Bloggers participating in Wrapped Emotions' weekly prompt, Enjoy Your Family, please sign Mr. Linky below with the direct link to your project post. Remember to also leave a comment on this post so that you will be entered for the weekly giveaway. As always, thanks for sharing.
Learn more about Wrapped Emotions here.
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If this is your first visit to Wrapped Emotions, it would be helpful to read this post first.
I am warmed and uplifted by your outpouring of love and encouragement through Flowers for Melody. Thank you, Jenny...really, thank you. Each of you who gave me flowers, I'm not certain you will ever understand just how much it meant to me. My family and I thank you.
This week's prompt is simple. Go, spend time with your family. Do one little bitty special thing with your children or your spouse or your mother or your sibling or your pet. Even if it's just a great big extra squishy hug...do it.
Enjoy your family in some small, yet tremendous moment. Then post a few words, a photo...whatever symbolizes the little joy you shared. I'll put up Mr. Linky later today. It's late (early) and I'm off to catch a few winks.
Remember...simply enjoy your family and share it here at Wrapped Emotions.
~~~
Here are the specifics of weekly participation:
* Leisurely, happily create your project for the week.
* Post a photo or scan of it on your blog any time, any day Tuesday through Sunday with as many or as few words as you choose to accompany it...no words?...no problem...unless the week's prompt calls for words.
* If you so choose, and I love it when you choose, include the WE button in your post. If you choose not to post the button (and I will still love you), please link back to the current week's post at WE within the text of your post. Thank you. Grab the button code.
* Come to Wrapped Emotions and sign Mr. Linky with the direct link to your WE post for the week. Please don't make visitors scroll and search for your week's contribution by merely linking to your homepage.
* After signing Mr. Linky, please also leave a comment on the Mr. Linky post here at WE. I will be drawing for the weekly gift from comments.
* Use Mr. Linky to visit the blogs of fellow participants. You have all week to pop in and out to visit. Offer words of observation, sheer delight and when called for, words of support, encouragement or comfort.
* Check back each Monday to see if you won the previous week's gift, which will be chosen by random.org from the comments.
* The weekly prompt will be posted each Tuesday.
Questions or comments about this week's prompt...please let me hear from you on this post. Questions about what to have for dinner, anything...just ask. I love it when you talk to me.
I have said this before...do not ever tell me that my bloggy friends are not real. Jenny has reached out with the most touching gesture, Flowers for Melody. The beautiful bouquet of friends I have gathered through blogging here at Wrapped Emotions have gathered bouquets for me...to show love and support for me. I honestly don't have adequate words right now, just "thank you".
The day is trying so far and I have to get the boys to appointments. I began trying to view my flowers, but issues here require my complete attention. I will be visiting tonight when the boys sleep. In the serenity of a quiet home, I will inhale the visual beauty of love and support each of you have offered me.
Again, thank you...with lots of love....
Melody
For last week's roundup and winner, click here.
I did not know how else to title this post because I have no clue what this week's challenge is all about. In my absence this week Jenny of LIVE! And In Color has graciously stepped up and posted a Wrapped Emotions challenge. She will not allow me to peek until Monday. Do you know how hard it is not to look at a blog when told not to? Honestly, I only posted the link...I did not peek. But you should click over there and see what's up.
Which leads me to wonder, did Jenny post a Mr. Linky or ask for comments with links at her place or should I post a Mr. Linky here or what? Hmmm, I don't know, so do whatever she told you to do. *smiles a big goofy grin*
Again...thank you, Jenny!
First, I apologize for being MIA this week. Life, well, you know how it sometimes happens that it doesn't go according to our plan. I still have not visited some of your posts from last week, but will get there soon.
Last week's challenge had each of us breaking life down, didn't it? Thanks to Phyllis we tore it up and put all back together...or realized "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Each mosaic was created from the heart, yet each was quite different. I'm not sure how any of you see it, but I feel there's a true sense of connection developing. We are connecting with our own emotions, of course, and also with one another.
Our list of participants continues to grow, and please don't let my inability to post earlier this week slow that down. You ladies are awesome! I'll be updating the WE blogroll this week.
This week's luck of the draw goes to Melissa of Banana Migraine . I have a small gift (sorry no photo due to life) to send your way...just email me with your snail mail address. By the way, Donna, yours from the previous week's draw is going in the mail no later than Friday. Sorry for the delay.
Last, for this week's prompt click here.
If this is your first visit to Wrapped Emotions, it would be helpful to read this post first.
I am beyond thrilled to present the first guest blogger at Wrapped Emotions. Phyllis has been hanging with me from collages to crayons since day one of WE. Her WE creations and words, as well as her blogs, always inspire me to think deeper and feel more. Phyllis has a project that I believe is going to unwrap quite a few emotions this week.
~~~
A brief word about me: I am a proud married mom of 3 and a full-time rabbi at a congregation on the north shore of Chicago. I blog at Ima on (and off) the Bima about my family and Jewish life, and I also blog at Thoughts From Rabbi Phyllis, it's my "grown-up" blog where I try to comment on the Jewish world and the larger world. Come visit me anytime:-) I am so excited to be the first "guest blogger" here at Wrapped Emotions. So here goes...
So many of us who participate in the Wrapped Emotions projects write about our struggles to define ourselves, to put ourselves together, to harmonize the various parts of our lives -- our families, our faith, our work, our (fill in your blank here) -- we find ourselves so often pulled in different directions, fragmented.
There is a Kabbalistic teaching (Kabbalah is the study of Jewish mysticism) that when the world was created, God's light was contained within 10 vessels. These vessels were unable to contain the essence of God, and they shattered. The world in which we live is filled with the shattered remnants of these vessels. Our job, Jewish tradition teaches, is to gather these shards together to "repair the world," to make it whole again.
As I think about this teaching, I think about each of us, and how, in some ways, we have a breaking point. At some point, we can become too full and shatter, leaving ourselves to pick up the pieces of who we are. Or...the different pieces of who we are become disjointed from each other, causing us to feel fragmented within our own souls. What parts of you are fragmented, disjointed, separated?
So...go out and smash something...okay, just kidding. Actually, my challenge to you this week is to create something out of pieces, specifically, a mosaic. Mosaic is defined (Wikipedia, yay) as "an ancient and contemporary art form which uses individual pieces of materials placed together to create a unified whole. The materials commonly used are glass, ceramic, marble, pebble, mirror, shells and china." (The differences between mosaic and collage are that mosaics tend to keep the pieces individual, whereas a collage is more overlapping...)
But I don't care what you use (the ideas above, or paper or fabric is fine or even cookies if you'd like - the sky's the limit)...break something or cut something or separate something and then put it all back together into a new and beautiful whole. Breaking something changes it, perhaps irreparably, but it gives us a new opportunity, a new chance, a new beginning, to create something different and something whole.
What will you "break"? More importantly, what will you build? And how did it change you...
~~~
Here are the specifics of weekly participation:
* Leisurely, happily create your project for the week.
* Post a photo or scan of it on your blog any time, any day Tuesday through Sunday with as many or as few words as you choose to accompany it...no words?...no problem...unless the week's prompt calls for words.
* If you so choose, and I love it when you choose, include the WE button in your post. If you choose not to post the button (and I will still love you), please link back to the current week's post at WE within the text of your post. Thank you. Grab the button code.
* Come to Wrapped Emotions and sign Mr. Linky with the direct link to your WE post for the week. Please don't make visitors scroll and search for your week's contribution by merely linking to your homepage.
* After signing Mr. Linky, please also leave a comment on the Mr. Linky post here at WE. I will be drawing for the weekly gift from comments.
* Use Mr. Linky to visit the blogs of fellow participants. You have all week to pop in and out to visit. Offer words of observation, sheer delight and when called for, words of support, encouragement or comfort.
* Check back each Monday to see if you won the previous week's gift, which will be chosen by random.org from the comments.
* The weekly prompt will be posted each Tuesday.
Questions or comments about this week's prompt...please let me hear from you on this post. Questions about what to have for dinner, anything...just ask. I love it when you talk to me.
*If you have completed your Picking Through The Pieces project, sign Mr. Linky here.
Bloggers participating in Wrapped Emotions' weekly prompt, Picking Through The Pieces, please sign Mr. Linky below with the direct link to your project post. Remember to also leave a comment on this post so that you will be entered for the weekly giveaway. As always, thanks for sharing.
Learn more about Wrapped Emotions here.
View More Wrapped Emotions Participants
Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.
Has anyone noticed that I am behind here? I spent my weekend away from the computer and out and about with my family. I touched a lot of things and people and will post my project this afternoon...late, and I apologize.
Also after our homeschool day is complete, I will post a bit of a recap of last week and the winner of this week's gift from Wrapped Emotions.
Wow, ladies! Your rubbings and words were amazing again. But then I've come to expect no less.
Guess what? Our new weekly prompt goes up tomorrow morning from our first guest blogger. You do not want to miss this one.
Back later today with my project and a more coherent post. Thanks for your inspiring creations.
Edited to add: Ladies, did anyone notice how everyone chose items from home or close to home to rub and share? I think this speaks volumes of our love of home and family...that or we could find no one to watch the kids while we escaped.
Seriously, I continue to be inspired and impressed with every single artistic creation and the emotions each of you eloquently share. Your projects, as well as my own, are opening my mind to new thoughts and my heart to a plethora of emotions. Thank you.
On to business, Random.org says the winner of this week's gift is Donna of Nesting Momma. Guess what? I haven't photographed your prize yet, so just wonder about it. But I will post a photo tomorrow. If you want to claim it, email me with a mailing address.
Do you remember that a few weeks ago I told you there would be a monthly guest blogger chosen from the ranks of WE participants? In few short hours the week's prompt goes up from our first guest blogger and you do not want to miss this one.
If this is your first visit to Wrapped Emotions, it would be helpful to read this post first.
Giddiness and the winner from last week.
Life is full of texture...physically and emotionally. I love texture...to touch...to see...physically and emotionally. Scratchy, bumpy, smooth, woven. Texture stimulates sight as well as touch. We identify emotions and life events in terms of texture...a bumpy relationship, woven with love, smooth sailing. Can you name more?
Sometimes taking a photograph of something just doesn't seem like enough. I want to take part of it with me.
This week let's do crayon rubbings. You will need an unwrapped crayon and thin paper such as tracing paper, onion skin paper, or tissue paper and your eyes and finger tips. During the week observe the texture of the world around you while at home, work, shopping, exploring nature, where ever you go. When you see or feel a texture that captures you, take a piece of paper, lay it against or wrap it around the object. With the side of the crayon rub across the surface, leaving a print of what was underneath it. Walls of buildings, manhole covers, tree bark, fabric...be observant...find something that speaks to you...makes you feel something from sight, then touch it.
Rubbings are quick and easy. You physically connect with your subject and take part of it with you. Physically connecting with anything, anyone can be life-altering. What did you experience?
I hope you'll explore lots of texture...physically and emotionally...and mount them in your art journal.
Go feel life. Remember to keep a crayon handy...
~~~
Here are the specifics of weekly participation:
* Leisurely, happily create your project for the week.
* Post a photo or scan of it on your blog any time, any day Tuesday through Sunday with as many or as few words as you choose to accompany it...no words?...no problem...unless the week's prompt calls for words.
* If you so choose, and I love it when you choose, include the WE button in your post. If you choose not to post the button (and I will still love you), please link back to the current week's post at WE within the text of your post. Thank you. Grab the button code.
* Come to Wrapped Emotions and sign Mr. Linky with the direct link to your WE post for the week. Please don't make visitors scroll and search for your week's contribution by merely linking to your homepage.
* After signing Mr. Linky, please also leave a comment on the Mr. Linky post at WE. I will be drawing for the weekly gift from comments.
* Use Mr. Linky to visit the blogs of fellow participants. You have all week to pop in and out to visit. Offer words of observation, sheer delight and when called for, words of support, encouragement or comfort.
* Check back each Monday to see if you won the previous week's gift, which will be chosen by random.org from the comments.
* The weekly WE prompt will be posted each Tuesday.
Questions or comments about this week's prompt...please let me hear from you on this post. Questions about specifics to prep any art/paper surface, mediums, what to have for dinner, anything...just ask. I love it when you talk to me.
*If you have completed your Keep A Crayon Handy project, sign Mr. Linky here.
Bloggers participating in Wrapped Emotions' weekly prompt, Keep A Crayon Handy, please sign Mr. Linky below with the direct link to your project post. Remember to also leave a comment on this post so that you will be entered for the weekly giveaway.
Learn more about Wrapped Emotions here.
View More Wrapped Emotions Participants
Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.
Last week's works of art left me in the giddiest of moods. Each piece was unique in it's perspective and though some were begun with less than joyous moods, those moods evolved as you got into your creation. Some of us began happy and remained happy. A couple of you even admitted...for the first time...that you actually liked your art work. Woo Hoo!!! I think it's all progress along our journey to spark creativity and connect with our emotions.
Did you notice? Our number of participants this week was up. *happy dancing* I love company, and thanks to each of you for spreading the word about our soul searching creativity.
Now let's take care of business. The winner (via random.org) of her choice of one of the gorgeous brooches handcrafted by Zuda Gay is Sara of It's Not About That Anyway. Email me* and I'll put you in touch with Zuda Gay to claim your gift. Again, thank you Zuda Gay!
A confession...last week I never drew for a guest blogger. Life just got away from me and I forgot. However, I have drawn from this week's participants and random.org has chosen. Watch out...I'll be emailing you. I'm emailing rather than announcing here because that gives the chosen blogger the opportunity to discreetly decline. But please don't decline.
Finally, if you are participating and I have not added your blog to the blogroll, please let me know in comments or by email.
Back tomorrow with the prompt of the week.
*email me at melodyspins[at]gmail [dot]com
If this is your first visit to Wrapped Emotions, it would be helpful to read this post first.
Wrapped Emotions is thrilled to again feature artist Zuda Gay. One lucky participant will win their choice of one of her handcrafted creations of beauty.
*Guest Blogger* I'll be emailing you...I chose from last week's participants...hey, get back here! You can't hide.
This week let loose...get edgy with your style...free your spirit...absolutely no fear. We had enough of that last week. This prompt is not associated with any tangible or figurative wrapper. I simply want you to experience the fun of creating. This week we're working to feel the emotion of JOY. Not necessarily expressing the actual word or symbolism of joy in your art...you can celebrate shoe polish if you choose. But enJOY the process. Let's create our own graffiti.
Graffiti artists develop their own styles. They work quickly, intuitively, randomly and never stop the process to think about what to do next. You should try anything, everything...collage, paint, stains, spray paint, markers, colored pencils, markers, stencils, doodling, marks, lines, swirls, symbols, written words, calligraphy, images (photos, magazine cutouts, photocopies, sketches), stamps, prints...whatever.
Think of urban graffiti walls. The art is vibrant, multi-layered, freestyle, textured. Do not over think as you work, and do not think neat, orderly. Think juxtaposition. If you have time, go on a search for public graffiti walls in your city or search online for images. Get inspired.
Here are examples of Traci Bautista's art journal graffiti pages...
Don't you feel fun and funky just looking at them? Wouldn't it feel joyous to let loose and create whatever? Yeah, let's do it!
Our pages are not expected to look like Traci's. Remember...no fear...no intimidation...no boundaries...
~~~
Here are the specifics of weekly participation:
Bloggers participating in Wrapped Emotions' weekly prompt, Legal Graffiti, please sign Mr. Linky below with the direct link to your project post. Remember to also leave a comment on this post so that you will be entered for the weekly giveaway. This week's gift is again a choice of one of Zuda Gay's handcrafted brooches.
As always, thanks for sharing.
Learn more about Wrapped Emotions here.
View More Wrapped Emotions Participants
Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.
Oh.My.Goodness. I don't think I truly had any idea what was being ask of us with last week's prompt...ok, challenge (no better word to describe it). Each post that was shared brought forth emotions deep within myself and quite frankly, I was surprised to find how other women's realization of their fears made me look inward. There was definitely a connection between all of our posts. Perhaps we could sum it in saying, we are all learning to trust ourselves more and fear the unknown less. I think we truly unwrapped. Whew! Let's move on...
The winner (via random.org) of her choice of one of Zuda Gay's gorgeous handcrafted brooches is Jenny of Live And In Color. Lucky gal! Jenny, email me and I'll put you in touch with Zuda Gay to claim your beautiful gift. Thanks, Zuda Gay! I just love saying her name...it just flows off my tongue. Yeah, I really say it out loud when I type it.
Tomorrow I will be randomly choosing from the past week's participants (via random.org) a guest blogger for Wrapped Emotions. I will email you and give you the chance to accept or decline (oh please don't decline) in private. We'll also work out the week of your guest blogger spot for this month.
Please look at the WE blogroll, Expressive People, in the sidebar. If you are participating and I have not added a link to your blog, please email and let me know.
Remember that each week's prompt now goes up on Tuesday and posting your completed WE project is open through midnight EST the following Sunday.
See you here tomorrow. And believe me, this week will be nothing but fun. I'm wiped out...how about you?
