Next I used frisket, also called art masking fluid, to cover the inside of the graphic. This allowed me to spatter the background without getting the paint on my main images. One important trick to spattering is to be sure to try it out on a piece of paper before spattering your art piece. This allows you to get a feel for how the spatters will look on your piece before you actually do the spattering.

Continue reading Demonstration – Christmas Tree Greeting Card in Acrylic

These days, with economies stretched to the limit and people cutting back on everything from designer label clothing to brand-name toilet paper, trying to help out a favorite cause may seem like an impossibility. But helping out your best-loved non-profit or charity organization doesn’t have to cost a dime.

There is no question that charities and non-profits need monetary support in order to keep running. But these organizations need even more than that; they also need exposure – and the more eyeballs they can get on their website, the more chance they will receive monetary support.

So if you are short on cash, but know your way around the Internet (even if you don’t!) there are a few fun ways in which you can do your part to spread the word, and keep your favorite organization in the spotlight. For today’s Bog Action Day article I offer the following five fun and simple ways that you can help support your favorite Continue reading 5 Fun Ways to Help Support your Favorite Earth-Friendly Charity