AMANDA'S BASKETS: TWELFH DAY OF CHRISTMAS & 2017 WILL PRESENT OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES.

Thursday, January 5, 2017

TWELFH DAY OF CHRISTMAS & 2017 WILL PRESENT OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES.

TWELFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

Alas, this is the last day of Christmas for this Holiday Season. I won't be taking down my decorations for a while (quite a while, to be honest with you) but I think this will be the last post of my holiday decorations.

But the music will still play on, the lights will still twinkle and I will get all gooey inside remembering lots of wonderful Christmas memories. How about you? Do you ever take time to sit down and remember past holiday celebrations? It gives a great perspective on life.

2017 WILL PRESENT OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

So what do you think 2017 will bring for you personally? Opportunities, challenges or both? For me, there will be both.

I am looking forward to creative endeavors to expand my artistic perspective. I want to work with fabric and continue to explore creating modern art in a series format.

I want to go back to working with mixed media. I have really put that aside for several months but now I would like to get back to working in that medium, especially watercolor and colored pencils.

Writing has always been important to me and the two opportunities I see here are with my fictional friends from the 'We're Still Kicking Quilters' as well as with some type of inspirational articles both of which I will be posting here.

Things like organizing my studio (done) and reworking my wardrobe (well underway - I have now finishes altering both pairs of pants!) will be part of my opportunities.

Challenges? Well, I think most of them will come from our political situation and the possible consequences. But, that will also present opportunities. I was active in the civil rights and women's rights movements back in the 60's and 70's. I will now have the opportunity to work again in the political arena. It can be an exhilarating experience as well as a community building opportunity.

I realize that things may be really troubling in the coming year but remember that change is constant. And in this case, we do need to be active in bringing about change that will benefit everyone, especially our neighbors who are hurting and will probably end up in a worse shape over the coming year.

But have heart...all is not lost. Remember the old cliche, 'It's always darkest before the dawn'? Well, the good news is that dawn will come...

Thanks for visiting...

Talk to you tomorrow...

CRAFTING IDEAS

I am always looking for a small piece of paper to write down something which will later be disposed of. I decided to use some of the scrap paper of which I have a ton. I mostly use the paper for glueing projects. I decided to cut the paper into a small size. (Six pieces from a piece of copy paper.). But just having them sitting on my desk would get messy without a container. So, using a cardboard box, I cut it down to size and using a hot glue gun I glued the ends together. Using a picture from a magazine cut into pieces and stick craft glue, I glued the pieces to the box inside and out. I also used some decorative tape for the outside edges. And to finish the top corners which were not covered, I used straight pins with colorful tops. Looks nice and works well.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

So in looking over your habits what did you find? Some popular good habits folks have are: Meditation, exercise, journal writing, flossing, reading and walking up early. Some not so great habits included smoking, saying yes, swearing, tolerating folks, not sleeping enough, always complaining and constantly making excuses. Do you have more good habits or more bad habits? Is it time to change? If so, start with the easiest bad habit to change, not the hardest. This will give the best chance of success. Decide on the best way for you to change your habit. Worry too much? Set a time to worry and then stop. You may have to stop yourself several times at the beginning but keep it up and you will worry less. Or, alternatively, write the worry down as well as options to stop the problem. Just figure out which way to stop is best for you.