Dream a little Dream

if you can dream it you can do it…. Its an old quote but so very true.
i don’t know when first started really believing in myself but over the past few months i think my little wings are growing just a tad – not sure if im ready to fly but definitely running down the runway.   i have participated in a few online courses – Soul Restoration (Brave Girls) and She Art (Christy Tomlinson) and both these have encouraged me and those participating to get back to the real you…. somewhere locked inside of us is this person longing to get out and live those dreams we all have.    encouraging others do that is something that i try to do in my classes but  being in the industry its all toeasy to get a bit stuck in a rut and at times hard to pull yourself out – sooooo i guess i have had to take a little leap myself and practise a little of what i often tell others to do.   If you want something  GO FOR IT…. there is not much point wishing for something and doing nothing about it.
for a long time like many of you reading this post,  i have been in love with all things T!m Holtz (the man is sooo talented) and just wishing i had the time to sit by my computer and learn as much as i could from his videos – but seriously who has that time…. i wish…  but i have discovered i LOVE getting dirty and grungy and going off the page and playing with mixed media is just plain fun…. 

a number of friends and myself participated in a canvas layout swap (kind of like a circle journal) over the past twelve months and when we gave each other our pages we also had to make a tag for each other.  well this was my time to play with some of my inks that so often sit there and not get used anywhere to their full potential… so i pulled them all out and away i went - i inked and stamped and masked and blended and came up with the tag on your left.
its not too bad for a learner but then i thought i really would love to know how to use all these products in the way they were designed…. experimenting is great – don’t get me wrong that is how we all learn – but just for once i WANT to be taught instead of teaching others…. 
i love teaching and wish i had the time to do more but i also need to learn too.
so what did i do.  i applied to Ranger Uni – just imagine three days with Tim Holtz himself, Claudine Hellmuth  and the Ranger gurus going through their product ranges – HANDS ON.  they take 24 people twice a year from around the world and teach us how to teach others … WOW 
to cut a long story short – woo hoo i was accepted and am totally excited and leave tomorrow…. yes tomorrow and i still haven’t packed… i will after this post but i just wanted to encourage any of you out there to have a little think about some of those dreams you have and DO SOMETHING ABOUT THEM…  some things don’t just fall into your lap – you need to chase them at times so if there is something you want to do – whether its getting published – you have to send in your work or a change in career – you may need to go back to Uni yourself but at least apply – otherwise your dreams will always be just that dreams…..  and if an opportunity arises like it did for me  GO FOR IT.

also lastly we are leaving the registrations for Unmasked open for another week or so – this is the very last chance to come to this years retreat.  watch out peeps, i am guessing i will have lots of new techniques to share…. and a few extra unplanned make and takes im sure.
the Unmasked Retreat’s purpose is to encourage the ladies to be themselves, in a comfortable and friendly atmosphere where they won’t have to worry about what others think either of them personally or of their art. they will have the opportunity to try new things and possibly rediscover dreams that may have had hidden away in their hearts and hopefully by the end of the weekend they will leave more confident - personally and/or creatively.
chat soon,
can’t wait to share with you what i learn later this week…
Mel