SEPTEMBER 2018 - Monthly Muse - FIND YOURSELF - Week 1

​

Hello everyone!!

I hope you northern hemisphere peeps have had a good summer, and you southerner's are starting to warm up a bit now.

I am over the MOON because school started TODAY! and all three of mine are finally going full time - the little guy started Kinder this morning and he was so pumped about it he was up before 5 AM ready for that bus - because he would NOT let me drive him.

I am excited because this means I will be able to get back into a routine and maybe even scrap again. It has been so long that I honestly don't even know where to start - so I thought September can be a month of exploring! And I want to bring you guys along!

Now, I am going to be honest, I don't have the whole month planned out - hence the exploration - but I do have a general idea of what I am looking for, so let's see what paths we take eh?

This week I want to look at

FINDING YOUR TRUE COLORS!

This idea was inspired by a lot of things that happened last month with me and the kiddos - but what kicked it off was this Dry Bar Comedy video that I watched.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1801454193273331

https://goo.gl/13MUbY

As a person of mixed race, and having an obviously mixed race family, this really resonated with me!! For those who can't watch the video - the main point the comedian made was that in reality NONE of us are BLACK or WHITE - but we are all somewhere in between. - and THAT is what makes the world beautiful!!

So later that day after watching this I had my kids at the store to pick up a few things when they started fighting. We were walking past the paint chip display when I just lost it, but instead of turning around and yelling at them (which is what I wanted to do), I drug them over to the display and told them to find their color. They looked at me like I was crazy, so I started pulling chips out and matching it to their skin. They spent the next 30 minutes happily finding "MY COLOR" as they called it. Then they carried those chips all over the store saying "I am Moroccan Peach" or "I am Henna Glow" which brought more than one smile (and quite a few more people towards the paint chip display, lol)

What struck me was how much the kids (and later the adults that joined us) really connected over finding their TRUE COLOR. It led to a beautiful conversation about skin color as well.

I further considered this idea when a friend of mine complained about my home decor. I have never been good at settling for plain neutral colors or sticking to a single color scheme. For my wedding, all of my bridesmaids wore different color dresses. My kitchen decor uses a mix of bold bright colors. My wooden furniture is in varying shades of teal and turquoise with some red and fuschia thrown in for contrast. You get the picture.

Anyway, my friend was saying that it gave her a headache and I needed to tone things down to create a more normal space. I considered it, for like 2 minutes, but then thought, NAH! This is who I am and my family has already learned to deal with it.

So this week, I want you to explore the idea of finding your TRUE COLORS. Here are several ways you can do that. Decide on one (or more if you like) and spend some time building a page around that idea or concept. Remember, it can be arty, or not, the important thing in this is the process.

1. Take a trip to your local paint/hardware/home improvement store. Find the color that best matches your skin color and tone and bring home a sample. What name does your true skin color have? How do you feel about that? What was the experience like?

2. Think more metaphorically - what colors make up your life? What color or colors best describe you? How do those colors make you feel? How do others react to your colors?

3. Remember the song - True Colors? (You can find it here if not - both lyrics and the song: https://goo.gl/4VW5WH) Use the song to inspire your page in some way.



4. Definitions are always a good place to start if you are completely lost. According to the Dictionary, the phrase " TRUE COLORS" refers to the kind of person someone really is rather than what the person seems to be: I thought he was a really sweet guy, but then he got mad and showed his true colors. (Definition of “someone's true colors” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

So, which path are you going to take in today's Adventure of Exploration?
I can't wait to see what all we find!

Here are two matching pages I did for my littles - they seemed to have the most fun with the paint chips. I wanted something that captures the heart of the conversation I had with them, and reflects on the journey they went through this summer - so I made these pages for their personal little books we work on together.




You may create any style of layout (ie. clean and simple, artsy, pocket style etc.) you wish, with or without photos. Create any size page you wish. This is for everyone, so have fun and see where the inspiration takes you. If you want all 4 Muses ( 1 for each week this month) on one page that's perfectly ok or you can make 4 separate pages!! It's totally up to you!

Please post your layout to the Art Journaling Gallery HERE prior to October 2nd and then post it in this thread by copying the code (at the right of your gallery image) from the box under "Share BB Code".

We will draw a winner at the beginning of next month for a coupon!! You can use any products in The Lilypad store or retired products from current Lilypad designers, (just make sure you follow our gallery guidelines).​

 

I know!! Lol. I did find a Cyndi Lauper video too,but the lyrics we're not as clear, I should keep searching, lol.