If there is one thing that writing about friendship has done for me, it’s made me appreciate my own friends even more. I’ve always been thankful for the friends I have. I’m a big introvert but I do know the value of friends. I like time to myself, but I really enjoy my gal pals, and I’m always amazed at how creative and generous they are.

Take, for example, my friend Lori. I’ve known Lori over a decade (which, I can’t even believe because the time has gone so fast), and we don’t really celebrate birthdays. In fact, only one of my friends likes to do this, and I think it’s because like me she has a birthday near Christmas. But I’m fine with not celebrating birthdays for the rest of my clan. So that’s why I was even more surprised on my birthday this year Lori sent a cake my way! (Oh, I should also mention that she moved across country and I don’t get to see her that often anymore.)

So she sent this cake to my house on my birthday this year, and I couldn’t believe it. Of course, Starry Starry Night is one of my favorite paintings ever, so I was thrilled. What a beautiful cake! Can you believe the work that must have gone into making this? Apparently Lori has a friend that makes these, and she was kind enough to deliver here (and on a Sunday no less!)

It’s such a work of art. (And yes, in case you’re wondering, we did have a hard time cutting into this. It was too pretty! But we did. It is, after all, cake.)

With the birthday candles. (And no, there aren’t enough for every year of my life, but I think perhaps that’s a good thing.)

Making a wish!

I’m playing with mixed media this week, and calling this one “Addicted to Love” after Robert Palmer’s famous video.

Of course, my girl here is just a little bit more frumpy than those girls in the video, but frumpy needs attention, too! LOL

I started with a canvas and put different papers on it, including music sheets, patterns, and book pages. Then I added some yellow, red, and orange color.

After that I started painting my girl. She has her hair slicked back and her eyes shut. Perhaps she is grooving out to Robert Palmer in her mind. You never know.

Finally, I added her lips and dress. She’s a bit “thick” around the middle. Then again, aren’t we all? But I like her anyways.

I’ll say it again, I love the Psalms. (And you’re saying, yes, we know that already Cherie! Okay okay…)

So one thing I’ve been thinking about lately is our growth as Christians. My faith has grown as I’ve gotten older. This doesn’t mean I believe more, because I always believed. What I mean is that as I’ve gotten older my relationship with God and understanding his word has deepened.

One of the things I used to struggle with more is doubt. Again, not doubt of God, but of the world. Will this happen for me? Will I get this job? Will this occur? You know, just the everyday things of life that we spend doing and work for. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that every time I have one of these thoughts, I can pray about it. God doesn’t want us to sit around wondering about things and having doubts about the world. To that end, I think these thoughts from Psalm 94:19 say it perfectly.

When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. (NLT)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

~ Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

The thing I like best about this quote is “do not depend on your own understanding.” I like this because we are so NOT SMART most of the time. Oh, some of us think we’re really smart. But smart in the way that God is? No way. We’re not even close, and He knows this. He gives us numerous ways to learn about his word and understand the things He’s trying to teach us. If there is one thing I could say to my younger self it would be: “When in doubt, look up.”

Image: David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Recently someone wrote in and asked why I don’t post more writing-related stuff here. One of the questions was about the current projects I work on, so I thought I’d include the weekly articles I write for different places. It doesn’t include all of them, of course, but it does give you an idea of what’s out there for writers. And hey, if you like them and want to visit them, all the better.

I tend to do this weekly, but for this week, here are some articles I’ve done recently. Any questions on these? Feel free to ask.

• Where to Find Love
• Meeting Your Birth Mother
• Date Ideas for Midlifers
• Friends Who Are Opposites
• How Social Networking Ruins Friendship
• 2012 Friendship Calendar
• Winnie the Pooh Friendship Quotes
• People You Shouldn’t Friend on Facebook

Also, the About.com Readers’ Choice Awards are going on right now, so if you have a book or blog that might fit, feel free to nominate yourself.

Image: nuttakit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Last year I did a round up post of favorite writing moments from 2010, but I thought I would branch out and include other things in my wrap up for 2011. As you can see, I’m behind on that. That’s pretty much been the theme of 2011, though, so I suppose it’s fitting.

And here’s something I’ve noticed about myself, when it comes to doing something like this, I draw a blank when it comes to remembering things. Maybe I should keep notes all year ’round? Naw, too much work. I did like this picture wrap up idea so that might be one option. For now, I’ll have to hope that I can remember everything I want to say. Let’s start with crafts!

Crafty Stuff

I’ve always enjoyed doing crafts, and this year was blessed once again to be part of the artsy bloggers group. I used to post the weekly roundup links here, but then I decided to do it at my writing blog to showcase another side to blogging. So many of the readers of my Working Writers blog dabble in a million different things, so I thought they would appreciate getting to know other ideas for blogging and creativity.

I’ve worked on a lot of favorite projects this year, but I think the most memorable were my glass sculptures and dining room chair makeovers.  The dining room chairs were a great find (just $80 for 6 chairs, a dining room table (with 3 leaves) and a table cover) that I still can’t stop talking about them. Making them over was way more work than we anticipated, mostly because the design of the chairs was rather lame. But we got through it, and we’ve really enjoyed them ever since. (They are way more comfortable than our other chairs.)

I also had a few projects featured different places, like my felt stuff and paper covered pumpkins at Craft Gossip and turkey card at All Free Holiday Crafts. Nice to get a little boost like that!

Meeting Other Writers

Since I rarely “get out” and normally work alone, it’s always a thrill to meet other writers. At the end of 2010 I joined the American Christian Fiction Writers at the suggestion of my friend Debby Mayne, and almost instantly I was able to meet two fabulous writers for lunch after that. Then, I met a few more at a mini-conference, and I have been meeting a few more here and there ever since. Very nice! I attended the Wisconsin Book Festival with some of these wonderful writers, and also did two panels in November at area libraries.

I also met up with a fellow writer from About.com, which was fun, and had coffee with a few others who had passed through town. In July I was able to meet with a group of Christian fiction authors including Brandilyn Collins, who amazed me with her speaking ability. I learned a lot that night!

This year, I’ve joined another writers organization so I hope to branch out a little more. It’s good for the soul.

Business

My freelance business did really well last year, and I picked up a few really wonderful clients. Praise Jesus! I’m thankful to God for making that happen. The freelance writing world is sometimes up and down, and last year it was up.

The business side of things distracted me from novel writing, but maybe that was a good thing? I was trying to figure out the Christian fiction world and where my writing might fit in. I read a lot of books, talked to a lot of authors, and really just tried to understand the market and the types of books that are being published.

I have a couple novels sitting in a drawer, but until I’m comfortable with what I want to do with them, I’m holding off publishing them. I’m praying about direction and right now (and if you’ve got some prayers left over, I could use them) but the answer seems to be “keep writing” and that includes freelance work. I really enjoy writing about relationships and lifestyle items, and if something I write can improve someone’s life, all the better. I mean that sincerely. I know writers get very “writer-ly” about things sometimes, and come off sounding very snooty, but I think you have to know your purpose in life and in writing. I do think mine is to help improve people’s lives in some way because my life has been anything but perfect, but that’s okay. I’ve continued to learn and by sharing my knowledge, I hope to inspire or pull people out of those dark places we can find ourselves in sometimes when we think we’re alone and no one cares. I’m enjoying my gigs at About.com and Life Goes Strong.

Books

Of course, just because I didn’t publish one of my novels this year doesn’t mean I didn’t publish anything. I published several ebooks and a paperback.

I finally put out sort of a “best of” poetry book called New and Selected Poems.

The book has (what I like to think are) the best poems from my previous books, plus several new poems.  It received some really wonderful reviews, like the ones at these blogs and websites:

• Inspired Pen
• The Artful Crafter
• Reader Views
• Feathered Quill

I also talked about the process in creating the book cover for this book, which was really fun.

My ebooks this year included:

• 21 Ways to Promote Your Book on Twitter
• Dating on a Budget
• First Date 101
• Valentines Day 101
  

Blogging

Blogging has changed so much in the last couple years. I see a lot of writers with blogs, and I think it’s good. I always seem to have too many blogs, and I actually dumped a couple that were time consuming and not netting me much in terms of satisfaction, money, or traffic. Here’s the blogs I still have:

• Working Writers
• The Dating Blog
• Her Geek Life
• Eiffel Trifle

and this one and my website. I think I will keep each of these blogs, but I do need to look at my overall schedule. I really get overzealous with blogging sometimes, and I need to carve out time for networking and new writing. This happens continually with me, so I think it’s something I need to work on for 2012. (Note to self: Don’t start anymore blogs!)

Looking Ahead

Even if you’re not a goal setter, per se, I think it’s a good idea to keep your eye on where you are going. It doesn’t mean you have to have lofty goals (not that that’s a bad thing), but instead, just have a main reason or goal for your writing, and everything else will fall into place. For me, I need to make money writing to help support my family. I know a lot of writers who just do it for fun or as a hobby, but for me it isn’t.

The other thing is that I have that goal of trying to help or make people’s lives easier. I learn as much as I teach with the writing assignments I have, and I love that. I feel like there’s always something to learn. I want to continue doing more of it.

Image: Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It’s winter, which means I can’t do my bigger glass sculptures because the smell and toxic-ness of the glue is too much to do in the house. So I’m experimenting. I’m trying to work on some smaller glass projects so I can use a different glue and do them in the house. Here’s the latest obsession: glass mushrooms.

I want to do a sculpture garden come spring, so I’m getting ready by making a few of these little mushrooms. I found a deal at an estate sale a few weeks ago, where they had these awesome green dishes for just ten cents a piece. You can’t argue with that.

Aren’t they pretty? And lucky for me there were three “tops” and three “bottoms.” How nicely that worked out!

To make them, it’s so easy it’s ridiculous. Put glue on the bottom part, which will be the “stem” of the mushroom. I used the same glue (Simple-fix Outdoor Glue Pen) that I used with my cupcake plate stand. The glue is supposed to be water resistant, but is much less toxic than the stuff I used for my garden sculptures. I use the ultra heavy stuff for those because the glass is a lot heavier, and because our weather here is really brutal. So I’m still experimenting. I think this glue will work out fine for these.

Place the “top” on the mushroom, and let dry.

Viola! You have a few glass mushrooms for your garden.

I’m way behind on just about everything this week, including new craft projects. But I did manage to go to the local library sale and pick up ten books for under a dollar! Yessiree! That’s the way to get ‘em. Especially when you’re going to craft with them.

Well, I guess I did do one “crafty-ish” project this week. I made these cute Packer truffles for the game.

I even put them on my new cupcake plate stand. But then, my team imploded upon itself, and there was much sadness in Packer Nation. I had the hubby take the truffles to work because I couldn’t bare to look at them!

So… back to the library sale….

Library sales are great if you’re a reader or looking for new books to read or give to friends, but they are really valuable if you’re a crafter. Take a look at that pile I have. Quite a variety. Each book is old, and some have odd or cool illustrations, which will be fun to craft with.

Next time you go to your local library sale, look for books that have:

• Poetry. It’ my personal preference, but poetry is always lovely to put on things. Even if you can’t see it and it’s in the background, I still think it adds something special.
• Interesting print inside.
• Maps.
• Cool or weird illustrations. There is a palmistry book and a home plan book in that pile that have some really interesting pictures. It will be nice to craft and paint with them.
• Foreign words. I like using foreign text in crafting, and that German language book in my pile will work out for that.
• Lots of dialog. Pages with a lot of dialog in them work out well, especially when you can cut out a certain word or phrase to focus on for your picture.
• Books that are old.  Older books really have a charm to them, and sometimes, information that makes you giggle. This is especially true of “advice” books that are 50 or 60 years old. I have one from my grandma about how to “make a man his dinner” that I love so much.

While I was on my staycation, I got an email from someone that asked why I don’t post more thoughts about writing here like I used to. That was so sweet, wasn’t it? Most of the time I feel like I babble, so a nice little message like that made my day.

I do write about my jobs or various assignments here sometimes, but I try and post most of my advice and thoughts over at my writing blog instead. That’s where people usually go to look for them. Maybe I could post some links here once in a while? I dunno. (I’m thinking out loud while I write, can you tell?)

I might start including links to my new articles every week here from the writing blog and other clients. I’ll see how you guys like that. (You always have a way of letting me know – which I thank you for!). I’m open to changing things up here. This blog has evolved and probably will continue to do so. Plus, it’s a new year, so it’s a good time to make changes.

Image: Againstar / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I got this fortune a while ago from a lunch date with my hubby, and it said “Keep an eye out for someone special.” I just loved this thought. I know, Chinese fortunes are dorky and made up, but I dig them anyways. You do too, right? Admit it!

Anyways, I decided to make a picture and use the fortune. I gathered a few other things I wanted to use, like pages from books and a few lines of poetry from one of my poems. I began gluing them to the canvas.

I added some patterns and other papers.

When I had all the papers on, I started on the picture.

Added some more paint layers…

… added more colors and paper… and decided that I wanted her glasses thicker…

… then to finish it, I put the Chinese fortune in the middle-ish of the picture.

I was quoted recently in an MSN Money article about gifts not to give someone. The article is geared toward the holidays, but I still think it’s good info for no matter when you give a gift. I offer some tips on what to give and not give friends and family members. Check it out if you get a chance.