Bible Journaling Part 1

Since one of my 30 in 30 goals is to finish reading the whole Bible (ps. not gonna make it lol), I've ventured into the wonderful world of Bible journaling and Illustrated Faith. Yay!

Outside Cover. (Materials used: acrylic paint, 4x6 project life journaling card, dollar tree letter stickers)

At first I wanted to get an actual "journaling Bible" with the wide margin and fancy thick paper, but they carry quite a hefty price tag at $50.  Needless to say, that is way out of my budget for a new hobby/craft.  Instead, I went to my local goodwill and bought a paperback English Standard Version Bible for 99 cents ^.^

Inside Cover. (Materials used: watercolor pencils, watercolor paint, black precision pen)

As you can see, I created a cover for the front and water-colored a bit on the opening page.  That first 'entry' was the hardest.  I mean, as a child, I was taught NeVeR to write in the Bible unless you were highlighting scriptures.  So the idea of drawing in the Bible was a complete departure from anything I've ever done.

Genesis 1:31 (Materials used: gel matte medium, gelatos, acrylic paint, gold paint pen, black precision pen)

Now because I got a regular Bible, the pages are quite thin.  This problem let me to pick up a few mixed media supplies.  I purchased a bottle of gel matte medium from Michaels and that is perfect for coating the pages and preparing the for painting or whatever kind of media I decide to put on them.

Genesis 9:11-17 (Materials used:gel matte medium,acrylic paint, gold and silver paint pens, yellow marker)

I also got a pack of gelatos pigment sticks, a container texture paste and stencils, watercolor pencils, and various kinds of paints to use in my entries. 

Exodus 3:13-14 (Materials used:gel matte medium, gelatos, sharpie)

I've enjoyed using acrylic and watercolor paints on the different pages, depending on what "feel" I'm going for.  For instance, acrylic paints will cover the print on the pages completely while watercolors or gelatos stay transparent. 

Exodus 20:1-17 (Materials used: watercolor pencil, silver paint pen, black precision pen)

I will say, I'm not very good at using the watercolor pencils yet.  I'm having a hard time getting them to blend properly.  But no worries! There are plenty other scriptures to practice on and be inspired by.

Joshua 1:9 (Materials used: watercolor paint, sharpie, white acrylic paint, gold paint pen, washi tape)

My dream, when it comes to my Bible Journal, is to fill it up and keep it on our coffee table next to the family Bible Lamar and I got as a wedding gift.  That way whenever friends and family come to visit, they can see and explore it.  I think that will be awesome!

30 Before 30 Update and Plan

Back in my 20s (lol) I decided to create a list of 30 things to do between my 29th and 30th birthday.  Over the span of the year, I completed quite a few of the items, actually I finished 16.  ^.^  Since I still want to complete the list, I've decided to transition my '30 Before 30' list into '30 In 30'.  That means I want to finish this list while I'm 30.  I think I'm also going to trade out some items because certain things have set me up to fail with their vagueness (ie, #20-22).  It think this list was a great idea for me and I'm considering creating a new craft related one.  We'll see. :)  So here's the update.  I've linked all the relevant blog posts and websites as well!

1. Read the Bible
    When I started out, I really thought I'd make it through the whole Bible.  Unfortunately, that plan died because I wasn't finishing enough chapters per day.  Then I realized that I didn't want to rush through... So I cut down to finishing half the Bible.  That made it a lot more pleasant.  Here are a couple of my favorite verses made into images with the Bible App.

2. Finish 20 books
    Whoop whoop!  I finished 24!  I may have also fallen in love with graphic novels ^.^  I love discovering new genres.

3. Yoga-cize regularly
    Ehh... I didn't do it regularly, but I tried.

4. Volunteer at an animal shelter
    Didn't do it

5. Do a split
    Didn't do it

6. Etsy for real
    I kept trying to make this happen, but couldn't.  I have, however, gotten lots more orders to make things.  It seems like word of mouth is the way to go for me at the present time.

7. Finish 'the quilt'
    Didn't do it.  Honestly, living in Florida doesn't give me much reason to need to really finish the quilt.  It's actually still in storage from when I moved to Florida, lol.

8. Crochet a sweater, a top, and a shawl
    Sweater: The Chevron Cardigan (I've just realized that I never shared the completed cardi! Oops!)
    Top: The Frankenshirt
    Shawl: Andromeda

9. Refinish a piece of furniture
    I created a patio furniture set from refinished thrifted chairs and a found set of small benches.  They serve us well ^.^

10. Organize a yarn-bombing
    I tried so hard to get this done. I started organizing a thanksgiving yarn-bombing but it fell through.  It will happen! I declare!

11. Make Youtube Videos
    I made two! A December Daily album share and a Lazy Natural hair tutorial.

12. See an exhibit at OMArt
    I went to see Women of Vision.

13. Blog regularly
    I'm really good at planning my posts, I'm working at being more consistent with actually posting them. lol

14. Photograph 3 downtown areas
    1. Longwood, Florida
    2. Apopka, Florida
    3. Winter Garden, Florida
    I want to continue shooting cities in the central Florida area.  I've since added Mount Dora and Orlando to my collection.  I'm excited to continue this project.

Apopka, FL

15. Do 3 photo shoots
    1. Baby Seth Newborn
    2. Baby Camden Maternity
    3. Cozier Gender Reveal

16. Do 3 photo stories
    1. One Landscape
    2. Walk With Me: Wekiwa Springs State Park
    3.
I only finished 2 stories.  I haven't shared the Walk With Me story yet, but it's coming.  I have a bunch of ideas for future photo-stories that I'm quite excited to do.  I just have to figure out how to make them happen. :)

17. Build a portfolio
    I have enough content, but I haven't curated it down yet.

18. Make sushi and macarons
    Sushi - no
    Macarons - yes

19. Plant an herb garden
    Yes.  I planted it and the epic cucumber struggle was real!  I didn't get any full grown cucumbers from those plants, but I'm going to try again!  I will not be bested by those cucumber plants!! Here is the link to all the garden posts.

20. Eat & eat well
    I don't even really know how I was suppose to do this.  I did not starve myself... I will say that I could have done better at eating a more balanced diet.  Maybe that's how I'll edit it going forward.

21. Make and keep a cleaning schedule
    I created a schedule, and then realized that it wasn't working for me.  So it kinda went by the wayside.  I have been keeping busy with trying to manage the laundry.  Not sure if laundry is EVER actually managed. Just saying.

22. Learn to play Bless the Broken Road on the guitar
    This was a nice thought, but I don't have a guitar.  So yeah... why did I do that to myself?!?

23. Hike Wekiwa Springs
    I went out on my birthday and hiked by myself.  It was a lot of fun, and I want to do it again with a group of friends.

24. Go ziplining
    Didn't do it, but I found a groupon for a good price.

25. Ride the Lake Eola paddle boats with Lamar
    Didn't do it

26. Go to Rebounderz
    We went to Air Heads for Lamar's birthday instead, which is the same thing.  It was so much fun!

27. See a show at CityArts Factory
    We went to SAK Comedy Lab instead.  It's an improv comedy club and it was really cool to experience.  Lamar wants to go again, and I think that's a great idea.

28.  Write songs for our future kids
    Didn't do it.  Occasionally, I'll have a few lines pop in my head but they never stay long enough to really become anything.

29.  Eat at 3 hole-in-the-wall restaurants
    1. one of Lamar's student's parents own an Italian restaurant, we ate there for his parent's anniversary.  I hope that sentence made sense lol!  I can't remember the name.  If I find it, I'll add it in.
    2. Zaza New Cuban Diner - A nice small restaurant with an energetic and fun atmosphere.  It was quite a pleasant place to grab a bite to eat.
    3. Wheat Berry Cafe - I had a mango smoothie with cayenne pepper... it was different, but good.  The offer vegan food and lots of different cold pressed juices and fresh smoothies.

30. Learn to juggle
    Kinda... I can complete like 3 tosses.  I will continue working!


What are some of your "bucket list items" or things you want to accomplish this year?

Finally I'm Finished: The Frankenshirt

In the midst of furiously crocheting away on my wide strap tank top, I decided to start a different top in hopes of finishing it before my birthday.

I used the Textures Crochet Top pattern from AllFreeCrochet.com.  The yarn, Red Heart Boutique Magical in Top Hat along with some other black and grey skeins, came from deep in my stash.  The pattern was quite easy to follow and it did work up quickly.  I finished it the Friday after my birthday, but I'm totally counting it as my 30x30 top!  I can see myself making another of these tops in the future... although I'll use a solid sensible color next time.

This top is called the Frankenshirt because when I finished the front panel in that Top Hat yarn, the first thing I thought was it looked crazy and a bit like a monster...  the yarn was made up of roughly 5 or 6 wildly different types of fibers.  Honestly, I doubted it would get much wear at all.  But for some reason when I finished the whole shirt, I wore it and it didn't look terrible.  One of my friends said I looked like something off a runway.  But we all know some runway looks are... how do you say... gar-baaage lol.

The Frankenshirt was fun to make and I'm glad I got to use that yarn because it was just taking up space in my stash.

March 2016: Month in Review

I have had QUITE the struggle with keeping up with my blogging this month - I only posted 4... including this one! I'm not really sure why... I planned out my posts and even wrote up a bunch of them.  I just didn't type and publish them. -___-  Meh. I'll do better in April! 

March Highlights
3/4: Brianna and I dyed yarn together.  It was a lot of fun!  She went for an orange and I went for green (surprise surprise ^.^)  We used food coloring and easter egg dye. BTW: I'm totally going to raid the easter section at walmart for all the dyes!

3/9:  I walked around and photographed Downtown Mt. Dora.  I was down there just before sunset.  The light was very pretty and made for some great photos.  I also met a couple musicians playing on the corner and took some pics of them... that I still need to send them *oops*

3/11:  Lamar and I had a dinner-out-at-home date night.  We got Olive Garden to go and set it up on the table at home.  Very nice to do something different.

3/13:  Lamar, Brianna, and I went to Universal for Mardi Gras.  It was really fun to see Brianna, who is the ultimate Disney Head, be totally lost at Universal ^.^

3/17:  6 YEARS since Lamar and my first date *.*

3/19:  I found a 4-Leaf Clover!  How appropriate to find on St. Patrick's Week.

3/20:  Lamar got two tickets to Universal Mardi Gras from one of his coworkers, so Sheree and I were able to go see 3DoorsDown in concert.  It was awesome!  When they started Kryptonite, everyone went crazy ^.^

3/21:  I thrifted a pair of binoculars that are in great condition!  I have since looked at the moon in awe.

3/26:  My mother in law put together a program where she tells select people what she appreciates about them and I was one of the people this time.  It was so sweet :)

3/28:  My phone was stolen.  In a round-about way this became a lesson in casting my cares on God.  I get really anxious about a lot of things and within this situation I prayed that if God was trying to teach me something, to make it super plain to see.  And the day after my phone was taken, my morning prayer (in the Abide App) was about casting my cares, worries, and anxieties on God.  Then on the radio I was hearing and singing along with all the praise songs and it made me feel more at peace with everything.  I now understand, more than before, the importance of praising in all situations.

3/30:  I was able to replace my phone through upgrading.

Throughout the Month
- I knit my first pair of socks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I started them on the 3rd and finished them on the 29th.  Now I feel like I can knit all the things!

- Because of the series of unfortunate events that have occurred with my electronics, I am vowing to backup my devices at least twice a month if not once a week!!!  I am tired of losing photos!

March Goals Review
1. Design a shawl - I started crocheting a shawl from the hand-dyed yarn I created.  I'm still working out the size, and I think it's almost done!
2. At least 2 date nights with Lamar - We had our dinner-out-at-home night and on the 18th we went to IHOP as is our dating anniversary tradition :)
3. Yoga once a week - nope...
4. Do a downtown shoot - Shot Mt. Dora
5. Read at least one book - I haven't finished it but I recently started reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.  So far its quite good.  I've checked it out from the library, but I think I'll buy it.

April Goals
1.  Finish reading Proverbs & Ecclesiastes
2. Crochet something Hufflepuff themed for the #23HarryPotterKAL
3. Volunteer at an animal shelter
4. Back up devices at least twice/month or at most once/week
5. Finish reading Big Magic

Welcome Back Saturn: Caleisha Turns 30!

My THIRTIETH BIRTHDAY was on Feb 24th!  EEEP!!!  Sorry for yelling but it's pretty cool to hit such a major milestone.  Honestly, I think that a few of my friends had a harder time accepting the fact that my 20s were over than I did lol ^.^  I really enjoyed all the celebrations we had from the Sabbath lunch with friends and family to amusement parking with friends to spending quiet time hiking in the woods by myself. 

I (in true Caleisha form) made it a goal to document as much of my birthday celebration as possible.  So needless to say, I have an abundance of photos and video clips to share.  The video clips are of my hike through Wekiwa Springs State Park and will be edited together so you can experience what happens when one decides to go hiking without first checking the weather -___-  *shrug* Anywho, right now I'm going to share some of my favorite photos from the #caleishaturns30 festivities!  Oh! And I am so glad that hashtagging is a thing :)  Not only do I have a record of the things I posted on social media, but I can also see what my friends were posting as well.  Is it crazy to have a hashtag for every milestone in my future... I don't think so ^.^

A bunch of my friends and family came together for Sabbath Lunch before my birthday.  It was awesome. The weather was beautiful so we spent a lot of time outside chatting.  The kids were playing in the yard and Tootie only chased them once lol.

Sunday, we went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.  It has been a very long time since I went to an amusement park with a large group of friends.  It's pretty cool to have the opportunity to go since Lamar works there.

We wore our Thing shirts he got us for Christmas.  Thumbs up for cuteness ^.^

The award says 'Worlds Greatest Sweetheart' and that's so true. He planned all the activities and really made my birthday celebration awesome!

I went hiking solo in Wekiwa Springs State Park on my actual birthday since I was the only person off work, lol.  To celebrate my first Saturn Return, I wore my Orion shirt.  I need to make more space/star themed clothing... I love this shirt!

Yep... I went hiking in white tennis shoes... because I'm a grown up... and I do what I want! hehe

While I was out in the middle of the woods, it started raining... I had no umbrella or anything so I ended up spending quite a bit of time huddled under these big leaves.  Not as dry as I could have been but I got soaked... slower... -___-

I ended the night with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with Lamar.  We talked about our days and just spent time together.  It was a great ending to my #CaleishaTurns30 extravaganza ^.^

February 2016: Month in Review

I am actually a bit sad that my birthday month is over... it was a good one though!  Lots of memories made and good times with friends/family spent.  So here are the highlights!

2/5: Delaware got a bunch of snow near the end of January and beginning of February and my dad kept sending me pictures.  So I asked him to build me a snowman, and he did!  Little things like that are why he's such a cool dude :)

2/14:  Even though Lamar said we weren't going to do anything for Valentine's since we were having a few big things for my birthday, I couldn't let the day pass without doing something for him.  I surprised him with a few balloons and handmade cards when he got home from work.

 

2/16: I did aerial yoga for the first time (at Altamonte Springs Yoga) and loved it!  Post and photos coming soon!

2/18: I finally finished the yellow cup cozies!!!!  I feel like those were everlasting!

2/20: We had a Frimily (Friends and Family) Sabbath lunch for my birthday!  It felt really good to have a house full of people that love me come together to hang out and spend time.  And Brianna and I baked cupcakes.  They were delish.  I may have eaten cupcakes, I mean... sugar muffins... for breakfast the next day... lol!

2/21: We went to Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure!

  

2/24:  I. Turned. Thirty!  Since I was the only person off work on that day, I decided to go hiking in Wekiwa Springs and eat at a few random restaurants.

2/25: One night about a month ago I helped one of the librarians straighten a bunch of paintings in the library and asked her about showing my photography in the library.  I found out, on this day, that I will be showing my downtown photography series in the library during July ^.^

2/26:  I ventured into the magical world of Ikea with Brianna o.O It was pretty awesome.  I could definitely see myself shopping there more if only the traffic around it wasn't so crazy.

2/28:  A couple friends of ours had their baby shower and I was their photographer. It was a beautiful set up and they had a lot of fun.

2/29:  Leap Day!  Last leap day I started this blog ^.^ It's been an interesting four years between "blog birthdays."  Sometimes I kind of lose sight of what I want this blog to be, but it's really taken me on an adventure.

Throughout the Month
I have been really enjoying using my Bible app and Abide prayer app this month.  If you are interested in a really good prayer app, Abide is one.  It gives you a daily prayer each morning and you can browse through the prayers topically as well.  I've been loving the social aspect of the Bible app.  I have been creating images using verses I like as I've been reading.  Both apps let me share things to facebook which is kinda like a bit of ministry for me :)

February Goals Review
1.  Finish up all outstanding crafty projects. (I finished the cup cozies, but I'm still working on the hooded cowl... still... working)
2.  Document my birthday #caleishaturns30 (I took soo many pictures! I'm so glad I hashtagged because I can see the pictures that my friends took at Universal too.)
3.  Revisit Kwanzaa (I didn't do this one.  I considered it but then just decided against it.)
4.  Work on Mom's scrapbook (I made the cover page.  She and I had a great facetime conversation wherein she told me all the memories behind a lot of the photos she sent me.)
5.  Do one photo story (I didn't exactly plan for this to be a photo story, but all the photos I shot while hiking in Wekiwa Springs Park made a nice "Walk with Me" story.  Which I will show soon.)

March Goals
1.  Design a shawl
2.  At least 2 date nights with Lamar
3.  Yoga once per week
4.  Do a downtown shoot (Orlando or Mt. Dora)
5.  Read at least 1 book

Well peeps ^.^ That was my February!  What were your February highlights?  Share with me please and have a wonderful day!

Orlando Museum of Art

Back when I lived in Huntsville I would pass the art museum all the time, but never went in to see any of the exhibits.  In hindsight I was totally slacking because admission was heavily discounted for students.  So when I moved to Orlando, I didn't want to make the same mistake and added visiting the Orlando Museum of Art to my 30 Before 30 list.

National Geographic Women of Vision: Maggie Steber, Kitra Cahana, Amy Toensing, Carolyn Drake, Diane Cook, Lynn Johnson, Beverly Joubert, Jodi Cobb, Stephanie Sinclair, Erika Larsen and Lynsey Addario

A couple weeks ago I finally went!  There was an exhibit called 'Women of Vision' displaying work of various female National Geographic photographers.  It was amazing!  I found myself walking from photo to photo imagining what it was like to capture.

Lynn Johnson "In the Footsteps of the Apostles" March 2012 Odisha, India

Maggie Steber "The Secrets of Sleep" May 2010 Miami, Florida

When I was in college, I majored in photojournalism, but as I went through the classes, I started feeling like it was only news reporting style photography.  So I drifted away from it and towards the more artistic studio photography.  Walking through the exhibit really reawakened my interest in photojournalism. 

Stephanie Sinclair "Too Young to Wed" Haijah, Yemen

The photos were more storytelling and anthropological in style.  It was awesome for me and I kept saying to myself, "This! This is what I wanted to do!"  It was great to find that connection.  I want to take that inspiration and use it towards the photo stories that I want to shoot more of.  I just have to find the stories to tell.

Beverly Joubert "Lessons of the Hunt" 2007 Botswana

In addition to the Women of Vision exhibit, I also visited the African art collection which was very inspirational color and design wise.  I think my favorite pieces were the love note necklaces.  I think it would be awesome to design something using the colors/meaning for Lamar.  Hmm... anniversary/birthday gift maybe?? I think I'll start planning! ^.^

Zulu & Xhosa Love Note Necklaces - Art that Speaks Exhibition

 The last section I visited was the contemporary art.  My art lovin' heart jumped out of my chest and danced around the room and then my body followed!  I'm so glad I was alone in the exhibit.  I'm pretty sure I twirled! lol! I loved the colors and there was so much energy in the pieces.  Everything was gorgeous eye-candy.  The photo below is of one piece that drew me in straightaway.  The motion in it was... mesmerizing. Unfortunately, in all my awe, I forgot to make a note of the artist.

Contemporary art pieces at Orlando Museum of Art

Contemporary art pieces at Orlando Museum of Art

After I'd been there for a couple hours, my friend Cherie came by and we went back through Women of Vision.  On my second go through, I felt like an excited butterfly zipping all around ^.^  The last thing we did was stop in the gift shop and snap a couple pictures of the statue installation outside.

Horizons Sculpture by Steinunn Thórarinsdóttir

It was an awesome trip and definitely something I'm going to do again.  One more thing to check off my list! Woot Woot!!  I'm hoping to be half way through the 30 Before 30 list by my birthday.  So that leaves me 4 days to finish 3 more items o.O  EEP!