This and That..

I have been busily humming along on projects of all sorts. Today I have the windows open and the warm (almost) Spring breeze is blowing in. I found the cat curled up in a planter enjoying the warm weather as well. The kids at school have been in rare form.. Spring Fever? I'm not sure what it is but I like the boost of energy I have been feeling during the day. It had enabled to REALLY make progress on the Great Purge and to work on tons of projects.

Joleen and I are hard at work on issue #7 of Portals Zine. Its coming together nicely and we are trying some new things. I am happy to have some new contributors on board. It will once again be chock full of fun articles, great tutorials and tons of Eye Candy. My wish is that it would be done in time for ArtFest but I don't think there is any way that is going to happen.

Speaking of ArtFest.. its only 2 weeks away! I am so excited to see take classes and to house with Martha and Ruth. So much laughter and fun to be shared. I am looking forward to seeing my "retreat friends" and just being away.

One person I am super looking forward to hanging out with is Liz. We were able to spend a nice amount of time together last year at ArtFiberFest which brought us closer and yesterday a "quick 5 minute call" turned into a pleasant 1/2 hour +. Can't wait to see her. Looking forward to a fun dinner out with her and her MIL who is bravely going to ArtFest as her FIRST ever artsy retreat :) Oh and speaking of retreats.. Liz is planning some up in her neck of the woods (PacNW) that look charming. Much different than ArtFest or Art Unraveled, Liz's "Be Present" retreats are designed more to promote a meditative and nurturing experience in a more intimate environment. I hope to get to one soon!

Oh, another thing I am doing too. I signed up to do the Pay It Forward "swap" thingie on Dawn's blog. So now I need to find the people I am going to send art to. Here are the rules in case you haven't seen this:

The first 3 people who leave me a comment on this post only saying you want to play by "paying it forward" will receive a handmade item from me sometime in the next 3 months. Just one day, out of the blue, at no cost to you, a special something will arrive in your mailbox.

FOR FREE!!!

The turnabout is that you must choose to participate in this round robin of giving... by giving yourself and posting the "Pay It Forward Challenge" on your blog. (But, make sure to leave some type of contact info-email so I can get a hold of you for the address...) I love this concept, that you can be a blog reader who reads a beloved blog, or even stumbles upon a blog, decide you like it, and by (quickly) commenting on the post, can be selected to receive a lovely handmade item for absolutely free. How great is that?

This fits in my recent trend of sending RAKs out to my friends. Its always exciting to get mail and I love sending it off too. A close friend got a package from me in the mail yesterday and called me all excited. It felt great. I sent off a little something to her doggie too and she was barking on the phone when we spoke. Cracked me right up. Anyway, think about it and if you want to Pay It Forward too, let me know!