• Art Journaling,  Life,  My Breast Cancer Journey,  Sketching,  Thoughts,  Uncategorized

    The Strength in Scars

    Scars . . . we all have them.  Some are visible, some not.  Some are emotional, burned onto our soul while others are there for the world to see.  Some are scars we just see.  Some we hide, some we can’t.  No matter, scars are reminders of where we have been, what we’ve endured and how we’ve made it out with the choice to tell our story. It’s been not quite 3 1/2 years since I had a double mastectomy due to a breast cancer diagnosis.  About a year after this major surgery and several surgeries after that, I endured some very deep emotional scars due to a tragedy that took place in our…

  • Art,  Mixed Media,  Tutorials and How to's,  Uncategorized

    Easy Bag Upcycle

    Do you have odds and ends, scraps of beauty, little pieces, bits and baubles in your art/craft area or studio?  If you’re like me, there are all those pretty bits that I have a difficult time saying goodbye to.  So, recently I washed a linen bag with a logo on it and when I took it out of the wash, the logo was gone.  I needed to add some loveliness to this comfortable bag of mine so I grabbed some beautiful pieces, made some fabric flowers, brought out some stamps, used some tacky glue and started to simply add some dimension and fun to my bag.  It’s my mixed media bag . . .…

  • Art Journaling,  Life,  Mixed Media,  Sketching,  Thoughts,  Uncategorized

    The Love of Wonder

    Oh how I love my journals.  They are my friends.  When I’m feeling down or happy, I love to create in them and often what is inside pours out onto the pages of my journals.  It was no different with this page I titled ‘Wonder’.  I thought I’d share and would encourage you to think about the following . . . What is wonder? 1 wonder play noun won·der \ˈwən-dər\ : something or someone that is very surprising, beautiful, amazing, etc. : a feeling caused by seeing something that is very surprising, beautiful, amazing, etc. : something that is surprising or hard to believe We can live busy lives and…

  • Art,  Mixed Media,  Sharing the Love - Giveaways,  Tutorials and How to's,  Uncategorized

    Donna Salazar & Friends Girlie Grunge Blog Hop

    Welcome.  Please be advised that I have received product from manufacturers and sponsors of this blog hop to create the projects highlighted below. Hello and welcome to the Donna Salazar & Friends Girlie Grunge Blog Hop! We’ve arranged this hop to showcase all the new and exciting products that have recently been released from both Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L® and Spellbinders®. We are sure that you will enjoy the projects that all of us have created for you AND… we’ve got PRIZES!!! The Donna Salazar Designs Prize Pack has a Denim Art Journal, Girlie Grunge Twine, and Silver Pigment Powder from Donna Salazar with Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L® and a Jumbo…

  • Uncategorized

    National Scrapbook Day Wrap Up and Giveaway

    Some of you probably celebrated the crafters holiday; National Scrapbook Day on May 7th. I hope it was filled with craft, art, color and friends.  I spent the day with a lovely group of ladies. I worked on some mixed media projects, shared some Fiskars love and I did my ‘Brave Girl’ make and take once again to introduce participants to the wonderful wOrleans of Brave Girl University. It was a blast. Check out the photos of the day as well as a little birthday celebration in the evening. I’d like to giveaway a kit to make your own little Brave Girl’ complete with a couple of vintage paper dolls, a sheet of cute paper doll…

  • Life,  Mixed Media,  The Homestead,  Thoughts,  Uncategorized

    Be You. Bravely

    It’s been a while since my last post and for good reason.  I returned from Idaho and an amazing Brave Girl University teacher retreat.  Shortly after that on a Sunday night, I began to experience some internal bleeding and a lot of pain.  It landed me in the hospital for three days with ulcers and then rest for an additional four days after that.  So I’ve been a little MIA but I’ve been doing some extra resting and returning to normal. I wanted to share a few thoughts on Being You . . . Bravely.  I’ve been thinking on this often.  As many of you know, I have a teenage…