2011 Highlights

In no particular order, here are ten highlights from my year (like my blog, they are highlights of my art, with a little life thrown in).
1.  Tim Holtz's Creative Blocks Class (and an untold follow-up story)

In July, I took a wonderful class with Tim Holtz.  It was so much fun, and I love the project I made in the class. I wrote a glowing review, in which I mentioned how much I needed the class because my dog Gypsy was in the middle of a serious medical crisis and how wonderfully genuine Tim Holtz continues to be, despite his enormous success. What I haven't shared (until now) was that I received an email from Tim a few days later thanking me for my review and what I said about him and (very sweetly) inquiring about Gypsy and sending get well wishes because he is such a dog lover. The email meant sooo much to me and was definitely a highlight of the year.

2. Sian's Storytelling Sunday.  I adored writing these stories and reading the ones posted by others.  So glad to hear that she's continuing the tradition - with a twist - in 2012. Check back tomorrow for my first story of the year.

3.  Watching this boy grow up. Henry turned 16 this year and is doing so well. It especially shone through during the time we were gone in England, and he stayed here by himself.  He took good care of himself, his dog and our house. I'm really excited about the man he will become.

4. Cheryl Johnson's Photography Classes - The Twelve Days of Christmas class really helped me understand white balance and taught me to take pictures at night.

And her portrait class (Beautiful People) completely convinced me that I could take portraits.
5. Gypsy

She walked into our life, and like they say about many shelter dogs, it's not clear who rescued who.  She has brought such joy to everyone in our family.

6. Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog. I am so glad that I found this blog. I have loved shopping my stash to put together "kits" and the using those kits in projects. The blog has tons of fantastic ideas for creating your own embellishments, sketches, and a really nice community feel to it. 

7. Houston Memory Cards and Heritage/Genealogy Project.  One of my goals for the year was to work on my heritage album and genealogy project, and I made substantial progress this year. Midway through the year, Sian came up with an idea she called "Captured in a Card."  It was a way of capturing memories and illustrating them at the same time. I took the idea and used it to create a series of cards about the summer I spent in Houston a a child. I loved this project!

8. My 2011 Intention and OLW - I'm fabulous and healthy. And I've documented it all on my blog and in my art journals. I lost almost 30 pounds this year. I can run a mile in less than eight minutes, and I feel great about myself.

9. Meeting blog friends - Deb here in California and Jacky in London.  So Awesome.

10. The Summertime Photo Scavenger Hunt. It was so much fun to run this hunt, and I can't believe the magical moment when this pirate walked off a ferryboat or when Deb and I saw this gentlemen:

All-in-all, it was a very good year here on Gallorganico. Thanks for being a part of it!