I love running. Hitting the pavement frees me from all other thoughts and allows me to feel entirely united as a being. I start out fully aware of the way I breathe, how my foot falls, how my arms drop and grip. Five minutes later, I am flowing. Running is probably one of the most basic things that people know how to do...or at least so I thought. I always assumed that running was primal—extremely basic, such that we’ve heard of learning to walk before running. As a primal activity, it seemed highly functional. But in the environment of cars and transportation systems, running has become increasingly unnecessary. And truly, with today’s emphasis on speed and efficiency, running always seemed like an issue of who finishes first. The general effect is a perspective of running which focuses on speed, rather than endurance, sprints, rather than marathons. But training for sprints and training for marathons require different things. And if life is a marathon, it is inevitable for one to reflect on one’s life as one trains for a marathon. Learning to run for a full half hour (although this length of time is far, far, far from completing a marathon) required so much from me. While a lot of the requirements were completely physical, I had to reframe my mind tremendously. I can drive myself really hard and forceful in trying to achieve my goals. But running is an activity where driving yourself really hard and forcefully will lead to complete failure: either an injury or not finishing your race. I have learned to pace myself and go at a very steady pace, focusing on just one step at a time. The only way to endure through the time and distance was to go at a steady and relaxed pace. I would not say that I am a genius, but intellectually, my capacity to comprehend is quick. In that sense, in matters of intellect, it is quite easy for me to get it, without really having to push too much or to try too hard. In the small world of my mind, pushing was never necessary—because I was always full speed ahead. Physically though, this formula doesn’t work. I have too much fat and mass to go full speed ahead. But because I am accustomed to figuring it out quickly, the physical discipline of running can be frustrating. And that’s another thing I learned in my efforts to run: patience. Because I cannot drive my lung capacity, my legs, my heart rate, or my knees by sheer will. With consistency in practice, my body will adapt. But sheer mental power cannot miraculously increase knee strength or lung capacity. As in all things in life, you, and in this case your body, will adjust and adapt. But to do so takes time. And to persist and endure despite frustration, requires patience—an acceptance of oneself as evolving through both time and space. I was never an athlete, but I am quite sure that most sports require some form of discipline. But running, unlike all other sport or exercise I have tried, has pushed my limits to the point of questioning my fundamental belief systems. And maybe it is primal. I may have just truly veered away from who and what I truly am. I may have been living in my head for way too long. And the experience of a union in being for half an hour can be overwhelming, and refreshing—despite all the buckets of sweat. 20 More Things Blog. 20morethings.wordpress.com/2009/09/24/make-over-thursday-... Feel free to visit the making of tambi run here. Please, do not leave award or faving without a comment, a small comment will make my day. Thank you!!!

2017 Topic 4: Doors,Windows,Architecture Katy Well hello everyone, Darcy here, welcome to our latest topic. This time we are exploring Architecture and the most basic elements that we take for granted every day..doors and windows. For the most part they are purely functional, and I bet many of us never really stop to look at them. Some of course are highly decorative and they catch your eye, but even the most basic door hides a whole other world behind, and a simple window can afford you a sneaky glimpse into what is beyond. Architecture has been important to humans for thousands of years, and the basic principles of architectural designs all stem from those set out by the romans and Greeks. Each era moving forward had it's own art movements and within those we see very definite architectural styles. One style that you will all recognise is Art nouveau, this style has such beautiful sinuous curves and lends itself to using in artwork. Unless you are lucky to live in such a stunning building you may have to make do with creating your own architecture in your journals, or on canvasses or cards etc. To get started look around at your neighbour's doors and windows, check out those on hotels and shops, even old scrappy doors on a shed can be inspirational. Before we start, let's see who won the Topic 3: Paints and Infusions Challenge... Some stunning pieces as always, with some really inventive uses of the infusions and spectacular results. It is fantastic to see a good mix of vintage tones and vibrant splashes of colour. The winner of paints and Infusions is: Jane from Castle-Kelly Crafts Email Darcy to claim your prize. [email protected] If you do want to create an actual door, there is no better way to start than with a fairy door, these can be so magical: especially if you have small children around, they would love to find them in a garden. Something Different How about decorating existing doors, who would not love a fairytale wardrobe, so pretty. This idea translates down from a full size wardrobe to perhaps one in a doll's house or just create these doors on a journal cover? With the variety of PaperArtsy flower stamps available, this would be so easy to replicate. More magic now in the form of a window, all this decoration has been added to an old cracked window, these can be picked up from junk yards and would make for amazing pieces of garden art. Beamoore Staying with decorated glass, wouldn't you love a stained glass feature in your home. there are many ways to achieve this. You can buy panels like this from a glazier, you can learn the art of stained glass for yourself or you can find a workaround. How about recreating this with glass paints, or even the amazing translucent paints from PaperArtsy. Another way would be to add coloured film to the window, or painted acetate. Never give up if you find something you like. Coriander You can create your architecture from almost anything, I found these hollowed out books and thought they were such a cool idea. The window means you could set a little scene inside. Shannon Moore Similarly these books also have little windows, there are so many old books in charity shops that need rescuing, to end up like this gives them new life. The Stylish House Staying with books, this use of paper cutting is so clever. These tiny windows must have taken forever to cut, but well worth it. Emma Jackson More innovative use of books here, just using a page and creating this amusing collage with a torn window in the centre. This would make a brilliant journal page. Erwan Soyer Next we move onto a handmade book with a brilliant window feature on the front. Anna-Karin has a full tutorial for this over on her blog. Just look as that crackle, don't you want to stroke it? I love the piece of hessian that looks like a roller blind just ready to be pulled down! Another book, you must click through and visit to see the other pages on this book, just gorgeous! Viola has really captured the vintage look with this. The teeny tiny door on the front is such a lovely touch and such an easy addition to so many projects. Are you a quilter? you will love this next door, such yummy fabrics, don't you want to reach out and stroke it. Margaret Ramsay More stitching on this door canvas, so many gorgeous details here. Think about how you could stamp out your image and then stitch over it. Michelle Mischkulnig Let's look at some collages, journal pages, textures and general painty scrumminess. This one reflects the colours and textures of architecture, with just a few details in pencil, perhaps a stabilo. Next up a plaque, the focal image is a Gothic arched window, but notice how the texture on the surface echoes the patterns in the window, little details like this can really tie a piece together. Dee Adams This one is a collage of architectural elements and shapes. Look at the different bits, tickets patterns, the torn,punched edge of notepaper, postage, some text.. none of those are building elements, but together they create a wonderful collage of buildings, tied together with a strong focal image of a real street. This gives you license to just play, collage, add some paint, see what 'architecture' you can build. Karen Stamper Next we have a gorgeous canvas with a window as a focal image, to see this creation come to life take a look at Gabrielle Pollacco's video. When you think of windows you think of glass right? an excellent substitute in crafting is acetate, this is the perfect window and can be used between book pages and on cards. Try adding some to your project for an extra layer. Gosia Mackinnon Along similar lines you can use cellophane, this can be bought as ready made bags or buy florists cellophane on a roll and make your own bags. Then you can create a window through to a bag of goodies like this sweet Easter gift. Michelle Last There are just so many wonderful examples of architecture, I suggest you search on Pinterest for styles and take your inspiration there. Windows and doors need not be simple shapes, try some curve, look at cutting out arches, let your inner Bob the Builder take over and have some fun creating your dream architecture! Don't forget to follow Darcy and Leandra's Pinterest boards if this topic pushes your buttons, you will see plenty more examples to whet your appetite there! I am really looking forward to seeing what you create over the next 2 weeks! ~ Darcy We hope that you learn something interesting from our blog. Our bloggers deeply appreciate your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired! Why not join our challenge by blogging your interpretation of the current topic and link it here? The current topic link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, 26th March 2017, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00. All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. Challenge Guidelines The challenge is a for you to show how you are inspired by the current blog topic. We encourage you to play with us and explore your personal creative style. Please mention which PA blog post inspired you and and why (link directly to that post). Please don't link to the home page of your blog because then no-one can track back to easily find the original post. We prefer your challenge blog post is created exclusive to our challenge, but if our topic fits perfectly with another challenge, then you may link to both if appropriate. You are most welcome to use stamps/ products/ substrates you have to hand from a variety of companies, we do not expect you to exclusively use PA products - it's lovely when you do though! You can enter as many times as you like. We don't want to restrict your creativity! NB. Link closes at 17:00 Sunday 26th March (London Time) Prize: The winner will receive a £50 credit voucher to be redeemed on the PaperArtsy Website. The credit voucher includes VAT and postage. We request that one of your purchases is an A5 rubber stamp. You can add any other items to your basket, but the final total should not exceed £50. It's your responsibility to claim your prize coupon from Darcy. email: [email protected] NEW Challenge/ winner: Each fortnight on Sunday, the winner will be announced at 19:00 (London time). In the same post, the link for the next fortnight will be posted. Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Rechercher des images d'arrière-plan parchemin, papier de riz, pli gratuites? Pngtree fournit une collection d'arrière-plans HD sur Le Parchemin De Plis Du Papier De Riz De Texture De Fond. Vous pouvez télécharger l'arrière-plan au format de fichier PSD, AI et EPS.

We are finishing off the year with one last free motion quilting motif! I love feathers, they are versatile and work great on so many different designs. They can be super intimidating though! Especially when talking about traditional free motion feathers. It feels like things have to be perfect. If you want to sew feathers, but need more freedom, this is the perfect motif to jump in with. My favorite part of these feathers is how forgiving they are. Petals aren't the same size? Perfect! Adds more character and helps fill spaces. Didn't travel back perfectly on your previous stitch line? Not a problem, these petals are separate and individual and don't sit right on top of each other. Struggle getting the perfect rounded shape? Rest easy, these feathers don't even have a perfectly rounded shape. So, let's set perfection aside and get quilting! Whenever I quilt feathers, I like to start with a spine. You can either put this in with thread or draw it in if you don't want extra thread build up. This is totally personal preference. I don't mind thread build up, so I'll stitch it in. If you want to draw it in, make sure you test what you are drawing with on a scrap fabric to make sure it comes off. I like to use washable school chalk, air erase pens, or water erase pens. If you aren't going to make it to the quilting immediately, pick the chalk or water erase methods. They won't disappear before you get to them. You can do straight lines, but I think a soft curve adds so much and makes them feel more natural. After you've put your spine in, it's time to start stitching the feathers. I ususally stitch up one side, then follow the spine back down and stitch the second side. If you like to stitch both sides at once, I'll post those diagrams farther down. With these feathers, you are going to make your petals heartish shaped. They don't have to be perfect, but go out, throw a little dip in the edge, and taper back in to the spine. You can start from the bottom or top, whichever feels more comfortable. If you want more stitching, throw in a vein. Now, move up the spine a little bit and add a second petal. Don't worry about traveling on the same stitch line, the petals can all be separate entities. You can put veins in all petals, alternate petals, or just randomly in bigger petals. When stitching the petals, fill the space! Don't leave big empty holes, those will stand out. If you stretch the petal to fill in the full area, it will look more finished. This works if you are filling certain shapes in the quilt, or doing all over designs. After you've worked your way up to the end of the spine, travel back down the spine and repeat on the opposite side. At the top, I like to throw a petal coming out the top of the spine to finish it off. To add a second feather, you can either travel along the edge of the quilt to start a new one, or echo your feather till you get to where you want to stitch your next feather. If you prefer to stitch both petals at the same time, simply alternate sides as you move up the spine. And that's it! You can really have fun with these and just let them flow. Don't forget to grab your sketchbook and try drawing them out first to really get comfortable before you go to the sewing machine. After you've learned the basic technique, challenge yourself to make them fit in different shapes and practice stitching them in all different directions. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out! Happy quilting, Kimie and Missy